Episode 214

“If we set a fire…”

The White Tiger Tower students whispered among themselves. It looked like they were seriously considering Gainando’s suggestion.

“Forget it, idiots. If the library could be closed down by a first-year setting a fire, it would’ve been destroyed long ago.”

Giselle said bluntly. The White Tiger Tower students openly showed their disappointment.

Still, Gainando didn’t give up.

“If we set a bigger fire… Would it work if Lee Han did it?”

“Hey, Gainando. Is Wardanaz some kind of dragon?”

“E-everyone. You can’t set fire to the library.”

Professor Garcia, flustered by the students’ seditious conversation, spoke up.

The students nodded.

“Of course, Professor.”

“There’s no way we’d set a fire.”

“…Seriously, don’t do it. You might have to stay in the punishment room even during vacation.”

“……”

“W-we really won’t set a fire. Really.”

The fear that they might be locked in the punishment room even when vacation came was more terrifying than any threat.

Even the most extreme student gave up on setting a fire after hearing that.

‘This is bad.’

Lee Han fell into thought.

Amazingly, it turned out that the professors had been using fewer library books out of consideration for the students, but from now on, they’d be using them much more.

It wasn’t just a matter of the lectures getting harder and having more to study.

At Einrogard, just going into the library and bringing out a book was a challenge in itself.

It already took ages to find books near the entrance, but books deeper inside…

‘Can’t we just go out and buy them?’

Of course, there were rare magical tomes only found in the magic school’s library, but surely some could be bought outside.

If they’d just open the main gate, we could go buy them!

“Professor, please come in.”

Perhaps thinking he should start today’s lecture before the students despaired any further, Professor Garcia opened the door and called in the professor outside.

‘Spirit half-blood?’

Lee Han’s eyes sparkled as he sensed a spirit-like aura from the entering professor.

Just as there were students who were half spirit, angel, or demon, it wasn’t surprising for a professor to have mixed blood.

‘Doesn’t seem like a spirit, though.’

“Professor Paselet Craer. He’s a master of divination magic.”

“!”

Divination magic.

Among the many difficult and tricky fields of magic, it was one of the most difficult and tricky.

Even though Lee Han had heard a lot about other magics while staying at the family mansion, he had only heard fragmentary and brief snippets about divination magic.

—A divination wizard stepped in to solve the theft of the ruby necklace at the Jojeon Family. Using coin divination, they guessed the location of the ruby necklace…

—Did you hear those picky merchants went to their knees before a wizard with a pouch of gold coins? Just to have their fortune told once.

—A great divination wizard is said to know what they’ll eat for lunch as soon as they wake up in the morning.

—The talent needed for divination magic is completely different from that needed for other magics. Only a flash of intuition is the guiding light.

Lee Han still didn’t know exactly what kind of magic it was, but he was quite interested in divination magic.

‘Great divination wizards are supposed to be really popular, right?’

Wizards who could change reality with their will were feared and respected even in the Empire, but among them, great divination wizards received especially strong respect.

Everyone fears an uncertain future.

How could you not respect someone who can read that future?

Lee Han didn’t have a desire to master the future, but he did want to be able to say, “I am a wizard who has learned divination magic,” wherever he went.

It would be much better received than saying he was a dark wizard.

—I am a divination wizard.

—Oh my! A great wizard has come to our village! Wizard, could you divine my child’s future?

—I am a dark wizard.

—…Hey. We did lock the village cemetery gate, right?

“Professor Craer?”

When Professor Garcia called, Professor Craer, who had been spacing out, nodded.

“…Professor. I asked you to visit with your diligent personality today.”

“I did. But the future is unknowable, you know.”

“Professor. I asked you.”

There was force in Professor Garcia’s voice.

Craer’s eyes flashed, and suddenly his expression changed.

“Ah. Right. Divination magic. I was supposed to lecture.”

‘…Multiple personalities?!’

Lee Han was quite surprised at how Professor Craer suddenly became diligent, as if he were a different person.

‘Well, it’s not that strange.’

Professors all had more or less multiple-personality-like traits.

Craer was just a bit more extreme.

“Nice to meet you all. I’m Paselet Craer. I’m a banshee half-blood. I majored in divination magic.”

“Pleased to meet you, Professor!”

The students greeted in unison.

Professor Craer shook his head to get his long hair, which covered his face, out of the way.

“Does anyone know about Jundaer Dolfram?”

Ahsan, who was next to Lee Han, raised his hand and shouted.

“He’s the great wizard who laid the foundation for Imperial divination magic!”

“Smart. Do you know that Jundaer Dolfram committed suicide in Imperial Year 131?”

“Uh… No?”

“I see. Remember that. Anyone know about his disciple, Keltain Inan?”

Lee Han had heard of that wizard too. Several people, including the princess, raised their hands. Even Gainando.

Lee Han was surprised.

“You know Keltain Inan?”

“Lee Han. He’s the main card in my deck.”

“Ah. Sorry. I didn’t know because the game always ends before he comes out.”

Gainando looked at Lee Han with tearful eyes, breathing heavily. Lee Han apologized at his genuinely hurt expression.

“I’m not saying you’re bad… It’s just a game of luck.”

“R-right? It’s not about skill, right?”

“Yeah. Maybe divination magic would help.”

Meanwhile, another student answered instead. Professor Craer nodded.

“Well done. But did you know Keltain Inan committed suicide in Imperial Year 241?”

“…No?? Wasn’t he missing…?”

“Missing, my foot. If a divination wizard’s record says missing, whereabouts unknown, or lost contact, just think suicide. So, as I just said… The great wizard who laid the foundation for Imperial divination magic, Jundaer Dolfram, committed suicide in Imperial Year 131. His disciple Keltain Inan committed suicide in Imperial Year 241. Now it’s your turn to learn divination magic.”

“……”

“……”

‘It feels even colder than last week.’

Lee Han couldn’t help but admire the professor’s ability to make the school colder than the King of Frost Giants with just a few words.

• * *

Despite the warning, Professor Craer’s lecture wasn’t that dangerous or difficult.

In fact, compared to other professors’ lectures, it was rather easy.

Instead of doing something or dodging flying attacks, you just had to listen to the explanation.

“In fact, divination is a skill that even non-wizards can do to some extent. A student who comes to class without eating breakfast knows they’ll be hungry by the end. A professor who comes to class with the lazy personality despite Professor Garcia’s request knows what’ll happen to him after class.”

“Professor Craer, the students might misunderstand.”

At Professor Garcia’s warning, Professor Craer became a bit more cautious.

“Reading the future using information from the past and present—that’s divination. What makes a wizard’s divination special is that they can call up and judge information that ordinary people can’t catch. Even information the wizard themselves isn’t aware of.”

According to the professor, divination magic was largely divided into predicting the near future and the distant future.

Predicting the near future, that is, a few seconds ahead, was quite intuitive, accurate, and relatively easy magic.

But predicting the distant future, more than a few hours ahead, was much more uncertain and a heavy burden for the wizard.

“You there. What did you feel just now?”

Ahsan was flustered at the question.

“Uh… Divination magic is profound and endless, so we must strive endlessly?”

“No. If you don’t want to go crazy, only divine the near future. Especially if someone asks you to. If you keep trying to divine the distant future, you’ll end up like Jundaer Dolfram, Keltain Inan, or Perljun Jega.”

“Professor, I’ve never heard of a wizard named Perljun Jega…”

“You haven’t because he’s dead. So today, we’ll try divining the distant future.”

“???”

Lee Han was puzzled.

Other students also tilted their heads.

Didn’t he just say not to divine the distant future?

Professor Craer was cold.

“If I told you not to do it and you didn’t, you wouldn’t be wizards. Better to collapse in front of me now than cough up blood and collapse later trying to divine the final exam questions in secret.”

“……”

“Indeed.”

“What do you mean, indeed?!”

When Lee Han nodded as if convinced, Ahsan was appalled.

What the…!

‘Isn’t this rather considerate?’

A magic circle was laid out in front of the students, and various stones were placed haphazardly.

According to Professor Craer, the more skilled you became at divination magic, the more you found a fortune-telling method that suited you.

Of course, for freshmen who didn’t have one, the easiest method was stone divination.

“Pick up a stone, chant the spell, and toss it lightly. The goal is to see what you’ll be doing a day from now.”

“Shouldn’t you be able to know that much?”

Gainando whispered. Professor Craer spoke expressionlessly.

“A great divination wizard is said to know what they’ll eat for lunch as soon as they wake up. A day from now is a distant future. Enough with the nonsense… Throw!”

Clatter—

The sound of stones being thrown and spells being cast echoed here and there.

“O colorful stones, show me myself tomorrow.”

“Red, blue, green stones, show me myself tomorrow…”

The students who cast the spell first stared blankly at the scattered stones.

Then they tilted their heads.

“Is it over?”

“If no image comes to mind, you failed. You have to see an image.”

“Can I try again?”

“Of course.”

Professor Craer smiled.

At that moment, the student who spoke rolled to the side.

Thud!

“Ugh…!”

“Seeing the future comes at a price. If it’s just mana, that’s cheap.”

“But… I didn’t see anything?”

“Yeah. That’s why it was only that bad. If you’d seen something, you wouldn’t even be able to groan.”

“……”

The students who were about to wave their wands started to hesitate, getting scared.

No matter how attractive divination magic was, at this point it just looked like suicide magic.

“Well done, right, Professor Garcia?”

“You could have been a bit more delicate… but you did warn them properly. Good job.”

“You have to go this far for students to take it seriously. Divination magic is perfect for coughing up blood while learning alone… Wait! What are you doing!”

Professor Craer shouted sharply at Lee Han.

He was attempting divination not just once, but twice.

To do that even after seeing another student collapse—he must be either extremely bold or arrogant in his own talent.

Lee Han answered hesitantly.

“I think… this much is fine.”

“Fine? Dead wizards always think it’s fine. Professor Garcia. Potion!”

“He’ll be fine at that level…”

“?!?”

When even the kind Professor Garcia showed indifference to a matter of student life and death, Professor Craer was appalled.

It was surely a sign of the world’s end.