Episode 869
Episode 869
Despite the malicious seniors' harassment, Lee Han remained unshaken.
Gonadaltes: "A mage must not harbor irrational fears. You must face that fear directly and overcome it."
Iactus: "You should stare at the headmaster a lot then."
Beaver
- Penguin
- Fox: "You should overcome the headmaster a lot then."
"......"
Lee Han was about to retort with 'And you think you'll graduate like that?' when he caught himself.
No matter how much he wanted to fight back, there was a line he shouldn't cross.
'Anyway, this isn't helpful.'
Unlike other topics, whenever the Skeleton Principal was mentioned, everyone became so sensitive that gathering information became difficult.
Just as Lee Han was considering giving up, someone posted a message.
Clzenberg: "The headmaster has gone up to the capital now."
"!"
Lee Han was startled by the unfamiliar name. It seemed he wasn't the only one surprised.
Iactus: "Clzenberg! I thought you'd graduated."
Beaver
- Penguin
- Fox: "I thought you'd been locked in the Punishment Room forever."
Clzenberg: "Haha. I've been quite busy lately."
Gonadaltes: "..."
"Am I the only one bothered by Clzenberg speaking in archaic language?"
Iactus: "Hey. You're the one using 'Gonadaltes' as your alias."
Beaver
- Penguin
- Fox: "Exactly. Are you really in a position to criticize others' quirks?"
Though the exchange was brief, Lee Han could glean several facts.
First, Clzenberg was a student who spoke somewhat antiquatedly and seemed quite popular among the other members—a stark contrast to how members like Bulgasari were jeered at whenever they posted.
'If I had to categorize, Clzenberg would be among the most popular in this <Watchers of Einrogard> group. Bulgasari would be on the least popular side.'
For a moment, Lee Han wondered where he himself would fall, but he quickly stopped that thought upon seeing the alias 'Gonadaltes.'
Clzenberg: "By the way, BeaverPenguinFox, how's that research you mentioned last time coming along?"
Beaver
- Penguin
- Fox: "Of course. The toxic vapor cloud is coming along perfectly. If anyone gets close, it'll kill them in three seconds flat."
Bulgasari: "..."
"Isn't that a bit excessive? Other students could get hurt."
The whispering artifact fell silent for a moment. Even without seeing them, Lee Han could feel the atmosphere grow icy.
Clzenberg: "I understand Bulgasari's concern. But BeaverPenguinFox has always demonstrated exceptional ability as a member. Even if they create a toxic vapor cloud, they wouldn't use it on other students."
Beaver
- Penguin
- Fox: "......"
Bulgasari: "You're not going to use it?!"
Beaver
- Penguin
- Fox: "Ugh, shut up. Who are you to keep interfering?"
Bulgasari: "Look! Look at that! Just look at that!"
Clzenberg: "Everyone, calm down. I'm sure BeaverPenguinFox..."
'Hmm. Now I see why he's popular.'
Clzenberg reminded Lee Han of Alarong, the old knight of the Wardanaz family—a kind and considerate elder.
Having roughly assessed the situation, Lee Han picked up his quill again.
He was curious about where BeaverPenguinFox planned to use a toxic vapor cloud lethal after just three seconds of exposure, but right now, the Skeleton Principal concerned him more.
Gonadaltes: "Clzenberg. You said the headmaster went to the capital. Could you elaborate?"
Iactus: "Ugh. Just when the topic had changed."
Though others grumbled, Lee Han ignored them. Clzenberg answered kindly.
Clzenberg: "Of course. ..."
"But why on earth did you choose such a peculiar alias?"
Gonadaltes: "......"
Clzenberg: "In any case, the headmaster went to the capital to prepare a grand spell. Something about obtaining various permissions, I believe?"
Bulgasari: "Huh? Really? That was the reason?"
Iactus: "What grand spell?? What is it? It's not something like cursing every student with an additional neck curse, is it?"
Clzenberg: "Even I don't know that much. And that wouldn't even qualify as a grand spell, would it?"
Iactus: "Well, that makes sense. He could probably do something like that easily."
'Grand magic?'
Mages could cast spells using only the basic reagents and mental energy they inherently possessed, but not all magic could be unleashed that way.
Some spells were so vast in scale and difficulty that they required hundreds of mages preparing for decades.
And such magic was commonly referred to as grand magic.
Magic so formidable that a single mage wouldn't even dare attempt it.
The problem was, the Skeleton Principal was no ordinary mage.
'Grand magic that requires the Skeleton Principal to go to the capital and prepare? What could it be?'
If it were just any grand magic, he could have handled it at his own level. But this required separate preparations—preparations so significant that he had to go to the capital and persuade everyone from the Emperor to the bureaucrats.
At this point, even Lee Han was starting to feel genuinely afraid.
Honestly, the Baldrogard merger felt preferable compared to this.
The other members seemed to share the sentiment, murmuring among themselves.
Iactus: "What the hell is it? What's he trying to do?"
Beaver
- Penguin
- Fox: "Maybe he's trying to enroll the imperial family member who visited recently?"
Iactus: "Is that grand magic? Stop talking nonsense."
Gonadaltes: "I agree with Iactus. Don't spout such dreadful nonsense."
Beaver
- Penguin
- Fox: "Can't we even joke?"
Lost in thought, Lee Han suddenly had a question and spoke up.
Gonadaltes: "By the way, Clzenberg. How do you even know this?"
Bulgasari: "Yeah. How do you know this? It's suspicious."
No matter how he thought about it, Clzenberg knew way too much.
'Does he have another disciple besides me?'
There might be hidden disciples in the fifth or sixth years—or even higher.
Students who hadn't graduated yet, trapped in the darkest, deepest corners of the school...
Iactus: "It's possible he just knows. Why are you interrogating him?"
Beaver
- Penguin
- Fox: "You're the suspicious one here! You're the one being shady!"
A fierce verbal assault flew toward the two least popular members in the <Watchers of Einrogard> unofficial popularity poll.
Lee Han had no choice but to take another step back.
'Tch. This guy. He's way too popular.'
Clzenberg: "Everyone, calm down. I was simply in a position to gather information."
Bakwantalana: "I've always wondered—Clzenberg, are you perhaps the Headmaster's disciple?"
Clzenberg: "Hoho. I'll leave that to your imagination."
"......"
Suspicious!
Lee Han felt overwhelmingly suspicious.
Of course, there might be a senior disciple hidden in the darkest depths of Einrogard that even Lee Han didn't know about. But no matter how he thought about it, Clzenberg didn't seem like that kind of disciple.
If he were truly the Skeleton Principal's disciple, he should have shown the proper level of resentment.
As the real Skeleton Principal's disciple, Lee Han vowed to expose this imposter's true identity.
'Ah, right. I almost forgot to ask about the <Star Guide> usage.'
Lee Han had intended to ask about Professor Paselet's midterm exam artifact.
Maybe one of the seniors knew how to use it.
Bulgasari: "Do you think Professor Kraer is still angry? Maybe it was just a misunderstanding?"
Iactus: "Oh, no. Just earlier, the professor doubled the bounty on Professor Verdus' head. He even put a bounty on the stolen artifacts."
'Hmm. Not the best time to ask, then.'
Lee Han quietly closed his book.
If he asked about artifact usage now, he might end up with several anonymous whistleblowers popping up.
-Done already?
The baby basilisk peeked its head out from his sleeve. Lee Han nodded in response.
"Yeah. By the way, why have you been sleeping so much lately?"
-I was pretending to sleep!
"Why?"
-There's a dragon around.
Unlike its usual curious and lively demeanor, the baby basilisk cautiously scanned its surroundings with wary eyes, as if checking whether Jowurin was nearby.
"She's sleeping over there."
- !
The baby basilisk darted back into Lee Han's sleeve as he pointed at Jowurin, who was dozing off in front of the lounge fireplace.
-Sniffle... You tricked me...
"...Ah, no. I didn't trick you."
-Sniffle... You did...
"Fine, I'm sorry."
Lee Han tried to placate the baby basilisk by slipping a snack into his sleeve.
Even as it sobbed, the baby basilisk nibbled the treat with small, eager bites.
"Besides, His Highness Jowurin isn't that scary."
-Dragons are scary.
"Well, sure, they might feel threatening by nature, but you've seen it yourself."
-Seen what?
"...All the things he does that make him seem less threatening?"
-...?
The baby basilisk tilted its head in confusion.
No matter how hard it thought, it couldn't recall Jowurin doing anything that made him seem less intimidating.
Grabbing Lee Han with his front claws, trying to abduct him into his nest, coiling his tail around him...
-Doesn't that seem dangerous?
"Nah. By that logic, you're dangerous too."
-Excuse me?!
At Lee Han's remark, the baby basilisk started sniffling again.
But from Lee Han's perspective, the two weren't so different. It was just that Jowurin was far stronger and had terrifyingly high magic resistance.
"...You get it now, right?"
-Hmph.
Despite Lee Han's lengthy persuasion, the baby basilisk eventually grumbled and nodded.
Maybe that dragon, His Highness Jowurin, was a relatively less dangerous one...
Hmm.
Having played joyfully all day, Jowurin had fallen into a deep slumber—but upon hearing Lee Han's voice in his sleep, he immediately stretched out a claw.
"Ghk!"
Jowurin firmly grabbed Lee Han to prevent him from escaping, then curled up tightly with him tucked against his chest. He looked like a child cradling a precious doll in their sleep.
Of course, from Lee Han's perspective, he had just been unceremoniously kidnapped into a dragon's nest. The baby basilisk whispered in horror.
-S-See?! He is scary!
"...This is just him playing."
-But you just went 'ghk'!
"You must've misheard. I was planning to sleep here tonight anyway."
Using psychokinesis to reinforce his body, Lee Han stubbornly insisted.
The baby basilisk gave him a skeptical look.
That sounds like a lie...
* * *
"...Hahk!"
A barren wasteland, empty of both sky and horizon.
Realizing it was an illusion conjured by the Black Book, Lee Han let out a sigh of relief.
He had thought he'd been kidnapped into a dragon's nest and was having a nightmare.
"So, what is it this time? A spell to sneak out without waking His Highness Jowurin?"
If so, that would definitely be useful.
A magic that could secretly undo a dragon's restraints...
But instead of teaching him a spell as usual, the Black Book lazily drifted through the air, dragging out the moment.
Lee Han frowned.
"What are you doing? If you're not going to teach me anything, send me back."
If the Black Book thought Lee Han would beg for magic, it was sorely mistaken.
He was already learning too many spells. And midterms were coming up.
If it wasn't going to teach him, that was fine by him.
Yet the Black Book continued avoiding an answer, floating sluggishly through the air.
'What's up with this guy?'
Lee Han felt uneasy at the Black Book's unusual behavior.
Normally, it would've been shoving magic down his throat as if every second was precious—so why was it acting so leisurely now?
'Just what...'
Lost in thought, Lee Han absentmindedly turned around.
And there it was—the dimensional gate engraved with the Golden Wheel pattern, the same one the Skeleton Principal had visited in his youth.
The very gate the Black Book had once urged him to enter, saying, 'The Headmaster also went in when he was young to learn magic, so you should go too.'
...Right in front of Lee Han's nose!
For someone who had assumed the gate wouldn't move if he refused to enter, this was nothing short of shocking.
'The dimensional gate... is sneaking up on me?!'
As always, the Skeleton Principal's minions had a creative knack for screwing with Lee Han.
Swearing to physically retaliate against the Black Book once he escaped the dream, Lee Han was forcibly sucked into the Golden Wheel-engraved dimensional gate.