Episode 04

The personal rooms given to each student were unexpectedly spacious and comfortable.

Even though the skull principal didn’t provide anything else, he apparently hadn’t gone so far as to take away the private rooms.

Of course, this was just Lee Han’s perspective, and at this very moment, the other nobles were probably horrified at the sight of such a bare, desolate room.

-Is… is this where beggars live?

-Did someone rob the room or something?

Thud—

With nothing but a desk, chair, and bed, the room felt even more spacious.

Lee Han organized the clothes he’d received, put his simple luggage in a corner, then took out a book.

.

A thin book with a simple explanation about the school, given to everyone before entering.

‘Mandatory subjects must be taken, the rest are free to choose. For the first month, you can try out different classes before deciding which ones you like…’

This school, while strict in some ways, was free in others.

Once you entered, the school didn’t care at all what you studied.

-A wizard is one who seeks the truth of the world. Even if seniors and teachers help, one must choose and walk their own path. Osu Gonadaltes.

‘So the principal’s name is Osu Gonadaltes.’

Having gained information he didn’t really want, Lee Han wrapped up and got up from his seat.

He’d heard he could go to the freshman lounge, so he planned to go have a chat.

• * *

“I want to learn alchemy.”

Yoner had come down first. Spotting Lee Han’s arrival, she waved cheerfully.

“Alchemy?”

“Yeah. I’ve been interested in alchemy since I was at home. My dream is to open my own workshop and supply the imperial family.”

“That could be pretty profitable.”

“Want to join me?”

“Hmm. Let me think about it. Alchemy business isn’t exactly easy, you know.”

Lee Han didn’t accept right away.

Just as Yoner had been interested in alchemy since she was young, Lee Han had always been interested in business.

Alchemy sounded fancy, but the empire’s alchemy industry was fiercely competitive.

Guilds of talented alchemists fought brutally for market share.

Giving out potions for free at the adventurer guild, spreading bad rumors about rival guilds’ potions, monopolizing all the herbs used for potion ingredients to block competitors, and so on.

The rumors were so vicious, it was scary.

‘Maybe something more stable would be better.’

Lee Han’s first goal was to become an imperial official, a civil servant.

Then and now, there was nothing wrong with being a civil servant.

“So what are you interested in?”

“Me?”

Lee Han was a little flustered by the question.

Because…

‘I was planning to take classes with little competition and easy grades.’

Regardless of academics, the grades earned here would become credentials outside.

Of course Lee Han cared about that.

“I was going to look around for a month before deciding. You should never make rash decisions.”

“Wow… That’s amazing.”

“??”

Lee Han looked at Yoner, not understanding what was so amazing.

Was there anything amazing about that?

“Most people come thinking about the magic they want to learn. Something that suits their tastes. But that’s not always the best way…”

It was hard to know what kind of magic suited you until you tried it yourself.

And forcing yourself to learn magic that didn’t suit you wasn’t very efficient.

A wizard seeking truth should be able to give up stubbornness and choose a better path.

But since people have desires, it’s not easy to abandon what you want.

“Is that the Wardanaz Family’s rule?”

‘Why does everything I say come back to the Wardanaz Family?’

Lee Han was dumbfounded.

He hadn’t realized it at home, but now that he was outside, he felt the weight of the family name even more.

Like the looks those Black Turtle Tower students gave him earlier…

Maybe the Wardanaz Family’s image was much stronger than Lee Han thought.

“This is bad!”

“??”

Gainando arrived late, shouting in a panic.

“What’s wrong?”

“I think my room was robbed! There’s nothing in it!”

“……”

• * *

Understanding Basic Magic.

A mandatory subject for any first-year entering Einrogard.

It seemed like only Blue Dragon Tower students were in this class; there were no students from the other towers.

“Everyone looks weird.”

“I’m hungry, I couldn’t sleep well, and the rough clothes are uncomfortable.”

Gainando nodded in agreement with Yoner’s words.

When he woke up early that morning, Gainando thought yesterday had been a dream.

He expected to be served warm white bread spread with freshly made butter and hot soup with chicken and spices.

But it wasn’t a dream, and what greeted Gainando upon waking was hard black bread, hard rice balls, and a cup of cold water.

‘I thought it was edible, though…’

That’s what Lee Han thought.

Since being born into the Wardanaz Family, he’d lived well, but originally, Lee Han had lived a very hard life.

-Uh… Did I read this wrong? Senior, if I work from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., when do I eat?

-Here. Energy bar. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner, so ration it.

-…Are you kidding me?

-Don’t blame me. I have to make do with energy bars too. Still, there’s a feast waiting at the end.

-If you say it’s instant noodles, I’ll kill you.

-…Sorry. It’s instant noodles.

-……

-But there’s also triangle kimbap…

‘Hmm. This is actually better.’

But except for Lee Han, all the Blue Dragon Tower students looked drained.

Just one day after entering school, they were already like this.

Creak—

The classroom was on the first floor of Einrogard’s main building.

A kindness to freshmen.

The higher the floor, the more likely freshmen would get lost.

“…Uh…?”

“Did we come to the wrong place?”

“This is the right place. Come in and take your seats.”

When the students stopped and whispered at the door, Lee Han was puzzled.

What was going on?

The answer soon became clear.

There was a troll in the classroom.

“……”

“……”

“I said come in, quickly!”

“Uh… um…”

The students entered hesitantly, faces mixed with fear and dread.

A troll.

Even students who had lived in noble houses all their lives had heard of this fierce and savage monster.

Seeing such a troll dressed like a professor, waiting, was naturally shocking.

They couldn’t tell if this was a classroom or a troll’s buffet.

“Let me introduce myself first. I’m Garcia Kim. I’m a half-troll. I know everyone’s scared, but you don’t need to be. I don’t eat people unless I’m very, very hungry.”

“……”

“That was a joke. Maybe I shouldn’t have said it.”

As the atmosphere got even colder, Garcia looked genuinely sorry.

“Now! Our principal always says this: Time is the greatest treasure. Let’s get started!”

Garcia swung his staff. The students who had been standing awkwardly were pushed into their seats as if swept by a wave.

“You are all seeds of wizards, bestowed with the title of steel. Some of you, the arrogant or the foolish, may have secretly tried using magic, but most of you probably haven’t. This class will teach you what magic is and help you find the magic that suits you. The path of magic is a rough and narrow road, and you must walk it alone, but I want to be your compass before you set out.”

At the troll professor’s gentle words, the students’ expressions softened.

‘He seems much better than the skull principal.’

“Alright. Let’s start with the very basics. What is magic?”

Princess Adenart answered in a cold voice.

“It is the act of changing the world by the will of the wizard.”

“That’s right. Changing the world with the will of the wizard. The question is ‘how.’ How do you change the world?”

“With the power of mana?”

“Very good. Magic power, mana… Borrowing this fundamental force to change the world. Everyone here should be able to feel magic power, and be aware of the magic power within themselves.”

Everyone nodded.

This was a place that only accepted those with talent, so they had all awakened to magic power.

“But that’s just the beginning. To use magic, you have to go further. You must summon magic power by your own will, weave it delicately, and finally create results. People often say you need spells, gestures, or reagents… but what’s really important is will. The will of the wizard. Don’t forget that. Of course, you’ll still need spells and gestures, since you’re still inexperienced. Now. That’s enough talking. You’re sleepy, right? Let’s try it ourselves. Take out your staff and gather your magic power.”

Wooooong—

The energy of magic began to fill the large classroom.

The young wizards each began to squeeze out their own magic power.

Lee Han also focused and began to gather his magic into his staff. The magic inside him flowed out and pooled into the staff.

“Now, while maintaining that magic power… Don’t lose focus! In that state, imagine an image of light. Your own image of light. Bright, warm, shining—anything is fine.”

This time, groans started to emerge.

Controlling magic was like grabbing and pulling the reins of a wildly bucking horse.

If you lost concentration for a moment, it would just scatter away.

“Keep that image strong… and shout. Anything is fine. Light! Brightness! Bright light! Any incantation that comes to mind is fine.”

“Light!”

“Bright light!”

“Light more dazzling than the sun, as beautiful as my glory!”

“Don’t use such long incantations! If you chant something too long at your level, it’ll just break your concentration.”

Focus your magic, turn it into your will, and finally, finish with an incantation for certainty.

Lee Han felt he understood what magic was.

Of course, that didn’t mean it worked on the first try.

Bang! Boom! Bang bang!

“Ugh!” “Ack!” “Ah…!”

Groans from young wizards who failed at magic erupted here and there. The troll professor smiled and swung his staff.

If you failed to cast, the magic you’d gathered could go wild and injure the wizard.

It was the professor’s job to prevent that.

“Don’t be scared just because you failed, don’t panic… It’s always like this at first. As long as you have magic left in you, try again!”

Second attempt.

Again, with the sound of explosions, the students groaned.

The troll professor laughed inwardly.

It usually took over a month just to master this simplest “illumination” magic.

Magic was that difficult.

But the professor didn’t intend to say that. That was something students needed to learn through experience.

“Again!”

Third attempt.

Now, some students began to run out of magic power and collapsed, exhausted.

Magic consumed much more power than expected.

More than half the students sat down, worn out.

“Again!”

Fourth attempt.

This time, almost all the students sat down. Only two or three with luck or good control remained standing.

“Again!”

Fifth attempt.

“Again!”

Sixth attempt.

“Again!”

Seventh attempt.

“Uh… Professor, I’m really sorry to interrupt, but do we have to keep going…?”

The troll professor, who had been shouting “again” without a care, realized something was wrong.

Usually, it ended at the fourth or, at most, fifth round, but this time, someone was still standing at the seventh.