Episode 679

Episode 679

As a dignified senior, Direte suppressed his urge to yell and led Lee Han inside.

As expected, once they passed through the door, the dilapidated mansion revealed an entirely different scene.

A wide dome-shaped chamber painted white, filled with an academic atmosphere.

Wizards in unique attire gathered here and there, wearing serious expressions as they conversed.

• Are you saying the research funding was cut off?
• Yes! Sob, of course I embezzled some gold, but it was all in the name of greater magic.
• I know. I get it! Cutting research funds just because you embezzled a bit of gold. How outrageous. What do they think magic is? It’s people like that who hold back the progress of magic!
• What do you think about the staff styles trending in the capital?
• They’re structurally unstable all because of a single fire element? It’s vulgar! That trend will end soon anyway!

At the front of the dome, wizards were chatting, and at the back, wizards slated to present at today’s gathering were preparing.

Lee Han spotted Gawon preparing among them and wished him good luck.

Direte signed the guestbook, then called to Lee Han.

“Junior. Here, you have to start here.”

“What is it?”

“Snacks. The refreshments at this gathering are pretty good.”

Direte personally picked up a plate and placed some fruit slices and tea sweets for Lee Han.

“Remember this. The apricot fruit slices and chestnut tea sweets here are tasty.”

“Ah, yes.”

Lee Han was a bit taken aback by Direte’s earnest demeanor.

For a moment, he thought he was talking to Gainando.

“Uh, Direte-senior. Aren’t you supposed to prepare more for the gathering, like some magic or something?”

“Hmm?”

Direte sipped his tea and smirked at his junior’s question.

“Over half the presentations at these gatherings are trash anyway. If you don’t at least pick out good snacks, it’s a waste of time.”

In truth, saying “over half” was being generous.

He had said he came to be inspired, but for a wizard like Direte, there might be one or two spells that could inspire him today.

And only if he was lucky.

“Fortunately, today Princess Yukveltire is attending the gathering. Her work will be worth seeing.”

“Who is that?”

“Ah, you wouldn’t know. She’s my friend. She’s also your senior. She’ll be starting her fifth year…”

Direte tried not to show it in front of his junior, but his last words held an unhidden anxiety and gloom.

Lee Han cheered him up.

“Cheer up. I’m sure you’ll do well, senior.”

“…Not sure what you mean by that?”

Realizing he’d just acted undignified in front of his junior, Direte pretended not to know and cleared his throat.

“So, what was that story about the principal earlier?”

“Um. It’s a bit long, but…”

“We have time. Presenters will need more time to set up anyway.”

Direte shrugged as he replied.

“So, the reason I went to the Bitong Mountains was…”

Lee Han began his story, starting from why he went to the Bitong Mountains to why the principal ended up taking the unicorn away.

At first, Direte leisurely nibbled on snacks, but soon found himself putting the teacup down to concentrate on the tale.

“So? So what happened?”

“The unicorns! What happened to those poor unicorns?”

Even other nearby wizards joined in.

Both Lee Han and Direte looked around in embarrassment at the wizards.

“Uh, this is an internal Einrogard matter. It’d be a bit much for outsiders to listen in…”

“Pl-please! We’ll keep it secret!”

“Please! Gah! Just tell us what happened!”

The wizards begged, but Lee Han and Direte calmly stood up and moved elsewhere.

“…So that’s how the principal ended up taking the unicorn away.”

After hearing the whole story, Direte finally took a deep breath.

“You, junior… really…”

“?”

“There’s so much to point out, I don’t even know where to begin. You really have a knack for surviving!”

“I was just lucky.”

‘Isn’t it really just bad luck?’

Direte kept that to himself.

“If nothing else, I’m a bit worried that you’re getting too close to the principal.”

“Are you worried my friends will mistake me for a spy?”

“…No… I meant magic. Magic. The principal’s magic isn’t easy.”

Direte looked at his junior, exasperated.

‘True.’

Lee Han was in deep agreement, especially after being saddled with a ridiculous task the last time he parted from the principal in the Bitong Mountains.

“So, Professor Bendozol will be returning this year?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm, good luck, junior.”

Suddenly, Lee Han felt anxious at the weighty tone in Direte’s words.

“…Was it that intense?”

“Slightly? I still haven’t forgotten about pulling out my friend who accidentally fell into a kraken’s stomach.”

With a look of nostalgia in his eyes, Direte gazed off into space.

Lee Han found it impossible to feel nostalgic about such things and stared at his senior in horror.

“Don’t worry too much, junior. Everyone’s been through it. Of course, the second-year lectures will be a bit harder, but you’ve already taken harder ones. I doubt things will change much for you.”

“Thank you for your kind words…”

Lee Han replied, not knowing whether he should be happy or sad.

“Ah. Direte-senior, do you know what the Personal World (small world) magic is?”

Remembering what the skeleton principal said, Lee Han asked. Direte looked at him with a puzzled expression.

“I know, but why? It isn’t something you need to care about just yet.”

Even with his curiosity, Direte pulled out a piece of paper and began to explain with a simple drawing.

He had some time to kill anyway, and in Direte’s mind, his junior was obsessed with magic, so it wasn’t strange for him to be curious.

“You know what it means for a wizard to cast magic, right?”

“Turning reality into a wizard’s will…”

Lee Han replied without hesitation, as it was such a famous saying. Direte nodded and continued.

“That’s right. But to be precise, most magic doesn’t actually change reality. It’s closer to cleverly tricking it.”

Direte pointed at a wizard walking by, draped in a dazzling Cloak of Light.

The Cloak of Light changed into seven colors, producing a unique magical wave.

“That spell is probably -Asen’s Seven-colored Illusion Cloak-. To properly cast that spell, you need two magic circles, five kinds of reagents, and an incantation of at least four words. Then why can’t you just cast it with intention, movement, and a word? It’d be much simpler.”

“It’s because of insufficient magical power.”

Lee Han instantly replied.

“……”

Somewhat stunned by the unexpected answer, Direte looked at his junior.

“That… that’s not wrong, but that’s not where I was going, junior. I wanted to say that changing reality isn’t easy.”

Magic isn’t a discipline that creates something out of nothing for free.

Whatever you want to achieve, there’s a price to pay.

Whether it’s magical power, reagents, incantations…

“All those complex methods are used because, essentially, you’re not changing reality but tricking it. Various techniques are used to pull this off efficiently. To truly change reality, lower-level magic isn’t enough. You need much higher-tier magic and all sorts of secrets… One of those is the realm of the Personal World.”

Direte paused, pondering how best to explain.

“You know about Personal World (unique world) magic? Maybe not…”

“I do. I’ve seen it.”

“Oh. You know? …What? Where have you seen it?!”

Direte was startled.

Was it at the Wardanaz house?!

“I’ll ask you about that later… Unique world magic is the pinnacle and supreme realm of magic. It changes the world itself according to the wizard’s will. But it’s difficult and rare, and few even pursue it.”

Not all wizards dreamed of mastering magic like the skeleton principal’s unique world.

The ultimate goal for wizards was the pursuit of knowledge related to their own purpose; only that magic was important.

A magic unattainable in a lifetime was inefficient as a tool.

In contrast, Personal World (small world) magic was much more localized and limited, but operated on similar principles to unique world magic, transforming reality.

‘It’s like a mass-produced version of unique world magic.’

Lee Han interpreted Direte’s explanation in his own way.

After all, given the skeleton principal’s faint sense of conscience (even though he’d insisted Lee Han should immediately learn word magic), he probably wouldn’t tell Lee Han to learn unique world magic right away.

Instead, he must have suggested starting with the more accessible small world that more people have mastered.

Unique world magic was the lone supreme domain of a wizard that no one could teach.

By contrast, Personal World magic had a certain theoretical backing, and you could reach it with enough time and talent.

“If you can unfold a Personal World, then you can truly say you’re changing reality. The spells you can use inside it also become much more varied.”

“Can you use it, Direte-senior?”

“If I prepare a lot, then only in very limited circumstances, briefly.”

Direte gave a short explanation of his own Personal World, the “Pentagrammaton.”

It was a Personal World type that unlocked the limits of his own internal and nearby dark magic.

“But I rarely get to use it. It’s far easier to just prepare by other means.”

If he needed to perform magic beyond his limits, Direte would simply set up various spells in his workshop and amplify his own ability with potions.

By dominating the space with layers of magic and amplifying himself, he’d get roughly similar effects to a Personal World.

Wizards were always practical.

“That’s amazing!”

Lee Han gazed at Direte with eyes full of respect.

“It only works for a moment, though.”

“It’s still amazing. I respect you, truly.”

Direte bashfully averted his gaze at his junior’s words. Compliments never felt bad, but they did make him a little embarrassed.

Direte cleared his throat and changed the subject.

“But why ask about Personal Worlds? Did someone tell you to learn it?”

“Yes.”

“…Which lunatic was that?!”

When his joke was met with affirmation, Direte was appalled.

“The principal told me to get familiar with fifth-circle spells by the end of the year so I could start learning Personal Worlds.”

“That lunatic has gone insane!”

Direte was indignant.

Lee Han was all the more touched.

How many people would get angry at the skeleton principal for a junior’s sake?

His loyalty surged.

“This won’t do. Junior. I’ll file a petition.”

“Ah, no. It’s alright.”

“Alright? How could you be alright!?”

“I was just going to make some excuses and get by.”

“How?”

“I’d just master the easy spells and claim I did everything I was told.”

“……”

Direte was rendered speechless.

So that means…

He’s confident he can at least master the easy fifth-circle spells?

Direte shook his head, suddenly realizing yet again how much of a genius his junior was compared to himself.

“…I get it. Junior. It’s your business, so I’ll respect your wishes. But if it gets too much, make sure you tell someone.”

“Yes. If it gets too hard, I’ll just tell Her Majesty directly.”

“Yeah… huh?”

In the middle of speaking, Direte tilted his head.

Didn’t Lee Han say “directly” instead of “petition” just now?