"Let's eat," Yi-Han said.

The soup in the pot placed over the campfire bubbled vigorously. Fresh vegetables and meat were stir-fried and added, followed by water and seasoning from opened cans, resulting in a properly made soup.

Of course, Yi-Han had cooked it.

"??"

"????"

Gubon and Bijidek missed the timing to ask, "Why are you doing this?" They quietly received the wooden bowls.

The White Tiger Tower students ate very naturally.

"Wardanaz, you haven't lost your touch," Dolgyu commented.

"His cooking skills are as impressive as his magic," Anglago added.

"By the way, Mr. Gubon, do adventurers usually eat like this?" Dolgyu asked curiously.

Gubon pondered how to explain it, then scratched his head and answered, "When solving nearby missions or on the first or second day of a mission, we do eat well..."

When the distance was close or the mission seemed to end quickly, adventurers also paid attention to the quality of food. However, for long-distance expeditions or large-scale ruins and dungeons, it was different. Efficiency and compression were absolute. No crazy person cared about taste when they might starve at any moment.

"I see. So for a mission like today, it's appropriate to eat like this," Raphael said.

"I thought adventurers only ate dried jerky," Anglago remarked.

"It seems there was some exaggeration," Dolgyu concluded.

"...No, even if we eat well, it's rare to eat this well..." Gubon said, perplexed.

"Eating well" meant consuming fresh fruits, bread, or rice cakes they brought before they spoiled, not preparing such an elaborate meal. Obtaining water for cooking and using fire for cooking also required energy. Adventurers who spent that much energy on a single meal were rare.

"You don't eat like this?" Yi-Han asked.

"Yes... Because water and fire are all hard to come by," Gubon replied.

"I see."

Yi-Han nodded and looked at his friends. The White Tiger Tower students protected their soup with their hands, a habit formed at Einroguard.

"I... I won't give it back," Anglago said.

"I had no intention of taking it. I already cooked, so what can I do? Though, without magic, this would all be work," Yi-Han remarked.

Looking at it, Yi-Han also thought that if he had done this without magic, it would have taken quite a lot of time and energy.

"Then from now on, we'll also have simple adventurer preserved food..." Yi-Han began.

"Hey, there's no need to decide so hastily, Wardanaz," Anglago interrupted.

"That's true. Mr. Gubon here also said to eat well when we can," Raphael added.

Anglago and Raphael desperately tried to persuade Yi-Han. Honestly, this was tastier than the meals from the knights' quarters.

Gubon's colleague, Bijidek, tilted his head.

"This soup is surprisingly delicious."

"Isn't it because the ingredients are good?" Gubon asked.

"I watched while helping with the cooking, and there was nothing particularly special about the ingredients... Could it be the water?"

"Water? What about the water?"

"It's the water the mage summoned, isn't it?"

"Oh, indeed. That could be it."

As the two adventurers whispered, Anglago scraped his bowl and the pot with a ladle, only to be hit by Yi-Han.

"Eat in moderation. The two of them need to eat too," Yi-Han scolded.

"Ah... No... It would be a waste if there were leftovers..." Anglago mumbled.

When the time came, Yi-Han quietly got up. The two adventurers said they would take turns keeping watch, but Yi-Han refused. If he let them develop lazy habits, it could become troublesome later when there were no adventurers around.

'By the way, the guild really recommended diligent people.'

Their willingness to take the lead in everything left a strong impression on Yi-Han. He had heard that many adventurers had poor personalities, but it seemed the guild had recommended truly reliable talents.

"Eyes, pierce through the darkness," Yi-Han cast.

There was no need to be bored during the night watch. Yi-Han cast a dark vision spell and began reading a magic book. It was a level of madness that would make other White Tiger Tower students shudder.

<Ancient Fundamentals of Necromancy - On True Summoning of the Undead>

A true dark mage need not heed the whims of undead from other realms, for they should be able to move the dead with pure will alone. Here, the commands for skeletons...

While other dark mages comfortably made contracts with undead in the undead realm and summoned them, Yi-Han used old-fashioned dark magic that directly assembled bones, as the skull principal had strongly recommended learning "authentic ancient dark magic." However, it wasn't without advantages. If there were truly no advantages, Yi-Han wouldn't have done it despite the skull principal's insistence.

'I hope the skeleton warriors' attacks will be perfected within this vacation,' Yi-Han thought.

Currently, summoning skeleton warriors was possible, but their movements were quite limited, and there were many failures. If the skeleton warriors could reach the stage of attacking enemies on their own, it would be more convenient when facing Bola... no, enemies.

Rustle-

"?"

Yi-Han raised his head. It seemed like there was a sound of something brushing against the bushes somewhere.

'Is it an animal?'

Pop!

Before his thought could end, a light flashed and exploded from below. It was the intruder prevention magic he had set up just in case. Although it had no offensive power, it was enough to startle the intruder and give them time to respond.

As a skilled Einroguard student, Yi-Han moved without any waste.

Thud!

"Wake up! We're under attack!" Yi-Han shouted, kicking his friends' backs.

The White Tiger Tower students woke up in a fluster.

"Is it the principal?!" Anglago asked.

"It's not the principal!" Yi-Han replied.

"Th... That's a relief," Anglago sighed.

"It's not a relief! Everyone, grab your weapons first!" Yi-Han ordered.

The experienced Gubon and Bijidek were very tense. Although the students' skills were excellent, in such a surprise attack and melee, composure was quite important apart from ability. Of all times, for an intruder to appear in a situation where they were on a mission with students...

'Please let it be nothing serious!' Gubon and Bijidek prayed.

They hoped the intruder was a shepherd or traveler wandering nearby, or a lost adventurer.

"Raise your shields and lower your heads," Yi-Han commanded.

"Protect Wardanaz!" Dolgyu shouted.

"!?"

However, the students' movements exceeded the two adventurers' expectations. The moment the light burst, they immediately got up, grabbed their weapons and shields, and formed a formation with a level of skill that was not ordinary.

'As expected of those from knight families!' the adventurers thought.

It wasn't particularly because they were from knight families, but the two adventurers' misunderstanding deepened.

"Damn it, what are you doing here?!" a rough voice shouted from below.

It was clear that their vision had been impacted by the light.

'If we're going to attack, we should attack now...' Gubon pondered.

If it were a party of hostile adventurers, they would have attacked the opponent first and then figured things out. However, the students here were all from knight families. There was a high possibility they wouldn't choose such a cowardly act.

"We are adventurers from Granden City who have come to solve the mission in Burnt Hill. If you don't reveal your identity, we will attack!" Gubon declared.

"We arrived at Burnt Hill two days ago. Get lost!" the voice from below retorted.

The White Tiger Tower students were puzzled by the sound coming from below. They were still unfamiliar with the customary rules of adventurers.

"Should we back down?" Dolgyu asked.

"No! Although it's customary for the latecomers to withdraw, it's not always absolute, and doing this so forcefully without evidence is..." Gubon began to explain.

"Understood. We will withdraw!" Yi-Han announced.

"!"

His friends and the adventurers were surprised by Yi-Han's declaration, but they didn't object. They respected Yi-Han's authority.

"Tsk... There's no need to accommodate such fellows," Anglago grumbled.

"Endure it. It's more shameful to engage in a brawl with such guys," Raphael said.

As Anglago and Raphael expressed their regret, Yi-Han spoke again, "We need assurance that you won't attack us while we're retreating. Show yourselves!"

"Don't talk nonsense. How do I know you won't attack?" the voice retorted.

"One person from each side comes out to confirm. How about it?" Yi-Han proposed.

"...Fine," the voice agreed.

Yi-Han turned to Raphael, "I'm counting on you."

"Alright, I understand... Wait a minute," Raphael's eyes narrowed as he remembered a past incident with Yi-Han in the undead realm.

"You couldn't be..." Raphael began.

"Don't think anything strange and move quickly. If there's anything suspicious, report it immediately," Yi-Han instructed.

"..."

The mercenary, Buldahak, walked out with a frown on his face. Seeing Raphael, the furrows between Buldahak's brows deepened further.

'What? He's just a youngster...?'

Buldahak was averse to unnecessary bloodshed, but this seemed different. The youngster was well-equipped, an uncommon sight among novice adventurers who usually lacked even proper weapons.

This one appeared to be the opposite, likely adorned with family heirlooms or financed by family wealth.

'A party with such a guy in it probably isn't very impressive,' Buldahak thought.

His fingers twitched unconsciously. He was strongly tempted to signal his subordinates behind him to launch an attack.

"Flash forth," Yi-Han whispered.

With a small chant, a sharp lightning bolt crackled from behind, striking Buldahak's back.

Bzzt!

"Argh... Huk?!"

Caught completely off guard, Buldahak's limbs stiffened, and his weapon fell. Even Raphael was startled by how unexpected it was.

"Wa... Wardanaz?!"

"Flash forth, flash forth, flash forth," Yi-Han chanted.

More lightning bolts flew, and the mercenaries hiding in the nearby bushes screamed and tumbled.

"There's a mage!!! There's a mage!"

"Find the mage... Argh!"

The remaining mercenaries finally grasped the situation and looked around, but there was nothing to be seen.

"Light the torches!"

"The target is..."

"You idiot! Mages can see through the darkness! Hurry and light them!"

'I should stop using lightning magic,' Yi-Han thought as he changed positions.

From the beginning, he had agreed to withdraw and sent Raphael forward to buy time and assess the enemy's numbers. Once the assessment was done and he had caught them off guard, he immediately launched an attack. With precisely crackling lightning magic, he took down the threatening ones first.

Despite being invisible, continued use of lightning could reveal his position and invite counterattacks. Of course, that didn't mean he couldn't use magic at all.

"Spring forth," Yi-Han cast.

The water beads quickly divided and moved in different directions. It was an attack that was impossible to discern where it was coming from.

Thud!

"The mage has already used a lot of magic! The mage can no longer use magic... Ugh," a mercenary shouted before collapsing.

As a water bead struck another mercenary's jaw, the remaining mercenaries were terrified.

"We surrender!"

"We surrender, mage! We surrender!"

Gubon finally came to his senses and shouted, "Put down your weapons and raise your hands! Anyone who moves even slightly will be attacked! Bijidek! Go and tie them up!"

"We'll go too," the White Tiger Tower students said.

The White Tiger Tower students and Bijidek securely tied up the fallen and surrendered mercenaries.

"This guy... It's Buldahak! It's Buldahak!" Bijidek exclaimed in surprise.

"Who is he?" Dolgyu asked.

"He's a criminal with a bounty in the Empire!" Bijidek replied.

"Oh, how much is the bounty?" Yi-Han asked, dispelling his invisibility and appearing from behind.

Gubon asked curiously, "How did you know he was Buldahak?"

"I didn't know," Yi-Han answered.

"Pardon?"

"If we were to fight, it's always advantageous to strike first," Yi-Han explained.

The White Tiger Tower students nodded in agreement with Yi-Han's words.

"As expected of Wardanaz," Anglago said.

"I told you, he never lets his guard down. We should learn from that," Raphael added.

"..."