Episode 764

“W-Wardanaz.”

“Are you sure you thought this through?”

Imirg and Raphadael whispered, hesitant from behind.

No matter how optimistically they looked at it, it was hard to interpret an empty safe as ‘financially stable.’

Lee Han nodded calmly.

“That’s right. The dark magic school is well-off.”

“…??”

“???”

The two wondered if Wardanaz had found some secret dark school treasure or vault that they didn’t know about.

But Lee Han had his reasons.

‘If we raise prices, only fewer people will buy. Plus, it’ll just advertise that the dark school is poor.’

If mushroom prices went up, students would rather steal them or look elsewhere than buy with tears in their eyes.

And what if rumors spread that the dark school was poor?

‘We’d lose in every deal.’

Though only a second-year, Lee Han was rapidly absorbing the harsh rules of Einrogard’s economy.

This too was a survival-of-the-fittest world—show weakness, get devoured.

“Senior Agdung, could you explain to them the dark magic school’s abundance?”

“Uh?”

Agdung was caught off guard by the sudden request.

In truth, he had no clue how the dark school stood financially.

“Please.”

“Uhhhh…”

But there was no way he could ignore a request coming from the Lord Magician’s disciple.

With a sense of mortal peril, Agdung racked his brains as hard as he could.

“How rich is the dark magic school… Ah, right as I arrived, I was served honey tea.”

“That’s impressive!”

The other seniors, hearing that, were genuinely impressed.

When outsiders visited the Enchantment school, they didn’t even pour a glass of water.

‘Maybe the dark magic school really is rich after all?’

“That honey tea was supposed to be for Senior Direte and the others…”

“Pardon?”

“Nothing. Please continue.”

Lee Han looked conflicted.

The tea had been made for hardworking seniors, but the professor had given it to outsiders as a token of goodwill.

Nothing could be done; this was part of his lot as a disciple.

“There are also several times more new students than at Kalarogard.”

“Really?!”

“??”

Even the seniors—and Lee Han—were a bit surprised.

Really?

‘If both have zero, then technically that is several times more…’

“And upperclassmen are so busy with commissions that the younger students have to help them, as you can see.”

“Senior Agdung, that’s enough.”

Lee Han quickly cut him off.

If this went any further, the Einrogard seniors might notice something.

• * *

“Everyone. Be careful not to breathe in when picking the mountain ring mushrooms.”

After the deal, as they gathered mushrooms in the field, Agdung offered advice.

Mountain ring mushrooms were used in curses to disperse or reduce mana, so if you inhaled the powder by accident, your magical power would take a hit.

“Best to cover your face with cloth. Even better if you cast a simple wind protection spell.”

“I see…”

Lee Han nodded at Agdung’s advice and thanked him, then just started picking mushrooms bare-handed into his basket.

“……”

Agdung stared at the receding Lord Magician’s disciple, stunned.

Every little thing that child did was extraordinary.

‘Come to think of it, maybe his classmates are as unusual.’

Suddenly curious, Agdung glanced at the other friends.

“Gainando. The fog cloud mushrooms are temperature sensitive; mishandle them and they’ll vaporize. Use the ice I gave you.”

“Nnh, it’s cold…”

“Did you learn cold resistance magic just for eating shaved ice? Use it!”

“……”

Maybe not?

As Agdung hesitated, a wave of ominous magic washed in from afar.

Agdung frowned. As a dark mage, he recognized it all too well.

‘An aberration, or a corrupted entity?’

Aberrations formed when magical substances fused with foreign mana, mutating into monsters—like refuse or slime abandoned by careless wizards.

Corrupted entities occurred when beings from other dimensions landed on the continent and couldn’t withstand the plane, losing their nature—sometimes fierce spirits, demons, rarely even angels.

Both could be tricky, but an experienced mage could handle them.

Dark wizards, in particular, specialized in dealing with corrupted and tainted beings.

“What’s going on?”

Lee Han, sensing something was wrong, immediately hurried to Agdung’s side.

Though further away, his magical senses were so sharp that he detected the wave before anyone else.

Agdung was unfazed.

A Lord Magician’s disciple would notice it even sooner than he did, of course.

“It seems to be an aberration or a corrupted one… I’m deciding whether to use -Begone, O Tainted!-, or -Resolve Against Corruption-. Which should we start with?”

He suppressed his instinct to use honorifics and asked.

Lee Han was bewildered by the question.

“…I don’t know either of those.”

“?!?!”

Agdung was shocked by the reply.

He’d fully expected the Lord’s disciple to have these down pat.

-Begone, O Tainted!- was a third-circle defensive spell to block aberrations, and -Resolve Against Corruption- a fourth-circle barrier against corrupted entities—both were standard defenses.

Any traditional dark mage would have learned them…

“You really haven’t learned these two spells?”

“I’m sorry.”

Normally, apologizing for not learning a spell was Gainando’s thing, but for once, it was Lee Han.

‘What did I miss?’

Lee Han wondered.

He was sure those spells hadn’t come up last year. Had he missed them during his week away?

‘Damn. Should have prioritized dark class…’

“N-no, you don’t need to apologize! Don’t apologize—don’t!”

Agdung was flustered at the Lord Magician’s disciple apologizing.

He promptly explained what the two spells did.

“…That’s what they are.”

“…Senior, I’m a second-year.”

“Right? …Ah, right.”

It was only as Lee Han fixed him with a look that Agdung realized.

He really was just a second year!

‘Why did I not notice something so obvious??’

He knew it intellectually, but it never connected emotionally—all because he’d been so fixated on the Lord’s disciple title.

‘…Yeah. No matter who, a second year’s a second year…’

Agdung reflected.

No matter what, it wasn’t right to demand spells yet to be learned.

“…Sorry. Could you gather your friends? I’m going to set up warding spells around the field.”

“Yes. I’ll help as well.”

“Thank you.”

Agdung rattled his bones and smiled.

‘I’ll handle this.’

Being the highest year present, Agdung took full responsibility for sensing the encroaching enemy.

While waiting, Lee Han asked,

“Senior, do aberrations and corrupted beings give off the same magical aura?”

“Ah, it’s a bit different. Both feel violent and twisted, but aberrations feel more like tainted local magic, while corrupted ones are fully inverted…?”

“I see. Senior, I think what’s coming now is an aberration.”

“!?”

Agdung was startled at Lee Han’s immediate reply. The intruder wasn’t close enough for ordinary sensing, after all.

“Why do you think so?”

‘Does he really sense that from here?’

To distinguish at this distance was nearly impossible.

Just feeling the pulse at all at his year was impressive…

“Mostly, this is an area with constant experiments and research. Aberrations are way more likely here than foreign corrupted creatures. And statistically, corruption is much rarer.”

“Sharp deduction.”

Agdung nodded his bony chin approvingly.

A clever student, keeping cool even in a tense moment.

“And when I focus, the magic feels warped.”

“……”

“Senior?”

“N-no, nothing.”

“Pardon?”

“No, really, nothing. Let’s start prepping -Begone, O Tainted!-!”

Agdung swiftly changed the subject.

A few more slip-ups, and the Lord’s disciple might think Kalarogard was a weird school.

Of course, it was; but among imperial magic students, everyone (except Baldrogard) worked to hide their school’s embarrassing side from outsiders.

Their own school could be shamed among themselves, but never in front of outsiders.

“Obsidian, clove, holy bone fragment, golden hair. Uh-oh, I’m out of golden hair.”

“Will this hair work?”

“Ooh, nice.”

Lee Han sent his friends to pluck a few of Gainando’s hair. Gainando’s scream rang out over the field.

“O ye Tainted, fear the wizards who wield such power. O ye Tainted, fear the wizards who wield such power…”

Repetition.

Chanting the incantation repeatedly to charge the spell—a common practice to scale up power for a wide-area ward like this mushroom field.

“Whew. Let’s take a short break.”

Agdung took a pause, joints aching.

Transforming into an undead made stamina less of an issue, but didn’t eliminate fatigue or wear entirely.

“Arm bone’s getting worn down over here. Should swap it before it breaks.”

“Isn’t that inconvenient?”

At Gainando’s question, Agdung laughed as though it were ridiculous.

“On the contrary—being able to swap bones at will is the peak of efficiency. Just take it out… fit a new one… done!”

Gainando wanted to say, ‘If I get a scratch, I just wait and it heals!’—but Agdung worked so hard swapping bones, he couldn’t bring himself to say it.

‘Dark wizards are just too weird.’

“All right. Let’s resume.”

“I’ll help, too.”

While Agdung worked on the first section, Lee Han watched and asked how to cast the spell—it was safe to risk slips with a senior at hand.

Agdung knew this, and gladly accepted. For a task this strenuous, a stout assistant was a blessing.

“Thanks! The west side’s almost done, so can you finish that? I’ll start the others…”

“O ye Tainted, fear the wizards who wield such power.”

Chanting just once, Lee Han wrapped a formidable spell barrier around the field.

Siana squeezed her fist in frustration at the sight.

“I bet you used your spell twice…!”

“I… I thought so too…”

“……”

Agdung could only stare in blank amazement at the conversation of Einrogard’s second-years.