Upon witnessing the fallen mouse, Yi-Han unwittingly blurted out a defense. "I am not a dragon, a lich, nor the academy principal," he claimed. His nearby friends looked at him as if he was speaking nonsense. The red fox stretched its front paw forward as if to say, look ahead.
The mouse, startled, quickly got up and began to flee. "Wait! You proposed a duel! With the honor of a noble..." Yi-Han, habitually invoking honor, suddenly paused mid-sentence. It dawned on him that this trick only worked on his friends at the Blue Dragon Tower. For those, he could trick them by saying words like:
-"As a noble, clean up the mess you've made."-
-"As a noble, look up information about reagents in books."-
-"As a noble, would you dare walk over that trap?"-
However, talking about a noble's honor to a mouse was futile. Yi-Han swiftly changed his approach. "Behave honorably, as a mouse should!" The mouse, unheeding, scampered into the forest. The red fox gazed at Yi-Han with a look of pity. Being an animal, its gaze seemed all the more piercing.
"We have no choice but to pursue," he concluded. It was clear that this mouse was the ruler of this forest. Though Yi-Han couldn't fathom why the mouse would learn magic to become the forest's ruler, he accepted it. This was, after all, a magic academy.
"Stop there! I challenge you to a duel!" Chasing the mouse and shouting for a duel filled him with a sense of self-reproach, but that wasn't important now. Sharakan rustled as it trailed the mouse's path. Sensing it was being pursued, the mouse retaliated. "!" Suddenly, a vine with berries transformed into a ferocious Bald Eagle.
Yi-Han reacted immediately. "Space, be perceived. And... spring forth!" As he recited the <Spatial Perception> spell, the situation around Yi-Han swiftly imprinted itself in his mind. The trajectory of the fleeing mouse was almost visible to the naked eye. A large mass of water materialized rapidly, transforming into a bead of water that orbited him according to his will. Starting from a simple 1st Circle <Water Creation> spell, it quickly evolved into complex shape transformation and motion maintenance.
Yonaire, the red fox, stood by, astonished, raising its tail in surprise. '!?' It was shocking to see a friend advancing so far ahead in water magic learning. Yi-Han had always been proficient in water magic, but this was faster, more complex, and more refined than what she had seen before. Was this really okay?
"Worry not. I can handle it!" Yi-Han reassured, misinterpreting his friends' shocked reactions, and attacked the Bald Eagle. The water bead, heavy and sharp, struck the eagle, which with a loud bang, reverted back to a bush. "Sharakan. Capture it! Don't let it escape!" With splashing sounds, a nearby spring began to bubble and rise. The accumulated water took on the form of a large slime, preparing to attack.
"Flash forth!" Yi-Han swiftly swung his staff, casting <Lightning Creation>. Though a 1st Circle spell, lightning was the most destructive and rapid of the elements, making it apt for this situation. Crack! The lightning struck the spring slime, but it remained unscathed. Its large size seemed to protect it from harm, as it attempted to move again.
Yi-Han focused his mana, preparing his next move. "Strike down, Ferkuntra's Thunderbolt!" While a 2nd Circle spell, the power of Ferkuntra, a mighty lightning spirit, made it incomparable even to higher circle spells… However, this fact was known only to Ferkuntra, and Yi-Han still harbored doubts about this magic. Strangely, every time he used this magic, the effects were underwhelming. "If it's ineffective this time too, I'll seal it away for a while." In truth, the foes Yi-Han encountered were too formidable for a mere freshman. But Yi-Han's mind was already made up. In his mind, Ferkuntra seemed like a spirit prone to exaggeration!
Crackling fiercely, the lightning intensified as it struck the spring slime. The slime violently thrashed, part of it evaporating to the point of reducing its size. Yet, the spring slime stood its ground. "Ferkuntra!" Yi-Han cursed the absent spirit and drew out the Morning Star.
Nillia, in a panic, tried to stop Yi-Han with a mewling sound. ‘It's already down!’ The spring slime was clearly defeated due to the powerful magic. Its motionlessness was proof enough. Its continued standing was merely a residual effect of the magic, keeping the water from the spring in shape. But Nillia's cries fell on deaf ears.
Yi-Han slashed the downed spring slime with the Morning Star. Only then did the water lose its form and scatter. "It seems I've been tricked by the spirit," Yi-Han exclaimed.
"..."
The mouse cast transformation magic while frantically fleeing. But the intruder, who looked like a freshman, whether a principal or a dragon, adeptly dealt with and pursued it. That was even more suspicious. If it really were a freshman, such skilled pursuit would be impossible. Even the Bald Eagle was one thing, but to swiftly deal with a slime created from the water of the Cold Iron Water spring... It was clear that this was the skull principal in disguise.
The mouse trembled with fear. Whether a monster, demon, angel, or spirit, the professors of this magic academy seldom paid attention to those who set up nests in corners, but occasionally, if someone irked a professor, they would personally come to remove them. This was evidently one of those times. The mouse couldn't understand. What had it done to upset the skull principal? It had merely set up a forest in a corridor corner and played with freshmen... It seemed hardly a significant transgression.
Clatter! Sharakan leaped out, blocking the mouse's path with the sound of bones clashing. The mouse, terrified, tried to cast another spell, but Yi-Han was quicker. "Move!" Yi-Han instantly cast a <Lesser Control> spell, levitating the mouse, preventing its escape. The mouse, incredulous at being levitated by a mere 1st Circle spell suitable for novices, retaliated by transforming... Squeak?!
The mouse was shocked. It felt as though a tremendous mana had seized it, rendering it immobile. Even attempts to cast spells were futile. The opponent was controlling the area around the mouse with an immense amount of mana, leaving no room for other magic to penetrate. Such needless control from a 1st Circle spell meant for levitating mere quills. There was only one explanation. The skull principal's unique and eccentric intimidation tactics! Squeak... The mouse shook its head to the side, as if giving up.
Yi-Han was taken aback. ‘Did I... kill it?’ For a moment, he thought he had overdone the <Lesser Control> spell. But upon reflection, <Lesser Control> shouldn't have such effects. Its sole purpose was to levitate and control. Fortunately, upon closer inspection, the mouse was not dead. It seemed to have simply given up.
"Look. I really am not..." Yi-Han hesitated as he tried to explain to the mouse that he was neither a dragon, nor a lich, nor the skull principal. Did he really need to clarify? Considering the magic the mouse had used earlier, despite its panic, it was evidently a much more skilled mage than Yi-Han. Had it not fled and instead attacked using various transformation magics, it might well have defeated him. Moreover, if the misunderstanding was cleared, wouldn't the mouse feel compelled to attack Yi-Han fiercely, out of indignation for having fled?
But what if the mouse continued to believe Yi-Han was the skull principal? 'Wouldn't that allow me to quickly escape the forest?' It wasn't the first time he had done something like this. Hadn't he previously evaded the warehouse keeper's eye underground by imitating the skull principal? His friends looked at him quizzically. 'Is he pondering how to persuade the mouse?'
"Yes. I am indeed the principal." Squeak! The mouse, which had been cautiously peeking at Yi-Han with one eye, now tightly shut both eyes and lay back, as if expecting this.
"..."
"..."
Yi-Han felt the stares of his friends, who had transformed into animals, but he ignored them. "However, out of mercy... If you let me and these friends of mine leave, I'll overlook making you one of my undead minions." Yi-Han spoke in as ominous a tone as he could muster. He wasn't exactly sure what 'undead minions' were, but he said whatever came to mind.
The mouse nodded its head fervently, as if a gust of wind had been created. Squeak, squeak, squeak! It seemed desperate to get rid of the supposed skull principal, frantically indicating the direction. Yi-Han and his friends followed the forest path. Soon, they began to see the familiar corridors of the academy in the distance.
"Ah. Wait." Yi-Han and his friends paused as they were about to leave. The mouse looked at Yi-Han with shocked eyes. Could it be? "No. There's one more person. Just a moment." He had forgotten about Gainando.
Yi-Han went back in to find Gainando. The white mouse burst into tears upon seeing Yi-Han, clinging to him. "Gainando." His friends nodded in confirmation. Yi-Han placed the white mouse on his staff.
Gainando, tearful and moved at the sight of his friends, panicked upon seeing Nillia. Squeak, squeak, squeak! "Huh?" Yi-Han looked at Nillia and then back at Gainando. "It's okay. She won't bite." Of course, Gainando didn't hear that. He hid in the pocket of the coat. Instead of forcing Gainando out, Yi-Han just removed some beer candies from the pocket and placed them elsewhere.
"Well then, farewell, mouse of the forest. If I ever pass through here again, let's meet." Yonaire, who was listening, tilted her head. Was that a threat? Indeed, the mouse seemed to take it as such, trembling. Eventually, the mouse squeaked and unearthly dug up a treasure from the forest floor. It was a mystical bone imbued with abundant mana. Squeak, squeak... The mouse looked pitifully at Yi-Han, as if to say, take this and spare me.
Of course, Yi-Han had no interest in the bone. Maybe Professor Mortum would have... Clatter! At that moment, Sharakan pounced. Bones tangled messily, then the gaps in Sharakan were filled. "…!" As the skull summon transformed into a complete form, his friends marveled at the wonder of summoning magic.
Yi-Han, meanwhile, was lost in thought. "...How dangerous did Professor Bungaegor say Sharakan was?" According to the professor, Sharakan was a very proud and violent creature. While currently incomplete and thus docile, achieving completeness might bring out its original, more aggressive nature! "Should I bank on the slim chance that Professor Mortum took a freshman's capabilities into consideration, or the more evident possibility that he overlooked safety protocols?" Naturally, it was the latter.
Yi-Han immediately grasped his staff and looked at Sharakan. "...Sharakan?" Responding to his master's call, Sharakan came over but did not kneel. Nor did it charge at Yi-Han with a savage roar, aiming its bony fangs at his throat. Instead, Sharakan simply ignored him, as if it hadn't heard. When called again, it lay down with its head pressed to the ground. "???" His friends were perplexed, unable to comprehend why the bone summon was behaving this way.
Nillia, the hunter, was the first to catch on. That's... ‘Is it going through a rebellious phase?’ Even the loyal dogs and wolves raised by hunters went through periods of disobedience as they grew. It was a sign of a maturing spirit developing a sense of rebellion. ‘...But does an undead bone summon also have a rebellious phase?’ Nillia blinked in disbelief, finding it hard to believe.
