Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 1113

“Student Lee Han is indeed from the Dark Arts Department…”

Professor Garcia answered, his cheeks flushing slightly for Lee Han. Professor Volardi started to speak, ready to point something out, but Garcia quickly stopped him.

“Professor, please, let’s not!”

Lee Han had a sinking feeling he knew exactly what Professor Volardi was about to say. It would be something like: *’Well, yes, Student Lee Han is in the Dark Arts Department, but he spends just as much time with us! And let’s be honest, isn’t he practically one of ours, not Professor Mortoom’s?’*

Garcia himself had felt a similar urge to say just that when he first heard the news. But even in the competitive world of magic towers, there was such a thing as being thoughtful. He didn’t want to further embarrass a Dark Arts wizard from Callarogard, especially one who seemed to have enough troubles already.

“Of course!”

“What?! He’s really a Dark Arts wizard?!”

“Why would such a talent… Oh, no. Jute, sorry. Don’t glare at me.”

His colleagues apologized to their friend, who was giving them a resentful look.

In truth, they felt a little wronged.

From the start, they, who were so distant from magic, had no reason to say things like, ‘Why would such a talent be a Dark Arts wizard?’

It was difficult for anyone who wasn’t a wizard to understand the subtle position that the Dark Arts Department held within the Imperial Magic Departments.

They knew about the Dark Arts Department’s struggles for one reason: Jute never stopped talking about it.

He kept saying things like, ‘Good talents don’t want to come to the Dark Arts Department,’ ‘That’s why Dark Arts wizards are suffering,’ ‘Boo hoo, I shouldn’t have gone to Callarogard, I’m so lonely,’ so naturally, they came to think, ‘Ah, good talents don’t go to the Dark Arts Department, I see!’

Lee Han, who had been listening to the adventurers’ party’s conversation, asked with a slightly puzzled expression.

“How do you know I belong to the Dark Arts Department?”

He had built up quite a reputation, so it wasn’t strange to meet someone who knew him in the Empire.

But it was a little odd for someone to look at him and ask, ‘Aren’t you from the Dark Arts Department?’

Rumors usually didn’t spread like that.

It would be more like, ‘There’s a talented wizard from Einrogard,’ or ‘The Wardanaz family has a talented wizard,’ wouldn’t it?

“I heard it from Professor Mortoom at the Dark Arts wizards’ society.”

Professor Garcia’s expression wavered.

For some reason, he could guess how Professor Mortoom would have bragged.

And Professor Garcia’s guess was correct.

-Ahem. This new Undead Fusion magic is quite interesting.

-Heh heh. Of course. Do you know how much our magic tower invested in this magic? We might even surpass the Einrogard Dark Arts Department soon.

-…Ahem, actually, a new student has entered the Einrogard Dark Arts Department. I don’t know if you know about him.

It wasn’t even just once.

-Did you see our guild’s performance in this separatist riot? Haha!

-…Ahem, actually, a new student has entered the Einrogard Dark Arts Department…

-Oh, no. We didn’t even provoke you, why are you being like this…

Professor Mortoom, lacking other achievements to boast about, kept waving his only ‘sword’ – Lee Han, his talented student.

The other Dark Arts wizards thought it was dirty and cheap, but they couldn’t help it. That sword was truly sharp and powerful.

‘Hmm. This is the first time I’ve wanted to leave the Einrogard Dark Arts Department.’

Lee Han thought to himself.

He hadn’t even thought about leaving when he and Senior Diret were filling the department’s vault because the Dark Arts Department had no money, but after hearing what Professor Mortoom had done outside, he felt very ashamed.

Why was the professor the one bragging, but Lee Han the one feeling embarrassed?

While Lee Han was suffering, Jute, who had been organizing his thoughts, paused.

He hadn’t realized it, but another thought had come to mind.

“…Wait! Then… could it be that the reason the wizards of the Asphodelus Tower are doing this… isn’t to invite the professors, but to invite this student from the Dark Arts Department?!”

“That’s… um… er… ah… yes… that’s right.”

Professor Garcia, who had been trying to excuse the honor of the Asphodelus Tower, stammered and eventually admitted it.

How could he possibly twist the words here?

At those words, not only the other adventurers but even the knights were shocked.

“No, are you going this far for one student? Is this how magic towers usually are?”

“This old knight might not know much about the affairs of wizards, but even so, isn’t this a bit much… You should respect the individual’s wishes and persuade them, not try to entice them like this, no?”

Professor Garcia felt ashamed on their behalf at the perfectly reasonable words.

Just as Lee Han had felt ashamed on behalf of Professor Mortoom, Professor Garcia also felt ashamed on behalf of the wizards of the Asphodelus Tower.

“Th, that’s. It’s not usually like this. It’s just a bit of an exception this time. Please understand the wizards of the Asphodelus Tower.”

Iliane, Jute’s colleague who had been listening, expressed her respect with an admiring voice.

“That wizard is truly amazing. In a way, he’s trying to take away the disciple he’s teaching, but he’s not stopping it and is even letting him go.”

“He’s not letting him go.”

Professor Garcia immediately became serious for the first time today. The adventurers and knights, who had experienced all sorts of hardships, were so surprised by his fierce demeanor that they straightened their postures.

“S, sorry.”

“Ah, no… I’m sorry. What have I done…!”

Professor Garcia deeply reflected.

What kind of disgrace was this over a single muttered word from the other party?

If you traced the Asphodelus Tower’s embarrassing actions back to the beginning, it all started with the Skull Headmaster’s nasty tricks.

Having been scammed for two generations, how much resentment must the wizards of the Asphodelus Tower have accumulated?

Regardless, Jute was so moved that his eyes welled up with tears.

“A student from the Dark Arts Department is being treated this well!!”

“…Hey, Jute. Um…”

The Orc warrior Iliane was about to say, ‘I understand how you feel, but it doesn’t seem mentally healthy to be so deeply immersed in the achievements of other Dark Arts wizards and find vicarious satisfaction,’ but stopped herself.

It was because her friend was too deeply moved.

‘Let’s just leave him alone.’

‘That’s right. When else would Jute be so happy?’

Lee Han felt very awkward at the atmosphere that was flowing in a different direction than he had expected.

In fact, he felt like it was because he hadn’t revealed the fact that he was taking classes in the department earlier.

“Um… well… can I deal with this artifact now?”

“Ah! Please do!”

Lee Han called out to Apazragone. The angel had been standing still for a long time, his eyes empty, as if lost in thought.

The angel, Apazragone, turned slowly when Lee Han spoke. He had a heavy, solid body and stood waiting, his face showing no expression.

“Apazragone, this spirit inside… it’s proving difficult. Do you have any thoughts on how we should approach it? Anything we should consider?” Lee Han asked.

“Hmm… yes. I have a way,” Apazragone responded.

“Oh? What is it?” Lee Han inquired.

“Gather the mages and knights around the artifact,” Apazragone said. “Then, open it carefully and make the spirit come out. After that, we surround it and attack together.”

Lee Han stared at the angel, dumbfounded. Jute, who had been moved to tears, also stared at the angel with an absurd expression.

What kind of strategy was that?

Even a five-year-old could come up with the ‘surround and beat them up’ strategy.

However, Apazragone was confident. He had done his best to give advice.

“…It’s not wrong, I suppose…” Lee Han muttered, looking at the reliable forces beside him.

Professor Voladi, Professor Garcia…

Professor Garcia looked worried. “L, Lee Han,” he said, his voice a little shaky, “you’re not thinking I have to fight, are you?” He was a big man, but fighting was not what he was good at.

“Ah, of course not. I didn’t include you,” Lee Han replied.

“Phew. Thank you,” Professor Garcia said, relieved.

“You didn’t include him?” Apazragone asked, as if it were strange.

But… power is useful, is it not? Why not use all power?

From the angel’s perspective, it was odd not to include a mage with that much power in the battle force.

Lee Han gave him a look to be quiet. Apazragone became even more confused.

The actions of mortals sometimes confused angels too much.

Was this confusion the path to enlightenment?

“Professor Baegreg, what do you think about resolving this with force?” Lee Han asked, regretting it as soon as he did.

He should have asked someone less eager for a fight…

“Wouldn’t be bad,” Professor Voladi readily agreed.

It wasn’t exactly because Professor Voladi was a bloodthirsty maniac; it was just that the situation was genuinely worth trying.

Being inside the Daylily Magic Tower, there were plenty of spaces to weaken and confine the spirit.

If they created a siege with the knights and adventurers, they could sufficiently subdue even a King-level spirit.

“Then, just in case, I’ll also speak to the mages of the Daylily Magic Tower,” Lee Han said.

“Wait, Lee Han,” Professor Garcia quickly stopped him as Lee Han was about to call the mages who were resting by the lake, doing strange exercises and breathing deeply.

He was slightly worried that his student might not return after running an errand.

“Could someone else go? I can stay here and… and make sure everything is ready here. Support is important too, right?” Professor Garcia suggested.

“…Professor…” Lee Han responded.

“What? What is it?” Professor Garcia asked.

Among spirits, fire spirits were often said to be particularly violent and ferocious. Considering the nature of fire itself, this wasn’t entirely wrong.

Among them, there was one particularly belligerent spirit who wandered the realms, causing numerous conflicts.

Not only did he possess great power, but he was also cunning, making him a source of trouble for many spirits. Nevertheless, this spirit did not stop.

As he continued to cause fights and burn territories, the spirit eventually earned a title: Fire Heaven General, Zvargni!

The hornbeam spirit Saratan, who was contracted with Lee Han, was also quite the troublemaker, but the scale of damage was overwhelmingly different when comparing the two.

Saratan was belligerent, but at least he didn’t pick fights with spirits who didn’t cross him.

When he got angry, he would smash everything around him, but once his anger subsided, he wouldn’t cause any more trouble.

However, this Fire Heaven General acted as if he had condensed the violent nature of ‘fire’ itself.

He attacked spirits who hadn’t crossed him and burned everything around him, whether he was angry or not. Unlike the sealed Saratan, this Fire Heaven General had so many enemies that he would have been annihilated if he had been caught in the spirit realm.

Huh?

Zvargni reacted with curiosity when the artifact that had imprisoned him suddenly opened.

Other spirits might have been curious or intrigued by the current situation, but Zvargni prepared something else instead: An ambush.

“Perfect!” Zvargni thought, his spirit flames burning brighter. “Let them come closer. Dead or alive, it’s all the same to me. More fuel for the fire!”

Suddenly, from the darkness within the artifact, red tongues of fire shot out. They twisted and sharpened into spears of pure flame, hissing with heat. One could feel the power of a being on a different level from the flame spears wielded by ordinary fire mages.

However, the situation did not unfold as Zvargni wished. As the spears cut through the air, Zvargni shook off the artifact’s chains and laughed.

What is it, were those mage blokes trying to finish me off by opening this?

“Which spirit is it?” The mages holding spirit-related tomes immediately shouted.

“Let me check… Fire Heaven General! It’s Fire Heaven General!”

“Fire Heaven General?!” The mages behind them stirred at the title of someone far more significant than they had anticipated.

Looks like they’re surprised because I’m much weaker than they thought? Well, it would be stranger if my strength was intact after being bitten by a dragon and attacked by an evil god! I wouldn’t mind giving them some time if they want. Then I could show them my original power.

“Don’t let your guard down,” Tower Lord Euldam immediately issued a warning.

Even though his power was greatly weakened, one should never let their guard down against such a spirit. It was difficult to predict what he would do.

Other spirits might have chosen surrender or compromise, but Zvargni had none of that.

Zvargni smiled, a wide, grandfatherly smile that seemed kind at first glance. But then you saw his eyes – small points of burning fire, flickering with a dangerous light.

Whether he was defeated here and reverse-summoned to the spirit realm, or whether he was annihilated, it didn’t matter. Zvargni intended to burn as much prey as possible before that happened.

…Wait. What are you?

Zvargni, who was about to charge, spoke to Lee Han in a bewildered voice.

What kind of mage is that bloke, carrying around so many spirits and even commanding stars?