Students from the White Tiger and the Black Tortoise shared one commonality: despite their feelings towards Yi-Han, whether dislike or wariness, they all acknowledged his exceptional magic abilities.
Jijel pondered to herself, "If Wardanaz speaks so highly of him, he must truly be a remarkable mage."
“It’s an honor to meet you,” the students from the White Tiger greeted, displaying knightly courtesy. However, Baldoorn, feeling uncomfortable as if sitting on pins and needles, was not uplifted by such greetings; it only made him feel more suffocated.
‘They are knights, aren't they?’ he thought, feeling even more burdened by the polite greetings of the freshmen who seemed to hail from knightly families. He wondered if they might turn on him with their swords upon learning the truth.
“Shall we go together?” proposed Yi-Han. The other tower students hesitated. The Black Tortoise students eventually nodded, but the White Tiger students couldn’t, for they had no money.
“Ah, no money,” Yi-Han noted, understandingly. As the White Tiger students bristled, he added, “I’ll lend you some.”
“What?”
“I’ll lend it to you. Of course, with a small interest…”
“Wardanaz…”
Anglago looked at Yi-Han with disbelief. Considering Bandur’s earlier boastful display with a few silver coins, this was a surprisingly generous offer.
Why, though?
Yi-Han felt immensely uncomfortable under Anglago’s shining gaze.
“Did I say I’d give it for free? I’m lending it with interest, right?”
“I heard you, Wardanaz. Thank you.”
‘Is this guy crazy?’ Yi-Han thought, puzzled by Anglago’s reaction, as he couldn’t know what had transpired between the White Tiger and Black Tortoise students before their arrival.
Why be moved by a loan with interest?
“That’s good, I’m glad,” Yi-Han awkwardly responded as Anglago extended a hand for a handshake. Yi-Han stepped back, creating distance, and Anglago lowered his hand, looking embarrassed.
“Wardanaz… seeing you makes me feel ashamed of my earlier boast with a few silver coins.”
‘What’s with this guy now?’ thought Yi-Han, baffled by the Black Tortoise student who approached him with a self-assured expression.
What had happened before his arrival?
“I never understood what the great noble families meant by honor, but now I see it firsthand.”
“What conversation did you have before coming?”
“I didn’t believe in such things until I saw them with my own eyes.”
“Before coming, what conversation did you have...”
“There’s no denying it…”
“Will you tell me straight, or should I guess?”
“Why, why are you doing this, Wardanaz?”
Later, Yi-Han regretted not charging more interest after understanding the full situation.
With such circumstances, the White Tiger students would have accepted even a higher interest rate.
“Here we are.”
The shop with the sign <Glowing Ghoul's Tangled Treasure Trove> looked quite suspicious and dim, the kind of place students wouldn’t normally enter without good reason.
But the gathered students didn’t hesitate.
“Baldoorn must have chosen it for a reason.”
“If Wardanaz, who is said to be a great mage, introduced it, it must be trustworthy.”
“Of course, it’s reliable.”
“Let’s go in!”
‘…I just come here because it’s cheap…’
The owner of <Glowing Ghoul's Tangled Treasure Trove> had never seen so many freshmen from the magic academy venture out all at once.
Initially, it was unthinkable for students of the magic academy to visit <Glowing Ghoul's Tangled Treasure Trove>. "Why here?" was the question on everyone's mind. In the Empire, items and artifacts imbued with semi-permanent magic were exceedingly expensive. Consequently, people didn't just buy artifacts from any place; they sought them from the workshops of renowned mages for verification.
However, not everyone sought only safe and certified artifacts. Damaged or partially broken artifacts, those taken out during experiments or research, or those that failed to achieve their intended purpose were also in demand. The reason was simple: they were cheap!
There were many who needed artifacts but lacked funds. They were the usual clientele of <Glowing Ghoul's Tangled Treasure Trove>, a shop specializing in buying and selling used, damaged, and incomplete artifacts.
‘Why would students from a magic academy visit here?’ wondered the shop owner. The arrival of adventurers was usual, but not students.
“Wow, what variety!”
“What kind of cloak is this? Seems enchanted.”
“It's no ordinary place if Baldoorn frequents it.”
Baldoorn’s face flushed red with embarrassment.
“Everyone, please... lower your voices…”
While the students chatted, Yi-Han strode through the shop and approached the counter. The shopkeeper tensed upon seeing a boy, obviously from a noble family, approaching.
‘He’s not going to cause trouble, is he?’
Adventurers knew what kind of shop this was and usually didn’t cause issues. But the students from the magic academy were different. Coming from prominent families, they might be naive about the ways of the world, and being students from Einroguard, they could turn the place upside down if they wished. The shopkeeper was extremely nervous.
“Please don’t cause trouble…”
“Hello.”
“Hel... lo.”
Yi-Han bowed and spoke softly, which eased the shopkeeper’s stance.
“By chance...”
“?”
“I see you buy incomplete artifacts. How much would you offer for this?”
The shopkeeper, caught off-guard, looked up at Yi-Han’s face, wondering, ‘Is he really from a noble family?’
Yi-Han sold items like a cloak of protection (which he chose to forgo since it only worked half the time, preferring to use magic) and lower-grade boots of stealth, converting them into cash. He couldn't help but admire Baldoorn for knowing such a place that valued items fairly.
‘Truly an exceptional mage.’
With his purse now heavier, Yi-Han’s spirits lifted. Like the other students already browsing, he too began searching for useful artifacts.
“You seem to know a lot, may I ask you a few questions?”
“...Yes, you may.”
Baldoorn was inwardly shocked. The owner of <Glowing Ghoul's Tangled Treasure Trove> was known for being gruff and irritable. When Baldoorn asked questions, the shopkeeper would often retort, 'If you're going to keep asking, go somewhere else.' However, he answered all of Yi-Han’s questions diligently.
‘Is he playing favorites?’
Of course, Baldoorn couldn’t entirely blame him. He would have responded to Yi-Han's inquiries too. Yi-Han exuded a different aura from the other students and had brought in quite valuable artifacts.
"Is there no way to avoid or foresee the movements of the skull princ... no, the Great Mage's eyes?"
"There can't possibly be such an artifact here."
"Well then, what about an artifact to detect intruders in advance? Or one to subdue them..."
The shopkeeper began to wonder if Yi-Han was a student from a noble family or a streetwise gangster from the lower echelons of the city.
Was he planning to rob a mansion?
"What magic is enchanted on this pocket watch?" Yi-Han asked, intrigued by a silver pocket watch with a slight crack in the glass.
He felt no magic emanating from it.
Could it be a spell beyond his detection?
"There's no magic on it. It's just a pocket watch."
"Ahh."
Yi-Han felt a bit embarrassed.
Even a mere pocket watch was a valuable item, as telling accurate time was akin to an artifact itself.
Baldoorn cautiously suggested, "It seems you've acquired some silver coins from selling artifacts earlier... Why not buy it? Such well-conditioned pocket watches are hard to find once missed."
"Indeed. If Mr. Baldoorn says so..."
"No, no, I didn't mean it that deeply!"
Baldoorn hastily corrected himself, but Yi-Han had already interpreted it in his favor.
'Certainly... I will have many occasions to measure time accurately.'
As his alchemy and magic skills advanced, so would the difficulty of learning.
Since the magic academy wouldn't provide a pocket watch, it seemed prudent to prepare one in advance.
"Thank you. Your advice, Mr. Baldoorn, has been helpful."
"Now that I think about it, it might not be that necessary..."
Despite Baldoorn's regretful tone, Yi-Han bought the pocket watch.
The shopkeeper was puzzled by his reaction.
'Why is he taking Baldoorn's words so seriously?'
The students of the magic academy were supposed to be more skilled than Baldoorn, right?
Yi-Han, pocketing the watch, continued browsing. His attention was drawn to a blunt dagger hanging on the wall, emitting a strange aura.
"Don't go near that!"
"Why is that?"
"It's a cursed item that absorbs mana. Touching it could drain your magic, leaving you collapsed or crippled..."
"Aha."
Ignoring the warning, Yi-Han reached for the dagger, causing the shopkeeper to gasp in horror.
Such reckless behavior was too much, even for a student of the magic academy.
'What in the world?!'
But what happened next was even more astonishing.
Despite being a dagger that had knocked out several adventurers and caused them to bleed, the student of the magic academy remained unscathed.
"It's alright. You don't need to worry."
'Incredible!'
The shopkeeper was shocked again.
He had heard that Einroguard was the best magic academy in the empire, but seeing this was truly startling.
Even for a freshman, this was extraordinary.
"Really, such an academy must be filled with monsters."
"How much for this?"
"Cursed items, always one silver coin. Otherwise, no one would buy them."
"No. Are there more cursed items?"
Baldoorn, observing, suddenly sensed something odd.
'Shouldn't he first ask about the effects? Isn't he just buying because it's cheap?'
"I've received a lot of help."
"It's all thanks to you, Mr. Baldoorn."
All the freshmen from the Four Towers gathered around Baldoorn, expressing their gratitude.
Baldoorn, trying to hide his weariness, nodded rapidly.
"It's nothing, everyone. I really enjoyed meeting you all. Just don't go around saying you learned anything from me..."
"Yes."
"Of course!"
"We'll definitely visit you on our next outing..."
Without looking back, Baldoorn hurriedly fled.
The students admired the cool departure of the unattached wizard.
That's what a real wizard looks like!
"Yi-Han. What did you buy?"
"A watch and a dagger. The other cursed items had rather lackluster curses."
"...Aren't curses supposed to be lackluster??"
While Gainando was confused, Yi-Han prepared to head to the Amur stables.
Yonaire, worriedly, asked.
"Is it really okay to tell the truth?"
"It's fine. He's a reasonable person."
"Really?"
Yonaire followed, still puzzled.
Even if he was reasonable, wouldn't he be surprised to hear about the griffin…
"Welcome! Did you find a mount?"
"Yes!"
"Well done! What kind did you get?"
"A griffin."
"..."
Thud!
Amur literally fell backward. Yi-Han, startled, exclaimed.
"Are you alright?!"
