Gulp, gulp -
Once they had secured drinking water, the students of the Blue Dragon heaved a sigh of relief and looked around.
The fickleness of the human heart was such that their moods shifted as soon as their thirst was quenched.
Moments before, they had been lamenting, "What sins have I committed to enroll in such an academy?" Now, they pondered, "Perhaps experiencing this with friends isn’t so bad."
Several students sat on the dry, rocky hills, gazing towards the horizon.
"It's not as bad as I thought. Right?"
"Yeah."
'Complaining about how tough it is one moment, and now this...'
Yonaire thought to herself but refrained from scolding her already weary friends.
"I hope those from the White Tiger suffer more."
"Me too."
"..."
Yonaire looked at her friends in disbelief.
'Won't such remarks bring trouble?'
"Aaahh!"
"!!!"
No sooner had the words been spoken than a scream erupted from the opposite direction.
Yi-Han gripped his staff and ran towards the commotion.
"What’s happening!"
"Over there...!"
Following his friends' pointed direction, Yi-Han's face hardened.
Far off towards the horizon, a heavy, medium-sized monster was approaching.
'A Rock Drake!'
Yi-Han, as well as a few other students, recognized the creature, a well-known monster in the Empire.
A Drake was a species rumored to have dragon blood in its ancestry, known for its large size and strength.
Among them, the Rock Drake, with its hard, rocky shell, was infamous for its absurdly high defense.
-Be wary of Rock Drakes. Even seasoned adventurers can be crushed in the blink of an eye.-
-I once visited a place where Rock Drakes appeared. Do you know what they call it? 'The Mage's Nightmare'. They simply deflect magic.-
Definitely not a monster for first-year students to handle.
Even for Yi-Han, who had faced the Colossal Hungry Ghost!
A monster several grades higher, not just any creature rumored to have dragon's blood.
"Everyone, keep low. Don’t provoke it."
"Is it coming this way?"
The Rock Drake’s heavy steps conveyed a menacing pressure as it approached, not fast, but undeniably threatening.
Yi-Han gathered the students.
With the Rock Drake moving their way, they needed to quickly devise a plan.
"We need to run now! Let's move to the other side."
"That's absurd. Rock Drakes aren't aggressively hostile, but they attack anything in their territory. If we provoke it, it's over!"
"So, we just stand here and wait for it?"
"It’s heading this way, but it’s not certain it’ll climb up here. It’s more likely to go somewhere else."
"If we delay any longer, we’ll lose our chance to escape!"
The friends were divided in their opinions.
'This is tough.'
Both sides had valid points in Yi-Han’s view.
Rock Drakes weren't known for their keen senses, but the students, if they moved en masse, could be noticed even from afar.
Yet, staying put and hiding felt like leaving it all to chance, with no other plan...
"Should we try throwing a silver coin?"
"...Not a bad idea."
"What? Yi-Han, are you sure?"
Gainando was flustered, having suggested the idea only to find Yi-Han agreeing with him.
"I never expected a 'no'..."
"Just for reference. Stones, reveal the future to me."
Yi-Han threw a handful of colored stones onto the ground, focusing his mind intensely.
He had originally refrained from using divination magic, but given the circumstances, he had no choice.
Fortunately, it was not the distant future he sought, but the near one.
'This seems doable.'
Certainly, if Professors Parsellet or Garcia were present, they would have argued, 'Easy or hard, this is absolutely beyond the level of a first-year student.' Unfortunately, neither professor was there.
The desired answer was whether the Rock Drake would come this way or not.
Blurry images flashed momentarily before Yi-Han could focus on one.
"It seems to be coming."
"Damn it!"
Seeing the Rock Drake rampaging and destroying the storage on the hill, Yi-Han decided to flee with his friends.
"There's not entirely no way out. There's the invisibility magic, but..."
"Ah!"
"The problem is, I can only use it on myself so far."
"Ah..."
Applying the same magic to others was significantly more challenging than using it on oneself.
"Fortunately, there's an artifact. Try this on, Gainando."
Gainando obediently strapped on the belt handed to him by Yi-Han.
Then, he suddenly fell to his knees.
"The... the mana..."
"Oh. The mana drain is worse than I thought."
"Yi-Han... are you trying to assassinate me..."
"Yonaire, could you pass me a potion?"
Yi-Han uncorked a potion and fed it to Gainando.
Thankfully, Gainando soon regained his strength.
"Lending out artifacts seems to be a tough option."
Hearing Yi-Han's words, all his friends vigorously nodded in agreement.
No one wanted to wear those artifacts, despite the necessity of invisibility magic.
'He's actually wearing such artifacts!'
"Yi-Han. I have a good idea."
Gainando spoke up.
"What is it?"
"You could learn to cast invisibility on others right now."
"..."
"..."
"Can't we use this guy as bait for the Rock Drake?"
As his friends grew more menacing, Yi-Han extended his hand to calm them.
'Technically, he's right.'
The principle of casting invisibility on oneself or others was not vastly different.
It's just that the latter required a more intricate and delicate process.
'Let's give it a few tries.'
Yi-Han decided to make the most of the time before the Rock Drake got too close.
Having abundant mana meant having more to waste.
If he could find the right approach, it would be good; if not, he was ready to give up cleanly.
"Gainando."
"I've been feeling like a test subject since earlier... or is it just my imagination?"
Grumbling, Gainando stood in front of him. Yi-Han aimed his staff.
"Cloak, engulf my friend."
'It's not working, as expected.'
He concentrated properly, and his actions were accurate, but the magic failed to activate.
Mana collided and jammed while structuring the spell in mid-air, leading to failure.
This was because he was not yet fully accustomed to the concept of magic.
"Cloak, engulf me."
Yi-Han cast the spell on himself for reference.
Naturally, it succeeded, and at that moment...
Gainando's arm vanished.
"Ahh, my arm!!"
"It's fine, though?"
"Ah. Right?"
Gainando, who panicked at his now-invisible arm, was relieved to see it return to normal.
As he extended his arm again, it became transparent once more.
"Look at this, everyone!"
Around Yi-Han, a space of about 2 to 3 meters was rendered invisible.
'Amplification!'
At that moment, Yi-Han realized what had happened.
He had activated the invisibility necklace given by the spirekeeper while casting another spell.
The two spells of the same category had interacted and amplified each other.
'This was unexpected. Is this what the principal meant?'
Yi-Han's surprise was understandable.
Such amplification was not a common result.
'What happens when a spell is cast again?'
A question every mage inevitably pondered.
Casting strength enhancement again, agility enhancement, or invisibility...
What happens in such cases?
The answer was 'unknown'.
Too many variables, like the situation, location, and the spell itself, made accurate prediction impossible.
But to end up with amplification was unexpected.
Though it was disconcerting, it was a stroke of luck in the current situation.
'Wait. Then why didn't the belt amplify as well?'
The belt from the Presinga Order.
It too was an artifact with invisibility magic.
But its lack of amplification meant...
'The methods are different!'
A quiet epiphany struck Yi-Han.
Even if it seemed like the same invisibility magic, the implementation differed.
The Presinga Order's belt used a kind of camouflage, bending light around the caster to disrupt visibility...
Whereas the spirekeeper's necklace and the principal's magic created confusion in the observer's perception, rendering them unable to recognize the subject.
The latter were similar in method and thus amplified each other.
'So that's why he told me to think more about it. To teach me this.'
Yi-Han felt a sense of clarity in his mind.
Unbeknownst to him, this was the essence of a mage's epiphany.
A slight realization about a previously obstructed magic leading to progress.
In a way, it was natural for Yi-Han to be unaware of it.
He had faced almost no impediments in learning magic thus far.
Talent was both a guide and a potential intoxicant for a mage.
Had the skull principal been there, he might have said, 'Yes, that's it. Be thankful for the realization...'
"Yi-Han! We need to move!"
"Sorry. I got distracted. Let's go."
Instead of dwelling on his valuable experience, Yi-Han immediately sprang into action.
One thing was paramount.
'I can now extend the range of the invisibility spell.'
Yi-Han cast <Gonadaltes' Cloak of Invisibility> again, further amplifying its range.
How far to walk for the appropriate range?
Initially, without control, he gradually got the feel of it after a few tries.
"Cloak, engulf me... that’s enough. This should do. Let's go!"
The established belief was to immerse oneself in gratitude upon gaining an epiphany.
Lest the hard-earned realization slip away.
However, sometimes there were exceptions.
A genius, who despite the norm, immediately acted on his realization without any hindrance!
Yi-Han, with his friends within the invisibility range, hurried on.
Had the skull principal been present, he might have been unable to contain his irritation and added more trials.
Even after eluding the Rock Drake, the students of the Blue Dragon could not easily rest.
Having located a new storeroom, they searched through the books before camouflaging themselves against the storeroom walls.
"Are we safe now?"
"What if it comes back? We need to keep watch a bit longer."
"I really want to start a fire..."
To prepare for a proper rest, they needed to start a fire and unload their belongings.
However, the friends who had just narrowly escaped could not completely shake off the nightmare of the Rock Drake.
"Look, over there!"
"?!"
When someone whispered urgently, everyone quickly turned their heads.
Fortunately, it was not the Rock Drake.
"It's not that!"
"I didn't say it was the Rock Drake...! Look at that!"
The newcomers were students from the White Tiger. The group of four was cautiously walking around, looking here and there.
It was clear that they hadn't yet noticed the students from the Blue Dragon, who were hidden.
"What should we do, Wardanaz? Should we call out to them?"
"Do they have Dolgyu with them?"
"Dolgyu? They don't have him, don’t they?"
"Then we have no choice. We must subdue them."
"..."
What did he mean by 'no choice'?
