It was a relief that the friends who had been clamoring, "We need to go outside," and "We need to find a way out," had finally stopped arguing and closed their mouths.
There was a certain weight to Yi Han's words.
Nilia once again felt that this friend from the Blue Dragon Tower was truly remarkable.
With just a single sentence, he had managed to silence the noisy students.
Was this the charisma that only the bloodline of the prestigious Wodanaz family, one of the Empire's most renowned magical families, could possess?
"Everyone's been caught in the rain, so we should eat something warm. Gather around. I'll make something for you," Yi Han said, and everyone's faces brightened as they quickly huddled together.
Nilia, watching this scene, suddenly thought of someone familiar. 'Mom...?' It must be her imagination, right? Yi Han's demeanor, which exuded an atmosphere so unlike the charisma of the Empire's magical nobility, left Nilia slightly flustered.
If Gaenando had been there, he would have said, "Why are you carrying so much stuff?" But Yi Han had packed his backpack to the brim for this mountain trip.
It wasn't so much that Yi Han was overly cautious, but rather that he didn't trust the school enough.
If they were to get stranded in the mountains, they needed to be able to survive for at least a month! Thanks to this, there was enough food to serve all the gathered students and still have some left over.
"Spring forth," Yi Han muttered.
Thanks to Professor Voladi's relentless training, his water creation spell now flowed smoothly without a hitch.
He had even simplified the wand movements to the point where he didn't need to perform them fully. 'Indeed, the more you master spells and movements, the more freedom you gain.' He had heard about this back in his family, but it was only through personal experience that he truly understood.
Spells and movements were precisely the kind of things that required such understanding.
Magic was the act of changing the world through a mage's will.
No matter how talented or gifted a mage was, the idea of altering the world with unfamiliar magic was bound to raise doubts.
Can I really perform this spell? Am I misunderstanding something? What if I make a mistake? Detailed spells and movements erased these doubts and made the mage stronger.
Conversely, the more familiar one became with magic, the simpler these spells and movements could become.
'...
No. But even so, is it really necessary to learn by getting beaten up?' The pot on the fire began to boil.
Yi Han poured water into tin cups and brewed coffee.
The students, shivering from the cold spring rain, accepted the coffee cups with expressions of delight.
Clack—Yi Han cracked an egg into a small square frying pan, and Nilia looked at him curiously.
"Where did you get all this stuff?"
"I bought it from the Black Turtle Tower students."
"?!" Now that she thought about it, there had been talk earlier about a big score at the black market...
Was that Wodanaz?! Yi Han chopped the scrambled eggs into small pieces and handed them out to his friends.
The sound of the rain falling steadily.
Warm coffee and eggs.
As their bodies warmed up and relaxed, the students suddenly became romantic.
"This isn't so bad after all."
"Right. This is the first time I've felt this good since coming to school."
'Have they all caught Stockholm Syndrome?' Yi Han was shocked by his friends' sudden romantic turn.
There couldn't possibly be anything in the coffee or eggs, yet everyone was suddenly spouting nonsense...
Meanwhile, Rowena, an elf from the White Tiger Tower, approached.
"Her Highness says thank you."
"Oh. I see."
Nilia, who had been listening nearby, muttered under her breath, "Couldn't she just say it herself? Is she cursed or something...?"
"What did you say?"
"Nothing."
Nilia quickly changed the subject when Rowena tilted her head and asked.
She hadn't expected to be overheard!
"By the way, Wodanaz."
"Yes?"
"When do you plan to make that vegetable stew again?"
"...???"
"Wait. You're going to make that stew again?"
"That legendary vegetable stew?" The Black Turtle Tower students, who had been sipping their coffee, suddenly perked up.
That stew?!
"No. I don't plan to make it."
"......"
The Black Turtle Tower students sat back down with disappointed expressions.
So he's not making it! Rowena, though not as disappointed as the Black Turtle Tower students, also looked a bit let down.
"Is that so? I was looking forward to it after hearing the stories."
Yi Han was dumbfounded.
How had the rumors spread so quickly...? 'Besides, I'm not even sure if it would taste the same if I made it again.' Since it was a dish made by throwing in all the ingredients he had and simmering them, there was no guarantee it would taste the same if he tried to recreate it.
Rowena returned to the princess and whispered something.
The princess listened with an expressionless face, but Yi Han couldn't help but feel that she looked disappointed.
Yoner shook his head and said, "It seems a bit like overzealous loyalty. Her Highness probably doesn't even want it. They're just forcing it because of what others have said."
"Is... that so?" Yi Han tilted his head in confusion.
Yoner seemed to think of the princess as an ascetic who lived on dew alone.
But from Yi Han's perspective, the princess was a bit more... 'I thought she had a strong appetite like Gaenando, but this is a bit much.' Yi Han reflected.
Comparing her to Gaenando was a bit unfair.
Still, from Yi Han's perspective, having served food to the princess, it was hard to believe she didn't have a taste for food.
She really ate well...
"!" The princess stood up.
Yi Han flinched, thinking his inner thoughts about comparing her to Gaenando had been exposed.
Rowena spoke instead.
"Since we've received food and drink, Her Highness wishes to help in return."
"That would be much appreciated," Yi Han said, his face lighting up.
The princess was one of the most magically talented individuals in the Empire.
Her help would be invaluable.
"Wow..."
"That's amazing."
The princess raised her wand and began chanting a spell.
Suddenly, a mass of earth and a swirling red mass appeared in the air, compacting the ground around them and strengthening the bonfire.
'Spirits!' Yi Han immediately recognized them as spirits.
Even though she hadn't formally learned it yet, the princess had succeeded in summoning spirits using only what she had heard in other lectures and read in books.
Imagining the princess communicating with spirits from the spirit realm and building intimacy with them, Yi Han suddenly felt a slight regret for attending Professor Voladi's class. ...
Maybe it would have been better to just take the popular lectures?
Thud—"!!" While everyone was marveling at the princess's spirits, a massive figure broke through the rain.
It was a golem.
People often had the prejudice that knight families were only good at swordplay, but in reality, it was different.
When you thought about it, it made sense.
To deal with monsters and bandits on the frontiers, a variety of skills were necessary.
If they had only been good at swordplay, the White Tiger Tower students wouldn't have come to learn magic in the first place.
As such, among the White Tiger Tower students, there were surprisingly many who excelled in various skills.
Bartrek, a dwarf from the Bark family in the eastern part of the Empire, had a talent for alchemy that lived up to his family's reputation.
When the White Tiger Tower students groaned from muscle pain and bruises, he would make ointments and lend them out.
Even Giselle, the leader of the White Tiger Tower, praised his skills, so his abilities needed no further explanation.
"Here. Drink this tea," Bartrek said in his gruff voice, pouring tea from a kettle.
The White Tiger Tower students marveled at the Bark family's secret herbal tea.
It immediately warmed their bodies.
"Thanks, Bartrek. You're the best."
"You might even be better than Priestess Siana! Hahaha!"
"Hahahaha!" The White Tiger Tower students were now gathered with the Phoenix Tower students.
After Professor Ingeldel disappeared and the sudden downpour began, they had taken shelter together.
In a way, they were lucky.
If the Blue Dragon Tower and White Tiger Tower students had been placed together, they surely would have fought.
But the White Tiger Tower students were too busy laughing and joking among themselves to notice Siana's grimace.
It was just a light-hearted joke they hadn't expected the Phoenix Tower students to hear.
"......"
"......"
The Phoenix Tower students unconsciously glanced at Siana.
Surely she wouldn't poison the tea, right?
"The rain seems to be letting up. Should we try to clear a path?"
"It... doesn't seem like the rain is letting up, though?"
"Hasn't it lightened?"
"I think we can make it through now."
The White Tiger Tower students were much more hot-blooded than the Blue Dragon Tower students.
Of course, they knew it was dangerous to move in this rain, but the number of students with them made them confident.
There was no reason to hesitate now.
"Finding a path is one thing, but shouldn't we also regroup with the other tower students?"
"The Blue Dragon Tower? Those arrogant guys?" The White Tiger Tower students were appalled.
But the Phoenix Tower students didn't back down easily.
"Still, we can't just leave the other tower students behind, can we?"
"Hmm..."
Though fierce and bold, the White Tiger Tower students couldn't exactly throw a tantrum in front of the priests.
"Tch. We should at least find the Black Turtle Tower. Though they're a pain..."
"Let's find the other tower students first. But where on earth did Professor Ingeldel go?"
Thud—The same thing that had happened to Yi Han's group now happened to the White Tiger Tower students.
A golem appeared before them.
"...!!!"
The golem, standing at least 3 meters tall, exuded an oppressive presence.
The students froze at the sight of the mud golem.
Rowena urgently spoke up.
"Everyone, don't move recklessly! Golems act according to rules. If we don't violate the rules first, it won't attack us!"
Golems were different from other wild monsters.
They were essentially artificial monsters created by mages.
The basic method of creating a golem involved shaping materials like mud, stone, or metal, inserting a magical core, and then activating it.
The problem was that if these magical cores were damaged or broken and then accidentally combined with materials, they could create golems that no longer obeyed human commands and acted on their own.
'This magic school really has safety management issues,' Yi Han cursed inwardly as he raised his wand.
Indeed, as Rowena had said, golems followed rules.
Whether the golem was intact or broken, that much was certain.
The problem was that the rules of a broken golem were hard to predict.
What if it had a rule like "Destroy all freshmen"...?
Swish—The mud golem approached the students threateningly and began drawing a line with its foot.
A thick line was etched in front of the students taking shelter from the rain.
"??"
"Is it telling us not to cross the line? What happens if we do?"
"Let's test it."
"No! Wodanaz! Gaenando isn't here!!" Asan screamed, trying to stop him.
Of course, Yi Han had no intention of going himself.
A bone summon clattered forward.
The mud golem mercilessly swung its fist.
Crash!
"......"
"......"
The students were horrified.
The shattered bone summon fortunately revived shortly after and returned to its original form.
Rowena, however, noticed something else. 'Wait, can a summon revive that quickly?' Once a summon was unsummoned, it usually required a significant amount of time and mana to recover...?