Episode 383

Episode 383

After finally driving out Professor Voladi, who was the last one left, the Skull Principal began to grumble.

If only everyone were like Professor Garcia.

“You flatter me. By the way, when will you start your next task?”

…Wait, wait a minute, I’m just taking a short break.

“I see…”

One minute later.

“By the way, when will you start your next ta—”

I’m going now. I’m going now.

The Skull Principal shuddered and floated away.

Because of his ordinary appearance, it was easy to sometimes forget that Professor Garcia, too, was someone who tried to take all the lectures of every school in Einrogard.

‘If only we could bring in a sane professor to this school.’

It was truly hard to find a professor with both excellent magical skills and a sound mind.

The Skull Principal had no choice but to lament the regrettable state of Imperial education.

• * *

“Hoo…”

……

“Ha…”

……

“Really…”

…Could you stop, Professor Garcia?

“Yes?”

You’ve been sighing dozens of times today.

“Ah. I’m sorry. I was just worried.”

The Skull Principal had come out for a brief rest between tasks until the next path opened, but Professor Garcia didn’t give him even that little reprieve, continuing to sigh.

The Skull Principal lamented Professor Garcia’s earnestness.

Even if he wanted to send him to Einrogard, there was no excuse to do so.

Wardanaz should be fine. That’s what the prophecy magic also said.

“Ah. Actually, I was worried about Student Ogoldos.”

The Skull Principal gave Professor Garcia a look of disbelief.

If a first year student and a second year student are trapped together, you should be worried about the first year student…

Whether he noticed or not, Professor Garcia changed to an embarrassed expression and tried to explain.

“I was worried about Lee Han too. Of course.”

Didn’t really seem all that worried…

“Of course I’m worried. If they’re trapped in the ruins, the first thing to worry about is food…”

The Skull Principal thought, ‘If you’re trapped in ruins, shouldn’t things like traps or sentry attacks be the priority, rather than food?’ but didn’t bother to ask.

You don’t need to worry about that. Wardanaz always carries plenty of food with him wherever he goes.

“…Ah, I see.”

Professor Garcia was lost for words.

What the…

“Uh, Gonadaltes. The adventurers are requesting an audience. What should we do?”

When the knights came and asked, the Skull Principal responded irritably.

Tell them if they bother us one more time, I’ll bury them upside down until the job is done. Watch them closely. Those adventurers have a knack for making work cumbersome because they don’t understand what rules are.

“Understood.”

After the knights left, Professor Garcia asked again.

“But isn’t it still a problem if the two of them have to endure with limited food?”

Well, considering how much he carries around, they should be able to last until I go inside…

Professor Garcia’s face brightened slightly at the Skull Principal’s words.

“In that case, that’s a relief. And Student Ogoldos will be fine since Lee Han is with him.”

…Do you not sense any strangeness when you say things like that?

• * *

“Senior. To prepare for contingencies, we should conserve food. Dessert today is just one slice of cake.”

“…You know, I’m a student of Einrogard too.”

Ogoldos was flabbergasted as she received a piece of chocolate cake.

By Einrogard student standards, this was a luxurious feast.

Regardless, Lee Han once again began striking the bedrock.

At first, even the King of Ghouls had laughed at him, but now, perhaps growing anxious, he tried every sort of trick to interfere.

You’ll never break through at this rate.

Think again! What if it collapses or something?

Doing that won’t help at all…

Ogoldos found herself once again amazed by Lee Han.

She’d been amazed by this junior many times before, but this time was a little different.

How could someone so thoroughly ignore another person’s words?

Ogoldos, for one, would’ve reacted or argued back out of annoyance, no matter how much she tried to ignore him.

But Lee Han really ignored the King of Ghouls as if he didn’t even exist.

So much so that the King of Ghouls ended up shrieking in a fit.

Papapapap—

Seeing the falling stone dust, Lee Han carefully checked the excavated distance.

Thanks to spending most of his waking hours hammering magic at the bedrock, he’d dug quite far.

“The saying that water drops will eventually pierce stone isn’t wrong after all.”

Float a water orb, spin it, fire it.

By repeating this simple process over and over, Lee Han was growing more proficient.

Though he still couldn’t generate a perfect spin instantly…

Bang!

‘Oops. I got too hasty.’

Trying to spin the water orb at high speed as soon as it formed, it burst; Lee Han clicked his tongue.

He either had to spend more time or lower the speed and settle for an imperfect spin—one or the other.

Alright. I’ll tell you what’s inside!

As Lee Han kept digging, the King of Ghouls, getting desperate, shouted out.

Of course, Lee Han ignored him. Ignoring even someone screaming beside him was one of Lee Han’s skills when he put his mind to it.

‘Let’s just pretend this is a professor speaking.’

Inside there sleeps the Myriad Demons. So stop! Opening it further won’t be any good for you either.

Here in the Undead Dimension, as in the dimensions full of violence and strife, the defeated had to kneel before the victors and beg for mercy.

The King of Ghouls too, in rising to his current position, had ruthlessly trampled those he’d defeated.

One of those vestiges was the space sealed behind that door.

A space where only the souls of the defeated remained, sealed to prevent them from reviving with power.

Ogoldos’s expression grew grave.

If that was true, opening this as it was would be extremely dangerous.

It wasn’t even opening the door with a proper sealing—just blasting away the surrounding bedrock barbarically—so it was hard to predict where the things trapped inside would go.

“Junior. I think we should consider this…”

“Does she sound like she’s telling the truth?”

“To be honest, it’s fairly plausible for a lie.”

Sealing a threatening rival in that way was exactly what a powerful undead would do.

Lee Han growled with anger.

“How dare… to trick me like this, calling that a treasure!”

‘It actually is a treasure, though.’

Ogoldos thought to herself.

Those powerful souls were indeed treasures, being usable for great magic or artifacts.

Of course, that wasn’t the case now, since Lee Han wasn’t formally opening the door…

“What’s the matter, Senior?”

“Th—that’s right. To call this a treasure. Ghoul fool! Absolutely outrageous!”

Ogoldos hastily replied.

Lee Han’s voice still carried quiet indignation.

“If that’s true, then it’s the worst. Senior.”

“Isn’t that a bit excessive? We could just wait for rescue…”

“To think I have to study instead of getting more treasure during the spare time…”

“……”

Ogoldos didn’t really relate, but she was too intimidated by her junior to argue.

KWAJIHIIJIIJIK!

At that moment, the magical power enveloping the entire palace began to tremble madly and shatter.

Even the magical forces protecting the deeper areas were roaring in all directions in agony.

“Keuk…!”

Ogoldos fainted and collapsed from the overwhelming wave of magical power.

It wasn’t a direct attack, but such a surge of magical energy was formidable in itself.

KWAHHHHHHHH!

“Isn’t that much too rough?!”

Wardanaz will be fine, so stop worrying. Professor Garcia. Wardanaz! If you’re alive, prepare to go to the punishment room…

“No. I meant Student Ogoldos.”

Ah.

The Skull Principal was silent for a moment.

She won’t die.

“You mad■■ b■■■■ j■■■■ n■■■■—!”

A student is listening, Professor Garcia. No more cursing.

“Professor. I’m here.”

Realizing Lee Han was alive, Professor Garcia stopped swearing and ran over. Just her expression showed how worried she was.

“Lee Han…!”

“I’m sorry for worrying you, Professor.”

“No, it’s the fault of whoever brought a first-year student in.”

‘I was the one who said I’d go myself.’

Since he’d insisted on going in pursuit of a big score, Lee Han felt a bit apologetic to Professor Mortum.

“Student Ogoldos is… all right. Thank goodness.”

Although briefly fainted, she otherwise looked fine right up until then.

Professor Garcia breathed a sigh of relief and scanned the area.

From all sorts of trash to a table carved from stone and magic books, they’d clearly managed to eat and live decently.

Anyone else would have been stunned, but to the Skull Principal and Professor Garcia it wasn’t surprising.

Studying in their free time was the most natural thing in the world.

They set up the place rather cozily.

“Thank you.”

But what’s that?

The Skull Principal asked, pointing to the King of Ghouls trapped inside a magic circle.

The King of Ghouls seemed to instinctively sense the Skull Principal’s level as a grand mage and was crouched low.

“Th-that’s the King of Ghouls.”

Lee Han, starting to explain, added clarification in case he didn’t seem very kingly now that he was weakened.

“He might not look much now, but before being trapped he was much stronger, and—the title ‘King of Ghouls’ can be self-proclaimed…”

…What in the world are you trying to explain??

The Skull Principal was baffled.

If you had eyes, you could tell that was the King of Ghouls.

• * *

Having listened to the sequence of events, the Skull Principal sighed.

‘I’ll have to tell Mortum to avoid Professor Garcia for a while.’

He thought they’d just been trapped, but to think they’d fought and trapped the King of Ghouls.

Already, Professor Garcia’s fists were clenched so tightly her knuckles looked ready to burst, and the veins on her temple were visibly throbbing. If not for the students present, she’d have smashed a few staffs by now.

‘But that’s his own problem.’

The Skull Principal decided that would be the extent of her concern for Professor Mortum.

Old enough to take care of himself after all.

“That guy really is despicable and evil.”

Lee Han shuddered as if recounting a chilling experience.

The Skull Principal was surprised.

Wasn’t Lee Han the type with nerves of steel, unfazed even when harassed by people like Baegrek or Verdus?

And now he was complaining like this.

Was the King of Ghouls really that dangerous and threatening?

“He said he’d reveal where the treasure was and just had me waste my time!”

……

The Skull Principal was speechless as she looked at the nearly pierced bedrock.

He knew Lee Han had a lot of mana, but to direct it all into trying to break that giant bedrock in his spare time was a different story.

Who could have imagined such a thing? It was completely beyond the sense of a wizard.

He really is an evil one. That’s how undead are.

“He’s not satisfied until he’s given the torment of hell.”

Why in the world does someone from the Wardanaz Family have that much greed for treasure…?

Perhaps resigned, the Skull Principal silenced the cursing King of Ghouls and floated gently away.

Then he finished breaking through the bedrock and, in one motion, devoured all the demon souls inside.

“…!”

!!!

Even Lee Han and the King of Ghouls were shocked by the ferocity of the scene.

With blue light blazing from his eyes, the Skull Principal bound the souls he had swallowed. Then he compressed them and sealed them into a single bone.

Here.

He fashioned a bracelet of bone and threw it to Lee Han.

It was a rare and valuable relic, holding the evil souls who’d been defeated by the King of Ghouls.

Normally, he wouldn’t give this sort of privilege to students, but this much should be all right.

Lee Han looked at the Skull Principal with a slightly moved expression.

“Principal…!”

Yes.

“But aren’t artifacts like this supposed to have gemstones? I’m not asking out of any special intent, just for safety’s sake…”

……