Episode 88
Episode 88
"Why are you telling us this now!"
Perkuntra was startled when Lee Han, who had remained polite no matter what provocations and violence the spirit had shown, finally lost his temper.
Ah... no. You never asked...
"You've been dealing with students attending this school, yet you don't even know what's most important to them?!"
Missing one class shouldn't be such a big deal...
Perkuntra tried to defend himself, sounding aggrieved.
Having been here so long, Perkuntra roughly understood how mages were taught.
They gathered in classrooms and listened to professors ramble about this and that, didn't they?
Missing one or two of those lectures made no real difference. What mattered in magic was consistent effort and flashes of genius, not whether you attended a class once or twice...
"We have an assignment to submit. We absolutely cannot miss the deadline."
At Lee Han's words, Yoner nodded with eyes burning with determination, her red hair swaying back and forth.
Most lectures at the magic school were ruthless, but among them, <Basic Imperial Geometry and Arithmetic> was especially merciless.
-This is a magic circle design proposal I submitted to the Empire in my youth. Calculate the total cost required based on this design.
The insane professor had assigned the insane task of calculating how much money had gone into the thick magic circle design proposal by next week.
Lee Han and Yoner gritted their teeth, cursed the professor, and pulled an all-nighter.
Having gone through all that to complete the assignment, there was absolutely no way they could fail to submit it now.
If they did, the injustice would keep them awake for weeks!
...Are you really making such a fuss over one assignment??
When Perkuntra asked, sounding wronged, Lee Han and Yoner sharply turned their heads toward him.
They say when normally kind people get angry, it's terrifying. As the usually docile young mages glared at him, Perkuntra flinched.
A-alright. Assignments might be important. Sorry.
"Just tell us the time then."
After getting the time from Perkuntra, Lee Han anxiously looked up at the ceiling.
There was only about an hour and a half left until the <Basic Imperial Geometry and Arithmetic> lecture began in the morning.
"We need to hurry. Mr. Perkuntra, please guide us out."
N-no can do.
The two young mages glared at him with genuine murderous intent.
Perkuntra hastily made excuses.
I made a promise!
"What kind of promise?"
With the mage who summoned me, to stop students from escaping this punishment room! I can't show you the way out. I was planning to have you temporarily seal me here when you left anyway!
Lee Han felt utterly drained.
Even he didn't know how complex and bizarre the structure of the school's underground punishment rooms was.
Without Perkuntra's help, there was no guarantee they could escape in time.
His growing anxiety made Lee Han lose control of his emotions.
"Ah, why are you so useless! Then why did you even make a contract in the first place!"
......
Perkuntra's pride was slightly wounded.
Neither battles with dragons or demons, nor bloody fights with the Lich Headmaster had managed to injure Perkuntra's pride.
But the words of a young contractor had managed to wound it.
Without realizing it, Perkuntra began rambling excuses.
It's just because of this special punishment room situation—once you're outside and summon me properly, you'll see my true abilities...
"Understood. So how do we do the sealing?"
...Just order me to stay trapped here temporarily.
Lee Han did as Perkuntra instructed.
With that command, Perkuntra would be unable to leave this forgotten punishment room for some time.
"Let's go, Yoner."
Once you're outside, don't forget to summon me properly! My abilities aren't limited to just this!
"Yes. Yes! Understood!"
Don't forget! I'm telling you, don't forget! Are you listening? Don't you dare forget—
Swish swish swish—
Despite the urgent situation, Lee Han and Yoner tried their best to remain calm.
They moved from staircase to staircase, hallway to hallway, mapping as they went.
"It's blocked."
"Turn back. This hallway is completely sealed off."
"We'll have to go down two floors and try again."
Clack clack!
The Bone Summon came running from afar. Lee Han asked:
"Was there a path?"
Clackety-clack!
The Bone Summon actively expressed its opinion. It meant there was no path. Lee Han clicked his tongue.
Even with Lee Han, Yoner, and now the Bone Summon all searching for a way, progress was still slow.
This Punishment Room was like an ant's nest.
Among the staircases branching off the hallways, there was no telling which ones led upward. Some staircases connected to dead-end sealed Punishment Rooms, some led to winding downward paths, and others just made you spin in circles.
As he walked, Lee Han somehow found himself picturing the Skeleton Principal's face.
It might have just been his mood, but he couldn't shake the suspicion that the Headmaster had designed this place himself.
"Let's try that hallway again... Wait. Hold on. What did you bring back?"
Lee Han was stunned.
In his haste, he hadn't noticed—the Bone Summon, which had only had front paws before, had now grown significantly in size.
What was it carrying in its...?!
Clatter clatter!
The bones collided and tumbled against each other before finally snapping into place.
Broad rib bones, a long tailbone, and even the bones of hind legs.
Though it lacked a skull and one front limb, Lee Han could recognize the familiar shape.
It was a leopard.
'So it was leopard bones all along??'
He'd assumed they were human bones until now...
Now that he thought about it, no matter how unpopular the Black Magic professor was, he wouldn't have given a freshman human hand bones.
'I'm ashamed of myself for assuming they were human hand bones.'
The Bone Summon—no, the Leopard Bone Summon—confidently tapped its paw against the ground.
It seemed the increase in size had boosted its confidence.
Though, with no skull and missing a front limb, that confidence came off as slightly grotesque.
"Did Professor Mortum hide these bones in the corners of the Punishment Room?"
"Yep."
Lee Han nodded, but a sense of self-reproach washed over him.
Yoner was staring at him with a worried look in her eyes.
The meaning behind her gaze was simple:
-You have to keep learning Black Magic under that professor... Are you sure you're okay with that?
"...It'll be fine. Probably."
Lee Han turned his attention back to the Leopard Bone Summon.
At least now that it was bigger, it might be a bit faster.
"Go this way and check all the paths. Got it?"
"That way's a waste of time."
"!!"
Lee Han and Yoner startled, looking around frantically. Then the voice spoke again.
"Over here. Here."
A tapping sound came from inside a door.
Surprisingly, there was a student inside one of the solitary confinement cells lining the hallway.
"You've been making a racket going back and forth—why'd you come to the Punishment Room if you don't even know the way?"
"It's a long story. Why are you in the Punishment Room?"
"Long story here too. What year are you?"
"I just enrolled."
"......"
Suddenly, silence fell inside the cell. Lee Han was puzzled.
What's this about?
"You're not that freshman who got dragged to the Punishment Room last time, are you? The one who tried escaping through the underground passage and got caught?"
"Then are you the senior who got caught raiding the Headmaster's secret vault...? What did you do this time?"
Lee Han was astonished.
That Punishment Room classmate from back then was here?
"Can you keep your voice down? It's nothing to brag about."
"Why should I be ashamed? I ended up here after raiding a professor's vault too."
"......"
The student inside the cell was at a loss for words.
He couldn't fathom what exactly this person had done to end up in the punishment room for raiding a professor's storage, but it truly surpassed all imagination.
For a mere freshman—first escaping through the underground passage last time, and now getting caught raiding a professor's storage before being dragged to the punishment room...
At this rate, he might attempt to fly out of the school next time.
Yoner whispered to Lee Han.
"Who's that?"
"The senior who was in the next cell last time. He prefers being treated casually."
"It's not that he prefers being treated casually—never mind. What are you even doing in the hallway?"
"I was looking for an escape route."
"...At this point, nothing surprises me anymore. So? Did you find one?"
Lee Han couldn't answer. The student inside the cell grinned knowingly.
"Not so easy, is it? The way up from here isn't exactly straightforward."
"Senior. What if I free you? Any interest in escaping together?"
At Lee Han's suggestion, the student inside burst out laughing.
"Idiot! You've never escaped from inside, so you don't know what you're talking about. Do you even know what comes out if you open this door?"
"The lightning spirit?"
"...What the hell? How did you know?!"
The student inside stammered in shock.
"I ran into it on my way up."
"......"
The student inside staggered, dizzy. He couldn't even begin to imagine how Lee Han had managed to evade it.
"You... just how... No, never mind. Anyway, sorry, but I'm not planning to escape."
"Why not?"
"I get released in six hours."
"......"
It was a reason even Lee Han couldn't argue with.
"Then, could you at least give me some advice on how to get out?"
The answer Lee Han received was similar to last time.
The student inside sneered.
"Why should I tell you that?"
"...We're screwed."
"??"
"Last time, I bribed you with food. But this time, I don't have any."
Lee Han looked at Yoner with a defeated expression.
"Bribed?! What do you take me for?!"
The student inside flared up at the conversation.
He had genuinely been trying to impart senior wisdom for his junior's sake, but the way Lee Han phrased it made it sound like he'd just caved in because he was hungry.
Clatter clatter!
While they were talking, the bone leopard summon nudged Lee Han repeatedly. It was demanding its next orders.
"Wait a—"
"Hold on."
The student inside spoke up.
"Is that... a bone summon?"
"Yeah."
"...Are you by any chance studying black magic under Professor Mortum?"
"Yeah...?"
"......"
An awkward, heavy silence fell.
A moment later, a single sheet of paper slid out from under the door.
A hastily drawn, simple map showing the way to the exit from here.
"...Take it. Good luck."
"......"
Lee Han had obtained the map, but he felt no joy whatsoever. For some reason, an ominous future seemed to loom before him.
'Too late!'
Lee Han gritted his teeth.
Far down the hallway, the professor was stepping out of the lecture hall.
Even after running all this way, they were still late.
He wasn't the kind of professor who took attendance, but given his strict personality, if Lee Han went up and said, "Sorry I'm late, Professor, but I did the assignment," the likely response would be, "A student who can't even keep track of time—how can I trust you to submit assignments properly?"
Yoner exhaled sharply, his face filled with despair. He was panting heavily, his breath ragged from running all the way here.
"Lee Han—no. No. No."
Yoner, who had been about to call out to Lee Han, urgently grabbed his arm.
Lee Han had pulled out his wand and was aiming it at the professor's back.
"You can't do that!"
"Do what?"
"Attacking a professor is dangerous!"
"I'm not attacking him. I'm aiming for that."
Lee Han pointed at the floating stack of assignments beside the professor.
The pile of assignments collected from students during this lecture.
"I'm going to slip mine in there."
"...Is... is that even possible?"
"Yeah."
Lee Han spoke firmly and raised his wand.
Perhaps all the hardships he'd endured under Professor Voladi had been leading to this very moment.
Adversity strengthens a mage.
In this moment, Lee Han had fully internalized the Magic School's teachings—with his entire being.