Amour grew up in the harshest land of the Empire. He quickly recovered and stood up from his seat.
âIâm ashamed⦠to be surprised by the horseâs name.â
Amour said as he brushed off the dust and straw from his clothes.
Come to think of it, even Einrogard couldnât have saved Griffon.
It was clear that the horseâs name was Griffin.
It was quite common for horses to be named after fearsome monstersâ¦
âNo. Itâs a real griffon.â
ââ¦â¦â
Amour, who was getting up, stumbled again.
âAre you okay?â
âAh⦠no. where did you get that from? Or rather, what are the wizards doing?â
Amour spoke in an unusually angry voice.
It was surprising that the student caught the griffon, but what was even more surprising was the wizards who stayed still while the student caught the griffon.
What are you doing as a teacher and not protecting your students!
No matter how eccentric the magicians of Einrogard are, this is a bitâ¦
âUm⦠thatâsâ¦â
âProfessor brought it.â
Yoner, who was worse off, spoke instead. Amur just opened his mouth with a blank face.
ââ¦Really?â
âActually, there are circumstances here. If you listen, you will understand.â
âI donât think you understandâ¦â
Amour waited for Lee Hanâs explanation.
Lee Han explained that the griffon was not a real griffon, but a griffon that was cursed and transformed into a horse.
The professor said he did this to make the students get used to monstersâ¦
âItâs not as strange as I thought, is it?â
After the explanation, Lee Han asked. Amour replied emphatically.
âIt is strange.â
â!â
Is that⦠is it?
While Lee Han was slightly embarrassed, Amour continued.
âIâve heard a lot of rumors that the magicians of Einrogard are eccentric, but I didnât expect it to be this muchâ¦â â
No. This is actually pretty good.â
âIhan⦠I think youâd better just stop talkingâ¦â
Yoner stopped Yihan.
If I said more, it seemed that Amour would only make a strange misunderstanding.
And the most important thing here was that it was not a misunderstanding.
For a long time, Amour, who had suffered from the eccentricity of Einrogardâs wizards, barely came to his senses.
âStill, itâs good that you found a mount that can fly.â
âyes. I havenât been able to find my way to the Spire Stables yet, but I will soon.â
âTake it slow. If you hurry, youâre more likely to mess things up. Escape is more important than getting out.â
âThe conversation seems strange.â
Yoner thought to himself as he listened to their conversation.
âWhat do griffons like?â
âhmm. I like fresh horse meat.â
ââ¦is there anything else besides that?â
âI like less fresh horse meatâ¦â
Except for horse meat, Lee Han packed snacks that Griffon would like.
Canned meats and sugar were stacked neatly in the backpack.
âreally. Igor came to town. Have you met him?â
âWho is Igor?â
As Lee Han wondered, Amour realized his mistake.
I didnât know because it was so natural, but Lee Han wasnât a villager or an adventurer here. He was a student at that magic school.
âMy cousin. They sell rare animals to adventurers here in town.â
Just as wizards raise pets, well-trained animals have always been good friends to adventurers.
As such, rare and powerful animals were popular enough to be worth calling.
âI must have missed it because most of them werenât there.â
âthank you. But wouldnât those guys be expensive for me to buy?â
Although Lee Han was scraping studentsâ pockets by extortion or legitimate efforts, he was far from being truly rich.
It was enough to buy various groceries and books in the village, but not enough to buy expensive animals.
âItâs not necessarily expensive guys, so take a look around. Iâll tell you, so Iâll let you know. Bring your other friends too.â
âWhy?â
Lee Han wondered if he had to take the Black Turtle Tower or the White Tiger Tower with him, but he stayed still.
He wanted to appear like a good and sincere student in front of Amour.
* * *
âAre you the student who tamed the griffon?!â
ââ¦â¦â
Igor whispered urgently as soon as he met Lee Han.
It was a voice so low that the other students couldnât hear it.
âI didnât tame itâ¦â
âNo?â
âThatâs right, but thatâs it.â
âThatâs right!â
Fellow adventurers who had been helping Igor in the store came running and surrounded Yihan.
âDid you really tame the griffon?â
âHow?â
âShh. lower your voice I meant to keep it a secret.â
âOkay, I get it. So how did you tame the griffon?â
Igor looked and dressed like Amour, but with one difference.
It was that he was very curious about how he tamed the griffon.
In fact, it wasnât that nobody was inquisitive. I felt sorry for him because he was a student at Einrogard, so he didnât bully meâ¦
âIt was really luck. I once saved a lifeâ¦â
âYou saved a life? indeed!â
âThen it makes sense!â
Lee Han was relieved when the shaggy, dusty adventurers seemed to agree.
But that was an illusion.
âBut even so, Griffon doesnât readily accept it as its ownerâ¦
â
âCan we go with you the next time we go to catch the gorgon? If I could get some helpâ¦â
A skilled adventurer was a precious being who was treated everywhere.
However, a more valuable being was one with an affinity loved by monsters.
The adventurers coveted whether they could somehow bring Lee Han with them.
âEveryone calm down. This student is a student of Ein Lorgard.â
âOopsâ¦â
âIt canât be helped if youâre a student of Einrogard.â
Igorâs friends quickly gave up.
If he was a student of Ein Rogard, he couldnât help it. I didnât even know that the wizards would come after him and turn him into a beast.
âBut you can wait a few years. If you think of it after graduation, please contact me here.â
âOur work is full of danger, pain and romance. It will be enough for us to be together.â
ââ¦?â
Lee Han was slightly taken aback by the words of the proud adventurers.
Are you calling that a serious proposal now?
âI heard there are many crazy people among adventurers, so itâs true!â
To call that a serious proposal nowâ¦
âCome on. follow me Iâm sorry I took your time.â
Igor apologized and showed me around the store.
The store was a mess as most of the time was spent roaming the empire looking for and catching rare animals.
But that didnât bother me at all. The newly introduced animals caught the eye as much as they did.
Roaring!
A bird locked in a cage set itself on fire and suddenly froze. Igor explained.
âJeong Ryong-jo. A rare bird that only eats jewels imbued with spirit power.â
âItâs a crazy animal.â
Lee Han was shocked.
It was an animal that would go bankrupt if you had it for a week, and would turn you into a debt collector if you had it for a month.
âIâm sorry, but that person has already been decided. I decided to sell it to a nearby nobleman.â
âitâs okay.â
Even if it was given to Lee Han, he did not want to receive it.
âIf youâre a magic school student⦠I think a pigeon or a rat would be useful.â
The trained pigeons could fly and secretly deliver letters, and the trained rats could disarm traps by coming and going in hard-to-reach places.
Lee Han nodded.
âIt wouldnât be bad to prepare one by one.â
âhow much?â
âItâs free. Since I asked about the griffon earlier, I have to pay for it.â
âNo like that. thank you.â
Lee Han did not reject it too much and decided to accept it gratefully.
â¦wouldnât you have brought some griffon feathers?
-How much does this deer cost?
â Ugh. Itâs impossible. i can never buy it
-Canât we borrow more money from Wardanaz to buy it?
-No matter how generous Wardanaz is, if you ask me to borrow money to buy it, I think Iâll kill youâ¦
-Quit it. Youâll learn summoning magic later anyway.
âThese bastards donât notice.â
Lee Han furrowed his eyebrows.
It was a law not to go to a store where someone else was doing business and say something like, âIt can be done with magicâ.
Isnât that why wizards are being criticized for being ignorant?
But Igor, who was listening to the studentsâ conversation, didnât really care.
Rather, he nodded his head with an interesting expression.
âIn fact, there are ways to summon wizards by making a direct contract with them. Itâs difficult, but above all, itâs not worth it⦠What about you?â
âLee Han already signed a contract with the Spirit.â
Igor admired Yonerâs words.
âI see⦠well, if you have an affinity enough to earn the loyalty of a griffon, itâs natural for you to be loved by the spirits.â
ââ¦no.â
Lee Han was taken aback by the absurd misunderstanding.
Instead of receiving the spiritâs love, he is receiving a lot of fearâ¦
However, Igor accepted Lee Hanâs words with humility.
It was natural.
Gryphonâs loyalty was what seasoned and experienced adventurers risked their lives and could not obtain if they were unlucky.
Receiving such loyalty was impossible without an innate affinity.
âBy the way, may I ask you something?â
âyes.â
âIs that summoned beast on your waist a Sharkan?â
Igor couldnât help but look at the bone in the shape of an ornament hanging from Yihanâs belt.
It was a sleeping Sharkan.
âyes. This is Sharkhan.â
âalso! I couldnât believe itâ¦â
Lee Han quickly started to explain because he thought the other person would misunderstand.
âIt is undead.â
âLook, oh. Greater.â
ââ¦I didnât make it, but I received it as a gift from another warlock.â
âOf course you know. Could a student have made that anyway? If it was an undead monster, and it was Sharkan, that temper would be really dirty⦠To put it to sleep like this and take it with me. You really have a great affinity.â
ââ¦â¦â
Lee Han just nodded with a look of abandon.
âyes. thank you.â
âMay I ask what your body is made of when summoned?â
âI am making a body with water.â
âYou must have quite a lot of sheep? Could it be that if there is no river or pond nearby, you will not answer the call?â
âIâll call you with magic.â
ââ¦â¦â
Igor was startled.
Filling all the muscles and flesh of a monster the size of Sharkan with water.
Are you saying this is Ein Lorgardâs student?!
âamazing!â
I knew it was great, but I never thought a freshman would be like thisâ¦
Igor took a fresh look at the students browsing his store.
The Empireâs best mages are here!
âWhy are you here?â
âWow, didnât we just talk too much?â
âI will buy Jeonseo-guâ¦â
Igor, proud of himself, not hearing the whispers of the students, took out a small green glass bottle and put it in Lee Hanâs hand.
âTake this.â
âWhat is this?â
âItâs a green gem solution. A liquid made by dissolving essence. If you mix this with water, Sharkan will be very happy.â
âCan I⦠just take it?â
Lee Han hesitated.
Moderate freebies had no backlash, but too large freebies might have some backlash.
However, Igor patted Lee Han on the shoulder as if he was okay.
âBeing kind to those who are loved by monsters or spirits is an important thing for an adventurer like me who needs to be loved by monsters. It brings good luck.â
ââ¦Itâs really a misunderstanding.â
Lee Han was seriously worried about Igor.
* * *
Lee Han clicked his tongue as he looked at the green gem solution he received as a gift.
No matter how much Yihan refused, Igor would never accept it.
âCanât we stay overnight in the village?â
âno.â
âwhy?â
âThen you stay.â
ââ¦Oh no. I was just asking!â
Originally, I could leave early in the morning and go back to school.
But Lee Han had no such intention.
âWe must surpass the headmasterâs expectations unconditionally.â
By now, the headmaster, who had been poisoned, was not sure what the hell⦠no, he might set a trap.
âAre all the priests here? Letâs go.â
âBy the way, Mr. Lee Han of the Wodanaz family. As for the other tower studentsâ¦â
Lee Han pretended not to hear one of the priestsâ question.
He didnât want to waste time convincing other top students.
âruler. Letâs go!â
âDidnât you hear?â
Shaaaaaaaah â
While walking along the dark road, Lee Han felt a sense of incongruity.
Even though it was night, they were walking by calling light with magic.
But why is it getting darker ahead?
They are students of magic school.
A heavily armed knight appeared with the sound of clashing armor.
It was an undead knight with the energy of death all over his body.
A name popped into Lee Hanâs mind.
ââ¦Death Knight!â
I am guarding this road by my masterâs command. The students of the magic school can cross the road if you sacrifice one.
Asan unknowingly looked at Gainando. Gainando tried to poke Asanâs eyes with his fingers.