Episode 975

In truth, this semester Direte’s luck with lectures had been unusually poor.

Just recently, because Joulin had run away from home, the other professors had come in to attend his class.

At the time, Direte had thought, ‘There can’t be a tougher lecture than this.’

But today, Direte fully realized why a wizard must never make such assumptions.

There could, in fact, be even more difficult lectures!

“I’m really sorry, senior.”

Lee Han apologized with a look full of guilt.

In fact, Lee Han hadn’t wanted to bring Mad Clone to the lecture, either. Who would want to bring someone like that into a classroom?

But Mad Clone insisted stubbornly.

He claimed it was for overseeing and supervising the achievement of Small World magic.

‘Is this a new kind of pressure, maybe?’

Lee Han couldn’t help but wonder if Mad Clone had changed tactics.

If the usual methods didn’t work anymore, maybe he was now applying psychological pressure…

The more he thought about it, the worse it felt.

Would he also follow to Professor Garcia’s classes, Professor Verdus’s classes, and Professor Bendozol’s classes?

‘Wait. That doesn’t sound so bad.’

On further thought, those weren’t especially fearsome professors. Lee Han realized he’d picked the wrong examples.

“No… It’s fine. It’s not like you wanted to bring him.”

Coming to his senses, Direte took Lee Han’s and Yukveltire’s hands to get back on his feet.

Yukveltire’s gaze as he watched his friend get up was much more generous than before.

“If it was going to be like this, why didn’t you say so beforehand?”

“What?”

“All this was a plan to lure a grand mage, huh?”

If all these seemingly pointless preparations were actually intended to draw in the clone of a grand mage, it made sense.

It hadn’t been for a petty lecture, but to draw out the secrets of magic.

Yukveltire sincerely apologized for misunderstanding his friend’s intentions.

“It wasn’t, though.”

“…?”

“It really wasn’t. I just wanted to celebrate for my junior.”

“……”

Yukveltire let go of his hand coldly. Lee Han shot a look at this wicked senior’s back.

“Want me to throw him out?”

“Forget it. He’ll leave on his own soon anyway.”

As Direte predicted, Yukveltire began packing his bag.

Since he’d painted all the darkness on the walls as repayment for his debt, he was ready to leave now.

If it were about drawing out magic from the grand mage’s clone, maybe he’d stay, but he certainly had no interest in watching Direte teach dark magic to his junior…

“I see.”

“!”

While the three were talking, Mad Clone was already standing at the front of the classroom.

Mad Clone looked at the magic -Crow’s Evil Eye- written on the board, then glanced at Direte.

“Magician. Did you make this spell?”

“…Ah, uh, y-yes.”

Direte stumbled over his tongue almost instinctively.

Sure, the person before him had infamously kidnapped his junior, but strictly speaking, he was also the founder of Einrogard’s dark magic division.

If someone like that asks, ‘Did you create this dark magic?’ even Direte had to feel nervous on instinct.

It was the sad fate of all disciples to feel nervous before their professor.

“It’s clever, but the finish is sloppy. There’s no need to fixate on your enemy’s position in your field of view. Expand your sixth sense on the basis of your five senses. Don’t forget that for a magician, mana is another sensory organ.”

-Crow’s Evil Eye-, which Direte had prepared for his junior, was a spell he’d developed to overcome the limitations of poisonous spells in traditional dark magic.

It turned the physical poison into an incorporeal curse, then cast it through the mage’s vision as a medium to strike the enemy.

With this, one wouldn’t have to struggle to hit Yukvel—no, other enemies with poison anymore.

But Mad Clone detected the undeveloped parts of this spell immediately.

There was no reason to use vision to confirm the target’s position so strictly.

Just as beasts used their whiskers as sensory organs, magicians could utilize the world’s mana as their own sensory organ.

There was only one reason not to do so.

The mage’s own fear.

“If you degrade a spell out of fear that you might poison someone else, you betray your calling as a magician.”

“…I’ll keep that in mind…”

Direte, poked in a sensitive spot, couldn’t even protest and nodded.

The criticism was so accurate, he couldn’t get angry. It was all true.

If you were going to create a spell, you had to be prepared to handle it yourself—if you cut the power because you preemptively worried it might be dangerous, that did nobody any good.

“But senior, if I change it as you say, won’t the difficulty increase?”

“It probably will, yes.”

There was a pretty big difference between cursing by vision and by using all your senses.

“This is the spell I have to learn, right?”

“Yes.”

“I think I’d rather just have the old version…”

Lee Han tried to appeal quietly to Mad Clone, but his master coldly ignored him.

Whether it was needing a stepping stone, or wanting to learn this first and the harder one later, he wouldn’t be convinced.

“Direte certainly has a timid side. If he just got over that, he could become an even greater magician.”

“…You’re not leaving, senior?”

Thinking Yukveltire would have left after packing earlier, Lee Han was surprised to see him seated and listening.

What was with this guy, really?

• * *

Mad Clone had only planned to quietly guide his disciple’s Small World on the side, but the enthusiastic students of Einrogard wouldn’t leave such an excellent teacher alone.

To be exact, Yukveltire wouldn’t leave him alone. Direte and Lee Han stared at the mage with silver hair like they wanted to kill him.

“I see. So in that section, you recommend using a human’s shinbone and clavicle as reagents?”

“Correct. However, that brings about a different problem.”

Lee Han, who was listening beside them, mumbled quietly.

“You’d be arrested under imperial law.”

Yukveltire and Mad Clone ignored him. Only Direte scribbled with his quill.

I thought it was funny.

‘Senior!’

Lee Han looked at him, moved.

Truly, not everyone qualified as the empire’s best senior.

“May I ask one more thing?”

“You may not.”

“!”

At the unexpected refusal, a wave of shock spread across Yukveltire’s face.

“Why not?”

“Magician. Beware of overstepping your bounds. I answered because you’re my disciple’s peer, but royalty is not your master.”

Mad Clone drew a clear line.

He’d just answered about the -Red Venom of Ahhrak- because it was written on the board, and because he was a companion of his disciple.

But strictly speaking, it was rude to ask such questions.

A magician ought to ask his own master.

Mad Clone looked at Lee Han.

“Who is that magician’s master, that his apprentice has to ask elsewhere?”

“Shall I call him?”

For the first time in today’s lecture, Lee Han felt a flutter of excitement. Direte’s wings even fluttered a little.

Honestly, he wanted to see, too!

“Forget it. Whoever it is, they’re probably incompetent.”

‘Aww, what a waste!’

As he lamented, Yukveltire, back at his seat, whispered to Lee Han from behind.

“Wardanaz family junior.”

“Hm?”

“Ask how to withstand the intense external pressure of a warped dimension.”

“…You said that in Imperial, right?”

Lee Han wondered if Yukveltire had just spoken ancient giant or Verdus-speak by mistake.

“What are you talking about?”

“…Just. So what is it you want?”

Lee Han gave up trying to explain the joke.

How was he supposed to explain a joke to a little golem with no heart (or maybe he had one, but now he wasn’t so sure)?

“When casting magic involving dimensions, one of the main dangers is the warped dimension.”

For every high mage, multi-dimensional theory was part of their studies, but the deeper you went, the trickier and more irritating it became.

The very concept of a dimension was enormous.

Spiritual or undead realms that even laymen might know about were different dimensions; but even truly unobservable parallel worlds fell within this concept.

Even short of that, there were plenty of strange and twisted dimensions.

Some with no souls, some with no physical volume at all, some where only force existed…

Among these, those that didn’t function as true worlds but influenced other dimensions were called “warped dimensions.”

For magicians who traveled or explored dimensions, they were like reefs to avoid.

If they encountered a visiting magician, these places would compress or distort the mage’s soul.

‘Wait, why am I learning this again?’

As he took notes by instinct, Lee Han grew confused.

Why was he even learning this?

He wasn’t even specializing in dimensional magic!

“If you understand, hurry and ask.”

“Understood.”

Lee Han nodded.

Then he asked Mad Clone,

“Master. Then, may I practice -Crow’s Evil Eye- magic now?”

“!?!”

Yukveltire’s eyes quivered with betrayal. Direte thought wryly to himself.

‘Why is he even feeling betrayed…?’

This was not a situation for that at all…!

• * *

Thanks to a grand mage, the difficulty had increased, but -Crow’s Evil Eye- was a good spell.

Above all, even with interference from a crazy man, the fact that it stayed within the 4th Circle proved the spell’s quality.

To increase in difficulty and still resolve everything within the 4th Circle—

‘This is what a superior spell should be.’

Feeling he’d gained something, Lee Han was delighted before sensing something odd.

…Come to think of it, was there any reason to be happy about a 4th Circle spell?

‘Could I have been hit by a mind spell?!’

Whatever the case, it didn’t make sense unless that was so. Lee Han circulated his mana to check his status.

“What’s wrong, junior?”

“I wondered if I might have been hit by a mental interference spell.”

“What?! Why?!”

Direte was shocked.

If his junior brought that up, it was no small matter.

What signs had there been?

“I just practiced -Crow’s Evil Eye- with no complaints.”

“…That’s always been true, though.”

“?!!?!”

This time, Lee Han was appalled but Direte coolly turned away.

It was something he couldn’t deny.

To the side, even after the class was over, his hopeless friend was still sitting in his seat.

“Yukveltire. Let’s go.”

“I still have some questions.”

“……”

Direte sighed deeply.

And then, with a truly reluctant, apologetic expression, he turned to Lee Han.

“Junior. Can I ask you a favor?”

“Of course.”

Lee Han accepted right away and called out to Mad Clone.

“Master. What ways are there to endure the intense external pressure of a warped dimension?”

“For once, you’ve asked a decent question. Using the limitless power of the Outer Realm is the desire of every magician. However, that power…”

As Mad Clone immediately began to explain, Yukveltire blinked.

As his friend’s reaction wasn’t as he’d expected, Direte asked, puzzled,

“What’s wrong? Wasn’t that the question you wanted?”

“…Why does the Wardanaz family junior never listen to me, but always listens to you?”

“……”