Chapter 47

Chapter 047

Only then did Uregeum recall the story he had heard from Professor Garcia.

- Student Lee Han has a lot of mana.

- That much? How much exactly?

- Draw a large circle with your arms.

- Wow. That's quite a level.

- After subtracting that much?

- ...

I heard he had a lot of mana, but I didn't expect this much.

If he couldn't even feel the recovery from a mana potion, there was no need to say more.

"Sorry, Professor."

"...No. It's fine. You did a good job anyway. I'll praise you. Look! Here's a student who made the potion perfectly."

"Wodanaz...!"

"Sure enough, the Wodanaz family, huh?"

The other students were more surprised by the fact that "Wodanaz, of course" and "A genius like that isn't really surprising."

Lee Han was slightly flustered by their murmurs.

'What? Why is it so surprising?'

Lee Han was calmly evaluating himself.

Lee Han himself wasn't a genius. He was just more familiar with laboratory work and student life due to his long experience.

But being treated as a genius made him a bit uncomfortable.

When did this happen?

"Sure enough, Wodanaz. You're a genius."

Asan, who was transferring the potion into a flask, sighed in admiration.

Asan's potion was also quite good, but compared to Lee Han's, it was clearly less perfect.

"That Phoenix Tower's Siana made a great potion, but not as good as yours. Look."

"!"

Lee Han turned his gaze.

A snake-like student in a priest's robe was holding a rather clear blue potion.

'Plemeng Order?'

Lee Han recognized it immediately, as Yonner had explained it to him before.

The Plemeng Order, which worships alchemy.

Naturally, the priests of the order were all excellent alchemists.

So it was only natural that a student like Siana would make an excellent potion.

Swoosh-

Siana walked over to Lee Han and Asan and extended her hand.

"From the Wodanaz family, right? Nice to meet you. I'm Siana."

"Nice to meet you. You can speak casually. I'm Lee Han."

Lee Han shook her hand. It felt cold and chilly, as she was a snake-like student.

"To think I would meet such an excellent alchemist. Did you learn from the Wodanaz family?"

"Hey. That's enough. Stop talking."

Professor Uregeum interrupted. He had already returned to the front of the classroom.

"Today, you all tried to make the <Lower Mana Recovery Potion>. Some did well on their first try, while others struggled. But don't get too excited or disappointed by these results. This is just the beginning of alchemy. A complex and intricate world of alchemy awaits you."

'Professors are indeed skilled at killing students' enthusiasm.'

"I'll give you an assignment for next week. Make the <Lower Spirit Affinity Potion>. I'll test it myself, so be prepared."

The students took notes diligently with their quills.

Fortunately, Professor Uregeum explained how to make the <Lower Spirit Affinity Potion>.

He didn't say something like, "Figure out the method yourself."

"Professor, there's no Evolutionary Spirit Grass here... Where is it? Is it upstairs?"

Students who couldn't find the ingredients on the shelves and in the drawers asked curiously.

Uregeum also looked puzzled.

"What are you talking about? You have to find it."

"Oh. Is that so? We'll look for it."

At Uregeum's words, the students got up to search.

"No. No. Not here."

"? ?"

"Over there."

Uregeum pointed outside the window.

A dense mountain range behind the main building greeted the students.

"......"

"......"

"You have to go and find it. I believe you all remember what I said in the first lecture."

The students' faces twisted with despair and anger.

* * * *

The professors who started to reveal their true colors were not just Uregeum.

The professors at the magic school seemed to be competing to see who could give the most assignments, each giving insane amounts of homework for their respective lectures.

- Take these books and read them, finding at least five logical flaws in each.

- Professor, there aren't enough books. We need more to share.

- What are you talking about? That's one person's share. Carry all the books. New books will appear from the bottom.

- ...

The students were shocked by the volume, which was at least a dozen books.

- Professor, it's hard to carry...

- Don't worry. I've cast a lightness spell for you. Take the books quickly.

The <Basic Imperial Language and Logic> lecture, which made some students from the White Tiger Tower cry.

- This is the magic array design I submitted to the empire in my youth. Calculate the total cost based on this design. You don't need to get the exact answer, but the students with the most incorrect answers will be punished.

The <Basic Imperial Geometry and Arithmetic> lecture, which made Asan, a noble from the imperial chancellor's family, despair.

You must love and harmonize with each other. What? You don't want to? Your wishes don't matter. You must love and harmonize with each other. As part of this, I'll give you an assignment. Each tower's students must bring the flag hanging in the designated tower's freshmen lounge by the next class. The flag with the emblem.

By this point, it was questionable whether this was character education or a fight.

The students' faces paled with each lecture.

"How are we supposed to get the White Tiger Tower's flag?"

"Why the White Tiger Tower? They won't be convinced."

Moreover, the Blue Dragon Tower's target was the White Tiger Tower.

If it were the Black Turtle Tower or the Phoenix Tower, they could have borrowed the flag through persuasion and dialogue.

But considering the bad blood with the White Tiger Tower, they would definitely sneer at the request.

"The White Tiger Tower's flag is also our target. Should we propose an exchange?"

"How can we trust them? They're barbarians who don't know honor."

"I asked earlier, and they said they wouldn't do it."

"Hey. Let's give up. It's a waste of time."

The Blue Dragon Tower students sighed and murmured.

Assignments should be manageable to keep motivation, but this was just hopeless.

Why did it have to be the White Tiger Tower!

'This isn't good.'

Lee Han was flustered by his friends' attitude.

A student who easily gives up on a lecture's credit can't achieve great things.

Especially in this magic school, where crazy lectures and crazy credits could appear at any time.

He couldn't give up so soon.

It didn't matter to him personally, but his score would be affected if the group's score was reduced.

"Wait! Don't give up."

"!"

"Wodanaz!"

"Do you have a plan?"

"Sure. I knew you would."

It took about three seconds for the students' reactions to change from surprise to curiosity to certainty to trust.

Lee Han was exasperated by their fickle nature.

"What plan do you have, Wodanaz?"

"Wait. I think I know."

Asan confidently smiled.

"What is it, Dalkard?"

"You're planning to sneak into the White Tiger Tower. 95% chance that's it."

"Oh...!"

"Indeed! I'll join you!"

"Me too! Let's give the White Tiger Tower students a taste of their own medicine!"

"What? What's going on?"

"Wodanaz is suggesting we sneak into the White Tiger Tower and take the flag instead of begging."

"That sounds great!"

The Blue Dragon Tower students quickly made a plan and called Lee Han.

"Wodanaz! Lead us."

"The only one who can lead us is the one who came up with this plan from start to finish."

"......"

Lee Han was about to say something but gave up. It was already too much trouble.

'Well, we do need to enter the White Tiger Tower.'

Even if Lee Han were a White Tiger Tower student, he wouldn't give up the flag.

After all, they had been punished as a group because of Lee Han.

There was no other way but to use force.

"Alright."

"Wodanaz! Wodanaz!"

"White Tiger Tower students, wait for us! We're coming!"

'Is this really character education?'

Lee Han doubted whether the principal's lecture truly helped develop good character.

Wouldn't it just deepen the emotional rift between them?

* * * *

Finally, evening arrived.

Lee Han called Tizling and fed her dinner using the same deceptive tactics as before.

Tizling, sipping soup, felt Lee Han's proud gaze and was puzzled.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Hehe. It's nothing."

Tizling wondered if the boy in front of her was so happy because he had cleverly tricked her into eating.

'It must be my imagination.'

He was a boy from the honorable Wodanaz family.

He was here to feed her dinner out of a sense of honor, as a request from his mentor and as a noble.

Such a person wouldn't be happy over such a trivial matter.

"Here you are. Wodanaz family. I was looking for you."

"!"

Siana from the Plemeng Order, whom he met in the alchemy class, greeted Lee Han.

Not only Siana, but other tower students were also gathered.

"What's up?"

"As you know, we all need to make the <Lower Spirit Affinity Potion> for the alchemy class. There are limits to what we can do alone. I thought it would be good if we all worked together to gather the ingredients."

"That's a good idea."

Lee Han was pleased.

He had also thought about gathering and working together like this.

...If only the other tower students weren't afraid of him.

'Damn. Are they only listening because of the priest's robe? I have a priest's robe too.'

"Then, can you gather the Blue Dragon Tower students and come with us? We'll gather the ingredients together."

"Sure. I'll do that."

After finishing the conversation, Lee Han saw Siana off.

The students beside Siana murmured as they left, saying things like "We're saved" and "Did you see his eyes? I thought my heart would stop" and "But he was surprisingly kind."

Lee Han felt unjustly wronged, even though he knew why.

When he returned to his seat, Tizling tilted her head.

"Why are you like that?"

"Um... It's about Priest Siana from the Plemeng Order."

"Yeah. We're in the same alchemy class."

"...It's nothing."

Tizling was about to say something but closed her mouth.

There are two ways to make someone frustrated: one is to start speaking and then stop...

'Textbook way to make someone curious.'

Of course, Lee Han knew how picky priests could be.

She probably closed her mouth to avoid gossiping in the absence of the person involved.

But Lee Han didn't care about such things.

'What do you know? I'm curious.'

Lee Han decided to use a roundabout way to persuade her.

He took out a prayer cross from the Phrisinga Order and placed it on the rock in front of him.

"?"

Tizling tilted her head, not understanding.

"Bad-mouthing someone who isn't here is wrong, but it's okay to confess to God in private."

"...Are you seriously going to play the 'cover your eyes and say Aww' game...?"

"I heard something, but I can't hear it. I'm praying."

"......"

Tizling sighed and got up from her seat.

She knelt beside Lee Han and bowed her head as if in prayer.

"Phrisinga. This is not to slander or report someone."

"Thanks."

"I heard something, but I can't hear it. I'm praying."

"......"

Tizling also had a subtle grudge.