It was true that the students of the Blue Dragon Tower liked Yi Han and felt indebted to him.
However, that alone wouldn’t have made them this furious.
Fundamentally, the students of the Blue Dragon Tower didn’t like the students of the White Tiger Tower.
The White Tiger students came from knight families, and their rough, wild demeanor was the complete opposite of the Blue Dragon students.
They had already been inwardly disdainful, and when the White Tiger students provoked them first, they exploded.
Even students from other groups who rarely spoke to Yi Han were now shouting in anger.
"Everyone, grab whatever you can use as a weapon and follow me! Let’s head to the White Tiger Tower!"
"Wait!" Asan from the Dalkard family stepped in front of the excited students.
He climbed onto the lounge table and tried to calm his classmates.
"Everyone, calm down!"
‘Oh, there’s someone sane here.’ Yi Han felt a bit relieved at Asan’s words.
At least not everyone had lost their sense of reason.
"What’s wrong, Dalkard? Are you scared?"
"Our honor has been insulted!"
Of course, the students were even angrier at Asan for trying to stop them.
Asan spoke calmly.
"The White Tiger Tower students come from knight families. We can’t act recklessly. There’s a 95% chance we’ll lose."
"So, are we just going to back down?!"
"No. We should split into groups, set up an ambush, and attack them systematically when we find them!"
"Oh...!"
"......"
Yi Han sighed. ‘I’m the fool for expecting anything.’
"Wait, wait!" Yi Han shouted loudly, taking over for Asan.
As the person directly involved, his voice naturally carried more weight than Asan’s.
The students instinctively turned their attention to him.
"First, let’s make one thing clear. I don’t want you to seek revenge for me! This is about my honor. I’m not so weak that I need others to avenge me!"
Yi Han’s words caused a stir among the students.
None of the students here were indifferent to honor.
Each of them carried the weight of their family’s name and honor.
So, when Yi Han stood up for his own honor, no one could easily refute him.
"But Wodanaz, the White Tiger Tower students are cunning, despicable, and dirty. Even if you try to take revenge honorably, it might not work out."
"......"
Yi Han was slightly taken aback by the student’s relentless cursing, but he responded skillfully.
"Even so, if we act like them, it’s no different from rolling in the mud with them. Let’s not stoop to their level!"
Yi Han’s voice carried undeniable persuasiveness.
His dignified appearance, attitude, and the actions he had shown so far all contributed to it.
The angry students eventually nodded and sat back down.
"If Wodanaz says so..."
"Those despicable guys don’t even know what honor is."
Once his friends calmed down, Yi Han spoke again.
He had brought up the topic for this very reason.
"Instead, if they provoke us, let’s work together to respond. The White Tiger Tower students are likely to attack us in a cowardly group."
"Exactly!"
"Right! We should at least do that!"
The students finally seemed satisfied, stomping their feet and cheering.
‘Good.’ Yi Han inwardly sighed in relief.
Now, if the White Tiger Tower students tried to pick a fight, he could call on his comrades to retaliate.
That was enough...
"By the way, aren’t we taking <Basic Magic Understanding> with the White Tiger Tower students next?"
"Great. We can show those ignorant, vulgar guys what we’re made of."
"Those guys who roll around in the dirt and swing metal scraps, what do they know about magic?"
"I’ve mastered the <Light Creation> spell."
"You too? Me too. Let’s show them our magic. I wonder what their faces will look like? I bet none of them have mastered it yet."
"This is the noble and dignified way!"
‘...
Wait.’
As the students chatted, Yi Han suddenly felt his heart sink.
...
Am I the only one who hasn’t mastered the <Light Creation> spell?
The next day.
Yonell stretched and walked into the lounge, only to be shocked.
Yi Han had dark circles under his eyes.
"What’s wrong!?"
At first, Yonell thought it was because of the meals.
The meals served in the dormitory had left the students starving.
On the first day after moving into the dormitory, the students’ faces had indeed become pale and gaunt.
But then again, Yi Han had adapted perfectly from the very beginning.
Moreover, when the Blue Dragon Tower students were starving, he had gone to Professor Thunderfoot’s cabin and brought back smoked meat and fresh vegetables to share with his friends (though he did charge a bit).
Someone like him wouldn’t be affected by the meals now.
Unless it was Gainando...
"Practicing magic."
"Magic? You’re not supposed to practice separately... Oh, right. You got permission from Professor Kim last time, didn’t you?"
"Yeah. Everyone else has already succeeded in <Light Creation>, so I practiced all night."
"?"
Yonell tilted his head in confusion.
This was the first he was hearing of it.
"What do you mean...?"
"Yaaawn."
Gainando walked into the lounge, yawning.
He pulled a sausage (which he had bought from Yi Han the day before) out of his shabby pocket.
Gainando treated the sausage like a treasure, glancing around as if someone might steal it, then skewered it and placed it over the crackling fire in the fireplace.
The sizzling sound and the aroma of the high-quality pork sausage stimulated their hungry stomachs.
"Hehehe..."
"......"
"......"
Unaware that Yi Han and Yonell were watching him pitifully, Gainando pulled a potato (also bought from Yi Han) out of another pocket and carefully placed it under the fire.
"Hehehe..."
"... Gainando. We’re not going to steal it, so just eat it properly."
"?!?!"
Gainando jumped in surprise.
He hadn’t noticed Yi Han and Yonell behind him.
"W-when did you get here?!"
"Since you were carefully skewering your sausage."
"N-no, I wasn’t!"
"Your sausage’s going to burn. Take it out."
"Gasp!"
Gainando hurriedly pulled the skewer out and gave them a wary look.
"... Gainando. Do you really think Yonell and I would steal your sausage and potato?"
"O-of course not."
But Gainando still looked suspicious.
Instead of saying more, Yi Han turned to Yonell.
"He’s in a bad state."
"Everyone’s hungry."
It wasn’t that Gainando was particularly crazy; everyone was just starving.
If it weren’t for Yi Han bringing ingredients from Professor Thunderfoot’s cabin to share, the students’ condition would have been even worse.
"We’ll probably run out of meat by this weekend... We’ll have to go hunting again this weekend."
"Will that be okay?"
"Let’s ask Nillia to come with us."
Yonell nodded at Yi Han’s words.
Having the skilled dark elf hunter Nillia along would definitely be reassuring.
Of course, Nillia wasn’t here, and if she had heard, she would’ve been baffled, wondering why she was suddenly being dragged into this...
"Professor Thunderfoot is surprisingly stingy," Yi Han grumbled.
Professor Thunderfoot was a petty dwarf.
He allowed them to use his cabin freely, but he was very strict about taking anything from it.
He would scold them endlessly if they tried to take anything, even if they had worked in his garden.
"Wait, that bread was for my dinner! No! When did you put the jam in your pocket? Why are you taking it?"
"But Professor, I did everything you asked in the garden. Can’t I take this?"
"You just ate a full meal! Why do you need more? If you keep taking everything, my cabin will be ruined!"
"There’s no gap to exploit."
"Can’t we create a gap somehow..."
As soon as Yonell said that, he realized what he had said and gasped.
He had already been influenced by the school.
Professor Troll, Garcia Kim, smiled bitterly as he watched the students enter.
As someone who paid close attention to the students, Garcia could quickly notice subtle changes.
First.
Since the first week at the magic school was coming to an end, the students were extremely hungry.
While Garcia didn’t fully agree with the headmaster’s theory, there was no denying that hunger was an effective way to motivate students.
Starving students would use all their strength to overcome the situation.
‘Hang in there, everyone.’
Second.
Tensions between the towers were already starting to show.
With students from different backgrounds gathered together, it was only natural for them to compete and clash.
Especially between the <Arrogant Blue Dragon Tower> and the <White Tiger Tower that Bites Lightning>.
The noble children from prestigious families vs. the rough, wild children from the empire’s frontier.
There was no way they could get along.
But according to the headmaster’s theory, this was also one of the things that made the students sharper.
The more they competed, the stronger they became!
"Alright, everyone, take your seats."
Though not as shocking as the first time, Professor Garcia still exuded an intimidating presence.
It was only natural, given his troll blood.
Both the Blue Dragon Tower and White Tiger Tower students quietly sat down.
"Last time, we tried learning the <Light Creation> spell. Even if you didn’t succeed, don’t be discouraged. Magic isn’t something you can rush. At first, you’ll struggle, but once you get the hang of it, your skills will improve rapidly. So, has anyone succeeded in <Light Creation> since then?"
Yi Han raised his hand, stifling a yawn.
‘I practiced all night.’
When he heard that all the other Blue Dragon Tower students had succeeded in <Light Creation>, Yi Han had grown extremely anxious.
As a seasoned Korean, he couldn’t stand falling behind in competition.
So, he had practiced the <Light Creation> spell all night instead of sleeping.
If it weren’t for his immense mana reserves, he would’ve collapsed long ago.
He was just a bit sleepy.
"...?"
Yi Han felt something was off.
None of the other students had raised their hands.
‘What’s going on?!’
"Ooh..."
"As expected of Wodanaz."
"Amazing."
The Blue Dragon Tower students clapped softly, their expressions a mix of envy and pride.
White Tiger Tower, take a look! This is Wodanaz!
...
That was the sentiment.
"Hey."
Yi Han, unable to understand, asked the student next to him.
It was the same student who had claimed to have mastered the <Light Creation> spell.
"Didn’t you say you mastered the <Light Creation> spell?"
"Ah, did you hear? Well... I almost succeeded, but not completely. But since I was so close, I said I mastered it."
"......"
I’ve been tricked!
‘These boastful noble brats...!’