Episode 328

Episode 328

‘Wait a minute. How many years has this project been going on?’

Lee Han looked at the dates and worn marks here and there, grew curious, and asked.

“How many years have you been working on this?”

“Uh… 20…”

“!!”

Twenty years?

Lee Han was appalled.

He knew that Professor Verdus was crazy, but for him to have been stuck on a single project for twenty years.

“…30… 40…? I don’t think it’s been forty years… I don’t remember.”

“……”

The number even went higher.

Lee Han was at a loss for words.

“Haven’t you been stuck on this for too long?”

“That’s true.”

“Is it just taking a long time, but you are making steady progress? If that’s the case…”

If it was just too complicated or elaborate, he could understand pouring time into it as long as completion was possible.

“No. There are a lot of blocked parts, so as it is now, it’s hopeless.”

“I see.”

It was absurd, but also made Lee Han feel a little respect.

To not give up and keep challenging a project with no progress and many blockages.

A crazy person was still crazy, but an academic crazy person was still somewhat worthy of respect.

“Even if you didn’t get to actual production, this must have cost quite a bit. I imagine you spent a lot of your own money.”

“Huh? Uh… Did I? Not sure. I guess some of my money went in, too.”

“???”

At Professor Verdus’s words, Lee Han was bewildered again.

Of course, from Professor Verdus’s personality, it was obvious that he wasn’t interested in gold coins.

But running a project like this with no budgeting doesn’t make sense.

If you don’t get money from somewhere, you couldn’t even proceed at all, could you?

“If you don’t know, then where did the money come from?”

“I got investment from Gonadaltes, and… um. I forgot the name, but over ten years ago a duke invested, and, uh… anyway, got another investment from someone. I forgot.”

“……”

Lee Han started to worry seriously about Professor Verdus’s life.

‘Wouldn’t be strange if assassins showed up.’

To take investments like that and go AWOL for more than ten years. If Lee Han were an investor, he’d have seriously gone and challenged the man to a duel by now.

“Let’s stop with the boring stuff! I called you to let you participate in this fun project.”

“Wow…”

“Exciting, right?”

“Ah. Yes.”

Professor Verdus couldn’t tell the difference between ‘Wow!’ and ‘Wow…’

“But Professor, there’s only this, this, this, and this that I can follow here.”

Lee Han pointed to the forward sail and mast, the bow, and the watchtower.

Though they were packed with spells too complex to follow, judging by the general structure, he could at least guess they worked by gathering and amplifying the wind.

Actually, for a first-year to grasp even that much at a glance was impressive. Even the skeleton headmaster would have acknowledged that.

But Professor Verdus stayed cold.

“That’s because you’re dumb.”

“Ah. Yes.”

“You’ll study and catch up on that later. What’s important now is the hull. The bottom of the hull is the core part. See?”

On the large keel supporting the center of the hull, countless magic circles were engraved.

They were so intricate and numerous that Lee Han felt dizzy just looking.

Touching any one circle, there was nothing that operated on its own. All the magic circles meshed like gears, working organically together, sending chills down his spine.

Obsession.

The mad result of a genius pouring countless years into it was right before his eyes.

Lee Han felt a sense of awe similar to when he saw the skeleton headmaster’s unique world.

‘Is that magic circle really possible by human wisdom?’

“I see it.”

“This makes the weight of the sailing ship lighter, reverses gravity, gathers the wind, creates lift, and even strengthens the durability of the hull.”

“……”

There was still much about imbuement magic Lee Han didn’t know, but at least he knew Professor Verdus was extremely greedy.

‘He really needs to give up on some of those functions.’

“Wouldn’t it be better to just hire a wizard and put him on the ship?”

“Then why do all this? Are you stupid?”

Professor Verdus grumbled at Lee Han’s reasonable point.

“Ah. Yes. So?”

“The outer magic circles here are for gathering, maintaining, and amplifying the mana needed for the circles, but it’s still lacking.”

“I can imagine.”

To maintain all those functions, it seemed you’d need actual wizards living on board, not just magic circles.

Still, there had to be a limit.

“So I thought, about the mana stones placed in those outer circles?”

“Yes.”

If the magic circle could draw all its mana from nature, that would be great, but in reality, it was often impossible to supply all the mana that way.

At such times, mana-concentrated gemstones of the mana stone variety were used as supplementary batteries.

Of course, you couldn’t just use or place them as is.

You had to process them to fit the inscription and imbue them with magic for them to work like batteries.

There were mana stones densely arrayed on the outer circle Professor Verdus pointed to, too many to count.

Whoever made it would probably shed tears of blood.

“You set all these mana stones into a mana-supersaturated state before placing them.”

“Will that cover the needed magic power?”

“How would I know? You have to experiment to see how much effect supersaturation produces. It’s too complicated to calculate.”

“I see…”

As he listened, Lee Han suddenly had a question.

“By the way, Professor. Who will bring the mana stones into a state of mana supersaturation?”

“You will.”

“…Anyone other than me?”

“Huh? There isn’t.”

Professor Verdus answered with a childlike face.

Where else would you find a wizard like Lee Han, with nearly infinite mana, who could overcharge it every time he cast imbuement magic?

“Aha.”

Lee Han nodded and looked around.

‘Should I just kill him now?’

• * *

Fortunately, Professor Verdus didn’t intend to create all the essential outer magic circles for the ship right at this moment.

…The hair-raising point was that he might try it someday, but for now, Professor Verdus’s basic goal was verification.

How much mana could he secure by this method?

“The carpet. I put a temporary magic circle on this carpet. Just prepare the mana stone for it.”

“Professor?”

“Yeah?”

“It’s noisy, so could you please keep it down?”

“Okay.”

Lee Han’s voice, as he worked late at night without even dinner, sounded slightly venomous.

If he cast poison element magic now, he felt like he’d produce a strong deadly toxin.

The magic Lee Han had just learned from Professor Verdus was -Bible’s Mana Emission Imbuement-.

When cast on a mana stone, it made the mana inside emit slowly.

And this magic was a 3rd-circle spell.

‘Should’ve just pretended it didn’t work.’

Lee Han regretted his past self, who, without thinking, had waved his staff a few times and gone, ‘Is it like this?’ ‘Like this?’ ‘Ah, like this’ and finished it off.

Sticking dozens of mana stones one by one into the circles and connecting them with mana-paste lines, Lee Han felt his stamina was fine but his mind was wearing out.

Whatever the case, Professor Verdus hummed to himself beside him while manipulating the circles on the carpet.

“Do you know why so many wizards in old fairy tales ride on carpets?”

“No.”

“Usually, the wizards who ride things like this don’t use their own magic, but make contracts with summoned beings so they can ride. Otherwise it’s too exhausting.”

“Yes.”

“But back in the old days, people didn’t know much about magic, so wizards riding carpets must have looked impressive.”

“Yes.”

“Isn’t it funny?”

“Haha.”

As Lee Han mechanically rotated through a set of three answers, someone knocked on the door.

Direte poked his head in, looking worried.

“Aren’t you sleeping, junior?”

“I’m fine. I’m fine.”

‘What exactly is fine?’

For a moment, Direte didn’t understand why Professor Verdus was answering about his junior.

He’d asked the junior, so why was the professor…

‘Wait. Why am I talking sense to a crazy person?’

Direte gathered himself.

He’d spent years at Einrogard, yet tried to use a frank approach with a professor.

“Junior!”

“??”

“Are you alright?! Your injuries didn’t get worse?!”

“…!”

Direte signaled with his eyes.

Lee Han was surprised by the gesture.

And impressed.

‘So that’s what senior authority is…!’

“C-cough. Suddenly my mana feels twisted…”

“See, that’s why I told you not to overdo it earlier! You took such a beating from that undead chimera!”

“S-sorry. Imbuement magic is just so fun.”

“I know, but honestly. Earlier, you even got poisoned from the thorn stab by the undead chimera.”

“Cough. Cough.”

“Could you hold out just a bit more?”

Professor Verdus asked regretfully, but the two students pretended not to hear him.

“I need to rest. Junior. Go lie down now.”

“Th-thank you. Professor. I’m sorry.”

“What time should I wake you tomorrow?”

The two students again pretended not to hear and left the room.

• * *

Early morning.

As soon as he woke up, Lee Han checked his surroundings.

Fortunately, Professor Verdus wasn’t waiting for him in the bedroom.

“Young master.”

“Shh. Is Professor Verdus nearby?”

“Pardon? He isn’t, sir…”

“I see. Thank you.”

“By the way, you have a visitor.”

“……”

Just as he was about to sneak out through the window, Lee Han hesitated.

“Is it the professor?”

“No… It’s a friend. The priest from the Prisinga Order…”

“Aha.”

Lee Han was relieved.

He’d avoided the worst-case scenario of another crazy professor visiting.

‘Is it that order event mentioned earlier?’

Since he’d promised to participate in a Prisinga Order event, Lee Han planned to go.

It was also a good excuse to run away from Professor Verdus…

‘Wait.’

Lee Han pondered.

Come to think of it, as an artifact specialist, there were few like Professor Verdus.

If he took Professor Verdus to the Prisinga Order…

‘Not only would I escape his mad project, but I might also be able to find a useful artifact to purify!’

“Professor! Professor!”

“Huh!? Why!?”

Professor Verdus, woken up from sleep, shot up in surprise.

• * *

“Can’t we cancel the promise?”

“No. It was a promise made with my personal honor, my family’s honor, and my pride as a wizard on the line.”

“Aw…”

Professor Verdus grumbled, but with Lee Han speaking so firmly, he couldn’t argue further.

If you put your own name, your family, and your profession on it, how could he stop you?

“If you help me, Professor, we might finish quickly. And when it’s done…”

“We can work on the mana stones!”

“…Yes.”

Lee Han replied, biting his lips. Professor Verdus nodded.

“Alright. I’ll help.”

“…????”

Priest Tijilling was bewildered by the conversation between Lee Han and Professor Verdus.

So…

Was it that heavy of a promise?

“Was it… that kind of promise? I don’t think it was…?”

“Priest Tijilling. Memories tend to change, you know. I feel like I promised with such resolve at the time.”

“……”

Priest Tijilling stared intently at Lee Han.

He’d been feeling this lately, but this boy of the Wardanaz Family might not be as cold and calculating as he looked.

‘He seems more easygoing than I thought…?’