Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 200

“Is that a promise?”

Lee Han approached the door, wondering what reward would be suitable.

Of course, for Professor Verdus, an artifact would be the most useful.

‘Which artifact would be good?’

Lee Han reached for the door handle. *Rattle, rattle*. The old wooden door protested, but it stayed firmly shut. He frowned.

“Hold on, Professor. The door won’t open.”

“Well, of course not! It’s locked with magic.”

“Pardon?”

Lee Han paused.

Was the skeletal Headmaster really asking Lee Han to open a door he had magically locked?

“Um… are you going to undo the magic, Professor?”

“You have to undo it. I can’t use magic in here.”

“……”

Lee Han didn’t know where to begin.

“Wait. How did you send the paper bird?”

“I set it to fly to the workshop in advance, in case I didn’t return by evening.”

‘If that’s the case, you could have just asked another professor…’

Even if the students were being monitored, surely the other professors weren’t.

Lee Han suddenly understood Professor Verdus’s relationships with others.

To think he’d task a new student he barely knew with such a thing!

“Professor, I’m sorry, but I don’t have the skill to undo the Headmaster’s magic.”

Despite regularly learning from Professor Kirmin Ku and receiving separate instruction from the genius archmage Baldororn of Philone Village, Lee Han still lacked confidence in illusion magic.

Illusion magic, in particular, required a great deal of experience compared to other fields. With his level of experience, Lee Han couldn’t confidently step forward.

“And if the Headmaster went to the trouble of adding extra magic to prevent me from leaving, isn’t it likely there are other trap spells nearby?”

It was an excuse, but it made sense.

If the skeletal Headmaster was merely pretending to lock him up as a formality, Lee Han wouldn’t worry too much, but if he had genuinely cast magic, there was a high possibility of other traps nearby.

“There are no other spells around. I saw as I was being dragged here.”

‘Tch.’

Lee Han blamed the skeletal Headmaster for not completely blinding Professor Verdus.

“And you don’t need skill to undo the magic. It’s not that difficult. Just blast it away with force. You know how to do that, right?”

“Professor, that’s quite a skill in itself.”

Lee Han now knew, having learned it himself, that when people said to ‘blast away’ a spell, they rarely meant literally blasting it with brute force.

The higher the level of magic, the more complex and robust its structure became, so simply pouring raw power into it wouldn’t shake or break it.

You had to understand the structure, identify the weak points, and then strike with force to break it.

Even blasting away with force involved a highly sophisticated technique.

‘Baldororn probably didn’t tell me that out of consideration.’

Baldororn hadn’t explained such details. He had only talked about how to clash magical power.

He probably recognized Lee Han’s skill level and explained it in a way suitable for a beginner.

At a beginner’s level, such understanding wasn’t necessary.

“The magic the Headmaster cast is still difficult for me to grasp…”

“Nonsense. Just try it.”

Professor Verdus ignored Lee Han’s words.

Since he could instantly grasp the structure of a spell and blast it away with force, he assumed Lee Han could do the same.

Lee Han was dumbfounded.

‘Is he really a professor?’

“Understood.”

Lee Han decided it was better to show him once and say it couldn’t be done, rather than trying to persuade Professor Verdus.

‘Very complicated magic.’

Lee Han had no idea what kind of magic the skeletal Headmaster had cast.

Multiple spells were intricately intertwined, acting as a sturdy lock.

And the skeletal Headmaster probably hadn’t even used his full power to cast the lock…

Lee Han was newly impressed by how skilled the skeletal Headmaster was as a mage.

Boom!!!

Lee Han, as taught by Baldororn, simply exploded magical power and collided with the lock.

It was a crude method of colliding without understanding the structure or anything else.

“……”

But the magic broke.

Clunk!

“I told you it would work, didn’t I?”

Professor Verdus came out and patted Lee Han’s back as if he knew it all along.

Lee Han was dumbfounded.

‘How could he cast such a weak spell?’

He must have focused on the complexity of the magic and paid less attention to its robustness.

Lee Han was disappointed in the skeletal Headmaster.

Sssssss!

At that moment, a brand suddenly appeared above Professor Verdus’s head, accompanied by a burning sound.

Professor Verdus cried out in alarm.

“This is bad!”

“What is it?!”

“It’s a trap! Gonadaltes set a trap on me, not outside!”

“Why didn’t you notice it?!”

“He set it secretly!”

Professor Verdus wracked his brain as he watched the brand shrink.

This brand was a tracking spell that would send a summoned creature to Professor Verdus’s location the moment it burned out.

It was the skeletal Headmaster’s way of saying Professor Verdus would face a harsh lesson if he tried to escape!

It was impossible to undo it with his injured body.

“This won’t do! Go and call another professor!”

“Who?”

“I don’t know! Someone who can undo this… Professor Garcia!”

“Where is he… Understood!”

Lee Han moved at once.

There were two reasons for this.

First, whether he brought someone or not, moving first would buy time.

And secondly, if it failed, it was better to be far away from Professor Verdus.

…One person was enough to be attacked by the summoned creature.

As soon as he left the forest, Lee Han encountered an unexpected person.

…It was Professor Voladi.

“A night stroll is good for improving your skills. A wise choice.”

“Thank you…?”

It was a bit strange for a professor to say to a student sneaking out of the tower at night, but Lee Han expressed his gratitude anyway.

It was better than getting angry.

Professor Voladi stared at Lee Han up and down. Lee Han suddenly felt uneasy.

‘Could he have realized what I’m doing?’

“Did you undo the magic?”

“Yes? Yes.”

“You’ve dispelled some pretty strong magic, I see.”

Lee Han was surprised Professor Voladi could tell how strong the magic was just by the little bit left.

‘He could tell?’

“Where did you dispel it?”

“While taking a walk in the forest, I happened upon it…”

“Lead the way.”

“Pardon?”

“Lead the way.”

If magic that strong was used, there was a good chance a powerful enemy was nearby.

Professor Voladi wanted to tell his student this, so Lee Han wouldn’t miss it.

“Professor, I saw it myself, and there wasn’t anything particula…”

“You brought a professor?!”

Professor Verdus, unable to wait, came running from inside.

Lee Han, trying to look normal, said, “Professor Verdus! What are you doing here?!”

“What are you talking about? Just now…”

“What an incredible coincidence! Oh, this is Professor Baegrek!”

Professor Voladi nodded a little. Professor Verdus nodded too.

Lee Han felt a chill seeing the two professors, who didn’t seem friendly at all.

‘No, maybe this is good. My lie won’t be found out.’

“Is this the Headmaster’s mark?”

Professor Voladi knew the special magic right away. Professor Verdus nodded.

“Yes! Get rid of it!”

“This is a good chance.”

“Yes?”

Professor Voladi cast a spell on Lee Han.

Lee Han’s senses became sharper, and he suddenly felt very confident about using ice magic.

“Get ready.”

“…Professor? You’re not going to fight, are you?”

“Yes, I am.”

“Professor Verdus might get hurt, don’t you think?”

Lee Han said this, and Professor Voladi looked a little confused, as if to say, ‘Why should I care about that?’

Lee Han was Professor Voladi’s student, but Professor Verdus meant nothing to him.

Whether he lived or died…

“Hurry up and get rid of it already?!”

“Professor, it’s not that I don’t want to fight. It’s just that Professor Verdus is also my teacher, and if he gets hurt, I’ll feel really bad…”

“I understand.”

Professor Voladi flicked his wand. Professor Verdus went flying and was quickly tied to a tree.

Professor Verdus, already hurt from the Headmaster’s attack, couldn’t even try to fight back.

“Mmmph! Mmmph!”

“If he’s tied up like that, he won’t get hurt.”

“…Sometimes I think you might really be a genius, Professor.”

“Thank you.”

Professor Voladi smiled a little at Lee Han’s words.

Lee Han promised himself never to say anything nice to him again.

“This is a great chance. The Headmaster’s summoned creature is a strong fighter.”

“Yes… I know.”

Lee Han, who had fought it a few times, nodded.

Of course, he didn’t think it was a great chance.

Getting struck by lightning is rare, but you wouldn’t call it a great chance.

It was just…

‘Wouldn’t you just say it’s really unlucky?’

So, meeting Professor Voladi and having to fight the Headmaster’s summoned creature was really unlucky.

Crack!

Finally, the mark burned away, and a portal opened above Professor Verdus’s head.

-Because of the promise, I have come to lock you up again. Don’t hate me!

As soon as it said this, Professor Voladi shot four ice spears into the demon’s arms and legs.

The demon couldn’t react to the quick attack and screamed in pain.

“Go fight it.”

Professor Voladi kindly gave Lee Han the chance.

He had made the demon weak, so it was a good enemy for Lee Han to practice on.

But Lee Han didn’t see it that way.

Lee Han just saw a powerful demon who was very angry after being hit by four ice spears.

-Gonadaltez! Did you trick me!

It had come to lock up the one who escaped, but it was badly hurt by a crazy wizard. It was natural for the demon to be angry.

Lee Han apologized.

“I’m sorry!”

But apologizing didn’t mean it wouldn’t attack. Lee Han attacked at the same time as he apologized.

…The demon looked too angry for an apology to work.

“Is he trying to trick it into being careless?”

“No, I’m not!”

Lee Han said, disagreeing with Professor Voladi, and cast another spell.

The demon, with its arms and legs stuck with ice spears, shot fire and magic from its mouth and eyes.

-A young student dares to try and trick a demon!

“I’m sorry!”

-If you’re sorry, then stop attacking, you liar!

“Unleash, the lightning of Perkontra!”

The strong lightning went through the demon’s chest, hurting it badly.

The demon coughed up black blood. It couldn’t defend itself well because its arms and legs were stuck.

‘A young human…!’

The demon was confused enough already, but the human fighting it was making it even more confused.

The human had attack power, dodging skills, and quick thinking that didn’t seem like a young student’s.

‘How can he be so…?!’

It was natural for the demon to be confused.

Usually, a young student wouldn’t have spells like >Spatial Awareness>, >Gonadaltez’s Dark Vision>, >Gonadaltez’s Agile Steps>, and so on.

“Too slow.”

Professor Voladi said to the demon.

He had wanted to push Lee Han to his limit, but the attacks were too simple and easy to see coming.

Because of that, Lee Han was skillfully using up the demon’s energy without being in danger.

If things kept going like this, he would win too easily.

-Shut up!

Professor Voladi didn’t just say it. He waved his wand, and the ice spears disappeared.

The demon, now able to move its arms and legs, looked at Professor Voladi in shock.

Lee Han also looked at Professor Voladi in shock.

The demon looked back and forth between Lee Han and Voladi, then asked Lee Han,

-Is that wizard making you do this?

Lee Han almost said ‘yes’ without thinking but stopped himself.