Lee Han remained silent for a moment before quietly speaking.

“For the forest to recover properly, you would also need to directly examine the deeper layers of the earth.”

“I don’t think that’s necessary.”

The Insane Doppelganger sneered from the side, but Lee Han pretended not to hear him.

“Wh-why are you here...? You came because of this, didn’t you? The Echo of the Demigod...”

“Pardon?”

Lee Han tilted his head in confusion before finally realizing what she meant.

“Ah! You mean the artifact!”

“?”

“???”

Both Ilendil and the Insane Doppelganger stared at him in bewilderment.

If he hadn’t come because of the artifact, then why had he come all the way here?

“Then what did you come for?”

“I came to ask a Watchers member to praise me a little.”

“...”

The Insane Doppelganger looked at his disciple with utter contempt.

Ilendil was equally speechless.

Coming here with the Insane Doppelganger to train using the demigod-related artifact would at least have made sense.

But entering the Forest just to deceive some newly arrived Valdrogard student?

And bringing along the Skull Principal’s Insane Doppelganger, no less?

“Wh... why would you do something like that...? Couldn’t you do it later...?”

“Right now the other person is too wary of me. If I leave it alone, it’ll become harder to fix later.”

“...”

Then couldn’t he just leave the situation alone entirely?

Ilendil didn’t think the Valdrogard student would be useful in any way.

What possible value could he have?

At best, maybe they could squeeze some money out of him...

Surely that’s not what he’s planning?

Ilendil suddenly became suspicious.

In the past, she had thought of Lee Han as a genuinely kind junior who loved spirits, but after seeing him travel around with the Insane Doppelganger, her opinion had changed considerably.

Anyone who willingly stayed beside a madman had to be viewed with suspicion, no matter how normal they looked.

“Now. Go talk to him privately and convince him that I’m not a bad person.”

“I-I’m not good at things like that...”

“What are you talking about? You’re a fourth-year.”

What does that have to do with anything...

Ilendil grumbled inwardly.

Someone bad at interpersonal relationships as a first-year would still be bad at them as an upperclassman.

The Insane Doppelganger stepped in before more time could be wasted.

“Disciple. You should continue taming the Artificial Demigod in the meantime.”

“But won’t Senior be using it for forest restoration?”

The artifact 【Echo of the Demigod】 was a powerful tool that connected with divinity itself and drew out its power.

Ilendil used it for forest restoration and regeneration, while the Insane Doppelganger wanted Lee Han to use it to torment—no, tame—the artificially summoned demigod.

“I’ll directly open the channeling as royalty. This is Melitsa.”

The Insane Doppelganger calmly examined the nearby religious symbols and emblems.

Unlike his still inexperienced disciple, he could directly draw out and connect divine power even without relying on the artifact itself.

“Isn’t this the Jarmis Order?”

“The name must have changed. That happens often.”

Jarmis, the god of hunters, also possessed aspects related to forests.

But during the era when the Insane Doppelganger lived, that deity had been called Melitsa.

“Was it already the god of hunters and forests back then too?”

“No.”

“So divine attributes can change or be added over time.”

“Something like that. Your attempt to tame the Artificial Demigod isn’t fundamentally different in principle, though yours is incomparably rougher and cruder.”

The power formed through the collective unconscious of countless souls over long ages naturally differed from power forcibly produced by a single mage.

The former was a force capable of creating entirely new gods.

The latter was merely enough to persuade an Artificial Demigod.

Ilendil completely forgot about contacting the new Watchers member and listened intently.

Even for a dryad hybrid student, hearing the history of changing divinities from an ancient mage was fascinating.

Indeed... If I can uncover divine aspects that existed in the past, perhaps I could make use of them as ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) well.

Ilendil quietly admired her junior for having the foresight to ask such questions.

That was not the sort of thinking expected from a second-year.

“I see. Master, there’s one more thing I’d like to ask.”

“Are you deliberately dragging this conversation out to avoid taming the Artificial Demigod?”

“...Yes.”

“Begin.”

“Yes.”

“...”

Ilendil stared at her junior in disbelief.

What in the world...?

***

Ipadur: He’s seriously a rude person!

“...”

Starting a private conversation with the new Valdrogard member had been easy.

Convincing him was the difficult part.

Beaver-Penguin-Fox: Gonadaltes is a somewhat eccentric mage, but he’s not a bad person.

Ipadur: Hmph. I heard all Einroguard mages were eccentric, but I didn’t know they were this eccentric.

This little bastard.

Ilendil immediately felt offended.

Every Einroguard student, from the kindest to the cruelest, instinctively became irritated whenever a Valdrogard student insulted Einroguard.

Once, Ilendil had even witnessed a famously gentle priest from Phoenix Tower curse out a Valdrogard student.

The student had been wasting food, but if the offender hadn’t been from Valdrogard, that priest would probably have shown far more patience.

Ipadur: By the way, may I ask you something?

Beaver-Penguin-Fox: What is it?

Ipadur: You’re an Einroguard student too, right?

Everyone here besides you is an Einroguard student...

Apparently, the other person still believed this club was a gathering place for magic-school students from across the Empire.

But <Einroguard’s Watchers> was fundamentally a gathering place for Einroguard students.

Other than the current Valdrogard student, there were no outsiders.

Beaver-Penguin-Fox: Of course.

Ipadur: Then do you happen to know a student from House Wardanaz? A sixth-year student.

“?”

Of course, it was entirely possible for sixth-year students to exist at Einroguard without Ilendil knowing about them.

This was Einroguard. It would not be strange at all if some sixth-year senior from a hundred years ago suddenly emerged from deep underground or descended from a floating castle in the clouds.

Still, no matter how she thought about it, a sixth-year from House Wardanaz seemed unlikely.

It sounded far more probable that the Valdrogard student had mistaken the junior currently standing beside her.

Of course, mistaking a second-year for a sixth-year was absurd even for a Valdrogard student...

Ilendil unconsciously glanced toward Lee Han.

Commander. You wield my power too poorly. You cannot dominate the continent like this.

“I’m not trying to dominate the continent. I’m just practicing...”

Correct. Practicing to dominate the continent.

“No... I mean I’m just practicing. Could you at least help improve my success rate when casting high-level magic?”

Such trivial matters...

Hmm. That actually doesn’t seem strange at all.

Watching her junior casually discuss continental domination with a summoned Artificial Demigod, Ilendil immediately understood.

At this point, anyone could mistake him for some terrifying senior mage.

Beaver-Penguin-Fox: I’m not sure. Why are they looking for that senior?

Ipadur: Senior Alzadrc met him before and said he was an unbelievably amazing mage! And unlike other Einroguard mages, he was kind enough that they could become friends.

Beaver-Penguin-Fox: ???

Ilendil could not understand the situation at all.

She stopped the artifact entirely and stared at Lee Han again.

“My magic? There’s honestly a lot I need to practice right now. Especially after everything lately...”

Lee Han continued speaking with the Artificial Demigod.

The Artificial Demigod asked what magic he had been studying, and Lee Han began counting on his fingers.

No matter how prestigious small worlds might be, magic still required proper fundamentals.

If he became intoxicated by the reputation of small worlds or the power of great spirits and neglected the basics, he would inevitably destroy himself.

“First, I need to study more advanced water-element properties.”

It wasn’t that Lee Han was obsessed with fifth-circle magic, but after completing 【Wardanaz’s Water Jade Bullet】, he needed to study more advanced applications to continue progressing in water-element magic.

【Wardanaz’s Water Jade Bullet】 was practically the culmination of lower-circle water-element application techniques.

As Yumidihus demonstrated, he would need to learn more advanced concepts such as vaporization, condensation, compression, and other properties to move into truly higher-level water-element magic.

Honestly, Professor Voladi Bagreg’s earlier instructions made him even more conscious of this.

Professor Voladi Bagreg had been surprisingly patient this semester considering how chaotic things had become, but that patience only made Lee Han feel more pressured.

At times he almost wished Professor Voladi Bagreg would torment him toward completion like before. It would feel less uncomfortable that way.

Ugh... so crude...

“...”

Lee Han was speechless.

He had never expected to hear those words from an Artificial Demigod.

The opponent might be overwhelmingly powerful, but in terms of magical knowledge, it was practically a newborn. And yet it dared lecture a second-year Einroguard student?

“Do you even understand how difficult advanced water-element properties are? Most of them are basically fifth-circle magic...”

“Utterly insignificant. Learn such things quietly on your own during your spare time.”

“...”

When the Insane Doppelganger casually added his own comment, Lee Han became even more dumbfounded.

How exactly was he supposed to master them quietly on his own?

Even with help from the Artificial Demigod and the Insane Doppelganger, success was far from guaranteed.

“...Understood. Then moving on from water elements. Lightning elements would also be helpful if you could assist me there.”

Lightning-element magic had actually advanced further than his water-element magic.

【Wardanaz’s Lightning Fire】 was one full circle above 【Wardanaz’s Water Jade Bullet】.

But lightning magic was correspondingly unstable and incomplete. If Lee Han didn’t want his body exploding apart while transforming his flesh with lightning later on, he needed to become intimately familiar with it beforehand.

Ugh... so crude...

“...”

This bastard.

For a moment, Lee Han wondered whether the Insane Doppelganger was secretly controlling the Artificial Demigod.

But apparently not.

“Fire elements? Right now I’m trying to reach blue flames...”

Crude.

“...What about illusion magic school techniques involving spirits? I also need to learn more soul-related magic.”

Crude.

“Dark magic? Between higher undead summoning and everything else, there’s an endless amount left to learn.”

Crude.

“...”

Suppressing his irritation, Lee Han continued asking questions.

Topics shifted rapidly between various fields:

Divination magic for avoiding misfortune and defending against it.

Transformation magic for turning into stronger creatures.

Summoning magic for connecting to new dimensions.

Enchantment magic for creating support artifacts.

Healing magic for flesh protection and recovery.

No matter the topic, the Artificial Demigod mocked all of it.

Lee Han slowly nodded.

“Master. Let’s summon a different demigod.”

Commander?! That’s too cruel...!

The Artificial Demigod panicked in shock.

How could the commander destined to lead it be so heartless?

Ipadur: Excuse me? Why did you suddenly stop talking?

Beaver-Penguin-Fox: Ah, sorry. I got distracted for a moment. The sight in front of me is just too unbelievable...

Ipadur: What’s happening?

Beaver-Penguin-Fox: You wouldn’t believe me even if I told you.

Ipadur: Don’t all Einroguard students exaggerate too much?

“...”

Ilendil slowly turned her head back toward Lee Han and the Artificial Demigod.

No matter how she looked at it, this really was something nobody would believe.