Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 1153

Ivinta was also very surprised, but he was thinking about something else.

‘This method… it’s actually producing results!’

Even though this was only a small step, it was still a step forward.

Yet the effect was already this significant. It was simply unbelievable.

These criminals must have been very scared to share so much information!

However, despite this miracle, Ian didn’t seem to care.

“How can I trust you?”

Usually, even if someone was from Einrogard, acting suspicious when criminals were offering everything would make them angry.

Mercenaries in the Empire’s back alleys were not known for being patient.

But the mercenaries who came to this meeting were very patient, like gentle lambs.

“To prepare for when you might say that, we have brought a truth potion ourselves. If you verify the ingredients, we will drink it and tell the truth immediately. There are no tricks or loopholes.”

“Hmph. You might have erased your memories.”

“We have prepared for that in advance as well. Would you please look at this mirror? It is a memory verification artifact that we bought for a high price. If you look at this artifact, you will see that there is no damage to our memories…”

The argument between the mercenaries, who wanted to live, and the wizard, who didn’t trust them, was very heated.

Giselle watched from the side, unable to speak because she was so surprised.

‘What on earth is this?’

There were criminals who surrendered asking for mercy, but this was the first time she had seen criminals surrendering with such detailed preparations.

If they could plan this well, why did they become criminals instead of doing honest work?

“Hoo. I have no choice but to admit it.”

And surprisingly, the mercenaries won.

Their strong desire to live helped them succeed.

Even against an Einrogard wizard!

-Are you really sure about this?

“There’s a time constraint, so I can’t afford to waste it on purpose. If it’s reliable information, I’ll take it.”

“You’ve made the right choice!”

The mercenaries clapped with the happiest faces in the Empire. Ivinta watched the scene and thought to himself.

‘I’m not that bad, so I’m lucky.’

Seeing these tough mercenaries act so happy made him feel even worse.

The priest, with a thorn mark on his forehead and blank eyes, blessed those gathered in the alley, saying:

“Everyone, pray. Pray to the great Immortal Regenerator. Pray for his endless life force and perfect body.”

“Ooh…”

“Oh, great god of life.”

Lately, people in this back alley were talking about a priest who could heal any wound.

Many people were hurt, from refugees running from the disaster in the West to people injured by monsters in the North.

Even in a strong Empire, some people are always forgotten and hurt.

These people were most interested in what the evil god worshippers taught.

The priest, with a thorn mark on his forehead and blank eyes, waved his arms. This was a signal that the meeting was finished.

“What? Is that it?”

Some people who were against magic stepped forward from the back.

These people used to be part of a group against magic, but it broke apart. They met this priest from the Prahgal Order by accident.

Calling them ‘evil god worshippers’ sounds scary, but some clever criminals knew how to use them.

They might be crazy, but they truly believed in their god. This faith could be used to control them.

These anti-magic people were the ones with knowledge and information in that area.

When they told the priest they were interested in Prahgal, he let them join without asking anything.

“That’s right.”

“We have so many followers now! Can’t we do more? I saw a servant from a rich family. We could target nobles or take over a merchant group…”

The remnants here were suffering from a lack of supplies and funds.

Whether they quit being anti-magic and started a new gang, or formed a new organization and contacted others, they needed gold.

“Hmm…”

The priest with the thorn pattern closed his eyes.

It was as if he was talking to his god.

“It is not yet time.”

“……”

Dissatisfaction filled the faces of the anti-magic activists.

As bold as they were to use an evil god worshipping priest, they also knew something about the structure of faith.

God wasn’t someone who gave clear orders. If the priest heard a voice, it was probably just what he wanted to believe.

“Tsk.”

“That’s why they’re lunatics.”

The anti-magic people backed away for now. But their eyes showed they were planning something bad.

It was a kind of threat. If they kept ignoring their demands, they would pay a price.

As the gathered people and the anti-magic activists retreated, the priest with the thorn pattern was left alone.

The priest put his arm deep into his mouth. It looked impossible, but his body bent easily, like he had no bones.

His body twisted like a snake eating its own tail, and a strange opening appeared inside him.

A voice spoke. It was the bishop of the Order!

Other worlds close to our world could help wizards with knowledge and magic, but they were also places where criminals hid.

Those who committed serious crimes on the continent either fled across the sea or hid secretly in this way.

These hidden worlds, reached by using worshippers’ bodies like keys, were hard for even strong wizards to find.

Still twisted into a strange shape, the priest spoke.

“I have acted as you instructed. The number of believers is increasing.”

What about those remnants?

“There is no trace of faith in them.”

I see.

The bishop, called ‘The Immortal,’ now looked hardly human at all.

It looked like a huge snake stuck to a body, swollen and moving slowly as it thought.

Being a bishop in a normal group in the Empire was different from being a bishop in an evil god group. It was much more important in the evil group.

In normal groups, bishops might be just leaders or given the title as an honor. But in evil god groups, bishops were real monsters who had to be strong to get that position.

If a bishop was weak or not loyal, others would kill them and take their place. That was the rule in evil god groups.

These bishops were the most important people in the evil god group. They were powerful and wanted to become even stronger by joining with their evil god.

Those Sanguis Order people are back. They are acting crazy again, even after we defeated them before. Haven’t they learned anything?

Other evil god worshippers called the Sanguis Order ‘extortionists’ to make fun of them.

The bishop didn’t believe the Sanguis Order would survive for long this time.

They lost their best fighters, but they are acting proud again. Whoever is leading them now must be very skilled to survive.

“Do you wish to devour them?”

No. Not yet. We lost too much. We need to get stronger first. Get more followers and make them believe more strongly. We need to be twice as powerful as before. Ignore those Sanguis people for now.

“I will keep that in mind.”

The bishop was still furious when he thought about the resources that another bishop of the Order had recklessly wasted.

The Immortal breathed out slowly, like a snake, showing his patience and anger. Evil god worshippers saw everyone as enemies.

Even their own followers and other bishops were seen as rivals.

Did you feed the bugs to the remnants?

“Yes.”

Then it is time to begin.

The anti-magic people were wrong about one thing.

The evil god worshippers were only letting them use them because they didn’t care about them.

But now that the evil god worshippers were paying attention, the anti-magic people were in danger.

The priest had already secretly given the anti-magic people bugs that would give him power over them.

These bugs made people stronger, but they also spread a terrible curse to everyone around them.

Soon, the anti-magic people would become like walking sicknesses, and people would turn to the god of life for help.

“I have one more thing to say.”

What is it?

“Many people are searching for those Sanguis Order people. I heard even strong wizards are looking for them.”

Fools. That’s probably true. But it doesn’t matter. If we control them, they can protect us.

The Immortal wasn’t worried.

Different evil god groups were very different.

The Sanguis Order was known for killing people openly. But people in the Empire would hide the Prahgal Order if they were found.

Even if someone followed them, only the stupid Sanguis people would get hurt.

“These evil thieves! Blocking the road and stealing money! Unacceptable!”

“We wizards fix these roads! How dare you charge people to use them?!”

Because criminals told them about suspicious people, Ian and his group quickly found criminals.

The students from White Tiger Tower felt very proud because they caught bandits hiding near the roads and human traffickers who ran from the South.

“Wodanaz! Thanks for helping. Without your magic… wait, Wodanaz, what’s wrong?”

“Are you sad because we didn’t find any evil god worshippers?”

“No, no. We can’t find evil god worshippers all the time. It’s like finding a rare magic card.”

“That’s not a nice comparison, but it’s kind of true.”

Finding small criminals was easy, but evil god worshippers were rare.

Even though there was a reason, Ian still felt unhappy. He poked the bandits on the ground with his staff, looking annoyed.

“Student Ian. Student Ian.”

“Yes?”

At Professor Garcia’s call, Ian stopped poking the fallen bandits with his staff.

The bandits, who were pretending to be dead, breathed a sigh of relief. The wizard who had been using magic like crazy was really scary.

“There’s a sickness spreading in Marheim city. It looks like a cursed sickness.”

“Did someone mess with old ruins?”

“I don’t know… But we should get ready. I’m going to make a potion. Can you help?”

“I’ll help too, Professor!”

Catton said excitedly. Professor Garcia quickly said, “Ah, Catton! Look! That bandit is untying himself to attack the younger students!”

“Huh?”

The bandit, who was still in pain, stopped moving, shocked.

It was a complete lie.

“Student Ian?”

Professor Garcia asked in a worried voice when Ian suddenly fell silent and deep in thought.

Usually, when this student was lost in thought like that, he would often do strange things…

“Professor, can I say something?”

“Of course! Do you have ideas about the potion?”

Professor Garcia knew Ian was good at potions.

They were both a bit strange and had learned from many different teachers.

“Instead of making potions for everyone, can I just use my Annihilation Magic to destroy the sickness quickly?”

“…Professor! Professor!! Can you come here?”

Professor Garcia quickly called Professor Kirmin.

He knew he couldn’t convince Ian alone.