Episode 569

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“I guess you could practice in even more dangerous situations.”

“!?”

Lee Han was horrified, wondering if he had done something wrong.

Regardless, Professor Voladi returned to the topic of the vampiric monster.

“Poisons that block regeneration are likely to be ineffective.”

There were standard methods for dealing with monsters with strong regenerative abilities.

Fire, acid, or things like poison.

Of these, poison was the most convenient.

Unlike fire or acid, once you hit the target, you could deeply intoxicate them.

“Ah, I think I understand. Is it because the regeneration is so strong that poisoning only wears it down to a certain extent?”

Professor Voladi nodded.

“That’s what I thought, so I’ve prepared a different kind of poison. It’s a poison that overloads regeneration.”

“Can you make it?”

“I’d have to get help from my seniors, but I think I can.”

“I see.”

Professor Voladi sipped tea with one hand and waved the rod in front of the baby basilisk with the other.

Suddenly, Lee Han wondered if he’d made a mistake.

‘Wait. Should I have said that?’

Now that he thought about it, he could have just said he’d get it from seniors, but since Professor Voladi’s question was “Can you make it?” he ended up answering that way naturally.

Thud!

The baby basilisk plopped down, panting hard.

Seeing that, Professor Voladi spoke.

“Looks like he’s exercised enough.”

-……

Lee Han wondered if the baby basilisk was using evil eye magic right now.

That’s how savagely it was glaring at Professor Voladi.

“Take this with you.”

Professor Voladi packed the toys into a box and handed it to Lee Han.

“If you spoil it too much, your basilisk may not grow up properly.”

“I’ll… I’ll keep that in mind.”

Lee Han answered, avoiding the basilisk’s desperate, clinging gaze from his wrist.

‘There’s no way to answer otherwise here…’

“And take this as well.”

“What’s this?”

Lee Han wondered when Professor Voladi next took out a container filled with crossbow bolts from inside the classroom.

Were these bolts meant to be shot at Lee Han?

“For monsters that fast, even fire can be hard to catch them with. Use these bolts.”

Complex patterns were carved onto the bodies and heads of the bolts.

Even though Lee Han had learned quite harshly under Professor Verdus, he couldn’t decipher all the spells inscribed on these bolts.

‘Fire magic?’

They were primarily fire magic, but with several additional enchantments.

Duration, ferocity, extra curses…

“They’ll burn for the rest of the semester once you land a hit.”

“Thank you!”

The vampiric monster’s regeneration was overwhelming, but there was always a weakness.

An inextinguishable flame could be the answer.

Plus, with other bolts coated in poison, the monster would find it even harder to predict.

Professor Voladi sounded like he had given up trying to rein in his reckless student.

“Don’t pursue too hard. There are giants waiting for you.”

“……”

Lee Han really had no intention to chase the vampiric monster, but even if he did, he doubted that comment would have stopped him.

• * *

Though the students were abuzz about the vampiric monster, classes continued regardless.

“Therefore, we must take heed from the case of this unfortunate wizard, Mr. Cladrel, right?”

“Yes! Professor!”

“Well, that’s all for today…”

“Professor, I have a question. What if Mr. Cladrel had gotten rid of all the demons he locked up in his house when he made a contract with the angel?”

“Interesting question. Hmm! Normally the lecture would end here, but since next week is finals, shall we go on a little more?”

“Thank you, Professor!”

Ahsan requested an encore lecture, earning some murderous glares from his friends, but that was a minor issue.

So, when we meet such unfortunate magic criminals, we must show no mercy and snuff out their breath.

“Principal, about next week’s finals…”

No more whining.

But the principal calling Lee Han in to teach him about the tricks of magic criminals and their countermeasures was hardly a minor thing.

You remember the counter-magic to block the magic criminals’ secret techniques from last time, right?

“Yes.”

And the mana patterns of the artifacts they used?

“Huh? You didn’t teach that last time because we ran out of time, did you?”

Didn’t fall for it. I wanted to see if you’d secretly studied it anyway.

“……”

Lee Han stared at the principal, exasperated.

What kind of lunatic would secretly investigate and study artifacts in their free time?

Well, you can just study the artifact’s mana patterns hard today, and I have one more thing to say.

“Principal. I tried my best for the honor of the school. Please take that into consideration.”

…No, not about the group outing. You little brat.

The principal screwed up his face and glared at Lee Han.

He’d just managed to forget that, and now his oblivious student had poured salt in the wound.

How did you even handle that many… Never mind. A wizard never reveals his secrets. Anyway, do you remember this?

The principal pulled out a white bone.

Lee Han tilted his head at the sight.

“Is that one of your bones, Principal?”

You haven’t forgotten the king of ghouls already, have you?

“Ah.”

Lee Han finally realized what kind of bone it was.

It was from the territory ruled by the king of ghouls during vacation.

And not just any bone—a bone directly offered by the king of ghouls.

He had given it to the principal for research but had forgotten all about it, with so much else to do…

“I mistook it because it looked so extraordinary. Haha.”

That brat…

The principal gave a more generous look.

Unlike other forms of flattery, compliments about appearance were always enjoyable to the principal.

I kept asking the king of ghouls and managed to get a decent clue. Might be the bone of Duke Behemoth.

“If it’s Behemoth… Isn’t that a monster?”

Behemoth was a colossal monster one would only expect from fairy tales.

A mighty beast said to swallow clouds from the sky with its feet barely on the earth.

A beast on that scale could hardly be called a monster. It was almost a natural disaster, destroying everything nearby as soon as it appeared.

A monster. There aren’t any left on the continent. I caught the last one myself ages ago.

“……”

Before Lee Han could even ask about the principal’s fascinating past, the story moved on.

But there are still Behemoths in other dimensions. Once heard a rumor about one serving as a duke in the demon realm.

“Monsters can become dukes?”

Of course. If you’re strong enough, you can be king. If you can handle the consequences, try going to the demons’ realm and declare, “I will reign above you all as emperor.”

“Why would anyone do something so insane?”

I did, once.

“……”

Most beings from other dimensions were proud, but demons lived and died by their pride.

Thus, titles among demons held immense meaning.

If a demon without the right tried to act as a count or duke, they’d be instantly attacked by the others.

Yet to go among such demons and declare, “I’ll be the emperor,” and come out alive…

‘Isn’t he completely crazy?’

“So there was a behemoth who became a duke? Then this bone turned up…”

Probably hunted down. By other demons. Truthfully, a monster like Behemoth can’t last long in the demon realm.

The principal explained that surviving long in the demon realm required abilities beyond just fighting.

You needed outstanding diplomacy and cunning, like the principal himself.

Behemoth was strong, but almost an idiot in those aspects.

When hungry, he’d eat other demons; when bored, he’d trample their territory—no wonder he became their public enemy and was hunted down.

That’s probably why they sealed his power and erased his name. Imagine how humiliating that must have been for the demons.

“Did the king of ghouls participate in the subjugation?”

Ha! Not on his level. The only reason he could claim to be king was because he holed up in an isolated place. If he’d called himself king before the other demons, he’d have been ripped apart instantly.

Lee Han actually felt a little sorry for the king of ghouls.

If he’d heard this beside them, he might have cried.

Probably just happened to pick up part of a bone left after the subjugation.

“I see. So is it possible to summon Behemoth with this?”

What?

The principal looked at Lee Han as if he were looking at a future magic criminal.

You’re thinking of summoning something like Behemoth? Are you serious? This whole area would be wiped out! You’re not lying awake at night fantasizing about destroying the Empire, are you?

“No… It was just an academic question…”

Actually, it’s possible. But summoning Behemoth is out of the question. There’s too little bone here. You couldn’t even reconstruct a fraction of Behemoth, and you’d fail. Just make an artifact with it.

“Again with the artifacts?”

The more artifacts the better…

The principal looked Lee Han up and down.

Necklace, ring, bracelet, belt—you really did have a lot.

Not to mention the extra artifacts you only put on when needed.

Amazed you weren’t having serious mana interference already.

…You do have a lot. But even so, Behemoth’s bone is worth making into an artifact.

“Why is that?”

The bone’s toughness lets it absorb lots of mana.

“…?”

Lee Han was a little let down by the unexpectedly simple effect.

“That’s it?”

It’s really important for you. Even the bracelet Professor Garcia made for you is screaming for death.

“…It’s not that bad…”

You know that mana-absorption bracelet barely works, right? Hearing that made him a bit bitter.

That was a lie, actually. It can’t even scream. Your mana is so enormous it can’t absorb it fast enough.

“I understand. I’ll go make it then.”

Lee Han grumbled as he shifted topics.

But actually, the thought of making it was a little exciting.

“Wait. If I wear an artifact made from Behemoth’s bone, will the spirits that are afraid of me start coming close?”

Having plentiful mana was an advantage, but a disadvantage too.

Lee Han confided in the principal about the troubles from having too much mana.

Upon hearing this, the principal asked,

Usually, isn’t the main downside that careful control is difficult?

For a wizard, this was a surprisingly fatal problem.

No matter how much mana you had, it was meaningless if you couldn’t control it.

Wizards born with more mana naturally suffered more trial and error when learning, so it wouldn’t have been surprising if the Wardanaz boy complained, “I feel like I’ll die every time I use magic.”

“I seem to have overcome that, though.”

I see…

The principal nodded, unperturbed by his student’s words.

It was always remarkable—the talent itself.

And even more so was that talent paired with such a personality.

‘Now that’s true madness.’

Unaware of the principal’s disrespectful thoughts, Lee Han looked on with hopeful eyes.

“So, will it block the spirits?”

No. That’s impossible.

The principal flatly denied him.

For that to be possible, you’d need to cover your whole body densely with artifacts and extract all the mana you could.

Even then, he wasn’t sure you could keep up with your recovery—there’s no way a single artifact will block all your mana.

“Then what’s the point?!”

…The artifact’s function?

The principal looked at his student like a madman.

The original purpose of artifacts was magic, not absorbing mana.