God knows how many times he had to try, but he was somehow able to complete the marble. Having said that…

“…Um, Yi-han?”

“?”

“I’m not too familiar with the spell you’re using, but is it supposed to be that big?” Yonaire asked nervously.

The other students felt uneasy as well.

It used to be around the size of a fist when he first started, but now it was as huge as a boulder.

It felt ridiculous to call it a marble anymore.

Swish, swish, swish, swish—

The giant marble let out menacing sounds as it revolved around its axis.

Asan was quick to defend Yi-han.

“You think Wardanaz would use a spell he couldn’t fully control? I can say with full confidence that the spell’s meant to be this way.”

“I-Is that so? It just seemed a bit too powerful for a freshman to handle.”

Nilia snapped at Rowena for doubting Yi-han.

“Who do you think he is? We’re talking about Wardanaz here. If there’s anyone that can do it, it’d be him.”

“……”

Though Yi-han was grateful for the support, it felt burdensome as well.

It was too much pressure for him.

‘Did I go too far?’

There was a saying among fledgling mages not to tinker with spells.

Spells were by themselves a complete formula, and nothing good would come of touching them, especially if the mage wasn’t experienced.

Though it wasn’t by much, Yi-han had transformed the nature of the spell.

‘Am I doing something wrong?’

It wasn’t easy maintaining the shape of the marble and having it spin at the same time.

What Yi-han didn’t know was that even his seniors would have had trouble replicating his spell unless they specialized in a related field.

In other words, his spell could be considered advanced magic, especially if it had been done using a limited amount of mana.

To keep the marble spinning, Yi-han, who didn’t have much notion of conservation, kept pouring in more and more mana.

Whenever he did so, the marble would begin to spin faster, but in exchange, its shape would threaten to crumble.

Whenever that happened, he would add more water to the marble. It was raining outside, so there was plenty of water to use.

But once he added more water, the marble wouldn’t spin as fast, thus creating a vicious cycle.

This would usually result in one of two things: either the water marble would explode, or the mage would collapse from exhaustion.

However, Yi-han’s mana was bottomless, and his concentration didn’t allow for the marble to explode either.

As a result, he was able to complete his spell after tens of minutes.

A water marble that was barely maintaining its shape and spinning at a dangerous speed.

It was dozens of times bigger than the previous one though!

‘I think I’m able to keep it under control somehow.’

He aimed the cannon-like water marble at the golem.

Even that was strenuous at the moment.

‘Go!’

Kwaaang!!

The ball of water surged forth with great momentum. Unable to keep up with its own strength, it veered slightly off course.

‘Crap!’

He had aimed it at the golem’s back, yet the marble had hit its shoulder.

Yi-han clicked his tongue in dismay.

‘Do I have to start all over again? My head’s about to explode, and that’s just from making one…’

Boom!

“…..”

“…..”

“?????”

The students couldn’t believe what happened next.

The earth golem was blown to smithereens after its shoulder was struck by the marble.

“WOAAAAAAAHHHHH!!”

“WARDANAZ! WARDANAZ! WARDANAZ!”

“See!? What did I say? What did I say?”

“…..”

Yi-han stood there dazed as he stared at what remained of the golem.

He had missed, and yet…

He couldn’t tell whether it was his spell that was absurdly powerful or the golem that was surprisingly brittle.

‘I guess we have Professor Bolady to thank for his lessons,’ he thought to himself, unaware that it had nothing to do with the professor.

***

“Wardanaz, are you alright? I can carry you if you want.”

“No, let me.”

“No, I’ll do it.”

His friends rushed over to him when they saw him stagger as a side effect of using such a powerful spell.

They were pulling him back and forth, giving him unnecessary headaches.

“…I’m fine. I can walk by myself.”

“Oh, really?”

Yi-han was able to recover after having a short coffee break. He was surprised by how quickly he recovered as well.

‘Coffee might be the best potion out there.’

Sip—

“Hm, it doesn’t seem to be raining as hard as before. Nilia, are we good to go?”

“Ideally, I’d wait a bit more, but…”

“Time to set off!”

“Wardanaz said we can go!”

“…Listen to what I’m saying, idiots!”

Nilia almost flipped seeing everyone getting ready to leave. Yi-han had to call them back before allowing her to continue.

“Ideally, I’d wait a bit more, but with the earth golem appearing, it might not be the best idea to stay here any longer. Since it’s not raining as hard now, let’s get a move on. I’ll lead the way, so follow behind me. Don’t stop in the middle, don’t wander off by yourself, and don’t get distracted by—”

“Hey, what’s that fruit over there? It looks delicious!”

Whack!

Yi-han whacked a student of the Black Tortoise with his staff.

The student that got smacked was surprised and apologized profusely.

“I-I beg your pardon, Sir Wardanaz!”

“We beg your pardon!!”

In the blink of an eye, the order was restored, and the students of the Black Tortoise tidied their appearance before straightening their backs.

Nilia glanced at Yi-han, seemingly grateful, but the person in question was regretting what he did.

‘Shit. I should’ve had someone else do the hitting.’

It had somehow turned into a good-cop-bad-cop situation, with Nilia being the good cop and Yi-han assuming the role of the bad cop.

Although it was an effective strategy while on a trip…

…Yi-han wanted to be seen as the good cop.

‘Should’ve had Nilia do it herself.’

Oblivious to what was going through Yi-han’s mind, Nilia continued.

“I want everyone to form groups. Make sure you keep an eye out for each other and report if something happens. Is everyone ready? Then let’s go!”

The students left their hiding spot in an orderly fashion.

They were so well-behaved, in fact, that an outsider would question if they were really from a magic academy.

***

“Light!”

To help those that were behind him, Yi-han lit up their surrounding by casting a ball of light.

It wasn’t just him. The students were helping each other with their magic.

A sudden thought crossed his mind when he saw this.

‘Maybe I can try out a fire spell.’

And it seemed like the most appropriate spell to cast as well.

Although the rain was getting weaker, the students were shivering from the cold.

‘Professor Garcia warned me against it, but…’

She had told him to hold off against using fire magic until he was better at controlling his spells.

This was so that he wouldn’t accidentally hurt himself while practicing.

But since it was raining right now, he reckoned it wouldn’t hurt to try.

He was more worried that his fire would get extinguished by the rain.

After all, a lot of students were having trouble generating fire.

It wasn’t simply because of the weather either. There was a spiritual aspect to it as well.

—It’s raining right now. Will my spell work?

A seed of doubt such as this was enough to ruin a spell.

‘Let’s give it a go.’

“Flare Up!”

After forming an image of fire in his mind, he cast the spell.

He had watched on in jealousy while the other students practiced during Professor Garcia’s lesson, so he knew the movements that were involved.

Roaaaaaar!!

“!!!”

“!!!!!”

Nilia, who was leading them with her ears perked, nearly had a heart attack as Yi-han suddenly unleashed a column of fire.

The flames quickly dissipated, but the shock remained.

“!?!?!?”

“O-oops.”

Nilia swallowed her scream so as to not alarm the other students. As expected of someone from the .

Instead, she expressed her surprise in a different way. She flailed her arms around, widened her eyes, and shook her feet, conveying a clear message.

“Sorry, I thought I could control it better.”

“W-what was that?” Nilia asked, her voice shaking.

“”

“…???”

Nilia questioned what she just heard.

When did this spell become so outrageous?

“It was my first time trying. But it’s fine now, I’m pretty sure I got the hang of it.”

To prove his point, he produced a ball of fire in the air and kept it under control.

A strong gust of warm air came over Nilia, melting her body.

“Flare Up!”

“???”

“Is something wrong?”

“N-nothing.”

Nilia was going to ask if he was alright casting spells continuously, but then decided otherwise.

Just as Yi-han had shown respect for her as a huntress, she was going to reciprocate that respect for him as a mage.

That was what being a friend meant.

“Huh, I wonder if it’s alright using multiple spells simultaneously.”

“…..”

Either way, they were able to speed up due in part to the light and fire that were produced.

The fire that Yi-han summoned was able to warm the hands and feet of the students.

‘As expected, the professor isn’t here.’

They had arrived where they had parted ways with Professor Ingurdel.

The professor was nowhere to be seen, but Yi-han wasn’t shaken by this.

After all, he had known for a while now.

‘The professors definitely set us up, alright.’

Rattle, rattle—

“??”

The skeletal summon suddenly hid behind Yi-han, shivering in fear.

It behaved as if it was afraid of the spot where the professor had disappeared.

‘What’s wrong with it?’

Yi-han focused his mind.

He felt a familiar trace of mana from the spot where Professor Ingurdel had disappeared.

Now whose could this be?

Kwaaang!!

“?!?”

The students turned toward the source of the sound.

An earth golem was charging toward them from the opposite side of the field.

***

Yi-han had taken on the role of a leader on his side, but there was no one to step up and assume that role over on the side where the Immortal Phoenix and the White Tigers were confined.

When the earth golem appeared, they failed to come to an agreement.

—Let’s throw potions at it.

—Why not gang up on it? We can finish it off while it’s distracted.

—Won’t spells work better?

—Let’s try all of that.

—Yeah, why not?

Imagine a project where each person did what they wanted without arriving at a consensus. It was as disastrous as that.

—Keep throwing, the potions are working! Way to go, Baetrek!

—Weren’t those made by priestess Siana?

—Were they? My bad.

—Everyone scatter! Don’t bunch up!

For a group that didn’t have a plan, they actually did rather well.

They weakened the earth golem with potions that were made on the spot before chipping away at its body with swords and spears.

As one would expect of the White Tigers, they fought valiantly.

However, that was it.

They failed to take out the golem, and the moment they ran out of potions, they began to be pushed back.

—Retreat! Retreat if you don’t want to be annihilated!

—Run! Run for your life!

Their weapons were no longer effective, so the students all fled in a panic.

And they happened to run in the direction where Liam’s group was at!

Yi-han muttered under his breath as the chaos approached.

“Those useless maggots…”

Nilia pretended she didn’t hear to preserve his image.