Episode 382

Clack!

Just as the King of Ghouls described, touching the wall behind the pillar activated a mechanical device, revealing a hidden space.

Lee Han immediately felt uneasy at the sight.

‘Don’t tell me…it’s bones again?’

Come to think of it, undead treasures might have a different concept.

But still, it’s a king—surely there’d be a few jewels…

“Junior!!!!”

Ogoldos, who went in first, shouted with pure joy. Lee Han asked excitedly,

“What did you find?”

“Bones! Bones!!! They’re bones!!!!”

“……”

Lee Han, for the first time in a while, put on a deadpan face.

• * *

“Do you not know what treasure is?”

Are you the one who doesn’t recognize what those bones are? How shameless…

The King of Ghouls was furious at Lee Han’s attitude.

He had shared a hidden treasure, only for Lee Han to act so shamelessly.

“Those bones may be a treasure to a black mage, but not to me.”

Nonsense! You’re obviously a black mage…

Lee Han conjured up and compressed the lightning element, only to fail again and fling it at the King of Ghouls.

On top of that, he drew the Morningstar.

“Look at this. Do I look like a black mage? Think back to the last time we fought.”

……

Lee Han could bluff his way through anything if it got him what he wanted.

And from the King of Ghouls’ perspective, he couldn’t help but waver.

When he recalled Lee Han’s previous battles, he hadn’t been the classic black mage.

“If you want mutual trust, you need to offer something worthy!”

Lee Han sternly chastised the wavering King of Ghouls, like a professor berating a student who hadn’t done his homework.

Ogoldos looked on at the scene as if Lee Han were insane.

‘What on earth…?!’

He’d learned all about “things to watch out for when dealing with undead beings from other dimensions” in black magic lectures, but he’d never seen anything like this.

…Just wait. I’m thinking.

“So you’re not hiding any more treasure?”

Keep quiet. You think a king remembers every single treasure in his palace?

Annoyed by the distraction as he tried to think, the King of Ghouls snapped back.

‘Wouldn’t you remember them all?’

Lee Han was surprised.

If he were the king, he’d have the entire treasure list memorized…

One came to mind.

“Knew it! I believed in you.”

But before I tell you, swear on your honor.

Normally, he’d have wanted to bind him with an actual contract, but separated by the magic circle, all they could do was rely on each other’s words.

I’ll open the magic circle for you with no more tricks!

The King of Ghouls had no intention of keeping his word but didn’t think the other party would break theirs.

It was because he believed only he himself could be so wicked and underhanded.

But the one more conniving than the King of Ghouls was standing right in front of him.

“Of course. I swear.”

…There’s another hidden storage on the other side.

‘Do all undead have a habit of making storage near themselves?’

Several secret vaults squeezed into the throne room.

It really showed just how much he didn’t trust his own underlings.

“…?”

Following the King of Ghouls’ instructions, Lee Han revealed another hidden storage and paused.

A massive door, like nothing he’d seen before, was guarding the vault.

The metal door, engraved with unique designs, was made of some unknown material and exuded strange magical power.

Ogoldos beside him groaned.

“This is going to be hard.”

People with no experience might imagine that exploring dungeons or ruins meant a talented technician (suspiciously close to the thieves’ guild, but definitely not a thief) would deftly pick locks and disable traps.

But in most cases, exploration didn’t go so smoothly.

Most locked doors or devices were much sturdier than the skill of those trying to open them, and people usually had to go around or turn back.

“Hey. King of Ghouls! What is this?”

I told you about it. You just can’t open it. That door is designed to only open with my power.

The King of Ghouls tried to keep any cunning from showing.

In fact, the vault’s door was created by renowned undead sculptors and smiths at the King of Ghouls’ command.

It was made by combining eight metals, feeding it the blood of thirteen species, and tempering it in the flames of six dimensions.

Completed at the peak of the kingdom, it was a masterpiece no mere mage or two could open.

If you let me out, I’ll open that door for you.

“I see. Alright. We’ll try our best to open it.”

You said you’d let me out with no more tricks!

“That’s only if we get the treasure out.”

Lee Han ignored him.

He hadn’t planned to keep his promise even if he got the treasure, so he certainly wasn’t going to listen if he didn’t.

The King of Ghouls cursed from behind, but Lee Han didn’t hear a word.

“Senior. Please step aside a bit.”

Lee Han had Ogoldos move back and poured magic into the door.

Boomboomboomboom!

Everything from Water Prison Bullets to arrows stacked with enhancement magic.

He unloaded his maximum firepower, but the door remained unscathed.

“Wouldn’t it be better to just give up and wait?”

“Hmm. I guess there’s no choice… Wait, senior. Look over here.”

Lee Han pointed to the massive boulder next to the vault door.

A stray Water Prison Bullet had left a small mark on the huge rock.

“Should we try breaking through here instead?”

“…Are you serious?!”

Ogoldos was dumbfounded.

If you opened the door, you could go straight in, but to go around through the rock… who knew how far you’d have to dig.

“Not like we’ve got anything else to do.”

“…That’s true, but…”

Ogoldos thought to himself as his junior prepared to tunnel through because the door was too tough.

‘He’ll be wildly popular in the punishment room.’

Other students in the punishment room would salivate at the chance to recruit such talent.

• * *

“You said what, now?!”

At Professor Garcia’s roar, Professor Mortum shriveled.

“If there’s a dangerous ruin, the first thing to do is send the students OUTSIDE!”

“T-that’s a little overprotective, isn’t it…”

The saying that it’s scariest when someone who never gets angry does get angry fit Professor Garcia perfectly.

Mortum couldn’t meet Garcia’s eyes and meekly cowered.

“And WHY did you take a first-year to the Undead Dimension?!”

“That’s… I, uh… You see, he fought the King of Frost Giants, so I figured he’d be fine…”

“……”

Even Professor Garcia, in the middle of her rant, was rendered speechless.

Sensing the opportunity, Professor Mortum quickly called on the skeletal headmaster for help.

“Lord Gonadaltes. Please help. There’s no point in coddling students. They need hardship to grow into great mages—”

Since the skeletal headmaster’s usual style was to force students into trials, Professor Mortum thought he’d take her side.

What’s the point in protecting students?

You only hone your skills by facing danger.

Hadn’t the skeletal headmaster always preached this?

But the skeletal headmaster coldly refused.

Within reason. Taking a first-year to the Undead Dimension was a bit much.

“!??!”

Professor Mortum stared at the headmaster with a look of pure betrayal.

She could understand Professor Garcia getting angry—she was always affectionate with her students.

But the headmaster acting like this was pure hypocrisy.

“Aren’t you being a bit much?!”

The one being too much here is YOU, for bringing a first-year. What were you thinking? This is why fewer and fewer students take black magic.

The skeletal headmaster shot her down with icy dismissal.

She was already in trouble with the emperor. There was no way she’d take Mortum’s side and risk sharing the blame.

Better to pin everything on Mortum and save herself from the emperor’s wrath.

‘Just wait!’

Professor Mortum ground her teeth at her respected mentor’s betrayal.

She resolved never to hand over any useful undead to her in the future—even if requested.

So… is that everything? It’s cleaner than I’d expected.

The skeletal headmaster bobbed in the air, surveying the area.

In fact, Professor Mortum had made the best call.

When Lee Han and Ogoldos disappeared inside the palace, she immediately evacuated the other students and entered the search with only undead in tow.

Had she been successful, she’d have been praised by the other professors, but reality was different.

The palace was so heavily protected by powerful magics that the search took much longer.

As the semester re-commenced, Professor Mortum tearfully contacted the skeletal headmaster, who then passed word to the other professors…

Thanks to that, all the Einrogard professors ended up gathering in a village near the dimensional gate.

I was going to chase out any adventurers loitering about, but… The knights are surprisingly efficient. Was it you?

“No, it wasn’t.”

Then I won’t compliment you. Bring the knights in here; I should give them some praise.

“……”

To break the defenses of a deep-dimension ruin, it was better to minimize variables.

If any idiots were skulking around boasting about a door to another dimension, she would have wiped them all out and driven them away. But the knights had done that already.

The skeletal headmaster was rather impressed.

The knights accepted the praise with the utmost politeness.

Professors could joke around with the headmaster, but knights could never.

If they ever joked with the infamous imperial archmage Gonadaltes, they might spend their lives as frogs in a cage.

“Thank you, Lord Gonadaltes!”

Yes, keep it up.

“Um, but—adventurers keep demanding to be released. What should we do?”

Keep them locked up. Letting those noisy fools out does no good.

The skeletal headmaster answered drily.

She needed to concentrate on breaking into the dimensional ruin; she couldn’t be bothered to set adventurers free.

If she set them loose, then they might sneak back in later, which would only be a pain.

Professor Garcia asked cautiously,

“Won’t they protest?”

Let them. If they want to die.

The skeletal headmaster gave up even pretending to care.

Finding the students was the priority, so what if the adventurers were locked up a few extra weeks?

They’d have plenty to eat anyway…

Of course, for the anti-magic faction stuck inside, this was a bombshell.

-What?! Why won’t you let us go! Can an imperial knight get away with this?!

-I have the right to protection under imperial law! Fetch the magistrate at once!

• * *

Day one.

“How’s it going?”

I’ve uncovered about half the rules.

“Good.”

Professor Mortum replied with a sigh of relief.

No matter how old you got, a teacher always had to appear reliable to students.

Day two.

“How’s it going?”

There are some traps in the rules.

“Oh dear…”

“That’s really unfortunate.”

…?

With Professor Garcia sitting by her side, the skeletal headmaster started to say something, then stopped.

Day three.

“How’s it going?”

We dispelled the defensive magic, and reinforced the palace so it won’t collapse… wait a second. Why are there more and more of you all here?

The skeletal headmaster frowned at the increasing number of professors gathering in the village.

The semester had already started—so who was teaching?

“I just stopped by after my lecture.”

That’s fine for Garcia… but the others? Should I seriously have to evaluate commitment? Professors who ditched class—return at once.

At the headmaster’s petty threat, the professors grumbled and got up.

But not everyone rose.

The skeletal headmaster glanced at Professor Voladi in disbelief.

…Professor Baegrek. Get out before I hang you upside down.

“??”

Why are YOU stunned? I’m the one who should be!