Yi-Han was about to argue why only he had to be excluded, but he stopped.

It was absurd, but honestly, if asked whether he wanted to participate in that gathering, the answer was no.

'I don't want to be among them.'

Of course, his friends would want to overcome the sudden ordeal together with Yi-Han, but...

Yi-Han didn't really want to do that.

"What can I help you with?"

"Wow."

"?"

When Professor Ku exclaimed, Yi-Han was puzzled.

Why was he doing that?

"Ah. The principal said that if it's you, Wardanaz, you would gladly help."

"..."

Yi-Han, whose true feelings were read by the skull principal, felt complicated.

"To have such a diligent disciple. As I said before, it seems too much for Professor Bagrak."

"Haha. Not at all."

"Boladi probably thinks the same. But it shouldn't be like that."

'It's scary that it seems that way.'

While Yi-Han was thinking to himself, Professor Ku waved his staff.

Then, a huge flame beast revealed itself.

If an ordinary person saw a huge, fiercely burning beast glaring at them with fierce eyes, they would have screamed, but Yi-Han didn't even blink.

"It doesn't seem to suit the ballroom."

"Definitely. A sharp student would notice."

Professor Ku admitted his mistake and readily dispelled the illusion.

Yi-Han slowly opened his mouth.

"If you need an illusion that can surprise the students, I think you need a plausible monster, not just a threatening one."

"Plausible?"

"Yes. A monster that wouldn't be strange to appear in the ballroom."

"Is there such a thing?"

Professor Ku was taken aback.

It seemed like any monster appearing in the ballroom would feel strange.

"If you attach a good reason, even a strange monster can become plausible. For example, if you say the principal released the monster, most students will believe it."

"Indeed..."

Listening to the conversation, Professor Ku suddenly had a question in his mind.

In a way, it was a task to trouble Wardanaz's friends, so was it something to put this much sincerity into?

'Indeed, he's worthy of being Boladi's disciple.'

In Wardanaz's unwavering refusal to compromise when it came to magic-related matters, regardless of his friends' difficulties, Professor Ku was reminded of Boladi.

In the end, a disciple couldn't help but resemble their master to some extent.

Unaware of Professor Ku's musings, Yi-Han pulled out a list of monsters.

"How about a demon-type monster? It seems easy to believe that the principal summoned it."

"What about this one?"

A demon with four wings, exhaling a breath mixed with flames and sulfur, appeared.

"It seems good. Its threatening appearance suits the principal well."

"Indeed. Then let's prepare."

"Yes. ...Wait. What do you mean?"

Yi-Han was slightly taken aback when Professor Ku said to prepare right away without any explanation.

What did he mean by preparing?

"The demon's illusion, of course?"

"I haven't learned that yet."

"Ah. It's okay if it's not an illusion that can move on its own and control senses. It's fine if the appearance is similar."

"...That's what I'm saying, I haven't learned that yet."

Yi-Han was starting to fear how Professor Ku thought of him.

Did he think he was a fourth-year student?

"What?!"

Professor Ku was startled.

Then, as if it was a new realization, he spoke again.

"Right. Wardanaz, you're a first-year, so it wouldn't be strange if you didn't know."

Yi-Han was about to ask, 'You just realized that now?' but he held back.

The other person was a professor.

"Yes... No matter how crude, I don't think the magic I can do is at the level of creating an illusion of a monster on the level of a demon."

"But Professor Beavle said you mastered <Azirmo Summoning Enchantment>, which is 4th Circle magic. That's also in the illusion magic category, right? If you can do that, you can roughly do a demon's illusion..."

A magic that summons the illusion of a dragon made of light.

Even with the help of a magic circle, it was definitely an impressive feat.

Enough to even attempt a demon's illusion.

Yi-Han, who was at a disadvantage, changed the subject as if he hadn't heard.

"So what can I help you with?"

"I was going to assist you on the side when you summoned the demon's illusion... How about learning it now? I think you can do it, Wardanaz."

'Hmm. Indeed, he's a friend of Professor Boladi.'

The saying 'birds of a feather flock together' wasn't for nothing.

If a crazy person's friend seemed too normal, one had to think again.

There was a high possibility that madness was hidden behind that normal exterior.

But apart from Yi-Han's rude thoughts, this matter wasn't Professor Ku's fault.

It was originally because Professor Beavle and other professors had raised the difficulty level by saying things like 'Wardanaz did this much' and 'Wardanaz could probably do this much'.

Hearing such words, it was natural to suggest learning a spell to summon a demon's illusion.

A suggestion born from pure consideration without any malice.

Of course, even if you throw a rock with no malice and a pure heart, a person can still be hit and die.

"I'm currently practicing many spells..."

Yi-Han was gradually learning the knack of dealing with Einroguard's professors.

A kind of deflection, using Professor B as an excuse against Professor A, and using Professor C as an excuse against Professor B.

It could be troublesome if caught, but what could he do?

If he didn't, he was about to die right now.

"Right."

Professor Ku wasn't surprised at all.

Just looking at the lectures he took in the first semester, it was easy to guess that Wardanaz would be practicing many spells right now.

"What are you practicing? I'm curious. Is there any illusion magic?"

"Illusion magic... I am practicing Ogonin's illusion magic."

Yi-Han hesitated after speaking.

Professor Ku was listening with too much interest.

"Ogonin's? What magic have you mastered and to what extent?"

"It's not that impressive."

"It's a different story if it's Ogonin's illusion magic. It's classic and orthodox. The difficulty level has drastically reduced the number of people learning it these days, but I'm glad to hear you're practicing it, Wardanaz."

"So, it's not that impressive..."

No matter how much Yi-Han tried to speak, Professor Ku didn't listen.

He even called a passing mage.

"Daruachi. My disciple here is directly learning and practicing Ogonin's illusion magic?"

"What? Aren't the students here today first-years?"

"He's a freshman. Isn't it impressive?"

"That's impossible."

When a mage he had never seen before came, Yi-Han wanted to hit Professor Ku.

What was so great about learning from Ogonin that he even called a passerby?

"Professor. Why even another person..."

"Ah. This is Daruachi from the Valer family. He's also a mage who came to help with today's event."

Unlike Professor Boladi, Professor Ku had a wide network. The other mage seemed to be Professor Ku's friend.

'Valer family?'

Yi-Han was surprised that the other person's family name was familiar.

Where had he heard it?

"Nice to meet you. I'm Daruachi from the Valer family."

"I'm Yi-Han from the Wardanaz family."

"...?"

Daruachi stopped in the middle of the greeting and stared at Yi-Han.

"Why are you doing that?"

"Ah... I heard the rumors, but I didn't think you were a first-year."

"..."

"Doin owed you a favor."

"!"

Yi-Han finally remembered what kind of family the Valer family was.

Doin from Baldurguard, who had a light duel with Yi-Han at the gathering.

Doin's family was the Valer family.

'They were from the same family!'

"What happened at the gathering wasn't me winning, but Doin making a mistake..."

"You don't have to be so considerate. The idiot is the one who made such a mistake while competing in magic with a first-year student."

Yi-Han wanted to somehow restore Doin's honor, but it wasn't easy.

And it was also quite hard to believe that Doin accidentally fell into a state of exhaustion because Yi-Han had too much mana.

While Yi-Han was feeling sorry for Doin in his mind, Professor Ku and Daruachi had a conversation.

"If the rumors are true, it's not completely nonsense that he's learning Ogonin's magic."

"Daruachi. It's not because he's my disciple, but Wardanaz doesn't make false claims when it comes to magic."

"I'm not saying I don't believe it. Ogonin's illusion magic is so difficult that even if you try to learn and master it, it's not easy. Even if you have the will, you might not see results."

"We'll know the results when we hear them. Have you mastered any magic?"

"I've mastered <Ogonin's Emotion Perception> and the <Ogonin's Rising Anxiety> series of magic, and now I'm practicing <Ogonin's Light Fog>..."

"Ooh!"

"That's impossible!"

The two illusion mages were startled.

He was already practicing <Ogonin's Light Fog>.

Any proper illusion mage in the Empire couldn't be unaware of <Ogonin's Light Fog>.

A defensive magic that spreads an illusory fog to make accurate aiming impossible for external enemies.

Of course, there were many illusion spells that created such effects. Among them, there were many spells that were easier to master than <Ogonin's Light Fog>.

However, the reason <Ogonin's Light Fog> was highly regarded was because of its completeness.

Illusion magic using heat didn't work properly in places filled with cold, and illusion magic using hallucinogenic clouds had a sharp decrease in effectiveness if the sense of smell was blocked.

However, pure traditional illusion magic like <Ogonin's Light Fog> didn't have such weaknesses.

It took a long time to master and was inefficient, but once mastered, it was a highly complete magic without weaknesses.

It wasn't for nothing that Professor Ku and Daruachi highly evaluated it.

"He's already mastered <Ogonin's Emotion Perception> and <Ogonin's Rising Anxiety>. Impressive."

"I told you, Daruachi."

"With that level, it seems he's fully prepared to master <Ogonin's Light Fog>."

"You're right. Wardanaz. You said you're practicing now? Try practicing again. We'll watch."

"No... Professor... Aren't we preparing?"

"It's okay to do that a bit later."

"Professor Ku is right. What's so important about such a prank? Let's see <Ogonin's Light Fog>."

"..."

Is this really okay?

"Something is strange."

The skull principal frowned and spoke.

Professor Beavle, who was next to him, asked with a brightened face.

"You finally realized! The futility of this useless nonsense..."

"That's not what I meant."

"It's not?"

"Why are the number of illusion mages gradually decreasing?"

The skull principal didn't entrust the task only to Professor Ku.

Considering the size of the hall and the number of freshmen, it was something that couldn't be assigned only to Professor Ku from the beginning. The mana possessed by Einroguard's professors wasn't that cheap.

He had called and put on standby several illusion mages in Granden City, including Daruachi, but...

The number of illusion mages in the ballroom was decreasing one by one.

At first, he thought they had deserted because they didn't want to do it, but no matter what, this was a bit strange.

Unless someone was kidnapping them...

"..."

The skull principal took his gaze off Gainando, who was stirring up the center of the ballroom like a storm, and went out to the corridor.

And he moved his steps to where the life force was gathered.

'No way...'

If life force was gathered, there was only one answer, but the skull principal denied it.

No matter what, how could the illusion mages irresponsibly leave their posts and act on their own?

"It seems difficult..."

"No! Mr. Wardanaz. Please try a little more."

"That's right! <Ogonin's Light Fog> is a magic too precious to give up like this. I also tried to learn it once, but I failed in the end. I'm sure you can do it, Mr. Wardanaz!"

"I agree. I don't want to highly evaluate failure, but just completing it to this extent is impressive. It would be a shame to stop here."

"Come on. Just one more time!"

"Just one more time!"

"..."

Seeing the illusion mages surrounding Yi-Han and applauding, the skull principal truly felt a headache.