"Yi, Yi-Han. Wouldn't it be better to hear Moradi's explanation?"

Dolgyu, who noticed Jijel's gaze, called out to Yi-Han, who was swimming ahead.

"Ah. Right. There might be something I missed. Sorry, Moradi. I was in a hurry. Explain it."

"...If you go around the opposite direction and approach, there's a lot of debris drifting in the water near the Logging Tower... Forget it. Screw you. You bastard."

"?!"

Yi-Han, who suddenly got cursed at, was dumbfounded.

"Why is she doing that? Could it be because I punched the White Tiger Tower guys a few times yesterday for not studying?"

"I think you did the right thing..."

Dolgyu muttered.

The White Tiger Tower students grumbled, 'Why does Wardanaz hate us so much?' but in Dolgyu's view, this wasn't Yi-Han's fault.

If they didn't want to be nagged, they shouldn't have done things to deserve it.

"By the way, Moradi. There's one thing I'm curious about."

"Speak. I'm listening."

"Shouldn't you tell the other friends too?"

"?"

"?"

Yi-Han and Jijel looked at Dolgyu as if asking what nonsense he was spouting.

Then the two exchanged glances separately.

"Shall we leave?"

"Let's leave."

"Let's go, Dolgyu."

"Ah, no... to the friends...?"

Yi-Han and Jijel started moving in the opposite direction, pulling and pushing Dolgyu.

"The students have amazing stamina."

The knights of the White Wood Knight Order on the warship admired the students swimming from far away on the horizon.

When people heard that someone was studying at Einroguard, it was easy to imagine a sickly mage who locked themselves in a room and indulged only in magic books, but as expected, the students were tough as they were from knight families.

"It seems they are not forgetting to train their bodies even at Einroguard."

"Hmm."

Professor Ingurdel didn't bother to mention Einroguard's harsh environment where the body was trained even when standing still.

"Fire."

"Ge, General. If we keep shooting like this and they drown..."

"Tsk. Since when do you sympathize with the enemy? Did I teach you that way?"

"Ah, no. I'm sorry."

Originally, the young squires of the White Wood Knight Order were not on good terms with the White Tiger Tower students.

Starting from the difference between being purely affiliated with the knight order and being affiliated with the magic academy, they had competed several times this year, so there was bound to be a competitive spirit.

However, even those squires felt too sorry for the White Tiger Tower students to coldly attack them now.

'This is too much...!'

'Do we have to go this far?'

The White Tiger Tower students swimming in from the stormy sea in the rain looked precarious like leaves drifting here and there.

"But can the students climb onto the warship with their bare hands without using magic?"

One of the knights suddenly became curious and asked.

It would take time for them to scatter and approach, but climbing the slippery outer wall of the warship in this rainy weather was no ordinary feat.

Knights who had broken through the wall of aura could climb the outer wall using superhuman physical abilities and mana, but it was still too much for students.

"Of course it will be difficult. But this exam was not prepared to simply test physical abilities."

Professor Ingurdel pointed around the warship.

There were pieces of equipment floating among things that looked like fragments or debris.

"Aha! You scattered boarding equipment!"

"That's right. The students will surely be able to find them."

"I also misunderstood, thinking the professor would just tell them to climb with their bare hands! Haha!"

"...Did, did I seem like that?"

Professor Ingurdel was slightly flustered.

Unlike other professors at Einroguard, he thought he was teaching quite rationally.

Splash!

"?"

Hearing a sound coming from behind during the conversation, the professor and the knights turned their heads.

Yi-Han's group, soaked in water, was glaring at them from the deck of the warship.

"Wait. Is it possible to climb up without using magic?"

"...!"

While the friends were playing the water spear dodging game from the other direction, Yi-Han's group succeeded in approaching close to the warship.

However, the outer wall of the warship was not as easy as they thought. Without using magic, it didn't seem easy to hook fingers or support weight.

Dolgyu whispered cautiously.

"No matter how I think about it, I don't think the professor would have told us to just climb this. Isn't there something else somewhere? Aren't we missing something?"

"Dolgyu. I respect you, but you're thinking like a 1st semester student right now."

"That's right, Choi. Get a grip. Does this look like a knight's quarters to you?"

Yi-Han and Jijel sharply rebuked Dolgyu.

Dolgyu felt wronged but kept his mouth shut, thinking they must be right.

"I think... climbing using mana utilization is the answer."

"Mana utilization?"

"Yeah. Do you remember the swordsmanship of the Engge family?"

"Wardanaz. Even if you don't know, Choi and I are from knight families."

Jijel threw a dumbfounded gaze.

The Engge family.

They were famous among knight families for using absorption-type swordsmanship.

Didn't Yi-Han also learn the principle of using this absorption property in a duel and use it quite usefully?

"Although it's not perfect enough to use it skillfully in swordsmanship, it's enough to climb with that level. They must have told us to steal the warship with this in mind."

"But... mana utilization isn't that easy."

Jijel's eyebrows curved roundly.

It was called mana utilization, but that was a conversion that peculiarly changed the properties of mana.

Since it was a knight's technique that had to be converted with instinct and sense, not a mage's magic studied with logic, reason, and laws, the difficulty level was much higher.

"Is that the goal of this exam? Is it really?"

"Moradi. Think carefully. This is Einroguard."

"..."

It was infuriating, but Jijel had no choice but to agree.

Come to think of it, they had swum all the way here, so what couldn't the professor make them do?

"...Okay, Wardanaz. Try explaining it."

Yi-Han did his best to explain the principle of absorption to his friends.

Draw out mana from deep within the center of the body and circulate it, while thinking of the property of viscosity, convert it and simultaneously release the mana...

"The principle is similar to elemental magic. It's about changing the properties with imagery, but you have to maintain it while circulating it. And you also have to release some at the same time."

"..."

"..."

The two were appalled at the explanation of the absurd difficulty level. Dolgyu carefully asked.

"Isn't there a knack or something?"

"Uh... well. You can focus on just converting and releasing, giving up on circulating."

"Really? Wait. Then wouldn't the mana consumption be too severe?"

"Yeah... that's right."

"..."

"..."

Another awkward silence lingered. Jijel gave up and said.

"Just climb up. I'll try to follow somehow."

After that, there were several attempts.

Jijel and Dolgyu succeeded in converting mana with absorption properties, as they were top talents in their year, but they couldn't maintain it long enough to use it.

They had to maintain it at least until they climbed onto the warship.

"This won't work. We'll get caught like this. Take this."

Yi-Han took off his coat and made a rope. Then he threw it to Jijel.

Jijel looked at Yi-Han with a gaze full of wariness.

"What are you thinking?"

"...I'm thinking of tying each other and supporting."

"Ah."

Jijel was embarrassed but didn't show it and tied the rope around her body. Dolgyu next to her blushed slightly.

'It's a good thing I didn't say anything.'

Actually, Dolgyu also thought Yi-Han was going to tie up Moradi and use her as bait.

"Let's try again. Three, two, one... let's go!"

Thwack!

Yi-Han chopped his hand like an axe and stuck it to the outer wall of the warship.

In a normal situation, it would naturally slip, but the mana released from his hand firmly fixed his body.

'It works!'

It was the most stable among the attempts they had made so far.

Yi-Han slowly and carefully climbed the outer wall of the warship.

Creak-

"..."

Yi-Han was startled when a piece of plank fell off, perhaps because he released mana too strongly.

Although he didn't have to worry about mana depletion, seeing this made him feel the need to pay attention to circulation.

'I need to reduce the force.'

Yi-Han took a deep breath and circulated mana inside his body. With a stable flow, the amount of mana released from his fingertips began to be controlled.

Yi-Han felt amazed.

'Have I improved?'

It was a much more stable flow than what he had done in the swordsmanship class before.

Come to think of it, it wouldn't be surprising if he had become accustomed to this circulation since he had gone through countless real battles since then.

Moreover, at some point, Yi-Han had given up on circulation and relied only on a crude amount of mana, just releasing it...

"...!"

Jijel, who was climbing up below Yi-Han, was startled.

A faint mana light was flickering all over Wardanaz's body above.

To think that a boy of Jijel's age was showing a phenomenon that was only seen when knights gathered their breath and drew out mana before using aura.

If she wasn't mistaken about that phenomenon, Wardanaz was now in a situation close to the wall of aura.

A situation where he could break through the wall once he gained enlightenment!

Jijel had to feel an endlessly complicated feeling.

She was jealous, but at the same time, she couldn't help but cheer him on as a knight.

Falling into such a state of immersion was a tremendous fortune. Depending on how long he stayed in that state, the time it took to break through the wall would differ...

Thud!

"It's done! Come up!"

As soon as he arrived on the deck, Yi-Han released his mana and threw his body, then pulled up the rope.

He had to hurry and pull up his friends since he didn't know when they would be discovered.

Of course, the mana light he had shown earlier had long disappeared.

"Hey...!!! You crazy bi...!!"

Jijel almost fainted for real.

What kind of opportunity did this crazy mage boy just throw away?

"You right now...! You...!"

"What's wrong with you? Are you crazy?"

"!!!"

"Be quiet. We'll get caught! Dolgyu. Come up."

Yi-Han quickly pulled up Dolgyu as well.

Then he lowered his posture and approached. Fortunately, it seemed the people on the deck hadn't noticed yet because of the distance.

'Thank you. White Tiger Tower guys.'

Yi-Han was grateful for friendship and tried to approach closer...

"...scattered boarding equipment..."

"...the students will surely be able to find..."

"?"

"???"

Yi-Han, Jijel, and Dolgyu fell silent at the same time.

Dolgyu looked at his friends with a resentful gaze.

Splash!

Yi-Han threw off his coat. He had to make his body light anyway since he had to fight the squires on the deck.

"Ah, no, why from that side?"

"...Going around was not the proper... Ah. Forget it. Moradi. Take the left. Dolgyu. I'm counting on you for the right!"

Yi-Han started the attack right away, thinking that if he talked more, it would only lower his friends' morale.

Jijel must have had a similar thought as she moved immediately.

'Wasn't going around the right answer?'

'I thought it was obvious to tell us to go around...'

Yi-Han ran out, feeling bitter.

The squires of the knight order, who were aiming crossbows at the bottom of the warship, were startled and took a stance.

"How the hell did you guys come around?! No, how did you climb up? You don't even have equipment!"

"..."

Instead of wasting unnecessary emotions, Yi-Han decided to approach as efficiently as possible.

"Cou... cough. Cough, cough! Cough cough!"

Yi-Han coughed like a patient with lung disease. He looked like a patient with hypothermia from staying in the sea for a long time.

"Wardanaz! Are you okay? I told you this was dangerous..."

"You fool! Turning your back on the enemy!"

The squire turned around to call the knight but was startled by the shout and turned his head.

Yi-Han, who had been coughing as if he was about to die until just now, was fiercely rushing in.