Episode 399

Episode 399

However, the excited priestess Siana did not hear and rushed off.

Before long, priests began to hurry out of the Phoenix Tower, flustered.

“Is it true?!?!”

“Ah… what a shame! If only I had drawn the right lot, surely you would have awakened our order’s holy magic!”

“Ugh!”

Seeing the priests now not even bothering to hide their true intentions, Lee Han was dumbfounded.

Is it really okay to treat holy magic like that?

“Holy magic, to be treated like that…”

“Please! Please give me a chance this time! Maybe you’ll succeed if you try today!”

At the priest’s words, Nigisor and Siina shook their heads in reply.

“Holy magic is quite straining on the body, you know. You’ve already cast it twice today.”

“That’s right. Do it next time.”

“…But they succeeded just now!!”

“Ah, no… We’re going in order…”

“Aren’t you the one who stole away the true glory that could have gone to Wardanaz!”

“How can you say that!”

The priests of the Phoenix Tower started to argue, raising their voices at each other.

Of course, compared to the Blue Dragon Tower or the White Tiger Tower, theirs was far more gentle and polite, but the fact that priests would argue to this extent was quite a shocking thing.

Even the skull principal flying in from afar thought so.

No…! How is this even possible!!!

The skull principal, who had flown over without much thought and ended up seeing this unbelievably amusing scene, was totally captivated.

How could this be?

“……”

Lee Han inwardly cursed that if the skull principal weren’t an archmage, he would have immediately attacked him.

Traditionally, the flocks of the Phoenix Tower never fought no matter what! Wardanaz. I am truly proud of you!

Despite receiving heartfelt praise from the skull principal, he didn’t feel the least bit happy.

Lee Han sighed and spoke.

“Why are you here?”

Ogonin is waiting for you. Since you arrived several weeks late, it’s only reasonable for him to wait.

“Ah.”

The illusionist Ogonin had been teaching illusion magic to Lee Han from a distance.

Having come several weeks late after the second semester started, he must have waited for quite a while.

“I’ll go now.”

Just watch the fight a little longer before you go. When else will you get to see this?

“…Can’t you just break it up?”

Lee Han eventually couldn’t hold back and said.

However, the skull principal answered seriously.

Fighting like that is good for those priests as well.

“Excuse me?”

Imperial priests, regardless of denomination, are often forced to uphold similar so-called vices: devotion, sacrifice, endurance…

“Not vices, virtues…”

Priests who are forced into these vices end up with rigid ways of thinking and values, making it hard to think freely. I have always wanted priests to break out of their shells and contemplate beyond their world.

“……”

At the skull principal’s words, Lee Han was honestly impressed.

Indeed, imperial priests all grew up inside the temple from a young age, knowing only the world of the order.

No matter how noble the faith, growing up like that inevitably led to rigidity in one’s mindset.

Why fight? To learn how to reconcile. Not fighting sounds good at first, but it really means nobody expresses what they want and just holds it in. If you can’t even express your desires, how can you truly talk about faith? You need to learn to assert yourself and clash with others to keep living as a priest.

“Principal…”

Lee Han called the skull principal in a slightly teary voice.

I was really moved for the first time…

Hey! Grab him by the collar! That’s right! Grab the collar, I said! Sheesh, never having fought before, their hands are just trembling! Grab the collar! Grab it!

“……”

‘Why did I even feel moved.’

Lee Han immediately regretted it.

• * *

-I’m sorry. There was so much to do…

-No, no. You’re learning fast enough as it is.

Ogonin was indeed kind.

When Lee Han explained he hadn’t practiced illusion magic much due to other tasks, Ogonin kindly said that was perfectly understandable.

-I’ll work harder.

-…Just mastering mist magic is already impressive!? Just polish what you’ve learned! Don’t overdo it!!

Lee Han felt needlessly sorry for Ogonin’s kindness.

If lessons were harsh, Lee Han worked hard out of fear for his life, and if Ogonin was nice, he felt bad if he slacked off. That wasn’t right.

What fault did good-natured Ogonin have for his kindness?

‘I’ll just work harder.’

It’s over now. You did well.

When class ended, the Morningstar was already in the sky. Another week had ended, and Saturday had already arrived.

‘This is bad. I haven’t finished my alchemy prep yet.’

“Thank you.”

No need for thanks. Ogonin was the one who taught you, after all. By the way, a lot of that undead stench has faded from your soul.

The skull principal, being an undead himself, described the aura of undead as if it were a foul odor.

It can’t be easy for it to disappear so quickly… Have you been doing group prayers with the priests every day or something?

“Pretty much. I practiced holy magic.”

What? That waste?

“…It’s not systematic and lacks a bit of theory, but it’s not quite a waste, is it?”

Holy magic definitely had its uses.

A power that could overcome a far more complex and difficult path by faith alone, something otherwise only possible by magic.

To the archmage skull principal, of course, that sounded unconvincing.

That’s what I call waste… Wait. Was that squabble among the priests earlier, by any chance…?

The skull principal was stunned.

He had wondered what Lee Han had done to make the priests fight, but if that Wardanaz had awakened holy magic, it all made sense.

It was bait on a whole different level compared to a mere donation or visit.

Did you awaken it? Then what?

“Yes.”

Impossible! Were you that foolish?! No, if you were that foolish, you couldn’t have learned all this magic until now!

“…Isn’t this a bit much for just two awakenings? Maybe I was just lucky.”

If you could awaken holy magic by luck alone, why would priests go through all that hardship? You need fanatical devotion just to get the slightest chance. Hm? Two times?

The skull principal felt something amiss in Lee Han’s numbers as he spoke.

“But Principal, there’s something I’m curious about.”

Now’s not the time for another story, is it? Did you say two times?

“I did it once, so doing it twice is not a big deal… Why is that so important…”

What does a guy with no faith even know?

The skull principal was truly surprised.

To awaken not just one, but two holy magics.

He could now see why the priests were losing their minds with excitement. From their perspective, Wardanaz’s faith must have looked as genuine as it gets.

Given only his outward behavior, there truly hadn’t been anyone more devout and diligent than him…

It’s unbelievable even on second thought… Holy magic, and from the Wardanaz family, no less.

Even before this, various orders had shown great favor toward Lee Han, a member of the Wardanaz family, for his diligent visits to the temple.

Among the empire’s prominent houses, none were as indifferent to faith as the Wardanaz family.

But now, to have awakened two.

If word got out, not just the priests of the Phoenix Tower, but also those outside would lose their minds with fervor.

If at least Lee Han had been truly devout, one could say, ‘Ah, your deep faith and foolishness have brought forth multiple holy magics.’ But from what the skull principal saw, Lee Han was far from that.

It really was a peculiar thing.

The taint of the undead will fade quickly. So, what was it you were about to ask earlier?

“Do you know about spatial magic?”

I do. I can even use it. But no matter how talented you are, it’s physically impossible for you to learn it right now. Even Professor Garcia would say the same.

“…I wasn’t asking to learn it.”

Lee Han was dumbfounded.

Why did the conversation always go this way?

Oh, you weren’t? I thought you wanted to learn.

“Not every question about magic is because you want to learn it.”

Then what else would you ask for?

“There is. Also, why did you mention Professor Garcia?”

Because it’s his main research field. So if you’re not trying to learn, why ask?

“I was walking around campus and got beaten up and chased off by an enemy using spatial teleportation magic…”

The skull principal laughed.

The skull principal laughed heartily.

The skull principal kept laughing so much that the principal’s office rattled, windows shattered, and eventually the entire main building rang with his booming laughter.

Only after laughing for a time as if an entire world had been newly created was the skull principal able to speak in a cheerful voice.

Oh my! That’s too bad!

“…Yes. Well. Anyway, that’s what happened.”

Lee Han wasn’t fazed by the skull principal’s laughter. He hadn’t expected anything from him to begin with.

“Is there any way to deal with someone like that?”

There is.

“And what is it?”

Go to Professor Baegrek and ask for help.

“……”

Lee Han glared at the skull principal, dead serious.

To his deadly stare, the skull principal explained, apparently frustrated.

This time, I’m not teasing you.

“Then just now, were you teasing…?”

Listen well. If you were beaten, that probably means your opponent cast quickly enough without giving you time to react, right? With Einrogard’s magic, such casting speed is entirely possible.

The skull principal rated Lee Han’s fighting ability very highly.

Having endured the teachings of Professor Voladi Baegrek and possessing innate magical power, Lee Han had, in terms of pure combat ability, several advantages over other excellent mages.

In battle, victory didn’t depend on who could use more complex and difficult magic. It depended on who could drive a dagger into the opponent’s heart faster.

Since Wardanaz was naturally suited and trained for the latter, ordinary spatial magic wouldn’t easily suppress him.

Whoever the opponent was, he had clearly overcome the issue of slow, complicated casting times.

“Yes.”

With the magic you currently have, it won’t be easy to counter that strategy.

Normally, if given prep time, a mage grows stronger, but this time was an exception.

The power of spatial magic, when its weaknesses are overcome, was tricky to deal with, even for a mage like Lee Han who had learned all sorts of schools of magic.

No matter what strategy you prepare, it won’t be easy.

But there is always an opening. Even a magic with no apparent gap, to a mage, always has a weak point.

No matter how perfect a spell may seem, a mage himself always has an opening.

The flow of magic one reveals before casting spatial magic. The habitual choices of location when casting…

If you thoroughly analyze such details and prepare, you could defend against a single attack.

Moreover, since Lee Han was talented in all sorts of magic, such a brute-force method actually had a decent chance.

You’re also talented in divination magic, so that’s good. Lucky for you.

“I understand, but… why does this mean I should ask Professor Baegrek for help?”

Because to get used enough with spatial magic to catch such tells, you need someone to keep attacking you with it, and there aren’t many people capable of that. Professor Garcia is too soft-hearted for that.

After getting repeatedly beaten by Professor Voladi, you’ll learn to sense the signs of spatial casting and read the patterns, then go underground again and look for the statue’s weak points (possibly getting beaten up again in the process).

Lee Han admired this wise advice.

And made up his mind.

‘I just won’t go to the basement then.’

If you’re embarrassed, should I tell him for you?

“Haha. It’s fine.”