Episode 227

As he listened, Lee Han couldn’t help but think, ‘That’s strange. Didn’t I get attacked this morning for trying to implement something like that?’ But he decided not to say anything.

He didn’t think saying it would do him any good.

“Some wizards tend to see only the results of summoning magic and mistakenly believe it’s the easiest and most convenient magic… If you came here with such a misconception, please leave now.”

Professor Millei spoke in a stern voice. Gainando, who had been about to stand up for the restroom, sat back down, glancing around nervously.

‘Well, summoning magic does require a lot of groundwork in various ways.’

Lee Han didn’t notice Gainando fidgeting next to him and pondered what he’d just heard.

Other school wizards would have to cast several spells in succession to create a dancing sword with magic.

But summoners could simply summon a dancing sword.

Looking only at the result, summoning magic seemed much easier and more convenient…

Of course, if there’s an advantage, there’s also a disadvantage. There is no such thing as a perfect magic.

To summon a dancing sword in one go, you had to prepare a lot in advance.

Like the octahedral metal with magical processing that Professor Millei just tossed (which is why summoning magic needed especially many such reagents), compressing magic into it in advance, or compressing magic into a magic circle.

‘And making a contract with an intelligent being is a challenge in itself.’

Lee Han glanced at the bone fragment of Sharkan hanging from his belt.

If he hadn’t put in the effort to get close to Sharkan, he might have had his throat bitten in his sleep.

Clack!

Sharkan’s bone fragment moved as if in protest.

“Today we’ll practice making the reagents and magic circles needed for summoning magic. It may be tedious, but remember that even the slightest mistake is not allowed in summoning magic. It’s not uncommon for the summoned item to attack the wizard.”

“Lee Han. Lee Han.”

When Gainando tapped him, Lee Han nodded as if he understood.

“Don’t worry, Gainando. I’ll help you.”

“!”

A student who hears and tries to understand what the professor teaches for the first time in class is a novice.

A student who listens in class and then tries to understand later is average.

A skilled student studies what the professor will teach to some extent before coming to class.

And Lee Han was that kind of person.

Someone who has absolutely no trust in professors!

“Now, you know this quill summoning magic circle well from practice, but when you try to make it from scratch, there are tricky parts. Around this ◇ symbol here is a typical trap…”

“That’s not it…”

“Even if it’s difficult, just bear with it. I’ll explain it well.”

“I have to go to the bathroom, you idiot!”

• * *

Nod, nod—

‘Oh dear.’

Lee Han lamented as he watched a White Tiger Tower student nodding off nearby.

At times like this, he could really feel that his friends were first-years.

To doze off so blatantly.

If Lee Han ever dozed off (not that he ever would), he would never do it so carelessly.

‘Professor Millei must have already noticed.’

Looking around, Lee Han saw that it wasn’t just White Tiger Tower students; students from every tower were dozing off.

It was understandable.

Sitting in place, drawing magic circles with special magic ink and various gemstone powders, engraving letters and symbols—no matter how strong-willed a wizard was, it was impossible not to get drowsy.

There weren’t many people who could repeat this kind of work for 24 hours straight and still say, ‘It’s nothing,’ like Lee Han.

‘Is it done?’

Lee Han checked the completed magic circle.

It wasn’t just paper and ink; it was a magic circle that included metal fragments, gemstone powder, and various other materials.

The more complex the item you tried to summon with summoning magic, the more complex the magic circle became.

Lee Han had to rewrite it a few times after making mistakes.

To summon a magic quill that writes, ‘I am a student learning summoning magic,’ took this much effort.

He was worried about how complicated things would get at higher levels.

‘Come to think of it, professors can just make students do this.’

Thinking about the labor hidden behind flashy magic, Lee Han felt bitter.

People in the Empire thought of magic as a splendid miracle, but in reality, the world worked the same everywhere.

“Well done.”

Before he knew it, Professor Millei was standing nearby, quietly observing Lee Han’s work.

Given Professor Millei’s strict standards for praise, that compliment really meant he’d done well.

“Thank you. I was lucky.”

“…Sorry for misunderstanding you.”

“?”

Lee Han wondered what Professor Millei was talking about.

‘What misunderstanding?’

Did the professor perhaps mistake Lee Han’s summoning skill for Gainando’s level after seeing them together earlier?

If so, an apology made sense.

“No, it’s fine.”

“The other students will need more time. In the meantime, do whatever you’d like.”

“Uh…”

Lee Han hesitated.

It was easy to be mistaken, but when professors said things like that, you shouldn’t just take it at face value.

Depending on the professor’s personality, the meaning behind those words could change.

If Professor Garcia said, ‘Do whatever you want in your free time, Lee Han,’ it really was fine.

You could even push some classroom chairs together and take a nap.

But if the skull principal said, ‘Do whatever you want in your free time,’ taking a nap would be suicide.

You might find yourself transported to the punishment room the moment you closed your eyes.

‘There’s an easy way to check.’

“Will you be checking the results, Professor?”

If they checked the results of your magic circles or reagents, it meant it wasn’t really free time, but more like, ‘Let’s see how far you get, so don’t slack off and work hard.’

If they didn’t, you could rest at ease.

‘Hmm.’

The old professor pondered the question raised by a Wardanaz Family student.

Professor Millei originally didn’t like giving special treatment to any one student.

Equality and strictness.

That was Professor Millei’s creed.

So even if Lee Han had outstanding talent in summoning magic, reviewing his work separately from the other students…

‘But I was at fault.’

Professor Millei reflected.

He, who should uphold the rules of fairness among students, had initially harbored prejudice against that Wardanaz Family boy.

He had thought him an arrogant student intoxicated by his own talent, so of course he felt apologetic.

Therefore…

“Alright. I’ll check your work.”

“……”

‘Damn.’

Lee Han grumbled inwardly.

In the end, Professor Millei was just like the skull principal.

What freedom was there!

“Understood.”

Lee Han sighed internally and began moving his quill.

Of the things he could do at his current level, the only thing that wouldn’t make Professor Millei say, ‘Is that all?’ was…

‘The floating shield, I suppose.’

Lee Han had gotten a passing mark from Professor Voladi for all types of elemental transformations, but that didn’t mean he didn’t have preferences.

A wizard naturally becomes most familiar with the forms they use most often.

For Lee Han, the most familiar forms now were orbs and shields.

A shield would be a bit more impressive than an orb.

‘Since I can’t make it move autonomously with magic yet, I’ll have to fudge a few parts.’

A shield that could move and block on its own was too much, but he could make a shield that stayed in place and blocked using several elements.

That alone might seem a bit weak, so if he added a bit of movement, even if imperfect…

‘But what is he trying to do?’

As a wizard, Professor Millei couldn’t help but be curious.

Objectively, Lee Han was one of the most talented first-year students.

It was only natural to wonder what such a student would do with free time.

‘Judging by the form, it’s a shield.’

Professor Millei felt a bit regretful.

He’d been a little too greedy.

He must have gained strong confidence in the water element form after seeing him handle water orbs before.

But he’d gotten the order wrong.

One should first get used to water shield magic, to the point of being able to visualize its mana structure and flow with eyes closed, before drawing it as a magic circle.

Starting with the magic circle before that was reckless.

Even within the same element, orb and shield forms were completely different.

‘But failure will be a lesson too.’

Professor Millei nodded faintly and gave his silent encouragement.

There was no such thing as a wizard who didn’t fail.

It all depended on how you accepted that failure.

• * *

“Thank you all for your hard work.”

Lee Han looked up.

Other students were also stretching as they finished their magic circles.

‘I was almost done. Too bad.’

“I imagine you’ll all be disappointed that today’s class is already over.”

At Professor Millei’s words, the students hesitated, unsure whether to say ‘Yes!’

“Yes!”

Seeing Gainando answer clearly, the other students were impressed.

Professor Millei accepted it graciously.

“Of course.”

“So boring…”

Lee Han poked Gainando’s side from an angle where he couldn’t be seen. Gainando’s words caught in his throat.

“But the process you went through today is something a wizard walking the path of summoning magic will go through thousands, tens of thousands of times in the future. It’s good to be prepared in advance.”

With those words, Professor Millei waved his staff.

The shape of the classroom changed. The students were pushed to the corners, and a large empty space appeared in the center.

“In the remaining time today, we’ll learn about contracts.”

“…!”

“!!!”

The students’ faces lit up.

Not the complicated, headache-inducing summoning of inanimate objects, but summoning where you meet beings from another realm, communicate, and make contracts.

In fact, this was the more typical image of summoning magic.

‘It’s just dangerous.’

Having no choice but to contract with an unheard-of spirit like Perkuntra, Lee Han was well aware of the dangers of such contracts.

Why was making a contract with an intelligent being dangerous?

Because the other party could always mess with the wizard.

Especially if the wizard was a first-year student. For a demon who had survived centuries in the demon world, tricking a young wizard was nothing.

Of course, Professor Millei knew the dangers well.

“Never, ever try to peer into or explore another realm when you’re alone.”

The magic circle Professor Millei cast in the center of the classroom was a kind of secure passage.

It allowed a glimpse into the spirit realm, but access to the power of spirits was restricted.

Entities above a certain strength couldn’t approach at all.

‘The professor is so strict about safety, so what the hell did the seniors do to summon the Frost Giant King?’

Lee Han cursed the absent upperclassmen as he fell into thought.

“Lee Han.”

“Yes?”

“Please use this magic circle.”

“May I ask why?”

When Professor Millei brought out a different magic circle instead of the spirit realm one, Lee Han was puzzled.

“I heard the spirits avoid you. I’ve prepared a passage to one of the undead realms.”

“…Thank you.”

Lee Han tried hard not to show his bitterness.