“Oh, right.”

‘Oh, right? What kind of response is that...’

The Skull Principal glanced at his eccentric student and continued speaking.

“Having a high magic capacity means you can embed numerous spells within an artifact. But I must say, you’re wearing quite a few artifacts right now.”

Lee I-han looked down at himself, noticing the array of trinkets he wore—bracelets, rings, belts, necklaces. He looked like a walking jewelry merchant.

“I suppose I do have a lot.”

“It’s more than a lot. For now, it’s fine since you’re not dealing with high-level magic often, but wearing too many artifacts without order is a bad habit.”

Artifacts carried their own magical essence, creating their own flow and influence. Naturally, for a mage who needed to control mana flow and maintain order, these artifacts could impact their spells.

The more artifacts, the greater the potential disruption.

Even without accidents...

“It could affect your spellcasting.”

“Luckily, I haven’t had any issues so far,” Lee I-han replied, relieved.

Maybe because his artifacts had simple, overlapping effects, they hadn’t interfered with his casting.

“Yes, lucky indeed,” the Principal chuckled, inwardly thinking, ‘You’ve probably been casting spells without even noticing the interference.’

There was no need to stop him; if anything, Lee I-han was inadvertently training under weighted conditions, improving his skill. However, for the upcoming year, sorting these artifacts would be necessary. Transferring their enchantments to the Behemoth bone would be ideal.

“I understand.”

Lee I-han nodded at the Skull Principal’s advice.

The Principal might have been cynical, cunning, and harsh, but when it came to magic, he was never wrong.

Experienced mages always meticulously studied the relationships between their artifacts to ensure synergy and avoid conflict.

‘Wait.’

As he was about to accept it, Lee I-han paused, confused.

“Principal, I’m only going into my second year. Will I really encounter high-level magic that risky?”

“You’re correct. Just like how first-years usually don’t deal with the King of Ghouls.”

“...”

Lee I-han couldn’t refute that, so he slumped slightly.

The Skull Principal shaped the Behemoth bone into a rough necklace.

“I made it simple on purpose, so you can continue adding to it.”

The bone’s capacity was vast, perfect for engraving multiple spells. The Principal intended for Lee I-han to build his experience by adding spells over time, turning this artifact into his own creation.

“Principal...”

Lee I-han felt touched.

He hadn’t expected the Principal to be so thoughtful.

“With enough practice, you could even assist me in making artifacts in the future instead of that assistant, Bibble.”

“Principal...”

Lee I-han’s face turned serious.

So, he was nurturing his student for personal gain!

A low hum buzzed as the temporary iron bracelet made by Professor Garcia was extracted. The Principal compressed the intricate spell circle into a core and embedded it into the bone necklace.

“You’re watching, right? You’ll need to do this yourself next time.”

“Wait, could you go a bit slower...”

“I know you’re just being dramatic. Now, next is your belt. This one’s rather shabby; shouldn’t it be retired soon?”

The Principal clicked his tongue at the invisibility belt, enchanted with a mana-absorbing curse but capable of casting invisibility. The problem was its crude construction.

It bent light in a camouflage style to trick the eye, but the Principal preferred enchantments that disrupted the concept of one’s presence entirely.

“I’ll modify it and embed it.”

He compressed the belt’s runes into a core and set it in the bone necklace. The newly added core resonated with the first, stabilizing the artifact.

“Ack!!!”

“What?”

The Principal glanced at Lee I-han, who had cried out.

“I could’ve sold that belt! Why’d you break it?!”

“Who would buy a cursed mana-absorbing item?”

The Principal was baffled.

Some eccentric dark mages might demand their bones back for stepping on them, but this student was more absurd.

“It was still worth something...”

“I didn’t just break it—I improved it by embedding it in the necklace.”

“But I can’t sell the bone necklace...”

“So you’d rather I left the belt intact and copied the enchantment into the bone necklace?”

“Would you really do that?” Lee I-han asked, eyes hopeful. The Principal ignored him and moved on to the next task.

The invisibility pendant was next, created by the watchtower keeper under the Principal’s supervision. It was the same magic as the previous enchantment, but having duplicates in artifacts could amplify effects.

In this case, the invisibility now extended to his surroundings, whereas it initially only protected the wearer. Lee I-han often used it to move around with friends.

“Can you cast this invisibility on others now?”

“Huh? No.”

“Why not? I gave you the book. Didn’t it teach you?”

“...No.”

“Should I have made it more ruthless and violent...”

“...”

Lee I-han considered whether he should bury the Principal’s book deep underground when he got back.

“It’s not wrong to use artifacts, but don’t become too reliant. Learn to cast these yourself.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Why do you have so many fire-absorbing artifacts? Are you part of a fire-watch unit?”

“In case my fire spells go wild...”

The Principal clicked his tongue instead of scolding this time.

‘Wait. No, that makes sense.’

He realized that Lee I-han, wearing many artifacts and challenging difficult spells, was keeping fire-absorbing items to manage the risks.

A truly strange kid.

Suppressing his pity, the Principal combined the fire-absorbing artifacts into a core and embedded them into the necklace.

“Water-breathing... well, it’s fine for now. It can be removed later if needed. Spell-suppressing artifacts? Why do you carry such cursed items? Are you a curse collector?”

“I use it sometimes for precise control.”

The Principal promptly destroyed it. Lee I-han shouted in protest.

“No!”

“What’s no? That flimsy restriction won’t help you. This is a mental issue. Overcome it with willpower.”

With ruthless precision, the Principal embedded the remaining artifacts into the necklace. Only a few non-wearable artifacts like the Thousand Spells Bracelet, his signal ring, and a silver spoon for poison detection remained.

“Why not get rid of the detox artifacts? You don’t need them.”

“No way. I’d rather sell those.”

Lee I-han’s tone was serious.

The Principal, apparently not keen on breaking them, cleared the remnants and snapped his fingers.

A red core appeared mid-air, unlike any Lee I-han had seen. It was clear it was a compressed magical core, similar to those he’d seen earlier.

*Click!*

The Principal fitted it into the necklace smoothly.

“What’s that?”

“It’s a secret. You’ll find out for yourself. I shouldn’t even be giving you this advantage. Ha.”

“You could just remove it, then...”

The Principal ignored him.

Even if his student was ungrateful, gifted students always had a touch of arrogance. It was a mentor’s role to tolerate that.

“Choose the next spell yourself and add it. I’d recommend a defensive spell.”

Most of the spells embedded in the bone necklace were support-type. With Lee I-han already proficient in offensive magic, defense was the logical choice.

Defensive artifacts were in high demand because they protected mages from surprise attacks that broke through their wards.

“Like a water shield?”

“That’s fine. But making it trigger automatically when attacked will be tricky. Ask Professor Verdus.”

“I don’t think I need defensive spells...”

“I get that you dislike dealing with Professor Verdus, but even a genius like you will struggle to make this alone.”

“Understood. I’ll ask.”

“Come to think of it, you do focus heavily on offensive magic.”

The Principal looked at his student with newfound interest.

Most mages began by learning defensive spells. Unless they were battle mages who fought regularly, they prioritized defense.

Eventually, they’d be protected by guards, so why bother attacking themselves?

“But you keep sending enemies my way, Principal.”

“I don’t follow. Besides, your seniors learned defensive magic just fine in similar circumstances. Aggressive kid.”

“Wasn’t the bloodthirsty monster your doing too?”

“I have standards. If I sent that, I’d swear on my name and hand over the principal’s position to you.”

“No... I wouldn’t want that.”

“Don’t be so humble. You’d get used to it. Anyway, do you know any other defensive spells?”

“Oh, I learned a lightning cloak.”

...

The Principal looked at Lee I-han with the same incredulous gaze Voladi had given him before.

Was he deliberately choosing the most difficult spells?

* * *

Master dancer and member of the Greenbell family.

Lee I-han’s face lit up as he spotted Professor Crinbal down the hallway.

Few professors made him feel at ease when spotted from a distance.

Professor Garcia was one, of course.

The Skull Principal and Professor Voladi were formidable and dangerous, while Professor Verdus, though not dangerous, was exhausting.

Professor Crinbal, on the other hand, had never been a source of stress or worry.

If luck was on his side, Crinbal might join the ranks of safe and kind professors like Garcia.

“Hello, Professor.”

“...”

“??”

Lee I-han was taken aback when he saw Professor Crinbal, who usually greeted students cheerfully, wearing a serious expression

.

“Professor?”

“Ah! Wodanaz! Sorry, I was lost in thought!”

“Is it because of the finals?”

“How did you know?!”

“...?”

Lee I-han was even more confused.

‘What could be worrying the professor about finals?’

Professor Crinbal had long announced his carefree exam plans (by Lee I-han’s standards).

-“If everyone dances and enjoys it, everyone’s a winner!”

-“Hooray, Professor!”

Wondering if the Skull Principal had challenged Crinbal’s teaching philosophy, Lee I-han asked cautiously, “Is there a problem, Professor?”

“Ugh! Wodanaz! As a professor, I shouldn’t be saying this! But I can’t help it!”

Crinbal waved him into an empty classroom, moving one leg dramatically.

Lee I-han entered, eyes on the door in case he needed a quick escape.

“Wodanaz, you know about the giants in the mountains, right? They know you well!”

“I do know a bit. But why...?”

“I sometimes teach them to dance, but now they’re saying something strange! That they have to fight you during the finals!”

“...”