Yonaire, understanding the situation, gently patted Yi-Han's shoulder in consolation.
"Spirits are like capricious unrequited loves; no matter how well you treat them, often you can't win their hearts," she mused. In such cases, acceptance was the only option.
"Yonaire, I'm really okay," Yi-Han insisted.
"Uh-huh..."
"I am, truly."
"Sure, sure."
Usually, when 'really' was prefixed, it was often a lie. Yonaire decided to let it slide this time.
Nillia was flustered when the Water Spirit clung to her, an entity Yi-Han had desired to contract with, making it impossible for her to reciprocate.
"Hey, go away! Contract with Wardanaz over there!" Nillia pushed the Water Spirit away, but it persistently clung to her, clearly taken with her.
This saddened Yi-Han slightly. 'I only ever attract the senile Lightning Spirits,' he thought. But even in sadness, there were times to celebrate for a friend's sake.
Yi-Han spoke coldly, "Nillia, I think there's a misunderstanding. I have no intention of contracting with the Water Spirit."
"What? Really?" Nillia's ears perked up in surprise.
"But you were about to propose a contract earlier."
"You must have heard wrong."
Yonaire marveled internally. Yi-Han had many talents, but his unrivaled skill was lying blatantly with a straight face. His earnest lies swayed even the most skeptical.
"Nillia, I'm not interested in that spirit."
"But... you've wanted to contract with a spirit since before. And you said the Water Spirit was good."
'If only she didn't remember such trivial details so well,' Yi-Han thought irritably.
"It seems you're mistaken. Of course, I talked about contracting with a Water Spirit, but it was about a renowned one, Nillia."
"Ah...!"
Nillia smacked her palm with her fist as if it made sense, especially considering Wardanaz's talent. The Water Spirit clapped its hands in surprise at this revelation. Yi-Han felt an urge to smack the spirit.
"Understand? So, if you want to contract with that spirit, feel free. It doesn't concern me."
"Hmm... What should I do..."
Nillia pondered. She hadn't ruled out contracting with a spirit, but this was unexpectedly sudden.
"What do you guys think?"
At Nillia's question, Yi-Han and Yonaire exchanged glances.
In their opinion...
'Nillia could use more friends.'
'A spirit friend would be even better.'
They nodded in agreement.
"A Water Spirit seems like a good idea," Yi-Han said.
"I think so too!"
"If you both say so..."
Nillia nodded, and the Water Spirit jumped joyously.
After spending the weekend on an island with the undead summon, Yi-Han found Professor Boladi's face welcoming.
Yi-Han was frightened by his own gladness to see him.
'I've heard there's no cure for Stockholm Syndrome.'
"Good day..."
"Last time, you used lightning magic," Boladi noted without exchanging pleasantries or asking about the weekend.
"Yes..." Yi-Han sighed internally, having braced himself for this. He had a sad certainty about it since meeting Professor Boladi in front of Professor Garcia.
-"Ah, Professor Boladi is going to teach lightning magic as well."-
And such a foreboding feeling had never been wrong.
"Lightning element is less commonly mastered among mages than the water element."
"I see."
"It's harder to handle than water."
"Yes."
"But since you used lightning magic last time, you should be able to handle what I'm about to teach."
Yi-Han remained silent. He almost suggested to Professor Boladi to take a course in <Basic Imperial Language and Logic>.
'What kind of logic is that...'
"I've heard the stories," Professor Boladi said, looking at Yi-Han.
Yi-Han was startled. Was Professor Boladi deviating from his usual lectures to engage in idle student chatter, or something else entirely?
It was said that sudden changes in behavior could be ominous...
"I heard you defeated Gonadaltes's summon, Giorvan the Second."
“...”
Yi-Han would have been annoyed if the skull principal had been there, having successfully irritated him.
He was angry with the skull principal.
'How many hours have passed since...?'
He had seen the skull principal in the morning, and now, having had lunch, he had entered Professor Boladi's classroom. In that short time, the principal had been remarkably busy spreading the news.
"Indeed... I could defeat it thanks to what I learned from you, Professor."
"That's expected. But that's not why I brought it up. I heard you were ambushed by a summon and injured your arm."
'Damn it.'
Yi-Han faintly guessed why the skull principal had mentioned it.
"An unexpected situation occurred."
"In battle, that's always the case. But whatever excuse you make after being hit, the enemy won't listen."
The most irritating thing about Professor Boladi was his irrefutable, correct statements.
"So I prepared for that."
Yi-Han didn't ask 'What is it this time?', instead focusing intently on every minute movement of Boladi, his staff in hand, ready to respond to any trickery.
The professor seemed pleased with Yi-Han's reaction, a faint smile playing on his lips.
Sparks flew in the air, and a small lightning bolt appeared, aimed at Yi-Han.
Yi-Han tried to deflect it with a water orb, but Boladi countered with a water orb of his own, neutralizing it.
Yi-Han had no choice but to dodge physically. Fortunately, avoiding the incoming lightning bolt wasn't impossible.
The linear trajectory of the lightning bolt, though much faster than other elements, was still slower than actual lightning and predictably straight.
Compared to the unpredictable attacks of swordsmen like Arlong or Professor Ingurdel, the lightning bolt, though fast, was foreseeable.
Yi-Han anticipated its trajectory just before it was launched and skillfully ducked, avoiding the lightning bolt completely.
The bolt whizzed past Yi-Han and struck the wall, fizzling out with a crackling noise.
Professor Boladi nodded slightly as if to say, 'That's it.'
"Don't use magic to block it."
"Just dodge it?"
"Yes."
Without giving Yi-Han a chance to retort, Boladi launched his next attack, increasing the number of lightning bolts.
Yi-Han, while dodging, marveled at his own agility.
'Have I always been this good at dodging?'
The rigorous training he had undergone at the magic academy had remarkably enhanced his evasive skills.
After several minutes of relentless attacks, which Yi-Han adeptly avoided, Professor Boladi spoke as if he had anticipated this.
"Indeed, you handle it with ease."
'...Should I have pretended to be clumsy?'
Yi-Han regretted showing proficiency too readily in tasks set by the professor. It usually brought no good.
However, Professor Boladi was a difficult one to deceive.
How could one feign incompetence against a genuinely earnest attack?
Suddenly, the classroom darkened, leaving only Professor Boladi's eyes visible in the near-total darkness.
'Dark conditions? Typical of the Professor.'
Yi-Han wasn't surprised.
As Professor Boladi enjoyed preparing for all kinds of combat situations, it was natural for him to test evading attacks in darkness.
Yet, Yi-Han still underestimated Professor Boladi.
"What's this?" Yi-Han asked as Boladi threw him a handkerchief.
"Cover your eyes."
Yi-Han approached Professor Boladi to cover his eyes, but the professor spoke again in an emotionless, detached tone.
"Not my eyes, yours."
Yi-Han was astonished to realize he actually had to blindfold himself.
"...Professor, it's already dark. Do I really need to cover my eyes? Wouldn't it make dodging more difficult?"
"You can do it."
Professor Boladi gestured dismissively, indicating he would entertain no further discussion. The handkerchief smoothly rose and covered Yi-Han's eyes.
A world of absolute darkness enveloped him.
Then, the sound of sparking. A lightning bolt was generated.
'This is madness.'
Yi-Han felt a creeping sense of fear.
But he couldn't just stand still in fear.
Just like detecting magic traps or a mage's mana, Yi-Han focused on sensing the location of the lightning bolts around him.
He wasn't sure how effective it would be, but he had no other choice.
Professor Boladi crossed his arms, watching Yi-Han intently.
As Professor Garcia had acknowledged (at least in Boladi's view), Professor Boladi held unwavering confidence in his teaching methods.
'If the students can't keep up, that's their problem, not mine.'
It wasn't without reason that the skull principal was close to Professor Boladi.
Unfortunately for Yi-Han, his encounter with Professor Boladi only reinforced the professor's conviction.
'The basics of elemental shape transformation and control are solidly established.'
When Boladi saw Yi-Han using lightning magic, he didn't show it, but he was very pleased.
The difficulty level of the lightning element was among the highest.
Using it meant Yi-Han could smoothly advance to more complex stages of elemental shape transformation and control training.
Originally, Boladi intended to start with lightning magic...
...but he had a reason for conducting elemental detection training. It was based on the skull principal's testimony.
When Boladi heard that Yi-Han had injured his arm fighting an undead summon, he was shocked.
It was unbelievable that Yi-Han would make such a mistake.
Of course, the question should have been 'Why is a freshman fighting a giant undead summon?' But Boladi failed to consider this aspect.
'If I were that boy from the Wardanaz family...'
For the first time, after stopping Yi-Han from adding a rotational attribute to his water element magic, Boladi tried to see things from Yi-Han's perspective.
Once he started to empathize, it wasn't difficult. Putting himself in Yi-Han's shoes, Boladi quickly came to a conclusion.
'If I were the boy from the Wardanaz family, right now, I would most want to learn the art of evasion, not just attack and defense.'
Professor Boladi could have simply asked Yi-Han, but he chose not to, preferring to think and conclude on his own.
In magic combat, evasion was a skill distinct from attack and defense, and in some ways, more advanced and difficult.
The key to evasion was perception.
Understanding where and how an enemy's attack was coming from, and instantly grasping the nature and structure of the magic, was essential for smooth evasion.
'The fool blocks, but the wise evade.'
Such sayings didn't exist for no reason.
Then, how could one enhance this perceptive ability?
In truth, the boy from the Wardanaz family had been unknowingly training himself.
Regularly engaging with and discerning magic would inevitably improve one's perceptive skills.
Today, Professor Boladi had focused solely on detection, excluding control and shape.
As a result...
With a snap, Professor Boladi dispelled the lightning bolts that had appeared in the darkness.
Yi-Han was panting heavily. No matter how fit one was, not feeling exhausted in such circumstances would be more unusual.
Remarkably, the boy from the Wardanaz family had perfectly evaded every attack.
In complete darkness, where he could see nothing!
Yi-Han couldn't see it, but Professor Boladi was smiling.
When he first heard other mages speak of the 'joy of teaching', he had wondered what they meant. But now, he seemed to understand.
Teaching was truly enjoyable.
In the air, there were now far more lightning bolts and small flames, along with water orbs and compressed air, among other elements.
Even blindfolded, Yi-Han sensed something ominous and called out urgently.
"Professor? Professor???"
