Episode 971

Episode 971

When he looked to the side, it seemed the other two hadn’t noticed the vision of the blurry crown.

Moreover, if Yukveltire let his focus slip even for a moment, the crown’s image vanished from his sight.

It was obviously a crown that couldn’t be seen by normal methods.

Yukveltire calmly chanted a spell.

“Penetrate.”

When -Baquantalana’s Blue Eye- was cast on his pupils, the expanded information was transmitted directly to his brain.

Then, the vision of the blurry crown came into focus a bit more, and its shape became slightly clearer.

It was a humble crown.

A crown woven from bronze, copper, and tree branches was so humble that it almost felt like a crown of thorns.

A crown ought to bestow authority and dignity on its wearer…

‘That would rather strip off one’s skin and make it bleed.’

However, despite that bizarre appearance, the power contained within was real.

That was no ordinary crown. As a future artifact craftsman, Yukveltire quickly discerned the crown’s true nature.

Its essence was divided and inscribed across countless parallel dimensions.

The combined power summoned from every single one of those concepts!

It had the shape of a crown, but it was a mass of pure power.

Yukveltire couldn’t even guess what great mage had created such a magic, but he felt a chilling shiver. Any mage would’ve sensed the same thing.

To split an existence countless times, inscribe it in every dimension forever, and summon that power—that’s the method.

For a mage to summon power beyond a certain threshold in one place, he would always face immense resistance.

The world hated imbalance, and so it hated powerful grand magic.

Yet that crown had circumvented such ironclad restrictions as if mocking them.

If the world tried to disrupt the extremely condensed power, it would scatter across countless parallel dimensions, only to recombine in the form of the crown…

Because of all these elements, even perceiving the crown properly was nearly impossible. Unless one was an experienced dimensional traveler or had senses that could pierce dimensions, it would be hard to see.

‘…What’s its purpose?’

He was quite curious about why the junior could wear the crown or was qualified to do so, but for now, the main question was the crown’s purpose.

It was clear this was power gathered in one place that couldn’t be realized by mundane means.

So, for what purpose was all this power amassed?

All magic inevitably has its own purpose. Yukveltire was genuinely curious about what purpose this crown’s magic served.

It didn’t even seem fully completed yet…

“Hoo.”

The junior, who had been pouring out mana, sighed and stepped back.

Having found the vein trapping Jarun too sturdy, even a mana-rich junior was exhausted.

“Should I just give up…”

As the junior muttered, Yukveltire saw the crown above his head become even more blurry for a moment.

If the unfinished crown disappeared now, further assessment or research would be impossible. Yukveltire instinctively shouted.

“No!”

“??”

“You can do it. Don’t give up—focus.”

“…Senior. I think this is the first time you’ve said anything so warm to me.”

Lee Han was slightly touched.

Apparently, the time spent with Direte hadn’t been wholly wasted.

To think he’d left a warm heart even in this human-shaped small golem.

“Understood. I’ll try again. This kind of hardship is nothing, really.”

As the fading crown grew a bit more vivid, Yukveltire let out a sigh of relief.

“Wardanaz family junior.”

“Now that I’ve received encouragement, please be quiet.”

“……”

As the junior silenced the senior, the crown above his head grew steadily darker.

Then the ground beneath their feet quietly shifted. The movement was as calm as a stream flowing.

While the other students focused solely on the vein, Yukveltire’s eyes, which were keenly observing their surroundings, widened.

What was this phenomenon?

The movement wasn’t limited to the floor. The cave wall next to the corridor also moved. They moved as if alive, revealing the hidden ore veins within.

It was as if everything around here was helping the junior easily extract Jarun.

‘Small World!’

Faced with a clear anomaly that couldn’t be explained by any single spell, Yukveltire realized the truth behind the magic.

The crown’s power didn’t stop. The properties of the vein encasing Jarun began to change.

As if to prevent Lee Han from wasting any more time trying to break through, the vein changed to a property that melted easily under mana.

“Got it!”

Lee Han, focused on the flow of mana, failed to notice the change around him. The crown, having finished its task, quietly went dormant beyond the dimension again.

“…Cough!”

With a cough, Jarun tumbled forward. Having been trapped inside the vein for so long, his whole body was stiff.

“Cough, hack, cough! You… you all…”

“Are you alright, senior?”

“…I never asked you to save me! And I absolutely will not pay you any gold coins!”

After confirming the other students, Jarun shouted with a scowl.

Not the sort of words you’d expect from someone who’d just been rescued (and was still too stiff to even defend himself), but fortunately, nobody was angry.

The Enchantment Magic School seniors hadn’t expected much from Jarun anyway, and as for Lee Han, he possessed thoroughly trained patience.

Patience honed thanks to the likes of Verdus, little Verdus, Verdus’s disciples, and Verdus-like types couldn’t be scratched by such words.

“We’re not asking for gold coins. We just rescued you.”

“What?”

The grim-looking dwarf looked as if he’d been slapped.

He might not have been so shocked even if the junior had threatened or held a knife to his throat.

“More to the point, senior, what happened to the orichalcum vein? Did you find it?”

“Of course I haven’t.”

Sigunting behind him couldn’t hold back a mutter.

Now that he’d been freed and checked head-to-toe, it didn’t look like he’d found even a copper vein, let alone an orichalcum one.

“Orichalcum? How would you brats… Y-you bastards! You sneaky bastards! You spied on my application!”

“We didn’t spy on you. Rumors just spread around school.”

“You’re all vile! Thieving bastards! Just looking to steal the dwarf’s blood and sweat, y—”

“Let’s stop there, senior.”

Sigunting cut off his words with a tone of annoyance. Anpagond nodded as if he agreed.

They’d freed Jarun due to the junior’s stubbornness, but frankly, nothing good would come from talking to people like Jarun.

Just as students of other schools hesitated to associate with Enchantment Magic School students, those students in turn kept their distance from others.

Especially if that someone was a madman like Jarun.

“Senior Yukveltire. If you would, please.”

“Sure.”

Yukveltire immediately started to act.

With a squawk, Jarun was hung upside down. Too weakened from being trapped in the vein, his body had become too frail.

“Compass. Plain old object, no star magic.”

“Silver fragment. Isn’t this from the Healing Magic School area? When did you go all the way there?”

“Map. No magic, no ore veins marked.”

“Moldy lump. Is this a reagent? But for a reagent, it’s odd…”

“…That’s the bread I was eating!”

Enraged at the forced search, Jarun shouted. After finishing their search, the Enchantment Magic School students put Jarun back down and returned his belongings.

“Junior. We checked, but there’s no trace of an orichalcum vein.”

“Let’s just drop him and head back. Staying longer is a waste of time.”

“Understood.”

Lee Han admitted it meekly.

To begin with, Lee Han hadn’t seriously expected to find an orichalcum vein; this was more about freeing Jarun since they’d come this far.

“Ugh.”

Still stiff, Jarun staggered.

Grrr–

Looking as frail as Gainando after skipping two meals, Lee Han cautiously asked.

“Would you like something to eat?”

“I do not need it!”

“…You don’t have to pay this time, senior. I’ll just give this one to you for free.”

Lee Han, who usually hated giving anything for free, made an exception for someone who looked like they might collapse at any moment.

Once or twice wouldn’t hurt…

“Don’t lie!!”

Jarun’s voice got even louder.

A student from the Cooking Club giving food without money? Unthinkable.

“It must be a trick!”

“……”

Fortunately, the senior was in a very weakened state. Lee Han promptly subdued him with magic and poured hot meat broth down the dwarf’s throat.

“Ah, no! My gold coins! My gold coins!!”

The Enchantment Magic School seniors looked at Lee Han as if wondering, ‘Why does our junior waste so much time like that?’ but Lee Han ignored them and carried on.

Sliced bread, sausage, pickles, canned goods—more food than expected swiftly filled Jarun’s belly.

Dusting off his hands, Lee Han freed the dwarf and spoke.

“Once you’ve recovered, come up carefully. Other folks are looking for you, so don’t forget to be careful. If you see someone, shout that there’s no orichalcum right away.”

With those words, Lee Han turned and followed after the seniors.

Now that strength had returned to his limbs, Jarun stared blankly at Lee Han’s back, then suddenly shouted.

“…Wait!”

“???”

“Hold on, come here a second.”

“If you want more food, you’ll need to pay. You have gold coins, right? Credit is fine, too.”

“That’s not it! Just come here already!”

Now that he’d eaten and regained his strength, Jarun was different from the weakened senior. Lee Han grumbled and came back.

“What is it?”

“Keep this just between us. The orichalcum vein… actually exists.”

Jarun gulped.

It was the first time in his life he revealed a vein he’d discovered to someone else.

In truth, as he spoke, Jarun wondered if he’d made the right decision. Perhaps, after being trapped so long in the vein, his judgment had grown cloudy.

But Jarun didn’t regret his recent choice. It felt better to clear his debt than to remain bothered about it.

“Yeah. I’m sure it exists somewhere in the world.”

“…It’s here, in this mining district!!”

Jarun flared up at Lee Han’s nonchalant attitude.

“It might be somewhere around here if you look…”

“I, the exact location, found it, you idiot!”

“???”

Lee Han looked at Jarun as if wondering what nonsense he was spouting.

Lee Han hadn’t even noticed it himself, but hearing Jarun, he suddenly realized something anew.

‘I really didn’t trust this guy at all!’

He had said, ‘let’s check it ourselves,’ but when Jarun claimed it existed, all he could think was ‘what a load of nonsense.’

His trust toward the other was practically tunneling under the basement.

“So you found the location, but were wandering around here with not a single piece of ore on you?”

Face flushed at the very humiliating suggestion for a Western dwarf, Jarun replied.

“That’s… there’s a reason for it.”

“Senior. Do you know the story of the Shepherd Giant? The one who herded the mountain-smashing sheep…”

As the junior pressed his nerves, Jarun nearly collapsed from rage and humiliation.

With superhuman will, Jarun gritted his teeth and growled.

“Just shut up and listen! Quiet, and hear me out! I’ll explain!”

While the senior raged, Lee Han took out a cracked pocket watch and checked the time.

Then, in a stern tone, he said,

“I’ll give you five minutes.”

“…What?”

“The other seniors have been waiting far too long. I’m considerate, you see, so I can’t keep them waiting any more. Finish within that time. Not a second over.”

Grrrrk—

Jarun foamed at the mouth as he collapsed backward.

To think there was a brat in the world who’d treat an orichalcum vein so lightly…