"Why are you telling me this now?" Yi-Han exclaimed in anger, a stark contrast to his usual composed demeanor, even when faced with the spirit's disputes and aggressiveness. This outburst took Ferkuntra, the spirit, by surprise.
“Ah... No. You hadn't asked…”
"When dealing with students at the academy, don't you know what's most important to them?" Yi-Han continued, his frustration evident.
“One class isn't that big of a problem…”
Ferkuntra protested, feeling unjustly accused. Having spent a considerable time there, Ferkuntra was somewhat familiar with how the mages were taught - usually gathered in classrooms, listening to various stories from the professors. Missing one or two sessions didn't make much difference, as magic required consistent effort and brilliant talent, not just attendance.
"We have to submit assignments. Not submitting is absolutely not an option," Yi-Han declared firmly. Yonaire, his companion, nodded in agreement, determination blazing in her eyes, her red hair swaying.
Most of the classes at the magic academy were notoriously unscrupulous, but the <Basic Imperial Geometry and Arithmetic> class was particularly so.
-"This is the magic circle blueprint I submitted to the empire in my youth. Calculate the total cost involved in this blueprint by next week."-
The insane professor had tasked them, handing out a thick blueprint of a magic circle.
Yi-Han and Yonaire, gritting their teeth, cursed the professor as they worked through the night on this absurd assignment. Having completed it, they couldn't afford not to submit it - the thought alone would leave them sleepless for weeks!
"...Are you upset over just one assignment??" Ferkuntra asked, feeling wronged. Yi-Han and Yonaire sharply turned their heads towards it. They say kind people are the scariest when angered, and the young mages' glare made Ferkuntra flinch.
"Yes, yes, assignments are important. I'm sorry," Ferkuntra conceded.
"Tell us the time, please," Yi-Han urged.
Upon learning the time from Ferkuntra, Yi-Han looked anxiously at the ceiling. There was only about an hour and a half left until the start of the <Basic Imperial Geometry and Arithmetic> class in the morning.
"Let's hurry, Mr. Ferkuntra. Please lead us out," Yi-Han implored.
“No... I can't.”
The young mages glared at it with murderous intent.
Ferkuntra stammered its excuse. "I made a promise! To block any students trying to escape this punishment room! I cannot show you the way out. You are supposed to seal me here briefly when you leave."
Yi-Han felt a sense of futility.
Even he didn't know how complex and bizarre the structure of the academy's underground punishment room was. Without Ferkuntra's help, there was no guarantee they could escape in time. Yi-Han, becoming increasingly anxious, failed to control his emotions.
"Ah, why are you of no help! Then why did you make the contract?"
Ferkuntra's pride was slightly wounded.
Battles with dragons or demons, even a bloody fight with the Lich Principal, hadn't hurt Ferkuntra's pride. But the words of the young contract holder did.
Ferkuntra found itself babbling excuses unwittingly.
"Right now, we are in a special place called the punishment room. Once you summon me outside later, you'll see my true powers..."
"I understand. So, how do we seal you?"
"...Just command me to stay here for a while."
Yi-Han did as Ferkuntra instructed.
With that command, Ferkuntra was bound to remain in this forgotten punishment room for some time.
"Let's go, Yonaire."
“Don't forget to summon me when you're outside! My abilities are not limited to just this!”
"Yes, yes, I understand!"
"Don't forget! I mean it, don't forget! Are you listening? Don't forget..."
Despite the urgency, Yi-Han and Yonaire strived to remain calm as they navigated through the labyrinthine structure. They mapped their route, moving from staircase to staircase, corridor to corridor.
"We're blocked here."
"Let's turn back. This corridor is completely blocked."
"We might need to go down two floors and try again."
Clatter!
The bone summons, released by Yi-Han to help find ways, hurried towards them from a distance. "Is there a way?" Yi-Han asked.
Clatter, clatter!
The bone summons communicated vigorously, indicating there was no path. Yi-Han clicked his tongue in frustration. Despite their efforts, including the bone summon's assistance, progress was slow.
The punishment room was like an ant's nest, its layout bewildering. It was impossible to tell which staircase led upwards; some ended in dead-end punishment rooms, others circled back down, and some just led in endless circles.
As they walked, Yi-Han couldn't help but think of the skull principal. It felt like his handiwork, though it might just have been his imagination.
"Back to that corridor... No, wait. What have you brought?"
Yi-Han was taken aback. In their haste, he hadn't noticed that the bone summon, previously only consisting of a hand, had significantly increased in size.
What had it brought...?!
Clash!
The bones collided and rolled, eventually assembling correctly. Broad rib bones, a long tailbone, and the bones of hind legs.
It lacked a skull and one foot, but Yi-Han recognized the form. It was a leopard.
'A leopard's bones?'
He had always assumed it was human...
Reflecting on it, it seemed unlikely that even the least popular professor of dark magic would give a freshman human hand bones.
'I'm ashamed to have thought they were human hand bones.'
The bone summons, now a leopard bone summon, stamped its feet confidently. Its increased size seemed to have boosted its confidence. However, its missing skull and arm made this confidence appear somewhat grotesque.
"Did Professor Mortum hide these bones in a corner of the punishment room?"
"Yes."
Yi-Han nodded but couldn't help feeling a sense of self-reproach. Yonaire looked at him with worried eyes, silently questioning:
-Is it really okay to keep learning dark magic under that professor?-
"...It should be fine. Probably."
Yi-Han turned his attention back to the leopard bone summon. Now larger, it should be quicker.
"Check all the paths in that direction. Got it?"
"That way is a dead end."
"!!"
Yi-Han and Yonaire looked around in surprise, startled by the sudden voice.
"It's this way. This way."
From inside a room, there was a knocking sound.
To their astonishment, a student was inside one of the solitary cells off the corridor.
"Why are you wandering around the punishment room without knowing the way?"
"There's a long story behind it. Why are you here in the punishment room?"
"I have my own long story. What grade are you?"
"I just joined this year."
"..."
Suddenly, silence returned to the room. Yi-Han was puzzled.
What's happening?
"Aren't you the freshman who was brought to the punishment room before? The one who tried to escape through the underground passage and got caught?"
"Then are you the senior who got caught trying to rob the principal's secret warehouse? What did you do this time?"
Yi-Han was astonished.
To think that the fellow inmate from that punishment room was here.
"Can't you keep your voice down? Is that something to brag about?"
"What's there to be ashamed of? I ended up here while trying to rob the professor's warehouse too."
"..."
The student in the solitary cell was at a loss for words.
It was beyond imagination how a mere freshman, who had previously escaped through the underground passage, now found himself in the punishment room after attempting to rob the professor's warehouse. Next, he might even try to fly out of the academy.
Yonaire whispered to Yi-Han, "Who is that?"
"A senior who was in the cell next to me last time. He likes to be treated casually."
"It's not about liking to be treated casually... Never mind. What are you doing in the corridor?"
"Trying to find a way to escape."
"...I'm not even surprised anymore. Did you find a way?"
Yi-Han couldn't respond. The student in the cell chuckled as if he had expected that.
"It won't be easy. The way up from here is usually complicated."
"Senior, how about you come with us if we unlock this?"
The student burst into laughter at Yi-Han's suggestion.
"How naive! You say that because you've never escaped from the inside. Do you even know what happens when you open this door?"
"A lightning spirit?"
"...How do you know that??"
The student stuttered in confusion.
"We met it on our way up."
"..."
The student swayed, overwhelmed by the thought of how they could have possibly evaded it.
"You... How did you... Never mind. Sorry, but I have no intention of escaping."
"Why not?"
"I'll be released in six hours."
"..."
Yi-Han found the reasoning indisputable.
"Then, could you at least give us some advice on finding the way out?"
The student's response was similar to before, tinged with mockery.
"Why should I help you?"
"...We're doomed."
"What??"
"Last time, I lured him with food, but this time we don't have anything."
Yi-Han looked at Yonaire with a disappointed expression.
"Lure! What do you take me for!"
The student in the cell flared up upon hearing their conversation.
His teachings, meant to guide his juniors, now seemed like mere hunger-induced compliance.
Clatter, clatter!
While they were talking, the leopard bone summon nudged Yi-Han, urging him to give the next command.
"Wait a mi—"
"Hold on."
The student in the cell spoke up.
"Is that a bone summon?"
"Yes."
"Are you learning dark magic under Professor Mortum?"
"Yes...?"
"..."
An awkward and heavy silence fell.
A moment later, a piece of paper slid under the door.
It was a hastily drawn map, showing a simple route out of the place.
"...Take it. Good luck."
"..."
Yi-Han, with the map in hand, felt no joy. A foreboding sense of the future loomed over him.
'We're late!'
Yi-Han clenched his teeth.
Far down the corridor, he saw the professor stepping out of the lecture room.
They had rushed, yet they were still late.
The professor wasn't known for checking attendance, but given his strict nature, approaching him with 'I'm late, professor, but I've completed the assignment' would likely elicit a response like 'How can a student who can't manage time submit an assignment?'
Yonaire exhaled heavily, her expression filled with despair. She was breathless from the hurried dash to their current location.
"Yi-Han... No. No. No."
Yonaire, about to call out to Yi-Han, quickly grabbed his arm.
Yi-Han had drawn his staff and was aiming it at the professor's back.
"That's not right!"
"What isn't?"
"Attacking the professor is dangerous!"
"I'm not trying to attack him. I'm aiming for that."
Yi-Han pointed to a pile of assignments floating beside the professor.
It was a collection of assignments gathered from the students during this lecture.
"I'm going to slip it in there."
"...Is that even possible?"
"Yes."
Yi-Han spoke firmly and raised his staff.
The numerous hardships he had endured at the hands of Professor Boladi might have been leading up to this moment. Adversity strengthens a mage.
In that moment, Yi-Han fully embraced the teachings of the magic academy, internalizing them completely.
