heinsaneduplicatenoddedathisdisciple’sanswer.

Justasitwasnosimpletasktoerasetheworld’seightsufferingsthroughmagic,passingdownhisteachingstohisdisciplewithinalimitedamountoftimewasequallydifficult.

Andamidallthosedifficulties,hisdisciple’sgrowthshonebrilliantlylikeabeacon.

twascompletelydifferentfromtheimmaturebehaviorhehadshowninthepast.

“Wellconsidered.henletusdepart.Mage,youwillcarrytheluggage.”

“Myapologies.’llcarryitmyself,sopleasedon’tworryaboutit.”

eeanapologizedonbehalfofhismaster.Cattensimplylaughedasifitdidn’tmatter.

“hesturdiestpersonshouldcarrytheluggage,Junior.”

henshouldn’tMasterbecarryingit?

aturally,nomatterhowgoodtheinsaneduplicate’smoodseemedtoday,eeanwiselykeptthatthoughttohimself.

nstead,heswunghisstaffandsummonedaSkeletonolem.Withitsmassiveframe,themedium-sizedundeadsummonwasmorethansuitableasapackmule.

houghthemanaconsumptionwasrathersevere...

“Wellthen.et’sgo!”

“...”

“Senior?”

“Ah.Sorry.hatsummonedcreaturewassoimpressive...Woulditperhapsbepossibleformetolearnitlater?”

“...Master!Couldyoupleaseopenadimensionalgate?”

eeanquicklypretendednottohearandchangedthesubject.

***

“mm.Moradi.Shouldn’twestartpreparingforfinalexamssoon?”

“...!”

iselleturnedaroundinshock.

ohearsomethinglikethatfromfellowWhiteigerowerstudents...

“Amhallucinatingfromexhaustion?can’tbelievewhat’mhearing.”

“...Don’tbesoharsh,Moradi.”

heWhiteigerowerstudentsblushedawkwardly.

heyrecalledthegloriousmemoriesofdesperatelyavoidingstudyingduringtheirfirstyear.

Butafterbecomingsecond-yearsandsurvivingthemidterms,theWhiteigerowerstudentswereslowlybeginningtounderstandreality.

Perhaps...

Perhapsexamswereactuallysomethingyouhadtoprepareforconsistently?

otcrammingaweekbeforehand,butstartingatleasttwoorthreeweeksinadvance??

MaybeWardanaz,whohadbeenpreparingforexamssincethebeginningofthesemester,wasthenormalone—andtheyweretheabnormalones.

“MaybeWardanazfinishinghismidtermsbeforethemidtermsevenstartedwasactuallynormal...”

“hat’snotnormal.”

“t’snot?”

“o.tabsolutelyisn’t.etagrip.”

iselleansweredcoldly.

heWhiteigerowerstudentsseemedtohavesufferedaslightreductioninintelligenceduetofatigueandacademicpressure.

omatterhowgenerouslyyouinterpretedit,finishingeverymidtermbeforethemidtermsevenbeganwasobviouslyinsane.otevenupperclassmendidthingslikethat.

“Soyouallwanttoprepareearlyforfinals?Wow.ncredible.neverthought’dlivetohearyousaysomethinglikethat.”

“Wealreadysaidweweresorry...”

“Andthosesameidiotsarestillplanningtoplayyeokgu?”

“W-wedidn’tgetthrownintodetention!”

isellelookedatthemwitheyesthatclearlysaid,Andthat’ssupposedtomakeyou~оvеl𝕚ght~proud,youbastards?

Atthemoment,acertainWhiteigerowerstudenthadbeendraggedofftodetentionaftertryingtoescapeandwatchayeokgumatch.

Amongyeokgufanatics,theincidenthadbecomealegendaryromantictale.

oiselle,however,itwassimplyhumiliatingbehaviorthatdisgracedthetower.

“hatdamnballgameshould’vebeenoutlawedbyimperialdecree.”

“-howcanyousaythat...?!Youactuallylikeittoo,Moradi!”

“don’t.Andifyourepeatthatnonsenseonemoretime,’llbreakyouryeokgustick.”

Suppressingherirritation,isellegrowled.

Peoplefromknightfamiliesfundamentallycouldn’tcomprehendthatsomeonemightgenuinelydislikeyeokgu.

Andeverytimesheencounteredthatmindset,isellefelttheurgetopunchthemeachoncetobroadentheirhorizons.

hatdamnedballgame!

“Anyway,receivedtheproposedfinalexamtopic.t’sthemostadmirablethingyouidiotshavebroughtmesofar.We’llstartstudyingthemomentwefinishhere.”

“mmediately?”

“mmediately.”

“...Couldn’twewaitalittle—o,no!et’sstartimmediately!”

heWhiteigerowerstudenthurriedlycorrectedhimselfthemomentisellelookedreadytohithim.

henheturnedtowardthemassiveoreveinbeforethem.

Froststeelorehadformeddenselythroughouttherock.

’dliketofinishminingallofthiswithintheweek.

Recently,iselleandtheWhiteigerowerstudentshadbeenspendingconsiderabletimeexploringextradimensions.

Whilecontinuingtheirinvestigationofthedimensionfromthelecture《heragicistoryofAncientRelicsandSummoningMagic》,theyhadaccidentallydiscoveredafroststeeldeposit.

omosttowerstudents,froststeelwasn’tparticularlyvaluable.

hemetal’sdefiningtraitwasthatitbecameexceptionallysharpanddeadlywheninfusedwithmana,butmostinroguardstudentshadlittleuseforsuchproperties.

ForWhiteigerowerstudents—manyofwhomcamefromknightfamilies—itwasacompletelydifferentstory.

avingenteredtheacademywhileleavingbehindtheirtreasuredweaponsandarmor,theyvaluedpracticalmetalslikethishighly.

veniftheycouldn’tforgemasterpieces,itwasenoughtomakeserviceableweaponstouseduringtheiryearsatinroguard.

Andnowthattheyweresecond-yearswithsomeexperienceundertheirbelts,theycouldrefineandforgethemetalthemselves.

heproblemwasthatminingtheoretookanabsurdamountoftime.

venafterpreparingminingpotionsandmagicscrolls,nobodyhadexpectedittobethisdifficult.

“hisdamnthingishard.”

“here’sonlyonesolution.”

Facedwiththeobstaclebeforethem,theWhiteigerowerstudentsrespondedwiththesimplestmethodimaginable.

Bruteforce.

“Burn,pickaxe!”

“verflow,strength!”

ooutsiders,itwould’velookedexactlylikethesortofbrutishnonsensepeoplemockedWhiteigerowerstudentsfor.

hoseidiotsbecameevenmorebarbaricaftermovingupagrade.

ButthiswasoriginallytheWhiteigerower’sspecialty.

nhancementandtransformationmagiclayeredovertrainedphysicalbodies.

Crude?Absolutely.

Simple-minded?Perhaps.

Butthesheerdestructiveforcewasdifficultforanyoneelsetoimitate.

“Whatareyoualldoinghere?”

“...!?”

isellespunaroundinsurprise.

herestoodafamiliarBlueDragonowerstudent,afifth-yearsenior,theinsaneduplicate,andaSkeletonolemloadeddownwithluggage.

“W-Whatbringsyouhere,Wardanaz?!”

Atthequestion,eeandeliberatelyputonasorrowful,melancholyexpression.

isellewasslightlyflusteredbytheraresightofweaknessfromherouseWardanazfriend.

Whatintheworldhadhappened?

“SeniorCattensaidhewasinspectingthefinalexamsiteforProfessorngledel,sofollowedhim.”

“...”

hatabsolutelywassomethingworthyofsorrowanddespair.

isellewhisperedinhorror,

“UnlesssomeoneshotProfessorngledelintheheadwithanarrow,whywouldthefinalsbeheldhere?hempirehasdozensofpropertraininggroundsforswordsmanship!”

Atpresent,theWhiteigerowerstudentswereheavilybettingthatthefinalswouldtakeplaceattheswordsmanshipguild’straininggroundsinrandenCity.

Upperclassmentestimoniessupportedit,anditwasthemostlogicalchoice.

Butthisremoteextradimension?

Why?!

eeanhesitatedbrieflybeforespeakinginonebreath.

“thinkProfessorngledelhasfinallygoneinsane.She’sbeeninfectedbythepoisonknownasinroguard.”

“Kuh.ruly...supposeitcan’tbehelped.Professorsarehumantoo.”

Studentsfromothermagicacademieswouldneverhavefallenforsuchnonsense.

Butinroguardstudentshadnochoice.

venrelativelysanepeoplegraduallylosttheirmindsafterremainingatinroguardlongenough.

“Don’tworry,everyone.’llfollowSeniorCattenandthoroughlyinvestigatetheexaminadvance.While’matit,’llretrievesomeFrostiantrelicstoo.”

“Wardanaz...!”

heWhiteigerowerstudentslookedateeanasifreliabilityitselfhadtakenhumanform.

owcouldsomeonehavesuchadependablefriend?

“Whyareyoualldawdling?”

“Ah.Master.”

Wheneeanpausedtotalk,theinsaneduplicateapproachedfrombehind.

Afterhearingtheexplanation,theinsaneduplicatenodded.

“Break.”

CRAAACK!

heenormousrockformationandoreveinshatteredinstantly.

“Rocktorock.rontoiron.”

hestonesgatheredtogether,andtheoressortedthemselvesapartinaninstant.

“t’sfinished.Youmagescomealongaswell.”

“?????”

heWhiteigerowerstudentsstaredateeanwithutterconfusion.

Whyus?!

Unfortunately,eveneeanhadnoanswer.

“havenoideaeither.”

“...Don’tlie,Wardanaz!here’snowayyoudon’tknow!”

“sthisbecauseweweren’tpracticingmagicandweredoingotherthings?!Wewereplanningtoheadbackrightafterfinishingthis!”

ventheythemselvesthoughttheexcusesoundedunconvincing.

Butitwastrue.

heygenuinelyhadplannedtoleaveafterward!

“o...reallydon’tknoweither.Whydidhetellyoualltocome?”

eeanwasabouttoasktheinsaneduplicatedirectlywhenisellegrabbedhisarmandshookherhead.

“...Forgetit.et’snotprovokehimunnecessarily.”

“Moradi.Masterisactuallyinafairlygoodmoodtodaycomparedtousual.tshouldbesafetoask.”

hat’spossible?

isellewasbaffled,butshestillrefused.

“saidforgetit.You’lljustgetbeatenhalftodeathagain.”

Whenphrasedlikethat,itbecamedifficulttoargue.

houghtheinsaneduplicatehadrecentlybecomearelativelypleasantandreasonabledoppelganger,therewerestillfewbeingsmoreunpredictablethanamadancientArchmage.

“fyousayso.Butisitreallyfineforeveryoneelsetocometoo?”

“We’rescoutingthefinalexamgroundsinadvance,soofcourseit’sfine.Besides,themining’salreadyfinished.”

Behindiselle,theWhiteigerowerstudentssilentlyscreamedinwardly.

t’sabsolutelynotfine!

Wardanazandiselledisagreedonalmosteverythingelse,yetsomehowtheyalwaysstoodunitedwhenitcametotormentingtheirfriends.

Whyonlythat?

***

“Senior.Whatexactlyareyoutryingtoconfirminthisdimension?”

Ateean’squestion,isellenoddedapprovingly.

ntruth,Catten’sjudgmentwasprobablythemostimportantfactorintheentireexpedition.

Dependingonhisconclusion,thefinalexamlocationmightstillbechangedbacktotheswordsmanshipguildtraininggroundsinrandenCity.

“First,intendtoasktheFrostiantswhetherthey’dbewillingtoassistwiththeexam,Junior.”

“...”

“...”

Shockspreadacrossbotheeanandiselle’sfaces.

Fortunately,theothersbehindthemseemednottohaveheard.

“...Sothat’swhatyoumeantbyconfirmingwhetherit’ssuitable?!”

“Whatelsewouldbechecking?hescenery?”

Cattenchuckledproudlyathisownjoke.

eitherjuniorfounditamusing.

fFrostiantsareinvolvedintheexam...

DoweseriouslyhavetofightFrostiantswithswords?

Asiselle’sexpressionstiffened,Cattentiltedhishead.

“What’swrong,Junior?fsomethingconcernsyou...”

“...othingserious.wasjustwonderingwhethermyswordsmanshipistrulyenoughtofaceaFrostiant.”

Whileanswering,isellesecretlytestedhisreaction.

WashegenuinelyconsideringmakingthemfightFrostiants?

“Aswordsmanofyourlevelcanabsolutelydoit,Junior!”

Damnit.

Sothatreallywastheplan.

iselleinwardlycursedProfessorngledel’sgrowinginsanityandsaid,

“Myauraisstillimmature.”

“Butyou’vealreadysteppedintothatrealm,Junior.nlightenmentcouldcometomorrow—oreventoday.here’snoneedtorush.”

earingsuchreassuringwordsfromaseniorwhohadwalkedthepathaheadofherbroughtgenuinecomfort.

isellenoddedquietly.

heroadaswordsmanmustwalkwassolonganddistantthatitsendcouldnotevenbeseen.

herewasnoreasontoobsessoverhowquicklyonecrossedasingleshortstretchofthatpath.

“xactly,Moradi.Besides,youalsoneedtothinkabouttheWhiteigerowerstudents.”

“hankyou,Wardana—”

isellestoppedmid-sentence.

...Aguywhoawakenedaurafirstwhilesimultaneouslymanagingstudentsfromallfourtowerswassayingthis?

“...Youstayquiet.”

“!?”