The students of the White Tigers were pettier than expected. Yi-han was about to return to his dorm after class ended, but he was unexpectedly blocked by three people from his class.
“Wardanaz, did you think we’d let you go in peace after winning in such a cowardly fashion?”
“We’ll make sure you crawl back and never return to this class.”
Yi-han stared blankly at the orc and dwarf whom he had never met before. Still trying to understand what was happening, he tossed out a question.
“You do realize I’m from the Wardanaz Family?”
“Bringing up your background… How despicable!”
“And you think fighting someone 3 to 1 isn’t?”
“Shut up!”
Though they were pretending to be tough, fear flashed past their eyes. They had apparently heard of the Wardanaz Family’s reputation as well.
‘Knowing that, they still want to fight me 3 against 1 just for the sake of their dorm’s pride? There’s either something very wrong with their heads…or there’s someone behind them.’
In other words, they were either descendants of powerful families themselves, or someone from a powerful family was backing them.
‘And it doesn’t seem like the former. In which case, these three are seriously dumb.’
It was very unlikely for the family backing them to offend the Wardanaz Family over something so insignificant. Hence, these three would probably be cast aside once they were no longer useful. This was why it was never advised to interfere with matters between powerful households…
‘But I doubt they’d listen even if I were to explain to them.’
Even if he tried to explain everything in a logical way, people like them that picked fights without thinking about the consequences would never listen. After all, their fists were right there whereas their families were in distant locations.
“Who’s behind you guys? Someone who’s from a family more powerful than yours?”
“!!!”
“!!!!”
The three students were so surprised that they almost fainted on the spot.
How did Wardanaz know the power dynamic within the White Tigers?
“I-I told you to shut up!”
“Attack!”
“Surround him!”
Realizing that they would only be put in a worse position by continuing the conversation, the three students slowly began inching toward Yi-han.
‘I can’t win if it’s 3 against 1.’
Yi-han was thinking rapidly in his head, remembering what Arlong told him.
– Fight if it’s a 1 on 1. Fight if you must in a 2-on-1. Flee in a 3-on-1.
‘If you’re outnumbered 3 to 1, just bounce!’
Yi-han was in agreement with this rule of thumb. All three of his opponents had been trained in the way of the sword by their families, so he would be at a disadvantage if they fought.
The problem was, they were blocking his path, and to escape, he had to get past them somehow.
‘Right!’
An idea flashed in his mind. Since they knew he was from the Wardanaz Family that specialized in magic…
“Move!”
His opponents jolted when they heard him chant.
Magic! They were still struggling with , the simplest of magic, and yet…!
‘I’ll scare them with .’
Yi-han’s wasn’t perfect as he couldn’t properly move the objects as he intended to, but that didn’t matter as long as his opponents didn’t know this.
Since they were still complete beginners in magic, his display of the spell was enough to intimidate the three students.
Bang!
“…”
Yi-han’s eyes were about to pop out.
He only intended to levitate some pebbles nearby, using them to keep his enemies at bay.
However, he had overestimated his command over the magic.
Having them stop midair was more difficult than he expected, and the pebbles shot forward the moment he cast the spell, striking a student belonging to the satyr race in the forehead.
“Wardanaz! How dare you!!”
The two students were astonished by the battle magic that they had never seen before.
A spell that shoots forth rocks like arrows!
To think Wardanaz would be capable of such spells already…
“…You can come as well if you wish to die,” Yi-han said coldly.
Now that things had turned out this way, he decided to pretend as if the attack had been intentional.
“Ugh…”
“You better move away. You may have your swords, but I have my magic.”
The two remaining students were having an internal struggle, deciding between their pride and fear.
That was when Yi-han decided to cast another spell.
“Move!”
“Dodge!”
The dwarven student jumped sideways, but a pebble tracked him like an arrow and struck him right in his stomach.
Bang!
“Bull…shit…”
The dwarf fell forward, unable to breathe. Only the orc remained standing, and he was terrified by what just happened.
The dwarf was hit even though he dodged, meaning Wardanaz had great control over his spells.
‘Did I learn the wrong magic?’
Yi-han was just as perplexed and shocked seeing the scene before him.
He couldn’t even have it levitate properly, and yet he could strike his enemies without even trying. How absurd was that?
“S-stop! No more. I surrender. I’ll move! So don’t shoot! I don’t want to die!”
‘I’m not going to kill you, idiot.’
Despite thinking so in his head, he maintained his calm expression.
“Remember that this is what it means to go against a Wardanaz.”
“Grr….”
The orc clenched his teeth in frustration, but he wasn’t brave enough to glare at Yi-han.
Dolgyu, who arrived a moment later, stared at Yi-han in bewilderment.
“Are you here to fight as well?”
“N-no.”
He couldn’t help but stutter after witnessing the result of the fight.
***
“You mean Gazel of the Moradi Family incited this?”
“No, it’s Jijel…”
“Right, Jijel. What a difficult name to pronounce. Anyway, that Jijel guy from the Moradi Family’s behind this?”
Dolgyu had told him everything, and he was honestly surprised by it.
The atmosphere in the White Tigers was vastly different from that of the Blue Dragons.
The members of the Blue Dragons were all from powerful families or members of the royal family, so there wasn’t anyone taking command of them. Rather, they moved in small groups based on their connections.
Princess Adenart, the most popular among the Blue Dragons, had several students following her, but she wasn’t really in command of them either.
On the other hand, Jijel Moradi was at the top of the food chain among the White Tigers.
“How does he look like?”
“Like this.”
Dolgyu picked up a branch that had fallen and drew an accurate portrait of Jijel’s appearance.
Yi-han was shocked when he saw the drawing.
‘He’s…!?’
It was the elf that had spoken to him in a friendly manner before the class started.
“I knew something was up. He was being so kind to me with that pretty face of his… turns out he was hiding his wicked nature.”
“Wardanaz, I agree that Moradi has a wicked heart, but I don’t think that’s got anything to do with appearance. And what do you mean pretty? Wait, you thought Jijel was a bo-”
Whatever it was Dolgyu said next, Yi-han didn’t hear. He wasn’t interested in whatever excuse Dolgyu had to defend that androgynous elf.
‘But it’s ironic.’
He had been planning on becoming close with the others through Jijel who acted friendly with him.
However, he ended up becoming friends with Dolgyu, who he initially had a conflict with. On the other hand, it was revealed that Jijel had plotted against him.
‘Was he trying to feel me out?’
Yi-han looked back to their conversation earlier. He didn’t recall saying anything of importance that could be used against him.
‘I’m here to chillax and get good grades!’ Though he had said something along that line, it was hardly a reason to target him using other students.
In fact, hearing something like that should have lowered Jijel’s guard.
“I don’t understand. Why did Jijel target me?”
“There are several reasons I can think of. The biggest reason is that you’re a Wardanaz.”
“Is there bad blood between the two families?”
Yi-han was befuddled. Was there some unresolvable hatred between Wardanaz, a mage family, and Moradi, a knight’s family?
“No, at least none that I know of. But by humiliating you, a renowned Wardanaz, his prestige and authority among the first years would rocket.”
“…”
Yi-han immediately understood what he meant and became grave.
In other words, he was being treated as an expensive trophy with a tag that said he was from the Wardanaz Family.
‘It’s quite an unpleasant feeling.’
It could be considered childish in a way, but it didn’t stop him from being pissed.
“Not all the freshmen follow Jijel’s command. By proving that she’s a charismatic leader, Jijel planned to make more students follow her.”
“Does ordering his classmates to beat up someone from another tower prove his charisma? What are the knight students thinking…”
Dolgyu looked down, feeling ashamed. He, too, felt complicit in this.
“Hey, I’m not talking about you. What are you feeling down for?”
“Thanks. Anyway, let’s continue. Jijel is the type of person that always wishes to be at the top. She’d do anything to prove her authority and dominance. So I want you to be careful if you plan on taking this class in the future.”
If Yi-han continued to excel in , the students of the White Tigers would become jealous of him, and Jijel would manipulate their emotions to make them follow her.
Dolgyu then made a careful suggestion.
“You know, you don’t have to take this class. You can hone your sword during breaks.”
“Hmm, Dolgyu.”
“?”
“You see, I’m planning on taking as well… is that class also crawling with people from your tower?”
“…Wardanaz. I’m not trying to be rude, but…isn’t the Wardanaz Family known for its mages? Just what are you…?”
Dolgyu couldn’t help but ask the question that had been plaguing him.
***
Yi-han split up with Dolgyu after that and fell into deep thought. What Dolgyu had suggested was the easiest solution to the problem.
– Avoid the classes that only the White Tigers partake in.
As long as he kept avoiding them, Jijel won’t be able to pick a fight with him. In his other classes, he would be moving with his friends from the Blue Dragons, so Jijel won’t be able to target him. She also wouldn’t have a reason to come after him if they weren’t in the same class.
However, he didn’t plan on heeding this suggestion.
First of all, though Dolgyu didn’t know this yet, he had selected these classes to get easy grades. Furthermore…
‘How dare he use me for politics?’
…he had his pride as well. He wasn’t one to take this sort of provocation lying low, especially given the reason behind it. This was doubly true considering what he stood to lose.
Bam!
Yi-han returned to his dorm and opened the door leading to the first-year student’s resting lounge.
There were some students already there, and they waved their hands at him when he entered.
“Guys!”
“…?”
“???”
“Today, I was targeted by the students from the White Tigers, simply because I’m from the Blue Dragons!”
There was a moment of silence. What he said was so absurd that it took them a moment to digest what they just heard.
But the silence was broken by someone who flipped the table before him.
“…Those lumps of metal did what!?”
“So they think we’re that easy, huh!?”
‘Huh?’
The students of the Blue Dragons reacted much more strongly than he thought they would.
“Assemble everyone! Tell them that the bastards of the White Tigers laid their hands on Wardanaz!”
“If it was Gainando, we would’ve stayed silent. But Wardanaz? Now they’ve crossed a line.”
“Are there any weapons? Find some! Let’s go beat the shit out of them!”
Things began heating up, and Yi-han tried to calm them down a bit.
“Wait, guys. I’m thankful that everyone thinks of me so fondly, but you’re overreacting. There’s no need to-”
“Don’t stop us, Wardanaz! We have a debt that we have to repay.”
“Yeah! There’s no one here that didn’t eat the meat you procured!”
Yi-han felt slightly sorry seeing how thankful they were despite being completely scammed.
“And there’s also the matter of our pride!”
“Defeat the White Tigers!”
“Crush the White Tigers!”
