After a short while...

Professor Thunderstep reluctantly stepped out of the cabin, grumbling to himself.

“Listen, Wardanas, maybe you don’t get this, but here at Ainlogard, professors and students have a mutual respect for each other’s boundaries. Just like a well doesn’t intrude upon a river…”

“Apologies, Professor.”

“Ahem. Don’t forget to tidy up the storage room.”

Ultimately, Professor Thunderstep had to surrender to his persistently insistent student.

It wouldn’t be the case with just any student, but I-han was not one to be easily dismissed, not even by Professor Thunderstep.

After all, he was a valuable student who took on a lot of work...

“Well then. Let’s go find some spirits.”

“What’s got you so obsessed with spirits, anyway?”

Professor Thunderstep couldn’t quite understand.

Sure, having the assistance of spirits could broaden a mage’s capabilities, but even without them, I-han seemed perfectly capable, much like the skeleton principal.

“How many spirits have you contracted with, Professor?”

“...That’s not really relevant to our current topic, now, is it...”

“Let’s go, Professor.”

I-han was entirely unyielding to the words of anyone who seemed even a little bit more connected to spirits than he was.

Shaking his head in resignation, Professor Thunderstep could only follow him.

---

“Step aside, everyone!”

The dwarf professor pulled out a crossbow and fired. With a sharp sound, the bolt tore through the air, slicing the space around it.

*Crack!*

The corrupted creature, which looked like a massive tree monster with an oak as its core, fell in one hit.

I-han couldn’t help but be impressed.

Even without knowing every enchantment cast on that crossbow, he could feel just how extraordinary it was.

Not to mention, the bolt wasn’t ordinary either. Shaped like a short arrow, it contained a slender flask filled with alchemical liquid that sloshed as it moved.

‘Could I get one of those?’

“This is strange.”

“Pardon?”

Startled, I-han wondered if the professor had somehow read his thoughts.

“There’s far too many of them. If they were occurring naturally, they wouldn’t be multiplying at such a rapid rate.”

Professor Thunderstep was not only an outstanding alchemist but also an exceptional ranger.

And there were few as sensitive to changes within their territories as a ranger.

They hadn’t gone far into the forest, yet it was as dark as midnight. A sign that the power of dark elements was intensifying.

Corrupted creatures normally didn’t multiply this quickly…

“Perhaps... could it be the principal…”

“No, it’s more likely the mistake of one of your upperclassmen.”

“Ah, right. A mistake by one of my seniors, then.”

“Didn’t you just mention the principal?”

“Did I?”

Standing beside I-han, Yonir and Siana Priest quietly averted their gazes.

Shaking his head, Professor Thunderstep sighed.

“While the principal could indeed be capable of such things, he wouldn’t do this. Dealing with corrupted creatures would be far too troublesome for him to bother with.”

“Did you just say he’s capable of such things?”

Siana Priest looked at I-han and Yonir, doubtful of her hearing. Both nodded expressionlessly.

“You heard it right.”

“He’s certainly capable of it.”

“!?”

While Siana looked horrified, I-han asked a question out of curiosity.

“By troublesome, do you mean the contamination left in their wake?”

“Yes.”

Professor Thunderstep looked at his student with a proud expression.

Despite his irritation at being dragged into his student’s affairs, seeing such a perceptive approach quickly dissipated his annoyance.

“The principal’s methods change every year, but his cleanup is always thorough. Otherwise, he’d have to handle it himself. This is more likely the result of a student’s mistake.”

“I see.”

“Probably one of the dark magic students.”

“Excuse me?”

I-han’s face turned sour.

Unlike other departments, the seniors in the dark magic department always seemed downtrodden, and he suddenly thought of them.

“Why do dark magic students always get blamed? Isn’t that a bit harsh?”

“Ah, no…”

It dawned on Professor Thunderstep that I-han himself was studying dark magic, prompting an apologetic response.

“It’s not that I’m blaming dark magic students. But look—these are corrupted dark-element spirits, aren’t they?”

“......”

I-han finally understood what he meant.

He lowered his voice and whispered to the professor.

“But they’re all students of Ainlogard who have learned under you, Professor. Isn’t it a bit much to punish them so harshly? If you showed a little leniency, I’m sure they’d appreciate it.”

“......”

‘Does he even get along with the dark magic seniors?’

The way I-han immediately shifted the blame to the dark magic students made Professor Thunderstep wonder if he wasn’t as close to his department seniors as he let on.

---

“Uh, Senior Illendil… Is this really okay?”

The second-year students, looking worried, watched the senior with dryad blood in his veins.

Though he was the oldest among them, his attire was the most ragged, looking as if he’d simply thrown together fallen leaves into a cloak. Mud dripped from his body, making it hard to tell if he was a beggar or a mage.

“Ah, sorry about that, everyone.”

“......”

“......”

Their senior’s nonchalant apology left the younger students pouting.

What Illendil had been up to in the forest was a sort of experiment.

His goal was to infuse a primal homunculus with dark energy to create an artificial dark spirit.

Of course, if it had gone well, he wouldn’t still be here.

The homunculus had far exceeded his expectations, growing wildly and escaping, causing dark energy to surge uncontrollably throughout the forest.

Judging by the corrupted creatures already emerging from the forest, it was clear that Ainlogard’s winter would be particularly harsh this year.

“Maybe I should’ve asked the dark magic department for help.”

“Actually, I don’t think they would have helped. Those folks are pretty intimidating.”

“This isn’t the time for this, Senior Illendil,” one of the second-year students said firmly.

“We need to erase our traces and get out of here.”

“...You…”

The students exchanged glances before giving the one who spoke a congratulatory pat on the back, cheering him on.

“Good job saying that! Let’s clean up and get out of here!”

In their panic, they’d completely forgotten Ainlogard’s basic rule.

When trouble arises, erase the evidence and leave!

“Still… if we leave it like this, the forest will become too messy to control.”

“No, senior, if we get caught, we’ll be stuck in the punishment room until the end of the semester! You’ll be taking your final exams from there! Is the forest more important, or are you more important?!”

“Well, technically, the forest is more important, right?”

“......”

“......”

The younger students groaned, remembering just how eccentric this gifted alchemist was.

“Senior! You have to come with us!”

“We have no choice. Grab him! We need to drag him out of here!”

*Bang!*

“?”

“...?!” 

The familiar sound of a bolt rang out in the distance, tearing through space. The students froze in terror.

Every Ainlogard student feared their professors, but none more than their own department’s professor.

“Is that Professor Thunderstep?!”

“Wh-what’s he doing here?! There’s no cabin nearby!”

“Were we caught? Did someone snitch?!”

“Scatter! Run for it, senior!”

“Yes, alright. Everyone, let’s go.”

Ainlogard’s second rule: If you’re caught, split up and flee.

Following the rule to the letter, the students quickly scattered in all directions.

---

“The nerve of these ingrates!”

Professor Thunderstep, tugging at his beard in fury, was visibly enraged.

I-han was puzzled. The professor was glaring off into the empty distance with a look of anger.

“Are there seniors here, Professor?”

“Yes!”

“Are they from the alchemy department?”

“...Yes!”

“Professor! I told you the dark magic seniors were innocent!”

Thunderstep was too furious to address I-han’s shifting of blame.

Gritting his teeth, he prepared to chase down his ungrateful students.

“I told them countless times not to experiment carelessly in the forest… Track them down!”

“Wait, Professor…!”

I-han was flustered as Thunderstep mounted a spirit stag to pursue the seniors.

They’d almost reached the spirits!

“Shall we go on our own? We’re nearly there, anyway.”

“Yes, let’s do that,” Siana Priest agreed, and I-han nodded.

Anxious about when the spirits might disappear, he quickly began his chant.

“Gather here, O darkness.”

To clear the dark mist around them, I-han cast his spell.

As one of the rarest elemental attributes, the dark element itself posed an obstacle to living beings.

In the forest, regular mist combined with dark energy could transform into a deadly trap that sapped vitality.

Thankfully, I-han was one of the few dark element users in the academy.

Waving his staff, he gathered the dark mist.

Unlike the difficulty he faced collecting dark energy elsewhere, it flowed easily here in the forest.

‘I’d better clear this out.’

Despite its rarity, dark energy was paradoxically less useful in the forest.

Since the corrupted creatures were dark-elemental spirits, the dark energy itself had little effect on them.

“Wait, wait,

 wait!”

“????”

With a shriek, Siana Priest hid behind I-han.

A person had suddenly appeared in mid-air.

“Don’t get rid of that dark energy! Could you store it in this flask?”

The figure resembled Professor Puyona, a hybrid of a banyan tree spirit, exuding a plant-like aura.

“And you are…?”

“Just store the dark energy first. It’s going to dissipate soon!”

“It won’t dissipate,” I-han said, skillfully controlling the dark energy as he focused it toward the newcomer. A clear display of his cautious nature.

Due to its foreign nature, dark energy was difficult to control, though certain mages could handle it with ease.

Holding it like a spear at the end of his staff, I-han was ready to respond at a moment’s notice.

“W-Wardanas, isn’t this person a senior?”

“Siana Priest, seniors can be even more dangerous. It goes Principal, Professor, then Senior, in terms of danger.”

“Well, even so…”

Bound by common sense, Siana was hesitant to confront a senior, while Yonir also seemed concerned.

“Wait. I apologize. I didn’t mean for any of this to happen.”

“What exactly are you apologizing for?”

“For… all of this?”

Illendil tilted his head, confused.

The three first-year students instantly understood everything.

The culprit was standing right in front of them!

“Attack him! Attack!”

“I-han, signal us!”

Startled by his juniors’ intense reaction, Illendil waved his hands in protest.

“I didn’t mean for this to happen…?!”

“Intentional or not, you’re the one who caused all this!”

After a brief internal struggle, the dryad-hybrid senior made his decision.

He gave up.

“Alright, fine… Go ahead and attack me, but could you at least put the dark energy in a flask first?”

“......”

“He… he really is crazy.”

Siana murmured from behind.

---

I-han finally lowered his staff.

Despite his eccentricity, the man didn’t seem like the type to launch a sudden assault.

Illendil, in his usual slow tone, explained what had happened and looked at the three of them.

“So, what brings you all out here?”

“Uh…”

“Well…”

Yonir and Siana instinctively looked at I-han. He answered resolutely.

“We came because we couldn’t bear to see the spirits being chased by corrupted entities.”

“You…”

For the first time, Illendil’s eyes widened in surprise.

There were few Ainlogard students who showed such interest in the forest or its spirits.

“You’re such a good person!”

“No, I’m simply doing what any mage ought to.”