Episode 380
by CristaeEpisode 380
“I think it’s settled for now.”
Settled, my foot…!
“What do you mean, settled?!”
Ogoldos was so flustered by his junior’s words that he shouted.
Normally, you wouldn’t pay attention to the words of a losing enemy, but everything the King of Ghouls had said was true.
A magic circle of that caliber couldn’t last long.
It looked to be maintained solely with the mage’s mana, without any other auxiliary device…
“We have to get out before the circle ends! I’ll take over, so you escape!”
“……”
Lee Han was momentarily caught off-guard by his senior’s words.
No matter how he looked at it, if Ogoldos took over the circle, he’d immediately waste away to skin and bone, and probably die within seconds.
“Uh…”
“Hurry!”
“It’s just that…”
“I said get out! You’ll collapse if you stay here!”
When Ogoldos tried to pull Lee Han out and step in himself, Lee Han also grew urgent.
His response shot straight from his mouth without passing through his brain.
“…If someone like you takes over, you’ll collapse instantly!”
“……”
An awkward silence.
Ogoldos drooped his head, speechless. Lee Han felt very sorry.
“That’s…”
“…You’re right. You’re a better mage than I am.”
“Ah. Don’t say that, senior. You’ve got all that experience.”
‘It’s only a one-year difference, you brat…’
Ogoldos was dumbfounded.
True, one year at a magic academy was denser than a year anywhere else, but it wasn’t worthy of that kind of deference.
Plus, Lee Han was the last person entitled to say that.
“Enough. I’m sorry. I couldn’t help, only got in the way… But are you really okay?”
“Yes. My recovery is faster than the depletion.”
“……”
…Don’t talk nonsense!
“For a king, aren’t you rather undignified?”
Lee Han cast a scornful look at the King of Ghouls stuck in the holy magic.
Even among kings, the King of Frost Giants was dignified, whereas the King of Ghouls felt like a back-alley thug.
“When familiars say ‘king’… it’s more like a title given to the strong.”
At Ogoldos’ words, Lee Han nodded in understanding.
“I see. So it’s more like self-proclaimed.”
There were times when Gainando also called himself ‘Card King of the Blue Dragon Tower Mage.’
How dare you!
Lee Han ignored it and spoke.
“Senior. I’ve got a favor.”
“Yeah! Go ahead!”
Ogoldos replied, a little too enthusiastically.
Realizing how excitedly he’d responded, he quickly became embarrassed.
“Ah, no. Go ahead.”
“Can you give me some water? I’ve been thirsty for a while…”
“…Sure!”
Come to think of it, this junior had fought his way up from the underground prison.
It wouldn’t be surprising if he collapsed from exhaustion right now.
Ogoldos grabbed his staff and went to conjure water.
“Water, arise…”
But the chunk of water forming in the air, about the size of a few finger joints, gave off a sour stench.
Seeing it, Ogoldos belatedly realized.
‘Ah…! It’s the undead dimension!’
The dimension itself was filled with dark elements and negative mana, affecting even other element spells.
In a situation where he needed to create drinkable water, it was the worst.
“Senior?”
“W-wait a minute.”
Ogoldos focused more desperately than during his black magic final exam.
To purify this water now…?
‘The poisons I can purify… I may have trouble with bacterial ones. Can I remove the dark element with magic? Oh, right. I have a Handkerchief of Purification.’
“Senior?”
“Hold on! Hold on!”
“No need. I’ve got it.”
“?!”
Ogoldos turned his head.
Lee Han had conjured a big chunk of water and was drinking from it.
“Stop! Don’t drink that!!!”
“Pardon?”
“There’s poison in the water!!”
Ogoldos ran faster than he ever had before in his life. He ran so fast he lost his balance and fell.
Thud!
“…There is, I tell you!”
“There’s no poison. I checked.”
“Even if you don’t see it, there could be…”
“I checked with ingredient separation magic. We’re in the undead dimension, aren’t we.”
Lying on the floor, Ogoldos reached up and tapped the lump of water hovering in the air.
It was comprised of pure water element, not a trace of the undead dimension’s evil could be found.
“Would you like some?”
“…No, I’m fine…”
“Ah, come on, senior. Why not?”
Seeing Ogoldos so openly feeling down, Lee Han tried to console him.
“You probably don’t even have water to drink…”
“No. I have plenty of water.”
He could conjure as much as he wanted with mana, so it truly wasn’t lacking.
“…I’m sorry I’m really not helping.”
“Ah, don’t say that. Your help has been invaluable. Didn’t you help before, too?”
“…?”
Ogoldos tilted his head.
“When?”
“You know, when you told me to reduce the number of undead.”
“……”
Ogoldos felt something indescribable.
The biggest sense of shame came from realizing his junior was looking out for his feelings in all this.
‘I can’t let this stand.’
Ogoldos resolved to preserve even the last shred of his dignity.
At least let me do something!
“I’ll check for a way out around here first.”
“Be careful, senior.”
Only the three of them remained near the throne of the palace after the fierce battle.
All the undead mages and berserkers were wiped out, and only the King of Ghouls remained, gnashing his teeth inside the holy magic.
While there was no immediate danger, the paths of the palace were like a maze—not easy to navigate.
“Don’t worry and just rest.”
‘I really do worry.’
Unable to leave his seat to maintain the magic circle, Lee Han was very worried.
“Wait. Senior, wait.”
“What?”
“Just a second…”
Lee Han pulled out some brightly colored stones from inside his clothes.
These were stones used for casting lots, something he’d learned in the first semester’s divination magic class.
‘Let’s be careful.’
Normally, Lee Han was confident enough to rush at any magic, but divination was different.
The professor always warned of dangers, so not being nervous would have been weirder.
‘Searching for an escape route using divination would be… risky. Something simpler, though…’
After thinking, Lee Han decided.
“Stone, is it okay to let my senior out?”
A negative image flashed by.
Lee Han looked at Ogoldos and said,
“It doesn’t look good?”
“Oh… really?”
Normally he’d get angry and be stubborn, but Ogoldos didn’t feel like that anymore.
More than that, something else was on his mind.
“You’re already… using divination? Isn’t that dangerous?”
“If I’m careful, it should be fine. …Probably.”
‘Madman.’
Ogoldos was daunted by Lee Han’s answer.
Maybe that was what it took to be a real magical genius.
Throwing himself into magic without a thought for his own life!
“Senior?”
“Huh, what? Why?!”
“I’m going to prepare some food. Anything you want for the meal?”
“……”
- * *
The area Lee Han could move while maintaining the magic circle was wider than expected. He looked around the hall as he wandered.
Meanwhile, Ogoldos rummaged through the backpack Lee Han had been carrying.
To his amazement, all sorts of emergency rations and seasonings, even tea leaves, coffee powder, and sugar, were neatly packed inside.
“You… you actually carried all this around?”
“Hm? Uh. Don’t all Einrogard students?”
“For you, maybe… I guess not…”
“Really? That’s odd.”
“……”
Ogoldos quietly shut his mouth and pulled out the items from the rations that looked most perishable. The rest he set aside for Lee Han.
“Do you drink coffee? Tea?”
“Water is enough for me.”
“Senior, by any chance…”
“W-what is it.”
Feeling as if his true feelings were being read, Ogoldos hesitated. Lee Han, without a word, brewed another cup of coffee and handed it over.
“If you don’t drink it, I’ll give it to the King of Ghouls.”
“…Thank you.”
“Why all the fuss for something like this?”
While sipping the coffee, Ogoldos blushed and said,
“I’m sorry. When a junior like you came in, I doubted your dedication to black magic.”
Actually, it wasn’t entirely wrong.
Lee Han’s initial interest in black magic was for the potential of a low-competition, stable career.
“Anyone might have such suspicions. I’m just grateful for your apology.”
Lee Han responded courteously.
To that answer, Ogoldos was again deeply moved.
Where could you find a junior with that kind of character?
“…If you ever need help later, just ask. I don’t know how much I could help, but I’ll do my very best.”
“Oh. In that case, when the semester starts, would you sneak some supplies into Einrogard for me?”
At Lee Han’s joke, Ogoldos chuckled.
He was a weird junior with a strange sense of humor, but this one was actually funny.
‘It wasn’t a joke.’
Lee Han cursed inside.
- * *
After a simple meal, Ogoldos began to search the rest of the hall.
Though trapped, the place they were stuck was the very center of the palace, where the throne was.
If there was treasure, this would be the most likely spot.
Of course, to go treasure-hunting in front of its owner infuriated said owner.
You little…!
“Hey. Quiet down.”
Knowing it wouldn’t work, Lee Han threw a stone anyway.
The magic circle of holy magic burned the stone to ashes. Seeing that, Lee Han thought of something and grabbed a pot.
Now what the…
“Ohh.”
Sssizzle!
Lee Han, pouring kitchen scraps into the magic field imprisoning the King of Ghouls, marveled.
Surprisingly, even the garbage was burnt away cleanly!
“Verdus… thank you.”
Although the name sounded a bit off because of its unfortunate similarity, the undead mage Verdus was truly a good person—far beyond any professor.
Just looking at how he completed such a magic circle at the cost of his own life proved it.
Lee Han hoped Verdus would recover soon and respond to his summoning.
You son of a ■■■■■■■■■■■■—
Ignoring the King of Ghouls’ creative string of ghoul curses, Lee Han called for Ogoldos.
“Senior. Did you find anything good?”
“Hold on…”
Clack!
While studying his black magic books, Ogoldos opened a wall and shouted.
“Found it!!! I found it, junior!!!”
“You mean treasure!?”
Lee Han, who’d been tossing rubbish at the King of Ghouls, leaped up in surprise.
“Yes! Treasure!!”
“W-what kind of jewel does it have?”
Suppressing his excitement, Lee Han asked.
Ogoldos replied, as if wondering what kind of nonsense that was.
“It’s a bone.”
“…What?”
“A bone! You should have it. You’ll find it useful!”
Ogoldos returned excitedly with an armful of bones, mixed purple and black.
He didn’t know exactly what being these bones came from, but just by their color and magical pattern, they seemed to come from a fairly powerful existence.
Bones used as reagents for bone-elemental magic were extremely important to black magicians.
The quality of the bone pieces used not only determined the strength of magic but also increased the very limits of magic that could be used.
“……”
Of course, such knowledge meant nothing to Lee Han. Sulky, he went back to throwing more trash at the King of Ghouls.
‘Well, he is a black magician after all.’
Thinking of bones instead of gems as treasure… that’s black magicians for you.
“Thank you. I’ll make good use of it.”
“Yeah. Glad we got it. When we get back to Einrogard, check them thoroughly.”
With a bitter smile, Lee Han stowed the bones, but then something struck him and he shouted.
“Senior!!!”
“H-huh?!”
“If we stay here, aren’t we going to be late for the semester?!”
“W-well, that’s true, but is that really the issue now?”
Ogoldos was flustered as Lee Han asked with a deathly pale face.
He hadn’t even made that expression when the King of Ghouls was rampaging…