Episode 117

Episode 117

Without noticing the shock of the Black Turtle Tower students, Valpatan of the Moradi family nodded his head.

-Gainando… A fine name fitting for exceptional talent.

“?”

-I’ll remember that name. We’ll meet again someday.

The senior left, carrying his quill and paper.

A moment later, after regaining his senses, a Black Turtle Tower student asked Ihan with a confused voice,

“Wo… Wodanaz. Is this really okay?”

“He said that people who meet at night normally don’t mention their names or families.”

“……”

To Ihan’s quick application of what they’d just learned from the senior—using it less than a minute later—the Black Turtle Tower students were at a loss for words.

Is this the kind of flexibility it takes to be one of the top students in your grade?

“And you guys, think about it. Which family did that senior say he was from just now?”

“The Moradi family.”

“If he’s from the Moradi family, do you think he’ll bother us later, or not?”

Ihan’s question made the Black Turtle Tower students ponder deeply.

White Tiger Tower students were usually rough, noisy, and stubborn.

And the one leading them was Giselle of the Moradi family.

She seemed polite and kind on the outside, but those students belonging to Salko’s group weren’t deceived.

It’s always a more venomous snake that leads the other snakes.

“He’ll probably bother us.”

“Right. That’s what we just blocked in advance. No need to thank me. Just remember this for later.”

Having taken care of everything he needed to, Ihan shouldered his backpack, waved, and walked away.

Seeing this, one Black Turtle Tower student said to Salko,

“Tutanta. Now I get why you told us not to talk privately with Wodanaz when he’s alone.”

“Me too.”

Salko nodded.

Wodanaz’s ability, sense of responsibility, and friendship were all worthy of respect…

But apart from that, if Wodanaz set his mind to it, he could pick any one of the Black Turtle Tower students clean in an instant.

Even for Black Turtle Tower students who’d grown up tough on the back streets, that’s how it seemed.

Wodanaz…

Really is a scary guy!

• * *

Thanks to finishing the exploration relatively early, Ihan was able to return to the Blue Dragon Tower lounge and get on with his own tasks.

He took out the food he’d gotten from the kitchen and organized it in his personal room’s pantry…

‘It’s full and there’s no more room. I’ll have to ask Yonere.’

…He sorted them by order of shortest shelf life, wrote up the inventory, and… forced—no, offered—snacks to his friends resting in the lounge.

Only then did Ihan sip his coffee and start studying.

Actually, it was easy to forget while living at this school, but the shocking truth was that students were admitted here to study.

‘Before coming here, I promised myself I wouldn’t lose in studying, at least.’

He had vowed to show those pampered imperial brats the madness of a man desperate for success; but somehow, between all the bustle, he felt he was becoming more specialized in other fields.

Was it just his imagination?

Ihan stacked the books he’d be studying in a neat pile.

The books rose to the spot next to Gainando, who was sleeping on the lounge sofa, drooling.

Seeing that, Ihan suddenly felt something odd.

‘…It feels like I’m the only one who has so much to study?’

He thought he might be mistaken and counted again.

Professor Garcia’s .

He’d announced that they’d have a quiz not just on elemental basics but also other fields of magic.

So black magic, summoning, and illusion magic were added.

Even if Professor Garcia’s own quiz was simple, the other professors in those fields were something else.

Since they were beginning to teach the next year’s students in advance, even without a formal quiz, there were basic expectations for the students.

Considering that, he’d need to read about two books for each subject.

Tak, tak, tak—

‘Nothing strange so far.’

He pushed those books aside and checked the next one.

.

Alchemy was a field where trying to get by on instincts alone could get you seriously hurt.

Even though Ihan had a sense for alchemy honed through harsh experiments, he couldn’t be neglectful of theory.

Especially considering classmates like Yonere, Adenart, and Siana, who had studied alchemy before entering, he had to work all the harder.

Considering that, he figured about three books…

Tak, tak, tak—

He stacked those to the side as well.

.

Although the quiz was over, the “Lightning Steps” professor’s lessons were every week.

Learning about the dangerous, unpredictable creatures at this school was important not just for escaping, but for survival.

‘Only one book, huh.’

It was thick, but still, just one. Ihan felt relief as he stacked it to the side.

Next was . Then .

Core classes, where the necessity of studying was obvious.

The pile of books grew higher again.

It seemed mostly complete, but it still wasn’t the end.

Ihan took out additional books.

Professor Voladi’s .

If he slacked, even without a quiz, he might end up having to learn it firsthand by being zapped by Professor Voladi. He needed to study in advance.

The black grimoire the skeleton headmaster (forcefully) gave him.

He had to keep practicing until he was proficient with it. Otherwise, he might get dragged into that dream again.

Most recently acquired, .

No one would say anything if he didn’t read this, but to survive here, he had to. He felt every time just how helpful a single usable spell was.

Once he finished stacking the books, Ihan looked up.

Gainando’s face was hidden behind all the books.

“…Hmm.”

‘This is strange.’

He was sure he’d only organized the ones he actually needed, so why were there so many?

• * *

Gainando, who’d been dozing in the lounge and then crashed on his bed until morning, looked surprised to see Ihan awake in the lounge.

“You really do get up early, don’t you?”

“I didn’t sleep.”

“……”

Gainando quietly put a marshmallow on a stick and held it over the fire until it got soft.

Then he sandwiched it between some hard bread and nibbled at it.

“Why go to such lengths…?”

“Gainando. You’re just way too relaxed.”

Azan of the Dalkad family came down looking tired.

It was quiz week, so he’d been studying all night in his room.

He’d spent who-knows-how-long mastering .

He figured Wodanaz would’ve stayed up over that subject, too.

“Wodanaz. I get you. Even after all this, I only feel like I’ve mastered about 80% of .”

“That’s still good. I still have a lot left to study myself.”

Gainando, listening in while munching marshmallow, tilted his head.

He felt like there was a misunderstanding between the two.

Azan was holding only the Geometry and Arithmetic book, so he must’ve only studied that subject.

But Ihan…

‘Yesterday, wasn’t it practically a mountain of books?’

He was sure there’d been a mountain of books before, but now there was only one left.

Gainando, getting curious, asked,

“What happened to all those books from earlier?”

“I put the finished ones in my room. They just get in the way otherwise.”

“……”

Gainando dropped his marshmallow.

“A… Are you insane?!”

“What’s up, Gainando?”

“He says Ihan studied all night!”

“…Everyone does that, dumbass.”

The rest of the Blue Dragon Tower students, who came out late, scolded Gainando.

Was he really making such a fuss over one night’s study?

Everyone was studying!

“No… Hey… You…”

Frustrated, Gainando shook with resentment.

Those guys hadn’t even seen the pile of books in the lounge…!

“There were seriously a ton…!”

“Stop talking nonsense and finish your bread.”

“Krk.”

Gainando chewed and swallowed the rest of his bread. The bread was good.

“But Azan, why did you study in your room yesterday instead of the lounge? Isn’t the lounge better?”

“Because you kept sleep-talking so loudly.”

“…Sorry…”

Meanwhile, Ihan finished rereading and stood up.

He didn’t really feel like it, but he had to get moving to start the day.

“Wodanaz. What class do you have today?”

“Basic swordsmanship.”

“…Oof.”

His friends looked at him with sympathy.

Quiz week was already tough, and now he had basic swordsmanship on top of it.

Even thinking about it sounded exhausting.

“You okay?”

“I’m fine.”

Ihan was puzzled by his friends’ concern.

Unlike the other subjects he was studying, all he had to do was show up and move around for , so it was actually easier.

But his friends watched Wodanaz’s back with worried expressions.

“Hopefully those White Tiger Tower jerks don’t use the quiz as an excuse to start something.”

“If we see any White Tiger Tower guys next, let’s be sure to warn them not to mess with Wodanaz.”

The Blue Dragon Tower friends steeled themselves with friendship.

White Tiger Tower students would probably explode with fury if they heard this.

• * *

“What’s going on? The mood is weird.”

Unlike normal swordsmanship classes, the atmosphere was lively and chaotic. Ihan looked puzzled and asked Dergyu.

Dergyu replied quietly.

“They say, for today’s quiz, people from outside are coming, Ihan.”

“!”

Now Ihan understood why the White Tiger Tower students were chattering with both nervousness and excitement.

People coming from the outside.

It was probably peers from the same knight families.

Since all the White Tiger Tower students were from knight families, it was natural for them to be tense.

If they made fools of themselves or showed poor swordsmanship…

“Everyone must be feeling nervous. Honestly, I’m nervous too.”

“That’s why I feel comfortable.”

Ihan spoke confidently.

Being from a mage family, no matter how bad he looked in swordsmanship, there was no reason for anyone to say, “Why is someone from their family so bad at swordsmanship?”

Because he was from a mage family!

“……”

Dergyu was very taken aback by Ihan’s words.

“Ihan, at your level, you wouldn’t look bad even against the guests from outside.”

“Really? I hope that’s not too hasty. Do you think I won’t be embarrassed if I end up using magic in a fight?”

“……”

“I’m kidding.”

“R-Right?”

Dergyu regained a bit of color in his face. He’d been shocked, thinking Ihan was serious.

“Attention.”

With the sound of clapping, Professor Ingerdel appeared.

“All right. Nice to meet you all… To keep it short, this week is quiz week, so we’re just making sure students are keeping up. So we’ve invited guests from outside.”

With Professor Ingerdel’s words, heavily armored knights appeared in the back.

“…Didn’t you say they’d be our age?”

Ihan asked Dergyu.

Looking at the knights’ faces, they looked like they’d spent at least ten more years on the battlefield than any student here.

“Maybe ‘our age’ means they just look a bit older…”

“All these knights here are top knights currently active in the orders.”

“……”

The students were appalled.

Ihan thought,

‘Professor Ingerdel seems to be acting more and more like Professor Voladi.’