Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 189

“How did you know… oh? You really are a spirit? How did you know?”

“Usually, if they run away from me, they’re spirits.”

“……”

“……”

A moment of awkward silence hung in the air.

Nilia said hesitantly, “You don’t necessarily have to have a spirit to be a good wizard! And Wodanaz, you have lots of other friends!”

‘She’s not very good at comforting people,’ Lee Han thought, but he nodded anyway.

He couldn’t very well grumble when his friend was offering sincere comfort.

“Wodanaz, come here and go a little further ahead, will you?”

“Why?”

“There’s something over there, so check if it’s a spirit or not.”

“……”

Lee Han looked at Nilia with a disappointed expression. Nilia didn’t notice and gestured, “Quickly! You have to check!”

‘This is why hunters are like this,’ Lee Han grumbled inwardly and moved his feet.

Everyone knew a blizzard was not good weather for hunting. But experienced hunters could track prey even in these conditions.

“Impressive,” Lee Han said, surprised to see Nilia catch another rabbit.

“When snow comes suddenly, even animals get surprised and flustered.”

“Indeed… When you ran across the snow just now, it looked like you were running in a unique way. Can you show me again?”

Nilia was proud of being from the Shadow Patrol. She wanted to talk about it with her friends.

She thought, ‘-This bread tastes really awful.’

‘-Ah. But it’s better than the bread I ate when I was stranded alone in the mountains before? The bread I ate then was really the worst. It was bread left behind by a hunter who came to the cave, and it had mold and bugs…’

‘-Ugh… Nilia…!’

Of course, these attempts were not very successful. As such, the respect and interest that Wodanaz showed made Nilia happy.

“Wodanaz,” Nilia said.

“What is it?”

“I really like talking about the Shadow Patrol… and I’ll definitely answer what you asked… but let’s talk about it later!”

Whoosh! Nilia accurately took down a fleeing deer. The question Wodanaz had thrown out just now was exactly the 17th.

He had asked many questions about hunting – how to track animals, how to use a bow, how to move quietly in the snow, and many more. At first, Nilia was excited to explain. Why wouldn’t she explain when her friend was curious? Lee Han also took notes diligently and learned one by one.

But Nilia had forgotten one thing: the friend next to her was a madman trying to listen to all the lectures at the magic school!

‘Even so, there’s a limit!’ As the 17th question came, Nilia’s mouth gradually dried up and her throat hurt.

“Can’t you just answer this one?”

“No!”

Nilia was usually unable to refuse her friend’s request, but her ability to refuse was increasing while she was with Lee Han.

Swish!

“I think this is enough.”

“Right?”

After cutting up the last animal, Nilia washed her hands in the piled-up snow. Lee Han melted the surrounding snow with fire and boiled it before putting it in a water bottle.

‘It would be good to get used to fire even a little bit.’ Nilia looked at it and borrowed water with an embarrassed expression. Magic is convenient!

A soft, kind voice echoed through the blizzard, “New students coming all the way here in this weather? It’s dangerous. Go back.”

Lee Han and Nilia were surprised and turned their heads. Surprisingly, nothing was visible around them. But the voice continued to be heard. “It doesn’t matter where I am. It’s dangerous. Go back.”

‘Whoever it is, they have a personality in the top 5% of Einrogaard,’ Lee Han thought. An entity that tells a student to go back because it’s dangerous was basically likely to be friendly.

“I don’t know who you are, but we need something to eat,” Lee Han said.

The voice replied, “I don’t know why Einrogaard is starving young students… But it’s still dangerous. Go back. This weather was artificially created, so it won’t subside easily.”

Lee Han became a little more proactive due to the other party’s kind attitude. Such opponents were rare in magic school. He had to get help when he could.

“Can’t you show yourself? I would like to meet you and talk.”

The voice warned without losing its politeness, “It wouldn’t be very good for you to see me.”

“Why is that?”

“My scent is too strong for new students, so it will make you drunk.”

‘What kind of race is it?’ From the other party’s warning, Lee Han guessed that the other party’s race was quite unique. If it was a race that could make people drunk just with its scent…?

“But I’ll be fine,” Lee Han said.

Nilia whispered, “Wodanaz. Aren’t you being too reckless?” She was worried because of the other party’s serious warning. From the looks of it, it didn’t seem like a weak opponent at all…

“It’s okay, Nilia.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. But I think it’s going to be a little dangerous for you, so I think it’s better for you to stay away.”

“……”

Nilia looked at Lee Han with very worried eyes. Is it really okay?

Gandharvas, with their bird wings and legs, were easy to confuse with bird beastmen, but they were clearly different races. The difference was that an intense scent emanated from the Gandharva’s body, a scent that could make people drunk. Gandharvas were a race closer to the spirit lineage than beastmen.

The Gandharva who spoke to Lee Han had long ago settled in the underground cave of Rockweed near here and was a guardian-like being who managed things to prevent accidents. As such, he was bound to be tired of the wizards who approached him like this.

‘That’s why wizards are like this!’ The Gandharva shook off the heavy snow piled up above the entrance to the underground cave and revealed himself. Then, an intense scent enveloped Lee Han. No matter how strong you are at drinking, an inexperienced wizard can never withstand it…

“Nice to meet you. My name is Lee Han,” Lee Han greeted him politely. The Gandharva was embarrassed. Without giving him time to collect his embarrassment, Lee Han continued to ask, “What is your name, by any chance?”

The Gandharva replied, “…You can call me the owner of Rockweed Cave.”

Lee Han was surprised. Rockweed Cave… He remembered reading about that in the library. ‘Rockweed Underground Cave – Beware of the cave owner,’ the book had warned. ‘He looks very healthy?’ To be honest, the Gandharva in front of him felt kinder than the professor.

“Were you the owner of Rockweed Cave?”

The Gandharva thought, ‘Does he know Rockweed Cave?’ In an instant, the Gandharva’s face contorted and he emitted an intense aura. Lee Han calmly replied without being the slightest bit embarrassed, “I’ve seen the name in the library.”

The Gandharva asked, “You’re not trying to go through the cave, are you?”

Lee Han pretended not to know. “Me? What’s outside the cave?” Nilia, who was listening from behind, was so completely fooled that there was no change in her expression.

The Gandharva said, “If not, that’s fine. Don’t even be interested in Rockweed Cave.”

“Can I say one thing?” Lee Han asked.

The Gandharva replied, “What is it?”

“Wizards are basically curious people, so if you just tell them not to be interested, they might be more interested. If you explain why they shouldn’t be interested, wizards will understand and not be interested.”

The Gandharva was lost in thought for a moment at Lee Han’s words. ‘The new student’s words were more plausible than he thought. That might… be true.’

“Yes,” the Gandharva said. “Rockweed Cave is very dangerous.”

“How is it specifically dangerous?”

“……”

Nilia looked at Lee Han from behind as if asking what he was doing. ‘He’s not trying to go in, is he?’

The Gandharva explained, “Because of the collision between great magics, other realms overlapped and became an unstable path.”

Nilia had clearly heard it with Lee Han, but she didn’t understand it at all. ‘What is he talking about?’

“Indeed… Then I can’t touch it easily. The magic power must be intricately twisted, and other dimensions are overlapping…” Lee Han said.

The Gandharva replied, “That’s right.”

“……”

Nilia cast a look mixed with betrayal. ‘Is it an area where wizard accidents happen frequently?’

The Gandharva said, “Wizards basically cause big accidents. The blizzard around here right now was also due to a wizard accident. The Rockweed Cave located underground was clearly an area where such wizard accidents had occurred. Because of the collision between great magics, the flow of magic power was messed up, and other dimensions such as the spirit realm were mixed in…”

Lee Han finished taking notes. ‘The guardian of the cave tells him not to go in, but other professors come and go whenever they are bored. There must be a way to pass through.’

“Thank you for letting me know. I won’t even go near Rockweed Cave,” Lee Han said.

The Gandharva was pleased with Lee Han’s understanding. “Thank you! You’re really different from other wizards. You’re sure to be very successful. Is there anything I can help you with? Did you say you didn’t have enough to eat earlier?”

“Yes. And…”

” ? ”

“We also don’t have enough clothes to wear. It’s such a sudden cold. Everyone is shivering naked.”

” ? ”

Nilia was also puzzled. ‘You’re a fabric rich man…?’

The Gandharva said, “Indeed, that’s true too.”

“We also don’t have enough potions. We can’t even get the ingredients because of the cold…”

The Gandharva was truly heartbroken at Lee Han’s words. “I’ll take care of it!”

“…Weren’t you going hunting??” The friends were shocked by the cart that Lee Han had brought. No matter how good you are at hunting, you can’t hunt well-packaged groceries, let alone potions or coats.

Yoner whispered softly, “Did you hunt the professor’s workshop?”

“…It’s a novel idea, but no,” Lee Han said.

Lee Han organized the supplies he had brought with his friends. At this rate, it seemed like they could somehow get through this week. He was worried about what would happen if it got longer, but… ‘Let’s think about that then.’ Lee Han was seriously considering going back to the cave and asking for help. The other party was more friendly than he thought. ‘I should visit regularly.’

“Did you prepare everything?” Lee Han asked.

“Let’s go! Everyone, stay focused and follow me!” The Blue Dragon Tower students, wearing thick coats and tied together with ropes, began to walk out, cutting through the snow under Lee Han’s command. They had determined expressions, but the place they were heading to was the main building of the magic school. It was time to listen to the Monday morning lecture.

“Huff… Huff.”

“Stay focused! You can’t fall!”

The Blue Dragon Tower students were barely able to enter the main gate of the main building, pulling each other along. It was just as cold inside the main building, but it felt much better without the blizzard and strong winds.

Professor Garcia had a very pitiful expression when he saw the students sitting in the lecture hall. ‘How did they end up coming to this school… Not even half of them came?’

Lee Han was surprised to see the number of people in the lecture hall. ‘These guys, even so, how could they skip class…’

“Professor Verdus. Could you please make today’s enchantment magic lecture about preparing for the cold?” Professor Garcia asked the beaver beastman professor standing next to him. Originally, it was supposed to be a time to explain what enchantment magic was… But seeing the students who were half-frozen now, preparing for the cold seemed much more important.

“Why? Why should I do that?”

“Please.”

“New students are too stupid to do it even if you teach them?”

“Even so, if you tell them how, one or two people will try it consistently and succeed.”

“No. They’re too stupid to do it.”

“Do it.”

Professor Garcia crushed the corner of the podium with the strength of his grip. Professor Verdus immediately understood.

“I will! I have to!”

‘I really have to be careful about my actions in front of Professor Garcia.’