Chapter 19

Chapter 019

'I underestimated them too much.'

It was true that the students of the Blue Dragon Tower liked Li Han and felt indebted to him.

However, that alone wouldn't have made them so fiercely agitated.

Fundamentally, the students of the Blue Dragon Tower didn't like the students of the White Tiger Tower.

They were from knight families, with rough and fierce demeanors that were the complete opposite of the Blue Dragon Tower students.

Even though they secretly despised them, they exploded when provoked.

Even the students from other groups who rarely talked to Li Han were so angry that they shouted.

"Everyone, grab anything you can use as a weapon and follow me! Let's go to the White Tiger Tower!"

"Wait!"

Asan from the Dalkard family stood in front of the excited students.

Asan climbed onto a table in the lounge and tried to calm his classmates.

"Everyone, calm down!"

'Oh, there's someone with a clear head.'

Li Han was slightly relieved by Asan's words.

Not everyone was losing their heads.

"What, Dalkard! Are you scared?"

"Our honor is being insulted!"

Of course, the students were even angrier at Asan's attempt to calm them.

Asan spoke calmly.

"The students of the White Tiger Tower are from knight families. We can't act rashly. There's a 95% chance we'll be the ones to suffer."

"Then you want us to back down like this?!"

"No. We need to split into groups, set up an ambush systematically, and attack the White Tiger Tower students when we find them!"

"Oh...!"

"......"

Li Han sighed.

What a fool I am to have expected this!

"Wait, wait!"

Li Han shouted loudly, taking Asan's place.

As the party involved, Li Han's voice was inevitably louder than Asan's. The students involuntarily turned their attention to Li Han.

"First, let's get this straight. I don't plan to ask you to take revenge for me! This is a matter of my honor. I'm not so weak that I need to ask others to take revenge for me!"

The students murmured at Li Han's words.

None of the students present cared about honor.

They all carried the honor of their families.

Therefore, when Li Han stepped forward for the sake of his own honor, they couldn't easily refute him.

"But Wodanaz, the White Tiger Tower students are cunning, despicable, and dirty. Even if you try to take revenge honorably, it won't be easy."

"......"

Li Han was slightly taken aback by the student's continuous cursing but still answered calmly.

"Even so, for us, who come from honorable families, to act like them is like rolling in the mud. Let's not do that!"

Li Han's voice carried a definite persuasiveness.

It came from his confident appearance and attitude, as well as his usual actions.

The students who had risen in anger finally nodded and sat back down.

"If Wodanaz says so..."

"Those despicable guys. They don't even know what honor is."

As his friends calmed down, Li Han spoke again.

He had brought up this topic to discuss this matter.

"Instead, if those guys start trouble, let's cooperate and deal with them. The White Tiger Tower students are likely to attack in groups out of cowardice."

"Indeed!"

"Right! We should do that much!"

The students finally seemed satisfied, stomping their feet and clapping in approval.

'Good.'

Li Han could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Now, if the White Tiger Tower students started trouble while passing by, he could call his friends to fight back.

This was enough...

"By the way, the next <Understanding Basic Magic> class is with the White Tiger Tower students, right?"

"Good. We can show them what we're made of."

"Those ignorant and crude guys... What do they think they're going to learn magic for?"

"I've mastered the <Light Creation> spell."

"You too? Me too. Let's show them the spell. I'm curious about their faces. None of them could have mastered it, right?"

"This is the dignified way of a noble!"

'...Wait a minute.'

Listening to the students' conversation as they sat back down, Li Han suddenly felt a sinking feeling in his chest.

...Am I the only one who hasn't mastered the Light Creation spell?

* * * *

The next day.

Stretching, Yoner came out of the dormitory and was surprised.

Li Han had dark circles under his eyes.

"Why are you like this!?"

At first, Yoner thought it was because of the food.

The meals served in the dormitory were making the hungry students even hungrier.

On the first day after moving into the dormitory, the students' faces had actually become pale and gaunt.

But then, Li Han was a unique person who had adapted perfectly from the first day.

Moreover, when the Blue Dragon Tower students were hungry, he would go to the Thunderstep Hut alone and bring back smoked meat and freshly picked vegetables to share with his friends (though he did charge a bit).

There was no reason for him to be like this now because of the food.

Unless it was Gaynand...

"Practicing magic."

"Magic? You're not supposed to practice separately... Oh, you got permission from Professor Kim last time, right?"

"Yeah. Everyone else said they had mastered <Light Creation>, so I practiced all night."

"?"

Yoner tilted his head.

He had never heard this before.

"What do you mean...?"

"Ugh."

Gaynand yawned widely as he walked into the lounge.

He then took a sausage (which he had bought from Li Han yesterday) from the pocket of his shabby clothes.

Gaynand treated the sausage as if it were a treasure.

After looking around to make sure no one would steal it, he skewered it and placed it in the fireplace.

The sausage began to sizzle and cook, and the smell of high-quality pork stimulated the hungry stomachs.

"Hehehe..."

"......"

"......"

Unaware that Li Han and Yoner felt sorry for him, Gaynand took a potato (which he had also bought) from another pocket.

He then carefully placed it under the fireplace.

"Hehehe..."

"...Gaynand. We won't steal your food, so just eat it properly."

"?!??"

Gaynand jumped in surprise, not realizing Li Han and Yoner were behind him.

"Wh-When did you guys get here?!"

"Since you carefully skewered the sausage."

"No, I didn't!"

"The sausage is burning. Take it out."

"Ah!"

Gaynand hurriedly took out the skewer and looked at them warily.

"...Gaynand. Do you really think Li Han and I would steal your sausage and potato?"

"Um... Of course not."

Despite saying this, Gaynand still looked wary.

Li Han, instead of saying anything, looked at Yoner.

"The situation is serious."

"Everyone is hungry."

It wasn't that Gaynand was particularly crazy; everyone was just very hungry.

If it weren't for Li Han bringing food from the Thunderstep Hut, the students' condition would have been even worse.

"The meat will be gone by this weekend... We need to go hunting this weekend."

"Will it be okay?"

"We should ask Nilia to go with us."

Yoner nodded at Li Han's suggestion.

Indeed, having the capable dark elf hunter Nilia go with them would be reassuring.

Of course, Nilia wasn't there, and if she had heard, she would have been bewildered, thinking, "Why me all of a sudden?!"

"Professor Thunderstep is secretly quite despicable."

Li Han grumbled.

Professor Thunderstep was a somewhat stingy dwarf.

While he allowed them to use the hut freely, he was very strict about taking anything from inside.

It was fine to eat what they dug up or cooked on the spot, but if they tried to take it away, he would start complaining.

- Hey, that bread is the one I baked for dinner! And when did you put jam in your pocket? Why are you taking it?

- But Professor, I cultivated the garden as you asked. Can't I take this?

- You just ate a full meal! Why are you taking more? If you keep taking everything, the hut will be empty!

"There doesn't seem to be any way to sneak anything out."

"Is there any way to create an opportunity...?"

Yoner, realizing what he had said, gasped in surprise.

He had already been influenced by the school.

* * * *

Professor Troll, Garcia Kim, smiled wryly as he watched the students enter.

Being very attentive to his students, Garcia could quickly notice subtle changes.

First,

As the first week at the magic school was coming to an end, the students were very hungry.

While Garcia didn't fully agree with the headmaster's theory, there was no denying that hunger was an effective way to motivate students.

Hungry students would use all their strength to overcome the situation.

'Everyone, hang in there.'

Second,

Tension was already starting to build between the towers.

Given that the students came from different backgrounds, it was natural for them to compete and be hostile towards each other.

Especially between the <Arrogant Blue Dragon Tower> and the <White Tiger Tower that Bites Lightning>, the relationship had never been good.

Noble children born and raised in prestigious families vs. knight children born and raised in the rough and desolate borderlands of the empire.

They couldn't get along.

However, according to the headmaster's theory, this was one of the things that kept the students sharp.

The more they competed, the stronger they became!

"Everyone, please sit down."

While not as shocking as the first time they met, Professor Garcia still exuded an overwhelming presence.

It was natural, given his troll heritage.

The students from both the Blue Dragon Tower and the White Tiger Tower sat down obediently.

"Last time, we tried the <Light Creation> spell. Although none of you succeeded, there's no need to be disappointed. The path of magic isn't something you can rush. You'll wander at first, but once you get the hang of it and grasp the feel, your skills will start to improve rapidly. So, has anyone succeeded in the <Light Creation> spell in the meantime?"

Li Han, stifling a yawn, raised his hand.

'He practiced all night.'

When the other Blue Dragon Tower students said they had all mastered the <Light Creation> spell, Li Han became increasingly anxious.

As a skilled Korean, he couldn't stand being left behind in competition.

In the end, Li Han practiced the <Light Creation> spell all night instead of sleeping.

If it weren't for his enormous mana, he would have collapsed long ago, but Li Han was fine. He was just a bit sleepy.

"...?"

Li Han felt something was off.

None of the surrounding students had raised their hands.

'What?'

"Oh..."

"Of course, Wodanaz."

"Amazing."

The Blue Dragon Tower students clapped softly, a mix of admiration and pride on their faces.

Look at the White Tiger Tower students!

This is Wodanaz!

...The same feeling was evident.

"Hey."

Li Han, unable to understand, asked the student next to him.

He was sure this student had said he had mastered the Light Creation spell.

"Didn't you say you mastered the Light Creation spell?"

"Oh, did you hear that? I almost succeeded, but not completely. But it was practically a success, so I said I had mastered it."

"......"

I was fooled!

'These show-off noble kids...!'