Published at 12th of March 2026 7:32 am

Chapter 719

This chapter is updated by JustRead.pl

Ominous feelings always had a way of coming true.

After rejecting several suggestions that Professor Boladi had come up with after much deliberation (among which were methods to ambush, blind, or knock out the underclassmen upon sight), Lee Han regretted it inwardly.

I should have asked another professor!

Professor. I want to choose the most peaceful method possible.

Why?

Because I dont want to leave behind strange rumors among the underclassmen? And I dont want to face retaliation when the underclassmen become second-years.

Hmm.

Professor Boladi inwardly wondered if someone with Lee Hans skills wouldnt be fine even if the underclassmen ganged up on him, but didnt bother voicing it.

There was never any harm in being cautious.

As a battle mage, reducing the number of enemies was a good strategy.

What I want is quick invisibility magic, or magic that detects when underclassmen approach. Professor.

But that would be excessively easy.

Though it pains my heart, Ill have to endure it. I suppose I need to learn such magic sometimes too.

Lee Han couldnt understand why the word excessively was attached before easy and why but preceded it.

And he was too scared to ask.

Professor Boladi nodded, respecting Lee Hans wishes.

Understood.

Thank you.

You know about silent casting, right.

Lee Han was horrified at Professor Boladi suddenly bringing up the highest difficulty magic technique.

The process of chanting incantations in magic was an essential process that firmly wove together a mages will and concentrated it into magic.

Even if gestures or reagents werent used, there was no magic that didnt use incantations.

This meant that this seemingly simple incantation was a core element of the Empires current magic system.

Is he telling me to die?

Such incantations couldnt be omitted just to save time. Such acts were forbidden even for the mages safety.

If magic could be cast with only a mages will without incantations, magic could be triggered just by a mage dreaming or becoming emotionally agitated.

In fact, one of the magic accidents that consistently appeared in the Imperial Newspaper was mages who clumsily practiced silent casting and ended up summoning monsters or demons from other dimensions.

To cast magic without incantations required self-control to reach a transcendent level, making it impossible otherwise

Its impossible!

I know. Dont try it secretly since its dangerous.

Lee Han was impressed by Professor Boladis rhetoric that made people even more infuriating.

To think he could be even more infuriating than last year.

Unaware that his disciple was cursing him inwardly, Professor Boladi continued his careful warnings.

What you need to practice is incantation shortening.

Incantation shortening. Or abbreviation as it was also called, this technique was literally the skill of compressing incantations into shorter forms.

It was much safer than silent casting but required tremendous concentration and mana consumption compared to regular incantation.

Fortunately, in Lee Hans case, he had the advantage of adequate mana.

Wait. What about concentration?

Human mental strength wasnt infinite, and no matter how much mana remained, if concentration was impossible, magic wouldnt be cast. Rather, the mage would collapse.

Professor Boladi understood Lee Hans question differently and answered.

Its fine.

Lee Han, who had asked about methods to protect concentration or recover mental strength, looked at the professor as if dumbfounded.

What was fine about it?

Practice magic storage along with incantation shortening.

Magic storage.

Simply put, all methods of storing magic in advance fell into this category.

Though primitive, magic scrolls also applied. Magic was stored in scrolls and activated just by tearing them.

However, magic scrolls werent preferred by battle mages since they consumed considerable cost to make each one and took up space.

Skilled battle mages drew patterns with magic pigments on their skin to consume during battles, or stored magic on cloaks or objects.

Spirits and summoned creatures were also good storage targets if they could be persuaded

It is reasonable.

Professor Boladis words were logically unassailable.

If you dont want to beat up or knock out underclassmen, cast invisibility magic faster.

If you load it in advance and carry it around, you can respond much more quickly.

What method do you use for storage, Professor?

The forearm area.

From elbow to wrist. Since it was the most accessible area for mages, it was also good for storing magic in advance.

Professor Boladi rolled up his sleeve to show several magic spells drawn on his wrist. They were complex and powerful magic spells that couldnt be grasped at a glance.

These are magic spells that activate the moment Im attacked. In order: Bagregs Retaliation, Random Teleportation. And this one I cant tell you about.

Lee Han was puzzled by the statement that the third magic couldnt be revealed.

Is it that dangerous a magic?

Its magic that attacks when its identity is discovered.

!

Battle mages roaming battlefields were objects of fear and simultaneously targets for elimination.

A mages power came from the magic they summoned, but the mage themselves was just a mortal made of flesh and blood.

As such, it was better for mages to hide the magic they could use to some extent.

Even Lee Han had magic he saved for later when beating up his White Tiger Tower friends, preparing for the aftermath.

But magic that attacked just from learning its identity.

Do you need to go that far to make a name as a battle mage?

Professor Boladi, understanding Lee Hans horror as curiosity, encouraged his disciple.

Youll have a chance to learn it someday.

Yes well Wait, Professor. If I happen to learn that magic, wouldnt I realize its identity when I see that magic?

Thats right.

Then Id be attacked by that magic?

Professor Boladi nodded. Lee Han cursed inwardly.

Isnt this person crazy?

It was tantamount to cursing him to die someday.

After finishing his round of curses, Professor Boladi explained in detail the method of drawing and storing magic on skin.

3rd Circle magic, Lesser Magic Storage.

It was magic that stored two spells of ones circle level or below.

This magic originally had enchantment magic principles going quite deep, making its casting difficulty higher than same-circle magic.

The more principles from multiple schools were used in combination, the higher the magic difficulty became.

However, Professor Boladi knew well Lee Hans skills from learning under Professor Verdus, so he didnt bother mentioning it separately.

Sure enough, Lee Han drew the magic while consuming reagents a few times and immediately got the han of it.

Is this how its done, Professor?

Correct. Well done.

Is this on the easier side by any chance?

Instead of answering, Professor Boladi smiled as faintly as morning dew. Lee Han interpreted that smile as kindness.

It must be easy magic.

However, what came next was unexpectedly difficult.

Though he had drawn the magic perfectly, strange errors occurred every time he tried to activate it.

?

Lee Han wondered if 3rd Circle magic was still not easy to master even if the difficulty was low.

Professor Boladi, who had been watching from the side, spoke up.

There are many patterns.

Pardon?

There are many patterns carved by powerful beings.

Whether they were spirit patterns or patterns of other beings, such patterns naturally possessed power.

The more powerful the being that carved the pattern, the more powerful the patterns force became.

For a mage like Lee Han who had embedded patterns of great spirits like Perkuntra and Upinum into his wrists, errors were bound to occur when drawing magic over them.

I never thought of that.

Usually people dont carve that many.

Isnt there a way around it?

Calculate the margin of error.

At Professor Boladis words telling him to calculate and draw accounting for the error in summary, just do it well Lee Han suppressed his urge to frown and asked again.

Isnt there an easier method?

Move the position upward.

It was such a simple yet good method that he wondered why he hadnt thought of it. Lee Han nodded.

That sounds good. Then

Here.

Professor Boladi pointed with his staff to the area between the upper and lower arm, the crook of the elbow.

Lee Han answered with an embarrassed expression.

Theres a phoenix pattern there, so it would overlap.

The professor moved his staff a bit more toward the upper arm. Lee Han answered with a slightly more embarrassed expression than before.

Theres Verduss pattern there

***

-Wardanaz. Its been quite a while since we havent been able to meet after the new semester started. Though were from different towers and our relationship isnt particularly good, we cant deny the fact that we respect each other as mages. If youre willing to meet briefly to catch up and exchange information, come to the place where we all gathered last time.

Salko Tutanta

Its not a trap, is it?

Salko isnt the type to set such traps well, he is. But probably not?

Lee Han spoke while moving together with his Blue Dragon Tower friends.

In fact, not only Lee Han but all his tower friends were feeling a similar need.

It hadnt been long since theyd moved up to second year, but far too much information was pouring down like a flood.

If it had been last year, they would have comfortably met and exchanged information, but this year even that was difficult.

-If those White Tiger Tower bastards attack you, let me know. Ill retaliate for you.

-Thank you, senior.

-Dont mention it. As a senior, I should at least do this much.

-Then could I have a piece of the bread youre eating, senior?

-Are are you insane? How can you say something so rude?

The Blue Dragon Tower seniors werent people who showed up often or were particularly kind, but they were very aggressive when it came to fights with other towers.

Things had gotten so bad that incidents like this occurred.

-Oh. Its Angrago. Hes waving his hand.

-How dare that bastard make insulting gestures at my junior?!

-Uh, senior. Angrago was just waving his hand.

-You must have seen wrong. White Tiger Tower bastards dont just wave their hands. He must have raised his middle finger when you werent looking!

With things like this, it was honestly a bit awkward for the underclassmen to openly gather together.

There was a reason why Salko suggested meeting at the 2nd floor storage where they had gathered last year.

Lee Han checked the surroundings with his friends, entered the 2nd floor storage, confirmed the basement door, and went down.

It was a place that held memories of dealing with the teleportation statue last year and attempting the great escape to the Skeleton Principals villa.

Its Wardanaz!

Wardanaz. Did you really join every club? Really?

At the question his friends from other towers asked as soon as they met, Lee Han made a bitter expression.

His friends were already making expressions that said Wardanaz might actually do that.

Thats right.

Thats impossible. Its not like Wardanaz has two bodies!

Wouldnt even two be insufficient?

Everyone come over here. Stop bustling around over there!

Salkos rough voice could be heard.

Lee Han walked inside.

Then he could see most of the 2nd year students from each tower gathered together having conversations.

Moradi. Good to see you.

Yeah. Good to see you too.

Huh, what, did you eat something wrong?

Hey. Switch seats with m

Giselle got up irritably. But thinking about it, if she switched seats, Salko would be next to her.

Salko blatantly growled and showed signs telling her to get lost.

Come to think of it, Wardanaz is better after all. Sit down.

Cant I just sit somewhere else?

When Lee Han asked, thinking it would be noisy if he sat between the two, Salko and Giselle each grabbed one of Lee Hans arms and forcibly sat him down.

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