Episode 150

“I see.”
“?”
A White Tiger Tower student was shocked by Lee Han’s expressionless reaction.
Shouldn’t he be more surprised?
“You’re not surprised by that?”
“Not really.”
Lee Han replied coolly.
In fact, that was probably one of the relatively easier hidden treasures.
A blazing bonfire.
Even from the outside, it was easy to see how dangerous it was.
The truly dangerous traps were the ones whose danger you couldn’t tell until you reached the treasure chest.
Lee Han still hadn’t forgotten how the Skull Headmaster made them cross a lake and then dug traps under the sand on the shore.
“Tutanta.”
“Wardanaz.”
Lee Han greeted the short, muscular dwarf—no, elf.
Salko and his gang also seemed to be after that treasure chest.
The White Tiger Tower students also crossed their arms and glared, showing they wouldn’t back down easily.
No one had decided who would take it yet. There was a palpable tension.
‘Aren’t there any Blue Dragon Tower students?’
He spotted Neblen of the Kirak family, one of the princess’s followers.
Lee Han asked Neblen,
“Where did our tower’s kids go?”
“They said it was better to look for something else than get involved in that mess…”
“And you?”
“I was thinking about how I could present it to Her Highness.”
‘Damn royals have it too easy in life.’
Feeling a bit spiteful, Lee Han spoke seriously.
“Neblen. The princess wouldn’t want you to present her with that. Why? Because a treasure only has value if you obtain it with your own strength.”
“R-really?”
There weren’t many Blue Dragon Tower students who could withstand Lee Han speaking seriously.
And since Lee Han was the one closest to the princess among the students, Neblen was swayed.
“Look at Gainando. Gainando always tries to get everything by his own effort.”
“But Prince Gainando never had anyone give him anything in the first place…?”
“Royal dignity isn’t completed by blood alone. It’s completed by one’s own conduct. Now, Neblen. Do you truly respect the princess?”
“Y-yeah… You’re right.”
“Good. Don’t present anything, just live your own life.”
As Neblen left with a moved expression, someone started clapping.
Salko and his gang were clapping with very impressed faces.
“…Don’t do that.”
“Why not? The others should hear it too…”
If left alone, Salko would probably grab passing guests and say, “Hey, Wardanaz will give you a great speech,” and drag them over.
Lee Han quickly changed the subject.
“So, did you try to put out that bonfire?”
“Wardanaz, aren’t you underestimating us?”
A White Tiger Tower student grumbled.
It had been a month since they’d entered the magic school, so everyone could use some magic.
Of course, no one could match someone like Wardanaz, who had mastered ancient magical secrets and all sorts of evil lore even before admission…
“Of course we tried. Watch.”
A White Tiger Tower student summoned water.
A fist-sized lump of water was thrown onto the bonfire and evaporated instantly.
Salko nodded.
“We tried earth too.”
As a former stonemason, Salko was already famous for his earth element magic.
If even Salko couldn’t put it out with earth, it was a fire that wouldn’t go out easily.
“You failed too? Must be a tricky magic fire.”
“Hey…”
The White Tiger Tower student was annoyed.
He ignored my attempt but believes it when the elf tries?
‘How many spells are on this thing?’
Unconcerned, Lee Han approached the bonfire.
He could feel the complex flow of magic tangled within the blazing flames.
‘First, there’s probably a spell to keep the fire from going out…’
“Move”
Lee Han swung his staff.
As expected, even trying to move it with magic was blocked; the magic wouldn’t take hold.
“Looks like you have to go in yourself.”
“……”
“Knew it…”
At Lee Han’s words, the other tower students sighed as if they’d been expecting it.
In fact, they’d already had a hunch before Lee Han arrived.
-We probably have to go in and get it ourselves, right?
An unquenchable fire and an immovable treasure chest.
There was only one message.
Go in and get it yourself
“Isn’t this basically telling us to burn to death?”
“He’s too much, just because he’s undead.”
As the students muttered, Lee Han spoke up.
“I learned a spell to grant fire resistance.”
“I see…”
Salko nodded with a blank face. One of Salko’s gang asked in surprise,
“Salko, did you know? Isn’t that surprising?”
“I was just surprised now.”
“I-I see.”
The White Tiger Tower students huddled together and whispered.
-Wardanaz says he can cast fire resistance…
-Who’s going in?
-Isn’t it still a bit dangerous?
-Wardanaz isn’t the type to bluff about magic. We can’t let the Black Tortoise Tower guys go first.
-Okay. I’ll go in.
One of Salko’s gang tilted his head as he listened.
‘The White Tiger Tower guys don’t even find it odd that Wardanaz can cast fire resistance magic?’
As far as he knew, casting fire resistance on others was even harder than on oneself.
It wasn’t the kind of spell a freshman would calmly say, “I can do it.”
“Wardanaz”
“But can you really trust me and go into the fire?”
Lee Han asked, as if puzzled.
The White Tiger Tower students fell silent and looked at each other.
“…We don’t trust your character, but we trust your magic, Wardanaz.”
“That’s a bit bold to say to the person who’s about to cast fire resistance on you.”
The White Tiger Tower students’ attitudes suddenly became much more polite.
“No… Wardanaz… why are you…”
“Just kidding. Wait a moment.”
Before casting the spell on the White Tiger Tower students, Lee Han summoned a lump of water to try to reduce the fire on the bonfire.
“Spring forth”
No matter how powerful the magic, if it was attacked continuously, its power would eventually weaken.
A massive lump of water, on a different scale from what the other students had summoned, appeared in the air.
‘There’s not a drop of water nearby, but this much…?’
The other tower students looked at Lee Han’s magic with awe.
It was easy to forget, since they’d only seen him beating people with water orbs, but the boy in front of them wasn’t just good at magical combat.
He was a masterpiece raised by the Wardanaz family, who delved into the secrets of all magic
Splash Splash
Lee Han summoned water again and again, throwing it onto the fire.
And the bonfire simply went out.
‘Huh?’
“……”
“…???”
“”
Lee Han was the first to recover.
Tap
He quickly leapt onto the bonfire, grabbed the treasure chest, and ran off in the opposite direction.
Even the White Tiger Tower students, who came from knightly families, were a step too slow to react.
“Hey”
“Come back”
Watching Lee Han’s disappearing back, Salko said to his gaping gang,
“See? Never make a deal with Wardanaz alone.”
“Go… got it, Salko.”

• * *
  Lee Han used ‹Gonadaltes’s Nimble Steps› to strengthen his body and ‹Pahait’s Lesser Illusion› to confuse his pursuers’ senses, then quickly shook them off.
  ‘No one’s there.’
  Confirming there were no pursuers, Lee Han walked with a satisfied expression, the chest under his arm.
  “Professor Garcia”
  Seeing the troll professor walking ahead, Lee Han already felt a sense of warmth and comfort.
  It was a reassurance that no other professor at this magic school could provide.
  “Lee Han?”
  “Hello.”
  “That treasure chest… isn’t that the one the Headmaster enchanted? You managed to get it out.”
  Professor Garcia could guess the kinds of spells on the chest just by looking at its exterior.
  An unquenchable fire, anti-control spells, and so on—a crystallization of determination to torment freshmen.
  “I put out the fire and brought it.”
  “?”
  “But professor, I have something I’d like to consult about.”
  “No… how… what… Okay, I understand.”
  He was really curious how Lee Han had gotten the chest, but the boy in front of him wasn’t the type to ask for help lightly.
  If such a student wanted advice, it must be something important.
  “Let’s hear it. Have a seat.”
• * *
  “…So Professor Bible Verdus keeps saying I have no talent for imbuement magic, but I feel like I could learn it reasonably well, so I’m conflicted. If that’s the case, I’d like to study imbuement magic seriously… I wanted to hear your advice, Professor Garcia.”
  “……”
  Professor Garcia put his fist under the table.
  Then he picked up a stone and clenched it in his fist.
  Crack
  The stone turned to powder.
  “Don’t listen too much to what Professor Verdus says.”
  “Did you just call him a bastard?”
  “Professor Verdus is a truly excellent mage, but he’s a bit indifferent to students’ education or level.”
  “I thought so too.”
  Lee Han had already sensed that.
  That’s why he had come to ask Professor Garcia.
  In fact, he wasn’t even that surprised.
  Having admitted the poor state of the school’s education in front of a student, Professor Garcia coughed awkwardly in embarrassment.
  “Lee Han.”
  “Yes.”
  “You have talent for imbuement magic.”
  “”
  “Just saying you have talent would be an understatement—at your level, you’re a genius. You should do imbuement magic. You must.”
  ‹Azirmo Summon Imbuement›.
  A spell that inscribes the illusion of a dragon made of light into paper.
  ‹Lesser Fire Resistance›.
  A spell that projects resistance to the fire element not on oneself, but into another world.
  These were not spells a first-year who had just started learning imbuement magic could master.
  ‘Maybe Lee Han’s unique mana capacity is the best match for imbuement magic…’
  An enormous amount of mana could cause frequent destruction and failure during imbuement magic, but if you took that into account, it became a powerful advantage.
  He could attempt endlessly, almost infinitely.
  Effects that would normally require other methods could be solved just with mana.
  Even if there were errors in the magic circle structure or circulation and the total mana was insufficient, he didn’t need to worry.
  Listing them, they were all powerful advantages.
  These strengths, combined with Lee Han’s outstanding magical talent, were what produced such results in imbuement magic.
  “Thank you, Professor Garcia. Thanks to you, I’ve made up my mind. I’ll study imbuement magic diligently.”
  With Professor Garcia saying that much, Lee Han decided to learn at least imbuement magic.
  It was already the most lucrative field, so he was interested. After hearing such words, there was no reason not to learn.
  ‘The professor is a bit strange, but all the professors at this magic school are strange anyway. If the other seniors endured, I can too.’
  “Uh…”
  As Lee Han said this, Professor Garcia suddenly came to his senses.
  How many magic subjects did Lee Han say he was planning to specialize in?