Episode 766

Episode 766

But Agdung did not stop answering.

As a senior from the same black magic school, he could not suppress his academic curiosity…

…And what else could he do when the Morningstar Hall’s disciple asked for answers for extermination purposes.

He just had to hope everything would turn out safely.

Beaver-Penguin-Fox: How did you finish the analysis so quickly? I really can’t believe it…

“This map and analysis are really amazing, senior. Is there some special training at Kalarogard?”

“If an Einrogard student asks about special training… that’s not right… And besides, that was written by a professor.”

‘Ah-ha.’

Since the other party was more surprised than expected, Lee Han realized after asking.

It was only natural that the other party was surprised, since he was telling something the Kalarogard professor had analyzed and written before.

Gonadaltes: Hoo. This is basic. Why can’t an Einrogard student do at least this much?

Beaver-Penguin-Fox: ■■ ■■ ■■…

Instead of swearing, the other person blackened their ink into square shapes.

That alone was enough to get across what was meant.

‘This senior really has a nasty temper.’

Lee Han complained inwardly.

He was just pretending to be an ordinary senior, yet that was the response.

Beaver-Penguin-Fox: More than that… is it really… a prof… profe… never mind.

The other person was about to scribble something then gave up and returned to the point.

Beaver-Penguin-Fox: Is there any information about how to purify the contaminant?

“Senior, do you have any advice regarding purification?”

“Hmm. Wait a moment… Here it is. The professor anticipated this and left a peachwood staff artifact nearby just in case.”

“Oh. What kind of artifact is it?”

Professor Taswhan was well aware of just how evil and violent Einrogard could become.

In case things went wrong when students visited alone, he had installed artifacts around just in case.

“Let’s see… this artifact is… ah. Professor, why do you like Three Kingdoms era scripts so much?”

Even good-natured Agdung had to be irritated at the professor scribbling in old script instead of standard imperial script.

“This is… what was it… essence? purification? spirit?”

“It looks more like Ancient Saharin Kingdom script than Three Kingdoms script.”

“Oh. You’re right.”

Agdung nodded at Lee Han’s remark, then hesitated.

“You said you’re a second year, right?”

“Yes.”

“…Nothing. Let’s read it again… Oh. It’s a suction artifact.”

The artifact that Professor Taswhan had left long ago was a powerful item that could draw all the nearby contaminant together at once.

Instead of painstakingly searching for contaminant scattered underground, it would be much easier if the artifact could pull them out by upturning the earth and water.

‘Isn’t this a bit much?’

Lee Han was shocked.

Such an artifact, even for a professor, would have taken a lot of time and effort to make.

And to just leave something like that on the seventh floor of Einrogard and leave.

Was Kalarogard, unlike Einrogard’s black magic school, just a wealthy magic school???

‘Please don’t let it be… Huh! What am I thinking.’

Lee Han deeply repented for his wicked thoughts.

Even if other black magicians were wealthy, it was a good thing, and he shouldn’t be jealous.

“Senior, may I ask one more question?”

“Anything. Feel free to ask.”

“How is Kalarogard financially?”

“Argh. Kehhk.”

Agdung almost spilled the water he was holding in his cup.

‘I should put this down.’

He couldn’t drink water as a skeleton anyway, but he was holding it for the feeling, nearly causing an accident.

“Kal… Kalarogard isn’t as well-off as Baldrobrat, but we get by well by helping each other.”

“?”

Lee Han felt confused about two points.

First, ‘not as well-off as ~ but we help each other and do well’ part.

That’s usually…

‘That’s what you hear from poor schools.’

In Einrogard’s black magic school, you often heard things like, ‘Even if we’re not as well-off as other schools, we still help each other and get by haha.’

What followed was usually, ‘Shut up, Koholti.’

And the second odd thing…

“Did you just say Baldrobrat?”

“What are you talking about? I said Baldrogard?”

“You just said Baldrobrat…”

“No, no! How could I say something like that. Wardanaz! It’s so sad to be misunderstood like this. Do you think that because I’m from Kalarogard?”

“……”

Lee Han stared at Agdung incredulously.

He might have fooled an amateur like Gainando, but Lee Han wasn’t falling for such tricks. He himself was a master of such tricks, to begin with.

-Well done. Gainando. Open the next volume and study.

-Huh? Huh?? If I did all this, wasn’t there a snack?

-What are you talking about? It was until the next volume.

-No way!? I’m sure it was until here!?

-Gainando… You know I’m tired after a day of lectures and you’re trying to trick me? Even so, I still prepared dinner for you guys?! How could you!

-No, no…! No… I-I’ll keep studying.

‘I’m sure he said Baldrobrat.’

Noticing the suspicious look, Agdung hurried to change the subject.

He couldn’t let his embarrassing feelings towards other magic schools be discovered by juniors.

“So, why did you ask that?”

“Oh. It just seemed the artifact you mentioned was quite valuable, so I couldn’t understand why it was installed here and left behind.”

“Aha.”

At that Agdung finally realized what misunderstanding the Morningstar Hall’s disciple had made. Rattling his bones, Agdung laughed.

“It’s not that there was so much money that we could install and leave behind such artifacts, but because Einrogard is so insanely dangerous that we had no choice but to invest in them!”

“……”

“……”

Not only Lee Han but even his friends looked at Agdung with sad expressions.

Even other students at different tables in the tea house glanced over with dejected faces.

Agdung belatedly shouted,

“…Of course, Einrogard is also the best magic school in the empire with so many learning opportunities! Ha, haha! Hahaha!”

“It’s okay, senior. Our school is just… very dangerous, that’s all.”

With a bitter smile, Lee Han contacted BeaverPenguinFox.

Gonadaltes: There is a suction artifact installed there to pull in the contaminants. If you activate it, it can upturn earth and water and gather the contaminants in one place.

Beaver-Penguin-Fox: …Don’t, don’t scam me.

The reaction was fiercer than expected. Lee Han calmly replied.

Gonadaltes: If you pay a price, I’ll even activate it for you.

Since this was a transaction, Lee Han was willing to operate the artifact as long as the price was right.

Since the mushroom fields were protected, if they went in that way, they could relatively easily reach the artifact shown on the map.

And with the solid support of the Kalarogard senior.

Beaver-Penguin-Fox: …Wait a sec! I’ll go ask some questions.

BeaverPenguinFox suddenly disappeared during the conversation. Lee Han suspected the other party was talking one-on-one with Baquantalana.

‘Since Baquantalana brought them to me, they’re probably asking whether I can be trusted.’

It didn’t matter which way they decided. Lee Han was already satisfied with the compensation received for his answers so far.

If the other tried to deceive him just because he was a senior, Lee Han was going to make a huge fuss in the Guardian Club’s shared space.

Since he had so much magical power, he could access this artifact for the longest and most persistently.

‘Having lots of magical power is sometimes an advantage, after all.’

Beaver-Penguin-Fox: O… o… okay. Let’s trade.

Gonadaltes: First, I’d like to settle what I’ve helped you with so far.

Beaver-Penguin-Fox: Come to the seventh floor, to the Tower of Illusions. I’ll leave the goods under the red-green flag.

“?”

Since Lee Han didn’t know much about the Tower of Illusions on the seventh floor, he hesitated.

‘Is this a trap?’

Maybe the other party was trying to lure Lee Han in and attack him.

In the worst-case scenario, they might even try to steal the imperial gold…

Beaver-Penguin-Fox: Oh. Right. You just joined. You don’t know how to use the Tower of Illusions. I’ll tell Baquantalana.

Soon, Lee Han received a message from Baquantalana.

The Tower of Illusions on the seventh floor was a magic facility used by Guardian Club members when trading, built for members who did not want to reveal (or know) each other’s identities.

For that reason, entry was optimized for hiding one’s identity.

Baquantalana: It doesn’t matter where you are on the seventh floor. Hold up a mirror and reflect the belfry at the top of the Tower of Illusions. If the light flashes three times, you’re in. Then look into the mirror. The tower is inside.

Following the instructions, Lee Han took out a mirror and looked around from the second-floor terrace of the tea house at the high district of the seventh-floor Exiles’ Village.

A flying contaminant came soaring in and burned up under the village’s defensive magic, and further inside, an atelier had eight chimneys spewing steam madly, probably because someone botched a spell.

-You, destined for the punishment room for life, what are you doing experimenting up there?! I can’t see with all this steam!

-It’ll be gone soon, just wait! You impatient brat! Want me to toss you out next to the contaminant outside!?

As he looked along the upper parts of the Exiles’ Village, where accidents kept happening, the towers started to come into view.

The old, disorderly towers built by seniors had mostly become ruins, and only a few were still working.

Among them was the Tower of Illusions. Lee Han adjusted the angle of the mirror to frame the Tower of Illusions inside.

Once, twice, three times.

“!”

Lee Han could feel instinctively that the Tower of Illusions had cast a powerful spell on the mirror.

Even if a mirror was magically sensitive, to establish a connection from this distance with such a simple condition!

When he looked into the mirror, the inside of the tower wavered. Every time he shook the mirror, the scene changed, as if the location had shifted.

The tower seemed made of a giant spiral staircase, so climbing up or down showed a repeating scene.

‘Red-green, red-green…’

Among the many flags hanging on each floor, Lee Han kept searching up and down for the red-green flag.

‘Found it.’

Entering the room, Lee Han saw the stored supplies and realized BeaverPenguinFox had not lied.

This seemed to be the compensation.

Sshk—

Lee Han reached into the mirror and began pulling out the supplies one by one.

• * *

“Why isn’t Lee Han coming down?”

“Isn’t it because you were being noisy?”

“You guys were being loud too!”

When their friend went up alone to the empty second floor and wouldn’t come down, Gainando paused with a serious expression, about to throw the wizard yut sticks.

“I’ll have to go up and check.”

“You’re only saying that because you think you’ll lose, right?”

“No, I’m not! That’s why I suggested playing the wizard card game!”

“It’s hard to play that with so many players. And I don’t have any cards.”

“What are you, a barbarian?! You don’t have wizard cards?!”

Gainando reproached Raphadael for not having wizard cards. Raphadael prodded him indifferently.

“Ball games are better than wizard cards. Just throw the yut. I need to catch your piece quickly.”

“That’s right, Gainando. And they said if Lee Han contacts you, misfortune comes. Someone else…”

No sooner had they finished speaking than Lee Han came down from the second floor, levitating huge loads.

His friends stared blankly at the sight.

“…Did you loot the second floor?”