Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 914

Even though things were difficult, Lee Han kept trying.

Losing even a few points felt like a terrible curse to him.

-Stop it! Are you crazy?

“No. Why are you angry? You’re the one who messed up.”

Lee Han was shocked. ‘He’s really bold for a criminal,’ Lee Han thought. To say that after giving wrong information?

-Stop talking about this! You should be thinking about the tyrant!

“I *am* thinking! If you’re going to complain, Wizard, give me a solution!”

-I already have an idea.

Lee Han stared, eyes wide, trying to see the hamster hidden in the sawdust.

As expected of a great wizard, he was coming up with good ideas.

“Indeed! I had faith in you.”

-……

“So, what is the method?”

-It’s hard for me to say this, but the tyrant has very old and deep secrets. We are just normal people now, we can’t guess them easily. To change him back, we need to find out his secrets.

Currently, the tyrant was sealed within a Yacha King from another dimension.

In his original state, the hamster would have attempted to extract the secrets and knowledge directly from the tyrant, but now, as a hamster stripped of all his abilities, he intended to teach Lee Han the method and entrust him with the task.

-This magic is called the Mirror of Mnemosyne. It’s a powerful spell from a long time ago.

The Mirror of Mnemosyne was a spell that summoned a magical bronze mirror connected to the target, hanging in the air.

One might wonder what was so great about summoning a mere mirror, but the summoner could obtain desired information from the mirror through questions and answers.

When interrogating someone with magical defenses, obtaining information was difficult, but this magic bypassed those defenses.

-You’ll need finesse, as you must extract the information with brief questions and answers, but I will provide guidance from the sidelines.

“Amazing. I had no idea such magic existed.”

Lee Han was genuinely impressed.

Whether that pure admiration soothed the hamster’s anger, the hamster squeaked with a noticeably less irritated voice.

-Magic is always bigger and more amazing than we think. We wizards are just tiny bugs compared to it. To become a little bit bigger, we have to find secrets.

‘He makes unpleasant comparisons.’

Still, as the other party had come up with a good method, Lee Han kept his thoughts to himself.

“Wait. If we need to know about the Master, can’t we just see his past?”

-That’s the silliest thing I’ve heard all day! Why not just wish to be the most powerful person in the world and bring the tyrant back that way?

The hamster squeaked, filled with disdain.

Of course, what the young scion of the Wodanaz family had just said wasn’t impossible.

But magic wasn’t a convenient tool that granted a wizard’s every wish, was it?

He couldn’t even begin to guess how much magic and secrets would be required to realize what he had just suggested.

“I was just asking in case such a method existed.”

-Just because magic is vast doesn’t mean you can spout any nonsense.

The hamster squeaked, no, lectured, with the dignity of a great wizard for the first time in a while.

“Lee Han, this is an ancient artifact called the Scepter of Kairos. I’m going to use it to directly experience the Headmaster’s past.”

“……”

-……

Lee Han stared blankly at the hamster. The hamster’s jaw dropped. His tiny whiskers twitched. He looked like he’d seen a ghost.

-That’s not magic, it’s an ancient artifact from the era of the Three Kingdoms…!

“It’s alright.”

Lee Han spoke first, cutting off the hamster’s excuse.

“It’s just that Professor Garcia is amazing, it doesn’t mean you’re incompetent, Wizard. Isn’t that right?”

One often associated magical criminals with magical monsters who didn’t care about Imperial law or morality, and were engrossed in magic, always a step ahead of others.

But Lee Han’s thoughts were slightly different.

Wouldn’t a wizard from the magic school, who inherited the Empire’s oldest magical lineage and received the Empire’s largest support to research magic, be more skilled in magic than a magical criminal?

The latter would be wandering the cold wilderness, unable to properly focus on research while evading pursuit.

‘Maybe wizards from school are better than criminal wizards,’ Lee Han thought. He was trying to be nice, but the hamster didn’t care.

Realizing that the young whelp was patronizing him, the hamster was even more enraged than if he had been mocked.

-Squeak! Squeak! Grrr! Rattle-whiskers!

‘What era is that language from?’

Unfortunately, Lee Han hadn’t yet learned many past languages, so he couldn’t understand the hamster’s words.

“Lee Han, I originally wanted to give you more time to prepare, but this is such a pressing matter that I have to rush you. Is that alright?”

“Ah. Yes. You can start right away. I’m ready.”

At Professor Garcia’s call, Lee Han nodded and raised his gaze.

And he was slightly surprised.

“…Oh, Professor.”

“What is it, Lee Han?”

“Ah, it’s nothing.”

Lee Han was surprised. Professor Garcia had put on a suit of old, shiny armor. It looked like he’d found it in an attic and just put it on. It was too big in some places and too small in others, and he moved like a robot.

“Professor. Professor.”

Lee Han called out to Professor Voladi.

After all, an expert would know best about this sort of thing.

“Professor Garcia seems tense, is he going to be alright?”

In truth, Lee Han felt a bit awkward even as he asked the question.

Who was he to worry about whom!

Even though he hadn’t been specifically trained in magical combat, Professor Garcia was a genius who had learned all of the existing Imperial magical schools, and was a master of time magic, space magic, and fist magic.

For Lee Han to worry about such a person could be seen as presumptuous.

‘But I can’t help but worry.’

“He does seem a bit precarious.”

“!”

Lee Han’s heart sank at Professor Voladi’s words.

As expected, even an expert could see that Professor Garcia was showing signs of tension.

“Then what should we do?”

“I request you provide protection.”

“?”

Lee Han turned around for a moment.

Hearing Professor Voladi’s words, he wondered if there was someone else nearby who would be in charge of protecting Professor Garcia.

Of course, there was no one else around.

“…Ah, are you talking about me??”

“?”

Professor Voladi looked at his disciple with a slightly puzzled expression.

Though he didn’t say it aloud, Lee Han could hear the unspoken words, ‘Who else would I be talking about?’

“I don’t know if I can dare to protect Professor Garcia.”

At his disciple’s humility, Professor Voladi once again stared at his disciple intently. Then, he said briefly.

“You’ll do,” Professor Voladi said, with a nod that wasn’t very convincing.

‘No matter how I think about it, if Professor Garcia can’t handle the enemy, I’ll probably be blown away along with him.’

Slightly reluctant, Lee Han accepted for now.

And in truth, if they were traveling to a perilous place, it was good for Lee Han to have Professor Garcia in the party.

Wouldn’t there be someone to stop Professor Voladi even if he gave absurd orders?

If Professor Garcia wasn’t there…

-There are ten of the strongest wizards of ancient times over there. Go and take their heads.

-Professor!

…It could very well end up like that.

While Lee Han and Professor Voladi were talking, Professor Garcia finished preparing the magic with the scepter in hand.

“Everyone, come over here.”

The magical power emitted from the scepter split into sixty branches, then split again into sixty branches, and then into twenty-four.

Professor Garcia fell into a state of pure concentration, devoid of any extraneous thoughts.

No matter how powerful the ancient artifact’s power was, he couldn’t entrust everything to the artifact alone.

Powerful power was, in a way, a double-edged sword, meaning that if control was lost, it could directly harm the wizard himself.

The Scepter of Kairos was a precious artifact and treasure that Einrogaard managed with special care, but it wasn’t omnipotent.

It couldn’t be easily used by briefly experiencing sunrise three days ago, or noon two days ago.

Only to the moment the caster strongly willed it.

Once he entered that moment and finished the experience, the scepter also needed rest and recharge.

‘Scepter, take us to the time where the clue to this problem lies!’

Wooo-ooo-oong-

Along with an indescribably low vibration, the scepter’s light enveloped the wizards.

As all the work was finished, Professor Garcia inadvertently had a fleeting thought.

‘But if Lee Han is here, recharging might not be so difficult…’

Pop!

Professor Garcia gasped, trying to catch his breath. His face was white. ‘I can’t believe I was careless, even for a second!’ he thought, angry at himself. ‘Using an artifact and not paying full attention? A terrible mistake for a wizard like me!’

Lee Han was greatly surprised by the professor’s appearance.

‘It’s no ordinary artifact. Professor Garcia is having such a hard time.’

Of course, using a powerful ancient artifact wasn’t easy, but he didn’t expect Professor Garcia to be this exhausted.

“Professor. Thank you. To use such a dangerous artifact for my sake.”

“???”

Professor Garcia wondered what his disciple was talking about.

This scepter wasn’t that dangerous of an artifact, was it?

“What are you… Oh. Over there!”

Professor Garcia pointed behind them.

Pop! They landed in a strange place. The air smelled different, old and dusty. The buildings were made of stone, unlike anything in the Empire now. People ran around in clothes Lee Han had only seen in history books. Then, a roar shook the ground. In the distance, a giant, like a monster from nightmares, was smashing through walls. It looked like a bull-man, huge and terrifying, leading an army of dark creatures. Lee Han’s heart pounded in his chest. This was real. This was the past, and it was dangerous.

Suddenly, the ground shook again, but this time with a different sound – a heavy, rhythmic thumping. From the other side of the town, hundreds of huge, stone figures came running. Golems! They were like giant, magical soldiers, rushing to fight the demons. Lee Han had heard stories of golems, but seeing them now, in this ancient battle, was amazing and scary at the same time.

“They’re moving. The demons will discover us soon.”

The party snapped to attention at Professor Voladi’s words.

Seeing the demon armies retreating, it seemed likely that they would be discovered soon. They had to move to avoid unnecessary fighting.

“We need to ask about the Headmaster’s location, but will we be able to enter the city?”

“It’s difficult, Lee Han. I wonder how the people of that time will think of us…”

Professor Garcia was cautious.

Of course, Professor Garcia also knew to some extent about the old customs, as he had learned about them from literature.

Everyone in the party was an excellent wizard, and wizards were highly regarded in ancient times, so things could easily work out.

“Oh!”

Just then, patrolmen emerged from the city. Professor Garcia greeted them cautiously.

“Hello? We are…”

“Hey you! Stop right there! Look at your clothes – escaped slaves, aren’t you?”

“……”