Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 41

A rare treasure, like an ancient relic, was a valuable thing and not easily obtained.

Moreover, it was already half-destroyed from a previous attack.

Anyone could see that it would surely break if attacked again.

“Stop him! Protect the relic!”

“You can’t see me in the dark!”

Lee Han chanted the spell again.

As Lee Han disappeared into the darkness with the spell, the attackers gritted their teeth in anger.

The priest had been troublesome, foiling their attempt to take down the mage earlier.

“He knows how to fight. He must be a battle priest assigned to protect the mage! I’ll deal with him myself!”

The leader of the attackers, under a strange misunderstanding, ran towards the relic.

He thought, *If I leave the relic, something bad might happen.*

“Move!”

Lee Han threw the iron ball he had received from Professor Volardi as he ran, chanting the spell.

Normally, it was a kind of taboo for new wizards to use magic in such urgent situations.

Even skilled wizards could fail if they weren’t trained to handle pressure and excitement, let alone novices.

If they were lucky, it would just be a failure. But magic power could backfire, or they could hurt themselves.

However, Professor Volardi didn’t bother to warn Lee Han about this.

“Isn’t it something that every battle mage has to go through? Is a warning necessary? It’s something to overcome on your own.”

…As a result, Lee Han chanted the spell without knowing he was taking a dangerous gamble.

And surprisingly, the gamble worked.

As Professor Volardi had said, Lee Han was a person who shone brighter when faced with danger.

Pop!

The iron ball, enchanted with a low-level manipulation spell, floated up.

Normally, it should have moved weakly and slowly. But imbued with Lee Han’s immense magic power, it moved with a force that went beyond the low-level magic.

‘Go!’

With Lee Han’s mental command, the iron ball flew like an arrow.

It wasn’t easy to react to a sudden iron ball in the dark while invisible.

With a ‘thud,’ the attacker who was chasing him tumbled backward.

“Be careful!! He’s using hidden weapons!”

“He’s skilled in combat! Be careful!”

The attackers drew their swords and went on guard.

Lee Han felt as if his brain was burning as he retrieved the iron ball.

His body was constantly running while his mind was separately controlling the iron ball.

‘Focus… I need to focus!’

Professor Volardi may have been crazy, but his words made sense.

Actual combat makes a person grow.

…Lee Han was feeling the meaning of those words.

He felt that controlling the iron ball while risking his life improved his skills much more than just practicing in the classroom.

Control increased every moment he sent the iron ball flying, grabbed it, rotated it, and sent it flying again!

‘!’

Lee Han suddenly tasted blood. He licked his lips and found blood flowing from his nose.

His magic power was fine, but he had overworked his mind too much.

Crack!

With a flash of sword light, the iron ball split and fell apart.

The enemy leader had swung his sword, perfectly timing the moment.

“Focus on the footprints! You can find him by looking at the footprints!”

‘Damn it. I was almost there.’

Lee Han looked at the ancient relic just a few meters away with regret.

It felt like he could just run up and destroy it, but the remaining three attackers were blocking the way.

“I smell blood. Follow the scent of blood!”

Lee Han heard the shout and knew it would be bad to wait any longer.

Even though he had practiced swordsmanship, Lee Han’s experience was nothing compared to his opponents.

He had to attack first while he had the advantage.

A sword was swung, and blood splattered. One of the attackers, not expecting a surprise attack, collapsed.

“There he is!”

Whoosh!

The attackers took something out of their sleeves and scattered it. It was a sparkling powder. He didn’t know what it was, but he guessed it would cause problems with his invisibility the moment it touched him.

Lee Han rolled his body without hesitation.

“Damn it!”

The attackers cursed when their opponent didn’t appear even after they had scattered the glowing powder. He was not an ordinary nuisance.

“Respond calmly. You won’t be caught if you don’t let your guard down,” the leader said in a wary voice.

Even if he was using invisibility magic, he couldn’t avoid making noise when he moved and attacked.

If they listened carefully, they would notice.

‘Where did he go?’

But there was no sound at all.

He couldn’t smell the enemy’s blood that he had smelled earlier.

Thud!

“?!!”

“This bastard…!”

Another attacker was ambushed and collapsed after walking near the fallen attacker.

Only then did the leader realize how Lee Han had tricked them with the blood smell.

He pretended to leave and hid next to the blood spilled by the attacker.

The leader forgot the situation and was honestly impressed.

Aside from magic, he was truly talented in fighting. A stupid guy wouldn’t come up with such a plan even after a hundred days of training.

“Move!”

“Hiss!”

The attacker hurriedly lowered his head at the sound of a spell being chanted in the air. The leader shouted sharply.

“You fool! It’s a fake spell!”

But it was too late. The last remaining subordinate also collapsed.

Instead of getting angry, the leader let out a strange smile and raised his sword.

“Well, well,” he said, his voice almost sounding pleased. “It’s been a long time since I’ve had a *real* fight. I am Garakse.”

Lee Han did not answer. As if he expected that, the leader nodded.

If he was the type to let his guard down and answer such a question, he wouldn’t have handled so many opponents in the first place.

“You’re probably thinking that I can’t see you. Relying on that pathetic magic.”

Clang!

“But I’m starting to see you now.”

Lee Han was surprised by the pressure of Garakse, who was wielding his sword quite accurately.

“Even if you hide the smell, you can’t hold your breath.”

“…!”

He’s figuring out my location by listening to my breathing?

Lee Han was dumbfounded.

He had heard that excellent swordsmen showed abilities beyond human limits, but this was beyond imagination.

Even so…

Garakse’s sword moved in a way Lee Han had never seen. It wasn’t just one strike, but many, flowing together like water scattering in the wind. It felt like attacks were coming from everywhere at once, gradually pressuring him.

Lee Han also used his Byeogam Sword to counter, but the opponent’s swordsmanship was superior.

Each time Lee Han’s sword collided with Garakse’s, he felt himself becoming more and more disadvantaged. He would have been overwhelmed in an instant if it weren’t for the invisibility magic.

Above all, the shock that came up each time he clashed swords with the opponent was considerable.

‘Is this the swordsman’s technique that I heard from Alar Long?’

He had heard that skilled swordsmen could draw out the magic power of their bodies and put it into their swords, rather than simply swinging with force.

They could wield power that went beyond the power of the flesh with their swords.

Garakse was also putting magic power into his sword right now, and each time they clashed, the shock surged up.

‘I’ll put magic power in, even if I have to force it!’

Lee Han resolved to do so and drew out his magic power.

After awakening to magic, he had become much more skilled at infusing and moving magic power.

Lee Han drew out his magic power and infused it into his sword as if he were casting a spell.

Clang!

“?!!”

Garakse was surprised by the sudden change in his opponent’s attack.

‘What is this guy?’

Lee Han’s swordsmanship was quite good.

It was indeed good enough for Garakse, who had faced and defeated many swordsmen of the Empire, to think that way.

Moreover, it wasn’t just his swordsmanship, but also his mindset that was decent.

Many guys who prided themselves on being good at wielding a sword would rush at an enemy stronger than themselves without thinking, and then quickly fail, but Lee Han was not like that.

He immediately recognized that Garakse was strong and gave up his greed, going on the defensive.

This was not something anyone could do.

In a sword fight where lives were at stake, who could give up the desire to defeat the opponent and just endure?

They could end up doing nothing and collapsing.

But the opponent chose that, and Garakse valued that point.

However, Lee Han lacked strength.

Even if his swordsmanship was quite good, he was still lacking in strength against a swordsman like Garakse who could freely put magic power into his sword.

Moreover, Lee Han’s swordsmanship was a heavy sword style.

Originally, Lee Han’s heavy sword style should have overwhelmed Garakse’s style in terms of strength, but if he couldn’t win in terms of strength like this, there was no chance of winning.

…But suddenly, strength began to be applied to the sword.

A strength that overwhelmed even Garakse!

What?

‘Was he hiding his strength? What is it? What is his intention? Why strength?’

Garakse abandoned his relaxed attitude and was embarrassed for the first time.

There was no reason for a swordsman who knew how to put magic power into his sword to pretend to be weak.

Suddenly, the opponent he thought he had caught felt distant.

‘Is this right?’

Lee Han questioned himself even as he poured magic power into his sword like crazy.

It was the opposite of the swordsmanship Lee Han had learned so far.

Originally, swordsmanship was not just about swinging, but also about preparing for the opponent’s attack. The opponent wasn’t just taking hits either.

But right now, Lee Han was giving up all his stances and focusing solely on attacking.

It was impossible to perform other complex movements while pouring magic power into the sword and concentrating.

‘Is this really right?!’

And Lee Han’s question was actually correct.

This was not normal swordsmanship.

Putting magic power into a sword was not about senselessly pouring it in and ending it, but about sending magic power to the sword and circulating it throughout the body.

Sending it from the body to the sword, and from the sword back to the body.

Even if you keep recovering magic power in this way, the consumption and fatigue on the body are not normal, but you’re just spewing out magic power without circulating it?

It was a suicide swordsmanship that wouldn’t be strange even if he vomited blood and collapsed.

If Lee Han hadn’t been invisible, Garakse would have quickly noticed how extreme his posture was.

Then Garakse might have realized that Lee Han was doing something strange right now.

However, Lee Han was under the effect of invisibility magic, and the invisible enemy shook Garakse’s mind.

I can’t figure it out at all!

He would have had a chance of winning if he had calmly dealt with it, but Garakse was mindlessly taking the attacks and was pushed into a defensive position.

Crack-

” ?”

Lee Han, who was overwhelming his opponent again, heard an ominous sound coming from his sword.

He thought he had misheard, but he had heard it correctly.

‘…This is bad!’

The sword, unable to withstand the magic power, had begun to break.

‘Why are they using such a cheap sword!’

The swords that the attackers were using were considered luxury items even in the Empire, but Lee Han did not know this.

He was complaining without even thinking about the amount of magic power he had poured in.

‘I’ll end it before it breaks!’

If he reduced the magic power here, when it wasn’t even well controlled, he could be pushed back by the opponent again.

It was better to decide to end it.

Lee Han began to infuse magic power into his sword like crazy, determined to end it in one go.

In response, Garakse gritted his teeth and drew another sword.

It was a sword made of black amethyst, a sword with the property of absorbing magic power.

It was humiliating to draw this sword against a swordsman, but he couldn’t lose like this.

‘I’ll subdue you as you are!’

At that moment, there was a sound of something breaking, ‘crack.’

And the opponent’s transparent sword, which had been invisible until now, revealed its form. The wildly scattering flames of magic power formed the shape of a sword.

It was a strange attack that was neither aura nor magic that flew in from the air.

Bang!!!!

The black amethyst sword that absorbed magic power was of no use either.

The opponent’s attack struck Garakse like a wave.