Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 155

Lee Han exclaimed, “Aha! A misunderstanding like that!”

He had just heard Professor Alphen’s explanation.

How could such a misunderstanding occur!

“Isn’t it ironic?”

“…Indeed!”

“But thanks to that misunderstanding, the students’ skills have improved even more, so I suppose we can call it a happy accident, wouldn’t you agree?”

Lee Han tried hard to keep his face calm, but the Valdrogard wizard’s words almost made him lose control.

‘Did the opponent use mental magic?’ he wondered.

Otherwise, there was no way he could say something so infuriating.

“Hahaha!”

“Ahahaha!”

Lee Han forced a laugh, a dry “Haha. Haha,” that sounded fake even to his own ears, to avoid breaking the amicable atmosphere.

Behind him, a friend asked with a puzzled expression, “Wait, we did all that for nothing?”

Lee Han spoke firmly to shut his friend up, “Trouble? Learning magic is never trouble!”

Of course, it *was* trouble, he thought bitterly, but he couldn’t say that in front of the professors.

The wizards nodded in admiration.

“That’s right.”

“Truly remarkable, Mr. Wodanaz. With that kind of mindset, you were able to complete it so quickly. But that separately completed part…”

Lee Han quickly made an excuse.

Even with the same result, things could appear differently depending on how you phrased them.

“Thanks to the professors giving us the opportunity to solve it ourselves, we were able to complete it temporarily like this.”

It was the disciple’s way of subtly covering up the professor’s mistake.

However, Professor Alphen wasn’t the type to care much about such things.

“Oh, dear. Yes, that was my mistake, wasn’t it? My apologies.”

“……”

The wizards, having examined the magic circle, stepped outside the lecture hall to converse for a moment.

Regardless of Lee Han’s feelings, Professor Alphen couldn’t help but be impressed once more.

Naturally, since they weren’t meant to complete the whole thing, the latter half had some empty parts.

For a freshman to solve that with their own wisdom…

And then there was the sphere of light.

It floated in the air, glowing softly, held in place by some clever enchantment. It pulsed with a gentle light, like a captured star.

“It’s been several minutes, and it hasn’t disappeared, maintaining its form. The freshman added magic on the spot and connected it to the existing magic circle.”

“Truly astonishing.”

Kendry sighed, thinking about practical matters, unlike the more dreamy Alphen.

“It’s such a shame,” Kendry murmured. “The Imperial bureaucracy could use talents like that…”

Professor Alphen gave Kendry a sharp look. “Kendry!” he warned.

“I was just joking. A joke. I know that too. Of course, we should let him focus on magic.”

“Isn’t that our responsibility and duty?”

The two wizards exchanged meaningful glances and resolved in low voices.

Let’s help that young genius focus solely on magic!

At first, they were stunned into silence. Then, slowly, the shock faded, replaced by smiles.

“It’s not necessarily a bad thing,” said Asan, always the optimist. “The professor liked you, right?”

“That’s right, Wodanaz.”

“Yeah, Wodanaz,” added Gainan, nodding enthusiastically. “Those guests from other places were also very surprised, weren’t they?”

Unlike Lee Han, his friends quickly recovered from the shock.

At first, they were surprised that they had done something they didn’t need to do, but the professor’s praise and the admiration from the guests were much more pleasing.

The sight of people marveling at the completed magic.

Isn’t this the reward of a wizard?

“It’s not necessarily a bad thing. The professor evaluated you quite highly, didn’t he?”

“???”

“Wodanaz? What’s wrong? You said you understood.”

“It’s not necessarily bad…”

“Wodanaz! Wodanaz! What’s wrong! Are you okay!?”

Lee Han’s friends from the Blue Dragon Tower, worried, grabbed his arms and gently shook him.

Only then did Lee Han come to his senses and steel his resolve.

‘Right. It’s not a bad thing,’ he thought.

In the first place, wasn’t he doing something that Asan could have done alone, just to impress Professor Alphen?

In a way, he had exceeded expectations.

Even if Professor Alphen was stubborn and strict, Lee Han’s name would have remained in his memory, at least a little.

‘Maybe I can get a recommendation letter when I challenge for a government post later…’

While Lee Han was trying his best to imagine happy scenarios, the Valdrogard students were racking their brains to find flaws in the magic circle.

“This part seems a bit unrefined, doesn’t it? If it were me, I would have combined these three lines into one for efficiency.”

“But if you did that, there would be a magical collision here, and the magic supply to this sphere wouldn’t work.”

“Damn it! How did they create such a magic circle so quickly? It’s not like they have infinite magic power!”

“Shhh! Have some dignity!”

“M-my apologies. I almost tarnished the honor of Valdrogard.”

‘What are those guys doing?’ Lee Han wondered as he watched the Valdrogard students whispering.

It was strange that they were still clinging to the magic circle and whispering while the guests were outside talking.

‘Should I talk to them? But…’

Lee Han was reluctant to speak first.

Because…

He had beaten the Valdrogard students a little too much.

He had been so focused on not losing the outing pass that Professor Volardy had, that he couldn’t hold back.

‘Thinking about it now, I could have gone a little easier on them.’

If he spoke to them and a student he had hit started a fight, things would get troublesome.

It was at that moment.

Bzzzt!

“!!”

“What are you doing!”

One of his friends gasped, his voice sharp with shock.

One of the Valdrogard students had touched the illusion statue in the center, causing it to disappear.

“Ah… no! I didn’t do it on purpose!”

“What do you mean you didn’t! Such a despicable… Is this what they teach you in Valdrogard!?”

“No! I didn’t! It has nothing to do with Valdrogard! It was my mistake!”

The student was at a loss, as his mistake was escalating into a situation that would tarnish the honor of Valdrogard.

He looked like he was about to burst into tears.

Even though they were seniors, they were only a year older than the Einrogard students.

It was natural that they didn’t have the ability to skillfully handle such a mistake.

‘This isn’t good,’ Lee Han thought he had to step in.

If the professors or guests came back and saw the current situation, they wouldn’t like it.

Not only the Valdrogard students who made the mistake, but also the Einrogard students who were excessively pushing them, would be scolded together.

‘Even if the opponent made a mistake, they are guests. If you push them too hard, it will only make things worse.’

“You Valdrogard bastards who go out whenever you want!”

“You guys are going to play in the city even on holidays!”

The Valdrogard students didn’t understand the Einrogard students’ anger at all.

“W-what’s wrong with that?”

“What’s wrong with that?! What’s wrong with that!?!??”

“I can never forgive…!”

“Everyone, calm down.”

Lee Han stopped his friends.

The friends who were angry suddenly hesitated as if cold water had been poured on them when Lee Han stepped forward.

Lee Han stepped forward, and something in his calm gaze, in the quiet authority he carried himself with, made his friends hesitate. It was the Wodanaz family presence, a weight of unspoken command.

“But Wodanaz, the statue we worked so hard to make is broken.”

“Without the statue decorating the center…”

The magic circle was only complete when the spheres of light decorated both sides and the illusion statue in the center showed off its beauty.

‘It would be impossible to fix the magic circle right now,’ Lee Han clicked his tongue after checking the damaged magic circle.

It was ruined, the lines of the magic circle smudged and broken where the Valdrogard student had stumbled.

If so…

“I’ll summon something to replace it. Don’t worry.”

“?!!”

Lee Han took out the magic he had to learn forcibly from Professor Bible Verdus.

He could have just used simple light magic, a basic trick. But Professor Bible, in his usual dramatic fashion, had insisted on teaching him something far more elaborate – a spell to conjure a dragon of pure light, something meant for grand displays, not quick fixes.

>Azhirmo Enchantment>.

Among the dragons of the Empire, famous dragons often had their names recorded in history.

One of them was Azhirmo.

He was a famous dragon who appeared in fairy tales and traditions, so the Valdrogard students quickly recognized him.

“It’s Azhirmo!”

“He’s summoning him…!”

Not only the Valdrogard students but also the Einrogard students stared at Lee Han as if they were possessed as he chanted the spell.

Bang!

‘Oh dear,’ Lee Han thought, as the light flickered and died. ‘Failed. As expected, Azhirmo Enchantment was much harder than it looked.’

“Did he fail…?”

“Idiot! If he failed, he would have been hit. That’s the preparation process.”

“I, I see.”

‘I failed though.’

Listening to the Valdrogard students whispering, Lee Han quickly tried again.

It was better for everyone to clean up the situation before the professors came in.

After six attempts, Lee Han succeeded in enchanting Azhirmo in the center of the magic circle.

Fwoooosh!

A shape began to form in the center of the magic circle, coalescing from pure light. It took the form of a dragon, Azhirmo, its scales shimmering like a thousand tiny stars, its eyes burning with a soft, inner fire. It was different from the stone statue, but in its own way, even more breathtaking.

The Valdrogard student who made the mistake approached Lee Han with teary eyes.

“Really… really…”

“It’s alright,” Lee Han said gently. “Accidents happen.”

Since he had decided to resolve the situation smoothly, there was no need to insult the other party more than necessary.

Of course, Lee Han’s anger soared when he heard that the Valdrogard students were going out and indulging themselves every weekend.

But that was that, and this was this.

Besides, since he had the original sin of hitting them with water orbs, he had to be kind like this…

“Thank you so much.”

“?”

“Lee Han! If you ever visit Valdrogard, please come to our family’s mansion!”

“…???!!”

Lee Han saw the misunderstanding in their eyes, but before he could explain…

The professors who returned after finishing their conversation were surprised to see that the magic circle had changed.

The Valdrogard wizard realized what had happened just by looking at the damaged magic circle and the students’ expressions.

“-I’m really sorry!”

“-No. Don’t be. The students resolved it smoothly among themselves. On the contrary, this would make the students’ efforts meaningless.”

“-…Thank you.”

The Valdrogard wizard called Lee Han aside and thanked him again.

“-I’ve heard great things about the Wodanaz family. Thank you so much for your help.”

“-It’s nothing, Professor. But I think the Valdrogard students are misunderstanding me…”

“-If anyone is scared of the Wodanaz name, I’ll tell them they’re wrong!”

“-No, that’s not it…”

“-Oh. I have to go now. Once again, I express my gratitude for your generous response.”

“-……”

Lee Han sighed inwardly. He was being praised for something he hadn’t even intended, and now he was stuck with this ‘generous hero’ image.

“Aren’t those Valdrogard guys a bit annoying?”

At Lee Han’s words, Asan nodded as if he strongly agreed.

“They’re very unlucky guys. They go out as they please, and they even broke the magic circle after coming here.”

‘Oops. Is this why magic schools hate each other?’

Lee Han came to his senses at Asan’s strong reaction.

Before entering the school, he thought, ‘Why do they have such unnecessary competitiveness?’, but after suffering in Einrogard, he felt unnecessarily resentful towards the students from other magic schools.

This was a very irrational behavior.

‘Let’s get a grip. I mustn’t fall for the Skull Headmaster’s tricks.’

Just as Lee Han was resigning himself to his fate as the misunderstood hero, Gainan burst into the room, shouting.

“Wodanaz! Did you hear!?”

“Hear what?”

“Gainan has found the outing pass!!”

“!”

Lee Han’s eyes widened. Asan said urgently from the side.

“Wodanaz! Before someone else takes it…!”

“……”

Asan paused, looking conflicted. “…Forget what I just said. It’s not right. I shouldn’t have said that.”

“No. I understand how you feel.”