Chapter 551

A moment later.

Professor Uregor moved his steps outside the hut, complaining.

"You may not know this, Wardanaz, but originally, the professors and students of Einroguard don't invade each other's territories. Just as well water doesn't invade river water..."

"I'm sorry. Professor."

"Ahem. Don't forget to clean the warehouse."

In the end, Professor Uregor had no choice but to surrender, unable to win against his disciple who persistently clung to him.

If it were any other disciple, it would be different, but Professor Uregor couldn't easily ignore a disciple like Yi-Han.

Since he was a precious disciple who usually did a lot of work...

"Now. Then let's go find the spirits."

"Why are you so obsessed with spirits? Huh?"

Professor Uregor couldn't understand.

Of course, if one could receive the help of spirits, a mage's realm would become much wider.

However, no matter how he looked at it, Yi-Han was a disciple who could live well without spirits, like the skull principal.

"Professor, how many spirits have you contracted with?"

"...I don't think that's related to the current topic..."

"Let's go quickly."

Yi-Han seemed determined not to listen to anyone who was even slightly friendlier with spirits than himself.

Professor Uregor had no choice but to move his steps while shaking his head.

***

"Everyone, move aside."

The dwarf professor took out a crossbow and pulled the trigger. With a thud, the bolt tore through the surrounding space.

Kwajik!

A contaminant that had taken a giant oak tree as its core body, looking like a tree monster, collapsed with a single blow.

Yi-Han couldn't help but admire it.

Even though he couldn't fully grasp all the magic attached to that crossbow, he could feel how amazing it was.

Moreover, the bolt was not an ordinary bolt. The wick of the bolt, which looked like a short arrow, contained a long flask with alchemical solution swirling inside.

'Can I get one of those?'

"Strange."

"Pardon?"

Yi-Han flinched, thinking his inner thoughts had been exposed.

"Even if the number is large, it's too large. If it's a natural occurrence, it wouldn't increase so rapidly."

Professor Uregor was an outstanding alchemist, but at the same time, he was also an outstanding ranger.

And there were few people as sensitive to changes in their assigned territory as rangers.

The forest now was pitch-black and dark, like the middle of the night, even though they hadn't gone in very far. It was proof that the power of the dark element was growing stronger.

Originally, contaminants didn't increase this quickly...

"Then could it be that the principal..."

"It must be your seniors' mistake."

"Aha. It must be the seniors' mistake."

"Didn't you just mention the principal?"

"Did I?"

Yonaire and Priestess Siana, who were next to Yi-Han, quietly turned their gazes away.

Professor Uregor shook his head and spoke.

"The principal is someone who could sufficiently do this, but he wouldn't have done such a thing. Contaminants are too troublesome to clean up afterward."

"Did you just say he's someone who could do this?"

Priestess Siana asked Yi-Han and Yonaire, doubting her ears, but the two nodded their heads expressionlessly.

"You heard it right."

"He is someone who could do it."

"!?"

While Priestess Siana was appalled, Yi-Han asked what he was curious about.

"By troublesome to clean up, do you mean the surrounding contamination?"

"Yes."

Professor Uregor looked at his disciple as if he was proud.

Even though he was resentful that he had been dragged into the students' affairs, when he saw his disciple knowing ten things without being taught one, that resentment would disappear.

"The principal's attacks change their methods every year, but they are usually clean in the aftermath. Otherwise, he would have to clean it up himself. This is most likely the students' mistake."

"I see."

"It's probably the dark magic students."

"Pardon?"

Yi-Han was slightly upset.

The image of the dark magic department seniors, who always had their shoulders slumped unlike the seniors of other departments, came to mind.

"No, is it always the dark magic department when problems like this occur? Isn't that too much?"

"Ah, no..."

Only then did Professor Uregor, who recalled that Yi-Han was also taking dark magic, speak with a slightly apologetic tone.

"I'm not suspecting the dark magic department students unconditionally. Look. They're dark spirit contaminants, aren't they?"

"..."

Only then did Yi-Han realize what he meant.

He immediately lowered his voice and whispered to Professor Uregor.

"Even so, they're all Einroguard students who have learned from you, professor, so there's no need to punish them too harshly, right? If you show leniency once, the seniors won't forget it."

"..."

'Aren't they not that close actually?'

Seeing Yi-Han's readiness in blaming the dark magic department seniors as the culprits, Professor Uregor began to suspect that Yi-Han wasn't actually that close with the dark magic department seniors.

***

"Se-senior Ilendil. Isn't this dangerous now?"

The 2nd-year students spoke to their dryad mixed-blood senior with a disgusted face.

This student, whose dryad blood was mixed with her soul, was the highest grade among them, but his appearance was the most shabby.

She was wearing an outer garment that looked like it was woven from fallen leaves, and mud was dripping from various parts of her body, making it difficult to distinguish whether she was a beggar or a mage.

"Hmm. I'm sorry, everyone."

"..."

"..."

At Ilendil's nonchalant words, the juniors' expressions turned into frowns.

What the senior was doing in the forest now was a kind of experiment.

Inject dark elements into a primitive homunculus to create an artificial being close to a dark spirit!

Of course, if it had gone well, they wouldn't be here like this.

The homunculus grew beyond expectations on its own, escaped, and was causing dark elements to run rampant throughout the forest.

Seeing contaminants already popping out of the forest, they shuddered at the thought of how terrible Einroguard's winter would be this year.

"I should have sought the help of the dark magic department after all."

"No, the dark magic department wouldn't have helped. The people there are eccentric and scary."

"Now's not the time for that. Senior Ilendil."

One of the 2nd-years spoke up firmly.

"Let's quickly erase the traces and run away."

"...You..."

The students looked at the friend who spoke up.

And then they patted his back as if to say he spoke well and shouted.

"Well said! Yes. Let's quickly erase the traces and run away!"

They had forgotten the basic rules of Einroguard in the confusion.

When a problem occurs, erase the traces and run away!

"Hmm. But... if we leave it like this, the forest will become too dirty, so we have to stop it."

"No, senior. If we get caught, it's the punishment room until the end of the semester! We have to take the final exam in the punishment room! Is the forest important or are you important, senior?!"

"If we have to choose, the forest is more important, right?"

"..."

"..."

The juniors belatedly recalled that this outstanding alchemist had an unusual way of thinking and lamented.

"Senior! I'm telling you, we have to go together!"

"We have no choice. Grab the senior! We have to take her with us!"

Bang!

"?"

"...?!"

When they heard a familiar bolt sound and saw the effect of tearing space from afar, the students were terrified.

Although all students at Einroguard feared the professors, they feared their major professor the most.

"Isn't that Professor Uregor?!"

"Ah, ah, why is he coming all the way here?? There's no hut here??"

"Are we caught?! Did someone snitch on us?!"

"Scatter! Scatter and run away! Senior, you have to run away!"

"Okay. Got it. Everyone, run away."

The next rule after Einroguard's rule, 'When a problem occurs, erase the traces and run away,' was 'If you're caught, scatter and run away.'

Following that rule, the students quickly scattered and started running away.

***

"Those ungrateful bastards!"

Professor Uregor raged, pulling at his beard.

Yi-Han was puzzled. Professor Uregor was getting angry while looking at that far side where there was nothing.

"Ah. Are there seniors there by any chance?"

"Yes!"

"Are they seniors majoring in alchemy by any chance?"

"...Yes!"

"Professor! I told you the dark magic seniors were innocent!"

Professor Uregor had no mind to point out that Yi-Han was changing his words.

He gritted his teeth and prepared to catch the ungrateful disciples.

"I clearly told them not to experiment recklessly in the forest... Track those guys!"

"Wait. Professor...!"

Yi-Han was startled when Professor Uregor rode the spirit deer and went to track the seniors.

They had finally almost reached where the spirits were!

"Shall we go by ourselves? We're almost there anyway."

"We should."

Yi-Han nodded at Priestess Siana's words.

He was quite anxious since he didn't know when the spirits would return.

"Darkness, gather here."

Yi-Han chanted a spell to clear the dark fog that had spread around.

As if proving that it was one of the most heterogeneous elemental attributes, dark elements approached as hostile obstacles to life itself.

Even ordinary fog in the forest became a fatal trap that drained vitality when combined with dark elements.

Fortunately, Yi-Han was a rare dark element user even in the dark magic department.

Yi-Han swung his staff and drew in the fog.

The dark elements that were so difficult to gather outside were easily gathered in this forest.

'I have to get rid of it.'

Although it was such a rare element, paradoxically, it became less useful in the forest.

Since they were contaminants combined with dark spirits, the dark elements themselves didn't have much impact.

"Wait, wait, wait!"

"????"

Priestess Siana screamed "Eek!" and hid behind Yi-Han.

A person had suddenly appeared in midair.

"Don't throw away those dark elements! Can you put them in this bottle?"

The other person had an appearance reminiscent of Puyo or Professor Willow, a banyan tree spirit mixed-blood. It was clearly a plant-type mixed-blood.

"Who are you?"

"First, put the dark elements in. They'll disappear soon!"

"They won't disappear."

Yi-Han skillfully controlled the dark elements and aimed at the other person. It was a clear act of wariness.

Dark elements were even more difficult to control due to their heterogeneity, but it was an exception for some naturally gifted mages.

Yi-Han, who maintained the dark elements like a spear at the tip of his staff, prepared to respond immediately.

"Wa-Wardanaz. Isn't she a senior?"

"Priestess Siana. Originally, seniors are more dangerous. In order of danger, it's the principal, professors, and then seniors."

"Bu-but still..."

Priestess Siana, who was still bound by common sense, hesitated, perhaps afraid of the act of aiming at a senior.

Yonaire also had a worried look.

"Wait. I'll apologize. But I really didn't intend to."

"What are you apologizing for?"

"For this whole situation...?"

Ilendil spoke, tilting her head.

The three 1st-year students realized everything upon hearing those words.

The culprit was right in front of them!

"Attack! Attack!"

"Yi-Han, give the signal!"

Ilendil was startled by the juniors' fierce reaction and waved her hands.

"I didn't intend to...?!"

"Whether you intended to or not, didn't you summon all of this?!"

The dryad mixed-blood senior pondered for a moment on how to persuade them, then made a decision.

She gave up.

"Hey... You can attack, but can you put the dark elements in for me?"

"..."

"She-she seems crazy."

Priestess Siana muttered from behind.

***

Yi-Han lowered his staff for now.

Although the other person seemed crazy, she didn't seem like someone who would launch a surprise attack.

Ilendil, who explained what had happened in a slow tone, asked the three.

"So why did you come all the way here?"

"Well..."

"That's..."

Yonaire and Priestess Siana unconsciously looked at Yi-Han. Yi-Han answered firmly.

"I couldn't just watch the spirits being chased by contaminants, so I came in like this."

"You..."

For the first time today, Ilendil widened her eyes and showed an intense reaction.

It was rare for someone among Einroguard students to show such interest in the forest or spirits.

"You're a really kind person!"

"No. It's just what a mage should do."