Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 185

The Imperial Family Heir.

The deep, echoing voice of the Death Knight still resonated through the hall, signaling the summons wasn’t finished.

Guinan was led out of the dining hall by another Death Knight, his feet dragging slightly. He looked back, confused, and pointed a finger at his own chest. “Me?” he squeaked.

The first Death Knight, his dark armor gleaming dully in the torchlight, turned his helmeted head slightly. “Vice Head of the Blue Dragon Tower. Follow me.”

Guinan glanced towards the Princess, who was also being escorted away, and then back at the Death Knight. He grumbled under his breath, loud enough for Leehan to hear, “This school is so unfair! Always judging us by grades!”

He called out to the Death Knight, a nervous edge in his voice, “Hey! You’re not taking me to the punishment room just because I did well on the exam, are you?”

“That is unlikely,” the Death Knight replied, his voice like the scraping of stone on stone, but strangely calm.

Guinan swallowed hard. “Okay, good. Because I really don’t want to go anywhere as bad as the punishment room.” He waited for a response, but the Death Knight remained silent, his dark form unmoving.

Leehan felt uneasy.

The Princess, walking towards the carriage, suddenly stopped, looking at the table of desserts with a dawning look.

Then she whispered to the Death Knight.

“We can’t. We have to move immediately.”

The Princess glared coldly at the Death Knight. But the Death Knight, being undead, didn’t care.

Clang!

Guinan, in the front carriage, grabbed the window bars and tried to stick his head out. “Leehan! You’re next to me, right?? You’re next to me?!”

“Yeah.”

“Can you defeat the Death Knight and save me?”

“No way.”

“Keeuk…!”

The imprisoned students, including Guinan, let out a lament mixed with despair.

‘Did these guys really think I could defeat the Death Knight and save them?’

Leehan was dumbfounded.

Quiet. We’re going to the next dormitory.

The two carriages carrying the failing and honor students rattled across the school grounds.

Tap tap-

The Princess whispered to Leehan in a quiet voice. Her expression was so serious that Leehan couldn’t help but feel nervous.

‘What is it? What did she realize?’

“…When is the next…?”

“Are you talking about the dessert?”

The Princess nodded.

‘I have no intention of doing that.’

It was more troublesome than he thought, and he had used up all the luxurious ingredients he had bought from outside.

He didn’t know when he would leave, so how could there be a next time?

“I’ve used up all the ingredients.”

The Princess looked shocked and glared even more coldly at the Death Knight outside the carriage.

“Compensate me for the snacks! Give me back my snacks!”

Guinan, perhaps thinking similarly, banged on the bars and shouted loudly.

The Death Knight closed the carriage window with a fed-up look.

* * *

“Why is it so noisy in the front?”

“I don’t know. I have no idea.”

The Head (Salco of the Tutankha family) and the Vice Head (a student Leehan had never spoken to) of the Black Turtle Tower were puzzled as they entered the carriage.

Something seemed to be constantly noisy in the front carriage…

Were they shouting because they didn’t want to be dragged away?

The Vice Head of the Black Turtle Tower looked at the Princess’s expression and asked Leehan in a voice only he could hear.

“The Princess seems to be in a bad mood. Did something happen?”

She was originally a cold person, but today she seemed even colder.

“Hmph. It must be because of her pride.”

Salco clicked his tongue as if displeased.

From Salco’s perspective, who didn’t particularly like the students of the Blue Dragon Tower, the Princess, who had followers from various towers as soon as she entered the school, didn’t look good at all.

It seemed like she was enjoying excessive privileges thanks to just one bloodline.

“Tutankha. You’re being too loud.”

“It can’t be helped if they hear. Isn’t she just upset that she lost to Wodanaz?”

“It’s possible, since she’s human.”

“It’s not right to show it so openly when Wodanaz is right next to her. Anyway, people with powerful families always think they are better than everyone else…”

‘I’m also from the Wodanaz family.’

For a moment, Leehan wondered if Salco thought he was from the same tower.

“You’ve got it wrong, Salco.”

“Wrong?” Salco looked puzzled.

“Yes,” Leehan said. “She’s just annoyed because they interrupted her snack time. You know how much she loves her desserts.”

“…Wodanaz. You’re good at magic, but jokes? Not so much.”

“Wodanaz. That’s too lame of a joke.”

“Okay, okay, I won’t say more bad things about your friend. But seriously, Wodanaz, friends are equals, right? Not one better than the other.”

This time, Leehan felt a surge of anger for no reason.

‘Even though these guys are telling me the truth…’

In the meantime, the Heads and Vice Heads of other towers also boarded the carriage.

We’ve arrived. Honor students, get off the carriage.

“Where is this?”

The Honor Student’s Room.

‘Is that… a hidden tower?’ Leehan thought, surprised.

The carriage arrived near the main building, and he saw a gloomy tower he had never seen before.

It was clearly located in a space hidden by magic.

Just looking at the exterior…

‘This ‘Honor Student’s Room’ just looks like another punishment room,’ Leehan thought with a sigh.

There’s no need to be nervous, honor students.

The Skull Headmaster’s familiar voice tickled his ears.

The Skull Headmaster’s figure, floating above the gloomy tower, was revealed.

Failing students go to the punishment room, but honor students receive rewards. This place has been prepared to give rewards to honor students.

“Is that really true!?” Angaro said in a joyful voice.

Leehan and Giselle simultaneously looked at him with a look of pity.

Do you believe that?

Of course! Of course. Surely there aren’t any students who don’t believe it?

“Of course not.”

That’s right. Unlike the failing students, the students gathered here are the most outstanding in the tower.

With those words, the round sign hanging in front of the tower’s door began to spin.

Now, go in and take it!

“…Excuse me, but may I ask exactly what we’re supposed to take?”

It’s not difficult.

The Skull Headmaster was in a good mood today and explained it quite generously.

This tower was created to celebrate the honor students who did well on the exam.

Just open the door, overcome the trials on each floor, and take the rewards!

If you are strong enough, you can climb as many floors as you can and get rewards on each one! It’s a tower of rewards!

Leehan and Giselle’s faces became serious.

Just hearing about it made you shiver.

‘Sounds like the Tower of Trials and Tribulations.’

Knowing Headmaster Skull, the first floor would probably be really hard.

A reward is useless if you can’t even finish the challenge!

“Thank you, Headmaster!”

Happy to make you happy!

Angaro, still unaware, was still rejoicing.

Alright, then… starting with the White Tiger Tower. Enter!

“Why are we going in first?”

If you feel wronged, try doing better on the next exam.

“Wait, going first is good, right?”

Angaro looked puzzled. Giselle closed her eyes as if resigned.

The rotating sign slowly stopped, revealing a symbol.

It was the symbol of a sword.

The Challenge of the Sword!

The tower door opened and swallowed the two White Tiger Tower students.

It was a very brief moment, but thanks to the rigorous training from Allarong, Ethan was able to catch a glimpse of the room’s interior.

The room was packed with golems, their metal bodies gleaming coldly in the dim light. Each one held a sharp sword, ready to strike.

“……”

Ethan seriously considered that the punishment room might be better.

The challenge Ethan and the Princess drew was the Potion Symbol Challenge.

‘I don’t know if this is good luck or bad luck.’

Ethan’s stomach tightened as he looked at the tower.

What was the wisest choice in this situation?

‘Forget the second and third floors, just clear the first floor and get out immediately.’

Clearing the first floor and thinking, ‘Wow, what will the second floor reward be?’ was something only a madman would do.

Of course, realistically, even clearing the first floor wouldn’t be easy.

What was important now was to get out of the tower with as little injury as possible.

Ethan was also considering giving up if a surrender declaration was possible.

The Challenge of Wisdom: When one person consumes poison, the challenge begins. Create an antidote and revive your friend.

“…Surrender declaration? Give up? Quit?”

The tower did not answer. Ethan sighed.

Looking ahead, there was a cake on the table. Anyone could tell that it was poisoned.

Next to the cake were a gleaming brass cauldron, glass bottles filled with colorful liquids, and strange metal tools spread out on a worn wooden table.

The Princess raised her wand and aimed it at the cake.

“Poison, reveal yourself.”

Rainbow smoke billowed from the cake, swirling colors of sickly green, bright purple, and alarming orange. The Princess’s eyes were filled with surprise and bewilderment.

“Surely that’s not all poison, is it?”

The Princess nodded. Ethan made a disgusted face.

Even with magic, she found so many different poisons inside.

At this point, wasn’t it more like a cake-shaped poison rather than a poisoned cake?

The Princess gestured that they needed to cut the cake. There was a limit to identifying the poison without opening it.

“…It’s designed not to open until you eat it.”

Ethan muttered with hatred.

Headmaster Skull really thought about every little detail for these challenges.

‘No choice, I suppose.’

Ethan steeled himself.

Based on what he had experienced so far, Ethan’s magic provided considerable resistance to various poisons.

Of course, he wouldn’t be completely fine after eating such a terrible poison cake, but he would definitely endure it better than the Princess.

“I’ll eat it, so make the antidote immediately.”

“!”

The Princess’s eyes widened slightly, a flicker of worry in them. She was startled and shook her head, trying to stop him.

Of course, Ethan wasn’t the kind of person who respected the wishes of royalty, whether it was Gainan or the Princess.

He immediately took a bite of the cake.

“!”

‘No. It’s so delicious it’s even more absurd.’

It was surprisingly delicious, quite sweet for something that was poisoned.

Rumble!

As soon as he took a bite of the cake, the door in front of him opened and the writing changed.

The Challenge of Wisdom: The challenge has begun, pass through the door without being poisoned.

“Quickly!”

Ethan urged. He didn’t know how much time was left.

The Princess hurriedly ran towards the ingredients. She almost stumbled and fell because she was in such a hurry.

The Princess looked closely at the cake crumbs, her brow furrowed in thought. She quickly grabbed different bottles and plants, her mind racing. As if proving that she wasn’t called the genius of the Empire for nothing, the Princess moved with absolutely no wasted movements.

She placed a piece of the cake on a board, analyzed its components, and immediately began searching for ingredients with antitoxins to throw into the cauldron, starting with the identified poisons.

The cauldron bubbled, causing the potion to boil. After a few ingredients were added and the wand was waved, the color of the potion changed rapidly.

‘I have to concentrate…!’

She was overwhelmed by a sense of pressure she had never experienced before.

When and how would she have ever experienced alchemy with a friend’s life on the line? The Princess bit her lip.

Rustle!

The Princess’s movements, which had been continuously creating potions, stopped.

It was an ominous sign.

As expected, the Princess’s eyes began to waver. A poison she had never seen before had appeared.

The Princess took out antidote ingredients at random and compared them to the crumbs of the cake. Of course, nothing matched.

A sense of despair washed over her. The Princess turned to Ethan with a flustered expression.

“Mi…”

Ethan was sitting perfectly fine with a serious expression.

Ethan, who had been wondering why the poisoning hadn’t started, took another bite of the cake and then, noticing the Princess’s gaze, looked up.

“…Hmm. I don’t think I’ll get poisoned by this.”

“……”

The Princess glared coldly at Ethan with a straight face.

The Princess glared at him with a betrayed expression, but Ethan was unashamed.

‘I didn’t know I wouldn’t get poisoned even if I ate it.’

It wasn’t that Ethan was just standing still because he wanted to watch the Princess struggle in vain.

He thought the poison would take some time to kick in.

He tried passing through just in case, and he immediately passed the challenge.

The Challenge of Wisdom: You have successfully passed the challenge, receive your reward.

A honorable wizard will move forward, but it is also your choice to run away backwards like a cowardly coward.

“Let’s get the reward and leave immediately.”

The Princess nodded.

After waiting for a moment, a reward appeared in front of the students with a puff of smoke.

Bang!

It was a silver spoon. Ethan and the Princess each held a silver spoon and looked bewildered.

‘What is this?’

The Princess seemed to understand and lightly scooped up the remaining cake with the spoon. Ethan was startled and hit the back of the Princess’s hand.

“You mustn’t eat it!”

“……”

The Princess was so dumbfounded that she couldn’t even react properly.