Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 811

Students whispered in the hallways of the magic school. “Did you hear?” one asked. “Someone said a student is in three year levels at once! A fourth-year, a fifth-year, and a sixth-year! Isn’t that strange?”

“Hmm. Indeed, rumors are not to be trusted.”

Garal caught himself before the words fully escaped. ‘I almost said something too proud again. I need to remember I’m not in the Magic Tower anymore.’

He hadn’t shaken off the habits from his time at the Magic Tower.

He needed to reflect on this.

‘I am no longer a wizard of the Magic Tower. I must abandon my pride.’

Hadn’t this pride caused him trouble time and again?

-Excuse me. Wizard. We’d like you to leave our party.

-What… what did you say!? Do you think a party like yours can afford to dismiss a wizard like me!? Why on earth would you say such a thing?

-It’s precisely because of that attitude! Every time we do something, you’re always muttering about how stupid we are. How can we fight with our lives on the line with that going on?

-That’s simply pointing out the facts…

-Enough. Here, this is our party’s new wizard. We hit it off at the inn yesterday. He’s a talent who can cast two 1st Circle spells!

-That’s not even a proper wizard! He’s less than a beginner! Even a child knows more magic than that!

-In any case, please leave quickly. If you don’t, we’ll call the guards!

Thanks to several bitter experiences, Garal had gained enlightenment.

He knew how difficult it was to earn gold himself!

“Sixth-year, probably?”

“I reckon he’s definitely a sixth-year. Low chance he could be a fifth-year… Wait, where are those blokes going?”

The Valdrogard students finally understood something was very wrong. They looked around. Just a moment ago, the Calarogard students had been standing there, ready to fight. Now, they were running away as fast as they could, disappearing into the distance.

“Hey! Where do you think you’re going?” shouted one of the Valdrogard students. “Our duel isn’t finished!”

Garal watched them run and thought to himself, ‘It *is* finished, you idiots. Can’t you see?’ He shook his head. Anyone with eyes could see this duel was over before it even began.

Suddenly, one of the running Calarogard students stopped and turned back. He yelled, his voice echoing across the training grounds, “Hey, Valdro-jerks! I don’t like you guys, but listen to me! We’re all magic students from the same empire, so I’m warning you. Run! Get out of here!”

“What did he just call us?” one Valdrogard student whispered, confused.

“Wait… did he say ‘run’?” another asked, his eyes widening.

“Yes! Run!” the Calarogard student shouted again. “That’s ancient forbidden magic! You don’t want to be here when it goes wrong!”

With that last warning, the Calarogard students vanished, scurrying away like frightened rabbits.

Lee Han quickly made excuses.

“I’m controlling it well! Don’t worry!”

The Valdrogard students might have lacked talent in magic, but they weren’t stupid in other areas.

The very fact that they hadn’t enrolled in Einrogard showed they had an innate knack for pursuing the happiest life as a wizard.

As such, the Valdrogard students keenly sensed the strangeness of the situation.

“Are you sure it’s really under control? Considering the rumors about the Wodanaz family and the testimonies about that boy, this situation seems quite dangerous.”

“…I agree. That magic looks very dangerous.”

Even Garal’s agreement prompted the Valdrogard students to make a bold decision.

“Retreat!”

Lee Han watched the students retreat like a receding tide and cried out in dismay.

“Everyone! I’m telling you, it’s under control! If you listen to my explanation, you’ll understand! The truth is, I didn’t use this magic because I wanted to…”

“Hmm! Even more suspicious! Everyone, don’t look back!”

‘I underestimated the Valdrogard students!’

He had thought he could persuade the Valdrogard students, even if the Calarogard students were beyond reach, but he was wrong.

Even if their magical skills were lacking, the Valdrogard students knew when to run.

“Kch.”

Lee Han lamented inwardly. He was worried that strange rumours would spread.

‘No. The Calarogard students are all unsociable, and the Valdrogard students are disliked by all the other magic schools, so the rumours won’t spread that much.’

Lee Han tried to compose himself.

Of course, the problem of rumours spreading within Calarogard and Valdrogard still remained, but Lee Han glossed over that.

To let those trash escape. And it’s shameful that it took this long even after the royal family gave the order.

The mad doppelganger, oblivious to Lee Han’s true feelings, lightly lectured him.

“……”

Lee Han glared at the mad doppelganger. Now that he thought about it, if this mad doppelganger hadn’t been pestering him to show them what he could do with magic, the fight between Calarogard and Valdrogard would have ended happily.

“Understood. You may leave now.”

This Black Emperor’s Crown has the characteristic of taking control of the surrounding undead. Especially against undead summoning black mages…

‘How do I turn this off?’

Ignoring his disciple’s words and with the mad doppelganger in front of him explaining the characteristics of the Black Emperor’s Crown he had just summoned, Lee Han carefully examined the Stone of Echoes embedded in the end of his staff. This stone was the source of the magic.

The mad doppelganger stopped explaining and said.

“Your lowly senses won’t be able to grasp the structure inside, so don’t bother touching it…”

Pop!

At the same moment, the illusion disappeared. Lee Han stared at the Stone of Echoes with a dumbfounded expression.

Just in case, he extended his magical power like a thread and touched a specific part inside, and luckily, it turned off.

The mad doppelganger had been quite impressed with Lee Han’s talent.

But he still lacked an understanding of the tenacity he showed in certain situations.

‘Hmm. I should turn it off for a while.’

Lee Han left his staff as it was, planning to insist that he had accidentally turned it off if they talked later.

Later that day, Lee Han checked his messages on the school’s online forum. He was part of a group called the ‘Watchman Club,’ where students shared rumors and news.

Iaktus: Hey. I heard someone used ancient forbidden magic on students from another magic school this time?

Beaver-Penguin-Fox: Brilliant!

Iaktus: What’s so brilliant about it!

Beaver-Penguin-Fox: Why? Don’t you want to, Iaktus?

For the senior students of Einrogard, using ancient forbidden magic on students from other magic schools was not a matter of criticism but admiration.

After graduation, wouldn’t students from other magic schools ultimately be competitors?

Within the magic community of the Empire, they would have to fight tooth and nail to win support funds, so making their name known and imprinting their reputation first was a brilliant preemptive strike.

If other students had the time and opportunity, anyone would have used ancient forbidden magic to make their name widely known.

But why was Iaktus reacting like this?

Iaktus: I should have done it!

Beaver-Penguin-Fox: Ah. I understand. It’s only the beginning of the semester, so you wouldn’t have had enough time to prepare such magic?

Iaktus: He must have been preparing since last year. Whoever it is, he’s a sly one!

Starfish: Wait. Why don’t we all think about this again? Of course, you might be able to gain some fame by taking out ancient forbidden magic for a moment. But isn’t a wizard who steadily researches and publishes magic to build up achievements the real great wizard?

Iaktus: No.

Beaver-Penguin-Fox: I don’t think so.

“……”

Lee Han watched the conversation in the Watchman Club with a complicated expression.

Apart from the fact that Starfish had chilled the atmosphere of the conversation, it seemed that the rumours were spreading faster than he had thought.

Fortunately, it wasn’t the same magic school, so Lee Han’s name hadn’t come up yet…

Iaktus: So who is it? This enviable bloke?

Beaver-Penguin-Fox: From what I’ve heard, they say he’s a fifth-year or a sixth-year…

“!”

At that moment, a wicked inspiration flashed through Lee Han.

Gonadaltez: Hmph. I know who it is.

Iaktus: Ooh! Wicked friend! Who is it, who?

Gonadaltez: Originally, I should receive a price, but I’ll just tell you this much. It’s Yukbeltyreda, a fifth-year belonging to the Blue Dragon Tower, the chief of the Enchantment Magic School, and a descendant of a great bloodline.

Iaktus:!

Beaver-Penguin-Fox:!

Starfish:!!!!!

Iaktus: Starfish. You only need to put one exclamation mark. I’ve been wondering about this for a while, but why do you use so many?

Starfish: …Just… for… emphasis?

Beaver-Penguin-Fox: That’s not the point right now. Yukbeltyreda? He’s definitely a fifth-year, but something’s strange.

Gonadaltez: What’s strange?

Beaver-Penguin-Fox: From what I’ve heard, it’s a black magic forbidden art.

Gonadaltez: That can also be explained. In Yukbeltyreda’s case, he’s close friends with Dirett, a fifth-year student in the Black Magic School.

Beaver-Penguin-Fox: Close friends?

Iaktus: Is that so? I don’t think so. Just like Professor Verdus has no friends, neither does his disciple.

Beaver-Penguin-Fox: I agree. The relationship between the two is… closer to the relationship between Professor Garcia and Professor Verdus? Professor Garcia is kind, so he takes care of Professor Verdus. But if you ask if they’re close, even Professor Garcia would punch you.

Starfish: Professor Garcia wouldn’t do that…

Lee Han grumbled at the more meticulous reaction than he had expected and changed his words.

Gonadaltez: Just get the gist of it. Anyway, they’re related. Then the black magic forbidden art can also be explained.

Beaver-Penguin-Fox: Indeed. That bloke Yukbeltyreda might have stolen it.

Iaktus: Or he might have snatched it.

Starfish: Maybe he endured in the workshop until they helped him…

‘Did Yukbeltyreda slap them all? Seriously?’

Of course, Lee Han, who had thrown the infamy that had come to him onto his senior, shouldn’t have been saying this, but the reaction was colder than he had expected.

But it couldn’t be helped.

‘Senior. I’m sorry. But isn’t this Einrogard?’

Lee Han was acting as he had learned from Yukbeltyreda.

Bakwantallana: What were you all talking about? What does ‘Maybe he endured in the workshop until they helped him’ mean?

Bakwantallana, who had arrived late, seemed to have only seen the last sentence before the conversation disappeared.

Lee Han kindly explained.

Gonadaltez: I was saying that the person who showed the forbidden magic to the external magic school students this time was Yukbeltyreda.

Bakwantallana: …No? What are you talking about?

Iaktus: What? It’s not? Then who is it?

Bakwantallana: I haven’t confirmed who it is yet, but it’s not Yukbeltyreda. Definitely…

‘Gasp!’

Lee Han was flustered.

He never expected that there would be someone who knew the truth!

But Lee Han, while flustered, immediately took action. The person who reacts late always loses in these situations.

Gonadaltez: Well, don’t believe it if you don’t want to. I was just releasing it without even receiving a price, but I feel bad being denied outright.

Iaktus: Whoa, whoa. Calm down, friend. Bakwantallana probably didn’t mean it in a bad way.

Gonadaltez: In my opinion, Bakwantallana is a bit jealous of Yukbeltyreda. She doesn’t want to watch Yukbeltyreda gain such glory. Still, denying it outright is a bit much, isn’t it?

Bakwantallana: What…! That’s not it!

Gonadaltez: Everyone, think carefully about what I said. In this Einrogard, during Club Week, how many people would be able to show forbidden magic to external magic school students? Huh? Don’t you feel that my argument is persuasive? It’s none other than Yukbeltyreda!

Lee Han cleverly appealed to emotions.

As expected, the other members of the club, who usually had feelings towards Yukbeltyreda, immediately fell for it.

Iaktus: I’ll believe Gonadaltez’s hypothesis. It seems highly likely.

Beaver-Penguin-Fox: Me too.

Bakwantallana: Then think as you please, you morons. It’s a sigh of relief that these blokes are Watchman members.

Starfish: Everyone, don’t fight!

Iaktus: Starfish, don’t act like a bat and pick a side! Is it Gonadaltez’s hypothesis, or Bakwantallana’s hypothesis!

Starfish: I, I… I thought that other students could be possible too… I did.

Beaver-Penguin-Fox: Who? Stop just saying there is, and present a name persuasively.

Starfish: Well, if I had to say, Lee Han from the Wodanaz family or…

“!!”

Lee Han felt goosebumps all over his body. As expected, the seniors of Einrogard could never be underestimated. How did his name come up here?

Iaktus: Hey. He’s a second-year.

Beaver-Penguin-Fox: Are you a moron?

Gonadaltez: Oh, for goodness’ sake. What nonsense. Really, to think I’m hearing such things.

Iaktus: Gonadaltez, you endure it. There are a lot of strange sounds today.