Yi-Han pondered how to convey that this week was the mid-term exam period and that he wasn't only attending Professor Boladi’s class.
"Is it alright to go to the dungeon during the mid-term exam week?"
"Yes."
"..."
Yi-Han gave up.
'As if that would ever happen.'
Even if the magic academy were to be destroyed tomorrow, Professor Boladi would undoubtedly conduct his class.
Would such a person provide convenience during the mid-term exams?
"Yes. Let's go!"
"Don't be overly joyful. It could lead to mistakes."
"..."
Should I kill him?
Previously, Professor Boladi had failed to control the dungeon properly, leading to a situation where Colossal Hungry Ghost appeared in an area where it shouldn't have.
And Yi-Han had defeated it.
At this point, even for the imperial court, it was difficult to determine whether the fault lay with the teacher or the student.
Of course, Yi-Han had a firm opinion.
'Professor Boladi is insane.'
"Aren't we going to the Colossal Hungry Ghost area?"
When Professor Boladi stopped, Yi-Han was puzzled.
They should have gone further down to reach where the Colossal Hungry Ghost appeared...
At Yi-Han's question, Professor Boladi smiled faintly.
Yi-Han felt a chill.
"As I said, don't be overly joyful. Emotional fluctuations can lead to magic errors."
"..."
Yi-Han sighed at the thought of Professor Boladi interpreting his question as excitement to see the Colossal Hungry Ghost.
"I understand. You must be eager to practice as soon as possible."
"No, I'm not."
"No need to be modest."
"..."
"We stopped here because of an illusion spell."
"An illusion spell?"
Yi-Han was puzzled.
Of course, Professor Boladi was the kind of person who would use any magic necessary for magic combat, without specializing in any particular field.
But with Professor Kirmin Ku around, why bother?
"I had planned to teach you how to counter illusion magic later."
Professor Boladi had judged that a freshman like Yi-Han would rarely encounter illusion magic.
It was thought that other practical training in magic combat should come first.
'Isn't that right?'
Yi-Han agreed.
"It doesn't seem incorrect."
"It is wrong."
"What?"
"You've faced Ogonin."
"No..."
"Considering the future, you'll need to know how to counter illusion magic."
'You should study logic and statistics.'
Yi-Han thought to himself.
Facing Ogonin was more of an accident than Yi-Han having an ambition like 'I must hunt down and defeat the empire's illusion mages'.
Regardless, Professor Boladi raised his staff. Yi-Han tensed.
Fortunately, Professor Boladi did not attack him. He waved his staff, summoning an illusion.
Doppelgangers identical to Professor Boladi appeared.
'Twice as terrifying.'
"Illusion magic can be broadly classified into magic that directly affects the target and magic that affects the external environment."
Direct target illusion magic was so complex it could be categorized as mental magic.
Properly cast mental magic could control a person like a puppet...
In contrast, external illusion magic was relatively easier.
Since it didn't require direct attack on the mind, simply summoning an illusion was sufficient.
However, that didn't mean it was useless. Depending on the situation and location, the latter could be more useful.
'So that's why the mage Ogonin failed?'
Yi-Han thought that if Ogonin heard this, he'd clutch the back of his neck and collapse.
The numerous attempts had proved futile, leaving a strong impression.
"You have a high resistance to the former due to your constitution."
The mana possessed by a mage itself created resistance against external magic.
Of course, this resistance wasn't particularly outstanding. If merely having mana meant resisting magic, then half of the mages in the empire would be out of work.
But if the amount of mana was unimaginably high, the story changed.
Then, the resistance created couldn't be ignored.
'Not bad at all.'
The benefits were more pleasing considering the trouble caused by having so much mana.
"To what extent can I defend?"
"That's uncertain. Countering magic due to mana is very rare and many other variables also play a part. You'll have to find out yourself."
"Understood."
'I hope the mage Ogonin is reasonably skilled.'
Yi-Han thought to himself.
If Ogonin's skills were decent, it meant he could potentially defend against a significant number of mental magics.
Although the likelihood seemed low...
"However, the illusions cast outside are different."
Professor Boladi's doppelgangers spoke in unison, their voices echoing.
"Your great mana has less effect here, so you need to learn how to discern them. How will you differentiate?"
Yi-Han immediately created a water bead and threw it at one of the doppelgangers. The doppelgänger, resembling Professor Boladi, ducked to avoid it.
'What a pity.'
He had wanted to hit the illusion...
"Not bad. Illusions are vulnerable to external attacks. But in combat, you can't check each one like this. You need to learn to identify them by feeling."
"By feeling?"
"Yes. No matter how sophisticated, an illusion will always have something different from reality."
Keen observation was essential for countering illusion magic.
'A kind of spot-the-difference game.'
"Try to find it."
Professor Boladi's doppelgangers spread out to each side. Yi-Han resisted the urge to throw more water beads and focused.
"The doppelganger on the far left is fake."
"You're right."
One doppelganger disappeared.
"The color of the shoes was different. You noticed well."
"...Yes."
In reality, he had guessed it was fake because the expression seemed too soft for Professor Boladi...
"The doppelganger on the far right is also fake."
"Did you notice by the color of the staff?"
"Yes, of course."
"Well done."
In truth, he had guessed it was fake because the eyes seemed too kind for Professor Boladi, but he was right nonetheless.
'Maybe this is what it means to identify by feeling.'
After all, a feeling was still a feeling.
"Now we go to face the Colossal Hungry Ghost. Be mindful of illusions."
Professor Boladi began to summon the illusions of Colossal Hungry Ghost.
It was already tough to face the Colossal Hungry Ghost, and adding illusions only increased the difficulty.
Yi-Han marveled.
'So this was why he explained how to counter illusion magic.'
He really wanted to hit him.
After spending the morning in the dungeon with the Colossal Hungry Ghost and returning to the rest area, Yi-Han was greeted by the sprawled students of the Blue Dragon Tower.
"That's why you should drink moderately."
Yi-Han said coolly.
It was one thing for the academy to provide little food, but to eat as much as given on the eve of an exam.
It was no surprise that they were all knocked out with hangovers.
Almost all the students of the Blue Dragon Tower had drunk.
Starting from Gainando, who was clutching his head in agony, to Yonaire, who sat pale-faced, only drinking water, and even the princess, who couldn't hold her head up properly, presumably having drunk as well.
"Ugh..."
"Is everything alright?"
"I did suspect something was amiss..."
Yonaire rose to her feet, her face ashen.
A skilled alchemist often had a fondness for liquor.
The temptation was too strong to refuse the overflowing wine at the banquet.
"Wait for me, everyone. I'll brew something up."
"Thanks, Wardanaz..."
"You're the only one..."
'Is a hangover cure really something to be this grateful for?'
Thinking this, Yi-Han lit a fire under the pot.
He peeled and boiled the potatoes he had dug up from the garden.
Then, after mashing them, he mixed in milk and cheese, and as he added it to the pot, it began to simmer gently.
He had brought in fresh supplies over the weekend, but there was no need to waste them. A potato soup would suffice.
'I suppose adding some mushrooms wouldn't hurt.'
Yi-Han stirred the soup vigorously with a ladle, then scooped out hearty servings for his friends.
"Will you all be alright for the alchemy lecture in an hour?"
"Water... of course. There's a 90% chance I'll make it. Wardanaz."
"Me too... definitely..."
'These guys are pushing it.'
Judging by their state, he worried if they could even attend other lectures properly.
How much alcohol had the skull principal distributed...
"Don't worry too much about the alchemy midterm. It's due by Friday. I'll attend and let you know."
"No, Wardanaz. Together... ugh."
"The world is... spinning..."
"...You all better just stay put."
"??"
Arriving at the alchemy class, Yi-Han couldn't help but look around in surprise.
The number of students was...
Wasn't it too few?
"It's not that surprising."
Professor Uregor spoke calmly.
It seemed he wasn't at all surprised that only a few of the many students had shown up for the class.
"Does this happen every year?"
"You guessed right."
"..."
Yi-Han was speechless.
Considering the personality of the skull principal, it wasn't strange that this happened before every midterm...
But it was still ridiculous that the freshmen fell for it every time.
"Now, those of you who are here, pass the word to those who aren't. Of course, you don't have to."
Professor Uregor tapped the chalkboard, which detailed the midterm assignment.
<Vitality Bone Regeneration Potion>
Required: Wild cherry tree branch, Dendrobium leaf, Thistle flower, Bone blossom...
Method: First, stir the water with the wild cherry tree branch in a clockwise direction...
'What? He's telling us everything?'
Yi-Han was surprised.
He had expected the professor to be more demanding, like telling them to figure out the method themselves, or find out which ingredients were needed on their own.
But here he was, explaining everything in detail.
'There's a wild cherry tree over there, I know where to find Dendrobium, and the thistle too... Huh?'
While noting down the ingredients, Yi-Han suddenly felt something odd and paused.
Nillia, who was beside him, seemed to feel the same and raised her hand.
"Professor?"
"What is it?"
"I've heard that Bone blossom grows deep underground in dungeons."
"And?"
"Well... Isn't it hard to get it within the academy grounds?"
"What nonsense are you talking about?"
Professor Uregor said with a satisfied smile.
"There are plenty of dungeons in this academy. Just find one and head down."
"Ah..."
Yi-Han could feel the emotion in Nillia's exasperated 'Ah.'
It must be something like 'Ah, this is too much.'
"So, we just need to go down to a dungeon and bring it back?"
"You don't necessarily have to go all the way down to a dungeon. If you find another way to get it, that's also fine."
'Is this why the seniors raid the professors' workshops?'
Yi-Han seemed to understand why the seniors whose faces he did not know resorted to thievery.
With classes like these, how could they not?
Nillia grumbled in disbelief.
"How are we supposed to enter a dungeon now? Even if the deadline is Friday, it's absurd. We have other classes and exams too."
"Exactly."
Yi-Han deeply empathized.
There were midterms in other lectures, and now they had to deal with a dungeon of all things.
"Finding the dungeon is another problem. Do dungeons just appear when you look for them? I don't even know where is the location of any here. Wardanaz, do you know of any dungeons?"
Nillia asked, not really expecting Yi-Han to know.
After all, Yi-Han was a freshman. How could he possibly know about a dungeon located underground?
It was more of a rhetorical question, a venting of frustration.
"There is one, actually."
"...?!?!"
Nillia looked at Yi-Han in disbelief.
How on earth?
