At the very moment the principal of the White Tiger Tower was left speechless, Yi Han and his friends from the Blue Dragon Tower were rushing down the stairs.
"The mana is gathering again!" Yi Han could feel it.
The scattered mana of the tower was rapidly reforming and converging once more.
Though it had momentarily dispersed due to an unexpected shock, the magic of the magic school was truly powerful.
It had been prepared to recover even in such a situation.
And once everything was restored...
"Our plan might fall apart."
Yi Han didn't know how many spells were currently active within the tower or what their effects were.
But he could guess that if those spells were to reactivate, it wouldn't bode well for him and his friends, the intruders.
Whoosh! "Waaah!" "Gainando! Gainando!!" It seemed that during the process of mana gathering, one of the spells had been completed.
The spell flickered and activated.
Unfortunately, Gainando, who had been caught by the spell, was dragged backward as if someone had hooked an invisible claw into his collar and yanked him away.
"Gah!" Gainando was flung out of the White Tiger Tower's main gate and tumbled to the ground.
It was clearly a spell meant to expel intruders.
"Hurry! If another spell completes, things will get messy!" "Got it!" The Blue Dragon Tower students nodded.
Though they were momentarily flustered, they had a reliable leader.
Seeing Yi Han's calm and composed demeanor as he directed them, the students regained their composure and followed.
Bang! The lounge door opened.
Yi Han and Ratford quickly searched for what looked like flags.
"What... what is this?!" Derku, who had come down from his private room due to the faint commotion, blinked in confusion.
The Blue Dragon Tower students, who shouldn't have been there, had swarmed into the first-year lounge.
Recognizing a familiar face, Derku asked in a choked voice, "Yi Han! What's going on...?" "Derku!" "Huh?" "Look behind you!" "Huh?" Derku instinctively turned around.
Yi Han immediately shot a bead, striking Derku's chin and knocking him out.
The poor orc friend, still half-asleep, fell once again, all because he had trusted Yi Han.
"... Haha! You White Tiger Tower fools! Pay the price for your arrogance towards Wodanaz!" One of the Blue Dragon Tower students cheered, causing Yonell to look at Yi Han with a confused expression. 'Is this really okay?' his face seemed to say.
Yi Han shook his head and said, "This is for Derku's sake too."
The reason Yi Han hadn't told Derku about the plan was simple.
Derku was, after all, a White Tiger Tower student.
It wasn't that he was worried about betrayal.
He was concerned that Derku, who was already somewhat ostracized within the White Tiger Tower, might be further isolated if he were involved in this plan.
Yonell knew this too and agreed, but... 'Even so, you hit his chin way too hard!'
"Seeing him like this, the other White Tiger Tower students won't misunderstand. Derku doesn't need to become an outcast like Nilia."
"Yeah... but did you really have to use Nilia as an example...?" "Found it!" True to his thief nature, Ratford quickly located the flag.
The problem was that there wasn't just one flag.
"Here too!" "There's one here too...?!" The White Tiger Tower students had made fake flags for practice, and their failed attempts were scattered everywhere.
The patterns were crude, but in the dark, it was hard to tell them apart.
Yi Han quickly came to a conclusion.
"Take them all." "...!" That's it! Just take them all! The Blue Dragon Tower students grabbed every flag they could see.
"... What's going on??" A second White Dragon Tower student appeared.
It was Rowena, a black-haired elf Yi Han recognized.
Rowena, with her expressionless face, was startled when she saw the princess stuffing flags into her arms.
"What on earth is happening?!" "Stay quiet and don't move! If you move, I won't let the princess go!" "?!" The princess, who had come to help but suddenly became a hostage, had a slight tremor in her eyes.
Rowena, startled, raised her arms.
"I-I won't move! I'll stay still!" "Good! Stay still!" With a single word, Yi Han bound Rowena's feet.
Ratford urgently shouted, "We've checked everything! There's nothing left!" "Good. Let's go!" Whoosh! As the spells regained their form, signs of their activation began to show.
Two Blue Dragon Tower students were flung out just like Gainando had been.
"Those who got out, head to the Blue Dragon Tower! Ratford, run!" "Yes!" "The Blue Dragon Tower brats have invaded the lounge!!!!" As the commotion continued, the White Tiger Tower students began to wake up.
Those who came down to the lounge to check witnessed the shocking scene and started shouting to wake their friends.
"Rowena! Why are you just standing there?!" "Th-they said they wouldn't let the princess go if I moved..."
"What are you talking about?! They're from the same tower as us!" "...!" "Chase them!! Don't let them get away!!"
Some were forced, some went on their own.
Yi Han and his friends managed to escape from the White Tiger Tower.
Barely making it out last, Yi Han felt a chill as the tower's anti-intruder spell brushed past the back of his head.
"Ugh... ugh."
The students who had been expelled by the spell stumbled and fell, as if suffering from severe motion sickness.
Gainando couldn't even stand and was flailing on the ground.
"Pick up the fallen friends and run! The White Tiger Tower guys are coming!" "O-okay!" Yi Han hoisted Gainando onto his shoulder.
Gainando screamed, "Driver! Gently!! Drive gently!!" "This isn't a carriage, Gainando! Get a grip!" Thud thud thud- "You thieving brats!!!" Torches lit up behind them, and the White Tiger Tower students' shouts erupted.
They were dumbfounded by the sudden night raid and the disappearance of their flags.
Asan from the Blue Dragon Tower shouted back, "We should be the ones shouting! You cowardly cheats! Making fake flags! You're 100% cheats!" "Stop provoking them and just run, Asan!" Yi Han, even while carrying Gainando, was faster than the other students.
But he stopped.
The White Tiger Tower students were faster than he had expected. 'If we keep going like this, some of us will get caught!' Ratford panted and asked, "Are you planning to use the prince as bait?" "... No!" Yi Han was momentarily flustered.
He really wasn't.
"Wodanaz, you bastard! It's one thing to shamelessly use the princess as a hostage to threaten Rowena! But Derku trusted your honor! And you knocked him out?!" Angrao, the goat beastman, shouted in anger.
Seizing the opportunity, Yi Han calmly retorted, "Derku? He was just an easy pawn. It's his fault for being so gullible." "... Wodanaz, you bastard!!!" Angrao exploded and charged.
But Angrao alone was no match for Yi Han.
Beyond swordsmanship, Yi Han had already been rigorously trained by Professor Voladi.
Yi Han summoned a water orb.
"Spring forth!" The compressed water orb revealed itself.
Without a moment's rest, Yi Han cast the next spell.
"Move!" With dull thuds, Angrao, who had been charging, was sent tumbling.
The heavy water orb had enough force to sap the strength from his limbs.
Angrao, lying on the ground, gritted his teeth and glared up at Yi Han.
The flickering torches from the tower cast sharp shadows on Yi Han's face, making his already cold, sculpted features seem even more chilling.
Thinking of Derku, who was still unconscious in the lounge, Angrao's heart burned with even more rage and sorrow.
"Grr...! Wodanaz! You magic-obsessed monster...!!" "Angrao!!" The White Tiger Tower students who had arrived late helped Angrao up and shouted in anguish.
Seeing their fallen friend, it felt as though they were witnessing a righteous knight defeated by an evil dark mage.
"Kuh... kuh kuh kuh! You'll never beat Wodanaz... Ugh."
"Stop provoking and stay still."
As Gainando, who had regained consciousness, tried to provoke from Yi Han's shoulder, Yi Han slapped his mouth shut.
Gainando closed his mouth again.
"This was all for the sake of the class assignment, so let's not hold unnecessary grudges against each other."
"How can you say that?!" 'Even I think that's a bit shameless.' Yi Han thought the same.
Even if he told the White Tiger Tower students, who had already been slapped, 'The root of all this is the skeleton principal who divided the tower into four and created this harsh environment for students, so let's not fight among ourselves,' it wouldn't get through to them.
They'd probably respond with something like, 'We'll think about it after we slap you first.' Yi Han sighed.
In the end, there was no other way but to rely on strength.
Of course, to the White Tiger Tower students, Yi Han's sigh felt like a mocking sneer, whether due to the darkness or his disdain for them.
"Y-you...!" "Don't chase us. I can use the same spell again anytime. It's hard to keep dodging in this darkness."
Yi Han planned to escape before more White Tiger Tower students came down.
Even if he could handle five or six with threats, he couldn't predict how they'd react if more came.
"... I don't care! Friends! Avenge Derku! Avenge Derku, who was only used by Wodanaz!" Angrao shouted in anguish.
Yi Han slightly regretted not knocking Angrao out.
The White Tiger Tower students' eyes changed. 'Damn it.' Whether they got beaten or not, their eyes showed a firm resolve to avenge Derku.
Truly, they were from knightly families.
In such situations, they chose their friends' pride over their own limbs.
Gainando whispered in a terrified voice, "... Are we screwed?" Instead of answering, Yi Han slapped Gainando's mouth again. 'I'll use the water orb to restrain the left, swing my sword to block the right...
After stealing their vision, I'll turn around and run...' Though it was an unexpected situation, Yi Han quickly calculated.
But his calculations became meaningless.
Gainando, who was on his shoulder, pointed behind the White Tiger Tower students and screamed, "... Behind!! Behind!!" "Wodanaz, how stupid do you think we are?! Do you think we'll fall for it if you send the prince?!" "Look behind!!!" "We won't fall for it... Waaah!" Whoosh! A giant vine flew in, wrapped around a White Tiger Tower student, and lifted them into the air.
Seeing the unrealistically large vine monster emerge from the darkness, Yi Han momentarily thought he had triggered the tower's defense spell and summoned a guardian.
But thankfully, that wasn't the case.
"The summon escaped from the greenhouse! The summon escaped from the greenhouse!" "It's heading towards the freshmen! ... Not my problem! The Punishment Room is where this brat should go!" "Shut up and clean up the mess, will you?!" Familiar shouts could be faintly heard from afar.
It was the kind of warm conversation only the students of a professor who had failed an experiment could have.
Thud! Professor Garcia, who had appeared out of thin air, landed softly.
The professor swung his staff once, forcing the vine monster to retreat, and then looked at Yi Han.
"The summons are escaping again like this. This week will be tough for the freshmen. Yi Han." "... Wait. Did you say 'again' and 'summons'?" The summons 'escaped again' like this? "Yi Han, why are you here?" "Professor! That vine monster took my friend! Please save them!" "Ah, I see. Wait a moment."