Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 130

“One by one, step forward.”

As the exam began, Professor Garcia called the students forward individually.

Then, he recited an incantation.

“A gentle star’s veil obscures the vision.”

As he spoke, magic filled the air, like threads being woven together. A soft, silvery light shimmered and spread from Professor Garcia, cool against their skin even though they couldn’t see it. It all happened so fast, the first-year students couldn’t follow what was happening.

As the veil grew, the students in their seats tried to see Professor Garcia, but it was like their eyes just couldn’t focus on him, no matter how hard they tried. They knew he was there, but their eyes refused to see him clearly.

“Can everyone see?”

“No.”

“Yes.”

“Huh?”

The students, who naturally assumed everyone would answer they couldn’t see, paused when they heard the opposite response from beside them.

Lee Han, who gave the opposite answer, also paused. He had thought everyone could still see.

“…You can’t see?”

Lee Han’s friends were taken aback by his question.

“We can’t see, can you?”

“Wait, can only smart people see it? Seriously?”

“Then why can’t I see it?”

“Gainan, don’t talk nonsense.”

Professor Garcia’s calm voice cut through the Blue Dragon Tower students’ murmurs.

“Ah, Lee Han, is it?”

“Yes.”

Lee Han felt as though he had done something wrong, even though he hadn’t.

‘Is it because of my magic?’

When problems arose at the magic school, guessing it was due to Lee Han’s magic was almost always correct.

And indeed, it was correct.

“You resisted the Veil of Ildelid’s Star thanks to your magic.”

The stronger one’s magic, the higher the resistance to other spells naturally became.

Of course, that was the general idea; simply increasing magic power didn’t dramatically increase resistance. The difference was barely perceptible.

But there were exceptions.

The boy standing before Professor Garcia was one such exception.

“Then, what should I do?”

“Just turn around and don’t look this way.”

“Oh, I see.”

Lee Han was relieved by the unexpectedly simple solution.

He had thought Professor Garcia would cast a curse to weaken his resistance or administer a potion.

“I thought the professor would cast a curse.”

“Did you think the professor was like the headmaster?”

Judging from the Blue Dragon Tower friends’ whispers, it seemed Lee Han wasn’t the only one who thought so.

The students called forward used magic as Professor Garcia instructed.

“Oh, burn like my soul!”

“Even if it’s the same spell, it’s not a good habit to chant such a long incantation to create an image. If you don’t increase your concentration and make it so you can summon it in any situation, you’ll have difficulty learning high-level magic.”

“Burn!”

“Even if it works well normally, magic often fails in such tense situations. It’s good to relax as much as possible and familiarize yourself with it through plenty of practice.”

Lee Han felt a little nervous as it was his turn.

Professor Garcia smiled kindly to ease Lee Han’s tension.

“Lee Han, don’t do fire element. Now, show me the water element.”

Lee Han created a ball of water.

It was faster than any of the other students, but Professor Garcia wasn’t surprised at all.

“Shape Imbuement?”

Lee Han compressed the ball of water into a sphere.

“Shape Transformation?”

The compressed sphere transformed into a shield shape.

“Controlled Manipulation.”

The shield began to orbit Lee Han at a constant speed, in a stable, unwavering trajectory.

Professor Garcia nodded.

What could he say to a student who was already mastering magic at the next grade level?

“Perfect. Full marks.”

“Thank you.”

“Lee Han, I understand your talent, but don’t be too… hasty in trying to get ahead. Do you know what I mean?”

“Of course.”

Lee Han wanted to explain.

He really had no intention of getting ahead at all.

It’s just that the magic school kept pushing Lee Han forward!

“I have no intention of pushing myself ahead at all, Professor.”

Professor Garcia stared intently at Lee Han’s resolute face, then sighed.

“Well, even if you say that now, you’re the type of student who will seize any opportunity to get ahead without hesitation, Lee Han. Perhaps it’s the sorrow of innate talent…” Professor Garcia said with a small smile.

“…?!”

Lee Han felt wronged by the absurd accusation.

‘Why do you misunderstand me like that?’

“Why do you think so?”

“Professor Ingledel told me that you attempted multiple water sphere manipulation.”

“……”

Lee Han was speechless at the unexpected answer.

‘Professor Ingledel…!’

Did he have to spread rumors about that?!

Of course, Professor Ingledel hadn’t done anything wrong from an objective point of view.

His student had fought against the knights of the White Poplar Order and even won.

Any teacher would have to tell others about it. It would be strange not to.

But that didn’t matter to Lee Han. Lee Han grumbled inwardly.

“There was a really unavoidable reason for that…”

“That’s right. Even if you try to stay still, perhaps it’s the destiny of a magically gifted wizard to move forward when faced with an unavoidable reason…”

“……”

Lee Han thought they were speaking in different languages.

Why did it feel like their conversation was going nowhere even though they were talking face to face?

“Still, don’t overdo it.”

Professor Garcia said as a final word.

Of course, he knew that even if he said this, talented geniuses would jump at any opportunity that arose.

But it was a teacher’s job to keep repeating those words, even if they had no effect.

“Of course, Professor.”

Lee Han returned to his seat, seriously contemplating how to answer so that Professor Garcia would believe his sincerity.

“Now, then, dark magic… Lee Han.”

“……”

As he stood up again and walked forward as soon as he sat down, Lee Han thought.

‘It seems like my words might be a little hard to believe.’

Dark Magic.

-Now, I’ll summon an undead, so shoot a curse at it.

-Yes.

-Shoot a curse, and dodge the curse. Well done. I’ll need a bony hand. Summon it.

-Yes. Appear, bony hand!

-Perfect. But Lee Han, I wasn’t talking to you. I was giving orders to the undead I summoned.

-……

Summoning Magic.

-This time, you only summoned one quill properly. Did you summon so many last time to show off to your friends? No? Then why? It was a mistake? Why would Lee Han make such a basic mistake?

-Professor, I’m a first-year student.

-…Oh, right. Sorry.

Illusion Magic.

-Now, use illusion magic.

-Heat, distort the air!

-Lee Han, that’s not a spell we learned in class. It’s even a 2nd Circle spell.

-…Vanish, illusion!

-Shall I give you full marks twice?

-No…

After finishing all the exams, Lee Han sighed and returned to his seat.

He got full marks on everything, but his heart was heavy because he couldn’t clear up Professor Garcia’s misunderstanding.

Gainan looked at Lee Han with an expression full of anticipation.

When you fail an exam, the most reliable thing is a friend who failed with you.

“You failed too! Right?!”

“I got full marks.”

“……”

Gainan looked at Lee Han with an expression full of betrayal.

Then why did you sigh?!

After a week of storm-like quizzes, the students’ faces seemed to shine especially brightly as golden Saturday arrived.

Lee Han also woke up after sleeping soundly for the first time in a while.

Actually, he was going to sleep more, but he had no choice but to wake up because Sharkan kept licking his face.

Sharkan grabbed and pulled Lee Han as if to say, let’s go for a walk.

He had things to do in the morning anyway, so he had to go out…

‘…But do leopards originally need to be taken for walks regularly?’

Lee Han suddenly wondered as he left the dormitory tower’s main gate with Sharkan. Sharkan was a black leopard, but not like any normal animal. His eyes glowed with a faint purple light, and his teeth looked sharp as knives.

Of course, Lee Han didn’t have professional knowledge about how to raise Sharkan, but if it was a monster with a title like ‘King of Leopards,’ shouldn’t it show a more dignified and majestic appearance…

-Woof! Grrrr!

-Neigh!

When he pulled the white horse out of the stable, Sharkan barked loudly. The white horse neighed back as if not to be outdone.

Lee Han nodded with a resigned expression.

“Okay. You can take a walk while hating each other as much as you want. Now, stay away. Don’t touch each other.”

But Sharkan didn’t give up and rolled around.

He dug at the ground, growled, and kept pointing at the white horse with his front paws.

Lee Han said firmly.

“No, Sharkan. That’s not your food.”

At Lee Han’s words, Sharkan rolled around even more.

He looked as if he was going crazy because he couldn’t understand what he was saying.

“No means no, Sharkan. Don’t be petulant and stand up.”

-……

Sharkan, who had been struggling, finally gave up and stood up. Lee Han nodded as if he had done well.

“Okay, Sharkan. I’ll give you something to eat when we get back.”

-Grrrr…

-Neigh.

Sharkan let out a low growl, his tail twitching in annoyance. The white horse lowered its head and nudged Sharkan gently, as if saying, ‘Yeah, I know how you feel.’

‘Animals are really hard to understand.’

Lee Han thought inwardly as he looked at the two animals.

They were beings that he could never understand, no matter how much he learned.

“Professor, hello.”

Lee Han bowed as he spotted Professor Lightning Steps in the distance.

Professor Lightning Steps, wearing a leather jacket, looked at Lee Han, who was taking care of animals early in the morning, as if he was impressed.

And he looked at Sharkan.

And he looked at Lee Han again.

“…That’s a pretty ferocious-looking undead hunting dog? What is it?”

“Ah, it’s that monster I asked you about last time, Sharkan.”

“Oh, right.”

Professor Lightning Steps nodded.

Professor Lightning Steps had kindly answered Lee Han’s question.

Taming a monster was difficult, and the more violent and stronger the monster, the more difficult it became.

It was even more dangerous to use such a monster as an undead, as it might try to kill the dark wizard at any moment.

“That’s the monster.”

“…Are you perhaps rebelling against me?? Have I treated you that badly?” Professor Lightning Steps asked in astonishment.

If you wanted to die at the magic school, there were better ways than that. There was no reason to use such a monster as an undead summon other than rebellion.

“No. Professor Mortoom gave it to me.”

“Oh…”

“Doesn’t it seem okay?”

“No. I was thinking you were crazy.”

“…Still, Professor Mortoom must have done some magical processing, because it doesn’t attack me. It’s docile and loyal.”

Lee Han defended Professor Mortoom without realizing it.

Professor Lightning Steps approached Sharkan. Sharkan made a low, menacing sound and guarded him threateningly.

“Hmm…”

Professor Lightning Steps narrowed his eyes and scanned Sharkan.

If Professor Mortoom had cast additional magic to manage the temperament while creating the undead summon, there should be traces of it.

“It’s not there?”

“Yes?”

“There’s no magical processing to make it docile or loyal.”

“……”

Lee Han took a step back without realizing it and distanced himself from Sharkan.

Sharkan barked with a wounded expression.

“Then… then is it waiting for an opportunity like Fonrieg?”

This time, the white horse neighed in protest.

‘How dare you doubt my loyalty!’