Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 133

Ethan felt the strange mood and quickly explained.

“To get better at controlling elements… you know, like shape-shifting and stuff… the best way is to just jump right in, right?”

“…Even so, isn’t that a really dangerous way to do it?”

The bishop looked confused, and the priest next to him said,

“He’s probably joking. Students are always causing trouble, aren’t they?”

“Ah, a joke…”

“But it wasn’t a joke,” Ethan thought. He knew saying that would make things even stranger, so he stayed quiet.

“In the Order, we start by learning to control flames through meditation and prayer.”

Ethan was surprised.

‘That’s all there is to it?’

And then he was surprised again.

This time, at himself.

‘…Voladius has made me strange.’

Now that he thought about it, controlling flames through meditation and prayer was a perfectly normal method.

Especially compared to risking your life to avoid fire!

The Aphah Order’s meditation was surprisingly simple. Ethan sat cross-legged on the cool stone floor, the faint scent of incense tickling his nose. He closed his eyes, just like the bishop instructed, and tried to picture a flame inside himself. At first, it was just darkness behind his eyelids. He focused, remembering the warm glow of the fireplace in the school common room. Slowly, a tiny spark flickered to life in his mind.

*Keep it steady,* he told himself. It was harder than it looked. Thoughts kept popping into his head – Professor Voladius’s grumpy face, the taste of breakfast, the upcoming Spring Festival. Each time his mind wandered, the tiny flame in his imagination dimmed. He had to pull his focus back, like grabbing a slippery fish.

*This is a bit like magic training,* Ethan thought. Concentration was key in both. You could have the right words, the right wand movement, the magic power ready, but if your mind wasn’t sharp, spells fizzled out like damp fireworks.

The bishop placed a candlestick in front of him, the soft *clink* echoing in the quiet room. He lit the candle with a small flame of his own. “To start,” the bishop said gently, “just focus on this candle. Try to keep it burning with your mind.”

“Yes, Bishop,” Ethan replied.

Ethan learned that the candles in the Aphah Order were special. They were said to flicker and die if the priest meditating lost focus. It was a clever trick, a visual reminder to keep your mind from wandering. He stared at the candle flame, its warm yellow light dancing in front of his closed eyes, and tried to keep his inner flame burning just as brightly.

An hour later.

“…You don’t need to meditate anymore.”

“Yes?”

Ethan, who had been imagining throwing fireballs at Professor Voladius in his mind, paused.

He had been meditating for a while, so why were they stopping him?

“Keeping the candle lit for an hour is excellent!”

For Ethan, who had talent and had passed Professor Voladius’s tough training, meditation was now just a simple exercise.

“Indeed…”

Ethan understood and took off his coat again. The bishop suddenly looked worried.

“You don’t need to throw fire, Ethan.”

“I just took it off because I was getting a little hot from standing by the fire.”

“Ah.”

The priests were embarrassed. Ethan felt a little unfairly treated.

‘They think I’m weird. It’s unfair.’

“By the way, does this mean I’m good at fire magic?” Ethan asked, curious.

He knew he was good with water, and he was doing okay with lightning.

But he hadn’t used fire much, so he didn’t know how good he was.

How good was he?

“Uh…”

“Hmm…”

The priests looked at each other.

He was definitely talented.

Usually, the priests kept their inner flame steady through regular meditation.

The fact that he had done it so easily without training meant he was born with it.

He’s clearly very gifted with fire, and he can imagine fire very clearly.

He was a natural priest of the Aphah Order.

…But they couldn’t say that.

They had made a promise with the headmaster.

‘If we tell him the truth, Ethan might want to become a priest,’ they thought.

‘We can’t let that happen.’

The headmaster didn’t want to lose talented students, and the priests respected that.

Of course, there was no way Ethan would want to become a priest, but the priests didn’t know that.

“It’s average,” one priest said.

“It’s average,” said another.

“Indeed… I see.”

Ethan nodded.

‘I guess it’s average.’

Ethan didn’t doubt them. There was no reason for them to lie.

And an average level was enough. It just needed to be good enough to not get in the way of learning other magic.

“Now, Ethan Wodanaz,” the bishop said, slipping a ring onto Ethan’s finger. Ethan was confused by the magic he felt from the ring.

“This is…?”

“It’s a fire absorption ring. It will protect you when you use fire magic.”

It was usually used to defend against fire magic or fight fire monsters, but it was also helpful for talented fire mages who couldn’t control their flames.

Ethan bowed his head in thanks.

“Thank you.”

“Do you know the fire spell? Try it.”

Ethan waved his wand and chanted the spell.

“Burn!”

Whoosh!

A fist-sized flame appeared on his palm. Ethan was happy with the better-than-expected result.

“Amazing.”

“…Bring more rings,” the bishop said.

“?!”

Ethan was surprised by the bishop’s serious reaction.

Was the ring not working?

‘I guess I was just lucky…’

Looking down at his hand, he saw that the ring was already cracked.

It seemed that was all it could do, even though it had absorbed as much as possible.

A single ring wasn’t enough.

Clink, clink, clink.

More rings were added. Ethan cautiously asked the bishop,

“Is this really okay?”

Ethan was a little worried after filling all ten fingers with rings.

Wouldn’t this many rings stop him from casting fire magic?

“It’s certainly a little…”

“Is it too much?”

“…It might not be enough. Bring the bracelets too.”

“……”

Ethan wondered if he was a student or the Empire’s worst fire magic criminal.

The bishop not only filled Ethan’s hands with rings but also put four bracelets on each wrist and two necklaces around his neck.

Since the Aphah Order often dealt with fire magic, they had a lot of anti-fire magic items.

‘Hmm. This is quite a strange look.’

Magicians might not have a great sense of style, but this was a bit much.

Even though he looked a bit strange, the Aphah Order’s method worked well.

Ethan started training in fire magic, covered in artifacts.

He started with the Fire Creation spell, moving the sparks he made.

And even spells like Lower Fire Resistance and Fire Evolution.

The priests were much more serious about the last two.

Luckily, everything went better than expected.

Ethan wondered if his natural talent for elemental magic was helping, or if Professor Voladius’s lessons worked for fire magic too.

He really hoped it was just his talent.

He didn’t want to prove that Professor Voladius’s teaching was right.

“Let’s stop here for today. You’ve worked really hard,” said the bishop.

“No, thank you. Can I practice alone when I go back?” Ethan asked.

“Of course not,” said the priest.

“…..”

The priest whispered seriously, “Shouldn’t we put a few more rings on him?”

Ethan pretended not to hear and said, “…But if I don’t practice alone, I won’t get better.”

“Next week, the Order’s priests will be staying at the school. We have permission from the Emperor to celebrate the Spring Festival.”

“!”

Ethan was even more surprised by the bishop’s words than anything else.

The priests were staying at the school even after this weekend?

Such… such happy news?

Ethan’s face lit up, and the priests were happy.

He seemed happy about the Spring Festival, like a normal student.

“You’re happy about the Spring Festival?”

“Yes? Ah… yes! Well. I am happy!”

Ethan suddenly remembered the Spring Festival. He had forgotten about it because he was so happy that the priests were staying at the school.

“Does the headmaster know?”

“I was going to tell him after today’s schedule.”

“If you tell him now, he’ll be very happy.”

“Is that so?”

There was no harm in telling him a few hours earlier. The bishop, looking puzzled, nodded.

Priest Nigisor went to see Ethan off as it was time for him to leave.

Ethan was happy with the Aphah Order, as he had learned a lot and received many helpful items.

“There were many rumors about the Aphah Order, but after meeting you, I realized they were nonsense.”

Priest Nigisor smiled, looking pleased. It seemed to be the first time he had smiled.

“Of course. The priests who serve the fire of Aphah are all kind and good. If they hadn’t accepted me, I wouldn’t be here.”

There were popular and unpopular races in the Empire.

And spirit hybrids, in whom the blood of the spirits had awakened, were often viewed with suspicion.

Most of them were asexual, and fire spirit hybrids could easily cause harm to those around them…

“Indeed. The priests are all kind. Those who say they deliberately set fires to end the world should be burned,” Ethan said shamelessly, even though he had once thought that himself.

Priest Nigisor nodded.

“That’s right. Everyone misunderstands. No one thinks like that except for me.”

“That’s right. …Hmm?”

Ethan paused.

Something was strange.

“What did you just say?”

“What are you talking about?”

“That… it sounded like you wanted to set a fire?”

“I don’t want to set a fire.”

“Ah. Is that so?”

“However, I do think that the more fire magic is used, the faster the fire of Aphah will come. The priests disagree… but every time I meditate, the fire of Aphah whispers to me…”

“……”

Ethan unconsciously stepped back. Nigisor spoke without realizing Ethan’s feelings.

“So, it’s great that you were born with such strong fire in your soul. I hope you achieve great things.”

“……”

It was the first time he had felt so unhappy to receive support.

“You’re so skinny. You’re all bones,” Tiziling said.

“I’m not,” Ethan replied.

“You’re so skinny! How can you be all bones…”

“I’m really not.”

While Tiziling and the priests were talking, Ethan opened the tent and walked in.

“Hello.”

“Ethan, what do you think?”

Ethan looked at the priest and then at Tiziling to understand what was happening.

Tiziling pleaded with her eyes.

She wanted him to tell the priests to stop worrying.

“He does seem skinny and like he’s all bones.”

“See? Bring something to eat.”

“……”

Tiziling stared in disbelief, but Ethan pretended not to notice and sat down, spreading a napkin. To survive at the magic school, you had to eat when you could.