Chapter 31

‘Has my wicked inner thoughts been exposed?’

Lee Han was momentarily worried, but fortunately, it hadn't been discovered.

"Even if you wear the priest's robes, it won't deepen your faith or weaken the curse..."

Tizling seemed concerned that Lee Han might have misunderstood something.

"Of course, I know that. But wearing the priest's robes will help me reflect on my usual lazy and comfortable lifestyle."

"...Oh, wouldn't that be enough with the clothes you already have?"

Tizling pointed at Lee Han's clothes.

The skeletal principal had only given the students rough and crude uniforms (though it's debatable whether these could even be called uniforms), so they were already far from comfortable and soft clothing.

However, Lee Han was not swayed.

"No. I need the priest's robes to better understand Lady Phrezinga's will."

"If you say so..."

Tizling hesitated but then relented. For the devout Tizling, the reason of faith was one she couldn't refuse.

"I'll get them for you the next time we meet."

"Right. By the way, Father Mehrid asked me to make sure you eat properly."

"That's fine."

Tizling answered softly but firmly.

"I'm already satisfied with my current meals."

If he had immediately given up when Tizling refused, he wouldn't have the qualities of a graduate student.

When a professor says to do something, one must make the impossible possible.

Of course, Father Mehrid wasn't a professor, but...

"But Father is worried. If you don't do something, he'll continue to worry. How about this? We can eat together. You don't have to force yourself to eat. Just eating together will ease Father's worries, won't it?"

Thinking that Lee Han's words made sense, Tizling, who had been hesitating, nodded.

Besides, she had been feeling guilty about Father Mehrid's constant worry.

"That sounds like a good idea."

"Right?"

Lee Han smiled.

'If we eat together, I can make you eat as much as I want.'

Manipulating a girl who had grown up praying in the church was an incredibly easy task.

Sensing something suspicious in his smile, Tizling tilted her head.

* * *

The weekend ended, and a new week began.

The faces of the students who had survived the brutal first week after enrollment seemed to have matured somehow.

- Huh. You think Einrograd is tough? It feels like home to me now.

- After a week, it seems doable. Magic classes are manageable at this level.

The students, who had taken a brief rest over the weekend, were brimming with baseless confidence.

However, Einrograd showed its merciless true colors to such students.

<Basic Imperial Geometry and Arithmetic>.

- A young mage is at one vertex of a cube. The young mage wants to connect a magic circle to the farthest vertex from where they are. Calculate the shortest distance the young mage can connect.

- ...P, Professor? This isn't magic, is it...

- Don't ask such a stupid and foolish question. A mage who relies on senses and only knows how to wave a wand can never achieve greatness. The higher the circle of magic, the more essential it is to understand complex calculations and principles. Geometry is one of the cores of magic. A mage who doesn't know geometry cannot draw a proper magic circle. Similarly, arithmetic is also a core of magic. How can someone who doesn't know how to allocate mana draw a magic circle?

- ...

- ...T, This...

<Basic Imperial Language and Logic>.

- One of the greatest dangers for young mages is being tricked into a fraudulent contract by a more intellectually superior being. Therefore, mages must understand the risks of contracts and the ambiguous meanings hidden within them. Today, we will solve this problem. There is a drunk and foolish mage. This mage always does foolish things when drunk. One day, the mage summoned a demon while drunk and made an unfavorable contract. Can the mage invalidate the contract when sober... Are you saying your soul is not precious enough to stay awake? Wake up!

- Gah! I wasn't sleeping!

The students, who had not encountered such fierce required subjects in the first week, looked as if their souls had been half-drained.

What did I just hear?

"I might not be suited for magic..."

"To think I mistook waving a wand for understanding magic... I'm just worthless trash..."

The students muttered, their confidence shattered.

However, among them were a few outstanding individuals.

"Geometry and arithmetic are fundamental to the governance and operation of the empire."

Asan, from the Dalkard family, which has traditionally held the positions of imperial chancellor and imperial treasurer.

"..."

Among the countless royal family members, the princess Adenart, known for her exceptional talent.

"How did you solve it? Hey, is that important now? We need to find a way out first."

Lee Han, from the Wodanaz family, the most prominent among the students of the Blue Dragon Tower, a gathering of the empire's most prestigious families.

These three geniuses aced the suffocating required subjects without batting an eye.

'I never thought attending graduate school would be useful in life.'

Lee Han thought to himself.

Everyone around him had always said, "What are you going to do with all that studying?" But surprisingly, studying had its uses.

I never thought it would be useful like this...

"Hehehe. Lee Han. Look at those White Tiger Tower guys. They're in a mess."

'You couldn't solve it either...'

Despite his own struggles, Gai Nando was impressed by Lee Han's ability to regain his confidence by looking at the White Tiger Tower students.

People are truly consistent!

"Can you teach me later?"

Yonner asked cautiously.

Even Yonner, who was relatively smart, found it difficult to keep up with today's classes.

He would need to review and solve the problems again.

If he did, having a smart friend like Lee Han to help would be a great advantage.

Frankly, Lee Han's performance earlier was impressive.

While Asan was from a family known for such skills and Princess Adenart had already proven herself multiple times, Lee Han showing his abilities without falling behind them was unexpected.

"Sure. I'll ask you about alchemy later."

Yonner's face brightened at Lee Han's answer.

'If we each have our strengths, studying together is easier.'

Surprisingly, networking helped with studies.

A genius who didn't need help from others wouldn't need connections, but Lee Han wasn't such a genius.

Having a relationship where they could help each other would be advantageous in many ways.

Lee Han didn't think teaching Yonner math or logic was a loss.

On the contrary, he thought it was a gain to learn alchemy from Yonner.

"Oh, then me too!"

"..."

Lee Han hesitated for a moment.

Teaching Gai Nando definitely felt like a loss.

"Of course."

"Didn't you hesitate just now?"

"It must have been a feeling. Anyway, seeing how difficult the required subjects are, I'm glad I didn't choose too many elective courses."

Everyone nodded in agreement with Lee Han's words.

The confidence they had after the first week's lectures, thinking "This is doable," had long disappeared.

They were seriously considering canceling other courses.

Lee Han casually said,

"How about it? Are you thinking of taking classes like swordsmanship, physical training, or repetitive magical combat training now?"

"Sorry."

"I don't like that."

"No matter how I think about it, that's not for me."

The students, who had been listening to Lee Han, were very firm on this point.

* * *

Just as the students met regularly, the professors also met regularly.

The dwarf professor, Thunderstep, sipped on freshly brewed tea.

'Hmm. As the saying goes, having a capable worker makes the tea taste better.'

There was a dwarf proverb: "A capable worker makes everything taste better."

Indeed, the young Wodanaz was a capable worker. The tea leaves were much better than when Thunderstep managed the cabin alone.

This wasn't something just anyone could do, especially not someone from an imperial noble family.

The talent for menial tasks!

"By the way, Headmaster."

Hmm?

"Who is teaching the <Basic Mount Training> course?"

The half-troll professor, Garcia Kim, spoke.

Thunderstep answered with a puzzled look.

"Huh? Isn't it Professor Bendozol?"

"Oh, didn't you hear? Professor Bendozol went missing while searching for a unicorn. Since he hasn't returned, we need to find another professor."

Don't worry. I've already prepared for it.

"Of course..."

"I trusted you."

The professors all nodded at the skeletal headmaster's reassuring words.

No matter how much they complained, the skeletal headmaster's strength was crucial in maintaining and running the magic school, a massive lump of uncertainty.

Who else could run and lead this school if not the skeletal headmaster?

"So, who is it?"

Thunderstep was curious.

<Basic Mount Training> was one of the required courses.

Not only to ensure that students could ride a horse when they graduated, but also to familiarize them with various exotic creatures.

Therefore, the professor needed to have extensive knowledge of not just riding but all kinds of mounts.

Lightstep Zadur.

"..."

"Oh, that's reassuring."

"An excellent choice."

All the professors except Thunderstep were satisfied.

Lightstep was a famous dwarf adventurer known for exploring and investigating remote areas both inside and outside the empire.

Of course, Thunderstep felt very, very bad.

Because Lightstep was Thunderstep's aunt.

"Why specifically her?!"

If you have to blame someone, blame Bendozol, who went missing while searching for a unicorn. Did I know a professor would disappear? You should consider it a stroke of luck to find a suitable replacement so quickly.

"Ugh..."

Thunderstep couldn't argue with the skeletal headmaster's words.

Finding the right professor was indeed not an easy task.

But...

'I really don't want to see her.'

One of the reasons Thunderstep disliked eastern dwarves was because of Lightstep.

Lightstep was from the eastern dwarves.

Whenever they met, she would tear apart Thunderstep's soul with nagging comments like, "How long are you going to stay in your room, fiddling with flasks and potions?" "Listen when an adult speaks." "The blacksmith from the neighboring family has already started a family."

Professor Garcia tried to console him.

"Don't worry too much. You won't have to see her often."

"I hope so..."

* * *

Despite being beaten down by math and language all day, the students' faces were surprisingly bright.

It was because of the class they were about to attend.

<Basic Mount Training>!

In the empire, riding was a noble's education, a knight's skill, and not a difficult luxury for commoners.

The students of the Blue Dragon Tower, who had ridden horses around their estates since childhood, the students of the White Tiger Tower, who had driven warhorses across mountains and fields, and the students of the Black Turtle Tower, who had traveled the long imperial roads on horseback, were all confident.

Lee Han, who naturally knew how to ride a horse, wasn't particularly cautious.

'After all, if you keep whipping people, they'll collapse. There should be a carrot-like class too.'

- Roar!

"?"

"???"

"??????"

With a roar that could have come from a monster, something massive flew down from the sky.

And it flew away, carrying Gai Nando in its beak.

"Aaaaaaaaah!"