Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 669

Lightning flashed in the air, surprising the poachers.

The poachers were pretending to be injured.

“We’re wounded victims of a monster attack in the mountains!” they cried.

This was a good disguise in such a dangerous place, especially against young wizards who didn’t have much experience.

But something felt wrong.

Why did the magic seem to be targeting them specifically?

Crack!

Lightning struck, and a poacher covered in bandages screamed and jumped out of the way.

The lightning had been aimed right at him. If he hadn’t moved, he would have been hit.

“‘This crazy guy!'” he yelled.

“…M-Mage! Why are you doing th- Ack!” another cried.

The lightning didn’t stop. It was like a storm of lightning bolts.

The poachers, pretending to be badly hurt, realized they might actually get killed if they stayed still.

“Ugh!”

“Run!”

“Crazy wizard!”

The poachers scattered into the darkness. Yihan watched them go, his face showing nothing.

‘Are they really poachers?’ he wondered.

They ran very fast for injured people. It’s hard for someone really injured to run that fast.

Of course, they could have been using hidden strength because they were in danger, but…

‘Hmm. They’re probably poachers,’ Yihan thought.

Yihan had been at Einroguard for just over a year. But even in that short time, he had met many strange people from outside.

Worshippers of evil gods, people against magic, and even someone who wasn’t quite a dragon but wanted to be emperor.

After dealing with tricky people and magical criminals, Yihan had decided on one thing:

If something seems suspicious, attack first!

Yihan knew he didn’t have much experience or fighting skill. If he let enemies attack first, he would be in real trouble.

Worry about the results later; if something seemed fishy, shoot first. That was his way.

Besides, he had heard that many poachers had been sneaking into the Whispering Peaks recently.

They might have been hunters, but they were more likely poachers.

Yihan decided to believe that.

“What in the world was that?!”

His friends came running out, surprised.

They had been resting in the tent when they heard the magic and shouts, and they had rushed out.

“Poachers were coming close, so I used magic to stop them,” Yihan said. “They’ve all run off, so there’s nothing to worry about.”

“That’s Yihan for you!”

Gainando was happy, but Nilia was confused.

Poachers were usually tough and didn’t give up easily. They would do anything to get what they wanted.

Why would they approach so clumsily?

“They just walked right up?” she asked.

“Yep,” Yihan replied, not embarrassed at all. Nilia didn’t know Yihan was leaving out some details, and she frowned, thinking.

“We’re lucky we stopped them, but more poachers might come,” she said.

“After all that magic we used on them?” Gainando asked, pointing to the ground outside the campsite. The ground was blackened and smoking where Yihan’s lightning had struck.

“Poachers don’t get scared easily. And they’ll be even less scared until they get hurt themselves. Everyone, get up! It’s better to be awake,” Nilia said.

The students went to their assigned spots and checked the area around the campsite. In the distance, they saw Explorer Frostfoot returning.

“Students, is everyone okay?” Frostfoot asked.

“A group of poachers came close,” Nilia said.

“There are definitely a lot of poachers around,” Frostfoot said. He had also found signs of poachers nearby and warned the students to be careful.

After hearing about the poachers who had approached while he was gone, he was surprised.

“They must be inexperienced rookies. Even slightly experienced poachers rarely walk right up to a campsite set up by wizards,” he said.

“Could they have underestimated us because we’re still low in the ranks?” Gainando asked.

“If so, they’re even more inexperienced. Underestimating Einroguard students because of their year level…” Frostfoot chuckled.

“Hehe. Maybe so,” Gainando replied.

Unbeknownst to them, Julban was yelling at his men, not knowing that they were being called inexperienced rookie poachers.

“You worm-brained idiots! How could you fail to trick kids and get caught!” he shouted.

“They just started blasting magic without even listening to us!” one of the poachers complained.

“Nonsense! Would a wizard attack injured people without even hearing them out? You must have been acting badly. So, what did you do when the magic came flying? You’re all fine, so you must have run away!” Julban yelled.

“B-Boss, if you just take the magic head on…” another poacher started.

“I’d rather you get hit, you morons! If you had, they would have been fooled. You dodged, so they knew!” Julban said.

Julban’s men finally understood and looked resentful.

They felt ashamed to be outsmarted by a wizard so much younger than them.

“Come with me. I’ll have to do it myself if I leave it to you lot,” Julban said.

“B-Boss, I admit we messed up. But it might be dangerous to go now. They’ll be on their guard…” one of the poachers said.

Julban sighed and shook his head. His men didn’t seem to have the brains to think strategically.

“If you make excuses like that, you won’t be able to do anything. You stupid gits. Come on! I’ll show you how it’s done,” Julban said.

Julban called for more of his men, those who hadn’t been involved before.

He even hurt some of them to make them look injured.

“Kraaah!”

“Ugh!”

“Endure it. We need to show the wounds. If magic comes, take it! I’ll kill anyone who dodges,” Julban ordered.

Julban was on another level, even when using the same tricks. His men could tell, and their spirits lifted.

The reason they followed their violent boss was because he was strong and capable.

Following Julban’s orders, the men felt excited about getting a share this time as they followed their boss.

“H-Help us!”

“Please help us! The Wailing Boar attacked us!”

They walked towards the campsite’s main gate, carrying torches. Unlike before, they looked completely defenseless. If an attack came from the campsite, many of them would be killed instantly.

Frostfoot, who was guarding the main gate, was surprised to see so many people approaching, covered in blood and without any protection.

‘Are they really injured?’ he wondered.

Poachers didn’t act like this.

Even if they were using trickery, they would send a few people to test the waters, and they would always look ready to run away if something went wrong.

But these people were not only numerous but also showed no signs of wanting to escape, and they seemed genuinely injured.

Even the experienced Frostfoot was confused.

And that was exactly what Julban wanted.

‘The more experienced they are, the more confused they’ll be,’ he thought.

Julban gestured. The poachers took another step closer.

“Everyone, stop!” Frostfoot ordered.

“P-Please, help us. My friend’s injuries are severe…” one of the poachers said.

Just then, Yihan, who had been guarding the other side, rushed to Frostfoot’s side.

Frostfoot looked at Yihan and was about to speak.

“We need to check if those people are really injured or not…” he started.

“Flash!”

Frostfoot and Julban were both shocked.

He was attacking without asking or listening!

Julban knew instantly that this was the same wizard who had attacked his men earlier!

‘Think I’ll fall for that?’ Julban thought.

Julban blinked, trying to glare at the incoming lightning.

If he could just hold out, the wizard would surely stop the magic…

Crack!

“J-Julban!!!”

The poachers screamed as their boss was struck by the lightning.

Normally, his equipment would have protected him, but being hit directly by lightning in such a defenseless state left him unable to move.

Julban’s legs buckled, and he staggered. His eyes were filled with disbelief and horror.

“No way…” he muttered.

“Flash!”

The wizard cast another lightning spell, knocking Julban to the ground.

The poachers, unsure of what to do after their boss fell, were slow to react.

“They’re poachers! Attack!” Yihan shouted.

His friends immediately went to their positions and began casting spells. A storm of attacks and curses rained down.

Yonel and Siana threw concussion potions forward. The poachers were hit by the shockwaves and lost their balance.

Gainando and Raetford followed up with curses and illusion magic. The poachers’ muscles stiffened, and they collapsed in fear.

Nilia aimed her arrow, trying to hit the one who was running away. At that moment, Deorgyu asked:

“Yihan! How did you know those guys were poachers?”

‘That’s a good question,’ Nilia thought.

Nilia paused, about to shoot her arrow.

It was strange. Even she had been unsure if they were poachers or not.

“I see!” Frostfoot exclaimed instead of Yihan.

“The scar marks! You recognized them by the scar marks! Amazing!”

“Scar marks?” Deorgyu asked.

“They said they were attacked by the Wailing Boar! If they were attacked by that huge boar, they wouldn’t have those kinds of scars! Those are scars made with a knife!” Frostfoot explained.

Deorgyu and Nilia realized Yihan’s cleverness.

He had noticed the strange scars and launched an attack.

Frostfoot bowed, impressed by what had happened.

“Thank you. I should be the one looking after the students, but I’m ashamed. To think that the poachers would use the stereotypes that explorers tend to have!”

“It was just luck,” Yihan said.

Yihan wanted to say that he attacked anyone suspicious, but he stopped himself.

‘I should tell them when Frostfoot isn’t around,’ he thought.

He didn’t want to seem weird in front of Frostfoot yet.

“Poachers are a pain to deal with even if we catch them,” Frostfoot said, frowning as he looked at the tied-up poachers.

Unlike the poachers at the entrance of the mountains, these guys wouldn’t just leave after having their equipment taken away.

“Can’t we just lock them up?” Gainando asked.

“They’re the type who might do anything. We’d have to assign guards to watch them, but we need to find the unicorn…” Frostfoot replied.

“Heh, if you just let us go, we promise we’ll never come back to these mountains,” one of the poachers said cautiously, but Frostfoot ignored them.

“Then, how about locking them up in the stable?” Yihan suggested.

“Locking them up in the stable won’t solve the pr- Ah,” Frostfoot paused.

He suddenly remembered what was in the campsite.

“…Are you sure? What if that friend of yours goes wild and attacks them…” Frostfoot asked.

“Ponryg might be a bit greedy, but he’s not the type to secretly eat things he’s not supposed to. Please trust me,” Yihan said.

“Hmm. Then, I’ll leave it to you,” Frostfoot said.

The poachers’ faces lit up. They thought they might be able to escape.

Since there were fewer than ten wizards, they might be able to break free and escape from the stable.

“Go in this way,” Yihan said.

“Th-Thank you,” one of the poachers said.

“Yeah, yeah. Just don’t do anything stupid,” Yihan replied.

Yihan opened the stable door and pushed the poachers inside.

The poachers hurried inside, then stopped suddenly.

They felt a hot breath.

Grrrr.

Ponryg was unhappy that these strangers were barging into his spacious stable. He made an angry noise.

His beak snapped, and his claws scraped against the floor.

A scream came from the poachers inside the stable.