Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 1032

The students from Einrogard spoke quietly. They thought this magic would be easier. It was much harder and stranger than they expected.

They were trying to do something amazing: turn something without life into a living thing.

Wizards who try this kind of hard magic are seen as very dangerous.

If you put your soul into very detailed magic like this, you could easily lose your mind.

“Looks like a mad wizard to me…”

“The Great Artist is not mad!”

Bunarzo snapped back, looking angry.

How dare they insult an artist who had inspired so many students in Petrograd!

“I was being nice because you’re not from here! Hmph! Now go away.”

When even the friendly Petrograd student got angry, the Einrogard students quickly tried to calm him down.

If the Great Artist really was a mad wizard, they needed to get information from him, not just leave like this.

“Ah, no. It’s a misunderstanding. You heard wrong. This prince here misspoke.”

“That’s right! Why did you say something that could be misunderstood! Apologize now!”

“Uh, right, sorry. Wrong mad wizard. My mistake.”

“Who else?”

“Um… our headmaster?”

Bunarzo stared at Gainando in disbelief. Gainando was calling his own headmaster a mad wizard.

“…Alright. I’ll accept the apology for now.”

“Thank you!”

The Einrogard students looked relieved.

And they immediately got to the point.

“So, tell us more about the Great Artist.”

“Tell us about any weaknesses he might have. Is he maybe preparing a spell that needs a lot of magic? That would be worrying.”

Bunarzo looked at the Einrogard students, a little suspicious.

Were they really just curious about the Great Artist?

“Something’s fishy.”

“Wh, what do you mean? We’re just… interested in art. Right?”

“Y, yes. Art! We love art. Wow!”

“Then prove it.”

“What?”

“Prove it.”

Bunarzo pulled out a few more leather bags and dumped them on the ground.

There were painting tools, sculpting tools, musical instruments, and paper and pens for writing poems and stories. There was a lot to choose from.

“Pick something and create something. If I think you’re serious, I’ll tell you about the Great Artist.”

“…Can’t we just handle this the Einrogard way?”

“Shhh. This is Petrograd. Let’s not cause trouble.”

The students who weren’t good at art wanted to use force, but their friends quickly stopped them.

“Ugh. I only drew a little when I was young.”

“Tutanta is better off. He’s good at sculpting.”

“Hey, don’t be silly. I’m better at building real things, not just statues.”

Grumbling, they each grabbed a tool that they felt comfortable with or that seemed easy to use.

Yoner had been planning to teach Nilia the flute, but he was surprised when Gainando grabbed a canvas and brush.

“Do you know how to paint? Why not just write a short story?”

Of course, any story Gainando wrote would probably be terrible.

Yoner had read Gainando’s story (about a prince who was loved by everyone and could make criminals confess just by looking at them) many times before they came to the academy. Gainando had written it for a magazine.

Still, it would be better than other things…

“No way. The twist isn’t finished yet.”

“Th, then are you good at painting?”

“Not really, but can’t I just put some paint on?”

Gainando didn’t notice that Bunarzo was staring at him with wide eyes.

Yoner shook his head.

Gainando was definitely out. It seemed like the rest of them had to create at least one piece that would please the picky Petrograd student.

Professor Garcia shouted, knocking on the door of the Great Artist’s house.

He knocked so hard that the magic around the door shook. Alsicl thought to himself.

‘Could he be using knocking as an excuse to attack?’

But that didn’t seem likely.

If he was going to attack, he would have told Alsicl first.

…Probably!

Bang!

The door opened, and the Great Artist appeared.

He was hiding his face with different clothes than before, but Garcia knew it was the Skull Headmaster’s former student because of his unique energy and movements.

“Ah… No, Senior!”

Professor Garcia quickly changed his words as he was about to say his name.

The other person was a wizard who had given up his name and his position as a student.

There was no need to make him angry by calling him by his real name.

However, Professor Garcia had forgotten one thing.

…That as long as he was a professor, anything he said would offend the other person!

“Who said you could call me senior? Get lost!”

Bang!

The Great Artist slammed the door and put eight layers of magic on it to keep it closed.

“G, Great Artist n…”

Professor Garcia desperately called from outside, realizing his mistake too late, but the Great Artist ignored him.

“…Wasn’t that the professor just now?”

“Traitors. Don’t mention them.”

As if nothing had happened, the Great Artist waved his arm again.

Then, the walls of the empty house seemed to fall apart and turn inside out, showing the paintings hidden inside.

They were all covered with black cloths, so you couldn’t see what they were, but you could feel a strong power coming from them. They were definitely not normal paintings.

“Where were we?”

“You said you were trying to give eternal life to your work… Is that really possible?”

“You are a student and follower of the Skull Headmaster, tell me what you think. What do you think?”

‘He really holds a grudge.’

Lee Han complained in his head and carefully spoke.

“If it’s temporary… it seems like it could be done with a small world or a special world. If it was other magic, it would be too complicated.”

Making things move like living things was possible, but he didn’t know how to connect the magic to give them temporary life.

So, going to a small world or a special world that broke the rules seemed more likely.

But…

“Still, isn’t it far from permanent?”

“That’s right. You’re smart. Whether it’s language magic, a small world, or even a special world… it’s hard to make it permanent no matter what you do. That’s why I’m thinking of doing it differently.”

The Great Artist drew a symbol of a human in the air.

Then, he drew a symbol of a special world inside it, and a symbol that went around forever.

Lee Han understood what he meant and asked in surprise.

“Are you saying you’re going to bring a special world inside the work and keep it going?”

“That’s right.”

“Is that possible?”

If a special world could be kept going, then the work could truly live like a living thing with a soul.

The great magic that changed the rules had that much power.

But keeping a special world going sounded even harder than giving life to a work.

How on earth?

Lee Han paused, thinking about something.

‘Could it be?!’

“Don’t tell me you’re going to use my magic…!”

“By using the power of primal magic in art… What did you just say?”

“It’s nothing.”

Lee Han cleared his throat, trying not to look embarrassed.

‘This is all because of Professor Verdus.’

Wasn’t it because the professor was always trying to use the students’ magic that Lee Han was so worried about it?

The Great Artist didn’t notice Lee Han’s worry and kept explaining.

“Maybe… the reason why wizards can’t go beyond the limits of magic is because they decide what those limits are too quickly. Like a flea in a glass bottle that can’t jump higher even after it gets out.”

“That’s not really how it works.”

“It doesn’t matter if it’s true. That just makes my point even stronger.”

The example was wrong, but the Great Artist’s words made sense.

The study of magic that changed reality was connected to the wizard’s will.

If the wizard secretly thought, ‘This is impossible,’ it would be even harder.

“I agree… I also don’t have much confidence, so I understand. Confidence is important when learning magic.”

“Right?”

If his friends were there, they would have made fun of him, but the Great Artist was fooled.

It was because he wasn’t a professor.

“I’m going to break through this limit with primal magic. It’s random and hard to control, but that’s what will help me break through my own limits.”

‘It sounds crazy, but it makes sense.’

The Great Artist was saying he was going to gamble on something that probably wouldn’t work, since it was hard to do it the normal way.

It would have been silly normally, but because of his goal, it seemed possible.

“I agree… it seems like the only way.”

“Right?”

The Great Artist was hiding himself so well that you couldn’t see any of his skin, but Lee Han could tell that he was smiling for the first time.

“I learned this while hiding in art for a long time. I would never have known if I was still working for that jerk.”

Lee Han didn’t ask who that jerk was. Instead, he changed the subject.

“So, what kind of work are you trying to give life to? Maybe an imaginary lover?”

Lee Han asked, thinking about the story of a sculptor who wanted to create the lover he had imagined and then give her life.

However, the Great Artist looked confused, as if he was asking what nonsense he was talking about, and replied.

“I’ve never heard anything so silly, even when I was in Einrogard. Why would I put all this magic and art into creating something like a lover?”

“S, sorry.”

Lee Han felt ashamed.

That would never happen, logically!

‘I’ve been reading too many fairy tales.’

“You’ll be interested when you see it. Look.”

The Great Artist waved his arm again.

A song from the ancient kingdom era that Lee Han had heard before played.

At the same time, the cloths that had covered the paintings disappeared, and a statue slowly rose from the floor.

It was a statue of the Skull Headmaster!

As Lee Han stared in shock, the Great Artist explained as if he had expected it.

“Forget the crazy ideas you’re having. Don’t even think that I’m doing this because I respect that person.”

“Oh… I thought you were going to hurt him after giving him life to get revenge.”

“…What terrible thoughts are you having?!”

The Great Artist was shocked by the youngest member of the school’s cruel idea.

If he was going to get revenge, he would do it himself, why would he do something like that?

“I’m not using all this art and magic for revenge. I’m not that foolish. Why do you think the wizards of the Empire respected that person?”

“The headmaster also respects him a lot…”

Not expecting Lee Han’s answer, the Great Artist continued.

“It’s because that evil person has the mysterious power that has been passed down from ancient times. In other words, if there was someone else with that power, we could escape from his control. Can you imagine? A wizard with the same abilities as that evil archmage, but with a kind and good heart?”

“Ah. I’ve met him before.”

“…Are you crazy?”