Episode 270

Episode 270

One student frantically tore off his cloak to put out the fire and shook it up and down.

However, there were more crimson feathers than expected. As the number of feathers increased like a rainstorm, the students screamed.

“Take shelter under the shade!”

“Which shade!? Hiding under a tree won’t do anything!”

Shhhhhh!

Professor Alpen swung his staff and cast a huge veil above the students’ heads.

Crimson feathers struck the veil with sharp sounds.

“Th-thank you!”

“Phoenixes are mischievous creatures in many ways. Since they like playing pranks, you’d better be careful.”

‘If it plays a prank twice, we’ll get burned.’

Lee Han held in his disbelief and looked up.

Unaware of what was happening below, the phoenix was shaking its body way up in the sky and scattering more feathers.

The students looked at each other and then threw the accessories they had made to commemorate the phoenix onto the ground.

“Told you, Wardanaz said not to commemorate the phoenix and to study instead.”

“How could we have known this would happen!”

• * *

“Cough. The phoenix appeared? What bad luck.”

Professor Mortum clicked his tongue at the news of the phoenix appearing.

Freshmen already had enough to do, and now a phoenix appeared on top of that.

“It set a bit of fire, but that’s all. It stayed still otherwise.”

Gainando seemed pleased with the phoenix and tried to excuse it.

‘Isn’t the fire-setting itself a problem?’

“Cough. Maybe for now. But the personality of mystical beasts is usually eccentric. They may seem fine now, but who knows when they’ll turn fickle?”

Lee Han had already seen the scene of flames catching here and there just from the phoenix shaking its feathers a few times.

Naturally, he couldn’t help but worry.

“What do you think the phoenix will do?”

“Cough. You still don’t understand. Mystical beasts are a disaster just by existing. They’re like storms that don’t know how to control their power. What if it flies in to hug you? Your whole body would be set ablaze!”

As Professor Mortum said, mystical beasts with great power brought destruction and chaos wherever they went, regardless of their own intentions.

Unable to control their strong power, they couldn’t help but harm their surroundings.

If, on top of that, they acted on eccentric whims that people couldn’t comprehend…

“Cough. Compared to that, aren’t undead so beautiful? Beautifully controlled and predictable.”

“……”

“……”

Lee Han and his friends were speechless.

‘Even if it’s a bit dangerous, a phoenix seems better than the undead.’

‘Shh. The professor will get upset.’

“So how is your project going?”

“Yes.”

This semester, the types of dark magic Lee Han and his friends learned were mainly curses, poisons, and bones.

They had the common trait of being the most unpopular types of magic anywhere.

-Cough. I won’t give out any extra assignments before the final exam.

-Hooray! -Cough. Instead, you’ll make a simple talisman.

-……

Talisman.

Originally, it was used by splitting an ornament in two and sharing it, so that the two people could verify their identity by matching the pieces if they met later…

In dark magic, talisman had a different meaning.

-Watch carefully.

Professor Mortum split a bone plaque in half. Strongly cursed energy emanated from one side.

Clack!

But as soon as he put the talisman back together, the cursed energy vanished instantly.

-One side holds the power of curses, the other the power of undoing curses. When combined, it’s an ordinary ornament, but as soon as they are split, the power is revealed.

Curse magic was relatively easy and quick to cast, but a skilled mage had too many ways to block it.

Poison magic was similar. If the poison was successfully delivered, it could be deadly, but as it was magic-based, an experienced mage could detoxify easily.

To make up for such weaknesses, dark mages usually carried around stronger curses and stronger poisons.

Using pre-prepared items naturally boosted their power severalfold.

In dark magic, talismans were items to safely store such things.

The problem…

“Kehek. Keh. Kehk.”

Raphadael coughed and teared up at the acrid smoke.

A lump of curse leaked out of the magic circle and traveled through the air.

“Achoo. Achoo! Achoochoo!!”

“Ah. Can’t you sneeze more quietly! You think you own the whole workshop?!”

When Gainando complained, Raphadael glared in frustration, but he didn’t have the energy to retort.

“You little… Achoo! Achoo!!”

“Honestly, the ones who lack skill get angrier. Right, Lee Han?”

Gainando, who had been boastful so far, suddenly changed his expression.

“…Le-Lee Han. My body…I can’t move my body…”

“You’ve been poisoned.”

Lee Han said as if pitying him.

Raphadael was working on a curse talisman, Gainando on a poison talisman, and none of this was particularly easy.

They had to thoroughly soak the talisman in a highly condensed curse or poison for storage, which meant even mages could get hurt if they weren’t careful.

Imirg carefully dipped half of a bone medal into a bronze basin. With a bubbling sound, he could feel the curse transferring into the bone.

‘Uuugh.’

As one who inherited the blood of giants, his magical resistance was higher than others, but that didn’t mean curses or poisons were not frightening.

Anyone human would be afraid of curses and poisons.

“Ugh… ughhh.”

Imirg shuddered as he took out half of the bone medal with thick tongs, afraid the curse would transfer at the slightest contact.

Sizzle!

Imirg finally managed to attach the other half of the bone medal and breathed a sigh of relief.

“…Aaaaagh!!”

“?!”

Lee Han was startled and looked at Imirg.

“What’s wrong? What happened?”

“Bare—bare hands! Bare hands!”

“Oh. Is that all.”

Seeing his friend being so calm about it, Imirg wondered if he misunderstood.

But even upon a second look, his Wardanaz friend was dipping his hand directly into the bronze basin filled with curses.

“This much is fine.”

“…????”

“It’s okay. I won’t die.”

“N-no.”

Imirg was flustered, glancing at Raphadael and Gainando collapsed behind the table.

They looked like they could easily die…

Regardless of whether Imirg looked at him like a monster or not, Lee Han focused on his own work.

Lee Han wasn’t using his bare hands just for show, ignoring gloves and tongs.

Talisman-making was much more difficult than expected.

Bone was a good medium for storing curses or poison, but you couldn’t just dip and stir it a few times and expect it to take.

To make a proper talisman required utmost care.

You had to apply various reagents to the bone to help it absorb the curse, soak it in the curse, check if the bone was drawing in the curse properly, and if not, use magic to force the power into the bone…

This process of applying curses layer by layer like carefully layering paint required persistent patience, not flashy inspiration.

‘And the more I do, the more I understand why dark magic is so unpopular.’

Lee Han tried to feel the flow of the curse by holding the bone piece with his bare hands.

With gloves or tongs, it was hard to sense the flow.

“Ugh… Lee Han. Get me my coat, will you?”

Gainando, who had barely managed to get up from the floor, pointed to the coat beside the chair.

Lying down paralyzed left him feeling three times as cold.

“Here.”

“Thanks… Ack, I can’t see! I can’t see in front of me!”

“Whoops. Sorry.”

• * *

When the time came, Professor Mortum opened the workshop door and returned.

“Cough. Is everyone finished?”

“Yes.”

“Yup.”

Lee Han and his friends nodded and handed over their talismans. Their faces had already turned pale in that short time.

“Let’s see…”

Professor Mortum split Gainando’s talisman. A rather decent poisonous energy wafted out.

As he snapped his fingers, the poison swirling out of the talisman spun in a ring and flowed back inside.

“Cough. Not bad.”

“…Really!?”

Gainando was so shocked he nearly fell over. He barely caught himself, grabbing Raphadael’s arm, and Raphadael looked at him with disgust.

“Why are you so surprised?”

“I, I’ve never heard ‘not bad’ in any other class before…”

Gainando replied sheepishly.

Since he had never received compliments in other classes, Professor Mortum’s praise startled him.

Then Professor Mortum, rarely, gave a kind smile.

“Cough. A mage can’t be skilled in all magic.”

“?”

“?”

Imirg and Raphadael glanced at Lee Han. But Professor Mortum didn’t notice and continued.

“Your talent lies in dark magic. There’s no reason for a dark mage to envy other kinds of magic as long as they excel in their field. Cough. Wouldn’t you agree?”

“Yes!”

“You just don’t study at all, Prince.”

Raphadael said sarcastically.

Since students who didn’t do well in White Tiger Tower classes had been forced to learn from Lee Han, Raphadael knew very well how much Gainando hated studying.

Even students at White Tiger Tower were forced to sit down, but Gainando tried to escape on his own.

“Pipe down. Are you jealous?”

“What a lunatic…”

Raphadael was dumbfounded at Gainando, who was boasting over a single talisman.

“Cough. This one…”

Professor Mortum split Lee Han’s talisman.

After a moment of silence, he looked over at Gainando. Realizing what was happening, Gainando burst out.

“Professor, please don’t compare me with Lee Han, just judge objectively!”

• * *

Professor Lightningstep looked at the mountain peak with curiosity.

The phoenix, tired of scattering feathers from the sky, had flown to a mountain peak. Thanks to that, a crimson halo shined behind the peak.

“Amazing. A phoenix is not something you see every day.”

Lee Han glared at his friends, who avoided his gaze.

“You’re very lucky. Phoenixes aren’t creatures you can meet just because you want to.”

‘There’s a logical fallacy in that statement.’

Lee Han found Professor Lightningstep’s remark hard to accept.

By that logic, the King of Frost Giants was also not someone you could meet just because you wanted to, but Lee Han hadn’t considered himself lucky for that.

No matter how rare it was, a mystical beast that rained fire from the sky was never good news.

“Enough talk about the phoenix, let’s start today’s lesson.”

Professor Lightningstep gestured towards several large cauldrons. The students were puzzled, as these cauldrons were seen more in alchemy classes.

What in the world?

“Today’s task isn’t that difficult. It’s actually much easier than usual. Since you’re suffering because of finals, I thought I’d let you relax a bit…”

Lee Han wasn’t about to be fooled.

‘What in the world is he planning.’

Thud!

“All right. Come here. Cerberus.”

The students froze at the sight of a giant three-headed dog.

The middle head of Cerberus surveyed the students and flashed its eyes.

-Woof!

“So… we just have to defeat it?”

Lee Han asked instinctively, and Professor Lightningstep replied as if he couldn’t believe the question.

“Don’t say absurd things. Would I make you do something like that?”

“Right? Haha.”

Lee Han let out a sigh of relief inside.

He thought they would have to fight!