Chapter 79

Chapter 079

However, the posture of the bony hand was excessively polite for a trap.

As Lee Han took a step forward, the bony hand trembled and rolled backward, lying down.

As if trying to prove that it had no ill intentions.

“...?”

Just as Lee Han was about to fall into confusion, Professor Mordtum spoke.

“Cough. It's easy to be deceived by the beautiful and grand appearance of undead summoning, but in fact, summoning the undead is by no means an easy task.”

Magicians who designed inanimate objects to learn summoning magic often fell into such dilemmas.

-Do I really have to summon inanimate objects? Can't I just summon something with a will??

Even if one were to summon a magic sword, they would have to plan in advance what attributes it would have and how to make it move autonomously.

At a higher level, this required almost AI-level autonomy, so it was easy to imagine how much suffering magicians studying summoning magic endured.

Why do we have to plan everything?

Can't we just summon something with a will from the start??

Of course, there were clear disadvantages to summoning something with a will, which was why they designed it this way.

Having a will means there's a possibility it won't listen to the summoner.

And undead monsters generally tend to be a bit more disobedient than other monsters.

After all, their natures were completely opposite.

Most summoners were alive, while the undead were all dead.

It was natural that it would be difficult to become close.

So, black magicians used various methods to get close to the undead.

Living in graves, applying rotten substances to their bodies, and wearing necklaces made of various bones and flesh...

These weren't because black magicians were perverts.

They were tearful efforts to hide the life force of the living and get closer to the undead.

“......”

“......”

The students' faces turned as pale as the undead, but Professor Mordtum didn't notice.

“Cough. So, try to get close to the bony hand using any means necessary. If you can get close to the bony hand, you might be able to get close to other undead monsters someday.”

If you get close to low-level undead monsters like the bony hand, you will eventually be able to handle more powerful undead monsters.

“Professor.”

“?”

Lee Han, who had been quietly waiting for Professor Mordtum to finish speaking, raised his hand and called out to the professor.

“Is there an undead that is a bit timid?”

“??”

Most undead monsters were not timid.

It was natural, given that they were not alive.

Professor Mordtum snorted, thinking what kind of nonsense this was...

...but then he was shocked to see the undead monster, the bony hand, trembling in front of Lee Han.

“?!”

Professor Mordtum looked at the bony hand he had summoned with a bewildered expression.

What are you doing? I told you to deal with the students.

The bony hand bowed its head in front of Professor Mordtum, as if ashamed.

‘Can't you just come closer?’

Despite Professor Mordtum's command, the bony hand trembled and didn't want to approach Lee Han.

Professor Mordtum wondered if there was something wrong with the reagents he had used.

Slap! Slap!

Another bony hand was happily slapping Gaenando's swollen cheek. They all seemed perfectly fine.

‘Did the bony hand feel a sense of intimacy from the bone summoner hanging on Lee Han’s belt? No... then there would be no reason to be afraid.’

There was only one conclusion left.

Professor Mordtum was inwardly shocked.

Could it be...?

“Cough. Try summoning it yourself.”

“Is that okay?”

“Yes. The advantage of black magic over summoning magic is that it provides practical experience. Summoning magic would just have you study for a year.”

“......”

Professor Mordtum threw a bone fragment needed for the magic and drew a magic circle on the floor.

Lee Han held his staff and focused. He couldn't help but worry with Professor Mordtum acting like this.

‘It seems like he’s pushing the curriculum too hard to show that black magic is better...’

At least, it was fortunate that the bony hand, if it attacked, could be subdued by Lee Han.

Lee Han recited the incantation.

“Appear, bony hand!”

As he threw the bone fragment and swung his staff, the bone fragment, having absorbed mana, began to transform into a bony hand, enveloped in a sinister smoke.

These were not the bony hands that Professor Mordtum had summoned and controlled with ironclad control.

This was a new bony hand summoned by Lee Han.

The incantation of summoning magic was like a chain around the neck of an undead monster, controlling it, but inexperienced novice magicians often struggled to handle the chain well.

Professor Mordtum watched the bony hand closely.

If the bony hand broke free from the chain and attacked Lee Han, he planned to counter-summon it first.

Rolling, rolling, rolling—

“......”

“......”

The new bony hand summoned by Lee Han showed even more intense submission than the one summoned by Professor Mordtum.

The bone summoner hanging on Lee Han’s belt shook with jealousy.

* * *

“You have too much mana.”

The real Professor Mordtum explained calmly.

Thinking about it, the signs had been there since the curse.

While he didn't expect the undead monsters to be so terrified and submissive...

Lee Han asked seriously, as if he had been diagnosed with an incurable disease.

“I see. Professor, is there a way to fix it?”

“Cough. Why fix it? It’s a blessed talent.”

“??”

Lee Han was taken aback.

Well...

It’s hard to use magic, and the spirits run away, right?

“Cough. If you have such a talent, you don’t need to try to get close to undead monsters. Just overpower them. What a great talent.”

Black magicians don’t roll around in graves for fun.

They do it because they need to get close to undead monsters.

But if there was no need to do so?

Even to Professor Mordtum, subduing undead monsters was a higher level of control than getting close to them.

It’s just difficult.

“But Professor, while I can summon and subdue undead monsters, I can’t do that with spirits.”

Spirits won’t even respond to a summon if you haven’t befriended them, so the ability to intimidate them is useless.

In response to Lee Han’s question, Professor Mordtum answered kindly.

“Cough. There’s a good solution.”

“What is it?”

“Give up on spirit summoning.”

“......”

Lee Han was grateful to the table.

His hand was under the table, so he could clench his fist without being noticed.

But Professor Mordtum was serious.

“Cough. Why use good teeth and claws to eat grass? The most suitable path for you is black magic. I don’t usually say this, but... you have a genius-level talent for black magic.”

“Oh, I see.”

“?!”

Professor Mordtum was taken aback by Lee Han’s calm reaction.

It was a rare and valuable compliment, and the student was too calm.

Maybe it was because he was from the Wodanas family, but his reaction was different from what was expected.

‘It’s time to stop falling for professors’ flattery.’

Professors often flatter students when they need to. This is especially true for unpopular fields.

Being misled by flattery can ruin your life.

Lee Han changed the subject.

“But Professor, it’s difficult to cast spells due to the amount of mana.”

“That will be fine once you get used to it. Cough. I’ll help you practice.”

‘Damn. Professors are really no help.’

They just try to satisfy their own desires by taking students.

Can professors really be like this...

...but thinking about it, they always were.

“Thank you so much.”

After managing his expression, Lee Han nodded.

While he hadn’t definitively decided to pursue black magic, he needed to prepare for the possibility that he would fail in other magics and only black magic would remain.

It wouldn’t be good to make a bad impression on Professor Mordtum if that happened.

Both the professor and the student smiled at each other, each with their own thoughts.

“I’ll crush you, you bastard!”

Gaenando, with a swollen cheek, grabbed his staff and swung it at the bony hand.

Raphadel, who had also been hit, drew his wooden sword and struck the bony hand.

The only one who was fine was Imirg.

He had grabbed the bony hand with force and was at a loss for what to do next.

Noticing Lee Han’s bewilderment, Professor Mordtum spoke.

“Cough. Just because you have the talent of a black magician doesn’t mean you have to quickly get close to the undead. That’s a bad method. It’s a typical mistake made by young black magicians.”

“But won’t the undead monsters respect the summoner more if they are beaten like that?”

Professor Mordtum looked at Lee Han as if he were crazy.

Lee Han felt unfairly wronged.

‘You said subduing was a good method...’

* * *

After the extra class, Gaenando, while applying the ointment he received from Professor Mordtum to his cheek, grumbled.

“Those undead monsters don’t know what’s noble... Lee Han.”

“?”

“Let’s go listen to the summoning magic class. It should be better if it’s not about undead monsters.”

“......”

Is that really true?

‘Except for spirits, demons are even more savage than undead monsters, and monsters are inherently wild.’

While Lee Han was thinking, Raphadel, with a swollen face, shouted.

“Evil black magician, just wait. I’ll be watching you.”

“Damn. It seems there’s a misunderstanding between us. As a fellow black magic student, do we really have to fight?”

“Bastard! You hit my cheek just now!”

“That was a mistake.”

While other students were trying to get close to the undead monsters, Lee Han, following Professor Mordtum’s instructions, was checking what commands he could give to the undead monsters.

When he successfully gave the difficult command to self-destruct, Professor Mordtum was so impressed that he clapped.

But there were mistakes.

At one point, due to a command error, the bony hand summoned by Lee Han slapped Raphadel, who was muttering about the “evil black magician.”

It was a regrettable mistake.

“Damn. Why don’t you believe me...”

“Lee Han, he’s already gone.”

“What a shame.”

Gaenando looked at Lee Han with a mixture of fear and curiosity.

...Is this why the undead follow so well?!

“Imirg, see you next class.”

“Y-Yeah. Lee Han, not outside...”

Lee Han was slightly hurt but didn’t show it.

* * *

The Spirit Altar Hall.

The Spirit Altar Hall, which was both a workshop and a tower used by Professor Milei, had a completely different atmosphere from the Dark Hall.

‘It’s like a library.’

The actual library of the magic school was more like a chaotic warehouse of a defunct company, but the Spirit Altar Hall was even more like a library than a library.

The path to the tower was well-maintained with bricks, and there was even a pond and a walking path nearby.

‘The Dark Hall had a pond too.’

But it was a purple pond filled with poisonous bubbles...

Gaenando stood in front of the door of the Spirit Altar Hall and knocked cautiously. Then he looked at Lee Han and asked.

“Wait. What should I say?”

“Just tell it as it is.”

“Tell her I was late because I got slapped by an undead...?”

“...I’ll just say it. Professor Milei! I’m sorry for being late. Another professor had a prior engagement...”

“If there was a prior engagement, it couldn’t be helped. There’s no need to apologize.”

Professor Milei answered and opened the door of the tower.

Walking down to the first floor to greet the late freshmen, Professor Milei raised an eyebrow when she saw Lee Han.

It seemed she was surprised to see him.

‘...What is it?’

Lee Han suddenly felt a sense of foreboding.

Surely Professor Mordtum didn’t tell the other professors something like, “He’s going to be my student, so everyone else, lose interest”?