Episode 838
Episode 838
Fortunately, this time Lee Han hadn't been dragged away by Saratan but had simply collapsed.
Lee Han, who had fallen backward, asked in a voice mixed with despair:
"Did Gainando really not help at all?"
"..."
"To be precise...he did support me."
"Lee Han!"
Gainando, freed from Lagesa's magic, approached timidly without understanding the situation.
"I was holding back Lady Lagesa!"
"?"
"??"
While his friends were puzzled by this unheard-of strategic objective, Lee Han calmly nodded.
"I see."
Thwack!
"Ouch!"
"Hey, you bastard. I kept telling you about the prophecy! What were you thinking touching him when he collapsed?!"
"...Th-that...but it was an emergency! The White Tiger Tower bastards might have kidnapped Lee Han and taken him away!"
-What kind of bastard says things like that?!
-Hey, you crazy imperial prince! Why would we kidnap Wardanaz?!
-Though kidnapping him would be nice... From meals to magic lectures...
-Shut up.
Ignoring the protesting White Tiger Tower students behind him, Gainando desperately tried to justify himself.
Thwack!
"We're barely managing even when working together! What kind of nonsense are you spouting?!"
"N-no... They all helped too..."
The Blue Dragon Tower students who had brought Lee Han together quickly averted their gazes. Only Adenart fidgeted awkwardly, not knowing what to do.
Having made the same mistake as Gainando but not being scolded at all made her feel strangely more guilty.
"That's...that's right! Adenart helped too! Because of her, the misfortune probably doubled!"
'He's my friend but truly trash-like.' The Blue Dragon Tower students marveled. How could he drag down another friend in that situation?
"I-I'm sorry, Wardanaz."
Thwack!
"You should've stopped him! You were the one who heard the prophecy talk the most beside him!"
The new staff made a much crisper sound than before when hitting.
After venting his anger with three knuckle raps, Lee Han let out a deep sigh.
"Whatever. It's too late to do anything about it now."
'Tsk...he should've said that before hitting...' Gainando grumbled internally. If he was going to cool off, why not do it before hitting? What's the harm in that?
"Since it was an action to avoid the prophecy, breaking it probably won't bring double misfortune. It might already be over," Dijiling said to comfort Lee Han.
The misfortune was about avoiding contact with the imperial family to prevent bad luck, not about suffering misfortune from contacting them. Now that the contact had already happened, it was over. Contacting the imperial family a few more times wouldn't multiply the misfortune.
Listening nearby, Siana tilted her head and asked:
"I don't study Divination Magic, but isn't misfortune sometimes like a rain shower that ends once you weather it, but other times like storm clouds that linger? If it's that kind, wouldn't more misfortune keep piling up each time you break the prophecy?"
"..."
"Thank you for that insightful observation..."
Dijiling, who had been skillfully obscuring the truth to comfort Lee Han, became sullen. Lee Han also grew sullen. Only then realizing her verbal misstep, Siana panicked:
"Ah, no! The misfortune might already be over!"
"Or it might not be. After meeting the Demon Duke and the Spirit King...hmm...next might be a dimensional horror."
"But the Spirit King was friendly!"
"Priestess Siana. I wasn't talking about the Broad-Eyed King."
"??"
Lee Han sighed lightly again and stood up.
Whether the misfortune was over or whether more would come from additional contact was unknown, but they needed to prepare to leave.
Since this was a dimension the Broad-Eyed King had promised to open, little time would have passed outside. But if they exceeded the allotted time, who knew what might happen?
From sudden time acceleration to, in the worst case, the portal itself disappearing entirely.
"Let's all get going now. Wait a moment. Captain Lagesa. Your mana flow seems unstable—have you been drinking?"
"..."
"It's a long story, kid."
Professor Ingoldel was sitting with Catten, a fifth-year student from the White Tiger Tower, reading through a stack of reports.
"Jahan, you don't need to help. Focus on refining your swordsmanship."
"It's fine. I'll assist you and practice at the same time."
Despite still being a student, Catten of the Jahan family was quite famous among the Empire's swordsmen. Rumors swirled that he was the genius talent who would succeed Jiklin of the Moradi family.
Professor Ingoldel, aware of this, took considerable interest in Catten.
'What a shame.'
As a member of the Zero Faction, Catten couldn't assist much even if he wanted to. Though he helped with the professor's tasks—mostly because the Skeleton Principal would scold him otherwise—Professor Ingoldel strongly wished Catten would just focus entirely on swordsmanship.
A swordsman's worth lies in the sword, not in miscellaneous chores.
"Hup!"
Having finished sorting the documents, Catten swung his sword beside him. Dozens of sword flashes flickered, and sprouts burst forth in front of him.
"Haha! I did it! Professor, did you see? With just ten thousand more practices, I might even be able to create a wooden puppet!"
"......"
Professor Ingoldel watched Catten with an extremely complicated expression.
His teaching philosophy was to respect each student's individual swordsmanship style—to guide, not dictate. But every time he saw Catten, the words, "Why don't you just focus on swordsmanship?" rose to his throat.
Professor Ingoldel suppressed a sigh.
Surely Catten knew that dedicating himself purely to swordsmanship would accelerate his growth far more?
When talent and passion align, it's a blessing—but even if they don't, one doesn't necessarily have to follow talent.
If Catten wished it, he had every right to walk that path...
Even if it made onlookers want to tear their hair out.
'Guess I should read the students' reports.'
Shaking his head lightly, Professor Ingoldel picked up the reports submitted by the students. Though it often felt awkward to read these instead of wielding a sword, it was part of a teacher's duties.
'Come to think of it...'
He felt a flicker of curiosity.
The students had submitted their reports much faster than expected—and every single one of them had turned theirs in.
'Did they all coordinate somehow?'
A faint smile curved the lips of the scarred elf professor.
Few things pleased him more than seeing students cooperate.
Though they were second-years who usually bickered, they showed unity whenever faced with crisis.
Once again, he felt he had chosen the pop quiz well and smiled in satisfaction.
'I should design future exams like this.'
As he picked up the reports one by one to check the names, he suddenly froze.
"...??"
"Hello, Professor Ingoldel. I don't attend your lectures, but I'm leaving this note because I'd feel wronged if my efforts went unnoticed. If there's anyone (from the White Tiger Tower) who wrote worse than me, please let me know.- Gainando"
Surprisingly, even among students from other towers who didn't attend his lectures, some had submitted reports.
Professor Ingoldel checked the names in disbelief. Not just one—about five or six.
'...Just how many went?'
He was so baffled he wondered if the entire second-year class had gone.
Professor Ingoldel searched for Wardanaz's name. In situations like this, it was best to start with the report of the most reliable student.
"Five days with the Broad-Eyed King, the Pride Duke, the Spirit Oppressor, the King of Fighting Tree Spirits, and the Admiral of the Southern Privateer Fleet."
- Leehan Wardanaz
"......"
Professor Ingoldel contemplated whether he should refrain from assigning such tasks to the Wardanaz boy's grade for a while.
"Senior, could you take a look at the form of this staff?"
"It's too classical."
Yukveltire made a rare, uneasy expression upon seeing the branch-like staff Lee Han had brought.
"This is really an old-fashioned staff design from ages ago."
"Aside from that, are there any other flaws?"
"Old-fashioned designs are old-fashioned for a reason. There must be a reason, of course. But, junior of the Wardanaz family..."
Yukveltire paused for a moment, then stared intently at Lee Han with her blue eyes.
"You seem different from usual."
"Ah. Is that so?"
Lee Han responded as if startled from the other side of the classroom. Since he was speaking with mana infused in his voice, it rang out clearly even from a distance.
Yukveltire extended her finger as if to say, 'What are you doing?'
"Come over here and talk."
"No, Senior. I've caught an infectious disease, you see."
"An infectious disease?"
"Yes, the Black Magic school is prone to infectious diseases."
"Well, Diret was like that too."
Yukveltire nodded in understanding.
Lee Han, who had made up an excuse to avoid contact, suddenly felt a pang of sadness.
"That's interesting."
"You find it interesting that I've caught a disease?"
"Yes. What kind of disease is it?"
Though she wasn't particularly interested in Healing Magic or Alchemy, she was curious about what kind of infectious disease could affect a junior with such immense mana.
What kind of magical disease could penetrate that much mana?
"Uh... It's something like a disease created by the combined power of Pride Duke and the Broad-Eyed King."
"Really? Show me."
As Yukveltire approached, Lee Han hastily stepped back, even erecting a Psychokinesis barrier around himself.
"Junior of the Wardanaz family. If you're worried about spreading the disease, don't be. I'm wearing a defensive Artifact."
"Indeed. But this disease can pierce through even that."
"Now I'm even more curious. Show me."
"Wait. First, tell me about the flaws in the staff. Why did you recommend embedding the branch I mentioned earlier into the core and wrapping it with Black Magnetite?"
Though Yukveltire was curious about the disease created by Pride Duke and the Broad-Eyed King, she suppressed it and began explaining.
"Because it's the most efficient."
"So this current design isn't efficient?"
"That shape is specialized for Ancient Magic. Hence, it's old-fashioned. There's no need to suffer inefficiency when using the Empire's current magic."
"......"
Lee Han's face stiffened as he realized what she meant.
'Damn it, that Black Book bastard!'
No matter what, shouldn't it at least match the modern style for a student learning magic nowadays? What's the point of forcing an old-fashioned staff design just because it's from its own ancient magic book?
That shameless bastard.
"I can't change this shape, can I? Especially if there's a Spirit King sealed inside?"
Instead of answering, Yukveltire silently stared at him.
Lee Han could read her expression: 'Are you really Diret's junior, asking such a stupid question?'
"I understand."
"Good. Now, about that infectious disease—"
"Then I'll see you next time when I embed the Black Magnetite. Farewell, Senior!"
Lee Han quickly opened the classroom door and slipped outside. He heard something being called out from inside but pretended not to hear it.
He had obtained the branch. That much was obvious.
"..."
"Master. Do you happen to know the word 'well done'?"
Lee Han cautiously asked the Crazy Doppelganger, who had appeared unprompted to praise him.
The Crazy Doppelganger scoffed.
'Pathetic.' It also knew the word 'shameless.' Brat. Don't expect praise for something so obvious.
"......"
Lee Han wasn't someone who craved praise, but after safely escaping the Broad-Eyed King → Pride Duke → Oppressor of Evil Spirits → King of Fighting Tree Spirits, he had hoped for at least a word of acknowledgment.
'Am I expecting too much?'
"Let me tell you what happened..."
Lee Han accused the Black Book of borrowing his body to perform evil magic.
'Wait. Come to think of it, does the Crazy Doppelganger even know what these spells are?'
If they were spells created before the separation, there was a high chance it knew.
"Do you know what this magic is?"
"Yes. Dendrobium was a tree cultivated by royalty."
"...You mean they cultivated a tree that absorbs human essence???"
"...It's a magic to honor that tree. Brat."