Chapter 67

Chapter 067

The students from the Tower of the Blue Dragon, who arrived late, looked at the noisy lounge with confusion and asked, "What's going on?"

"Wodanaz attacked the Tower of the White Tiger and demanded to take their flag!"

"...Wow! I've been waiting for this!"

Each new student who arrived heard the situation and burst into cheers.

"Even if you think about it, wouldn't an exchange be better?"

Gainando muttered, still unconvinced.

Lee Han, curious, asked, "Why do you think so?"

"An exchange can resolve the task safely and without mutual risk."

"That's true, but we concluded it wouldn't work because we can't trust the guys from the Tower of the White Tiger."

"This time, the Tower of the White Tiger seems trustworthy."

"Why?"

"They were kind to me, giving me bread and milk..."

"......"

Lee Han was shocked.

In a situation where even their own food was scarce, giving bread and milk was definitely not a simple act of kindness. Even if you were generous, giving half a loaf of bread could be considered kind, but anything more than that had to be seen as a sinister motive.

'Did they try to buy Gainando?'

Why...?

'Well, thinking about it, Gainando is quite a good target.'

He seemed to have some influence (of course, the students from the Tower of the White Tiger wouldn't know the internal atmosphere of the Tower of the Blue Dragon precisely), and he looked somewhat easy to manipulate...

After roughly assessing the situation, Lee Han pondered and then spoke, "Alright, Gainando. Let's try it your way before we attack."

"Huh? Really?"

"Yeah. Go tell the guys from the Tower of the White Tiger that I've changed my mind."

"Shouldn't I tell the others?"

Gainando was puzzled.

Shouldn't he inform his excited friends that the plan had changed a bit?

"They won't accept your excellent plan anyway."

"True. I'll go and tell them!"

Gainando confidently set off. Yoner, who had been listening to their conversation, looked worried.

Lee Han nodded, understanding Yoner's concern, and said, "Don't worry. Even if the guys from the Tower of the White Tiger are a bit nasty, they won't harass Gainando in this situation."

"No, I'm worried that Gainando might betray us."

"...Gainando isn't the type to do that, is he?"

"But you never know. It would have been nice if there was a potion to prevent betrayal."

"......"

Lee Han was slightly scared by Yoner's comment.

Besides, Gainando is your cousin!

* * *

"Is it done?"

"It's done."

The students from the Tower of the White Tiger were satisfied with the appearance of their magnificent flag.

Surprisingly, the students from the Tower of the White Tiger were seriously considering exchanging the flag.

...But it was a fake flag!

Using a fake flag to get the real one from the other side was a rather ingenious idea.

Of course, it wasn't easy. They had to deceive all the sharp-eyed students from the Tower of the Blue Dragon.

Therefore, the students from the Tower of the White Tiger went to the black market of the Tower of the Black Turtle and traded the precious rabbit meat they had caught over the weekend for fabric and dye.

It was a painful expense amidst their hunger, but they had no choice.

"Moradi! It's done! The prince has agreed! Set the time and place for the exchange! We agreed to meet in front of the main hall when the sun is directly overhead tomorrow!"

Angaro, a student from the Tower of the White Tiger who went to meet Gainando, shouted excitedly.

"Of course! Angaro, well done!"

"Since they gave us such valuable food, this is the least we can do!"

Everyone clapped and stomped their feet, but Jizel still looked uneasy.

Dukma, a dwarf student standing beside her, asked, "What's wrong, Moradi? Is there a problem?"

"I still don't think this prince is useful..."

Jizel had a reason for her unease.

In any group, the leader had a unique aura.

Although he didn't want to admit it, even looking at Lee Han from the Wodanaz family was enough to see this.

Even if not a leader, someone with a certain position in a group would inevitably stand out...

...But the prince Gainando didn't have that aura.

"Moradi, trust Angaro's judgment. This prince will definitely be a useful lever."

"Right. I think so too."

Dukma supported Angaro, and the other students joined in.

'What's the point of a kid who has confidence but no ability?'

Of course, Jizel didn't fall for the friendship of her peers.

Objectively, Angaro wasn't particularly capable.

If he were, he wouldn't have cried and run away when they faced Wodanaz with three people!

But Jizel didn't say anything more.

Although Jizel acted like a leader in the Tower of the White Tiger, she couldn't do everything as she pleased.

Her friends, who followed her orders based on her abilities and family, were still human and had emotions and complaints.

If she forced her commands too much, things could go wrong.

Sometimes, she needed to show that she listened to her friends. Being knights, they were very sensitive to such pride.

"Alright. If Angaro says so, it must be true."

"Hehe."

Angaro scratched the back of his head, looking embarrassed.

'Even if it fails, it's just a fake flag.'

If the exchange failed or the other side set a trap, they wouldn't suffer much.

At worst, they would lose a fake flag that had no use.

Jizel nodded, thinking this way.

"Alright. Everyone, disperse. Let's try the exchange tomorrow."

"Got it!"

* * *

In the middle of the night, when everyone was asleep.

Lee Han and his friends moved out of the tower, taking advantage of the darkness.

Surprisingly, it wasn't just the students from the Tower of the Blue Dragon. A student from the Tower of the Black Turtle was also with them.

It was none other than the professional thief, Ratford.

"Follow me."

Since Lee Han wasn't alone, they needed the professional thief's perspective.

Fortunately, Ratford readily agreed to Lee Han's request.

"Whoa."

Yoner gasped, and Lee Han tensed up.

What is it?

"Why?"

"...We should have called Nilia too...!"

"!!!"

Lee Han also realized his mistake.

Of course, they didn't need Nilia's abilities for stealing, but if she found out later, she would definitely...

"Ratford, if Nilia asks later, tell her I never called you."

"Understood."

"...No. She'll probably hear about it anyway."

With so many people, it was inevitable that Nilia would hear about it.

'I'll explain later.'

"That's the Tower of the White Tiger."

The moonlight illuminated the tower standing proudly in the darkness. Lee Han nodded and approached slowly. Having been there a few times, it wasn't entirely unfamiliar.

"Everyone, remember the plan. Follow it."

The students from the Tower of the Blue Dragon nodded, looking tense.

Actually, there wasn't much of a plan.

Lee Han and Ratford would enter the Tower of the White Tiger first.

The other friends would hide nearby and wait for Lee Han's signal to enter or stay hidden.

But there was no way to avoid the tension.

Especially since they were all from imperial noble families, this kind of midnight attack was almost like their first time.

"Mr. Ratford, should we put a branch in our mouths to avoid making noise? I saw it in a novel."

"There's no need for that since there's no patrol and we're few in number."

"Mr. Ratford, I wrapped my shoes in cloth to avoid making noise!"

"It's better to untie them to avoid slipping at night."

As a result, Ratford ended up giving an impromptu lesson on thievery. Lee Han gestured to Ratford.

"Let's go."

"Yes."

Lee Han and Ratford stood in front of the door of the Tower of the White Tiger, looking as if they were at their own tower.

Aisan, who was clenching his sweaty palms behind them, suddenly wondered,

'While Ratford is understandable, why is Wodanaz so familiar...?'

Lee Han held his breath and placed his hand on the tower.

He tried to read the magic embedded in the tower.

"!"

Suddenly, Lee Han almost fell over.

When a person tries to absorb too much knowledge and information at once, they feel dizzy.

Lee Han felt something similar.

There were countless spells on the tower.

Moreover, due to his excellent mana sensing ability, he could detect even the higher-level spells.

If it were other students, they might have only noticed a few simple spells nearby, but Lee Han could detect everything.

"Are you alright?!"

Ratford, seeing Lee Han break out in a cold sweat, whispered in alarm.

"I'm fine. I'm fine. I was just a bit surprised. Indeed, it's not easy."

"The tower of a mage is not easy to enter. If it's too difficult..."

"No. Let's try."

Lee Han focused on not reading the entire tower.

After all, he only needed to break the magic blocking the entrance!

Woooom—

"!"

The massive mana began to gather. Even the relatively insensitive Ratford could feel it.

'Is he...okay?'

Ratford was worried.

With that much mana, if Lee Han made a mistake, he could be seriously injured.

'No. Mr. Wodanaz...'

Bang!!!!

"!!"

"!!!!"

The massive mana wave spread, shocking even the students from the Tower of the Blue Dragon who were waiting behind.

And Lee Han shouted,

"The door is open! Everyone, come in!!"

"Let's... go!"

* * *

-Master, the magic of the Tower of the White Tiger has stopped.

Those anti-magic guys, could they have...? How did they get over the wall?

In the deep underground workshop, the skeleton headmaster, who was researching magic, was surprised for the first time in a long time.

-It seems the freshmen have stopped it.

Ah. If it's that, it's possible. They must be doing the task I gave them. They're probably doing it in advance.

The skeleton headmaster quickly regained his composure.

Wait. Freshmen shouldn't be able to bypass the tower's magic... Did they get an artifact? What reckless guys must have leaked an artifact? Ah, no. There must be another way.

The muttering skeleton headmaster quickly found the answer.

There was one freshman who could temporarily stop the tower's magic.

Did he use brute force? How reckless... But where did he learn such a method?

The skeleton headmaster was slightly puzzled.

Such a brute-force method was not only practically useless but also dangerous, so it wasn't taught in books or by the school's professors.

To disable magic, you need to understand its structure and find a weakness, not just hit it with brute force.

-Should I investigate?

No. You stupid skeleton. I didn't ask you. Besides, even if they broke the entrance, there are other magic barriers to stop intruders. What about those?

The magic of the Tower of the White Tiger wasn't just on the entrance.

There were various intrusion prevention spells inside the tower as well.

-Most of the other defensive spells have also stopped.

......

The skeleton headmaster was taken aback again.

Not only did they break the entrance, but other spells have also stopped?

'What a brute...!'

How hard did he hit to stop other spells as well?