Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 985

The strange master nodded at what his student said.

Teaching magic to his student quickly was hard, just like it was hard to erase all the sadness in the world with magic. It was difficult because there was not much time.

But even with these problems, the student was becoming more mature. He was not as carefree as he used to be. This was clear to see.

“Good thinking,” the master said. “Let’s go. You, magic user, will carry the bags.”

“I am sorry,” Lee Han said quickly for his master. “*I* will carry the bags. Please don’t worry about it.”

Catton laughed, acting like he didn’t care. “No, no. The bags should be carried by someone strong. *You*, younger one.”

*’Shouldn’t the master carry them then?’* Lee Han thought to himself.

But even though his master seemed happy, Lee Han would never say that out loud.

Instead, Lee Han raised his staff. With a swirl of magic, bones rose from the ground and formed a skeleton golem. It was a good size, strong and sturdy, perfect for carrying bags.

It used a lot of magic power, but it was worth it.

“Okay! Let’s go!”

“……”

“Master?”

“Ah, sorry,” Catton said, looking closely at the golem. “That magic creature is very impressive… Could I learn to do that one day?”

“…Master! Please, can you open the magic door now!” Lee Han quickly changed the subject, pretending he didn’t hear the question.

“Hmm, Moradi,” one student said. “Shouldn’t we start studying for the final exams soon?”

“…!”

Giselle turned her head quickly, surprised.

For a student from *White Tiger Tower* to say this! White Tiger Tower was known for students who liked action, not books.

“Am I hearing things? I must be really tired. I can’t believe you said that,” Giselle said.

“…Don’t be like that, Moradi,” the student mumbled, his face turning a little red.

He remembered how they all avoided studying in their first year, waiting until the last minute.

But now, in their second year, after the midterm exams, the White Tiger Tower students were starting to understand.

Maybe…

Maybe studying should be something you do regularly, not just a rush a week before the exam. Maybe starting two or three weeks early was a good idea?

In fact, Wodanaz, who seemed to finish his exam preparations even *before* the semester started, was probably the normal one. *They* were the strange ones.

“Maybe Wodanaz, who finishes all his studying before the exams even begin, is actually normal…” one student said, thinking out loud.

“No, that’s not right,” Giselle said.

“It’s not?”

“No. Wake up,” Giselle replied sharply.

It seemed the stress of exams was making the White Tiger Tower students a little less smart than usual.

Even if Giselle agreed with them a little, finishing all exam prep before the semester even started was still crazy. No older student did that.

“So, you really want to start studying for the final exams early? Wow. That’s amazing. I never thought I would hear you say that,” Giselle said, surprised but also pleased.

“We’re sorry…” the student mumbled again.

“And are *those* students going to watch a Quidditch match instead of studying?” Giselle asked, pointing to some students in the distance.

“W-we didn’t get punished and sent to detention, though!” another student said proudly.

Giselle stared at her friends. Her look said, *’You think that’s something to be proud of, you idiots?’*

Just then, they remembered Ang Mo, another White Tiger Tower student. He had been sent to detention for skipping class to watch a Quidditch match.

For students who loved Quidditch, this was a funny story, almost a legend. But to Giselle, it was just stupid and embarrassing for their tower.

“This awful game should be forbidden by the school rules!” Giselle said angrily.

“Oh, how can you say that!” one friend protested. “You like it too, Moradi, deep down!”

“I do *not* like it,” Giselle said firmly. “And I told you, if you say that again, I will break your Quidditch bat.”

Giselle clenched her teeth, trying to stay calm.

It seemed like students from rich, noble families just couldn’t understand that some people might *not* like Quidditch.

Every time she saw this, Giselle wanted to shake them until they understood.

That terrible game!

“Okay, anyway,” Giselle said, changing the subject back to studying. “I agree about the final exams. It’s the best thing you’ve said all day. We will start studying right after we finish this.”

“Right now?”

“Right now.”

“…Can’t we start a little later… Ah, no! Let’s start right now!” The student quickly changed his mind when he saw Giselle’s face.

He then looked at the huge rock in front of them.

Shiny, silver-blue veins of Froststeel ore ran through the rock everywhere. It looked like frozen starlight trapped in stone.

*’I want to mine all of this this week,’* he thought.

Lately, Giselle and the White Tiger Tower students had been spending a lot of time in another world.

They were exploring a dimension they found during a class called “Ancient Magic and Relics.” That’s where they accidentally found the Froststeel ore.

Froststeel wasn’t very interesting to students from other towers in the school.

This metal became sharper when magic was used on it. But students from other towers at Einroguard didn’t really need that.

But for the White Tiger Tower students, it was different. Most of them came from families of knights.

They had to leave their swords and armor at home when they came to school. So, finding a useful metal like this was a big deal.

Even if it wasn’t the best metal ever, it was good enough to make a sword to use at school.

Also, now that they were second-year students, they knew more and could shape and work the metal themselves.

The problem was, mining the ore took a long time.

They had brought magic potions and scrolls to help them mine, but it was still taking longer than they thought.

“This is really hard work,” one student grunted, sweating.

“There’s only one way to do this,” another said, with a determined look.

The White Tiger Tower students had a special way of dealing with problems. They used their bodies and strength.

“Pickaxe, burn with fire!” one student yelled, putting magic on his pickaxe to make it hotter.

“Strength, boil over!” another shouted, using magic to make himself stronger.

Students from other towers would probably laugh if they saw this. They would say, “Those White Tiger Tower students are getting even dumber as they get older!”

But this was what made White Tiger Tower students strong.

They used magic to make their bodies stronger and faster. Other students might think it was a simple and foolish way to use magic. But it was very powerful, in a way that no one else could copy.

“What are you all doing here?” a voice asked.

“…!?”

Giselle turned around quickly, surprised.

It was Wodanaz, a friend from Blue Dragon Tower! With him was a fifth-year older student, and the strange master with his skeleton golem carrying bags.

“W-what… Wodanaz! What are *you* doing here?!” Giselle asked, confused.

When she asked, Lee Han (Wodanaz) looked sad and unhappy.

Giselle was surprised. Wodanaz usually seemed strong and calm. What had happened to make him look like this?

“Senior Catton said he was checking if this place is good for Professor Inguldel’s final exam,” Lee Han explained. “So, I came with him.”

“……”

Yes, that *was* something to be sad about. Giselle whispered, shocked.

“Unless you’ve been hit in the head, why would the exam be *here*? There are so many better places to test swordsmanship in the whole country!”

The White Tiger Tower students thought the final exam would be at the big swordsmanship training center in the city of Granden.

That’s what older students had said, and it made the most sense.

But why would it be in this faraway, strange dimension?

Lee Han paused, then said quickly, “I think Professor Inguldel has finally gone crazy. Einroguard has finally made him lose his mind.”

“Heh. Yes… It’s probably true. It can’t be helped. Professors are people too,” Giselle said, agreeing.

A student from another magic school might not believe this. But students at Einroguard knew it was possible.

Even normal, sane people could slowly become a little crazy if they stayed at Einroguard for too long. The place had that effect.

“Don’t worry, everyone,” Lee Han said, trying to sound brave. “I’ll follow Senior Catton and check out this exam place carefully. I’ll even try to find that Frost Giant thing he mentioned.”

“Wodanaz…!” the White Tiger Tower students said, looking at him with admiration.

They looked at Lee Han like he was the strongest, most dependable person they knew.

*How lucky are we to have a friend like Wodanaz?* they thought.

“Why are you standing around?” the master’s voice suddenly said from behind.

“Ah! Master,” Lee Han said, startled.

The strange master walked up to them. Lee Han quickly explained what was happening. The master just nodded.

“Break,” the master said simply.

*Crack!*

With a loud noise, the huge rock and the ore inside it crumbled into pieces.

“Stone with stone, iron with iron,” the master mumbled.

In a blink, the stones were separated from the Froststeel ore. It was all sorted perfectly.

“Done,” the master said. “You magic users, come with us.”

“?????”

The White Tiger Tower students stared at Lee Han, completely confused.

*Why us?*

Even Lee Han had no idea.

“I really don’t know either,” he whispered to them.

“…Don’t lie, Wodanaz! You must know why!” one student said, accusingly.

“Is it because we were mining instead of doing magic?!” another shouted. “We were just going to finish mining and go back to school!”

Even they knew their excuses sounded weak.

But it was true! They just wanted to mine the ore and leave.

“No, really, I don’t know,” Lee Han said again. “Why did he tell *you* to come?”

Lee Han started to ask the strange master, but Giselle grabbed his arm and shook her head quickly.

“Don’t ask! Just don’t make him angry,” she whispered urgently.

“Moradi,” one student whispered to Giselle. “The master seems to be in a good mood today, not like usual. Maybe it’s okay to ask him?”

*Is that even possible?* Giselle thought, doubtful. But she shook her head again.

“I said don’t ask! You’ll just get hurt again,” she warned.

It was hard to argue with that.

The strange master had been acting nicer lately, but he was still very unpredictable. He was known as a crazy and powerful magic user.

“Okay, if you say so,” the student said, giving up. “But is it really okay for *us* to come along?”

“We’re checking the final exam place early, so of course it’s okay,” Giselle said, sounding like she was in charge. “And we finished mining early anyway.”

Behind her, her friends grumbled quietly.

*’It’s not okay at all!’* they thought.

Wodanaz and Giselle usually argued about everything else, but they always seemed to agree on making things harder for their friends.

Why was that the only thing they agreed on?

“Senior,” Lee Han asked, “but what exactly are you checking about this dimension?”

When Lee Han asked, Giselle nodded, as if he had asked a very important question.

Actually, Catton’s opinion was the most important thing about them coming along.

If Catton didn’t like this place, maybe they could go back to the idea of having the exam at the swordsmanship training center in Granden City.

“First,” Catton said, “I’m going to ask the Frost Giants if they can help with the exam. *You*, younger students.”

“……”

“……”

Lee Han and Giselle stared at Catton, their eyes wide with shock. Luckily, the other students behind them were still talking and didn’t seem to hear.

“…Is *that* what you meant by checking if this place is good??” Lee Han asked, barely able to speak.

“What else would I be checking?” Catton said, laughing at his own joke. “The view?”

Lee Han and Giselle did not laugh.

*’If Frost Giants are part of the exam…’* Lee Han thought, worried.

*’Will I have to fight Frost Giants with my sword?’* Giselle thought, her face becoming tense.

Catton looked at Giselle, confused. “What’s wrong, younger student? Are you worried about something?”

“…It’s nothing,” Giselle said quickly. “I was just wondering… if my swordsmanship is good enough to fight Frost Giants.”

As she spoke, Giselle watched Catton carefully, trying to understand what he was really thinking.

Was he serious about fighting Frost Giants?

“Of course you can!” Catton said confidently. “You are strong, younger student!”

*’Oh no,’* Giselle thought to herself.

It seemed he really was serious. Giselle sighed inside, wondering why Professor Inguldel had to be so crazy. She said out loud, “But I’m still not very good at using Aura.”

“But you have started to learn it, younger student,” Catton said kindly. “You are on the path. You might understand it fully tomorrow, or maybe even today. Don’t worry too much.”

Catton’s words were comforting. He was older and more experienced in swordsmanship.

Giselle nodded a little.

The path of a swordsman was long, very long. It stretched far ahead, with no end in sight.

There was no need to rush or be impatient about how fast she was going on this long journey.

“That’s right, Moradi,” Lee Han (Wodanaz) said. “Besides, you have enough to worry about with those White Tiger Tower students.”

“Thank you, Wodanaz…” Giselle started to say, feeling grateful to her friend.

But then she stopped. *Wait a minute…* she thought. *You are the one who learned Aura before anyone else, and you are always worrying about everyone in Blue Dragon Tower. How can you say *that* to me?*

“…Be quiet,” Giselle said to Wodanaz, her voice low.

“!?” Lee Han made a surprised noise.