"Are you okay?"

Professor Voladi stared at Lee I-han, who looked like he had choked.

Lee I-han coughed and waved his hand.

“Yes, I’m fine.”

“About the lightning element’s form transformation.”

“*Cough, cough.*”

Lee I-han coughed again, but Professor Voladi waited patiently.

“...Yes.”

Lee I-han replied with a resigned tone.

“I heard it’s still unstable.”

“Yes.”

“Continue practicing. The difficulty of transforming the lightning element is high.”

“Yes.”

Lee I-han kept a keen eye on Professor Voladi, not letting his guard down, prepared for the moment he would say, *‘I’ll help you train—try not to die.’*

But to Lee I-han’s surprise, Professor Voladi didn’t add anything further. Instead, he went back to prying open the baby basilisk’s mouth to feed it the green chunks of meat.

“?”

Lee I-han was taken aback.

‘Is this some kind of trick?’

Professor Voladi, sensing Lee I-han’s gaze, turned his head.

“Do you have something to say?”

“I thought you were going to attack me, Professor.”

“Why would I?”

“...”

Lee I-han was dumbfounded.

Was that even a question?

‘Has there ever been a class where he *didn’t* attack?’

Honestly, changing the course title to *“Professor Voladi’s Brutal Ambush”* wouldn’t have been out of place.

“Well, you’ve often attacked us under the pretense of helping us train.”

“Ah.”

Professor Voladi nodded slightly, understanding what Lee I-han was implying.

Then, he looked at his overly eager student with concern.

“You’re rushing too much.”

“Excuse me?”

“Training the transformation of the lightning element in that way can be dangerous.”

“Excuse me??”

Seeing his student’s unusual shock, Professor Voladi explained further.

Failing to control the transformation of the water element, for instance, wasn’t particularly dangerous. Water, unless sharpened, was far less hazardous.

However, failing while attempting to transform the lightning element posed a much greater risk.

While he knew that this young member of the Wodanaz family could unleash several times his usual power when in danger, even that wouldn’t justify reckless training with the volatile lightning element.

When the explanation ended, Lee I-han’s jaw dropped.

“Do you not understand?”

“No, I understand perfectly!”

Lee I-han swallowed his astonishment.

He’d thought that Professor Voladi’s teaching method was always a casual *‘They’ll learn or die trying’* kind of approach, but there was thought behind it after all.

It felt like a natural disaster—a typhoon or earthquake—suddenly saying, *“I’ve actually been considering your safety.”*

‘Should I be relieved?’

It was a strange feeling, but the fact that he wasn’t under attack was still a relief.

With final exams approaching, coming back battered and bruised would have been too costly.

“I’ve told you many times: don’t rush.”

“...”

Despite the relief, a surge of frustration was unavoidable.

Lee I-han couldn’t help but wonder if this was all a scheme by Professor Voladi to provoke him into action.

-■■■■! ■■■■!

‘Calm down.’

Hearing the pitiful cries of the baby basilisk as it reluctantly swallowed the meat brought Lee I-han back to reality.

He decided to simply be thankful for surviving today.

“Yes, I won’t rush. Currently, I can maintain the shape of a spear, but other forms are still difficult.”

“That’s understandable.”

Even an element like water, which was relatively easier to shape, was hard to transform freely.

Especially for someone who hadn’t been studying magic for long.

Most mages didn’t obsess over form transformation, even among Einroguard’s upperclassmen. Few pursued mastery of form changes.

For instance, mastering just a few forms like arrows, spears, and barriers was more than sufficient for fire element users.

If another form was needed, it was easier to create a new spell.

If it weren’t for Professor Voladi, who emphasized mastering the basics of magical combat, Lee I-han wouldn’t have delved so deeply into it.

“Starting with the spear form was fortunate. It’s versatile. Next, try breaking it apart into smaller pieces.”

“Like forming daggers?”

“Yes, daggers would work, or even small spheres. Try shapes you’re comfortable with. It’ll be advantageous.”

Lee I-han summoned the lightning spear through his staff and began altering its shape.

The spear tip split and suspended in the air. Just as he had reshaped water into spheres, he focused on changing the lightning’s form.

‘Closer to pebbles than spheres.’

Unlike the smooth, maintained spheres of the water element, the lightning element scattered and formed jagged, uneven shapes when he tried to shape it.

*Crackle!*

Losing concentration for a moment, the lightning element shot out uncontrollably.

The baby basilisk flinched as the lightning flew past it.

“Keep practicing.”

Having fed the basilisk, Professor Voladi stood up, holding the back of its neck.

The still-growing serpent king resisted with hissing whines, but it couldn’t break free.

*Thump.*

“Go.”

-...

The baby basilisk stared at the toys and race track laid out in the middle of the classroom with a bewildered expression.

Was it really expected to run through this?

The baby basilisk shook its head desperately.

It was bad enough being force-fed earlier, but this was a matter of pride.

How could the noble and fierce basilisk, the king of serpents, run through toys like a common pet?

Professor Voladi patiently explained to the young creature that didn’t understand human words.

“Your slow growth might be due to a lack of exercise.”

-...

The basilisk hissed in protest, but Professor Voladi wasn’t listening anymore.

He picked up the toy rod and started prodding the basilisk to make it move.

With simmering anger and humiliation, the baby basilisk had no choice but to run the course.

“Don’t stop.”

Lee I-han, focusing on his lightning practice, glanced up curiously at the professor and basilisk circling the classroom as if taking a casual stroll.

Did basilisks enjoy walks like that?

“Do basilisks usually like to take walks?”

“Yes. According to Professor Thunderfoot, they’re creatures that occupy a wide territory.”

“Strange, I never took it for walks...”

“You can start now.”

“Yes, sir.”

Lee I-han nodded in regret.

He’d thought the basilisk preferred coiling around and staying still, but seeing it slither rapidly now, it seemed like it actually liked moving.

Thinking he’d deprived it of that freedom made him feel guilty.

‘I’ll make sure to take it for walks from now on.’

While Lee I-han resolved to change, Professor Voladi kept prodding the basilisk with the toy rod mercilessly.

“Faster. More. More. More. More. More. More.”

The baby basilisk hissed angrily as it looped around the course, jumping through hoops, climbing toy stairs, and swimming across rough sand.

When it was close to exhaustion, Professor Voladi stopped poking and started waving the rod in front of the basilisk.

It was meant to stimulate its primal instincts.

“Bite.”

-...

“Still not enough exercise, it seems.”

As Professor Voladi made to get up again, the baby basilisk quickly bit the rod.

Finally, Professor Voladi looked satisfied.

With this kind of training, this baby basilisk would eventually become useful.

“By the way, Professor, have you heard about the bloodthirsty monster that appeared?”

Professor Voladi stopped waving the rod and sighed.

“The final exam already includes a giant. Stop being greedy.”

“...I was just mentioning it!”

“Was that so?”

His tone implied, *‘I don’t believe you, but I’ll pretend to for your sake.’*

Lee I-han nearly lost his temper.

“Do you have any advice, sir? I’m not asking because I plan to hunt it—definitely not! Just worried it might attack us.”

“After nearly being killed by Death Knights, you think it’d show up near the school again?”

“...It could happen.”

“I see.”

Professor Voladi looked at his student expressionlessly and continued.

“It’s a typical regeneration-specialized monster.”

Einroguard had its share of unpredictable monsters emerging from who-knew-where, and not even the professors could know every one of their names.

Yet, even without seeing it firsthand, Professor Voladi deduced what kind of monster it was based on the Death Knights’ reports.

No matter how unique or peculiar a monster was, it couldn’t defy the laws of nature completely.

Understanding the characteristics and laws governing monsters made it possible to assess even the strangest creatures.

If the creature had survived the Death Knights’ attacks and regenerated, it indicated an exceptionally powerful regenerative ability that few monsters could mimic.

“Such regeneration is strong, but it comes at a cost.”

Lee I-han nodded, understanding.

The same principle applied to magic.

Stronger spells required more mana, longer casting times, and complex reagents; the same logic likely applied to the monster’s regeneration.

“It kept seeking blood; it might be the fuel for its regeneration.”

“Highly likely. Blood is a potent reagent in rituals as well.”

Of course, that alone wasn’t enough.

The monster likely sacrificed its defensive capabilities and other abilities to maintain such regeneration. Not to mention, its speed was beyond expectation.

“It must be at least a few centuries

 old.”

There were many blood-drinking monsters, but the capabilities displayed by yesterday’s monster suggested it was at least a few centuries old.

“Do monsters over a hundred years old roam around Einroguard?!”

“Some are over a thousand years old.”

Lee I-han almost blurted out, *‘Like the Principal?’* but held back. That probably wasn’t what Professor Voladi meant.

“It was likely sealed or hibernating underground.”

‘Pure terror.’

The idea of monsters much older than the bloodthirsty creature lying dormant somewhere like forgotten trinkets was even more terrifying.

Was this a magic school or a dungeon of horrors...?

*Crackle!*

At last, the lightning took on a new form, and Lee I-han’s face lit up.

“It worked, Professor. I managed one form, even if it’s not perfect. It uses an object as a core, but still...”

“A dagger?”

Professor Voladi thought he might have formed the lightning around a dagger or a sphere as a core.

Daggers were essentially spear fragments.

Spheres were the forms Lee I-han had recently been practicing with the most.

Both were simple, familiar shapes.

More difficult forms included armor, shields, and cloaks.

Given that lightning wasn’t suited for defense, maintaining its area as armor or shields was less practical.

And cloaks were even harder, requiring a flexible, flowing quality.

“No.”

“A sphere?”

“I managed to stabilize it as a cloak. Look.”

Lee I-han pointed proudly to the crackling, sparking cloak.

Professor Voladi, seeing it, wondered seriously if he’d been underestimating his student all this time.