Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 177

As Lee Han clicked his tongue, his eyes turned as cold as winter ice. His voice dropped, sending a chill through the apprentice knights. They stared at him, mouths open in shock.

Wodanaz had tricked them! He had been lying all along!

Wodanaz… I… I trusted you! I respected your honor!

What respect are you talking about? You arrogant fools have never lived a day in Einroguard and look down on us.

Lee Han’s calm reply made the White Tiger Tower students cheer loudly.

That’s right! Wodanaz!

Well said! What’s with all this talk about respect!

It was strange. The White Tiger Tower students were cheering for Lee Han.

However, the apprentice knights didn’t understand their relationship and misunderstood again.

You cowardly bastards…! You used Wodanaz, who isn’t from a knightly family, to lower our guard, didn’t you?

???

Ah, no, we didn’t order him to do that?

The White Tiger Tower students were surprised by the sudden blame.

They weren’t that close to Wodanaz, and he wasn’t the type to do as they said.

He just used the trick on his own!

Wodanaz! Explain! When did we ever tell you to do that!

Lee Han nodded at the White Tiger Tower students’ words.

That’s right. These friends would never order such a thing. Would friends from knightly families who know honor do such a thing? Don’t make such silly ideas.

Of course, the apprentice knights didn’t believe him.

We’ll see about that!

You cowardly lot!

……

I tried.

Lee Han shrugged.

The White Tiger Tower students glared at Lee Han.

Lavda of the Enge family was known as the most skilled knight among the apprentice knights.

So, even as other students and apprentice knights dropped out, he stayed to face Lee Han.

Now, their duel was more than just a simple fight.

It was a battle of pride: knights from the magic school against apprentice knights dedicated to the sword!

Hmm. Now that I think about it, I got angry for nothing.

Lee Han thought to himself.

Lee Han only needed good grades, but he had made his opponent angry for no reason.

Because the opponent was talking nonsense about how magic school life wasn’t very difficult…

Lavda gripped his sword, his face tense.

Unlike Lee Han, Lavda was very nervous.

Lee Han had already gotten a perfect score on the midterm exam, so he had nothing to lose even if he lost the duel.

Since he was from the Wodanaz family, there would be no shame if he lost a bit in swordsmanship. Anyone who made fun of him for that would be crazy.

But it was different for Lavda.

He had too much to lose if he lost to Lee Han.

It would be a defeat for all the apprentice knights, and he would be the one who lost to a magician in swordsmanship…

Lavda. Calm down. Your opponent is from a magician family.

You heard how he won. Just be careful of the tricks. You know that, right?

Of course.

Lavda stood up.

I will win!

No matter what it takes!

Wodanaz. There will never be another time like this, but I’ll cheer for you this once.

Win!

Thank you. Your pathetic cheers are encouraging.

Compared to the apprentice knights, who were closely united, Lee Han and the White Tiger Tower students had a dry relationship.

Some of the White Tiger Tower students were still wondering, ‘Should we really hope that Wodanaz wins?’

By the way, what kind of swordsmanship does that guy use?

Lee Han asked, looking behind him.

Since Lee Han wasn’t from a knightly family, his opponent wouldn’t know much about his sword style, and would likely underestimate him.

That wasn’t Lee Han’s problem. He was planning to fight knowing about his opponent.

The ever-changing Absorption Sword (吸劍).

Giselle replied.

Every family in the Empire had their own sword style. But the Enge family’s style was very special.

The changes were small and strange. When you fought them…

You could feel a suction force as if you were being pulled from a swamp.

If you didn’t have much experience, this sword style would be very confusing at first.

Is that so? Deurghyu. What kind of swordsmanship does that guy use?

That ba…

Giselle was angry.

Why was he asking again, even though she had just told him?

She had bothered to tell him, but he dared to doubt her…

Don’t misunderstand. Moradi. It’s not that I don’t trust you. I just thought Deurghyu had faced him directly, so he would have felt something different.

Y-Yeah. Moradi. Wodanaz probably didn’t have bad intentions either.

The White Tiger Tower students tried to calm the situation.

Deurghyu asked quietly.

Really?

No.

……

One of the friends who was trying to stop them turned his head and asked.

What did you just say?

Nothing. I didn’t say anything! Here. Lee Han. I’ll tell you as much as I can about your opponent!

Deurghyu quickly changed the subject.

He might end up fighting his White Tiger Tower friends before fighting Lavda.

Start!

As soon as the signal was given, Lee Han stepped forward.

Deurghyu’s advice was similar to Moradi’s.

-Instead of the normal push you feel when swords hit, you feel a pull towards the other person. Lee Han, your balance will be broken little by little. By the time you notice, it will be too late. Be careful from the start.

So you can use magic in your sword like that.

Since he was one of the best apprentice knights and had beaten Deurghyu, it made sense that he knew how to put magic power into his sword.

Maybe the magic power in the sword was pulling the opponent’s sword whenever they clashed.

It sounded simple, but Lee Han, who had trained in swordsmanship for a long time, could guess how hard and complex the technique was.

First, making magic power pull the opponent’s sword was hard. But to keep doing it while breaking the opponent’s balance?

You needed to know how to keep your own sword skills while also understanding the opponent’s balance.

To do that in a messy sword fight, you would need very hard work and lots of training.

Lee Han thought a little better of his opponent. A lazy person could never do that.

Of course, this didn’t excuse the shocking thing he said about magic school not being very difficult…

Clang!

What kind of strength is this?!

Lavda didn’t show it, but he was shocked by the tingling pain in his hand.

-That guy only has tricks!

“Don’t worry, Rabda! You can win!” Rabda’s friends shouted, but their words didn’t help much. He still felt nervous.

They clashed swords quickly. After a few steps back, Rabda could feel it. This fighter was good. *Really* good. ‘He’s even stronger than Derqyu!’ Rabda thought, surprised. ‘And he’s from the Wodanaz family… wizards!’

Rabda felt confused and a little angry. ‘Why is a wizard family so good at swords?’ he wondered. ‘Wizards should be using magic, not swords! Maybe they are just strange?’ He thought about old stories of magic swords, but shook his head. ‘No, it doesn’t make sense.’

*Clang!* The friendly look on Ihan’s face was gone. Now, he looked serious and cold, like a heavy stone about to fall. “Wow,” whispered one of Rabda’s friends, his eyes wide. “Maybe the Wodanaz family thing is just a trick?”

This wasn’t fancy noble swordsmanship. ‘He must just train and train, all day and night,’ someone thought, watching Ihan. Ihan’s eyes flashed. ‘Yes! I have the lead!’ He knew he was faster at the start because Rabda didn’t know what he could do.

‘I need to attack hard now, before he uses any special moves,’ Ihan thought. ‘If I lose my chance, I’m in trouble.’ He pushed forward, attacking again and again. But Rabda wasn’t giving up. ‘I have to do something!’ Magic flowed into Rabda’s sword, making it feel heavy and strong. He just blocked Ihan’s attack and then swung his own sword with all his family’s skill.

‘This will work!’ Rabda thought, feeling the magic move just right. But then… nothing happened? Rabda stared at Ihan, confused. Ihan blinked, feeling Rabda’s eyes on him. ‘What’s wrong?’ he wondered, a little worried. ‘Is he trying to trick me?’ ‘And where is that sword trick everyone talks about?’

Ihan didn’t stop attacking. He wouldn’t let Rabda’s strange look distract him. ‘If I can win by attacking, I will!’ *Clang! Clang! Clang!* Rabda’s face was getting pale. He was using up all his magic, but it wasn’t working. Everyone could see Ihan was winning. But Ihan was starting to worry too. ‘Oh no…’ he thought. Small cracks were appearing on his wooden sword, near his hand. Ihan cursed himself. ‘I’m using too much magic again!’ He was putting too much power into each hit, and now the sword was breaking. It was his mistake.

Rabda didn’t know Ihan was having problems. He just knew he had to try one last thing. He clenched his teeth and got ready for a big attack. It was a move he wasn’t very good at yet, but he had to try. “KRAAAH!” Rabda yelled, swinging his sword. Ihan felt something change in the air. He looked at Rabda carefully. ‘Something is different!’ Their swords crashed together. Suddenly, Ihan felt a pull of magic from Rabda’s sword. But then… nothing. “Huh?” *Cough!* Blood dripped from Rabda’s nose. He held tight to his sword, still locked with Ihan’s. He had used too much magic. ‘I can’t… let go…’ he thought, his hand frozen. He should drop the sword, but he couldn’t. His own magic was trapping him, and it was still draining his power. ‘If this keeps going…’ Rabda’s vision blurred. *Crack!* Both wooden swords broke at the same time. Rabda cried out and fell back.

“Huff… huff…” Rabda breathed hard. Ihan just stood there, looking annoyed. ‘I was so close!’ he thought, clicking his tongue. He was angry at himself for not winning, just because he couldn’t control his magic. But then he thought, ‘Wait. Maybe a draw is okay.’ He realized that if he hadn’t broken his own sword at the end, his sword might have broken first. “Wo… Wodanaz,” Rabda mumbled.

“Huh?” Ihan said.

“Thank you,” Rabda whispered.

“What?” Ihan was totally confused. “For… breaking your sword for me,” Rabda said weakly.

“Huh?!” Ihan didn’t get it at all. ‘What is he talking about?’ he wondered. ‘He didn’t even use his special sword moves. Is he sick?’ Ihan thought maybe Rabda was hurt from his last fight and was saying silly things. It sounded crazy.

“Rabda! Are you okay?!” his friends rushed over. “Don’t worry, you were great! It was just bad luck that it was a draw, but…”

“I’m fine,” Rabda said. “But… I lost.”

“What?!” His friends were shocked. Rabda told them quickly what had happened with his magic and the sword. When he finished, everyone looked at Ihan, surprised. Then, slowly, someone started clapping. *Clap… clap… clap… clap…* Soon, everyone was clapping. Even the students from the White Tiger Tower joined in. Professor Ingledell and Bickelintz were clapping too. Ihan rolled his eyes. ‘As soon as I finish school, I’m never talking to these knight people again,’ he thought.