Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 191

As the White Tiger Tower students glared with the fiercest looks they had shown all day, Ethan decided he needed to explain in more detail.

“You might wonder why it’s a problem if the magic is too strong. But it’s a more serious issue than you think.”

In truth, enchantment magic cast on inanimate objects wasn’t usually very dangerous, even if the magic was too strong.

Even if it failed due to excessive mana, it rarely caused significant danger or side effects.

At most, the object might be destroyed, and that was usually the end of it.

And it wasn’t a big problem if the duration was extended or the effect was strengthened…

But other spells were much more dangerous.

What was the reason Ethan was so careful with fire elemental magic?

Ethan was careful with fire magic. If he lost control, fire would explode around him and hurt everyone nearby.

“Understood? Drawing out too much mana is dangerous.”

“…Y-yes, I understand.”

“But I don’t see what that has to do with us.”

‘They are unkind,’ Ethan thought to himself.

To show such an attitude just because it wasn’t their problem.

Indeed, many of those from knightly families were ill-mannered.

“Anyway, thanks, Wodanaz.”

“It seems to be going well, thanks to you.”

As the additional lesson ended, the White Tiger Tower students expressed their gratitude.

It wasn’t just lip service; they had genuinely seen results.

There wasn’t perfect success, but even 70-80% effectiveness was sufficient.

That was enough to ward off the cold by wearing it on a cloak or coat…

The students gathered in their places thought to themselves, ‘But how on earth did they succeed?’

Ethan also thought to himself, ‘How peculiar. How on earth did they learn it?’

Both Ethan and the White Tiger Tower students were realizing that Ethan’s teachings weren’t actually very helpful!

Ethan thought, ‘Why can’t they do something easy like move smoothly?’ The White Tiger students wondered, ‘How does this strange person move mana so easily?’

Nevertheless, as the additional lesson neared its end, several students succeeded.

Why, though?

“Isn’t it because they didn’t want to lose to that Wodanaz guy?”

“Surely it can’t be that simple… but it might be.”

The White Tiger Tower students whispered among themselves.

“Right. It seems to be over. Everyone, practice your magic diligently.”

“Understood.”

“An hour a day should be enough, right?”

One of the students opened his mouth without much thought. Ethan glared at him as if he were talking rubbish.

“An hour of practice a day? What nonsense are you spouting?”

“…T-two hours?”

“Two hours of practice a day? What utter rubbish are you spouting?”

“……”

‘Is that guy crazy?’ The White Tiger Tower students felt a chill run down their spines.

‘There’s a reason he’s from the Wodanaz family!’

‘Isn’t two hours a day plenty?’

“Those who think two hours is plenty will never improve.”

“!”

The White Tiger Tower student, whose inner thoughts had been exposed, was aghast.

“Anyway, that’s your business…”

Ethan placed the chest he had brought from the tower on the floor.

Thud!

“I brought fabric to help you prepare for the cold.”

“Thanks, Wodanaz.”

A White Tiger Tower student reached out to the chest. Ethan coldly batted his hand away.

“?!”

“Nothing’s free. Bring something to trade.”

“……”

He wasn’t just giving it away?

“We don’t have any money.”

“Bartering is fine. Food, tools, artifacts, anything with value will do.”

“We don’t have any of that…”

Ethan looked at the White Tiger Tower students with a contemptuous gaze.

Being from knightly families, it was the first time they had ever received such a look.

The White Tiger students’ faces turned red. They felt a deep shame they had never known before. Being from knightly families, they were used to respect, not being looked down upon like they were worthless.

“W-wait! What about credit? We heard from the Black Tortoise Tower guys that you gave them credit?”

“Give you lot credit, you say?”

Ethan spoke as if he were being asked the most ridiculous thing in the world.

“I swear on my family’s honour!”

Anglaga spoke resolutely, but Ethan remained indifferent.

‘If I went to collect the debt from these guys’ families, they’d probably attack me.’

As Ethan was about to refuse, he saw Dergyu frantically gesturing from behind.

-Please accept!

Even though Anglaga acted like this, he had a great deal of pride as a knight.

Richmond of the Black Tortoise Tower had also received a promise on his family’s name, so what if Anglaga didn’t?

He would probably sulk in his room for days.

“…Alright. I understand.”

“Phew!”

Anglaga unknowingly let out a sigh of relief.

To be honest, he had been a little worried that Ethan would refuse.

‘I should take Dergyu with me when I go to that guy’s family later.’

Whether the heavens thought kindly of Ethan for spending the entire morning helping his friends, the snow outside started to slow down. The wind was still cold, but it wasn’t as strong as before. Then, Professor Lightning-Stride arrived for the next lesson.

Professor Lightning-Stride, who appeared in thicker clothing than usual, clicked his tongue sadly as he looked at the students shivering from the cold.

“How did you end up in a magic school like this…”

“……”

“……”

“Never mind. Originally, I was going to teach you advanced techniques that you can do on horseback today…”

Clang!

Professor Lightning-Stride opened the doors to our enclosure. A lizard large enough to carry three or four people lumbered out from within.

The snow lizards were big and clumsy, with thick, white skin like the snow. They had small, beady eyes and long tails that dragged on the ground. They looked strong and a little scary.

“It’s a snow lizard. Anyone know it?”

Nilia and a few others from colder regions raised their hands. Professor Lightning-Stride nodded.

“They’re quite famous in cold places.”

Snow lizards were monsters often used as mounts in cold regions due to their resistance to the cold and their unique, tenacious stamina.

Of course, they weren’t without their drawbacks.

“They are few in number, difficult to find, and, above all, hard to tame due to their foul temper… but they are worth it if you do tame them. Today’s lesson is about getting to know them. Divide yourselves by tower.”

As the students divided themselves by tower, Professor Lightning-Stride released three more snow lizards.

“I’ll lend them to you until the snow stops. Get to know them.”

“!”

The students were surprised by the professor’s words. Professor Lightning-Stride scratched the bottom of his nose with an embarrassed expression.

“There’s no need to be so grateful. I can do this much for my students.” He seemed a bit clueless about why the students weren’t happy.

‘They don’t seem very grateful.’ Ethan thought to himself.

His friends’ expressions were of bewilderment and unease, not gratitude.

Only the most seasoned hunters in the north would say, ‘Are you really lending us such precious beasts?’ From the students’ perspective, they couldn’t help but think, ‘Why give us such hideous monsters instead of their hides?’

“Wodanaz. Wodanaz.”

“What?”

“I never thought I’d get to see such precious monsters. Isn’t the professor amazing?!” Nilia was excited because she knew about snow lizards from her home.

Ethan nodded and replied.

“I understand how you feel, but it’s best not to show it in front of the others.”

The Blue Dragon Tower students surrounded the snow lizard.

The snow lizard rolled its eyes around, and as soon as the students approached, it fired a snowball.

Thwack!

“Ack! You blighter!” Gainando was scared after being hit by the snowball.

“I’ll curse…”

“Stop it, Gainando! We have to tame it!”

“Do you know how useful that thing is?!” Asan was very serious and wanted to learn everything about them.

Asan chided Gainando.

If what he had read in books was true, snow lizards would be of great help in overcoming this climate crisis.

Their sturdy stamina, the size to carry several students with ease, the ability to find prey in the snow, and so on.

“Don’t approach rashly, get to know it first!”

At Professor Lightning-Stride’s shout, the students tried various methods.

Taking out food it might like (Gainando had his blood-like meat snatched away and teared up), lowering their posture and pretending to be lizards (Asan tried it and got a snowball to the face), and so on.

“Wodanaz. Can’t you step in?”

“Me?”

Ethan hesitated.

Normally, he would have granted his friends’ request, but…

‘I don’t think it’ll go down well.’

As he had done when wandering around the snowy mountains, Ethan basically had no talent for befriending living creatures.

That was why he was deliberately keeping his distance now…

‘Wouldn’t it get scared and run away if I approached?’

It would be one thing if it just ran away, but if it went berserk, it would be a disaster. Ethan clicked his tongue and said.

“Alright. But everyone, surround it and create a cordon.”

“!”

“What… what are you going to do? You’re not going to kill it, are you?”

Shiles, a beastkin student from the Richmond family of the Black Tortoise Tower, had considerable pride in his family.

As such, he naturally took pride in the skills passed down in his family.

To run a transportation business using carriages in the vast empire, one had to be more than just good with horses. They had to be able to handle all sorts of monsters to suit the terrain and environment.

‘This is my chance.’ Shiles is very confident and a bit show-offy.

Shiles thought this lesson on taming snow lizards was a stroke of luck.

He hadn’t been able to stand out in the mount training lessons, but it was Shiles himself who should have been showing his best side.

“Alright. Follow me. Everyone! I’ve tamed snow lizards before!”

“Really!?”

“Yes, Nilia! Have you ever done that? If so, help me…”

“I’ve caught them before…”

“Alright, follow me. Everyone!”

Shiles diligently guided his friends.

The first way to get to know a snow lizard was to imitate the snow lizard’s behaviour.

Other tower students had tried it once or twice and been rejected, but that was because their attempts were clumsy and lacked sincerity.

“You have to imitate it sincerely! You have to think of yourself as a snow lizard! Hold snow in your mouth!”

“D-do we have to go this far?”

“Who’s complaining when Shiles is helping us like this!”

Salco felt Shiles’ sincerity and scolded his friends, following along more diligently than anyone else.

The Black Tortoise Tower students all crawled on all fours, rolling around on the snow.

Even Professor Lightning-Stride was impressed.

‘There was a clever one.’

It looked ridiculous at first glance, but that was the standard method.

One had to know and understand the countless types of monsters to become a good explorer.

“Spit out the snow! Flick your tongue!”

Croak. Croak.

“Alright! It’s acknowledged us! We can go closer now!”

The Black Tortoise Tower students burst into cheers.

Professor Lightning-Stride smiled at the sight.

The progress was faster than he had expected. It was all thanks to everyone’s hard work and sincere approach.

‘Right. What are the others doing…’

The Phoenix Tower students had gotten quite close, but they seemed to have underestimated it too much. The snow lizard was flicking snow at them with its tail as if playing a prank.

The White Tiger Tower students were simply having a battle of wills with the snow lizard…

And the Blue Dragon Tower?

“It’s a miracle! Wodanaz has befriended the snow lizard!”

“Professor! The snow lizard has acknowledged Wodanaz! Look here!”

The Blue Dragon Tower students cheered and called for Professor Lightning-Stride.

‘They’ve become friends already? That was fast?’

Professor Lightning-Stride looked at the snow lizard in surprise.

The snow lizard was rolling its eyes around, unable to move from Ethan’s side, trembling.

“…That’s not befriending it!”