Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 28

“Oh, right. I was going to give you a gift,” the talking oak tree said, its voice like rustling leaves.

The talking oak tree looked directly at Lee Han, its bark eyes seeming to focus on him.

Suddenly, the ground near Lee Han’s feet began to move. The soil trembled slightly, and then, right before his eyes, small green shoots pushed up from the earth. These shoots quickly grew into thin branches, twisting and turning like vines reaching for the sky. They weaved together, getting thicker and longer, the wood becoming smooth and polished as they grew.

In moments, the branches had completely changed. They had become a beautiful, wooden magic wand, resting on the ground as if it had always been there.

“!”

For wizards, magical tools were like their own hands and feet.

Among them, the magic wand was probably the most important magical item.

Sometimes wands made magic stronger.

Sometimes they made spells faster.

And sometimes, they even let wizards do spells they couldn’t do otherwise.

It was no exaggeration to say it was a wizard’s best friend.

Right now, all the first-year students at the magic school were using magic wands in the form of long staves provided by the school.

They had no particular features or individuality, but the advantage of these magic wands was that they were very sturdy.

Moreover, they were long enough to easily exceed a person’s height, so Lee Han used it like a wooden staff.

If he hadn’t had this staff, he wouldn’t have been able to catch the mutated pig that Thunderstride, a mischievous creature, had released.

“Ah. Perhaps you’ve grown attached to the wand you’re currently using and have no intention of changing it?”

“No?”

Lee Han pulled out the new wand without a second’s hesitation.

Tools were tools.

It was strange to have emotional feelings for such things.

‘Are there even people who hesitate when replacing old lab equipment because they’ve grown attached to it?’

Dergyu looked very surprised at Lee Han.

Thunk—

As soon as he pulled the new wand from the ground, the first thing he felt was freshness.

It might seem strange to feel freshness from a wooden wand that had been in the ground, but Lee Han definitely felt it.

“How does it feel?”

“It feels… fresh.”

“!”

The talking oak tree was taken aback.

The talking tree thought Lee Han had adapted to the wand much faster than expected.

‘To feel the wand’s energy as soon as he held it.’

He had originally thought it would take much longer.

What Lee Han felt just now was the energy of the tree spirit inside the wand.

That wooden wand was a wand in which a spirit was nestled.

Just as a new wizard had to repeat all sorts of training and trial and error to summon a spirit, communicating with the spirit inside the wand and drawing out its power also required a lot of effort.

Originally, one would have to hold and wield the wand for months to feel it, and that was only possible if one had some natural talent for spirits.

‘His ability to sense magic is very outstanding. Even for Lee Han’s family, such talent is remarkable.’

“Excellent. To feel that.”

“Is that so?”

Lee Han looked at the talking oak tree with a puzzled expression.

He didn’t quite grasp what was so great about receiving this fresh feeling.

This was normal because Lee Han didn’t know there was a spirit inside the wand.

“As you use the wand, you will come to know the power dwelling within it.”

“Could you perhaps tell me now?”

“No. Even if you don’t rush, your talent will be enough.”

The talking oak tree was slowly beginning to realize that Lee Han was a very unique freshman.

Occasionally, there were such oddballs among the freshmen.

Fearless and capable oddballs.

Lee Han’s current appearance reminded him of a madman from Lee Han’s family he had met about a hundred years ago.

Although he was much more polite and composed…

“Well, then. I must go back to sleep. And now, do not use magic near this forest. Your magic is so powerful that it awakens all the surrounding trees.”

“……”

Lee Han thought about this and became suspicious. ‘Is he just saying that to get rid of me because he’s sleepy?’ Lee Han wondered.

It was a bit strange that he was being praised for saying he felt a fresh energy from the wand.

It was also slightly suspicious that he wasn’t telling him the power inside the wand right away.

‘Is he just saying that so he can go to sleep quickly because he’s sleepy?’

‘If he just sends me away, I might come back to this forest and bother him again, so he’s just making a suitable wand for me…’

However, regardless of Lee Han’s suspicions, the clearing began to close. The trees moved, and the surroundings blurred, gradually moving further away from the clearing.

Beyond the blurry vision, the voice of the talking oak tree reached Lee Han’s ears.

“Remember the riddle I told you. If you solve it, you will be able to get out.”

* * *

When they returned outside, fortunately, all the undead had disappeared.

Lee Han and his party carefully descended the mountain as the dawn’s light gradually pushed back the darkness.

Everyone was so exhausted that they wanted to lie down on their beds and rest rather than do anything else.

Plop!

Lee Han threw himself onto his bed as soon as he entered the Blue Dragon Tower. He decided to sleep first and then worry about escaping or anything else.

“…Naz! Wodanaz!”

How many hours had he slept soundly? He heard someone knocking on his private bedroom door, waking him up.

“What is it?”

Lee Han opened the door with a yawn.

Asan, a human boy from the Dalcard family wearing glasses, was standing in front of him.

“The headmaster is holding an event outside!”

‘That’s definitely not good news,’ Lee Han thought, feeling less sleepy.

Lee Han woke up completely at those words.

The headmaster was holding an event.

‘…Could it be that he’s trying to find the students who tried to escape?’

He felt even more uneasy because he felt guilty.

Lee Han and his party had returned without getting caught, but it wouldn’t be strange if the headmaster did something eccentric, given his personality.

‘But if that’s the case, it’s even more dangerous not to attend.’

Lee Han knew it well.

When one had caused trouble, one had to act even more like they usually did.

If you showed any suspicious signs, you would be caught immediately.

“Alright. I’ll wake up Yoner and Gainando and we’ll head out.”

“Aren’t you all sleeping too late?”

When Lee Han woke them up and walked out of the tower, the sun was already high in the sky.

The three yawned and followed behind the students of the Blue Dragon Tower.

“!”

The giant skull floating in front of the school’s main building was eye-catching even from a distance.

“Come on, come on! It’s not every day you get an opportunity like this! Come closer, young students! Welcome!”

“…??”

Judging from the atmosphere, it wasn’t a search operation for the ringleaders.

Rather, it was closer to a friendly gathering or event.

Several tents were set up in the front yard, and people in priestly robes were giving food and drinks to the students with kind smiles.

Lee Han also received a cookie from a priest without realizing it. The cookie was warm and had a wonderful aroma, as if it had just been baked.

He took a bite, and a sweet jam oozed out along with a crisp, crumbling sound.

‘What’s going on? Is the school going bankrupt??’

The headmaster opened his mouth, as if he had noticed Lee Han’s confusion.

“Today, to celebrate this joyous weekend, priests from various orders of the Empire have visited the school. You must all be delighted, yes? Now, applause!”

Clap clap clap clap—

The freshmen murmured among themselves but applauded nonetheless. The priests bowed their heads in gratitude.

“Thank you. Oh, Su Gonadaltes. You must always work hard to teach the young wizards of the Empire, yet you still allow and help with events like this.”

“Haha. What are you saying? It’s all my pleasure. Please tell His Majesty the Emperor I said hello. We need a budget to discover and research new ancient magic…”

“Well, we don’t know how much help we can be, but we will try our best.”

The priests were taken aback by the skull headmaster’s obvious words.

However, Lee Han felt a strange sense of familiarity from that sight.

‘Is it impossible for professors to escape the budget, no matter what world they’re in?’

Even an arrogant professor who seemed to fear nothing in the world was bound to show weakness in front of those who provided research funding.

No matter how fearless the skull headmaster was, he had no choice but to weaken before the Emperor of the Empire, who supported the budget.

The priests said to the assembled students.

“Students who will become outstanding wizards in the future. It is an honor to meet you all like this today. We are humble servants representing the various orders of the Empire. We would be truly delighted if we could introduce our orders to you today.”

‘The magic power is enormous.’

Lee Han was surprised by the magic power he felt from the priests.

It felt as if a magic power far beyond that of the freshmen was surging from their entire bodies.

Moreover, the priests’ magic power was unique.

A magic power that contained a sacred aura.

“Interesting, isn’t it?”

“!”

Lee Han was taken aback.

Before he knew it, the skull headmaster had come right next to Lee Han, concealing his presence.

“I understand. The priests’ magic power has a unique aspect that is called divine power.”

“Yes. I’ve heard a lot about it, but it’s my first time seeing it in person.”

“So you were sensing the priests’ magic power.”

‘Damn it.’

Lee Han realized his mistake.

He had fallen for the headmaster’s probing words.

“Why are you trying to hide it? If you have outstanding talent, you should show it off. How many people here do you think can detect magic power so accurately?”

The skull headmaster asked as if he couldn’t understand.

“A wizard should be able to boast and show off their abilities. That way, they can get investments from wealthy nobles to research stronger and more advanced magic…”

‘Hmm. Lee Han knew he couldn’t say he didn’t want to deal with the headmaster. That would be disrespectful and probably cause trouble.’

Lee Han swallowed his thoughts.

Lee Han’s goal was to graduate with good grades and a good network, not to explore the truth of magic with the skull headmaster.

But he couldn’t say that honestly.

“I thought I should be humble because there are many people more talented than me in this school.”

“No, that’s not it? From now on, make sure to boast about your talent to every student you meet. You absolutely must.”

‘Is this guy crazy?’

If Lee Han did as the headmaster said, his friendships would be reduced to only Gainando in a single day.

Fortunately, the skull headmaster didn’t seem to care much about Lee Han’s friendships and changed the subject again.

“Perhaps Lee Han’s family had no interest in faith, so they had no reason to meet priests.”

“Yes. That was the case.”

There were countless gods and orders that worshiped them in the Empire, but wizards were not originally close to faith.

Basically, wizards…

“I also have little interest in faith. I am too intelligent to believe in gods.”

‘…So that’s why.’

Even if they weren’t as extreme as the skull headmaster, there were many non-believers among wizards.

In fact, Lee Han’s father, the head of Lee Han’s family, had once said this during dinner.

-Divine power is a type of magic power. However, it is merely that the collective belief of many unintelligent people has caused a change in its properties. Divine magic is also ultimately a type of magic. Why else would it be called divine ‘magic’?

-Then, Head of the Family, what do you think about researching divine magic?

-A good idea. If you want to waste your time, that is. Compared to real magic, which is refined with formulas and theories as its foundation, divine magic is just the barking of barbarians who are excited by belief and emotion.

‘I must never reveal that I’m from Lee Han’s family in front of the priests.’

Lee Han nodded, ending his thinking back.

Even the kindest priests would feel anger if they heard those words.

“Lee Han’s family probably thinks similarly to me. The orders are also quite sad. If they’re the kind of guys who would be swayed by a little food, they’re completely useless. To hold an event like this.”

The skull headmaster seemed to need someone to complain to and kept complaining next to Lee Han.

Lee Han, who had been listening silently, opened his mouth.

“Headmaster.”

“Why?”

“Are there any orders you would recommend?”

……

The skull headmaster looked at Lee Han with a surprised expression at the reaction that made the person who had just spoken feel embarrassed.

‘Wait, orders?’

Not just an order, but ‘orders’?