Episode 194
by CristaeEpisode 194
While the two wicked students who had squandered the precious opportunity given by the professor looked back at the twisted domain and returned, Lee Han greeted politely.
“Well then, Professor. I have to attend tomorrow’s lecture, so I’ll head in now.”
“Cough. Go ahead.”
Lee Han let out a sigh of relief inwardly.
He had survived somehow.
‘I shouldn’t even come near this hallway until things are resolved.’
“You’ve worked hard, Imirg.”
“Wh… What did I do to deserve that?”
“Something’s strange. Haven’t you been speaking formally since earlier?”
- * *
Tuesday morning.
The snow lizards flapped about, making paths here and there.
Following the paths created through the dug-up snowdrifts, the students gathered in groups and headed toward their destinations.
Lee Han also headed to the Alchemy lecture hall with his friends.
“It’s really a relief that we’re not doing this outside.”
Lee Han nodded at Yoner’s words.
In fact, this was also a good thing for Professor Thunderstep.
If he held lectures outside in this weather, there would be more people coming to see Professor Thunderstep after graduation.
The tower used as the alchemy workshop, the Alchemy Hall, was filled with several greenhouses, so the air itself was warm and cozy.
“In a way, this kind of weather is a blessing for alchemists.”
“……”
That warm air froze cold at Professor Thunderstep’s remark.
The students, who had been brushing snow off their hair, stared at Professor Thunderstep in disbelief.
“Think about it. You can easily get ingredients that are only available during a blizzard like this. Isn’t that lucky?”
‘Well, he is a professor at a magic school.’
Lee Han understood.
When it came to alchemy, Professor Thunderstep wasn’t normal either.
“Th… That might be true.”
The students tried their best to accept Professor Thunderstep’s words.
It was a bit absurd, but the lecture room in the Alchemy Hall was warm and cozy.
However, the professor’s next words shattered those expectations.
“Here. I’ll give you a list, so go outside and gather as much as you can. Just thinking about the potions we can make gets me excited already, doesn’t it?”
Seeing the twisted faces of his friends, Lee Han seriously worried about whether Professor Thunderstep would be okay later.
- * *
The students reluctantly moved their feet while reading the thick list given by the professor.
Compared to them, Lee Han approached things a bit more realistically.
‘I’ll start with what looks easy to find.’
Rather than wandering around aimlessly and returning empty-handed, it was better to fill the basket with relatively easy-to-find items to make himself look good.
If everyone returned empty-handed, Professor Thunderstep might get sulky…
“Ice Chewer, Snow Pine Flower, Dwarf Willow.”
Lee Han prioritized the items that seemed the easiest to find among the list.
‘I think I can find at least this much.’
Ice Chewer, which pushed up through the thick, hard-packed snow, was a relatively easy ingredient to find.
Compared to ingredients that required breaking through the snow after a blizzard and diving into the frozen lake…
‘No, does he have no conscience? How does he expect us to find this?’
“Wardanaz. Let’s go together.”
The Phoenix Tower priests, who had become friendly, spoke to Lee Han. With no reason to refuse, Lee Han nodded.
“Shall we… Ah. The genius successor of the Fleming Order, Priest Siana!”
“Oh my. Isn’t this Lee Han of the Wardanaz Family, the top scorer of the recent alchemy midterm?”
Priest Siana spoke in a voice as cold as ice, unlike last time.
“……”
“……”
The Phoenix Tower priests, caught in the middle, didn’t know what to do.
Tijilling put both index fingers behind his head. Anyone could tell it meant he was very angry.
‘How unfair.’
He had just studied hard, but now he was being misunderstood by another friend.
“But Priest Siana, the runner-up also did well…”
“Lee Han.”
Yoner poked him and whispered quietly.
“I’m the runner-up in alchemy. Priest Siana is third.”
“…!”
Come to think of it, Lee Han and Yoner had both raided Professor Thunderstep’s workshop together.
It was only natural that Priest Siana, who hadn’t, was at a disadvantage.
“Sorry, Yoner. I underestimated your skills.”
“It’s nothing. I thought Priest Siana would do better than me too.”
The two Blue Dragon Tower students quickly ended the conversation. Lee Han changed his strategy.
‘If the first place says third place did well, it’ll only make her angrier.’
“Professor Thunderstep is an excellent wizard, but he does have a weakness.”
“What kind of weakness, Lee Han?”
“The weakness of not knowing how to hold a fair exam!”
It would have sounded unfair to Professor Thunderstep if he had heard it, but several students nodded at Lee Han’s words.
Honestly, even from the students’ perspective, it was crossing the line for the professor to hide the ingredients needed for the potion.
“If he had held a fair exam, someone like Priest Siana would have been the top scorer, but because the exam was strange, there were variables.”
“That makes sense. If the exam had been fair, that wouldn’t have happened.”
Lee Han and Yoner nodded as they talked.
But it was more of a statement for Priest Siana to hear than a conversation.
Lee Han could actually see it.
Priest Siana’s expression was gradually softening!
“Priest Siana. We need to find ingredients, but we’re lacking in many ways. Could you help…”
“Of course I must help, Lee Han of the Wardanaz Family!”
Priest Siana extended her hand with a softened expression. Lee Han nodded and shook her hand.
Ahsan, who was next to them, muttered.
“Huh. Then what place is Her Highness?”
Lee Han, who was shaking hands, paused.
Come to think of it, the top three were all here.
Then?
Yoner spoke as if it was nothing.
“Her Highness isn’t someone like Gainando, so she won’t care much.”
“Really?”
“……”
Lee Han felt a bit uneasy.
‘I’d better not run into Her Highness’s group while gathering ingredients today.’
- * *
“There’s Ice Chewer over there!”
“As expected of Priest Siana!”
“As expected of Priest Siana!”
Lee Han and Yoner clapped their hands together. Ahsan asked, as if he didn’t understand.
“It’s impressive, but is there a reason you keep clapping every time?”
“Be quiet.”
“!?”
Lee Han hushed Ahsan and prepared to dig up the Ice Chewer.
The grass firmly rooted in the snow took considerable effort to dig up.
“Dig.”
But in Lee Han’s case, it was different.
Lee Han cast the 1st circle spell, <Dig Pit>.
It was an earth element spell that dug a small pit.
“Wardanaz. It shouldn’t work since it’s frozen, right?”
Ahsan looked puzzled at the sight.
Ahsan had learned the spell in class as well.
But that spell worked on soft earth, not in situations where the ground was frozen solid.
Just now, a Blue Dragon Tower student had tried and given up…
“Dig, dig, dig, dig.”
Crack!
The hard, frozen snow broke apart, and a pit was formed. Lee Han turned his head and asked.
“Did you say something?”
“N-no. Nothing.”
Ahsan felt a strange sense of inspiration.
So that’s it!
If magic doesn’t work, just keep casting until it does!
- * *
Nillia wandered the mountains with her Black Turtle Tower friends.
Honestly, she would have felt more comfortable joining Lee Han or Yoner’s group, but she couldn’t refuse her friends’ request.
“See that vine over there? If you cut it, sap comes out. It’s useful when you’re thirsty.”
“Oh… I see. That’s amazing.”
“……”
Nillia felt a sense of emptiness at her friends’ lukewarm reactions.
If it were Lee Han, he would have asked, ‘What? Is that true?! Wait a minute. It really is. What’s this called? Where does it usually grow? Are there other plants with similar effects?’
The Black Turtle Tower friends weren’t bad people, but it was true they weren’t very interested in hunting.
“Did you see the magazine I bought last time?”
“Of course. The horse that Player Bldoha rode this time was amazing!”
“Ah, should I put the principal’s card in my deck? I want to try it.”
“No way. Give up. It’s a trash card.”
“……”
Nillia’s chest tightened with an indescribable frustration.
“!”
In the distance, she saw familiar friends digging something up on a slope. Nillia waved her hand.
“?”
Lee Han, who was putting Ice Chewer into his basket, looked up.
In the distance, Nillia was waving her hand with her Black Turtle Tower friends.
“Nillia?”
“No… That’s a signal.”
Nillia gestured to Lee Han using the unique signal of the <Shadow Patrol>.
-Save me!!
“!?”
Lee Han was startled.
‘What’s this? Are the Black Turtle Tower students threatening her or something?’
Nillia had signaled for help because she thought the suffocating atmosphere would disappear if her friends came, but Lee Han didn’t pick up on that hidden meaning.
“Something must be wrong. Everyone, raise your staffs.”
Lee Han and his friends raised their staffs and began to rush over.
Their expressions were more serious than expected, so Nillia panicked.
“?!”
Panicking, Nillia realized that the signal she sent could be misunderstood.
‘…Should I say I sent the wrong signal, even now?’
Nillia seriously considered whether Lee Han would cast a spell at her if she did.
Knowing her friend’s personality, it seemed entirely possible…
-■■■■■! ■■■■■!
“It’s a monster!!”
“I’m saved!”
“What? Nillia?”
“N-no. I misspoke.”
- * *
Lee Han and his friends, who had been running over, were impressed.
To notice a monster approaching so stealthily!
“How did she notice?”
“It must be the secret of the Shadow Patrol.”
Lee Han spoke with a tone of respect. The friends next to him were all impressed.
“As expected… Truly the Shadow Patrol.”
“Even our order’s priests can’t detect a Snow Hedgehog this quickly.”
“Alright. Let’s help!”
The Black Turtle Tower students quickly responded.
They built a circular wall of earth to block the monster’s surprise charge, hid behind it, and cast spells from within.
When magic missiles flew in, the Snow Hedgehog puffed up and moved in an irregular trajectory.
It looked like a giant hedgehog, but if it hit you properly, it could easily break a few bones, so the students had to be careful.
“That’s Wardanaz?!”
“What are they going to do with the Snow Hedgehog?”
“Aren’t they just coming to help?”
“Does Wardanaz look that easy to you? He never moves without a reason! He must be after the Snow Hedgehog!”
“……”
Nillia apologized to Lee Han inwardly.
‘Sorry I couldn’t defend you more!’
“Wardanaz! If you catch the Snow Hedgehog, we’ll yield it! Cooperate with us!”
“What do you mean catch it? Just drive it away!”
Lee Han replied in disbelief.
He had come to gather herbs, not to catch monsters.
If they could drive it away, that was best…
“Huh? We can really just drive it away?”
“Yeah! Drive it away!”
“But…”
“Just drive it away.”
“S-sorry.”
When Lee Han spoke sternly, the Black Turtle Tower students backed down.
‘Can we really just drive it away?’
‘Seems so.’
Not trusting the other tower students, Lee Han summoned Sharkan.
“Sharkan. You’ll have to help. Bind its feet!”
The green panther nodded as if it understood and dashed out.
The Snow Hedgehog also noticed Sharkan’s approach and quickly turned its head.
Then it spotted Lee Han.
-!
Pop pop pop!
Startled, the Snow Hedgehog dove into the snow and ran far away in the opposite direction.
Sharkan, who had been running hard, turned his head to look at Lee Han in disbelief.