Chapter 55

It was a relief that the friends who had been insisting on "going outside" and "finding a way" had finally stopped arguing and shut their mouths.

Lee Han's words carried that much weight.

Nilia felt anew how impressive this friend of hers, who came from the Tower of the Blue Dragon, was.

To be able to silence these noisy students with just a few words.

Is this the charisma that only the bloodline of the Wodanaz family, one of the empire's renowned magical families, can possess?

"Everyone got wet in the rain, so we need to have something warm. Gather around. I'll make something for you."

At Lee Han's words, everyone's faces lit up, and they hurriedly gathered.

Seeing this, Nilia was momentarily reminded of someone familiar.

'Mom... Mom?'

It must be just a feeling.

Lee Han's demeanor, which exuded an atmosphere that didn't match the charisma of the imperial magical family, made Nilia slightly flustered.

* * *

If Gaian had seen this, he would have said, "Why are you carrying so much?" But Lee Han had brought a full backpack for this mountain trip.

It wasn't because he was cautious, but because he didn't trust the school that much.

If they were to get stranded in the mountains, they should be able to survive for at least a month!

Thanks to this, there was enough food to treat all the gathered students and still have some left over.

"Let it flow."

Thanks to the constant torment from Professor Voladi, the water creation magic now flowed smoothly without a pause.

He could even simplify the wand movements a bit.

'Indeed, the more you practice, the more freely you can use spells and movements.'

While he had heard various things when he was in the family, there were things that he could only understand through personal experience.

Spells and movements were just such things.

Magic is the act of changing the world according to a wizard's will.

No matter how talented a wizard is, changing the world with an unfamiliar spell inevitably raises doubts.

Can I do this spell? Is there something I'm misunderstanding? What if I make a mistake?

Detailed spells and movements erase these doubts and strengthen the wizard.

Conversely, as magic becomes more familiar, these spells and movements can be simplified.

'...But, thinking about it, learning that way is a bit... Do we really need to learn by making mistakes?'

Bubbling—

The pot on the fire began to boil. Lee Han poured water into tin cups and made coffee.

The students, who had been shivering from the cold spring rain, received the coffee with a look of bliss.

Thud—

Seeing Lee Han crack eggs into a small square frying pan, Nilia was puzzled.

"Where did you get all these things?"

"I bought them from the students of the Black Turtle Tower."

"?! "

Now that she thought about it, there had been talk of a big score at the black market earlier...

It was the Wodanaz family?!

Lee Han cut the scrambled eggs into small pieces with a knife and shared them with his friends.

The regular sound of the rain.

Warm coffee and eggs.

As their bodies warmed up and relaxed, the students suddenly became romantic.

"This isn't so bad."

"Indeed. This is the first time I've had such a pleasant time since entering the school."

'Are they suffering from Stockholm syndrome?'

Lee Han was shocked by the sudden romantic transformation of his friends.

There's nothing in the coffee or eggs that would cause this, so why are they all suddenly talking nonsense...

Meanwhile, Rowena, the elf from the White Tiger Tower, approached.

"Her Highness says thank you."

"Oh, I see."

Nilia, who had been listening, muttered under her breath.

"Does she have to say it herself, or will a curse be cast...?"

"What did you say?"

"Nothing."

When Rowena tilted her head and asked, Nilia quickly changed the subject.

She must have heard!

"By the way, Mr. Wodanaz."

"?"

"May I ask if you plan to make that vegetable stew again anytime soon?"

"...???"

"Hold on. You're going to make that vegetable stew again?"

"That legendary vegetable stew?"

The students of the Black Turtle Tower, who had been sipping coffee, suddenly stood up.

Not that stew?

"No. I don't plan to."

"......"

The students of the Black Turtle Tower sat down with disappointed expressions.

He's not going to make it!

Rowena, though not as disappointed as the students of the Black Turtle Tower, still looked let down.

"Is that so? I was looking forward to it after hearing the story."

Lee Han was taken aback.

How did the rumor spread so quickly...?

'Besides, even if I make it again, I'm not sure it will taste the same.'

Given that it was a dish made by boiling all the ingredients together, there was no guarantee that it would taste the same if made again.

Rowena whispered something to the princess, who listened with a blank expression, but Lee Han somehow felt that she looked disappointed.

Yonner shook his head and said,

"It seems a bit overzealous. The princess probably doesn't really want it. She's probably just being pressured by others."

"Is... that so?"

Lee Han tilted his head.

Yonner seemed to think of the princess as an ascetic who only ate dew.

But to Lee Han, the princess seemed a bit more...

'I thought she had a strong appetite like Gaian, but this is a bit much.'

Lee Han reflected. Even so, comparing her to Gaian was a bit much.

From the perspective of Lee Han, who had delivered food to the princess, it was hard to accept that she had no appetite for food.

She really eats well...

"!"

The princess stood up. Lee Han flinched, thinking his inner thoughts comparing her to Gaian had been discovered.

Rowena spoke up instead.

"In return for the food and drink, she says she wants to help."

"That would be great."

Lee Han was delighted.

The princess was a person with one of the best magical talents.

Her help would be a significant boost.

"Oh..."

"Amazing."

The princess held her staff and recited a spell.

Suddenly, a brown lump and a red glowing lump appeared in the air, reinforcing the ground and intensifying the bonfire.

'Elementals!'

Lee Han immediately recognized them as elementals.

Even though he hadn't learned them formally yet, the princess had successfully summoned elementals based on what she had heard in other lectures and read in books.

Imagining the princess communicating and building intimacy with elementals in the elemental plane, Lee Han slightly regretted taking Professor Voladi's class.

...Maybe he should have taken a more popular class?

Thud—

"!!"

While everyone was marveling at the princess's elementals, a giant figure emerged through the rain.

It was a golem.

* * *

People often had the prejudice that knight families could only wield swords, but in reality, it was different.

Upon reflection, it made sense.

To deal with monsters and bandits on the frontier, a variety of skills were necessary.

If they had only wielded swords, the students of the White Tiger Tower wouldn't have come to learn magic.

Therefore, among the students of the White Tiger Tower, there were unexpectedly many who excelled in various skills.

Bartrek of the Bark family, a dwarf from the eastern part of the empire, had a talent for alchemy befitting his family's reputation.

When the students of the White Tiger Tower groaned from muscle aches and bruises, he would make ointments and lend them.

His skills were so good that even Zisel, the leader of the White Tiger Tower, praised him.

"Here. Have some tea."

Bartrek poured tea from the pot with a gruff voice.

The students of the White Tiger Tower marveled at the Bark family's secret herbal tea. They felt their bodies warm up immediately.

"Thanks, Bartrek. You're the best."

"You might even be better than Priestess Siana. Hahaha!"

"Hahahaha!"

The students of the White Tiger Tower were gathered with the students of the Phoenix Tower.

When Professor Ingeldel disappeared and the sudden heavy rain started, the students here also took shelter to avoid the rain.

In a way, it was lucky.

If the students of the Tower of the Blue Dragon and the White Tiger Tower had been placed together, they would have certainly fought.

However, the students of the White Tiger Tower were so busy laughing and chatting that they didn't notice Siana's face contorting.

It was a light joke that the students of the Phoenix Tower had made without realizing it.

"......"

"......"

The students of the Phoenix Tower unconsciously watched Siana's reaction.

She wouldn't have put poison in the medicine, right?

"Let's try to find a way through now. The rain seems to be weakening."

"The rain... doesn't seem to be weakening?"

"Is it not weakening?"

"At this level, we should be able to make it through."

The students of the White Tiger Tower were much more energetic than those of the Tower of the Blue Dragon.

Of course, they knew it was dangerous to move in the rain, but the number of students with them made them feel confident.

There was no reason to hesitate unnecessarily.

"Besides, we need to find the students from the other towers, right?"

"The Tower of the Blue Dragon? Those arrogant guys?"

The students of the White Tiger Tower were averse to the idea. However, the students of the Phoenix Tower didn't back down easily.

"Still, we can't just leave the students from the other towers and go back, can we?"

"Hmm..."

The fierce and strong students of the White Tiger Tower couldn't act out in front of the priests.

"Ugh. We have to find the Black Turtle Tower too. It's a pain, but..."

"Let's try to find the students from the other towers first. But where did Professor Ingeldel go?"

Thud—

The same thing that happened to Lee Han's group happened to the students of the White Tiger Tower.

A golem appeared in front of them.

"!!!"

* * *

A daunting size, at least 3 meters tall.

The students froze at the sight of the mud golem. Rowena quickly said,

"Don't move rashly! Golems act according to rules. As long as you don't break the rules first, it won't attack you!"

Golems were different from other wild monsters. Golems were artificial monsters created by mages.

They were shaped from materials like mud, stone, or metal, and a magic core was placed inside and activated.

This was the basic method of creating a golem.

The problem arose when these magic cores, which were damaged or discarded, accidentally combined with materials.

A golem that no longer followed human commands was born.

'This magic school has a problem with safety management.'

Lee Han cursed inwardly as he raised his staff.

Indeed, as Rowena said, golems had rules.

Whether it was a functioning golem or a broken one, this was true.

The problem was that the rules of a broken golem were hard to guess.

If it had a rule like "destroy all new students"...

Swish—

The mud golem approached the students threateningly and began to draw a line with its foot.

A thick line was etched in front of the students who were taking shelter under the cliff.

"??"

"Is it telling us not to cross the line? What happens if we do?"

"Let's try it."

"No way! Wodanaz! Gaian isn't here!!"

Asan screamed, trying to stop them. Of course, Lee Han had no intention of going out himself.

The bone summon creature clattered forward. The mud golem mercilessly swung its fist.

Crack!

"......"

"......"

The students were shocked.

The shattered bone summon creature fortunately revived and returned to its original form shortly after.

Seeing this, Rowena focused on another aspect.

'Wait, can a summon creature revive that quickly?'

A summoned creature that had been dismissed usually required a significant amount of time and mana to recover...