Episode 73

The spirits didn’t unconditionally welcome guests. They had no words, but even spirits had personalities and preferences.

Naturally, there were also guests the spirits feared.

Professor Thunderstep recalled a story he’d heard before.

A mage who hadn’t paid much attention to spirits tried contacting the spirit world to summon a spirit once he’d become a great wizard.

With his strong magical skill, contacting the spirit realm was easy, but the spirits didn’t like him.

The intense aura radiating from his soul made the spirits afraid.

For someone who’d lived a turbulent life, like a battle-hardened veteran mercenary or a swordsman who felled dozens, their soul’s color was bound to change.

From Professor Thunderstep’s perspective, he couldn’t understand why a mage who’d mastered all sorts of secrets would be treated the same as those kinds of people…

But what could you do.

If the spirits didn’t like you, they didn’t like you.

That’s why it was better to get close to spirits from a relatively young age. The older you got, the harder it was to befriend them.

“But why me?”

“Maybe the spirits sensed your dreadful thoroughness?”

“……”

“Just kidding. It’s probably your amount of magic power.”

Since Ihan was from the Wodanaz family, it’s not like he’d killed anyone before enrolling—so the only thing left was the sheer volume of magic power.

A wild, overwhelming amount of mana that even most spirits couldn’t handle!

“Fortunately, there is a solution. Even the great mage in that story eventually succeeded in befriending spirits.”

“Oh. What did he do?”

“He used magic to forcibly grab the spirit, then befriended it.”

“…Isn’t the spirit usually stronger in the spirit world?”

Just like how even a beast is stronger in its own yard, fighting a spirit in the spirit world was a life-and-death task.

“There’s just a minor problem like that. Anyway, good luck!”

“……”

Ihan didn’t feel discouraged.

Getting discouraged would only please Professor Thunderstep.

‘Next time I go to his hut, I’ll steal more food.’

• * *

Fortunately, his friends worried about Ihan’s misfortune as if it were their own.

“This is really serious, Lord Ihan of the Wodanaz family.”

“??”

The Blue Dragon Tower students were so natural about it that for a second, it felt like Priestess Siana was one of their own Tower’s students.

‘When did she get here?’

‘I don’t know either…’

“Sometimes, there are people whom spirits fear, due to misunderstandings. There have been such cases even in our order.”

“Isn’t there a way to fix it?”

At Yoner’s question, Priestess Siana fell into deep thought.

“If you enter the spirit world and the spirits avoid you out of fear… then one option is to meet and befriend spirits in the real world first. If you’re recognized by a spirit or become friends enough to receive a mark, their wariness might ease.”

Ihan glanced at the wooden staff in his hand.

…Come to think of it, this is a staff with a wood spirit in it, isn’t it?

Ihan sighed inwardly. Apparently, a wood spirit’s staff wouldn’t solve the problem.

“Isn’t there another way? Does the Flemeng Order, perhaps…”

“Our order usually solved it with potions.”

Being an order of alchemy, the Flemeng Order handled it through alchemy.

Ihan brightened at Priestess Siana’s words.

“It can be solved with potions?”

“Of course.”

Even the potion they’d drunk in Professor Thunderstep’s class had been a spirit affinity potion.

A potion that made it easier to connect with the spirit realm and stay longer.

That was just a basic potion, so with a stronger potion, you could erase the spirits’ fear and make yourself seem more attractive.

“Ooo…!”

“That’s actually possible!”

The Blue Dragon Tower students were impressed.

The reputation of the Flemeng Order was apparently not for nothing. Yoner also spoke with eager eyes.

“I’ve heard about this. Among the Flemeng Order’s secret potions, there are ones specialized for spirits…”

“You’re very knowledgeable, Lord Yoner of the Meikin family. I actually helped brew one of those secret potions. If you wish, I can make one for you.”

Priestess Siana spoke kindly.

It was a secret of the Flemeng Order, but for someone who respected the Order’s greatness—like this Wodanaz boy—she could grant such a favor.

That was the Flemeng Order’s creed.

“If you can finish it, could we also…?”

“Of course.”

Siana nodded to the other Blue Dragon Tower students’ cautious question.

As long as it was finished, sharing it with other students was no problem.

“But the required ingredients are rather many. Here, take a look.”

Priestess Siana took out a sheet of paper and began writing out the needed ingredients with her quill.

She wrote quickly, but the list filled up in no time.

Galpiri

Naisins flower

Dadutak beetle

Rubyized Onyx

…

…

…

“Could we get all this?”

“It may be difficult to find it all yourself. But there’s a way. Professor Thunderstep’s laboratory upstairs in the Horned-Lodge Hall should have everything listed here.”

“……”

“…?”

Ihan, who had been listening quietly, was startled for the first time.

…What does she mean?

‘Ah. She must mean to ask permission from Professor Thunderstep.’

Ihan reflected.

After all, Siana Priestess wasn’t him—she wouldn’t actually suggest stealing.

“If you’re all determined, I’ll sneak into the laboratory with you and bring out the materials.”

“……”

Ihan was appalled.

No…

No…!

But the other Blue Dragon Tower students were deeply moved.

“Priestess Siana!”

“I sometimes wondered why Wodanaz praised you so much, but now I get it!”

“You truly are the empire’s light and salt, priestess!”

Trying to calm his friends down, Ihan asked a question.

“Priestess Siana, I appreciate your words, but isn’t that way… a bit dangerous?”

“But Lord Ihan of the Wodanaz family, the school encourages this sort of thing.”

“……”

That’s true!

Ihan couldn’t argue.

It was true the skull principal told him to do things like this.

Priestess Siana narrowed her vertically long, snake-beastman pupils and smiled.

“Oh my, are you worried for me? But it’s fine. Lord Ihan of the Wodanaz family, you’ve wandered the school at night several times and never once been caught, right?”

“That’s true for Wodanaz.”

The Blue Dragon Tower students swelled with pride as if on their own behalf. Even Asan shyly rubbed under his nose.

“Even if we get caught, I won’t blame you at all.”

“Neither will I, Wodanaz.”

“…Thank you so much.”

“It’s nothing.”

Setting aside the friendship, Ihan had to admit that Priestess Siana’s words were tempting.

There’s a reason why the bank robbers in stories never retire after one big score—they believe their lives will get easier after a final heist.

Thunderstep’s lab was the same.

‘If I think about the future of this semester, alchemy class could easily turn into an assignment hell.’

Not just alchemy but any class could suddenly turn into an assignment nightmare at any time.

If he secured a big batch of alchemical materials, he’d be able to handle such assignments flexibly.

One big haul…!

Poke poke—

“?”

Ihan turned his head.

Nilia was lightly poking Ihan in the side.

That gesture snapped Ihan out of it a little.

‘Wait. Was I having crazy thoughts again?’

“What is it, Nilia?”

“…Don’t leave me out and only bring Ratford with you this time.”

“……”

Ihan looked up at the sky.

Regardless of Ihan’s mixed feelings, the sky above the magic school was clear, without a cloud.

• * *

Even with summoned beasts loose on campus and professors plotting which homework to torment students with next, some things didn’t change.

One of those was Professor Boladi’s teaching style.

Thud!

‘Ugh.’

Once again, a sphere broke through his defense and struck him in the back, and Ihan clenched his teeth.

He was getting used to it, but Boladi’s control was impossible to catch up to.

He’d twist it in unpredictable directions—up, down, left, right—and exploited any gap mercilessly. Only those who’d experienced it could know the deadly pressure.

And the piercing power was abnormal too.

If Ihan relaxed the cohesion of his water orb even a little, Boladi would instantly notice and try to pierce it.

“You’re not focused.”

“No, I am.”

Ihan was focused.

Boladi just kept raising the difficulty.

It wasn’t that his skill wasn’t improving, but every time he did, Boladi would raise the bar far higher, so he couldn’t help but fail.

But Boladi didn’t think for a moment that Ihan only got hit because he was going full out.

‘Why is that?’

Boladi grew flustered as Ihan, who had been doing well, suddenly started floundering.

If it had been a student who’d been bad from the start or given up and run before, fine, but the Wodanaz boy had always done well.

Of course, “doing well” by Boladi’s standards would prompt any other teacher to say “Shouldn’t we report this to His Majesty along with the skull principal?” given the workload, but to Boladi that was doing well.

Thuk—

The orb stopped in mid-air.

“?”

Ihan warily suspected a trap.

‘Is this a new pattern?’

Acting like there’s a break when the orb stops only to attack again…

That really was something Professor Boladi would do.

“I can see why you’re unfocused.”

“!”

Ihan was surprised.

Could it be Boladi realized Ihan was going to raid Professor Thunderstep’s laboratory?

“Are you trying to add a spinning property to the water orb, like when you defeated the golem last time?”

“……”

Ihan could guess where the story had leaked from.

‘Skull principal…!’

Professor Thunderstep and Boladi weren’t close, so the only person who’d chatter to Boladi like this was obvious.

“No, I have no such ambition…”

“You’re overreaching.”

‘I know that.’

Ihan sighed inwardly at the absurd misunderstanding.

He’d never had delusions like ‘I beat the mud golem by luck, so clearly I’m a genius, I’m going to start spinning all my orbs from now on.’

“Don’t be impatient.”

Anyone who knew Professor Boladi would be shocked to hear advice like “You’re overreaching” or “Don’t be impatient.”

Basically, Professor Boladi was someone who’d had all concept and sense of “teaching” surgically removed.

-If I can do it, so can you. Why can’t you? Do it.

…was Professor Boladi’s sincere belief.

For such a person to say “You’re overreaching” or “Don’t be impatient.”

It was like seeing the sun rise in the west, but of course Ihan didn’t know the weight of those words.

‘I told you I’m not trying…’

He really had no intention at all, but having Professor Boladi act this way was bewildering.

Professors—seriously!

“Wait.”

“?”

But Professor Boladi extended his hand and fell into thought again.

For the first time, Professor Boladi tried thinking from a student’s perspective.

It was a great step—even he hadn’t noticed.

-If I were that Wodanaz boy…?

Just hearing “Don’t be impatient” wouldn’t set his mind at ease.

If a path is before you and you don’t take it, you’re not a worthy wizard.

“I see.”

“What… exactly do you mean?”

Ihan felt a sense of foreboding. When professors nodded to themselves like this, it rarely led to good results.

“From now on, it’s okay to be impatient. I’ll make you focus.”

“Wa…!”

Before he could even say “wait,” Professor Boladi’s storm began anew.