Chapter 83

"Wodanaz, wasn't this something you prepared in advance?"

"Sometimes I wonder how you guys think of me..."

Lee Han checked the broken hole and clicked his tongue.

"Not good."

"Why is that?"

"The debris is inside the alchemy lab. It came from outside."

If it was the creature that had broken out from inside the alchemy lab, there wouldn't have been much to worry about, but the current situation clearly indicated that a large monster had entered from outside the alchemy lab.

Ratford looked at Lee Han with a slightly impressed expression.

"You really have the qualities of a great thief."

"Kuk...!"

"I, I can too! Ratford. I can deduce too!"

The students of the Blue Dragon Tower showed a strange sense of competition.

Even if they were inferior in academic performance or magical abilities, they didn't want to be inferior in their thieving skills.

Nilia looked at them as if to ask why they were acting that way.

"Why are they doing that?"

"Maybe it's because they grew up reading fairy tales about honorable thieves."

Yoner's words made Nilia think it was absurd.

'Are the nobles of the empire really raised on such ridiculous fairy tales?'

"Is there no hunter?"

"Well... there are fairy tales about thieves who were originally hunters..."

While his friends were talking, Lee Han made a decision and opened the alchemy lab door.

"Everyone, listen carefully. We are not sneaking into the alchemy lab."

"?"

"???"

Not sneaking in?

Then what?

Are they going to write "Students of the Blue Dragon Tower were here" on the wall with paint?

"We are gathering here voluntarily to prevent the summoned creature from invading the alchemy lab and to protect the professor's valuable items."

"...Ah. Ah!"

"Indeed...!"

The invasion of the summoned creature wasn't entirely a disadvantage.

If things went wrong later, they could blame it on the summoned creature.

...Of course, whether that would work with Professor Thunderstep was questionable.

* * *

"Light."

Lee Han floated a sphere of light, illuminating the dark first floor of the alchemy lab.

The greenhouses and lecture halls along the corridor.

Students who had wandered the magic school at night would know that the night school was completely different from the day school.

Lecture halls that seemed ordinary during the day seemed to hide a few undead at night...

Plants that grew in the warm greenhouses, basking in the sunlight, seemed to be holding their breath in the darkness, waiting for an opportunity to attack.

'Professor Thunderstep might have prepared such plants.'

At least, the first floor was known to all students, but from the second floor onwards, it was a realm of the unknown.

What could be there?

"!"

As they climbed the stairs to the second floor, a strong magical power was felt inside.

The space itself was imbued with magical power.

'Space expansion!'

The space that greeted the students was dozens of times larger than the first floor. The second floor was a vast botanical garden.

Students were overwhelmed by the sight of strange and enormous plants they had never seen before, sprawling out.

"A great alchemist must also be a great gardener. Still, the scale is really impressive..."

Siana, the priestess, muttered in amazement.

Since alchemists had to gather materials themselves, it was natural that they would grow what they could.

But even considering that, the scale was truly impressive.

"Wow. What's the name of this plant?"

Gai Nando pointed to a flower shining in all colors at the front, amazed.

The flower swayed gently with the soft moonlight coming in through the windows, truly beautiful.

Lee Han answered kindly.

"That flower is a Nephelops."

"Ooh. What does it do?"

"It swallows and eats any animal that touches its petals."

"......"

Gai Nando took a step back in shock.

"But the honey from that flower is quite expensive..."

"Is that important right now?!"

"I just asked and you answered."

Lee Han replied and looked around.

There were far more plants he didn't know the names of than those he did. The same would be true for Yoner and Siana.

'But...'

The alchemy lab was not a dormitory tower. As it was a workshop used by Professor Thunderstep, there shouldn't be many traps.

The professor himself would have to move around, after all...

Lee Han calmly looked for a path. There must be a path that Professor Thunderstep used to move around the botanical garden.

Clank-

"!"

As if reading Lee Han's thoughts, the bone summon made a clanking sound from its belt.

The bone summon pointed in a direction, indicating that something had passed that way. Surprisingly, fresh footprints were visible in the mud, likely from a monster.

'So, a monster passed through here first!'

The path that Professor Thunderstep used to move around was clearly the one the invading monster had found first.

Lee Han wanted to praise the bone summon.

"Wodanaz, you had a good idea. Seeing these footprints, it's clear that a monster passed through here first! So, this path is safe."

Nilia whispered excitedly.

Lee Han, who was about to praise the bone summon, hesitated and then spoke.

"...You're really impressive, Nilia!"

Clank clank!

"Is it because you're from the Shadow Patrol? You're really impressive. I'm glad you're here. I can't imagine what would have happened without you."

"What's the big deal about this."

Nilia waved her hand as if it was nothing, but her long ears were already perked up.

"Alright. I'll find the path. Everyone, follow me."

"Sure, sure."

Lee Han sent Nilia ahead and let out a sigh of relief.

Clank clank clank!

Seeing the bone summon's protesting gesture, Lee Han apologized.

"Sorry. Friendship is harder than I thought."

The bone summon wiggled its fingers, as if it didn't understand.

* * *

Following the footprints of the monster that had entered first turned out to be a good strategy.

While moving along the paths in the botanical garden, the students were not attacked by any plants.

It was clear that Professor Thunderstep had not set any significant traps on the paths he used to move around.

'Thank you, Professor.'

Lee Han moved forward, grateful for the professor's laziness.

-■■■■...

"......"

However, good luck often comes with bad luck.

At the stairs leading to the third floor, located at the end of the botanical garden, a monster was standing.

Seeing the monster, Lee Han's expression hardened.

"Is it a bull...?"

"Yeah. It doesn't look like an ordinary bull."

Not only had it broken the front door on the first floor, but it had also trampled several plants on the second floor. Debris, vines, and leaves were tangled on its horns.

Seeing this, Lee Han recalled the bull Professor Thunderstep had mentioned before.

'...Oh?'

Until now, he had thought the bull was the elemental bull that Professor Ingeld had caught, but upon closer inspection, the bull in front of him was much more similar to the one Professor Thunderstep had described.

It wasn't mixed with any element and was only enhanced in physical abilities through various potions.

'So, that was just a bull summoned by upperclassmen?'

Lee Han felt guilty for cursing Professor Thunderstep when he saw the elemental bull.

'No, thinking about it, there's no need to feel guilty.'

Seeing the bull again, his guilt immediately disappeared.

Did the professor really leave such a creature on the mountain?

"What are we going to do?"

"There's no need to fight it."

Although the type was slightly different, they had already learned from dealing with the elemental bull.

There was no need to beat it up to subdue it!

The botanical garden was not a good place to fight, and they hadn't come to subdue the bull.

Moreover, the bull didn't seem to care much about the students. It was standing in front of the stairs, chewing on something.

"If this is the bull Professor Thunderstep raised... maybe it came back because it was hungry?"

Yoner's words sounded plausible.

If it was a bull raised by Professor Thunderstep, it made sense that it knew the way here.

It was also unlikely for a regular monster to come straight here without causing chaos on the first floor.

"Then, if we leave it alone, it might eat and move on by itself?"

"There's a high probability of that."

Relieved that they might not have to fight, the students let out a sigh of relief.

The bull in front of them felt more aggressive and fierce than the elemental bull, just by its size.

"...Hey... Lee Han...?"

Yoner grabbed Lee Han's sleeve and asked.

"Is this really okay?"

The bull ignored the students and bit into a plant next to it. After a few bites, it spat it out, finding it tasteless.

Then it bit into another plant, chewed it, and trampled a few more with its feet...

Finding it amusing, the bull started destroying the plants more quickly.

Yoner and Siana, the alchemy experts, turned pale. Even though the plants weren't theirs, they felt the pain.

Lee Han's expression also changed.

There was a big difference between students coming in to borrow a little potion and a monster destroying all the plants in the botanical garden.

And if these two things combined, the professor's anger could be directed at the students.

"We need to stop this! Feet, tread the ground!"

Lee Han cast a spell and ran forward.

He then cast a curse spell at the bull.

"Paralyze!"

A wave of dark magic flew towards the bull.

However, the bull sensed the threat and dodged the curse.

"Wodanaz! Why do we have to stop this?"

"That's what honor is! Wodanaz, I'll help!"

Misunderstanding Lee Han's intentions, the Blue Dragon Tower friends raised their wands and rushed in.

"Flame of power..."

As Gai Nando was about to cast a fire creation spell, Lee Han panicked and slapped his mouth.

Smack!

"?!?"

"Fire is absolutely not allowed where there are plants!"

"Kuk... Paralyze!"

"Paralyze!!"

The friends cast the paralyzing curse they had learned in class. If they accidentally summoned the wrong element, they could burn the area.

Unlike when Lee Han's curse was dodged, the bull did not avoid the students' curses. Despite several curses hitting it, the bull remained unaffected.

"Ah, what did Professor Thunderstep feed this thing!!"

The students screamed. The bull was tougher than they expected.

"Go and distract it!"

Lee Han sent the bone summon and started summoning water orbs.

The bull ignored the other students waving their wands but kept a wary eye on Lee Han.

'He didn't cast the curse recklessly!'

Hitting a monster with a curse spell was not easy, especially one with sharp instincts.

By casting the curse, he had only made the bull more cautious, complicating the situation.

Lee Han started launching water orbs in quick succession. The bull dodged them accurately, but Lee Han was not flustered.

'First, I need to separate it from the plants.'

He was attacking to drive the bull away from the plants.

"Everyone, take this weakening potion!"

Siana took out a potion flask and passed it around. The students who received it quickly threw it.

The bull stumbled as the potion broke and hit it. Yoner, realizing the bull's magic resistance had weakened, shouted.

"Everyone, cast the curse again!"

"Paralyze, paralyze!"

"Paralyze!"

The bull shook its head, annoyed. The curses were now penetrating its skin due to the weakening effect.

Lee Han cast water orbs in irregular patterns around the bull. The bull flinched and stopped moving.

Then, Lee Han's curse exploded.

'Faster!'

"Paralyze!"

The determination to cast the spell faster made Lee Han's incantation even quicker.

As a result, the curse was launched before he finished the incantation. The situation was so urgent that even Lee Han didn't notice.

Thud!

The bull, unable to withstand Lee Han's curse, fell to its knees.

The students, without a word, simultaneously let out a long breath.

"What is going on here?"

"!!!"

A tall, slender willow tree was walking through the plants.

Lee Han immediately answered.

"We were protecting Professor Thunderstep's plants."

"...That's right! A strange bull was eating the plants..."