"This mountain range is filled with dangerous monsters. Deep inside, there are even monsters whose true nature even the professors don’t know. Since it’s spring, more and more monsters will awaken as the weeks go by..."

Professor Ingeldel gazed at the mountain range with a worried expression.

The magic school, Einrogard, was located in a place abundant with magical energy, so it was only natural that monsters would gather around it.

Especially the mountain range behind the school—in Ingeldel’s eyes, it was a dangerous zone where almost any kind of monster could exist.

Deep within the mountains, from ogres to mountain giants, trolls, and even wyverns, it seemed like the perfect habitat for powerful, monstrous creatures...

And with such monsters present, even the stronger ones that usually wouldn’t live on the outskirts were pushed out to the edges of the mountain range.

"No matter how spirited the students are, entering this mountain range isn’t a wise choice. Only a madman would make such a decision."

"It’s not that I want to go in, but the assignment is to enter the mountain range and gather materials."

"......"

Professor Ingeldel let out an awkward cough.

He hadn’t realized it was another professor’s assignment.

"Is that so? Well, then the situation might be a bit different."

"It doesn’t seem... all that different, though..."

Strictly speaking, Professor Ingeldel wasn’t a mage but a swordsman.

As such, there was bound to be a difference in mindset compared to the other professors at the school.

Especially the cool-headed attitude of the professors, who seemed to think, "Well, if you’re studying magic, it’s natural that some people might die," which left Ingeldel horrified.

But disagreeing didn’t mean he could badmouth a fellow professor in front of the students.

So, Professor Ingeldel hid his true feelings and spoke as diplomatically as possible.

"If another professor has asked you to enter the mountain range and gather materials, they must have their reasons."

"Do you really think so?"

Yi Han was already looking at Professor Ingeldel with eyes full of distrust.

Just moments ago, he had said, "Only a madman would do such a thing," but as soon as he heard it was another professor’s assignment, his attitude changed completely...

It made Yi Han strongly suspect that he was just siding with his colleague.

Professor Ingeldel coughed again and changed the subject.

"By the way, your breathing has stabilized. That’s excellent. Have you completed the circulation?"

When Yi Han, who had been breathing heavily, suddenly spoke with ease, Professor Ingeldel was pleased.

Completing the circulation of magical energy within the body would produce such an effect.

"Huh? Oh, this..."

Yi Han made an awkward expression.

"I’m sorry. I lost focus and just released the magical energy."

The standard method was to draw out magical energy from the body’s core, concentrate it, and circulate it throughout the body.

Just like blood, if magical energy flowed smoothly through every part of the body, it could strengthen the body without any waste.

The key was a smooth, uninterrupted circulation!

...

But Yi Han, when his focus broke and the circulation became difficult, simply released the magical energy without circulating it.

After all, he could always draw out more magical energy later.

"...???"

Professor Ingeldel stared at Yi Han, not understanding what the student from the Wodanaz family was talking about.

"Hmm."

After hearing Yi Han’s detailed explanation and the events of his fight with the anti-magic faction, Professor Ingeldel fell into deep thought.

Normally, he should have stopped Yi Han, saying it was something that could get him killed.

Fighting by wasting magical energy like that was akin to spilling one’s own blood on the ground.

But Professor Ingeldel had a flexible mindset.

If there were a hundred swordsmen, there would be a hundred different sword styles.

Considering the innate amount of magical energy the Wodanaz boy possessed (though it was debatable whether it could be called innate), such wastefulness could be a viable method.

After much deliberation, Professor Ingeldel made up his mind and spoke.

"I won’t tell you to stop using that method. But it would be best to avoid using it as much as possible and focus on completing the circulation."

"Understood."

Yi Han nodded obediently.

In truth, Yi Han wasn’t thinking something crazy like, "Heh heh... the most important virtue of a swordsman is power... even if forbidden techniques burn my life away, I will gain immense strength..."

If something was dangerous, he’d just think, "Oh, it’s dangerous," and avoid it.

"And with such a large amount of magical energy, it will be even harder to complete the circulation loop within your body."

"......"

That sounded familiar...

"So, Wodanaz, you’ll need to increase your training."

"... Oh, oh..."

Yi Han managed to keep a straight face with an iron will.

He had to act happy!

‘Don’t show it.

Don’t show it.’

Professor Ingeldel, who still had a human heart compared to the other professors, was overjoyed by Yi Han’s reaction.

"Is that so? I was worried you might dislike it, but I’m glad it worked out."

"Yes... I’m very happy... As you know, I’m seriously dedicated to swordsmanship..."

At Yi Han’s words, Professor Ingeldel’s scarred face broke into a wide smile.

"I’ve known for a while that Wodanaz is seriously dedicated to swordsmanship."

"......"

"By the way, when you go into the mountain range to gather materials, I’ll accompany you."

"... Didn’t you say it would be fine since Professor Uregeol had his reasons?"

"Yes. But I enjoy taking walks."

It didn’t seem like Professor Ingeldel, with his prosthetic leg and arm, would enjoy hiking steep mountain ranges, but Yi Han had no choice but to nod.

Honestly, if Professor Ingeldel was that concerned, Yi Han started to seriously worry about what might come out of the mountains.

Evening.

Yi Han headed to Professor Uregeol’s cabin.

Despite the day’s events, the chores assigned by the professor didn’t care about such circumstances.

Of course, from Professor Uregeol’s perspective, it might have been a bit unfair.

He had never told Yi Han to come every day, and he had even said it was fine to skip if he was busy.

But Yi Han had his own agenda.

‘I need to gather as much information as possible.’

"?"

<Had some business to attend to.

Steal whatever you need! -Uregeol>

"Oh..."

Yi Han was surprised by the note.

Well, Professor Uregeol was human too.

He couldn’t stay cooped up in his cabin like a recluse all the time.

He had other students to teach and his own work to do.

Yi Han nodded and removed the note.

Then, he quickly returned to the tower, called Yonel, and brought him along.

"You want me to find useful items in this cabin?"

"Yeah. I want to check the potions in the box we found last time."

The box of potions that the professional thief Ratford had stolen from the carriage.

Even if Yi Han wanted to figure out what they were, as a first-year student, it would be difficult to do so alone.

If they could find something useful in Professor Uregeol’s cabin, it would be a big help.

Especially since Yonel, who was knowledgeable about alchemy, would be able to figure things out more easily.

‘Wait.

This is Professor Uregeol’s cabin, right?’

Having roasted meat here before, Yonel quickly realized where they were.

‘It should be fine.’

But Yonel decided to let it slide.

In this crazy school, something like this was nothing.

"Wait. What’s that?"

"What? Oh, the garden?"

When Yonel, who was walking ahead, spoke with a surprised expression, Yi Han answered as if it were nothing.

"I’ve been tending to it, but it’s still a long way off. It’ll take a few more months to grow."

"... Huh? It looks fully grown to me."

"?"

This time, it was Yi Han’s turn to be puzzled.

He turned around, wondering what Yonel was talking about.

"...!!"

Yonel was right.

‘What? How?’

Yi Han was shocked to see that the vegetables he had planted were already fully grown.

No matter how he thought about it, they had grown way too fast.

"Professor Uregeol must have used some kind of growth potion. He’s really impatient."

At Yi Han’s explanation, Yonel nodded.

Using a growth potion just because he wanted to eat sooner... ‘He’s really greedy.’

And so, Professor Uregeol, who wasn’t even there, was unfairly accused.

"Since it’s come to this, we should harvest them. Yonel, can you take care of the inside of the cabin?"

"Leave it to me."

Yi Han picked up the farming tools and began expertly pulling out the vegetables.

His skilled movements, pulling out potatoes without a single mistake, left Yonel momentarily mesmerized.

It was the kind of perfect technique you’d expect from a farmer with decades of experience.

Yonel thought he understood why Professor Uregeol favored Yi Han.

"What are you doing?"

"Ah, nothing. I’ll go find something useful."

While Yi Han’s basket filled with vegetables, Yonel busily searched the cabin.

After some time, Yi Han’s arms were full of baskets of crops, and Yonel’s arms were filled with boxes of unidentified reagents and alchemy tools.

"Done?"

"Yeah!"

"Let’s go!"

The two students of the Blue Dragon Tower left the cabin with vigor.

Only the note Yi Han had left behind fluttered on the cabin door.

<Thank you, Professor.

I’ve left some of the harvested crops for you to try. -Yi Han Wodanaz.>

Yi Han and Yonel greeted the morning sun with dark circles under their eyes.

They had spent the night in the freshman lounge conducting alchemy tests.

"So, this is the Cantus Potion?"

"Yeah."

The results of their tests were as follows:

<Cantus Potion> - When consumed, allows the user to sing beautifully like a mermaid for a while.

The end.

"......"

As Yonel’s expression began to darken, Yi Han quickly consoled him.

"This is a decent result. You can’t figure everything out on the first try."

"That’s true, but... where would we even use a singing potion..."

"There’s bound to be a use for it."

Creak—

At that moment, Asan Dalkard entered the lounge.

Seeing the two, Asan greeted them warmly.

"Wodanaz, are you ready to enter the mountain range today?"

"Pretty much."

Yi Han had already made his plans.

He would leave with the other students on Friday and somehow return by Saturday, then on Sunday...

‘I’ll use my outing pass to go out and come back.’

Yi Han tried to stay calm.

It was best to keep expectations low.

After all, it was a place where traps could be lurking at any moment.

"By the way, Wodanaz, before heading into the mountains, do you want to stop by the black market?"

"... What market?"

Yi Han was taken aback by Asan’s words.

Black market?

‘What kind of school has a black market?’

No matter how he thought about it, Asan’s words were hard to believe... but it turned out to be true.

‘This is ridiculous.’

To be precise, it wasn’t exactly a black market, but a small market set up by the freshmen of the Black Turtle Tower near their dorm.

At first, they had gathered to trade necessary items, but as it turned out to be surprisingly convenient, it became a regular event.

Yi Han was at a loss for words.

‘What exactly is this school trying to teach its students?’

"Here, bread for bread! Find the Emperor. The Emperor is among these three cards. Where is the Emperor? If you guess correctly, you’ll get double the bread... Ah. Wodanaz."

Ratford, who had been skillfully shuffling three cards to perform a shell game, jumped up when he saw Yi Han.

As the surrounding students turned to look, Yi Han just wanted to turn around and leave.