Chapter 106
Kassan’s plan to quietly resolve the situation on his own had utterly failed.
A sudden and urgent announcement had been made:
*“…All personnel, return… Return to Ardel Academy immediately…”*
Due to the spectacle of their battle, Ardel Academy had discovered what happened, and everyone had to be evacuated within a week.
Upon returning to Ardel Academy, Kassan went to face the consequences of his actions.
Since everyone returned safely, it was likely that the issue would be resolved with only demerits.
The identities of the enhanced wild boar and the golem, which had suddenly appeared, were still under investigation by the academy. However, no information has been released yet.
After returning, I immediately sought out Lee Han.
“I found the cube.”
“The cube…? Oh.”
Lee Han nodded as if realizing the source of the mysterious explosion he had sensed.
The cave with the strange illusion magic, where the suspicious code was found—it was supposed to be an ordinary camping trip to the outskirts of Ardel, but something very different from the original plot had unfolded.
“No wonder something felt off. I didn’t think it was tied to the cube.”
“There was definitely something in that forest.”
“The golem?”
“No, the golem was just a trap set around the cube. But the magic in that forest… It wasn’t normal. Even Adela sensed it, so I’m sure it wasn’t just my imagination.”
The third cube wasn’t supposed to be found in that location according to the original story.
It should have still been in the hands of the dark mages. Yet, it appeared before us, almost like a trap.
I had to consider the worst-case scenario: what if the cube originally belonged to them? What if they were secretly storing it in that forest, and we just stumbled upon it? The illusion magic and the barriers around the area suddenly made sense.
“I’m not sure what’s going on,” Lee Han said, still puzzled.
I shrugged, trying to reassure him. “That’s what we’re going to find out now.”
There was someone more sensitive to magical changes than either Adela or me.
Someone who had been there in person, someone who might know exactly what was happening.
* * *
“Hi, I’m here to see Kassan from the third year.”
That afternoon, Kassan was about to enter his classroom when he abruptly turned on his heel.
The last person he wanted to see—Han Siha, the one who had not only humiliated him but also caused him to receive demerits, was standing there, smiling.
And worse, he was looking for Kassan.
“Damn it, what’s that bastard doing here?”
Kassan had apologized on his knees, no less, under the pressure of Han Siha’s cold stare.
He had been lying low ever since, hoping that no one would hear about the incident.
‘I never wanted to run into him again!’
His reputation was already in tatters, and if word got out that he had been bested by a second-year student, his standing as a senior would be utterly destroyed.
“Where’s Kassan?”
“Uh… This is his class. He should be here soon. Why do you need him? Are you here to demand an apology?”
“I already got one.”
“W-wait, he actually apologized?”
Rbeni, another student, scratched his head in disbelief as he talked to Han Siha. Meanwhile, Kassan hid behind a door, watching nervously.
No way… Is that bastard going to spill everything?
If Han Siha didn’t have the upper hand, Kassan would’ve ordered him to shut his mouth.
But given the current circumstances, he couldn’t do that. Han Siha had literally saved his life.
“Please, please, just go away quietly,” Kassan muttered under his breath.
Unfortunately for him, Rbeni took the initiative.
“But seriously, what did he say? Kassan isn’t the type to apologize easily. What happened?”
“Ah.”
*‘Why are you asking that here of all places?’*
Don’t say it, don’t say it!
“Nothing much. He just knelt and begged for forgiveness—how about you come out before I finish that sentence?”
Kassan’s face turned ghostly white.
Han Siha’s gaze was now fixed on him.
So, he’s been caught.
But still…
“For real? He really did that?”
“Don’t threaten me after telling him everything, you jerk!”
Whether Han Siha had saved his life or not, Kassan couldn’t hold back anymore. He burst out from his hiding spot.
* * *
If they weren’t in the hallway, Kassan would have punched him right then and there.
But causing a scene now would only confirm the rumor that he had knelt and begged for forgiveness. So, Kassan decided to handle this quietly.
“Hah… I really can’t stand you.”
“Feeling mutual.”
“Then why are you here?!”
Kassan asked, trembling with anger. A second round of their earlier confrontation was imminent, but Kassan had witnessed Han Siha’s battle with the golem firsthand.
The cold, calculating look in Han Siha’s eyes as he took down the golem—it was something else.
Even if they fought again, Kassan wasn’t sure he could win. So, he kept his mouth shut for now.
“I have a few questions.”
As much as Kassan hated this guy, the way Han Siha approached him was annoyingly polite. Refusing him would be difficult.
“Then just get to the point. What do you want?”
“What was in that forest?”
“What?”
“You must have sensed something, right?”
Han Siha’s eyes were certain. There was no way Kassan could have missed what they had felt.
And he hadn’t. Kassan had indeed sensed the strange magical energy permeating the forest. But his frustration made him reluctant to admit it.
“…Why should I answer?”
“Well, if we start talking in detail about what happened… I think you’ll find plenty of reasons to cooperate.”
Kassan quickly changed his tune.
“Fine, fine. Ask your questions.”
Han Siha smirked at how quickly Kassan relented and got straight to the point.
“I want to know the source of the magic. Who or what was behind it?”
“There was illusion magic all over the place. High-level stuff, affecting all directions.”
Kassan scratched his head before asking, “And by source… you mean who cast it?”
“Yes, exactly.”
Kassan rubbed his temples, trying to recall. He had definitely sensed something off, but the pressure to find his juniors and return the tracking stone had overshadowed everything else.
“Hmm…”
Kassan analyzed the form of the magic and deduced the method used to cast it.
“That kind of illusion magic… it wasn’t set up as a trap.”
“Then…”
Han Siha immediately understood what Kassan was implying.
At first, they had assumed the magic was a trap that would activate when someone triggered it. But such magic wouldn’t have lasted so long.
A trap activates and then disappears; that’s how it works.
This wasn’t a setup spell; it was something that someone had continuously fueled with mana, maintaining it the entire time.
“So, it couldn’t have been done from a distance.”
Whoever it was had to be close by, watching them.
The realization made Kassan freeze. A cold chill ran down his spine as the full implications hit him.
“The culprit… was in that forest.”
The sudden appearance of the golem, the illusion magic designed to confuse Han Siha—it all started to make sense to Kassan as he followed Han Siha’s line of thought. He was horrified.
It was one thing to have accidentally stumbled into the magic, but to think someone had been actively trying to kill them… And yet, Han Siha remained disturbingly calm.
Could it be that he had expected this?
“What the hell are you?” Kassan demanded, his voice tinged with panic.
“Pardon?”
“What kind of things have you been up to outside the Academy?”
Kassan was in shock at the idea that there was a wizard out there willing to invest time and energy to kill Han Siha.
“So, the person who wanted you dead was in that forest.”
“I suppose so.”
“What the hell have you been doing to attract someone like that?”
There was clearly a reason behind the eerie feeling Kassan had in the forest.
“Crazy… I want nothing to do with this. Leave me out of it.”
It wasn’t just that Han Siha was an annoying underclassman; Kassan was now certain that Han Siha was hiding something big—something dangerous.
‘Is this the kind of life high-ranking nobles live?’
The thought of Han Siha’s powerful connections only made Kassan more terrified. His face turned pale as he got up from his seat.
“Let’s just say this conversation never happened, okay?”
And with that, Kassan made a hasty exit.
“…What’s his problem?”
Han Siha scratched his head, muttering to himself. From the look on Kassan’s face, it was clear he had leaped to some wild conclusions on his own.
“Ah…”
But then again, the person who wanted to kill him *was* in that forest, so maybe Kassan wasn’t entirely wrong.
As Han Siha thought about it, his expression grew serious.
“They were watching us from start to finish…”
The enemy would know they had taken the third cube.
“Yeah, that’s definitely unsettling.”
Han Siha chuckled bitterly. Things were getting dangerous.
* * *
“Is everyone ready?”
Although the camping trip required some attention, returning to Ardel Academy only added more to their to-do list.
The research presentation they had signed up for before leaving was now just around the corner.
Adela was already double-checking her meticulously prepared materials, her eyes sparkling with excitement.
Although she seemed like someone who was only strong in combat, she was surprisingly adept at academic tasks as well.
When did she prepare all of that in such a short time?
And then there was Yoon Haul…
Munch, munch.
He was too busy devouring a cream bun to care. It wasn’t even a trendy cream puff, just a plain, crumbly white cream bun that seemed like something from a generation before. No matter how I looked at it, his tastes were way more old-fashioned than mine.
Stop eating, man. If you get cream on Adela’s work, that might be your last meal.
“I finished everything, too.”
Noticing Adela’s sharp gaze, Yoon Haul scratched his head and responded. Adela snatched his documents and started flipping through them.
“Hmm… hmm.”
I expected her to say something critical, but she didn’t. I had a hunch that Adela didn’t really like Yoon Haul. A driven, passionate person like her wasn’t likely to get along with a lazy genius like him.
Seeing them discussing their work was quite surprising, like watching oil and water trying to mix.
“The materials are good, but don’t you think the evidence is a bit lacking?”
“…Huh?”
“Stop eating… I mean, maybe you should take it easy.”
“Why do I need evidence? Everything’s in my head.”
“What?”
“If you ask, I can answer anything.”
When Adela tested him with a question, Yoon Haul responded without hesitation. His confidence was apparently well-founded.
“Well…”
Adela frowned slightly but didn’t push him further. Instead, she turned her attention to me.
“Han Siha?”
“Huh?”
“You don’t have anything in front of you… Don’t tell me you memorized everything?”
Uh-oh.
Between preparing for the camping trip and dealing with the cube situation afterward, I hadn’t had time to get ready.
Ha ha ha…
My awkward laugh made Adela blink in confusion.
“I trust you. You wouldn’t come unprepared, right?”
“Of course, I memorized everything.”
It seems like I’m the one who’s going to be in trouble today.
Sweat started to bead on my forehead. I gave a cheeky grin, trying to play along with Adela’s assumption.
Adela and Yoon Haul both turned to look at me with skeptical eyes.
Come on, you said you believed me!
“Why don’t you believe me?”
It’s not like I haven’t done group projects before. I’ve always been the one making sure the work gets done!
I prided myself on being a master of presentations. Creating something from nothing and rambling for ten minutes? That was my specialty.
Just wait. I’ll show you.
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