Chapter 1276

When Lee Han's expression hardened, Sigunting's face flushed.

Thinking about it, no matter how much of a kindhearted sucker his junior was, there was no way he would obediently follow after hearing something like that in a situation like this.

"Die..."

"?"

"Die!"

Lee Han was startled when Senior Anpagon, who was normally so cool and composed that the juniors of the same tower respected him, shouted so emotionally.

"Ah, right!"

Sigunting immediately reacted upon hearing that. Lee Han wondered whether he should help his senior restrain Anpagon.

But that was a misunderstanding. Sigunting was not trying to stop Anpagon. He was pulling out a crossbow so he could attack too.

"Die!"

TWANG!

Sigunting was not a combative mage like his junior, but as an Einroguard student, he was naturally prepared with the basics.

The magical crossbow, modified in the distinctive style of enchantment magic, rapidly fired bolts with repeated twanging sounds.

Watching bolts that combined aiming, guidance, acceleration, penetration, explosion, and more at a high level fly out in rapid succession, Lee Han had complicated feelings.

To think such well-crafted magic was being used merely to attack the professor of their own school...

"Everyone, calm down! I'm not an intruder! I'm Professor Bivle Verdus!"

Professor Verdus fortified their defenses with a star-shaped dodecahedral artifact made of silver and blue-gold.

The artifact stilled the surrounding air and fired illusions of Professor Verdus to either side, disrupting the students' aim like decoys.

"We know that?!"

"How dare you say that right now!"

Sigunting and Anpagon roared with even greater fury.

Professor Verdus's cheerfulness always drove the professor's disciples insane.

"What? Then why are you attacking me?!"

"...Die! I'm going to kill you!"

Unable to keep watching the seniors' pent-up rage, Lee Han shouted.

"Professor, because you escaped, we had to take over all your work! Senior Anpagon was even in the middle of preparing his graduation project!"

"Then you should've escaped too! Why are you blaming me?!"

Professor Verdus shouted while rolling behind the workshop facilities for cover.

As a mage, it was one's own responsibility to look after one's share.

If the Skull Principal ordered them to work in place of a missing professor, they could simply escape too. If they had chosen to stay of their own accord, then they had no right to be angry at Professor Verdus.

"...Even if it means I can't graduate, I have to wring the neck of that bastard destined to burn in the hottest depths of hell at least once. Come forth, Aeternum Aedificium!"

Anpagon finally exploded and tried to summon his unfinished graduation project.

As a member of the Stonemason Club and someone deeply versed in magical architecture among the branches of enchantment magic, Anpagon intended to summon a structure inside the workshop and melt Professor Verdus with it.

"Magnum Opus!"

Professor Verdus activated the microcosm magic stored inside another necklace while simultaneously securing authority over the magic tower.

As the professor's small, adorable beaver-beastkin hands moved insanely fast through the air, Anpagon's structure was blocked before it could even be summoned and was forcibly unsummoned.

"Argh... Aaargh!"

Completely neutralized without even managing to land a single blow, Anpagon howled in fury.

How in the world was he supposed to repay this grudge?!

"Junior! I'm begging you. Kill Professor Verdus! Just once!"

"Eek!"

Professor Verdus stared at Lee Han with a deeply wary expression.

Unlike the other disciples, whose magical capabilities could roughly be estimated, Wardanaz was an evil secret weapon raised by Professor Voladi, so there was no telling what he might do.

He wasn't going to call Professor Voladi over, was he?

However, Lee Han spoke with a bitter expression.

"Senior... If we kill Professor Verdus, we'll have to do all the remaining work until the professor comes back to life."

"......"

"......"

The two seniors came to their senses as though cold water had been poured over them.

Amazingly, their junior was far more mature than they were.

"...You're right, Wardanaz."

"I should've thought of that first. I'm truly ashamed."

"It's all right. If I were an upper-year student like you, I probably wouldn't have been able to hold back from attacking either."

Lee Han understood how the two seniors felt.

He was only a second-year, so fortunately he had been given relatively easy work, but if he had been stabbed in the back like this in his third or fourth year, then truly...

Yukbeltire, who had been watching, nodded.

Fortunately, it seemed the juniors had realized the problem on their own without her needing to stop them.

"I'm glad everyone came to their senses."

Professor Verdus brightly poked their head out from behind the wall. Lee Han felt his fingertips tremble for a moment.

'I have to endure it.'

"Professor. Um... What exactly did you mean when you said you needed my help?"

Lee Han hurriedly asked before the seniors, who had finally calmed down, exploded again.

He needed to change the subject first.

"Ah. Well, you see..."

***

Professor Verdus, who had recently developed a deep interest in dark magic, spent time researching how to cast <The Eye of Ahrak> and <Living Wall> instead of preparing final exams or making artifacts.

But it was not easy. No matter how outstanding an enchantment mage Professor Verdus was, reverse-engineering high-level dark magic that they had never shown any interest in before was nearly impossible in such a short period of time.

After hitting a wall, Professor Verdus swallowed their pride and decided to make a truly enormous concession.

They decided to ask dark-magic experts for advice.

However, Einroguard's dark magic school was extremely cold and merciless.

-I'm a second-year. Why are you asking me this? What? If I'm in the dark magic school, I should know regardless of what year I am? ...Lee Han! Lee Han! Professor Verdus is bullying me!!

-Professor. If you're found near Black Dark Hall one more time, we're going to attack you. We already received Professor Mortum's permission. Actually, Professor Mortum told us to just go find you first and attack you.

-Bivle. Why are you suddenly asking about dark magic? Didn't you say dark magic was boring, tedious, and old-fashioned, so you weren't interested? You want me to tell you how to do this? ...Wait. Have you finished all the artifacts? Are the exams prepared? Do you genuinely want to die?

Despite Professor Verdus asking with complete sincerity, the dark mages coldly drove the professor away.

In the end, Professor Verdus had only one option left.

They would go find the people who had created this magic and ask them directly.

-Descendants of Ahrak! Descendants of Ahrak! Open the door! I came because I have something to ask!

-...What is that? Were we expecting anyone here?

-What kind of lunatic comes all the way out here? Who is it? Identify yourself!

-I'm Professor Verdus from Einroguard!

-......

-...Don't lie.

At first, the Descendants of Ahrak could not believe it.

Wasn't Professor Verdus the professor with the greatest number of enemies among all the professors of Einroguard?

Someone who ought to be trembling inside Einroguard under the Skull Principal's protection had crawled all the way out to a remote place like this?

-Wait. Even if someone wanted to impersonate somebody, who would impersonate that bastard? Isn't it really them?

-It really is me! Open the door!

-...Come in. For now.

The dark mages opened the door.

And sure enough, a beaver-beastkin mage toddled inside. Ordinary people might have cried out at the adorable sight, but the descendants wore grave expressions.

-Damn. This is more shocking than flesh growing on a skeleton. It really is Professor Verdus?

-If we sell that one off, wouldn't that cover several years of our mage tower's budget? Which duke offered the highest price again?

-Everyone, calm down. I desperately want to sell them off too, but the other party is a professor of Einroguard.

No matter what, as dark mages, ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) they could not disregard Einroguard's prestige.

Putting everything else aside, was not the lord of Einroguard the most powerful dark mage alive and one of the founders of their entire school?

-And there's also that dark mage from House Wardanaz. Selling off a professor would be a little...

-Hmm. That's certainly true too.

The Descendants of Ahrak recalled what had happened recently.

Even in hindsight, the ability displayed by the rising mage from House Wardanaz was astonishing.

There was a reason those difficult dark mages had argued among themselves over who would teach him magic on the spot.

Considering their future relationship, they could not simply sell an Einroguard professor like merchandise.

-But why hasn't the Ninth contacted us after chasing after him?

-Who knows. That eccentric bastard is probably doing a fine job winning Wardanaz over. I'm more worried that bastard will take Wardanaz and run off alone.

-That damned bastard... You don't think he's actually planning to do that, do you?

The descendants suddenly became extremely suspicious of the Ninth.

Of course, the Ninth had been attacked by an evil Einroguard professor and was imprisoned beneath Black Dark Hall, but they had no way of knowing that.

-How long do I have to wait?

-Hmm. Very well. Come in, Professor Verdus. We will receive you as our guest.

The descendants reached a conclusion for the time being.

They would accept Professor Verdus as a guest.

-Thanks.

-Eighth. Would you bring some mud tea? This tea is something we personally grew...

-No thanks. I don't like tea that dark mages drink. It tastes bad.

-...Why did you come here?

Less than a minute after welcoming the professor as a guest, the descendants' attitudes immediately turned prickly.

Since all of them were monsters who had lived for more than a hundred years, there was no way they would look kindly upon someone with Professor Verdus's attitude.

Even the mage from House Wardanaz had possessed impeccable manners!

-I came because I had something to ask about magic.

-Oh... You were interested in dark magic?

-No. Normally there's too much old and outdated stuff, so not really.

-......

-But this time I found some magic that interested me. <The Eye of Ahrak> and...

-Ah. That one. It's decent magic.

-I don't know whether it's decent or not. I think I'll know once I cast it myself. So teach me how to cast it.

-......

The dark mages fell silent again.

When the silences kept happening, Professor Verdus wondered whether it was because they were senile.

-I don't think that's possible. You know we don't let secret magic leak outside, don't you?

-Wardanaz learned it.

-Oh. So you heard that somewhere.

The seasoned dark mages did not so much as blink at Professor Verdus's objection.

Instead, they answered shamelessly.

-If you think that's unfair, then you can become a Wardanaz too.

-All right. I'll change my family to House Wardanaz too. Good enough? Teach me.

-......

The descendants once again felt keenly how this professor had managed to set a new record for bounties.

If Wardanaz was a natural-born magical genius, this professor was a natural-born bounty genius.

You crazy bastard!

-Go to House Wardanaz and bring back an official certificate of adoption. Then we'll consider it.

-That's way too troublesome!

Professor Verdus protested against the dark mages' unreasonable demand.

However, these vile and petty dark mages remained unmoved.

-Then bring Wardanaz here. If you get him to join our mage tower, we'll teach you not only <The Eye of Ahrak>, but other dark magic as well.

-Wardanaz? That won't work.

-I suppose even a master can't sell off their own disciple. So you do have at least some sense of responsibility as a professor.

-No. I could sell him, but why would Wardanaz want to join a mage tower like this? It's impossible.

Professor Verdus was not a fool.

Countless mage towers throughout the Empire were sending invitations to the professor's disciple. There was no reason for him to join some remote and isolated place like this.

-......

-...Endure it. Endure it. Anyway, Professor Verdus. You don't want this, you don't want that. I'll take it that negotiations have broken down.

-Can't you just teach me?

-There's a bed in the stable over there, so sleep there for the night and go back safely tomorrow. Or don't make it back. That's fine too. Or die on the way. That would also be fine.

***

"Wait. Then why were you attacked?"

Lee Han felt puzzled while listening to the story. Professor Verdus's appearance was unmistakably that of a mage who had been attacked.

But the Descendants of Ahrak had simply let the professor go, hadn't they?

'Were they attacked on the way back?'

"The Descendants of Ahrak ambushed me at night."

"What!? They didn't seem like that kind of people."

Lee Han became even more surprised. However, the seniors seemed to have already figured it out and spoke sarcastically.

"Wardanaz. Ask what the professor did at night first."

"...What did you do?"

"Nothing? Other than sneaking into their mage tower and spying on their magic."

"......"