Chapter 62

Lee Han carefully took the potions and put them in his pocket.

"Receiving such excellent potions makes me feel like I might cry from joy..."

"What brings you here? If there's anything I can help you with, I'll do it."

Lee Han revealed the hidden trap in the alchemy assignment to Priest Sianna.

Priest Sianna listened carefully and then said, "I thought the ingredients seemed a bit strange. I was planning to compare them with the books later..."

"Right now, we're gathering the ingredients to experiment and see what the problem is. Would you like to join us? We really need your unparalleled expertise in alchemy."

At Lee Han's words, Priest Sianna nodded without hesitation.

"Of course, I should help. I'll bring the students from the Phoenix Tower!"

Watching Priest Sianna run off excitedly, Lee Han thought,

'If the White Tiger Tower was this easy, it would be so much more convenient...'

* * *

The Black Turtle Tower was even easier.

Nilia and Raptor had brought their friends out.

In fact, it was more difficult to deal with the students from the Black Turtle Tower who had gathered from the black market than to persuade students to come out.

Everyone lined up, thinking Lee Han had brought something else.

- Wodanaz! How about this sword cane? The White Tiger Tower students would love this!

- Get out of the way! Wodanaz. How about this golem evasion talisman?!

In contrast, the White Tiger Tower students...

"Wodanaz!"

"Never face them alone!"

"......"

Even if Durgyu tried to get his friends to come out, the White Tiger Tower students wouldn't budge.

Lee Han eventually gave up and returned.

'Well... we have enough people without them.'

With students from the three towers gathered, there were plenty of leftover ingredients.

Lee Han and Yoner, with Priest Sianna's help, collected the leftover ingredients and measured them precisely.

These were the materials for the experiment to find the recipe.

"Everything is ready. I think we can test it now."

"Thanks, everyone."

The gathered students sighed.

Because of Professor Uregeul's... no, the trap, they had to go through this ordeal again.

"Wodanaz. By the way, you said you're going out tomorrow with an outing permit?"

"!"

The students from the Blue Dragon Tower knew Lee Han had received an outing permit, but the students from the other towers didn't.

The students from the Black Turtle Tower and the Phoenix Tower all looked at Lee Han with wide, surprised eyes.

"You got an outing permit?!"

"Indeed, Wodanaz is the man."

"But how do you get one? Do you have to catch a golem?"

"That's not the point right now! Wodanaz, what are you going to bring back?"

The students surrounded Lee Han in a circle.

While being allowed to go out for a day on Sunday was enviable, what was more important was what Lee Han would bring back.

"Outside... If I can go out, what should I bring? There are too many options to choose from!"

"Cal, calm down and let's sort it out one by one."

While Lee Han remained silent, his friends were making a fuss.

'If I can go out, what should I bring back from outside?'

"Definitely food. Something sweet and small, as much as possible."

"Let's rent a carriage, Wodanaz!"

"Remember when we enrolled? Carriages won't be allowed, right?"

"Food is good, but what about clothes? Honestly, the clothes we're wearing are rags."

'Are they not comfortable...?'

Nilia tilted her head.

These clothes are comfortable enough...

"I do want to wear sturdy and comfortable clothes."

"Shoes too! And a hat and a cloak! And also..."

Asan, who had been listening, chimed in.

"I need books and writing supplies like quills."

"Darkard... What nonsense? Can you eat books? Drink ink?"

"No. I do want food, but I seriously need books."

Asan was also quite serious.

While preparing for assignments, the students had gradually started visiting the school's library.

However, as expected, this library was not a warm and cozy place where books were easily found according to a proper classification system.

'Who classified this mess?'

A chaotic and disorderly space!

That was the school's library.

As a result, even when an assignment required referencing a book, finding the book itself was a task.

The students couldn't help but miss the bookstores outside the school.

The warm convenience of a kind bookstore owner wrapping a book in paper and giving it to you when you say, "I'd like this book, please."

"If we keep this up, we might collapse before we even start the assignment. We need to find the basic books required for each subject."

"Hmm... That might be true."

Even the students who had been clamoring for butter cookies, chocolate cookies, caramel waffles, milk roll wafers, and maple syrup candies nodded seriously.

"And we need calculation artifacts. Calculating by hand is a nightmare."

"Indeed, that makes sense."

"I'm bored with nothing to read. I need magazines or novels. New cards or a chessboard."

"...?"

The friends nodded and then paused.

Something felt off.

"Kainan, you! Is that really urgent right now!"

"It is urgent! Why can't I say what I need when you all are saying what you need!"

"Kids. Wodanaz went to bed."

"?!"

Since he had to leave early on Sunday morning, Lee Han went straight to his private room after finishing the alchemy assignment.

* * *

'I can't sleep.'

Lee Han was flabbergasted.

He wasn't a child, yet he was tossing and turning like the night before a field trip...

But this wasn't the innocent excitement of a field trip.

It was more like the tension before a difficult exam.

'Can I really do this?'

Anyone watching might think he was preparing for a graduation exam, but Lee Han was serious.

It was a legitimate outing with an outing permit, but Lee Han didn't let his guard down.

This school definitely had traps.

'Let's think. What could go wrong?'

Lee Han thought that using carriages or horses would definitely be prohibited.

Just like when they enrolled, no one would allow such things.

'Hopefully, they'll let me bring what I can carry. I need to bring as much as possible... How far is the nearest town?'

The distance was also a problem.

When they first escaped, they had a carriage, but now they didn't.

This school could place a town far enough away that a day's journey wouldn't be enough, and then tell them to "come back in a day."

'Damn. I should have learned a spell to move quickly!'

Lee Han lamented.

If he had learned a physical enhancement spell, he wouldn't have to worry about this.

...Of course, that wasn't something a freshman should be worrying about.

Rustle!

"...?!"

Suddenly, one of the books on the bookshelf popped out and opened by itself.

It was the black book without a cover given by the skeleton principal.

Black tentacles made of letters sprouted from the black book and wrapped around Lee Han.

"What...?"

Before he could finish speaking, Lee Han found himself in a different place.

A barren wasteland, with nothing in the sky or on the distant horizon.

Lee Han instinctively knew.

It was an illusion created by the black book.

Boom!

The black book appeared in front of Lee Han. It fluttered in the air, revealing its pages.

The spell written on the page was the one Lee Han had received but failed to complete, <Gonadathes' Nimble Steps>.

"Right now... You want me to learn this?"

The black book shook up and down, indicating a positive response.

"Could it be that you recommended it because I was worrying about it?"

The black book shook up and down again.

Its cuteness made Lee Han feel a bit better.

It was more considerate than he expected.

"Wait. I don't have time to learn it now. I have to go out tomorrow. Send me back."

The black book stopped in mid-air and slowly shook side to side.

It seemed to be scolding him.

"..."

Lee Han reflected on his earlier thought that the book was considerate.

The book given by the principal couldn't be that normal.

"...Ignite!"

Lee Han tried to cast a flame spell.

However, the spell didn't work. The black book puffed up and opened its pages again.

It seemed to be saying that he could only use <Gonadathes' Nimble Steps>.

"..."

Lee Han sighed and adjusted his grip on his staff.

* * *

Prisoner number 24601!

"Sir, I'm not a prisoner."

Oops. Right. Sorry. I get confused sometimes.

"..."

Listening to the conversation between the skeleton principal and the summoned creature, Lee Han yawned.

Now, such a conversation didn't shock him much.

The black book had forcibly taken him to an illusionary training session but didn't deprive him of sleep.

He had trained in a dream.

Of course, he was mentally exhausted, but...

'I hate feeling grateful for this.'

Congratulations on your outing, Wodanaz! This is a fitting reward for your achievements, so feel proud!

"Thank you."

The rules are simple! Go out when the sun rises today and return to the main gate by the time the sun rises tomorrow. If you don't return, a pursuit team will be sent.

"..."

He had guessed as much, but hearing it out loud was still absurd.

The only luggage you can bring is what you carry. You can't rent a carriage, horse, or any other vehicle!

"Understood."

Then do your best!

"...?"

Lee Han was puzzled.

'The rules are more lenient than I thought?'

He had expected limits on the amount of money, the weight, and the volume of the items he could bring.

But there were none.

What is this?

* * *

Lee Han ran hard.

Thanks to his efforts, he arrived at his destination when the sun was directly overhead.

Pilone Village.

The closest village to the magic school.

"...So, there are no noble family mansions in this village?"

"Tsk tsk. You must be a student who escaped from the magic school. That's how it is. When the school year starts, the school asks people to move their mansions far away."

"..."

The imperial noble families didn't leave the school when the school year started.

They kept their mansions in nearby villages, with servants and slaves on standby for the holidays.

It was a typical display of wealth, but Lee Han had been counting on it.

He had planned to visit with a silver ledger signed by the students to get some pocket money...

Lee Han was speechless.

'What a crazy school.'

"Then where did the mansions go?"

"They went to Granden City."

"How long does it take to get to Granden City...?"

"You'd have to ride for a few days to get there..."

"..."

Lee Han realized why there were no limits on the amount, weight, or volume of items he could bring.

The school had blocked all means for students to secure money.

If a student managed to escape to the nearest Pilone Village, they would realize their mistake and feel despair!

"...Do they really have to go this far??"

"What did you say?"

"Nothing."

Lee Han lifted his head.

Now that it had come to this, he wouldn't back down.

"Where is the nearest merchant building in this village?"

"Merchant building? It's quite far... Why?"

"I'm going to borrow some money."

"..."

The villager was shocked.

No matter how you looked at it, this boy seemed to be from a noble family...

'Is he really okay?'