Episode 739

‘No matter how much it’s easier to transform into an animal you’re familiar with…’

Among transformation magics, spells that turned the mage themselves into another creature were especially difficult and hard to control.

It was only natural, since you had to maintain your soul’s identity while changing only your body’s form, making the difficulty far higher than other magics.

That’s why transformation magic more easily connected to animals the mage was familiar with.

It was common for a mage raised tending sheep at a ranch to attempt transforming into a shark, only to turn into a sheep with fins—a typical mishap in transformation practice.

Since the Wardanaz family boy was always caring for the baby basilisk, he could manage transforming into a basilisk.

However…

‘A basilisk isn’t some earthworm-like animal!’

No matter how familiar the mage was, the more powerful a monster, the exponentially harder the transformation became.

A monster’s powerful abilities meant tremendous magical power was condensed in its body.

No matter how talented the mage, reproducing such a body was a daunting task.

But this Wardanaz, despite just barely starting transformation magic, had managed to turn his arm into a basilisk’s head.

Who could say how far he’d go when he got the hang of it.

“I don’t think basilisk is right, Wardanaz.”

“Right? Honestly, I thought so too. It’s awkward with the control issues.”

“Don’t you dare complain about luxury!!!”

Unable to hold back, Professor Bendozol snapped and stormed off.

The students were startled and whispered among themselves.

“What’s up with him?”

“Probably wanted to turn into a basilisk too. Who cares.”

“Yeah, ignore it, Wardanaz.”

“……”

Lee Han wondered if he should let his friends coldly ignore Professor Bendozol like this.

Maybe they were adapting too quickly…

• * *

‘Once this ends, it’ll finally be the weekend.’

It was the first week of the semester that felt as long as forever.

And this was with classes barely even started.

If things went into full swing, he felt the semester would surely drag on eternally.

‘Could there be a time magic cast over Einrogard?’

The class, -Elemental Magic and Its Applications-, was held in the Elemental Room on the main building’s fourth floor.

From the name alone, it was easy to guess this was an advanced study of elemental magic.

Lee Han wasn’t typically overconfident, but he was a little confident in this class.

‘After suffering so much under Professor Voladi,’

No one could have as thoroughly drilled the fundamentals of elemental control as Lee Han had.

No matter how skilled the seniors were, in this topic he shouldn’t fall behind, should he?

“Hello, Wardanaz.”

“Princess.”

Spotting Gainando’s sister, Lee Han greeted her lightly.

When they’d first met, Lee Han had worried that getting on her bad side could ruin his life after graduation, so he’d been cautious, but after living together for over a year, he realized she wasn’t a bad person.

She was just someone who, like Gainando, liked food.

Adenart likewise welcomed Lee Han, not having the slightest idea the Wardanaz boy was secretly thinking so irreverently.

Unlike all the stiff and formal followers, Lee Han was someone far easier to talk to.

Originally, she’d misunderstood him for taking only easy classes, but over a year revealed it was a total misconception.

The boy before her was even crazier about the study of magic than the Princess herself.

She didn’t easily concede when it came to diligence and responsibility, but in this, she had to admit it.

Though it was too early to predict who’d amount to what among the second-years, it was common knowledge that the Wardanaz boy would remain at Einrogard.

Lee Han spoke, not knowing the Princess was having her own irreverent inner monologue.

“You’re lucky. Is -Elemental Magic and Its Applications- a second-year class?”

“No. It’s a third-year class.”

“……”

Lee Han grew sullen.

Judging by this, Adenart must have been forcibly dragged to a higher-year class as well.

“You must have it rough too, Your Highness.”

“Sorry? What do you mean…?”

“Aren’t you upset at having to take a third-year class?”

“I consider it an honor.”

“……”

Only then did Lee Han realize his mistake.

Thinking about it, Adenart probably wasn’t taking all that many third-year classes anyway.

At most one or two!

‘Though, isn’t even one or two annoying?’

Lee Han pitied Adenart.

He definitely thought she should be angry about this, but she seemed to treat it as an honor.

“Your Highness. There are times when you should get angry.”

“I…I don’t quite follow…”

Adenart was confused by Lee Han’s statement.

While this was happening, a senior passed by and tried to open the Elemental Room door.

The elder’s body was about a quarter petrified, so every movement made a sound like rocks scraping.

“……”

“……”

“Krrrk. Could you help me with the door. Krrk.”

“Yes.”

At the senior’s gravelly voice, Lee Han quickly opened the door. The senior nodded gratefully (or at least made a gesture, since he couldn’t move his head much).

“!”

The Elemental Room was a bizarre place where dozens of environments coexisted at once.

In a space the size of a clearing, countless elemental forces surged and generated ceaseless changes.

Behind the lizardfolk senior was lava and flame, next to the human senior’s feet was a stream and waterfall, and in one corner, where everyone kept their distance, there was thunder and lightning…

Even for Einrogard, overflowing with strange places, this was truly something unique, and both Lee Han and Adenart were awed.

“You still haven’t broken the curse?”

“Krrrk. Takes time. Krrrk.”

“Told you not to mess with relics so carelessly.”

“Krrrk. Duly noted. Krrrk.”

“Must be Professor Benmalpa, right? He gives me the creeps.”

“Same.”

“Hey. Still better than others, though.”

“?

Lee Han listened closely to the seniors’ conversation.

If you wanted to survive safely in dangerous Einrogard, you always paid attention to these tidbits.

‘Professor Benmalpa?’

It wasn’t a professor Lee Han knew.

Truthfully, unless the Einrogard professor was as friendly as Professor Garcia, normal students had little reason to interact with most of them.

With some professors whose classes didn’t concern you, you might go your entire schooling without seeing them at all…

‘I wonder what their personality is?’

“Hello, seniors.”

“Oh. A second-year?!”

“A second-year taking this class… impressive?”

The seniors cheerfully greeted Lee Han and Adenart.

And the Blue Dragon Tower seniors immediately began showing off.

“See? This is tradition and lineage…”

“Then why are you, born to that tradition, not taking this til now?”

As bickering broke out among the seniors, Lee Han quietly asked what he was curious about instead of stopping them.

“Seniors, what kind of class is this?”

“Hmm? Just like the name says.”

The empire’s schools of magic were more or less arranged now for magicians’ convenience.

In the days of the Three Kingdoms, magic had been classified by element, but to current imperial magicians, that seemed inefficient.

Even among flame element magics, there were various schools—enchantment, summoning, illusion, transformation, etc.—so it was far more rational to classify by mechanism.

So Einrogard students didn’t typically study just one element to the exclusion of all else, unless they had a special reason.

Instead, they learned the elemental magics and applications they needed for their research or interests, as needed.

-Elemental Magic and Its Applications- was a class to support that.

The reason so many different types of elemental energy flowed in the Elemental Room was to allow students to branch out flexibly, experiment, and come up with ideas, not to cling to just one thing.

‘Wait. This is… way too normal?’

After last year’s endless attacks in pursuit of learning just element application, this sounded so normal that Lee Han felt almost uneasy.

“What’s your purpose, then, senior?”

“I just need to practice combining the water and earth elements more. There’s something I’m researching, but I keep failing, probably because my elemental control isn’t quite enough yet.”

“For water element… Is that things like multi-controlling water or instantly changing its form, or maybe adding a rotational property as a deeper enhancement?”

“…I wasn’t thinking of going that deeply…”

The senior was taken aback by Lee Han’s words.

He just wanted to pick up a few elemental morphs for his research, nothing so advanced…

“But wouldn’t you need it someday?”

“Not unless I’m going around killing monsters with water element alone.”

“……”

Lee Han’s face darkened at the senior’s reply.

He was beginning to wonder if last year’s class was more pointless than he’d thought.

From the sound of it, the seniors didn’t obsess over one element; they learned what they needed, when they needed it.

…Was this the right way?

‘…No. Going deep isn’t bad. It must certainly help when dealing with other elements too.’

If it didn’t, Lee Han just might have to grab Professor Voladi by the collar.

“Why did you, sophomore, sign up for this?”

“Um…”

Lee Han felt “Because my artifact told me to” didn’t sound like a good answer, so he hesitated.

In that moment, Adenart answered first.

“I took it to control rare elements and to generally strengthen my skills.”

“Ah. Me too. For the standard elements, as well.”

Thinking that was a good answer, Lee Han hurriedly added on.

The truth was, Lee Han handled rare elements like shadow, lightning, and frost far more than the standards.

Which was why he still got nervous any time he used fire…

The senior assumed from their answers that Adenart must have had better grades than Lee Han.

Since Lee Han said he still needed to strengthen basic elements, he must still have a lot of gaps.

“Everyone, to your seats!”

With a powerful, energetic voice, a professor from the Malpa family entered.

As a member of the human race, the professor’s seagull-shaped mustache matched his classy outfit, making him look like the chair of a prominent society club in the imperial capital.

Among Einrogard professors, who often dressed as they pleased, that look was rare, and it caught Lee Han’s attention.

‘Is that why the seniors thought he was off-putting?’

“Welcome, everyone! I am Jorzik of the Malpa family. The next headmaster of Einrogard!”

“?!”

As Lee Han and Adenart stared in shock, a few seniors who’d never met Professor Jorzik blurted out:

“Are you the headmaster’s heir?!”

“No!”

“…But you said next headmaster, didn’t you?”

“You don’t have to be an heir to become the next headmaster, everyone! One day, by the Emperor’s command, I’ll become Einrogard’s headmaster in place of Gonadaltes!”

“……”

“……”

With eyes and voice full of ambition, Professor Jorzik all but announced a coup, and only then did Lee Han understand why some seniors found him unsettling.

And then he thought to himself:

‘He’s even crazier than Professor Verdus.’

Definitely someone to avoid getting close to.