Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 107

Lee Han’s eyes were covered, but he knew. He didn’t want to believe it, but he could feel it everywhere in his body. Professor Voladi was using more than just lightning now.

‘Which means…’ Lee Han thought, ‘Professor Voladi is using other elements too.’

The truth was, Lee Han dodging lightning with his eyes covered was already quite remarkable.

He was too busy dodging to notice, but Professor Voladi wouldn’t smile for just anything.

Reading the trajectory and dodging before the lightning struck was something difficult even with eyes open.

His sword training had made his eyes very fast, even without seeing.

And an innate ability to sense magical power.

Without either of these, it would have been impossible.

But because Lee Han did it so easily, Professor Voladi just made it harder.

If Professor Garcia had passed by, it would have been a scene that would make her shout, ‘What are you doing!?’ in horror.

Making someone do something difficult even with eyes open in complete darkness.

The problem was that Lee Han perfectly accomplished that as well.

So, Professor Voladi made it even harder again, as if it was nothing.

Neither the professor nor the student was holding back.

Thanks to this, Lee Han faced an absurdly brutal trial on his first day of elemental detection training.

In a way, it was his own fault.

‘…Are the other elements just to trick me?’

Without realizing he had dug his own grave, Lee Han simply focused.

He could feel the energy of not only lightning but also other elements. It wasn’t the time to be thinking leisurely thoughts.

There was only one reason why Professor Voladi would bring up other elements in this situation.

A feint!

The method Lee Han used to evade the lightning in the unseen space was simple.

With his eyes covered and dynamic visual acuity blocked, he was relying solely on his pure magical power detection.

Even the simple, linearly shot lightning had numerous changes within its flow in a short amount of time.

Lee Han, realizing that the magical power slightly condensed to gain explosive force at the moment of being fired, identified the early signs and evaded the lightning.

But now, if elements of other attributes besides lightning started mixing in…

He had to distinguish the precursors by attribute, find only the lightning among them, and catch the phenomenon of magical power condensing.

Moreover, considering Professor Voladi’s nasty personality, the other elements he showed might not just be to trick Lee Han. They might attack too. So, Lee Han had to watch out for everything.

‘Can I do it?’

Lee Han raised his head towards the elements exuding their presence in the darkness.

Frankly, it seemed impossible.

If so…

‘Take the hit with as little pain as possible!’

Lee Han’s prediction was wrong.

Incredibly, Lee Han succeeded again.

“……”

Professor Voladi, who would normally immediately say what was on his mind, was momentarily silent in astonishment.

‘He’s a natural.’

The boy from the Wodanaz family possessed not only immense magical power.

Thinking about it, being born with such immense magical power meant that learning magic itself, handling that power, was an incredibly difficult task.

Even more so if he was a freshman.

The boy from the Wodanaz family, perhaps because of his humble nature, didn’t think his speed of learning magic was that great.

Of course, that level was fast enough, but compared to the childhoods of the Empire’s stellar genius wizards, it was slightly lacking.

However, that was the story when the amount of magical power he possessed was not taken into account.

Having that much magical power and learning magic at that speed was proof of his talent.

Usually, it was difficult to notice because of the amount of magical power he possessed, but when sensing the surrounding magical power, it was a different story.

In fields without the penalty of magical power quantity, fragments of talent were bound to flow out.

Snap!

Professor Voladi made the handkerchief covering Lee Han’s eyes disappear.

Despite accomplishing such a great feat, the boy from the Wodanaz family was calm. The professor didn’t bother to say anything separately.

“I didn’t expect you to pass everything on the first day.”

“Perhaps,” Lee Han said carefully, “it is because you have given me so much to learn at once, Professor.”

Lee Han tried to be polite, hoping Professor Voladi would understand he wanted to take it easier next time.

But professors usually didn’t understand when you spoke politely and indirectly.

“There’s no need to thank me.”

“?”

Lee Han wondered for a moment what he was talking about.

Then, Lee Han understood.

Professor Voladi was now thinking that Lee Han had said, ‘I was able to pass everything like this thanks to you giving me all the assignments at once, Professor.’

‘…This is driving me crazy.’

While Lee Han was in despair, Professor Voladi continued.

“Originally, I was going to spend more time training you in elemental detection. But I don’t think there’s a need for that.”

Lee Han was relieved. Listening to Professor Voladi’s words, it seemed today’s lecture was over for now.

Professor Voladi held out a bundle wrapped in cloth.

“You look tired.”

“…!”

Lee Han was startled.

Of course, he was tired from dodging lightning with his eyes open and dodging lightning with his eyes closed.

But he had never imagined that Professor Voladi would worry about him like this.

‘What is it?’

At first, he wondered if there was some kind of trap inside the bundle, but Professor Voladi wasn’t someone with the malice of Headmaster Skull.

Lee Han carefully unwrapped the bundle.

‘Is it some kind of medicinal herb?’

Inside the bundle was a magic book. Professor Voladi nodded and said,

“This is a book on basic lightning magic and its applications. Master it by next time.”

“……”

Professor Voladi wasn’t someone with the malice of Headmaster Skull.

He was just a bit of a madman.

Then, Lee Han understood what Professor Voladi meant by ‘You look tired.’

He had simply said what he purely thought when he saw Lee Han.

Those words and the bundle were completely separate!

“…I understand.”

Lee Han managed his expression and put the magic book away.

To truly let out his anger at Professor Volardi, Ihan felt he needed to be miles away, perhaps in another country. Only then could he properly shout the curses building up inside him.

“Wait a minute,” Ihan thought suddenly. “Wasn’t this week supposed to be full of surprise tests?” He frowned. Suddenly, the magic Professor Volardi wanted them to learn didn’t seem so important anymore. Professor Volardi never gave surprise tests, but the other teachers definitely did.

“Blast it!”

A loud, animal-like roar echoed from outside. It sounded like it came from the front yard of the main building. Ihan turned quickly. “What’s all that noise?” he asked another student.

“Professors are catching escaped summoned creatures,” the student replied, sounding bored.

Ihan blinked, confused. *Escaped summoned creatures?* Just last week, professors had ignored creatures wandering around! Why were they suddenly acting now?

“But… why now?” Ihan asked, puzzled.

The other student shrugged. “Exams are starting soon. They don’t want any noise.”

Ihan stared, speechless. He just nodded slightly and hurried out of the classroom. *Maybe I shouldn’t have asked,* he thought, feeling foolish.

The book Professor Volardi had given him, *Basic Lightning Magic*, was surprisingly good. ‘Who even wrote this?’ Ihan wondered. Most magic books seemed written for experts, not beginners. But *Basic Lightning Magic* actually explained things clearly. For example, when it described the first spell, *Lightning Generation*, it didn’t just give the words and hand movements. It warned about the common mistake beginners made: losing control of the lightning and letting it scatter everywhere. It even gave practical advice: *’Wear thick clothes that lightning can’t easily pass through, and make sure no one else is nearby…’*

Ihan wanted to find more books by this author. He flipped to the back cover, but there was no name. *Maybe it was written here at the school?* he thought. He knew that books in the Empire weren’t always printed in big numbers. Often, someone would write a book by hand and share copies. This was especially true at the magic school. The library was proof of that. Books were piled on shelves in no order, and many were so badly written, they were impossible to understand. *Wizards only care if *they* understand it,* Ihan thought in annoyance. *They don’t think about anyone else! If I owned a bookstore, I’d throw half these books out.*

Despite his dislike for Professor Volardi, Ihan decided to keep reading. The book itself wasn’t bad. And he knew Professor Volardi would expect him to know everything in it by the next class.

“Wodanaz, hello!” A cheerful voice called out. Ihan jumped, turning around quickly. It was a professor, smiling brightly. *Oh no,* Ihan thought. Professors calling you by name outside of class usually meant trouble. But then he saw who it was. It was Professor Kirmin Ku, one of the few people who seemed to be friends with Professor Volardi.

“Heading to the *Understanding Basic Magic* lecture, right?” Professor Kirmin asked.

“Yes, Professor,” Ihan replied.

“Great! Let’s walk together then. I’m going that way myself.” Professor Kirmin was so friendly and cheerful, it was hard to imagine him being friends with the grumpy Professor Volardi. Seeing Professor Kirmin made Ihan feel a little hopeful. He’d heard that younger, nicer professors were often kinder to students. But this was a magic school, after all. Maybe the rules were different here.

“Do you teach Illusion Magic?” Ihan asked.

“Yes, I do,” Professor Kirmin said. “Professor Begreck doesn’t like it much, but Illusion Magic is incredibly useful.” He explained, “It’s not just about making things invisible or creating fake walls. Illusion Magic can be used in so many ways. Some wizards even combine it with Space Magic to make impossible mazes, or with Mental Magic to fight enemies just by looking at them.”

As Professor Kirmin talked, Ihan was already thinking. *Illusion Magic… that would be perfect for stealing things.* He imagined making himself invisible, or breaking through magical security. Professor Kirmin was still talking kindly about magic, but Ihan’s mind was elsewhere.

“Wodanaz,” Professor Kirmin said, “when I saw your work last time, I thought you might have a natural talent for Illusion Magic.”

Ihan blinked, surprised. *Talent?* He knew you had to be careful when a professor said that. It often meant they wanted you as their student, whether you wanted to or not. But Ihan was already stuck at this school. He just needed to find a professor who wasn’t terrible. Maybe Professor Kirmin was one of the good ones. He wasn’t sure yet. *Illusion Magic… it’s not bad,* Ihan thought. *If I can learn any magic well, I can probably get by.*

“Illusion Magic isn’t just about power or being good at math,” Professor Kirmin continued. “It’s about control, about being precise. And I think you have that, Wodanaz.”

“…Oh,” Ihan said, feeling confused. *Control?* He was the opposite of controlled, especially with his strong magic. *Is he talking about that assignment Professor Volardi forced me to do?* That wasn’t talent. That was just Professor Volardi’s harsh training.

“Th… Thank you, Professor,” Ihan mumbled.

“So,” Professor Kirmin changed the subject, “are there any other kinds of magic you’re interested in? Students with talent often like to study more than one thing.”

“I haven’t really decided yet,” Ihan said.

“Well then,” Professor Kirmin asked, “besides Professor Begreck, have you met with any other professors outside of class?” Ihan realized what he was asking. It wasn’t about Ihan’s interests. It was about which professors were interested in *him*. Professors chose students, just as students chose professors.

“Well, first there was Professor Thunderstride…”

“Ah, Alchemy,” Professor Kirmin nodded.

“And Professor Lightningstride.”

“Zoology.”

“Professor Willow, too.”

“Botany.”

“Professor Mortoom…”

“Dark Magic, I guess?”

“And Professor Milay.”

“Summoning Magic. Wait a minute,” Professor Kirmin said, pausing. “That’s… a lot.”