Episode 253

“You haven’t talked to the Phoenix Tower students yet, have you…”

“I’ll talk to them later. So, which field of healing magic are you interested in?”

The two seniors didn’t give Lee Han any chance to rest, throwing questions at him nonstop to keep him off balance.

“Ah! You might not have realized yet which field you’re interested in.”

“But that’s fine! That’s what we’re here for. So, what other lectures are you taking? If you tell us what you’re taking, we can help you realize your interests.”

“Alchemy. Are you taking alchemy?”

Listening to the seniors, who were excitedly focused on their own talking points, Lee Han nodded.

“I see! You’re taking alchemy. As it happens, there’s a field in healing magic closely tied to alchemy. Analyzing diseases and creating potions to cure them. That could be an even greater feat than healing someone directly.”

“How about imbuement magic? Are you taking imbuement magic?”

One senior’s question was immediately shot down by the other, as if to say, what are you talking about?

“He said he’s taking alchemy.”

“Oh, right… But he could be taking both.”

“As if.”

“Didn’t the professor say he was so academically driven that he was taking other lectures too?”

The two seniors, who had been whispering, looked at Lee Han. Lee Han nodded as he answered.

“I’m taking imbuement magic as well.”

“Knew it…!”

“Maybe you’re taking transmutation magic too?”

“Why stop there? Maybe you’re taking summoning magic as well?”

“I’m taking both.”

“……”

“……”

The seniors, who at first thought it was a joke and were about to laugh, paused when they saw Lee Han’s expression hadn’t changed.

…Wasn’t that a joke?

“Eve… huh? Seriously?”

“Is there a problem?”

Lee Han’s voice became just a little rough.

After all, Lee Han was only human, and seeing his current class schedule, no matter how much he tried to control his emotions, a bit of anger was bound to rise.

“It’s not a problem, but…”

“So that’s why Professor Garcia brought you up…”

When Professor Alkasis had said, “He’s taking all the other lectures,” they’d figured it was just one or two extra majors at most. They hadn’t imagined it would be like this.

With slightly overwhelmed faces, the seniors asked Lee Han,

“Are there still more lectures you’re taking?”

“Yes. A few.”

As more and more lectures came out of the junior’s mouth, the seniors’ expressions changed from overwhelmed to horrified.

This was…

This was really…

‘…Even if we’re short-handed, is it right to make someone like this take healing magic too? Isn’t this going too far??’

The two seniors began to feel genuine pangs of conscience.

• * *

Phil and Chil.

Those were the names of the two seniors who were substituting for the healing magic lecture.

“Are those nicknames?”

“Yes.”

“Why nicknames?”

“You’ll find out later, but as a healing mage, there’s no benefit to giving out your family name or real name when you’re out in the world.”

There was no advantage to having your identity as a healing mage widely known.

If you were good at healing, people would call on you for help whenever something happened, and if you weren’t, you’d get messages blaming you for not helping enough.

To avoid being dragged out even on your days off, it was better to use a common and forgettable nickname.

“……”

“……”

The Phoenix Tower students didn’t really accept the seniors’ hard-earned advice.

Instead, they looked at the seniors as if it was absurd.

“To avoid people asking for help as a priest… that’s a bit…”

“Quiet! You’re from the Phoenix Tower, right? I have a friend in the Phoenix Tower, and he acted just like you in first year. But this is reality!”

If Professor Alkasis had been there, he would have said, “You idiots, I told you to recruit students, not chase them off,” but unfortunately, he wasn’t present.

The two seniors, apparently provoked by the Phoenix Tower student’s comment, explosively vented their pent-up frustrations.

“You have to rest to use magic properly! If you get dragged out to help even on your days off, is that magic?!”

“It’s not like we’re not dedicated to serving the people of the Empire! We just want some time to sleep! I was like you guys in first year too…”

The seniors, who had been ranting, suddenly regained their composure.

“…I got a bit carried away. Of course, there are these minor downsides. But healing magic has more advantages.”

“Saving people and receiving heartfelt thanks.”

“Being respected wherever you go in the Empire.”

“And you almost never get sent to the punishment room.”

Lee Han thought to himself.

‘That’s not an advantage…’

Other students might fall for it, but Lee Han didn’t.

Why did the skull principal rarely send people to the punishment room?

It was clear it was because they were that short-handed.

“…So. You see how great healing magic is, right?”

The seniors, squeezing out every possible advantage, looked at their juniors with desperate eyes.

Please don’t run away!

If you leave, our school is doomed!

Luckily, the freshmen were kind or naïve. Even after hearing such ominous talk, they didn’t run away.

“Yes!”

“We’ll do our best.”

“…Thank you. All of you!”

“Doing your best doesn’t mean you’ll succeed, but…!”

• * *

‘Playing with dolls is refreshing.’

The students were each fiddling with a stuffed doll they’d been given.

Of course, they weren’t given dolls just to play with.

“Heal.”

-Minor Stab Wound Healing-.

A healing spell that closed wounds caused by being stabbed or cut by a blade.

While healing magic that dealt with internal organs or bones required a perfect understanding of those complex structures, wounds on the skin and outer muscles were comparatively easier to approach.

That didn’t mean it was easy, though.

Just as, in imbuement magic, spells cast directly on people were classified separately as enhancement magic, and in illusion magic, spells cast directly on people were classified as mind magic, casting spells on a living person was inherently very difficult.

Just as first-years practiced with special string at first, these stuffed dolls were similarly crafted items for practice.

“It’s definitely gotten harder.”

Priest Tijilling wiped sweat from his forehead with his sleeve.

Having used up some mana, his body felt a bit fatigued.

Even though sewing up string and sewing up wounds on a stuffed doll might seem similar, they were on a different level.

The former was just simple string, while the latter was a doll modeled after a person.

“It’s definitely more difficult.”

Lee Han nodded, putting the doll down.

He had already healed not only the stab wounds but also the broken arm of the doll, without breaking a sweat.

“……”

Priest Tijilling stared intently at Lee Han.

“I trust in your goodwill, Lee Han, but… don’t you think others might get angry if you say things like that?”

“Huh? Why?”

Of course, fractures were also a target for today.

But none of the seniors who set the goals actually expected anyone to heal even fractures.

Healing just stab wounds was more than good enough.

But Lee Han, with his vast mana, control honed from other magic, and bone knowledge from black magic, had secretly advanced to healing fractures while the seniors weren’t watching.

“That’s… never mind.”

“?”

Priest Tijilling changed the subject.

“By the way, there’s going to be an event at the Order during the break. Are you interested?”

“Of course.”

Lee Han was very interested in staying in the good graces of the Order priests.

So much so, in fact, that he didn’t just stop at one Order, but believed in several.

“…Wait. But can I ask what kind of event it is?”

Come to think of it, the Prisinga Order was a curse-specialized Order.

More specifically, an Order interested in wearing cursed artifacts.

If it was a mana-related curse, he was willing to wear them, but if it was something else…

“It’s an ordinary event. We invite believers, serve food, pray…”

‘Good, sounds ordinary.’

“We wear the cursed artifacts that believers bring, and destroy the ones that can’t be worn…”

“……”

Lee Han, dumbfounded, paused.

‘Wait. If they’re destroying them, can I take them?’

Of course, lifting curses wasn’t easy, but if he could, it might actually be worthwhile.

“Would it be alright if I took the artifacts being destroyed?”

“It’s fine, but… are you planning to wear even more?”

Priest Tijilling looked at him as if to say, “No matter how strong your faith, there’s no benefit to overdoing it.”

Of course, Lee Han had no such intention…

“You caught me. My faith.”

“You two. Stop talking and focus on the magic.”

The seniors, having finished helping the other students, advised Lee Han and Tijilling.

Lee Han nodded.

“I’m sorry.”

“No need to apologize. You’re not offended by my advice, right? If you are, I’ll apologize. Please don’t take it the wrong way.”

“…Ah. Yes.”

Overwhelmed by the desperate energy of the senior, Lee Han nodded. Of course, he wasn’t offended.

“Whew. Looks alright, right?”

“Yeah. He still seems interested in healing magic.”

The two seniors, relieved, walked off chatting to themselves.

Because of that, they didn’t notice.

That Lee Han had healed all the stab wounds and fractures on the doll while they weren’t looking!

• * *

Lee Han yawned as he walked toward the tower. He’d been so busy with lectures that it was already dark.

‘I still have those eggs I brought from the cabin. Should I make an omelet or scramble them… How many loaves of bread do I have left? Maybe I’ll cut them up and fry them in butter. Tonight, I’ll finish studying summoning magic.’

“Hit it!”

“Push!”

“…Aren’t you guys supposed to be doing your assignments?”

Lee Han was at a loss for words as he saw the White Tiger Tower students bumping shoulders and playing polo.

Originally, it was a game played on horseback where you hit a ball with a long stick, but if there were no horses, you could just run with the stick and hit the ball.

What the White Tiger Tower students were doing now was the latter.

“Why… why do you say such harsh things? What did we ever do to you?”

“…I just asked if you’re doing your assignments. That’s all.”

Lee Han wondered for a moment if he’d somehow insulted the White Tiger Tower students’ families.

“Wardanaz. The body and mind are connected, so you have to use your body to get your brain working.”

“Hey… but Wardanaz is ranked first.”

One of the White Tiger Tower students poked a hole in his friend’s logic.

“…You want to play a round?”

“I’ll pass.”

Lee Han declined.

He didn’t need to test his physical limits through polo.

He was already testing his physical limits on his own.

Wham!

“Ow!”

No sooner had he finished speaking, one of the White Tiger Tower students went flying. Lee Han clicked his tongue and approached.

“Do you guys get itchy if you don’t get into trouble?”

“M-my ankle…”

“Hold still.”

Lee Han checked the fallen student’s ankle. It was obviously in bad shape.

‘I’ll have to do first aid and take him to the healing room.’

“Heal.”

“Get Professor Garcia! Get Professor Garcia!”

“…Oh.”

Lee Han paused.

Maybe this happened often, because the White Tiger Tower students immediately tried to fetch Professor Garcia.

…Maybe I shouldn’t have cast the spell?

‘If I’d known they were going to get the professor, I wouldn’t have bothered with first aid.’

The student with the broken ankle, after groaning, realized he’d been healed and looked at Lee Han with an awkward expression.

-Shouldn’t someone stop him?

That was exactly the look.

Lee Han pretended not to notice.

They’re your friends, so you deal with it!