Chapter 62

Yi-Han carefully received the potions and tucked them into his pocket.

"I'm so overwhelmed with joy at receiving such splendid potions that I feel like I might cry..."

"What brings you here? If there's anything I can help with, just let me know."

Yi-Han revealed to Priestess Sianna the perilous trap hidden in the alchemy assignment.

Priestess Sianna listened with a thoughtful expression, then suddenly seemed to realize something and said, "I thought some of the ingredients looked odd. I was planning to compare them with some books later on..."

"Right now, we're gathering all the ingredients to experiment and see what the problem is. Would you like to join us? Your unparalleled expertise in alchemy, Priestess Sianna, is exactly what we need."

Upon hearing Yi-Han's words, Priestess Sianna nodded without a moment's hesitation and said, "Of course, I must help. I'll bring the students from the Immortal Phoenix with me!"

Watching Priestess Siana's eager departure, Yi-Han mused, 'If only the White Tiger was this easy...'

—

The Black Tortoise was even easier. Nillia and Ratford had come out with their friends. In fact, convincing the students to come out was easier than dealing with the Black Tortoise students who had flocked from the black market, thinking Yi-Han had brought something new. They all lined up, each eager to trade first.

-"Wardanaz! How about this staff sword?! Even the White Tiger students need this!"-

-"Move aside! Wardanaz. What about this Golem Evasion Amulet?!"-

In contrast, the White Tiger students...

"Wardanaz!"

“Don’t ever deal with him alone!”

"..."

Dolgyu, unable to bear it any longer, tried to go in and bring his friends out, but the White Tiger students were not easily moved. Yi-Han eventually gave up and returned.

'Well... we should have enough people without them.'

With students from all three towers gathered, there were plenty of spare ingredients. Yi-Han and Yonaire, with Priestess Siana's help, meticulously measured the surplus ingredients. These were the experimental materials for finding the recipe.

"Everything's ready. We can start testing now."

"You all worked hard."

The gathered students sighed in relief. They had to go through this trouble again because of Professor Uregor's trickery... no, his trap.

"Wardanaz. Speaking of which, you're going out tomorrow using your leave pass, right?"

"!"

The Blue Dragon students knew Yi-Han had received a leave pass, but the others did not. The students from both the Black Tortoise and the Immortal Phoenix looked at Yi-Han with wide, surprised eyes.

"You got a leave pass?!"

"Typical Wardanaz!"

"How do you get one? Do we need to catch a golem?"

"It's not about that right now! Wardanaz. What are you going to bring back?"

The students crowded around Yi-Han. They were incredibly envious of his one-day Sunday outing, but more importantly, they were curious about what Yi-Han would bring back.

“If I can go outside… If I can go outside, what should I bring? There’s too much to choose from!”

"Calm down, let's sort this out one by one."

While Yi-Han remained quiet, his friends were more flustered.

'What should I buy if I can go out?'

"Definitely food. Something sweet and small in size."

"Let's hire a carriage to bring it back, Wardanaz!"

"Don't you remember when we enrolled? Something like a carriage won't be permitted."

"Food's good, but what about clothes? Honestly, the clothes we're wearing now are more rags than clothes."

"Isn't it comfortable...?" Nillia tilted her head in puzzlement. To her, the clothes seemed comfortable enough...

"Indeed, I do wish to wear sturdy and comfortable clothes."

"And shoes! Plus a hat and a cloak! And then..."

Asan, who had been listening, chimed in, "I need stationery like books and quills."

"Dargard... What nonsense are you talking about? Can you eat books? Can you drink ink?"

"No. I also like the idea of food. But seriously, I need books." Asan was earnest too.

While preparing for their assignments, students were gradually stepping into the magic academy's library. However, as expected, this library was not a warm and comfortable place where one could easily find books according to a clear classification system.

'Who on earth organized these books?'

A space of chaotic disorder! That was precisely what this academy's library was. So much so that finding a book for reference for an assignment was a task in itself. The students couldn't help but miss the bookstores outside the school.

'Ask for any book, and the kind bookstore owner would wrap it in paper and present it as a gift' - such was the warm convenience they yearned for.

"If we continue like this, there's a 95% chance we'll collapse before even starting the assignment. We at least need to find the basic texts required for our subjects."

"Hmm... You might have a point there."

Even the students, who had been clamoring for butter cookies, chocolate cookies, caramel waffles, milk roll wafers, and maple syrup candies, nodded seriously.

"And it's not just books; we need calculation artifacts too. Doing calculations by hand is killing me."

"Indeed, that makes sense."

"I'm bored with nothing to read. We need magazines or novels. New cards and a chessboard too."

"...?"

The friends nodded in agreement but then hesitated. Something was off.

"Gainando, you rascal! Is that really urgent right now?"

"It's urgent, that's why I said it! Why can everyone else say what they need but not me!"

"Guys, Wardanaz has gone to sleep."

"?!"

Since he had to leave early Sunday morning, Yi-Han had retired to his personal room right after completing the alchemy assignment.

—

'I can't sleep.'

Yi-Han was incredulous. It was absurd to be tossing and turning like a child excited about a field trip the day before… But his feelings were far from the innocent anticipation of a picnic. It was more akin to the tension of facing a difficult exam.

'Can I really do well?'

Anyone seeing him would think he was preparing for a graduation exam, but Yi-Han was serious. Though it was a legitimate outing using his leave pass, Yi-Han was not complacent. This academy must have a trap.

'Let's think. What could be the problem?'

Yi-Han thought that using a carriage or horse would definitely be prohibited. As at the time of admission, it was unlikely that they would permit such things.

'I wonder how far the nearest town is? Surely they'll allow what I bring back? I need to bring back as much as possible...'

Distance was also an issue to consider. He had a carriage for his initial escape, but not now. The academy might place the town at a distance farther than what could be covered in a day's journey, saying, 'Go there and come back within a day!'

'Damn. I should have learned some speed-enhancing magic!' Yi-Han lamented.

If he had learned physical enhancement magic, he wouldn't have to worry like this… Of course, that wasn't a concern for a freshman.

Paralaralak!

"…?!?"

Suddenly, a book that had been placed on the shelf sprang out and opened by itself. It was the black, coverless book given to Yi-Han by the skull principal. Tentacles made of letters burst forth from the black book, wrapping around Yi-Han.

"What the...?" Before he could finish his sentence, Yi-Han found himself in a different place. An empty wasteland where there was nothing in the sky or on the distant horizon. Instinctively, Yi-Han knew. It was an illusion created by the black book.

Bang!

The black book appeared in front of Yi-Han, fluttering in mid-air, revealing its pages. On the page was a magic spell Yi-Han had been taught but had not yet mastered, <Gonadaltes' Agile Steps>.

"Now... You want me to master this?"

The black book shook its body up and down, seemingly in affirmation.

"Don't tell me you chose this because of my concerns?"

The black book shook its body up and down again.

Yi-Han's mood slightly brightened at the book's endearing behavior. It was surprisingly thoughtful.

"Wait. I don't have time to master this now. I have to leave tomorrow. Send me back."

The black book stopped abruptly in mid-air, then slowly shook from side to side, as if sternly refusing.

"..."

Yi-Han regretted his momentary sense of pride. How could a book given by the principal be so benign?

"Fire Ignition!"

Yi-Han tried to cast a fire spell, but the spell did not activate. The black book shrugged and opened its pages again. It seemed to suggest that <Gonadaltes' Agile Steps> was the only spell he could use.

"..."

Yi-Han sighed and adjusted his grip on the staff.

—

“Prisoner Number 24601!”

"Sir. I'm not a prisoner."

“Ah, right. Sorry. With my age, it's easy to get confused.”

"..."

Listening to the conversation between the skull principal and the summon, Yi-Han yawned. Such dialogue no longer shocked him. Although the black book had forcefully taken Yi-Han into a training illusion, it thankfully did not steal his sleep. He had trained in his dreams, after all. Though he was mentally tired...

'I hate that I'm actually grateful for this.'

“Congratulations on your outing, Wardanaz! It's a fitting reward for your accomplishments, so feel proud!”

"Thank you."

“The rules are simple! Leave when the sun rises today, and return to the main gate by sunrise tomorrow. If you don't return, a pursuit team will be sent out.”

"..."

As expected, hearing it aloud was absurdly frustrating.

“You can only bring in what you can carry. No carriages, horses, or other vehicles!”

"Understood."

“Then do your best!”

"...?"

Yi-Han was puzzled.

'The rules are more lenient than I expected?'

He had braced himself for restrictions on the amount of money he could use, weight limits, and volume limits on his luggage. But there were none. What's going on?

—

Yi-Han ran tirelessly. Thanks to his efforts, he arrived at his destination when the sun was directly overhead.

Philonae Town. The nearest town to the magic academy.

"So you're telling me there are no noble mansions in this town now?"

"Tsk, tsk. Must be a student who escaped from the magic academy. That's the way it is. When the semester starts, people from the academy come out and tell them to move their mansions away."

"..."

The imperial noble families did not leave the academy even as the semester began. To prepare for vacations, they bought mansions in nearby towns and had servants and slaves on standby. It was a lavish display typical of noble families, but Yi-Han had been relying on this. He had planned to visit these estates with a ledger of student signatures on silver coins to arrange some spending money...

But after hearing the answer, Yi-Han was at a loss for words.

'Such a crazy academy.'

"Then, where did these mansions move to?"

"They went to Granden City over there."

"How long does it take to get to Granden City...?"

"A few days' ride on a horse..."

"..."

Yi-Han realized why there were no restrictions on the amount, weight, or volume. The academy had blocked every means for a student to secure funds in the first place. In case an escaped student reached the nearest Town of Philonae, they would realize their mistake and despair!

"Do I really have to go to these lengths??"

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

Yi-Han lifted his head. Now that things had come to this, he resolved not to back down.

"Where is the nearest trading post building here?"

"A trading post building? It's down that street, but... why?"

"I'm going to borrow money."

"..."

The villager was astonished.

The boy, who appeared to be from a noble family...

‘Is he okay?’