Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 257

“He said I passed.”

The demon gestured, signaling the next student to come forward. It was clear: you passed, now move on.

“???”

Of course, that explanation wasn’t very convincing.

The students behind Lee Han whispered to each other, equally confused.

“What part of that conversation made him pass?”

“Ah! Maybe it was the polite greeting?”

Lee Han, hearing his friends’ comments, thought it was a reasonable explanation.

It wasn’t on purpose, but his polite greeting and opening remarks must have pleased the demon.

“I see… I’ve learned something. It was because I was polite.”

Lee Han was proud of his habit of being polite and flattering.

There’s nothing to lose by flattering…

What? What are you talking about?

“…Isn’t it?”

Your magic is a good enough reason for the deal, so you passed.

“Wait a moment!”

Professor Rogine couldn’t hold back and interrupted.

She pulled the demon aside.

“Mr. Oriphylas, you can’t do this. You need to work hard.”

Am I not working hard…?

“You’re just being careless.”

Professor Rogine, acting like a strict supervisor again, spoke sharply.

Oriphylas, a strong demon bound by a contract, protested with a frustrated voice.

What I heard was that I should pass students who have good reasons for a contract.

Words and talking are more important to wizards than you might think.

Being a wizard often means meeting beings stronger than you.

A wizard who only has power and no wisdom is helpless in those situations.

But, a smart wizard can turn a bad situation into a chance by persuading even stronger beings.

So, learning the rules of other beings and how to persuade them from the first year is very important…

‘You can’t just pass him like that!’

But his magic is good enough… He met the requirements, so should I make him do something even if it’s not reasonable?

“……”

Professor Rogine was speechless.

It was true that she had told him to act like it was a real situation.

For races like demons that live on magic, a regular supply of magic is always a popular contract condition.

Of course, the amount of magic mentioned here is much more than ordinary wizards can imagine.

Wizards have bodies made of flesh and blood, so they can live without magic. They can never understand the endless hunger of races like demons.

Much.

More!

There’s a reason why evil sacrifices and magic appear when making deals with demons.

It’s because it’s impossible to fill the magic that demons want with normal methods.

But sometimes, a wizard has what a demon wants without any special preparation.

This was one of those times.

“…Alright. But at least give him a strong warning.”

Understood.

Oriphylas called Lee Han back.

In reality, trying to make a contract with demons just because you think you have a lot of magic is a very foolish thing to do.

“…Are there really people that crazy?”

Lee Han was confused.

Are there wizards who go to demons without looking into it or preparing, just because they have a lot of magic, and say, ‘Let’s make a deal!’?

That’s not a wizard, that’s an idiot…

There’s always someone like that. So remember, don’t underestimate demons…

Oriphylas sat Lee Han down and listed ‘101 Reasons to Be Careful of Demons.’

Lee Han wondered what he had done wrong.

‘Wasn’t I supposed to have passed?’

Do you understand?

“Yes. Thanks to you, Oriphylas, I understand perfectly. I will never try to make a contract with demons just because I think I have a lot of magic.”

Good. That’s all I need to know.

“But, Oriphylas.”

What is it?

“What kind of contract did you make that you’re working for the Empire?”

Lee Han asked out of curiosity.

If Lee Han knew what Oriphylas was getting in return, he could use that information later.

‘Gold? Jewels? Magic? Sacrifices?’

I… was tricked into the contract.

“……”

Lee Han’s face became stiff as he waited for an answer.

So you should be careful when making contracts. Do you understand? Contracts are this dangerous.

“Ah… yes.”

Lee Han was horrified.

To trick a demon into forced labor…

The Empire’s officials were just as scary as Einroguard.

Thursday.

Lee Han yawned as he walked down the hallway. Even though it was morning, he felt sleepy from not getting enough sleep.

Hmm!

“……”

Seeing the skull Headmaster’s round, white skull in the distance, Lee Han’s sleepiness disappeared.

‘Amazing. My mind is surprisingly clear.’

“Good morning.”

Yes. Hello… wait a moment.

Lee Han’s heart sank.

Since he was planning to leave the school for the Spire Stables the day after tomorrow, he felt guilty when he met the skull Headmaster.

But if the skull Headmaster was one of the Empire’s best education experts, Lee Han was an expert on his teachers.

Without changing his expression, Lee Han asked back.

“Is something wrong?”

Have you seen anything around here yesterday?

“No, I haven’t.”

This wasn’t a lie, but the truth.

He hadn’t seen anything special where the skull Headmaster and the Death Knights were standing.

‘What’s going on?’

Stop talking nonsense and stand guard properly.

-Please kill me! I’m sorry. I have ruined my master’s honor!

Stop asking me to kill you every time you make a mistake. When will you get rid of those old habits? Knights these days don’t die for every little mistake.

The skull Headmaster scolded the Death Knights.

An intruder had boldly entered the school recently.

The skull Headmaster responded by placing undead all over the school to catch the intruder.

Then, he was searching the main building to find the intruder…

He had just found out that the barrier around this area had been damaged last night.

Of course, it could have been a coincidence. The main building of the magic school was very old and had so many spells mixed together that the magic was unstable.

The barrier might have been damaged because of a change in the flow, but the skull Headmaster wasn’t letting his guard down.

Increase the number of guards here. Search this area first. If the intruder shows up, tear them apart. Understand?

-We will obey!

“The intruder hasn’t been caught yet?”

We’ll catch him soon. Or he might already be dead.

The skull Headmaster grumbled as he answered.

Just so you know, there’s nothing wrong with the search or the guard. That damaged barrier is just a small part.

‘Hmm. I don’t know why all the professors act the same way when they make a mistake.’

Of course, Lee Han didn’t want to make the skull Headmaster angry.

If he messed up, his weekend trip might be ruined.

The intruder is probably…

“A great wizard?”

It wasn’t something anyone could do to avoid the Death Knights and other barriers.

More likely, they have a special object. Thieves usually carry those things.

The skull Headmaster thought that if the intruder had damaged the barrier, they probably had a very powerful stealth item.

No matter how powerful a stealth item is, it couldn’t avoid all the Death Knights and magic barriers, so they must have accidentally broken this part of the barrier.

Really. What a fool, right? If he comes out on his own, I’ll let him go as easily as possible.

‘I don’t think I could come out even if I wanted to…’

Lee Han, listening to the skull Headmaster, asked without thinking.

“How about adding more Death Knights?”

I don’t think adding more would help much.

The skull Headmaster was doubtful about adding more.

Death Knights were already placed throughout the main building.

The fact that they were moving around without being caught meant that there was a way to avoid the Death Knights.

“Can’t Death Knights see through stealth magic?”

They can see through it a little, but if it’s a powerful item, even Death Knights… but I’ve set up barriers to prepare for that.

Great wizards could use stealth magic that blocked the sight of strong undead monsters.

Of course, the skull Headmaster knew this, so he had put barriers everywhere to weaken that stealth magic.

As long as the barriers were working, that kind of magic…

No, that’s not right.

The skull Headmaster suddenly realized while talking to Lee Han and said.

If it’s a powerful item, it might be able to stop the barriers for a short time. That must be it.

If the barriers were stopped for a short time, they might be able to avoid the Death Knights and move around.

The skull Headmaster clicked his tongue. Lee Han said as if he was relieved.

“If you’ve found a weak spot, can’t you prepare for it?”

That’s right.

The skull Headmaster stared at Lee Han closely.

Lee Han asked, feeling uneasy.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

One of the easiest ways to prepare is to have a great wizard hold this barrier stone.

No matter what the item is, the way it stops the barrier is simple.

It shakes the barrier stone to stop it for a short time.

But, it’s different if a great wizard is holding and protecting that barrier stone.

“No, I don’t know any defensive magic.”

I’m not telling you to use defensive magic, I’m telling you to use your strong magic.

When the amount of magic increases, it naturally resists other magic.

Lee Han could probably block the force coming from the outside just by holding the barrier stone.

“…Wouldn’t it be better for you to do it?”

I’m going to do it too. Didn’t you see that I was searching? We’re going to take turns.

“I’m in the middle of my final exam work.”

So I’m telling you to spend about two hours a day. Search with these Death Knights here.

“……”

Lee Han, who suddenly had to help search with the Death Knights, was speechless.

No…

The skull Headmaster said gently.

If we work together, won’t it be over sooner?

“Headmaster, I’m a first-year…”

When Einroguard is in danger, students and professors must work together.

“It doesn’t seem like a crisis…”

Thank you. If you do well, I will reward you.

“Are you doing this because you’re wasting two hours now…”

Now. Death Knights. Are you ready to search with this smart student?

-Leave it to us! We will get revenge and get our honor back!

‘I really want to kill them.’

Lee Han walked down the hallway with the Death Knights, carrying an armful of stones with barriers on them.

The stones were all different sizes and shapes, and they weren’t very pretty, but Lee Han could tell how hard the magic on these stones was.

The structure was so complex that he couldn’t even guess.

It was supposed to be magic that weakened the intruder’s stealth magic, as expected…

-I really wanted to talk to you, it’s an honor. Mr. Wodanaz.

-You’re very famous among our knights.

“Ah. Yes. Thank you.”

The Death Knights were very friendly for undead.

Lee Han was a little embarrassed.

“Then, should we open these doors one by one?”

-Let’s do that! Stand back. We don’t know what’s inside.

“…Oh, right. Can I check all the places I think are suspicious?”

-Of course!

The Death Knights nodded happily, not knowing Lee Han’s secret plans.

If they could find the intruder, searching other floors would be easy!