The students of the White Tiger Tower were far more narrow-minded than Ihan had expected.
As soon as class ended and he turned to leave, three students suddenly stepped into his path, blocking his way.
"Wardanas. Did you really think you could win so cheaply and just walk away?"
"We're going to teach you a lesson—make sure you never show your shameless face in class again."
The dwarf and orc students—whose names Ihan still didn't know—spoke with barely concealed hostility.
Still unsure what was going on, Ihan asked a question to test the waters.
"You do realize I'm from the House of Wardanas, don't you?"
"Using your family name to threaten us? How cowardly!"
"And ganging up three-on-one isn't cowardly?"
"Shut up!"
They tried to act tough, but Ihan didn't miss the flash of fear that passed across their faces.
So—they'd heard the rumors about the House of Wardanas.
And yet, here they were, throwing punches just to defend the honor of their dormitory?
They've clearly got more ego than brains… but maybe they've got someone backing them up.
Either they were from another major noble house themselves… or they had a powerful house supporting them from behind.
They don't seem like the first type, so probably the second.
If that was true, they were more than just stupid—they were dangerously stupid.
No major house would go out of its way to protect a minor pawn after picking a fight with a giant like Wardanas.
They'd be discarded the moment things got inconvenient.
There was a reason people said, "Don't get caught in the crossfire between great houses."
Not that it matters. If they were the type to back off after hearing reason, they wouldn't have come at me in the first place.
If they were going to charge in thoughtlessly, no amount of logical persuasion would get through.
Fists were close. Nobility was far.
"Who put you up to this? Let me guess—must be a house strong enough that your own families couldn't refuse."
"...!!"
"Wha—?!"
All three of them paled as if they'd just seen a ghost.
How the hell did a student from another dorm guess so accurately what was going on inside the White Tiger Tower?
"Sh-shut up!"
"Let's just attack!"
"Surround him!"
Realizing that further talking would only work against them, they started to circle him with obvious intent to strike.
Three on one's not going to work.
Ihan's mind raced.
Alarrong's advice echoed in his head:
"One-on-one? Go for it. Two-on-one? Only if you have no other choice. Three-on-one? Just run."
If it ever came to a three-on-one fight, the best option was to run away.
And Ihan agreed with that wholeheartedly.
These three were probably from knight families and had been trained in swordsmanship since childhood. A direct fight would be a losing battle.
The problem was—they were blocking the path.
He had to shake them up somehow and break through.
Wait—that's it!
A plan formed in Ihan's mind.
They knew he was from the House of Wardanas, famed for its magic.
So—he would use that.
"Move!"
Ihan shouted the command in a forceful voice.
The three students flinched instinctively.
Magic?!
They were still struggling with the most basic light spells, but he was already casting real ones?
Time to fake them out with a low-tier manipulation spell.
In truth, Ihan hadn't fully mastered the spell yet. He hadn't been able to properly control it, not even once.
But that didn't matter.
The others didn't know that.
In a situation like this, where everyone's magic skills were barely above novice level, just casting anything was enough to scare people.
Whack!
"..."
Ihan's eyes widened in disbelief.
All he'd meant to do was lift a small stone into the air—just enough to threaten them.
Once floating, he could've used it to bluff his way out or act like he had more tricks ready.
But Ihan had overestimated his control.
Keeping the stone suspended was much harder than he thought.
Instead, the moment he cast the spell, the stone shot forward like a missile—and nailed the goat beastkin student square in the forehead.
"W-Wardanas, you bastard!!"
The other two reeled back in shock.
It was their first time experiencing a true offensive spell—especially one that hit before they could even react.
A rock bolt, fired like an arrow.
So this was the kind of magic the Wardanas family wielded?
"...If the next guy wants to die too, step forward."
Ihan's voice was ice.
Now that it had come to this, he had to commit to the act. Pretend that the spell had gone exactly according to plan.
"Grr..."
"You should back off. You have swords, but I have magic."
The two remaining students looked torn—caught between fear and pride.
And then—before they could decide—Ihan cast again.
"Move!"
"Eek!"
The dwarf student dove sideways, trying to dodge.
But the flying rock bolt swerved—and struck him in the gut.
Whack!
"Gaaah...!"
The dwarf doubled over and collapsed, breathless.
That left only the orc standing—and now he was shaking.
He'd seen it with his own eyes. The guy had dodged—and still gotten hit.
This wasn't just some beginner bluff. That was real targeting magic.
...Am I the one who learned magic wrong?
Ihan was just as confused, silently staring at the fallen dwarf.
Wait, how the hell am I hitting these guys so well when I can't even make a pebble float?
"P-Please! That's enough—I give up! I'll move! I'll move, okay?! Just don't shoot! Don't kill me!"
Kill you? What the hell, I'm not some maniac.
Ihan thought that—but kept his expression perfectly cold.
"Next time, remember the name House Wardanas."
"Ugh..."
The orc gritted his teeth but couldn't meet Ihan's eyes.
Just then, Derregu ran over, stopping short with an utterly bewildered look on his face.
His eyes locked with Ihan's.
"You're not... here to fight me too, are you?"
"W-What? No!"
Even someone as stone-faced as Derregu couldn't help but stammer in a situation like this.
"Someone from the Moradi family—Gazelle, was it?—made that kind of threat?"
"No, Giselle..."
"Ah, right. Giselle. Difficult name. Anyway, that Giselle from the Moradi family?"
At Derregu's unexpected confession, Lihan was mildly surprised.
The Blue Dragon Tower and the White Tiger Tower seemed to have entirely different atmospheres.
At the Blue Dragon Tower, since most students came from prestigious families or royalty, there wasn't a dominant leader.
In reality, students grouped together based on their family ties, forming small cliques here and there.
There were a few students who followed Princess Adenart, the most prominent among them, but even that was far from a relationship based on orders or hierarchy.
And yet, over at the White Tiger Tower, a single student—Giselle from the Moradi family—was said to control everything?
"What does this person look like?"
"Like this."
Derregu knelt and used a stick to draw a surprisingly detailed sketch on the ground, describing Giselle's appearance as he went.
Lihan's expression twisted in disbelief.
"No way…?!"
Wasn't that the same student who had acted overly friendly toward him during swordsmanship class?
"So that's why. That annoyingly handsome face and all that forced kindness… I knew they were hiding something wicked underneath."
"Wardanaz. I agree that Giselle Moradi is wicked, but I don't think that has anything to do with their looks. Also, 'handsome'? Are you saying Giselle is a guy—"
Lihan ignored Derregu's comment entirely.
Why bother listening to someone defend a pretty-faced bastard?
'What an irony, though.'
At first, Lihan had considered leveraging Giselle's friendly demeanor to win over other students.
But instead, he ended up getting closer to Derregu—the one he initially clashed with—and discovered that Giselle had a dark ulterior motive.
'Was she just testing me back then?'
Lihan thought back to their conversation.
He hadn't said anything particularly important or revealing.
Sure, he had said, "I only signed up for swordsmanship to get easy credits!" but that wouldn't have been enough to provoke an ambush.
If anything, that kind of remark would make someone underestimate him—not see him as a threat.
"I don't get it. Why would she try to attack me?"
"I can think of a few reasons. First off, you're a Wardanaz."
"Do our families have some blood feud I don't know about?"
Lihan furrowed his brow.
Could there be a historic grudge between the magical Wardanaz family and the knightly Moradi line?
"No. Not that I've heard of. But think about it. If Giselle can crush a famous Wardanaz heir without mercy, it'll boost her power among the first-years."
"..."
Lihan instantly understood, his expression turning cold.
So basically, he was being seen as—
A luxury trophy with the Wardanaz label slapped on?
'Well, that's mildly infuriating.'
Even if he told himself it was just childish drama among teens, it still rubbed him the wrong way.
"Not every first-year follows Giselle, but if she keeps showing off that kind of 'charisma,' more of them will start falling in line."
"Is ordering classmates to throw punches supposed to be charisma? Typical knight family nonsense."
At Lihan's remark, Derregu lowered his head, embarrassed. He hadn't been completely immune from that influence himself.
"I didn't mean you, alright? Don't get all down about it."
"Thanks, Wardanaz. I'll keep going then. Giselle's the type who always has to be the top dog. She'll do anything to assert her dominance, to feel her own power. That's why… I wanted to warn you, in case you keep taking swordsmanship."
If Lihan kept attending swordsmanship class—and performed well—it was inevitable that the White Tiger Tower students would grow jealous.
And Giselle would exploit that emotion, manipulating them until they rallied behind her.
Derregu cautiously offered a suggestion.
"You don't necessarily have to keep taking the swordsmanship course. You could just practice during breaks instead."
"Hm. Derregu."
"Yeah?"
"That reminds me… I was thinking of taking Basic Physical Training too. Is that also just for White Tiger Tower students?"
"...Wardanaz. I hope this doesn't sound rude, but… isn't the Wardanaz family a renowned magical house...? Why are you…?"
Derregu trailed off, but couldn't hold back the question any longer.
After parting ways with Derregu, Lihan walked back in silence, lost in thought.
To be honest, Derregu's advice was the simplest route.
—Avoid the lectures attended only by White Tiger Tower students.
As long as Lihan stayed away from those classes, Giselle would have no opening to provoke him, no matter how much she wanted to.
In other lectures, Lihan would be surrounded by Blue Dragon Tower students, so there'd be no opportunity for confrontation.
And if Lihan disappeared from those classes altogether, Giselle likely wouldn't bother chasing him down. There'd be nothing to gain from it.
But Lihan had no intention of taking that advice.
First of all, though Derregu didn't know it, Lihan had chosen those courses precisely because they offered easy credits.
'So she dares to play politics with me, huh?'
Second, was his pride.
Letting such a cheap scheme go unanswered? Just walking away from it?
Lihan wasn't about to take that kind of loss lying down.
Bang!
Back at the tower, Lihan threw open the door to the first-year lounge.
Students already inside were chatting in small groups. When they saw him, a few waved.
"Friends!"
"…?"
"??"
"Today, I was attacked by White Tiger Tower students—simply because I belong to Blue Dragon Tower!"
A moment of silence.
His words were so shocking that the others took a beat to even process them.
And then—
Someone flipped a table.
"...Those tin-can bastards lost their damn minds!?"
"They really think they can do whatever they want, huh?!"
'Huh?'
The reaction was far more explosive than Lihan had expected.
"Get the word out! The White Tiger Tower picked a fight with Wardanaz! Let everyone know!"
"If it were someone like Gainandom, fine—but Wardanaz? They've crossed the line!"
"Is there any way to get weapons? Find something—we're gonna crush them!"
Things were getting a little too heated, so Lihan stepped in to calm them down.
"Wait, wait. I really appreciate how supportive you all are, but there's no need to go that far. I mean, I—"
"No, Wardanaz! We owe you a debt."
"Yeah! Not one of us here hasn't eaten the meat you brought back!"
Looking at his classmates, who still had no idea they'd been completely ripped off and were sincerely grateful, Lihan felt… just a tiny bit guilty.
"And this is a matter of pride!"
"Let's crush those White Tiger Tower bastards!"
"Crush those White Tiger Tower bastards!!"