Episode 249

‘Huh?’

As Direte said, powerful demons classified as advanced wouldn’t submit just because they were hit a few times.

If they did, would they really be considered powerful demons?

That would make them mere wild animals.

But Koholti was certain she saw the demon avoid eye contact.

“Direte. Direte.”

“Can’t you see I’m busy trying to find a path for you? Do you want to do it instead?”

Direte replied curtly.

Because the junior’s intended path was blocked, she was busy finding a new shortcut.

Of all times, it was rearrangement week, so several routes had disappeared, making things even more troublesome, and now she was being interrupted.

“Can I try hitting that demon a few more times?”

“Do as you want. But I’ll hit you later, too.”

“…H-ha. Just kidding…”

Koholti said this, but it didn’t really sound like a joke.

“Fall down!”

With the incantation, Koholti cast a spell on the demon trapped in the crystal cage.

The demon, struck by the shockwave, let out a pained scream and tried to avoid her gaze…

…but instead, just stared at her with a ‘What is this wizard doing?’ expression.

Feeling awkward, Koholti asked the demon,

“Was I too weak?”

Of course, the demon didn’t answer. Koholti cast again.

This time, with more focus and power.

Pop!

The shockwave hit, the demon twitched, and that was it. It was completely different from before.

‘…Did I see it wrong??’

Koholti hesitated, then cautiously said,

“Could I ask the junior to cast magic on it one more time…”

“Do as you want.”

“Really!?”

“Yeah! Have the junior do your assignments too. Have him take your exams. Why? Ask him to graduate for you, too?”

“…J-just this once… just this once…”

Direte stepped back, giving Koholti a look that said, ‘How should I kill this bastard?’ Koholti, reading the mood, managed to get Lee Han’s permission.

“Should I just cast it?”

-Yeah. Do it however you like! However you like!

‘What’s going on?’

Lee Han wondered as he walked over.

He didn’t know the exact reason, but he figured the seniors were quite stressed out.

Powerful demons might not submit to violence, but that aside, wizards could build up a lot of stress.

If words didn’t work, it was only natural for magic to come out.

Since the seniors had to manage their mana, it made sense for them to ask Lee Han, who had mana to spare.

‘I understand.’

Anyone conducting difficult experiments had to battle the urge to smash their equipment.

‘It’ll be easier if I get closer.’

Lee Han approached the crystal cage.

He could aim from where he was, but it was more fun to cast up close.

Swoosh—

“?”

As Lee Han approached, the demon, who had been confidently staring outside the crystal cage, dropped its gaze.

‘Did I see that right?’

Lee Han tilted his head and leaned toward the demon.

Then the demon slinked backward and blatantly avoided eye contact.

“…Flash!”

-■■■■■! ■■■■■!

The demon screamed in agony, dropped to its knees, and pressed its forehead to the ground.

Anyone could see it was a 100% posture of submission.

“……”

“……”

Koholti and Direte were so shocked they dropped their staffs.

• * *

Powerful beings from other dimensions rejected the world’s order just by breathing and brought their own rules.

Having their own rules meant they had strong resistance to magic, the power to change the world’s rules.

The magic resistance of these beings was formidable.

That’s why, when Koholti cast her spell earlier, the demon looked at her like, ‘What is this wizard doing?’

Of course, magic resistance wasn’t invincible. There were various strategies.

You could use high-level magic specialized in penetration, or you could just pour a huge amount of mana into even a low-level spell and force your way through…

But the latter was, in reality, an impractical method.

Simply increasing the mana in the same spell wasn’t always the answer.

Sure, increased mana made the spell somewhat stronger.

But at that point, you might as well learn and cast a higher-level spell. There was no reason to brute-force mana into a lower-level spell.

Because of the inherent limits of the spell itself, there were restrictions on how strong it could get, and with more mana, the difficulty of casting went up—and above all, a wizard’s mana was not infinite.

Acting recklessly like that was a sure way to suffer mana exhaustion.

-You understand, right? Junior?

Direte and Koholti gave very detailed warnings, afraid that this reckless junior might collapse somewhere in a hallway from mana exhaustion.

They knew this outstanding junior was naturally blessed with a lot of mana.

And that he was talented enough to learn magic faster than other students.

But still, they couldn’t just watch without saying anything.

As seniors, they had to warn him not to do anything dangerous.

-Mana exhaustion is a lot scarier than you think!

-How are you feeling now? Dizzy, or breaking out in cold sweat?

“Yes… I’m fine.”

‘They’re worrying too much.’

If he were going to collapse, Lee Han would have done so already.

In fact, Lee Han was already aware that he instinctively used excessive mana when casting magic.

The duration of his light spells and enchantments was proof enough.

The effect of piercing magic resistance as he just did was unexpected, but anyway, Lee Han hadn’t overexerted himself casting lightning magic.

If that had been overexertion, he would have collapsed long ago!

“Really, I’m fine, so you don’t have to worry. So… did the demon submit because it took damage?”

-No.

-No, that’s not it.

As befitted fourth-year black magic majors, Direte and Koholti answered firmly.

Of course, the powerful magic attack Lee Han just showed was impressive.

But that alone wouldn’t make a demon submit. An advanced demon wasn’t that weak.

“Then why?”

“……”

There was a brief silence.

“??”

Lee Han was confused when the seniors didn’t write anything.

What is it?

-Well… So…

-It’s just… Not exactly… I mean…

Instead of giving a clear answer, the two seniors dodged the question.

Because, from their perspective, what they were thinking was just too absurd.

“Did it get scared??”

-Does that even make sense?

-I mean, it doesn’t, but… is there any other explanation…?

“……”

What if two seniors told their first-year junior, ‘The demon got a little shaken by a few spells, and since you have a lot of mana and look a bit cold, maybe it got scared’?

That first-year would go back to the tower and say,

-Hey. In Einrogard, you move up a grade just by breathing. I met some crazy seniors today—if they don’t know, they should just say so instead of spouting nonsense…

But what else could they say, when there was no other explanation!

“Senior?”

-It’s a very complex and hard-to-explain, exceptional case.

-Yeah… I don’t really know how to explain it. It’s not because we don’t know, though.

The two fourth-year students did their best to give a roundabout explanation.

The demon got scared and submitted after taking a few hits from you—this might sound like nonsense, but please don’t think it’s total nonsense, there is some academic evidence…

They rambled from ‘Today’s cloud shapes mean demons are especially sensitive’ to ‘Maybe that demon is weak to lightning’ and other groundless theories.

“Oh… well. Understood.”

And honestly, Lee Han didn’t really care.

What mattered was the Spire Stable, not whether the advanced demon blocking the hallway got scared of him or not.

-By the way, you can pass now. Good for you!

-That’s right! You can go to the Spire Stable now! Congratulations!

He had the feeling the two seniors were trying to send him off quickly, but Lee Han didn’t mind and asked,

“But seniors, you said you were working on an assignment, so isn’t it ruined because of me…?”

They were preparing a magic circle to subdue the demon, but now their test subject had already submitted, so things were messed up.

Lee Han felt sorry.

-No, not at all! This is even better.

“Excuse me?”

-The demon submitted, so we can just take it and say the magic circle worked. The professor won’t bother coming to check in person anyway.

Koholti, excited to share this tip with her junior, got a solid smack on the back of the head from Direte.

Whack!

“Stop teaching him stuff like that!”

• * *

‘This is it!’

Following Direte’s directions, Lee Han’s heart pounded at the distant sounds of commotion.

It wasn’t the sound of people, but the low cries of various beasts.

The kind of sound you’d hear at a stable.

‘This weekend…!’

And this week happened to be the week Amur was coming.

If he could just bring Fongrif, he could finally fly out with pride.

Lee Han looked around carefully in case of any unexpected situations.

‘No particular threats… The death knights are the problem.’

Death knights were posted near the stable for security.

They were chatting among themselves, indifferent to who passed by, but Lee Han couldn’t let his guard down.

‘Those death knights are more troublesome than you’d think.’

If they suddenly greeted him while he was passing by, Lee Han’s heart would drop.

Sliiide—

The wall in front of Lee Han melted away, and a familiar person walked out from the passage.

The appearance was so sudden that Lee Han didn’t even have time to cast an invisibility spell.

“…!”

A strange figure with a mouth wrapped in bandages.

It was the Spire Keeper, the principal’s underling and a servant of the magic school whom Lee Han had met before.

The Spire Keeper, upon seeing Lee Han, didn’t call the death knights or act surprised. Instead, he greeted him lightly.

‘Ah. It’s daytime right now.’

Lee Han let out a sigh of relief inside.

Unlike in the middle of the night when anyone wandering around would be thrown into the punishment room, it was still daytime with the sun high in the sky.

It was natural for students to wander here and there, so the Spire Keeper didn’t find it strange.

Lee Han fervently hoped the Spire Keeper wouldn’t remember that the student in front of him was a first-year. No matter what, it would be odd for a first-year to be here.

What brings you here?

The Spire Keeper wrote on a piece of paper and showed it to Lee Han, who answered immediately.

“Actually, I got lost while preparing for my final assignment.”

You’re unlucky. May I guide you?

“Thank you. Ah, is that the stable by any chance?”

The Spire Keeper nodded. Lee Han asked with an innocent look,

“Could I possibly look around the stable? Professor Lightningstep’s class is difficult, and I’m struggling to keep up. I thought seeing the stable might help, even a little.”

The Spire Keeper looked troubled.

He couldn’t just let a student tour a facility that wasn’t open to them.

Lee Han continued with a forlorn look.

“No, it’s my fault for asking too much. Actually, unlike my friends who’ve ridden horses since childhood, I’ve always been clumsy with physical activities… I guess my pride made me stubborn out of embarrassment. Please understand.”

Lee Han shamelessly told a lie that would have made the White Tiger Tower students throw their spears if they’d heard it.

The Spire Keeper glanced around, then, with a look of resolve, nodded.

Understood. Please follow me.

He had been helped by Lee Han before in the storage, and he couldn’t just ignore a student trying to overcome their weakness.

The Spire Keeper’s master would surely have acted the same!