Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 152

Ethan breathed a little easier. Yumidihus was definitely not as crazy as Professor Volardy.

Professor Volardy? He would have thrown Ethan straight into the cold river and yelled, “Evaporate yourself and get out!” But Yumidihus didn’t do that. Not at all.

Yumidihus explained calmly that today was about showing Ethan the amazing world of water magic. It was about opening his eyes, not pushing him until he broke.

“No need to rush,” Yumidihus said with a gentle smile. “Today, we just want you to feel the different sides of water magic.”

“Here are the spell words.”

Yumidihus carefully taught Ethan the spell and hand movements for the first level spell, Water Evaporation.

Actually, Water Evaporation was almost too simple to be a first level spell.

It was like a trick!

Magic spells can be in the same group, but some are much harder than others.

Spells that are much harder than others in the same group are often called ‘trap spells’.

Water Evaporation was a first level spell, but it was so hard that new wizards could almost never learn it.

Evaporation was just that difficult.

“Try it,” Yumidihus said, watching Ethan.

Usually, water wizards who were learning evaporation would put a liquid in front of them to evaporate. They would start with things that evaporate easily, like strong alcohol, and then use liquids that are harder to evaporate to make the magic stronger.

But Yumidihus didn’t put anything in front of Ethan.

This meant Ethan should first practice the hand movements and spell words before trying to make the magic work.

Yumidihus wasn’t going to tell him to evaporate something right away, not when he had just learned the spell and hadn’t practiced it yet.

Ethan looked at Yumidihus, then at the gracefully flowing river.

‘Does he want me to evaporate the river now?’

Ethan couldn’t help but misunderstand because Yumidihus hadn’t explained much.

Actually, it wasn’t Yumidihus’ fault.

Usually, when asked to try a spell for the first time, people would practice the movements and spell words first. Who would try to dry up a river right away?

Really, this was Professor Volardy’s fault.

Ethan was misunderstanding Yumidihus because of Professor Volardy.

‘I can’t help it. Let’s do my best. I have to pretend, or I’ll end up in the water.’

Ethan knew what would happen if he kept failing at the spell.

He would probably fall into the river.

“Evaporate!”

“No…?”

Yumidihus was surprised to see Ethan cast the spell at the river without practicing the movements or the spell words.

No practice…?

Suddenly, steam burst from the river’s surface, like a startled ghost rising from the water, swirling and hissing in the cool air.

It wasn’t a steam explosion like Yumidihus could do, but it was a lot of steam.

Yumidihus was shocked.

‘He’s a real genius.’

In the Empire, the word ‘genius’ was used too much.

Everyone said they were a genius.

Many wizards came to Yumidihus to learn magic. Except for Volardy Begrek, they all said they were geniuses.

-Yumidihus, I’m one of the most outstanding geniuses in the Empire. You must do your best to teach me magic for the future of Imperial magic.

-Yumidihus, it’s embarrassing to say, but I’m a genius of magic. I don’t need you to teach me every single spell.

-Yumidihus, as a genius with magical abilities, I don’t think this spell is very good. I think it could be improved.

Actually, they weren’t entirely wrong.

The wizards who came to Yumidihus were outstanding in their own way.

If they weren’t, they wouldn’t have been able to come in the first place.

But Yumidihus had seen everything, so he had very high standards.

He thought that level of talent was normal for any wizard who was serious about magic, not something to be proud of.

However…

The boy in front of him was different.

He felt an aura that only a real genius could have, not like the wizards who just said they were geniuses.

He seemed to have everything needed to be a genius, like natural magical power, careful control, and deep thinking.

‘Is he going to end up in the river after all?’

While Yumidihus was admiring him, Ethan was worried.

It seemed successful to Ethan, but that didn’t matter.

What mattered was what Yumidihus thought.

Is it a failure?

‘Isn’t this good for the first time?’

Ethan wasn’t arrogant, but the evaporation spell seemed to have gone well.

Evaporation was easier for Ethan than other spells.

First, Ethan could clearly imagine the image of ‘evaporation’.

Also, Water Evaporation could be done with force.

Wizards who didn’t have as much magic power as Ethan had to carefully control their magic power to complete the spell, but Ethan could just use his magic power to complete it.

For Ethan, water evaporation was much easier than controlling water orbs.

“Well done. Very excellent.”

Ethan sighed with relief.

He didn’t have to go into the river.

“Actually, I didn’t tell you to evaporate the river. Oh, and by the way, a river that’s moving isn’t really the best thing to practice on when you’re just starting.”

The amount of water was one problem. But the river moving all the time made the magic much harder.

The boy should be proud of himself for doing that.

But instead, Ethan looked serious.

‘What did he just say?’

Now that he thought about it, Yumidihus didn’t tell him to practice on the river right away.

He had thought of Professor Volardy and misunderstood.

“But seeing you do it so well, I think I know why you cast the spell on the river. You’re confident.”

“No… it’s a misunderstanding.”

“Yes. It must be a misunderstanding.”

Yumidihus nodded with a kind smile.

“At first, I thought Volardy Begrek was forcing you…”

‘That’s right.’

Ethan thought.

But Yumidihus couldn’t hear him.

“…Now I see that wasn’t the case.”

It was clear that the student had learned each spell too quickly, not that Begrek had forced him.

Yumidihus decided to change his mind about Begrek.

“Yes…”

Ethan replied sadly.

He was sad, so he couldn’t criticize Professor Volardy.

Ethan thought that when he graduated, he might visit Professor Volardy before the Skull Headmaster.

Yumidihus didn’t tell Ethan to use more magic.

Why would he, when he had seen him learn it so quickly?

“I think you need to eat more than I do.”

Instead, he took a break.

Ethan quickly found a flat spot near the riverbank. He spread out a thick, woven blanket, making a comfortable place for Yumidihus to rest. The blanket was patterned with calming blues and greens, a small island of comfort by the rushing water.

Then, he prepared food and drinks and offered them to him.

Yumidihus looked at Ethan with a strange expression.

“I didn’t expect this.”

“Oh… haven’t other students done this before?”

“No, they haven’t.”

Ethan was confused and thought about Professor Volardy.

Then he understood.

‘That makes sense.’

Ethan made milk tea with the black tea he had stolen from Professor Uregeoreum. The sweet drink with plenty of sugar helped his tired brain.

Even with infinite magic power, it was hard to focus and he would get tired from using magic.

It was good to rest sometimes when you were a student at a magic school.

Professor Uregeoreum would be happy that his drink was being used this way.

‘Are they third graders?’

Yumidihus took a bite of the sandwich and looked into the distance.

They were wearing Einrogard uniforms, so they were definitely third grade students.

They were looking around, wondering what they had hidden in the mountain, and waving their wands at the ground. The soil rose up and showed the magical ingredients inside.

They were trying to do it secretly, but they couldn’t fool Yumidihus.

“Can you see over there?”

“What are you talking about?”

“That’s right. You wouldn’t be able to see it.”

Yumidihus thought about the Skull Headmaster.

He was very serious about keeping the freshmen separate, so he must have made it impossible to see them with magic.

“I’ll remove the spell for a moment. Is that okay?”

When Yumidihus waved his wand, Ethan could see the seniors taking care of the magical ingredients in the distance.

“Can you see it now?”

“Yes, I can see it. That’s…?”

“You’ll probably find out when you go up a grade, but getting the materials you need for your studies is also a wizard’s job.”

Yumidihus explained calmly, as if it wasn’t surprising.

They were looking around and hiding, so they must have stolen the ingredients.

‘It’s sad that they have to do that even when they’re third graders.’

Ethan shuddered at what might happen to him.

Can’t they just give us enough materials?

“Go and take it from them.”

“Yes?”

“I want to see how you fight. I think you can win.”

The problem wasn’t whether he could win, but that he had to attack his seniors.

Even if they stole something, they were still his seniors.

Ethan looked at Yumidihus in disbelief, but Yumidihus didn’t seem to want to change his mind.

“Combat wizards get stronger by fighting. The sooner you fight, the better.”

Ethan shuddered as Yumidihus, who looked like a kind grandmother, said such scary things.

He’s just an older Professor Volardy!

“Yumidihus.”

“Don’t say you can’t do it. I know you can do it. Being too humble is bad. You’ll learn that wizards don’t need to be nice just because someone is older.”

“No. That’s not it… Can I wear a mask?”

Yumidihus was very impressed.

Ethan didn’t rush in without thinking, just because Yumidihus said he could win.

If they were third graders from Einrogard, they must have gone through a lot more than Ethan and his friends.

Ethan could get hurt if he messed with them.

Ethan put on a mask and cast an invisibility spell. He needed the mask in case they broke the invisibility spell.

Then, he carefully came up from behind and cast a spell on the two seniors.

“Cough!”

“Kraaah?!”

The two seniors fell down.

Ethan quickly took the box with the materials. The name was written on it.

-Osu Gonadaltes

Ethan was shocked.

‘Are they crazy?’

Are they raiding the headmaster’s warehouse in third grade?

It was more likely that the headmaster had told them to steal it, not that they had stolen it on their own.

It was hard to believe.

‘Oops. This is not the time for this.’

Ethan quickly left.

“Well done.”

Yumidihus was happy to see Ethan return.

Begrek hadn’t wasted his time after all. It was almost perfect.

Ambush, attack first, get the prize, escape.

It was the most important part of magic combat.

“Was the owner’s name on it?”

“It seems to be from the headmaster’s warehouse.”

“Yes. Then you should keep it instead of giving it back.”

Ethan was surprised.

He nodded.

“Yes, I will.”

Yumidihus looked at Ethan with warm eyes.