Chapter 43

Chapter 43

Yi-han tightly held the exit permit in his hand before carefully putting it away, as if he was afraid of someone stealing it.

No ones going to take it away from you

Both Professor Garcia and Principal Skelly were baffled by his behavior.

Are you feeling alright?

Yes.

Good. Since youve received your reward, its time to dish out the punishment.

.

Yi-han stared at the principal in disbelief.

In turn, the principal spoke as if his heart ached as well.

Dont look at me like that. I dont want to do this either, but rules are rules.

What a load of baloney.

The principal definitely seemed to be enjoying this.

Oh, and just in case you misunderstand, youre not being punished for trying to escape without permission.

Then?

Its for being caught while trying.

Then was he supposed to watch on as Professor Garcia got cut down?

Yi-han was barely able to contain himself. Years of experience had taught him that nothing good would come of talking back to professors.

Patience. Inner peace.

The suns about to come up. Until tomorrow morning, you are to remain in the Punishment Room and think about what you should do differently so that you dont get caught the next time.

Principal Skelly tossed him a book while saying so.

It was a black leather-bound book, and there was something uncanny about it.

Whats this?

Have a read. Itll help you pass the time in the Punishment Room.

For a split second, an expression that screamed you think Im going to believe you? appeared on Yi-hans face.

Principal Skelly was happy to see the look of skepticism.

Bring the student to the Punishment Room.

The principals summons helped Yi-han to his feet.

From this morning to tomorrows morning, Yi-han was to spend time in the academys Punishment Room.

***

Yi-han walked down a flight of stairs, crossed a corridor, went down another floor, and entered a different corridor

He repeated this a couple dozen times while being blindfolded. Even if he had his vision, he wouldnt have been able to memorize the route.

Ttang!

Hm.

Soon, the door closed on him and he was left alone.

Yi-han took a look around the room. It wasnt all that different from his room in the dormitory.

Instead of sunlight coming in from the windows, there was artificial light, which made the room a bit dimmer. But other than that, it was pretty similar.

This is the punishment room? Its not as terrible as I imagined.

In fact, hed have no problem staying here for a couple of weeks.

When he was a graduate student, there were times when he had to stay in a room that was far smaller than this, and he wouldnt be alone either.

In comparison, this room was much more spacious.

He would tell Nilia the next time they met that the Punishment Room wasnt that bad, though of course, she might have a different opinion about this.

Yi-han Wardanaz.

?Rread latest chapters at novelhall.com outside his cell, an undead spoke to him in a stiff voice.

Take this.

A sizable basket was pushed into his room through an opening at the bottom of the door.

It contained a freshly baked loaf of bread, a small bowl of salt and pepper, seasoned mutton, fried eggs, a sweet cooked apple, and warm biscuits containing bits of chocolate and almond.

The heck?

The food was a bit too extravagant considering where he was, which perplexed Yi-han.

What was all this?

A gift from Professor Garcia.

Ahplease tell her I said thanks.

Theres more. Take these as well.

Wait a sec

More and more baskets were pushed in, which made Yi-han lose his composure.

Was he supposed to eat all these in one day?

Fortunately, the other baskets mostly contained preserved food.

Chocolate and candies wrapped in tinfoil, salted peanuts, boxes of cookies and tea leaves, bottles of apple and orange juice

He had a headache because of what just happened, so he held his head as he took a gander at the spell that he had learned.

Knowledge about was ingrained in his head, as if he had read and memorized the book by heart.

Everything from chanting to the movements involved was clear to him.

Of course, this didnt mean he could use the spell immediately. It was his responsibility to digest the knowledge and apply it.

So its a book that forces its reader to learn the spell recorded inside it

From the name of the spell, he could tell it was personally made by the principal.

Why then did he not call Yi-han over and teach him face-to-face? Why did he use such a weird method?

Hes a psychopath, I tell you. Professors are bound to go insane after years of teaching.

Yi-han came to his own conclusion.

The real reason was that several groups of people including the professors wouldve demanded an explanation for trying to ruin a talented student if the principal had tried to teach him one-on-one

Unfortunately, Yi-han had no way of knowing this.

***

My footsteps reign over the earth. My footsteps reign over the earth. My footsteps

There was nothing better to do, so Yi-han was hard at work chanting the newly acquired spell.

Though he claimed to have little interest in magic, objectively speaking, he was obsessed with it.

Other students wouldve found something to entertain themselves if they were bored. They wouldnt be studying like Yi-han.

Ttum, ttum, ttum-

?

Yi-han stopped chanting for a second.

Did someone just knock on the walls? If so, who could it be?

My footsteps reign over-

Ttum, ttum, ttum-

This time, he had heard it clearly. Yi-han carefully approached one of the walls in his cell and put his ear over it.

Ttum, ttum, ttum-

It was louder this time.

Yi-han also proceeded to knock on the wall, which made the other party stop.

Then, a low and husky voice was heard from the other side.

Is someone there?

Yes.

Which grade are you in?

Im a freshman.

So an Iron. Must be tough.

And you are?

Gold.

Gold represented fourth-year students.

Yi-han was surprised to learn that a senior was locked up in a room beside him.

How did a fourth-year student land himself in never mind. Not like Im any better.

Yi-han was quick to reflect on himself.

Indeed, he wasnt in a position to say anything after being caught while trying to escape.

Why are you here in the Punishment Room? Did a fight occur between dormitories?

No.

No? Then did you try to steal something from one of your dormmates?

No, I tried to escape, but got caught in the end.

The senior in the next room chuckled.

The freshmen this year are fast. To think theyd try to escape after a week. You went through the mountains, right? They all do, not knowing the walls extend all the way to the back, and most of them get captured.

It wasnt through the mountains.

The person on the other side seemed surprised to hear that.

Underground then?

Yes.

Well, arent you a bright one? Unfortunately, thats also a trap. Alarms would ring if you touch anything in the underground warehouse, and the warehouse keeper is a monster that specializes in detection. Which one did you get done in with?

Neither.

Neither?

Yup. I managed to leave the academy through the underground passageway. I was caught while I was outside.

.

The fourth-year student on the other side of the wall was horrified upon hearing this.

He was able to discover the underground passageway, go past the alarm trap, fool the warehouse keeper, and escape, all in one week???

Is this bastard really a freshman??

Wait. Then how were you caught?

I was on one of the carriages, but the anti-magic extremists attacked, and I was discovered by the principal after confronting them.