Chapter 56

However, Rowena had no more time to think about the secrets of the summoned creature. She needed to think of a way to deal with the mud golem in front of her.

“It attacks when we step out.”

“No way! Does that mean we’re trapped?!”

“It’s too early to be sure. Let’s try attacking!”

“Stop it! Attacking recklessly could be dangerous.”

The students murmured, each offering their opinions. They were all scared and flustered, so their voices grew louder and they refused to back down.

Seeing that they were about to argue pointlessly again, Nilia hurriedly approached Han.

To control these (friends who don’t listen to Nilia), Han’s help was needed.

“Wodanaz. Wodanaz.”

Han was frowning, deep in thought. Nilia grabbed his arm and shook him, calling out again.

“Wodanaz!”

“Oh. Sorry. What’s up?”

“Why are you like this? Those bast... I mean, friends are about to argue again. You need to step in.”

Han nodded. Nilia, suddenly curious, asked,

“So, what were you thinking about?”

“Oh. I was carefully considering this situation.”

“!”

Nilia’s long ears perked up.

Thinking about it, this boy from the Wodanaz family had a unique insight.

His high regard for the Shadow Patrol’s hunters and scouts, his appreciation of the hunters’ wisdom, and his friendly relationship with Nilia herself—all these things suggested he had a special insight.

Could he have found a way to resolve the current situation with that insight?

“What is it? What did you figure out?”

Not only Nilia, but the other students also looked at Han with a mix of hope and expectation.

Han slowly spoke.

“I think this is a trap set by the professors.”

“......”

“......”

Everyone was speechless, taken aback by this unexpected opinion.

* * *

“Untie me, please.”

Calm down, Professor Ingeldel.

The skeletal headmaster, trying to soothe him, untied the magical chains binding Professor Ingeldel’s wrists and ankles.

Ingeldel looked at the skeletal headmaster and Professor Thunderstep with disbelief.

Suddenly, his vision darkened, and he was transported elsewhere, wondering what was happening. It turned out the skeletal headmaster had kidnapped Ingeldel.

What a bunch of crazy mages!

I have a good reason for bringing Professor Ingeldel here. You’ll understand when you hear it.

“What reason?”

Well, having a reliable swordsman like you around means the students lose the opportunity to grow when faced with a crisis.

“......”

Ingeldel was speechless, taken aback by the absurdity of the statement.

Seeing this, the skeletal headmaster and Professor Thunderstep nodded, thinking he had understood.

“Professor Ingeldel seems to understand.”

“I don’t understand! If you want to help students grow, there are many other ways! Regular and repetitive training, duels, the attitude of a mentor, and proper guidance...”

The skeletal headmaster shook his head at Ingeldel’s words.

It seems you don’t understand. Mages are not raised that way.

“You’re right, Professor Ingeldel. Mages are not raised that way. Facing a crisis they already know won’t foster creativity in a mage.”

“......”

Ingeldel almost drew his sword but held back, remembering this was a magic school, not a knight school.

‘I’d rather go back to a knight school.’

Professor Ingeldel, though confused now, will understand my intentions someday.

“...Fine. If there are any problems or if we need to send a rescue team for missing students, please call me.”

Indeed, it seems you’ve changed your mind.

“I haven’t changed my mind.”

To soothe the sighing Professor Ingeldel, Professor Thunderstep handed him a warm cup of tea.

And he said, trying to comfort him,

“There’s no need to worry too much, Professor Ingeldel. What I’ve prepared isn’t that dangerous. At worst, it’s just bulls enhanced by potions.”

Professor Thunderstep had meticulously prepared for this alchemy assignment.

He had set up the monsters in the area where the potion ingredients were located, just like last time.

The students might curse him as ‘Thunderstep the bastard’ now, but in the distant future, when they become excellent alchemists, they’ll thank him.

“Bulls should be manageable for the students.”

Hearing this, Professor Ingeldel felt somewhat relieved.

Even if the bulls were enhanced by potions, there were quite a few talented students among the freshmen, so they should be able to handle them with skill.

Do they breathe fire?

“No.”

Teleportation?

“No.”

Other elemental attacks? Blessing of invulnerability? Intimidating presence? Roars?

“Do you think I’d invest the equivalent of several mansions just for a bull?”

Professor Thunderstep replied, sounding exasperated.

A boost in strength and agility is enough. To give them all the abilities the skeletal headmaster mentioned would require an astronomical amount of money.

The skeletal headmaster grumbled, feeling deflated.

That’s no fun. Let other monsters appear.

“They won’t appear just because you say so.”

* * *

Han’s opinion initially sounded absurd.

But as time passed, his friends began to find his opinion plausible.

First, there was Han’s credibility.

If someone else, like Gainando, had said the same thing, they would have dismissed it as nonsense. But with Han, they thought, ‘Wodanaz wouldn’t say something without a reason.’

Moreover, Professor Thunderstep had a history.

The students still vividly remembered their first alchemy class.

The evilness of Professor Thunderstep, who sent a mad boar to attack them!

Given his history, it wasn’t strange to think he might have set up a mud golem.

“Then where did Professor Ingeldel go?”

“He probably planned it with Professor Thunderstep.”

“That’s too much...!”

“Professors, indeed! You can’t trust any of them!”

The students were outraged by Han’s theory.

To think that even Professor Ingeldel, whom they trusted, was on Professor Thunderstep’s side.

Han calmly reassessed the situation.

‘It’s too coincidental, no matter how you look at it.’

Arriving at the place where herbs and ingredients grew, Professor Ingeldel suddenly disappeared, it started raining, and a mud golem appeared...

It was too perfect to be a coincidence. At this point, suspicion was necessary.

“Wodanaz, if this is a trap set by Professor Thunderstep, what should we do?”

“Not much changes. We need to find a way to deal with the mud golem.”

In response to Asan’s question, Han answered calmly.

Seeing the students’ gloomy expressions, Han tried to boost their morale.

“Cheer up, everyone. Since this is a trap set by Professor Thunderstep, there must be a way to solve it.”

“You’re right!”

Indeed, that was true.

If the mud golem was prepared by Professor Thunderstep, there must be a way to deal with it.

The students, who had been scared by its imposing appearance, regained their spirits and began to think about how to handle the mud golem.

“What if we throw fire or acid potions?”

“That’s a method for dealing with trolls. Maybe we should erase the line it’s guarding?”

“Will such a trick work? Let’s try to block the golem’s vision. If it can’t see, it might not notice us escaping.”

“Let’s shoot it with arrows first!”

Listening to the students’ conversation, Asan thought Wodanaz needed to take charge again.

Otherwise, all sorts of ridiculous ideas would come up.

Rowena approached and said,

“Her Highness suggests using spirits to draw the golem’s attention... Wait, where did Wodanaz go?”

“Huh?”

Asan looked around, confused. Han was nowhere to be seen.

“Did anyone see where Wodanaz went?”

“Could he have been kidnapped?”

“I’ll break through the golem and find him.”

The students were even more panicked than when the mud golem first appeared.

However, Han hadn’t disappeared.

Yoner was surprised to see Han suddenly appear behind the mud golem.

“!!”

“Wodanaz?!”

The students, who had been arguing, couldn’t believe their eyes when they saw Han cross the line and appear behind the mud golem.

The mud golem, instead of catching Han who had crossed the line, stood there stupidly.

“How?!”

“By magic. I used an invisibility spell.”

While the students were arguing, Han had conducted a simple experiment.

He tested whether the mud golem would notice him when he used the invisibility spell from his belt.

Fortunately, the mud golem didn’t notice Han passing by.

Moreover, there was an additional discovery.

Once he crossed the line, the mud golem didn’t care even if he became visible again!

This was significant.

“Already using an invisibility spell...!”

“No, I borrowed the power of an artifact.”

“Already creating artifacts...!”

“No, not creating.”

The Black Turtle Tower students, watching Han, were puzzled.

Huh?

Did we sell such an artifact?

“Did we have such an artifact?”

“This isn’t made by the school. It’s a gift from a church.”

“Wow. What church gives such gifts?”

“The Phrasinga Church.”

“......”

“......”

Both tower students grimaced at the mention of the Phrasinga Church. Han felt slightly hurt.

* * *

Although Han had escaped, the situation hadn’t changed much.

The other students were still trapped in front of the mud golem.

“Wodanaz, go down and call the professor!”

“We can’t send him alone! What if Wodanaz abandons us...”

“Does Wodanaz look like Gainando? Stop saying nonsense!”

“S, sorry. I misspoke...”

Han ignored his friends’ words.

Since this was a trap set by Professor Thunderstep, it was likely that even if he went to call the professor, the professor wouldn’t come.

‘We need to solve it with our own strength.’

The good thing was that if Professor Thunderstep had prepared it, it was something the freshmen could handle.

“Move!”

Han threw an iron ball and swung his staff. The iron ball began to spin in the air.

‘Find the core that makes up the golem.’

Han planned to beat the mud golem until he found the location of the core.

Yoner called out worriedly,

“Will it work? It’s a golem...”

Even though it was made of mud, a golem was a golem. Its thickness was extraordinary.

He was worried whether the magic used by freshmen could penetrate it.

However, Han nodded, looking confident.

If this were a wild golem, Han would have considered other methods, but this was a task prepared by Professor Thunderstep.

‘It can’t be that strong!’

The staff swung, and the iron ball struck the golem.