# Episode 25
'No way. It can't be.'
Lee Han closed his eyes tightly.
But reality was harsh.
Caught in the first week! Haha! Haha!
"…What, what is this??"
Nilia, not fully grasping the situation, asked with a trembling voice.
Lee Han answered calmly.
"It seems we've fallen into the principal's trap."
Regardless of how Giselle found the escape route, it was clear she was playing right into the principal's hands.
The problem wasn't just Giselle getting caught, but also Lee Han's group following her!
Coming up here in the first week means you've seen the fake map I planted! Today, you've learned a valuable lesson! Never trust a map of unknown origin! You can't tell if it's a genuine treasure map or a trap laid by an evil lich!
"..."
"..."
What kind of person does this?
Lee Han was dumbfounded.
So, the skeleton principal himself made fake escape maps and scattered them around?
Not knowing when new students would arrive or even if they'd see the maps, yet doing such a thing…
'He's definitely enjoying this.'
Though he claimed to be teaching students, Lee Han knew such professors well.
They were just having fun.
White Tiger tower students, listen up! The escape attempt is over. Now, it's time to return. The rules are simple. I won't intervene; I'll send trackers. Avoid them and return to the tower! If you get caught, you're guilty. If you evade, you're innocent! Use any means necessary. You can even defeat my trackers!
With those words, a massive skull appeared in the dark night sky, glowing green.
And the skull began spewing undead minions from its mouth.
Bone hounds and trackers made of bones started falling onto the mountain.
Pop!
Lights illuminated the area. Skeletons lit torches.
The hunt had begun.
* * *
"Run!!!"
Nilia whispered urgently.
Her eyes were filled with terror, trembling.
"Nilia. Calm down."
"How can I calm down!! We might die if we get caught!"
"No, we won't die."
Unlike Lee Han, who was used to mad professors and had spoken with the principal a few times, Nilia found the skeleton principal terrifying.
To Lee Han, the principal was just having fun, but to Nilia, he seemed enraged by the freshmen's audacity and crime.
"R-Really?"
"If we get caught, we'll probably end up in a detention room or something."
"A d-detention room!? With torture devices… never to leave…"
"I don't think it's that bad."
Nilia had a vivid imagination for bad scenarios. Lee Han covered her mouth with his hand and assessed the situation.
'Skeletons?'
The sound of rustling leaves and branches. The bone trackers were moving through the bushes.
- Woof! Woof!
The bone hounds' barking echoed.
"Run!! If they chase, defeat them!"
"For honor! For knighthood!"
White Tiger tower students shouted as they drew their wooden swords.
They seemed determined to fight.
'This situation has nothing to do with honor or knighthood.'
Lee Han was curious how sneaking out of school related to honor or knighthood.
"We only have one thing to do now, right?"
Derkyu asked in a low voice.
In this situation, the different tower affiliations didn't matter.
They had to join forces to fend off the enemies!
"You're right, Derkyu."
"Yeah. I'll…"
"While they draw attention, we'll slip away."
"..."
Derkyu looked at Lee Han incredulously.
But Nilia, Yoner, and Gainan immediately agreed.
""Good idea!""
"..."
Derkyu almost argued but held back. The leader here was Lee Han, not him.
'We need to break through the weaker part of the encirclement.'
Observation.
Though he wanted to rush out, Lee Han held back.
In any situation, it was often better to wait and observe than to rush in panic.
Lee Han waited to identify the weaker part of the encirclement.
Fortunately, the White Tiger tower students were making noise and buying time.
This opportunity couldn't be wasted.
'Isn't this too much?'
Hiding in the bushes, Lee Han was stunned.
The endless stream of undead minions from the floating skull was overwhelming.
It seemed like they were trying to block any escape with sheer numbers.
'I underestimated the principal's madness!'
Lee Han sighed inwardly.
The principal was crazier than he thought.
Lee Han had assumed the principal would give the students some chance, having declared 'caught means guilty, escape means innocent.'
But he was blocking every possible escape route.
Maybe the principal thought he was giving them a chance by making the challenge this tough.
'Professors' minds are a bit twisted.'
The principal probably genuinely thought, 'This will help students grow by breaking through this blockade.'
The problem was that Lee Han had to break through it.
'This is… even if the White Tiger tower students draw attention, it's meaningless. Should I just surrender?'
Every path down the mountain was guarded by bone trackers with torches.
Behind them were more bone trackers.
And behind them, even more bone trackers…
There were so many that the mountain below looked almost as bright as day.
'Wait.'
As he pondered, Lee Han noticed something odd.
The bone trackers and hounds weren't paying attention to Lee Han's group.
'Strange?'
Though Lee Han's group was hiding in the bushes, and the White Tiger tower students were making a lot of noise running down, the trackers should still be searching the area.
But the bone hounds and trackers weren't searching for them; they were just chasing the White Tiger tower students.
'Could it be… the principal doesn't know we're here?'
Lee Han had assumed the principal knew they were hiding.
The principal was an incredible mage, far beyond Lee Han's level.
But what if the principal wasn't actually here?
'I won't intervene; I'll send trackers. Avoid them and return!'
Thinking about it, the massive skull might not be the real principal.
It wouldn't be strange if it was a projection or a decoy sent from afar.
'If that's the case, we just need to avoid the trackers!'
It was better to escape undetected than to get caught and run.
"…Let's go up."
"What??"
"There's no way to avoid detection below. Look at the numbers. The moment we're spotted, the trackers will swarm us."
Nilia's eyelashes trembled at Lee Han's words.
"But there are no trackers above. Let's go up, bypass them, or wait it out. We have a better chance that way."
"Okay!"
"?"
Lee Han was surprised by how quickly Nilia agreed.
"I suggested it… but shouldn't you think it over? We don't know what's up there."
"It's better than getting caught and tortured in a detention room!"
"…I think you're misunderstanding something."
* * *
After cautiously climbing for about 30 minutes, Nilia spoke in a low voice.
"There's a cave. Let's go in."
"Monsters?"
"None. It's a small cave with no signs of life. I checked by throwing a stone."
Nilia tapped her long ears.
"We've moved too much. I'm fine, but the others need a break."
"Agreed."
Nilia, Lee Han, and Derkyu were fine, but Yoner looked exhausted, and Gainan was near collapse.
Walking in the dark and being on edge to evade trackers had worn them out.
"Light!"
Inside the cave, Lee Han used magic. The light shone like the sun, filling the cave.
Yoner hung a coat at the entrance to block the light from escaping.
"They won't chase us here, right?"
"Don't worry. We didn't hear them following. They must be gathered below."
Nilia reassured Yoner.
Fortunately, Lee Han was right.
The principal's summoned creatures hadn't noticed them and hadn't climbed higher.
"The problem is how long those summoned creatures will stay."
"Maybe I should've tried to break through."
Derkyu regretted.
Lee Han shook his head.
"No. Breaking through by force wasn't an option."
"Why?"
"The principal wouldn't leave such an obvious gap."
"..."
"..."
The others thought, 'How does he know?' but respected Lee Han's opinion and stayed silent.
"Whether we wait for them to leave or find another way around, we need to rest now. Let's eat."
"Agreed!"
Lee Han distributed the sausage, bread, and cheese he brought.
Gainan threw a dwarven honey candy into his mouth, savoring it. He hadn't had sweets in days.
"Oh no… I'm out of water…"
Nilia looked worried as she pulled out her empty leather water pouch. They had run out of water from continuous walking.
"No need to worry. We have magic."
"!"
"Flow!"
With a wave of his staff, Lee Han conjured a ball of water from thin air.
Nilia quickly brought her leather pouch to collect it.
"That's amazing, Lee Han!"
Derkyu was impressed.
As a knight family member, Derkyu was slower at learning magic than other tower students. To him, Lee Han's magic was a miracle.
Gainan and Yoner clapped, delighted like children.
"I was so thirsty!"
"Thanks for the water."
Nilia filled her pouch and closed it carefully. She spoke with envy.
"I wish I could learn water magic too…"
"You'll get it with practice."
Lee Han said sincerely.
It wasn't a difficult spell. Once you grasp the feel of it, it's easy to use.
"I hope so."
Nilia said, then cast a spell with her staff.
"Flame!"
A small flame ignited in the air and transferred to the kindling Nilia had gathered.
The crackling sound of the fire created a cozy atmosphere.
Everyone sighed with relief, their hands and feet warming up after the cold night walk.
"Phew. Glad it worked on the first try. I was nervous even though I succeeded before."
Nilia had a natural affinity for fire, succeeding in the flame creation spell on the first try.
She then looked at Lee Han and spoke.
"I envy you. I'd rather have water magic than fire."
"..."
"…What? Why?!"
Nilia stammered, startled by Lee Han's glare.
Did I say something wrong?!