Having given up on his uncooperative friend, Diret turned back toward his junior.

Once Princess Yukbeltire dug in like this, changing her mind was nearly impossible. It was easier to leave her alone.

“Sorry. It’s unfortunate, but there’s nothing we can do.”

“It’s fine. It’s not like Senior Yukveltire would know much anyway.”

“Ah, no. Yukveltire can use miniature world magic too... And honestly, Yukveltire would probably explain it better than I could.”

Compared to Diret, who specialized in dark magic, Princess Yukbeltire had accumulated and analyzed countless artifacts through enchantment magic. Because of that, Yukveltire possessed surprisingly broad knowledge even outside the main field of study.

When it came to advising someone about miniature world magic, Yukveltire might genuinely be more qualified.

“No way. That can’t be true. Senior Diret is the Empire’s greatest senior.”

“...”

Deeply moved, Diret quietly turned away so the junior wouldn’t notice.

It was fortunate they were underground. The darkness concealed the tears gathering in the corners of Diret’s eyes.

“Senior?”

“It’s nothing. Now then. Tell me exactly what explanation you heard.”

“Well... I was actually told I should start learning it.”

“Ignore that immediately.”

Diret answered without the slightest hesitation.

As expected, beings from other dimensions were dangerous existences that should never be trusted casually.

How could someone say something so absurd to a second-year student with a straight face?

“To say something like that... What an utterly insane bastard!”

‘Hmm. The Skull Principal said something similar.’

More specifically, the Skull Principal’s projection had.

Lee Han calmed Diret down before continuing.

“But shouldn’t I at least learn about it beforehand? I might get kidnapped again and trapped somewhere until I learn it.”

“I want to tell you to stop saying ridiculous things, but the sad part is I can’t deny that possibility...”

Who in their right mind kidnapped people and refused to release them until they mastered magic?

That was what Diret wanted to say, but unfortunately, his junior had already experienced exactly that once.

Giving up, Diret quietly listened.

The story about the miniature world Basilios and its explanation was undeniably fascinating.

It was an ancient system of miniature world magic completely different from the “relatively approachable” forms that Einroguard upperclassmen usually studied.

Diret listened intently before unconsciously speaking aloud.

“...Could it be that the condition is simply that only good people can use it? More specifically, people willing to sacrifice themselves for others...”

Diret’s insight was unexpectedly sharp, befitting a fifth-year student of Einroguard.

The only clear similarity between the young and virtuous Skull Principal—however impossible that sounded—and his kindhearted junior was exactly that sort of quality.

“That sounds way too absurd.”

Unfortunately, the foolish junior refused to acknowledge the wisdom of his senior. Diret tilted his head.

“Really? That’s the only explanation I can think of... Instead of dismissing it immediately, why not test it?”

If it had been anyone else, Lee Han would have ignored the suggestion outright.

But this was the Empire’s greatest senior speaking.

Out of respect, Lee Han decided he would at least try the experiment once.

“Understood. I’ll test it.”

“Qualifications are extremely important in miniature world magic, junior. Without the necessary qualifications, learning it at all becomes impossible. It’s similar to a wand choosing its master...”

“What were the conditions for the you learned, senior?”

At the question, Diret spread all five fingers.

Five.

“Subjugate five high-ranking demons and carve five letters. Each letter contains a sealed demon. The magic draws power from those letters and uses it as its foundation.”

The , which shattered the limits surrounding a dark mage and produced an overwhelming amplification effect, demanded qualifications worthy of its power.

One had to subjugate five high-ranking demons and carve letters using the traces of those victories.

“...Come to think of it, this might actually be easier for you, junior.”

“...?!”

Lee Han’s eyes widened at Diret’s innocent remark.

What exactly was that supposed to mean?

“When you meet that yatcha bastard again later, mention this condition and watch the reaction carefully. If I’m right... No. Even if I’m right, don’t rush things. Having the qualifications is only the beginning.”

The crow beastkin senior spoke with unusual seriousness.

Even after obtaining the qualifications and conditions, that merely marked the start.

Just as Diret himself had needed an enormous amount of time to fully complete the after subjugating the demons, Lee Han would likely face the same difficulty.

“I understand. If that happens, the other side might attack me, threaten me, bribe me, persuade me, or torment me in all kinds of ways to speed up the training. So it’s dangerous.”

“...That’s weirdly specific and diverse... But yes. Exactly.”

While the two continued talking, Princess Yukbeltire silently observed from a distance.

Waiting for the crown already hovering above her junior’s head to reveal itself again.

***

‘Hmm.’

After finally returning to the surface, Lee Han found himself wondering whether spending the last remaining hours of the weekend like this was really the correct decision.

-Wardanaz. Did you come to visit us?

“Ah. Hello, everyone.”

The giants wandering around while guarding the workshop area waved enthusiastically the moment they spotted Lee Han.

-Going to see the sheep?

“No. I’ll see the sheep later...”

-Ooh! That’s disappointing.

“Next time, let’s go together.”

-The lamb smashed another cliff apart! Wardanaz should have seen it! It was hilarious!

“...Why is that funny?”

-There were other giants standing on top of the cliff!

‘...I don’t think I’ll ever understand giant humor.’

Lee Han quickly abandoned the effort and headed toward the insane duplicate’s workshop.

When he opened the door and stepped inside—there were no restrictions since he was technically a disciple—he spotted a hamster frantically running inside a wheel while squeaking pitifully from inside its cage.

“Hello.”

The hamster didn’t even react anymore.

Apparently, it had decided it wanted nothing to do with either the insane duplicate or the insane duplicate’s disciple. Feeling slightly sorry for it, Lee Han tossed some food into the cage.

“Master, are you here?”

“Did you come to ask about the Dark Magic School’s King Scepter?”

“Huh? Ah... no.”

“Then miniature world magic?”

“I do need to ask about miniature world magic... but not today.”

“Good. Then which advanced spell are you curious about?”

“That’s not it either.”

“...Then why exactly did you come here?”

Before the cursing could begin, Lee Han hurriedly stated his purpose.

“I came to ask about orichalcum!”

No matter how much he thought about it, trustworthy people were hard to find.

So Lee Han chose the fastest and strongest option available.

The insane duplicate.

Surely an ancient royal of such dignity wouldn’t steal orichalcum from a disciple.

“I found some orichalcum.”

“Well done. Refine it properly and use it wisely.”

The insane duplicate’s reaction was surprisingly indifferent.

As expected from someone who had once gathered unimaginable wealth and treasures, merely hearing the word “orichalcum” wasn’t enough to excite him.

The sheer difference in dignity between him and the Einroguard students who had practically charged underground with glowing red eyes became painfully obvious.

“...Would you perhaps help me mine it?”

The insane duplicate slowly shook his head.

“How disappointing. Surely you’re not asking your master for help because you’re incapable of mining a single piece of orichalcum.”

“Well, if it were already fully matured orichalcum, I’d mine it myself. But I heard something strange...”

“!”

The insane duplicate suddenly paused.

Surely not.

“You aren’t telling me you discovered unfinished orichalcum.”

“That’s right.”

“Why do you behave so foolishly? Don’t you know treasures must be kept hidden, or greedy people will swarm toward them?”

“...”

Lee Han stared blankly as the insane duplicate suddenly scolded him for moving too slowly.

He had come here almost immediately!

“I came here right after hearing about it—”

“I don’t care. Move. I’ll verify it personally.”

“Actually, I only just returned from underground, so wouldn’t resting a day or two before heading back be—”

Without another word, the insane duplicate grabbed his disciple by the ear and dragged him away.

Lee Han had no choice but to follow.

***

‘Master might actually be... a genius miner.’

After barely spending any time on the surface before being dragged underground again, Lee Han found himself thinking something profoundly disrespectful.

Even when traveling with the Divination Magic Guild upperclassmen or the transformation magic school students, Lee Han had never found underground exploration particularly difficult. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

There were simply too many talented mages around.

Most problems solved themselves.

Underground monsters were detected and avoided in advance—though sometimes they fought them head-on anyway. Cliffs and chasms were bypassed by summoning footholds through the air or reshaping the surrounding terrain. Darkness itself became meaningless through illumination artifacts and darkvision spells.

But traveling alongside the insane duplicate made all of that seem laughably primitive.

Pop!

With a single casual gesture, the insane duplicate rewrote the entire underground terrain.

The maze-like rock formations twisted violently before opening into a direct passageway.

There was no need to identify cliffs, locate shortcuts, or map safe paths.

The insane duplicate simply compressed the underground terrain like clay before carving a perfectly straight route through it.

“Move.”

‘...Are the upperclassmen going to be okay?’

As he walked through the absurdly polished tunnel that looked completely out of place underground, Lee Han silently wondered.

This entire mining zone was an area upperclassmen had spent ages exploring and mapping for themselves.

And now the insane duplicate had casually rearranged the whole region purely for convenience.

‘Not my problem. Definitely not my problem.’

Thanks to that, the travel time shrank dramatically.

The insane duplicate, who had already memorized the map earlier, gave a satisfied nod.

“So it really does exist.”

“!”

Lee Han was genuinely surprised.

He had been half-convinced Jarun was insane.

“It’s surprising.”

“Why?”

“Well... the person who told me was extremely greedy...”

The insane duplicate showed a rare expression of satisfaction.

“The answer is simple.”

“What is it?”

“The dignity of being my disciple overwhelmed that greedy fool.”

“...”

Lee Han personally felt that explanation was highly questionable, but wisely chose silence.

“It’s here. Enter.”

“Master. There’s actually a mage trapped inside the vein already—!”

Lee Han abruptly froze mid-sentence.

The insane duplicate had casually grabbed the back of his neck and shoved him forward.

“So your true intentions finally reveal themselves... no?”

Lee Han blinked in confusion.

He hadn’t slammed into solid rock or become trapped at all.

What he had assumed was ordinary stone had merely been camouflage created by the orichalcum.

“I think you were just babbling nonsense.”

“Your disciple was exhausted and speaking carelessly. But... wasn’t orichalcum supposed to reject outsiders?”

“It only rejects those who are corrupt and greedy.”

The insane duplicate answered while staring directly at his disciple.

The disciple immediately responded in a way that perfectly repaid that trust.

“Then why did it let me through?”

“...Be quiet and collect the orichalcum.”

Sensing that his master’s mood had worsened considerably, Lee Han obediently shut his mouth and moved deeper inside.

He could feel the surrounding mana and magical energy flowing according to a single unified will.

At the center of it all floated the orichalcum.

‘...It looks far more modest than I expected.’

The fist-sized white ore resembled a tiny wildflower floating in midair.

Compared to its legendary reputation, the light radiating from it seemed surprisingly faint. Anyone else seeing it would probably mistake it for an ordinary worthless stone.

“But master. Is it really safe to touch orichalcum that’s been crystallizing here for so long?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

‘As expected.’

The insane duplicate might assault his disciple regularly, but he never lied.

Feeling reassured, Lee Han reached out and grabbed the orichalcum.

The ore obediently floated into his hand without resistance.

Even Lee Han himself found it suspiciously easy.

“I’ve extracted it.”

“From now on, never let it leave your body. It must absorb natural mana continuously in order to finish maturing.”

“...”

While Lee Han stood there in bewilderment, Basil suddenly began hissing threateningly.