Yi Han carefully tucked the permission slip into his pocket, his movements cautious, as if he feared someone might snatch it away.
Professor Garcia and the Skeleton Headmaster both thought to themselves, 'No one's going to take it...'
"Is your body alright?" the Skeleton Headmaster asked.
"Yes," Yi Han replied.
"Good. Since you've received your reward, it's time for your punishment."
"..."
Yi Han looked at the Skeleton Headmaster with a bewildered expression.
The Skeleton Headmaster spoke with a pained tone, "Don't look at me like that. It hurts me too. But rules are rules."
'That's a 100% lie,' Yi Han thought.
To him, it was clear the Headmaster was enjoying this.
Just to clarify, the punishment wasn't for attempting to leave without permission.
"Then what is it for?" Yi Han asked.
"It's for getting caught."
"..."
Yi Han almost retorted, "So I should have just watched Professor Garcia get stabbed?" but he held his tongue.
Historically, talking back to a professor never ended well.
'Just endure it.
Endure.'
The sun had just risen.
Until the next sunrise, Yi Han would be confined to the Punishment Room, pondering how not to get caught next time.
With that, the Skeleton Headmaster tossed a book to Yi Han.
It was a plain black leather-bound book, strangely eerie in appearance.
"What's this?" Yi Han asked.
"It's a book to keep you from getting bored in the Punishment Room. Give it a read."
A fleeting expression of doubt crossed Yi Han's face.
The Skeleton Headmaster seemed pleased with the student's skepticism.
"Take the student to the Punishment Room."
The Headmaster's summoned creatures approached and lifted Yi Han to his feet.
From this morning until tomorrow morning, Yi Han would be confined to the school's Punishment Room.
Down the stairs, through the corridor, down more stairs, through another corridor...
This cycle repeated dozens of times.
Even without the blindfold, Yi Han doubted he could remember the way.
Thud!
"Hmm."
The door closed, leaving Yi Han alone.
He surveyed the Punishment Room.
It didn't look much different from a dormitory room.
Instead of sunlight, artificial lights flickered, casting a dim glow.
'This is the Punishment Room? Not as bad as I thought.'
Yi Han figured he could last a few weeks here.
As a graduate student, he'd lived in much smaller rooms with multiple people.
Compared to that, this was quite comfortable.
He decided he'd tell Nylia, "The Punishment Room isn't as bad as I thought," when he saw her next.
Though he wasn't sure if she'd feel the same.
"Yi Han of the Wardanaz family."
"?"
A stiff voice of an undead summon came from outside.
"Take this."
A large basket slid through the door.
Inside were freshly baked bread, a bowl of salt and pepper, a roasted lamb leg seasoned with sauce, baked apples with sugar and butter, freshly fried eggs, and slightly firm, still-warm almond and chocolate biscuits...
'What?'
Yi Han was stunned.
The meal was too lavish for a Punishment Room.
"What's this?"
"A gift from Professor Garcia."
"Ah... Please convey my thanks."
"It's not over yet. Take more."
"No, wait..."
Yi Han was overwhelmed as more baskets came in.
Could he finish all this in a day?
Fortunately, the next baskets contained more preserved foods.
Chocolate wrapped in foil, candies, salted peanuts, round and flat cookies in boxes, tea leaves, apple juice, and orange juice in glass bottles...
'Did he just throw in everything he could think of?'
Yi Han gratefully placed the baskets aside.
He wouldn't go hungry during his confinement.
Slurp—
Yi Han brewed some black tea, added milk and sugar, and sipped slowly, lost in thought.
The fight with the Empire's anti-magic faction was still vivid in his mind. 'How did I manage to fight like that?' he wondered.
His calmness in battle... 'It must be thanks to Alarong's teachings.'
If Alarong were here, he'd probably say, "I didn't teach you that kind of magic combat or battlefield tactics," but Alarong wasn't here.
Unbeknownst to Yi Han, he had a natural talent for combat, a fact acknowledged by all the professors.
'Thank you, Alarong.'
Yi Han cast a <Basic Control> spell.
"Move."
A feather pen floated smoothly in the air, moving naturally.
It was a fluidity he couldn't have imagined when he first learned magic.
Yi Han set the pen down and cast a spell on a metal ball.
A near-perfect circle formed in the air.
'Professor Voladi was right, and that's a bit frustrating.'
Some professors had a knack for saying the right things that still managed to annoy students.
Professor Voladi had said, "Real combat will improve your skills," and it had proven true.
After fighting the anti-magic faction, Yi Han felt his skills had significantly improved.
'A few more real battles, and I might become a Grand Mage.
Or die trying.'
Yi Han set the metal ball down.
It wasn't what he wanted, but he wasn't unhappy.
'Speaking of which, that swordsmanship...'
Yi Han carefully recalled the sword fight with the enemy leader.
As Alarong had taught, whether you win or lose, reflecting on the battle greatly aids improvement.
'...
That wasn't normal swordsmanship, was it?'
At the time, the opponent was so strong that Yi Han had fought recklessly, but now, thinking back, it was clear that wasn't normal swordsmanship.
What kind of swordsmanship involved pouring out magic like a madman?
It was only because Yi Han had ample magic reserves that nothing disastrous happened.
Even his sword had shattered in the end.
Alarong had said that a skilled swordsman could condense their magic into the sword to create an aura, but what Yi Han had done was something else...
'...
I don't know what to call it, but I need to be more careful in the future.'
Yi Han resolved not to end up in the Empire's newspaper under the headline, "This Year's Most Foolish Deaths."
After finishing his tea, Yi Han's eyes fell on the black book the Headmaster had given him.
'Should I open it?'
Yi Han pondered seriously.
Was this a gift or a trap?
If it was a gift, the Headmaster, being human, would know Yi Han had fought hard to save the professor.
Though he had to follow the rules and send Yi Han to the Punishment Room, he might feel guilty and give this as a token of apology.
If it was a trap, the Headmaster, being undead, had no human emotions.
And he had clearly enjoyed sending Yi Han to the Punishment Room.
So...
'...
It feels more like a trap.'
Yi Han decided to set the book aside for now.
Just then—
Ssshhhk!
"!?"
As Yi Han reached for the book, it forcefully opened on its own.
The letters on the page seemed to come alive, leaping out and wrapping around Yi Han's hand, burrowing into his skin.
"!!!!"
Yi Han felt as if someone was hammering knowledge directly into his brain.
'What the...!'
It was chaotic and painful, but he understood what the book was doing.
It was imparting a spell.
Yi Han's mouth opened instinctively, and he recited the spell's name.
"Gonadaltes's... Nimble Steps...!"
Snap!
The transfer complete, the book snapped shut with a loud clap.
Yi Han tried to open it again, but it was sealed tight, as if nailed shut.
'What kind of book is this?'
Yi Han clutched his throbbing head, reviewing the newly acquired spell knowledge.
As if he had read it before, the knowledge of <Gonadaltes's Nimble Steps> was vividly etched in his mind—the incantation, the movements.
Of course, knowing it didn't mean he could cast it immediately.
He still had to internalize and master it.
'In short, it's a book that forcibly teaches you magic...'
The spell's name made it clear it was a creation of the Skeleton Headmaster.
If it was such a spell, why didn't the Headmaster teach it directly? Why this eccentric method?
'The Headmaster must be crazy.
They say teaching for too long drives you mad.'
Yi Han accepted this explanation.
Of course, the real reason the Headmaster didn't teach it directly was to avoid criticism from other professors or outsiders, who might say, "That insane Grand Mage is ruining another young talent!" But Yi Han had no way of knowing that.
"Feet, tread the ground. Feet, tread the ground. Feet, tread..."
Yi Han diligently recited the new incantation.
Though he often claimed, "I'm not that obsessed with magic," objectively, Yi Han was indeed magic-crazed.
Most freshmen would relax when they had free time, but Yi Han thought, "Since I have nothing to do, I might as well study."
Thud thud thud—
"...?"
Yi Han paused, hearing a knocking sound from somewhere.
What was that?
"Feet, tread the ground..."
Thud thud thud—
It wasn't his imagination.
Yi Han cautiously pressed his ear against the Punishment Room wall.
Thud thud thud—
The sound grew louder.
Yi Han knocked back.
The other side paused briefly.
A rough, husky voice came through.
"... Can you hear me?"
"Yes."
"What year are you in?"
"I just started."
"Iron, huh? Tough luck."
"And you...?"
"Gold."
Gold.
The title representing the school's fourth-year students.
Yi Han was surprised to find a senior confined next to him.
'What did he do to end up here...? Wait, I'm not one to talk.'
Yi Han quickly reflected on his own situation.
"What did you do to end up in the Punishment Room? Start a fight in the dorms?"
"No."
"No? Did you steal from your tower mates?"
"No. I got caught trying to escape."
A chuckle came from the other side.
"This year's freshmen are bold. Trying to escape after just a week. Bet you went to the mountains? Everyone gets caught there. They don't know about the wall."
"I didn't go to the mountains."
The senior paused, surprised.
"Did you go underground?"
"Yes."
"Impressive. Noticing the underground. But that's a trap. Touch anything, and alarms go off. The warehouse guardian is a monster specialized in detection. What got you?"
"Nothing."
"... Nothing?"
"Yes. I went through the underground passage. Got caught after I left."
"......"
The fourth-year was stunned.
To realize the existence of the underground passage in just a week was impressive enough, but to bypass the warehouse traps and the guardian's detection and escape through the underground passage???
'What is this kid? Is he really a freshman??'
"Wait. Then how did you get caught?"
"I was on a carriage when the Empire's anti-magic faction attacked. I fought them and got caught by the Headmaster."
"......"