Chapter 96

Chapter 096

When the professor forgets your existence, you must remain silent and still.

The statue of the forgotten beast was a being that had mastered this wisdom.

But there’s no helping boredom. I’m grateful that you’ve come to me.

“The great statue... I heard that you know the wisdom needed to escape this school.”

Lee Han changed his words mid-sentence as he was about to talk about escaping.

He didn’t know when the statue of the forgotten beast might betray him.

Wisdom... It’s embarrassing to hear it put that way. Even if not wisdom, I can share what I know. I can help with what I can.

“Indeed!”

Lee Han was grateful that the statue was bored.

If it weren’t for that, it wouldn’t have offered such help.

Of course, I can’t help with things beyond my capabilities. So don’t ask me to save a dragon.

“Can you make the principal a bit nicer?”

...What color dragon do you want? A dragon would be better.

“I’m sorry. It was a joke.”

Of course, Lee Han had no intention of making such absurd requests.

There was only one thing Lee Han wanted.

The way to the stables located in the upper floors of the main building.

“Do you know the location of the stables in the main building’s tower?”

I know about three places.

Lee Han’s eyes flickered slightly. He had finally found what he was looking for.

“Among them... I want to know the way to the easiest one to reach.”

It’s not difficult.

“!”

But you have to beat me first!

“?!?”

The sudden change in atmosphere startled Lee Han.

Lee Han gripped his staff and looked at the statue with wary eyes. However, instead of attacking, the statue laid out a bronze chessboard in front of him.

Let’s play a game!

“......”

The opponent was clearly very bored.

* * *

Boredom was the deadliest of poisons. Even the statue, which had loyally served under the professor for a long time, couldn’t resist it.

The statue of the forgotten beast loved chess.

The beauty of chess is that you can play it alone.

The statue’s tail and other heads swayed along with the pieces.

Lee Han asked to gauge the opponent’s skill.

“Did you play chess with any other freshmen before I came?”

Yes, I did.

“How many times did they win?”

They never won.

Lee Han’s expression turned serious.

‘Tutantha didn’t win even once?’

He didn’t know Tutantha’s skill level, but the fact that he never won despite repeated attempts was significant.

It meant that the forgotten statue’s chess skills were exceptional and...

‘And it’s clever enough to hide it.’

If the difference was overwhelming, Tutantha wouldn’t have tried again. The statue must have given him close wins to keep him hopeful and coming back.

To do that, the skill gap must have been enormous.

‘Can I win?’

Lee Han didn’t think he was particularly good at chess.

Of course, he had played before.

Like many students trapped in the laboratory, Lee Han enjoyed meaningless betting activities.

And chess was the most popular.

Lee Han had never lost to other students...

...But that was like a frog in a well. He had never beaten a foreign professor from the neighboring lab.

The foreign professor seemed to enjoy beating weaker opponents and would often call Lee Han to play when bored.

The statue in front of him was likely as good as, if not better than, that professor.

‘But I only need to win once, just once.’

If he could shake or relax the opponent, winning once would be enough.

Lee Han planned to win by sheer number of games.

Chess, despite being a game of strategy, has its variables. If he played a hundred games, he might win one.

By the way, let me tell you in advance. There’s a penalty if you lose.

“...What is it?”

Lee Han flinched.

The statue, shrouded in shadow, suddenly seemed oppressive.

If you lose, you have to play another game without any reward.

“...Is that the penalty?”

The penalty was milder than expected. The statue nodded.

And if you lose again, you’ll have to play two games. If you lose the next challenge, three games...

‘If you’re that bored, maybe it’s better to just take a job from the professor.’

Lee Han thought as he picked up a white pawn.

* * *

The king fell sideways, and the game was over. Lee Han was shocked.

‘Tutantha...!’

You really play well.

The statue was impressed, but Lee Han was slightly taken aback.

Surprisingly, Lee Han had won.

And on the first game!

At this point, he had to doubt the skills of the statue and Tutantha. How could Tutantha not win even once against this statue?

‘I was too tense for nothing.’

Here. This is a map I made.

“Thank you.”

Lee Han took the map the statue offered and put it in his pocket. Then he asked:

“Do you want to play another game?”

Now that he realized the opponent was easier than expected, there was no need to hesitate. Lee Han wanted to take more.

However, the statue didn’t give in easily.

No. I’m really satisfied today. It was a very interesting game.

“......”

Thanks to you, I can sleep well tonight. Thank you.

Lee Han couldn’t understand what part of the game had satisfied the statue so much.

Surely it wasn’t because the statue thought it couldn’t win?

“Well... I’m glad.”

Lee Han congratulated the statue with a somewhat sour feeling and left.

Salco was waiting in the corridor, carving a small statue.

“You’re out.”

Salco brushed off the debris and spoke without looking at Lee Han.

He didn’t like nobles, but he respected Lee Han’s pride.

Losing without winning once would be quite humiliating.

“I’ll guide you until you win. You can’t enter alone. Let me know when you want to try again.”

“I won.”

“...??!?!!”

Salco doubted his ears.

He couldn’t believe what he had just heard.

The statue’s chess skills were truly formidable.

Even Salco, who had no equal in the Tutantha family, had never won against it.

He had planned to prepare with Wodanaz and challenge again...

But you just won?

“Really, really?”

“Yes. He said he could sleep well because of it.”

Salco didn’t doubt the word of someone he had decided to respect.

But he found it hard to believe without seeing it with his own eyes.

“Wodanaz. If it’s okay, can I check?”

“Sure. Go ahead.”

With Lee Han’s permission, Salco repaired the corridor statue, opened the door, and went inside.

He came out with a look as if he had been possessed by a ghost.

The statue was really sleeping.

Lee Han said to Salco:

“Thank you. Thanks to you, I got the information I needed.”

“That’s good to hear...”

Salco, without realizing it, looked at Lee Han with admiration, then quickly regained his composure.

To respect a noble like this!

Salco cleared his throat and turned around.

“Let’s go. I’ll guide you.”

Salco, who had turned his back, didn’t notice that Lee Han’s eyes had changed slightly.

The way Lee Han looked at Salco had become similar to how he looked at Nilia.

* * *

Lee Han opened the door to the lounge with a very tired expression.

Salco, who looked like a rock wall, was surprisingly talkative.

-When you move a pawn to e4 and the opponent counters with e5, you should push with f4. This is the ‘Dwarf Gambit,’ a specialty of the Tutantha family.

-If the opponent grabs the pawn, I like to send a knight to f3. About this...

-There was something that happened in the last game...

-Did you know? Those elf bastards send their pawns to d4 instead of e4 and respond with c4 on d5! They’re crazy!

He talked about chess non-stop on the way back.

Lee Han wasn’t as passionate about chess as Salco.

He tried to answer as respectfully as possible to avoid upsetting Salco, but it was mentally exhausting.

“Wodanaz! You’re back!”

The friends in the lounge, who were working on assignments, greeted Lee Han happily.

Yonner was checking potions with other students.

The potions were from the box that Lee Han and Ratford had stolen from the carriage.

Thanks to the reagents they had taken from Professor Thunderstep’s laboratory, they could now conduct various experiments.

“Did you find anything?”

“Wodanaz, we did it.”

“??”

A student sitting next to Yonner spoke excitedly.

“We found the potion of miracles!”

“Did you find a potion for teleportation?”

Lee Han asked, puzzled.

The students looked embarrassed.

“No... not teleportation.”

“It’s still a great potion! I’ll show you! Gaiyan!”

The students brought Gaiyan, and Lee Han noticed that Gaiyan looked different from usual.

Slightly...

More intelligent.

‘What is this? A fake Gaiyan?’

Gaiyan nodded to Lee Han with a very calm and composed expression. It made Lee Han want to hit him.

“Gaiyan, who teaches ‘Understanding Basic Magic’?”

“Professor Garcia Kim.”

“How do you make a low-level mana recovery potion?”

“Cut the root of the Galamaldu and slice the remaining part to the size of two pinky fingers. At the same time, tear the Sugang grass by hand, but do it quickly before the Galamaldu dries.”

The students of the Blue Dragon Tower cheered at the fluent answer.

“See?? It’s a potion of wisdom! A potion of wisdom!”

Among the potions of alchemy, there were those that temporarily increased the intelligence of the person who drank them.

Looking at Gaiyan now, it was clear.

This reddish-brown liquid was definitely a potion of wisdom!

‘Wait. Did these guys test it on Gaiyan?’

Lee Han had this question, but decided to let it go for now. There were more important things to consider.

“Do you really think this is a potion of wisdom?”

Lee Han asked Yonner in a low voice. Yonner answered with a cautious expression.

“I’m not sure yet. But from Gaiyan’s reaction after drinking it, it’s possible.”

“Didn’t you confirm everything before drinking it?”

“No, he just drank it during the verification process...”

“......”

Lee Han wanted to say something but held back.

‘If it’s a potion of wisdom, it would be great.’

Like the students cheering, Lee Han had many uses for a potion of wisdom.

He could drink a little during Professor Garcia’s class, a little during Professor Voladi’s class, a little during Professor Thunderstep’s class, a little before meeting Professor Mordum, a little before meeting Professor Milei...

As Lee Han counted on his fingers, he reflected.

Potions were not harmless. They always came with a cost. If he drank them like this, his body wouldn’t last.

But in this school, there were too many situations where wisdom was needed.

‘Should I check a bit more?’

Lee Han looked at Gaiyan and asked:

“What is 14 times 19?”

“417.”

The immediate answer made the Blue Dragon Tower students cheer.

However, Lee Han, Yonner, Asan, and the princess had a puzzled look.

...Huh?