"From now on, it might be better to enter alone..." said the skull principal, trailing off as Yi-Han walked away briskly.
Professor Garcia, who arrived late, came to Yi-Han's defense, "Please understand, Principal. He must be exhausted after defeating all those shadow wraiths."
The skull principal bristled at this.
“How can you say that without having seen it yourself! Do you have any idea how effortlessly he took them down, Professor Garcia?”
"There's no easy way to defeat monsters. It's always a tough job," Professor Garcia replied, leaving the Principal at a loss for words. The irony of an undeniable truth was sometimes more frustrating than anything else.
“But he really did take them down with ease…”
"Everyone, go inside and rest. You've all done well. Classes will resume tomorrow, so until then..."
The students, visibly worn out, were slightly moved by Professor Garcia's warm words.
"...Perhaps you can spend your time reading the books you've brought."
The students were speechless.
How is that resting...?
Professor Garcia was puzzled by the students' reaction, but the skull principal nodded in approval, thinking that Professor Garcia had made a valid point. Everyone should go back and rest, perhaps by reading a book.
"Did I... say something strange?"
“Not at all. You did very well, Professor Garcia.”
Despite feeling wronged, the students had no choice but to accept the situation. They returned to their towers from the library, reading the books they had brought with them.
"Wow, Yi-Han, did you know about this? There are ores called 'fake gold.' Alchemists used to make them and sell them as real gold!" exclaimed Gainando, reading a book titled <Introduction to Basic Ore Studies>.
Yi-Han and Yonaire answered simultaneously.
"You can't do that anymore."
"There are too many ways to verify it now."
"I see. Wait, how do you two know so much about this?"
Confused, Gainando watched as both Yi-Han and Yonaire averted their gazes.
'My workload is getting heavier,' Yi-Han thought to himself, realizing how much there was to study after seeing the new books from the library.
While the students diligently copied books relevant to their chosen paths, Yi-Han was...
"Wardanaz, drink this."
"Wardanaz, eat this."
"...Why are you giving this to me?"
"Just because?"
"We owe you one from the library! That's why!"
His friends kept leaving snacks and drinks for him, seeing the mountain of books in front of Yi-Han. Even for Wardanaz, they couldn't help but worry about the sheer volume of books.
'The fact that the books written by the skull principal and Professor Boladi are the most helpful is somewhat sad,' Yi-Han mused, flipping through the pages. It was no joke; they really were the most useful ones.
Magic books were not straightforward, filled with metaphors, jargon, and codes only known to the mages themselves. Interpreting and understanding these was a task in itself.
In this regard, the skull principal's black book and Professor Boladi's books on lightning magic/blood magic, which gave clear, direct points, were indeed helpful.
'Considering Professor Boladi's temperament, I should make progress with these books as soon as possible.'
Given Professor Boladi's character, it wouldn't be surprising if he suddenly demanded mastery of a certain magic and, if not achieved, subjected one to an unfair attack.
If he wanted to avoid a beating, it was better to be prepared in advance.
‘Is the following spell an application of lightning element and enchantment magic... Is blood magic of the shockwave category? Surprisingly, it's quite intact.’
Yi-Han, who had intended to check just for a moment, suddenly came to his senses. Time had flown by without him noticing.
'I should start by reading the books for the next lecture.'
Knock, knock, knock-
“?”
Someone was knocking on the door of the lounge. The students of the Blue Dragon had learned that a late-night knocking was rarely a good sign.
"...Who is it?"
Knock, knock, knock-
“...”
"...Let's decide who opens it with rock-paper-scissors."
The nearby friends grimly played rock-paper-scissors, and Gainando, with a sad expression, opened the door.
"Surely the Principal wouldn't be planning another undead attack, right?"
"Aaah! Undead!!!"
"I knew it! I just knew this would happen!"
The students jumped up from their seats, throwing their books and attempting to barricade themselves with overturned tables.
-I have been sent by the Principal to deliver snacks.-
“...”
"...Don't be fooled. There might be a trap in the snack basket."
However, there were no traps inside the basket. The undead sent by the skull principal placed down a basket filled with freshly baked fluffy bread and rice cakes with sweet red bean filling, then turned to leave without hesitation.
-Then, continue to study hard.-
"Be... be careful on your way back?"
"Wait a minute."
Yi-Han stopped the departing undead.
"How can we believe that these snacks aren't a trap?"
"Wardanaz, it surely can't be, can it?"
"Even so, would the Principal really set a trap in the snacks?"
In truth, Yi-Han wasn't suspicious of the snacks themselves. He had a different scheme in mind.
'I'll stall for time and try to get it to talk.'
From his previous encounters with the warehouse keeper and the spire keeper, Yi-Han had learned that the skull principal's minions often knew more than they let on. If he could glean even a hint of the Principal's nefarious plans, it would be of great help.
He needed to find a way to get the creature to talk.
"Answer me. How can we be sure that these snacks are not a trap?"
-You are quick-witted indeed!-
The undead exclaimed in admiration and then chanted a spell. A thick smoke, so dense that it was impossible to see even an inch ahead, filled the lounge.
The students coughed and gasped in shock.
"Really...?!"
"Wardanaz, how did you know?"
-Do you first-year ironheads think you can stop me?
The undead skillfully stirred the surroundings and then made a dash for the entrance.
"Flash forth!"
But Yi-Han's spell was quicker. The undead was startled by the lightning bolt that struck sharply towards the entrance.
'How?'
The smoke screen created by the undead was a magic cloud of smoke, so it was impossible to see through it. Even more so for a first-year student.
To think that a young, unrefined gem, even if praised by their master for being an exceptional talent, could do this.
"Flash forth, Flash forth, Flash forth!"
Yi-Han didn't hesitate to cast lightning spells. The continuous barrage destroyed the area around the main entrance of the lounge.
Finally, the undead realized.
'This kid!?'
Yi-Han wasn't trying to locate the undead and cast spells at its current position. He remembered where it had been before casting the spell and was indiscriminately bombarding that area.
Remembering the position in such a short time was impressive, and so was his boldness to trust his memory and launch the spells.
The undead realized that the boy, Yi-Han, had not received praise for nothing.
'But once they’ve caught me, it's over.'
In such a situation, being caught meant inevitable defeat. Moving through the smokescreen and coughing students of the Blue Dragon, the undead approached Yi-Han.
"Wardanaz! What should we do..."
"Everyone stay still and don't move!"
Screams and shouts filled the air where nothing could be seen.
It was chaos.
For the undead, this was an ideal situation.
"Wardanaz!"
The undead cast a spell to change its voice, making it sound similar to that of the Blue Dragon students. It was a surefire way to deceive them.
"Wardanaz, I'm coming to help!"
"Stay where you are, I said!"
"Wardanaz!"
Despite Yi-Han's warnings, the undead, imitating a student's voice, continued to approach. Its plan was to subdue Yi-Han and then leave the scene effortlessly.
Surely this first-year boy couldn't detect the approaching undead.
However, the undead was mistaken about one thing. Yi-Han, even if approached by a friend in such a situation, would...
"Wardanaz... Cough!"
Whack!
...throw a punch without hesitation.
Surprisingly, a punch flew right at it. Struck by the force-filled fist, the undead's spellcasting was interrupted.
-Cough…-
'What?'
Yi-Han, who had immediately thrown a punch upon sensing someone approach, felt something odd at his fingertips. A hard, bone-like texture. In that moment, Yi-Han realized who the opponent was.
His combat experience and senses, honed by countless situations, led him to the correct conclusion.
'It's an undead!'
It was clear the undead had tried to approach him stealthily.
"Surrender!"
Yi-Han shouted, unleashing a barrage of punches. He released his mana recklessly, prepared to waste it if necessary. At the same time, he kicked at the invisible opponent's legs. The newly learned principle of absorption in his mana disrupted the undead's balance.
"I said surrender!"
Thump! Thump, thump, thump!
"Surrender!"
Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump!
"If you don't surrender..."
As he continued his onslaught, the smokescreen cleared.
The undead was utterly defeated, lying sprawled on the floor.
-You should... give me a chance... to say surrender…-
The first-year boy, Yi-Han, was much stronger in close combat than expected.
"So what happens if we eat this?"
Surrounded by the fierce-looking students of the Blue Dragon, the defeated undead answered in a deflated voice.
-It's…-
"A transformation curse? Mana use restricted? Will be teleported to somewhere else? Something like a punishment room?"
Yi-Han's sharp guesses impressed his friends. His ability to detect the undead's trap and his observational skills were almost superhuman.
"How did you figure it out?"
'Indeed,' thought the undead, equally curious.
It wondered how Yi-Han had known the snack was a trap and detected its approach.
How exactly?
"If you can't answer, it must have been some evil poison."
-No... it just makes you sleep deeply.”
"...What? Just that?"
-There are pop quizzes in tomorrow's classes, so…”
“...”
“...”
The students' expressions hardened.
They were shocked to learn about the pop quizzes and even more so by the skull principal's wickedness in personally sending a snack laced with sleeping agents.
'From now on, never eat snacks given by the Principal.'
"Ah well. It wasn't as bad as I thought."
Gainando commented, almost as if he was relieved.
They had expected a severe curse or deadly poison, but it turned out to be just a deep sleep.
"What nonsense are you spouting, Gainando? Pop quizzes are serious business."
"Right. That's the worst kind of trap."
"Is it, really?"
Seeing his academically gifted friends serious, Gainando grumbled inwardly.
Are exams really that important!
Having finished speaking, the undead adjusted its broken bones. Yi-Han, feeling a bit guilty, apologized.
"I'm sorry about that."
-It's nothing. It doesn't hurt.-
True to being a first-year, their personality was still soft and malleable. The undead seemed fine as it tried to stand up, waving its hand as if to say so.
Tap-
However, Yi-Han prevented it from standing.
-...I have many places to be right now. Can you let me go?-
"What exactly are the subjects of tomorrow's pop quizzes?"
-Isn't it a bit too much to ask me to tell you that…-
Yi-Han raised his staff.
It was a clear indication that he would attack first before the undead could cast any spell.
The undead retracted its earlier thought about Yi-Han being soft-hearted.
'What a ruthless kid...!'
Is he really just a first-year?
