Chapter 1224

'Maybe it'd be nice to make one small hole in the wall?'

Honestly, a full escape seemed unlikely.

The corridor outside the cell looked quiet and peaceful, but there was no telling what traps an enraged Professor Garcia or a threatened Skull Principal had laid outside.

And considering that the Skull Principal had been summoned by His Majesty the Emperor, it would not be strange if additional security measures had been installed.

'The principal can be surprisingly petty, so that's actually pretty likely.'

And setting all of that aside, Lee Han thought it would be safest to remain in the punishment room until Professor Garcia's anger had completely subsided.

What if he forced his way out and Professor Garcia caught him?

From that point on, he might genuinely be treated the same way as Professor Verdus.

But a small hole connecting to the neighboring room was a different matter.

It would be small, convenient, easy to conceal, and therefore unlikely to be discovered.

If he made one, he could send food through it, play mage cards or chess when bored, and if he got stuck on magic, he could even pass grimoires through...

'Hmm. The grimoires sound like I'd be digging my own grave.'

Even so, Lee Han made up his mind.

He had plenty of time, so he would at least dig one small hole into the neighboring room!

Conveniently, <Toberiz Escapes the Fortress>, which Gainando had left him, contained something similar. Falsely accused Toberiz befriended a wise old man imprisoned in the cell next door and prepared an escape together with him.

The very first thing Toberiz had done was dig a hole so he could make contact with the old man next door.

'He really is clever. No wonder he's a detective.'

"Professor?"

"I'm listening."

"How does the magic prohibition here work?"

It would not be easy, but every system had flaws.

After all, hadn't his friends in the corridor been able to use magic?

'If it distinguishes between the corridor and the inside of the cell, then absorbs and interferes with mana only inside, maybe somehow...'

"This place detects the prisoner's soul and casts counter-magic."

"...What?!"

Lee Han was horrified.

'Did I hear that wrong?!'

Whether the disciple was shocked or not, Professor Voladi calmly continued explaining.

Generally, anti-magic barriers that inconvenienced mages usually focused on absorbing mana or disrupting its movement.

And in truth, that alone was normally enough.

Most mages had difficulty casting magic if the mana in the nearby area was thin or moved unpredictably.

But outstanding mages were difficult to stop through methods like that.

Even if mana was absorbed, they could release it faster than it could be drained, and even if the mana's movement was disrupted, they could seize control through absurd levels of concentration.

"I understand the latter, but the former doesn't sound like a very normal method. Are there actually mages reckless enough to do something like that?"

Lee Han asked in confusion as he listened.

Was there really some ignorant fool of a mage who used the former method?

Professor Voladi said nothing and waited.

It was out of consideration, so as not to embarrass the disciple.

"...Ah."

Fortunately, Lee Han was not stupid.

One second later, he immediately thought of that ignorant fool.

'Me.'

"Sorry. Please continue."

Since exceptional mages were difficult to restrain with anti-magic barriers like these, the Skull Principal had approached the problem in a different way.

Just as ancient dark mages had assembled dozens of spells to create golems so vivid they seemed almost alive, the Skull Principal had assembled hundreds of spells to create a living prison.

This prison memorized the souls of its prisoners and also memorized every spell those prisoners used.

Then, the moment it smelled the magic being cast by one of those prisoners, it immediately cast counter-magic to break it apart.

'Why would anyone go this far?'

Lee Han had to ask once again a question he had asked countless times since entering Einroguard.

Why go this far?

In truth, Lee Han himself knew the reason better than anyone. It was probably because of the countless professors who had been imprisoned before him.

"Ugh. If the professors and seniors had all just behaved themselves, this place wouldn't have needed defenses this thorough!"

It was truly painful that Lee Han himself now had to suffer because there had been no trust between them.

Professor Voladi mostly ignored the disciple's words. Wardanaz had a tendency to say surprisingly pointless things.

"Can't I cast faster than the counter-magic?"

"Unlikely. The principal assembled the magic personally."

The necessary mana was drawn from the source of this territory, and the casting process itself had been personally constructed by the Skull Principal, making it truly impregnable.

If there was any method at all, it would be to use magic that no prisoner had ever used before, and that the Skull Principal did not think Lee Han had learned...

Was there anything like that?

'Ugh.'

Lee Han tried casting magic beyond the bars.

However, the moment telekinetic force manifested without an incantation, the prison immediately countered it. Before a stone in the corridor could even rise, it dropped back into place.

Dark magic was the same. Before a skeletal hand could rise, it reverted back into ordinary bone fragments.

As expected of a place the Skull Principal had created specifically to imprison professors, it was exceptionally well designed to make things difficult for mages.

A voice came from the neighboring room again.

"I believe I told you not to use magic until you've fully recovered."

"...Ah. Yes. Sorry."

Lee Han apologized awkwardly.

'This much should be fine to use...'

Normally, he would have muttered that aloud, but the cells were so quiet that he had no choice but to keep the thought to himself.

After pondering for a while, Lee Han spoke again.

"All right. Then what about a primitive method that doesn't involve using magic?"

"What method?"

"We settle it with pure mana."

It was known as <Baldororn's Mana Hammer>.

Despite the grandiose name, the principle was extremely simple. Gather a large amount of mana and slam it forward like a wave.

"If this prison is assembled from hundreds of spells, then it should definitely be affected by an impact."

The more intricate a mechanism was, the greater the consequences when even a single component failed.

There was a good chance this prison worked the same way. If he repeatedly hammered the walls, ceiling, or floor with blasts of mana, some kind of malfunction was bound to show signs eventually.

"Until you've fully recovered..."

"This much is fine! It puts no strain on me at all."

Lee Han immediately shouted.

One advantage of solitary confinement was that no one could tell when you were lying.

Professor Voladi was silent for a moment.

It seemed the professor was considering whether the disciple was lying.

Lee Han immediately took action.

At times like this, it was always best to act first.

'Here goes!'

Mana surged like a wave, then spread outward like a tidal surge from Lee Han's palm pressed against the wall.

The inside of the wall vibrated violently.

Then the Skull Principal's voice echoed from within it.

Wardanaz. Fix that habit of trying to break things through brute force. Did you really think I wouldn't have considered that?

"......"

"......"

Master and disciple both fell silent at the recorded voice of mockery.

Lee Han thought it was fortunate that his friends were not there.

"He dispersed it very carefully."

Like lightning rods designed to protect against lightning strikes, countless magic circles had been installed around the cells and corridor to disperse powerful mana.

It was painfully obvious who they had been designed to counter.

Clang, clang, clang-

"?"

Professor Voladi sounded puzzled by the cheerful striking noises coming from the next room.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm directly hammering a hole through the wall."

Lee Han spoke through gritted teeth.

The Skull Principal's mockery always had a way of setting his students' motivation ablaze.

Let's see who wins!

Professor Voladi briefly considered telling the disciple to stop, then shook his head.

As the disciple's actions during this incident had already proven, Wardanaz had earned the right to make personal decisions.

There was no need for unnecessary interference.

Even if the decision in question was to ignorantly hammer and chisel a hole through the wall like an ordinary person who knew nothing about magic...

'Let's respect it.'

***

Even without magic, Lee Han still had several weapons available to him.

One of them was his physical ability as a knight.

The prison did not cast counter-magic against momentary physical reinforcement using mana.

Clang, clang, clang!

'Ugh. This thing is ridiculously hard.'

But even swinging the hammer with that reinforced strength, the work progressed more slowly than expected.

The amount of debris he chipped away was not very large either.

Lee Han was once again struck by just how dependent on magic he had become in everyday life.

"!"

When footsteps sounded from down the corridor, Lee Han quickly covered the hole with a blanket and arranged various pieces of junk around it.

If it was his friends, that would be fine.

But if it was Professor Garcia...

'The professor might get twice as angry.'

Fortunately, however, the one who appeared was a young child with golden hair.

Jowrin looked as though she might burst into tears at any moment.

'Ah. That's not fortunate.'

"Waaaaaah!"

Jowrin burst into tears the moment she arrived.

Flustered, Lee Han tossed the hammer and chisel aside and shouted,

"Your Majesty. What's wrong?"

"J-Jowrin thought that if Jowrin was ever imprisoned in the dragons' court, Lee Han would come rescue Jowrin, but Jowrin never imagined Lee Han would be imprisoned first..."

"......"

So she had been thinking about something like that!

Lee Han was greatly surprised by how perceptive Jowrin was.

This member of the Imperial Family had a surprisingly objective view of things.

After crying for quite a while, Jowrin even blew her nose with a "Hmph" into the handkerchief Lee Han handed over, then spoke with reddened eyes.

"Your escape plan?"

"Pardon?"

"You thought of a way to escape, didn't you? Lee Han definitely would have."

"Um... Actually, I was planning to behave myself this time."

"!?"

Jowrin stared at him in astonishment, as though the Skull Principal had just declared, "I will no longer torment students."

Why?!

"Why?!?"

"Well, the security is thorough, and the professors are angry too."

"Which professors?"

"I can't reveal that."

"Professor Garcia?"

"...I said I can't reveal that."

"It sounds like there isn't anyone besides Professor Garcia..."

Jowrin, whose intelligence seemed to increase by the day, was becoming an increasingly difficult opponent.

Lee Han quickly changed the subject.

"I'm fine, so please don't worry too much. If you're bored, you can come visit often. You didn't do anything strange outside because of me, did you?"

"......"

"...Your Majesty?"

When Jowrin slowly avoided his gaze, Lee Han's heart dropped.

Had she done something strange??

"What did you do?"

"Jowrin asked Uman to release Lee Han..."

"That's perfectly fine. Don't worry."

Seeing Jowrin looking dejected, Lee Han smiled in relief and comforted her.

A request like that was almost cute.

Of course, judging by the silence, Uman must have refused.

That was not particularly strange either.

No matter how much Uman might want to release him, the Emperor was currently furious enough to order the Skull Principal to come flying to the capital immediately...

'Wait. Was His Majesty Uman dragged along too?'

Lee Han suddenly became worried.

The Skull Principal could deal with getting scolded on his own, but it would be unfortunate if that diligent black dragon got caught up in the trouble.

"Hmm. Is that so?"

"Yes. It's fine."

Lee Han's reassurance seemed to cheer Jowrin up slightly.

The gold dragon gathered courage and continued.

"Actually, there was a little more than that."

"Go ahead."

"Jowrin got a little angry too..."

"That's all right. We can go apologize together later."

"And Jowrin threw a few punches in dragon form..."

"......"

Lee Han's face went pale.