Episode 887
Episode 887
"By any chance, are you asking because you have other thoughts in mind?"
With a probing tone, Yoner posed the question.
Had it been Gainando, he wouldn't have been able to hide his true feelings upon hearing such a question.
If even Jowurin had ulterior motives, she would surely fumble and fail to conceal them.
Other thoughts? Jowurin didn't quite understand what Yoner meant.
Jowurin feigned ignorance with an innocent expression.
If there was one thing Yoner hadn't anticipated, it was Jowurin's rapid growth.
During her short stay at Einrogard, following Lee Han around had drastically improved her social skills.
Never imagining that Jowurin could lie so brazenly and confidently, Yoner fell for it completely.
"Usually, there aren't many people around in the evening. Once the sun sets, even the mandragoras require less attention..."
Hahaha.
"..."
"Your Highness?"
Huh? Why is she calling me?
"......"
Yoner stared intently at Jowurin.
No matter how she thought about it, something felt off...
Ah! Jowurin was curious about that fruit!
"That's not a fruit—it's a trap disguised as one. It coils around any prey that touches it."
Wh-why on earth would they keep something like that in a greenhouse full of mages...?
Jowurin, who had thrown out a random question to divert the topic, was utterly overwhelmed.
* * *
"Hmm. Not too bad. A bit lacking compared to expectations, though."
"......"
"...???"
The friends walking with Lee Han from the greenhouse to the Blue Dragon Tower's lounge looked at him as if he were insane.
Among all the mandragora seedlings in the greenhouse, the one Lee Han was cultivating showed the most promising growth.
While his dedication and time investment played a role, the biggest factor was undoubtedly the owner's mana.
Just as Professor Thunderstep's garden plants grew rapidly under his influence, the mandragora had similarly thrived.
So when Lee Han said it was "a bit lacking compared to expectations," it was only natural for his friends to stare at him like he'd lost his mind.
Siana, who had accompanied them up to the fork in the path, whispered,
"D-Do you think Wardanaz has finally lost his sanity?"
"Wardanaz is just exhausted from attending too many lectures! Don't say things like that!"
"..."
"I can hear you."
Lee Han glared at his friends.
He'd been noticing it more lately—sometimes, his friends treated him like he was slightly unhinged. It was incredibly rude.
"I'm not making strange predictions. I just changed my staff."
As he spoke, Lee Han pulled out his staff.
One side was crafted from Black Magnetite, while the other was made from the Spirit King's Sacred Tree.
But it didn't end at just being made of sacred wood. Sealed within this sacred wood was a powerful spirit—the King of Fighting Tree Spirits.
'Surely, it must have the Authority of Life, right?'
"Lee Han?"
"Yeah?"
"I don't think I've ever seen you use a spirit's power before...?"
Yoner tilted her head in confusion.
Of course, given how busy their friend was, attending every possible lecture, it was possible he had used a spirit's power when Yoner wasn't around.
But at the very least, she had never seen him do it in her presence.
Normally, shouldn't a mage summon their contracted spirit, pay a price, and then issue a specific command to use its power?
"I didn't summon it or give any commands... but shouldn't the power manifest on its own?"
"?"
"??"
"???"
His groundbreaking claim, which overturned the fundamental concept of spiritology, left his friends bewildered.
"P-Priestess Siana might be right... Wardanaz seems exhausted from attending too many lectures."
"...No. Listen. Of course, under normal circumstances, you'd have to follow the standard procedure to command a spirit."
Had it been any other spirit, Lee Han would've summoned it first and then made a request.
But this tree spirit was a being completely sealed within the staff. It wasn't someone Lee Han could summon and make requests to.
If he wanted to use it, Lee Han would have to arbitrarily draw out and wield the power embedded within the staff.
"But I'm telling you, this spirit is sealed! Last time, it even complained that it couldn't properly use its Authority against me..."
"You said you released it last time, didn't you?"
"Huh?"
"Didn't you say you subdued it when it attacked you? The fact that it attacked means the seal was partially broken, right?"
At Yoner's question, their friends nodded in agreement.
Of course, the seal wasn't completely undone, but the fact that the spirit had launched an attack from within the consciousness realm meant the seal had weakened to some degree.
At the very least, the spirit's consciousness must have awakened, right?
In that case, rather than the mage arbitrarily drawing out power as they'd done until now, the correct approach would be to converse with the spirit and draw it out that way.
"......"
...Was that so?
Hearing Yoner and their friends' explanation, Lee Han belatedly realized his misconception.
When he carefully considered why he'd made this mistake, only one reason came to mind.
"Wait. This spirit's consciousness is awake, yet it's never once spoken to me."
"......"
"......"
The friends exchanged glances.
Then they quickly averted their eyes from Lee Han's gaze. Their attitude suggested they were hoping someone else would speak up first.
"Why aren't you finishing your explanation? I'd appreciate it if everyone could freely share their opinions."
"Uh... well..."
"It's just... um..."
"Maybe the spirit... forgot... haha..."
Having witnessed since last year that the Wardanaz family's friend didn't exactly have the best relationship with spirits, the students couldn't bring themselves to tell the truth and kept beating around the bush.
Eventually, Yoner spoke up.
"Um. Lee Han. The spirit might be... a little angry."
"Is that so. What a coincidence. I just got angry at this spirit too."
Lee Han gripped his staff and began channeling mana.
As his mana concentrated on the sacred wood portion rather than the black magnetite, waves of power rippled outward.
If it had been ordinary material, it would have screamed from being unable to withstand the mana, but the Spirit King's Sacred Tree was indeed different in capacity. No matter how much mana he poured in, it didn't budge.
However, just as the Spirit King's Sacred Tree was extraordinary, Lee Han's mana was equally exceptional in its own way. As he endlessly channeled mana, even the Spirit King's Sacred Tree eventually reached a state of mana supersaturation.
And the hornbeam spirit, which had been pretending to sleep inside, couldn't endure it any longer and let out a scream.
-"Aaaah! Aghogok! Eeek-aaak!"
"So you were alive. If you were alive, why didn't you say anything?"
-"I don't know what you're talking aaaah-aaak!"
Lee Han mercilessly continued pouring in mana.
He might have shown mercy to other spirits, but he had no intention of being lenient with this one that had viciously attacked him in the World of the Black Book.
The friends watching from the side shuddered at the intense mana swirling around them. To any observer, it would look like he was trying to tear the spirit apart with sheer force.
"U-uh, Lord Wardanaz. Isn't this dangerous?"
"Don't worry, Priestess Siana. The staff won't break from this much. The black magnetite is still connected... Besides, this spirit is an arrogant, cocky bastard that needs to be properly disciplined."
At Lee Han's words, Professor Voladi nodded slightly in approval, as if to say he was doing well.
Seeing this, Siana thought to herself, 'That's not what I meant...' Several students, including Siana, still had their spirits summoned.
While the students, being close to Lee Han, only shuddered at this spectacle, to spirits who didn't know Lee Han well, he appeared as nothing less than a tyrannical archmage of terror.
The low-to-mid level spirits were already scared enough to flee, and if rumors of this spread, wouldn't his infamy only grow worse?
Siana hesitated, trying to find a way to speak up, but ultimately held her tongue...
To be honest, even in Siana's eyes, the young man from the Wardanaz family was slightly frightening at the moment.
"Even the right words can be dangerous when spoken at the wrong time." Siana wisely decided to remain silent.
-ARGH! I was wrong! I was wrong! I admit it! I surrender! SURRENDER!
Lee Han didn't stop. The hornbeam spirit Saratan, whose entire body was burning with pain from the high-density mana, suddenly remembered how to speak politely.
-I was wrong! Honored Mage! I was wrong!
"Seems like you've finally realized your mistake."
-Yes! Yes! Please stop!
"Then why didn't you say anything and just stayed quiet?"
-B-Because Honored Mage didn't call for me!
"Haha."
With a laugh, Lee Han began pouring mana again. Professor Voladi faintly smiled at the sight of his student resolutely confronting the wicked spirit without hesitation.
-G-G-G-GAH! I was wrong! I was wrong!
"What exactly were you wrong about?"
-I-I should have come out first and called for Honored Mage! It was my fault for staying silent when I could have called for you!
"Looks like your memory is coming back."
-Yes! Yes!
Once the pain stopped, the hornbeam spirit trembled with rage.
Even though he was sealed inside the staff, directly harming Saratan required either a complicated process or high-level magic.
Yet this boy had subdued Saratan with a simple yet terrifying method.
To waste so much mana just to inflict pain—what a mad mage! If he grows any stronger, even the most notorious tyrants won't dare show their faces!
"Because of you, I couldn't grow the mandragora properly. How are you going to take responsibility for that?"
-I-Isn't it growing fast enough already?
"So you were watching the mandragora grow, then?"
-Oh no!
Saratan realized his mistake too late. He should have feigned complete ignorance, but now it was clear he had been awake inside the staff, watching everything.
-GGAAAAAH!
After pouring another wave of mana to inflict pain, Lee Han asked again.
"Alright. So what are you going to do about it now?"
-Huh? GAAAH! GAAAAH!
"I said, what are you going to do?"
-Ah! Ah! I think I know! I'll make the mandragora grow faster! I'll use my Authority!
"Finally, a proper answer."
Lee Han withdrew his mana, satisfied. Saratan writhed in pain, cursing inwardly.
He should have crushed him when he had the chance!
"Good. Let's go grow the mandragora then."
-Wait, please wait!
"Why? Do you want more pain?"
-You mad mage!
-That's not it! Plants like mandragora require a lot of mental energy, so ordinary Authority won't be enough to grow them. Just give me one day, and I'll produce a new sprout infused with Authority! If you plant it, the mandragora will grow instantly!
"Hmm. You're not just saying that because you can't do it, are you...?"
-No, absolutely not! Please believe me!
The spirit, who once held the title of King of Fighting Tree Spirits, desperately pleaded.
Lee Han nodded as if to say he understood.
"Fine. I'll trust you. But do you happen to know how to create the mandragora's leaf patterns?"
-Huh? Why would you care about such a useless... AGH!
"Never mind, then."
Seeing that the spirit didn't know, Lee Han decided to wrap things up cleanly.
He did pour a little more mana, though...
"Thanks, everyone. If you hadn't spoken up, I might have kept falling for this sly bastard's tricks."
"Y-Yeah..."
"Wardanaz. No matter what you do, I'm still your friend. Don't worry."
"That's right! Even if the spirit spreads weird rumors, don't pay any attention to them!"
"??"
Lee Han was puzzled by his friends' reactions.
"The hornbeam spirit is trapped in the staff, and he's the one who caused trouble in the first place. It's not like he can spread rumors."
"Ah... Well... That's a relief! Haha!"
"How anticlimactic."
Just as Lee Han was about to move on, he noticed something odd.
The spirits that had followed his friends out of the lecture hall earlier were nowhere to be seen.
'Did they all get reverse-summoned in the meantime?'
Since it wasn't particularly important, Lee Han simply continued on his way.