Episode 232

‘Well, decorating your own room must be fun.’

Lately, there had been a lot of talk among his friends about how to decorate their private rooms, but he didn’t expect this.

Of course, from Lee Han’s perspective, he didn’t understand at all.

Why, exactly?

‘Isn’t it enough if your private room is just a place to sleep?’

As someone who had lined up skeleton warriors in his room, Lee Han had no interest in decorating his private room.

“This is bad… We really thought Wardanaz would be pleased with this.”

“Does Wardanaz see these as too worthless? This is a pretty good piece of pottery, though…”

“I told you! Wardanaz would never be satisfied with ordinary, nice decorations. They say the Wardanaz Family’s castle walls are made of pure silver and the mansion’s windows are set with rubies and sapphires. Of course he wouldn’t be satisfied with this!”

‘That’s not true.’

The Black Turtle Tower students were boldly spreading rumors right in front of him.

He knew that all sorts of rumors circulated about the Wardanaz Family, since they were so reclusive, but this was a bit unfair.

It wasn’t that the family didn’t have wealth, but Lee Han himself had never lived extravagantly.

If he could have lived extravagantly, he wouldn’t even feel so wronged!

“This is bad. We have nothing else to offer. Can’t we just promise to pay you back during the holidays?”

“How can you say that? If you were Wardanaz, would you work for a measly silver coin? Don’t you know the honor and pride of nobles?”

Tap—

Lee Han put a hand on his friend’s shoulder.

And kindly said,

“You seem to be troubled because you don’t have anything suitable. Then just pay me back in silver coins during the holidays.”

“…!”

“R-really, is that okay?”

“Of course. Even your tower’s Richmond did that once. No need to feel burdened.”

“But… why…?”

As the Black Turtle Tower student mumbled in confusion, his friend jabbed him hard in the ribs.

“Idiot. Wardanaz is just trying to save our face.”

“Aha!”

‘What do you mean, aha.’

The Black Turtle Tower students seemed to think Lee Han said he’d take silver coins just for form’s sake, so they wouldn’t feel bad if he just helped them for free.

Even just that gave Lee Han a sense of his counterpart’s financial resources.

‘Rich kids, huh.’

Even though the Black Turtle Tower was mostly commoners, things changed when it came to money.

Some of the Empire’s most prominent merchants had wealth that even the great noble families couldn’t compare to.

Compared to Lee Han, who didn’t get any allowance except what was needed for his studies, they could probably spend silver coins like water.

“Thank you, Wardanaz. I can’t believe you’d help us like this.”

“Think what you like. Now, sign here. Where should I find you?”

“Just come to the Tutanta Family…”

As he was writing the contract, Salko felt a little confused.

Lee Han’s expression looked so serious.

…He’s not really doing it just for the silver coins, is he?

• * *

“Everyone, drink some water.”

“Thanks, Wardanaz.”

As they entered the desert area, the heat soared. It was a similar landscape to the library wasteland from before, but much hotter and drier.

“Spring forth.”

Of course, that didn’t mean water wouldn’t come out. Lee Han summoned water from the air without hesitation.

“Lodestone, show us the way.”

Salko tapped the sandy ground and chanted a spell. Then a pattern appeared on the sand.

“This way is north.”

“That’s a nice spell. Can you teach me?”

“You’re joking, right? There’s no need for this kind of… Wait, seriously?”

Salko was surprised at Lee Han’s interest.

Many magicians skipped over these sorts of practical spells.

There was no need to use magic just to find your direction. A servant or slave could remember the directions.

“Why? It seems like a good spell.”

“…No, it’s not hard to teach. It’s not a difficult spell, but if you’re not compatible with the earth element, it’s hard to use…”

As he spoke, Salko remembered how Lee Han had shattered the labyrinth walls into powder while breaking through the school’s maze last time.

“…But don’t worry about that.”

“Why not?”

“Just listen. Anyway, you have to use this spell somewhere with a lot of earth. And if you don’t have lodestone powder, it doesn’t work well. So you should be careful…”

As he spoke, Salko glanced at the floating mass of water next to Lee Han.

A cold mass of water maintaining its form even under the blazing sunlight.

“…Actually, never mind about that either.”

“Aren’t you teaching me too roughly?”

Lee Han complained, but Salko ignored him.

Meanwhile, the other Black Turtle Tower students went ahead to check the way.

“Here. Let’s start leaving marks so we can find our way back.”

“Be engraved.”

In the desert, the landscape could change with the wind, but magical marks were different.

A small mark was engraved on the sand. It would last at least a couple of hours.

“Good job. I’ll send a breeze.”

“Can I summon a spirit?”

“Yeah. The spirit will help since it’s had more than three days of rest.”

A faint lower wind spirit appeared, and a breeze began to blow.

Watching their cooperation, Lee Han was impressed from behind.

‘Why can’t our tower guys do that?’

It wasn’t that they were bad at magic.

In terms of magical skill alone, they were among the best of the four towers.

…It was just that most of their magic wasn’t the kind that helped in daily life.

Honestly, what use was a -Magical Ornament for the Waltz- spell on an expedition like this?

-Krrr!

“?”

Sharkan suddenly let out a murderous growl. Lee Han thought a monster had appeared.

‘But there are no monsters?’

At that moment, Lee Han’s instincts gave him a fierce warning.

A feeling he had experienced a lot lately.

The very feeling when Professor Voladi suddenly launched a surprise attack and every nerve in his body stood on end.

“Shield, spread out!”

Without hesitation, Lee Han chanted a spell.

Casting magic before assessing the situation could be considered foolish, but for Lee Han, it was different.

He was someone who could afford to waste spells in a situation like this!

“Wardanaz?! Why?!”

“Salko, defend!”

“…Got it!”

At Lee Han’s shout, Salko began preparing defenses with the Black Turtle Tower students.

Clang!

With a sharp sound, an attack struck the water shield.

Seeing the dagger fall, unable to pierce the thick water shield, Lee Han’s expression hardened.

It might have looked like a feeble attack since it couldn’t pierce the shield, but it was anything but.

‘These guys know how to deal with magicians!’

Having suffered endlessly at Professor Voladi’s hands, Lee Han knew exactly how other enemies dealt with magicians in battle.

-Any method is fine. The enemy will take down the magician first.

-Of course… Magicians are variables in many ways. How should I prepare?

-Perfectly.

-…I’m not recovered yet… Ugh!

Grandiose attacks took too long to prepare and were just noisy.

A single dagger was enough to take down an unprepared magician.

The problem was that Lee Han sensed the killing intent first and went on the defensive.

“Shield, spread out. Heat, warp the air!”

It was unfortunate for the attackers.

Usually, not many magicians were skilled at combat.

Even more so if they were students at a magic school.

“Feet, command the ground. Rise, warriors of bone!”

In less than a few seconds, Lee Han cast spells in rapid succession, raising his defenses, and the enemies were aghast.

“What is that guy?!”

“Damn, he’s an upperclassman! Get ready! He’s had proper magic combat training!”

“…I’ll make you regret running into a fifth-year from Einrogard!”

“Damn…! Of all people, we had to get unlucky!”

“……”

The Black Turtle Tower students, hiding behind the walls of water and earth, stared at Lee Han with baffled expressions.

• * *

The notorious adventurer organization in the Empire, -Snake of the Maple Tree-.

Imperial adventurers usually cared about their reputation, but there were those who accepted illegal requests without a second thought.

-Snake of the Maple Tree- was exactly that kind.

They would accept any illegal request as long as the gold was right!

Of course, even -Snake of the Maple Tree- would not have touched Einrogard, with all its renowned magicians, under normal circumstances.

Even the most heartless villain wasn’t stupid. The more wicked the money-maker, the sharper their senses and the more sensitive they were to strength.

But this time, it was different.

The request was just too expensive.

-There is an artifact I want from Einrogard.

-But Einrogard…

-I know. Outsiders can’t get in easily. I’ll prepare a way in. There’s already a guide inside—just follow and meet him. He’ll explain everything.

-……

The adventurers didn’t ask, ‘If there’s already a guide inside, why do you need us?’

They didn’t have to ask; they all knew the answer.

‘If you can steal a magician’s treasure and get out alive with two or three lives, it’s a bargain. Especially if it’s from Einrogard.’

It was a proposal that reeked of blood, but the adventurers didn’t refuse.

After all, an adventurer’s life was about taking risks.

What mattered was how big the payoff was.

-Alright. We’ll do our best.

“What are we going to do?!”

The adventurers shouted in rough voices.

They were unlucky to the extreme.

Who would have thought they’d run into an Einrogard student the moment they came out of the well through the underground passage?

And it was a fifth-year.

To adventurers who knew Einrogard’s reputation, a fifth-year student was a huge threat. Wasn’t that basically a great mage among adventurers?

Moreover…

“From his reaction, he’s had magic combat training! We can’t subdue him. We have to kill him!”

“I thought we agreed not to mess with the magic school students!”

“I know, damn it! Do you think I’m not afraid of retaliation? But we have no way to subdue him!”

“…Damn gods. Fine! Kill him!”

The adventurer, Geliak, gritted his teeth and nodded.

Looking at the other side, the opposing magician’s skill was extraordinary.

It was shocking enough that he blocked a surprise attack from an unseen direction, but in just a few seconds he’d half-finished a fortress.

Illusions were flickering, walls of water and earth, and skeleton warriors were shielding the magicians.

Geliak had seen students from Einrogard a few times. He knew just how absurd this reaction was.

He had seen students who could use higher-level magic, but he had never seen one who, in the middle of a deadly battle, could calmly and consecutively pull off spells like this.

‘So unlucky…’

Snap!

But Geliak wasn’t the only one unlucky.

The fifth-year students they ran into today were just as unlucky.

Would Geliak and his crew have entered a magician’s lair without any precautions?

The people most afraid of magicians were Geliak and his crew.

Of course, they had come with as many anti-mage preparations as possible.

So to run into them in this situation—well, it was pure misfortune for a magician.

“Tear the scroll! Hurry!”

“Shut up! Do you know how much this costs… Here goes!”

When Geliak tore the scroll, a tremendous storm of mana began to swirl.

An ancient magic scroll that could no longer be made!

A scroll containing the spell -Storm of Magic Annihilation-, which swept away all nearby magic with overwhelming power.

It was so expensive that Geliak’s fingers trembled even as he tore it.

“Ugh!”

“Ah…!”

With pained cries, the Black Turtle Tower students dropped to their knees, faces pale.

At the same time, all the barriers, illusions, and summons vanished.

As the spells were forcibly canceled, the magicians themselves took damage.

‘Still as powerful as ever.’

It was disgustingly expensive, but nothing was more like a death sentence to a magician.

After pouring all your mana into spells, having them wiped out and your mana thrown into chaos at once.

A surprise attack that struck exactly at a magician’s weakness—the inability to cast spells without mana.

And the better a magician was, the easier they fell for it.

Geliak had once seen a fifth-circle magician subdued by a single one of these scrolls.

“Shield, spread out. Heat, warp the air. Feet, command the ground. Rise, warriors of bone…”

“…??!?!?”

So when the fifth-year student started layering spells again as if nothing had happened, Geliak could only blink in disbelief.