"I really underestimated these guys."
Of course, it was true that the students of the Azure Dragon Tower liked Ihan and felt indebted to him.
But that alone wasn't enough to make them rage this fiercely.
Fundamentally, the students of the Azure Dragon Tower didn't like the ones from the White Tiger Tower.
Coming from knightly families, the White Tiger students had a rough and aggressive demeanor, completely opposite to that of the Azure Dragon students.
They were already secretly looking down on them, so when the White Tigers made the first move, the Azure Dragon students just exploded.
Even students from other groups who normally didn't talk to Ihan much were yelling in anger.
"Grab anything you can use as a weapon and follow me! Let's go to the White Tiger Tower!"
"Wait!"
Asan from the Dalkard family stepped in front of the fired-up students.
Climbing onto a table in the lounge, he tried to calm his peers.
"Everyone, calm down!"
"Oh. So there is someone with sense."
Ihan felt a small relief at Asan's words.
At least not everyone had lost their grip on the situation.
"What's wrong, Dalkard? You scared or something?"
"They insulted our honor!"
Naturally, Asan's attempt to calm them only made the students angrier.
But Asan spoke steadily.
"The White Tiger Tower guys are from knight families. We can't act recklessly. There's a 95% chance we'll lose."
"So what, we just back down?!"
"No. We'll split into teams, set up an ambush, and wait for them. Once we spot them, then we attack!"
"Oh...!"
"..."
Ihan let out a sigh.
"And I was dumb enough to get my hopes up!"
"Wait, wait!"
Ihan shouted louder than Asan to take control of the moment.
As the one directly involved, his voice naturally carried more weight. The students instinctively turned their attention to him.
"Let's make one thing clear first. I'm not asking you to take revenge for me! This is about my honor. I'm not so weak that I need others to fight my battles for me!"
At Ihan's words, the students murmured among themselves.
Not a single one of them took honor lightly.
Each of them carried the name and pride of their family.
So when Ihan spoke about protecting his own honor, none of them could easily argue against it.
"But Wardanaz... those White Tiger guys are cunning, dirty, sneaky bastards. Even if you try to get your revenge fair and square, it probably won't go your way."
"..."
Ihan was a little taken aback by how one student managed to insult them without taking a single breath, but he responded calmly and skillfully.
"Even so, for those of us who come from honorable families to stoop to their level would be like rolling in the mud with pigs. Let's not behave like that!"
His voice carried undeniable conviction.
It wasn't just his confident attitude and appearance—his past actions added to the weight of his words.
The students who had been on the verge of rioting slowly nodded and returned to their seats.
"If Wardanaz is saying this much..."
"Disgusting bastards. They don't even know what honor is."
Once his friends had settled down, Ihan spoke again.
This was the point he'd been leading up to from the start.
"Instead, if they try to pick a fight again, let's handle it together. There's a good chance the White Tiger guys will gang up and attack."
"Absolutely!"
"Yeah! That much we should do!"
Finally satisfied, the students stomped their feet and clapped, cheering loudly.
"That went well."
Ihan also let out a sigh of relief inwardly.
Now, if the students from the White Tiger Tower tried to start something while passing by on campus, he could call on his comrades to strike back.
That alone was more than enough...
"Come to think of it, isn't the next 'Introduction to Basic Magic' class with those White Tiger bastards?"
"Perfect. We'll get a chance to show those uncultured brutes what real class looks like."
"Seriously, what do a bunch of meatheads who roll around in dirt swinging metal sticks think they're gonna learn about magic..."
"I mastered Light Creation magic."
"You too? Me too. Let's show off our magic in front of them. I can't wait to see their faces. I bet not a single one of them has gotten it down yet."
"Now this is how nobles do things—with class and dignity!"
'...Wait a sec.'
Hearing the other students chatting away as they settled back in their seats, Ihan suddenly felt a cold jolt drop into his chest.
...Wait, am I the only one who hasn't mastered Light Creation magic yet?
The next day.
Yoner stretched as he walked into the lounge and froze in surprise.
Dark circles loomed beneath Ihan's eyes.
"What happened to you!?"
At first, Yoner thought it might be because of the food.
After all, the meals at the dorms were so meager they left even growing students hungry.
The day after they first arrived, most of the students already looked pale and worn out.
But thinking it over, Ihan had been weirdly well-adjusted from the very start.
While the Azure Dragon Tower students starved, Ihan had casually gone to Thunderfoot's hut, brought back smoked meat and freshly harvested vegetables, and even shared them with others (though he did charge a bit). The guy had no reason to be struggling with meals now.
Maybe if it were Gainando...
"Been practicing magic."
"Magic? Isn't practicing alone against the rules... Oh, right. You said Professor Kim gave you permission, didn't you?"
"Yeah. Everyone else said they've already mastered Light Creation, so I stayed up all night practicing."
"?"
Yoner tilted his head.
That was news to him.
"What do you mean, everyone else—?"
"Yaaaawwwnnn."
Gainando wandered into the lounge, yawning and stretching lazily.
From the ragged pocket of his clothes, he pulled out a sausage (the one he bought from Ihan yesterday).
Gainando handled the sausage like it was a precious treasure.
He looked around nervously, as if someone might snatch it, then stuck it on a skewer and held it over the crackling fire in the hearth.
As it sizzled, the scent of well-seasoned, high-quality pork filled the room and made everyone's stomach growl.
"Heheheh..."
"..."
Completely unaware of Ihan and Yoner's pitying stares, Gainando reached into another pocket and pulled out a potato (also purchased).
He carefully placed it under the fire in the hearth.
"Heheheheheh..."
"...Gainando. No one's gonna steal your food, just eat like a normal person."
"?!??"
Gainando flinched and practically leapt into the air. He hadn't realized Ihan and Yoner were behind him.
"S-since when were you there?!"
"Since you started lovingly skewering your precious sausage."
"I—I wasn't!"
"Your sausage is gonna burn. Take it out."
"Gasp!"
Gainando hurriedly pulled the skewer from the fire, then shot a wary glance their way.
"...Gainando. Do you really think me and Yoner are gonna steal your sausage and potato?"
"O-of course not."
He said that, but his expression was still on high alert.
Ihan didn't bother replying directly. Instead, he looked to Yoner and said,
"He's in a pretty serious state."
"Everyone's just starving."
It wasn't so much that Gainando was unusually weird—it's that everyone was running on empty.
Thankfully, Ihan had been bringing back food from Thunderfoot's hut to share around, or things would've gotten much worse.
"At this rate, we'll finish all the meat by the weekend... I'll need to go hunting again."
"You think you'll manage?"
"I'll ask Nillia to come with me."
Yoner nodded at that.
Having Nillia, a skilled Dark Elf hunter, along would definitely help.
Of course, Nillia wasn't present for this conversation, and if she had heard it, she probably would've gone 'Why am I suddenly being dragged into this?!'
"Professor Thunderfoot's kinda petty, honestly."
Ihan grumbled under his breath.
Professor Thunderfoot was a surprisingly petty dwarf.
Though he had generously allowed students to use his cabin, he was extremely strict when it came to taking anything out of it.
If someone ate something on the spot or cooked it there, he wouldn't complain—but try to take anything with you, and he'd unleash a barrage of nagging.
— "Wait a minute! That bread—wasn't that the one I baked for dinner tonight!? And hey! When did you slip that jam into your pocket!? Why are you trying to take that!?"
— "But I took care of your garden like you asked. Can't I at least take some of this with me?"
— "You just ate until you were stuffed! Why are you trying to take more!? If you take something every time you come, the cabin'll be empty in no time!"
"There's no opening—no way to sneak stuff out."
"Maybe... we could make an opening somehow...?"
Yoner trailed off as he realized what he had just said, gasping in shock at himself.
He was starting to be influenced by this school.
Professor Garcia Kim, the troll, gave a wry smile as he watched the students walk in.
He cared deeply about his students, and because of that, he was quick to notice subtle changes.
First, it was almost the end of their first week at the magic school, and the students were visibly starving and hungry.
Though Garcia didn't fully agree with the headmaster's philosophy, he had to admit—nothing motivated students like hunger.
When faced with hardship, hungry students poured every ounce of strength into overcoming it.
'Hang in there, everyone.'
Second, tension was already brewing between the towers.
Given the different backgrounds of the students, it was only natural that competition and hostility would arise.
Especially between the Arrogant Azure Dragon Tower and the Thunder-Biting White Tiger Tower—those two never got along.
Noble children raised in long-standing prestigious families vs. knight-born kids from the rugged, desolate borders of the empire.
There was no way they'd see eye-to-eye.
But according to the headmaster's theory, this too was a valuable asset—students grew stronger the more they competed.
Competition breeds strength!
"Alright, everyone. Take your seats."
While his presence wasn't quite as shocking as the first time they met, Professor Garcia still radiated a commanding aura.
It was only natural, given his troll blood.
Students from both the Azure Dragon Tower and the White Tiger Tower sat down quietly.
"We learned Light Creation magic last time, didn't we? Not everyone succeeded, but don't be discouraged. Magic doesn't yield to impatience. In the beginning, it's confusing—but once you catch on and get the feel for it, your skills will rapidly improve."
"Now... has anyone managed to successfully cast Light Creation since then?"
Ihan raised his hand, stifling a yawn.
'Stayed up all night practicing…'
When the other Azure Dragon Tower students claimed they'd all mastered Light Creation magic, Ihan had panicked.
True to his overachieving Korean roots, he couldn't stand falling behind in a competitive setting.
So he pulled an all-nighter, practicing magic instead of sleeping.
If not for his enormous mana reserves, he probably would've collapsed hours ago—but he came out of it fine. Just a little sleepy.
"...?"
But something felt off.
Not a single other student had raised their hand.
'What the hell?!'
"Ooooh..."
"As expected of Wardanaz."
"Impressive."
The Azure Dragon Tower students clapped quietly, their faces filled with a mix of pride and envy.
White Tiger punks, you see this?
This is Wardanaz!
That's the vibe Ihan picked up on.
"Hey."
Still confused, Ihan turned to the student next to him—one who had definitely said he'd mastered Light Creation.
"Didn't you say you mastered the spell?"
"Oh. You overheard that? Well… I almost succeeded. Not a full success, but it was close enough, so I figured, eh, same thing and said I did."
"..."
He'd been duped.
'These arrogant, posturing noble bastards...!'