When the professor forgot about its existence, it had to quietly hold its breath.
The Forgotten Beast Statue was a being that had mastered wisdom.
But boredom was something it couldn’t help.
"Thank you for coming to visit me," it said.
"Great Statue... I heard that you possess the necessary wisdom to escape—no, the wisdom needed in this school," Yi Han said, quickly correcting himself.
He couldn’t be sure when the Forgotten Beast Statue might betray him.
Wisdom, huh? That’s a bit embarrassing.
It’s not exactly wisdom, but I can share what I know.
I can help you with what I can.
"Really?" Yi Han was grateful that the Forgotten Beast Statue was bored.
Otherwise, it wouldn’t have offered such help.
Of course, there are things beyond my ability.
So don’t ask me to save a dragon or something like that.
"Can you make the headmaster a bit kinder?"
...
What color dragon do you want? A dragon would be easier.
"My apologies. That was a joke," Yi Han said.
Of course, he had no intention of making such an absurd request.
What Yi Han wanted was one thing: the path to the stables located in the upper floors of the main building.
"Do you know the location of the stables in the main tower?"
I know about three places.
Yi Han’s pupils shook slightly.
He had finally found what he was looking for.
"Among them... I’d like to know the easiest path to get there."
It’s not difficult.
"!"
But first, you’ll have to defeat me!
"?!?"
The sudden shift in atmosphere left Yi Han flustered.
He gripped his staff and stared at the statue with wary eyes.
Instead of attacking, the statue laid out a bronze chessboard in front of him.
Let’s play a game!
"......"
It was clear that the statue was truly bored.
Boredom was the deadliest of poisons.
Even the statue, which had loyally served under the professor for so long, couldn’t withstand it.
The Forgotten Beast Statue loved chess.
The beauty of chess was that you could play it alone.
The statue’s tail and other heads swayed as it moved its pieces.
Yi Han asked to gauge the statue’s skill.
"Did you play chess with other freshmen before I came?"
Yes, I did.
"How many times did they win?"
Not even once.
Yi Han’s expression turned serious. ‘Tutanta didn’t win even once?’ He didn’t know how skilled Tutanta was, but the fact that he never won despite trying multiple times spoke volumes.
This Forgotten Statue was exceptionally skilled at chess... and cunning enough to hide it.
If the gap was overwhelming, Tutanta wouldn’t have kept trying.
The statue must have barely won each time to keep him coming back.
To control the outcome like that required an immense skill gap.
‘Can I win?’ Yi Han didn’t consider himself a great chess player.
Of course, he had played before.
Like most students trapped in the lab, Yi Han had enjoyed meaningless betting games.
Chess was the most popular.
While Yi Han had never lost to other students... that was just a big fish in a small pond.
He had never beaten the foreign professor from the neighboring lab.
That professor seemed to take great pleasure in crushing weaker opponents and often called Yi Han over to defeat him.
If this statue was better than that professor, it was no small feat.
‘But I only need to win once.’ No matter how I shake him or make him careless, I just need to win once.
Yi Han planned to win by sheer numbers.
Chess was a game with unexpected variables, so if he played a hundred games, he might win once.
Oh, by the way.
If you lose, there’s a penalty.
"... What is it?" Yi Han flinched.
The shadowed figure of the statue suddenly felt oppressive.
If you lose, you have to play another game without any reward.
"... That’s it?" The penalty was lighter than expected.
The statue nodded.
And if you lose again, you’ll have to play two more games.
If you lose the next challenge, it’ll be three games...
‘If he’s that bored, maybe he should just take on some work from the professor.’ Yi Han thought as he picked up the white pawn.
The king fell sideways, and the game ended.
Yi Han was stunned. ‘Tutanta...!’ The statue was impressed, but Yi Han was slightly dumbfounded.
Surprisingly, Yi Han had won.
And on the first game! At this point, he had to question the skills of both the statue and Tutanta.
How could Tutanta not win even once against this statue?
‘I was nervous for nothing.’ Here.
This is the map I made.
"Thank you," Yi Han said, taking the map and tucking it into his robe.
Then he asked, "Would you like to play another game?" Now that he realized the opponent wasn’t as formidable as he thought, there was no need to hesitate.
Yi Han tried to coax more out of the statue.
But the statue didn’t bite.
No. I’m truly satisfied today.
That was a very enjoyable game.
"......"
Thanks to you, I’ll be able to sleep well tonight.
Thank you.
Yi Han couldn’t figure out what part of the game had satisfied the statue so much.
Was it because he thought he wouldn’t win?
"Ah... I’m glad it worked out for you," Yi Han said awkwardly, congratulating the statue before stepping out.
Salko was waiting in the hallway, carving a small figurine with a chisel.
"You’re out," Salko said, brushing off the debris without looking at Yi Han.
Though he didn’t like nobles, he respected Yi Han’s pride.
He must have come out without winning even once, which would be quite humiliating.
"I’ll guide you until you win. You can’t go in alone, so let me know when you want to try again."
"I won."
"...??!?!!"
Salko couldn’t believe his ears.
The chess skills of that beast statue were legendary.
Even Salko, who had no equal in the Tutanta family, had never won against it.
He had been planning to prepare with Wodanaz and challenge it again... but Yi Han just won?
"R-really?"
"Yeah. He said he’d sleep well thanks to me."
Salko didn’t doubt Yi Han’s words without reason, but this was hard to believe without seeing it himself.
"Wodanaz. Would it be okay if I checked for myself?"
"Sure. Go ahead."
With Yi Han’s permission, Salko repaired the figurine in the hallway, opened the door, and went inside.
He came out with a ghostly expression.
The statue was indeed sleeping.
Yi Han said to Salko, "Thank you. I got the information I needed."
"That’s good to hear..."
Salko momentarily looked at Yi Han with a gaze full of respect before snapping out of it and regaining his composure.
To think he’d ever feel respect for someone from a noble family! Salko coughed awkwardly and turned away.
"Let’s go back. I’ll guide you."
As Salko turned his back, he didn’t notice the slight change in Yi Han’s gaze.
The way Yi Han looked at Salko had shifted, resembling the way he looked at Nillia.
Yi Han opened the door to the lounge with a very tired expression.
Salko, who looked like a lump of rock, was more talkative than expected.
-If you move your pawn to e4 and the opponent responds with e5, you push with f4.
That’s the ‘Dwarf Gambit,’ a specialty of the Tutanta family.
I’d like to tell you about it.
-If the opponent takes the pawn, I like to move the knight to f3.
That’s my specialty...
-There was this one time in a match I played...
-Did you know? Those elf guys say you should move the pawn to d4 instead of e4 and respond to d5 with c4! They’re crazy!
Salko had been talking nonstop about chess the entire way back.
Yi Han wasn’t as passionate about chess as Salko.
He tried to respond as sincerely as possible so as not to upset Salko, but it was mentally exhausting.
"Wodanaz! You’re back!" The friends in the lounge greeted Yi Han happily.
Yoner was checking potions with other students.
They were the potions from the box Yi Han and Ratford had stolen from the carriage.
Thanks to the reagents they had taken from Professor Thunderstep’s lab, they were able to conduct various experiments.
"Did you find out anything?"
"Wodanaz. We did it."
"??"
One of the students sitting next to Yoner spoke up excitedly.
"We found the miracle potion!"
"Did you find a teleportation potion or something?" Yi Han asked, puzzled.
The students looked embarrassed.
"No... not teleportation."
"But it’s still an amazing potion! We’ll show you! Gainando!"
The students brought Gainando over.
Yi Han noticed that Gainando looked a bit different than usual.
He seemed... more intelligent.
‘What’s this? A fake Gainando?’
Gainando nodded calmly at Yi Han, his expression oddly punchable.
"Gainando. Who teaches <Basic Magic Understanding>?"
"Professor Garcia Kim."
"How do you make a low-level mana recovery potion?"
"Cut off the base of the Galmarldu and slice the remaining part to the size of two finger joints. At the same time, you need to tear the Seolhyangcho thinly by hand. You have to tear it quickly before the Galmarldu dries out."
The students from the Blue Dragon Tower cheered at the fluent answers.
"See?? It’s the Wisdom Potion! The Wisdom Potion!"
Among alchemical potions, there were those that temporarily boosted the drinker’s intelligence.
Looking at Gainando now, it was clear.
This reddish liquid was definitely the Wisdom Potion!
‘Wait.
Did they test this on Gainando?’ Yi Han had his doubts but decided to let it go.
There were more important things to worry about.
"Do you really think this is the Wisdom Potion?" Yi Han asked Yoner in a low voice.
Yoner replied cautiously, "I’m not entirely sure yet. But judging by Gainando’s reaction, it’s possible."
"Didn’t they test it before drinking?"
"No, he just drank it during the verification process..."
"......"
Yi Han held back his words. ‘If it’s the Wisdom Potion, that’d be great.’ Like the cheering students, Yi Han also had many uses for the Wisdom Potion.
He could drink a bit during Professor Garcia’s class, a bit during Professor Voladi’s class, a bit during Professor Thunderstep’s class, a bit when meeting Professor Mortum, a bit when meeting Professor Milley...
As Yi Han counted on his fingers, he reflected.
Potions weren’t harmless.
They always came with a price.
Drinking like that would leave his body in ruins.
But in this school, wisdom was needed far too often.
‘Let’s check a bit more.’ Yi Han looked at Gainando and asked, "What’s 14 times 19?"
"417," Gainando answered immediately.
The students from the Blue Dragon Tower cheered again.
But Yi Han, Yoner, Asan, and the princess all looked puzzled.
...
Huh?