Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 833

Ihan sighed. “I think I’d rather do trials.”

Trials were hard and often dangerous, but at least they had a clear goal. You knew what you had to do to finish them.

But this? Shinmok Forest just wanted him to find a ‘suitable branch’ without any clues.

Even if being a wizard meant making the impossible possible, doing it without any clues was just…

“Isn’t there anything that could help?” Ihan wondered.

“Just wander around until you are chosen, I said?” Lagesa replied.

“Hmm, okay,” Ihan mumbled.

Ignoring Lagesa’s words, Ihan considered which divination spells to use.

Stone divination felt too weak for this strange forest. He thought about using Spirit Gold Coin divination or the Five Demons divination instead, which were stronger but riskier.

‘Spirit Gold Coin divination is impossible,’ Ihan thought. He remembered it needed special gold coins and offerings to spirits – too much trouble right now.

The Five Demons divination seemed easier. If he failed to guess the two fake prophecies, he would suffer a powerful curse, but it was still better than Spirit Gold Coin divination.

“Divination magic? Dangerous. You foolish boy. How many divination wizards have been ruined by indulging in the pleasure of peering into the future…” Lagesa warned.

“Hmm, okay,” Ihan mumbled again.

Ihan ignored him again and checked his potions: deathcap mushrooms from the Gloom Moon, bone fragments from the Demon Realm, syringes, and so on.

Lagesa realized Ihan was ignoring him and grumbled.

“He’ll regret it when divination magic hurts him. Such a presumptuous little brat!”

“No, don’t misunderstand,” Ihan said. “I’m not going to use it right now, I’m just checking.”

It wasn’t that Ihan wasn’t afraid. He was more afraid than the other students.

How could he not be, knowing he would suffer misfortune if he made a mistake?

Ihan was very concerned about divination magic. He even waved his wand to chase away Gainando whenever he got close because of a prophecy.

The problem was, finding the right branch in this forest seemed impossible!

‘First, I should see what the others are doing,’ he thought.

After checking his potions, Ihan watched his friends.

If someone found the right branch, he could use it as a guide.

Whoosh!

The student who caught the mirage earlier seemed to be doing better than the others.

The students wandering around Shinmok Forest were slowly realizing how strange it was.

Pat!

The moment they touched a branch, they were teleported somewhere else in the forest, let alone breaking it off.

Splash!

One moment, a student reached for a branch, and *poof*! The clouds around them vanished, and they were suddenly splashing into a cold, muddy puddle.

“I… I just went to a strange place!” another student cried out. “Did you guys see it? Some spirits took me to a maze!”

Another student cried out, saying they had been trapped in a maze of twisting paths, even though they hadn’t moved from the spot.

There were no monsters, but this forest had a twisted mystery, harder to find even near Einrogard. This was definitely a forest made by a mad spirit king, he realized. No wonder it was so strange.

“…Everyone, tie each other with ropes. Don’t stray too far. >Mark of Ally> Engrave it on the back of your hand,” Gisele instructed.

Seeing this, Gisele gathered the White Tiger Tower students who were wandering around in disorder.

Even wizards couldn’t completely control this forest, but they could prepare.

They tied each other with magic ropes and cast a Mark of Ally spell, which would show each other’s location until it disappeared after a while…

“Indeed. This method would be good for exploring for a long time,” Ihan commented.

“What are you evaluating!? Come here and give orders!” Gisele shouted, frustrated.

The guy who should be giving orders was sitting on a cloud, saying, ‘The White Tiger Tower students move like that,’ as if he was interested. She was speechless.

Ihan watched Gisele, impressed by her quick thinking. Maybe helping them wouldn’t be so bad.

Ihan, who wanted to watch a little more, quickly made an excuse.

“I’m from the Blue Dragon Tower, so I was watching without interfering.”

“Huh. Is that so?” Angaro said, finding it plausible.

If he was from another tower, it might be hard to step forward and give orders because he would be worried about what others thought…

“Are you saying that now?” Gisele asked cynically.

“Ihan, it doesn’t make sense to me either…” Dergyu said, even he usually took Ihan’s side.

“Woo woo!” Some White Tiger Tower students even booed.

“Wodanaz, stop talking nonsense and give instructions as usual! We want instructions!”

“That’s right! Wodanaz is as usual… Ack, ack!”

Gisele kicked her friends who were talking without shame.

Even if they were used to following orders from students from other towers, it was too pathetic just now.

“Hey, come here,” Gisele said.

“Okay, okay. Let’s divide into groups of three. I’ll give you underwater breathing and the Light of Truth… What else do we need? We don’t need to defend against pollutants, do we?” Ihan asked.

Ihan cast a set of buffs possible with low-circle magic.

Angaro, who was watching, raised his hand.

“Wodanaz, I have something to say.”

“Oh, what is it? A magic recommendation?” Ihan asked.

“No. You told me to bring my friends. I was wondering if we should call other tower guys quickly…” Angaro suggested.

“……”

Ihan and Gisele looked at him with contempt, and Angaro hurriedly made an excuse.

“Ah, no! It’s not that I have bad intentions, but we should share this opportunity with other tower friends too!”

“I suppose so,” Ihan said.

“Ha. I should make them compete when I bring them next time,” Gisele muttered.

“But isn’t Angaro the second seat in your class?” Ihan asked.

“Shut up,” Gisele snapped.

The White Tiger Tower students went around each tower and told their friends about this joyful organization.

“Hey! Guys, you won’t BELIEVE this!” one White Tiger student burst out, running into the common room. “We were with Wodanaz in Shinmok Forest, and we met the spirit king! He’s like, ‘Bring your friends, everyone can get a branch!’ It’s amazing there, you HAVE to come!”

“Aren’t you happy about this!? The spirit king invited us and opened the area!” Gainando asked, confused why Yoner wasn’t excited.

Yoner tried to explain calmly.

“So…”

“Kids! Yoner isn’t happy at all! He’s too much of a genius to need the spirit king’s gift!” Gainando teased.

“Woo! Woo woo!”

Yoner took out a potion bottle and swung it at his friend’s head.

With a short scream, Gainando, who was hit by the voice prohibition potion, struggled.

Then, some of the friends who had just booed quickly shut their mouths.

“I was just teasing Gainando,” Yoner said.

“That’s right, Maykin agreed.”

“…I just wanted to say that this isn’t the time to be happy,” Yoner said.

“Why?” Salco asked.

Yoner said in a worried voice, “The spirit king isn’t a being who gives gifts without any compensation.”

“That’s true… But that doesn’t mean it’s not luck. We might be too immersed in Einrogard and ignoring the spirit’s favor,” Salco replied.

“…I-Is that so?!”

Yoner was slightly taken aback.

The words ‘You might not be good enough’ had shaken his confidence.

“That’s right, Maykin! When will we ever get another chance like this! And Wodanaz can talk to spirits, right?”

“?”

“?”

Yoner and a few friends who knew the truth wore questioning looks on their faces.

Wodanaz can talk to spirits, you say?

“You’ve arrived, everyone. Welcome.”

“I wanted to share this scenery with you all. Haha.”

As they stepped through the rift into the realm of the Lightwood King, the White Tiger Tower friends greeted them with fake smiles.

Yoner felt his wariness increase at the sight.

…Something’s strange.

Yoner frowned, watching the Prince’s too-bright smile. “Why is the Prince acting so strange?”

“No idea,” one of his friends whispered back. “Maybe he ate something funny again. Remember those hiccup mushrooms? He was hiccuping for hours!”

Just then, the Prince puffed out his cheeks and made a muffled sound, “Mmph mmph mmph!” as if proving their point.

“Alright, everyone, follow me! I’ll explain everything!”

Calling out to the other Tower friends who were marveling at the mysterious scenery of the unfamiliar realm, the White Tiger Tower students quickly led them to the Sacred Tree Forest.

After finishing their explanation, they quickly disappeared.

“…So that’s why we got this opportunity. Well then, goodbye! We need to go look for our own. Good luck!”

‘That’s odd. The story seems a bit short.’

Salco was beginning to sense something was amiss. He looked at the White Tiger students closely.

It seemed the Spirit King had indeed extended an invitation and offered an opportunity, but why did it feel like a lot of information was missing in between?

One hour later.

“Where are those White Tiger Tower guys?! They tricked us!”

The enraged Black Tortoise Tower students searched frantically for the White Tiger Tower students who had guided them and then vanished.

They were all a mess, hanging upside down from the treetops until just moments ago.

Of course, the White Tiger Tower students had already gone off somewhere in the Sacred Tree Forest to find their own branches.

“Damn it. We’ve been had! Wodanaz’s name wasn’t a lie too, was it?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Why not?”

“Surely they wouldn’t lie using Wodanaz’s name. They’d be severely punished later.”

Salco agreed with Ratford. Ratford was very clever.

“That makes sense. Damn it. This is so hopeless. Magic to see the future isn’t working either… Oh, Wodanaz!”

The Black Tortoise Tower students spotted their friend in the distance, looking weary, and shouted loudly.

“Wodanaz, even if it’s a good opportunity, you shouldn’t lie!”

“What are you talking about?”

“You should have told us this is what it was like here!”

“I told them to tell you.”

“……”

“……”

Salco vowed to hang those White Tiger Tower guys who had delivered the message upside down.

Leehan said in a tired voice.

“It seems the White Tiger Tower guys left out a few facts. They did something unnecessary. You would have come anyway, even if they hadn’t said anything. You’re all wizards; there’s no way you’d miss an opportunity like this.”

“?”

Some students tilted their heads.

…Is that so?

I think I would have hesitated a bit if I had heard about it beforehand…

“Everyone feels that way, right?”

“Y-Yeah? Of course, that’s right.”

“Everyone must be thinking the same thing, Wodanaz!”

The Black Tortoise Tower students and Salco exchanged glances and spoke hastily.

“First, I recommend setting up a tracking method in case we get separated and then wandering around. Contact each other periodically. There’s nothing dangerous, but it’s exhausting. I don’t know how long we’ll have to wander.”

“Wodanaz, have you tried magic to see the future? We tried on our end, but it’s not very effective.”

Salco asked, placing his hopes on his friend, who was the top student in the magic to see the future.

Leehan slowly nodded and replied.

“I tried it. I tried a strong magic spell to see the future.”

“!”

The Black Tortoise Tower students were startled.

Is it even okay for a second-year student to cast such a high-level spell already?

The surprised students quickly came to their senses in less than a second.

‘Come to think of it, Wodanaz was always like that.’

‘Goodness. Why was I even surprised?’

Leehan, slightly puzzled that his friends had stopped being surprised, continued.

“I tried it, but it failed.”

“I see. It must be a high-level magic…”

“No. The magic was successful, but the demon returned the offering I made. It said the forest is covered in the Spirit King’s madness, so it can’t tell me anything.”

“……”

“……”

The students’ mouths hung open because it was unheard of for a demon to say no to an offering.

Just then.

-The Prince found a branch! The Prince found a branch!!

-No, why that guy, who wasn’t even wandering around!? What’s so good about him!?

“!”

“!!!!”

Everyone was shocked when the first person to acquire a branch in the forest appeared.

“That way! Let’s go!”

Leehan and the others hurriedly rushed out.

Several Blue Dragon Tower students were gathered, looking at Gainando. Gainando was holding onto a throbbing branch and shouting.

“Leehan! Look at this! I got a branch!”

The man-sized branch throbbed and slapped Gainando on the head.

Leehan was flustered and called out to Lagesa.

“Is that okay?”

“Materials like that are usually picky about their owners. It’s fine. If he wasn’t a good match in the first place, it wouldn’t have chosen him. If he just endures, he’ll be recognized in his own way. But that little brat, wasn’t he royalty? Still, he received noble blood, yet he found it the fastest.”

“Yes? Isn’t finding it the fastest a good thing?”

Lagesa chuckled and finally revealed the truth.

“Ah, little wizards, you think searching is the key? This forest sees more than just footsteps. It’s not important where you search in the forest. What matters is how much you wander around.”

“…?”

“The forest finds narrow-minded wizards quickly. Since there’s no need to see more of someone who gives up right away, it sends a suitable tree to grab their hand. On the contrary, the more broad-minded the wizard, the more the forest keeps watching. It’s anticipating how long they can walk and wait. Hee hee hee. Isn’t that why I told you to wander around until you’re chosen?”

“Ah, I see.”

Leehan opened the Echo Stone and prepared to summon the Mad Doppelganger.

It seemed he needed to ask about how to threaten a crazy forest.