When Yi-Han heard about the potion named 'Enemy Detection,' the first thing that came to his mind was, unsurprisingly, the skull principal.
Beyond mere emotional concerns, the ability to ascertain the skull principal's location was significantly beneficial for survival.
‘I can drink the potion whenever I'm about to do something dangerous,’ Yi-Han thought.
"The unparalleled genius created by the Flameng Order, Priestess Siana. How do you determine the target?"
There were various ways to choose the target of a curse or potion.
One could recite a spell while picturing the target's face or name, or alternatively, find an object related to them...
It seemed more likely that the potion would require the latter approach.
"Just add a strand of the target's hair to the finished potion," she explained.
"Hair," Yi-Han echoed.
"Yes, a strand of hair," Priestess Siana confirmed.
Yi-Han was lost in thought.
‘...Do liches even have hair?’ He wondered.
As far as he could tell, the skull principal had no hair.
Even if hair from the principal's living days could be obtained, considering his age, it likely would have decomposed into dust by now.
‘It seems I can't use it on the skull principal,’ Yi-Han lamented.
It was disappointing, but there was nothing to be done.
Her interest piqued, Priestess Siana continued the conversation.
"If Mr. Yi-Han of the Wardanaz family makes it, I'll assist you."
"But isn't it a rather complex potion to make on our own?"
“But Mr. Yi-Han of the Wardanaz family is a person who enjoys difficult challenges.”
"Really?" Yi-Han was taken aback.
Where did such a ridiculous rumor start?
‘Is it those guys from the White Tiger spreading such nonsense?’
"I don't think so."
"Such modesty... Ha ha."
"No, really, it's not like that."
Although Yi-Han's voice carried a hint of bitterness, Priestess Siana failed to notice.
"Wardanaz, how do we finish this?"
"Wait. Let's finish it together."
The friends who had gathered to complete Professor Alpen's magic circle called Yi-Han.
Thanks to everyone's help, the completion of the magic circle was in sight.
‘"Wait, isn't there a gap here?’
While drawing lines on the floor following the instructions from the book given by the professor, Yi-Han hesitated.
Whether it was a mistake or intentional, part of the magic circle was missing.
Under normal circumstances, spheres of light should line the corridors at regular intervals, with an illusion-crafted statue in the center...
As it stood, several spheres of light were missing, which would certainly look awkward.
"Should I ask Professor Knighton?"
Yi-Han pondered.
Asking the professor about something wrong or unknown was riskier than it seemed.
-"Do you not know this? What exactly did you learn in my lectures?"-
-"Are you saying I made a mistake? That's utterly ridiculous. I obviously left it blank intentionally for you to solve on your own."-
Whether it was a mistake or not, an intense reaction was possible!
Although Professor Alpen didn't seem that crazy, other professors at the magic academy had also appeared quite normal at first.
After much deliberation, Yi-Han made a decision.
"I'll have to solve it myself."
It was fortunate he had received enchantment magic training from Professor Beavle Verduus.
...Was it fortunate though?
Yi-Han shook off his stray thoughts and refocused.
"Step back. I'm going to cast <Light Enchantment>."
He swung his staff and cast the spell.
The missing part of the magic circle was filled by the <Light Enchantment> spell cast by Yi-Han.
While the other students were amazed, the princess tilted her head in confusion.
Such installation-type magic circles were crucially dependent on the organic connection of the whole.
If the mana sources placed throughout the magic circle acted as batteries, then the intricately drawn lines of the magic circle served as conduits transmitting power.
But the substitution magic that Yi-Han had cast for the missing part of the magic circle was not connected to the entire circle.
Wouldn't that mean the mana wouldn't transmit?
Tap, tap -
The princess pointed to a corner of the magic circle, and Yi-Han immediately understood what she meant.
"It's okay."
"...??"
Yi-Han, who had prepared this magic circle, of course, knew.
However, the magic circle given by Professor Alpen was not something a mere freshman could fix or complete.
Then what?
'It only needs to work while people are watching.'
The original purpose of the magic circle was to decorate the surroundings with spheres of light and illusion statues.
As long as it functioned properly while people were watching, there were no real issues.
"But won't it be difficult to maintain for a long time?" one of the princess's followers asked, puzzled.
Extending the duration of an enchantment spell was a difficult task.
It was no coincidence that enchantments with permanent effects were called artifacts.
A spontaneously cast enchantment like Yi-Han's, made without any preparation and using only a staff and a spell, would be hard to sustain for more than a few minutes.
"Yes, but don't worry. I plan to reapply it daily. Then it won't fade away."
"..."
"...???"
The princess and her followers were momentarily dumbfounded, unable to comprehend.
Regardless, Yi-Han called for Asan.
"Asan. Bring the professor. Before any other issues arise... or rather, now that it's complete, we should show it to the professor."
"Understood. Wardanaz!"
Professor Alpen Knighton, who was teaching <Basic Imperial Geometry and Arithmetic> to the freshman at the magic academy, was walking with his friend Kendry Bak.
Both being from high-ranking imperial families, they were not alone.
Behind them were other guests who had come to visit the magic academy.
"Did you come from Baldurguard?"
"Yes. We came to see the outstanding students and renowned education of Einroguard, but I feel embarrassed."
The mage leading the students from Baldurguard looked embarrassed.
No matter how much they were just guests visiting the festival, it would be a lie to say there was no sense of competition between the magic academies.
Being a mage working at Baldurguard, he had hoped his students would show something impressive.
Sensing his feelings, Alpen and Kendri reassured him.
"A student's exceptional talent isn't something that can be forced or hastily shown," Alpen said.
"Alpen is right. There's no need to worry about that. Baldurguard is already doing an excellent job of teaching their students."
Apart from a few character-flawed individuals from Einroguard, imperial officials held Baldurguard in high regard.
The mages of Einroguard...
-"Seventeen hundred and eighty gold coins?? Who do they expect me to stick this to? If they won't triple it, they might as well take it all! Wait, what if they really do take it... Oh no!! That corrupt imperial official is oppressing the free spirit of magic!"-
In contrast, the mages from Baldurguard...
-"Imperial funding? No, thank you. We're not so poor as to need that. We're nobles, not beggars. Please don't tarnish our honor."-
It was no wonder that the imperial officials preferred Baldurguard.
It was only natural for someone like Kendri to think that Baldurguard's education might be more wholesome.
Einroguard was a bit...
Too focused on magic, possibly corrupting the character of its mages?
"But I'm embarrassed that we only showed an embarrassingly poor performance against the fifth-year students of Einroguard. Of course, we couldn't have won against higher-level students, but we should have been able to show a better performance..."
"...?"
Alpen was puzzled.
The fifth-year students didn't participate in the festival, did they?
Kendri quickly and quietly explained the situation to Alpen.
-Did Professor Bagrak beat up a Baldurguard student?-
-No, it was Professor Bagrak's disciple.-
-They lost against a first-year student?!-
-Magic combat is different from magic skill. If you don't practice separately, you can be clumsy.-
-But even then, a first-year student wouldn't have had the opportunity to practice magic combat…-
-Let's not unnecessarily hurt those who came to enjoy the festival. What good would fighting amongst magic academies bring to the Empire?-
-You're right.-
The two nodded in agreement and decided to keep their lips sealed.
"What were you talking about?"
"Nothing important."
They were about to change the subject when a first-year student ran towards them from a distance.
It was Asan from the Dargard family.
"Professor. I've completed what you mentioned last time."
"Well done. Let's go and check it now."
Asan bowed his head and then ran ahead to inform his friends that guests would be arriving soon.
Watching Asan's retreating figure, Professor Alpen hesitated.
"...Hmm?"
"What's the matter?"
"Didn't he say he just completed it?"
"Yes, he did. I saw it before; they had made considerable progress."
"It wasn't meant to be completely finished..."
Professor Alpen murmured, puzzled.
-I wanted to entrust you with the creation of a simple magic circle.-
He had wanted them to take on the task of creating a magic circle, not to finish it completely.
It would have been difficult for freshmen to complete it on their own.
That's why Professor Alpen had told them to do as much as they could with the help of other friends...
"Looks like there was a misunderstanding?"
"There was a misunderstanding."
Empire officials, known for forgiving their own mistakes, took a lenient view of the situation.
"It turned out to be a good opportunity for the students."
"Indeed. It's surprising they managed to complete it. I didn't expect that..."
"May I hear more about it?"
The Baldurguard mage asked, curious.
After Professor Alpen explained what had happened, the Baldurguard mage praised him.
"Thanks to the professor not setting limits, the students were able to go further."
"Your praise is making me blush!"
"Ha ha ha!"
"Ha ha ha ha ha!"
The mages laughed and complimented each other.
The second-year Baldurguard students, who arrived late, asked in confusion.
"What's going on?"
The Baldurguard mage explained the story they had heard.
Then the Baldurguard students responded in disbelief.
"A magic circle that advanced, completed so quickly?!"
"That's impossible! It must be incomplete!"
Beyond the difficulty of the magic circle, the speed of its completion was unbelievable.
Creating a magic circle wasn't just about drawing shapes. It involved carefully calculating the amount of mana and conducting tests. Even seasoned mages often collapsed from mana exhaustion while creating them...
"It might be possible. But even if it's incomplete, isn't it impressive that they finished it to the extent that they could show it to the professor?"
"Ugh..."
"Well... Yes."
The polite Baldurguard students had to admit it.
Even if incomplete, the fact that it was finished to the extent that they could present it was indeed remarkable.
"Shall we all go and take a look then?"
"Yes, Professor."
As they followed the older mages, the Baldurguard students whispered among themselves.
"But which year students did this?"
"Who knows...?"
Upon arriving at the classroom, the Baldurguard students immediately nodded in agreement.
"It was done by the fifth years."
"Why?"
"See that person over there? I heard he’s a fifth-year."
"I see."
The students acknowledged this upon seeing Yi-Han's face.
As the third-year Baldurguard students were increasingly outmatched, rumors about Yi-Han had been growing.
"Wait. Isn't that person... Princess Adenart?"
"The princess? Why?"
"I thought she was a year younger than us...?"
"Then she's a first-year, right? She must have worked on it with the higher-year students."
It wasn't uncommon in Baldurguard for senior students to collaborate with their juniors in magic.
Seniors received assistance from the juniors.
Juniors received guidance from the seniors.
This was the educational ethos of a prestigious magic academy.
'Did the fifth-years come too?'
Resting in his seat, Yi-Han was puzzled by the word 'fifth-year' he overheard among the students who had just arrived.
He hadn't seen any fifth-year students from Baldurguard...
"Wardanaz, well done."
"Thank you, Professor."
Yi-Han bowed politely.
Being acknowledged by a professor was always a moment of honor.
Especially when the professor was known to be demanding, the recognition felt even more glorious.
"It wasn't meant to be completed, and yet you finished it..."
"...?"
"But you completed that part separately?"
"...Wait a moment, Professor. Just a moment, please."
Yi-Han inadvertently interrupted the professor's words.
What did he just say?
