Episode 552

“No. Not all wizards care about spirits.”

The squirrel spirit shook its head on Lee Han’s shoulder as if to agree.

Even if not as extreme as the skeleton principal, truly spirit-dedicated wizards were rarer than one might think.

Even those who befriended and contracted with a few spirits didn’t risk their lives to enter a contaminated forest solely for the sake of the spirits.

“But, senior, how did you appear in front of us…?”

“There’s a potion that temporarily stops the principal’s magic.”

“!”

“…!!!”

All three, being excellent alchemy students, instantly grasped how impressive what Senior Ellendil just said was.

Even if only for a moment, stopping the skeleton principal’s magic…

Just moments earlier, they’d looked at Ellendil as a “crazy senior” or a “suspicious senior,” but now their eyes filled with respect at seeing a “remarkable senior.”

“Amazing!”

“Truly…!”

“Hm?”

Ellendil himself looked perplexed, not understanding the reaction of his juniors.

“Why?”

“Senior, sorry, but we have to save the spirits. The time is…”

“I’ll help. The potion’s effect isn’t over yet.”

“Uh…”

Lee Han wondered if he really needed to team up with a senior he’d just met for the first time, who also happened to be the root of this incident and still seemed somewhat suspicious.

On top of that, he needed to make spirit contracts…

“Aren’t you worried it’ll get dangerous with the professor possibly returning at any moment?”

“Yeah. But the forest and the spirits are more important than me.”

“So cool…!”

“Maybe I misjudged you, Lee Han.”

As Priest Siana and Yoner showered Ellendil with even greater respect than before, Lee Han thought to himself.

‘Did they all forget this guy’s the reason for these abominations?’

But there was no more time to waste.

“All right. Let’s go.”

In any case, this was a senior, and an alchemist many times greater than Lee Han himself, so he’d definitely be helpful.

…Though it was a bit awkward that he was the root cause of all these events…

• * *

“Why did you try to make an artificial dark spirit?”

Ordinary students might talk about dinner as they walked, but those strong in alchemy talked about alchemy even while on the move.

Ellendil replied to Priest Siana’s question with his characteristically slow voice.

“Yeah. I wanted to use it as a forest keeper.”

“A forest keeper?”

The forests of Einrogard possessed almost primeval power.

But not every forest in the empire was so.

One of the most vulnerable elements for forests was the dark element.

Sometimes, just one mis-summoned dark spirit could contaminate an entire massive forest.

Heartbroken by such cases, Ellendil tried the opposite approach.

What if he used a dark spirit as a forest keeper from the outset?

“Wow! Truly…”

“Isn’t that insane?”

Priest Siana, about to express admiration, fell silent at Lee Han’s mutter.

“Isn’t it a good idea?”

“Priest Siana, just look ahead at the abominations.”

Ellendil looked dejected at the juniors’ conversation. The leaves connected to his hair drooped like a wilted plant.

“If it had worked, it would have been great.”

‘Ah. He’s a senior.’

Lee Han realized his mistake.

He’d grown impatient about the spirits and made a slip he normally wouldn’t.

Ellendil was still a senior.

If negative rumors about Lee Han spread in the senior community…

‘Should I use the Moradi family? No, that was a stretch. I said my name and house earlier anyway.’

“No, senior. I think it was a meaningful attempt.”

“Hm? But you said it was insane.”

“Pioneers always look crazy. That was actually praise.”

“You’re really a good person.”

Ellendil’s leaves perked up in a good mood.

“But for elements as tricky as dark, isn’t it better to get an expert’s help?”

“Will you help?”

The dryad-mixed senior stared at Lee Han.

Without breathing, Lee Han answered quickly.

“I meant seniors from the dark magic school.”

“Yeah, but the dark magic school folks are all difficult and scary.”

“Excuse me?”

Lee Han stopped, thinking he must have misheard the senior.

“Wait. The spirits are this way.”

Ellendil pointed and changed their direction.

“Can you sense the spirit’s aura?”

“Yeah. I’ve been close to spirits since I was a kid.”

“……”

Yoner, seeing the veins pop in his friend’s hand on the staff, shook his head.

What is it with spirits…!

• * *

“We’re here. The spirits are gathered over there.”

Lee Han had to admit the senior—standing in as their guide for Professor Thunderstep—was quite talented.

The traits of spirit-mixed descendants that manifest by chance across generations were all unique.

Some spirit-mixed people were so sensitive they’d freak out just seeing Lee Han, while others were nonchalant.

Judging by how close Ellendil was with spirits, he clearly had a natural affinity.

“Wait.”

The senior’s expression changed.

“The homunculus is coming this way.”

“!”

Lee Han’s eyes sharpened.

Unlike other abominations, an artificial dark spirit—the root cause of this mess—was something else entirely.

“I’ll block it. You all take the spirits and go.”

Lee Han, about to nod, stopped.

Right now, with spirits nearby, if Ellendil put himself on the line, wouldn’t it ruin everything Lee Han was about to accomplish?

“No. I’ll help.”

Ellendil gave his junior a “you really are a good person” look.

“Hm. What did you say your name was again?”

“Mo…”

“It’s Wardanaz.”

“Lee Han of the Wardanaz family.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Lee Han of the Wardanaz family. Lee Han of the Wardanaz family. Mm. I’ll remember that.”

The dryad-mixed senior swung his staff.

The already dense trees grew and tangled even thicker, forming an impenetrable wall.

Thunk!

The rushing artificial dark spirit was trapped inside a prison of trees.

But the spirit wasn’t easy prey. Instantly reshaping its form, it began to squeeze its body out through the gaps in the prison of trees.

“Darkness, gather here!”

Even without a word from Ellendil, Lee Han responded immediately.

Ellendil, busy trapping the spirit with trees, nodded at Lee Han. They both knew instantly what had to be done.

They had to keep absorbing dark element from the artificial dark spirit.

Dark element gathered at the tip of Lee Han’s staff.

■!

Having its own body ripped apart, the spirit reacted sharply.

Realizing it couldn’t overpower Lee Han in controlling dark element, it immediately switched tactics.

‘This is…!’

As the condensed dark element at the tip of the staff began to flicker and explode, Lee Han quickly pulled a bone fragment from his reagent pouch to compress it urgently.

Some bone fragments burned away, but it couldn’t be helped.

• Darkwave Spread -!

Lee Han recalled a spell from Professor Voladi’s grimoire.

Condense dark element, then burst it in a wave to affect the surroundings.

With any other element, this wouldn’t be very powerful, but the dark element’s characteristics made such wave attacks deadly.

For magicians with living bodies, just a few direct hits from dark element like this could sap away their life force.

Right now, the opposing spirit was instinctively trying to cause a similar phenomenon.

“Absorb—difficult…?”

Ellendil gasped, speaking in broken words.

Even using potions to keep the spirit contained, a spell of this scale was eating through both his mana and stamina.

Yoner and Priest Siana were helping from the side, but even they were sweating cold already.

Lee Han sensed that if he fell back here, things would get far worse.

‘If it comes down to it, I’ll just have to fight with magic.’

He’d never practiced – Darkwave Spread – and had put it off, but right now, he had no choice but to try as he’d read.

If Direte were here, he would have shut his eyes tight at the recklessness, but Lee Han swung his staff.

“Darkness, gather here!”

Again, dark element gathered.

The spirit, thrashing in the prison of trees, responded even faster than before, learning from experience.

As the dark element began flickering and threatening an explosion, there wasn’t even time to contain it in a reagent.

Lee Han cast – Darkwave Spread – as he’d read in the grimoire.

“Darkness, sweep forth!”

A wave of darkness rippled through the space above their heads. Lee Han had cast it first, burning off the buildup before the spirit could unleash it.

Ellendil asked, mystified.

“Before, why…?”

“It was my first time using the spell, so I couldn’t help it!”

“What?”

Lee Han couldn’t explain more to Ellendil.

The spirit, realizing it couldn’t outdo Lee Han with dark element, changed tactics again.

Grass and tree branches fused with dark element, rising like puppets.

At the sight, Ellendil screamed in pain.

“You bastard!”

“Hand, cleave the enemy!”

With barely a moment to draw Morningstar, Lee Han managed to cast a spell as the enemy closed in.

The close-quarters spell of the skeleton principal, – Gonadaltes’s Sharp Hand -.

He’d always wondered when he’d get to use such a spell…!

Slash!

“Flash!”

Cutting with one hand and swinging his staff with the other to cast spells, the numbers and ferocity were overwhelming.

If a mage allowed things to devolve into a chaotic melee, it was always to their disadvantage.

“Flash!”

As lightning crackled, another grass puppet attacked. Lee Han forcibly anchored the lightning at the tip and thrust the staff like a spear.

If he had just a moment, he could summon his familiars and buy time, but there wasn’t even that moment.

If only he had a moment!

Sizzle-zzzzzzt!

As if in response to Lee Han’s desperate wish, the ball of lightning at the end of his staff swelled even larger, enveloping the staff.

Lee Han himself didn’t even notice at first, too focused on dealing with the enemies coming from one side and watching the spirit trapped inside the tree prison.

He only realized what had changed after all the enemies around his staff hand lay defeated.

“…?”

To his surprise, Lee Han found his staff transformed into a spearhead of lightning.

‘Wait. How did I do that?’

He could see at a glance this was stabilizing lightning element into the shape of a blazing spear, using his staff as a core.

Professor Voladi had spoken so much about fixing lightning element forms, it was obvious at a glance.

But what was confusing was that he himself didn’t remember how he’d done it.

It must have been instinct, in a moment of desperation…

‘There’s no time for this!’

Lee Han immediately summoned Sharkan and the skeleton warriors.

The summoned creatures blocked the grass puppets pushed back by the lightning spear. Lee Han took the chance and leaped forward, lightning spear in hand.

■!

The spirit, trapped in the tree prison, seemed to realize its fate, shrieking in terror.

Sizzle-zzzzzzt!

Unlike the shock that comes from a simple lightning blast, the power of condensed, fixed lightning was sharp and fierce.

Moreover, it didn’t disappear, but continued to burn the spirit relentlessly.

Lee Han pulled back and thrust the spear again.

Sizzle-zzzzzzt!

He intended to keep stabbing until the enemy was banished.

Of course, since it had been created by Einrogard seniors, this thing wouldn’t be banished as easily as a normal spirit.

But it didn’t matter.

In a battle of endurance, Lee Han’s magic would never fade first.

Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud!

■! ■! ■! ■! ■!

With the chorus of lightning and screams at an end, the artificial spirit gave up all resistance and knelt.

Stopping its attack, it raised its symbol onto the back of Lee Han’s hand.

A signal of total submission, entrusting its fate entirely to the mage.

“???”

Of course, Lee Han had absolutely no desire to contract with the spirit and was instead bewildered.

Wasn’t this thing just rampaging—and vicious—seconds ago?

No sane mage would contract with a spirit they couldn’t trust not to stab them in the back at any time.

Except, maybe, if they had a spirit obsession…

“Wardanaz! Make the contract! You said you wanted to contract with spirits!”

“Is that true? I think it’s a good idea. He’s a bit mischievous, but he’s actually a good kid!”

“……”

At Priest Siana and Senior Ellendil’s shouts, Lee Han frowned.