Episode 671

Lee Han fell into thought.

‘If I use my strongest spell for this situation…’

A swordsman who trains a single technique to the extreme might have a single strongest move, but for a mage it was different.

A mage’s strength was in flexibility and versatility, so their “strongest” spell always depended on the situation.

If he was facing a crowd? Lee Han would pull out bone reagent refined with shadow elements and summon skeleton warriors. He could even call on Sharkan, Gonadaltes, Fongrif, or the basilisk.

If speed was key and the enemy was weak to elemental damage? He’d use the Lightning Spear or Perkuntra’s thunder—best all-around for speed and power.

If he needed pure impact, he’d use Water Orb. It was slower than lightning spells, but if it hit, the force was overwhelming.

If he needed just piercing ability regardless of damage, he’d stack enhancement spells. If his foe was a mana-based spiritual entity, he’d turn to Morningstar, and if none of that worked…

‘I don’t really want to use the Bracelet of Ten Thousand Demons or Perkuntra, unless I have to.’

Both were hidden cards, but using them had never brought much joy.

‘Wait. Didn’t I have one more…?’

“Get lost, intruders! Taste the mountain’s wrath if you dare!”

As he pondered, a gruff voice shouted from outside.

“Sorry, Professor.”

“It’s fine. Just kidding. Wardanaz, you wouldn’t attack a professor anyway.”

Professor Lightningstep knew full well that Lee Han, whatever he grumbled, was obedient to his professors.

Professor Baegrek could prod him as much as he wanted—Lee Han still wouldn’t stab him in the back.

“No, but…”

Lee Han was so taken aback, he tried to explain, but Lightningstep was too busy dealing with Professor Vendosol to listen.

“Professor Vendosol! It’s Lightningstep of the Chaidar family!”

“Who the hell are you?!”

“……”

Professor Lightningstep clenched his fist, radiating enough killing intent to murder a man.

Lee Han was worried.

Not that Lightningstep would kill anyone, but what might happen when Vendosol came back to school.

‘Might’ve been better if he just stayed missing.’

“I’m teaching students at Einrogard in your stead. We met three years ago in the Einrogard Mountains.”

“You’re teaching students?! Why do something so pointless?!”

“……”

“……”

The students present looked even gloomier.

A madman like that might actually return as their teacher!

“Professor Vendosol, why I teach is irrelevant! There’s a unicorn in the Bitong Mountains and poachers are swarming. We need to work together!”

“Don’t try to trick me, you dwarf swindler! Gonadaltes sent you to catch a unicorn, didn’t he?!”

“Is he insane?!”

Siana murmured in horror.

The professors at Einrogard might have been crazy in different ways, but there was always a code of respect among them.

Things were already chaotic enough without adding an actual hell to the mix.

But Professor Vendosol clearly couldn’t have cared less about such codes.

Lightningstep sighed deeply.

“He’s lost it. He’s gone completely unicorn-mad.”

“What do you mean?”

“Told you. He goes insane the moment a rare animal is involved. He wasn’t that social to begin with, but he’s totally unhinged now. Something must be wrong with the unicorn.”

When Professor Vendosol had a rare animal, he’d go half mad.

If anyone got near, he’d scream, “You’re trying to steal the animal I’m protecting!” like a madman.

If the animal was even a little sick, he got even more sensitive.

“You don’t think the principal sent him to catch a unicorn, do you?”

“…Wardanaz…”

“I’m serious.”

“I’m even more shocked you’re serious.”

As they talked in the camp, Professor Vendosol shouted from outside.

“I’ll bury all the poachers myself! I don’t need any help! Get lost!”

“What do we do?”

“What do you think?”

Click!

Lightningstep drew a crossbow and loaded it. Then he fired outside.

“Vendosol. Prepare to die at the hands of a dwarf swindler! Time to disappear for good!”

“!”

Lee Han watched as the arrow exploded in a complex web of energy.

‘A magic disruption field!’

He hadn’t yet seen Professor Vendosol in action, but anyone with that temperament had to be powerful. How else could he still be a professor?

Lightningstep, meanwhile, was a famed explorer—it was only natural he’d use magical trickery to snatch the initiative.

“You damned poacher!”

Professor Vendosol growled, wildly waving a short, blunt staff to rip through the magical field.

Naturally, Lightningstep didn’t just let him.

“O space, bring my enemy to me!”

His glove artifact activated, and Professor Vendosol was yanked forward by a powerful force.

Thunk!

“I suffered for a year while you were missing, you bastard!”

Lightningstep slugged Professor Vendosol hard in the gut. Vendosol bent double.

“…Professor…”

“It’s not like teaching you students was unrewarding, but—!”

Lightningstep tried to explain to the students as he landed another punch. He felt a lot better afterward.

But Vendosol finished a spell even while being pummeled. Instantly, he transformed into a giant mole and tunneled underground.

“O acid, burn the earth!”

He tossed in a wickedly potent acid potion. Frostwalker protested.

“Isn’t that too strong?!”

“He won’t die from this. Hunters, what are you doing—fire!”

The nameless hunters, startled, finally sprang into action—but too late. Professor Vendosol burst from the ground, grabbing a student—

He seized Gainando.

Flash!

A fairy beetle from the professor’s pocket teleported both of them outside the camp.

Professor Lightningstep cursed.

He’d figured Vendosol was crazy over the unicorn, but he was actually thinking clearly.

Even a madman like Vendosol wouldn’t fight the whole group. Taking a hostage was the cleverest move!

“Don’t follow, poachers! If you do, I’ll feed the hostage to the unicorn!”

“L-Lee Han! Help! Mmmph!”

“Quiet!”

Vendosol vanished into the shadows. Lightningstep ground his teeth.

“Smarter than I expected.”

“What now?”

“We follow! He won’t actually give Gainando to the unicorn.”

Lightningstep was nothing if not gutsy.

There was no way Professor Vendosol would feed Gainando to the unicorn!

“Why not? Do unicorns dislike human flesh?”

“Siana… now’s not the time…”

“It’s because of the principal. As crazed as Vendosol looked, he was still calculating. If he actually fed a student to the unicorn, he knows exactly who would come for him.”

‘That makes sense!’

Lee Han realized it, too.

Even madmen had moments of sanity—especially when faced with someone even madder than themselves.

The principal’s madness might even outweigh Vendosol’s…

“Forget finding the unicorn. If we find Vendosol, we’ll find it too. Change of strategy! Hunters, pair up with the students! If Vendosol counterattacks, use the student as a shield!”

“Yes!”

Lee Han stood at once, ready to move fast.

But the friends looked at him as if he’d gone mad.

“What’s with you?”

“A-aren’t you scared, Wardanaz? We’re supposed to be used as shields?”

“Don’t worry. Professor Vendosol would never hurt us.”

Lee Han was sure, but none of his friends shared that confidence.

“What gives you that confidence, Wardanaz?”

“He’s just… got some rapport with professors,” someone muttered.

“Is that supposed to be a compliment?”

While they whispered, Lee Han got ready to set out with one of the nameless hunters…

“……”

The nameless hunter assigned to him gave Lee Han a complex, unreadable look.

He then went to Professor Lightningstep and whispered,

“No, switch teams? Are you joking? The king of monsters? This is no time for superstition—just go!”

“……”

This time, Lee Han gave the hunter a complex expression.

The man simply shrugged and gestured ahead.

“Let’s move out.”

“Yeah, fine.”

• * *

Nameless hunters lived scattered in different mountain ranges across the empire, but they all shared the same goals, lifestyle, and—most importantly—a litany of shared superstitions.

Wholly dedicated to hunting, their tracking was unparalleled—even patrolmen struggled to keep up.

Lee Han had learned a lot of tracking from Nillia, but there was always more to learn.

‘Amazing!’

“How did you pick this direction? There aren’t any tracks.”

“Sometimes no tracks is a clue. This area’s full of small animals, but the dirt here is oddly clean. Someone covered the traces after making them.”

“Wow…!”

“In a bit, we’ll have to start whispering. Monsters in Bitong Mountains are very sensitive to sound.”

“I’ll be careful.”

For someone who supposedly found Lee Han unsettling or scary, the nameless hunter was very kind.

He answered all questions, and even pointed out important things to watch for while tracking Professor Vendosol.

Honestly, his teaching beat Nillia’s.

‘Nillia was so vague… always telling me, ‘Just go by feel, like this, whoosh whoosh!’’

Lee Han shook his head at the memory.

“Can I ask one more thing?”

“Sure. It’s not the new moon, so ask away.”

Lee Han didn’t waste time on, “Why not the new moon?”

Instead, he asked what truly interested him.

“What’s the king of monsters? I’ve never heard of that before.”

“The king of monsters appears in the old tales of nameless hunters. A terrifying figure who commands demons and beasts.”

In the stories, the king of monsters was a classic evil villain.

If the protagonist was an arrogant hunter—

He’d end up selling his bow and armor, get lazy, then meet the king of monsters and suffer a terrible fate.

If the protagonist was a brave child hunter—

He’d gather magical weapons and give the king of monsters a hard time.

It made a handy moral, or a way to spook children.

“That’s just fairy-tale stuff though! You’re treating me like a monster king because of that?”

“Yes, it’s a mythical figure. But tales aside—if someone goes around taming both a griffon and a basilisk, anyone would be scared.”

“……”

Well… he couldn’t blame them, really.