Episode 98

Episode 098

“I thought it was a well-made boat.”

“…Hmph. Don’t flatter me.”

Angrago had to speak in a gruff voice to hide his pleased expression.

Ihan sighed inwardly.

‘The fact that that ferry is the best option we have makes me sad.’

He couldn’t immediately learn enchantment magic or befriend an ice spirit, so there was nothing left but that method.

Even if it seemed unreliable, what could he do? He had to check it out at least once.

“How many people can it carry?”

“It can easily hold twenty!”

Angrago’s confidence only had the opposite effect on Ihan. Claiming such a small ferry could carry twenty people made Ihan even more uneasy.

“This is perfect. Wordanaz, get on!”

Ihan tried to keep his composure as much as possible. His cold face became even colder.

Angrago flinched involuntarily at this.

‘…Was I too harsh?’

“Before that… I want to see you handle the boat yourself. If I or others get on, you won’t be able to maneuver as freely as you would alone.”

Angrago responded enthusiastically to Ihan’s words.

He threw off his coat and hopped right into the ferry.

“Okay, watch me!”

Angrago grabbed a finely crafted oar in each hand and began to row skillfully.

With no sail, the ferry glided along the calm lake surface.

Angrago’s friend watching from shore was impressed.

“Amazing, Angrago!”

Angrago, gliding so smoothly as if the lake belonged to him, looked truly free.

The White Tiger Tower student felt a freedom he hadn’t known for a long time, just watching Angrago row the boat.

It really felt not like a magic school, but a quiet, beautiful lakeshore somewhere else.

‘No water is leaking.’

While the White Tiger Tower students were lost in romance, Ihan was analyzing with a cool head.

Most importantly, the ferry wasn’t leaking.

And even after more than ten minutes on the lake, no monsters or the skeleton principal had appeared. That meant it was pretty safe.

“How is it, Wordanaz? Do you admit Angrago’s skill?”

“Sorry. I can’t yet.”

“Why not!”

“Anyone can handle it alone. But can he row as smoothly with someone riding?”

Responding to Ihan’s provocation, Angrago’s friend shouted in an annoyed voice.

“Angrago! Wordanaz is asking if you can show the same skill with me aboard!”

“Hmph. Of course!”

Angrago immediately brought the boat back to shore.

He boarded with his friend and called out,

“Watch carefully, Wordanaz!”

“Let’s see. It’s impossible to row as you did before with another person.”

Ihan deliberately egged Angrago on, and Angrago responded with great effect.

“Just watch!”

Angrago rowed across the lake, cutting the water more aggressively than before. He rowed so hard that sweat poured down and his arm muscles bulged.

For more than twenty minutes, Ihan kept saying things like “I still can’t tell,” “You can do that for a few minutes,” “Maybe his true skill will show soon,” all to encourage Angrago.

Having checked everything he wanted, Ihan nodded.

‘Contrary to my expectations, I might actually get along with the White Tiger Tower guys.’

• * *

“Huff… huff… huffhuffhuff… Did you see? This… this is my skill…”

“Yes. I admit my defeat.”

Angrago wanted to shout for joy at Ihan’s words, but was too exhausted.

He lay sprawled on the grass, just panting.

Not until he’d rested for a while did Angrago recover enough to stand again.

“Then I’ll try it too.”

“…Again?”

Angrago let out a weak groan without even realizing it.

A few rounds of rowing had made Angrago wary.

As his opponent hesitated, Ihan cheered him on with a simple comment.

“Don’t tell me you’re not confident…”

“Get on!”

Angrago leapt up and took the boat. His friend, Duke-ma, asked worriedly,

“Wouldn’t it be better if I got off?”

“Duke-ma! Do you not trust me?”

“…Sorry, Angrago. I’ve disgraced your honor!”

“Hurry up and set off.”

Ihan answered nonchalantly. He didn’t care much if the two knights reaffirmed their friendship or not.

‘Let’s first check the position of the island.’

Now that he knew the boat was relatively safe, he intended to check the location of the island and secure a way there.

Angrago bit his lip and started rowing again. The ferry slid over the lake once more.

Ihan frowned and focused to see what was on the lake.

‘A telescope would be nice.’

If he could use artifacts or magic, it would be much easier.

Ihan suddenly recalled something Alarrong had once said.

-A master swordsman uses mana to activate and enhance their own body. It’s not as precise or systematic a force as magic, but in fierce battles, it can be more than enough power.

If that was true, he wondered if he could strengthen his eyesight with mana as well.

Ihan drew up his mana.

He wasn’t yet expert enough to circulate his mana freely to strengthen just one organ.

But Ihan did have mana he could waste infinitely.

So he just forcefully released mana throughout his body. Mana concentrated in his eyes, briefly increasing his sight as it burst out.

“?!?!”

The two students next to him were startled at Ihan suddenly emanating a murderous atmosphere.

Come to think of it, they were out on the lake.

If someone died here, the body could be dumped easily…!

Whap!

The two White Tiger Tower students hastily gripped their wooden swords. They couldn’t die here and now.

At that moment, Ihan shouted,

“Found it!”

“??”

“I found the island.”

“What?! How did you find it!”

Angrago was astonished.

Neither while making the boat nor after launching it had he found any sign of the island.

He thought it was impossible to spot without going much farther out…

“I just got lucky. But why are you holding your wooden swords?”

“……”

“…I just got startled when you suddenly shouted… it’s a habit.”

“You’re more cowardly than you seem.”

The White Tiger Tower students bristled.

It’s because you suddenly started radiating mana!

• * *

Ihan carefully noted the direction.

“Let’s go back for now. We’ve got the direction, so we can come again.”

“Yes, I got it.”

Angrago was secretly pleased.

His muscles had been crying for a break for a while.

“Ugh.”

Angrago, losing strength, misrowed the oar.

‘What the?’

With a jerk, Angrago felt something squishy hit by the oar and flinched.

Splish—

“…???”

He soon found out what he’d hit.

A lump of water, shifting shape under the surface, shot out from the lake.

He felt a spirit’s presence.

It was a water spirit.

Shhhh—!

The water spirit shot out sharp water spikes. Ihan kicked Duke-ma in the back, knocking him down.

A water spike just barely grazed Duke-ma’s head as it flew by.

“S-sorry! Wordanaz! I-I hit a water spirit!”

“Angrago! What did you do!”

Duke-ma, who had tumbled forward, shouted in panic.

Provoking a water spirit on the lake—it was an unbelievable mistake.

‘No… it doesn’t really seem angry.’

Unlike the panicking two, Ihan coolly observed the spirit.

Its presence was fierce, but compared to the pressure of a spirit like Perkuntra, this one was much weaker.

It obviously wasn’t a high-level spirit, since it showed no proper communication skills.

And what he felt from the spirit was…

Fear!

Ihan couldn’t understand why the water spirit would be afraid of them.

Would it be scared just because it got hit by an oar?

‘…Damn.’

Ihan clicked his tongue.

He’d realized why the water spirit was acting that way.

The culprit wasn’t Angrago, but himself.

He’d emitted mana wildly in order to find the island, alarming the spirit in the water.

Shick, shick, shick, shick!

Frightened, the spirit lashed out with water spikes at Ihan to drive him away.

The White Tiger Tower students screamed at the terrifying attack, but Ihan faced them calmly, swinging his staff.

With a dull thud, the globes of water he conjured shot up from the lake and precisely intercepted the spikes.

‘It looks dangerous at first glance, but it’s actually not that strong.’

The White Tiger Tower students were fooled by appearances, but with composure, the attacks could easily be dodged or blocked.

For Ihan, who had blocked Professor Voladi’s spells multiple times, the spirit’s spikes were no longer a threat.

‘Th-this guy…’

Angrago was more surprised by Ihan than the furious spirit.

It was hard to believe they’d entered school together and learned the same things.

What kind of training did the Wordanaz family do to produce an emotionless combat machine like this?

Ihan turned his head and looked down expressionlessly at Angrago.

Water spikes whizzed menacingly in, and yet Ihan calmly batted them aside without even glancing, making Angrago’s heart drop in fear.

“Get a hold of yourself and stand up. I need your strength.”

“Y-you’re not blaming me?”

“……”

For a second, Ihan wondered what he was talking about.

‘Ah. He thinks it’s his fault.’

It seemed Angrago thought the water spirit was on a rampage because he stabbed it with the oar.

Such a misunderstanding.

“It is your fault. But anyone can make mistakes.”

If so, there was no reason for Ihan to correct him.

“The important thing is what you do afterward.”

Angrago was moved despite himself.

To think there’d come a day he was touched by a Wordanaz’s words…!

“Okay. Leave it to me!”

Angrago drew his sword and got up.

Then Ihan asked as if exasperated,

“What are you doing?”

“…Didn’t you mean to block the spikes? With my sword?”

“No, row the boat.”

“……”

Angrago sat back down and grabbed the oars.

Meanwhile, the water spirit realized that none of its attacks worked on the monster in front of it.

The water spirit, shaking in fear, made another choice.

“…Wait!”

Belatedly realizing, Ihan hurriedly tried to stop it, but the water spirit had already begun calling over its friends.

“Shield, unfold!”

This time, Ihan switched from water globes to a broad shield.

Frightened, the water spirits began targeting the ferry, not Ihan.

‘Cowardly spirits.’

Ihan promised himself he would never let his guard down again when meeting water spirits.

As he thickened the water shield and remained cool, more spikes kept slamming in, causing the two White Tiger Tower knights to scream.

The savage spikes hitting the opaque water shield might pierce it at any moment.

Ihan seemed so calm, it was even scarier to them.

Aren’t you scared?!

‘Professor Voladi would cry if he saw this.’

Ihan was dumbfounded by the spirits’ straight-line, monotonous attacks.

You’d think they’d realize by now the shield couldn’t be pierced, yet they just made the same attacks over and over?

As the intense exchange continued, the ferry picked up more speed.

They began to draw away from the terrified spirits.

“…Wait. Where are we going?”

Ihan realized the ferry was headed for the opposite shore of the lake.

Because Angrago was rowing madly, they had ended up near the island.