Episode 611

Episode 611

“A mage’s attack!!”

“What!?”

The mercenaries upstairs were startled by the sounds coming from below.

Ugda quickly pulled out a regenerative potion, drank it, and picked up his shield and mace—an experienced mercenary’s reaction.

“Who dares!?”

“Did the Thieves Guild bastards commission this? Arrogant punks. We should’ve taken them out when we had the chance!”

“Everyone stay calm. Just because it’s a mage doesn’t mean they’re invincible!”

Ugda shouted strongly at his subordinates.

The most important thing right now was to stop his men from running away.

Any mercenary who had been on a battlefield feared mages. Strange incantations would sound and when the magic was completed, dozens around you could be wiped out in an instant—it was only natural to be terrified.

“The reason their magic is strong is because the preparation takes so long. On the battlefield, maybe, but if they’ve come at us first like this, they can’t use such strong spells!”

“Indeed…!”

“Follow me. I’ll slice off the mage bastard’s head myself!”

Ugda took the lead, shield raised.

To manage these mongrels and wolves, he couldn’t show any weakness.

With a spell-treated shield and a regenerative potion downed, he should be able to withstand at least one spell!

Gulp—

One of the mercenaries standing by the stairs swallowed nervously.

Judging from the screams getting closer from downstairs, it seemed the mage was making his way up.

“You mercenary bastards. I can see you all from down here, so why not just come down?”

A mocking voice rang out from below. The mercenaries looked at each other in surprise.

“Don’t be fooled! The mage is provoking us. They can’t fire a spell again right after one!”

“Only street trash who haven’t trained properly are like that.”

Almost before the words ended, a sword shot up through the floor. The blade, emanating a chilling cold, sliced a straight line through the mercenaries in an instant.

“Ahhhh!”

“Graaaah!”

“W-why are you doing this! Who sent you!?”

Ugda shouted in shock.

The mage’s skill was several times greater than expected.

To subdue this many in one blow…

Even if you robbed all the Thieves Guild’s assets, it didn’t seem they’d be able to hire a mage like this.

“You should have received a letter.”

“L-letter?”

“Yes. A letter from Einrogard. Could it be you didn’t get one? Well, even if you didn’t, don’t blame me. It’s your fault if you missed it.”

“N-no. We got it! But we didn’t know it was a serious letter!”

“So you didn’t realize it was serious, after reading the letter I wrote sincerely? That’s insulting.”

Ugda sweated bullets at the mage’s reply.

Ugda had heard sometimes about how eccentric mages could be. Judging by this one’s skill, surely the personality matched.

“I just don’t know much about magic…”

“That’s why you ignored it, naturally. If you were knowledgeable and ignored it, that’d just mean you’re crazy.”

“…Let’s settle this with words. Words!”

“Words? We’re settling it with words right now, aren’t we?”

The Skull Principal snickered as he came up the stairs.

“If I hadn’t settled it with words, everyone here would already be dead.”

“……”

“And if you’re going to try talk, you should’ve put down the mace. It’s obvious, garbage.”

“!”

Ugda flinched as his intentions were seen through.

He’d hoped to lull the mage into complacency in conversation, then attempt a close-quarters attack as the mage got close.

To be played in the palm of a mage’s hand…

Ugda gripped his mace tight and tried to charge.

At that moment, the sword stuck into the wall spun around like lightning and pierced straight through Ugda’s body.

Crackcrackcrack!

“Kuh… kuh…”

Looking at Ugda, whose whole body had turned to an ice statue except for his face, the Skull Principal gave a warning.

“Don’t ignore letters again in the future.”

“M-my slave that I bought with my own money, why…! You can’t even use that brat in a mage tower! At best, he’d only be used as a lab subject, so why go this far…”

Wham!

Hearing this, Lee Han—slightly enraged—struck Ugda’s jaw with a water bead.

That was going too far!

“Wasn’t that a bit much?”

“You mean your water bead? It was a bit much, but there’s no need to feel guilty for killing trash like him.”

“No… I meant what the guy just said. …Uh, is he dead?”

“He might be, or might not be. Unlucky, he’s dead. Lucky, he lived. Does it really matter? This way.”

The Skull Principal treated the scattered mercenaries like crumpled scraps of paper.

He casually kicked them outside the building, then ordered the death knights to take them to jail.

Creak—

Lee Han frowned at the musty, moldy smell inside the room.

He had known the mercenaries were keeping a slave locked up, but the conditions were worse than expected.

There were no other slaves, and at the far end of the room was a cage covered with cloth—one you’d use for a wild beast.

“They must be a strong race?”

“Who knows. Remove the cloth and see.”

At the Skull Principal’s words, Lee Han stepped forward and pulled the cloth away.

And was shocked.

The slave dozing inside the cage was, astonishingly, a Gorgon half-blood.

“…Uh…”

Is it really okay for a Gorgon half-blood to enroll in Einrogard?

Lee Han was suddenly flustered.

Whatever else, Gorgons were monsters born with the petrification curse. If you made eye contact, you would be turned into stone.

Naturally, a Gorgon half-blood would have inherited at least some of that ability…

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing.”

“That’s a pity. If you’d asked whether a Gorgon half-blood could enroll, I was going to tell Professor Garcia directly.”

“……”

Lee Han shuddered at the Skull Principal’s wicked sense of humor.

“Wake them up. We need to get going.”

“Wait. Principal, won’t the petrification curse activate when they open their eyes?”

“Is anyone here who could get petrified?”

‘Does he only care about himself?’

Lee Han muttered in complaint.

“You might be fine, Principal, but as for me…”

“It won’t work on you either.”

“…Uh, really?”

“You handled a basilisk, and you already forgot? What a fuss.”

When the Skull Principal gave him a disappointed look, Lee Han felt a little embarrassed.

He felt like an idiot oblivious about his own abilities.

“I figured maybe I could withstand a basilisk’s gaze, but not a Gorgon’s, so I thought I’d ask…”

“Don’t be ridiculous and just wake them up.”

Lee Han opened the cage and shook the Gorgon half-blood junior by the shoulder.

Snore, snore!

“They sure can sleep well, given the circumstances?”

“Kids with monster blood tend to be tough mentally. Seeing them sleep so deeply, I almost feel bad about waking them.”

The Skull Principal used magic to make the Gorgon half-blood move.

Still deep in sleep, being magically moved made them look like a creepy string-jointed doll.

“If they wake up mid-way, won’t they spread petrification curses all around?”

“True.”

The Skull Principal wrapped the junior’s face in bandages, leaving only the nose and mouth exposed.

“There. Let’s go.”

“Principal, it wouldn’t be so bad if we went back separately…”

Of course, the Skull Principal did not let Lee Han go alone.

• * *

When Eandurde opened his eyes, the first thing he felt was how the air had changed.

It felt far fresher than the usual damp and musty air.

Sniff!

Eandurde took a deep breath, then closed his eyes to check his condition, preparing for the next fight.

Not bad. Whoever the enemy was, he felt he could turn them to stone and inject poison.

Having been sold from place to place, meeting many other slaves, Eandurde’s thinking remained simple.

If an enemy appears, fight.

If you win, you eat well; if you lose, you go hungry.

Nothing else mattered. Eandurde counted the days until the next fight.

Given the change in surroundings, a fight might come soon. Satisfied at the prospect of the thrill of battle and the feast afterward, Eandurde nodded to himself.

‘Who covered my face like this?’

As he nodded, Eandurde realized someone had wrapped his face completely with bandages.

It was surely the people running the arena.

Eandurde didn’t quite understand, but those preparing for fights often talked about things like “adjusting the odds” or “stirring spectator interest”—things difficult to grasp.

It was probably something like that.

“Principal, he’s awake now.”

“Take off the bandages and tell him to eat.”

“There are only sardines on the table right now.”

“Then go shake up Pengerine a bit and get him to cook.”

“…I’ll just prepare it myself.”

Hearing the voices from afar, Eandurde readied himself for battle.

He thought the fight would start as soon as his bandages came off.

Sniff!

Eandurde took another breath, ready for combat.

“I’m going to take your bandages off. Don’t be startled.”

The moment the bandages came off, Eandurde sprang into action.

He glared at his opponent with all his might and simultaneously tried to bite with his snake hair.

“…Uh, what are you doing?”

Lee Han looked at his junior with a sour expression.

The moment the bandages came off—using the evil eye and the snake hair to attack.

The basilisk in his sleeve hissed in outrage, looking like it wanted to bite if given the order.

“Junior. I think you’re misunderstanding something, I…”

Eandurde grabbed both of Lee Han’s shoulders and tried to jump up to choke him.

Lee Han instinctively reacted. He drove his knee into his junior’s solar plexus, widened the distance, and side-kicked him away.

“…Gasp! What have I just done…!”

Lee Han was horrified by his own actions and apologized.

Due to the harsh times in Einrogard, he had reflexively reacted to the attack.

Sniff!

Still not giving up, Eandurde rushed in again. Lee Han reached out and pinned his junior’s head to the floor with one hand.

When the snake hairs all tried to bite at once, the basilisk shot out from Lee Han’s sleeve and glared fiercely. The snake hairs wilted, heads bowed in submission.

Panting and struggling to stand, Eandurde finally wore himself out and, defeated, declared surrender.

“I lost…”

“G-good. Sorry. Are you badly hurt?”

“I’m fine…”

“I’m going to let go now, but you won’t attack again, right?”

Eandurde nodded, and Lee Han let go and helped his junior to his feet.

“Principal, could you explain Einrogard to him?”

“I’m busy, so you do it. Just don’t beat him up too much.”

“……”

Lee Han cursed the Skull Principal and started explaining to Eandurde.

So, there’s a hellish place in the Empire…

“…Even so, there’s no better place to learn magic and build connections. You have an outstanding magical talent. I hope you’ll study magic here. It’ll be a great opportunity.”

“Do we get food?”

“We do, but, well, you have to fight for your share inside…”

At Lee Han’s words, Eandurde’s eyes sparkled.

“I’ll go!”

“…Wait. I think you just made a hasty decision. Let me explain again. So, Einrogard is a really hellish…”

“Enough! The kid likes it—why are you trying to ruin it?”

Hearing Lee Han unnecessarily elaborating, the Skull Principal scolded him from the library.