Episode 242

“It’s nice to see such competitive spirit.”

“…You don’t have to comfort me.”

‘That wasn’t meant as comfort.’

Lee Han was being sincere.

Weren’t they competing so fiercely to do well on the test?

The Blue Dragon Tower students should learn from that.

-Wardanaz, I’m so sleepy. My head isn’t working. Maybe if I eat a sweet cookie, I’ll feel like studying again.

-Wardanaz, if I finish my assignment, will you give me cake?

Even if he was selling desserts for silver coins, seeing friends trying to negotiate sweets for doing their own assignments made Lee Han want to smack them on the back of the head.

Just study already!

“S-should we go in now?”

Deorgyu, perhaps uncomfortable with the silence, spoke up.

He honestly wanted to dash in and smack his friends on the back of the head.

“No.”

“Seriously?”

“?!”

In contrast, Lee Han and Giselle had no intention of going in yet.

If they left things alone, the others would tire themselves out fighting. Why go in early?

“Shouldn’t we stop them??”

“You’re supposed to let them fight it out a bit first, Deorgyu. If you try to stop them while they’re still heated, it won’t help.”

“This time I have no choice but to agree with Wardanaz. He’s right. Choi, there’s no point stopping a fight in the middle.”

“…You two aren’t…”

Deorgyu could hardly believe it.

“Deorgyu. Don’t you trust me?”

“You’re doubting your comrade now? Choi, were you that kind of person?”

“S-sorry. I shouldn’t have doubted you guys.”

Rustle!

“?”

Someone was moving through the bushes up ahead.

The three held their breath, faces tense.

“This is the place, right?”

“Bartrek! We know you’re in there! Come out! Let’s settle this fairly! Give us the book!”

“……”

Seeing another three White Tiger Tower students appear, Giselle and Deorgyu sighed deeply.

It really was a group event…!

Lee Han muttered.

“Did the White Tiger Tower students decide to meet here today?”

“Shut up.”

“Guess not.”

Crash!

With a loud noise, the White Tiger Tower students who’d been inside the cave tumbled out.

The students who’d just arrived were startled.

“How did you guys know!?”

“And how did you!?”

“…Then let’s settle this with our swords!”

“That’s my line!”

“Burn!”

“Legs, dash forward!”

‘Oh. They fight well.’

Lee Han admired the fierce combat among the White Tiger Tower students.

Not knowing when he might have to fight these guys himself, it was no harm to study their tactics in advance.

Even though White Tiger Tower bore the stigma of being the “least academically inclined” of the four towers, it was still a gathering of some of the Empire’s finest.

And these were students who had survived a hellish first year. If their magical skills hadn’t improved, that would have been stranger.

The fighting style on display now was a true hybrid of swordsman and mage.

Even casting simple magic on their swords, shields, or bodies multiplied their power several times over.

Beyond their swordsmanship, they’d all had solid basic training in their knightly families, so they adapted quickly to these enhancement spells.

Body enhancement magic was trickier to handle than people thought.

When your limbs suddenly feel light and new strength wells up, not many can control it skillfully.

Even mercenaries with a lifetime of battlefield experience struggled.

It was naturally advantageous to those who’d built a strong foundation from a young age.

Watching the rapid, dazzling clashes, Lee Han saw the White Tiger Tower students in a slightly new light.

‘If they can fight this hard, why can’t they study a little?’

Deorgyu, too, was watching intently before snapping out of it.

“Lee Han. When should we go in… Lee Han? Lee Han??”

Deorgyu looked around in surprise.

Lee Han, who had been right next to him, was nowhere to be seen.

“M-Moradi. Lee Han…”

“He just cast an invisibility spell and went into the cave.”

“……”

• * *

While the White Tiger Tower students fought fiercely outside, Lee Han slipped into the cave.

He was going to take the book later anyway—might as well take it now.

A foul smell stung his nose.

‘Alchemy?’

A decoction boiling in a cauldron, and a book lying next to it.

Lee Han immediately figured it out.

‘Thankfully, they weren’t planning to fight the giant head-on.’

Come to think of it, even White Tiger Tower students weren’t reckless enough to take on a giant directly.

Lee Han felt a little guilty for doubting them.

With so many lunatics at the magic school, it was natural to suspect even the White Tiger Tower students.

After putting the book in his pocket, Lee Han checked the cauldron.

He wanted to see how finished the potion was.

“!”

He was surprised by the potion’s high level of completion.

Judging by the recipe in the book, this was no easy potion. It must have taken several trial-and-error attempts to reach this point.

‘Better take some, just in case.’

Lee Han opened a lid of an empty potion bottle and filled it with the decoction.

Bang!

‘What was that?’

Lee Han was puzzled by a noise outside, different from the previous commotion.

Had more White Tiger Tower students arrived?

If not, then why…

“It’s a curare lizard!”

Running out of the cave, Lee Han realized what was happening.

The commotion among the White Tiger Tower students had attracted nearby monsters.

“Get low! If you get hit, you’re in trouble!”

“Keep them from getting close!”

The fighting students, startled, quickly formed ranks.

A huge lizard monster with a body like a massive crocodile: the curare lizard.

Its sheer weight was a formidable weapon, but the real threat was the paralyzing venom it sprayed from its salivary glands.

Sssht!

As the students clustered together, the curare lizard immediately shot out its venom. A viscous, jelly-like blob flew at them.

With a splat, the paralyzing poison stuck to a shield. The White Tiger Tower students’ eyes trembled in shock.

“Over here! You lizard!”

As Deorgyu and Giselle rushed out, the White Tiger Tower students were shocked.

Huh?

“Deorgyu! Why are you…”

“Focus!”

Lee Han shouted sternly from behind as he ran out.

“Wardanaz too?! Why are you—huh!”

Despite the warning, one student, unable to suppress his curiosity, stiffened and collapsed forward.

The curare lizard swung its forelimb fiercely, trying to drag off the paralyzed student.

“I told you to focus!”

“Could you focus if you were me?!”

Not only Deorgyu and Giselle, but even Wardanaz had suddenly appeared—who could stay calm?

But the curare lizard was definitely threatening. The White Tiger Tower students decided to forget about why their friends were here and focus on the monster.

“Flash!”

A lightning spell burst among the White Tiger Tower students.

But it missed the curare lizard—not because it was agile, but because Lee Han’s aim was off from the start.

“Lee Han?!”

“Wardanaz!! Did the poison get you!?”

Deorgyu and the other White Tiger Tower students turned in alarm.

For Lee Han to miss a spell—unbelievable.

Unless he’d been poisoned…

“…Anyone can miss, you brats. Focus already!”

Lee Han was exasperated.

He was human too—capable of making mistakes.

…Granted, he usually didn’t, but after staying up all night making a makeshift artifact and then climbing a mountain, lack of focus was unavoidable.

‘Damn. Didn’t think I’d experience it like this.’

Professors were always saying, “It’s not just a mage’s magic power, but also their will that’s important for magic.” Now he was feeling it firsthand.

Without focus, his magic was inevitably unstable.

‘Let’s try something other than lightning magic…’

“Bones, seize the enemy!”

Lee Han threw a bone fragment, summoning restraints.

The first spell missed and only caught the curare lizard’s tail, but it didn’t matter.

“Bones, seize the enemy. Bones, seize the enemy, bones, seize the enemy. Rise, warriors! Bones. Fire!”

The White Tiger Tower students, who at first wondered if this was black magic, were shocked by the barrage of spells.

If aiming was hard, just make up for it with volume—bone fragments shot out everywhere.

“Deorgyu!”

“I got him out!”

As the barrage of bone fragments rained down, the curare lizard, overwhelmed, retreated.

Deorgyu used the chance to carry the fallen friend on his back.

Thud! Crash!

“!”

Lee Han turned at the sound from behind.

Two more lizards were emerging from the cave entrance. One had a cauldron stuck on its head, probably from the chaos inside.

“My potion!!!!”

Bartrek screamed. Gatono realized and shouted too.

“No! My book!”

“Are you crazy!”

Deorgyu grabbed Gatono’s shoulder and yelled.

“It was foolish to be greedy from the start! Taking down a giant? Pursuing honor is a knight’s duty, but if you chase it to the point of excess, is that honor? Look at yourselves! I don’t know what that book is, but it’d be a blessing if the monsters took it!”

At Deorgyu’s heartfelt cry, the White Tiger Tower students blushed with shame.

Lee Han blushed a little, too.

‘I already took the book…’

“Choi, the lecture’s fine, but save it for later. Retreat first!”

Giselle shouted sharply.

Another curare lizard had appeared from another direction.

Given the situation, it wouldn’t be surprising if even more showed up.

“…Sorry, Deorgyu! Let’s retreat! Everyone, move!”

“I was wrong! Let’s all get out of here!”

“Good thinking, everyone!”

While the White Tiger Tower students made a heated resolution, Lee Han awkwardly joined in.

“Yeah! Let’s all get out together!”

“Wardanaz…!”

As one student tried to hug him, Lee Han gently pushed him away.

• * *

Retreating while surrounded by monsters was harder than expected.

They had to keep threatening the lizards as they withdrew—if they left any opening, their tails would get caught.

“Gonadaltes, cover! Sharkan, block the one on the left!”

“What?! Who?!”

“Focus!”

Whack!

Lee Han smacked a White Tiger Tower student on the back of the head with his staff.

This was no time for distractions.

“Bones, fire!”

Lee Han made good use of skeleton warriors as ammunition.

They couldn’t move, but as summoned collections of bones, they were perfect for Lee Han’s situation—too tired to control or aim precisely, he could just fire in volume.

Splat!

-■■■!

When the shield blocked another attack, the lizard made a threatening noise.

It must have been pretty annoyed.

‘Thank goodness I brought the floating shield!’

Lee Han didn’t thank the professors’ foresight, but he did thank his luck.

If not for the floating shield, more White Tiger Tower students would have fallen.

“Wardanaz.”

“?”

“If we send the ones in front off in another direction, the lizards will split up. Wouldn’t it be better to circle back and get reinforcements?”

Giselle whispered quietly.

To her, the situation didn’t look good.

Wardanaz was acting strange, and the monsters weren’t giving up.

So they had to make a choice.

If they split here, the curare lizards would clearly chase the other White Tiger Tower students instead of Giselle or Wardanaz.

They were obviously easier targets.

She didn’t care if it seemed heartless. Giselle judged it was better to circle back quickly and get help.

‘Wait. If it’s Wardanaz, he might refuse out of pride…’

Lee Han answered immediately.

“That’s a great idea. Then you convince Deorgyu.”

“…Choi won’t listen to me. You should talk to him.”

“Damn.”

Lee Han couldn’t argue.

“Split up! Deorgyu! This way! The others, take the other path!”

“Split up! Deorgyu! This way! The others, go down that path!”

At the charismatic shouts of the two students, the White Tiger Tower students moved without question.

Deorgyu moved, too.

…Toward the White Tiger Tower students.

“Tch! Those lizards…!”

“Deorgyu! Over here!”

“I can’t break formation!”

Deorgyu, maintaining formation with his friends, missed the timing to break off and just kept moving with them.

Lee Han and Giselle sighed.

“We’ll save him later.”

“Yeah, get him later.”

“…Wait. Aren’t the monsters coming our way?”