Episode 868
Episode 868
Diret, who had been about to have a spirit draw the diagram, suddenly remembered something.
"By the way, junior."
"Yes."
"Didn't you say last time you negotiated with Professor Verdus and got a key?"
"Since we're breaking in anyway, wouldn't it be better to have it?"
"......"
"Senior. That was a joke."
"Who would think that was a joke!"
Diret got angry at the sight of his junior looking awkward with a serious face.
Lee Han explained again.
"I did get a key to the underground storage, but those are only for storing materials and reagents. To access the professor's workshop, we still have to break through these golems."
"I see."
Diret nodded but still felt a lingering doubt in his mind.
Could his junior's key really not have worked on the first-floor workshop passage?
The group arrived in front of Professor Verdus's workshop located on the first basement floor.
Jowurin excitedly shouted.
"Professor Bagrak! Jowurin commands you to smash that door!"
"Your Highness. We can't smash that door."
Professor Voladi shook his head and explained.
Deploying defense golems on the first basement floor and entering a workshop located there were entirely different matters.
The former had some loopholes, but the latter was something Professor Verdus stubbornly refused to leave any gaps in.
If they carelessly tampered with it, they might trigger the tower's entire alarm system.
"Yukveltire will handle this part, Your Highness."
Diret called Yukveltire.
As Professor Verdus's disciple and someone who knew about this place, she could surely explain the magic placed here in detail.
Once they identified what kind of magic was at work, with Professor Bagrak present, they could definitely break through.
"Yukveltire. What kind of magic is placed here?"
"I don't know either."
"...What?"
While Diret was dumbfounded, Yukveltire pulled out a duplicate workshop key she had secretly made from Professor Verdus.
Then she opened the first basement floor's workshop door. The entire group (including Jowurin) was left speechless.
"...Wait, when and how did you get that?"
Lee Han asked in surprise.
Of course, the defense systems for the first basement floor and outer storages were terrifyingly tight, but by Professor Verdus's standards, those were just the beginning.
Something like a workshop key, where truly important works were stored, would never be given away so easily.
If discovered, he would have immediately changed all the workshop's defensive magics.
"I happened to get it three years ago."
"How did you not get caught all this time??"
"Simple. I never used it once."
"......"
Lee Han was astonished again. It was surprising that Yukveltire had held onto that key for three years without using it, but it was even more surprising that she was using it now.
"It's not my place to say this but...are you sure it's okay to use it now?"
"I'm recommending an artifact worthy of a talented junior. This is a perfectly rational action."
"Ah, yes."
Behind Yukveltire, Jowurin mimicked raising both front legs like horns beside her head. Lee Han immediately understood what it meant.
'She's angry, isn't she?'
'Let's just say no for now...'
Lee Han felt a slight concern that he might be taking advantage of a senior who had lost her rationality to anger.
"Professor. What do you think..."
He considered asking Professor Voladi, but when he looked, the professor wasn't beside him.
Lifting his head, he saw Professor Voladi had already entered the workshop and was searching for a magic drafting tool.
"...Professor..."
"?"
"Never mind."
Lee Han went inside.
Just as a cunning rabbit digs three burrows, Professor Verdus also maintained multiple workshops.
While exceptional artists might have several workshops for different creative activities, Lee Han suspected Professor Verdus had multiple workshops to minimize damage if one got raided.
In that regard, the current underground workshop was quite a decent place.
The quality of the artifacts arranged here was far superior to those in the workshops Professor Verdus openly showed to students.
It seemed this was where he stored artifacts either commissioned by others or created purely for his own tastes.
'Shouldn't he be showing students these kinds of things for educational purposes?'
"Found it. It's here."
Yukveltire called out to Lee Han.
On the workbench, they spotted an artifact case labeled <Vible's Drafting Tool>.
"...Isn't this not something the professor made, but an artifact he's currently using?"
"?"
Yukveltire gave her junior a look that said, 'So what?'
Professor Voladi also stared at his student with an expression that questioned, 'What does that matter?'
Diret placed a hand on the junior's shoulder.
'I understand how you feel.'
'Thank you, Senior.'
Lee Han felt grateful that at least one sane person was present.
"It's nothing. We'll use it well..."
"Wait."
Yukveltire stopped Lee Han and explained.
Every item in this underground level was enchanted so that the moment anyone other than Professor Verdus touched them, the entire magic tower's defenses would activate.
Lee Han found this absurd and protested.
"Setting up magic on the door is one thing, but you're saying he cast such complex spells on every single item?"
To make the tower's magic react not just to tampering or destruction but even to mere touch required an unreasonable amount of time and effort.
Each item would have to be painstakingly enchanted with immense dedication.
Professor Verdus wasn't exactly idle—how could he possibly have done all this...?
Yukveltire replied immediately.
"Yes."
"......"
Lee Han was struck anew by Professor Verdus's extraordinary nature.
He had stolen materials, reagents, and even an unfinished airship from the professor before, but it seemed the items Verdus truly intended to protect were far from easy to take.
'And here I am, trying to steal one of his prized possessions.'
After a brief moment of hesitation, Lee Han steeled himself.
Even if he got caught later, stealing now was the right move. Especially since the target was Professor Verdus.
"We'll have to escape the moment we grab the item."
"Correct."
"We might as well take one or two more things while we're at it. Check around."
"...Professor, by any chance, are you also angry at Professor Verdus for... No, never mind."
Lee Han was nearly overwhelmed by Professor Voladi's utterly ruthless pursuit of profit.
'First, I should look around some more.'
Leaving the drafting tool aside, Lee Han surveyed the workshop again.
Amulet of Aging Resistance
'Incredible!'
Lee Han marveled at the amulet hanging on the wall.
His admiration wasn't for its outward appearance, craftsmanship, or the glitter of its gems—but for the intricate magic embedded within.
Like tiny gears interlocking to form a grand mechanism, small spells connected to repel aging and summon youth.
'There's a note at the bottom too.'
Even if stealing it was difficult due to the defensive magic, he wanted to read what Professor Verdus had written.
Commissioned by the Pengerin Family
Delivery Deadline: 5 years
Delay: 6 years, 7 years
"......"
Just deliver it already!
Lee Han was speechless.
With this level of craftsmanship, he could've just handed it over—yet he'd held onto it for seven years.
It was almost strange that the Pengerin Family hadn't sent assassins after him.
'No, for all I know, they might have...'
Upon closer inspection, the other works were similar.
Each one was exceptional, beautiful, and had notes like <Delivery delayed by X years> scribbled beneath.
"If you're late just one more time, I'll send you straight to hell."
—Osoo
"If you're late just one more time, I'll make you lecture in the Deep Punishment Room."
—Osoo
"If you're late just one more time, I'll burn your workshop down and hang you from the city gates."
—Osoo
"If you're late just one more time..."
What the hell is wrong with you? Just do your damn work on time!
-Os: Lee Han shook his head as he discovered the thick stack of cursed letters.
It wasn't easy to feel pity for the Skeleton Principal, but Professor Verdus was accomplishing that very difficult feat.
Star Guide, Paselet Kraer, 3rd Year Exam Artifact
Lee Han was startled by the massive brass telescope and the name inscribed beneath it.
'Didn't expect to find the artifact for the lecture I'm taking here!' Then again, Professor Verdus was a master artifact craftsman, so it made sense that other professors would commission exam artifacts from him.
As Lee Han paused his steps to examine the brass telescope, others gathered around, curious.
"What is it?"
"Junior. What are you looking at?"
Jowurin boasted, 'I have an even bigger and more magnificent telescope than this. Though His Majesty has it right now, if Lee Han needs it—'
'Snap out of it.' Lee Han firmly pressed Jowurin's mouth shut and said,
"I was surprised to see an artifact for one of my upcoming exams."
"Indeed."
"Ah."
"Let's take it."
"?"
Among the responses, one stood out as odd, making Lee Han pause.
Surprisingly, it was Professor Voladi who had spoken.
'Wait. On second thought, not that surprising.'
"Professor. This is another professor's exam artifact."
"Securing it first is also a student's skill."
Yukveltire nodded in agreement with Professor Voladi's words.
"Professor Verdus should've protected it better."
Before Lee Han could respond, Diret whispered beside him.
"Junior."
"Yes. Still, taking this feels a bit..."
"Just take it. You need to reduce even one exam if you can."
Iactus:
Professor Verdus's workshop has been robbed! Professor Verdus's workshop has been robbed!! Professor Verdus's workshop has been robbed!!!
Beaver
- Penguin
- Fox:
Write just one line. Why the fuss? It's not like this is the first time.
Iactus:
You must've misread. Not the storage—his workshop was robbed! And not just any workshop—the underground first-floor one!
Beaver
- Penguin
- Fox:
...
Professor Verdus's workshop has been robbed!!!!
The Whispers of Einrogard continued to etch the same line over and over, as if consumed by madness.
That's how shocking it was.
A robbery—not in the storage or the first-floor workshop, but the underground first-floor workshop?
Bakwantalana:
Professor Verdus had many enemies. He's just paying the price.
Iactus:
No, you can't dismiss it like that. He's always had enemies, but his personal workshop has never been completely ransacked before.
Beaver
- Penguin
- Fox:
Could it be related to the dragon that arrived recently? If it's the dragon's power...
Iactus:
No way. A royal? A perfectly fine royal who didn't even enroll in Einrogard. Would a royal stoop to theft?
Bakwantalana:
Just because someone enrolls in Einrogard doesn't mean royals stop being royals.
Iactus:
What? Once you enroll in Einrogard, you're just an Einrogard student.
Beaver
- Penguin
- Fox:
Agreed. I once saw a royal junior, and they were scarfing down bread more desperately than a back-alley beggar. Once you enter Einrogard, royals or not, everyone's the same.
Lee Han, sensing the mood, chimed in.
Gonadaltes:
How did you even find out about the robbery? Could it be a false rumor?
Iactus:
No. Professor Kraer is currently trying to kill Professor Verdus.
Beaver
- Penguin
- Fox:
Did someone steal it and secretly smuggle it out?
Iactus:
Would a fellow professor really... Hmm... Actually, maybe.
Gonadaltes:
Definitely possible.
Bakwantalana:
I doubt it.
Gonadaltes:
By the way, has anyone seen the Headmaster lately? Does anyone know why?
Lee Han casually asked the question he was curious about. Immediately, curses flew his way.
Iactus:
Everyone's happy he's gone—why the hell are you asking?
Beaver
- Penguin
- Fox:
If you jinx it and he comes back tomorrow, you're taking responsibility, right?
"......"