Episode 975
Episode 975
Truth be told, Diret had been particularly unlucky with lectures this semester.
Just last time, hadn't other professors come to attend his lecture together because of Jowurin's runaway incident?
Back then, Diret had thought, 'There couldn't possibly be a more difficult lecture than this.'
But today, Diret keenly felt why mages shouldn't jump to conclusions.
There could indeed be lectures even more challenging than that one!
"I'm truly sorry, Senior."
Lee Han apologized with a face full of guilt.
Truthfully, Lee Han hadn't brought the Crazy Doppelganger along because he wanted to. Who would willingly bring such a person to a lecture hall?
But the Crazy Doppelganger had stubbornly insisted.
He claimed he needed to personally guide and supervise from the side for the achievement of Small World Magic.
'Is this some new form of pressure?'
Lee Han couldn't help but suspect the Crazy Doppelganger had changed tactics.
If the methods used until now no longer worked, perhaps he was shifting to psychological pressure...
The thought was horrifying.
He'd follow to Professor Garcia's lectures, to Professor Verdus's lectures, and wouldn't he follow to Professor Bendozol's lectures too?
'Wait. Actually, that doesn't seem so bad.'
Upon reflection, the professors he'd be following weren't that terrifying. Lee Han realized he'd chosen poor examples.
"No... it's fine. It's not like you junior came along willingly either."
Having regained his composure, Diret took the hands offered by Lee Han and Yukveltire and stood up.
Yukveltire's gaze as she looked at her rising friend was far more generous than before.
"You should've told me if it was something like this."
"Huh?"
"So all this was preparation to lure the Grand Mage."
If all these seemingly pointless preparations were actually meant to draw in the Grand Mage's doppelganger, it made perfect sense.
Not for some trivial lecture, but to uncover the secrets of magic.
Yukveltire sincerely apologized for misunderstanding her friend's true intentions.
"That's not it?"
"...?"
"No. I just prepared this to congratulate my junior."
"......"
Yukveltire coldly let go of his hand. Lee Han glared at the back of this wicked senior's head.
"Should we chase him away, that person?"
"Leave it. He'll leave on his own anyway."
True to Diret's words, Yukveltire began hastily packing her bag.
Having repaid her debt by painting the entire wall with darkness, she was now ready to leave.
She might have stayed to uncover magic from the Grand Mage's doppelganger, but she certainly had no intention of watching Diret teach black magic to his junior...
"Indeed."
"!"
While the three were talking, the Crazy Doppelganger had already risen and reached the front of the lecture hall.
After seeing the <Crow's Evil Eye> spell written on the board, the Crazy Doppelganger looked at Diret.
"Magician. Did you create this spell?"
"Uh... ah, y-yes."
Diret found himself stumbling over his words without realizing it.
Though the being before him was a despicable mage who had kidnapped his junior, strictly speaking, he was also the founding ancestor of the Einrogard Black Magic School.
When such a person asks, "Did you write this black magic?", even Diret couldn't help but instinctively tense up.
Nervousness before one's professor is the sad fate of all students.
"Clever, but the finish is sloppy. There's no need to fix your target in your sight. Expand your sixth sense based on your five senses. Never forget that mana is another sensory organ for a mage."
The <Crow's Evil Eye> that Diret had prepared for his junior was a spell created to overcome the limitations of the poison-based spells from the traditional black magic school.
A spell that converts physical poison into immaterial curses, then uses the mage's vision as a medium to strike the enemy.
"If I master this, I won't have to struggle to land poison on Yukvel... I mean, other enemies."
But the Crazy Doppelganger had already noticed the unrefined aspects of this spell.
There was no need to confirm an enemy's position solely through sight.
Just as the Beast used its whiskers as sensory organs, a mage could utilize the world's mana as their own sensory extension.
There was only one reason why they didn't.
The mage's own fear.
"If you weaken your magic out of fear of poisoning others, you are betraying the very essence of being a mage."
"......"
"I'll keep that in mind..."
Diret, struck where it hurt, could only nod without retorting. The criticism was too sharp to provoke anger—it was undeniably correct. When creating magic, one must be prepared to wield it. Preemptively lowering its potential out of fear of danger benefits no one.
"But, Senior. If we modify it the way you suggested, wouldn't the difficulty increase?"
"Naturally."
There was a significant difference in difficulty between casting a curse by sight alone and mobilizing all other senses to do so.
"So... this is a spell I have to learn, right?"
"Yes."
"Honestly, I think the original version is better..."
Lee Han tentatively tried to reason with the Crazy Doppelganger, but the teacher coldly ignored him. No amount of persuasion—whether about needing stepping stones or promising to master it later—worked.
"Diret does have a fragile side. Without it, he could become a much greater mage."
"......"
"Aren't you leaving, Senior?"
Lee Han was baffled when Yukveltire, whom he had assumed had left after packing her bag earlier, was now seated and listening to the lecture.
What is wrong with this person? Really?
Originally, the Crazy Doppelganger had intended to quietly guide his disciple within the Small World, but Einrogard's passionate students wouldn't leave an outstanding teacher alone.
To be precise, Yukveltire wouldn't allow it. Diret and Lee Han glared at the silver-haired mage as if they wanted to kill her.
"Indeed. So, in that case, using a person's shinbone and collarbone as reagents would be ideal?"
"Correct. But that presents another problem."
Lee Han, listening nearby, muttered under his breath.
"You'd get arrested under Imperial law."
Yukveltire and the Crazy Doppelganger ignored him. Only Diret scribbled something with his quill.
That joke... I liked it.
"Senior!"
Lee Han looked at him with admiration.
Truly, the Empire's greatest senior wasn't just anyone.
"May I ask one more thing?"
"No."
"!"
The Crazy Doppelganger's unexpected refusal sent shockwaves across Yukveltire's face.
"Why not?"
"Mage. Know your place. I answered your questions out of consideration because you are my disciple's peer—but royalty is not your teacher."
The Crazy Doppelganger drew a line.
The question about Ahrack's Red Poison had already been written on the board, and since she was a fellow student, he had answered generously.
But strictly speaking, such questions were inherently impolite.
Shouldn't a mage direct their questions to their own master?
The Crazy Doppelganger glanced at Lee Han and asked,
"I wonder what kind of master this mage has, allowing their disciple to seek answers elsewhere."
"Should I summon them?"
For the first time in today's lecture, Lee Han felt a thrill. Diret seemed to feel the same—his wings twitched slightly.
Honestly, I want to see this!
"Never mind. Whoever it is, they must be incompetent."
What a waste!
While Lee Han sulked, Yukveltire, who had returned to her seat, whispered behind him.
"Junior of the Wardanaz family."
"?"
"Ask how to withstand the intense external pressure generated within a Distorted Dimension."
"...You were speaking in the imperial language just now, right?"
Lee Han panicked, wondering if Yukveltire had spoken in ancient giant tongue or Verdus language.
"What are you talking about?"
"Just joking... never mind. So what did you say?"
Lee Han gave up on explaining the joke.
How could one explain humor to a small golem that didn't even have a heart (he'd thought it did, but apparently it didn't)?
"One of the hazards when casting dimensional magic is the Distorted Dimension."
While any advanced mage would be introduced to the concept of multiple dimensions, it was also a concept that became increasingly tricky and headache-inducing the deeper one delved into it.
The scope of dimensions was fundamentally too vast.
While even commoners knew about realms like the Spirit Realm or Undead Realm as different dimensions, even theoretically unobservable parallel worlds fell under the concept of dimensions.
Even without going that far, there were many strange and twisted dimensions among them.
Some contained no souls at all, some had no volume whatsoever, some existed purely as force...
Among these, the malignant dimensions that didn't functionally serve as worlds but only exerted influence on other dimensions were called Distorted Dimensions.
Like hidden reefs that dimensional travelers or investigating mages had to avoid.
When encountering mages trying to visit other dimensions, these would either compress or distort them soul and all.
'Wait. Why am I learning this?' Lee Han, who'd been taking notes by attribute, grew confused.
Why was he learning this?
He wasn't even majoring in dimensional studies!
"If you understand, hurry up and ask your question."
"Understood."
Lee Han nodded.
Then he said to the Crazy Doppelganger:
"Master. May I practice the <Crow's Evil Eye> spell now?"
"!?!"
Yukveltire's pupils trembled with betrayal. Watching this, Diret thought to himself: 'Why is she feeling betrayed...?' This wasn't a situation that warranted such feelings at all...!
Thanks to a certain archmage, the difficulty had increased, but <Crow's Evil Eye> was still an excellent spell.
Most importantly, despite interference from that crazy person, the fact it stopped at 4th Circle proved its excellence.
Even when the difficulty suddenly increased, it could somehow be resolved within 4th Circle parameters. 'Now this is what makes an excellent spell.'
Feeling pleased with this gain, Lee Han suddenly realized something was off...
Come to think of it, was there any reason to be happy about a 4th Circle spell?
'Have I been affected by mental magic?!' No matter how he thought about it, this was the only explanation that made sense. Lee Han circulated his mana to check his condition.
"What's wrong, junior?"
"I suspect I might have been affected by mental interference magic."
"What?! Why?!"
Diret was startled.
A junior bringing up such a matter wasn't something to ignore.
What signs could have prompted this?
"You just practiced <Crow's Evil Eye> without any complaints earlier."
"...That's normal."
"?!!?!"
This time it was Lee Han who was shocked, but Diret calmly turned his head.
This was undeniable.
Glancing aside, he saw that even though class had ended, his unfortunate friend was still sitting there.
"Yukveltire. Let's go."
"But I still have questions left."
"......"
Diret took a deep sigh.
Then with an expression that clearly showed how much he didn't want to do this, he spoke to Lee Han:
"Junior. Could I ask you for one favor?"
"Of course."
Lee Han readily agreed, then immediately called the Crazy Doppelganger:
"Master. What methods exist to withstand the powerful external pressure generated in Distorted Dimensions?"
"Quite a useful question after so long. Harnessing the power of infinite outer dimensions is a desire all mages share. However, that power..."
As the Crazy Doppelganger immediately launched into an explanation, Yukveltire blinked in surprise.
Seeing his friend's unexpected reaction, Diret asked curiously:
"What's wrong? Wasn't this the question you wanted?"
"...Why does the Wardanaz junior listen to you but not to me?"
"......"