Yi-Han had a compelling reason for not disclosing to Professor Boladi that he was entering the underground dungeon.
He simply couldn't predict how the professor would react. Among all the faculty, Professor Boladi was notoriously difficult to anticipate, necessitating extra caution.
"Picnic? We're here to conquer the underground dungeon, aren't we?" a clueless student from the White Tiger inquired, failing to grasp the situation.
Yi-Han clenched his teeth and muttered under his breath, "Keep quiet..."
"What? I can't hear you. Wardanaz. Why are we talking about a picnic and going back?"
Yi-Han regretted not having quickly knocked out his companion.
By then, Professor Boladi had ascended the stairs and stood before the students. The student from the White Tiger, realizing the professor's arrival, quickly composed himself.
"Good day, Professor."
"What's going on?"
Yi-Han swiftly interjected, "We were just talking about going underground for a picnic..."
"We've gathered here to tackle the underground dungeon, led by Wardanaz," another student blurted out.
'Should I kill him?' Yi-Han suddenly had this thought.
Professor Boladi looked around the corridor expressionlessly after hearing the White Tiger student.
The student, ready to descend into the dungeon, caught the eye of the vampire professor. Yi-Han noticed a faint smile on Professor Boladi's lips, which immediately replaced his anger toward the White Tiger student with an icy fear.
"Well done."
"It's really nothing, Professor."
Yi-Han spoke cautiously, trying to decipher Professor Boladi's thoughts. "Consistent training is essential for improving skills, but few mages actually practice it. Keep it up."
"We're going for materials needed for our midterms, Professor."
"There are other dungeons."
"...but they seemed too time-consuming to search..."
"Indeed," Professor Boladi nodded in agreement.
A proficient mage achieves multiple objectives even in a single endeavor. While weak and lazy mages choose easier locations, promising battle mages deliberately seek out challenging areas to hone their skills. Wardanaz was such a mage.
"I've just finished managing the dungeon."
The natural dungeons located in remote areas went unnoticed, whether monsters emerged or anomalies occurred. However, dungeons within the magic academy were not overlooked. If monsters from within caused havoc, the professors' workshops would be the first to suffer. People like Professor Boladi regularly checked these dungeons, assessing the flow of mana, the number of monsters, and signs of any potential breakout.
But to Yi-Han, Professor Boladi's words seemed to carry a different meaning.
'Wasn't there such chaos last time because you prepared something special for me?'
An eerie sense of foreboding passed through Yi-Han, but his friends, oblivious to his thoughts, expressed their gratitude.
"Thank you, Professor. We'll be back soon!"
"He's much kinder than the rumors suggest."
"Guess you can't always trust rumors."
"Ignite."
A flame the size of two finger widths appeared in mid-air.
The advantage of fire elements lay in their ability to wield substantial destructive power, even with low-circle, simple spells.
The Immortal Phoenix priest's summoned flames struck the Hungry Ghost, significantly slowing it down.
"Ignite!"
"Burn!"
Even the simplest 1st-circle spell, <Fire Ignition>, became much more potent when several students combined their efforts. The Hungry Ghost quickly burned and fell.
"Well done," Yi-Han praised, and the priests nodded slightly in response.
The students from the White Tiger, following behind, snickered. "All that magic for just one creature, and they call it impressive?"
"It's such a waste. Combat should be with swords," they confidently prepared to cast reinforcement spells on their wooden swords.
Yi-Han, still harboring resentment from their earlier insolence in front of Professor Boladi, responded coldly. "Draw your swords. Let's see if you can block my magic."
"Whoa, Wardanaz, why so serious..."
"Maybe we were a bit disrespectful to the priests?"
The White Tiger students were alarmed by Yi-Han's expression. They hadn't expected such a stern reaction from Wardanaz for a few taunting words.
'Oh no. What have I done?' Yi-Han quickly regained his composure. He needed to cooperate with the students, but he had started off on the wrong foot.
"I apologize. I spoke too harshly."
"No, it's our fault. We were too harsh to the priests," they replied.
Asan beamed proudly. Standing up for others' honor was a true mark of nobility, and he was proud to have such a person as his friend.
"I'm proud of you, Wardanaz."
"??" Yi-Han looked at Asan as if he were an oddity.
"Wait. Not that way, this way," he redirected the group.
"There's a Hungry Ghost. The White Tiger should handle it."
"Be careful around that wall. Hungry Ghosts hide well there."
"Watch the ground. The mud is deep."
Refocusing, Yi-Han issued continuous instructions. Initially, the students followed without much thought but soon began to sense something odd.
'...Huh?'
'How does he know so well?'
It wasn't strange for Wardanaz, who had found the dungeon, to know its entrance well. But as they ventured deeper, it was clear he knew the dungeon thoroughly, as if he had been here multiple times.
"Wardanaz knows this dungeon too well."
"The professor earlier was the professor of <Repetitive Training of Basic Magic Combat>, right? Was that class held here?"
"Don't make absurd jokes. Who would hold such a crazy class in a dungeon like this?"
Nillia closed her eyes as she listened to the White Tiger students chatter. Normally, Wardanaz wouldn't garner sympathy, but this time, she genuinely felt sorry for him. How did he end up in such a class...
The narrow passage ended, opening up into a wide plaza where all the students could gather.
Yi-Han spoke seriously, "Be extra careful from here on."
"Wardanaz, you can stop worrying now."
The White Tiger students, having successfully dealt with the Hungry Ghosts on their way down, were quite confident. Not just them, but students from other towers also appeared more relaxed compared to their initial tension.
"It's Colossal Hungry Ghost from here."
"..."
"..."
"Don't lie."
"I'm not lying. Colossal Hungry Ghosts will appear from here, so we'll move avoiding their territory."
Yi-Han had inadvertently learned the structure of Professor Boladi's underground dungeon, which was as follows:
Initially, there were narrow passages connected to the entrance, leading underground. In these passages, Hungry Ghosts lurked, suddenly emerging to startle the mages.
As they descended, they encountered expansive plaza-like terrains. In these vast areas, Hungry Ghosts were almost nonexistent, unless some madman had deliberately gathered monsters there.
Further down lay the territory of the Colossal Hungry Ghosts. The terrain expanded to accommodate the size of the Colossal Hungry Ghosts, but it also became more complex. It resembled a vast rocky valley with natural caves scattered throughout. If it weren't an underground dungeon, Yi-Han would have thought so.
"There are caves scattered along our descent. Some of these caves house Colossal Hungry Ghosts. These monsters, known for their gluttony, usually sleep inside their caves until they detect prey. So, if we avoid the caves with Colossal Hungry Ghosts, we won’t have to confront them."
"How can we tell which caves they're in?"
"I'll signal you."
"How can we trust your signal, Wardanaz? How do you know?"
"If you don’t believe me, go and see for yourself."
The student backed down, tail between his legs, after Yi-Han's stern response.
A student from the Black Tortoise muttered, puzzled, "Wardanaz seems unusually sharp."
"It's a dangerous place. He's just being responsible," another student reasoned.
None of the students could imagine that Yi-Han had risked his life, rolling through these underground dungeon gullies himself.
After descending further, the students, having avoided the caves as much as possible, were delighted to find a cluster of plants.
Priestess Siana's eyes lit up as she whispered, "It's Bone blossom!"
"We've found it."
Students from each tower, two or three at a time, began to carefully harvest the flowers. The rest stood guard around the area. They had avoided caves housing Colossal Hungry Ghosts, but there was always a chance of encountering one.
"Wait. Is that a light over there?"
A student from the White Tiger pointed towards a rock on the slope below, indicating a faint, bluish light.
"Is that light from an artifact?" Dolgyu asked cautiously.
"It’s better not to move rashly."
"Wardanaz said that cave doesn’t have a Colossal Hungry Ghost. It should be safe."
"But still, what if..."
Before Dolgyu could finish, a White Tiger student, holding a torch, cautiously descended the steep slope and checked behind the rock. Indeed, there was a helmet emitting a bluish light.
"It's an artifact! Dolgyu, look at this!"
"Okay, get back here quickly!"
"Right, coming!"
The student turned to climb back up the slope.
-■■■...
Before the student could react, a Colossal Hungry Ghost appeared from behind the rock, growling and glaring.
"…!"
The sudden appearance of the monster caused the student to stiffen. A slip of the hand, a shift in weight, and the rocks on the slope gave way.
Suddenly, the path was gone, and the student found himself trapped below with the Colossal Hungry Ghost.
Dolgyu, in shock, called out for Yi-Han.
"Yi-Han!"
"!"
Yi-Han responded immediately, sensing the urgency in Dolgyu’s voice.
"What’s..."
He didn't need to ask to understand the situation.
Below on the steep slope, a student from the White Tiger faced a Colossal Hungry Ghost.
'Wait. There wasn't supposed to be one in that cave.'
Yi-Han was perplexed.
Certainly, the White Tiger student had been careless in descending, but how could a Colossal Hungry Ghost appear when there were none around?
Suddenly, the image of Professor Boladi flashed through Yi-Han's mind.
'I've just finished managing the dungeon.'
"..."
Could it be that Professor Boladi had placed the roaming Colossal Hungry Ghost there, intending to provide a suitable challenge for Yi-Han upon his next entry?
"Hang in there! I'm coming to help!"
Realizing his mistake, Yi-Han spoke firmly, intending to cover it up.
If he did nothing, it might lead to questions like, 'Why did a Colossal Hungry Ghost appear when Yi-Han said there wouldn’t be any?' potentially placing the blame on him.
The student from the White Tiger below was even more startled.
He had thought that Wardanaz would leave him to his fate, considering it 'self-inflicted.'
Dolgyu shouted as if he had expected this.
"Just hang on! Yi-Han will help you!"
"What's going on?"
"A guy from the White Tiger fell down there!"
"Why?"
"I don't know! Maybe he was trying to pick something up!"
"Such an idiot!"
Yi-Han stopped his friends' criticism.
"Anyone can make a mistake. Let it be."
"Wardanaz...!"
