Episode 289

Lee Han was so shocked that Professor Ku became flustered.

For a moment, he wondered if he’d misheard the score.

“Why are you so upset? One point really isn’t a big deal.”

“…That’s true.”

He answered in agreement, but Lee Han’s expression was nothing like someone who agreed.

He wore the face of a mage who had brought about the Empire’s destruction through his own mistake.

“Thank you, Professor.”

“Wardanaz. Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’m fine.”

• * *

Wow, you lost a point!

“……”

Lee Han was dumbfounded as he saw the flying, floating face of the Skull Principal.

It hadn’t even been thirty minutes since the test…

“You can lose a point sometimes.”

Could he, really? If it hadn’t been for that mistake just now, he could have gotten perfect scores on every test!

The Skull Principal tried to shake Lee Han’s heart and provoke inner demons.

Lee Han, who knew that intent better than anyone, kept his composure.

Losing a point because of a mistake was bitter, but it didn’t really change anything.

‘Don’t waver.’

That mistake doesn’t linger in your mind?

“Yes. I think you misunderstand, but I’ve never had the arrogant thought of getting a perfect score on every test.”

It wasn’t a lie.

Unless he was crazy, Lee Han would never set his sights on getting perfect marks in every subject.

His goal was just to do his best.

If losing one point stung, it was just because of his personality…

You don’t feel a surge of anger, or resent the professors who dared challenge someone like you?

“What insane first-year would think that way?”

I did.

“……”

Lee Han decided to stop answering and just ignore him.

The Skull Principal seemed disappointed, realizing Lee Han wouldn’t rise to the bait.

Such unnecessary humility…

“I’ve never acted arrogantly, Principal.”

There aren’t many things more arrogant than trying to take every school’s magic.

“……”

Lee Han made a face as if he’d been hit with a blow. The Skull Principal was pleased to see it.

Have you finally realized something?

“No?”

No matter how much you deny, it’ll only make things harder for you. Are you preparing well for Professor Verdus’s test?

Once he finished the transmutation magic test and enchantment magic test, this dreadful first semester would essentially be done.

The transmutation magic test didn’t seem too hard, so practically, enchantment magic was the biggest remaining challenge.

“I’m doing my best.”

So it’s not going well, huh.

The Skull Principal keenly saw through his intentions. Lee Han, realizing denial was meaningless, asked in return.

“How did you know?”

Because Professor Verdus’s test is for you to improve what you made, right? You already completed something in the first round, so obviously it won’t be easy now.

The Skull Principal answered as if to say he was asking the most obvious thing. Lee Han had to agree.

‘True enough.’

It was already amazing to have created a floating iron shield, and now, within less than a month, he was told to upgrade it one step further.

It was only natural it wasn’t going well.

“Then could you give me an answer in your stead, Principal?”

No? You should blame your past self for doing too well the first time. There’s a reason they say combat mages should hide thirty percent of their skills. It’ll serve as a lesson.

“That phrase is meant for battle situations…”

Still, I’ll give you one piece of advice.

As the Skull Principal cut in, Lee Han paused to listen.

What kind of advice would the Skull Principal give?

‘I doubt it’ll be useful advice.’

You’ve made a floating iron shield now, right?

“Yes.”

An iron shield that floats around the caster, automatically blocking incoming attacks.

He borrowed the power of various magic circles, but creating it at all was practically a miracle.

The goal?

“I’m… thinking of adding a reflection effect.”

Makes sense. Get rid of all other magic circles and just put in reflection.

“!”

Lee Han was taken aback by the Skull Principal’s words.

So, you mean now…?

“Then it’ll just become an ordinary shield that reflects, though?”

That’s fine. That alone is enough. Either way, its performance is getting better, right? The other functions are a bit reduced, but still.

The Skull Principal was serious.

No matter how determined a student was to learn every school of magic, there were limits.

Sometimes, you had to make choices and give things up.

And since Professor Verdus was the type to make up his own exams, there was no need to take the test too seriously.

Students could do what they wanted and simply insist.

Even focusing just on the reflection property would be a close call. Just finishing it would be an achievement to boast, so they couldn’t take off points for reduced functionality.

Normally, it’d be “impossible,” but the Skull Principal changed it to “barely possible” in consideration of Lee Han’s track record.

“But Professor Verdus will be disappointed…”

So what if Professor Verdus is disappointed? Why is that wrong?

“!”

Huh?

‘That… makes sense?’

Lee Han felt himself agreeing with the Skull Principal’s logic.

Professor Verdus…

Wouldn’t it be okay if he gets a little disappointed?

After all, as he’d set that standard himself, if he’s disappointed, it’s his own fault.

“I’m relieved, Principal, that you’d rather disappoint Professor Verdus than torment me.”

You really have a talent for illusion magic.

“That’s not true.”

Well, you did lose a point.

“……”

• * *

Professor Verdus had put down his equipment and tools and was just waiting for the students.

Anyone who knew the professor would recognize how rare this sight was.

Who was Professor Verdus, after all?

Although he was supposed to teach, he usually just tossed a few books to the students in class and told them to study on their own, while he focused on artifact crafting that interested him—a born artisan.

Yet here Professor Verdus was, doing nothing, just waiting.

Merchants who’d come to the school because Professor Verdus called them were uneasy and asked,

“Are you all right, Mage? Why aren’t you making anything…?”

“It’s the students’ test.”

“W-well, that’s true.”

The merchants cursed Professor Verdus inwardly.

He usually answered their questions with only “yeah” or “uh-huh,” only speaking when it suited him, and now he was even more annoying.

Regardless, Professor Verdus hummed as he waited.

It was because of what the Skull Principal had told him.

-Wow, this year’s first-years are pretty impressive. They did a good job.

-No way. They probably just made trash.

-…Well, objectively speaking, some projects are like that, but there were a few good ones.

-That can’t be true.

-If you weren’t judging the test, I’d have put you in the punishment room. Such a pity.

-Why?

-You’ll think about that when you’re in the punishment room someday… But there really are some good pieces. Like what Wardanaz made.

-Oh! He finished?

Professor Verdus brightened.

He had advised adding a reflection property to the floating iron shield, and it seemed Wardanaz had completed it well.

-…Didn’t you think that would be a bit difficult?

The Skull Principal held back his exasperation as much as he could and asked.

Of course, Professor Verdus answered boldly, as if wondering what he even meant.

-No? Why?

-Must’ve been my mistake to ask. Anyway, the reflection function is complete, so let’s evaluate it fairly.

-Wow! I’m looking forward to it!

Thanks to this, Professor Verdus was in high spirits.

Of course, Professor Verdus still found many flaws in Lee Han’s enchantment magic (Professor Verdus’s genius mind never remembered that Lee Han was a first-year).

But as long as there’s one special advantage that outweighs dozens of flaws, it was interesting enough.

Lee Han’s enchantment magic, which skipped many procedures by leveraging his abundant mana, had many shortcomings, but was deeply fascinating.

Clack—

As the door opened and students came in, Professor Verdus exclaimed happily.

“Submit as you arrive!”

“H-here it is, Professor.”

Seeing Professor Verdus in such an inexplicably good mood, the student submitting his work nurtured a small hope.

If he’s in this good a mood, maybe the assignment…?

“It’s still trash. What’s improved?”

“…Uh, maybe the speed increased a bit?”

“Next!”

One by one, students stepped forward, got cursed out by Professor Verdus, and were chased off.

Seeing this, Lee Han felt at ease.

‘At least if I fail, I’ll fail with everyone else.’

It’s more reassuring to fail with friends than to fail alone.

As Professor Verdus grumbled and chased students out, he brightened up when it came to Lee Han’s turn.

“You’re here? I’ve been waiting! Come on, show me!”

Carefully, Lee Han took out his iron shield and set it down.

All the previous magic circle formulas were erased, and it was now inscribed with a new reflection property.

Clang!

When Lee Han picked up a pebble and threw it, it bounced back in the direction it came from with a crisp sound.

It was a resilience that seemed to defy the laws of physics.

“!!”

“It reflects?!”

The students were astonished.

They knew Wardanaz, as class top, was talented at magic, but to complete a reflection shield after a floating shield?

‘This is…’

‘…It might work!’

The students who’d just been cursed out found themselves unconsciously looking at Professor Verdus with hopeful eyes.

No matter how st… no, fussy the professor was, even he would have to say “well done” at this point.

He really would!

“Where did the auto-defend go?!”

Professor Verdus shouted in shock.

“……”

“……”

The students glared at him with looks of contempt.

If a first-year completed a reflection function in such a short time, isn’t that worth praise? How could he react like this?

‘He’s inhuman, seriously.’

‘Even the mountain monsters might be more merciful than this man.’

“I removed auto-defend.”

“Why?!”

“To complete the reflection.”

“Why not both!?”

“It wasn’t possible timewise.”

“Why?!”

Instead of answering, Lee Han just smiled serenely. He didn’t want to argue with a madman.

“Should I give you more time?”

“Next week is vacation.”

“There’s a room in the Hall of Inscriptions—you want to stay there and finish it?”

At that, the students who couldn’t take it anymore leapt up.

“Wardanaz has plans with us, Professor!”

“If you keep this up, we’re really going to write to His Majesty the Emperor!”

“Why, why?! What did I even do!?”

Lee Han was touched by his friends’ camaraderie for the first time in a while.

All the fuss he’d made making sure they ate well hadn’t been in vain after all.

• * *

After finishing the transmutation magic test (just making one part of clothing turn to steel), and then the enchantment test, Friday night finally arrived, and the students of Blue Dragon Tower began to shout wildly.

“It’s over! It’s over! It’s over!”

“And the grades, too!”

Friends gagged the prince who tried to dampen the mood.

Pop! Pa-pa-pa-pa-pop! Pa-pa-pa-pa-pop!

Out the window, a variety of beautiful fireworks with all sorts of patterns were exploding in the dark night sky.

“The seniors must be setting them off!”

“Let’s answer them!”

The first-years ran to the windows and shot off all sorts of magic they could think of.

Compared to the magic sent by the seniors, it was pitiful, but thanks to the dark night sky, it was vivid.

“The fireworks are moving!”

The fireworks embroidered across the night sky began to squirm, then slowly turned into letters.

The first-years gazed at the message from the seniors with excited hearts.

What kind of words of praise would seniors they’d never even seen send to their juniors?

☆It’s Noisy☆Keep☆It☆Down☆

☆Seeing First-years☆So Excited☆Guess You Haven’t Learned Enough☆Second Semester’s☆The Real Thing

“……”

“They’re trash…”