Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 857

“Well, if Wodanaz is here,” Falcrius said, using Ihan’s club nickname, “he must have a plan.”

“If I ask for ingredients and he gets angry, I’ll be in trouble,” another senior whispered.

The older students were quiet for a moment.

Someone watching might think Falcrius was the boss of the Kitchen Club. But that wasn’t really how it worked. In Einroguard, students formed clubs for all sorts of things, even cooking. The Kitchen Club was famous for finding the best ingredients, sometimes in unusual ways. In the Kitchen Club, power came from ingredients. Whoever found and shared the most ingredients was in charge.

Ihan, for example, always shared what he found and cooked with everyone. This meant he had more influence than Falcrius, who was distant and never helped the younger students with their cooking.

*Don’t ask for anything first!* one senior thought nervously.

“Wodanaz, do you know what to be careful about when raiding a herb garden?” Falcrius asked, watching his junior climb up the slope. Falcrius, his eyes scanning the slope like a seasoned leader, asked…

For a moment, Ihan was confused whether this was the Location Transfer Club or the Kitchen Club. *Why are we talking about locations?* he wondered. Then he remembered Einroguard was famous for moving places around.

“Isn’t it necessary to check whether there’s an owner?” Ihan asked.

“Pfft. That’s a good answer too. But before that, you need to check who the owner is,” Falcrius said. His voice held the experience of a veteran herb garden raider.

At his words, the other Kitchen Club members nodded.

“Who owns the herb garden is very important. The hardship Arkan of the great alchemist Maykin family went through after entering the Dragon’s Herb Garden is famous, you know.

‘What on earth did Yoner’s ancestors do?’ Ihan inwardly vowed to ask Yoner what had happened when he met him later.

But apart from that, figuring out who the owner was, was definitely important.

Basically, cultivating and taking care of the herb garden was the same as a wizard.

There was no way there wouldn’t be defenses when trying to raid such an herb garden. Depending on the wizard, the defenses varied greatly.

‘There could be retaliation too.’

“In that regard, we already know that it’s Professor Thunderfoot. We can say that we’re at a great advantage.”

“What type of owner is Professor Thunderfoot?” Ihan asked.

“He’s petty and mean, but he’s not the type to set up fatal traps for students.”

“…Are there people who set up fatal traps?”

“The Headmaster or Professor Verdus.”

“Ah.”

Ihan immediately understood. Those two seemed capable of it.

“Still, Professor Thunderfoot isn’t generous. You have to be careful because you might get tracked down if you leave traces. Falcrius, can I listen to the record about the herb garden?”

Falcrius replayed the testimony on the paper that the student had handed over earlier.

Notes were good, but it was also important to listen to what the witness himself had said.

– I live on the cliff, and Professor Thunderfoot passed by below. Professor Thunderfoot said this: ‘That madman Bendozol has really gone too far. How is he doing Wodanaz’s chores for him…?’

The seniors stared intently at Ihan. Ihan calmly said, “Professor Bendozol forced himself to do it.”

“…Oh, that’s what it was.”

‘Is that possible? Doesn’t seem like it.’

-The professor pulled three wagons and entered a hidden cave below the cliff. I checked later after the professor left, and it was definitely an herb garden. Various related magic spells were visible…

“You couldn’t check inside the herb garden?” Falcrius asked.

“The professor properly disguised the entrance. It would have been difficult to break through alone. There’s no need to overdo it since it’s not even his lecture. It’s over there.”

Falcrius pointed below the cliff.

The bushes were thick and green, like a wild, untamed jungle. Leaves tangled together, hiding what lay beneath.

“Clear it away,” Falcrius ordered.

“Yes,” the seniors replied.

Some of the seniors wielded potion bottles, while others brandished their wands.

Streams of fire shot out. They joined together in the air. With magic from alchemy, they became a fire giant.

The fire giant roared to life, flames licking at its edges. It stomped forward, each step leaving a trail of smoke. The fire giant neatly cut and burned the bushes near the cliff like a harvesting farmer. Each time it swung its arm, flames soared and space was created.

For the first time in a while, Ihan felt the comfort of not having to do anything.

‘It’s nice coming with the seniors.’

Originally, he would have had to do about five people’s worth of work, but coming with the seniors meant he could sit back and watch leisurely.

The seniors didn’t give Ihan any particular tasks, perhaps because he was a junior.

“Should I do something too?” Ihan asked.

“Huh? Wodanaz, you don’t have to?”

“…Thank you. I think I made the right decision joining the Kitchen Club,” Ihan said.

“???”

The club members were taken aback by the sight of their junior, who had followed them even though he didn’t have to, suddenly becoming emotional on his own.

‘What’s wrong with him?’

“I found it! Senior! It’s here!” a senior shouted.

“Let me see,” Falcrius said.

Falcrius rummaged through his backpack and pulled out a worn leather boot. “Professor Thunderfoot’s shoe,” he explained. “It’s enchanted to follow his tracks. Now, boot, show us the way!”

Ihan looked at it, puzzled. “What is that?” he asked.

As Falcrius shouted, the boot moved along the footprints on the ground.

The seniors naturally followed, as if the professor’s boots were a necessary item to bring for such tasks.

Ihan was the only one inwardly confused.

‘Is it normal to just steal and bring a professor’s boots for this kind of thing?’

Perhaps Ihan should have stolen Professor Verdus’s staff in advance.

With the obstacles of bushes cleared away and the exact footprints found, the tracking progressed quickly.

The students who discovered the entrance to the hidden cave below the cliff whistled.

“Shall we go in?” a senior asked.

“No. The professor has set up a final trap. It’s a headache,” Falcrius said. Falcrius, who was always smiling, frowned for the first time in a while and glared at the entrance.

A very faint scent was subtly flowing out from inside the entrance.

Thunderfoot’s Submerged Incense!

Professor Thunderfoot was an excellent alchemist, but he was especially skilled in combining scents.

There were few Kitchen Club members here who hadn’t been affected by Professor Thunderfoot’s scent.

“What is Submerged Incense?” Ihan asked, his voice a little hesitant.

“It’s a scent that literally makes you sink into water. It’s quite tricky,” Falcrius explained.

The moment a wizard smelled the scent, they were dragged deep into the water.

It wasn’t just an illusion or a disturbance of the senses. It really dragged the soul to another dimension for a moment.

Blocking the nose was useless. The scent penetrated the person’s skin and expanded through the five senses.

“The professor was complaining about not having reagents, but he has reagents to make something like this!” a senior exclaimed.

“Seriously, he’s so disgustingly petty!” another senior added.

The students who came to raid the herb garden cursed the professor just because his defenses were thorough.

Ihan cautiously said, “Um, shall I try to break through?”

“No. What are you talking about? You rest,” Falcrius replied.

“Pfft. Wodanaz. Don’t worry. It’s just tricky, but it’s not like there’s no way to break through. Anyone here recently visited the underwater dimension?” Falcrius asked.

“I visited a week ago, but I happened to fight with a mermaid there…” a senior said.

“Haha. Then that won’t do. You absolutely can’t go in,” Falcrius said.

“I’ll just try to break through…” Ihan said again.

Falcrius waved his hand dismissively, like swatting away a fly, and stopped him. “No, no. Just stay still, Wodanaz.”

While the junior sat still with a sullen expression, the seniors seriously debated.

“Shall we break through another entrance?”

“Let’s not try anything too reckless without knowing what kind of herb it is. It would be counterproductive if the herb gets damaged,” another senior suggested.

“What if we break through the day before the exam? Even if the herb gets damaged, we won’t have to take the exam?”

“That’s too much of a gamble. Is there a gift that would work in the underwater dimension? We have to negotiate after all,” Falcrius said.

“Ah. Those guys will ask for pearls again. Why do they only like expensive things? Why don’t they just take seashells? …Wodanaz! Hey!”

As the seniors’ conversation dragged on, Ihan quickly ran inside.

The moment Thunderfoot’s Submerged Incense permeated his entire body, his soul trembled and he was about to be transported to another dimension, but his infinite magic held him steady and pushed the scent away.

Quickly breaking through, Ihan brandished his obsidian staff to erase the scent’s effect.

The seniors who arrived late were astonished by the sight.

‘Was this why he came along!’

‘Geniuses really are different…!’

Falcrius stuttered slightly, surprised. “Wo, Wodanaz. Is this why you said you’d come along?”

Ihan didn’t understand what he meant and asked back. “Yes? What do you mean by coming along because of this…?”

Falcrius chuckled. “Pfft. No. Never mind! Anyway, thanks for opening it. It’s something we were supposed to do. It’s so convenient having a smart junior.”

The other Kitchen Club members next to him laughed along and said, “That’s right. Wodanaz brings us food, so it’s so convenient.”

At those words, Falcrius stopped laughing and became serious. “That’s not true.”

“So, sorry,” the senior replied.

You should feel ashamed when you live comfortably while receiving food from your junior, not laugh.

“Anyway, let’s go in. Follow me. This is… Nefertem. Oh dear. Everyone, step back,” Falcrius warned.

Flowers that looked like blue water lilies were nestled in the pond inside the cave. They looked like water lilies, but a pure and transparent magic that was not commonly seen could be felt within them.

Falcrius was very careful, fearing that they might approach and contaminate the surroundings.

This Nefertem was extremely vulnerable to contamination, so great care had to be taken from cultivation to harvesting.

“This is a second-year exam,” a senior said.

“That’s right,” another agreed.

Ihan asked, puzzled by the seniors’ conversation next to him. “How do you know? Did you seniors perhaps take an exam that used Nefertem?”

“Huh? No,” a senior replied.

With those words, the senior pointed to the side.

There was a sign that Professor Thunderfoot had put up: Nefertem (Vulnerable to contamination, handle with care, for second-year exam).

Ihan was newly thrilled by Professor Thunderfoot’s kindness.

“…Then can we just harvest this? We’re lucky,” Ihan asked.

“That’s not it,” a senior replied.

“If it was an exam to obtain this, the professor wouldn’t have grown it so carefully. He would have just told us to get it. This is very rarely… an exam where the professor gives us the ingredients,” Falcrius explained.

Ihan was surprised. Professor Thunderfoot was giving reagents and conducting an exam.

“Is that really true?!” Ihan exclaimed.

After shouting in surprise, Ihan paused for a moment.

‘Actually, it doesn’t seem like something to be this surprised about.’

Originally, exams might be about the professor giving what’s needed.

Maybe Professor Thunderfoot was the strange one…

The seniors looked at Ihan with pity. “Sometimes the professor gives the ingredients. Very rarely. The problem is… Those exams are much more difficult. The logic is that since they prepared the ingredients, it’s okay for it to be difficult.”

‘This is ridiculous.’

Ihan cursed inwardly, but he couldn’t refute the seniors’ words.

If it was Professor Thunderfoot, he would definitely raise the difficulty in order to not waste his efforts since he had prepared the ingredients himself.

‘Why is he suddenly trying to raise the difficulty? It’s not like the second years are particularly smart.’

Ihan wondered, not realizing that he had inadvertently pointed out the answer.

“Still, don’t worry too much. We’ll organize and let you know which potions are likely to use Nefertem. Just study those,” a senior reassured.

“That’s right. You didn’t even need to come along today,” another senior added.

Ihan realized the identity of the discomfort he had been feeling since earlier.

Could it be…?

“…Were you perhaps saying that I didn’t have to come along today?” Ihan asked.

“Oh? Yeah,” a senior replied.