Chapter 37

Chapter 37

You were able to pull it off.

Though Yi-han cursed the professor deep within, as a hardened graduate student, he didnt let his dissatisfaction show.

Instead, he maintained his expression and gave a deep bow.

It was all thanks to you, sir.

No need to thank me. It was all your effort.

Even though he had been praised, he didnt feel like celebrating at all.

Just a while ago, Professor Bolady had mercilessly shot the marble at him. If he hadnt been able to block it, some of his bones wouldve definitely cracked.

Thankfully, he avoided the disaster by stopping it in midair using .

These professors are really something

Now, lets go again.

This time around, Professor Bolady didnt use the Soul Star marble. Rather, he took out an iron orb the size of a human fist and tossed it toward Yi-han.

Before it could hit the ground, Yi-han cast on it.

Move!

The iron orb paused mid-flight.

In a corner of his mind, Yi-han wished for the iron orb to coincidentally shoot toward the professors chin, but now that he had gotten a hang of the spell, such accidents were unlikely to occur.

Professor Bolady pointed up with his fingers.

Up.

Yi-han willed the iron orb to move up. Though it was slightly unsteady, the orb quickly rose up.

Down.

Following the professors instruction, the orb returned to its previous position.

Left. Right. Draw a circle clockwise. Draw two circles anticlockwise.

After a series of orders, Professor Bolady nodded.

It feels stiff, but its much better now. From now on, youll be training with this iron orb instead.

But sir, Ive yet to draw a perfect circle with the Soul Star marble.

Try it again.

Yi-han put down the iron orb and inserted mana into the Soul Star marble. Then, he attempted to draw a circle with it.

!

Surprisingly, the circle he drew was much better than the one he drew before his near-death experience.

Mages can grow through intense experiences. Soul Star marbles are merely tools to help fledgling mages. You no longer need them.

Understood.

Now, begin drawing circles with the iron orb. Once youve reached a certain level, well repeat what we did just now.

Excuse me?

Professor Bolady believed there were two kinds of people in this world, those that froze up in the face of danger, and those that reacted to it.

Needless to say, combat mages belonged to the latter, and the boy from the Wardanaz Family showed potential in this field. It only made sense to take advantage of it.

However, Yi-han, who had just been given what was equivalent to a notice of murder, felt complicated.

Curse this academy!

***

Though Yi-han had almost died, time continued to flow inside the academy.

When class was about to end, Professor Bolady handed Yi-han the iron orb.

Draw circles with it whenever you have free time.

Understood.

And never let your guard down.

What is that supposed to never mind.

Yi-han felt that there was something fishy going on as he left the room.

Was Professor Bolady going to follow him around and ambush him?

Though it sounded absurd, the academy had made him paranoid.

Sorry, did you have to wait long?

No.

Yi-han waved at a devil mixed-blood who was wearing a priest uniform.

It was Tijiling, the follower of the Order of Presinga.

Can you look after Tijiling for me?

Knowing that the students of the Immortal Phoenix lived frugally, Priest Mehrid had asked this of Yi-han, worried that Tijiling, who was still in her growth period, would collapse.

Since he was given three baskets of food in return, Yi-han was going to keep his promise.

Do you have an issue with the tea that Im brewing? A tea brewed following the recipe from my family?

Yi-han feigned a hurt expression, which put Tijiling in an awkward position.

N-no. Its not that I have an issue with it, but it feels a bit waste-

Surely, you arent implying that my family recipe is wasteful!?

Never mind

Tijiling shut her mouth, afraid that she would say something that might hurt Yi-hans feelings.

Seeing this, Yi-han nodded, feeling smug.

Tijiling, however, caught sight of this, and she became slightly suspicious.

Is he pretending to be hurt? No, such blasphemous thoughts Im having.

Yi-han was a brother of the same faith, not to mention a member of the Wardanaz Family. He wouldnt try to trick her by bringing forth his familys name.

Unlike her, who was a devil mixed-blood, Yi-han was a descendant of the Wardanaz Family, one of the most prestigious households in the Empire.

While she was justifying Yi-hans behaviour, the man in question finished making the tea by pouring in milk as a finishing touch.

Please have a taste of the milk tea.

Tijiling carefully brought the cup near her lips and took a sip. Immediately, she was overcome by a sweet flavor, one which she had never experienced before.

Seems like its a hit.

Tijilings expression softened, indicating that she liked the tea.

All this time, she had only drank tea that was bitter, so it went without saying that she took delight in the sweetness of milk tea.

She very quickly finished drinking. Yi-han poured her another cup.

Without questioning it, Tijiling began drinking again, only to pause midway through.

Does the tea not suit your taste? The tea that I brewed following my family recipe-

I get it, so please stop doing that.

The milk tea had worked better than hed expected, so Yi-han started preparing the next drink.

He first added sugar, cinnamon, cocoa powder, and milk into boiling water. Then, he mixed it with corn flour. The end product was something more akin to a soup than a drink.

What an evil scheme, if I do say so myself.

He was blown away by his own ingenuity.

He was going to start by serving drinks, gradually transitioning into soups and gaslighting Tijiling into thinking it was normal.

After finishing the chocolate soup, he put some biscuits on top of it.

By the time Tijiling noticed, she had already licked her bowl clean.

Since youve had your fill today, youre obligated to eat next time as well. From now on, you shall come here regularly at a specified time.

Do we really need to take this that seriously?

Though she felt grateful to Wardanaz for looking after her, she found it amusing how he was speaking like some villain. Without context, an outsider would think he was force-feeding her.

***

Nighttime.

Most of the freshmen had either gone back to their rooms feeling sad and hungry or were playing chess in the resting lounge over a piece of bread.

Yi-han, on the other hand, was walking out of the dormitorys door.

Im a priest of the Order of Presinga. Im a priest of the Order of Presinga.

He was wearing the priest uniform, and he looked no different from a student of the Immortal Phoenix that had come out for his prayers.

He had a simple goal in mind: to find the path that outside workers used to enter the academy!

As long as he could find it, he would be able to disguise himself as one of the workers and leave the academy.

Unless I have to, I should refrain from using invisibility magic. There might be all sorts of traps lying ahead.

This was why he acquired the priest uniform despite having his belt of invisibility.

The academy was probably littered with traps, and if he entered a zone that nullified invisibility magic, he would be put in a precarious situation.

In order to survive in this institution, he had to make backup plans for everything.

Im starting to wonder if this is really a school

Arriving at this thought, Yi-han became slightly depressed.

How did it come to this

The first floor of the academys main building, which was usually bustling with students, was empty by now.

Next to the large central stairways leading to the second floor and the basement, there were hallways connected to classrooms.

Though the buildings interior appeared grand and awe-inspiring in the morning, now that it was dark, there was something eerie about it all.

If its a location where outside workers often visit, its probably on the first floor.

Yi-hans gaze landed on the area behind the central stairways, which was where the banquet hall was located.

Since none of the classes were held there, the freshmen had never set foot in it after the entrance ceremony.

?!

It was then.

Yi-han was shocked to notice another student silently creeping in the dark toward the area behind the stairways.