Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 963

Far away from his ruined mansion, Bardan forced a laugh.

“Ha ha!” he boomed, but the sound was hollow, even to his own ears.

He was anything but happy. How could he be? Some crazy magic criminal had not only stolen a precious artifact, but had blown holes in his beautiful house!

But Bardan knew how things worked in this city of nobles. Dignity and pride were everything. Even if your home was in pieces, you couldn’t let anyone see you upset. To cry or panic in front of everyone would be like holding up a sign saying, “I’m worthless!”

So, Bardan plastered a smile on his face. He had to pretend it was nothing, just a small problem, even though his mansion was wrecked and a priceless artifact was gone. He had to keep up appearances.

“…Damn that magical criminal! Not content with just taking the artifact, he had to wreck the mansion too? He must be some madman driven to violence by his magic. The Imperial Knights should be hunting down and killing scum like him first, instead of spouting nonsense about righteous thieves!”

But the bitterness wouldn’t fade so easily.

It was only natural, seeing as even the sight of the rebuilt mansion reminded him of the amount of gold spent on its reconstruction and repairs after the attack.

“Lord Bardan, the fountain in your garden is truly magnificent. Despite the unfortunate incident recently, the beauty of your mansion remains undiminished.”

The guests who had arrived early before the start of the banquet flattered Bardan as they toured the mansion.

Thanks to their words, Bardan, whose bitterness had slightly subsided, nodded and replied,

“I summoned the finest artisans in the Empire. The spirit stone within alone cost as much gold as the weight of all the servants working in the mansion.”

“Indeed… truly, you are Lord Bardan. Such wealth is beyond my wildest dreams.”

Once the flattery began, it continued without pause, each vying to outdo the last.

“Come to think of it, there are so many fools in this city. To call someone who steals gold a righteous thief!”

“Indeed. I don’t know what the knights are doing. They should track him down and hang him immediately.”

Bardan didn’t reply, but the corners of his lips turned up slightly, and his expression softened.

Realizing that their flattery had worked, the guests’ expressions became pleased.

None of the guests present truly cared about or cherished Bardan.

They had come only because of Bardan’s connections, wealth, or his infuriating temper.

A little praise to lift his spirits was a worthwhile investment.

“The west wing is not yet complete. I plan to summon the wizards from the Stonemasons’ Guild to build it even more splendidly. I was thinking of tearing it down and rebuilding it anyway, so this is for the best. It will be the most beautiful mansion in Granden…”

Just as someone was trying not to yawn at Bardan’s boring bragging – then, BOOM!!!

The guests froze, watching as a corner of the newly rebuilt mansion exploded with a deafening roar.

However, no matter how shocked the guests were, none were as stunned as Bardan.

The mansion he had rebuilt with his hard-earned, or rather, extorted wealth, was destroyed in an instant.

“Wh-what madman… what in the… what is…”

A familiar, villainous mage emerged from the edge of the shattered second floor of the mansion.

Bardan cried out in a voice cracking with horror,

“St… Stedal Nago! You madman, again?! What are you doing! Stop him!”

He frantically called for his guards, but the magical criminal’s attack was faster.

A barrage of magic began.

Caught in the storm of magic tearing through everything, the guards suddenly understood why the old saying, ‘Never give a mage time,’ existed.

Lightning and fire, darkness and ice—powerful and destructive elements—rained down without delay, and the guards chose to evade rather than charge through the magic.

“You must take cover!”

“Shut up! What nonsense are you spouting! This is my mansion!”

“The mage came prepared! It’s impossible to face him head-on. We need to get out of here! Now!”

The guards’ response was textbook.

When facing a mage who had come prepared, one had to keep one’s distance, evade the firepower, and then strike after the magic subsided.

But from Bardan’s perspective, it was outrageous.

For a mage to cast such powerful magic, considerable preparation and time were required—especially inside his mansion.

If he had snuck in and prepared without being detected, that could only mean the guards had been negligent.

“You idiots! If you’d actually done your jobs!”

“Escort him away!”

The guards grabbed Bardan and forcibly pulled him back.

Meanwhile, the villainous magical criminal diligently smashed the buildings and structures within range.

Bardan, who had been watching from a distance, trembled and cried out as if having a seizure,

“He’s not stopping!! He’s not stopping!”

“Th-this is strange. No matter how many mana recovery methods he has, there should be a limit due to the strain on his body?”

The guards who knew a lot about magic were confused.

A mage’s magic was a powerful and threatening tool, but the mage himself was made of flesh and blood.

Even if he had come prepared and cast great magic, there should be a lull after a few spells.

But Stedal Nago was defying that law, casting spell after spell without pause, as if mocking it.

‘Are there more mages? What trick is he using?’

“Stop him! I said stop him!”

“W-well…”

The guards looked troubled.

Charging into a situation where a mad mage was firing indiscriminately was no easy task, unless it was a one-on-one duel.

Who would have thought that such a magical criminal would attack again?

“H-he’s!”

” ?”

“He’s moving!”

A short scream escaped.

The guests, who had retreated and carelessly assumed they were safe, could no longer endure and rushed towards the main gate.

However, Bardan suppressed his fear with the power of his rage and shouted,

“Moving will create an opening! Seize him!”

“…Understood.”

This time, the guards agreed with the order.

Even a mage rampaging like that would have openings when moving…

Rumble-

“I-isn’t that the spirit we placed in the mansion?”

The guards were horrified to see the water spirit they had placed in the mansion protecting the mage.

How had he arranged the magic so that the guardian spirit sided with the enemy?

The summons didn’t end there. On the opposite side of the mansion, a giant golem charged in with other undead summons.

At that moment, the guards’ last shred of patience snapped. They quickly ran along the same path the guests had fled.

No matter how much money they were paid, they couldn’t endure any longer.

“You cowardly bastards! Don’t you dare come back! The money you received…!”

Bardan stamped his feet and shouted, but the guards didn’t look back.

In that situation, it was as if not just one mage, but a dozen or so, had planned and attacked the mansion.

There was no point in enduring in such a situation. The guards were as cold-blooded as they were experienced.

With even the guards gone, the magical criminal leisurely continued his work of destruction.

Even though the main building had magical defenses, cracks slowly appeared on the walls as the attacks continued relentlessly.

“N-no! Stop! What do you want! What do you want!”

In the end, Bardan’s spirit broke.

The cursing and raging disappeared, and Bardan pleaded with the magical criminal.

If only he could resolve it with gold…!

“Nothing.”

“…What?”

“I want nothing.”

Bardan was overwhelmed by the low, rough voice.

The greatest fear he had felt today washed over him.

To cause such a commotion and want nothing.

What on earth was this man?

Nothing inspired more fear than an unknown existence that one couldn’t even guess at.

“M-monster… you’re a monster…!”

The magical criminal ignored Bardan and focused on destroying the mansion again.

Bardan, terrified, didn’t notice, but behind the mansion, undead summons were taking out valuable items and throwing them over the fence.

-Wh-who’s throwing this stuff?

-Who cares! Just grab it quick!

Alsicle sat at a table outside a red-brick café, flipping through a magazine titled >Promising Imperial Frost Mages of the Year>.

Today, he planned to be jealous and find fault with the achievements of other frost mages.

-Did you hear? Stedal Nago has appeared again! At Lord Bardan’s mansion, no less!

“Pfft!”

Alsicle spat out a mouthful of coffee.

‘What is that kid doing!?’

He had sent him to participate in club activities, and he was attacking noble’s mansions. Alsicle momentarily wondered if this was a club activity.

‘Isn’t it? Is this a club activity?’

But no matter how he thought about it, it was strange.

If it were a club activity, it would be anonymous, suspicious mages, not Stedal Nago’s real identity…

-Didn’t he attack it last time too?

-I heard that Bardan didn’t learn his lesson after being robbed, so he’s taking more drastic measures. This time, he completely destroyed the mansion.

-What a great mage! Who knew there were still mages like that these days.

-That’s right. Did you hear? That Uap guy who was robbed last time is now giving all his workshop’s assets to his dwarf subordinates.

-What? Why?

-He’s scared! Last time, he was thrown upside down into a canal, who knows what will happen this time? Haha!

The people next to him greatly praised the daring righteous thief.

‘…Did Gonadaltez order him to do it…?’

Alsicle couldn’t understand the reason no matter how hard he thought about it, and groaned.

Why would a good-natured fellow like Wodanaz attack a noble’s mansion?

At that moment, Arian called out to Alsicle.

“Penguin!”

“I-I didn’t participate. Wodanaz did it on his own.”

Alsicle, seeing Arian running towards him quickly from afar, unconsciously made excuses.

He was afraid of being scolded for not doing anything while being a senior mage.

“What are you talking about? People who want to sponsor Penguin have come to see you.”

“…Why!? Ah, no. Is that true?”

Alsicle was about to say ‘Why!?’ but caught himself and cleared his throat.

That wasn’t a good reaction to have in front of people who were going to sponsor him.

However, Arian nodded as if he understood.

“I understand that you’re surprised. Penguin’s research has genius aspects that are difficult for people to understand easily.”

“Huhu… Thank you.”

“Actually, Wodanaz mentioned Penguin’s research while talking about the Quidditch game.”

“…?”

Alsicle hesitated, unable to follow what he had just heard.

To be precise, he didn’t understand from ‘Quidditch’ onwards.

“…What does the Quidditch game have to do with my research?”

“Ah. You don’t know from there? It would take a while to explain.”

“Then please explain it briefly.”

“You could say that Wodanaz received a promise of sponsorship because he played a great role riding a griffin.”

“…I’m sorry. Just make it long…”

Arian drank his tea as if he expected that.

At that moment, a voice was heard again from next to him.

-Where do you think Stedal Nago will destroy next?

-I don’t know who it is, but it’ll be the house of some greedy bastard. Everyone’s scared and just watching! Haha!

-Surely he won’t destroy Bardan’s mansion three times?

“Wait. What do you mean three times? Isn’t it once? Last time…”

Alsicle squeezed his eyes shut at the other person’s reaction.

He should have just listened to the sponsorship story and left!