Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 324

Junior’s hands trembled as he held the dark orb. It wasn’t smooth and calm like the water orb he’d practiced with. This one pulsed with a restless, black energy, like a trapped storm. He glanced at Dirette, his voice a little shaky. “Senior told me to do this, right?”

Dirette watched the unstable magic. “If it was just about telling you *what* to do, it would be easy,” he started, then stopped himself. He didn’t want to make Junior more nervous. “No, forget it. Just… focus, Junior. Keep it steady. Dark magic is tricky, even for experienced wizards. It’s probably harder for you than you think.”

Dirette was right. Junior’s forehead was damp with sweat. The dark orb in his hands jumped and writhed, threatening to burst into nothing at any moment. He could feel the wild magic pushing against his control, like trying to hold back a flood with his bare hands.

“This orb is too unstable to launch far away. We would have to use it up close, in a fight? Junior, are you good at fighting?”

At the sudden question, Gainando coughed, trying to hide a smirk. Imirgue nudged him, looking uncomfortable.

“I’ve only learned enough for self-defense.”

“You’re from a noble family, right? You probably know how to use a sword a little?”

Again, the two friends coughed at the same time.

“A wizard doesn’t necessarily need to be good at fighting, but there are times when you have to engage in close combat. In those cases, dark magic like this can be very useful in a fight. Junior, it would be more stable if you handled it with enchantment magic, but we can’t expect that right now.”

“Wouldn’t fire element be better for that?”

“There are more enemies that can withstand fire element than you think.”

From monsters with resistance to fire, to seasoned adventurers who usually have one or two defenses against fire.

It was an element that was easy to encounter in everyday life.

“I see…”

“Junior, how long are you going to keep maintaining the dark element… Release it quickly.”

Lee Han, who had been admiring, snapped out of it at Dirette’s remark and released the dark element.

“Let’s go back to what we were saying. If you can’t stop a problem before it happens, using items of the opposite magic type can help. For example, if there’s too much fire, use water. But if you know dark magic, you can also do things like this.”

Dirette looked around at the remnants left by Lee Han’s dark element explosion and grabbed his staff.

“Darkness, gather at this end.”

He wasn’t making water or fire magic. He was showing how to control the darkness that was already there.

“Are you gathering all the dark element in the vicinity?”

“You guessed it. It’s creating a kind of vacuum state. If a wizard takes away all the dark magic in an area, undead creatures, like zombies and ghosts, become very weak.”

Undead were beings with extreme strengths and weaknesses.

When dealing with such beings, it was more effective to target their weaknesses than to confront them head-on.

If he had known this method when facing the King of Ghouls, it would have been much more effective than turning the cave into a sea of fire.

‘Knowing is power, indeed.’

“Isn’t it interesting, Gainando?”

“Huh? Uh? Uh-huh.”

Gainando, who had been yawning and dozing off next to him, was startled by Lee Han’s question and answered.

He wasn’t interested in dark element or anything else.

“…This brat…”

“Calm down, Junior. It’s not something you need to learn right now. It could just complicate your mind while you’re studying other things.”

Dirette stopped Lee Han from picking up his staff. Gainando was moved inwardly.

‘Senior…!’

“Um, wizards??”

The captured adventurers holding shovels cautiously spoke up.

Lee Han replied in a nonchalant voice.

“Ah, I told you I’d let you go today.”

“No, that’s not it… There’s a strange noise coming from inside the tower…”

“!!!”

The cemetery on the outskirts of Granden City was not just filled with graves.

The walls surrounding the tombs, as well as the inside, contained several small towers.

These were used as resting places for the gravediggers, to store equipment, or as central hubs for black mages to cast large-scale spells on the cemetery.

Of course, they did not store corpses inside.

‘If that’s the case…’

“Did you definitely confirm the magical energy?”

Dirette shed the face of a senior giving guidance to his juniors and returned to being the black mage responsible for managing the cemetery.

Lee Han took out the paper he had made notes on and checked it, replying.

“Yes. The tower where they said they heard the sound is either Tower 1 or Tower 2, but the amount of magical energy in both was normal.”

“What about the possibility of a monster hiding among the luggage and entering while the luggage was being moved?”

“To prepare for that possibility, we disassembled and dispersed any luggage that blocked the view. We cast space perception magic and dark vision magic to check, and after finishing, we closed the windows, so I think the possibility is low.”

“……”

He was trying to concentrate seriously, but Dirette watched Junior carefully. He felt proud. Junior was really focused.

Even among the other schools that boasted about having many new students, none of them would have a junior like that.

Honestly, he wanted to take him out and show him off.

‘Ah, but that junior is also taking classes from other schools…’

Realizing the reality belatedly, Dirette felt bitter.

“Did you hear that?” one adventurer whispered.

“It sounded like… a growl?”

Another adventurer shook his head.

“Maybe we just imagined it.”

But a third voice insisted, “No, no! I heard it too! It came from over there!”

Someone else asked, “Could it be… outside?”

Lee Han looked puzzled.

Could a monster be hiding in the luggage? Or did it come from outside? This place is far from the city center, but it’s still part of the city. If a monster was loose in the streets, the guards would have stopped it quickly.

“I’m thinking the same thing, Junior,” Diret said slowly. “Where could it have come from?”

“Do you think they’re just imagining things?” Lee Han asked, tilting his head slightly.

Imirgue raised his hand and spoke.

“Maybe… maybe it’s because of the bodies buried here,” Imirgue said, his voice a little shaky. “Sometimes the ground moves underground. If the bodies shift, and magic gathers there… maybe an undead could be made *outside* the graveyard.”

“That… that could be it,” Diret admitted, considering Imirgue’s idea.

“Well done, Junior.”

“Th-thank you.”

Imirgue’s face flushed at the praise from Lee Han and Diret.

However, Gainando glared at Imirgue.

“Wh-why?”

“…From now on, you are my rival.”

“……”

Raphael was already defeated (at least, that’s what he thought), and Lee Han was simply excluded in Gainando’s mind. Imirgue’s performance was an act that could not be overlooked.

“Hmph. Let’s see who is the true number one in black magic.”

“Th-that was just Wodanaz…”

Diret raised his staff.

“Let’s start searching,” he commanded. “Undead, show yourself!” A wave of magic flowed from his staff.

Suddenly, a deafening CRASH echoed from the upper floor of Tower 2.

“!!”

“It’s coming from upstairs!” Diret shouted, already moving towards the stairs. “Come on, let’s go!”

“Wait!” Lee Han called out, his voice calm but firm. “We should put up some defenses first, just in case.”

Diret paused at Lee Han’s words.

‘What kind of defensive magic is he going to use?’

Even if it was the same defensive magic, it would be better if Diret, a fourth-year, used it, but the opponent was no ordinary junior.

Diret was honestly curious about what kind of defensive magic Lee Han would use.

Would he show magic that exceeded expectations again…

“Hey! Adventurers! Lead the way!”

“……”

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing.”

Lee Han and Diret, along with the adventurers, headed up the tower.

Imirgue and Gainando remained outside the tower.

As they quickly climbed the stairs, Lee Han asked,

“Now that it knows its location has been exposed, won’t it run away?”

“That’s unlikely, Junior. It happened outside the graveyard, but it deliberately came inside to increase its power. It’s aggressive and fearless.”

“Indeed.”

Just by the reaction it showed when it appeared, one could roughly grasp the characteristics of the undead.

If it tried to quickly move away from the summoned location, it would be cautious and fearful, and if it tried to settle in instead of moving away, it would be the opposite.

In this case, since it was trying to absorb the magical power flowing through the graveyard and increase its strength, it was highly likely to be aggressive and greedy.

-■■■■■!!

“Aargh!”

“It appeared!!!”

The adventurers who were climbing ahead screamed.

A monstrous creature tumbled down the stairs.

It was a horrifying mix of body parts – limbs twisted at unnatural angles, rotting flesh hanging off bone, and eyes that glowed with a cold, green light.

A low growl rumbled from its chest, and the air around it smelled of decay.

Diret cursed under his breath. “Oh, damn it all… It’s an Undead Chimera.”

His face paled as he recognized the creature.

The result of strong negative magical power combining not with a single corpse, but with torn and crushed corpses.

Since the individualities of several entities were mixed, it was difficult for a magician to predict and challenging to deal with.

Diret immediately prepared a weakening spell for the Undead Chimera.

“Decline…”

THUD!

A sickening explosion ripped through the Undead Chimera. A huge chunk of its side burst open, like rotten meat tearing apart. Greenish smoke and bone fragments sprayed outwards.

The force of the blast threw the Chimera backwards. Instead of landing on the adventurers, it slammed into the old tower wall. Dust puffed out as the already cracked stones crumbled, leaving a jagged hole.

Dirette and Ihan stared, eyes wide. The monstrous beast, wounded and smoking, had blasted its own flesh just to escape through the wall. It was running away!

Why run away so suddenly when we haven’t even fought yet?!

“Senior, would you listen to me without getting angry?”

“Why would I be angry at you, Junior? Just say it! What is it?”

“I think… I think it ran away because it saw me,” Ihan said quietly.

Dirette frowned.

The adventurers standing in front muttered to themselves.

“Yes, yes.”

“What do you mean, ‘yes’!”

“I’m… I’m sorry!”

“There are some undead with excellent magic detection abilities, aren’t there? It must have sensed my magic and ran away.”

Dirette understood Ihan’s words.

If it wasn’t just a ferocious and aggressive beast, but something with magic detection abilities and enough intelligence to understand and retreat…

“This is going to complicate things, Junior.”

-It’s getting away!! It’s getting away!! Hey, you! Stop right there! Launch, bones! Imirge! Throw something! Throw a boulder!

-If, if I miss, people will get hurt…!

Dirette and Ihan, having descended from the tower, immediately began their pursuit.

“Contact the city guard and tell them an Undead Chimera has appeared. We’ll track it ourselves, Junior.”

“Understood.”

“Thank you so much, wizards! You saved us!” The gravediggers bowed their heads in gratitude, their voices shaky.

Originally, this was the gravediggers’ responsibility. They should have been diligent in preventing the undead from arising in the first place.

Of course, the gravediggers had their own grievances. Who would have known that the undead would be summoned outside the cemetery due to the earth moving underground?

But even so, the fact remained that they had to take responsibility when problems arose and the damage escalated. So, they couldn’t help but be grateful when the black mages offered to help.

“You all don’t need to be so grateful. This is what black mages should be doing.”

“Yes, indeed…”

Seeing that his senior was likely to be too selfless and forget about getting paid, Ihan firmly interjected.

“However, I believe everyone should know who resolved this matter. Make sure to properly inform the city guard of the facts and ensure there is a reward befitting our honor.”

“Understood!”

Dirette looked at his junior, dumbfounded. What was he talking about when they were in such a hurry?

“Senior, no matter how urgent it is, we need to convey the necessary information.”

“No… is that really necessary…? Let’s go for now!”

Dirette tracked the magic left behind by the Undead Chimera. Having escaped the cemetery, it was fleeing through the back alleys, avoiding the main road.

“If it can sense magic and avoid it, it must also instinctively know to avoid people. It’ll be a headache if it hides.”

“We’ll definitely catch it.”

“I hope so. It’s hard to track in the city if we’re even a little late… Oh dear. This is…” Dirette clicked his tongue.

After finally escaping the back alleys, the place it entered was, of all places, the guild warehouse site.

“What’s wrong? Let’s explain the situation and go in.”

“It’ll be difficult, Junior.”

The guild was inflexible in these matters. If they let outsiders in and there was a problem with the supplies or confidential information was leaked, that would be a much bigger issue. Even if an Undead Chimera had escaped and entered, they would likely insist on catching it themselves.

“Still, I’ll try to talk to them.”

“Alright. Give it a shot. But don’t worry too much if they say no.”

A moment later, Ihan returned.

“They said we can. Let’s go in.”

Dirette stared, eyes wide.