Episode 90
Episode 90
"Everyone, gather around! Durgyu got captured!"
"?"
Apparently, it wasn't just Gainen who got taken. Lee Han turned his head at the commotion nearby.
In the courtyard a short distance away, students from White Tiger Tower were scrambling about in complete disarray.
"Did White Tiger Tower get captured too? Did those bastards deliberately throw Gainen in?"
Lee Han asked just in case.
He wondered if the enraged White Tiger Tower students had swarmed in and tossed Gainen after Durgyu got captured.
"No. Gainen just tripped over his own feet and fell."
"...I see."
While Lee Han and Joner were being lectured by the two professors about how "real wizards don't become bureaucrats but go to graduate school," students who had finished <Basic Imperial Geometry and Arithmetic> hurriedly streamed out of the lecture hall.
The lecture was so suffocating that once it ended, everyone would rush outside to gulp fresh air.
-Pull yourself together! You can't collapse now! There's another lecture coming!
-I... I think I'll just stay here... I need to sleep right here...
Students on the verge of collapse weren't exclusive to Blue Dragon Tower.
No matter which tower they were from, the lecture was equally tedious and torturous.
-But are Wardanaz and Maykin really okay? What if the professor notices?
-The professor wouldn't notice even if we replaced ourselves with monsters and sat in our seats.
-I guess...
-I'm not joking, this is serious. A few more lectures like this and I'll fall into eternal sleep.
-If the assignments are this bad, how are we supposed to handle the Midterm Exam? Would it be okay to turn in a blank sheet? If we get dragged to the Punishment Room...
-To be honest, during the lecture, I thought about setting a fire.
-Me too. I'd rather have escaped summons show up.
Boom!
Whether it heard the students' words or just because it was noisy, a summon actually emerged from the bushes.
Some students screamed in shock when they saw the Vine Monster they'd encountered before.
-Everyone, run!
-Escape into the building!
-Someone call the professor!
-No! The professor won't help even if you call! Run while you still can!
While some students fled swiftly, others, like Gainen, tripped over their own feet and fell.
The Vine Monster didn't bother chasing the fleeing students.
It leisurely wrapped up a few fallen students with its vines, lifted them, and then cheerfully departed.
"...Wait. Did Durgyu fall too? He doesn't seem like the type to trip."
"That orc friend from White Tiger Tower got caught trying to save Gainen."
"......"
Lee Han felt sorry for Durgyu. He got captured trying to help Gainen just because they were friends...
A White Tiger Tower student burst out of the main building, panting heavily.
"What happened?! Where's the professor?!"
"H-He said to handle it ourselves..."
"......"
"......"
At the absurd answer brought back by the student who had gone to fetch the professor, not just the White Tiger Tower students but those from other towers were also left speechless.
This is really too much, isn't it??
But Lee Han remained calm.
'They should've chosen the professor more carefully. They acted too hastily.'
You shouldn't just grab any professor in a panic and plead, "Help us!" You needed someone relatively friendly, someone with a conscience...
'Wait. There are no professors with a conscience.'
...You needed to ask a professor who was relatively friendly and still had some semblance of being a pushover.
That White Tiger Tower student probably grabbed the first professor they saw in their panic.
"What do we do, Wardanaz? What should we do?"
Without needing to say it aloud, the Blue Dragon Tower students all turned to Lee Han with desperate eyes.
Should they chase after them now?
Or find another way?
It was too difficult a choice for them to make on their own.
"Let's chase them. We don't even know where the professors are right now, and if we lose the trail, it'll be a pain to find them again."
Currently, the Summon's tracks were clearly etched ahead, and the distance wasn't too far. But if they gave it more time, the chances of losing the trail would grow significantly.
Moreover, Lee Han had one more reason to believe in their success.
'Perkuntra!'
As Lee Han called the name, the slumbering fragment of Perkuntra within him resonated in response.
Right now, the contracted summoner was invoking the spirit with rightful authority.
"Sing of thunder, O Spirit! Of thunderclaps and lightning! Even the bell-ringer guarding the ruined kingdom's belfry and the watchman of the drifting skiff upon the vast seas fear your name. I, your rightful contractor, summon you by due qualification!"
The Princess was startled as she watched Lee Han recite the incantation.
Being the fastest among them at summoning spirits, she could guess exactly what kind of spirit Lee Han was calling forth.
The incantation used to summon a spirit revealed its majesty and rank.
One this long and complex could only mean...
Crackle-zzzt!
Where Lee Han planted his staff, a flower of lightning bloomed as the spirit began taking form.
'Lightning spirit!'
Rowena, the knight beside the Princess, was even more shocked than her liege.
She could accept that he had contracted a spirit stronger than the Princess's—after all, Lee Han of the Wardanaz was a monstrously talented mage in his own right.
But lightning spirits were among the most violent and ferocious of all spirits.
Moreover, one requiring such a lengthy invocation couldn't possibly be weak.
'How in the world? What method did he use to contract it?!'
"Appear!"
At Lee Han's request, Perkuntra's avatar manifested.
A fist-sized sphere of lightning crackled into existence, sparks flying.
The students were baffled by its appearance.
Huh?
"???"
"...Ah! Right! A spirit's strength has nothing to do with its size!"
They had heard that the rabbit-shaped spirit summoned by the Thunderstep was also incredibly powerful.
Even if this spirit looked unassuming, it must surely conceal extraordinary power.
Otherwise, why would Lee Han have gone through so much trouble to summon it?
There was no way Wardanaz would make such a mistake!
The students nodded in understanding—but Lee Han wasn't convinced.
This was far too different from the Perkuntra he had first met.
Even if it was just an avatar...?
-What the hell? Did only a tiny fraction of you come?
-Do you forget... that I'm currently trapped by your command?!
Perkuntra telepathically snapped at Lee Han in frustration.
Of course, Perkuntra had told him, "Once you're out, don't forget to summon me! My abilities aren't just this puny!"
But that was obviously meant for days later.
Right now, Perkuntra was still under Lee Han's earlier command to "remain trapped here for a while" so he could escape the punishment room.
That order hadn't been lifted yet—there was no way he could be summoned freely.
The only reason even this tiny fragment of Perkuntra had managed to manifest was because he was such a powerful spirit. Under normal circumstances, summoning shouldn't have been possible until the command expired.
Though Perkuntra explained the situation, Lee Han's gaze remained cold.
-You don't trust me now...?!
-It's not that I don't trust you... But if every time I need help, something like this happens, what reason do I have to keep summoning you?
Perkuntra almost missed the mages of old.
Arrogant, ill-tempered, unreasonable brutes who threw their weight around without a shred of logic.
At least with them, Perkuntra could fight back fiercely and burn them to ashes.
But this young mage had the audacity to speak so politely while saying such infuriating things.
The worst part was that it was hard to argue against.
-Don't worry. I don't know why you called me, but this much power should be more than enough. Just watch!
'Do you really think so?'
-You said I can feel your emotions!
-No. Can't you even consider that? Let's respect each other's privacy a little.
Lee Han hurriedly chased after the traces along with the students from the Blue Dragon Tower.
Ahead, it seemed the students from the White Tiger Tower had also decided to pursue, as they were running forward.
"You bastards! Stop copying us!"
"That's our line! You guys get lost instead!"
"Can't even cast magic properly... pant pant pant."
And the outcome of this race was practically predetermined.
It was physically impossible for the Blue Dragon Tower students to keep up with the White Tiger Tower students, who took separate swordsmanship and physical training classes.
Lee Han looked at them with pity.
"You should've exercised more in your free time."
"Th-those guys are ridiculously fit... pant pant."
"I'll go ahead. Follow me as much as you can."
"No! Wardanaz! cough... If you go alone, those White Tiger Tower bastards will—"
'I don't think that'll happen.'
'I don't think that'll happen...'
Friends who knew Lee Han relatively well, like Rowena and Ashan, thought to themselves.
For any other student, leaving them alone with the White Tiger Tower students would be dangerous, but Lee Han was a different case.
Wouldn't the White Tiger Tower kids be the ones in danger if left alone with him?
"I'll be fine, so follow me once you've recovered."
-Why are you so physically fit?
Perkuntra wondered as he watched Lee Han sprint ahead effortlessly.
He didn't seem to be from a knightly family, so why...?
But before he could hear an answer, Perkuntra urgently shouted.
-Enemy! An enemy is hiding!
"Night's Veil!"
Lee Han instinctively chanted the spell. But no attack came.
-Where is it hiding? There's nowhere to hide nearby...
There were no large bushes or anything like that near this path.
To find cover substantial enough to hide in, they'd have to run further toward the mountain.
-Below!
"!"
Lee Han immediately leaped aside.
If it had been hiding underground, even if Lee Han had used invisibility, it might have noticed him through sound or vibrations.
But the Vine Monster wasn't targeting Lee Han. Bursting out from the ground, it grabbed one of the White Tiger Tower students running ahead.
"Angrago!! No!"
A goat beastman was immediately ensnared by the vines and lifted into the air.
-How was it hiding?
-Those mages must have given it some useless ability. This monster originally didn't have the power to seep underground and camouflage itself!
'This school isn't just full of crazy professors—even the seniors are insane.'
Lee Han tightened his grip on his staff and focused on the Vine Monster.
The captured White Tiger Tower student seemed to lose strength, going limp.
-It absorbs mana. Be careful not to lose yours... Well, you could afford to lose some, but still, be careful! If you get caught, it'll be a hassle!
-I wasn't planning on letting that happen in the first place.
Lee Han wasn't stupid enough to get caught by vines just because he had a lot of mana. He swung his staff, preparing to summon flames.
"Blaz—"
-NO!!!! ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!!!
Perkuntra, who had trauma from Lee Han's flames, desperately stopped him.
Until he was certain, he couldn't allow Lee Han to use fire magic under any circumstances.
-I can't?
-It's dangerous! You might burn the other students to death!
-Not for attacking, just to block its approach...
-Still dangerous!! No!!
'Is it really that bad?'
Lee Han was puzzled.
Just floating some fireballs nearby to block its approach seemed harmless enough...
-Normally, I could subdue it in one go, but right now, I don't have the strength for that.
Lee Han shot Perkuntra a betrayed look.
You said this much power would be enough earlier!
Perkuntra hastily continued.
-But I'll teach you a spell! You'll cast it in my place.
-Can't you just use it yourself somehow? I'm a bit worried about using it right after learning...
