The insane duplicate nodded at his disciple’s answer.
Just as it was no simple task to erase the world’s eight sufferings through magic, passing down his teachings to his disciple within a limited amount of time was equally difficult.
And amid all those difficulties, his disciple’s growth shone brilliantly like a beacon.
It was completely different from the immature behavior he had shown in the past.
“Well considered. Then let us depart. Mage, you will carry the luggage.”
“My apologies. I’ll carry it myself, so please don’t worry about it.”
Lee Han apologized on behalf of his master. Catten simply laughed as if it didn’t matter.
“The sturdiest person should carry the luggage, Junior.”
Then shouldn’t Master be carrying it?
Naturally, no matter how good the insane duplicate’s mood seemed today, Lee Han wisely kept that thought to himself.
Instead, he swung his staff and summoned a Skeleton Golem. With its massive frame, the medium-sized undead summon was more than suitable as a pack mule.
Though the mana consumption was rather severe...
“Well then. Let’s go!”
“...”
“Senior?”
“Ah. Sorry. That summoned creature was so impressive... Would it perhaps be possible for me to learn it later?”
“...Master! Could you please open a dimensional gate?”
Lee Han quickly pretended not to hear and changed the subject.
***
“Hmm. Moradi. Shouldn’t we start preparing for final exams soon?”
“...!”
Giselle turned around in shock.
To hear something like that from fellow White Tiger Tower students...
“Am I hallucinating from exhaustion? I can’t believe what I’m hearing.”
“...Don’t be so harsh, Moradi.”
The White Tiger Tower students blushed awkwardly.
They recalled the glorious memories of desperately avoiding studying during their first year.
But after becoming second-years and surviving the midterms, the White Tiger Tower students were slowly beginning to understand reality.
Perhaps...
Perhaps exams were actually something you had to prepare for consistently?
Not cramming a week beforehand, but starting at least two or three weeks in advance??
Maybe Wardanaz, who had been preparing for exams since the beginning of the semester, was the normal one—and they were the abnormal ones.
“Maybe Wardanaz finishing his midterms before the midterms even started was actually normal...”
“That’s not normal.”
“It’s not?”
“No. It absolutely isn’t. Get a grip.”
Giselle answered coldly.
The White Tiger Tower students seemed to have suffered a slight reduction in intelligence due to fatigue and academic pressure.
No matter how generously you interpreted it, finishing every midterm before the midterms even began was obviously insane. Not even upperclassmen did things like that.
“So you all want to prepare early for finals? Wow. Incredible. I never thought I’d live to hear you say something like that.”
“We already said we were sorry...”
“And those same idiots are still planning to play Gyeokgu?”
“W-we didn’t get thrown into detention!”
Giselle looked at them with eyes that clearly said, And that’s supposed to make you proud, you bastards?
At the moment, a certain White Tiger Tower student had been dragged off to detention after trying to escape and watch a Gyeokgu match.
Among Gyeokgu fanatics, the {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} incident had become a legendary romantic tale.
To Giselle, however, it was simply humiliating behavior that disgraced the tower.
“That damn ball game should’ve been outlawed by imperial decree.”
“H-how can you say that...?! You actually like it too, Moradi!”
“I don’t. And if you repeat that nonsense one more time, I’ll break your Gyeokgu stick.”
Suppressing her irritation, Giselle growled.
People from knight families fundamentally couldn’t comprehend that someone might genuinely dislike Gyeokgu.
And every time she encountered that mindset, Giselle felt the urge to punch them each once to broaden their horizons.
That damned ball game!
“Anyway, I received the proposed final exam topic. It’s the most admirable thing you idiots have brought me so far. We’ll start studying the moment we finish here.”
“Immediately?”
“Immediately.”
“...Couldn’t we wait a little— No, no! Let’s start immediately!”
The White Tiger Tower student hurriedly corrected himself the moment Giselle looked ready to hit him.
Then he turned toward the massive ore vein before them.
Frost steel ore had formed densely throughout the rock.
I’d like to finish mining all of this within the week.
Recently, Giselle and the White Tiger Tower students had been spending considerable time exploring extradimensions.
While continuing their investigation of the dimension from the lecture 《The Tragic History of Ancient Relics and Summoning Magic》, they had accidentally discovered a frost steel deposit.
To most tower students, frost steel wasn’t particularly valuable.
The metal’s defining trait was that it became exceptionally sharp and deadly when infused with mana, but most Einroguard students had little use for such properties.
For White Tiger Tower students—many of whom came from knight families—it was a completely different story.
Having entered the academy while leaving behind their treasured weapons and armor, they valued practical metals like this highly.
Even if they couldn’t forge masterpieces, it was enough to make serviceable weapons to use during their years at Einroguard.
And now that they were second-years with some experience under their belts, they could refine and forge the metal themselves.
The problem was that mining the ore took an absurd amount of time.
Even after preparing mining potions and magic scrolls, nobody had expected it to be this difficult.
“This damn thing is hard.”
“There’s only one solution.”
Faced with the obstacle before them, the White Tiger Tower students responded with the simplest method imaginable.
Brute force.
“Burn, pickaxe!”
“Overflow, strength!”
To outsiders, it would’ve looked exactly like the sort of brutish nonsense people mocked White Tiger Tower students for.
Those idiots became even more barbaric after moving up a grade.
But this was originally the White Tiger Tower’s specialty.
Enhancement and transformation magic layered over trained physical bodies.
Crude? Absolutely.
Simple-minded? Perhaps.
But the sheer destructive force was difficult for anyone else to imitate.
“What are you all doing here?”
“...!?”
Giselle spun around in surprise.
There stood a familiar Blue Dragon Tower student, a fifth-year senior, the insane duplicate, and a Skeleton Golem loaded down with luggage.
“W-What brings you here, Wardanaz?!”
At the question, Lee Han deliberately put on a sorrowful, melancholy expression.
Giselle was slightly flustered by the rare sight of weakness from her House Wardanaz friend.
What in the world had happened?
“Senior Catten said he was inspecting the final exam site for Professor Ingledel, so I followed him.”
“...”
That absolutely was something worthy of sorrow and despair.
Giselle whispered in horror,
“Unless someone shot Professor Ingledel in the head with an arrow, why would the finals be held here? The Empire has dozens of proper training grounds for swordsmanship!”
At present, the White Tiger Tower students were heavily betting that the finals would take place at the swordsmanship guild’s training grounds in Granden City.
Upperclassmen testimonies supported it, and it was the most logical choice.
But this remote extradimension?
Why?!
Lee Han hesitated briefly before speaking in one breath.
“I think Professor Ingledel has finally gone insane. She’s been infected by the poison known as Einroguard.”
“Kuh. Truly... I suppose it can’t be helped. Professors are human too.”
Students from other magic academies would never have fallen for such nonsense.
But Einroguard students had no choice.
Even relatively sane people gradually lost their minds after remaining at Einroguard long enough.
“Don’t worry, everyone. I’ll follow Senior Catten and thoroughly investigate the exam in advance. While I’m at it, I’ll retrieve some Frost Giant relics too.”
“Wardanaz...!”
The White Tiger Tower students looked at Lee Han as if reliability itself had taken human form.
How could someone have such a dependable friend?
“Why are you all dawdling?”
“Ah. Master.”
When Lee Han paused to talk, the insane duplicate approached from behind.
After hearing the explanation, the insane duplicate nodded.
“Break.”
CRAAACK!
The enormous rock formation and ore vein shattered instantly.
“Rock to rock. Iron to iron.”
The stones gathered together, and the ores sorted themselves apart in an instant.
“It’s finished. You mages come along as well.”
“?????”
The White Tiger Tower students stared at Lee Han with utter confusion.
Why us?!
Unfortunately, even Lee Han had no answer.
“I have no idea either.”
“...Don’t lie, Wardanaz! There’s no way you don’t know!”
“Is this because we weren’t practicing magic and were doing other things?! We were planning to head back right after finishing this!”
Even they themselves thought the excuse sounded unconvincing.
But it was true.
They genuinely had planned to leave afterward!
“No... I really don’t know either. Why did he tell you all to come?”
Lee Han was about to ask the insane duplicate directly when Giselle grabbed his arm and shook her head.
“...Forget it. Let’s not provoke him unnecessarily.”
“Moradi. Master is actually in a fairly good mood today compared to usual. It should be safe to ask.”
That’s possible?
Giselle was baffled, but she still refused.
“I said forget it. You’ll just get beaten half to death again.”
When phrased like that, it became difficult to argue.
Though the insane duplicate had recently become a relatively pleasant and reasonable doppelganger, there were still few beings more unpredictable than a mad ancient Archmage.
“If you say so. But is it really fine for everyone else to come too?”
“We’re scouting the final exam grounds in advance, so of course it’s fine. Besides, the mining’s already finished.”
Behind Giselle, the White Tiger Tower students silently screamed inwardly.
It’s absolutely not fine!
Wardanaz and Giselle disagreed on almost everything else, yet somehow they always stood united when it came to tormenting their friends.
Why only that?
***
“Senior. What exactly are you trying to confirm in this dimension?”
At Lee Han’s question, Giselle nodded approvingly.
In truth, Catten’s judgment was probably the most important factor in the entire expedition.
Depending on his conclusion, the final exam location might still be changed back to the swordsmanship guild training grounds in Granden City.
“First, I intend to ask the Frost Giants whether they’d be willing to assist with the exam, Junior.”
“...”
“...”
Shock spread across both Lee Han and Giselle’s faces.
Fortunately, the others behind them seemed not to have heard.
“...So that’s what you meant by confirming whether it’s suitable?!”
“What else would I be checking? The scenery?”
Catten chuckled proudly at his own joke.
Neither junior found it amusing.
If Frost Giants are involved in the exam...
Do we seriously have to fight Frost Giants with swords?
As Giselle’s expression stiffened, Catten tilted his head.
“What’s wrong, Junior? If something concerns you...”
“...Nothing serious. I was just wondering whether my swordsmanship is truly enough to face a Frost Giant.”
While answering, Giselle secretly tested his reaction.
Was he genuinely considering making them fight Frost Giants?
“A swordsman of your level can absolutely do it, Junior!”
Damn it.
So that really was the plan.
Giselle inwardly cursed Professor Ingledel’s growing insanity and said,
“My aura is still immature.”
“But you’ve already stepped into that realm, Junior. Enlightenment could come tomorrow—or even today. There’s no need to rush.”
Hearing such reassuring words from a senior who had walked the path ahead of her brought genuine comfort.
Giselle nodded quietly.
The road a swordsman must walk was so long and distant that its end could not even be seen.
There was no reason to obsess over how quickly one crossed a single short stretch of that path.
“Exactly, Moradi. Besides, you also need to think about the White Tiger Tower students.”
“Thank you, Wardana—”
Giselle stopped mid-sentence.
...A guy who awakened aura first while simultaneously managing students from all four towers was saying this?
“...You stay quiet.”
“!?”
