"How did you know? I am Thunderstep's aunt, Lightningstep."
'No way.
Were they really related?'
I had thought that just because dwarves looked similar, it didn’t mean they were all related.
But it turned out they really were.
"Do you know Thunderstep?"
The dwarf pushed his pilot glasses up and asked.
Lee Han instinctively sensed something ominous.
Being remembered by a professor, whether on Earth or here, was generally not a good thing.
If he got dragged into some graduate program like on Earth...
"I don’t really know..."
"Wodanaz is Professor Thunderstep's top disciple!"
"That's right! Wodanaz has earned Professor Thunderstep's recognition! He’s even allowed to visit his cabin!"
"......"
Lee Han looked back.
His friends from the Blue Dragon Tower were winking at him with proud expressions.
It seemed they were bursting with pride that Lee Han, their leader and fellow tower member, had achieved such recognition.
'These useless brats!'
Lee Han cursed inwardly.
Unaware of his thoughts, the Blue Dragon Tower students were simply beaming with pride.
"Of course! If he’s Thunderstep’s top disciple, then he’s practically my disciple too."
"Well, not exactly a top disciple..."
"And to have access to his cabin? He must really be recognized."
"... Yes. That’s true."
Lee Han gave up and admitted it.
At this point, he figured he might as well accept it and try to leave a good impression on the professor.
Professor Lightningstep stepped off his mount and stood in front of the students.
Then, in a booming voice, he shouted:
"Attention!"
"Um, Professor. What about the people who fainted...?"
"Leave them be! They’ll wake up soon!"
Professor Lightningstep shouted cheerfully.
Medically speaking, it was nonsense, but no student dared to argue.
"I am Professor Lightningstep Choidar, who will be teaching you this semester. Originally, Professor Bendozol was supposed to teach you, but he went missing while searching for a unicorn. So, I was hastily brought in."
'I don’t get why no one is surprised that he went missing while searching for a unicorn.'
The students were more shocked by Lightningstep’s name than by the fact that Professor Bendozol had gone missing while searching for a unicorn.
"The famous explorer Lightningstep?"
"The one who tamed a Behemoth and turned it into a mount?!"
"The one who explored the Spirit’s Crater, where no one had ever set foot?!"
'Hmm.
I guess I should’ve read something other than the Empire’s economy section in the newspaper.'
Lee Han felt left out of the conversation.
It seemed Lightningstep was quite a famous explorer.
Some students looked at him with admiration and respect.
"Now! Does anyone want to guess why I arrived on a Thunderbird today?"
"!"
Thunderbird.
Even Lee Han had heard of this famous monster.
It was a massive creature, not something you’d think of as a bird, with swift and violent movements.
It also had the special ability to control thunder, lightning, and whirlwinds.
For those who flew through the skies or traversed high mountain ranges, it was a nightmare of a monster.
Just thinking about such a monster attacking sent chills down his spine.
'This school really needs to be audited by the Empire.'
As Lee Han grumbled inwardly, one student raised their hand.
"Is the goal for this semester to ride that Thunderbird? So you’re letting us get used to it..."
"Wrong! Hahahaha! What nonsense. You’d need at least ten years of practice to even think about riding a Thunderbird!"
Lightningstep burst into laughter, as if the idea was ridiculous.
The student who spoke up retreated in embarrassment.
'Ah.
Are there not many people here who’ve taken alchemy classes?'
Come to think of it, alchemy was an elective.
In contrast, mount training was a required course.
So, most students here probably weren’t familiar with the teaching style of the Thunderstep lineage dwarves.
"Did you take the fastest mount to get here from far away?"
"If I needed the fastest mount, I would’ve ridden Sleipnir. Wrong. Hmm. Wodanaz! You tell them."
"......"
Lee Han really didn’t want the attention, but the dwarf professors wouldn’t let him off the hook.
He managed his expression and answered.
"Did you ride it to help us improve our ability to deal with dangerous monsters like the Thunderbird?"
At Lee Han’s answer, some students burst out laughing.
Mount training was supposed to be about riding beautiful, cute horses around the area, not about surviving monster attacks.
Why would they need such training...?
"Correct! No wonder Thunderstep likes you!"
'Damn it.'
He had a feeling, but it turned out to be true.
Lee Han shook his head.
If he got close to Professor Thunderstep, he’d inevitably have to deal with Professor Lightningstep a lot.
At this point, the only option was to make a good impression.
Being noticed by a professor was dangerous, but being disliked by one was even worse.
Better to have their affection...
"P-Professor? Isn’t this supposed to be a horse-riding class?"
"Y-yes. Why do we need to train to avoid Thunderbirds?"
Some students, still not fully grasping the situation, asked in confusion.
Why weren’t they riding horses but instead learning to avoid Thunderbirds?
"What if you run into a Thunderbird while riding a horse? This is basic training!"
Lightningstep got angry, as if the question was ridiculous.
The students who asked shrunk back, intimidated.
'Thunderbirds are rare monsters only found in high skies or mountain ranges...'
Lee Han thought this but didn’t say it out loud.
You had to be careful with your words in front of a professor.
"But don’t worry. You’ll get to ride the horses you love so much. Wodanaz. Come forward. You’ll be helping me with my class."
Under a mix of awe and jealousy, Lee Han stepped forward.
He could handle the awe, but he wanted to punch the students giving him jealous looks.
'These clueless idiots...'
"The horse is the most basic and common mount in the Empire. If you can’t ride one, you have no business traveling. If you want to ride more advanced mounts, you’ll need to at least learn how to ride a horse properly."
At Professor Lightningstep’s words, many students looked bored.
That’s because most of them already knew how to ride horses.
They had ridden enough for various reasons, so they thought, 'What’s there to learn?'
But Professor Lightningstep didn’t get angry at their expressions.
Instead, he smiled kindly.
'This...'
Lee Han felt a sense of foreboding at that smile.
'This isn’t just a regular horse-riding class!'
What kind of school didn’t let you relax for even a moment? It was clear this wasn’t an ordinary riding class.
"Now. Let’s head to the stables!"
The stables near the main building were clean and spacious.
The massive, warehouse-like structure had three floors, and as the professor approached, the doors opened as if alive.
'There’s magic here.'
Lee Han could sense the magical energy surrounding the stables.
Of course, they wouldn’t just be keeping ordinary horses here, so they needed magical protection.
"Wow!"
"Oh my...!"
Gasps erupted from all around.
The horses lined up on either side of the stables were enough to awe even the youngest students.
White, black, brown, golden—horses of various colors, all clearly of excellent pedigree.
The thought of riding such horses made the students’ eyes light up.
But Lee Han wasn’t fooled.
He whispered to Yonar beside him.
"Be careful."
"What?"
"Think about the alchemy class. Professor Lightningstep is from Thunderstep’s lineage. Do you really think there’s no trap here?"
"...!"
Yonar nodded hurriedly, a look of realization on his face.
Professor Lightningstep stroked his beard and gave a mischievous smile.
Then he spoke to Lee Han.
"As my top disciple who will be helping me with my class, I’ll give you the first pick of the horses."
From behind, there were sounds of jealousy and envy.
Even if they could tolerate other forms of favoritism, letting him pick first was too much.
Once he chose, that horse would be his partner for the entire semester, meaning he’d get the best one.
'...
That’s what they’re thinking, huh.
Idiots.'
Lee Han remembered the smile that had flashed across Professor Lightningstep’s lips.
"It’s fine. I’ll let the others choose first. It wouldn’t be fair if I picked first."
"Wodanaz...!"
"You...!"
The students from his tower were impressed.
While others were eager to pick first, here he was, showing such generosity.
It was the kind of honor only a true noble could display.
"Then what should we do?"
"Let’s decide the order by tower, and then each person can come forward to choose. If there’s overlap, we’ll draw lots."
"Good."
The students began to line up by tower.
The Blue Dragon Tower students also gathered and drew lots to decide the order.
The first to go was Gainando.
"That’s right!"
Gainando was thrilled.
It felt like compensation for the bad luck of being caught by the Thunderbird earlier.
The Blue Dragon Tower students were openly disappointed.
"Why Gainando of all people?"
"We should’ve let Wodanaz pick first."
"Hmph. Losers talking."
Gainando ignored his friends’ comments.
Lee Han, curious, asked Yonar.
"Does Gainando know anything about horses?"
"Uh... I doubt it."
Gainando strode forward and picked the largest, meanest-looking white horse.
Students from other towers looked at him in disbelief.
A bigger horse wasn’t necessarily better.
And considering you had to tame and bond with it, picking such a temperamental horse was a bad idea.
It could cause problems while riding...
Thud!
"Ugh!"
Crack!
"Ah!!"
Thwack!
"Gah!"
"?!"
The gathered students were all shocked.
Gainando had been headbutted by the horse and knocked back, but other students were also getting kicked or spat on.
Why were the horses so aggressive?
Neigh! Neigh! Snort! Snort!!
The horses, which had been waiting quietly, suddenly began to neigh and snort violently.
They glared at the students as if they were enemies.
It was as if their hidden wildness had exploded.
"Hahahahaha! I told you. You need to learn how to ride a horse properly. Your first task isn’t riding. It’s befriending the horses here. Did you really think I’d let rookies like you pick horses?!"
"W-what...?"
"That’s too much...!"
Some students who hadn’t taken alchemy classes were on the verge of tears from disappointment.
But Lightningstep didn’t stop laughing.
"If you take care of the horses morning and night, maybe one of them will open its heart to you. That’s your goal. Just one! Just one horse that you can befriend!"
"......"
'These definitely aren’t ordinary horses.'
Lee Han was certain.
No matter how he thought about it, these weren’t normal horses.
What kind of horse would act like this...?
Tap—
As Lee Han pondered which horse would be the easiest to befriend, Professor Lightningstep’s heavy hand landed on his shoulder.
"?"
"Ah. Wodanaz. I’ll pick a horse for you."
"......"
Do you really have to?