Episode 932

Chapter 932

Lee Han picked up the -Polarizing Lens of Asen- and muttered to himself.

By nature, illusion magicians were a particularly poor match for Lee Han.

Moreover, Lee Han had recently attained a deep understanding of Yomnak’s principle.

With his comprehension of souls greatly increased, it was now nearly impossible for illusion magicians to attack Lee Han.

‘I wish things were like this everywhere else.’

Lee Han felt pleased at this unexpected stroke of luck.

He wished it would be the same elsewhere, but figured it would be difficult. Not all magicians with the items were illusion magicians.

And even if they were, it didn’t mean their defenses would only consist of illusion magic…

What happened in Wuap’s workshop was just fortunate. Lee Han reminded himself not to count on such luck.

“…Hmm. Did I break too much?”

Lee Han, just about to leave after collecting the lens, paused.

Just before exiting, he checked the workshop one last time and realized he might’ve destroyed a bit too much.

…To be precise, all the defensive spells had been destroyed.

You could call it excessive, but Lee Han had his reasons.

The spells layered in the basement workshop were so numerous and complexly interconnected that Lee Han couldn’t easily release them one by one.

Some of the spells were hard to even analyze, and a wrong touch could trigger unexpected backfire. For Lee Han, using brute force was the only option.

He was just a second-year student—control and finesse were out of his reach for now.

‘In a way, this is one method of teleportation. The seniors will understand.’

It was closer to a robbery than a theft, but Lee Han shook his head.

He hadn’t revealed his identity, had acquired the target item, and didn’t cause any particular collateral damage.

The spells in the workshop had been smashed to bits, but that much was acceptable.

‘There must be other seniors who did it this way too!’

---

“Hmm. I’m not sure if this is going to be all right.”

Arian, who’d been waiting on the first floor of the guild hall building on the other side, spoke with concern.

“It’ll be fine. That student is quite resourceful.”

“I realize Einrogard students are prodigies, but it’s still a magician’s workshop we’re talking about.”

Originally, Arian had intended to approach Wuap directly.

To get close to someone barricaded in their workshop, a pretext would be needed.

But Lee Han refused Arian’s suggestion.

-If we do that, it’ll be easy to track once the item disappears. I don’t wish to trouble you, Arian.

-But just infiltrating is dangerous. It’s a magician’s workshop, after all.

-I’ll explore carefully and cautiously first. If I think it’s impossible, I’ll ask for help.

The Wardanaz boy declared that he would cast an invisibility spell himself and investigate the basement.

His determination was so unwavering that she couldn’t dissuade him further, yet she continued to feel uneasy.

Arian knew well how dangerous magician workshops could be.

Small in size and ordinary in appearance, perhaps, but sturdier and deadlier than most fortresses. No matter how much of a genius, an Einrogard student of the Wardanaz family, a magician’s workshop was still a different story.

With a single mistake…

“It’s done!”

“?!!”

When Lee Han returned with a bright expression, both were startled.

He had returned so quickly?

“Did you find a way to get in?”

“Oh, no. As I was looking around, I thought I could just break through, so I did, knocked the opponent out, and took it.”

Lee Han carefully took out the -Polarizing Lens of Asen-.

Since this was the targeted item, he needed to handle it carefully.

Yet neither person cared much about the artifact he brought out. What they’d just heard was too shocking.

“Wait, wait, young master. I don’t understand!”

“I figured as much.”

Lee Han nodded as if he expected that reaction.

As an experienced merchant, Arian quickly sensed the incongruity.

“You must be concerned about the evil energy emanating from this artifact, correct? I believe it’s tainted.”

It might be hard to detect with magic, but Lee Han could see the other-dimensional spirit corridor connected to the -Polarizing Lens of Asen- had turned murky and dark.

Things visible or observable through the lens were obviously being subtly tainted by the power of another evil dimension.

What was nastier was that it was hard for a magician to notice.

Even direct examination of the magic yielded nothing strange, and the influence of the evil dimension didn’t become apparent right away—making it extremely difficult to detect.

By the time a magician sensed something amiss, it would already be irreparably corrupt.

“It’s hard to catch contamination like this. Truly, Arian, your insight is remarkable!”

“…Ah, no. It was contaminated? That’s not what I meant.”

Arian hurriedly corrected the misunderstanding.

As if she would notice such a thing. Arian was an experienced merchant, but not a magician.

She’d heard rumors Wuap collected suspicious artifacts, but she’d never imagined that lens would be such an artifact.

Lee Han was perplexed.

“Then what don’t you understand?”

“…All of it! How does someone check out the structure of the workshop and end up walking out with the lens?!”

Amur nodded beside them, indicating she was grateful for Arian’s questions since she wasn’t much of a talker.

“Oh, that. You mean that.”

Lee Han, as if this hadn’t occurred to him, sheepishly explained what happened.

He used invisibility, then set some illusion spells, passed through the first floor, went down to the basement full of tightly packed spells, felt he could smash through, so he did…

“That’s it. Nothing extraordinary.”

“……”

“……”

Both of them suffered because what they knew of magic had just been utterly overturned.

…Could a workshop’s spells really be shattered that easily?

‘He may be from the Wardanaz family, but to be able to break Wuap’s spells that easily…’

Arian shuddered inwardly.

Her evaluation of the Wardanaz family’s young master needed to rise even higher.

To rob Wuap’s workshop so easily, in broad daylight.

“Impressive. That’s remarkable.”

Amur recovered first, offering praise. Lee Han replied modestly.

“It was just luck. If it had been other magic, I couldn’t have broken it so easily.”

“Ha ha. In my homeland, there’s a saying: drawing luck is also a person’s talent.”

Arian, coming back to herself, joined the conversation.

“Young master. Is there anything left to clean up inside?”

If he had unleashed fire, or summoned something threatening, they’d have to send someone in.

Otherwise, the dangers in the basement could spill outside at any time.

“Oh, you don’t need to worry about that. All the spells inside are destroyed. There’s no real danger.”

“I-I see… That’s a relief.”

Facing an Einrogard student, both thought inwardly at the same time.

‘Can this be called a quiet retrieval?’

It was quiet, technically, but the assault was oddly brazen…

‘No, this must have been a fluke this time. The young master of the Wardanaz family wouldn’t stir up trouble on purpose.’

---

The next target was a mansion in the noble district at the city center.

A mansion that belonged to a branch family associated with the Greenbell family.

In Granden City, the Greenbell family was a traditional city-noble family with strengths not to be underestimated. Arian warned that caution was needed.

“Even if it’s a branch family, if things get noisy, the Greenbell family members will move to help. Aside from that, their wealth means their defenses will surely be solid.”

A mansion defended by formidable patrons and plenty of gold.

Arian thought now was the time to choose the classic method.

Disguise as a merchant delivering a gift and secretly probe for weaknesses in the mansion.

“Hmm. I’ll go in and check things out first.”

“…You’re not going to just beat people up and walk out like last time, are you?”

Arian’s joke drew a burst of laughter from Lee Han.

“Ha ha. You’re so good at joking!”

“It was a joke, but…”

‘With a bit of sincerity mixed in.’

“I’ll just check the structure and return.”

They waited for Lee Han to come back at a nearby tavern.

After about thirty minutes,

Lee Han deactivated his invisibility spell and emerged from an alley, exhaling deeply.

“You’re back! Thank you for your hard work. So. How can I help with the preparations?”

“Uh, well.”

Lee Han hesitated, then lifted his backpack. He took out a squirrel statue artifact.

This copper statue, radiating a vivid red, was the divination magic artifact that Professor Paselete Craer had requested.

“Actually, I brought it out.”

“……”

“……”

Amur nearly dropped her tin cup. Arian forgot her merchant’s professionalism and glared at the young master in disbelief.

What in the world…?

“You said you’d just check the structure!”

“No… there were circumstances.”

“Did the opponent seem too weak?”

“What are you talking about? Not at all.”

Lee Han waved his hands, trying to explain as thoroughly as possible.

In Wuap’s workshop, luck had been with him, so he’d been a bit rough, but Lee Han was ordinarily a magician who preferred quiet, trace-free work.

A magician who liked straightforward fights or showing off would never have joined the Teleportation Club in the first place.

So for this mansion, Lee Han had planned to proceed in the most classic way.

Secretly scout the structure, identify its weaknesses, use others’ help to get inside, slowly spread confusion to widen the gaps…

When many incidents that seem coincidental are woven together by the hidden rules only magicians know, the target will quietly disappear without anyone knowing.

Even at Lee Han’s explanation, the two remained skeptical—their expressions asked for a quicker recount of the mansion heist.

“…Well, when I got inside, the east wing of the mansion was guarded by a water spirit.”

Not just a water spirit—the east wing was filled with powerful water magic, keeping a tight guard.

Seeing that, Lee Han figured he might as well attempt to control the water element.

It wasn’t likely an outside magician could easily seize control, but it couldn’t hurt to try.

And Lee Han seized control of the elements.

-…Huh.

The powerful mana and tempered water element spells granted Lee Han the force to overtake the house’s magic.

The water spirit, realizing an intruder had seized that control, rushed over in rage.

But upon seeing Lee Han, it ran away.

-…Uh.

Lee Han realized things were escalating and decided to withdraw.

While the mansion’s other sectors hadn’t noticed the anomaly yet, it was only a matter of time…

-Who are you!? Who dares meddle with my magic… Ugh!

-Damn.

Unluckily, a noble in a red silk vest had run over at the commotion.

Lee Han had no choice but to use the water’s power he now controlled to knock out the opponent. He didn’t know who it was, but he couldn’t just leave them be.

“And when I searched the body afterwards, they had this. So I just brought it out.”

“……”

“…Is it really okay to just take it out so boldly?”

“I don’t know either…”

It was Lee Han’s first time stealing so aggressively without being seen.