Episode 218

Gulp, gulp—

Once they secured drinking water, the Blue Dragon Tower students looked around with slightly relieved expressions.

The human mind is fickle—once their immediate thirst was solved, their moods shifted too.

Just moments ago, they were thinking, ‘What crime did I commit to end up at a school like this?’ but now they were having thoughts like, ‘Maybe it’s not so bad having these experiences with my friends.’

A few students sat on a dry rocky hill, gazing at the horizon.

“It’s not as bad as I thought, right?”

“Yeah.”

‘They were whining about dying just a minute ago…’

Yoner thought that to himself, but didn’t scold his already exhausted friends.

“I hope those White Tiger Tower guys suffer more.”

“Me too.”

“……”

Yoner looked at his friends as if they were absurd.

‘Aren’t we going to get punished for saying things like that?’

“Aaaargh!”

“!!!”

As soon as he finished speaking, a scream erupted from the other side.

Lee Han grabbed his staff and ran.

“What happened?!”

“O-over there…!”

Lee Han’s face hardened as he looked in the direction his friends pointed.

In the distance, a heavy, medium-sized monster was approaching the horizon.

‘Rock Drake!’

Lee Han, and even a few other students, recognized it on sight—it was a well-known monster in the empire.

A draconic monster with such size and strength that there were even rumors its ancestors carried dragon blood.

Among them, the Rock Drake, with its hard stone shell, was infamous for its ridiculous defense.

-If you see a Rock Drake, be careful. Even seasoned adventurers can be ground up before they can blink.

-Last time I went where Rock Drakes appeared, do you know what people called them? “The wizard’s nightmare.” They just bounce magic right off.

Definitely not a monster first-years should be facing.

Even for Lee Han, who had fought a Demon Ghoul!

In terms of rank, it was several steps higher. Not just any monster gets rumors of dragon blood.

“Everyone, get low. Don’t provoke it.”

“I-it looks like it’s coming this way?”

The Rock Drake was approaching with heavy steps. It wasn’t fast, but the pressure was intense.

Lee Han gathered the students.

Since the Rock Drake was moving their way, they had to act fast.

“We need to run now! Let’s move to another area.”

“That’s crazy talk. Rock Drakes aren’t super aggressive, but if you enter their territory, they attack no matter what. If we move and provoke it, we’re done!”

“So you want to just sit here while it’s coming?”

“It’s coming this way, but it might not come to this hill. It could go somewhere else.”

“If we wait too long, we’ll lose any chance to run!”

The group was split.

‘Not easy.’

Even Lee Han saw merit in both sides.

Rock Drakes weren’t that sensitive, but if a bunch of students moved at once, it might notice even from far away.

But hiding behind the bookshelf was just leaving it to luck, with no better alternative…

“Should I toss a silver coin?”

“…Not a bad idea.”

“What? Lee Han, you think that’s okay?”

Gainando was surprised when Lee Han agreed, expecting him to say no.

“We’ll just use it as reference. Stone, reveal the path ahead.”

Lee Han threw colored stones on the ground, focusing intensely.

He usually avoided using divination magic, but there was no choice now.

Luckily, it was the near future, not the distant future.

‘This much is doable.’

Of course, if Professor Parcelet or Professor Garcia were here, they would have said, ‘Easy or not, this isn’t something a first-year should do,’ but unfortunately, neither was here.

The answer he wanted: Is the Rock Drake coming here or not?

Several blurry images flashed by. Lee Han managed to focus on one.

“…It’s coming.”

“Damn!”

Seeing the Rock Drake smashing the bookshelf on the hill, Lee Han decided to lead the group in escape.

“There’s still a way out. I have an invisibility spell…”

“Oh!”

“The problem is, I can only cast it on myself for now.”

“Ah…”

Even for the same spell, casting it on others was much harder than on oneself.

“But luckily, I have an artifact. Gainando, try this on.”

Gainando obediently put on the belt Lee Han handed him.

And immediately collapsed to his knees.

“M-my mana…”

“Damn. It uses more mana than I thought.”

“Lee Han… are you trying to assassinate me…”

“Yoner, can I have a potion?”

Lee Han uncorked the potion and fed it to Gainando.

Fortunately, Gainando recovered soon after.

“Looks like lending out the artifact is out.”

At Lee Han’s words, all the friends nodded vigorously.

No matter how much they needed an invisibility spell, no one wanted to wear that artifact.

‘How does he even manage to wear something like that?!’

“Lee Han. I’ve got a good idea.”

Gainando said.

“What is it?”

“You just need to learn to cast the invisibility spell on others right now.”

“……”

“……”

“Should we use this guy as bait for the Rock Drake?”

As their mood turned grim, Lee Han stopped them with a hand.

‘Technically, he’s not wrong.’

Casting invisibility on oneself or others was similar in principle.

The latter just required a much trickier and more delicate process.

‘Let’s try a few times.’

Lee Han decided to use the time before the Rock Drake got too close to experiment.

Having a lot of mana meant being able to waste a lot.

If he could figure out the method, great. If not, he’d just give up.

“Gainando.”

“…I feel like I’ve been the test subject for a while now, is it just me…?”

Grumbling, Gainando stood in front. Lee Han pointed his staff.

“Cloak, swallow my friend.”

‘Still not working.’

He focused properly, the gestures were correct, but the spell didn’t activate.

Mana moved in the air, trying to form the structure of the spell, but it clashed and stalled, failing.

He just wasn’t fully used to the concept of the spell yet.

“Cloak, swallow me.”

For reference, Lee Han cast the spell on himself.

Of course, it worked, and at that moment…

Gainando’s arm, nearby, vanished.

“Argh, my arm!!”

“It’s fine.”

“Oh. Right?”

Gainando, who panicked at his invisible arm, was relieved when it returned.

He stretched it out again and it vanished.

“Everyone, look at this!”

Around Lee Han, a space of about two or three meters was turning invisible.

‘Amplification!’

At that moment, Lee Han realized what had happened.

He had cast another spell while the Invisibility Necklace from the Spire Keeper was active.

Two spells of the same type interacted and amplified each other.

‘This… I didn’t expect. Is this what the principal meant?’

Lee Han was naturally surprised.

Normally, this kind of amplification was not a typical result.

-What happens if you cast a spell again after already casting it?

A question every wizard has.

If you cast strength enhancement again, or agility enhancement, or invisibility again…

What happens in those cases?

The answer: ‘No one knows.’

There are so many variables—situation, location, spell, etc.—that it’s impossible to predict.

But to get this kind of amplification as a result!

It was confusing, but in this situation, it was lucky.

‘Wait. Then why didn’t the belt amplify too?’

The belt from the Prisinga Order.

It was also an invisibility artifact.

But it didn’t amplify…

‘The method is different!’

Sudden, quiet realization struck Lee Han’s mind.

Even if they looked like the same invisibility spell, the way they achieved invisibility was different.

The Prisinga Order’s belt used a camouflage spell, bending light around the caster to trick the eyes…

Whereas the Spire Keeper’s necklace and the principal’s magic confused the concept in the viewer’s mind, making them unable to perceive.

The latter were the same type, so they amplified each other.

‘So that’s why he told me to think about it more. To tell me this.’

Lee Han felt his mind clear.

He didn’t realize it, but this was exactly the kind of realization a wizard needed.

A small breakthrough in a blocked area of magic leading to progress.

It was only natural Lee Han didn’t notice—he’d never really hit a wall while learning magic before.

Talent is a sturdy guide for a wizard, but it can also make them complacent.

If the skull principal were here: ‘Yes, that’s it. Be grateful when you have an epiphany…’

“Lee Han! We need to move!”

“Sorry. I got distracted. Let’s go.”

Instead of feeling grateful for his insight, Lee Han acted immediately.

Insight or not, only one thing mattered.

‘I can now expand the invisibility spell to cover an area.’

Lee Han cast -Gonadaltes’ Cloak of Invisibility- and expanded the area again.

How far should he walk to complete the proper range?

At first, he had no control, but after a few tries, he got the hang of it.

“Cloak, swallow me… Done. This should do. Let’s go!”

The right thing is to focus on your insight with gratitude.

After all, your hard-won insight might disappear somewhere.

But sometimes, there are exceptions.

A genius who, insight or not, can just move on with no obstacles!

Lee Han gathered his friends within the area of invisibility and ran.

If the skull principal had been there, he would have been unable to resist adding a trial out of sheer frustration.

• * *

Even after shaking off the Rock Drake, the Blue Dragon Tower students couldn’t relax.

They searched for a new bookshelf, then hid themselves using the shelf.

“Isn’t it okay now?”

“What if it comes after us again? We should watch a little longer.”

“I want to light a fire…”

To rest properly, they’d have to start a fire and unpack.

But the friends who had barely escaped still hadn’t shaken off the nightmare of the Rock Drake.

“O-over there!”

“?!”

Someone whispered urgently and everyone turned their heads.

Luckily, it wasn’t the Rock Drake.

“It’s not!”

“I didn’t say it was a Rock Drake…! Look at that!”

The newcomers were White Tiger Tower students. The group of four was walking, glancing around.

Since the Blue Dragon Tower students were hiding, they hadn’t been discovered yet.

“What should we do, Wardanaz? Should we call them?”

“Is Deorgyu there?”

“Deorgyu? No.”

“Then there’s no helping it. We subdue them.”

“……”

What do you mean, there’s no helping it?