Published at 3rd of April 2026 8:22 am

Chapter 992

This chapter is updated by JustRead.pl

I doubt thats the case.

Yoner thought to himself as he opened the tower door with the key.

The tower door locked in darkness opened with a clicking sound, and warm air from the workshop flowed out.

The professor isnt here, right?

At this time, hes tending to cacti in the Einroguard desert. Lets go in.

His friends thoroughness in knowing the professors schedule down to the hour amazed even Gainando.

How does Lee Han memorize all that stuff?

You memorize every single letter on magic cards too.

Th Why are you bringing that up!

While the two were chattering behind him, Lee Han quickly checked from the first floor.

No matter how absent the professor was, one must never let their guard down inside a magic tower.

He had to check for any surveillance magic or traps that might have been added without notice.

Nothing here.

Lee Han clicked his tongue inwardly.

It was because of Professor Thundersteps complacency.

Even if he trusted his disciples enough to entrust them with keys, such lax security awareness was too much.

The professor is really careless.

Of course, he was benefiting from the convenience of easily ransacking the place, but that was one thing and his duty as a disciple was another matter entirely.

While checking the surroundings, Lee Han discovered a letter envelope on the table. Surprisingly, the handwriting on it was quite familiar.

Wait. This is Professor Bagreks letter?

Lee Han was surprised for several reasons.

First, he was surprised that Professor Boladi had written a letter, and also surprised that it was written to Professor Thunderstep.

Normally, like a loyal disciple, he should protect the professors secrets, but unfortunately the letter had slipped out of the envelope and was spread open on the table. This too was due to Professor Thundersteps carelessness.

Professor, really. Youre so careless. Cant be helped.

Lee Han grabbed the letter to prevent it from falling and happened to read its contents.

Capital. Urgent. Summons. Lord Gonadaltes. Please exchange lectures.

Voladi Bagrec

????

Lee Han, who momentarily thought it was a code, realized belatedly.

Ah. So the Principal urgently summoned him from the capital and he left?

This was surprising in its own way.

Several professors were already at the capital with the Skeleton Principal, and now Professor Boladi too?

Did a rebellion break out in the capital or something??

Lee Han couldnt understand.

He couldnt fathom what reason would require so many Einroguard professors to gather in the capital like this.

If he didnt know the Emperors race, he really would have thought the Skeleton Principal was staging a rebellion.

Its not because Jowrin caused trouble, is it.

Lee Han, who had been feeling uneasy, soon shook his head.

The Skeleton Principal and professors had gone to the capital before that. Jowrins escape couldnt be the cause.

Probably!

More importantly, whats this lecture exchange? Surely its not about making up for cancelled classes later.

Lee Han, not realizing he had inadvertently hit the correct answer, fell into thought.

Someone urgently going to the capital wouldnt leisurely be worrying about cancelled classes

Lee Han?

Sorry. Its nothing.

Lee Han snapped out of his thoughts at his friends voices.

Professor Boladi going to the capital was one thing, but they had their own work to do.

In a way, it might be fortunate.

If Professor Boladi and the Insane Doppelganger taught together

Just imagining such a terrifying combination made Lee Han feel chills.

Lee Hans acting strange. Did he get hit by magic or something?

But the potions and incense here cant affect Lee Han

As Gainando and Yoner whispered, Lee Han waved his hand apologetically.

Sorry. Im really fine. I was just surprised to hear Professor Bagrek went to the capital.

Gasp. Did Professor Mortum go too???

No.

Aww.

Gainando became dejected.

Why wasnt Professor Mortum invited to this either?

More importantly, we need to check what Professor Thunderstep was doing. Can you both help?

His friends nodded.

The three carefully approached the workshop area Professor Thunderstep used and began deducing clues.

High-quality paper, water bottle, brush, tobacco leaves, acacia tree sap What kind of magic is this, Lee Han?

Thats just the professor making cigarettes.

Ah.

Gainando grumbled.

Why would someone confusingly hand-make tobacco in a workshop area?

It looks like he used poison ring grass.

He made two new elixirs

Still, with two prodigies from alchemy schools present, the clue deduction progressed quickly.

They set aside recently used materials and potions, then separately sorted out those that seemed likely used for lectures.

Is cockatrice poison for lectures or not?

Thats for lectures. I heard it was used in fourth-year classes.

I shouldnt have asked

Yoner regretted it as he drew a line on paper with his quill.

Learning about his unfortunate future made him feel more miserable than expected.

Sulfur mercury, wing feathers from a three-year-old crow.

Thunder birds cry, ghoul giants claws.

Crystal golems core, evil mushroom, mandragon

Cinnabar, wait. Isnt this Arkans Eternal Severance??

Yoner exclaimed in surprise.

Being a recipe created by his familys ancestor, he could recognize it first.

Yoner pulled out the Arkan grimoire he always carried and quickly flipped through pages to compare.

It seems right?

Sorry, Yoner. I know well about Meikin Familys Sweet Pan Chocolate or Meikin Familys Magical Chocolate Eclairs, but I dont know much about Eternal Severance

R-right.

Normally people wouldnt know about chocolate or eclairs either, but Yoner didnt panic and began explaining.

Its poison. A poison that works on the soul

Literally a vicious poison that permanently severed the souls connection.

Even if one had high poison resistance in flesh or blood, such poison wasnt easy to withstand.

Why did he make this?

Lee Han wondered why Professor Thunderstep had made this poison.

Gainando was frightened and exclaimed.

Co-could it be he made it targeting Lee Han? Since poison doesnt work on Lee Han, he got angry

No. This wont work well on Lee Han either. When mana is high, soul-based approaches dont work either.

Couldnt you deny it in a different way?

Lee Han thought to himself but remained silent.

The most likely hypothesis was that Professor Thunderstep had created it to deal with the insane doppelganger.

The insane doppelganger had given ridiculous orders, and Professor Thunderstep, who ouldnt stand it anymore, had prepared poison

I should at least learn about the antidote. Yoner. Could you show me the secret tome?

Here.

Thanks.

While Yoner wasnt the type to hide such things, even considering that, readily offering his familys secret tome like this wasnt easy without trust in his friend.

Lee Han expressed his gratitude as he accepted the book.

Lee Han, youre not looking at chocolate eclair recipes right now, are you?

S-sorry. It was so extraordinary I see. So raspberries were the secret. I was only thinking about custard cream

If youre curious, Ill show you later, so look at the antidote section.

Yoner urged his friend with a slightly irritated voice.

Honestly, he was proud that his friend was admiring the family secrets, but in a situation like this, staring mesmerized at eclair recipes was unbelievable.

Even if cooking was part of alchemy!

Thanks, Yoner. Ive confirmed it.

Are you going to make it?

I think I should probably make some.

Lee Han spoke with a heavy expression.

He didnt know whether Professor Thunderstep would actually use poison or not, but as a disciple of both mages, Lee Han needed to be prepared.

Then lets gather the materials. This will be hard to make with whats in the storage.

Lee Han. Lee Han!

But then our visit here will be discovered.

Lee Han! Hey! Yoner!

Should we use what the upperclassmen made

Look over here!!

When the two ignored him and continued talking, Gainando stamped his feet. Only then did the two realize their friend was calling them and turned their attention.

Whats wrong?

Isnt this an antidote the Professor made?

Lee Han checked the potion bottle that Gainando was holding and shaking. Surprisingly, it was indeed an antidote.

Where did you find this???

The Professor left it on the table where he was making cigarettes.

Were not really in a position to say this, but isnt the Professor being too careless?

At Yoners words, Lee Han unconsciously nodded.

***

Master. You must not drink or eat anything that anyone offers you.

Have you perhaps lost your mind?

Morning.

The insane doppelganger, who was heading together to the Languages of the Empire That Become Flesh and Blood lecture hall, gave him a look that said why is my disciple acting like this?

While his disciple had always been hard to predict, todays statement was truly puzzling. He couldnt even guess what it meant.

I heard theres a trend going around Einroguard lately of putting poison in food or drinks.

Even as he spoke, Lee Han wondered if this was too much nonsense. However, the insane doppelganger unexpectedly nodded.

That could be possible. Its a frequent occurrence among mages. You, disciple, wouldnt have had to worry about poison naturally, but you still shouldnt let your guard down.

Yes!

While they were conversing, from the opposite direction came Oripulas, a demon who had been serving as an Imperial legal officer for 132 years.

A reliable assistant who helped with lectures alongside the professor

Aaaaaaaah! No! No! I havent done anything wrong yet!

Oripulas suddenly screamed and tried to flee in the opposite direction.

Of course, the chains of contract wouldnt just let the demon go. Professor Rozine was startled when the demon that had tried to escape was caught by the contract and started choking.

Why are you doing that? You know you cant escape anyway!

The demon didnt give up. He dealt a strong blow to himself and was temporarily reverse-summoned.

When Lee Han looked at him with bewildered eyes, the insane doppelganger answered as if it didnt matter.

Since theres royalty here anyway, what need is there for a demons advice? Rather, this worked out well.

Im sorry, Professor.

Oh, no, Lee Han. I didnt expect Legal Officer Oripulas to disappear like that either.

Demons occasionally do strange things, dont they?

Lee Han answered shamelessly.

Professor Rozine gave him a reproachful look as if to say are you serious about that?, but Lee Han pretended not to notice.

Meanwhile, the insane doppelganger had already swept into the lecture hall. The 2nd year students, already accustomed to this, greeted him politely.

Hello, Archmage.

Huh, where did the demon legal officer go?

When someone expressed curiosity, Lee Han answered in a small voice.

Master will help out instead today.

Wardanaz, at this rate, all the other professors might disappear within two weeks!

His friends whispered excitedly.

While Wardanaz said it was a coincidence, it was an undeniable fact that the number of professors had been decreasing unusually this semester.

If that principals doppelganger stayed just a little longer, this year might really become a pleasant year with only Einroguard students

Have you gained enlightenment about the secret geometry we discussed last time?

All the students fell silent and quietly averted their gazes. The insane doppelganger expressed displeasure at the dull achievement of his disciples peers.

Even though I gave you more than a day, this is the result. My disciple mastered it on the spot.

No!

Lee Han tried to cover the insane doppelgangers mouth.

Right now, his master was trying to socially bury Lee Han among his friends!

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