Episode 999
Episode 999
The Yaksha Elder waved his arm as if annoyed. The Giants' mouths were forcibly shut.
-Come. I've kept it stored away.
"But the Chamberlain..."
-He came from the earth, so he must have returned to the earth. Don't feel sorry. It's no blessing for the dead to remain bound to this world.
"...?"
Lee Han glanced at the Death Knights riding undead mounts through the sky.
It sounded plausible, but in Einrogard, such words held little persuasive power.
Perhaps sensing that skeptical gaze, the Yaksha Elder clicked his tongue.
-Typical of a brat not to listen even when spoken to plainly. Fine. Just take your things.
The Yaksha Elder opened the tree stump as if it were a chest and pulled out the artifacts inside: a reagent pouch, a book with a white cover, and a cage containing the Hamster.
"......"
Just as Lee Han was about to feel moved upon receiving the reagents and book, he froze when his eyes met the Hamster's.
"...Wait, why are you in there?"
-You think I WANT to be like this?!
The Hamster, trapped inside the cage, let out an angry squeak in response.
A nearby Giant grumbled.
-That rat's picky. Other rats eat rotten stuff fine, but this one won't touch it.
-You imbecile race! You inferior species that should've gone extinct long ago!
Having endured the Giants' care while Lee Han was asleep, the Hamster was seething with resentment.
Clearly, the Giants weren't exactly experts in hamster care.
"I thought you'd have reverted to normal since the doppelganger ascended."
-So did I.
The Hamster, once a magic criminal, chewed on a grape Lee Han tossed him while grumbling. The Giants had left him feeling like his stomach was glued to his back.
-But I was wrong. That lunatic made sure the spell wouldn't break even if he disappeared.
The Hamster had underestimated the ancient Great Mage's persistence and perfectionism.
Who would've thought he'd set up a spell to self-sustain even after his own disappearance?
Had it happened to someone else, he might've admired that perfectionism—but unfortunately, it had happened to him.
"As expected... truly remarkable, isn't he?"
- ......
When Lee Han expressed admiration for the Crazy Doppelganger's magic, the Hamster nearly choked in frustration.
This brat had the nerve to praise it just because he wasn't the one suffering...
But the Hamster held back. Right now, the only ally he could somewhat rely on was this boy in front of him.
-I'll repay you, so just get me out of here!
"Huh? I don't know how to undo it, though."
- ...
Huh?
Only then did the Hamster remember that the person before him was just a second-year Einrogard student.
After seeing him face off against a Small World, Gonadaltes, and even a river, he'd momentarily forgotten—but realistically, he couldn't expect this kid to undo such magic.
'Why did I even wait for this brat?'
For a moment, the Hamster wondered if the curse had dulled his intelligence.
For an entire week, he'd believed that once this kid returned, he'd be freed—but now, he couldn't understand why he'd ever thought that.
"Didn't the others undo it for you?"
-Would YOU have done it if you were them?
The Hamster squeaked in disbelief at Lee Han's question.
The other mages present had been the Skeleton Principal and the Vampire Professor—why would they lift a curse for a magic criminal?
"That's unfortunate. Well, hang in there then."
- ...
Wait! Wait! WAIT! Don't just leave me here!
As Lee Han gathered only the reagents and book to leave, the Hamster frantically rattled the cage bars with a rapid taktaktak.
-I can still be useful to you! Think about it—without my help, how would you have overcome the doppelganger's World Terror?
"Hold on. Didn't you just urge me to kill myself?"
As the memory resurfaced, Lee Han's voice turned slightly colder. The Hamster grew even more desperate.
-...
That was just one suggestion! When you refused, didn't I offer another way?!
"I get that you helped, but I really can't undo this. Why don't you just ask the Yaksha Elder over there?"
-Didn't you inherit magic from that doppelganger? Just look at that book!
The hamster quickly recognized what kind of book the Crazy Doppelganger had left behind.
Most grimoires left behind by mages were written to organize their own insights and pass them down to future generations.
Some grimoires were written in simple characters that anyone could understand, while others were written in codes only specific schools could decipher.
Among these, the rarest and most powerful grimoires were those of the Spirit Book lineage.
Grimoires containing fragments of a mage's soul.
These books couldn't be easily read or opened like ordinary books. They couldn't even be destroyed.
They only imparted their magic to their chosen owner, according to the will imbued within them.
"!"
Lee Han also quickly understood the hamster's explanation. He already possessed a similar book.
The Black Book that the Skeleton Principal had (forcibly) given him.
"So this book contains the secret to dispelling the magic?"
-That's right.
"...But wouldn't it take a considerable amount of time to master that far?"
-Then you should learn it even faster! Don't waste time here!
At the hamster's grumbling, Lee Han made a sour face.
True, the Crazy Doppelganger's ascension had left a strong impression on Lee Han and given him a new goal.
But that didn't mean he was so easily swayed by the hamster's squeaking demands to 'quickly learn the magic' that he'd go, 'Alright! I'll go learn magic right away!'
He intended to proceed only in his own way.
'It's noisy—should I just leave him among the giants?'
'This punk, surely he's not thinking of abandoning me among the giants, is he?'
The two mages read each other's thoughts. The hamster squeaked pitifully.
-...
Come to think of it, you're still a student. It would take more time to teach you how to help me. Take your time learning it. And please, won't you take me with you? Don't abandon me among these lunatics?
'That rat bastard still isn't dead? The giants' patience is better than I expected.'
"!"
At the familiar telepathic voice from behind, Lee Han turned his head.
The giants were already fleeing in all directions, smashing trees and rocks as they went.
KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-BOOM!
-Waaah! It's the Headmaster!
-Run! Run! He'll take our alcohol and meat!
At their heated reactions, the Skeleton Principal chuckled in satisfaction.
The hamster wanted to flee too, but being trapped in the cage, he couldn't. Instead, he hid himself in the wood shavings.
Fortunately, the Skeleton Principal paid no further attention to the hamster. He had far too many pressing matters to deal with to bother with such trivialities now.
'I heard Batnaz has awakened. I knew you'd come here.'
The Yaksha Elder asked in a voice tinged with curiosity.
-By the way, is it true that you cast the Veil of Dreams over this entire territory?
'I understand the shock you must have felt.'
The Skeleton Principal pretended not to hear and ignored him. But the Yaksha Elder was persistent.
-To my knowledge, even covering a very small area with the Veil of Dreams is no easy feat. How did you manage to cover this entire territory? Did you borrow gold or something? But no ordinary amount would...
Unable to bear it any longer, the Skeleton Principal banished the Yaksha Elder far away.
The Yaksha race truly had a knack for grating on people's nerves since ancient times.
'Since I've acknowledged you, Batnaz, as my disciple, I should have explained things properly as a teacher. I formally apologize.'
"...No. I went too far with my words too."
As the Skeleton Principal apologized sincerely, Lee Han's attitude softened as well.
Truthfully, if he thought about it calmly, the Skeleton Principal hadn't acted out of malice...
Well, there was a little malice, but that was just because he was inherently a malicious person. At the very least, he had tried his best to come up with the optimal solution for this situation.
"I apologize for my insults too. Telling you to 'stay Headmaster until the end of the world' was a bit harsh."
...
That actually sounds much worse than what I said bef... No, never mind.
The Skeleton Principal felt the intensity of the insult had increased significantly but let it pass.
That wasn't what mattered right now.
'Good. Let's bury our mistakes together in these mountains and move on.'
"Yes."
'Then finish your exam as quickly as possible and come to my office. I need your help to persuade the Empire's wicked creditors.'
Having said all he needed to say, the Skeleton Principal immediately turned around and floated away with a bobbling motion.
Lee Han stared at the round, white back of the skeleton's head with eyes full of utter bewilderment.
What kind of...?!
Wait.
The Skeleton Principal suddenly stopped mid-air and bobbed back around.
"Is there something else?"
Don't send a letter of challenge.
"?!!"
"Wardanaz is in serious trouble!"
"Stop overreacting. Wardanaz isn't some weakling like you. He'll get up once he recovers."
"That's not it! He woke up but didn't even ask about the exams?!"
"...What?!"
The White Tiger Tower students, who had been skinning the wild boar they'd hunted, erupted into shocked murmurs. They were so stunned that they accidentally sliced through the precious meat along with the hide.
"Then what was the point of all our hard studying?"
"Damn it. I worked hard for nothing."
"......"
Giselle, standing behind them with a pocket knife in hand, glared at her friends as if she wanted to murder them. Sensing her murderous gaze belatedly, the White Tiger Tower students quickly backtracked.
"Now that I think about it, studying is for self-improvement. Haha."
"Right. Remember what Wardanaz told us last time? The real treasure hidden in the vineyard was the effort itself."
"I still don't really get that story..."
One of the White Tiger Tower students tilted his head in confusion. The tale Wardanaz had shared last time—about three brothers inheriting a vineyard from an old farmer—still didn't make much sense to him.
The old farmer had left a will saying, "I've hidden treasure in the vineyard," so the three brothers dug up the entire field. But no treasure appeared—instead, the tilled soil yielded an abundant grape harvest... 'Is he saying even parents should be doubted as a mage?' He wondered if the moral was that even a great mage's spellbook might not contain real treasure, so one should question things rationally rather than blindly accept them.
Of course, Wardanaz had gotten angry at this interpretation, but wasn't anger just part of Wardanaz's daily routine?
"We should pack some meat and visit Wardanaz. If he's not even interested in exams, he must be seriously hurt."
This time, even Giselle didn't stop her friends. The Blue Dragon Tower guys might exaggerate, but this time, it sounded genuinely concerning.
"What are you all doing?" Lee Han, passing by the 7th-floor open area, looked puzzled at his noisy friends.
His friends gasped in shock.
"Wardanaz! You're walking around like this?!"
"I've rested enough. I'm fully recovered."
Lee Han was holding a hamster cage in one hand and hamster food (a bunch of leaves) in the other. Though the pet was quite sudden, his friends didn't pay it much mind—they had a more pressing question.
"What about the exams?!"
"What exams?"
"The Blue Dragon Tower guys said you suddenly lost interest in exams... that you'd gone crazy..."
"We never said he was crazy, you bastards!"
The Blue Dragon Tower students hastily cut in, horrified. Where did that nonsense even come from?!
"Ah, I see what you mean. I didn't lose interest in exams—I just had something urgent to check first. There are things more important than exams in this world, you know."
"...!!"
His friends were stunned by this new version of Wardanaz.
Normally, if anyone dared say, "Aren't there things more important than exams? Like polo..." they'd get struck by lightning on the spot!
"Are... are you okay?"
"No. I like this new Wardanaz."
While the Blue Dragon Tower students whispered in shock (Giselle included), the White Tiger Tower students adapted smoothly. A Wardanaz slightly less obsessed with exams was far more appealing than the exam-crazed one.
"Wardanaz! We welcome this change! There are plenty of things more important than exams!"
"Exactly! What were you doing just now? Finding food for your new pet?"
"No. I had to finish the exams quickly, so I went ahead and took them."
Lee Han shook the exam papers inside the cage—<Magic Algebra and Arcane Geometry> test sheets, with a perfect score, not a single mistake.
"......"
"......"
The hearts of the White Tiger Tower students shattered into pieces.
In this world, there existed a mage who could score full marks without even being exam-obsessed.