Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 170

Lee Han wondered how to explain that it was midterm week and he wasn’t only taking Professor Volardi’s class.

“Professor, is it really okay for me to go to the dungeon now? It’s midterm week, you know.”

Professor Volardi simply said, “Yes.”

Lee Han gave up.

‘Well, I didn’t expect anything else.’

Professor Volardi would definitely hold his class even if the magic school was about to be destroyed.

Would someone like that show consideration just because it was midterm week?

“Yes, let’s go!”

“Don’t be overly enthusiastic. It can lead to mistakes.”

Lee Han thought, ‘Should I just… ignore him? No, that wouldn’t work. *Maybe* just a little curse? No, better not.’

Professor Volardi had once lost control of the dungeon, allowing a Rakshasa Ghoul to enter an area where ordinary Ghouls appeared.

And Lee Han had defeated it.

Now, even the Imperial Court would have trouble deciding whether the master or the disciple was at fault.

Of course, Lee Han had a clear opinion.

‘Professor Volardi is insane.’

“Aren’t we going to the Rakshasa Ghoul area?”

Lee Han was confused when Professor Volardi stopped walking.

To get to where the Rakshasa Ghouls appeared, they needed to go further down… into the damp, cold dungeon. The air grew heavy with the smell of earth and something else… something faintly rotten.

Professor Volardi smiled very faintly at Lee Han’s question.

Lee Han felt a chill.

“As I said, don’t be overly enthusiastic. Emotional fluctuations lead to magical errors.”

Lee Han sighed at Professor Volardi, who saw a simple question as excitement about seeing Rakshasa Ghouls.

“I understand. You want to go and practice as soon as possible.”

“That’s not it.”

“No need to be modest.”

“The reason I stopped here is because of illusion magic.”

“Illusion magic?”

Lee Han was puzzled.

Professor Volardi didn’t particularly favor any specific magic field and used whatever was needed for magical combat.

Still, wasn’t Professor Kirmin Ku the expert for that?

“I was originally planning to teach how to deal with illusion magic later.”

Professor Volardi thought a freshman like Lee Han would rarely encounter illusion magic.

He thought it would be enough to teach how to deal with it after other practical training in magical combat.

‘Isn’t that right?’

Lee Han agreed.

“It seems there’s nothing wrong with that.”

“Wrong.”

“Yes?”

“You fought Ogonin, didn’t you?”

“Well…”

“Considering the future, you’ll need to know how to deal with illusion magic.”

‘I think you need to study logic and statistics.’ Lee Han thought to himself.

Fighting Ogonin was more of an accident, not because Lee Han had some grand plan like, ‘I must chase down and defeat the Empire’s illusionists.’

Regardless, Professor Volardi raised his wand. Lee Han tensed up.

Fortunately, Professor Volardi didn’t attack Lee Han. He waved his wand and summoned an illusion.

Suddenly, three *more* Professor Volardis stood beside him. They were perfect copies, down to the stern look on their faces, but if Lee Han squinted, he could see a faint shimmer around their edges.

‘This is several times more dreadful.’

“Illusion magic is like two kinds of tricks,” Professor Volardi explained. “One kind messes with your mind directly, like trying to control your thoughts. That’s very hard magic. The other kind changes what you see around you, like making fake walls or fake people. That’s a bit easier.”

Illusion magic cast directly on the opponent was so difficult that it was classified separately as mental magic.

Mental magic that properly took hold could control the opponent like a puppet…

In comparison, illusion magic cast externally was relatively less difficult.

Since there was no need to directly target the opponent’s mind, it was enough to simply conjure an illusion.

However, that didn’t mean it was completely useless. Depending on the situation and location, the latter could be used more effectively.

‘So, is that why the magician Ogonin failed?’

Lee Han imagined Ogonin collapsing and clutching the back of his neck if he heard that.

The fact that he had tried so many times without any success had left a strong impression.

“You are naturally highly resistant to the former.”

A magician’s magical power itself created resistance to external magic.

Of course, that resistance wasn’t that significant. If simply having magical power allowed one to resist magic, half of the Empire’s magicians would be out of a job.

However, if the amount of magical power was unimaginably large, the story changed.

At that point, the resistance created could not be ignored.

‘Not bad.’

He was happier about this advantage, considering how much he suffered from having a lot of magical power.

“To what extent can I defend?”

“That cannot be known. Magical resistance due to the amount of magical power is rare, and many other variables also come into play. Find out for yourself.”

“Understood.”

‘I hope the magician Ogonin was reasonably skilled.’ Lee Han thought inwardly.

If Ogonin’s skill was decent, then he should be able to defend against a considerable amount of mental magic.

Of course, that seemed unlikely…

“However, illusions cast externally are different from the former,” Professor Volardi’s clones said in unison. The sound echoed.

“Since your magical resistance has little effect, you must learn the knack of distinguishing them. How will you distinguish them?”

Lee Han immediately created a water orb and threw it at one of the clones. Professor Volardi’s clone ducked to avoid it.

‘Too bad.’

He wanted to hit even an illusion…

“Not bad. Illusions are vulnerable to external attacks. However, in combat situations, you cannot check each one in that way. You must learn to identify them with your senses.”

“Senses?”

“That’s right. No matter how elaborately an illusion is created, there will inevitably be differences from reality.”

Excellent observation skills were an essential condition for dealing with illusion magic.

‘It’s a kind of spot-the-difference game.’

“Find them.”

Professor Volardi’s clones lined up side by side. Lee Han resisted the urge to throw water orbs and focused.

“The clone on the far left is fake.”

“Correct.”

One clone disappeared.

“The color of the shoes was different. You noticed it well.”

“…Yes.”

Actually, it was because the impression was a bit softer than Professor Volardi’s, but…

“The clone on the far right is also fake.”

“Did you notice it by the color of the wand?”

“Yes. Of course,” Lee Han replied, trying to sound confident, *even though it was totally the kinder eyes.*

“Well done.”

Actually, it was because the look in the eyes was kinder than Professor Volardi’s, but anyway, this was also correct.

‘Maybe this is what it means to identify with your senses,’ Lee Han thought dryly. *Or maybe it just means Professor Volardi has terrible fashion sense.*

Anyway, senses are senses.

“Now we are going to face the Rakshasa Ghouls. Be mindful of illusions.”

Professor Volardi began to conjure the Rakshasa Ghouls’ illusions.

It was already hard enough to face the Rakshasa Ghouls, but he deliberately added illusions to increase the difficulty.

Lee Han was amazed.

‘So, that’s why you explained how to deal with illusion magic.’

He really wanted to hit him.

Exhausted but strangely satisfied after the challenging dungeon training, Lee Han returned to the lounge. The scene that greeted him was far from the magical battles he had just faced.

When Lee Han returned to the lounge, it looked like a battlefield after a very messy war. Students were sprawled on couches and the floor, groaning softly. The air was thick with the smell of stale alcohol and regret. Gainan was clutching his head, moaning, while Yoner sat pale as a ghost, sipping water like it was liquid gold.

“You should have drunk in moderation,” Lee Han said coldly.

Even if it was a school that didn’t provide food, they shouldn’t have eaten everything they were given the day before the exam.

It was no wonder they were all collapsing with hangovers.

It was safe to say that almost all the Blue Dragon Tower students had drunk alcohol.

From Gainan, who was groaning and clutching his head, to Yoner, who was sitting with a bloodless face and only drinking water. Even the princess couldn’t lift her head properly, probably because she had drunk alcohol.

“Ugh…”

“Are you alright?”

“I thought it was suspicious, but…”

Yoner stood up with a pale face.

A great alchemist also loves alcohol.

The temptation was too strong to resist the overflowing alcohol in the banquet hall.

“Everyone, wait. I’ll cook something for you.”

“Thank you, Wodanaz…” groaned Gainan. “You’re a lifesaver…” added Yoner weakly. “Seriously, you’re the only one who can save us right now.”

‘Is this how much gratitude I should receive for hangover soup?’ Lee Han thought as he lit the fire under the pot.

He peeled and boiled the potatoes, the warm, earthy smell filling the air. Then, he mashed them smooth and creamy, mixing in rich milk and melting cheese. Soon, a pot of thick, comforting potato soup was simmering gently.

Although new supplies had been brought in over the weekend, there was no need to waste them. Potato soup was enough.

‘I should add some mushrooms.’

Lee Han stirred the soup with a ladle, scooped it up generously, and handed a bowl to each of his friends.

“Alchemy class is in an hour. Will everyone be alright?”

“Of… of course. There’s a 90% chance I can go, Wodanaz.”

“Me too… definitely…”

‘These guys are hopeless.’

Judging by their condition, he was worried that they wouldn’t be able to attend other classes properly.

How much alcohol did the Headmaster Skeleton give them…

“The alchemy midterm is due by Friday, so don’t worry too much. I’ll go and let you know.”

“No, Wodanaz. Together… Ugh.”

“The world… is spinning…”

“…It’s better if you just stay still.”

Lee Han, who had arrived at the alchemy class, looked around, surprised.

The number of students… Wasn’t it too small?

“It’s not surprising,” Professor Uregeoreum said nonchalantly.

He didn’t seem surprised at all, even though only a few of the many students had come to class.

“Does this happen every year?”

“You guessed it.”

Lee Han was dumbfounded.

Well, given the Headmaster Skeleton’s personality, it wouldn’t be strange if he did this every time before the midterms…

And it was also absurd that the freshmen were fooled every time.

“Now, those of you who came today, tell those who couldn’t come. Of course, you don’t have to tell them.”

Professor Uregeoreum tapped the blackboard, where the midterm assignment was written in detail.

>Vitality Bone Regeneration Potion

Required items – Birch branch, Dendrobium leaf, Thistle flower, Boneset flower…

Production method – First, stir the water with a birch branch, clockwise…

‘What? Are you telling us everything?’ Lee Han was surprised.

He had naturally expected that they would be unreasonable with the problem, given the generous amount of time.

Like telling them to find the production method on their own, or to find out what materials are needed on their own, and so on.

But he was telling them in such detail.

‘The birch tree is over there, and I know where the Dendrobium is, and the thistle too… Hmm?’

Lee Han, who was writing down the materials, suddenly felt something was wrong and stopped.

Nilia, who was next to him, raised her hand, as if she felt the same way.

“Professor?”

“What is it?”

“As far as I know, Boneset flowers grow deep underground in dungeons.”

“So?”

“Uh… yes? So, isn’t it hard to get them inside the school?”

“What nonsense,” Uregeoreum said with a satisfied smile.

“There are many dungeons in this school, so just find them and go down.”

“Ah…”

Lee Han could feel the emotion contained in Nilia’s ‘Ah.’ It would be something like, ‘Ah, this is too much.’

“Do we have to go down to the dungeon to get it?”

“You don’t necessarily have to go all the way down to the dungeon. If there’s another way to get it, you can get it that way.”

‘Is that why the seniors raid the professors’ workshops?’

Lee Han felt like he knew why the seniors he didn’t even know were stealing.

How could they not do it when the class was like this?

Nilia grumbled as if she couldn’t believe it.

“When and how are we supposed to go into the dungeon again? Even if it’s due by Friday. Other classes have exams too.”

“That’s right,” Lee Han strongly agreed.

What dungeon are we talking about when other classes also have midterms?

“Finding the dungeon is also a problem. Does a dungeon appear right away when you find it? We don’t even know where it is underground. Wodanaz, do you know any dungeons?”

Nilia asked, but she didn’t really think Lee Han would know.

Lee Han was also a freshman, so how would he know about dungeons located underground?

She just asked as a complaint.

“I do know one.”

“…?!?!”

Nilia looked at Lee Han with a dumbfounded expression. How on earth?