Uh, what?

As Direth had said, the powerful demons classified as superior beings did not succumb simply because they were struck a few times. If a few blows were all it took to subdue them, could they truly be considered powerful? They would be no more than wild beasts. However, Coholti seemed certain he had seen a demon avert its gaze.

"Direth. Direth," Coholti called.

"Do you not see I'm busy finding a way back? Can you find it instead?" Direth replied brusquely.

She was preoccupied with finding an alternative path for her junior, as his intended route was blocked. It was the reconfiguration week, and some paths had vanished, making her task all the more troublesome.

"Should I hit that demon a few more times?"

"Do as you please. But later, I'll hit you too."

"Ha, haha. You're joking..."

Though Coholti said this, it didn't seem entirely in jest.

"Knock it down!"

With the incantation, magic was cast upon the demon trapped within the crystal cage. The demon, struck by the shockwave Coholti unleashed, screamed in pain and averted its gaze...

...or rather, it simply looked on with a 'what is this mage doing' expression.

Embarrassed, Coholti asked the demon, "Did I cast it too weakly?"

Of course, the demon didn't respond. Coholti cast the spell again, this time with more focus and strength.

Bang!

The shockwave hit, and the demon writhed. That was the end of it. It was markedly different from before.

...Did I see wrong? Coholti wondered and cautiously said, "I wonder if I could ask the junior to use his spell again?"

"Do as you wish."

"Really!?"

"Yes! Ask him to do your assignments and take your exams too. Why not ask him to graduate for you as well?"

"...Just this once... just once..."

Direth backed off with a 'how should I kill this guy' look in her eyes. Coholti, noticing the cue, barely managed to get permission.

"Just cast it?" Yi-Han asked.

-Yeah. Just do it comfortably. Comfortably!-

'What's going on?' Yi-Han wondered, moving with curiosity. He couldn't pinpoint the reason, but he suspected the seniors were under considerable stress. It was known that powerful demons wouldn't yield to violence, but apart from that, mages also accumulated stress. If words didn't work, it was only natural to resort to magic.

The seniors needed to manage their mana, so it made sense for them to ask Yi-Han, who had spare mana.

'I understand.'

It was like students grappling with a difficult experiment, battling the urge to smash their equipment.

'Getting closer would be easier.'

Yi-Han moved closer to the crystal cage. He could aim from where he was, but casting up close was more fun.

Swoosh-

"?"

As Yi-Han approached, the demon that had been boldly staring outside the crystal cage suddenly lowered its gaze.

'Did I see it wrong?'

Yi-Han tilted his head, puzzled, looking at the demon. Then, the demon slowly backed away, overtly avoiding his gaze.

"Flash forth!"

-! !

With a painful scream, the demon fell to its knees, forehead touching the ground. It was a clear posture of submission.

Coholti and Direth dropped their staffs in shock at the sight.

Powerful beings from other realms defied the order of the world with their mere presence, bringing their own rules.

Having their own rules meant that these beings possessed a strong resistance to magic, a power that could alter the world's rules.

The magical resistance of such entities was formidable. This explained the 'what is this mage doing' look the demon gave to Coholti's earlier spell.

Of course, magic resistance was not invincible. There were various strategies to overcome it, like casting a specialized, high-difficulty penetration magic, or simply increasing the amount of mana in the same spell to forcefully break through...

However, the latter was, in reality, an impractical approach. Merely increasing the amount of mana in the same spell was not the essence of skill.

While the spell's effects did strengthen somewhat with increased mana, it would have been more sensible to learn and cast a higher-circle spell instead. There was no need to foolishly cram excessive mana into a lower-circle spell.

Due to the inherent limitations of the spell itself, there were constraints to enhancing its effects. Moreover, increasing the mana raised the difficulty of casting, and most importantly, a mage's mana was not infinite.

Acting recklessly in such a manner could easily lead to mana exhaustion.

-You understand, right? Junior?-

Direth and Coholti warned in detail, fearing that their reckless junior might collapse from mana exhaustion in some corner of the magic academy corridors.

They knew this talented junior had an innately large reserve of mana. He was progressing through his magic learning faster than other students due to his exceptional magic talent.

However, they couldn't just watch and do nothing. As seniors, they had to warn him against dangerous practices.

-Mana exhaustion is much more terrifying than you think!-

-How are you feeling right now? No dizziness or cold sweats?-

"Yes... I'm fine."

'You're over-worrying,' Yi-Han thought. If that were enough to make him collapse, he would have done so long ago. In fact, Yi-Han was already aware that he instinctively overused mana when casting spells. This was evidenced by the extended duration of his light-emitting and enchantment spells.

The fact that he had just penetrated the demon's magic resistance was unexpected, but casting the lightning spell hadn't been a strain for Yi-Han. If it had been, he would have collapsed long ago.

"I'm really fine, so don't worry. So... did the demon submit because of the damage it took?"

-No.-

-That's not it.-

Direth and Coholti, fourth-year students specializing in dark magic, answered decisively. The powerful magic attack Yi-Han had just demonstrated was indeed impressive, but it was not the reason for the demon's submission. Superior demons were not so frail.

"Then why?"

"..."

A moment of silence followed.

"??" Yi-Han was perplexed as his seniors didn't provide a clear answer.

'What?'

-Well... it's just that-

-This is... not exactly... it's not precise, but-

The seniors hesitated to give a straightforward answer, instead beating around the bush. It was because what they thought seemed too absurd.

"Was it scared?"

"Does that even make sense?"

"It doesn't make sense, but... what else could it be..."

"..."

What if the two seniors told their first-year junior, 'The demon might have been a bit weakened after being hit by a few spells, and maybe you, with your abundant mana and cold appearance, scared it'?

Probably, the junior would return to the tower and say something like,

-Hey, it seems you just need to breathe in Einlogard to advance a grade. Today, I saw some crazy seniors, and instead of admitting they didn't know, they spouted such nonsense-

But what else could be the reason, if not this?

"Seniors?"

-...This is a very complex and difficult-to-explain, exceptional phenomenon,- one of the fourth-year students explained, circling around the subject.

-It might sound absurd, but don't think of it as complete nonsense. There's some academic evidence to back it up-

Starting from 'today's cloud formation indicates that demons are particularly weak-willed' to baseless speculations like 'that demon might be weak to lightning,' the explanations flowed incessantly.

"Uh... okay, I understand," Yi-Han replied, though he was actually not very interested.

What did it matter if the superior demon blocking the corridor was frightened by him or not? The important thing was the spire stable.

-Good. You can pass now. That's great!-

-Yeah! You can go to the spire stable now! Congratulations!-

Yi-Han sensed that the seniors seemed eager to send him on his way, but he didn't mind and asked, "But seniors, you were working on an assignment. Didn't my actions disrupt it?"

They were preparing a magic circle to subdue the demon, but now that the demon had submitted, their plans had gone awry. Yi-Han felt a bit guilty.

-Not at all. It's actually better this way.-

"Really?"

-Since the demon has submitted, we can just take it with us and say we succeeded with the magic circle. The professor won't bother to check in person anyway.-

Coholti was gleefully passing on this tip to the first-year, when Direth firmly smacked him on the back of his head.

Whack!

"Teach good things, always teach good things!"

'This is it!'

Following Direth's directions, Yi-Han moved towards the distant rumbling sounds. It wasn't the noise of people, but the low growls of various beasts. These were sounds one would expect to hear in a stable.

'This weekend...!'

It was the week Amur was visiting. If he just brought Niffirg with him, he could fly out proudly.

Yi-Han looked around for any potential dangers.

'No significant threats... but those Death Knights are a problem.'

The Death Knights were stationed near the stable for security. They chatted among themselves, indifferent to anyone passing by, but Yi-Han couldn't let his guard down.

'Those Death Knights... more troublesome than I thought.'

A casual conversation could be heart-dropping for Yi-Han if one of them decided to strike up a friendly chat.

Suddenly, the wall in front of Yi-Han melted away, revealing a familiar figure from an inner corridor.

The suddenness of it all left Yi-Han unable to cast an invisibility spell.

"!"

The figure, with its mouth wrapped in bandages, was an odd sight. It was the Spirekeeper, a servant of the principal and a volunteer at the magic academy, whom Yi-Han had met before.

The Spirekeeper did not react with shock upon seeing Yi-Han, nor did he call the Death Knights. Instead, he simply greeted Yi-Han lightly.

'Ah, it's broad daylight.'

Yi-Han sighed in relief internally.

Unlike at midnight when anyone wandering about was apprehended and thrown into the punishment room, it was still daytime, with the sun high in the sky. It was normal for students to roam around, so the Spirekeeper likely felt no suspicion.

Yi-Han hoped the Spirekeeper wouldn't remember that a first-year student shouldn't be here, as it would be quite unusual.

Why are you here?

When the Spirekeeper wrote on a piece of paper and showed it to him, Yi-Han responded immediately.

"I was actually preparing for a final assignment and got lost."

Thats unfortunate. May I guide you?

"Thank you. Oh, is that the stable over there?" Yi-Han asked with a look of innocent curiosity.

The Spirekeeper nodded. Yi-Han continued, his eyes still portraying innocence, "May I take a look around the stable? I've been struggling to keep up with Professor Bungaegor's lectures. I think a visit to the stable might help me a little."

The Spirekeeper's face showed a dilemma. He couldn't just let a student wander around a facility where students were not typically allowed.

Yi-Han's expression turned wistful as he spoke, "Never mind. It seems I've asked too much. Unlike my friends, who have been riding horses since childhood and are familiar with them, I've always been clumsy with physical activities... Maybe I was just being stubborn out of embarrassment. Please understand."

Yi-Han confidently told a lie that would have made students of the White Tiger throw their spears in outrage if they had heard it.

The Spirekeeper looked around cautiously, then with a look of resolve, he nodded.

"Alright. Follow me."

Having previously received help in the warehouse, and seeing a student trying so earnestly to overcome his weaknesses, the Spirekeeper couldn't just leave him be. Surely, the Spirekeeper's master would have acted similarly!