Chapter 458

Poison to feed the giants.

Why on earth?

"Is the opponent for the alchemy exam possibly a giant?"

"That must be it."

"What are you guys talking..."

Yi-Han asked back in puzzlement.

"It has nothing to do with the exam."

"Got it, Wardanaz."

"Trust us."

His friends waved their hands as if telling him not to worry, understanding Yi-Han's answer differently.

"No, really, it has nothing to do with the exam..."

"Yeah, yeah."

"I said I got it."

Regardless of what he said, his friends opened alchemy books and started reading <Precautions when using potions on resistant subjects>.

Since the exam opponent was a giant, it was best to prepare the strongest and most penetrating potions possible.

The princess glanced around slyly, tilted her head, pondered for a while, and eventually closed the book she was reading and opened the same book as her friends. Priestess Siana, who was sitting next to her, had already opened the book long ago.

Bartreck, an alchemy major student from the White Tiger Tower, was surprised to see that as he passed by.

'The exam opponent must be a giant!'

Bartreck turned around and ran off to inform his friends of this secret information.

A while later, Yonaire, who had finished her duty, asked Yi-Han.

"Is it true that the opponent for this alchemy exam is a giant?"

"..."

"This exam is about making <Dobruk's Soul Amplification Potion>."

<Dobruk's Soul Amplification Potion> was a defensive potion that preserved the vitality of life even in places filled with negative and dark energy.

It was a very useful potion for dark mages who worked in such places for a long time, as well as adventurers or mages who had to enter such places.

"Are the giants going to drink it?"

"Does it have to be effective on giants too?"

"??"

Professor Uregor was flustered by the students' questions that suddenly raised the difficulty level several times.

'What's going on? Did it spread from Wardanaz?'

As far as Professor Uregor knew, students never wanted to raise the difficulty of the exam on their own.

Except for a certain student from a family whose name started with War and ended with danaz.

"No?"

"Huh? It's not? To the giants..."

"If not giants... Aha! It must be another race with high resistance. Wardanaz is a crazy guy, so he deliberately practiced with giants."

"I'm right behind you."

"S, sorry. It's a habit."

Professor Uregor realized that a false rumor had spread without his knowledge.

It was a common occurrence.

Einroguard was a place where strange rumors arose in the blink of an eye.

"I don't know what you heard, but you will test the performance of the potion you made yourself. After drinking the potion, come out here and walk."

Professor Uregor opened the back of the lecture hall and pointed to the pre-made dark blue shade.

It was a space where vitality was rapidly consumed just by walking a few steps due to the mixture of the dark element and negative energy.

"Ah. Wardanaz, you... you're an exception."

"Pardon?"

Yi-Han was surprised.

Why?

Behind him, the White Tiger Tower students nodded their heads as if they knew it would happen.

"The giant was exclusively for Wardanaz."

"Indeed, it's reasonable..."

'What's reasonable, you crazy bastards.'

Professor Uregor looked at Yi-Han as if asking what was so obvious.

"You'll be fine even without drinking the potion, so the test won't work, right? Don't drink it and submit it to me."

"..."

Yi-Han clicked his tongue, missing out on an easy opportunity.

"Professor. But I have to go outside to get ingredients now, and it's raining too much. If you give me more time..."

"Take the reagents from the cabinet next to you."

"?????"

"...Why are you surprised? Did you really think I would make you go outside to get reagents in this weather?"

Surprisingly, the alchemy exam proceeded in a sensible manner.

The students were flustered by the sight of Professor Uregor, who had prepared all the reagents and tools.

-Isn't it a trap?-

-It's a trap. Be careful. The tools might suddenly break.-

-The reagents might be spoiled.-

However, surprisingly, nothing unusual happened until the end.

Yi-Han, who worked with the mindset of 'If there's a trap, it will come out as I work' while his friends were buzzing, completed the potion first.

Professor Uregor carefully checked the potion and tasted a sip.

"Full marks."

It was always nice to hear no matter how many times he heard it.

Yi-Han nodded.

"Thank you."

"Ah. I heard you're hanging out with giants? Do it well on your own, but be careful when making potions for giants. You have to make it much more potent."

"...But why...!"

How many hours had passed?!

Ogoldos, a 2nd-year student in the dark magic school, checked his back with an irritated motion.

"I told you it's not there, Ogoldos."

"Hmph. How can I trust you?"

"I said I'm sorry... I'll stop teasing you."

Coholti apologized.

After Ogoldos disappeared with a 1st-year junior during this vacation and returned, Coholti had attached a note saying <I survived thanks to my 1st-year junior> on Ogoldos's back several times.

Because of that, Ogoldos now growled and showed wariness whenever Coholti approached him.

"Nice job. Really nice. Reducing our already few juniors. If he quits, you're telling the professor, got it?"

"Ah, no. Ogoldos also said he forgave me!"

"Hmph. I don't know."

Although Ogoldos said he forgave him with his mouth, his face was full of dissatisfaction. Direth flapped her wings and kicked Coholti's shin.

"Ouch!"

"You also got help to solve it in the first place."

"Th, that's a bit different..."

Ogoldos, who was listening next to them, perked up his ears.

It seemed his mood would improve a bit if he heard the story of Senior Coholti's ugly failure.

"I want to hear it, Senior Direth."

"Okay. If this makes your mood a bit better."

Direth glared at Coholti as if he was pathetic and started explaining what had happened in detail.

When she told them why winter had come to the Einroguard corridor in early summer and what lunatics had summoned the King of Frost Giants, Ogoldos looked at his senior with contemptuous eyes.

"...It wasn't a mistake I made alone, Ogoldos."

"Yes..."

"There were other guys too! I have less responsibility!"

"Yes..."

"Stop chattering and prepare, everyone."

Direth opened the chest, took out intact bones, and scattered them around.

It was to prepare for this midterm exam.

Other schools drove 1st-year students hard from the beginning to temper them for what they would learn in earnest in the 2nd year, but dark magic was a bit different.

If the dark magic exams in the 1st semester of the 1st year served to sort out the wheat from the chaff, the dark magic exams in the 2nd semester of the 1st year were...

"But honestly, if they've learned this much, they won't quit even out of resentment, right?"

"All my classmates quit except me."

"...Th, that's right."

...a kind of enticement.

Dark magic is this great, dark magic is this fun, dark magic can do this too.

So please, don't quit!!

Even the freshmen who somehow endured in the 1st semester, when their bodies and minds became tired in the 2nd semester, they thought, 'Ah, should I quit the worst one first?'

And usually, dark magic was likely to be included in 'the worst one'.

"This should be enough, right?"

"An undead wave is enough."

Ogoldos answered with a confident voice.

Ogoldos himself had experienced something similar in the 2nd semester of the 1st year, so he could be sure.

The appearance of a commander pushing numerous undead like waves.

Few things were as intense as that.

"Uh... Direth. If we use up all these reagents, what will we use for our experiments this semester?"

"...I'll tell the professor and somehow replenish them."

Direth said, holding back a sigh.

Even though they had replenished like that during the vacation, the budget of the dark magic school was far from abundant.

The skull principal was stingy with dark magic even though he was the grand master of dark magic, and the empire was particularly picky about dark magic research and experiments.

-What reason would the study of the defense of a flesh golem benefit the empire?-

-Uh, so, uh, with a stronger summon, the empire's enemies...-

-There are many other golems, so why does it have to be a flesh golem? Can't it be replaced with summoning magic?-

-...May I ask your name, examiner?-

Coholti comforted Direth, who was sighing.

"Don't worry too much. Still, few things will leave as strong an impression on the juniors as this."

"It should be."

"Except for that guy Wardanaz."

"..."

When Direth glared at him, Coholti hurriedly made an excuse.

"Ah, no. But honestly... if he had a tug-of-war with the King of Frost Giants, he wouldn't be moved by an undead wave...! He's the principal's cherished disciple!"

It wasn't the seniors' fault.

If he had followed the skull principal and directly witnessed the secrets of all kinds of wicked magic, how could they give him a more intense impression?

"And he'll keep attending even if he's not impressed. He's taking magic from all schools. He'll take dark magic too."

"I wonder. Will he really?"

Ogoldos spoke cautiously.

"No matter how outstanding a mage is, there is a limit to human ability. When I talked to him last time, he seemed to be barely managing. It wouldn't be strange if he quit dark magic..."

"This guy, why are you being so annoying now... Then you should have done well! What kind of senior gets carried out after being trapped together??"

When Coholti scolded him, Ogoldos also got upset.

"Why are you bringing that up now..."

"Hey. Stop it. Stop it."

Direth made everyone shut up with an irritated face.

However, she couldn't help but feel anxious.

Among the 1st-year juniors, none were unimportant, but among them, losing Wardanaz would make her stomach ache several times more.

"...Did Wardanaz mention his favorite food when you were trapped together?"

"..."

"..."

"What. You bastards."

When the lecture hall door opened, beyond it was a pitch-black alternate realm.

Normally, he would have been surprised, but since it was the midterm exam period, Yi-Han responded calmly.

'Hmm. It must be an exam.'

The dim plains rippled with wicked and ominous energy. It seemed that a grand spell from the dark magic category was being prepared.

And in the distance, a white wave began to appear. Gainando, who was yawning and rubbing his eyes, opened his eyes wide and rubbed them again.

"Th, th, th, that...!"

"..."

It wasn't a white wave but an army of undead.

The 1st-year students were shocked to see the army of undead suddenly rushing towards them.

"Let's use Raphael as bait!"

"You bastard!"

Raphael, who was next to them and suddenly became bait, flared up.

Yi-Han's mind spun quickly as he saw the army of undead approaching densely from afar, leaving no place to escape.

How to deal with that now?

'Think. There must be a way.'

"Uh... maybe it's not an exam but just a demonstration?"

Ymirg cautiously suggested an opinion.

Honestly, it seemed too difficult to be an exam.

"It's probably an exam."

"Don't escape from reality!"

However, both Gainando and Raphael answered negatively.

It seemed quite possible at Einroguard.

Meanwhile, Yi-Han took action.

"I call upon you from the abyss..."

"Are you summoning that cheeky spirit?!"

When Yi-Han chanted the spell, Gainando asked, turning pale.

Yi-Han shook his head. Ferkuntra was unlikely to play a big role in the current situation even if summoned now.

Since the number of enemies was large, Ferkuntra's firepower was overkill.

"Mage of the ancient palace, servant of the king, piercer of tyrants, I, the one who has contracted with you, call upon you with the qualifications of a blood alliance!"

The undead mage who had resisted the King of Ghouls together during this vacation slowly revealed himself.

-If it weren't an urgent situation, I would have scolded you, but it really is a critical situation!-

"The exam... no, please help us!"

Yi-Han shouted urgently, deciding to explain later.