Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 1170

Lee Han began to tell the story of the stone tablet and the hag.

He explained how he and his friends had explored the ruins of Bakwantallana.

“That’s right. We went together,” one of them confirmed.

“As you know, a wizard must be protected by a knight,” another added.

The White Tiger Tower students, eager to show their worth, chimed in, seizing the opportunity to speak.

Jidurf, his usual show-off attitude gone, waved his hand dismissively, looking annoyed. “I understand. Just be quiet.”

Even for a strict family leader like him, it was hard to stay calm after such surprising news. The empire’s powerful black wizards were suggesting sealing off the north to solve the problem, but it was already resolved?

“It seems that the stone tablet was like a key to another world,” Lee Han explained.

Angalo’s eyes widened. “So, the opening of the ruins might have caused the northern anomaly?”

He explained that a powerful object from another dimension could disrupt the natural order just by being there. When the Bakwantallana ruins had completely sealed the stone tablet’s power, everything was fine. But if the ruins were damaged enough to open, it wasn’t surprising that the power leaked out.

Lee Han looked surprised. “Angalo…!”

“What? Am I wrong?” Angalo asked.

“How did you figure this out on your own?” Lee Han wondered.

“Wizards from Einroguard, shouldn’t we return to the main topic?” Jidurf interrupted.

“I apologize,” Lee Han said.

So, while analyzing the stone tablet, they met its original owner, returned it, and resolved the issue through conversation. The anomaly would soon subside.

“Summon the black wizards,” Jidurf ordered the attendant beside him, barely keeping his composure.

Giselle looked embarrassed. “Wodanaz is always amazing, isn’t he?” she said.

The black wizards, who had been staying in the lower district of the citadel, hurried to the reception room after receiving the summons. The black wizards from Ahrak’s Descendants looked especially excited.

“To be called back so quickly… there’s only one reason, isn’t there?” one of them said.

“What do you mean?” another asked.

“The sealing, of course!” the first wizard replied, his eyes gleaming with anticipation.

“As I said before, sealing the north is impossible,” one wizard stated.

Another wizard turned to the Oondorgu’s legion of undead. “Shouldn’t we send this young one back to Kalarogard soon? What do you think?”

A low, rattling sound came from the undead wizard. “Don’t… know,” he rasped, his voice like stones grinding together.

“What’s wrong?” one of the Ahrak’s Descendants asked, puzzled by their strange behavior.

“Nothing,” the undead wizard replied evasively, avoiding eye contact.

“It doesn’t seem like nothing. Did you say something foolish to the northern knights about me apologizing in front of Gonadaltez? I didn’t cry, you know!”

The undead wizard insisted, “I didn’t say that.”

As they reached the top of the citadel, they saw the Einroguard professors approaching from the opposite side.

“Oh,” one of the Ahrak’s Descendants muttered, looking guilty.

They were relieved it wasn’t Mortum from the Black Magic School, but they still weren’t happy to see the Einroguard professors.

Taswhan greeted the professors politely. “Hello.”

“Professor Taswhan! It’s been a while!” Professor Garcia replied.

Professor Kirmin added, “It’s a pleasure to see you. I’m glad to see that your condition has improved.”

Taswhan, usually treated like a junior by the monstrous black wizards, felt a surge of emotion at their respect. He realized that in the empire, you could only truly rely on those from your own magic school.

Professor Garcia glanced at the Ahrak’s Descendants, who felt a sudden wave of murderous intent.

“Didn’t you feel murderous intent just now?” one of them asked the Obsidian Tower wizards.

The Obsidian Tower wizards stared back blankly. The Ahrak’s Descendants clicked their tongues at their indifferent attitude.

“It was a mistake to ask you. Never mind,” one of them said.

The Obsidian Tower wizards, a rare sight in the empire, were known for being calm, composed, and calculating—more like the enchantment magic school than the black magic school.

“Stop talking about murderous intent and help persuade the family head,” one of the wizards urged.

“About the sealing?” another asked.

“You said you agree with the Kalarogard black wizards. Instead of obsessing over sealing, let’s compromise by increasing the number of search personnel,” one suggested.

“Why did you even enter the black magic school? If you like compromise so much, why don’t you go to enchantment magic?” another retorted.

The black wizards continued to argue as they entered the reception room. The atmosphere inside was strange—awkward rather than urgent or desperate.

Why was it so awkward?

“Now that everyone is here, let’s get straight to the point,” Jidurf said. “Black wizards, is the extra-dimensional figure suspected to be the cause of the northern anomaly the hag?”

The black wizards were startled. They had discussed another dimension, but they hadn’t mentioned the hag’s name to the family head, fearing it would only increase competition.

“How did he know?” they wondered. “Did the Einroguard professors advise him? But even they wouldn’t have been able to figure out the hag’s existence, would they?”

There were many extra-dimensional beings that black wizards were interested in. Even those present had only hypothesized the hag’s existence after gathering clues and making inferences in the north. How could the Einroguard professors, who hadn’t been there long, know?

“Y-yes… that’s right,” the black wizards admitted hesitantly. They weren’t foolish enough to lie to the northern knight family.

“Hmm,” Jidurf hesitated slightly.

The black wizards were puzzled. Why was the usually cold knight acting like that?

“Is it really about sealing?” they wondered.

“I’ve heard that they’ve already found and recovered the hag’s stone tablet,” Jidurf announced.

A chilling silence filled the room. Not only the black wizards but even the Einroguard professors were stunned.

“Who, when, and how did they do that?” they wondered.

“Wait, wait, wait!” one of the black wizards exclaimed. “Family Head, this is crazy talk! Someone is lying to you! Who told you this nonsense?”

Lee Han cautiously raised his hand, aware of the unfamiliar black wizards present.

“You! Where did you get such lies!” the wizard shouted.

He pointed a finger at Lee Han and cried, “Reveal the traces of great wisdom!”

The third descendant of Ahrak cast a spell to track the hag’s magic, known for being bizarre even across dimensions. They had developed a special magic to find even the slightest trace.

Suddenly, a bolt of white light, sharp and cold as ice, shot from his fingertip and struck Lee Han’s hair, leaving a faint shimmer like frost.

The shocked Ahrak’s Descendants collapsed in their seats, even more stunned than the other black wizards. They had offered countless bribes to contact the hag, but she had ignored them. Yet, this young man had met her and had a conversation!

The other black wizards seemed to be thinking the same thing, murmuring among themselves.

A low, rattling sound came from the undead wizard. “How did he have a conversation?” he rasped.

“Is it a secret of the Einroguard Black Magic School?” one wizard wondered.

“I’ve never heard of such a thing,” another said.

The third descendant, barely regaining his senses, staggered to his feet and asked Lee Han in a hoarse voice, “You met and had a conversation?”

“Yes. She asked for the stone tablet back, so I returned it,” Lee Han replied.

“How could you return it without permission, you crazy young bastard!” the Ahrak’s Descendants screamed, jumping up and down.

Of course, it was an unfair accusation. They were planning to return it as well, as the stone tablet had to be returned to its owner to resolve the situation. Whether the black wizards received wise advice in the process was important, but the stone tablet had to be returned in the end.

The sound of the reception room’s solid rock floor shattering echoed as Professor Garcia, enraged, slammed his fist down.

“What was that?” he demanded. “Say that again to my student. Is this an official statement from Ahrak’s Descendants?”

The descendants quickly became subdued, remembering that there were professors present. The rule that if you mess with a student, the professor comes, and if you mess with a professor, the headmaster comes, was well-known in Einroguard.

“What do you mean, no!” Professor Garcia continued. “Not only did you exclude the Einroguard Black Magic School without inviting them, but you even throw such insults?”

A low, rattling sound came from the undead wizard. “They’re really bad guys!” he rasped, siding with the professors. The Ahrak’s Descendants were appalled by their behavior.

“So this is what it was!” they realized. “No wonder they were being evasive and looking around earlier!”

“We… we apologize, Professor Garcia,” one of the descendants said. “We’re sincerely sorry. We were too surprised and made a mistake.”

The Obsidian Tower wizards muttered, “You make mistakes quite often, both in front of Gonadaltez and now,” earning glares from the descendants.

“Then, is it okay that we returned the stone tablet?” Lee Han asked.

“It’s… it’s okay…” the descendants replied, swallowing their tears of blood.

In fact, it wasn’t okay at all. Considering the offerings they had made, the praises, the development of the exclusive tracking magic, and the time and effort spent on analyzing the clues, it felt like tears would flow down. No matter how old they got, this kind of sadness was something they couldn’t endure as wizards.

“Perhaps… did you have anything you wanted to ask the Hag?” Lee Han asked, feeling sorry for the older black wizards.

As a fellow wizard, he could empathize with their feelings. How disheartening would it be if someone else took what you had been searching for so diligently and finished it?

“We did…” one of them replied.

“Well, I’m going to meet her again soon, so should I ask her for you instead?” Lee Han offered.

The Ahrak’s Descendants were surprised once again. The hag had made another appointment! They didn’t even question it, as they were so happy to have the opportunity to ask questions.

“If, if you do that for us, we’ll let you become a new descendant of Ahrak!” one of them exclaimed.

They had often discussed needing a new wizard among the descendants, as they were all over a hundred years old and often tired of each other.

“That’s alright. More than that, there’s something I’d like to ask,” Lee Han said.

“What is it?! Ask anything!” the Ahrak’s Descendants replied, becoming as kind as grandfathers treating their grandson.

“What’s this about excluding the Einroguard Black Magic School without inviting them?” Lee Han asked.