Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 242

“Stop pushing!” Giselle snapped, shoving Choi playfully.

Choi stumbled back, a grin on his face. “I wasn’t even trying!”

A voice chuckled nearby. “It’s good to see you two are pushing yourselves,” Lee Han said, watching them.

Choi frowned at Giselle, then back at Lee Han. “I don’t need you to feel sorry for me,” he mumbled.

Lee Han raised an eyebrow. “Who said I was feeling sorry for you?” he replied, his voice honest.

“Ugh, Professor Lee,” someone groaned. “I’m so sleepy. My brain is soup. Maybe a cookie will wake it up so I can study again.”

Another voice chimed in, “Professor Lee, if I finish *all* my homework, can I have cake?”

Lee Han, who was indeed being called “Professor Lee” by these students (even though he felt strange about it), sighed. He was paid in silver, but sometimes he just wanted to gently tap his friends on the head when they tried to bargain for cake while they were supposed to be working.

“Just study!” he said, trying to sound firm but failing to hide a smile.

Deuregyu shifted his weight from one foot to the other, breaking the quiet. “S-Should we go inside now?” he asked, his voice a little shaky. He really just wanted to get it over with.

Lee Han’s answer was immediate and firm. “No.”

Deuregyu blinked, surprised. “Really? But…”

Giselle just shook her head, a small smile playing on her lips.

Lee Han explained, “Let them fight a bit longer. They’ll tire themselves out. Why rush in now?”

“But shouldn’t we stop them fighting?” Deuregyu asked, worried.

Lee Han shook his head. “Let them get it out of their system. They’re still really angry. If we stop them now, it will just start again later.”

Giselle nodded, agreeing with Lee Han. “He’s right, Choi. Let them finish their fight.”

Deuregyu looked from Lee Han to Giselle, a question in his eyes. “Are you two… enjoying this?” he asked, a little suspicious.

Lee Han put a hand on Deuregyu’s shoulder, a playful glint in his eye. “Deuregyu, do you not trust me?”

Giselle added, “Yeah, Choi! Are you saying we’re not your friends?”

Deuregyu quickly backed down. “N-No, sorry! I just… I was wrong to doubt you.”

*Crackle!* A twig snapped loudly in the bushes ahead. Lee Han, Giselle, and Deuregyu froze, their eyes widening.

“This is the place, right?” a voice called out, a bit too loud. “Batrek! We know you’re in there! Come out and face us! Give us the book!”

Giselle let out a long sigh, rolling her eyes. Deuregyu groaned quietly. “Seriously? More of them?”

Lee Han muttered under his breath, “Did the White Tiger Tower decide to have a party here today?”

“Just be quiet,” Giselle hissed.

Suddenly, a crashing sound erupted from the cave entrance. *Thump! Bang!* Two figures tumbled out, rolling onto the ground in a heap.

The newcomers stared, mouths open. “How did *you* know we were here?!” one of them yelled.

“What do *you* mean, how did *we* know?!” another retorted, scrambling to his feet.

“Enough talk!” someone roared. “Swords it is!”

“Exactly what I was thinking!” came the reply.

“Ignite!” someone shouted, and a faint glow appeared.

“Run!” yelled another.

*Wow, they are good,* Lee Han thought, watching the White Tiger students fight. Sparks flew as swords clashed, and shouts echoed through the trees. *Good to know what I might be up against,* he mused, studying their moves.

Everyone said the White Tiger Tower students cared least about books in the whole school, Einroguard. But they were still some of the best young fighters in the empire. They had all survived the terrible first year, after all. It would be strange if they *hadn’t* gotten stronger.

Their fighting style was interesting – a mix of sword skills and magic. Even just adding simple magic to their swords, shields, or bodies made them much stronger. They were good with swords already, many coming from families of knights, so they learned this magic quickly.

Making your body stronger with magic sounds easy, but it’s not. It’s hard to control your body when you suddenly feel lighter and stronger. Even tough fighters who had been in battles their whole lives struggled with it. But these students, with years of training since they were kids, were very good at it.

Watching their quick, exciting fights, Lee Han saw the White Tiger students in a new way. *Why don’t they study if they can be this good at fighting?* he wondered.

Deuregyu watched the fight for a moment, also interested. Then, he suddenly remembered why they were there. “Lee Han,” he said, turning. “When are we going in… Lee Han?” He looked around, confused. Lee Han was gone!

Deuregyu jumped, surprised. “Moradi! Where’s Lee Han?”

Giselle pointed towards the cave entrance, a knowing look on her face. “He used his invisibility magic. He went into the cave.”

Deuregyu just stared, speechless.

While the White Tiger Tower students were still fighting hard outside, Lee Han walked into the cave. He was tired of waiting. He was going to get the book anyway, so why wait?

A nasty smell hit him as he entered. *Ugh, what is that?* he thought, wrinkling his nose. *Alchemy, definitely.* Bubbling in a pot was a thick liquid, and next to it was a book. Lee Han knew instantly what it was. *Good, they weren’t planning to just attack the giant.*

He thought about it. Even though the White Tiger Tower students were known for being a bit wild, they weren’t *stupid*. Lee Han felt a little bad for thinking they might be. There were so many strange people at this magic school, you never knew!

He quickly put the book in his bag, then looked closely at the pot. He wanted to see how good the potion was. *Whoa!* Lee Han was surprised. It was much better than he expected!

Looking at the recipe in the book, he could see it was a hard potion to make. They must have worked on it a lot to get it this good. *I should take some, just in case,* he decided. Lee Han opened a small empty bottle and carefully poured some of the potion into it.

*Boom!* A heavy thud echoed from outside, much louder than the sounds of fighting. *What was that?* Lee Han frowned, listening. It wasn’t more students. What else could it be?

Suddenly, someone yelled, “Kurare Lizard!”

Lee Han rushed out of the cave and saw the chaos. The fighting had attracted monsters!

“Get down!” someone shouted. “Its spit is bad news!”

“Don’t let it get close!” The White Tiger students, who had been so eager to fight each other, now looked terrified. They huddled together, backs to each other.

A huge lizard, like a giant crocodile but even bigger and uglier, lumbered into view. It was massive, its weight alone enough to crush someone. But the worst thing was the poison it spat from its mouth.

*Whoosh!* The lizard opened its jaws and shot a glob of thick, gooey poison. It flew through the air and *splat!* hit a shield. The White Tiger students stared at the dripping poison, their eyes wide with fear.

“Hey, lizard! Over here!” Deuregyu yelled, running towards the monster with Giselle right behind him.

The White Tiger students jumped, surprised to see them. “Deuregyu! What are you doing here…?” one started to ask.

“Focus on the lizard!” Giselle yelled, cutting him off.

Lee Han ran ahead, shouting loudly, “Watch out!”

“Is that Wodanaz?!” one student gasped, his eyes wide with fear. “Oh no!”

Even though Lee Han warned them, another student was too curious. He froze, staring at something, then suddenly fell forward.

A Curare Lizard, its skin a sickly green, swung its front legs hard. It wanted to drag the student away. The student lay still, unable to move.

“I told you to concentrate!” Lee Han shouted.

“How can anyone concentrate in this situation?!” another student replied.

Deuregyu, Giselle, and Wodanaz suddenly appeared. It was hard to stay calm!

However, the Curare Lizard was undeniably threatening. The White Tiger Tower students forgot why those friends were there and decided to deal with the monster first.

“Flash and sizzle!” someone shouted.

Lightning magic crackled among the White Tiger Tower students.

But Lee Han missed the lizard. It wasn’t because the lizard was fast. Lee Han just didn’t aim well.

“Lee Han?!” a student exclaimed.

“Wodanaz! Were you poisoned?!” another asked with concern.

Deuregyu and the other White Tiger Tower students were horrified and turned around.

Lee Han failing to hit his target with magic was simply unbelievable.

Unless he was poisoned…

“It’s possible to miss, you lot,” Lee Han said. “I told you to concentrate!”

Lee Han was dumbfounded.

Usually he didn’t miss. But he stayed up all night making a small magic item and climbed a mountain today. He was tired and couldn’t focus.

‘Damn. I didn’t expect to experience this firsthand,’ Lee Han thought.

He remembered what his teachers always said: ‘Magic needs focus, not just power.’ He understood it now.

With a lack of concentration, it was inevitable that he would falter when weaving magic.

‘Instead of lightning magic, another spell…’

“Bones, seize the enemy!” Lee Han shouted.

Lee Han threw bone fragments, summoning restraints.

The first spell missed, only grabbing the Curare Lizard’s tail, but it didn’t matter.

“Bones, seize the enemy. Bones, seize the enemy. Bones, seize the enemy. Arise, warriors! Bones, be launched!” Lee Han chanted.

The White Tiger Tower students, who had initially thought, ‘Is that black magic?’ when the first bone restraints were summoned, were now appalled by the insane barrage of spells.

Because he couldn’t aim well, he just threw bones everywhere.

“Deuregyu!” someone yelled.

“I’ve got him!” Deuregyu responded.

As the bone fragments rained down like hail, the Curare Lizard retreated, overwhelmed by the onslaught.

While the lizard was busy, Deuregyu put his hurt friend on his back.

Thud! Crash!

Lee Han turned his head at the sound from behind.

Two more lizards were emerging from the cave entrance they had escaped from earlier. One of them had a pot on its head, evidence of the chaos inside.

“My potion!!!!” Bartrec screamed. Gatono then understood and shouted too.

“No! My book!” Gatono cried.

“Are you crazy!” Deuregyu grabbed Gatono’s shoulder and shouted forcefully.

“It was wrong to be so greedy in the first place! Defeating a giant. Knights should be brave, but being too greedy is not brave! Look at yourselves! I don’t know what that book is, but it would be lucky if the monsters took it!”

At Deuregyu’s heartfelt cry, the White Tiger Tower students blushed with shame.

Lee Han felt a little embarrassed too.

‘I took the book though…’ Lee Han thought.

“Choi, lectures are good, but do it later. Retreat first!” Giselle shouted sharply.

Another Curare Lizard had appeared from a different direction.

Given the current situation, it wouldn’t be surprising if more appeared.

“…I’m sorry. Deuregyu! Let’s retreat! Friends!” Choi said.

“It was my fault! Let’s all get out of here together!” another student added.

“Good thinking, everyone!”

The White Tiger Tower students were now determined to escape. Lee Han felt awkward but shouted.

“Yes! Let’s all get out of here!”

“Wodanaz…!”

One student tried to hug him, but Lee Han gently pushed him away.

Running away from monsters was harder than they thought.

They had to keep the monsters away as they ran. If they slowed down, the monsters would catch them.

“You two, hold them back! You, block the left!” Lee Han commanded.

“What?! Who?!” a student asked, confused.

“I told you to concentrate!” Lee Han repeated.

Thwack!

Lee Han hit the back of one White Tiger Tower student’s head with his staff.

This was no time to be distracted.

“Bones, be launched!” Lee Han shouted.

Lee Han used the skeleton warriors as useful projectiles.

Lee Han was too tired to aim carefully. Throwing lots of bones without thinking was easier and helpful.

Splash!

-■■■!

As another attack was blocked by the floating shield, the lizard made a threatening sound.

It seemed quite annoyed.

‘I’m really glad I brought the shield!’ Lee Han thought.

Lee Han didn’t thank his teachers for being smart… he was just glad he was lucky.

If he didn’t have the shield, more White Tiger Tower students would have been hurt.

“Wodanaz,” Giselle whispered.

“What?” Lee Han asked.

“If you send the ones in front to another side, the lizards will split up too. Wouldn’t it be better to quickly go back and call for support?”

The current situation didn’t look good to Giselle.

Wodanaz seemed unwell, and the monsters kept chasing them.

So, they had to make a choice.

If they split up here, the Curare Lizards would chase the other White Tiger Tower students instead of Giselle or Wodanaz.

Because they were easier targets for anyone to see.

Giselle didn’t mind if people thought she was selfish. She thought it was best to go back for help.

‘Wait. If it’s Wodanaz, he might refuse because of his pride…’ Giselle thought.

Lee Han quickly agreed. “Good idea! You tell Deuregyu.”

“…Choi never listens to me. You have to tell him,” Giselle said.

Lee Han sighed. “Fine.”

“Split up! Deuregyu! This way! The others go that way!” Lee Han and Giselle shouted.

Because Lee Han and Giselle shouted, the White Tiger Tower students moved quickly.

Deuregyu also moved.

…Towards the White Tiger Tower students.

“Ugh! These lizards are awful!” a student cried.

“Deuregyu! Come on!” Lee Han yelled.

“I can’t leave my friends!” Deuregyu replied.

Lee Han and Giselle sighed.

“We’ll have to get him later,” Lee Han said.

“Yeah, later,” Giselle agreed.

…Wait. They’re not chasing the others… they’re coming for *us*!”