Chapter 591
'What a ridiculous school.'
Yi-Han grumbled as he made the evil-warding accessory.
Even if he complained, the professors wouldn't listen anyway.
"Divide, dwell."
With the spell, magic dwelled in the purple bone.
Although it was called a divination magic lecture, in fact, if one counted the time, he learned more magic other than divination magic.
One of them was <Lesser Price Distribution> that he was casting now.
A magic that distributed the risks that came to the caster when casting magic to other objects.
Of course, in the case of powerful divination magic, it was impossible to handle even with this kind of magic, but for the level of divination that 1st-year students did, this much was enough.
Priestess Tijiling next to him skillfully overlapped triangles to make an evil-warding accessory.
The priests of the Presinga Order, who specialized in handling cursed artifacts, were skilled at enduring and defending against such curses.
Making the structure of the evil-warding accessory sturdy using numerology that utilized shapes and numbers was also one of the order's wisdom.
Tijiling, who finished the first completion, wiped the sweat on her forehead with a handkerchief and turned her gaze to the side.
Surprisingly, the boy from the Wardanaz family was still wrestling with the bone.
"...?!!"
"Ah. It's really stubbornly hard."
Yi-Han gritted his teeth and tapped the bone.
Generally, the characteristic of materials used for artifacts was high mana conductivity.
In other words, for a material to be good for use as an artifact, mana had to flow well and stay for a long time.
However, the purple bone that Professor Parsellet (forcibly) handed over, regardless of what material it was made of, kept bouncing off the magic.
An evil-warding artifact had to be sturdy, but no matter how sturdy it was, if the magic itself didn't stick, it was useless.
Yi-Han closed his eyes and let out a deep sigh.
'I have no choice but to do it little by little.'
If it wasn't that the magic didn't stick, but that it kept bouncing off, there was a way.
Yi-Han grabbed the bone and crazily infused mana into it. Normally, it should have burst out immediately, but the bone endured it somehow, only vibrating, probably because the material was sturdy.
'I'll tame it!'
It was a crude method, but a method was a method.
If it was an object stained with Yi-Han's mana, there was a high possibility that it wouldn't bounce off Yi-Han's magic.
Once.
Twice.
Three times…
While other friends changed the structure of the evil-warding accessory with beads made of various metals and semi-precious stones and tested it with simple divination, Yi-Han carved and carved the bone.
"Wardanaz. Are you okay? The time is..."
"Ah. Rice only becomes rice when it's boiled enough! Will rice become rice just because raw rice urges it!"
"Ah, no. I'm just worried."
"If you rush, it becomes rougher and slower. Artifacts should be made properly. What if you drop it while carving?"
'Ah, an artifact craftsman!?'
The friend who spoke felt the illusion of a craftsman who had made artifacts for decades in Yi-Han's appearance.
Yi-Han checked the bone again, grumbling.
"I think this much will stick... Is it still not enough?"
"Wardanaz, the time is really..."
Bang!
Yi-Han, who finished the basic bone work, entered the next process like lightning.
In an instant, he swung his staff, split the bone, changed its shape, and started casting magic on it.
"Divide, dwell. Divide, dwell. Divide..."
Magic was cast continuously at a level different from other students.
Although mana exhaustion, fatigue, or magic backflow were worrisome from the appearance of rapidly chanting spells, Yi-Han completed the work without blinking an eye.
Even after that, Yi-Han's hands did not stop. The split and shape-changed bones moved to the exact positions.
"Oh, my goodness...!"
"Avalcain must have been reincarnated!"
Yi-Han's work speed was so amazing that even the name of an artifact craftsman from hundreds of years ago came up.
The students could only blink their eyes and watch the work.
Click click click click click!
Yi-Han, who finished the assembly and completed the finishing touches, placed the evil-warding accessory on the table.
Then, applause erupted from all directions.
"Wardanaz! Wardanaz!"
"A genius of labor!"
"Isn't that an insult?"
Professor Parsellet, who was sitting in front of the lecture hall, said nonchalantly.
"It's an exam."
"Ah. I'm sorry. Professor."
***
After the exam, Parsellet, who checked the evil-warding accessory submitted by Yi-Han, exclaimed in admiration.
It was on a different level from other students.
'Impressive.'
-Impressive!-
In fact, the material had a big influence on artifacts.
Since the bone that the skull principal left was none other than the bone of a hell-blooded goat, it wasn't surprising that the performance of the artifact completed with it was superior to others.
What was truly amazing was that he somehow tamed this bone within the limited time and completed it as an evil-warding artifact.
In fact, even Professor Parsellet wondered until the middle of the exam, 'Can he complete it within the remaining time?'
The strong power to subdue the material was also power, but the subsequent seamless work speed also played a big role.
"Did you learn from Professor Verduus?"
"...Grrrr."
Yi-Han made a groaning sound like a mage who had been cursed with a tongue curse. Professor Parsellet was startled for a moment, thinking that Yi-Han might have been cursed.
"Are you sure you're okay?"
"...I'm fine. I did learn from Professor Verduus."
'What was that just now?'
The professor was puzzled but didn't ask further because Yi-Han's expression was serious.
"You made the evil-warding accessory well. It's not an easy material, but you tamed it and made it well. This much should be enough to withstand a few easy divinations."
"Thank you."
Yi-Han hid his hatred, anger, resentment, and sadness and managed his expression.
Until the professor's next words came out.
"Actually, when I heard that you volunteered for this, I wondered if it would be okay, but as expected, the future is unpredictable."
"That's... Pardon? Volunteered?"
"Didn't you volunteer to use this?"
Yi-Han was silent for a moment.
Then he asked.
"The principal said that, right?"
"Yeah."
"Didn't you think that the principal might be lying?"
More than anything else, Yi-Han couldn't understand this part.
Why didn't Professor Parsellet, a master of divination magic, see such an obvious fact?
When the skull principal gave something while giggling, it was natural to have a suspicious feeling.
'Is she an accomplice pretending not to know?'
Yi-Han threw a suspicious gaze.
"Well, since you started the exam without saying anything, I thought you really volunteered."
"..."
***
Tijiling thought that Yi-Han's eyes seemed slightly reddened as he walked out of the lecture hall.
'It must be my imagination.'
There was no way that the boy, who was like an ice sculpture, would shed tears.
"Are you alright?"
"Priestess Tijiling. I want to defeat a lich someday."
"...Pardon?"
"It's nothing. Did you do well on the exam?"
"I got 95 points."
"Oh my. Don't be too disappointed. You can do well next time."
"..."
Tijiling was momentarily at a loss for words.
"Th-this is also considered doing we..."
"Yeah. That positive attitude is important. Excellent."
"..."
Tijiling, who calmly dealt with scammers who came to the temple to sell cursed artifacts at a high price without getting angry, but this boy from the Wardanaz family had an outstanding talent for manipulating other people's emotions.
'Ah!'
Tijiling was surprised to realize that she was gripping her staff tightly.
What on earth was she doing?
'I need to change the subject!'
"What exams do you have left now?"
"Dance and illusion magic, healing magic."
"I'm done with all my exams with this one."
Tijiling answered and was surprised.
There was a boastful tone in her own voice.
"...Uh, did you just brag about finishing exams before me?"
"Ah, no?? No! Absolutely not!"
Tijiling hastily denied it.
To think that she would do such a thing!
"You can brag... It's okay even if you do. It's my fault for taking many, not your fault."
"It was really a mistake."
"That can happen. Everyone is happy when exams are over."
Although the exact reason wasn't because the exams were over, Tijiling decided to remain silent as a sign of reflection instead of explaining in detail.
"?"
The priestess, who was about to remain silent like that, realized something strange.
"But..."
"Do you have something to ask?"
"Haven't you not take the <Repetitive Training of Basic Magic Combat> exam yet?"
"...Oops. I did? Haha. Look at me. I forgot about it."
Yi-Han laughed heartily.
Tijiling thought that there seemed to be a hidden secret in that appearance.
What could it be?
"There's no way you could forget that..."
"Ah, Priestess Tijiling! Look outside the window! The kids embroidered Einroguard's motto on a flag! It looks pretty good, right?"
The students taking the basic imperial literature lecture each embroidered a motto suitable for Einroguard on a flag and hung it as if showing off.
-Pursuit of freedom through unfreedom!-
-The one who gets caught is the bad one!-
-More secretive than starlight, colder than moonlight!-
"...Is that it?"
"I-it's not bad, right?"
***
"Uh..."
"It's the illusion magic exam, right?"
The students who arrived before Yi-Han were startled to see the area near Professor Kirmin's magic tower.
Although it was always changing because he was a master of illusion magic, today was a bit more unusual.
Instead of a magic tower, dozens of sheds were in place.
"Everyone is here! I've been waiting."
Professor Kirmin welcomed the students with a voice that sounded like plucking a string as usual. "Hello. Professor Ku."
"Uh, wasn't the final exam about fighting with illusion magic?"
There were quite a few students who expected the illusion magic duel to be the final exam.
It seemed like it would be covered in the final exam as it was a topic that was heavily focused on.
However, Professor Kirmin shook his head cheerfully and said.
"My, my, my. Just because it was covered a lot during lecture time doesn't mean it will definitely be on the final exam."
'That's a shame.'
Yi-Han was slightly disappointed that the illusion magic duel wasn't the final exam.
If that was the exam, he could have easily gotten a perfect score.
"You're feeling relieved, Wardanaz. Well, it was a bit much last time when you had a duel with a professor like me, right? It's fortunate that it's not like that during the exam."
"What? Aren't we going up against other friends during the exam?"
Professor Kirmin laughed very happily at Yi-Han's question.
Then he hesitated.
"Ah. You asked seriously."
"...Yes."
"That can't be. It would be meaningless."
"Sometimes meaningless things can also be..."
"What are you talking about? Bagrak would be disappointed if you passed the exam in such a trivial way."
'Isn't it okay to disappoint him a bit?'
A person wouldn't die from being disappointed a bit, but fighting a professor could lead to death.
"Now. Today's final exam is simple mini-labyrinth making. As you attend Einroguard in the future, you'll realize that finding a way to protect your own place is more important than you think."
As you can see in the empire's fairy tales, mages always liked to build their own towers and use them as workshops.
Of course, such places couldn't be made just by constructing them. It was also essential to have powerful defensive measures to protect the mage's treasures in order to call it a workshop.
Excellent illusion mages had a way to prevent their traces from being discovered even if thousands of soldiers came.
"For two days, each of you will make a mini-labyrinth, and after that, you will enter other students' mini-labyrinths. We will evaluate how well the labyrinth blocks intruders. Any questions?"
A few students raised their hands.
"Okay. What are you curious about?"
"Wardanaz... Oops. How do you decide who enters another student's labyrinth?"
"..."