Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 1172

The hag’s curiosity was a restless thing. She couldn’t stay put any longer; she had to know.

Hadn’t she just met a mortal? Yes, she remembered now.

“Well now,” the hag said, her voice raspy, “let this old woman ask you something.”

“!”

Lee Han, who was reviewing the magical architecture blueprints he had brought with Catton from the dormitory, was startled.

Lee Han was surprised when a powerful being from another dimension suddenly poked their head in.

“Is that, is that the person you mentioned back then?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Well, please take care of me. I am Catton from the Jahaan family.”

“Hmm,” the hag muttered, eyeing Catton. “You have the stance of a warrior. A talent for swords, perhaps?”

“Ah, no! I am a wizard.”

The hag scoffed inwardly. *A warrior? Nonsense.*

“Well,” Lee Han replied, a hint of sharpness in his voice, “one *can* be both a warrior and a wizard, you know.”

Lee Han, already accustomed to his senior’s eccentricities, replied naturally. Catton exclaimed in a nervous voice.

“I have heard tales of the great and wise hag. It would be a true honor to receive teachings about magic!”

Usually, a rude kid who barged in and demanded lessons would be in her cauldron by now. But…

The hag was eccentric, but not without a sense of propriety.

This time, wasn’t the hag the one who came to ask questions?

Lee Han wondered what the hag was curious about. *Let’s just hear her out,* he thought.

Catton carefully presented the book .

The hag’s hand suddenly appeared in the air and snatched it away fiercely.

‘How difficult must this book be…’

“Senior. You can just ask me if there’s something you don’t know.”

“Even so, I can’t keep bothering my junior…”

For a moment, the hag wondered if this mortal was mocking her.

However, Catton’s eyes were pure and unwavering.

What is this guy…?

“Senior, you are excellent at swordsmanship, but your magic is still a bit lacking.”

A bit?

The hag, dumbfounded, returned the book.

She had received all sorts of wicked requests from countless wizards, but this request – Catton wanting to learn magic – was a first.

Don’t ask this old woman for things like this. This old woman is not a nanny. More importantly, this old woman has a question…

” ? ”

Lee Han was puzzled.

“Did the negotiation fail after all?”

The hag resisted the urge to hit him with her staff.

Failure? Nonsense. If she wanted to, she could turn someone like that into dust. But the tentacled fellow was saying something strange. That someone had stolen his authority.

“I didn’t do it on purpose.”

” ? ”

” ? ”

Both the hag and Lee Han paused.

Huh?

What are you talking about?

“Then what are you talking about, hag?”

What this old woman heard was… that you stole the tentacled fellow’s authority? Must be a misunderstanding?

Maybe, there’s been a misunderstanding all around.

“But it’s true that I stole it?”

…What?

“Didn’t I mention it when we talked last time… that there was a conflict with the Prahgal Order…”

Lee Han said as if wondering why she was asking.

He had certainly mentioned it when he confided his concerns about the conflict with the Prahgal Order.

Of course, from the hag’s perspective, she wanted to strangle that brazen brat.

…If you stole authority, that’s important! You should have said so! You little trickster!

“It’s not like it’s the first time I’ve learned divine magic, so I didn’t think it was important. I thought Sanguiloth was more important, though.”

“Not the first time?” the hag repeated, her voice rising in surprise.

What on earth?!

“Um. If it’s difficult to negotiate because of that, you don’t have to. I apologize. Let’s just forget about it.”

“Remember this, you little… brat! This old woman keeps her promises!”

The hag scolded in an angry voice. Lee Han felt embarrassed.

Then what am I supposed to do?

“I was going to cancel because you called me a con artist. What was I supposed to do then?”

“You shouldn’t have tricked me by hiding the truth!”

“…Ah… Yes…”

Having been tricked by a mortal after a long time, the hag huffed and puffed.

And the most annoying thing was that he didn’t really intend to trick her. That made her even more humiliated.

Usually, those who tried to trick her were bold and arrogant. But this one… he was like water – no flavor at all!

How did he steal the authority?

“I don’t know exactly, but I think it was an equivalent exchange of magic power.”

For that to be possible, the magic power must be… Hmm. It’s possible, I suppose.

Judging roughly from when I hit him with the staff and sent the bugs, it was certainly possible.

‘To think something like that is possible. The fanatics would shed tears of blood if they heard about it!’

Evil god worshippers who are powerful are not just innocent believers. They are not selfless.

An ordinary believer might be mindlessly immersed in fanaticism, but from the moment they reach a certain level, the thoughts of evil god worshippers become mostly similar.

To become stronger and stronger and ascend as the evil god itself!

From a religious view, it’s wrong. Gods are to be worshipped, not to become.

But the hag thought that the purpose of these fanatics was somewhat reasonable.

Why would anyone believe in such evil gods without such a goal?

In any case, from that perspective, that mortal who was sucking away authority without any compensation was a very threatening existence.

Much more than he thought.

They should be saving even a handful of power to use for their own ascension, but if an outsider who doesn’t even believe in them steals it and takes it away, a leak of authority will occur…

From the bishop’s point of view, they would be furious. In some ways, the theft of authority was more painful than the planned scheme being ruined.

…Do you understand? What you did is not something to be taken lightly?

“!”

Lee Han was greatly surprised by the explanation. The hag nodded in satisfaction at his reaction.

“I… I didn’t know that.”

Yes. You should be surprised! You little ones don’t know the inner workings of madmen.

“Then from now on… I should steal the authority of the Sanguiloth Order to thwart them!”

……

The hag was astonished.

Usually, when a mortal hears this absurd plan to ascend to an evil god, they become frightened or overwhelmed…

…This mortal was trying to give a blow to the enemy he had made, regardless of whether that happened or not.

It was truly a boldness worthy of a contractor of the wandering star, Arna.

Aren’t you afraid or anything?

“Yes? Ah. Are you talking about them becoming evil gods? They’ve failed so far, so won’t they continue to fail?”

The hag decided not to look down on this mortal any longer.

The mortal before her eyes looked like a insignificant rat, but it was a rat that could bite the strong of other dimensions at any time.

There’s nothing wrong with being bold. You’re a very brave little one. The problem is that the tentacled ones are very sulky because of this.

“They are very narrow-minded. The orders on the continent praise you if you learn divine magic.”

It was a statement that would make evil god worshippers bristle.

It was only natural since the purposes of the two different orders were different.

One is ascension, and the other is sincere faith, so how can they react the same way!

That’s how those fanatics are. But this old woman is smarter. I have a plan for this.

“, what is it?”

Lee Han cast a slightly reverent gaze.

To think there is a way even in this situation.

The powerful beings of other dimensions were different for a reason.

We’ll trick them. We’ll say someone else did it.

“…Yes? Is that all?”

Although he hid the Einrogard insignia in the city, it was difficult for the rumors not to spread because of the things he had done.

Can you deceive them by saying someone else did it?

“Why wouldn’t it work? The tentacled one is a fellow who is stuck in a corner of a small dimension and doesn’t come out. He’d believe anything. He’s so out of touch, he’d believe the sky was green if you told him. And besides, I’m respected. My word means more than some ordinary person’s.”

Powerful people often don’t want to hear the truth.

The testimony of dozens of people can be distorted and manipulated as much as you want.

In comparison, the words spoken by a powerful being of another dimension have a different weight.

“Then… is it possible to say that the Sanguiloth guys did it?”

…I said the tentacled one was stuck in a corner, but I didn’t say he was a moron.

The hag looked at Lee Han with a pathetic expression.

Even if it’s easy to trick him, shouldn’t the lie be a little believable?

“Then what is it?”

“Wait a moment. Let me show you some magic.”

A hand suddenly appeared in the air and began to draw a strange pattern. It was a strange pattern that was completely different from the Imperial magic system.

Lee Han couldn’t help it; it was a wizard’s habit.

Catton also stared intently at the magic he was seeing for the first time. And that was the end of it.

‘Hmm. The magic power is moving.’

A boiling sound like a cauldron bubbling and a burning smell rose from somewhere, and the hag shouted with satisfaction.

“Done!” the hag declared, a grin spreading across her face. “I have the perfect name. The tentacled fool will fall for it, for sure.”

“What name is it?”

“The name this old woman picked is Steddle Nagoran.”

“……”

“Do you recognize it?” the hag asked, her eyes narrowed, watching Lee Han’s reaction.

This old woman has found out a name for you.

The hag returned and wrote the letters on the back of a large toad.

The other party was silent for a moment. From that alone, the hag could guess that the other party was surprised.

“You are truly wise, Hag. Tell me, who is it?”

“Steddle Nagoran!”

“I should have known! It’s that cursed Steddle Nagoran!”

Surprisingly, the other party accepted it without suspicion.

Since he already had a record, Steddle Nagoran was one of the leading suspects.

People were saying the Imperial Knights or Einrogard wizards were responsible, but the bishop didn’t believe it.

He knew they wouldn’t attack him directly.

He knew it was all Steddle Nagoran’s trickery. ‘I’ll make him pay,’ the bishop vowed.

The hag thought, *If the bishop is this easy to fool, his order won’t last long.*

Find out how you stole the authority yourself. I don’t know that much.

I don’t care. I’ll just ask him directly. …What price do you want?

Bishop, undead may be tricked, but they aren’t fools. He did not believe that there would be no price for the hag’s favor.

If he thought he could get away with just hearing the name, he was wrong. He would pay a price.

There are some guys this old woman wants to rip off these days. I don’t know if you know them. Sanguiloth…

“Ha! Those fools almost destroyed themselves once, and they still haven’t learned. Did they cause you trouble too?”

The hag thought to herself, *He should worry about his own order first.*

The hag wanted to laugh in his face.

Oh, how she’d love to reveal the truth and laugh at him later!