"The professor is right," one student acknowledged.
"We cannot win by merely retreating in fear. A truly strong knight confronts and fights against their fears!"
'These people are insane,' thought Yi-Han, shaking his head in disbelief.
Had there been other students from different towers, he might have joined hands with them and urged Professor Ingurdel to regain his senses. Unfortunately, the students of the White Tiger were the sort who wouldn't listen to Yi-Han no matter what he said.
He was baffled that they were actually in favor of fighting the released summoned creatures. Shouldn't they be learning how to avoid such dangers?
Sometimes, Yi-Han felt lonely, thinking he might be the only sane person at the academy.
"I have good disciples," Professor Ingurdel nodded in satisfaction, seeing the reactions of the White Tiger students.
He had been prepared to reconsider if any student showed fear or reluctance, but as expected of skilled swordsmen, they did not shy away from their fears.
Professor Ingurdel's gaze, which had been surveying the room, suddenly stopped on Yi-Han. Yi-Han blurted out reflexively, "That's an excellent idea, Professor!"
"Thank you, everyone," Professor Ingurdel said, smiling proudly as even Yi-Han joined in the praise.
It seemed the idea he had come up with after much thought was quite decent.
"Now, everyone, form groups of three," he instructed.
Fortunately, Professor Ingurdel still had some conscience left; he didn't suggest facing the monsters alone.
But...
'Oh no, this is bad,' realized Yi-Han.
For those like Nillia, who found it difficult to make friends, forming groups was a daunting task. Although Yi-Han wasn't like Nillia, the students of the White Tiger were unlikely to join hands with him.
'One can be filled in by Dolgyu, but what about the other? Should I force someone to join? Can I dodge the professor's attention and coerce them?'
"Professor, can we form our own groups?" Yi-Han asked.
"No, I've prepared lots for you to draw," replied Professor Ingurdel, giving Yi-Han a knowing glance.
The professor was well aware that Yi-Han, being from the Blue Dragon, was not on good terms with the other White Tiger students and had made these arrangements as a gesture of consideration.
'Professor...' Yi-Han felt grateful.
But...
'...If you're going to be considerate, why not just have us practice sword forms instead of capturing escaped summoned creatures...'
It was just like a professor to show consideration in such a twisted way.
Yi-Han joined the line to draw lots and picked number 4.
"Anyone else draw 4?" called out Dolgyu, raising his hand. Yi-Han's expression softened. The White Tiger students looked at him with concern.
'Is he going to manipulate Dolgyu like a chess piece again?'
"Is there one more?"
Three was the required number for each group.
Someone else raised their hand—it was Jijel of the Moradi family.
"..."
"..."
Not just Dolgyu and Yi-Han, but even the other White Tiger students were shocked.
'Is this going to lead to a fight?'
On one side was Yi-Han of the Wardanaz family, who had mastered all sorts of evil magic before even entering the academy. On the other was Jijel of the Moradi family, one of the most powerful knight families in the north, leading the White Tiger students with her inherent charisma.
And they were not on good terms...
However, instead of drawing her sword, Jijel quietly lifted the corners of her mouth in an inscrutable smile. To Yi-Han, this seemed even more ominous.
"Shouldn't we forget our childish mistakes and move on, using this opportunity?"
"You're not serious, are you, Yi-Han?" Dolgyu looked at Yi-Han as if he had said something utterly nonsensical.
Of course, it was Jijel who had actually started the quarrel, if one were to get down to the nitty-gritty of it. But in a fight fueled by emotions, such prior events hardly mattered. Moreover, when it came to causing trouble, Yi-Han was overwhelmingly superior.
He had done things like knocking someone out and then handing them over to the skull principal to be sent to the punishment room, leading friends on a midnight raid of the lounge to steal flags, and more.
Dolgyu, while not particularly close to Jijel, knew her well enough as they both hailed from knight families of the North. He knew that Jijel, with her haughty pride, must be grinding her teeth in anger at Yi-Han, even if she didn't show it outwardly.
Frankly, he was genuinely concerned.
"Yi-Han, when we move together, always put me between you and Moradi. And never show your back to Moradi."
"Thanks, Dolgyu. That's encouraging."
"Have all the groups been formed?" asked Professor Ingurdel, and then continued, "Every party must have a leader. The one who has drawn the lot with a red mark at the corner is the leader. The leader should give orders, and the others should follow them to deal with the monster."
"..."
Yi-Han remembered that there was no red mark on the corner of the paper he had drawn.
"Dolgyu, could you say that you drew the one with the red mark?"
"...Sorry."
Yi-Han and Dolgyu both looked at Jijel. She was waving a paper with a red mark on it, wearing the same inscrutable smile as before.
"Why don't you call me 'party leader'?"
"Party leader."
"No, add an honorific."
"Miss Party leader."
At Yi-Han's response, Jijel's smile deepened.
"If you don't want to be stabbed in the back, give good orders."
"..."
There was a saying that knights who had witnessed the white ice storms beyond the northern mountains no longer feared anything. Dolgyu was one of them, but the way Yi-Han and Jijel were looking at each other right now was genuinely frightening.
"So, what kind of summoned creature will we be facing?"
"That, I cannot tell you."
"...?"
"?"
All the White Tiger students tilted their heads in unison. Yi-Han felt a sense of foreboding.
"The purpose is to learn how to deal with unknown summoned creatures. Knowing their identity in advance would defeat the purpose, wouldn't it?" Professor Ingurdel kindly explained.
While many of the White Tiger students seemed to accept this explanation with an 'Ah, I see,' both Yi-Han and a few other clear-headed students looked slightly tense.
"From now on, each group will enter the annex building in turn. Inside, you'll find the summoned creature I've captured. Deal with it and then exit through the door on the opposite side," instructed Professor Ingurdel.
After his explanation, a few of the more sensible students cautiously asked, "But Professor, shouldn't we have at least some information about the creature we're facing? It could be beyond our capabilities..."
"That's right. At least give us a hint on how to deal with it."
Professor Ingurdel's face showed a hint of concern at the words of the White Tiger students.
He began to wonder if the practice might be too difficult. 'Perhaps they do need some basic information to figure out how to handle the situation...'
Just as his sense of normalcy, numbed by the eccentricities of the other professors, was about to return, other White Tiger students interjected.
"Don't talk like cowards!"
"What must the professor think of us? He probably sees us as weaklings incapable of handling even this!" exclaimed one of the students.
"No, everyone."
"Professor, we're fine!"
"We don't need any hints. We'll find a way to deal with it using our hands, feet, and swords."
'Isn't this a magic academy?' Yi-Han thought to himself.
'Use magic, kids! And accept the hints if you can!'
"What a bunch of fools..." Yi-Han muttered under his breath.
“?”
“What? Why?”
When Yi-Han turned his head, Jijel spoke as if he was asking for something.
It was common practice to tailor one's expressions and words according to the audience. There was no need to pretend ignorance in front of Yi-Han, who was from the Wardanaz family and knew everything anyway.
"I agree about the foolishness."
"You do make some agreeable statements occasionally. Just follow my orders like that, and there will be no problems," she warned.
"You seem to misunderstand me. I have no complaints as long as there's nothing wrong with the orders. Why would I unnecessarily start a quarrel? I don't like picking fights with others."
"..."
"..."
Not only Jijel but also Dolgyu looked slightly taken aback.
'For someone who claims that, you seem to beat people up quite effortlessly...'
"So, you betrayed someone and handed them over to the principal?" Jijel asked with arms crossed and a tone of disbelief, her eyes as if she had already drawn her sword several times.
"It wasn't exactly betrayal since we weren't on the same side to begin with..."
"Yi-Han, I may not know much about rhetoric, but it might be better if you stop talking now," Dolgyu interrupted.
Although Dolgyu didn't particularly like Jijel, he felt that if left unchecked, either Yi-Han or Jijel might end up on the ground even before they got to fight the monster.
"I was just trying to clear up a misunderstanding."
"No, Yi-Han. Some misunderstandings can't be resolved. And you, Yi-Han..."
Dolgyu stopped short of saying 'have a talent for infuriating your enemies.'
In any case, Dolgyu was the only one who could mediate between the two in the current situation. He braced himself, despite not being very articulate.
"Both of you think about it. Acting willfully just because you dislike each other will only bring loss to both. Even if you dislike each other, as this is a lesson, we should earnestly..."
"That's obvious, Dolgyu. Don't worry."
"Don't waste your breath, Choi. We know that without you saying it."
Both Jijel and Yi-Han admonished Dolgyu at the same time, leaving him feeling unjustly aggrieved.
The annex building prepared by Professor Ingurdel had the outward appearance of a huge gymnasium or auditorium.
Of course, the difference lay in the fact that behind its closed doors, instead of enjoyable physical activities, an escaped summoned creature awaited.
'The silence is more unsettling.'
If there had been screams, at least they could have guessed what was happening. But the continued silence, as if magically silenced, was more chilling.
What had they put inside?
"Don't just rush in after opening the door. First, assess the situation. If it attacks as soon as we enter, split to the left and right... tell him that, Choi," Jijel commanded.
"..."
Dolgyu was at a loss for words at Jijel's childish behavior.
Yi-Han was right there beside him; what was there to pass along?
'Was Moradi always this childish?'
"If it's dark inside, turn on light magic immediately upon entering, and don’t be startled… tell her that, Dolgyu."
"If you waste your mana and faint, I'll leave you behind. Tell him that, Choi."
"I'm the only one who knows how to use light magic, so I'll take the lead. Tell her that, Dolgyu," Yi-Han instructed.
“I can use light magic too, don’t underestimate me… pass it on to him, Choi.” Jijel retorted.
'Someone, please save me,' Dolgyu silently pleaded.
Before entering the magic academy, Dolgyu had heard all sorts of tales. Tales of students undergoing harsh trials to immerse themselves in magic, of professors being trolls, and of knights being ridiculed for their dullness in magic...
But none of those stories had prepared him for a situation like this!
Suddenly, the door burst open. The interior was dark, not bright. Yi-Han sighed.
'It's becoming more frightening that I can predict the academy's pattern.'
Students who had expected light upon entering were startled by the pitch-dark interior.
Yi-Han could imagine what Professor Ingurdel had thought while preparing this darkness.
'The summoned creatures are more likely to roam at night than in broad daylight, so he must have prepared this as a drill.'
"Light!"
Yi-Han's spell rose like the sun, brightly illuminating the inside of the annex. Both Dolgyu and Jijel had to acknowledge Yi-Han's magic prowess.
-■■■■■...
The summoned creature inhabiting the annex bore a semblance to a blend of a spirit and a bull.
Moreover, it exuded an aura of enhancement magic and potions, a presence not typical of an ordinary bull.
Yi-Han's mind fleetingly pictured the face of Professor Uregor.
'Surely not,' he thought.
