Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 872

The Yaksha King nodded, pleased he had convinced Lee Han. “Now, let’s talk more about stars,” he said, continuing his lesson on astronomy.

“Making a deal with a star is harder than making a deal with a spirit or demon,” the Yaksha King explained.

Lee Han frowned slightly, but only to himself. *Was it really true?* he wondered.

The Yaksha King continued, “Spirits and demons are usually open to making deals. They were born to connect with other worlds or to trick others and take their power.”

“Stars are different. They don’t think or feel like spirits or demons,” the Yaksha King said. “They are more like rules of nature, like powerful magic that always works the same way.”

The Yaksha King elaborated, “Wizards must learn the star’s rules and show they are worthy. But you are Osu’s student. Trust me, proving yourself here is much harder than proving yourself to a star.”

“Indeed,” Lee Han replied.

Lee Han decided not to explain again how he had arrived in this dimension, sensing the Yaksha King wouldn’t listen.

In any case, the Yaksha King’s explanation matched what he already knew, making it easy to understand.

It was about exploring and understanding a star, then proving you were worthy according to its rules, receiving power in return. It wasn’t about talking, persuading, trading, or forcing.

Even powerful wizards like the Mo family head and the headmaster, who usually disliked divine magic, liked star magic.

It seemed natural, since it followed laws and rules instead of faith and emotion.

*Maybe they dislike divine magic because they can’t use it themselves,* Lee Han thought.

Maybe these great wizards were like Lee Han, wanting to criticize spirit magic.

“Tell me, Osu’s student,” the Yaksha King boomed, leaning forward. “Do you know of any wizards who have made deals with stars?”

Lee Han thought for a moment. “I read about one,” he said. “A wizard, a werewolf actually, who made a deal with the Blood Moon.”

He explained the story. “To make the contract, the wizard had to find the place where the moonlight was strongest. Then, when the moon turned into a red crescent, he had to catch its reflection in a silver cup and drink it.”

The Yaksha King raised an eyebrow. “Sounds simple enough.”

“It did,” Lee Han agreed. “But magic makes everything harder. Under that red moon, the water in the silver cup became like liquid fire. It was a terrible poison, strong enough to kill most wizards.”

The Yaksha King stroked his chin. “Hmm. Not a very impressive contract. If you only get power from a star like *that*, you won’t get a very good score.”

“A score?” Lee Han asked, confused. “There are scores for star contracts?”

“Listen, Osu’s student,” the Yaksha King said, trying to sound important. “For longer than I can even remember…”

Lee Han grumbled to himself, *Every time he opens his mouth, it’s like a royal announcement! Just get on with it!*

“You can be confident,” the Yaksha King continued. “I believe you can make a deal with a much more powerful star.”

“Thank you. Actually, I struggled so much when making deals with spirits that I’m a bit worried,” Lee Han admitted.

“Spirits? That’s unusual. To have so much good karma and still be rejected by spirits… Did you only meet strange spirits?” the Yaksha King asked.

*Maybe he’s actually a good person,* Lee Han thought.

The Yaksha King talked for a long time, explaining many complicated rules about star contracts. He was good at explaining, and Lee Han listened carefully.

“Contracting with a star involves many laws, rules, conditions, and proofs,” the Yaksha King said. “You won’t be able to memorize every case, but it’s good to remember some general rules. First, the law of preemption.”

Lee Han had heard of this.

Interestingly, some star contracts were like races. If someone made a deal with a star first, no one else could, even if they met all the rules.

“There’s also the law of luminosity,” the Yaksha King added.

“Usually, the brighter the star, the stronger the magic you get from it. Is that correct?” Lee Han asked.

“That’s right. The conditions also become more difficult… Of course, there are always exceptions. There are also stars connected to dark magic. Do you know anything about dark magic?”

“I can handle dark elements,” Lee Han replied.

“Oh. Now you seem a bit more like a disciple of Osu. Very well. Then, about dark elements…”

‘Oops,’ Lee Han thought. He wished he hadn’t said anything. The Yaksha King started talking about dark magic, and the explanation went on and on.

After an hour of discussing stars related to dark magic, the Yaksha King finally returned to the main topic.

“The best way for you is to use that Star Finder. Try to find a new star, or one that others have forgotten about. Wizards with a talent for star magic can sense stars that suit them.”

“…Can’t I contract with the stars floating up there?” Lee Han asked, knowing how hard it was to find a new star, and pointed to the stars orbiting above the dimension.

The Yaksha King spoke as if he had expected it. “Ah, so you *do* have big plans! I knew it. But those stars are like tyrants, and a single mistake can destroy you. That’s why I didn’t recommend it, but as Osu’s student, you’ll probably try to secretly contract with them, even if it means tricking me, won’t you?”

“I won’t. Shall I take out the >Star Finder>?” Lee Han asked.

“Hmm. Are you saying no just to trick me?” the Yaksha King questioned.

“I’ve taken out the >Star Finder>. Please take a look here,” Lee Han said, taking the massive brass telescope out of his backpack and quickly setting it up. The Yaksha King instructed him on how to use the artifact, step by step.

Then, the night sky of his original dimension appeared in the lens, and Lee Han’s mind was moved somewhere else.

Suddenly, Lee Han was no longer in the Yaksha King’s room. He felt like he was floating in cold, empty space. Millions of stars, like tiny diamonds, glittered in the blackness around him. It was silent, eerily silent, except for the faint ringing in his own ears.

“Visiting this place felt like moving his soul already. But this was like moving his sight again!” Lee Han exclaimed.

“How is this possible?”

“It’s a very well-made artifact,” the Yaksha King replied. “It works by moving the wizard’s mind into the telescope’s view. The wizard who thought of this was clever, and the one who built it was very careful.”

“-It’s certainly creative.”

“Hmm. Judging by what you’re not saying, I sense hatred for the wizard who materialized it,” the Yaksha King observed.

“-……”

The Yaksha King was indeed a wise and intelligent king.

The Yaksha King was very wise. He could even sense Lee Han’s dislike for Professor Verdus. Not many wizards could explain someone else’s magic item so well, as if they had made it themselves.

It was the power of knowledge, built up over many years of listening to the stories of strangers in this dimension, as well as natural wisdom.

The Yaksha King possessed that power.

“-Give me the next instruction,” Lee Han requested.

Of course, to Lee Han, the Yaksha King was just a strange Yaksha who only talked about what he wanted to say.

He was skilled in magic, but so was Professor Verdus. Respect and magical ability were different things.

“Go straight ahead. Do you see the asteroid belt? It’s best not to go near that area. A long time ago, a good wizard tried to make a deal with the asteroid belt. It was a terrible mistake,” the Yaksha King warned.

“-……”

A cold shiver snaked down Lee Han’s spine, and he quickly looked away from the asteroids.

“-What about that red tyrant star? It’s quite famous,” Lee Han asked, noticing a star that was well-known among wizards.

The Yaksha King’s words had made him lose the desire to venture further.

“If he just wanted an easy star, why use this special telescope? He could just make a deal with the moon!” Lee Han thought.

“-…I know it’s supposed to be difficult…”

“Move on further, quickly,” the Yaksha King urged.

Lee Han grumbled to himself and stretched out further.

The further he looked into the sky with his mind, the stranger and more dangerous space became.

Near the land, the stars seemed like just pretty lights in the sky. But further away, they felt different. They had strange magic and seemed more real, and maybe dangerous.

“Do you see that dark shadow in the distance?” the Yaksha King asked.

“-Yes.”

“That’s a dark nebula. Be careful, as just looking at it can eat a wizard’s soul,” the Yaksha King warned.

“-…Shouldn’t you have told me that sooner?” Lee Han asked.

“With your abilities, your soul won’t be absorbed by that level of dark nebula,” the Yaksha King replied.

*Should I just go back?* Lee Han wondered.

Lee Han was tempted to turn off the artifact and find the easiest contract with the moon.

What if the contract only slightly increased his concentration when bathed in moonlight? Even that felt impressive enough.

Unaware of Lee Han’s thoughts, the Yaksha King guided him through the star chart.

The Yaksha King was indeed a skilled star guide. He warned Lee Han of most dangers before Lee Han even noticed them.

“Wait. Look at that star,” the Yaksha King instructed.

“-Is it a soul-absorbing star?” Lee Han joked.

“Osu’s student, you’re not very funny, are you? Just look at it quickly,” the Yaksha King responded.

“-Yes…”

Lee Han gazed at the star as instructed.

From blue to green, from green to blue. It was a star that gave off a refreshing and peaceful feeling.

“-!”

Lee Han was surprised by the sudden feeling of rejection.

“-I felt something like rejection just now,” Lee Han said.

“Hmm. Is that so? What you just saw was one of the spirit stars. Wizards with a talent for spirits often connect with that star, so I tried it out once…”

“-……”

Lee Han felt the urge to turn off the artifact and swing it directly at the Yaksha King.

“We should avoid spirit stars from now on,” the Yaksha King stated.

“-I do have some spirits I’m friendly with, though,” Lee Han mentioned.

“Are those spirits perhaps fearless or violent?” the Yaksha King inquired.

“-!”

“I see. That can happen. Even spirits aren’t all the same,” the Yaksha King acknowledged.

The Yaksha King was infuriatingly wise. Lee Han swallowed his sense of defeat and had to move again.

“Even if you don’t feel anything, make sure to record it. If all the stars reject you, you’ll have to try various things based on the records,” the Yaksha King advised.

“-I thought you said stars were neutral…” Lee Han questioned.

“This isn’t like when spirits reject you. Are you upset that the spirit star didn’t choose you? It’s not really rejection. It just means the star wasn’t right for you. From now on, I’ll say ‘it wasn’t the right star’ instead of ‘rejection’, if you like,” the Yaksha King offered.

“-…Let’s just call it rejection,” Lee Han replied.

Lee Han suddenly wished he was back in Einroguard.

This place, where so many wizards had died, was just too hard.

“Find a star and record it,” the Yaksha King repeated.

Rejected by a spirit star, find a star again, and record it…

He got so tired, all the stars started to look the same.

A massive wave of light filled Lee Han’s vision. For a moment, Lee Han thought the artifact was malfunctioning.

“-…What is it!?” Lee Han exclaimed.

“Arna! So it is!” The Yaksha King’s voice sounded impressed.

Lee Han, still not fully understanding, asked in confusion, “-What is?”

“That’s Arna, the star Osu made a deal with! I thought it was likely to choose you too, since it chose your teacher,” the Yaksha King explained.

The guest star Arna emitted the most brilliant light of all the stars he had seen so far, then faded again.

When his vision returned, Lee Han strongly felt the pull of the star, the opposite of the rejection he had felt from the spirit stars.

“It’s a powerful star. It’s difficult in many ways, but it’s worth enduring. You can come back now. I’ll explain the contracting method,” the Yaksha King said.

“-…Wait a minute. If you were thinking of this star from the beginning, why did you make me check all the other places one by one?” Lee Han asked, annoyed.

“If I showed you Arna right away, you wouldn’t have learned anything from looking at the other stars. Come out quickly,” the Yaksha King replied.

Lee Han seriously suspected that Headmaster Skull had hired the Yaksha King as a visiting professor and assigned him there.

How could a king from another world be so much like a professor from Einroguard?