Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 792

“Next week is Club Week…”

“Ah. Just a moment, Professor. It felt like time slowed down just now.”

“I told you it wouldn’t work that fast.”

“Hmm!”

‘I might need to stop him somehow, even if it’s a bit rough.’

If he didn’t learn control, he could hurt himself badly. Wouldn’t it be better to break a few bones and teach him a lesson than to have his soul burned by knowledge?

“Okay, Professor! I think I’ve got it!”

“?!!!!”

Professor Garcia jumped back, so shocked that the pocket watch in his hand CRACKED loudly, the glass face spider-webbing instantly. That’s how surprised he was.

“Oh, Professor. Are you upset about something?”

“I’m just surprised, so don’t worry about it, Lee Han.”

“Professor, do you have trouble controlling your strength when you’re surprised?”

Lee Han asked seriously. He would have to learn under Professor Garcia a lot in the future, so this was a matter of survival. He might have to keep his distance from Professor Garcia on stormy days or in areas where spectral monsters appeared…

“Don’t ask pointless questions and just hurry up and do the magic.”

“Yes. Thought from fleeting to momentary, from momentary to split-second!”

As he said the words, Lee Han felt a strange tingling in his mind. It was like his thoughts were suddenly moving faster, like a hummingbird’s wings.

In truth, this magic wasn’t that effective on its own. This magic only made it *feel* like time was slower for him, but time itself didn’t actually change. It was like when you are in danger and everything seems to slow down. Naturally, his hands, feet, and staff couldn’t keep up with the speed of his thoughts and moved sluggishly.

‘Hard to adapt.’

Pop!

Professor Garcia nodded, then with a flick of his wand, a complex diagram appeared in the air in front of Lee Han. He showed a math problem in the air: a picture of a field with lines and curves, and the question: ‘What number makes the total area inside the lines as small as possible?’

‘Did I put out something too difficult?’ He just needed to check the perceived time, but utilizing accelerated thinking was more important than he thought. This magic would be used more as a foundation or link for the time magics he would learn later than for its own use. To train the skill of accelerating thinking quickly, a more difficult problem than usual was good. It had to be difficult enough that he couldn’t solve it all within the time limit to keep his thoughts moving. But Professor Garcia was slightly worried because Lee Han was too still. If it felt too difficult to even approach, he had chosen wrong…

“Professor.”

Lee Han, whose magic had ended in the meantime, opened his mouth.

“Was the problem too difficult?”

“No. It’s a problem that Professor Knighton gave me last year.”

“What? Why did Professor Knighton give you this last year?”

Professor Garcia tilted his head, unable to understand. This wasn’t a first-year problem.

“He gave it to me separately to solve something more difficult.”

“……”

Professor Garcia’s eyes widened. He stared at Lee Han, mouth open, completely speechless. His face went pale. Not Professor Verdus, not Professor Begreck, but even Professor Knighton!

‘I thought he was sensible because he used to work in the government!’ The air of Einroguard was clearly driving even normal outsiders crazy.

“Professor. Come to think of it, what did you say earlier?”

Lee Han, who had trained again with another problem (this time it was a problem measuring the location of a charging troll troop leader), remembered what Professor Garcia had said earlier and asked.

“Next week is Club Week, so many outsiders will come, and it seems like Lee Han will be called to many places.”

“Wh-why is there such a week?”

Lee Han stared at Professor Garcia with eyes full of despair and betrayal. His gaze was so serious that Professor Garcia almost thought he was the one who invented Club Week.

“…I didn’t open it, Lee Han!”

“The seniors should be doing research, why are they wasting their magic lives on such useless time?”

‘Pr, principal?!’

Professor Garcia felt familiarity in Lee Han’s grumbling and was horrified. That was the appearance of the Skull Principal that Professor Garcia had seen during his school days.

“Lee Han. Of course, you may not like outsiders coming to Einroguard, but these events are necessary. There were festivals last year, right? There are things you can learn when outsiders come in.”

The Skull Principal didn’t really like outsiders coming to visit, but objectively, outsiders were necessary for Einroguard. How could they extract gold coins from people with thick gold coin pouches? The answer was to invite them to the school with a suitable excuse and show them flashy research. People from the Empire who visited Einroguard after receiving invitations from various clubs willingly invested in research through persuasion, excitement, and sometimes threats and fear.

“And Einroguard students need to meet more outsiders. If they just stick together, they keep going crazy.”

“……”

Professor Garcia’s words were harsh, but it was hard to argue against them. Even to Lee Han, it didn’t seem good for Einroguard students to be gathered together.

‘Wait. Maybe the principal got the idea for Einroguard from the poison.’

“I understand, Professor. But I can’t help but worry because I’ve joined so many clubs.”

“Hmm. You could change your mind a bit.”

“The more clubs you join, the more sponsorships and investments you can get?”

“…No, tell your seniors now and say, ‘I want to reduce some work.’”

“Professor. I’m telling them every time.”

Lee Han said with resentment. Wouldn’t it look like he was digging his own grave? But Lee Han had been rejecting all the seniors’ ridiculous suggestions. Of course, he had accepted and worked together on some suggestions, but that was because he had to be considerate as a junior, and it was also beneficial for Lee Han himself, so he couldn’t help it.

“…Isn’t it because you keep making exceptions saying it can’t be helped and then doing well? You could have learned the magic just now moderately and slowly, but you forced yourself to learn it quickly.”

“Yes? Did I do that?”

Professor Garcia clenched his fist. Fortunately, Lee Han didn’t notice. If he had noticed, he would have distanced himself from the lecture room.

“You can forget it. Haha. Lee Han. Shall we learn the next magic?”

“I think the professor is a little angry…”

“No way. Come on!”

Next, the magic Lee Han learned was 3rd Circle, >Lesser Time Deceleration> and >Lesser Time Acceleration>. The next spells were about changing time for things around him, not for himself. One spell could speed up time for an object, and the other could slow it down. These spells were much harder to learn, with lots of complicated steps, and they needed the ‘time-slowing-down-in-your-head’ magic he had just learned.

‘Maybe it’s because I’m moving up to the second grade, but Professor Garcia seems to be pushing me a bit.’ Lee Han thought to himself as he moved his steps. It felt a little strange that Professor Garcia kept asking, ‘Do you think you can complete this today?’ ‘Honestly, you’re trying to complete it, right?’ Could it be indirect pressure?

Lee Han thanked Professor Garcia and left the room. He walked down the stairs towards the basement, thinking about the new spells. Suddenly, he heard a loud CLANG! from below.

‘What’s that sound?’ As he descended to the first basement floor, the air grew colder and damper. Faint torchlight flickered on the stone walls, casting long, dancing shadows. Then he heard it – a sharp CLANG! followed by a groan. Lee Han’s face hardened as he continued to move his steps. The screams were coming from Professor Begreck’s >Understanding Intermediate Combat Magic> lecture room on the first basement floor.

-Master. Why do we have to take lectures?

“That’s what I’m saying.”

Lee Han couldn’t deny that the baby basilisk’s question hit the nail on the head. Why must students take lectures and suffer? It might be an unsolvable problem for the rest of his life. ‘Wizards may need to explore this first, not other higher-dimensional truths.’

-I don’t want to go in. Waaah…

The baby basilisk was really scared of Professor Volardi, and it made a whimpering sound when Lee Han tried to open the door. Of course, he was grateful for the grace of bringing him and creating a nest, but even considering that, Professor Volardi had done too many things to lose points.

“Do you want to go back to the dormitory?”

But the baby basilisk shook its head. It was more afraid of being separated from its master than the crazy professor.

Lee Han opened his mouth to soothe the baby basilisk.

“Hmm. Professor Begreck isn’t a terribly bad person either. He’s a kinder person than Professor Verdus or the principal.”

-Are there no other people?

The baby basilisk was definitely smart. It immediately realized that the comparison target wasn’t a very good opponent. But Lee Han couldn’t waste any more time. He opened the door to attend the lecture.

“Mantle, swallow me.”

When he chanted the spell and went inside, as expected, a junior was groaning and dealing with the orbs. Professor Volardi opened his mouth without even giving him a glance.

“You have permission, so you can release the invisibility.”

“Oh. Is that true?”

Lee Han was surprised and released the invisibility. Originally, Einroguard seniors were not allowed to contact first-year students, but there were exceptions to this rule. They could be used when help was needed for the professors’ education. And the main reason that Professor Volardi’s other disciples did not exist. Of course, Lee Han was the only one who could step up…

‘He really got permission. The principal is subtly kind to Professor Begreck.’ If Professor Verdus had said that he would use Lee Han in addition, there was a high possibility that he would have been sent to the punishment room given the Skull Principal’s personality. Wasn’t it unfair to try to make even a second-year student do it when there weren’t enough seniors? But Professor Volardi… ‘I think I would have allowed it too…’

“Eanndurde.”

“!”

The Gorgon mixed-blood junior was startled and looked at Lee Han, then lost control of the flying spirit stone orbs and got hit by one. Eanndurde let out a mournful “Clang!” and tumbled.

“It seems like it’s too early for the professor to attack.”

Lee Han said cautiously, watching his expression. Lee Han originally didn’t dare to say anything about Professor Volardi’s actions, but it was a little different for a junior to be hit.

Professor Volardi replied with a blank face.

“I am not attacking.”

“…?!”

Only then did Lee Han realize that Eanndurde was practicing telekinesis magic alone. He was moving the spirit stone orbs and drawing a certain shape, but he accidentally lost control and attacked himself.

“Ah. I’m sorry. It was still that stage. Junior. Lecture’s over.”

Despite Lee Han’s call, Eanndurde shook his head and tried to control the orbs again. For a split second, a flicker of something like worry crossed Professor Volardi’s usually blank face. It was so quick, Lee Han almost missed it, but it was there. Professor Volardi said.

“I’m worried he’s overdoing it.”

“…Yes???”