Chapter: 205
The wind roughly tousled Isabelle’s hair as she stumbled back, urgently extending her sword.
*Kang—!!*
The clash of swords mingled with flying sparks and a resounding crash, slower than her view. The moment she registered the sound, the axe blade had already lunged closer than her nose.
With a screech, Isabelle pushed her blade forward in a panic.
“Accelerated reflexes are cheating! How can Taurus use something like that?!”
“…You can use it after the third round.”
“No—!!”
Kang—!!
The axe blade hesitated, nearly grazing her face at her words. Seizing the moment, Isabelle barely managed to roll out of reach, landing on the ground.
Meanwhile, Ecdysis, having penetrated Ivan’s side, swung her baton.
Bang!!
As the baton struck the axe handle to a halt, Ecdysis wobbled her foot back, grinning crookedly.
“I’ve got you!!”
A conductor swings with one hand; every conductor is a master of one-handed gestures. One hand conducting and the other gesturing, after all.
So in this moment, Ecdysis had loaded her best gesture.
When declaring silence to the band, the conductor extends a hand to clench a fist. Thus, exerting force on the stand leg and maintaining the tension that pounds the ground—
“Vision—!! Killing the Mage!! My first move!!”
Her left hand, holding the baton, went up into guard.
The right hand, fist clenched behind her back, twisting her body to gain momentum.
*Whack—!!*
“Silence spell—!!”
She did it. The feeling of the punch landing was satisfying. The impact was enough to turn a person into a ‘not a person’—a tingling sensation flooded her.
Sometimes, bards use magic. Apart from utilizing mana, do they merely hum a tune, which makes it miraculous?
However, aside from a few bard buffs, Ecdysis didn’t have any spells she could use.
But, she knew the common counter shared by bards and mages: both become powerless when hit with a silence spell.
Her silence spell even worked on knights. During practice with the Knight Department, it had a 100% success rate in silencing her opponents—unconscious people can’t speak, after all.
“I took him down… me?!”
“Impressive.”
“What?!!!”
Ecdysis carefully raised her gaze. A creature with bright eyes gleamed down at her from above.
Swallowing hard under that chilling gaze, she opened her trembling mouth.
“Just how…?”
“Don’t try to use strikes against Taurus. Their muscle density is superior to humans, and their fat layers are thicker, efficiently dispersing impact.”
“But, uncle is human, right?”
“Right now, it’s Taurus.”
“Does… that even make sense…?”
Ivan approached the fumbling Ecdysis, who was backing away.
“And if you step back after failing your first attack at this distance, there’s no second chance. When facing Taurus up close, you must rush in with the mindset to push forward. And—”
Ivan dodged Isabelle’s charging sword by turning his head and grabbed her by the collar, lifting her up.
“Surprise attacks should come from the rear. Taurus’s side vision is superior to that of humans. Side ambushes are likely futile.”
“That was—!!”
Isabelle gasped but smiled.
“The Hero Party is all about being thorough!!”
With that, Ivan immediately flung Isabelle away. She landed with a *thud*, rolling across the floor.
Without even sparing her a glance, Ivan swiftly turned around, gripping the axe.
Golden hair fluttered as he dashed, a green glow streaking through short locks.
Ka-gak—!! Kang!!
The great sword struck the axe blade, causing it to dive through, landing a blow.
With a wrist’s recoil, it bounced away, leading to another clash. Two blows!
Twisting at the waist, he pushed back, firing off a third strike.
*Kaang!!*
Oscar had arrived, glaring sharply up at Ivan, closing in on his chin—confidence, ambush timing, strength, and skill all at play.
“Impressive.”
A pass.
A smile deepened on Ivan’s lips. After fending off Oscar’s attack, he scanned his surroundings.
Ecdysis, having regained her stance, held her baton tightly in one hand while forming a fist with the other.
On the ground, Isabelle—who had tumbled—bit her lip, raising her sword straight.
In front of him, Oscar prepared to charge with sharp vigor at any moment.
“This!! How can Taurus block this?! Are you out of your mind?!”
“Time.”
“…Huh?”
“Out of 57 participants in this class, 43 haven’t yet done practical exercises. There’s one hour and 43 minutes left. Therefore, I can’t allocate all my time to you.”
As a citizen of South Korea, it’s impossible to provide educational services to just a select few students. Opportunities must be fair for everyone.
It’s a bit disappointing though. He wanted to teach these guys a little more.
But if it’s impossible during class, they can have make-up lessons later.
After all, wasn’t there a wager with Isabelle? If he defeated this guy, he could make her receive ‘group training’. It’s a win-win! (Though debatable.)
“So now, fight as if you’re facing the Taurus Legion Commander.”
Tuar-Galion, the third legion commander under Tumor of the Mountain. The only three Warlords of Taurus. Remembering the only Taurus legion commander he faced, Ivan slowly regained his stance.
In those days, Tuar-Galion was a general who painted half a nation in despair. Once, there were people living beyond the eastern front. During the war against the demon tribe.
Ivan had faced him alongside the Hero Party dispatched to eliminate Tumor. A tough foe, but not one that required the entire Hero Party to take on.
Thus, this combination seemed just right. One-on-one would be too much for these guys, but in a multiple engagement… if they put in the ‘effort’, they could definitely win.
“This guy’s truly insane!!”
“Uncle, I feel like this is somewhat disgraceful…”
“I’m good with it.”
Ivan, a reasonable person, didn’t indulge the trainees’ complaints. He took a deep breath, channeling mana into his muscles.
*
“Did you have fun?”
“It was alright.”
Ivan replied as he handed Enrique the practical evaluation sheet.
Enrique, chuckling, looked around at the students. There were very few who stood on both legs. No one had sustained significant injuries, but all the students seemed to carry invisible burdens on their minds.
*Um-mum-mum-mum….*
*Hiiiiiik—.*
“This is Taurus, no matter how much you hit them, they don’t get hurt thanks to their insane stamina and defenses. They barrel through barricades like they’re nothing, running straight at you while you watch with your eyes fixated on the blades below—”
Panic-stricken sounds erupted from the students. Fortunately, due to the lack of any student rights regulations in this world, the somewhat reckless teaching methods didn’t stir up social controversy.
Enrique chuckled as she glanced at Ivan. Ivan too was a mess, covered in wood chips and dust. But his spirit remained unbroken, and she smiled pleasantly.
Her shoulders felt lighter, and the subtly relaxed expression brought satisfaction. Having known that guy for over ten years, she could now recognize the differences even in the same expressions.
It was apparent that Ivan was in a significantly better mood than usual. Enrique nodded appreciatively.
“If you promise to take it a bit easier, I’ll have you back as an instructor for the next class.”
“…Is it my role to make that proposal?”
“Of course! I’m your master. You don’t get to say no.”
“Hmph.”
Ivan stepped back in silence. With Enrique’s dreadful declaration, the students were left weighing the option of dropping the course. Since the registration period was over, failing would become a reality.
As a historical hero who wouldn’t be kicked out even if course evaluations dropped, Enrique clapped her hands lightly.
“Alright, based on the practical evaluation forms, we’ll reflect on the next class. Since it’s a relative evaluation, don’t worry too much; even if you don’t meet the standards, there won’t be any penalties. Just pay a bit more attention in class, and you’ll be fine.”
“Class… attention…?”
A student mumbled blankly while glancing at Ivan. Ivan silently nodded. The students’ faces turned pale.
“You all did great! See you next week!”
“Uncle, we’ll meet after class. I’m seriously grinding my teeth, my jaw hurts so bad.”
“Oh dear.”
“Seriously!! This—!! Aaah—!!”
Isabelle led the party away, twisting her expression as if her outfit had been flipped inside out. Watching them, Enrique chuckled and suddenly asked.
“Our dear disciple. When are you going to the Royal Court?”
“Tonight.”
“Aren’t you having dinner with Elizaveta?”
“She’s busy.”
“I see. Well, you’ve taken a long enough break from your duties. You might get busy soon, so rest well for now. See you later, dear disciple.”
“Mm.”
Ivan silently nodded before taking his leave.
*
There’s a saying that alchemy began in the kitchen. With ovens, pots, various spices and herbs, and occasionally even minerals, cooking and alchemy share a lot of similarities.
Alchemy is closely connected to modern chemistry and materials science. Thus, cooking and chemistry can be viewed as one and the same.
Isabelle, now a Dark-Culinary Artisan, loves this narrative.
*Hehehe…*
Every medicine is poison. Depending on how you dose and administer it, it can be toxic.
A well-prepared meal is a tonic. Human vitality begins with food.
Therefore, based on syllogism, every well-prepared meal is poison. Using simultaneous equations, the formula of food = tonic = poison holds true.
Just as the leaders of dark chefs perfected the vision poison cooking using Parmapaljin, Dark-Isabelle also managed to complete the forbidden great magic.
A lethal temptation’s extreme poison capable of luring back any runaway uncle…
“Everyone, dig in.”
“Finally…!!”
“The day would come when I’d actually witness this…!!”
“I only had a rough idea of the principle, but I can actually make it.”
Yuri and Eugene marveled, holding their spoons. The glossy, bright red sauce-coated meat exhibited enticing springiness.
In the large pot brought by Isabelle, meat soup floated in red oil. A stew cooked down more than a traditional stew, tender to the point of almost breaking apart.
“To think she actually completed this…”
Yuri swallowed hard, gazing at Isabelle with admiration. She had only explained the principles and concepts, yet after weeks of researching alone, she suddenly brought in the finished product.
Thinking about a hero who studies cooking during vacation is a topic worth contemplating, but as long as the results are good, who cares?
“Spicy…!!”
Malted barley is the raw material for beer. Naturally, beer and whiskey exist in this world too, making the ingredients accessible.
Using flour instead of glutinous rice is likewise feasible. In fact, you can make gochujang with flour. Beyond that, the only ingredient needed is some red pepper powder.
Hence, if one has sufficient time, effort, and experience with mixing, producing gochujang should be a streamlined task for a national alchemist.
At the moment gochujang was completed, the culinary category underwent an astonishing transformation. Numerous Korean dishes like spicy pork stir-fry and gochujang stew were liberated.
Yuri swallowed again, shifting her attention to Ivan. Ivan stared somberly at the spicy pork stir-fry for a long while.
“…What’s wrong? Don’t you like it?”
“No.”
To Isabelle’s cautious question, Ivan shook his head. The efforts and time poured into the dish were apparent, so without saying much, he picked up a piece of meat.
It was food he had longed for all his life. Among the foods listed in the notebook inside the safe on his office table, it was one of the top entries.
He wouldn’t dare to complain for not being grateful. Slowly, he brought the meat to his mouth.
“How… is the taste?”
“It’s delicious. Well done.”
“Right?! Right?! Hehehe—”
Isabelle swelled with pride, her face relaxing as if she hadn’t been nervous at all.
“Do you know how long it took to make this? Oh goodness, I really didn’t experience any stress—how much I spent balancing aging time by casting accelerated time spells!”
“Mm.”
“Really. You’re such a bland person! If you’re happy, just express it! Like, you know, cry and weep like the last time?!”
“Mm.”
Ivan nodded, munching. Her chatter aside, seeing her eat with such enthusiasm filled him with pride.
Yeah, this is what eating should feel like.
As Isabelle smiled contentedly, the students flocked eagerly to the food. Yuri and Eugene stuffed their mouths until cheeks were full, while Ecdysis cheerfully chatted as she filled plates.
After observing such atmosphere silently, Elpheira finally spoke.
“Ivan.”
“Mm.”
“Ah.”
“…Hmmm.”
Elpheira opened her mouth beside Ivan.
Ecdysis, who was moving her spoon, and Isabelle, serving meat onto dishes, stiffened.
“Ah. Hurry up. Am I starving? Would my daddy be sad? Aaaaaah—.”
“…Understood. Quiet.”
Ecdysis accidentally spilled stew all over the floor.
“Um. What? It’s edible.”
Elpheira swallowed a piece of meat given by Ivan without chewing much, then grinned at Isabelle.
Isabelle’s eyes darted back and forth uncontrollably.
