Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 1013

Zinon was persuaded by the other wizards’ words.

The letter’s contents were indeed a bit strange, but easy to understand.

“Then I gratefully accept your kindness. Actually, Erindalber doesn’t need to do so much…”

“He is one of the most respected wizards of the Empire,” one wizard said.

The wizards straightened their robes to show their respect.

The Empire had many strange and powerful wizards. Wizards who were responsible, like Erindalber, were always respected by younger wizards.

“By the way, what’s happening with the monster?” Zinon asked.

The Emerald Tower had many combat wizards, but more wizards were active outside the tower than doing research inside.

Zinon was one of these wizards.

The Emerald Tower wizards were currently tracking a monster that had come from another dimension.

To ordinary people, a monster from another dimension was just something to destroy. But to a wizard with ambition, it was a treasure.

It held the rules and secrets of another dimension.

“The wizards are following its trail, so we’ll have news soon. Please be careful,” one wizard said.

“Yes, I will,” Zinon replied.

Even though he was a combat wizard with a lot of experience, Zinon was always careful.

Who would take such a dangerous job lightly?

Ihan stopped at the edge of the abandoned warehouse district. Dusty sunlight slanted between broken windows of empty buildings. The air smelled of damp wood and decay. But it wasn’t the smell that made Ihan pause. It was a strange feeling, a prickling coldness that seemed to rise from the ground beneath his feet.

He frowned, his senses tingling. It was energy from another dimension, he was sure of it. He’d felt it before, both inside and outside the walls of Einroguard, the famous wizard school.

*What is this?* he thought, his brow furrowing. *Has a dimensional gate opened here?*

Wizards with strong senses could almost see into other worlds just by feeling the energy that connected them. And this energy… this was different. It felt wild, almost angry. Definitely not from a friendly place. A shiver ran down Ihan’s spine.

*Something’s wrong,* he thought.

One of the lessons Ihan learned at Einroguard was that you could be betrayed by the wand you trust at any time.

In fact, Ihan’s wand had tried to hit him in the back of the head, so it was an even more painful lesson.

The skeletal headmaster had vouched for Erindalber’s character, but she was also Yukbertire’s mother.

*The headmaster may have been tricked, or they may have been working together from the start,* he thought.

“Wodanaz?” Ihan said.

Ihan was happy to see Alsicle, the penguin-like beast-man wizard, waddling towards him.

“Mr. Alsicle!” Ihan exclaimed.

“Why are you here… Ah. Well. I shouldn’t be surprised,” Alsicle said.

Alsicle was surprised to see Ihan at the request to track down a dangerous monster from another dimension, but he quickly understood.

Fighting the evil god worshippers last time hadn’t made sense either.

Ihan felt something was wrong, but Alsicle waved his wand.

“Let’s go down quickly. The others are waiting,” Alsicle said.

“Oh… Yes. But why are you here, Mr. Alsicle? Were you invited too?” Ihan asked.

“Huh? Sort of,” Alsicle replied.

Alsicle, who had found a new sponsor thanks to Ihan, had gone to the capital and bought some necessary spells.

In the meantime, other wizards had asked him for help.

“We need an excellent ice wizard to chase the monster,” they said.

Alsicle had replied, “I’m not very interested in tracking monsters…”

The wizards then said, “It’s an unidentified monster from an unconfirmed dimension. If we catch it, you can investigate it first.”

Alsicle immediately agreed, “Okay! I’ll go with you!”

Ihan tilted his head, not understanding.

“What part of that convinced you?” Ihan asked.

“What? It’s an unconfirmed monster from an unconfirmed dimension! What if it knows the magic I want? Isn’t that why you’re here too?” Alsicle asked.

“I don’t think so…” Ihan said.

He didn’t think an unidentified monster would know how to eliminate the world’s pain.

Even if he thought about it optimistically, the monster wouldn’t even know how to improve Einroguard…

“And I came here because Erindalber invited me,” Ihan added.

“From Erindalber?” Alsicle looked surprised, then muttered, “If Erindalber invited you, there’s nothing to worry about… Hmm. I was worried for nothing.”

Even though he was Wodanaz, he was still a little worried that he was being reckless. But when he heard the great wizard’s name, that worry disappeared.

“What did you say?” Ihan asked.

“No. Nothing. Catching a monster from an undiscovered dimension is as exciting as exploring an unexcavated ruin. It will definitely help you too,” Alsicle said.

“Hmm. I understand,” Ihan replied.

Even though Erindalber was involved, Ihan agreed when Alsicle spoke with confidence.

It seemed like he was mistaken.

Alsicle found the stairs to the basement and summoned ice that shone on his wand.

“This is an old underground sewer area. It was abandoned when the Empire built new facilities,” Alsicle explained.

Not only the Empire, but also the kingdoms before it, had built facilities in places with a lot of magic.

They needed to secure the magic for their spells.

The amount of magic in this abandoned sewer was more than in other places.

However…

“The magic is a bit murky,” Alsicle said.

“You can tell? That’s right. It’s very polluted. We should have cleaned it up, but we kept putting it off…”

“Why did you put it off?” Ihan asked, tensing up.

Magic was just pure power, but if it changed, it could cause unpredictable things.

Contaminated magic could summon beings from other dimensions or evil god worshippers…

“Because there’s no budget?” Alsicle said.

“Ah,” Ihan replied, understanding immediately.

If it was just a lack of money, not a conspiracy, he could understand.

“Maybe that’s why the monster used this area to cross over,” Alsicle said.

“Do we know anything about the monster?” Ihan asked.

“Hmm. Not much yet. It’s stealthy, agile, and has a strong appetite,” Alsicle replied.

Ihan knew it was stealthy and agile without being told.

The monster had escaped the wizards, so it had to be stealthy and agile.

“But it has a strong appetite?” Ihan asked.

“Did it steal food or something? Like an Einroguard student?” Alsicle joked.

“Why that comparison… It eats everything, including food, rocks, and plants. The place it passed through was destroyed,” Alsicle explained.

*Like Gainando,* Ihan thought, making a rude comparison.

As he walked through the musty sewer, he saw a faint light in the distance. It was the exploration team.

“You’re here. …Wait, who is this wizard?” one of them asked, pointing at Ihan.

They knew Alsicle, but they didn’t know the wizard next to him.

*Isn’t he an Einroguard student?* the wizard thought.

“This is Ihan from the Wodanaz family. Erindalber recommended him,” Alsicle said.

The exploration team members were surprised.

“From Erindalber? She said she would send a wizard, but…” one said.

“What grade are you in? 5th grade?” another asked.

Alsicle hesitated. He still had a little conscience.

“He’s… a little lower than that,” Alsicle admitted.

“I guess he’s in 4th grade. Einroguard wizards are good, but isn’t this dangerous? He’s not even in 5th grade,” one wizard said.

“But Erindalber recommended him,” Alsicle pointed out.

“Hmm. That’s true, but…” The exploration team talked among themselves.

They trusted Erindalber, but Ihan was still an Einroguard 4th grade student.

Was this exploration too dangerous for him?

“I’m sure Lord Voladi also vouched for him…” one said.

“That’s right! This Wodanaz is Professor Begreck’s student,” Alsicle added quickly.

The exploration team’s expressions changed.

“Is that so?” one asked.

“If so, I understand… Wait, Ihan from the Wodanaz family? Isn’t he in 2nd grade??” one of them suddenly shouted, remembering a rumor.

Alsicle looked at Ihan with a resentful look. Ihan felt wronged.

*This is not my fault,* he thought.

There was more confusion than before, but the exploration team finally understood.

With the recommendations of Erindalber and Professor Voladi, they had to believe him, even if he was an Einroguard 2nd grade student.

“If everyone is ready, I’ll show you,” one of the wizards said.

“Show what?” Ihan asked.

The wizards smiled, as if they had been waiting for the question.

“Maybe Mr. Wodanaz thought we would open a dimensional gate and chase the monster,” one said.

“Wasn’t that it?” Alsicle asked, surprised.

He thought they would be chasing the monster through different dimensions.

“Ah. Is it causing dimensional erosion here instead of escaping? Wait. Then it would have been discovered sooner… So it can even hide itself. Is that why you prepared this magic to remove its camouflage?” Ihan guessed.

Sometimes, beings from other dimensions caused erosion.

Like when the Frost Giant King came to Einroguard, bringing a cold season with him.

The energy Ihan felt was too strong for a dimensional gate. It was more likely dimensional erosion.

If so, the monster was hiding underground.

It hadn’t been discovered, so it must be camouflaged.

“…That’s right…” the wizards said, slightly disappointed.

They had wanted to surprise him, but he had figured it out too quickly.

“I… I was surprised!” Pengarin said.

“Thank you, Pengarin. …Wait. You weren’t supposed to explain it,” one of the wizards said.

“I didn’t know…” Pengarin said, his face turning red.

He should have realized it by looking at the amount of energy and the magic the team had prepared!

“Erindalber sent me a separate invitation,” Ihan said, trying to comfort Alsicle.

“Ah. Did Erindalber tell you?” Alsicle asked.

“That’s not it,” Ihan replied.

“…Shut up,” Alsicle said.

He wanted to punch Ihan. He had been jealous of other wizards, but now he regretted it.

*I should have been less annoying,* he thought.

Alsicle decided to send letters to his old friends after the exploration.