Episode 89
Episode 89
"Move."
The more incompetent and unskilled the mage, the more they would flamboyantly wave their wand and loudly chant spells.
The weaker one was, the more forcefully they had to act in order to materialize their own mental imagery.
In that regard, Lee Han barely swung his wand, and his voice was barely above a whisper.
Though Lee Han himself didn't realize it, the effects of Professor Voladi's harsh training were clearly evident.
"...!"
Yoner was astonished by how naturally the assignments flew through the air.
Like paper birds, Lee Han and Yoner's thick assignments smoothly cut through the air, gliding toward the professor's towering pile of papers.
Even though it was just a simple act of making the assignments fly, Yoner couldn't tear his eyes away.
This was on an entirely different level compared to the stiff and jerky <Lesser Manipulation> spells he had seen until now.
'Focus.'
Lee Han concentrated his mind.
It wasn't just about inserting the assignments into the pile.
They couldn't get caught by the professor.
-Focus.
It was as if Professor Voladi's voice was whispering in his ear.
"All you have to do is slip the paper in between. A simple task."
Professor Voladi's voice in his ear grew clearer.
"But there's a barrier?"
"You can break through it. You've already learned how. Right?"
The voice became unnervingly clear.
This...
It wasn't just a voice in his head.
Lee Han shuddered in fear and turned his gaze.
Behind him, two professors were staring directly at him.
Yoner, meanwhile, was so tense he could barely breathe.
Professor Voladi spoke in a cold voice.
"Why are you looking away? Focus."
Instinctively, Lee Han turned his head back.
Then, the unfamiliar professor standing beside Voladi spoke.
"No. Maybe it's better to just give up and step back..."
"Ignore him. You can do this. Remember what you've learned."
"......"
Lee Han recalled the streak of bad luck that had plagued him this week.
No matter how he thought about it, his luck had been excessively terrible.
Had he been cursed or something?
'Of all people, I had to run into passing professors.'
He would've preferred Professor Garcia over Professor Voladi.
Lee Han seriously considered whether he should start looking for a luck potion.
"I'm telling you, that barrier is more difficult than you think."
"He can do it. Do it."
"Um, Professors... Sorry to interrupt, but could you maybe unify your advice...?"
Unable to bear it any longer, Yoner spoke up, but the two professors paid no attention.
Professor Voladi insisted he could do it, while the unfamiliar professor advised him to back off.
It was an infuriating situation, but Lee Han still managed to glean a few key facts.
'So there is a barrier.'
He had assumed there would be magic surrounding the floating pile of assignments that trailed after the professor, but he hadn't expected an actual barrier.
The unfamiliar professor continued.
"That barrier is designed to make a loud noise if anyone disturbs it. You might not sense it well, but there are multiple invisible layers of Mana bands rotating around that pile of papers."
Hearing this, Lee Han focused, trying to sense the Mana.
It was easy to miss due to the overwhelming Mana radiating from his entire body, but Lee Han's talents weren't limited to just Mana.
Beyond his unrivaled tenacity, his unshakable calculation skills even in moments of crisis, and his utterly unnecessary presence that terrified spirits, he also had an exceptional ability to detect Mana.
'I see it!'
When he concentrated, he could truly feel the Mana bands slowly rotating around the paper pile.
"At your current level as a student, it's nearly impossible to approach without disturbing the Mana bands. So instead of recklessly attempting this just because Professor Bagrak said so, it'd be better to wait for another opportunity. As you know, Professor Bagrak never considers what's best for his students."
'That's absolutely true.'
Lee Han wholeheartedly agreed, but what came out of his mouth was something entirely different.
"No, that's not the case. Professor Bagrak always has the students' best interests at heart."
"Is that so?"
Professor Voladi took Lee Han's words at face value.
Had Lee Han agreed, Professor Voladi would have concluded, 'Ah, I suppose I don't consider my students enough.'
But seeing Lee Han speak like this, Professor Voladi judged that his current teaching methods were indeed considerate of his students.
There didn't seem to be any other possible interpretation.
"Really? What a remarkably well-mannered disciple you have."
"That's illogical. Wardanaz. Do it. The target is walking away."
"I said no...!"
As Professor Voladi urged him on and the unfamiliar professor tried to dissuade him, Lee Han moved.
Fwip!
The thick stack of assignments flew smoothly, slipping through the gaps between the rotating mana bands.
Had there been even the slightest miscalculation, the mana bands would have torn apart with a deafening noise.
Without hesitation, Lee Han sent the next assignment flying. Yoner's papers also landed perfectly atop the pile.
Yoner instinctively clapped his hands. Professor Voladi gave an almost imperceptible nod.
"...That's impossible! How?!"
"I learned how."
"Yes. It's all thanks to Professor's excellent guidance."
Lee Han spoke without revealing any emotion. The unfamiliar professor looked even more impressed.
"Isn't this disciple simply too outstanding?! Pleased to meet you. You must be Wardanaz, right? I'm Professor Kirmin Ku. Normally, I'd shake your hand, but I wouldn't recommend shaking mine. Racial reasons, you see."
Professor Kirmin was the polar opposite of Professor Voladi.
With a cheerful, lively voice and impeccably tailored attire befitting a gentleman, it was almost strange to see him conversing so amiably with Professor Voladi.
"What field do you teach?"
"I specialize in Illusion Magic, particularly barriers. You just saw an example, didn't you?"
"!"
Lee Han's face lit up.
He'd wondered while listening, and it turned out the professor was truly an expert in barrier magic.
"In fact, you'll be attending Professor Garcia's class at least once this semester. I need to show students just how fun and delightful Illusion Magic can be."
"Illusion Magic is useless."
"......"
Lee Han was shocked by Professor Voladi's words.
To dismiss another professor's field like that...
Were they about to duel?
Yet Professor Kirmin simply ignored Professor Voladi's remark.
"Deceiving mages above a certain level with Illusion Magic is several times harder than with other magical disciplines."
"Right. I've said it a hundred times. But the mages you call 'above a certain level' don't even make up a handful in this vast empire. So, Wardanaz. Why were you trying to put those papers there?"
Lee Han hesitated for about a second.
Assessing the professors' moods, he considered whether a lie would work before arriving at the best possible judgment.
'Honesty is probably best.'
"I was late submitting my assignments?"
"......"
Yoner flushed with secondhand embarrassment. Professor Kirmin also seemed taken aback by the unexpectedly mundane reason.
'All this for being slightly late with assignments?!'
"My apologies, Professor."
Lee Han offered an apology to Professor Voladi as well, though the professor predictably paid it no mind.
"Why?"
"For being late with the assignments?"
"Were they my assignments?"
'I knew you'd say that.'
"I suppose that's true."
Professor Kirmin watched the master-disciple pair with a peculiar expression.
Frankly, it had been ages since he'd seen someone who could get along with Professor Voladi like this.
Whether professor or student, most people would leave after a few minutes of conversation, cursing, 'May the sun burn your damned vampire ass...'
"So what lecture was it for?"
"<Basic Imperial Geometry and Arithmetic>."
"Professor Alpen Nythen?"
Lee Han tensed at Professor Kirmin Ku's mention of the name.
In the face of friendship between professors, a promise to a student was insignificant...
"Well done. Very well done. Honestly, there's no need to do that professor's assignments."
"???"
Professor Kirmin Ku actually praised Lee Han instead. Even Professor Voladi unusually chimed in.
"Professor Alpen Nythen is a mage who used to work as a senior imperial administrator. He's more skilled at wielding power than magic."
"Did you know that bastard once slashed my research budget in half?"
The two professors gnashed their teeth and cursed the <Basic Imperial Geometry and Arithmetic> professor. Seeing this familiar dynamic, Lee Han let out a sigh of relief.
Not all professors got along well.
Especially mages who pursued pure magical research didn't view favorably those who held high imperial offices and were politically active.
The reasons were usually along the lines of 'purity of magic this and that' or 'temptation and corruption of the secular world that and this,' but to Lee Han's eyes, it probably came down to the latter group being able to meddle with the former's budgets.
Even mages capable of bringing down the skies and splitting the earth couldn't conduct research without funding.
In that regard, mages working in high imperial offices who controlled research budgets were enemies to all other mages.
-My lifelong intuition tells me! We must excavate this dungeon even if it means mobilizing the entire territory's budget. Call every adventurer nearby...
-Didn't you say the same thing last time? This proposal is rejected.
-I'll kill you! I'll kill you! You'd better watch your back at night!
-If you want to ambush me at night, you'll have to wait in line. There are already thirty-three people ahead of you.
...Such dignified conversations happened every year.
However, Lee Han's opinion didn't change even after hearing the professors' discussion.
Rather...
'Wait, he was a senior imperial administrator?'
As soon as he heard the other party was a former high-ranking imperial official, Lee Han's eyes sparkled.
What could that mean?
Didn't it mean he had powerful connections within the imperial bureaucracy?
And right at the top of Lee Han's goals was becoming an imperial bureaucrat.
Suddenly, Lee Han felt his resentment toward Professor Alpen Nythen melt away like snow.
Even the absurd amount of assignments now felt like the heavy responsibility of a high official bearing the empire's weight.
'I need to make the best possible impression from now on.'
"Wardanaz. I've heard rumors that you're exceptionally talented. You should be careful. Don't get dragged into becoming an imperial bureaucrat. If you're too outstanding, they'll send all sorts of temptations your way."
Professor Voladi, unusually expressive, spoke at length with a frown.
"Let's stop the jokes there, Ku. There's no way Wardanaz would walk such a trivial, anti-magic path."
"Ah, what am I saying. Coming from the Wardanaz family. There's no chance he'd become an imperial bureaucrat. Right?"
"......"
For the first time in a while, Lee Han felt cold sweat running down his back.
After being told by Professor Kirmin Ku to meet during the next illusion magic class (Professor Kirmin even recommended seriously studying illusion magic despite Professor Voladi's interference), Lee Han headed to meet his friends from the Blue Dragon Tower with Yoner.
Given the exchanged glances outside the classroom earlier, it was clear everyone had returned safely.
'What a relief.'
Now to get the ingredients and brew the potion...
"Everyone worked hard yesterday..."
"Wardanaz! Gainando's been kidnapped!"
"!"
The Blue Dragon Tower students gathered in front of the dormitory rushed toward Lee Han in a panic as soon as they saw him.
They all looked disheveled, as if they'd just been in a fight.
Startled, Lee Han asked,
"By whom? Don't tell me it was those White Tiger Tower bastards?"
"No! By a freed summon!!"
Lee Han stopped mid-sigh of relief.
Upon reflection, this wasn't a situation for relief at all.