Episode 769

After that, Ellendil fumed and ranted for about 15 more minutes before leaving. She truly felt insulted at having her pure affection for beavers mocked.

“S-she was scary. You guys were right.”

After the senior disappeared, Gainando said with cold sweat on his brow.

She’d looked peaceful as a tree on the outside, but when she got angry, the very air around her seemed to tremble.

‘Frankly, this seemed like Gainando’s fault.’

Even Einrogard’s kindest senior would probably grab you by the collar if you asked, “Do you like Professor Verdus?” or something similar.

Lee Han himself would throw a curse right away if someone came up to him while he was practicing black magic and said, “Look! Since you’re learning black magic, you must admire Gonadaltes, right!” or rubbish like that.

“That’s not really why we said she was scary.”

“Y-yeah, it was about her being scary from an alchemical perspective. She often attacks if you enter the forest… She at least leaves first-years alone most of the time, but sometimes even first-years get attacked, I heard.”

“……”

“……”

With Imirg’s detailed explanation, the students all grew solemn.

Agdung, the Kalarogard student, didn’t get it and asked.

“That’s a joke, right?”

“Uh… Yes. It’s a joke. Ha ha. An Einrogard-style joke.”

“Hahaha! Right? I thought so. I’ve always found Einrogard jokes a bit hard to understand.”

Quickly changing the subject, Lee Han realized that this wasn’t the first time other Einrogard students had smoothed over things as jokes.

There were just things you couldn’t explain to outsiders.

“Lee Han. I really think we need to figure out a way to deal with Senior Ellendil.”

Yoner whispered.

Other students were equally troubled, but to the alchemy school students, the forest monster was a very real threat.

It was the school where you needed a wide and plentiful range of reagents, meaning you’d have to frequent the forests in the territory—and face an enemy like that.

Normally you’d ask a senior in your school for help, but alarmingly enough, Ellendil was their own school’s senior.

Your own school senior being your greatest obstacle to study.

“Even seniors have weaknesses.”

“For example?”

“Like fire…”

“…I think a more peaceful method might be better.”

Siana quietly nodded from the side.

Rather than burning a senior with fire, a more peaceful solution seemed preferable.

“What if Wardanaz-nim tried persuading her? Wardanaz-nim is popular with the seniors, so maybe it would work.”

“Is that really affection? By that logic, everything Professor Verdus does would count as affection… Anyway, I’ll try. I’m not very confident, though.”

Between the friends, Lee Han was treated as the expert at negotiating with seniors, but in truth, he wasn’t that confident.

It was more about exchanging mutual interests than being close with the seniors.

Besides, all Einrogard seniors were so eccentric that you never knew when they might snap.

Even Ellendil was only pleased because Lee Han made a contract with an artificial dark spirit and purified contaminants; if she caught him cutting a tree in the forest, she’d probably attack him right away.

“Maybe it’s better to avoid that senior. Einrogard’s forests are wide, but the senior is alone. Maybe we should try when she’s not there.”

“Wardanaz-nim, I heard that, as a talented spirit mage, Senior Ellendil gets information from uncontracted forest spirits as well.”

“Damn it!”

Lee Han was uncharacteristically angry.

Siana was startled. It was about the same as when he caught White Tiger Tower students shirking their studies and running away.

“Calm down, Lee Han. You probably won’t need to enter the forest for a while anyway. Look at all the reagents you have.”

“That’s true… Oh. I should ask Senior Agdung.”

Lee Han approached Agdung, who was drawing while observing the purification of the contaminants.

“Senior Agdung, do you know when you’ll return to Kalarogard? If it’s all right, I’d love to talk a bit more.”

Delighted by the excellent junior’s request, Agdung smiled.

“Don’t worry. I’ll be staying at least another week. I still have things to do for the juniors. I also want to discuss black magic. That’s why you want to talk, right?”

Whenever black magicians from different schools met, it was customary to discuss their respective achievements.

Even within a single school, the paths followed could be very different, so comparing them was always enjoyable and fruitful.

“Uh, yes. It’s something like that.”

“Is there anything specific you want to discuss? If you’ve decided, I’ll do some prep.”

“I’d like to talk about black magic items that might sell well.”

“……”

Agdung was flustered by such an unexpected topic.

• * *

‘The wisdom of the black magic school at Einrogard. And the wisdom of the black magic school at Kalarogard. If I combine both, I’m sure I can make something that will sell.’

Lee Han planned to create a saleable item in the Blackrock Hall workshop.

He intended to mobilize even seniors like Ogoldos or Professor Mortum, if necessary, to improve the black magic school’s shaky finances.

Of course, some magicians might criticize, saying, “Are you really gathering talents from various schools, even professors, just to make something for profit?” but Lee Han paid absolutely no mind to such criticism.

Honestly, he would have summoned even the skeleton principal to help if he could.

‘Absolutely… I will fill the black magic school’s coffers…’

With such thoughts, Lee Han fell asleep, and at some point realized a familiar place had appeared before his eyes.

An empty wasteland where sky and horizon were blank.

It was the illusion of the black book.

“Nice to see you!”

As soon as he saw the black book fluttering in the distance, Lee Han called out. The black book flinched at his unusually proactive attitude.

“I know why you called me, black book! I must be on your mind because I’m worried about the black magic school’s finances, right? If so, give me a secret solution!”

Usually Lee Han would complain about the pushy manner in which the black book didn’t let him leave until he’d learned a spell, but today was different.

He needed a new black magic item, so the black book—holding the vision of the skeleton principal—was now a welcome summons.

However, the black book slowly shook its body side to side.

“…You’re saying no?”

The black book nodded yes as it shook itself up and down, then opened to a page and pointed ahead.

When it pointed to the empty horizon off in the distance, Lee Han was puzzled.

“What’s over there?”

The black book shrugged instead of answering. It seemed to want him to look again.

‘What is it?’

Lee Han looked more closely. He cast enhancement magic, drew out even more magic to strengthen his eyes…

Then on that distant horizon, a faint human shape appeared. Lee Han recognized who it was instantly.

It was a human-shaped vision of the skeleton principal.

“You coward. I trusted you!”

Thinking he’d been tricked by the black book, Lee Han grabbed it by the collar in anger.

Never mind that the skeleton principal had made it; after all this time together, how could it silently call the skeleton principal in his dream?

The black book flipped its pages as if to insist otherwise and pointed again.

Looking again, Lee Han saw that the skeleton principal was not approaching to kill him, but rather slowly receding into the distance.

‘Underground… No, is that a dimensional gate?’

A dimensional gate inscribed with the pattern of a golden wheel made it look like it sent anyone who entered deep underground.

And far away, the skeleton principal was less an autonomous magical duplicate and more like an illusion that simply repeated the same movement.

The skeleton principal would enter the golden wheel gate and vanish, then reappear and enter again, repeating the process.

As Lee Han watched, he realized the illusion’s face looked younger than the human form of the skeleton principal.

‘Was this before he became a lich?’

Thinking about it, even if the principal had attained the pinnacle at a young age, there must have been a time when he was younger still.

He must have learned magic from someone, and had time to study magic himself.

It was hard to imagine…

The black book rustled its pages and moved its body. It was as if it was telling Lee Han he needed to go there too.

“…Are you saying I have to go there?”

The black book cheerfully bobbed up and down.

“Why on earth?”

The black book pointed at the skeleton principal’s illusion, turned to a page and drew the archmage, then pointed at Lee Han and again at the archmage image.

It was a complicated sequence, but Lee Han pieced it together after careful thought.

“So, the principal entered a dimension like that in his youth, and that’s how he became an archmage?”

Confirmed.

“And you want me to enter too?”

Again, confirmed.

‘Is this thing insane?’

For a split second, Lee Han honestly considered burning the book as soon as he woke up.

Was this thing trying to kill him?

Among the many uncharted outer planes accessible to magicians, there were all sorts of dangerous and bizarre worlds.

If the skeleton principal gained magical insight in such a place, the danger was probably so high that Einrogard itself wouldn’t stand a chance.

And yet it was recommending him to go there…!

“Sure, the principal was great even at that age, but I’m still a student. You lull me into a false sense of security by teaching magic, then try to kill me like this!”

Lee Han berated the book, full of betrayal.

The book fluttered its pages as if that was unfair.

That distant illusion and dimensional gate had only appeared because Lee Han’s own level had risen, not because the black book was trying to get him killed.

“You’re saying it appeared because my level went up?”

The book nodded vigorously. Lee Han spoke in a stern voice.

“You misjudged.”

-……

“Fine. Just pretend I didn’t see it. Now, teach me some magic. Don’t tell me you called me here with no spell at all?”

The black book nodded with a reluctant motion.

Other than the fact that Lee Han’s level had risen enough to see the distant dimensional gate, there were still plenty of spells for the black book to teach.

But as a magician, shouldn’t you depart for unexplored dimensional gates the moment you saw them?

No matter how far off and mirage-like they seemed, you could never walk enough steps…

• * *

‘My anger is easing a bit.’

Waking from sleep, Lee Han mused as he prepared to head to Blackrock Hall.

He had explained about the dimensional gate first, but the black book had definitely responded to Lee Han’s needs by gifting him magic.

He still couldn’t forgive the suggestion to enter that suspicious dimensional gate!

‘Is it going to teach me a spell I can’t burn, just to be wicked? If so, what a truly evil artifact.’

In imperial folktales, there were often stories of people ruined by falling for an evil artifact.

At first it seems useful and lulls you into trusting it, but when you feel safe, it finally reveals its true nature.

If the black book was such an artifact, maybe Lee Han really should sever ties now.

‘But it is useful. Ugh. Is this why people fell into the traps of evil artifacts?’

Lee Han stared intently at the black book in anguish.

Sensing his feelings, the black book rustled its cover in displeasure. Lee Han was a most discourteous master.