How much time had passed?
The Spirekeeper, who had been felled by a surprise attack from behind, regained consciousness and hurriedly rose to their feet. The thought of collapsing in the face of artifacts attack, while leaving a freshman behind, was a mistake too great for words, even if they had ten mouths.
The Spirekeeper prayed they weren't too late as they clutched their staff and stood up. However, the scene before their eyes vastly differed from their expectations. For starters, the storage room was in a semi-destroyed state. The fight had been so fierce that the scattered clutter was completely demolished, lying in ruins.
They felt no despair or shock at the sight of the principal's storeroom items being destroyed. In truth, these items, though precious to the principal, held little interest for the Spirekeeper. After all, they weren't their belongings.
What truly astonished them was the fact that the new student had fought so fiercely against the attacking artifacts. Judging by the artifact's aggression, it was clearly not something lower-level students should be able to handle.
Yi-Han groaned as he rose, his body emitting a sound of pain. Before him lay scorched and frozen artifacts. He had managed to seal them by continuously unleashing coldness, but his body ached all over. ‘I never thought Professor Boladi's teachings were correct,’ Yi-Han thought, finding it more disagreeable to acknowledge the professor's words than the fatigue in his body. A mage must never let his guard down at any moment! Had his reaction been even slightly delayed, the artifact would have pierced him, leaving several holes like the wind.
"Well done, Sharakan," he praised. Sharakan growled in contentment. Without this powerful undead summon, restraining the artifact would have been impossible. While Yi-Han bombarded the artifact with various spells and physical assaults, Sharakan threw his entire body to suppress the artifact's movements. Without Sharakan, he would have been pierced long ago.
‘Are all artifacts this durable?’ Yi-Han wondered. He had not expected an inanimate enemy to be so menacing. The chilling indifference of the artifacts, unaffected by lightning strikes, flames, magic explosions, or curses, was terrifying. The artifact, aiming only for vital points, was fear incarnate. He had barely managed to immobilize it by unleashing and maintaining an intense coldness that almost froze the entire room.
‘From now on, I must flee whenever I encounter an artifact enemy.’
As the Spirekeeper regained consciousness and approached Yi-Han, he finally noticed the surrounding situation. "There was no other choice," he said, a different kind of dread washing over him as he looked at the devastated storage room. What would the skull principal's reaction be to this scene? ‘He surely can't blame it all on me,’ Yi-Han hoped fervently, praying the Spirekeeper wouldn't withdraw their support. Although, if the Spirekeeper had a conscience, they wouldn't avoid responsibility for this disaster, having been the one who collapsed...
However, the Spirekeeper's reaction was entirely unexpected. They bowed their head and expressed their gratitude.
“...!”
‘Why isn't he here yet?’
The skull principal, waiting eagerly for the 'Globe of the Cold Winter,' sensed something amiss. Could he have realized?
‘No, that's impossible. No genius, no matter how brilliant, could foresee the magic contained within it.’
The principal reassured his uneasy mind. The 'Globe of the Cold Winter' was a surprise gift for the students in the classroom. The moment Yi-Han brought it in, the weather trapped inside the globe would be released into the classroom, and the students would joyfully welcome the blizzard inside the classroom...
But why hasn't he arrived yet?
Swoosh!
An undead bird of prey flew in through the window, a letter from the Spirekeeper tied to its ankle. The skull principal instinctively felt a sense of ominous dread.
You must come at once.
‘What is this all about?’ the skull principal wondered, puzzled.
Had that rascal Wardanaz noticed something midway and fled? Or had he defeated the Spirekeeper and was now looting the storage room? Plausible theories came to mind, but the answer remained elusive.
"Tch. I'll be back shortly; continue with your self-study."
The students' faces brightened at this announcement.
"While I am away, write 'I will not use unverified, dangerous magic' ten thousand times."
Their expressions quickly darkened again.
Regardless, the skull principal, making a spine-chilling sound, headed towards the Spire.
What on earth has happened?
“...”
The skull principal felt as though tears were streaming from his empty eye sockets. They weren't actual tears, of course, since liches have no tear glands. But he could feel hot tears streaming down his face.
"This is... this is too much."
Yi-Han's fear intensified several fold as the principal's voice trembled with sorrow. It would have been better if he had exploded in anger, but this reaction was unexpected.
Tap-tap-
The Spirekeeper, interrupting the principal's moment of sorrow, handed him a note.
This new student has subdued the artifact; he deserves a reward.
“...”
The skull principal cursed himself for having such an oblivious minion. How could they be less perceptive than the new student beside them!
"Is this the time for such remarks? Really?"
But, as a matter of principle...
"Principles be damned! My heart is tearing apart! Wait a minute. Which artifact caused this mayhem?"
The principal, who had been furious, suddenly realized something odd. It seemed clear that a misplaced artifact in the storage room had caused all this commotion.
...But the principal never kept such a thing in the storage room. He wouldn't have sent a new student or the Spirekeeper in there if he had.
"What is this?"
The notes he found amidst the mess revealed the truth.
The <Magic Sword of Enemy Slaying> and <Chains of Giant Binding> I was asked to make last time are finished and left here.
Beavle Verduus
The principal's jaw dropped upon finding the note among the ruins.
These were the artifacts he had commissioned from Professor Verduus after a considerable financial sacrifice.
...And Professor Verduus had left them in the storage room as a surprise.
‘...No. No, that's not it.’
Professor Verduus wasn't one for surprises. He must have left them in the nearest storage room out of sheer laziness.
"I'll kill you, Beavle!"
The principal roared in anger, his emanating mana causing the Spirekeeper to shiver.
"Principal. The Spirekeeper seems to be struggling..."
Yi-Han, though frightened, spoke up for the Spirekeeper.
The principal came to his senses, halting the release of his mana.
"...What? Are you being worried about by a new student?!"
The Spirekeeper hung their head in shame.
Having understood the whole situation, the skull principal clicked his tongue and looked up at the ceiling in resignation.
It was not someone's fault, but rather an accident borne of misfortune and mishap.
‘No, it's Beavle's fault.’
The principal regained his composure.
He had almost let it slide due to the overwhelming mental shock.
‘I'll kill him…’
Tap-tap-
“?”
As the Spirekeeper touched him again and called out, the principal, perplexed, turned his head.
The new student has subdued the artifact, so it seems appropriate to reward him.
"Later. We'll do it later."
The skull principal answered with a weary voice. Technically, the Spirekeeper's words were correct. The enchanted sword and chains commissioned by the principal from Professor Verduus were no ordinary items. For a new student to have subdued them was indeed an astonishing feat, something even the principal would have marveled at under normal circumstances.
But now, the principal's heart was too heavy and hollow to feel surprised or offer praise to anyone.
"We'll take care of it later. Understood?"
"Yes, sure."
Yi-Han had no complaints. He just wanted to leave this place as quickly as possible.
Pop!
The skull principal disappeared. Yi-Han internally mourned for Professor Beavle, knowing that the principal's departure was unlikely to be for offering praises.
Tap-tap-
"?"
The Spirekeeper handed Yi-Han a well-wrapped package and once again expressed his gratitude.
I'll speak to Gonadaltes about the reward later.
Yi-Han was moved. ‘What a good person!’ he thought, despite being employed by someone like the skull principal…
In the afternoon, Yi-Han headed to Professor Beavle Verduus's workshop, the Artifact Hall, to attend an additional lecture on enchantment magic.
‘How surprising.’
To his amazement, a considerable number of students had gathered in front of the tower. Considering Professor Verduus' reputation as the worst educator, this was proof of the allure of enchantment magic.
‘I can't help but feel a bit sorry for Professor Mortum.’
Sympathizing with a professor was a taboo, but sometimes the heart had its reasons.
"...Wait. But why is everyone standing outside and not entering?"
"They won't open the door."
Yi-Han moved through his friends and knocked on the workshop door.
Knock-knock-knock-
"Professor? Are you there?"
Sounds of commotion came from inside, followed by whispered consultations.
-What should we do? Is it really okay? Won't we end up in the punishment room later?-
-We got permission to conduct the lecture in the professor's absence.-
-But still... Can we really trust that?-
After a while, the door finally opened.
"!"
"!!!!"
The first-year students were taken aback. Behind the door were not Professor Verduus, but rather senior students they had never seen before. The senior students were also surprised. Specifically, only one of the senior students was surprised.
‘It's that new student!?’
Kumandas, a fourth-year student specializing in ancient magic and enchantment magic, and a friend of Coholti, recognized Yi-Han's face and was startled. He never expected to meet him here!
‘Wait. Doesn't he major in dark magic?’
Kumandas was momentarily confused. While double or even triple majors were not unheard of, they were rare. Even if students pursued a double major, they usually chose related and manageable fields like Kumandas, who first specialized in enchantment magic and then studied artifact-related ancient magic, essentially a linked double major.
Otherwise, students would collapse under the workload. In fact, Kumandas had first specialized in enchantment magic and then added artifact studies from ancient magic.
But the student before him was majoring in dark magic and enchantment magic from the first year?
‘Starting both from the first year must be incredibly difficult and challenging.’
Initially baffled, Kumandas then thought it plausible. After all, wasn't this the first-year student with a great talent that surprised even Direth? A student who had sparked rumors among his peers that he might have been enhanced by the Wardanaz family's powerful spells...
It seemed only natural for someone with such grand ambitions to think as he did.
‘I wonder what goes on in the mind of a genius like that,’ Kumandas mused.
Certainly, Kumandas himself was a genius in the context of the entire empire, but this magic academy was a gathering place for the geniuses among the empire's geniuses. The real geniuses who stood out here were of a different caliber, much like the boy from the Wardanaz family right in front of him!
‘Compared to him, I'm just ordinary…’
The sight of Yi-Han, lost in thought with an expression as impassive as a statue, exuded an even more mysterious aura. It felt as if, except for when he slept, he was always immersed in the world of magic.
"Senior."
"What's up?"
The statue, no, the genius, spoke up.
"Is it okay to eat the snacks on the table?"
"...Oh? Yeah, yeah. You can eat them..."
"It's fine."
"Wardanaz, thank you!"
The other first-year students expressed their sincere gratitude to Yi-Han.
As the new students poured in, Kumandas wore a bewildered expression.
Huh?
Wait...?
‘Something... something's different from what I expected...?’
