Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 1151

Lee Han held out a small, wooden box to the older student. He just needed to give this to Jarun, and then he could finally get to the basement.

Jarun blinked, his eyes narrowing with suspicion. “Why are you giving *this* to me?” he asked, his voice rough. He looked at Lee Han like he expected a trick.

Lee Han kept his voice calm and friendly. “Because you’re a fourth-year, Senior Jarun,” he said simply.

Jarun was greatly surprised.

He couldn’t believe his junior would gift him such an artifact for that reason alone; it was completely unexpected.

“The other seniors from the Transformation Magic department are worried about you, Senior. They’re saying things like you won’t be able to graduate, or that you’ll become a wanderer of Einrogaard and haunt the basement.”

“Wait. I don’t intend to graduate…”

“Of course, I didn’t agree. No matter what, there’s no way Senior Jarun can’t graduate. It’s not like you’re Gainando.”

Lee Han spoke with conviction.

Of course, this Dwarf senior was a very eccentric and picky person, but apart from that, no one could deny his magical skills.

Transforming dimensions to get gold was very difficult magic. It was not something easily attempted.

For such a senior to fail to graduate, did that even make sense?

‘The seniors are being too dramatic,’ Lee Han thought.

Lee Han, as a younger student, couldn’t understand how difficult fourth year really was.

There was no way someone would actually give up on graduating and choose to become a ghost wandering the school…

“…Ah, no. Graduation isn’t necessarily essential, is it?” Jarun retorted without realizing it.

If it were another junior, he wouldn’t have cared what they said and would have gone to the basement, but strangely, he felt a surge of emotion and retorted to the junior in front of him.

What did Einrogaard’s graduation matter?

What mattered was continuing down the path of magic he was pursuing.

“Graduation isn’t essential, but becoming a wanderer of Einrogaard and haunting the basement is a bit…”

“……”

As expected of the top student, the junior had brilliant logic.

It would be better to drop out of Einrogaard midway than to become a ghost wandering the grounds because he wasn’t confident in passing graduation. What a pointless endeavor that would be.

That wasn’t real magic, it was just a mess.

“You’d have to avoid the Death Knights’ eyes, the professors’ eyes, the juniors’ eyes, and you wouldn’t receive support or be able to take on requests. What a waste.”

Jarun, a Dwarf from the West who had built a wall between himself and conversation, couldn’t refute it.

He only kicked a pebble in front of him and sent it flying.

Lee Han, who had been making his case, suddenly felt a sense of unease and asked.

“Senior. Were you really thinking of giving up on graduating and running away?”

“What… what are you talking about! What do you take me for!”

“I knew it.”

Lee Han nodded as if he expected it.

‘I shouldn’t trust what Senior Hormashi says in the future,’ he thought.

Perhaps because various rare animals, including Griffons, only liked Lee Han, he felt that this senior kept grumbling.

“Anyway, I hope this helps. Oh, and if Professor Verdus finds out, this isn’t from me.”

The junior, having finished his last words neatly, quickly left.

Jarun, standing blankly, scratched his head and thought.

‘…I should prepare something and submit it, even now…’

It was definitely not because of that annoying junior.

Giselle of the Moradi family checked the blade of her beloved sword, Ice Flower, and delicately inspected her magic.

She felt the cold of the North pleasantly pulsing from the blade to her hand. Giselle smiled faintly. Few things pleased her as much as her sword.

It was quiet, loyal, and didn’t make unnecessary mistakes.

“Moradi. Did your friends not cause any accidents today?” Palga of the Ukim family, a senior from the same tower who was passing by, asked.

This senior, a member of the Duel Club, knew well how much Giselle struggled among the second-years.

“Yes.”

“That’s good.”

As Palga passed, Ivananna, another senior, appeared.

“Moradi. Your friends didn’t summon a monster from another dimension like last time, did they?”

“…Yes. Please forget about it.”

“Haha. I’ve forgotten. But I think your friends should remember a bit. It’s the third time they’ve made the same mistake.”

“……”

Giselle swallowed her humiliation.

At times like this, she couldn’t help but compare the White Tiger Tower to the other towers.

Of course, the other towers would have their own difficulties.

Since most of the incidents within the White Tiger Tower didn’t leak outside, surely the other towers were causing similar accidents…

‘Ugh. The Blue Dragon Tower wouldn’t be like this,’ she thought.

No matter how she thought about it, she couldn’t shake the feeling that the students of the Blue Dragon Tower were somehow diligent and reliable.

Giselle frowned.

She felt that the current situation was very different from what she had expected before entering the school.

She had intended to bring the students of the White Tiger Tower, as well as those of other towers, under her control and use them as stepping stones for the future…

…But the current situation was somewhat different. Not only the students of the other towers, but even those of the White Tiger Tower.

Wasn’t this more of a caretaker role than a ruthless ruler?

She didn’t particularly dislike or feel dissatisfied with the current situation, but she kept feeling like she had been deceived.

‘It seems I got caught up in the atmosphere because Wodanaz was unnecessarily taking care of everyone, regardless of the tower,’ she thought.

If he was acting like that with this in mind, he was truly a terrifying strategist.

‘…No. That’s impossible,’ Giselle snapped out of it.

There were limits to what a person could do.

It was absurd to think that he would take care of that prince so much just to weaken Giselle’s control.

That was just his personality.

“Moradi. How do you think this coat will be in the North?”

“The material is fine, but it’s better to remove the metal decorations. It’ll be a pain if they touch your skin.”

“Indeed. Thank you.”

Bartrec of the Bark family, a friend from the same year, bowed and passed by. Giselle nodded back, feeling a sense of unease.

‘Why did he ask about the North?’ she wondered.

Of course, Einrogaard also had areas similar to the Imperial North, with cold and harsh environments.

It was a cold and difficult place, like the Imperial North.

But when going to such places, they would just say they were going to the glacial zone or the blizzard zone, and wouldn’t specifically ask about the Imperial North.

What is it?

“Moradi. Would the family knights like this liquor?”

“…They all like strong liquor, but…”

“Great!”

This time, Angalo of the Alpha family walked by, rattling the bottles of liquor in a crate. ‘Thunder Stride’ was engraved on the side of the crate.

Giselle felt even more uneasy.

Knights who use their bodies to focus magic are very good at sensing danger, even without magic to see the future.

Giselle was definitely feeling danger now.

“Moradi. About this North request, the head of the family said it’s okay to bring anyone, but is it really okay for all of us to go?”

The last one was Dergyu of the Choi family.

Giselle was shocked by the question from one of the few normal people among the second-years of the White Tiger Tower.

“What North request? And what about the head of the family?”

“Huh? The request that the head of the Moradi family invited you to. The one you and Lee Han received…”

“…I never said anyone could come along? What are you talking about?”

If it weren’t for the head of the family’s orders, Giselle wouldn’t have bothered participating.

Considering what Wodanaz had done in the family’s territory last year, there was no reason to go together this year.

Wasn’t it Wodanaz who advised the head of the family to ‘treat them like Einrogaard students in order to improve the skills of the apprentice knights’?

Considering how much the knights in the territory suffered because of that advice, she honestly wanted to tell Wodanaz not to go, no matter who he was.

If it was discovered that he gave that advice, assassins using knightly swordsmanship would keep visiting at night for some reason…

‘But what are these guys talking about?!’ she thought.

One person is already a headache, but why are all the White Tiger Tower guys…!?

“…Wasn’t participation voluntary?” Dergyu said with a very embarrassed face.

Someone must have had a conversation like ‘Moradi is going out on a family request’ ‘Really?’ ‘Participation is voluntary’ ‘Oh, I should go too.’

“Is this some kind of casual game?! Anyone can join?! No! This is Wodanaz’s family business! I’m just helping him get there!”

“Gasp!”

It was rare to see Dergyu so flustered that he made such a sound.

The other friends who heard this were also shocked and whispered to each other.

“Su, surely they said participation was voluntary? Which bastard…?”

“Isn’t it Angalo?”

“No, you crazy bastard! Bartrec is suspicious!”

“Rowena is staying still, so she’s not the culprit?”

“I didn’t participate in the first place! I didn’t even think about going!”

The White Tiger Tower students put their heads together and tried to find the source of the rumor.

But they couldn’t find the culprit. In the end, the White Tiger Tower students concluded that it was ‘a hallucination created by the collective unconscious of everyone who wanted to go outside.’

“Indeed. A mysterious event. It’s like magic.”

“Shhh. Shut up. Moradi is about to draw her sword.”

“……”

The White Tiger Tower students quickly shut their mouths. Giselle asked in a cold voice.

“Preparing like this means you’ve already reported to the professor, right.”

“…Yes…”

“If you want to persuade him, tell Wodanaz yourselves.”

“Mo, Moradi! Plea…”

“Plea what?”

“…Could you at least go with us and watch over us from behind?”

The White Tiger Tower students, sensing the mood, quickly changed their words.

Dergyu covered his face with both hands, ashamed of his friends.

“What?! Everyone’s going together!?” Lee Han was startled.

Angalo said, utterly dejected.

“Actually, I worked hard to prepare gifts for the knights when we visit the territory this time. Is there no way?”

“No…”

Lee Han looked at Giselle, who was standing blankly behind him, with great embarrassment.

Giselle said with her eyes: ‘Tell them to get lost.’

“…Moradi. Just a moment.”

Lee Han, feeling that it couldn’t be resolved with eye contact, called his friend aside.

“I’m telling you in advance, I never invited them. It’s hard enough to have one person go to the territory, let alone several.”

“No. Going isn’t the problem… um… well… Ah. I can’t help it. Moradi. Now that it’s come to this, I’ll be honest. Actually, there’s something I was planning to do separately while going out on this request. I even prepared for it.”

“What?” Giselle was puzzled.

She wondered if there was something that Wodanaz would go so far as to say.

If it were another student, she would have thought they were trying to go to a ball or social gathering, but as everyone knew, Wodanaz was the furthest person from those things.

‘Smuggling? That’s too easy for Wodanaz. Is he trying to buy an evil forbidden magic book?’

“What were you trying to do?”

“I was going to subjugate some evil god worshippers. That’s why I invited Senior Caton too.”

“……”

It was an answer she would never have guessed, no matter how much time she was given.