Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 181

Lee Han left the room, thinking, “It can’t be.”

He wondered why he got a thumbs-up.

The most likely reason was praise for doing well on the exam.

Lee Han thought this was probably it.

Maybe it was thanks for beating the professor. But surely the professor wasn’t that kind of person… No, it can’t be.

“Are you alright, Professor?” Dirette asked carefully once the students had left. Professor Mortuum coughed and nodded.

“Cough. I was careless… you made the poison better than I expected.”

“You weren’t careful enough.”

Ordinary people wouldn’t worry about a little magic loss, but it was serious for wizards.

If mana problems happened while casting magic, it could be life-threatening.

Even though Professor Mortuum resisted poison well, he should have canceled all his active spells before taking the poison.

It felt strange to talk about magic rules for poison made by a first-year student, but…

“Cough. You’re right. Relying too much on magic isn’t a good thing,” Professor Mortuum said honestly.

The higher a wizard’s level, the more they relied on magic.

Professor Mortuum had over a dozen spells active, like , , , etc. Keeping these spells up constantly drained mana, even when he wasn’t doing anything.

So, mana loss led to a humiliating situation.

“I’ll be more careful when testing the other first-year students.”

“Yes, that’s a good idea.”

“Cough. Could you check on the other students outside?” Professor Mortuum asked. Dirette opened the door and stepped out.

It was almost time for the next students.

Dirette sensed something was wrong.

Lee Han, the impressive student from earlier, was heading to the summoning magic exam room.

‘Where is he going?’

“Raphael.”

“Wodanaz.”

Few freshmen learned black magic, so they knew each other.

But they weren’t close.

Raphael Grall learned black magic to defeat the White Tiger Tower + black mages.

Imirg, from the Black Tortoise Tower, feared Lee Han because of silly rumors.

‘Rumors are ruining the magic school.’

Gainando smirked. He had already taken the exam and felt important.

Gainando smirked, “Heh heh. Good luck in there, newbie.”

Raphael bit his lip, voice quiet, “Um… what… what kind of creatures… will we have to summon?” His hands were shaking a little.

Even from a proud knight family, he was still nervous about the exam.

Gainando’s lips stretched upwards.

“What? What did you just say?!” Gainando asked.

“It’s nothing! Shut up!” Imirg replied.

“Say it again! Respectfully!” Gainando demanded.

“I said shut up!” Imirg shouted.

“Stop it, Gainando. We’re students taking black magic together, there’s no point in fighting. As someone who took the exam first, you can give some simple advice,” Lee Han said.

“Lee Han…!” Gainando started.

Gainando wanted to say ‘Why to this kind of guy,’ but Lee Han stopped him with his hand.

Raphael looked surprised.

“The exam is about curses. You don’t need to summon undead, so don’t worry,” Lee Han explained.

“…Thank you, Wodanaz,” Raphael said.

“It’s nothing.”

Raphael nodded and left.

Gainando looked at Lee Han admiringly.

“Imirg, the exam is about poison,” Lee Han said.

“…?!” Imirg asked, confused.

“B-but you just said curses?”

“It was a lie,” Lee Han said confidently and turned around.

“Let’s go, Gainando. We have to go take the summoning magic exam.”

Imirg watched Lee Han leave, fear mixed with respect in his eyes.

‘I don’t know what kind of person Wodanaz is, but… He really seems terrifying!’

“Everyone, as I said last time, the exam is >Paper Bird Summoning>,” Professor Milay said. He wore a monocle. Lee Han almost cried.

The professor was testing them exactly as he had said.

‘I shouldn’t be moved by this, but I really am.’

Lee Han shook his head.

The students who were there before Lee Han stood up. Most looked sad or upset. It was normal in the exam hall.

Lee Han felt uneasy.

But why was everyone so upset?

“Please take your seats,” Professor Milay instructed.

In front of each student were scrolls with magic circles. The circles glowed with a faint blue light, and strange symbols twisted and turned inside them, like living things. These circles helped them with summoning magic.

First-year students couldn’t easily do summoning magic alone, so the circles were important.

“Now, then… begin,” Professor Milay said and flipped the hourglass.

They had limited time to summon a paper bird.

One student muttered, “Can’t we just fold one and throw it?”

Lee Han saw the other students nodding.

>Paper Bird Summoning> was a magic that was a little embarrassing to call a ‘bird.’ It was more like a ‘controllable paper airplane.’

Wizards used it to send short messages to nearby people.

‘It won’t be difficult.’

Lee Han read the magic circle and ran simulations in his head. He had made even harder magic circles, so following this one was easy.

He just had to be careful not to overload the mana. Even a small mistake could break the fragile magic circle scroll.

This exam was easier than the others.

Flap flap flap!

Lee Han realized there was an unexpected problem: his friends.

Strange paper-shaped summons popped out everywhere and started causing chaos.

“What are you doing, you moronic bastard! You made my spell fail!” one student yelled.

“Why are you blaming me when you would have failed anyway!” another retorted.

“You White Tiger Tower bastard, you’re really asking for it!”

“Come on!”

‘Summoning magic is definitely a bit like that.’

Other magic often failed quietly, but not summoning magic. If it failed, the poorly made summon would run wild.

Lee Han shot down a paper book flying at his face with a water orb. He couldn’t let the magic circle scroll get damaged.

“Be shot down!”

“Burn!”

Lee Han and the other students began to cast spells. They couldn’t do anything if they stayed still because paper was flying and hitting them.

Professor Milay watched the mess sternly.

This was something a wizard had to do. The students before had experienced the same thing.

‘Staying calm is key.’

Anyone could know that being hit with paper wouldn’t kill them.

So, the priority was to do your own thing without reacting to the chaos.

“Everyone, stop!” Lee Han shouted.

Professor Milay looked puzzled. He was watching Lee Han strictly because he thought his arrogance could cause trouble.

He didn’t understand why Lee Han was shouting. Did he think they would stop?

“I said everyone stop!” Lee Han repeated.

Nothing changed. Professor Milay adjusted his monocle, curious about what Lee Han would do if they didn’t listen.

“I clearly warned you. Spring forth!” Lee Han shouted.

Lee Han quickly made water orbs. Professor Milay was surprised by his skillful elemental magic, which was unusual for a first-year student.

But that was just the beginning.

Whoosh!

The paper summons were quickly shot down. The other students were throwing spells, but it was hard to hit the paper summons flying around the wide room.

Instead, the magic crashed into each other, making the mess worse.

But Lee Han was different. He knocked one down every time he launched an orb.

“I told you to stop?”

“Shut up, Wodanaz! Who do you think you are…” One of the White Tiger Tower students pointed his finger.

A water orb accurately hit the student’s stomach.

“Cough…”

Lee Han began to attack the students who didn’t stop casting magic.

Thud! Thwack! Thwack thwack thwack!

The students dropped their wands and knelt down.

Like a wave spreading from Lee Han, the students quickly came to their senses.

“I… I stopped,” one student said.

“M-me too,” another added.

“Put down your wands! Anyone who raises them, be prepared,” Lee Han warned.

The frightened students put down their wands. Lee Han calmly followed the magic circle and cast the spell.

Flutter!

A paper bird appeared and wandered around the classroom.

Professor Milay wasn’t surprised. He had passed the midterm exam, but what he had just seen was more surprising.

Lee Han had controlled and subdued the chaotic students.

‘…I really don’t want to say this… but he certainly has the right to be arrogant.’

Professor Milay thought his job was to warn arrogant students so they wouldn’t be hurt in summoning magic.

But Lee Han showed talent that made him forget that role. With such talent, a wizard had to acknowledge it.

“Excellent,” Professor Milay said and nodded.

It was a perfect score.

“Thank you, Professor,” Lee Han replied.

Professor Milay was confused that Lee Han didn’t leave.

Why wasn’t he leaving?

Instead, Lee Han stood in front of his friends and said, “Raise your wands again. And those who didn’t stop when I told you to stop, be prepared.”

The students raised their wands nervously.

This time, the same poorly made summons popped out, but Lee Han immediately subdued them.

“Again.” “Wait!” “Again.” “Don’t stop. Keep going.” “Wait!”

Professor Milay was confused by what he was seeing. Wasn’t Lee Han an arrogant student?

“You’ve worked hard, Professor,” Dirette said, stretching as he left the classroom.

The freshmen looked half-dead. Dirette smiled, a common sight among upperclassmen.

Tap-

Dirette was surprised when Lee Han came out of the classroom.

It was fine to take the exam, but ‘That’s the illusion magic classroom, isn’t it?’

Dirette thought about the day. Lee Han had entered black magic, summoning magic, and illusion magic.

Dirette wondered if Lee Han could really be…

‘No! You’re being tricked by the professors! You’ll die if you keep going!’