Chapter 54

Chapter 054

“So, Professor Mordtum gave you these bones?”

“Wodanaz. I don’t know much about magic, but in our industry, there’s a saying that we shouldn’t associate with black magicians.”

“......”

The two friends pointed out the harsh reality.

No matter how he thought about it, the bone summoner was a rather creepy gift.

To think there’s a professor who would give something like this...

Lee Han found himself making excuses without realizing it.

“But it’s not completely useless, right?”

“It is, but it’s still creepy.”

Ratford spoke loyally, though the content of his words was not particularly loyal.

Still, Yoner seemed to notice Lee Han’s complicated feelings and tried to find the good points of the bone summoner.

“It doesn’t need to be fed, it’s loyal, and it can do a lot of things...”

“What can it do?”

Yoner ignored Ratford’s words as if he hadn’t heard them.

“...And maybe, if you look at it a certain way, it could be a bit cute?”

“Thanks, Yoner. But hearing this, I’m starting to feel really weird. This is definitely strange.”

Lee Han wanted to think that the gift had some use, but he couldn’t deny the reality any longer.

The bone summoner was indeed strange.

“Why did the professor give me this bone summoner?”

“I don’t know... But I’m more curious about why he gave the bones separately.”

“Maybe he wants us to find more bones scattered around the school and combine them?”

At Ratford’s words, Yoner laughed as if it were absurd.

“Such an absurd... Wait. Is it really absurd?”

“......”

But Lee Han couldn’t laugh.

Ratford’s words sounded too plausible.

‘Could he really have given it with that intention?’

Otherwise, the hand bone that the Black Turtle Tower student found wouldn’t have so easily attached and combined.

Of course, with a normal mindset, one would think, ‘Who would enjoy such a bone collection game?’ But as we know, professors don’t have normal mindsets.

They likely thought, ‘Students will enjoy searching for these bones.’

‘Creepy.’

Lee Han shuddered.

The professors’ twisted mindset was more frightening than the bone summoner itself.

A terrifying thought that normal people couldn’t possibly follow!

“Wodanaz! Have you finished looking around the black market? ...Wait, what are those bones?!”

Ashan Dalkard, who had returned late, was shocked to see the bone summoner circling around Lee Han.

What’s going on?

* * *

The number of students gathered in front of Professor Ingeldel was considerable.

Not only from the Blue Dragon Tower and the Black Turtle Tower, but also from the Phoenix Tower and the White Tiger Tower.

All students taking alchemy classes needed materials, so it was natural.

Missing this opportunity with the professor, it would be difficult for students to obtain materials within the mountain range.

Professor Ingeldel slowly began to speak once all the students had gathered.

“Safety first, safety second. First, gather with students from your own tower. Then, confirm each other’s faces and memorize the number of students. We will periodically check to ensure no one is missing.”

“......”

“......”

Professor Ingeldel had a talent for scaring students. Their faces were already tense.

‘But it’s better to be tense.’

It’s better to be tense than to go on a picnic in the mountains and end up in a disaster.

The Blue Dragon Tower students all knew each other.

Lee Han and Yoner, of course, and Ashan, along with the princess.

Ashan asked curiously.

“Wodanaz. I heard from the Black Turtle Tower students that the food you made was really delicious.”

“It’s an exaggeration. It was just a simple stew.”

Lee Han thought the Black Turtle Tower students were exaggerating.

When you’re hungry, anything tastes good.

The stew he made earlier was a simple one, with vegetables and herbs cut on the spot, cooked only with oil, salt, pepper, and tomato sauce.

“No, it was really delicious.”

“It was really delicious.”

“?”

Lee Han was puzzled.

While he could understand Ratford, he didn’t expect Yoner to react like that.

“Without any meat? Isn’t the food in the dorm better?”

“No, maybe it’s because we ate it together outside. It tasted much better.”

‘Is it because of the ingredients?’

The only reason he could think of was that the vegetables in the stew were freshly harvested.

Given how they grew so quickly in Professor Uregal’s cabin, it seemed like Professor Uregal had used some special potion.

‘Oh no. Could it be that Professor Uregal sprinkled a precious elixir and I took it without noticing?’

Lee Han felt a bit regretful for a moment.

But thinking about it, if that were the case, Professor Uregal would have left a note not to touch the garden. Besides, this was Lee Han’s garden.

‘No matter how I think about it, it’s not my fault.’

If he had known the stew would be so well-received, Lee Han would have tried it himself.

What was it like to taste so good...

“Wait. You’re from the White Tiger Tower, right?”

Ashan Dalkard spoke to an elf with long black hair.

A student from the White Tiger Tower, whom he had spoken to once before.

What was unique was that instead of moving with other students from the White Tiger Tower, this student was loyal to the princess!

“I have already obtained permission from my fellow students. I will serve the princess.”

It seemed that a few students from other towers had already gathered around the princess.

An astonishing level of loyalty.

In contrast...

Lee Han looked around. Then, a student from the Black Turtle Tower approached and spoke.

“Don’t you like the White Tiger Tower students? Should I gather some others and start a conflict?”

“......”

What do you think of me?

* * *

“This place is good. Collect the materials individually.”

After walking for a few hours, Professor Ingeldel stopped at a flower field.

Seeing the students split up and move in small groups, the elf professor smiled contentedly.

Contrary to his worries, the students moved in an orderly manner.

The students themselves realized that to survive in this school, they had to stick together.

‘They are doing well.’

In every tower, there were a few students who played a leadership role.

Their personalities and methods varied, but it was undeniable that these leaders helped their friends in times of crisis.

The young man from the Wodanaz family was one of them.

With the charisma of a noble, he exerted a strong influence not only on the Blue Dragon Tower students but also on students from other towers.

Though cold and calm, he wasn’t malicious, which was fortunate; otherwise, the tower would have been noisy.

‘Leaders always emerge, but this one is on a different level.’

Ingeldel, who had heard about Lee Han from a few students from other towers, had a slight misunderstanding.

Lee Han didn’t have the crazy idea that ‘since I was born into a magical noble family, it’s my duty to dominate and rule others.’

Chirp chirp chirp.

“?”

Professor Ingeldel, who was sitting, turned his head at the sound of birds chirping from behind.

Poof!!

At that moment, Professor Ingeldel disappeared.

* * *

“W, Wodanaz.”

Lee Han was putting cloud mushrooms and dwarf hammer mushrooms into a basket when he realized something was wrong.

A few students from the Black Turtle Tower were approaching with pale faces.

“What’s wrong?”

“The professor... The professor...! He disappeared!!”

“?!”

Lee Han was shocked.

Several thoughts flashed through his mind.

Could Professor Ingeldel have disappeared to teach the students a lesson?

‘No. I trust Professor Ingeldel. ...Trusting the professor might not be the best choice statistically, but... still.’

Lee Han shook his head.

Could it be that evil enemies like the empire’s anti-magicists had secretly infiltrated and kidnapped Professor Ingeldel?

‘This also doesn’t make sense. After the previous attack, the security and defenses would have been increased several times. If they broke through, the principal wouldn’t be qualified.’

If not that, the next thought was...

‘Did he encounter a monster? But Professor Ingeldel is a master on par with Alarlong. It’s hard to believe that such a master would be taken down without making a sound. And it’s also hard to believe that such a monster would appear in the outskirts of this mountain range.’

Thinking about it, Lee Han felt a bit bitter that any monster could appear near this magic school, but he still trusted Professor Ingeldel’s skills.

He wasn’t the type to be taken down so easily.

“What should we do? What should we do?”

“Everyone, calm down. Professor Ingeldel might have gone somewhere else temporarily.”

Lee Han himself didn’t really believe this, but he spoke calmly.

The important thing now was to calm the other students.

‘No monster has appeared, and we haven’t lost our way. There’s no need to panic. We just need to go back the way we came.’

Though the mountains were thought of as wild lands, there were paths within the mountain range.

Natural trails formed by the seniors who had passed through.

Though the students had walked for quite a while, since they had followed a path, they could just go back the same way...

Swoosh!

“......”

“......”

With the sudden downpour, Lee Han began to seriously suspect that this was all a trap.

* * *

Lee Han and a few students gathered at the base of a nearby cliff to shelter from the rain.

Nilia, with a pale face, shook off the water and said.

“It’s impossible to find our way in this situation. We’ll definitely lose our direction. The more dangerous things are losing body heat or encountering a monster. Meeting a monster in the rain is a nightmare of nightmares.”

Her friends looked at her with a mix of despair.

But Nilia said reassuringly.

“But don’t worry. We’re in a good spot now. We just need to hold out until the rain stops...”

“We should take the risk and find our way. The rain will make it harder to find the path.”

“No, we should just hold out...”

“The Phoenix Tower and White Tiger Tower students are nowhere to be seen. How can we find them in this rain?”

“So, we should just hold out...”

“We need to find the professor! We should find a way to call him.”

Nilia gave up and looked dejected.

Lee Han waved his hand as if calling her over. Nilia ran over and gathered wood next to Lee Han.

Meanwhile, the students were discussing their own ideas.

We need to find the path, we need to join other students, we need to find the professor, etc.

While they were talking, Lee Han started fires in various places. The bone summoner moved through the rain, gathering more branches.

“So, we need to move first, even if it’s just among ourselves!”

“We need to find other students! The more people, the better, right?”

“We need to find the professor first!”

The students’ arguments grew more heated.

Realizing that their opinions were at odds, they sought a judge.

“Wodanaz!”

“Wodanaz, what do you think?”

“What?”

Lee Han was startled as the conversation suddenly turned to him while he was lighting a fire.

“Shouldn’t we wait until the rain stops?”

“...Y, yes.”

“That’s right. We should wait.”

“......”

Nilia glared at her friends.

You didn’t listen to me when I said it...!