"Wasn't this something you prepared in advance, Wodanaz?" "Sometimes I wonder how you all think of me..."
Yi Han checked the shattered hole and clicked his tongue.
"This isn't good."
"What's wrong?" "The debris is inside the water conduit. It came from outside."
If it was something that the Thunderstep Professor had raised inside the conduit that broke out, it wouldn't be much of a concern.
But judging from the current situation, it was clear that a large monster had entered from outside the conduit.
Ratford looked at Yi Han with a slightly impressed expression.
"You truly have the qualities of a great thief."
"Heh...!" "Me, me too! Ratford, I can deduce things too!" The students of the Blue Dragon Tower showed a strange sense of competitiveness.
Even if they lagged behind in class grades or magical abilities, they didn't want to fall behind in thieving skills.
Nylia looked at them as if wondering why they were acting like this.
"Why are they like this?" "Maybe it's because they grew up reading fairy tales about honorable thieves," Yonell said.
Nylia thought that was absurd. 'Do the nobles of the empire really grow up reading such ridiculous fairy tales?'
"Is there no hunter?" "Uh... there might be fairy tales about thieves who were once hunters..."
While the friends were talking, Yi Han, who had made up his mind, opened the conduit door.
"Listen up, everyone. We're not sneaking into the conduit from now on."
"Huh?" "???" If they weren't sneaking in, then what were they doing? Were they planning to paint 'Blue Dragon Tower students were here' on the wall or something?
"We're here to stop the summoned creature that intruded into the conduit and protect the professor's precious belongings. We gathered voluntarily for this purpose." "... Ah. I see!" "Indeed...!" The intrusion of the summoned creature wasn't all bad.
If things went wrong later, they could use the summoned creature as an excuse to cover up their actions...
Of course, whether that would work with Professor Thunderstep was another question.
"Light."
Yi Han summoned a sphere of light, illuminating the dark first floor of the conduit.
The greenhouses and classrooms located along the corridor.
Students who had wandered around the magic school at night would know that the magic school at night was completely different from the magic school during the day.
Classrooms that seemed ordinary during the day felt like they might have a few undead hiding in them at night...
Even the plants that grew in the warm greenhouses under the sunlight seemed to be holding their breath in the darkness, waiting for a chance to attack.
'It wouldn't be strange if Professor Thunderstep had prepared such plants.' At least the first floor was familiar to the students, but from the second floor onward, it was an unknown territory.
What could possibly be there?
"!" As they ascended the stairs to the second floor, a strong magical energy could be felt.
The space itself was imbued with magical energy. 'Spatial expansion!' The students were greeted by a space that seemed dozens of times larger than the first floor.
The second floor was a vast botanical garden.
The students were overwhelmed by the sight of strange and enormous plants, whose names they didn't even know, hanging and growing all around.
"There's a saying that a great alchemist must also be a great gardener. But even so, the scale here is truly impressive..."
Priest Siana muttered in an amazed voice.
Since alchemists had to traverse mountains and fields to gather materials, it was only natural that they would grow what they could themselves.
But even considering that, the scale here was truly remarkable.
"Wow, what's the name of this plant?" Gainando pointed at a flower glowing in all colors and asked curiously.
Its swaying figure under the faint moonlight coming through the window was truly beautiful.
Yi Han kindly answered, "That flower is called Nephelops."
"Ooh, what does it do?" "It swallows whole any beast that touches its petals." "......"
Gainando stepped back in fright.
"But the honey from that flower sells for a high price..."
"Is that important right now?!" "You asked, so I answered."
Yi Han retorted and looked around.
There were far more plants whose names Yi Han didn't know than those he did.
Yonell and Priest Siana were likely the same.
'But...' The conduit wasn't the dormitory tower.
Since it was Professor Thunderstep's workshop, it couldn't have that many traps.
After all, Professor Thunderstep had to move around here too...
Yi Han calmly searched for a path.
There must be a path that Professor Thunderstep used to move around this botanical garden.
Clatter- "!" As if reading Yi Han's thoughts, the bone summon made a clattering sound from his belt.
The bone summon pointed in a direction, as if telling them to look that way.
Surprisingly, there were fresh footprints in the mud, resembling those of a monster. 'I see.
The monster must have passed through here first!'
It was clear that the monster that had intruded into the path Professor Thunderstep used had found it first.
Yi Han was about to praise the bone summon.
"Wodanaz, I have a good idea. Looking at these footprints, it's clear that the monster that entered first passed through here! That means this path is safe."
Nylia whispered excitedly.
Yi Han was about to praise the bone summon but stopped and opened his mouth. "... You're amazing, Nylia!" Clatter clatter! "Is it because you're from the Shadow Patrol? You're truly amazing. I'm glad you're here. I can't even imagine what would have happened without you."
"It's nothing."
Nylia waved her hand dismissively, but her long ears were already perked up.
"Alright, I'll find the path. Everyone, follow me."
"Sure, sure."
Yi Han sent Nylia ahead and let out a sigh of relief.
Clatter clatter clatter! Seeing the bone summon protesting, Yi Han apologized.
"Sorry, friendship is harder than you think."
The bone summon wagged its finger as if it didn't understand.
Following the footprints of the monster that had entered first turned out to be a better method than expected.
As they moved along the path in the botanical garden, the students weren't attacked by any plants.
It was clear that Professor Thunderstep hadn't set any traps on the path he used to move around. 'Thank you, Professor.' Yi Han thanked the professor for his laziness and moved forward.
-■■■■... "......"
But where there is good luck, there is also bad luck.
At the staircase leading to the third floor at the edge of the botanical garden, Yi Han's expression hardened when he saw the monster stationed there.
"A bull... right?" "Yeah, it doesn't look like an ordinary bull."
Not only had it broken through the first-floor entrance, but it had also trampled a few plants on the second floor.
The bull's horns were tangled with debris, vines, and leaves.
Seeing that, Yi Han remembered the bull Professor Thunderstep had mentioned before. '...
Huh?' Until now, he had thought it was the spirit bull that Professor Ingeldel had captured, but upon closer inspection, the bull before him now resembled the one Professor Thunderstep had mentioned much more.
For one, it wasn't mixed with any spirits, and its physical abilities seemed to have been enhanced by various potions.
'Then was that just a bull summoned by the upperclassmen?' Yi Han felt a bit guilty for cursing Professor Thunderstep over the spirit bull. 'No, thinking about it, there's no need to feel guilty.' Looking at the bull before him, any sense of guilt immediately vanished.
Did they really station such a creature in the mountains?
"What should we do?" "We don't necessarily have to fight it."
Although it was a bit different, they had already learned something from dealing with the spirit bull.
They didn't necessarily have to beat their opponent into submission! This botanical garden wasn't a good place for a fight, and they weren't here to subdue the bull either.
Besides, the bull didn't seem particularly interested in the students.
It was stationed at the staircase, chewing on something.
"If that's the bull Professor Thunderstep raised... maybe it came back because it was hungry?" Yonell's words sounded plausible.
If it was a bull raised by Professor Thunderstep, it made sense that it knew the way here.
It would have been difficult for an ordinary monster to come straight here without causing chaos elsewhere on the first floor.
"Then if we leave it alone, maybe it'll eat and move aside on its own?" "There's a high chance of that."
Feeling that they might not have to fight, the students let out sighs of relief.
Just by its size, the bull before them seemed more violent and fierce than the spirit bull.
"... Uh... Yi Han...?" Yonell tugged at Yi Han's sleeve and spoke.
"Is that... really okay?" The bull ignored the students and bit off a plant next to it.
It chewed a few times, seemed to find it tasteless, and spat it out.
Then it bit another plant, chewed some more, and trampled a few others with its hooves...
Finding it amusing, the bull started destroying the plants faster.
Yonell and Priest Siana, both experts in alchemy, turned pale.
Even though they weren't their plants, it still hurt to see them destroyed.
Yi Han's expression also changed.
There was a world of difference between students borrowing a few potions and a monster destroying the entire botanical garden.
And if these two things combined, the professor's wrath could be directed at the students.
"We have to stop it! Feet, wrinkle the ground!" Yi Han chanted a spell and rushed forward.
He then cast a curse at the bull.
"Be paralyzed!" The dark magical energy took the form of a wave and flew toward the bull.
However, the bull sensed the threat and dodged the curse.
"Wodanaz! Why do we have to stop it?" "That's what honor is, Wodanaz! I'll help!" Misunderstanding Yi Han's intentions, the Blue Dragon Tower friends grabbed their staffs and charged.
"Flames of power..."
As Gainando began to chant a flame creation spell, Yi Han panicked and slapped his mouth.
Smack! "?!?" "No fire in the plant area!" "Ugh... Be paralyzed!" "Be paralyzed!!" The friends cast the paralysis curse they had learned in class.
Summoning the wrong element here could burn the entire place down.
Unlike Yi Han's curse, the bull didn't dodge the students' curses.
Despite several curses hitting it, the bull didn't seem to care.
"Ah, what did Professor Thunderstep feed this thing?!" The students screamed.
The bull was tougher than they had thought.
"Go and distract it!" Yi Han sent the bone summon and began summoning water orbs.
The bull didn't pay attention to the other students waving their staffs, but it kept a wary eye on Yi Han. 'It wasn't a good idea to cast curses recklessly!' It wasn't easy to hit a monster with sharp instincts with a curse.
Casting curses recklessly had only made things more complicated.
Yi Han began firing water orbs in rapid succession.
The bull dodged them precisely, but Yi Han wasn't flustered. 'First, lure it away from the plants.' He had been attacking to draw the bull away from the plants in the first place.
"Everyone, take these weakening potions!" Priest Siana took out potion flasks and handed them out.
The students who received them quickly threw them.
With the sound of shattering glass, the bull staggered as the potions hit it.
Realizing that its magical resistance had weakened, Yonell shouted, "Everyone, curse it again!" "Be paralyzed, be paralyzed!" "Be paralyzed!" The bull shook its head as if annoyed.
Due to the weakening, it could feel the curses penetrating its skin.
Yi Han fired water orbs in irregular trajectories around the bull.
The bull flinched and stopped moving.
Then Yi Han's curse exploded. 'Faster!' "Be paralyzed!" The thought of casting the spell faster than before made Yi Han's incantation even quicker.
As a result, the curse shot out before Yi Han could even finish the incantation.
In the heat of the moment, even Yi Han himself didn't notice.
Thud! The bull couldn't withstand Yi Han's curse and knelt down.
The students all let out a long breath at the same time.
"What on earth is going on?" "!!!" A tall, slender willow tree was walking toward them from among the plants.
Yi Han immediately answered, "We were protecting Professor Thunderstep's plants." "... That's right! A strange bull was eating the plants...!"