A student frantically tried to extinguish the fire clinging to the cloak by tearing it off and shaking it vigorously up and down.

However, the number of red feathers was greater than expected. As the feathers multiplied like intensifying rain, the students screamed in panic.

"Take cover under the shade!"

"Which shade!? Hiding under a tree won't help!"

With a swoosh, Professor Alpen swung his staff, creating a massive canopy over the students' heads.

The red feathers hit the canopy with sharp clacks.

"Th-thank you!"

"The phoenix is a mischievous creature in many ways. As much as it enjoys playing tricks, it's best to stay cautious."

'If it plays tricks twice, we'll get burned.'

Yi-Han looked up, barely containing his astonishment.

Unaware of the chaos below, the phoenix was shaking off its feathers in the distant sky.

The students, after exchanging glances, threw the accessories they had made to commemorate the phoenix onto the ground.

"That's why I told you to focus on your studies instead of celebrating the phoenix."

"How were we supposed to know this would happen!"

"Cough. A phoenix appeared? What bad luck."

Professor Mortum clicked his tongue upon hearing about the phoenix's appearance.

The freshmen already had their hands full, and now a phoenix had shown up.

"It did set some fires, but it didn't do anything more than that. It was just staying still."

Gainando, seeming to have taken a liking to the phoenix, made a subtle excuse.

'Isn't setting fires a problem in itself?'

"Cough. That may be so for now. But the temperament of mythical beasts is mostly eccentric. Even if it's fine now, who knows when it will change its mind?"

Yi-Han had already witnessed the destructive scene of the phoenix's feathers igniting fires a few times.

Naturally, he was concerned.

"What do you think the phoenix will do?"

"Ahem. You still don't understand. Mythical beasts are disasters in themselves. They are like uncontrollable storms that don't know how to control their own power. If it flies over and hugs you, won't your whole body burn?"

As Professor Mortum said, mythical beasts with powerful abilities were beings that brought destruction and chaos wherever they went, regardless of their intentions. As they couldn't control their own strong power, they couldn't help but cause damage to their surroundings. On top of that, if they acted on their eccentric temperament and unpredictable whims...

"Cough. Compared to them, how beautiful are the undead? Controlled and predictable beauty."

"..."

"..."

Yi-Han and his friends fell silent, at a loss for words.

'I'd rather deal with a slightly dangerous phoenix than the undead.'

'Shush. You'll upset the professor.'

"So, how's the project going?"

"Yes."

This semester, Yi-Han and his friends were learning about dark magic, specifically curses, poisons, and bones.

They were magic disciplines that seemed unpopular wherever they went.

-Cough. I won't give any separate assignments for the final exams.-

-Hooray!-

-Cough. Instead, I'll have you make a simple talisman.-

-...-

A talisman.

Originally, it was a kind of ornament split in half and shared, later to be matched for identity verification upon reunion...

But in dark magic, a talisman had a different meaning.

-Watch closely.-

Professor Mortum split a bone talisman in half. As he did, a powerful curse energy burst forth from one side.

Click!

However, the curse's energy quickly disappeared as the talisman was put back together.

-One half contained the power of a curse. The other, a power to dispel it. Separated, they reveal their powers, but together, they are just an ordinary ornament.-

Curse magic was relatively easy and fast to cast, but if the opponent was a skilled mage, there were too many ways to counter it.

The same was true for poison magic. If properly poisoned, it could be lethal, but as the poison was magical, it was difficult to cause severe harm if the opponent was a skilled mage.

To compensate for these drawbacks, dark mages often carried around stronger curses and more potent poisons.

Using these pre-prepared items could significantly amplify their power.

In dark magic, a talisman was an item used for safely storing such potent substances.

The problem was...

"Cough. Cough. Cough."

Raphael coughed, his eyes watering from the pungent smoke.

A lump of curse had leaked out of the magic circle and flown through the air.

"Achoo. Achoo! Achoochoo!!"

"Ah. Can you sneeze quietly? You're not the only one using the workshop!"

Gainando scolded him, and Raphael glared back, upset, but he was too unwell to retort.

"This guy... Achoo! Achoo!!"

"It's always the less skilled ones who get angry. Isn't that right, Yi-Han?"

Gainando, who had been smugly untouched by the curse, suddenly turned pale.

"...Ei, Yi-Han. My body... I can't move..."

"You've been poisoned."

Yi-Han said with a hint of sympathy.

Raphael was working on a curse-filled talisman, and Gainando on a poison-filled one. It was by no means an easy task.

They had to steep highly concentrated curses and poisons in the talismans, risking even a mage getting affected.

Ymirg cautiously dipped half of a bone talisman into a bronze bowl. A bubbling sound followed, and he felt the curse transfer from the bowl into the bone.

'Ugh.'

Though Ymirg had higher magic resistance due to his giant mixed-blood, it didn't mean he wasn't afraid of poisons or curses.

Being human, fear of poison and curses was inevitable.

"Ugh... Ughhh."

Ymirg shuddered as he extracted half of the bone talisman with thick tongs, afraid that even the slightest contact might transfer the curse to him.

Click!

Only after attaching the other half of the bone talisman could Ymirg breathe a sigh of relief.

"...Aaaaaaah!!"

"?!"

Yi-Han looked at Ymirg in shock.

"What's wrong? What happened?"

"Bare hands! Bare hands!"

"Ah. I thought it was something else."

Ymirg momentarily wondered if he had misunderstood something, seeing his classmate so nonchalant about the same magic.

But no, his classmate from the Wardanaz family was indeed dipping his hands into the curse-filled bronze bowl.

"This much is fine."

"...????"

"It's okay. I won't die."

"No, but..."

Ymirg was visibly distressed, looking at Raphael and Gainando sprawled behind the table.

It looked like a situation where death was a distinct possibility...

Regardless of Ymirg staring at him like he was a monster, Yi-Han focused on his work.

Yi-Han wasn't working barehanded just for show.

Creating a talisman was more difficult than anticipated.

Bone was a good medium for embedding curses or poisons, but just dipping it a few times and stirring wasn't enough for it to properly absorb them.

Making a proper talisman required meticulous effort.

He had to coat the bone with various reagents to make it more receptive to curses, soak it in the curse, check if the bone was absorbing it properly, and if not, use his mana to force the curse into the bone...

This process of layering the curse onto the bone, like carefully applying paint, required more persistent patience than brilliant inspiration.

And the more I practice, the more I understand why dark magic is unpopular.

Yi-Han was holding a bone fragment with his bare hands, trying to feel the flow of the curse.

Gloves or tongs made it difficult to sense such a flow.

"Ugh... Yi-Han. My coat, please."

Gainando, barely managing to get up from the workshop floor, pointed to his coat next to the chair.

Lying down in a paralyzed state made him feel three times colder.

"Here."

"Thanks... Ah, I can't see!"

"Oops. Sorry about that."

When the time came, Professor Mortum opened the door and reappeared in the workshop.

"Cough. Have you all finished?"

"Yes."

"Yes."

Yi-Han and his friends nodded, presenting their talismans. Their faces were haggard as if they had aged years.

"Let's see..."

Professor Mortum split Gainando's talisman, and a decently strong poison emerged from it.

With a flick of his finger, the poison circling the talisman returned inside.

"Cough. Quite well made."

"Really!?"

Gainando was so surprised he almost fell backward. He grabbed Raphael's arm for balance, who looked at him with disdain.

"Why so surprised?"

"Well, I've never been praised in other classes..."

Gainando spoke with an embarrassed face. He was surprised by Professor Mortum's praise, as he had never received compliments in other classes.

Professor Mortum then smiled kindly, a rare occurrence.

"Cough. No mage excels in all forms of magic."

"?"

"?"

Ymirg and Raphael glanced at Yi-Han, but Professor Mortum continued without noticing.

"Your talent lies in dark magic. As a dark mage excelling in this field, there's no need to envy other forms of magic. Cough. Right?"

"Yes!"

"Prince, you hardly study at all."

Raphael spoke incredulously.

He knew too well how much Gainando disliked studying, having been forced to learn from Yi-Han along with other students from the White Tiger Tower.

While others reluctantly scribbled with their quills, Gainando had attempted to escape alone.

"Be quiet. Are you jealous?"

"This crazy guy..."

Raphael was dumbfounded by Gainando's arrogant attitude just because he made one talisman well.

"Cough. This is..."

Professor Mortum split Yi-Han's talisman.

Then, after a moment of silence, he looked at Gainando. Sensing the situation, an upset Gainando exclaimed.

"Professor. Don't compare me to Yi-Han, please evaluate objectively!"

Professor Bungaegor gazed at the mountain peak with a look of wonder.

The phoenix, which had been scattering its feathers while hovering in the sky, seemed to have grown bored and had flown to the top of the mountain range. As a result, a red halo shone behind the peak.

"Interesting. The phoenix is not a creature that can be easily seen," Professor Bungaegor remarked.

Yi-Han glared at his friends, who averted their gazes.

"You're very lucky. The phoenix is not a being you can meet even if you want to," the professor added.

'There's a logical flaw in your statement,' Yi-Han thought to himself.

He found it difficult to accept Professor Bungaegor's words. By that logic, the King of the Frost Giants was also a being that one could not meet even if they wanted to, yet Yi-Han did not feel particularly fortunate about that encounter.

No matter how rare it was, a mythical beast that rained fire from the sky could not be a good thing.

"Let's leave the phoenix story here and start today's lecture," Professor Bungaegor said, pointing her chin towards the enormous cauldrons. The students were puzzled by the sight of the cauldrons, which seemed more fitting for an alchemy class.

What on earth?

"Today's task is not very difficult. It's much easier than what you usually do. I decided to let you have a change of pace because I felt sorry for you suffering due to the final exams..." the professor explained.

Yi-Han refused to be fooled.

'What are you trying to do?'

Thud!

"Come here, Cerberus," Professor Bungaegor called out.

The students froze at the sight of the massive three-headed dog.

The middle head of Cerberus surveyed the students and its eyes twinkled.

-Woof!-

"Do... do we have to defeat it?" Yi-Han asked without thinking, and Professor Bungaegor retorted as if he had said something absurd.

"Don't make ridiculous jokes. Would I ask you to do such a thing?"

"Of course not? Haha," Yi-Han laughed nervously, inwardly sighing with relief.

I thought we had to fight it!