Episode 774

It made no sense, but Catten, who thought of the punishment room as positive, nodded.

“True. The punishment room can be scary, but there’s a positivity to it too.”

“H-ha ha.”

“Well, now that I’ve explained about the lecture, let’s get started learning from each other, junior!”

Catten smiled brightly and slapped Lee Han on the back.

It looked like a light tap, but Lee Han felt the shock shaking his insides.

‘Ugh.’

Every casual movement hid alarming destructive power.

• * *

Thus the real class began.

“So you cast this fire resistance spell and practice -Lesser Flame Barrier-… Hm. I think it would be more effective to try without the resistance spell.”

“Excuse me?”

“After all, resistance spells are to protect wizards, but there’s no need to deaden the wizard’s instinctual senses, right?”

“But you could get seriously hurt.”

“Hahaha! Junior, just dodge well! Oh right, you said you have so much magical power it’s hard to control? Maybe you should try without the resistance spell, too?”

‘…Did Professor Voladi bribe this guy?’

Lee Han was aghast at the innocent-looking cat beastkin senior.

Making it more dangerous to adapt faster—this felt exactly like Professor Vol’s logic!

“I’d just like to practice with a resistance spell on.”

“No, junior, if anything goes wrong I’ll help. Trust me.”

“No… I’m sure I’ll master it someday just practicing with the resistance spell.”

Lee Han’s case was different from Catten’s.

Catten literally had no choice but to learn magic by pure instinct, hence his fixation on sensitive feelings—but for Lee Han, all he had to do was control his output.

And this -Lesser Flame Barrier- wasn’t even a spell Lee Han didn’t know how to use, more one where precise control of the fire was difficult.

So why do anything so reckless…

“Junior.”

Catten called in a serious voice.

“You really are a rare genius compared to me.”

“And…?”

“For a genius to waste time training magic can be seen as an insult to a dullard like me.”

“What?! That’s not…”

“So let’s do it together! I might not be able to help much with magic, but I’ll save you if you get hurt. Here, junior, watch me! Oh flame, rise as a barrier!”

With great confidence, Catten shouted the spell.

But instead, his mana went wildly astray, failing to form a fire barrier; little embers pittered out here and there and that was it.

It was a complete failure, but Catten paid it no mind and prepared to try again.

“Your turn, junior!”

“…Flame, rise as a barrier.”

Lee Han carefully cast the spell.

Fire magic always required care.

If concentration slipped or he pumped in just a bit too much power, it’d swell catastrophically and burn everything near.

Unlike Catten’s, Lee Han’s fire barrier was almost perfect.

He focused even more, anxious about losing mana control.

Foosh!

Suddenly the flame barrier thickened, and fire threatened to spew everywhere.

Before Lee Han could react, Catten barreled in and flung him away, then swung his sword to dispel the barrier.

“Are you okay, junior?!”

“…I think I was fine before you knocked me away, senior.”

“Good! Let’s practice again, junior.”

“I might need to rest and recover some mana.”

“I heard your mana is infinite, junior?”

“……”

Lee Han swore to himself that he would really attack the White Tiger Tower students next time.

Catten helped Lee Han up and got ready to try magic again.

When it came to magic, Catten never got tired or discouraged—a true spirit of inquiry.

“Again, now!”

“Ugh.”

Every time Lee Han lost control of the flame barrier—or it threatened to run wild—Catten struck and knocked him away.

Sometimes, even if the shape just wobbled, Lee Han would get sent flying.

-Why did you knock me away just then?!

-Wasn’t it out of control?

-It just wobbled a bit!

-Oh… sorry. I don’t really know magic…

At this point, Lee Han thought Professor Voladi’s lectures were better.

At least Professor Vol taught only magic he understood.

Meanwhile, Catten, having no idea which magic was which, just pushed Lee Han relentlessly—confident any junior could do it as long as they tried.

“Huff, huff. Junior, let’s rest a bit.”

Fortunately, Catten was not infinite in mana.

Repeatedly failing magic still burned a bit of energy, so after enough repetitions, Catten was out of breath.

“Oh dear, senior. Mana doesn’t recover so quickly. You should really rest for a while.”

“Phew. I suppose you’re right, junior.”

Catten agreed with Lee Han.

Lee Han regretted not being able to drive this senior to exhaustion for revenge, but he let it go.

Better for both to rest than to stubbornly push each other to collapse…

“Well, draw your sword.”

“Excuse me?”

“While you can’t use magic, why not save time by training swordsmanship!”

“…Shouldn’t you be careful with swordplay, too, when your mana’s low…”

“Hahaha. That much is fine, junior. Even with low mana, I can teach you plenty!”

Unfortunately for Lee Han, Catten was telling the truth.

Even with almost no mana, Catten deftly diverted Lee Han’s attacks, countered, and sometimes used limited sub-world skills to defend like a wall.

Even if he lacked mana, using a sub-world through swordplay could fill in the gap as needed.

Catten was satisfied with Lee Han’s heavy, strong sword style, but insisted that mastering aura required more concentration and resolve.

“Hm. Still, the punishment room is a good place to focus.”

“If possible, I’d prefer a different method…”

Lee Han shuddered as he gripped his sword.

Among his friends, his sword skills ranked highest, but Catten’s were on a whole other level.

Any mana-deficiency was compensated with swordsmanship, so Lee Han—who counted on his overwhelming magic and force—was dragged into a protracted fight.

“Hm! I think I’ve recovered enough mana. Let’s get ready for magic again.”

“……”

Lee Han thought there’s really no need to seek out hell in another dimension.

Hell was right here.

“Flame, rise as a barrier.”

Fwoosh—

This time, a stable flame barrier formed.

Even Lee Han, who cast it, was a little surprised at how perfectly it came out.

‘…Huh?’

Catten, watching, asked curiously.

“Oh! Junior, this looks done.”

“…Not exactly, senior. Actually, what counts as ‘perfectly mastered magic’ differs for everyone.”

“But by normal standards, this is perfect, isn’t it? Junior, look. There’s no wobble at all.”

“A bit later, a wobble might appear…”

“No! I’m reading this barrier’s mana, and there’s no instability. Junior, you just learned a new spell! Congratulations!”

“……”

“Seeing this gives me more faith in your methods! I must train harder too!”

• * *

On the way to the -Languages That Nourish Your Blood and Flesh- class, Angrago saw Lee Han and waved.

“Wardanaz. Honestly, I’m jealous.”

“…Why?”

“Don’t pretend you don’t know. Senior Jahan picked only you. To be honest, do you think I’m not jealous? We all wanted to be taught by Senior Jahan.”

Angrago nodded as he made little “mm, mm” noises.

Except for being a bit lacking in magic, Catten of the Jahan family was well respected by White Tiger Tower students.

A student who’d reached aura was already impressive, but to go beyond that and use sub-world techniques, even if limited?

Professor Ingeldel was a greater swordsman, but naturally as a student you admired the senior in your own tower even more.

Angrago, too, wanted to learn swordsmanship from Catten.

“I’m going to put in more effort this semester and ask him for lessons again come second semester. Wardanaz, be careful. You’re just holding that spot for now. Any of us could take it next… ack! Ack!!!”

Other students approaching were bewildered to see Lee Han furiously slapping Angrago’s back.

“What’s wrong with Angrago?”

“Did he eat his homework again or make up some excuse like before? There haven’t even been that many assignments yet this year…”

“H-help! You guys!”

Angrago called to his White Tiger Tower friends, but they ignored him and headed into the lecture room.

If an outsider invaded White Tiger Tower, they’d risk their lives for their friend, but when it was Angrago and Lee Han scuffling, it was usually Angrago’s fault.

“Urgh! Slip, from the enemy’s hand!”

Getting battered, Angrago finally managed to use a slip spell and wriggled free from Lee Han’s grasp.

His frictionless clothes let him escape his captor’s hold.

“Wh-what did I say… Just you wait, Wardanaz!”

Yelling, Angrago ran into the lecture hall—only to freeze when a gigantic wyvern blinked at him.

“…D-did I come to the wrong classroom?”

“Ah! Nope, you’re in the right place. Everyone, have a seat! Sit down!”

Professor Rosine was considered one of the more normal, less insane professors at Einrogard.

Maybe because she was a former imperial bureaucrat, too.

Yet with second year, even Professor Rosine seemed to be showing some true colors, and the students in the hall looked apprehensive.

‘Didn’t the professor bring around a demon last year too?’

Lee Han thought internally as he sat down.

Maybe the students only wanted to believe the professor was normal—Rosine had always been a bit odd.

Next to him, Gainando tried to duck as low as possible to avoid the wyvern’s gaze.

“L-Lee Han. I think that thing is staring at just me.”

“Ah. Wyverns probably do like blonds best.”

“Th-that rude monster…!”

Once all the students were seated, Professor Rosine cleared her throat and began.

“Now! You might be shocked at seeing today’s wyvern! But don’t worry; there will be no riding or hunting wyverns required. I brought a wyvern to show you what it’s like to converse with one.”

After saying this, Professor Rosine began talking with the wyvern in an incredibly complicated, bizarre cry the students couldn’t hope to understand.

After a few exchanges, she nodded.

“Gainando, could you please move to the very back row?”

“……”

Gainando, pale as a sheet, hurried to the back.

“These monster languages are surprisingly useful for a magician. Sometimes they’re more effective than even great magic, if you master them. I’ve listed some monster languages I recommend for each student, so read your paper!”

Paper birds flew to the students.

Lee Han read his paper, then raised a question.

“Professor, I have a question.”

“Yes, what is it?”

“A creature like a basilisk is a rare monster you’d almost never see in the empire. Is there a reason to learn its language? Wouldn’t it be better to focus on other monster languages first?”

-……

“…Well, on your sleeve, student…”