"How could I possibly refuse such a delightful opportunity?" he declared.
“I knew you wouldn’t refuse.”
The teacher and student exchanged words laden with hidden agendas.
The skull principal, having finished his announcement, surveyed the gathered students, each holding the leave permit in their hand.
Revenge against the festival-spoiling Ogonin would have to wait; for now, he needed to deal with... rather, attend to the students before him.
"Are all the students present?" he asked.
"Yes!" they responded in unison.
"Blessed be thy fortunes and skills in treasure hunting during the festival, I, Gonadaltes, bestow upon thee my blessing."
"Thank you...?"
"Why is he suddenly like this?"
"Is he in a good mood because of the festival?"
The students whispered among themselves, confused, but Yi-Han, who knew the truth, saw it differently. The very embodiment of terror!
"I grant thee, the ironheads venturing out, freedom and licentiousness from Saturday's sunrise until Sunday's. Gather at the academy's main gate before dawn."
"We understand!"
'The beginning,' he thought.
"Wait a moment," Yi-Han called, halting the dispersing students as the skull principal vanished.
They tensed up, wary.
"Be careful, everyone!"
"Wardanaz. Remember Tutanta's words? Don't fall for it."
"Don't show your leave permit! Hide it!"
“...”
Despite the chilly response from his friends, Yi-Han remained unfazed. Prophets are often persecuted, after all.
"Friends, hear me out."
"We're listening, Wardanaz. Speak."
The students from other towers stepped back to create distance, then waited for Yi-Han's explanation.
Yi-Han began calmly, "So, the thing is..."
Five minutes later.
The students looked at Yi-Han with peculiar expressions, as if to say, 'That's a bit much, isn't it?'
"It's true."
"...That's a bit much, isn't it...?"
"That makes no sense."
"Why would he go to such lengths... but it's possible."
"That's true, but still."
'No, they're actually listening better than I expected,' Yi-Han realized, surprised at their more positive reaction than anticipated.
It was due more to the skull principal's infamous reputation for evil than Yi-Han's own actions.
"But how did you come to know all this?"
"That's..."
"He's Wardanaz, of course he would know."
"Of course."
The other tower students, questioning and answering among themselves, left Yi-Han puzzled.
What exactly was obvious to them?
"Wardanaz. So, why are you telling us this story?"
"Are you asking for our leave permits in return?"
"No. Now that it's come to this, we must all cooperate to overcome the crisis."
The students from the White Tiger and the Black Tortoise fell into deep thought.
"Ah... should we accept this?"
"Moradi, what do you think?"
"It seems risky, doesn't it?"
"But if the principal really set a trap..."
The students, engrossed in serious discussions among themselves, prompted Yi-Han to turn to his friends from the Blue Dragon.
"Do I seem that unreliable?"
"Of course not, Wardanaz. Those fools are just blind, skeptical, and lacking in discernment."
"It's ridiculous! Wardanaz is trying to save us, yet they act like this! Sure, Wardanaz did attack the lounge and beat up some guys from the White Tiger, but that was a kind of lesson, wasn't it?"
"It could be seen as a teaching."
'I shouldn't have asked,' he thought.
The White Tiger and Black Tortoise students, after a lengthy debate of 'Is Yi-Han scarier or is the skull principal?', came to a conclusion.
"Alright, Wardanaz. We'll join you."
"We'll move together, but once we leave the main gate, we'll split up."
"Right. I have no intention of hanging around with you guys outside either."
"And don't even think of using us as cannon fodder."
"Understood."
"Don't send us in first if there's a trap, don't use us as test subjects for your magic, don't make us..."
"...Got it. I understand."
Yi-Han resolved to clear up the misunderstandings the White Tiger students had about this outing. Misunderstandings, built up due to the strict academy rules, lingered.
'The academy breeds these misunderstandings,' he mused.
The students heading out from the Blue Dragon were as follows: Yi-Han, Gainando, Yonaire, and Asan.
"What will you do once we're out, Gainando?"
"First, I'll buy a new card set..."
"...Not cards!"
"Enough with the card games!"
His friends exclaimed, fed up with Gainando's obsession. Gainando was known as the top card player in the Blue Dragon. Not for his skills, but because once he started playing, he wouldn't stop until he won.
"But there's a new card set this month..."
"I need to buy some books."
"I want snacks."
"Is alcohol an option?"
"Alcohol will get us caught at the gate."
Watching his friends' light-hearted conversation, Yi-Han felt a pang of regret.
Such a carefree attitude.
With that mindset, they were bound to get hurt during the outing.
"I'll head to a cafe first..."
"You're wrong, Gainando."
"Huh?"
"Don't be so sure we can even get past the main gate."
"Uh... What?"
"Be prepared. Think of it as taking an early midterm. Go to bed early, don't play around. We'll gather with students from the other towers and head to the main gate before dawn."
Yi-Han advised seriously and walked away. He planned to go to bed early. Tomorrow, a fierce battle awaited them at dawn.
As Yi-Han headed to his room, Gainando tilted his head in confusion.
"Why is Yi-Han acting like this?"
"Wardanaz isn't one to speak without reason. Shouldn't you be getting some sleep?"
"No, it's fine. It's fine. Anyone up for a round of cards?"
"Please, let's do something else..."
"Aaagh! Aaaaaah!"
Gainando screamed, ducking his head. Yi-Han quickly pulled him back.
"Step back! Shield, form!"
Yi-Han summoned a massive water shield.
A sticky green liquid, flung from a distance, splashed against the water shield.
"What is that?!"
"Sleep inducer! Don't touch the liquid! It'll force you into sleep!"
The other tower students had harbored doubts when Yi-Han had warned them seriously.
Would the principal really do something like that?
He's still the principal, is he capable of this?
Is Wardanaz trying to deceive us?
But any such doubts vanished as soon as they started towards the main gate at dawn. Bizarre plant-like monsters appeared, shooting green liquid blobs.
"Those who can, create shields! Yonaire, the thing you prepared!"
"Here!"
Yonaire pulled out a potion bottle and passed it around.
"Throw it!"
The White Tiger students crouched and did as told. The sound of shattering glass followed by rising flames enveloped the area.
With a whoosh, the flames engulfed their target.
"Wardanaz...!"
The students from the White Tiger were genuinely astonished as the Sleep Catcher, affected by the flame potion, ceased its attack and flailed helplessly. They were amazed not only by the prediction of a trap but also by the accuracy in anticipating its exact nature.
One student from the Black Tortoise asked in disbelief, "Wardanaz, how did you know that monster would appear?"
"I've faced it myself before."
The students were stunned into silence.
What!? Could this be a scheme of the Wardanaz family?
'How outrageous!'
Of course, the Wardanaz family had not orchestrated this. Yi-Han's familiarity with the lurking monsters came from his experience hunting down escapees with the warehouse keeper.
He had thoroughly studied these monsters, knowing he would have to face them again. And he knew how to counter them. He had spent the entire Friday preparing to confront these monsters.
"The monster is down!"
"Wait! Don't approach rashly."
"Go and make sure it's really finished..."
A hasty student from the White Tiger was about to rush forward when Yi-Han struck his back with a staff.
Thwack!
"I said to wait!"
"Sorry, sorry."
Sure enough, the Sleep Catcher suddenly rose again, feigning death.
"Throw another!"
Another round flask flew through the air.
The Sleep Catcher, a pesky creature, would shoot sleep-inducing green liquid from afar and engulf its prey up close. But knowing this, it wasn't hard to counter. Sturdy defenses and targeting its weak points from behind were the key.
Thump!
"It's down."
"Good. Let's move."
Yi-Han urged the students, who had until recently been wary of him, suspecting that 'Wardanaz might target us' or 'Wardanaz might steal our outing permits'. Their attitudes had now changed.
First, they had to overcome the skull principal's trap!
"Moradi, maybe Wardanaz was really trying to help us this time..."
"Don't be foolish."
Before Jijel could respond, a student from the Black Tortoise, one of the Salko gang, interrupted.
"Wardanaz is just training you like a pet. You're already dancing on his palm."
"What... what?"
"Soon, you'll find yourself blindly following Wardanaz's orders. For those of you who don’t have a strong leader like Tutanta..."
"Hey, buzz off."
"Those guys are really annoying."
The White Tiger students, annoyed, pushed away the Black Tortoise students. Their animosity wasn't limited to the Blue Dragon; they disliked the Black Tortoise just as much.
"Moradi, don't mind what they say."
"I'm not. But what about Anglago Alpha?"
"Huh?"
Anglago flinched at Jijel's call.
"Do you have an outing permit? I don't recall hearing about it."
"Ah... well, it's..."
The satyr student hesitated, then confessed.
"It's a fake."
"A fake?"
"Yes, a fake."
Anglago revealed the story behind the fake outing permit. Wardanaz had made it for him, and they had talked about it when they met by chance the day before.
-"That outing permit. It’s better to use it when many students are going out, right? That way, you’re less likely to get caught."-
-"Indeed! Wardanaz, I must admit, you’re quite shrewd."-
-"Of course. I'm saying this all for your benefit."-
Jijel looked at Anglago with a gaze that could only be described as contempt, as if beholding the world's most foolish person.
To think he would come out with a fake outing permit given by Wardanaz?
"Are you aware of the danger?" Jijel prodded.
"I know, Moradi. But if I miss this chance, I might not be able to leave until the end of the semester...!"
Jijel inwardly clicked her tongue in frustration. It seemed unlikely that any warnings would be heeded. She nodded her head in resignation.
"Do as you wish."
"Uh, okay! Thanks!"
While they were conversing, Yi-Han called Anglago over.
"Anglago, come here. I'll cast an enhancement spell on you."
"Doesn't Wardanaz seem unusually kind to Anglago?"
"Yeah. Maybe it's because they fought together on the island last time?"
"..."
Yi-Han summoned fire and light to create a path.
Then, he instructed Sharakan to lure out the lurking shadow monsters.
The shadow monsters fiercely raced along the path made of fire and light. Immediately, Yi-Han sealed off the entrance to the path.
-!
"Caught them. Let's go."
The confrontation ended swiftly, without any fight or commotion.
Gainando voiced what the others were only thinking.
"But it seems like Yi-Han could have come alone..."
"Shh. Be quiet."
