Still, it was a good thing that there was no one shouting ‘We have to find a path’ or ‘We should head out’ anymore.

Yi-han’s words held that much weight.

For the umpteenth time, Nilia realized what an amazing friend she had.

With but a sentence, he had managed to silence all the students that had been clamoring until now.

‘Is this the charisma of a Wardanaz, one of the most prestigious aristocratic households in the Empire?’

“It’s raining, and you must all be cold. Come, I’ll make something warm.”

Everyone’s expression brightened up as they gathered around Yi-han.

Nilia, who was watching from the sidelines, had a sense of deja’vu.

‘M…mom? Am I seeing things?’

The charisma that he had shown earlier was nowhere to be seen, replaced by an air of familiarity that left Nilia in a dazed state.

***

Yi-han had stuffed his bag full of food and tools for this expedition. If Gainando had seen the things that Yi-han had brought with him, he would’ve freaked out, asking what they were all for.

Yi-han had made ample preparations, not because he was meticulous, but because he had no trust in the academy.

He was thinking ahead, making sure that he would survive even if he got stranded in the mountain range for a month.

As a result, he would still be left with some ingredients even if he served food to all the students present.

“Gush Forth.”

Thanks to the hellish training he went through until Professor Bolady, he was able to use water magic without an ounce of resistance.

He was familiar enough with the magic that he didn’t have to wave his staff all the way through, shortening the time it took to cast the magic.

‘I see, the more we’re familiar with the spell, the less we have to move or chant.’

He had known this since his time at the Wardanaz mansion, but it was a different feeling to experience it first-hand.

Magic was a means for mages to change the world around them.

However, even the most talented mage would have some doubts about a spell that they’ve never heard about.

Would it work? Am I doing something wrong? What if I make a mistake?

Precise movements and chants helped clear these doubts, empowering mages.

When it came to spells that they were familiar with, those weren’t as necessary, and they were free to simplify the chants and movements if they wished.

‘…Still, that method of training…is getting hit really necessary?’

Boil, boil—

As the pot began to boil, Yi-han brought out some cups and brewed coffee for the students that had been shivering after being drenched in the cold spring rain.

Needless to say, they were ecstatic.

Ttak—

Yi-han then proceeded to take out a small rectangular frying pan, cracking open an egg as he did so.

Nilia was amused by this sight.

“Where did you get all these?”

“I bought them from the students of the Black Tortoise.”

“?!”

‘Right, they did say something crazy happened at the black market…so Wardanaz was behind all that!?’

After the scrambled eggs were done, Yi-han distributed them to the students.

Accompanied by the regular sound of rain, the students enjoyed a warm cup of coffee and a serving of scrambled eggs.

Feeling warm and well-fed, the students became more laid back.

“Hey, this ain’t half bad.”

“Yeah, I haven’t had such a nice time since entering the academy.”

‘Is this the so-called Stockholm syndrome?’

Yi-han was puzzled by the sudden shift in the students’ attitude.

He had not put any weird substances inside the coffee or the eggs. Why were they saying all this nonsense?

As he was wondering what was happening, Rowena, the elven knight from the White Tigers, approached him.

“Her Highness wishes to thank you.”

“Cool.”

Nilia, who heard this exchange, muttered under her breath.

“She could’ve just thanked him herself.”

“Pardon?”

“Nothing.”

Nilia feigned ignorance when Rowena questioned her.

She didn’t expect her whispers to be heard!

“By the way, Mr. Wardanaz.”

“?”

“I was wondering if you have any plans on making the vegetable stew again.”

“…??”

“He’s making the stew again?”

“That legendary vegetable stew?”

Members of the Black Tortoise who had been sipping away at their coffee sprung up from where they had been seated.

‘Is he about to serve stew?’

“No, at least not for a while.”

“…..”

The Black Tortoise sat back down again, feeling depressed.

‘So he’s not…’

Rowena seemed disappointed as well, though not as much as the Black Tortoise.

“Is that so? That’s unfortunate. I was wondering how it tasted after hearing the rumors.”

Yi-han was left speechless.

‘How far have the rumors spread already…? Also, there’s no guarantee that the stew would taste that good next time.’

He’d simply thrown in all the ingredients he had with him, so he wasn’t sure if he could recreate the same taste.

Rowena returned to where the princess was and whispered in her ears. Though Adenart remained expressionless, Yi-han could somehow sense her regret.

Yonaire shook her head.

“The elf’s being overly zealous. It doesn’t seem like the princess is all that interested in food. She’s probably being forced to have them.”

“Is that how it looks to you?”

Yi-han didn’t quite agree with that statement.

Apparently, Yonaire thought the princess practised abstinence, eating only the bare minimum to sustain herself.

However, in his opinion…

‘She seeks food just as much as Gainando does. Hmm, maybe that’s going a bit too far.’

Yi-han immediately changed his mind.

It was cruel of him to compare the princess to Gainando.

Nevertheless, as someone that regularly delivered food to the princess, he refused to believe that she didn’t like having food served to her.

She seemed to have quite the appetite after all…

“!”

The princess suddenly stood up.

Yi-han flinched, thinking she had somehow noticed the comparison he had drawn between her and Gainando.

Rowena spoke in her stead.

“Her Highness wishes to express her gratitude for the coffee and the scrambled eggs by helping out.”

“That’ll be great. Thanks.”

The princess was greatly talented in magic, so having her help was reassuring.

“Woah…”

“Amazing.”

The princess waved her staff and chanted.

When she finished, a mass of brown and red appeared in the air, flattening the ground and making the fire burn stronger.

‘It must be a spirit!’

Yi-han could immediately tell that it was a spirit.

Although the material had not yet been covered in class, the princess had managed to connect with spirits through her own research.

Yi-han pictured the princess communicating with the spirits in the spirit world and even becoming friends with them, and as he did so, he felt a tinge of regret for enrolling in Professor Bolady’s class.

‘…I might’ve been better off joining one of the popular classes.’

Boom—

“!!”

While everyone’s attention was drawn to the spirit, a massive figure appeared in their hiding spot, having braved the rain.

It was a golem.

***

A common misconception was that knights only knew how to swing their swords, but this often wasn’t the case.

It was easy to guess why.

To fend off bandits and defeat monsters, they needed to be equipped with a variety of skills; in the first place, if swordsmanship was all that was required of them, the White Tigers wouldn’t have existed in Einroguard.

Hence, there were many skilled students in the White Tigers, and Baetrek, a dwarf from the eastern regions of the Empire, was one of them.

He was from the Bak Family known for their alchemy, and as befitting of someone from that household, he knew his way around potions.

He often made ointments for his dormmates whenever they were injured or had muscle pain, and even Jijel acknowledged his skill.

“Here, have some tea,” Baetrek said in a dull voice, filling several cups of tea.

The White Tigers were impressed by the herbal tea of the Bak Family as they immediately felt their bodies warm up.

“Thank, Baetrek. You’re the best.”

“You’re probably better than Priestess Siana over there. Buahahaha!”

“Ahahahaha!”

The White Tigers were together with the Immortal Phoenix at the moment.

With Professor Ingurdel disappearing and the sudden downpour of rain, they had also sought shelter.

It was a good thing that the Blue Dragons and the White Tigers weren’t together as it would’ve definitely led to a scuffle.

The White Tigers were chatting among themselves, laughing at each other’s jokes without realizing the frown on Siana’s face.

They didn’t stop for a moment to consider the possibility that those of the Immortal Phoenix were listening.

“……”

“……”

The members of the Immortal Phoenix were on pins and needles, taking occasional glances at Siana.

‘She’s not going to poison their drinks, right?’

“The rain’s becoming weaker. Shall we give it a go?”

“I don’t think it’s become weaker though.”

“Really?”

“It’s just a drizzle. We’ll be fine.”

The White Tigers were much more hot-headed than the Blue Dragons. They knew how dangerous it was to move in the rain, but they felt confident due to their numbers.

They didn’t feel the need to stay around.

“Before we search for a way back to the academy, shouldn’t we join up with the others?”

“You mean those arrogant pricks from the Blue Dragons?”

The White Tigers were disgusted by the suggestion, but the Immortal Phoenix didn’t back down.

“Don’t let personal feelings cloud your judgment. It isn’t right to leave others behind.”

“Hm…”

As tough and unruly as they were, the White Tigers couldn’t find it within themselves to shout at the priests and priestesses.

“Well, those arrogant bastards aside, we should fetch the Black Tortoise…”

“Yeah, let’s regroup first. By the way, where did the professor go?”

Boom—

The same thing occurred here as with the other group.

A golem had appeared.

“…!!”

***

The earth golem was over 3 meters in height, and the students froze up when it appeared before them.

“Don’t make any rash moves!” Rowena instructed. “Golems move under a certain set of rules. They won’t attack if we don’t break them!”

Golems were different from wild monsters in that they were predominantly artificial creations made by mages.

The basic method of creating golems involved shaping materials such as dirt, rock, or metals and activating them through mana cores.

Damages to the core could lead to golems going rogue, and some parts could combine with materials in nature if they weren’t disposed of properly.

‘This academy has some serious safety regulation issues!’

Yi-han raised his staff while cussing in his heart.

Rowena was right in that golems followed a certain set of rules, be they regular golems or rogue golems.

The problem was that it was difficult to infer the rules of rogue golems.

If the one before them happened to follow a rule such as “eliminate all the freshmen”…

Ssuuk—

The earth golem approached the students in a threatening manner, only to draw a line on the ground with its foot.

A thick line was drawn in front of the students that were hiding under a cliff.

“??”

“Is it saying we shouldn’t cross? What happens if we do?”

“Let’s try it out.”

“You mustn’t, Wardanaz! Gainando’s not here!” screamed Asan.

Naturally, Yi-han wasn’t about to test it himself.

The skeletal summon scampered forth, only to be squashed by the earth golem immediately.

Snap!

“…..”

“…..”

The students were horrified.

Fortunately, it didn’t take long for the shattered bones to recover.

Rowena noticed something off about this.

‘Wait, are summons supposed to revive this quickly? It should take a considerable amount of time and mana to summon a creature that’s been destroyed…’