Episode 573

They had much to say, but the two sensed that if they let their mouths slip now, they might really end up in a coffin.

Direte was basically kind, but if necessary, he could easily put a few students in coffins.

“How about putting up danger signs and spreading the rumor?” Ogoldos cautiously suggested.

Koholti shook his head.

“That’s too weak. Einrogard students can’t be stopped by that. Maybe that keeps the second-years away, but third-years or older would just go in.”

“Why would anyone go in if there’s a danger sign?”

“Because there’s glory behind danger.”

‘Is he crazy?’

Ogoldos was appalled, but Koholti was serious.

After being at Einrogard for a while, terms like ‘danger’ or ‘no entry’ came to be interpreted differently.

‘Danger’ meant ‘good rewards’.

‘No entry’ meant ‘there’s treasure here’.

“I say, what if we just burn all the food in the kitchen with the small hole?”

“What!? No, the students would starve!”

“Ogoldos, people don’t starve that easily. Think about your first year.”

“Well… that’s true, but…”

Ogoldos recalled his first year for a moment.

Indeed, people didn’t starve easily.

They boiled soft tree bark to eat, they bulked up their porridge with weeds because there was nothing else…

“See? They come for the kitchen, so burning all the food is most effective. Fire always works. I recently got the Flame of Bwakantallana from a friend…”

“No. That won’t do.”

When Direte interrupted, Ogoldos breathed a sigh of relief.

At least one upperclassman in the black magic faction was still sane.

“Just burning the food doesn’t guarantee they’ll stay away. They’ll keep checking for a while. And the food might get restocked as well.”

“Oh, I missed that…!”

Koholti clicked his tongue, biting down with regret for making such an amateur mistake while focusing on the problem.

“Why are Einrogard people so persistent? Like bugs.”

“Why are you talking like someone from another magic school?”

Despite Direte’s reproach, Koholti was deeply absorbed.

How could he keep students from coming into this area?

“Hey, you think too. What are you doing? If you can’t think of anything, I’ll demote you to first-year.”

“Don’t say weird things. How can you demote me to first-year when you don’t even have the ability?”

“I’ll go gossip among the black magic students that you only escaped the dimension thanks to a junior’s help.”

“……”

Ogoldos shivered at this entirely plausible threat.

Given Koholti’s personality, he was more than capable of doing it.

And yet someone graduating this year was making such a pitiful threat?!

“Hmm… Mmmm…”

“5. 4. 3.” “Ah. Wait!”

“2.46, 2.45, 2.44…”

Under Koholti’s continuous pressure, Ogoldos finally blurted out something he normally would never say.

“What about spreading poison? No, forget it. Please forget I said that.”

“Poison?”

“I said forget it.”

“Quiet. Poison, huh…”

Koholti sank into thought.

Ogoldos tried to stop him, but to Koholti, poison was a rather good idea.

“Not bad, right?”

“Hmm.”

“Direte! Let’s not do poison!”

“It does look promising.”

“……”

When even the upperclassman he trusted reacted like this, Ogoldos almost collapsed.

“Upperclassman, but poisoning the kitchen is a bit much. And others would just detoxify it and eat anyway.”

Ogoldos didn’t say “if you poison the kitchen, the black magic faction’s reputation will get worse and people will suspect us.”

He didn’t think they’d listen to that anyway.

So he took a pragmatic approach.

Even if you poison the kitchen, everyone will just detoxify it and eat!

“That’s only if you don’t do it right.”

“Koholti’s right. Ogoldos, study more about poisons.”

While Ogoldos was at a loss for words, Koholti drew a hallway map and prodded it with his staff.

“Ogoldos, look. Poisoning the food is the worst plan. Like you said, they’ll think of detoxifying. Poisoning the kitchen itself? That’s mediocre. The space is limited, so they’ll just try to break through. The best plan is to poison the entire area so they can’t even consider entering.”

Even when they talked pleasantly, beneath the surface, upperclassmen of Einrogard always had that dull yellow madness dwelling in their hearts.

Ogoldos sensed that madness and shuddered.

Was this what a black mage was?

“Here, here, here, here. Let’s start with mountain valley poison, sleeping gas, and asphyxiation poison. Throw in a combo poison that reacts if anyone tries to detoxify. If they try that, it’ll explode.”

“Combine ankle-catcher poison with tongue-tying poison and add it in. They’ll panic and try to escape.”

“Great idea. Direte, lay down some curses on the floor too. If they still try to detoxify? Time to school them hard.”

In a flash, Koholti completed the plan to turn the area near the underground storage into a black mage’s makeshift labyrinth.

First, the entire area would be filled with vividly colored poisonous mist.

Any quick-witted opponent would run, but those who tried to detoxify it would face an inner poison lurking within, ready to react.

If they detoxified, new poison would burst out and paralyze the arrogant mage’s tongue and choke them.

If they still didn’t leave and stubbornly pressed on?

Then the curse array inscribed on the ground would activate, chaining them into a hellish combo.

“Think that’ll do it?”

“Just in case, hide a few undead in the walls.”

“Good idea. If anyone still comes in after all this…”

Hearing the exchange, Ogoldos wondered:

Maybe people of other factions actually had a legitimate reason to be wary of the black magic faction?

Maybe it wasn’t just prejudice and elitism—maybe there was a good reason…

“Direte, please consider it one more time. If others find out this was us, won’t we be in trouble?”

“Ogoldos.”

Direte looked calmly at his junior.

This junior was easily mistaken for sharp and mean on the surface, but in truth, he was rather gentle.

Even with their second year ending, he still clung to naive ideas.

“You fell down the seventh floor stairs last week, right?”

“Huh? Yes.”

“Why do you think that happened?”

“I must have slipped?”

“No, the Enchantment Faction was experimenting on the stairs and just left. The stairs change properties every minute now.”

“……”

Ogoldos blinked.

“Also. The fire crystal you’d been hoarding—vanished two days ago, right?”

“Yes…”

“The Fire Elemental Advancement students used it.”

“……”

Flames flickered in Ogoldos’s eyes.

The flames of hatred.

“Get it?”

“Ogoldos, you may think we’re too much. But it’s the other factions who made us this way.”

Koholti put a hand seriously on Ogoldos’s shoulder.

Why did Koholti feel no guilt poisoning the storage area?

Because students from other factions repeatedly set fires, blew things up, summoned monsters, and turned everything upside down.

Compared to that, poisoning the area to temporarily block intruders was truly merciful.

“Just think about yourself and your junior. Got it? Students from the other factions never think about us.”

“I’ll do the poisoning.”

“Good.”

Koholti was pleased with Ogoldos’s resolute face.

He’d been clumsy and unreliable, but now he had the resolve of a black mage.

‘He’s ready to graduate at last.’

Scratch scratch—

Koholti turned his head.

Now that the plan was settled, Direte was writing back to the junior.

-We’ve prepared a way to block other students. But we might use a little poison, so be careful.

Poison?! Isn’t that too dangerous?!

-Of course, we’ll try to reason with them first. But if words fail, we might use a bit. It’s not to harm anyone; it’s just that the rumor will keep people out. Got it? It’s never meant to hurt anyone.

“……”

Koholti shook his head.

‘Hang in there, Direte.’

He felt suddenly guilty at the thought that he was leaving but his friend would remain to suffer.

“Graduating somehow feels wrong…”

“Then why not stay?”

Wham!

Koholti turned a murderous gaze on Ogoldos.

“Don’t even joke about that.”

“…S-sorry.”

“That’s alright. You’ll understand when you make it to fourth year.”

• * *

‘Is this really okay?’

After ending the conversation, Lee Han fell into thought.

The idea of Direte using poison to seal off the area still bothered him.

Of course, Lee Han and the giants were highly resistant, so that was fine.

But…

‘What if someone just passing by gets poisoned? That’d be a terrible nuisance.’

Worried, Lee Han got up from his seat.

There was no time to waste on worry now.

‘No. Trust the upperclassman.’

Seeing as he said hiding giants was common, it really was reassuring.

Upperclassmen who’d been through far more chaos than Lee Han.

Thinking they’d all done similar things filled him with confidence.

‘I can do it too.’

Surely Direte would set things up so others wouldn’t get caught up in it.

Whatever that method was…

“We’re ready.”

-Really?

“Yes. The upperclassmen will help.”

Ikurusha was surprised at Lee Han’s return.

He really did it!

‘Is he really not a first-year?’

-All right. Let’s leave at once, then. No use waiting around.

Ikurusha led Lee Han to the cave.

The giants were already inside, waiting.

-I gave the giants a week’s worth of food. I don’t think we’ll need to last more than a week.

“That should be enough. If something goes wrong, I’ll bring more food for them.”

-Food for the giants? You probably don’t even have enough for yourself, do you?

“I have a small stash.”

-Hm. How much… No, never mind. That’s not important now. We’ll worry about that if it comes to it.

Ikurusha stood before the cliff and suddenly grabbed a boulder.

Lee Han watched, confused.

Krrrrumble—

Amazingly, the boulder rolled away, revealing the cave mouth.

“What kind of magic is that?”

-I just set it upright by strength.

“……”

Ikurusha, who shifted a boulder too heavy for most magic, went inside.

Inside, the giants were sitting and whispering.

-Glad we don’t have to look after the sheep.

-Shh. Ikurusha will make us work if he hears.

-I’m going to read during this break.

“Hello, everyone.”

-Mage!

-The mage is here!

The giants, excited, ran over.

Though they got stuck bumping into each other in the cave, their joy was clear.

“Sorry, it’s because of me…”

-No. It’s good for us to rest… no.

-To be honest, we want to play… no.

Ikurusha looked at the giants in disbelief and then said,

-You may speak honestly. I was going to give you about a week of rest anyway.

-Liar! You’re lying!

Ignoring the giants, Ikurusha addressed Lee Han.

-By the way, I checked the passage for a bit and there’s a troublesome race wandering around.

“What race?”

-Sirens.

“Sirens? I’m close to them!”

-Really??

Ikurusha was puzzled.

How did he get close to sirens?