After the tossing finally stopped and I-han was set down, he asked the giants, "So, what do you need my help with today? Did the sheep run off again?"

When the giants mentioned sheep, they were referring to the “Mountain Crusher Sheep,” which was more like a monster than any ordinary sheep. I-han, who had once seen a Mountain Crusher Sheep up close, doubted even a fully-grown basilisk could win against it.

*Just the size difference alone is intimidating.*

"No, the sheep haven't escaped."

“We caught a wyvern to keep them entertained. They seemed a bit bored.”

Hearing this, I-han chose to ignore it. He feared that asking questions like “Did you say wyvern?” would result in the giants dragging him off to “show him” the creature.

"I see. So then, if there's no other—"

“Follow me! There’s something I want to show you, Mage!”

“Up on my shoulder, you go!”

“No, mine!”

“Haha, thank you for the enthusiasm, but perhaps we could… settle this without fighting?”

As the giants began pulling him in different directions, I-han's voice grew increasingly desperate.

The winner of their game of giant rock-paper-scissors (which involved slapping each other's faces with gestures of rock, paper, or scissors) proudly lifted I-han and started walking.

"To think he's gotten this close to them… Well, go on, then,” called Ikurusha from behind.

“Just don’t forget finals are coming up,” added Professor Voladi.

Ignoring the words from behind him, I-han covered his ears.

The giant carrying him looked at him, puzzled.

“Why are you covering your ears?”

“Well, when there’s something you don’t want to hear, it helps to block it out.”

“Ooooh. Next time Ikurusha talks, I’ll cover my ears, too!”

---

Meanwhile, a third-year student, Valpatan of the Moradi family, was filled with regret.

In hindsight, traveling with a student specializing in enhancement magic had been a terrible idea, no matter how necessary it seemed.

*Get it together, Valpatan! You almost lost your sword last time, and here you are being complacent again, even as a third-year!*

Valpatan berated himself, pounding his chest.

His companion, third-year student Anpagun, looked at him and asked bluntly, “Are you finally losing it?”

“Shut it. What’s with you enhancement magic students, anyway? Has no one taught you how to be polite?”

“What are you talking about? I’m the most courteous one.”

"..."

Valpatan shuddered. The worst part was that Anpagun wasn’t lying.

*Thank goodness I didn't go into enhancement magic.*

After all, the White Tiger Tower had a reputation for producing a large number of enhancement mages.

Enhancement magic, which involved augmenting the caster’s body or others’, technically fell under the branch of enhancement magic, but few White Tiger Tower students pursued it deeply. Most of them pivoted towards applications of enhancement magic, while the few who took it seriously tended to be from other towers.

Many White Tiger students often remarked, “I’d rather die than deal with enhancement magic professors and students.” And Valpatan was one of them.

*Is it the mad professors driving their students insane, or do mad students flock to insane professors?*

To Valpatan, both Professor Verdus and the students creating artifacts under his supervision seemed equally deranged.

"Fine, fine. Let’s just say it was my mistake for talking to you."

“Of course it was.”

Valpatan glanced around as if considering something.

*Should I just… punch him?*

Despite being polite and friendly for a White Tiger student, Valpatan seemed to have an uncanny knack for riling up enhancement magic students.

But he restrained himself.

There was something he wanted to ask, after all.

It was the entire reason he’d brought someone like Anpagun along to these mountain paths.

“Let’s take a break. As long as we reach the summit before the sun’s overhead, we have plenty of time.”

“I don’t trust your calculations.”

*Should I really just hit him?*

Anpagun swung his staff around, reorienting himself before nodding. “We can take a break.”

"..."

The two students sat in silence, eating and drinking.

Anpagun drank a recovery potion from a clear glass bottle, while Valpatan sipped from a leather flask filled with red lion’s blood. Both were things known to aid recovery.

Valpatan cast a sidelong glance toward their destination peak.

Among the countless peaks of Enroguard’s mountain range, today’s destination was Stone Thrower’s Summit, a place known for giant activity. Anpagun needed the rare *Eumseokcheong* mineral from the summit for research, while Valpatan required the bark of Froststone trees for the new leather he was curing.

They technically didn’t need to travel together, but Valpatan had questions for Anpagun, and Anpagun needed a capable frontliner.

After all, it was an area where giants were known to appear.

“So, by the way…”

After quenching his thirst, Valpatan decided to get to the point. Now that he had listened to Anpagun’s annoying banter, it was his turn to ask questions.

“I heard there’s an unusual first-year student in enhancement magic. Is that true? The one who went crazy with a sword during the festival…”

Anpagun nodded.

“Right, so why doesn’t anyone in enhancement magic seem to know about him?”

“Because I didn’t tell them.”

"..."

*Is this guy for real?*

Valpatan was appalled.

The natural thing to do when spotting a promising junior was to spread the word among other students in the discipline. It wasn’t just for personal satisfaction but to help that junior by establishing a good reputation for them.

“Why didn’t you tell them?”

“It wasn’t worth it.”

"What does that even— Never mind."

Valpatan snapped himself out of any deeper curiosity about enhancement magic.

The more he involved himself with them, the worse his headache became.

“Anyway, that junior—he went berserk with a sword, right? Was he using enhancement magic?”

“I wouldn’t know.”

Anpagun genuinely didn’t know.

He suspected the student used dark magic rather than enhancement magic, but even that wasn’t certain. After the festival, he had been sent to detention alongside the first-year, and the two hadn’t exactly talked.

“Ugh, you’re so secretive. Can’t you just tell me?”

“How am I supposed to tell you something I don’t know? Did you leave your brain at the tower?”

Valpatan managed to restrain himself once again.

He still had questions to ask.

“Alright, fine. That junior… I heard a rumor that he’s from the Wardanaz family. Not true, right? I checked, and supposedly he’s a prince?”

"..."

Anpagun looked at Valpatan as if he were a bug crawling on the ground.

How could anyone confuse the Wardanaz family with royalty, no matter how ignorant they were?

“Listen. The Wardanaz family is a major noble house known for their magical prowess, but—”

“You bastard! Do you think I don’t know that? I’m asking about the junior’s name!”

Frustrated, Valpatan finally drew his sword.

As much as he had tried to be polite, Anpagun’s attitude was impossible to tolerate.

He’d rather just beat the answer out of him.

“I knew you’d resort to this. I was prepared.”

Anpagun activated an artifact. A thick protective shield enveloped him, causing Valpatan’s fury to escalate.

“Let’s see if you’re prepared for this! Transform, strike down!”

As Valpatan chanted, his hand transformed into a giant bird’s talon, and razor-sharp energy surged to his fingertips. He struck with a speed that would be difficult for even seasoned swordsmen to avoid.

*Slash!*

The talon tore through Anpagun’s protective shield.

However, Anpagun remained calm, pulling out another artifact.

By their third year at Enroguard, even non-combat majors were expected to be able to defend themselves. Faint duplicates of Anpagun appeared and scattered in all directions. Though the illusions weren’t particularly high-quality, they provided just enough time in this situation.

Valpatan roared once more.

“Fist of the giant, crush my foe!”

A massive, invisible fist slammed down on all the illusions.

It was the kind of brute force approach typical of White Tiger Tower students, smashing through everything to avoid the need for precision.

*Crack!*

Anpagun grimaced as nearby branches shattered, narrowly avoiding the falling debris.

“Finger of the giant—”

“Wait, look behind you! Behind!”

“You cowardly dog. Stop mumbling and just take your beating!”

“You idiot! Look behind you!”

Valpatan, sensing the urgency, quickly turned.

There, lumbering forward with massive clubs, were the giants.

"...!!!"

"!!!"

The two third-year students froze.

Despite their training at Enroguard and the respect they commanded outside, all that meant little before the giants.

Both understood how formidable giants were. Their bodies resisted magic, and reasoning with them was a challenge. If one angered a giant, things could get ugly.

“Hold… hold your breath. Use a potion. Invisibility!”

“You’d better be satisfied. Thanks to you, we’re about to get caught for sure!”

“Shut it. Before I end you—”

As they bickered, the giants drew closer.

One giant glanced down at I-han and asked, "Who broke these trees?

 Looks like it was the mages."

“They’re awful people,” I-han responded. “Maybe it was the professors?”

“I want to replant the trees.”

“Of course.”

Planting trees was much easier than searching for escaped sheep, I-han thought.

“Whoever broke these trees, I want to catch them.”

“Oh dear. You want to catch the professors? That won’t be easy.”

Looking over the broken trees, I-han casually replied, but the giants were more serious than he anticipated.

"The damage is fresh.”

“I think we can find them! Mage, help us search!”

*Wait, what?*

I-han had been mulling over how to replant the trees, but he was taken aback by the giants’ response.

*Fresh damage?*

Someone had been up here in the mountains, early in the morning, breaking trees. He couldn’t understand why anyone would do that.

*They didn’t even take the trees… Was it just for fun?*

He briefly pictured Lord Gonadaltes spinning around, randomly knocking down trees.

Though amusing, I-han knew the Principal or any professor wouldn’t do something so absurd.

*These cuts are sharp. Enhancement magic? And this… looks like a heavy strike.*

Examining the surroundings, I-han quickly deduced that a magical duel had occurred here.

“I think there was a—”

*Rustle.*

“?”

He halted as a slip of paper floated into his hand.

*Please save us, junior*

—Valpatan, Moradi

"......"

*What were they even doing here?*