"Magic stones are ultimately just substitutes. To replicate the purest mana a mage can create with magic stones..."

"Is that important right now?"

Yi-Han pointed at the penguin mixed-blood mage lying face down and spoke to Eumidiphos.

He wasn't particularly curious about how difficult it was to replicate high-quality pure mana with magic stones.

It was much more important whether the crazy mage was trying to pass his research task onto him or not.

"Mr. Pengerin. Come to your senses. Even if it's difficult to do with magic stones, that part can be substituted with other methods anyway. What part is impossible to substitute? It's the brain of the mage who designed this experiment and devised the magic."

"..."

Yi-Han clearly saw Alcicle flinch.

Feeling hopeful, Yi-Han grabbed Alcicle's back skin and began shaking him back and forth.

"Mr. Pengerin! If you give up here, what will happen to the countless cold element mages who entered the field of cold element magic after seeing you?! Will you disappoint all of them?!"

"Ow, ow! It hurts!"

It should have been a situation where he felt pleased, but Alcicle screamed.

Yi-Han's strength was too good.

"Ah. I'm sorry. Anyway, disappointing these mages..."

"I-I got it. Calm down. Calm down. I'll think about it again."

When it seemed like Yi-Han would grab his back skin again, Alcicle hurriedly stopped him and spoke.

Seeing that, Eumidiphos thought to herself,

'It would have been fine to just attack him.'

In the end, Alcicle calmed down and regained his composure.

In fact, what Yi-Han said was accurate.

When a magic experiment succeeded, the credit went to the mage who designed the magic experiment, not to the people who assisted on the side.

Alcicle, who had implemented the extreme cold to this extent, was definitely a remarkable mage.

...The problem was that the reason the experiments that had failed until now suddenly succeeded was due to Yi-Han's mana.

Unless Alcicle was a fool, he naturally analyzed the cause.

Why did the reckless improvisation succeed when it had failed even when using various top-grade rare reagents like frost deer horn, cold jade pill, thousand-year ice, thousand-year snow, and snow emperor pill?

"The answer lies in the quality of mana. No matter how much you try to maintain mana with various reagents and magic circles, its purity and quality are inferior to directly infusing a mage's mana."

"Indeed..."

Yi-Han, who was listening in front of Alcicle, suddenly asked in puzzlement.

"But why are you telling me this?"

Yi-Han didn't understand why a first-year student like him had to hear this when it would have been enough for Eumidiphos or Boladi to hear it.

"Where did the mana that just succeeded come from?"

"It came from me."

"Then how should one obtain that mana?"

"Should I go to other cold element mage gatherings and post a notice?"

"...No. It's not that simple."

If the mana of all mages had such high purity and excellent quality like Yi-Han's mana, Alcicle wouldn't have had to suffer like this.

"It's difficult to obtain such mana."

"Oh dear. That's unfortunate..."

"Help me!"

When Alcicle tried to cling to Yi-Han's hand, Yi-Han lightly dodged.

He had been taken advantage of by professors so much that he was on guard while Alcicle was opening his mouth.

"I'm sorry. That's too much."

"Why?!"

"I have a life too, so working here 24 hours a day during the entire break is a bit..."

"...I wasn't thinking of that?!"

Alcicle was shocked by Yi-Han's terrifying idea.

Not only did he have to invest mana, but if he overworked like that, even a remarkable mage would quickly collapse.

Moreover, the other person was a first-year student.

"In the first place, I don't do that many experiments. It would be about two or three times a year."

"Ah. Is that all?"

"...That's plenty?"

If it was that much, he could help since he owed him.

When permission was given, Alcicle's face brightened. Alcicle nodded his head repeatedly and said,

"Thank you! In return, I'll pass on my visionary cold element magic to you. To the point where you can take over my research task someday!"

'I'm not particularly happy about that.'

Yi-Han cursed inwardly at Alcicle, who was trying to pass on his own research when it was already difficult now.

He was the embodiment of an evil mage.

"Yes, well... Thank you."

"That's good. Let's start right away."

"There's no time, so hurry up and pass it on. I was planning to return to the city on the weekend."

At the urging of Boladi Bagrak and Eumidiphos, Alcicle grumbled.

"Unlike basic magic, my visionary magic can't be learned quickly..."

As he spoke, Alcicle looked at Yi-Han and changed his words.

"...Well, you might be able to do it, Wardanaz."

"No, I can't."

Yi-Han firmly denied it, but the three mages didn't even pretend to listen.

<Pengerin's Cold Element Doppelganger> was a 4th Circle magic.

Unlike other doppelganger magics, it had an appearance so similar to the owner that it was indistinguishable from the outside, shared vision with the doppelganger, and even allowed close-range attacks using the cold element in case of emergency.

Considering the magic's efficacy, it was strange that it was in the 4th Circle.

Of course, the difficulty of the cold element doppelganger magic was also in the upper ranks among 4th Circle magics.

It was just that Yi-Han's sense had become strange after succeeding in a few 4th Circle magics, but originally, it was definitely not a difficulty level that a first-year student should challenge.

"Although you've mastered low-circle cold element magic well, I don't think you'll quickly master this magic."

"That's a relief."

Unlike earlier, Alcicle was calm, so Yi-Han felt relieved.

"Ah. Of course, I'm not ignoring your skills! You should be able to do the doppelganger up to the previous stage."

"...? Isn't that sufficiently difficult too?"

Yi-Han became afraid, thinking that even Alcicle was being influenced by Professor Bagrak and Eumidiphos.

The lowest stage in the doppelganger series of magic was a doppelganger with a noticeable form and no movement.

Yi-Han could currently replicate this similarly with illusion magic.

If he cast <Farhait's Lesser Illusion> and <Ogonin's Light Fog>, it would appear as if there were multiple Yi-Hans from the outside.

To go to a higher stage from here, he had to adjust the doppelganger's form and add movements to make it more plausible...

Succeeding in both of these was the <Pengerin's Cold Element Doppelganger> magic.

In other words, this previous stage meant that at least one of the form or movement was completed.

Even that alone was at least 3rd Circle.

"This magic applied many magics from other schools to avoid casting it at a high circle. That's why it has more difficulty..."

'Did he ignore what I just said?'

"...You said you're learning transformation magic and enchantment magic too? You're very lucky."

"Yes..."

"One regrettable thing is that dark magic is quite helpful when practicing this doppelganger magic. Unlike other summons, undead summons have no complaints even if you cast cold element magic on them. So it's good for practice."

One of the best ways to practice handling the movements of multiple doppelgangers was to practice with undead summons.

Undead summons had few complaints and didn't greatly refuse even if they were given weapons with cold elements or had cold elements wrapped around their bodies.

Casting cold element magic on these undead summons and delicately moving them as desired was good practice.

"I'm learning dark magic too."

"What?!"

Eumidiphos also spoke as if it was strange.

"Didn't I say I was learning dark magic?"

Yi-Han had definitely mentioned dark magic when talking about the magic he had learned.

"Did you? Huh? Why does it feel like I didn't hear it?"

"...A-Anyway, are you saying that summoning undead with dark magic and practicing is very helpful?"

Feeling sorry for the dark mages for no reason, Yi-Han hurriedly changed the subject.

Alcicle nodded.

"The more magic you cast and the more you try to move them directly, the better. Can you summon undead by any chance?"

"Yes. I can summon skeleton warriors."

"Good. Skeleton warriors. The more, the better. Can you do up to three?"

"Yes."

"Oh! Can you do more? How many?"

"They can't move yet, but up to 15..."

"...???"

Alcicle was surprised in many ways.

First, it was surprising that the summoned creatures couldn't move, and it was also surprising that he could summon up to 15 skeleton warriors.

Even a decent summoning mage would have their soul shattered, mana exhausted, or brain burned...

"I'm learning a bit of an old-fashioned dark magic."

When Yi-Han explained that he was learning old-fashioned dark magic from evil dark mages, Alcicle was very interested.

"So it's more difficult to handle..."

"It would be even better for practice! You're really lucky!"

"..."

Yi-Han felt like he knew why Alcicle was Eumidiphos' disciple.

'I'm the crazy one for having expectations.'

Surprisingly (Eumidiphos, Boladi, and Alcicle were all surprised), Yi-Han did not complete the <Pengerin's Cold Element Doppelganger> magic in the remaining time.

Of course, Yi-Han wasn't surprised.

In fact, only the three mages were surprised.

"Did I teach it wrong...?"

For the first time in his life, Alcicle began to have healthy doubts about his own abilities. Seeing that, Eumidiphos was amazed.

'I didn't expect it to go this far!'

"I'm sorry if I taught it wrong."

"It's alright."

"As long as you know."

"..."

Yi-Han glared at Professor Bagrak once and spoke again.

"I won't forget what you taught me. I'll practice it even after I return."

"I hope you complete it quickly. I'll prepare the next magic too. It will be a bit more difficult, but you'll be fine."

"...Yes."

Yi-Han pondered whether to practice cold element magic a bit later.

"Ah. Can I call you this fall?"

"Fall is during the Einroguard semester, Alcicle."

"Uh... When does the semester end?"

At Eumidiphos' answer, Alcicle counted on his fingers and calculated.

If he stayed in the academy until the end of this year...

"You can't come out?!"

"Did you think a first-year student could freely leave the academy?"

At Eumidiphos' disapproving tone, Yi-Han flinched.

'How did she know?'

"Can't I visit?"

"For an outsider to visit, they would need permission from Lord Gonadaltes. It wouldn't be an easy task."

"Eh... A great mage like Lord Gonadaltes wouldn't bother with such matters. He'll generously allow it."

"?"

"?"

Yi-Han and Eumidiphos were puzzled at the same time.

"That..."

"Well... Try your best. He might allow it if you ask nicely."

"Yes. I'll be waiting for your visit."

At Yi-Han's words, Alcicle smiled brightly.

"Yes! I'll visit in the fall!"

"Yes."

As he got into the carriage and left the magic tower, Yi-Han looked back. The sight of Alcicle waving his hand somehow left a deep impression on him.

"...He won't be dragged to the punishment room after meeting the principal, right?"

"It'll probably be fine. ...Probably."

Direth moved her steps towards the Wardanaz family's mansion with her friends.

"Senior. I heard a strange rumor... They said professors fought on the street to take away a first-year student from the Wardanaz family during the break. Is that true?"

"Does that make sense?"

"Say something that makes sense."

Direth's juniors learning dark magic rebuked their friend.

"But why is the Wardanaz family's bloodline trying to learn dark magic?"

"Are you ashamed of dark magic?"

"A little...?"

"...Actually, me too..."

"Everyone, be quiet."

Direth silenced her juniors.

Unlike other schools with many disciples, the dark magic school at Einroguard was so small that seniors and juniors all knew each other's faces and names.

That wasn't a bad thing.

Dark mages already had a hard time making a living. If they didn't stick together, it would be even more difficult.

So, whenever Direth had time, she would gather her juniors, introduce them to each other, and have a time for conversation.

"I'm worried that the Wardanaz family's junior might take dark magic lightly. I heard he's a genius and is learning many other types of magic, so he might use dark magic as a formality to add a line to his reputation."

"I told you he's not that kind of person."

At Direth's warning, the grumbling junior shut his mouth.

However, the dissatisfaction didn't disappear.

'Hmph. How do you know he's not looking down on dark magic...'

"!!!"

The dark mages who arrived at the Wardanaz family's mansion were startled.

In the front yard of the mansion, skeleton warriors were standing with bone swords emitting cold energy.

"...See? I told you."

"He's really serious about dark magic."

"I've never seen someone summon undead in a mansion of that level."

"Is he crazy? How is he going to clean..."

The juniors quickly acknowledged that the Wardanaz family's freshman was serious.

However, they couldn't be sure if the freshman was in his right mind.