Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 557

The mercenaries retreated towards the stairs, cursing under their breath.

Even the mercenaries still on their feet were badly hurt.

Some were burned, others bleeding, their armor in tatters.

A well-prepared wizard, even a novice, had terrifying power.

A group of wizards was a truly terrifying force.

“Damn it! Wizards ambushed us!”

“They’re coming! Stop them!”

Clang!

A mercenary with a long scar across his wolfish face threw a sharp, metallic seed.

With a burst, steel thorn vines erupted, blocking the passage between the corridor and the stairs.

Even though they were pushed back, these tough mercenaries were clever and quick-thinking.

The student wizards stopped at the barricade. The wolf mercenary snarled.

“You wizard fools! Don’t even try to come closer, or you will die! Do you know who I am? I am Gardam, the ‘Bleeding Hand’! I have killed many young wizards like you!”

“Gasp!”

The mercenaries shouted out their reputation, hoping to buy time to escape.

Since the wizards looked young, the threat might work.

Wizards are weak if they lose focus or get scared.

Clearly, they were ready to fight wizards.

But they had chosen the wrong opponents.

“They really are criminals!”

“Wodanaz was right…!”

“I believed it from the start. You guys didn’t trust Wodanaz?”

“I believed it too! I did!”

“???”

The mercenaries were surprised by the calm talk from above.

There was no fear in their voices.

Gardam gritted his teeth. Like the followers of the crazy archmage, they were not easily scared.

“Fall back! Get out of their sight!”

The mercenaries went down the stairs, around a corner, and out of magical range.

They reloaded their crossbows and got out their throwing knives.

They planned to surprise the wizards when they came down the stairs.

“Don’t go down,” Ethan said.

Despite their win, Ethan did not go down the stairs right away.

“Sharkan.”

The panther roared and jumped down. Bolts and knives flew, making Gardam shout.

“You stupid fools! Look before you shoot!”

“Now.”

The skeleton warriors went down the stairs again. Gardam held back his anger and ordered another retreat.

“That leader is not normal.”

“If we keep running like this…”

“I know!”

The villa was very large and spacious, but if they kept running from the wizards, they would be trapped.

And as they had learned, fighting them head-on was like suicide.

“Use the Devil’s Tongue!”

“Now??”

“Or do you want to use it after we die!”

“Damn it! Fine! Fine!”

Magical items were very important to mercenaries and cost a lot, so they didn’t want to use them unless they had to.

But the strong pressure made them act, no matter the cost.

Whoosh!

Black flames covered the skeleton warriors going down the stairs.

The black flames were not just fire. They were like solid blades, cutting down the skeleton warriors.

“Spring forth.”

Ethan made a large ball of water appear.

The mercenary who had thrown the Devil’s Tongue cursed, regretting his choice.

“You think water will work! This fire…”

Splash!

“Spring forth, spring forth, spring forth, spring forth.”

In less than a second, the space above the stairs was full of water.

The mercenaries froze, seeing the wizard make so much water in a place with no rivers nearby.

Sssssss!

At first, the black flames burned through the water, but there was too much water, and the flames were put out.

Ethan quickly got bone pieces and made five black skeleton warriors.

The mercenary blinked, watching his expensive magical item disappear completely.

“Gather, rotate.”

The water gathered and began to spin.

The mercenary who saw the water coming raised his shield, but it was a mistake.

The water orb had a different level of power than water spells used in battle.

Crack!

With the sound of breaking bones, the mercenary who had used the Devil’s Tongue fell.

“……”

“……”

“Uh… what do we do, Gardam? What should we do?”

Gardam thought he had fought in many battles, but now he understood he had not seen real magic before.

What the Death Knights had said was true.

‘Until now… I have only fought weak wizards…!’

“There they are! Catch those criminals!”

“We’ve blocked this side too!”

“!!”

As they woke up, wizards were coming from the other corridor.

While they were stalling, the wizards had split up and gone around.

“Retreat! Retreat!”

Ethan sent a message to his friends at the school and focused on chasing them.

He didn’t know why the criminals were in the villa, but he had a guess.

‘Did Headmaster Skull hide something here for our final test?’

He could not think of any other reason.

It seemed likely…

No matter the reason, the criminals had to be stopped quickly.

The noise was already louder than he had thought.

If there was any more trouble, the Death Knights might come, even if we are not supposed to be seen.

‘Stop them as fast as possible and leave!’

“Surrender, mercenaries! I’ll be easy on you.”

“Don’t lie to us, you crazy wizard fools!”

“Aren’t you ashamed to follow a warlock who uses evil magic!?”

The mercenaries reacted strongly.

Ethan was shocked by their reaction.

‘What did we even do?’

They had fought fairly, and if they had lost, they should accept it, not insult them as wizards and warlocks.

The other students were very angry.

“Wizards, indeed!”

“Dark magic? Do I look like a dark wizard to you? Ah, you must be talking about Wodanaz. Not that I’m insulting you.”

“…Enough. Everyone, follow me.”

Even though they had almost won, Lee Han wasn’t careless.

He led the students, carefully taking over sections of the mansion and checking each room.

The mercenaries who had hidden to survive, abandoning their comrades, were dragged out miserably.

“Ah, no! Mercy!”

“Don’t call me a spell-slinger again, you criminal brat!”

“Call your comrades! If you don’t, I’ll put you in the punishment room…”

“Hey, the punishment room only works on us.”

“Does it?”

“Knock them out and follow me! We need to subdue them quickly!”

At Lee Han’s shout, the Phoenix Tower priest nodded and waved his staff.

“A stunning spell…”

Whack!

Lee Han swung his staff and knocked the mercenary’s jaw off. The mercenary went limp and collapsed.

“Let’s go!”

“Ah, no…”

“This is the real stunning spell!”

The Black Tortoise Tower students and the White Tiger Tower students admired Lee Han and followed him.

Whatever else, Lee Han’s magic always inspired admiration.

“Those bastards are heading for the main gate!!”

As he stunned the last mercenary hiding in the mansion, a scream erupted from behind.

The remaining mercenaries were desperately running towards the main gate.

‘What’s this?’

Lee Han’s face turned serious.

‘Is there a way to escape? Why?’

Lee Han thought the mercenaries wouldn’t be able to escape this mansion.

The Skeleton Headmaster wasn’t a fool, and there must be a reason why the mercenaries were trapped here.

However, seeing them running like that suddenly made him uneasy.

Could the mercenaries have another way out that Lee Han didn’t know about?

“Follow me! Stop them no matter what!”

Lee Han fired Water Prison Bullets at the mercenaries without even aiming. The floor shattered, and the main gate shook.

“Shine…”

As he grew impatient, a Lightning Spear began to gather at the end of his staff once more.

Lee Han drew his Morning Star in his other hand and charged forward quickly.

“Is he crazy!?”

Gardam never expected the young wizard to charge at him, so he jumped to the side.

The Lightning Spear struck the main gate, and the Morning Star tore through the air.

“Moradi!”

Giselle, who had been running alongside him, swung her twin swords and knocked Gardam’s weapon away. Gardam screamed in pain.

“What kind of sorcerers are you lot!”

“Surrender!”

“Shut up. I’d rather die here than be tortured by the undead!”

“No… damn it.”

The mercenaries were very stubborn. Lee Han was annoyed that there was no time to explain and swung his weapon again.

Gardam jumped back and drew a dagger. The remaining mercenaries stood back-to-back, aiming their weapons.

“Wodanaz, be careful. They’re not easy.”

“I know!”

It wasn’t properly learned swordsmanship, but their swordsmanship was savage and explosive.

Moreover, those who had survived this far were the most experienced and vicious of the mercenaries.

If they weren’t careful, they could be pushed back and defeated, so the two approached cautiously.

Bzzzt!

“!”

As the Lightning Spear covering the staff grew larger and flew towards them, the mercenaries gritted their teeth and dodged.

“Ugh!”

“Kraaah!”

However, lightning scattered in all directions, striking the mercenaries. They groaned at the energy of the lightning flowing through their bodies.

Taking advantage of the gap, Giselle simultaneously slashed one mercenary’s legs and wrists, subduing him.

“One more time!”

“Got it!”

As the opponent focused on the Lightning Spear, Lee Han instantly stopped the magic and transitioned to the next spell.

“Pour forth, Perkuntra’s lightning!”

One of the mercenaries was pierced by a thick bolt of lightning coming from an unexpected direction.

And so was the main gate.

Creak, Bang!

The mansion’s main gate opened with a grating metallic sound.

Lee Han and Giselle froze.

The mercenaries also froze.

“…Get out of the way!”

Gardam was the first to act this time. He pushed his comrades aside, knocking them over, and ran towards the main gate as fast as he could. He used all the magic items he had on him.

With indescribable complex sounds, fog, sandstorms, and poisonous clouds were briefly released.

As Giselle subdued the fallen mercenaries, Lee Han looked at his friend seriously and said,

“Just so you know, you told me to blast them one more time, Moradi.”

“…Are you saying that now!!!!!!”

Giselle screamed without realizing it.

“Let’s chase him first.”

“Chase him!! If we lose him, we’re all going to the punishment room!”

Lee Han and Giselle gritted their teeth and ran out.

They had to catch the last one as quickly as possible.

“Salco, get the other students changed and have them move according to the original plan! We’ll catch that guy!”

“Ah, got it! Wodanaz, Moradi, good luck!”

Eunrade, an official from Einrogard, bowed in a very polite and flattering way to his boss.

“You are magnificent as always, Lord Hodrong! Lord Gonadaltes must be eagerly awaiting your arrival!”

“Stop talking nonsense, Eunrade. There’s no way Lord Gonadaltes would like a visit from an inspector like me.”

Hodrong sipped his coffee in a city café with an uncomfortable expression.

He wasn’t in a good mood as he would have to enter Einrogard soon.

How many more ridiculous acts and excuses would he have to face once he entered Einrogard?

-A dog ate my research data! Sob! But please forgive the dog. Isn’t it cute?

-There’s a misunderstanding about burning down the entire farm. Of course, there was a fire, but shouldn’t we first consider what the concept of ‘entire’ is?

“I understand that you’re from Einrogard, so you can’t help but favor your own.”

“Ah, no, what are you saying? No. Absolutely not!”

“But personal feelings can never be involved in this. Understand? If you want to convince me, bring me convincing data.”

“Well, magic often fails…”

“If the magic results are lacking, then bring me the wizards’ attitudes! Bring me proof that the wizards of Einrogard have dedicated themselves to the citizens of the Empire. Only then will I have the face to go back and ask for more gold to be supported!”

‘That seems even more impossible.’

Eunrade quickly gave up internally.

It seemed more likely that a great archmage would appear than his juniors would dedicate themselves to the citizens of the Empire.

-Caught a criminal!!

-An Einrogard student caught a wanted criminal!

“Cough.”

Eunrade spat coffee on his superior’s face.