Yi-Han sensed something amiss.
Though it felt strange to have to claim his lack of talent in the current situation, he did his best to defend himself.
"Isn't it a simple method to rely solely on abundant mana to create a magic circle like this?"
"Modest too. A virtue rarely seen among mages."
"No..."
"Wait. Were you serious just now?"
Kendry looked puzzled.
He had assumed Yi-Han's remark was made in modesty.
There were two types of talents in magic circle creation.
One was the intellectual type.
Those who excelled in the theory and structure of magic circles, who thoroughly studied and understood them in their minds before starting.
The other was the intuitive type.
Those who created magic circles based on sensation and intuition, even if they were less skilled in calculation or understanding, letting their mana flow through.
At first glance, the latter might seem simple or ignorant, but it was, in fact, more challenging.
Having abundant mana didn't automatically result in creating magic circles.
Everything else had to be filled in by the mage.
Those who called this process simple or ignorant repetition knew nothing of magic.
Without innate talent, no amount of mana could create magic circles in this manner.
'I received praise for being suited for this, but it's the first time I don't feel happy about it.'
Yi-Han felt more bewildered than happy upon hearing he had a talent for magic circle creation.
"The latter seems fitting for an imperial office position too."
Yi-Han tried to argue back passively after hearing the explanation.
However, Kendry looked at him as if he didn't understand what Yi-Han was saying.
"You're both."
"Excuse me?"
"You're both. No matter how great your intuition is, to complete a magic circle like this as a freshman, you need a sharply working mind."
There were limits to intuition.
For a freshman to complete it at this speed showed a deep theoretical understanding of magic circles beyond mere intuition.
Knowing either was enough to qualify as an imperial official.
But excelling in both?
That meant dedicating oneself to magic for the empire's future.
'As expected of a professor's friend, he's hard to communicate with.'
Yi-Han quickly gave up.
Given the response, it seemed faster to persuade someone else and aim for an official position.
Not all imperial officials would be like this!
"Thank you for the compliment."
"Good. Thanks for praising our officials. Mages usually don't like it."
"I do like them..."
"Hahaha! Just kidding."
'I really want to hit him.'
Yi-Han inwardly seethed at Kendry's dismissive attitude towards a freshman because of his higher status.
"Anyway... I saw something good. I'll support you. It seems Gonadaltes isn't all bad for nurturing students like you."
'You can think badly of him if you want.'
Yi-Han swallowed his words. He never knew where or when the skull principal might be listening.
"If you need help, contact me. Supporting mages like you is our officials' role."
"!"
Yi-Han's face brightened.
"I'll try to support whatever research you undertake at least once."
"..."
Yi-Han's face darkened again.
He didn't really need that kind of help.
'What about supporting young mages' startups instead of just research?'
"There will be outside guests this week, so stay focused and don't get distracted. You understand?"
"Are there others besides the priests?"
"That's..."
Kendry hesitated for a moment, wondering if he could tell the freshman.
Yi-Han, without even breathing, lied.
"I heard it from the principal, but it wasn't a joke then."
"Ah. You heard? Well, Gonadaltes is really... Oh, sorry. I shouldn't speak ill of a mentor in front of students."
Mistaking that the skull principal had spoken first, Kendry opened his mouth.
"It must be because of the festival. People interested in Einroguard are probably visiting. The same goes for other magic academies... Einroguard's reputation is well-known, right?"
'From other magic academies?'
Yi-Han paused, taken aback.
He hadn't expected such guests.
He thought there would only be priests...
"I’ll spread the word about what I saw today to others."
"No... it's alright."
"Why? It's good to build a reputation early. It will help you in your research later."
"Really, it's fine."
'He's from the Wardanaz family, and yet so modest? How surprising.'
Kendry was amazed but nodded.
After all, it wasn't bad for a talented mage to be humble.
One reason mages with bad reputations among the imperial officials accumulated grudges was their arrogant behavior.
-“The estimate is unclear; rewrite it…”-
-“You can't understand this estimate? That's because you're a dimwitted loser! You fool! Are you jealous of me because you lack talent!? My overflowing talent?!”-
Thinking of this, Kendry found Yi-Han even more remarkable.
'I hope he grows up just like this.'
He hoped that Yi-Han would become a great mage without changing.
After all, the secular matters would be handled by other people of the empire.
As the sun fully set, Yi-Han stopped his work and fed the students dinner.
The students, having expended their mana, devoured the grilled meat as soon as it was ready. The oil dripped down, sizzling in the flames.
"Yonaire. How did the potion checking go?"
"I managed to identify a few!"
Yonaire replied brightly.
Thanks to the help of the priests from the Flameng Order, she had successfully identified several potions.
"One turned out to be alcohol."
"..."
Yi-Han was slightly incredulous.
'Why were there several bottles of alcohol in a potion box?'
But it wasn't incomprehensible.
In such a magic academy, it was natural for seniors to turn to alcohol.
"And the others?"
"Transformation potions. I need to check further, but they're probably animal-based."
'Not bad.'
The exact animal was yet to be determined, but transformation potions could be very useful.
If it was a winged animal...
'I'm not sure what the sky of the magic academy is like, but it's worth trying.'
"By the way, the potion Gainando drank was indeed a Confidence Potion."
"I thought so."
"And a Curse Removal Potion. They said it's very powerful. Oh, and there was also a Calmness Potion."
"…!"
The nearby students showed interest.
"A Calmness Potion? If we drink that..."
"Won't we get caught by the professor?"
"We should think about not getting caught."
The students of the Blue Dragon were quickly adapting to the magic academy.
They had begun to see exams as a battle not with themselves, but with the professors.
"We'll check the rest next week. I plan to finish the checks while the priests are still here."
"Thanks, Yonaire. You must be busy.”
"Not more than you... Professor Uregor was worried about you."
"?!"
Yi-Han paused, startled.
"Worried about what?"
"He said he wanted to call you but couldn't bring himself to do it."
During the festival, Professor Uregor, who was forced to prepare something, had called upon students proficient in alchemy. Yonaire, of course, was among those summoned. The summoned students were puzzled by Yi-Han's absence.
-“Isn't Wardanaz here?”-
-“I didn't have the heart to call him.”-
"...Wait."
Yi-Han felt a shiver down his spine.
Could it be that the skull principal really wanted to call him?
'Wait. Professor Uregor isn't someone to avoid work because of the principal.'
If it wasn't just the principal...
A vampire professor flashed through Yi-Han's mind.
"AAAHHH!"
A student from the Tower of Blue Dragon screamed upon entering the lounge. Yi-Han, startled, looked up.
"Is it the principal's second attack?!"
"No, it's not!"
"Thank goodness!"
'Is that really good news?'
Yi-Han thought as he moved forward.
The lounge looked as though a thief had ransacked it. Tables and chairs were overturned in the corners, and books from the bookshelf were scattered on the floor.
His friends asked Gainando.
"Did you do this over food...?"
"Crazy guys! I was with you!"
"Oh, right."
The culprit was quickly revealed.
Sharakan, who had been left in the lounge as Yi-Han worked on the magic circle, was growling with something in its mouth.
Yi-Han sternly addressed Sharakan.
"Sharakan!"
At the sound of its master's angry voice for the first time, Sharakan was frightened. The mighty mana made the summoned beast cower.
But it couldn’t be helped, since it was for the sake of the misunderstood white horse.
Sharakan growled with the Curse Removal Potion clutched in its mouth.
"I'm sorry, everyone. I should have kept Sharakan with me."
"It's not your fault. We all found Sharakan cute."
"Who would have thought Sharakan would do such a thing... Look out! Wardanaz! Sharakan is escaping!"
Instead of reflecting, Sharakan seized the opportunity and darted outside. The students from the Tower of Blue Dragon were too startled to catch it.
'I miss the days when it was just a bone!'
Yi-Han inwardly complained as he dashed off.
When Sharakan was just a bone, it didn't cause trouble. Now that it had its body back, it started making mischief.
This was better than trying to kill its master, but such pranks were still a hassle.
"Yonaire. Sharakan stole a potion! Which one?"
"That's... just a second...!"
Yonaire eyed the potion in the fleeing Sharakan's mouth.
Bright green.
It was either a Curse Removal Potion or an Animal Transformation Potion.
"I'm not sure! There are similar potions...!"
Meanwhile, Sharakan had bolted to the stables.
As Sharakan entered the stables, a commotion erupted inside.
The horses began to neigh wildly as if they were suddenly frightened.
'What on earth is happening?!'
Yi-Han raced in, filled with fear and concern.
Upon entering the stables, it became clear what potion Sharakan had stolen.
"...It stole the Transformation Potion."
Yonaire, arriving late, gasped in shock.
It was a griffin inside the stable.
"Turned into a griffin...!"
"Yes. It must have been a Griffin Transformation Potion."
Since it was transformed into a griffon, a predator of horses, it was natural for the other horses to cause such a fuss.
Yonaire whispered, looking at Sharakan.
"Maybe it was a request from the horse? Monsters like Sharakan are quite intelligent."
"Asked to find a transformation potion?"
"Yes, that might be possible. You know, it might have wanted to show off its abilities to you."
Yi-Han immediately understood what Yonaire was suggesting.
Among animals with strong pride, there were those who, when ignored, would try to demonstrate their abilities by any means necessary.
Of course, this was a behavior typically observed in monsters, but unusually, the white horse might have had such pride.
As Yonaire said, frustrated by Yi-Han's lack of faith, the white horse might have asked Sharakan to find something that could make it stronger.
"I'm sorry, horse. I doubted you too much."
The white horse, transformed into a griffin, or rather, returned to being a griffin, lifted its front hooves in joy at Yi-Han's words.
Bang!
As the effect of the potion wore off, the griffin turned back into a white horse. The curse was too powerful to be completely solved with the potion.
But the griffin was satisfied.
It must have realized that Yi-Han had finally understood its true nature!
Yonaire, trying to soothe the griffin, said,
"You're smart. I'll trust you."
Huhiiing!!
"But Yonaire, is there no possibility that it's not a transformation, but an actual griffin?"
Huhiiing!! Huhiihihihing!!
