Episode 1187
by Cristae“Calm down. Nothing’s been decided yet.”
Lee Han soothed the baby basilisk.
The truth was, he still hadn’t decided what form to transform into for this class.
That was why he’d gone to consult his fellow faction member Carnella…
-Senior. I wanted to consult you for this -Practical Self-Transmutation- class…
-You’re transforming!? Into what!?
-That’s what I haven’t decided yet…
-Let’s do unicorn! Great for polo matches!
-You’re not just trying to use me as an emergency mount, are you?
-As if! Haha, hahaha.
-……
He’d left it to be a joint consultation with Senior Jarun, but seeing the conversation, he felt a bit duped.
‘Is he really recommending unicorn just for polo…?’
But Jarun was also quite supportive of the unicorn idea.
“Unicorn… If you can do it, that’d be great. You’d get all kinds of benefits. Most races are fond of unicorns.”
-What would that little stump know, anyway!
“Hey, hey.”
The baby basilisk protested bitterly, but it didn’t change reality.
Transforming into a basilisk and into a unicorn was about equally hard, but if you transformed into a basilisk in the city, people would scream and the guards would barrel in.
If you bother transforming at all, it’s better to become something beautiful and well-loved.
“But are you sure there’s a real likelihood of unicorn? No point daydreaming about gold you don’t have, right?”
“Oh come on, Hormasi, give me some credit… I have good reasons. This junior rescued a unicorn. And the unicorn’s shown affection too. That kind of bond makes unicorn transformation super likely.”
“That’s true. That’s a real advantage.”
Rescuing a unicorn, and gaining its affinity.
Both were not easy things. Such a deep bond was rare to see.
-From the sleeve! Getting mana to drink! All the time!
“Calm down, now.”
The baby basilisk roared, but the two seniors paid it no mind.
By the looks of things, unicorn was halfway decided already.
Suddenly Lee Han thought to ask:
“What about things like griffin or Sharkan?”
“Why on earth ask about such rare monsters?”
Jarun asked in disbelief, only to be chided by Carnella.
“Because he raises them. It’s only because you don’t care about your junior that you don’t know. Didn’t you know he raises them?”
“What!? Why?!”
“For polo, of course.”
“No.”
Lee Han refused firmly. Carnella clicked her tongue, disappointed at the record correction.
“Both would be pretty good, if you can do them, just like basilisk…”
The baby basilisk, mouth now covered by Lee Han, squirmed. He couldn’t hear the words, but it sounded like it was swearing.
“…Wouldn’t unicorn be better?”
“Griffin’s good too, but unicorn’s just more advantageous.”
It was a relief that Fongrif wasn’t here.
If he had been, he would have been as wounded as the baby basilisk.
“As for Sharkan even more so. Even griffin is threatening to shift into in the city—what about a monster like Sharkan?”
“So, junior, should we lean toward unicorn?”
The baby basilisk drooped its tail in gloom.
Patting the basilisk in his sleeve, Lee Han asked,
“But can’t you not really know until you try? Even if you’re aimed at unicorn, what if basilisk keeps coming out…”
“That happens sometimes.”
-!
“But it’s pretty unlikely, isn’t it?”
Unless you’d lived your whole life only with basilisks, or have an ancestor who contracted with a powerful basilisk, it was rare.
With valid ties to unicorns or griffins, there was no reason basilisk would come out forcibly.
-Do we really have to hang around with these magicians?
“…They’re still your seniors…”
While Lee Han pacified the baby basilisk, the seniors prepared the training space.
Transformation magic—especially self-transformation—brought surprising risks.
Failed transformations could cause shock and explosions, and even successful ones could be dangerous.
If you suddenly gained the body of a wild beast, controlling the surge of destructive urges or competitiveness was harder than people thought.
With enough experience, a magician could observe their own soul and steady their emotional turmoil from the bodily change…
…but for a first attempt, mastering all that was unrealistic. So it was only right for others to help from nearby.
“Senior, set some elasticity magic on the wall.”
“What am I, your butler? Do you know what reagents cost?”
“Or just let your attic get destroyed.”
Jarun cursed the juniors as he cast the spells.
He shouldn’t have given away this location…
They set up damage-absorbing enchantments on the floor and walls, put up protective spells on Jarun’s hideout, and finished the prep.
The two seniors gestured to Lee Han.
“Go for it, junior.”
“At first, just relax—don’t think of anything, just let instinct take over.”
-You could think of basilisks!
“……”
-…I’ll be quiet…
The baby basilisk clammed up, busted for its attempt at subliminal persuasion.
Lee Han stood in the center and entered a focused state.
Transformation magic used fewer complex arrays, chants, and formulas than other magic, but that didn’t make it easy.
The magician’s mental concentration was especially important. If you acted distracted or let odd thoughts intrude, weird results could follow.
“Wait, what did he usually transform into with practice?”
Waiting, Jarun asked Carnella.
Transformation magic—even genius took at least a year of practice going from parts to fuller attempts.
“What was it? Hang on… Oh right. In Professor Bendozol’s class, he turned his arm into a basilisk head.”
Carnella confirmed, checking her notes.
“……”
Jarun tottered for a moment.
The practice example had been radical from the beginning.
Most just try a paw or leg of some familiar, easy animal.
“I… I see. So he’s definitely close with basilisks.”
Unfortunately, the conversation was out of the baby basilisk’s earshot or it would’ve pestered everyone with “See! Basilisk is the easiest, whiiiine…”
“Mm. Still, unicorn seems better…”
“Why?”
“It’s perfect for fielding in polo.”
“……”
Jarun looked at his junior as if he were human trash. Carnella, slightly embarrassed, replied:
“Just a joke.”
“Who’d call that a joke! You lunatic!”
“I genuinely think unicorn would be more useful to transform into. And why are you making such a fuss for a junior you don’t even care about?”
“……”
The blunt point silenced Jarun, and Carnella grinned.
“Huh? Since when were you two so close? Didn’t you say you had no interest in being close?”
“We’re not close! At all!”
“With your personality, this much fuss is practically like worrying about a sibling.”
“…It’s just because he gave me something!”
“What did he give you?”
“He stole a Verdus artifact for my graduation.”
“……”
Even Carnella, who had been teasing, was shocked and froze.
Wait…
“W-will you help me with mine next year?”
“You little… That’s dragon-level!”
“???”
Carnella was confused by the senior’s outburst.
“It’s nice to be praised, but isn’t that awfully random?”
“No, you maniac! Look! Look there!”
Jarun, stammering, pointed to Wardanaz. Realization dawned on Carnella, and she turned.
The junior was on his knees, panting heavily. He looked exhausted, but he wasn’t a dragon.
“What?”
“He’s back to himself. But he definitely was a dragon!”
“……”
Carnella’s gaze was cold. Realizing what this meant, Jarun bristled.
“What?”
“I mean… couldn’t you have been mistaken?”
“You moron! Do you realize how unlikely even a glimpse of a dragon is? Sure the form didn’t last, but—!”
Jarun, having his eyesight and judgement doubted, was furious.
“You can mistake things. Baslisk could seem like a dragon subspecies at a glance. Wyverns too—people often misreport them as dragons, even.”
“■■■■■■!”
Livid, Jarun swore in old dwarven. Carnella, who’d been nonchalant, suddenly shouted.
“It’s a dragon!”
“……”
“Did you see that? That was definitely a dragon! For sure!”
“……”
Jarun just glared at his junior with bloodshot eyes.
Even Carnella, now a little embarrassed, apologized.
“Sorry. I just couldn’t believe it when you suddenly said it was a dragon in the test phase. It’s like… suddenly awakening to a fire elemental during a fire lecture.”
A transformation into dragon form at the “what’s my natural shape” phase was as crazy as awakening to a fire world in a fire lecture.
“A magician should keep a calm and logical perspective, right? Let’s go coach our junior.”
“…I remember now why I always avoided hanging out with jerks like you and did stuff alone.”
“Oh, don’t be like that. Junior! Did you realize you just transformed into a dragon?”
Looking exhausted, Lee Han raised one hand.
Beyond mana exhaustion, his physical fatigue was extreme. Even if you could bear the mana strain of transforming into a dragon, your physical endurance still had to take it.
The moment you returned from the transformation, your body felt like you’d just engaged in nonstop sword fighting.
“Do you want to try another, like unicorn, basilisk, or griffin?”
“What?! He’s a dragon, you lunatic! A dragon!”
Jarun yelped in alarm.
A dragon, for heaven’s sake.
Who could even guess how many mages in the Empire could fully transform into a dragon?
And you’re telling him to try a different path?
“Senior, look at him. It’s his first try at full-body self-transformation. Practicing with dragon-form is too difficult and dangerous. Let’s see if he can do something else first. He’s not going to lose his dragon talent.”
“……”
Jarun felt shamed.
He’d always thought of Carnella as mad for polo or just mad in general, but this admonition struck home.
He’d been so overwhelmed by the idea of “dragon” that he’d ignored common sense.
“…Sorry, Hormasi.”
“??”
“I always thought you were just crazy and rude…”
“…That’s a creative backhanded compliment for a senior.”
Carnella was surprised to see this side of the stubborn Jarun.
Didn’t expect revenge like this, huh?
“It’s a compliment.”
“I’m good at compliments too.”
Poof!
As the two quipped, Lee Han tried another transformation.
Just as he began to assume unicorn form, he suddenly shifted into a huge dragon again, then returned to normal.
“??”
“What’s wrong? You don’t have to force dragon now.”
The two seniors offered advice, puzzled.
Lee Han took a breath and shook his head.
“My body’s turning into a dragon on its own.”
“……”
“…Does magic get envious, too?”