He could hear the spirit shouting something, but it did not reach the ears of the focused young prince.

At present, the most important thing was passing magic on to his disciple.

Compared to that task, whatever the evil spirit was babbling about was not particularly important.

If the spirit was truly lucky, it might reform, but most beings could not overcome their nature. The prince did not have especially high expectations for evil beings.

I understand! I’ll try to endure a little longer!

Situations like this won’t come often...

Once again ignoring the spirit’s words, the prince thought.

The theory that appropriate tension improved a mage’s learning ability had been proven since ancient times, and the disciple before him was especially gifted in that regard.

In that case, when a situation like this arose, the disciple ought to learn as many spells as possible.

Such fine opportunities would not come that often, would they?

Had it been the Skull Principal, he would have said, “If a crisis is needed, then I’ll create the crisis myself!” But the young prince was still inexperienced and naive, so he could not come up with such evil ideas.

He was only thinking of somehow teaching more when such an opportunity had coincidentally come to his disciple.

How can I find more methods?

Gaaaaaaah!

Awakened by Lee Han’s resources and the prince’s encouragement, Sarataan endured through sheer determination.

Though Sarataan’s body kept collapsing and recovering, a powerful high-ranking spirit like Sarataan was not accustomed to pain.

For such a spirit to persist so tenaciously was truly remarkable.

“M-Master! Could you possibly help a little?”

Even Lee Han, who had believed the prince would naturally step in if the situation became truly dangerous, panicked slightly and shouted.

Sarataan’s screaming was on an entirely different level from before.

—I understand, disciple. Now, what did you feel while teleporting just now?

“What? No... well... Sarataan here...”

Agogogogogo!

The young prince gestured. Then, after he cast some magic, Sarataan’s screams were muted.

—That’s better.

“Reducing the sound doesn’t solve the problem...?”

—Now, disciple. What did you feel while teleporting just now?

“...I thought both the casting speed and the precise coordinates were quite difficult.”

—That’s right. Even if you succeed in casting teleportation magic once, reaching the level of mastery is not easy.

As one of the highest-difficulty spells, teleportation magic required tremendous time and effort to master even after one had managed to cast it once.

Moreover, there were various advanced attributes to learn in addition.

General teleportation, penetrating teleportation against targets with magical resistance, displacement teleportation that exchanged objects already in place...

But what does this have to do with the current situation?

Lee Han, who was simultaneously channeling mana into the spirit and providing support with various enhancement spells, felt anxious.

His master’s explanation did not seem immediately necessary for the current situation.

Of course, the teaching about teleportation magic was certainly impressive, but was this really needed to block the pressure from the refraction magic?

“Master! I understand. Where should I cast teleportation?”

Lee Han interrupted the prince and shouted.

Though his level was still immature, he had no choice. Sarataan’s body was literally twisting and contorting.

At this rate, Sarataan’s will would collapse before Princess Yukbeltire could complete her magic.

—Not yet, disciple. Listen a little more.

The prince skillfully stalled for time.

Since things had come to this, he planned to teach a few more teleportation spells.

If possible, he wanted the mage to master personal teleportation too...

Crack!

“!?”

At the loud breaking sound, Lee Han startled and turned his head.

He wondered if Sarataan’s back had broken, but that was not it. Sarataan was still enduring.

Something else had broken. Lee Han noticed that Princess Yukbeltire’s face had turned paler than he had ever seen it.

The thin adamantite plate had cracked.

A crack had formed in the core that needed to fix and inscribe all this magic. Lee Han was horrified.

“H-How?! No, I definitely calculated the load properly!”

The reason Lee Han and Sarataan were suffering like this was to distribute the pressure generated during the spellcasting.

No matter how reliable adamantite was as a material, it could not bear the magical load entirely on its own.

Yet for it to crack like that was unbelievable.

—The adamantite’s purity is lower than expected. Other impurities are mixed in.

“What? Of course we use alloys!”

Lee Han shouted in surprise at his master’s answer.

Princess Yukbeltire was not some continental emperor who could use plates of pure adamantite.

Even the Skull Principal could not afford such waste...

...Well, he could, but he would not dare do it in front of students.

“It’s nearly impossible for an Einroguard student to obtain high-purity adamantite!”

—Indeed. Disciple, what an unfortunate miscalculation. Who would have thought that the quantities of materials we assumed to be the same would actually be different...

“...Master, you’re not smiling right now, are you?”

Lee Han sensed something strange.

Of course, the young prince always wore a cheerful, smiling face.

But his current smile seemed to contain some other intention.

As though he welcomed this situation...

It must be my imagination, right?

—Disciple, please listen. Now that it has come to this, you have no choice but to learn another new spell.

The young prince’s voice was full of happiness at the calculation that he could teach one more thing.

“I’m stopping this. Fall back!”

Princess Yukbeltire shouted coldly from behind.

Though she felt so frustrated that she wanted to twist Professor Verdus’s neck, doing so would not bring back the failed magic.

Now was the time to retreat without being stubborn.

—Be quiet.

“We need to retreat quickly...”

—Now, disciple. Listen.

Princess Yukbeltire’s voice was also muted. It was truly astonishing illusion magic.

No, how did he do that?

Even Lee Han, who had learned magic as a student, could not guess the principle at all.

The prince had not cast it directly on Lee Han, nor on Princess Yukbeltire...

“M-Master, that senior is saying we should retreat. Wouldn’t it be all right to retreat without forcing it?”

—Then would that mage really leave you alone? Would she not come back and ask again?

As he spoke, the prince tilted his head for a moment.

Come to think of it, would that be better?

No, she might not be able to ask again.

While the prince pondered, Lee Han was immediately convinced. That senior was definitely someone who would keep chasing and bothering him.

...And Professor Verdus had to be made to kneel too!

“You’re absolutely right. What should I do?”

—The melodic incantation you showed in the tower last time. Do you remember it?

“Melodic incantation...”

Lee Han recalled the conversation he had once had with the Great Artist.

Melodic incantation was a spellcasting technique that incorporated the principles of music magic to enhance magical power.

There were several techniques, such as repeated incantation, that refined spells in order to increase their power, but few methods had as high a ceiling as melodic incantation.

In fact, had Lee Han not completed the complex enchantment magic 【Bivle’s Flying Sword】 with the help of melodic incantation?

Originally, it had been magic too complex and difficult for him to cast.

—Use that to cast the magic I tell you.

Royal Pure Gold.

This was a transformation magic passed down through the young prince’s family—that is, the royal family.

All the various transformation spells Lee Han had learned so far had predetermined results.

【Jarun’s Inelastic Rubber】 was magic that created swamp-like rubber, and 【Rock Sand Transformation】 was ultimately magic that created sand.

This fixation of results in transformation magic was also an unavoidable choice. Otherwise, the difficulty of the magic would skyrocket far too much.

However, the magic the young prince had brought out now only had gold in its name. It was not actually magic related to gold.

“Oh no!”

—?

“It’s nothing.”

Magic that temporarily transformed one substance into an omnipotent virtual substance that did not exist in reality.

That was precisely what Royal Pure Gold was.

It was easy to understand if one thought of the philosopher’s stone or dragon stone.

Of course, compared to those two, any reagent would pale in comparison...

“...I see. You want me to use this to substitute for the damaged adamantite?”

—You only need to hold out until the magic ends, my disciple. Once the refraction magic is completely finished, there will be no need to withstand the pressure anymore.

“But what circle is this magic?”

—Hurry, my disciple! Quickly!

Lee Han looked at Sarataan.

It seemed he could not do this magic through spatial movement either, and would have to leave Sarataan behind for a moment.

“Are you okay...”

—The spirit says it is fine. Go!

The prince covered Sarataan’s mouth and relieved the burden instead. Then he gestured for Lee Han to go quickly.

Is it really okay?

Feeling that doubt, Lee Han hurriedly moved. He could see Princess Yukbeltire opening and closing her mouth.

“Senior, what are you doing?”

“Mmmmmmmmm.”

Princess Yukbeltire, who usually did not express her emotions well, waved her hands with an angry face.

She pointed at Lee Han, then pointed outside the basement.

She was going to stop the magic, so get out quickly...

—My disciple!

“Ah, I understand.”

Lee Han moved to the painting’s canvas with the adamantite plate. Princess Yukbeltire stamped her feet as if she were about to die of frustration, then glared at the prince.

The young prince smiled brightly as though nothing were wrong.

At that sight, Princess Yukbeltire raised the young prince’s danger level within herself to extreme.

Extreme — Young Prince

High — Skull Principal

Medium-High — Professor Verdus

Meanwhile, singing flowed from behind her. At the sound, which did not match the urgent situation at all, Princess Yukbeltire turned around in confusion.

The refraction...!

The 【Refraction of Ahriman】 magic was slowly being carved onto the plate.

The adamantite plate, which had seemed ready to crack and vomit out the magic instead of accepting its inscription, was maintaining its form.

Looking at it with surprised eyes, Princess Yukbeltire saw pure gold glittering in the cracked crevices of the plate.

It was not real gold, but gold from outside reality, formed by magic.

That gold maintained the magic in place of the lost adamantite. Realizing the principle, Princess Yukbeltire looked at her junior in astonishment once again.

Even so, to cast such high-level transformation magic as if it were nothing?

“Master! Is this really being maintained?!”

—Try maintaining it a little longer, my disciple. You’re doing well.

“No, it isn’t being maintained...”

Lee Han was flustered as he watched the pure gold, which looked ready to lose power and return to its original form at any moment.

Even as it continuously absorbed mana, it kept demanding more without stopping, like a baby basilisk.

To think he had to pour in this much mana just to maintain a handful of gold.

Am I casting the magic wrong?

Even amid the confusion, Lee Han trusted his master and continued maintaining the magic. Fortunately, he did not have to worry about mana.

At that sight, the young prince smiled.

Originally, several mana-securing spells should have been cast before entering this stage, but as expected, his disciple was holding out just fine.

He almost wished one or two more accidents would happen.

—Are you all right, spirit?

Yes... thank you for your concern...

—Are you really all right? You do not feel as though you might collapse or fail to hold out, do you?

I’m fine! If he is holding out, then I can certainly do it too!

The young prince sighed invisibly.

This spirit really was not helpful.