Chapter 1234

After asking, Lee Han remembered something.

It was definitely...

'Wasn't that the name Professor Voladi mentioned when he said he'd prepared the midterm exam?'

True to Professor Voladi's strangely diligent nature when it came to pointless details, even while running away, the professor had thoroughly prepared his disciple's midterm exam.

-I already prepared it. Sir Garjidahaka agreed to administer it in my place.

-...Who the hell is that?!

Just as Professor Kirmin had been bewildered, Lee Han was becoming increasingly curious as well.

Who on earth was Sir Garjidahaka?

'Please, just don't let him be a madman.'

Even Lee Han thought the chances that this person was not insane seemed rather slim, but there was always such a thing as a possibility.

Please!

"Sir Garjidahaka is..."

Professor Voladi stopped mid-sentence. It looked as though the professor was thinking about something.

"I can't tell you that."

"...Why not?"

"Because of the exam."

Professor Voladi kindly explained.

Unfortunately, Lee Han had escaped first during this midterm period, so he had not gotten to encounter Sir Garjidahaka, but someday in the future, Sir Garjidahaka might appear as an exam.

If that happened, revealing Sir Garjidahaka's identity beforehand could undermine the purpose of the exam.

"......"

Instead of being moved by the kind explanation, Lee Han recoiled in disgust.

How could the professor say something that insane so calmly?

'What the hell is that guy?'

Lee Han had no idea who this person was, but the fact that he was 'an exam question Professor Voladi was saving' was enough to put him on extremely high alert.

Lee Han asked cautiously.

"But Eandurde knows his identity, doesn't he?"

"Well..."

Eandurde joined the conversation.

In fact, although Eandurde had received instruction while Professor Voladi was gone, even he did not really know much about Sir Garjidahaka.

That was because the lessons had been conducted remotely through a dimensional mirror.

"You only heard his voice?!"

"Yes..."

"Hmm. What did his voice sound like? He didn't sound like a yaksha, did he?"

The first race Lee Han was wary of was the yaksha race.

If Sir Garjidahaka was a yaksha, there was a very high chance he would be the worst possible kind of opponent.

'Just thinking about it is horrifying.'

"H-he didn't sound like a yaksha."

"Then he didn't sound like a frost giant, did he? Or a fire giant? If he sounded like any kind of giant at all, tell me."

Eandurde shook his head.

And thought inwardly.

Why did this upper-year student have so many races he seemed to have grudges against?

"Hmm. Difficult. Some great being from another dimension? A Spirit King? An angel?"

As Lee Han spoke, he kept sneaking glances at Professor Voladi, but the cold professor stood there calmly without changing expression in the slightest.

'Kugh. Not working.'

Eventually giving up on guessing from the voice, Lee Han asked about the lesson itself.

"You still learned elemental control and manipulation, right?"

Eandurde nodded, then raised his staff and lifted the dirt from the floor into the air, shaping it into solid stone.

Unlike Lee Han, this junior could not handle a wide variety of elements, but had considerable affinity with the earth element.

"Good. What about changing its shape?"

"Jowrin's form would be good!"

At Jowrin's words, Eandurde gave her a slight glare.

The more detailed and complicated an elemental transformation became, the more exponentially difficult it was.

And the form of a dragon, of all things...

Kakakak-!

With a brief scraping sound, the stone was carved away and transformed into a shape.

It looked closer to a dinosaur than a dragon. Lee Han clapped and shouted.

"Perfect score!"

"No."

When Professor Voladi spoke from beside him, this time Lee Han gave the professor a slight glare.

They said praise could even make a dragon dance, so why was the professor so tactless!

"Just pretend you didn't see it."

Eandurde quickly smashed it. Jowrin was startled.

"But that was Jowrin's statue!"

"Strictly speaking, it was Eandurde's statue. Anyway, Eandurde. Perfect. You're top of the year."

"....Aren't I the only one?"

"That's what makes it even better."

Lee Han praised his junior, who had already secured the top rank in this course.

The other students lacked discernment and found Professor Voladi's combat magic school unsettling, but this school definitely had advantages too.

The moment you enrolled, being top of the year was guaranteed.

At his upper-year student's praise, Eandurde tilted his head, unable to tell whether Lee Han was joking or serious.

...He was joking, right?

"I heard the water element is better."

Eandurde was very disappointed that he had to practice this with the earth element.

These exercises could be called basic elemental training.

They were meant to train a mage to cast low-circle spells needed in magical combat quickly and accurately.

In that respect, practicing with the water element could be considered the training best suited to that purpose.

From maintaining strength and destructive force to changing and holding its shape.

Wasn't all of that difficult?

Compared to Wardanaz, who had trained using the water element, Eandurde was practically taking a shortcut...

"No?!"

Lee Han shouted in shock.

What kind of nonsense was that?

"I practiced with the water element because if I caused an accident with it, it was less dangerous than the other elements!"

The reason Lee Han had mainly used water-element magic instead of destructive elements early on was because of his mana.

That was especially true for the fire element, since if he failed to control his mana, he could immediately set everything around him on fire.

And yet someone had mistaken that for intentional high-difficulty training.

"Who told you that?"

"Sir Garjidahaka...?"

"...From now on, let's drop the 'Sir.'"

Lee Han was already starting to harbor resentment toward this dimensional opponent whose face he had never even seen.

'What kind of bastard is he, seriously?'

"Can you help prepare for the final exam?"

"Me? Or..."

Lee Han was unsure whether Professor Voladi meant helping with Lee Han's exam or his junior's exam.

If it was the former, was the professor perhaps asking him to dig his own grave?

Professor Voladi pointed at Eandurde. Lee Han breathed a sigh of relief.

'The professor isn't that cruel.'

"Of course."

Curious about their conversation, Eandurde cautiously asked,

"What was on last year's midterm?"

"Last year's midterm? Uh... it was canceled because of the flood."

"......"

Eandurde looked both shocked and bewildered.

Lee Han hurriedly explained, worried that his junior might mistakenly think, 'The current second-years are obnoxious upper-year students who got an easy ride.'

"It wasn't that great! It was incredibly inconvenient. We even had to take rafts to get to lectures..."

"I didn't think it sounded good..."

Eandurde was dumbfounded.

What kind of madman would hear that and think, 'Wow, the exam was canceled because of a flood? I'm jealous!'?

Gainando, who was behind them, shouted in surprise.

"What? You're not jealous of that? I was seriously jealous."

"...Hey. Go over there."

Lee Han drove Gainando into the next room. He wondered whether asking Professor Voladi to let the junior see Gainando had been a mistake.

'He's not setting any kind of example at all.'

"Then what was on the final exam?"

"The final? That... well..."

"???"

"A giant... showed up..."

Lee Han's voice became unusually quiet.

It was difficult to tell his junior that a giant had appeared as the final exam.

As he spoke, Lee Han shot Professor Voladi a resentful look.

Why did the professor have to prepare something like a giant for an exam?!

'If Eandurde really runs away, I'm filing a complaint saying it's Professor Voladi's fault.'

"A giant?!"

Eandurde jumped so high from where he sat that his head nearly struck the ceiling.

Worried his junior might run away, Lee Han hurriedly shouted.

"It's not what you're thinking! ...Probably! And I didn't even fight it head-on! It was busy fighting a monster...!"

'Should I go help him?'

Yonair, who was in the next room, thought inwardly upon hearing her friend's shouting.

Lee Han seemed to be sinking deeper and deeper into a swamp.

But surprisingly, Eandurde had not jumped up because he wanted to run away.

Instead, his face was full of anticipation and excitement.

"I can fight a giant!"

"No. You will not fight a giant."

Professor Voladi answered coldly. At those words, Eandurde became deeply disappointed, as though cold water had been poured over him.

"I see..."

"N-no, Professor. Eandurde wants to see one that badly... Why can't it be a giant?"

"Obviously, normally it can't."

"Hey. Go."

After getting thoroughly scolded for making one comment, Gainando grumbled and left again carrying a bucket.

Normally, of course you couldn't use a giant!

Professor Voladi answered simply.

"You're not ready yet."

It was simple logic, but impossible to refute.

Unlike Lee Han, Eandurde was not yet skilled enough to face a giant.

Hearing that, Lee Han could not decide whether he should be pleased, angry, or saddened.

'Ah.'

Eandurde did not show it openly, but his shoulders visibly drooped.

At the sight, Lee Han and Jowrin hurriedly stepped in.

"What if you adjust the difficulty? Break one of the giant's legs or something!"

"J-Jowrin will help too! If Jowrin fights together with Eandurde!"

"It's all right."

Before the professor could answer, Eandurde spoke bravely.

It was disappointing that he could not fight a giant, but he did not want to compensate for his own inadequacy with help from his upper-year student or friend.

"Kugh. How did our school end up with such an admirable junior..."

Lee Han looked at Eandurde as though he could not be prouder, then tapped Professor Voladi several times.

'Please praise him a little.'

Professor Voladi, however, seemed to interpret it differently.

"Understood. Let's return to discussing the exam preparation."

"......"

***

Professor Voladi's request was simple.

During the final exam, the professor would launch a carefully sequenced series of attacks at Eandurde, and wanted Lee Han to take charge of one part of it.

It was a surprisingly normal exam.

Lee Han felt strangely conflicted.

"......"

"Lee Han. Isn't this exam surprisingly normal? No matter how you look at it, compared to yours it's much more... Ow! Why did you hit me!"

Lee Han smacked Gainando on the back and drove him away.

Then he thought.

'If my junior gets an easier exam, I should be happy. I must absolutely not be jealous.'

After composing his emotions, Lee Han managed to form a mechanical smile.

Then he spoke to Professor Voladi.

"I'm ready. Give me the signal whenever you want."

Professor Voladi nodded, then instructed him to go to the cell on the opposite side.

This punishment-room floor was not particularly enormous, but a skilled combat mage knew how to make good use of what was available.

By using the corridors and cells, the bars and stairways, it was entirely possible to create a sufficiently difficult dungeon.

'When Eandurde appears at the top of the stairs, activate the magic circle first. If he breaks through and approaches, I'll fire spheres of water from this cell along the predetermined trajectories...'

Jowrin began cheering, and even the baby basilisk, which had awakened at some point, joined in.

"Eandurde can definitely do it!"

-Fighting! Fighting!

At the same time as Lee Han signaled for the two of them to be quiet, Eandurde began the breakthrough.

The activated magic circle attacked from a cunning angle, but Eandurde evaded it without much difficulty with agile, springy movements.

'Load!'

Lee Han was delighted to see his junior chant a spell and load stone projectiles at the same time as he dodged.

He could vividly tell just how hard Eandurde had practiced magic over the past year.

'Ah. My turn.'

Spheres of water came flying fiercely.

Eandurde became fully alert at the attack coming from inside the cell.

It was clearly a level above the attack that had just come from the magic circle.

Fast and unpredictable!

Eandurde began intercepting them by firing stones, but the defense was not perfect.

Several spheres slipped around onto trajectories from behind.

Eandurde gritted his teeth in preparation for the impact that would soon follow.

Paat!

"??"

The water spheres vanished as though evaporating.

Lee Han clapped and shouted.

"Perfect score!"

Instead of agreeing, Professor Voladi beckoned for Lee Han to come over.

It seemed this disciple needed a lecture.