Chapter 504

'Wait a minute.'

Yi-Han shuddered at the sudden ominous thought.

Could it be?

"Is it perhaps a senior event?"

If it was an event for students learning transformation magic and none of Yi-Han's friends knew about it...

...Wasn't it an event exclusively for seniors?

Professor Bagrak briefly made an expression as if he had never thought about Yi-Han's question.

"It seems like it would be."

"It seems like you should have confirmed that first... Did Professor Yonramo readily agree?"

The professor gave a small nod.

'I hope he didn't threaten him with a sword?'

Yi-Han was slightly suspicious.

Professor Yonramo was one of the slightly timid professors.

If Professor Bagrak threatened him with a sword, it wouldn't be strange if he came out saying, 'I'll let him participate!'

"Professor. I just thought of this, but even if Professor Yonramo readily agreed, wouldn't the seniors be displeased?"

Einroguard students had a slightly exclusive side to them.

Didn't the White Tiger Tower students get stingy and angry when Yi-Han invaded their dormitory?

Just as students displayed their unnecessary pride for each tower they belonged to, the same was probably true for the schools of magic.

And even within the schools of magic.

'If a 1st-year junior keeps hanging around, they would probably find it unpleasant.'

It was not about being a protruding nail that gets hammered.

Except for unique schools of magic lacking manpower like healing magic or dark magic, there was no way seniors would like juniors acting up.

"Were you worried about that? It's fine."

"Ah. Did the seniors also say it was okay?"

"It meant that I would admonish any student who finds it unpleasant."

"..."

Yi-Han glanced at the sword Professor Bagrak was wearing.

'I hope he doesn't mean admonishing by stabbing with a sword?'

"...I will just work hard and try to impress the seniors."

Professor Bagrak patted Yi-Han's shoulder as if he was proud.

The basilisk made a sound as if it was displeased.

The snake biting its own tail, Ouroboros, was a beloved being in alchemy and transformation magic.

As it symbolized eternal circulation, mages of the two schools had no choice but to love it.

So the event of transformation mages was also named <Day of Ouroboros>.

Swish!

The whip held by a student turned into a snake and coiled around another student's wrist.

Despite the snake coiling around the wrist, the affected student was not flustered at all. As he calmly chanted a spell, the snake's fangs turned into cotton.

Thud!

When the student with the bound wrist hit the floor with his staff, the floor suddenly rippled and turned into a swamp.

The student who lost balance let go of the snake whip and staggered. He tried to quickly transform the swamp into solid soil, but he failed the spell and it turned into honey instead.

"I lost."

"It was a good match."

The student who got up holding his friend's hand looked around at the other transformation mages gathered in the auditorium.

Although <Day of Ouroboros> sounded grand, the rules were actually simple.

It was a day to showcase each other's achievements using only transformation magic. Such events were common in other schools of magic as well.

Magic duels using only transformation magic, presentations of new transformation magic research, unique transformation abilities of rare monsters in the Empire, and so on.

"Everyone, stop playing and come here. We need to prevent outsiders from causing accidents."

"I don't want to deal with outsiders, can't we make the Death Knights do it...?"

"No. Endure it."

The transformation magic school students of Einroguard frowned as they looked at the outsiders actively roaming inside the auditorium.

It was natural to invite outside mages to such events, and it was also natural to treat those mages as guests.

But the students really didn't want to do those natural things.

It was not because the outside mages were unpleasant or rude.

It was not because there was a mountain of assignments to do.

They just...

They really just didn't want to do it.

"Should we play rock-paper-scissors and have the loser do it?"

"Hello!! Einroguard students!!"

"Ugh."

Poof!

A transformation mage from outside approached while showing off a race transformation magic.

It was a specialty that transformation mages often showed, a magic that changed one's own race.

There was nothing special about the magic itself, but there was nothing better for the purpose of a simple greeting or starting a conversation.

The transformation mage, perhaps very excited, transformed from an elf to a human, from a human to a dog mixed-blood, and from a dog mixed-blood to an orc.

And then he looked at the students with expectant eyes. He thought the students would also show something in response.

"..."

"..."

However, the students' reaction was different from what he expected.

They all avoided eye contact and hesitated.

"???"

"..."

"..."

"Excuse me, did I make a mistake or something?"

"Ah, ah, no!"

"We-Welcome! Welcome!"

"Ah... Yes."

The transformation mage stepped back with an embarrassed expression.

The students looked at each other with self-loathing faces.

"You should have answered...! You were closer!"

"No, he looked at you. You should have answered!"

Although there were exceptions, basically, mages majoring in transformation magic tended to have cheerful and sociable personalities.

Perhaps it was related to the characteristics of transformation magic.

However, the students majoring in transformation magic at Einroguard were a bit unique.

They were very...

Introverted.

"Everyone, stop it. Ah. I should have learned dark magic..."

"I, I feel a bit nauseous, can you give me one more potion?"

"No. If you drink too much confidence potion, you'll become a complete maniac."

The transformation magic students earnestly prayed that the event would end quickly, the outsiders would leave, and they could just talk about magic among themselves.

"It's Professor Bagrak!"

"What? Professor Bagrak?"

The students turned their heads.

Indeed, the crazy professor was entering with a 1st-year student.

"What is he thinking?"

"I heard he got a disciple..."

"Is he following him around and monitoring him so he can't escape?"

"He wouldn't... He could."

But that didn't answer all the questions.

Why on earth did he bring a 1st-year student to an event like this?

No matter how one looked at it, it seemed like meaningless harassment.

"Why did Professor Yonramo allow it?"

"I heard he's very skilled. I heard from a friend in the dark magic school that he's from the Wardanaz family."

"You don't believe the rumors about the Wardanaz family, right? The Wardanaz family is also just an ordinary great noble family. It's not a family that teaches secret techniques to five-year-old kids."

"It's not ordinary..."

While the students were muttering in the corner, Yi-Han walked in with Professor Bagrak.

The transformation mages from outside were showing various things (one mage was receiving applause for transforming his arm into a swarm of bats), Professor Yonramo was answering questions in the middle, and the seniors...

'I don't see them?'

Yi-Han, who was puzzled when he couldn't see the seniors at all, finally realized.

"Professor. Uh... Shouldn't the principal's ban be lifted during events?"

He knew that the skull principal had cast a curse of recognition interference on the seniors, but didn't he sometimes lift it when necessary?

And now was the time when it was necessary.

If a 1st-year student participated in such an event and couldn't even have a conversation with the seniors...

"Why?"

"..."

"Ah. Yi-Han."

Professor Yonramo saw Yi-Han and gestured. And then he spoke softly.

"I'm sorry. I couldn't refuse the request."

"It can happen."

Yi-Han understood.

Even if Professor Bagrak didn't threaten him with a sword, he must have threatened him while wearing a sword.

"I'm really sorry."

"...No, it's really okay."

When Professor Yonramo apologized to this extent, Yi-Han was rather embarrassed.

It was not the professor who allowed it who was bad, but the professor who brought him who was bad.

"Still, since all the mages participating in this event are outstanding transformation mages, there will be many things to learn..."

"Let's go."

While the two were talking, Professor Bagrak, who had disappeared somewhere, suddenly returned.

"Where to?"

"I got permission."

Professor Bagrak pointed behind him with his chin.

The transformation mages who were having a duel on the temporary arena were looking this way and whispering.

-Isn't that a 1st-year... student?-

-You must have seen wrong.-

-Are you telling me to compete with a 1st-year student right now? Isn't it a bit dangerous?-

'This is humiliating.'

Yi-Han felt embarrassed when the outside mages looked at him with worried and perplexed gazes.

It was clear that Professor Bagrak had gone and pestered them, saying 'Please have a duel with my disciple,' 'Please have a duel with my disciple,' 'Please have a duel with my disciple' until they agreed, but now that they had agreed, they were flustered because the opponent was too young.

A dwarf mage who appeared to be in his forties asked Yi-Han with a dismal face.

"Are you perhaps a 1st-year student? I'm not going to interfere with Einroguard's teachings, but I think this kind of duel is a bit too early?"

"It's fine."

Before Yi-Han could answer, Professor Bagrak answered.

As Professor Bagrak turned around and walked to the spectator seats, the dwarf mage whispered again.

"Were you threa... No. What am I saying. I hope you forget it."

Seeing the dwarf mage swallowing his words again because they seemed too rude, Yi-Han licked his lips bitterly.

The transformation mages here were all good people.

That's why it was more painful.

"...The rules are as follows. Let's begin."

'I'm going crazy.'

Yi-Han's mind was spinning fast as he faced his opponent.

He had experienced magic duels a few times, but today's occasion was a bit unique.

A place where only transformation magic could be used.

The problem was that Yi-Han's transformation magic was not very broad.

Basically, it was focused on steel with simple transformations, colors, rock-sand, and so on.

Attacking a seasoned transformation mage with this was similar to attacking the skull principal with a fork.

Professor Bagrak probably wanted Yi-Han to be beaten in as many ways as possible.

Originally, one learns more from defeat than victory.

To be beaten in as many ways as possible and learn which transformation magics to master...

Swish!

"!"

The dwarf mage suddenly grew wings and flew into the air, gliding through the sky.

At the same time, his cloak suddenly spread out like a tent and obscured the view. Yi-Han sensed that the dwarf mage was trying to transform into another monster.

'If I leave it alone, it will end right away!'

Yi-Han swung his staff with the intention of dealing with the opponent's cloak first.

Then, exclamations burst out from the transformation mages on the side.

"Ah!"

"You shouldn't do that!"

"Oh my...!"

"Oh, dear!"

Since the dwarf mage had already cast a transformation magic on the cloak first, it was not a good choice for Yi-Han to cast a transformation magic on that cloak.

Interfering with the opponent's magic was several times more difficult.

In such an urgent situation...

Thud!

"!?"

The cloak turned into a steel hook and flew towards the dwarf mage.

The dwarf mage, who was trying to transform into a hippogriff, was startled by the steel hook grabbing his ankle, and his magic wavered. He ended up with a peculiar appearance with only his arms and legs transformed into a hippogriff.

"Wow! To succeed like that!"

"Amazing! Excellent!"

'...It's getting a bit annoying?'

Yi-Han was starting to find the transformation mages in the spectator seats, who were exclaiming in admiration, a bit annoying.

At first, he was slightly moved by their concern for him, but their overreaction to each magic was getting on his nerves.

The dwarf mage quickly waved his staff to try to release the steel hook.

But surprisingly, the steel hook did not come loose. Magic bounced off as if it were an ore heavily imbued with mana.

The dwarf mage, faced with a situation he had never experienced despite being a seasoned transformation mage, was flustered and failed to land properly.

Originally, even while bound by the steel hook, he could have cast magic to subdue Yi-Han, but the dwarf mage cleanly admitted defeat.

If he showed such a gap in a duel, it was as good as losing.

"I lost, I lost! Amazing! How did you transform this? Is it an Einroguard secret technique?"

While Yi-Han was pondering how to explain so that the opponent would be less disappointed, Professor Bagrak started grabbing other transformation mages and talking to them, hiding his disappointment.