Episode 836

‘Isn’t this guy just rewriting history in his favor since no one remembers his past?’

Whether it was the Skull Principal’s clone or his actual self, they had one thing in common: shamelessly saying, “I was truly great even in my youth.”

And the frightening thing was, some of the magic the Skull Principal invented seemed like plausible proof of these claims.

Take the recently learned -Gonadaltes’s Ruin-: wasn’t that supposedly invented to rid the world of pain?

But seeing this Personal World spell, Lee Han couldn’t help but suspect the Skull Principal had tweaked the narrative a bit to favor himself.

Maybe he actually developed Ruin to pass pain on to others, then claimed, “I made it to erase the world’s suffering.”

Otherwise, could this Personal World spell Dendrobium have such savage effects?

‘The world’s rules change depending on the color of the flower… Simple, but powerful.’

Personal World magic didn’t have to be combat-oriented.

In fact, spells designed solely for battle were rarer; after all, magicians weren’t a profession built for fighting.

Even Direte’s Pentagrammaton Personal World was developed for black magic research, not battle…

In that light, this Personal World Dendrobium was as flexible and versatile as the tree it symbolized.

A black flower nullified physical attacks.

A red flower absorbed the essence of nearby enemies.

And a blue flower…

“!”

The red flower at the branch’s tip vanished, and a blue bud emerged. Lee Han was astonished.

What effect did blue have?

Lee Han wondered out of pure curiosity, but for the suffering tree spirit, it sent chills down his spine.

If surviving the red flower’s effect was hard enough, what did it mean for a blue one to bloom next?

It was like a death sentence, closing off all hope.

The sense of crisis hit Saratan, Ironhead Beech King, like lightning, and his intelligence soared.

After all, he’d survived in a first-year student’s staff by bowing and scraping until his strength and awareness returned; Saratan was a spirit who could get as low as he needed.

His intelligence, too, surfaced when required.

Having tried to win by brute force, Saratan now scrambled to deploy his authority with the strength he had left.

His body already heavy with unresolved bonds and now further weakened by drained essence, he was exhausted all over.

But, true to his former kingly name, Saratan managed to unleash one authority.

Authority of Propagation.

In an instant, Saratan’s giant form withered away as if rotting.

But he hadn’t died.

Just as plants can be reborn by planting a piece of themselves, Saratan left a clone nearby and was reborn.

Normally, if the original body died, so would any clones, but this plant spirit’s authority defied that.

As long as a clone survived, he kept regenerating—an immortal power!

Huff, huff… That was damn close!

Rising in the distance, Saratan panted heavily.

He escaped that unpleasant magical domain, but the harm was grievous.

You wait—I’ll double your head, then crush both! I’ll split you in two!

Stung by the defeat at the hands of a magician he’d seen as beneath him, Saratan growled a dire warning.

Still, he didn’t rush in like before; he had learned it could mean disaster.

Multiply!

Around Saratan, saplings sprouted and each transformed into a likeness of him.

The Authority of Propagation didn’t just mean tenacious survival. With its applications, it could create a powerful army of clones.

To any observer, the magician’s Personal World spell looked invincible, but there was no such thing as a spell without weakness.

Saratan had already identified Dendrobium’s solution.

He’d wear it down with hit-and-run and attrition! Hear me, magician?!

If he kept sending clones to wear the spell down, that Personal World would be depleted eventually.

Nullifying physical attacks and draining essence at range were no easy powers, after all.

Your mana… your mana…

‘Your mana may be endless, but how long can you last!’ Saratan nearly bellowed, then paused.

Come to think of it, that magician brat…

Flutter!

The Black Book was not agitated in the slightest as the enemy retreated and readied a counterattack.

Now that a Dendrobium Personal World had bloomed, no matter how the trapped spirit raged, it was firmly in Lee Han’s grasp.

“…Ugh!”

Lee Han, having let his guard down, screamed.

A familiar sensation—mental overload.

Astonishingly, the Black Book was trying to open yet another Personal World!

‘…This crazy bastard…!’

Lee Han’s mana might be limitless, but after seeing him cough blood already, the Black Book still showed no restraint.

Only a Skull Principal spellbook could be so indifferent to pain.

The overload, once again, was transferred to the enemy via Ruin. Saratan, preparing his clone army, froze at the dreaded sensation returning.

Stop, stop!! What are you doing! Wait, hold up—hey!

Desperate to interrupt, Saratan dropped all dignity and pride.

But the spell was already complete.

Personal World, Basilios!

A simple and humble crown appeared above Lee Han’s head, woven of bronze, copper, and twigs.

The wary Saratan saw it and burst out laughing with a tremble.

What is that?! What kind of crown even is that?!

For spirit kings, crowns that weren’t on one’s head were the height of extravagance.

The rarest, highest treasures of the dimension were deployed.

But look at this crown.

No jewels, no gold or silver, just the mark of a pathetic king.

Thwack!

At that instant, all Saratan’s clones simultaneously stabbed him.

So unexpected was the betrayal, Saratan could barely make a sound.

Maybe if they were ordinary clones, an enemy magician could control them.

A master magician could interfere even with an enemy’s clones.

But these weren’t ordinary clones—they were made with the Authority of Propagation.

Practically, they were Saratan himself.

And yet, the magician had taken over his clones without Saratan himself even realizing?

Y-you bastard..! It’s not over—

As Saratan raged and tried to move his heavy body, he was horrified again.

His body wouldn’t respond. It was as if he had become someone else’s servant.

‘…Indeed. So that’s it.’

Freed from the overload and pain by Ruin, Lee Han was able to think at last.

The effect of the Personal World Basilios was much simpler than Dendrobium.

Control of all enemies within range.

A simple but absolutely powerful authority. He suspected there must be certain conditions.

‘Otherwise, there’d be no reason to use Dendrobium first to weaken him.’

Hey! Cancel this! I said, cancel it, dammit!

Finding nothing left but to yap, Saratan started screaming.

The clones that Lee Han had dominion over pinned Saratan completely, immobilizing him.

“…Wait, what do I do next?”

Should he finish the opponent off completely?

Wouldn’t that make his staff break?

Wouldn’t destroying the spirit beyond the seal mean losing his staff?

The Black Book fluttered, giving him guidance.

Ugh, urgh, graaahhh! Graah! Argh! I-I was wrong! I was wrong, please!

Saratan’s huge, frightening body now shrank as if caught in a compactor.

S-spare me! Magician! Forgive me, I beg you!

“…Is it really okay for a Spirit King to end up like this, even one who’s sealed?”

Lee Han was flustered.

He’d never seen a collapsed, sealed Spirit King like this, but still…

‘Even at his weakest, I can’t imagine Perkuntra like this.’

Lee Han suddenly felt a new respect for Perkuntra’s dignity.

Next time he met him, he’d have to say thank you!

The Black Book gave a flutter as if to shrug its shoulders.

In infinite dimensions, all kinds of characters exist, after all.

Aaaagh! Ow! Oh-god! Ack-ack!

Saratan screamed and wailed.

‘He’s worse than Gainando…’

Of course, the pain the tree spirit felt was beyond anything Gainando had ever suffered.

Being compacted until there was almost nothing left—how could you compare?

Even so, he was being way too dramatic.

“How long is this going to keep up?”

At Lee Han’s question, the Black Book ignored him, simply continuing to squeeze Saratan.

Not until the arrogant tree spirit was weeping sap from his eyes and begging for forgiveness did it let up.

Finally, it compressed Saratan further, reshaping him into his original staff form.

“!”

Lee Han was shocked.

The Black Book’s newly forged staff looked nothing like the one he’d known.

Not only was the color and texture different, but the shape itself had changed.

The original staff had been straight and simple, but now it had become a spiral full of empty space.

It looked as though two branches should be twined together, but one was missing.

‘Ah. I see.’

Only then did Lee Han realize.

The color and texture had changed because of the new branch.

Otherwise, why would the long-dormant Saratan have woken all of a sudden?

The branch from the King of Broadcloth’s forest must have been so powerful that it had roused him.

Now, with the Black Book’s power, Saratan was tightly sealed and locked away—so Lee Han no longer needed to worry.

And the empty part…

‘It was probably made to fit the obsidian—like Senior Yukveltire said.’

A staff spiraling together the obsidian and the King of Broadcloth’s branch.

His purpose was the same, but the form now was quite different from Yukveltire’s advice.

“Is there a reason to recommend this kind of shape? Senior Yukveltire said to use the branch as the core and coat it in obsidian.”

The Black Book fluttered as if disgusted.

As if to say: “Kids these days have no sense of class or dignity…”

• * *

“Waaaah!”

Gainando wept, pounding the floor.

Giselle, rubbing her temples, said to the Blue Dragon Tower students:

“Somebody shut him up. I can’t concentrate.”

“We tried, Moradi.”

“You’d think someone died.”

“D-died…?! Waaah, Moradi, you’re showing your true colors! You want Lee Han dead!”

Gainando, face streaming with tears and snot, accused Giselle.

The utter absurdity of the claim left Giselle speechless.

“What the hell…”

“You see?! See?! She’s flustered!”

‘Is that true…?’

Even the Blue Dragon Tower students began to look suspiciously at Giselle.

Now that they thought about it, wasn’t it odd for Moradi to show concern for Lee Han after he collapsed? Didn’t she usually wish he’d just drop dead?

“Everyone quiet down, you’re interrupting my potion making.”

From the back, Yoner snapped.

He and his Alchemy School friends were making potions, but with all that loud wailing, it was impossible to work.

Ratford quietly whispered.

“With your permission, I’ll secretly sprinkle some Silence Potion.”

Salco and Nillia already had their Silence Potions halfway out. All they needed was the signal.

“No. If it were Gainando, I wouldn’t mind, but with other kids, they need to consent… Gainando, stop crying. He’s just collapsed.”

Yoner trailed off.

Because Gainando and Adenart, along with the Blue Dragon Tower kids, were physically carrying the unconscious Lee Han over to their side.

‘…Uh. Weren’t we told never to let him have contact with royals?’

He had a sudden sinking feeling, as if his already unlucky friend was about to get even more unlucky.