Episode 525

Episode 525

“Well, that was a strange question. You wouldn’t have one, Wardanaz.”

“Uh… um. Yes.”

Lee Han, who had quickly recalled the skeleton principal, Professor Voladi, Professor Verdus, and so on in his mind, controlled his expression and replied.

“In a way, students as calm as Wardanaz may find this method difficult to use. This is a swordsman’s method rather than a mage’s.”

Both swordsmen and mages handled magic power just the same.

But as could be seen from some extreme mages mocking swordsmen—saying, “What are they, monsters, dealing with magic power so recklessly by intuition?”—the swordsmen’s approach was somewhat rough.

Unlike mages, who laid foundations through theory and scholarly discussion, swordsmen were far more closed off.

Secrets and epiphanies were passed down only orally within the family, and leaks were almost absolutely forbidden.

Therefore, it was inevitably much less systematic and less theorized.

For example, when explaining the technique of turning the magic power inside the body to the extremities to activate a function, mages spoke like this.

-The minimum amount of magic power required next is equal to that of a cubic centimeter of mana stone, or the magic power needed for a first-circle light creation spell. The following movements are the most efficient for guiding this magic power. The incantation is…

In contrast, swordsmen relayed it like this.

-Take a deep breath and feel the burning fire. Make that fire spread to your arms. Breathe out like a fierce wildfire…

But even in this ridiculed swordsmen’s approach, there were advantages.

“As I know it, no matter how much knowledge and wisdom one has, in the end, changing the order of the world is the will of the mage. Swordsmen, too, summon power by will. Imbuing this willpower (意念) can be seen as amplifying that will.”

Will.

Even with complex theories, incantations, and reagents, at its core, magic was about the will to change the world.

The original common method was to forge this will as hard as steel, making it unwavering and firm.

But Professor Ingeldel was suggesting a different method.

He said to ignite this will like a raging flame and use its power!

‘Interesting.’

While the other White Tiger Tower students listened to Professor Ingeldel’s words, drunk with pride in their swordsmanship and chivalry, Lee Han considered something different.

That method reminded him of some magical characteristics he’d heard from the skeleton principal.

‘Primitive magic?’

Those magics, passed down from ancient times and sometimes found even now on the empire’s outskirts, existing outside of the system.

Many friends were indifferent or dismissive, but Lee Han wasn’t bound by such biases.

If it had advantages and was usable, why refuse?

Professor Ingeldel stood up and thrust a solid steel rod into the floor.

He then lightly swung a wooden sword. He didn’t even load it with the aura, a crystallization of magic power.

Swish!

“!”

“…!”

At the sight of the wooden sword cutting the steel, the students’ eyes widened.

Unlike the students who were simply surprised, Lee Han felt something different.

‘Enhancement magic?’

He felt the flow of magic power as if a -Cutting Enhancement- spell had been cast on the sword.

“What did you feel?”

“I felt the profundity of swordsmanship!”

“…Not that.”

“Isn’t that right?”

The White Tiger Tower student scratched the back of his neck, as if embarrassed.

“It seemed like the cutting power was suddenly enhanced. Is that correct?”

“Well observed.”

At Lee Han’s answer, Professor Ingeldel replied with a pleased expression.

“The willpower (意念) to cut changed the nature of the magic power contained within the sword.”

“…!!”

‘Amazing.’

Lee Han was amazed.

Though he spoke as if it were simple, what Professor Ingeldel just showed was truly remarkable.

It was as if a mage cast a spell, studying theory, reciting incantations, and even using reagents, but achieved a similar effect just with sense and will.

Of course, it would take much longer to reach that stage, but no one could deny the proficiency of the latter.

“Anyone who grips a sword, I know, is interested in and dreams of the aura. But for the path of the sword, the aura is just a waystation. No need to get too attached. When killing a chicken, brandish the sword that can kill a chicken; when killing a cow, bring out a sword that can kill a cow. Now then.”

The White Tiger Tower students, who had been listening to Professor Ingeldel’s story with impressed faces, hesitated.

“Yes?”

“Everyone’s had a proper rest, so get up. Originally, when you’re this tired, emotions are prone to become intense.”

“……”

Originally, once skilled, even while inflaming emotions, one could skillfully control their direction when imbuing willpower.

But since the students couldn’t do that yet, the first thing to do was to make emotions flare up.

The easiest method was to keep pushing until they got angry.

“Get up. Now. Get up.”

“Ack! Ack!”

“Wa, wait! Five more minutes!”

Professor Ingeldel struck the sprawled students with a wooden sword until they got up.

Students whose arms and legs had lost strength tried to roll away, but Professor Ingeldel persistently followed them, striking until they stood up.

For the first time, Lee Han felt thankful to have participated in the festival.

‘Saint Iactus, thank you.’

• * *

Clang!

“More emotion.”

Clang!

“More!”

Clang!!!

“Still not enough. The magic power hasn’t changed at all.”

“Uwahhh! Uwahhh! Uwaaahhhh!”

“Good. That’s how you draw out your emotions.”

“Huff, wheeze.”

As Deorgyu exhaled and knelt on one knee, Lee Han spoke in a worried voice beside him.

“Want me to cast enhancement magic?”

“N-no, it’s supposed to be tough… huff. Wheeze. And the professor is… thinking of us, so…”

‘With that mindset, it might actually be a disadvantage.’

According to Professor Ingeldel’s theory, to change magic power by arousing emotions, one had to explode with genuine emotion.

Thinking like that would, in fact, be a disadvantage.

“Wardanaz.”

“?”

As Giselle spoke to him, Lee Han turned his head in surprise.

It was rare for Giselle to speak first unless the school was flooded or an evil mage appeared.

Giselle, looking very fatigued, her whole body full of exhaustion, lowered the tip of her dual swords and spoke in a roughened voice.

“Look over here.”

“What? Don’t cast a curse. If you do, you’ll just hurt yourself.”

“I’m not going to curse you. I don’t even have the energy. Just look this way.”

Both Lee Han and Deorgyu turned their gaze, curious.

Giselle stared intently at Lee Han’s face once, then closed her eyes and nodded.

Then swung her sword.

Slash!

Unlike the other students, this strike dug into and left a mark on the steel rod.

Seeing this, Professor Ingeldel applauded.

“Well done! You exploded your anger very well!”

“……”

“……”

Lee Han and Deorgyu were both at a loss for words.

“Hey. I should practice too.”

“Is your body okay?”

“If I don’t practice now because I’m not okay, your friend might make me even less okay in the near future.”

“M-Moradi isn’t that type of guy… Actually, he is.”

“……”

As Giselle caught her breath beside them, she looked at Deorgyu as if incredulous.

This guy?

‘Shall I think of the principal, or Professor Verdus, or Professor Voladi…? Come to think of it, again…’

Lee Han closed his eyes and fell into deep meditation.

There were more targets to explode his emotions at than expected.

Passing by, Professor Ingeldel saw him and looked on with interest.

‘Does he really have no target?’

Students from knightly families inevitably grew through competition and strife.

They constantly interacted and dueled, either within the family or among families.

Naturally, they had strong competitive spirits.

But high-noble students like Wardanaz didn’t really have a reason to grow through competition and strife.

Such decorum, etiquette, and social skills helped in life, but this time was an exception.

It seemed difficult to explode with emotion…

Crash!!!!!

“……”

“……”

Professor Ingeldel and the students looked at Lee Han with astonished eyes, seeing the shattered wooden sword and the completely caved-in steel rod.

Where did all that anger come from?

“…I got it!”

“What is it?”

“Wardanaz, that bastard. I bet he’s still super angry because I kept talking about polo the other day!”

‘That’s probably not it.’

No matter how he thought about it, it was not the type of anger that could come from just being a bit disobedient.

• * *

When all the students gathered, Professor Garcia spoke up cheerfully.

“Have you all been well?”

“Yes, Professor!”

“The reason we’re not in the classroom but having a lecture here in front of the lake is…”

The students stared at the lake with nervous eyes.

Were they really going to have to go into the lake?

‘It’s so cold.’

‘Was that why we learned underwater breathing last time?’

“…I thought it’d be too much of a mess to do this in the classroom. I figured it’s better to do it in a wide open space.”

“Then, we’re not going into the lake?”

“Huh? Of course not.”

The students’ faces brightened.

But Lee Han remained cool-headed.

“Is a monster going to come out of the lake, by any chance?”

“No.”

“Oh. I get it, Wardanaz. The lake itself is the monster! It’s a lake monster!”

“…Should we just do it somewhere else?”

Professor Garcia, who had picked a scenic location for the lecture to refresh the students, slightly regretted the decision.

After calming the rowdy students, Professor Garcia could finally get to the point.

“Today’s magic is more for self-defense. Some of you are learning magical dueling or combat, but…”

All the students turned at once to look at Lee Han.

Lee Han spoke in a cold voice.

“Why are you looking at me?”

“Oh, well. It’s just…”

“…Basically, there are students here who aren’t used to fighting.”

The students nodded.

Using magic in a fight was harder than one might think. Even the White Tiger Tower students, who were used to fighting, felt that way.

You could fail even when focusing in a peaceful situation, so how much harder would it be in the middle of a chaotic fight?

“This self-defense magic is for those students.”

“Oh…”

‘This is a real professor.’

Lee Han, as well as the other students, was touched.

Honestly, throwing iron balls out of nowhere was more like a thug than a professor.

‘Is it a defensive spell?’

“First is the -Undead Banishment- spell. It creates an aura around you that undead hate, so if you have this up, weak undead won’t approach easily.”

“Undead…”

“Banishment…”

The students scribbled down today’s spell.

“And one more. The -Undead Detection- spell. It picks up the unique yin (陰) energy emitted by undead. If you cast it in advance, you can catch lurking undead.”

“Undead…”

“Detection…”

“Anything else? This one’s a second-circle spell, but we’ll also learn -Lesser Undead Banishment-. Weak undead can be knocked down with this spell.”

“…?”

“???”

As they took notes, the students began to feel a sense of incongruity.

The self-defense magic was suspiciously focused on undead.

Why?

Among the students feeling unsettled, the quickest-witted Lee Han asked a question.

“Professor?”

“Yes?”

“Is the principal going to attack us soon?”

“W-what are you talking about, Lee Han? Someone might misunderstand if they heard.”

“……”

“……”

The White Tiger Tower students, who had only been taking rough notes, immediately stood and began copying their neighbor’s notes.