Chapter 1343

The magic was far too intricate and complex to be something one would normally see near Valdrogard.

There was a fundamental difference in the flow itself between casting a single spell and having several spells cast in combination.

Click!

Lee Han looked down at the grimoire in his hand, which contained Oculoguard's foresight-magic microcosm.

The book was clicking as though it were alive. Lee Han frowned at the sight.

'I don't remember anything good ever coming from getting involved with a book that moves on its own.'

The Skull Principal's black book was the most representative example.

At first, Lee Han thought it was merely going to teach him a few spells, but before he knew it, the book had sent him into the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, where he encountered the Yaksha King and...

It was absurd even thinking about it now. As though sensing Lee Han's anger, the black book trembled faintly.

Click! Click!

“Professor. I think the book is signaling that it wants you to open it?”

“Jandanni. You must never open a book simply because it asks you to. It could be a dangerous book.”

Lee Han gave examples of dangerous books a mage might encounter.

A book might physically attack you when opened, cause the floor beneath you to open, teleport you somewhere else, make you see illusions...

Jandanni, who had been diligently taking notes, became puzzled.

“But Professor. Why would anyone make a book like that in the first place?”

“......”

Good question.

Instead of presenting the hypothesis that 'the more skilled a mage becomes, the worse their personality gets,' Lee Han came up with another, more plausible explanation.

“The secrets of magic can create enormous danger if they fall into the hands of someone unqualified. That is why mages place trials in books containing their magic and hide tests within them.”

“I see!”

Click! Click! Click!

The Oculoguard grimoire was making increasingly violent noises. Seeing this, the Death Knight advised from beside him.

-Successor. Why don't you open it once and determine what kind of magic it contains?

“You aren't saying that because you want me to learn another microcosm, are you?”

-W-What?! Absolutely not!

The Death Knight broke out in a cold sweat internally.

Because that was exactly the reason.

'As sharp as ever...!'

It had subtly encouraged him because there seemed to be no downside to learning foresight magic, especially an Oculoguard foresight-magic microcosm, but it had not expected Lee Han to notice immediately.

Lee Han let out a sigh and prepared several spells. Jandanni asked again.

“Professor. What spells are you preparing right now?”

“I've cast several defensive spells in case the book attacks.”

As he answered, Lee Han cast another spell on each of the two Valdrogard students.

Jandanni quietly accepted the spell, then became puzzled again.

'Why isn't the Professor casting any on himself?'

“All right. Then I'll open it.”

Snap!

When the book opened, intricate streams of mana meshed together inside it and automatically cast dozens of spells.

It was almost like Yukbeltire's Calendarium artifact.

It cast the spells recorded within itself to complete a single spell...

'Wait. Is this not a grimoire that teaches magic, but an artifact-type grimoire capable of casting the magic itself?'

Lee Han thought as he watched the book complete the spell on its own.

There were two kinds of grimoires.

One was the ordinary kind, which taught a mage how to cast a spell starting from the fundamentals.

The other was a case where the grimoire itself was an artifact capable of casting the spell.

In that case, there was no need to learn the spell before using it. One could use it directly and gradually develop a feel for the magic.

Microcosm, Kataskopos. I shall prophesy.

An inorganic voice flowed from the book.

This Oculoguard book of prophecy contained the microcosm spell Kataskopos.

Compared to other forms of foresight divination, it was difficult to control and difficult to use to observe the future exactly as desired, but in exchange, its accuracy was extremely powerful.

Having understood what kind of magic it was, Lee Han became slightly tense.

What kind of prophecy would this book make?

'It's not going to say I'll remain a Valdrogard professor forever or something, right? Surely not.'

Seek the King of the Yaksha. From him, you shall receive the wisdom contained within a small world.

Thud!

Lee Han hurled the book of prophecy against the carriage wall.

But having delivered the prophecy it was supposed to give, the book remained completely unresponsive, as though satisfied.

“...W-What was that just now, Professor?”

“It was nothing. Ah. I believe I told you that foresight magic has low accuracy. Don't forget that.”

'I'm pretty sure an Oculoguard student made a similar prediction back in the punishment room.'

The Death Knight quietly thought to itself.

Back in the punishment room, when the Oculoguard student Paridim had foreseen what magic the Successor needed, the name of the Yaksha King had definitely appeared.

If it had only happened once, perhaps that would be one thing, but twice...

“What are you thinking about?”

-Those Oculoguard bastards are extremely devious! Successor, pay them no attention!

When Lee Han asked as though testing it, the Death Knight answered immediately. Lee Han nodded in satisfaction.

The knight felt as though cold sweat were pouring from pores it did not have.

'...Even in things like this, you're becoming more and more like Master...!'

* * *

Sssizzle!

“Hurry, Priest! I told you, we don't know when they're going to leave!”

“Ah, seriously! If you don't shut your mouth, I'll pour this solution into it!”

Siana snapped irritably at the White Tiger Tower student urging her on from beside her.

The most dangerous thing in alchemy was rushing.

If you tried to shorten the process just because you were in a hurry, you would only end up having to start over from the beginning.

Ratford looked anxiously out the window and asked,

“Meikin. Is it really that difficult?”

“The magic placed on the invitation is simple, but the paper itself is far too high-quality...”

Yonair's hands moved busily.

They had to completely duplicate the invitation and return the original before the guest on the café's second floor got up to leave.

The problem was that the invitation was made from paper of excessively high quality.

It would actually have been easier to counterfeit if several spells had been placed on it!

The students were genuinely impressed by Valdrogard's method.

“Why doesn't Einroguard use this method? It seems much better than some half-baked magic.”

“Because it's expensive...”

“Ah.”

“Done! Hurry and put it back!”

“Going now!”

Ratford and the Black Tortoise Tower students rushed out again. The guest on the café's second floor was getting up.

-The newly appointed Professor Wardanaz is truly remarkable, isn't he? To think a mage of that caliber would come to Valdrogard.

-Perhaps Valdrogard possessed that much magical potential all along. Otherwise, why would a mage of House Wardanaz ever come to Valdrogard?

“......”

“......”

“Don't draw your weapons!”

Giselle hurriedly stopped the White Tiger Tower students.

She had no desire to appear in the Imperial newspaper under a headline like, 'Einroguard Students Cause Massive Brawl in the City of Ileinas!'

“But... But Moradi! Those bastards keep spreading ridiculous rumors!”

Giselle furrowed her brow slightly and exchanged glances with her friends.

More precisely, with the friends who were 'capable of reason.'

'This doesn't seem like a ridiculous rumor anymore, does it?'

'M-Maybe not...'

Hearing a ridiculous rumor once or twice was ordinary enough, but if they kept hearing it everywhere they went, that was a different matter.

Adenart asked Salco with a grave expression,

“Is there still no reply through the artifact?”

“Nothing. Nothing at all. I keep checking, but it seems like he isn't seeing it.”

Lee Han still had not responded through the artifact shared by the top-ranked and second-ranked students of each tower.

Anglago, who had been listening from beside them, flared up.

“I told you! The Principal confiscated all his belongings...”

Anglago had continued insisting on the 'everything was confiscated' theory.

If that were true, it would explain why there had been no reply.

But the other friends were skeptical.

“Considering how much work the Principal makes Lee Han do, he wouldn't confiscate his belongings.”

“Even Professor Verdus doesn't have their belongings confiscated. They need Professor Verdus to work.”

“If we attack Valdrogard, do you think we'd be locked in the punishment room for long? Wouldn't they take the public service aspect into account?”

“Let's go and check first! We need to see it ourselves and confirm it.”

“What if the Principal really sold Wardanaz?”

“Shut up!”

Having secured all the necessary supplies, the Einroguard students began preparing for infiltration.

They draped enchanted cloaks over their rags (more precisely, their Einroguard uniforms), cast transformation magic and illusion magic over the shoes visible underneath...

“Hey, wipe the blood off your shoes! What are you, a murderer?!”

“No...! I couldn't help it! I had to gather all the materials during this vacation!”

“If anyone got blood or filth on themselves before coming here, speak up now while you still have a conscience. If anything looks unnatural, there's a chance the illusion magic will break.”

...Some students had rushed over directly from hunting monsters and earned the others' disapproval.

Still, their preparations were complete.

Every student was dressed appropriately for Valdrogard (though a few still had spots of blood here and there), each had secured an invitation, and they had also prepared the proper etiquette to match.

“What did you say we're supposed to say when we attend a banquet? Have you eaten? What did you eat today?”

“That's an Einroguard greeting... I told you, just say 'It's a pleasure to meet you'! I'll invite you sometime, so come to a banquet!”

“I'd rather go to the punishment room than stand around in a place like that for three hours as if I'm being tortured. Someone like Nillia can have conversations there, but I can't even communicate with those people. Do you think talking about how to choose the right words out there would get us anywhere?”

'I can't communicate with them either. I just listen...'

Nillia silently thought to herself.

Whenever her Black Tortoise Tower friends praised her as the most sociable person in the tower, she felt pleased, but also burdened.

What if they found out?

“Everyone, move out! Remember! Once we're inside, don't cause trouble, don't steal food and stuff it into your clothes, and this isn't Einroguard, so don't pick other people's pockets...”

“Don't attack anyone, don't loot anything. Don't spit when a Valdrogard student walks past.”

“We're only going there to confirm the rumor. Understood?”

The students of each tower nodded as though telling everyone to leave it to them. The carriage they had rented in advance started up the hill.

“Is that palace Valdrogard?”

“No. That's Valdrogard's main gate.”

“......”

“Put your wand down!”

The Einroguard students passed through the main gate with complicated expressions.

At that moment, someone muttered,

“What if Wardanaz says he wants to stay here...”

“Which bastard just muttered something ominous?!”

“You, get out! You bastard, are you a Valdrogard spy?”

“N-No! I just said it!”

* * *

“I would like to inspect the lecture hall.”

“Already?!”

“...Yes.”

“P-Please follow me.”

The servants working at Valdrogard were startled by the new professor's words.

There was still a long time before the semester began, yet he already wanted to inspect the lecture hall. It was truly unbelievable.

“This is it.”

When the servant spoke after they arrived at a palace situated on a hill to the west, Lee Han looked puzzled.

“Please tell me where inside the palace it is.”

“Pardon? This entire palace... is available for you to use, Professor.”

“......”

Lee Han and the Death Knight were simultaneously stunned.

The Death Knight immediately whispered urgently.

-Successor. You must not let yourself be won over by a palace! We can build you a palace too.

It would be a palace made of bones and ghosts, but a palace was still a palace.