Episode 843
Episode 843
After much deliberation, Lee Han finally made his decision.
'Let's go with the medium-sized skeleton golem.'
He could earn extra points for summoning a creature above medium size for the first time, and since skeleton warriors were the summons he'd assembled most frequently, it seemed slightly advantageous.
Moreover, if he ever needed to assemble another summon later, there was a workaround where he could choose a large skeleton golem instead.
"I'll try making a medium-sized skeleton golem."
"Good. Junior... Wait a minute."
'Gasp. Did he notice?' Lee Han flinched when Diret called out to him.
Could Diret have seen through Lee Han's strategy—choosing something that appeared difficult but had hidden advantages, while also cleverly planning for future exams?
"Your staff has changed."
"Ah. Yes. I've completed it."
"What? You should've told me that first! Well done."
Diret beamed with joy as if it were his own achievement.
"That Yukveltire kid, for all her quirks, is quite diligent when it comes to magic that interests her. Though she claims staff crafting is tedious and boring, she asked about black magnetite several times, so I figured she must be interested."
"Professor Verdus helped me with it..."
"?!"
Diret was so startled by his junior's answer that his wings fluttered upward.
"How?!"
No matter how much he thought about it, the only way to get Professor Verdus to do something was through intimidation—nothing else came to mind.
"Professor Garcia intimidated him into helping."
'It really was intimidation.' Though it was within expectations, Diret found himself even more flustered. He nodded, trying to remain composed.
"I-I see. It's good that Professor Garcia... persuaded him."
The word 'intimidation' had subtly shifted to 'persuasion,' but Lee Han let it slide.
In truth, at Einrogard, the two terms were often used interchangeably...
"Still not used to the staff yet?"
"No. I plan to try using the Tree Spirit's Authority first."
"What about the black magnetite?"
"I'm being cautious with the black magnetite?"
Thinking Diret was referring to the risk of spells being canceled due to the staff's black magnetite, Lee Han answered. But Diret slowly shook his head.
"Guess Professor Verdus didn't explain it properly."
"Senior Yukveltire didn't really explain it either..."
"Listen, junior."
'He's deflecting.' Diret began explaining about black magnetite.
While it was common sense for mages to avoid using mana-absorbing minerals like black magnetite, mages were, by nature, far from being sensible.
Instead of avoiding poisonous mushrooms, they'd nibble on them bit by bit, wondering, 'How can I use this effect?'
Naturally, black magnetite had been part of such research.
"The most notable example is reverse magic. You probably haven't learned it yet..."
"I studied it last year with the Headmaster. He said we'd likely encounter magic criminals often, so he taught us how to dismantle their secret arts."
"Of course, I expected you'd have learned it."
Thanks to growing accustomed to his junior from the Wardanaz family, Diret continued without changing his expression.
Reverse magic was one of the most advanced and difficult techniques in magic.
There wasn't a specific 'reverse magic' spell—rather, it encompassed all methodologies for countering an opponent's magic, making it inherently challenging.
You had to analyze the opponent's magic in advance, disrupt it before it activated, and shatter it.
Simple in theory, but to pull it off, you needed sharp intuition to detect the opponent's magic, vast knowledge to identify its nature, and reflexes faster than your opponent's.
"Honestly, I've barely used reverse magic myself. I do use <Valdororn's Mana Hammer> often, though."
"I get it. That approach suits you. But you can't just smash every spell away, right? And some spells cause too much damage if you don't stop them before casting. The black magnetite in this staff will help you use reverse magic."
When Lee Han focused his mind on the black magnetite part of his staff rather than the wooden part while casting a spell, the magic would falter or dissipate.
Then what if he focused on the black magnetite part after making contact with an opponent's magic?
"...So that's how such strong interference and disruption occurs. Of course, making contact with an opponent's magic also requires considerable mana and concentration, but it's definitely worth trying."
"That seems to be the case."
Lee Han nodded in amazement.
Truthfully, he had only considered black magnetite's advantage of allowing staves to withstand powerful magic casting.
Who would have thought it had benefits for counter magic too?
"Senior Diret, where did you learn this?"
"Black Magic practitioners often come into contact with demons, so we frequently use black magnetite."
"......"
Lee Han instantly regretted asking.
Well, when facing high-ranking demons, overpowering them with brute magical force was often difficult.
Deceiving them, negotiating, or restraining them and fleeing became far more important skills.
In such cases, metals like black magnetite proved unexpectedly useful.
While it bound his own magic, it also bound the demon's magic...
"Shall we do some simple practice then? Eight curses of 2nd circle or below. I'll randomly select and cast them—try to interfere with them using counter magic before they activate."
"'Tch. That's too harsh.'"
With time already tight for assembling the skeleton golem, Lee Han shuddered at his senior's strictness in further reducing that time to increase the difficulty.
But he couldn't bring himself to refuse.
If he declined and Diret thought him an arrogant junior... 'He might assume I'm diligent in other lectures but slack off in his.' That absolutely couldn't happen.
As Lee Han mentally calculated how to assemble the skeleton golem within the remaining time, he gripped his newly crafted staff.
"Move!"
"Junior... Since it's not summoned from another dimension but assembled by you, shouting won't do any..."
"Ghk."
Diret's counter magic practice turned out fairly successful.
Of course, Diret had gone easy to let his junior get accustomed to the staff, but the results were quite decent.
"I think I understand the sensation now, Senior. Interfering is difficult at a distance, but up close, it's definitely..."
"You should practice blocking spells whose structures you know and can easily interfere with first."
In contrast, assembling the skeleton golem proved far more troublesome. 'Damn it. There's not much time left.' Lee Han checked the time anxiously.
In ancient, traditional Black Magic—no, in orthodox necromancy—undead summoning proceeded as follows:
First, extract the core reagent containing the summon's compressed physical form. Then, infuse it with magic to construct the summon's shape. Finally, imbue it with commands so it can move without the mage controlling every action.
The first step, the reagent, wasn't a major issue.
Diret had prepared <Large Monster Bones>, and Lee Han had also strengthened his usual bone fragment reagents by adding dark or blood elements.
Thanks to this, even ordinary bone fragments could sufficiently withstand summoning a medium-sized skeleton golem.
The second step, shaping, succeeded immediately too.
Having frequently summoned skeleton warriors and even fused them into enhanced skeletons during emergencies, his understanding of forms was far higher than expected.
The problem was the final step: commands.
This required painstakingly imbuing and linking each command, straining the mage's brain—making it difficult to accomplish in a short time.
The skeleton golem summoned earlier had tried to smash through the classroom wall to escape, and the one before that had attempted to dance in 3/4 time (Diret had marveled at the composition and wanted to preserve it, but Lee Han failed to recreate it)...
And now, the skeleton golem wasn't moving at all. Because the previous skeleton golems had moved on their own, he'd been a bit cautious this time, which seemed to have tangled up its movements.
'Ugh. These damn skull golems...'
Come to think of it, junior.
Without knowing Lee Han's inner thoughts, Diret spoke up.
It was frustrating to have his concentration broken, but Lee Han answered. How could he ignore a senior who was like the heavens themselves?
"Yes."
"I forgot to mention earlier—about the staff. It'd be better to say Professor Verdus forcibly made it for you."
"...Huh? Why on earth would I lie like that?"
Putting aside why he should lie, it was the kind of lie no one would believe except for Einrogard freshmen.
Professor Verdus voluntarily stepping forward to help a student?
'That's the biggest load of nonsense I've heard all year.'
No, listen carefully, junior. Professor Verdus does occasionally help students with their magic if it's a topic he's interested in.
Diret spoke with a cautious tone.
Since Yukveltire was from the Enchantment Magic school, Diret knew Professor Verdus fairly well.
The professor had a bad habit of occasionally sneaking in to complete only the most fun and exciting parts of his students' enchantment research before disappearing.
It got so bad that Yukveltire would lock her door and take precautions to ensure Professor Verdus couldn't enter while she was working on her research.
"That... does sound plausible, but why would I need to lie about it?"
"Because Yukveltire might be disappointed. She was somewhat interested in the staff, you see."
"Ah, Senior, you've misunderstood. Senior Yukveltire has a heart of steel—she'd never be disappointed."
"......"
Diret felt a pang of sympathy for the friend who was being so confidently slandered by his own junior from the same tower.
But what could he do?
It was all self-inflicted!
"Junior, I've known Yukveltire longer than you have. Just do as I say."
"Understood. So I should say Professor Verdus ordered it, then?"
Since it wasn't particularly difficult, Lee Han agreed readily.
"But if what you're saying is true, wouldn't the professor earn resentment?"
"Yep."
"......"
Lee Han said nothing and simply nodded calmly.
Then he turned his focus back to the skeleton golem.
"Ah, right. About Duke Icaldoren—"
'Ugh.' Oblivious to his junior's inner suffering, Diret brought up the duke they had previously abducted—no, brought along.
"When we first brought him here, he was too terrified to hold a conversation, but he's been improving lately. He even talks well with Yukveltire now."
"Is that really true? What do they talk about?"
"Yukveltire mostly asks how much he's willing to offer, and the duke requests truffle-topped prosciutto ham, chicory salad harvested no more than two days prior, and a southern Empire-style mushroom consommé in return."
'Did the headmaster not starve him properly?' Lee Han was surprised that the duke still had enough energy left to focus on gourmet food.
If he had been living on student rations, he would've immediately asked for whole roasted or fried meats, warm fruit pies, cakes, chocolates, and the like—not these hard-to-remember delicacies.
"But is that really 'talking well'? It sounds like they're just talking past each other."
"The duke is at a disadvantage, so he'll compromise eventually. This counts as talking well."
'Sometimes, the seniors' optimistic outlook is terrifying.' That counts as talking well?
Thud!
"...Senior! It's moving! The skeleton golem is moving properly now!"
"What? Really?! I didn't think we'd finish it today."
"What a relief... Wait a second, Senior. What do you mean, 'didn't think we'd finish it today'?"
Lee Han was about to celebrate with his senior but suddenly froze, his expression turning serious.