Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 218

They had found water! Relief washed over them as they eagerly drank. Glug, glug-

With water, the Blue Dragon Tower students looked around, a bit relieved.

Human hearts are funny things. Just a little while ago, they were complaining. Now that they had water, their moods changed.

Some students sat on the rocky hill, looking at the horizon.

“It’s not as terrible as I thought, is it?”

“Right.”

Yoner thought, ‘They were just whining about how hard it was…’ but he didn’t say anything to his friends, who were already having a tough time.

“I hope those White Tiger Tower guys are having an even harder time.”

“Me too.”

Yoner stared at his friends like they were crazy.

‘Aren’t they afraid of being punished for saying things like that?’

Suddenly, a scream ripped through the quiet air. “Aaaaaargh!”

Everyone jumped. “What was that?!” Yoner yelled, his eyes wide.

Lee Han snatched up his staff, his heart pounding. “Come on!” He raced towards the sound, his friends scrambling after him.

“There!” someone gasped, pointing a shaking finger.

Lee Han stopped short. His breath caught in his throat. Coming over the rise, slow but steady, was a monster. It was huge, like a walking mountain of grey rock, its heavy steps making the ground tremble. Dust puffed up around its thick legs.

Rock Drake. Lee Han’s blood ran cold.

It was a monster well-known in the Empire. Lee Han and several other students recognized it right away.

A Drake, a dragon-like monster said to have dragon blood, was known for its size and strength.

The Rock Drake, with its hard, rocky shell, was famous for its incredible defense.

-Be careful where Rock Drakes appear. Even experienced adventurers can be crushed if they aren’t careful.

-I went to a place where Rock Drakes appeared once. The locals called them ‘the mage’s nightmare’ because they just deflect magic.

It was definitely not a monster that first-year students could handle.

Not even Lee Han, who had faced the Rakshasa Ogre!

It was much stronger. It wasn’t just any monster that was rumored to have dragon blood.

“Everyone, stay low. Don’t make it angry.”

“I-it looks like it’s coming this way?”

The Rock Drake moved slowly but with a scary power.

Lee Han gathered the students.

With the Rock Drake coming closer, they needed a plan fast.

“We have to run now! Let’s go somewhere else.”

“That’s crazy. Rock Drakes aren’t usually aggressive, but they always attack monsters in their area. If we move and make it angry, we’re done for!”

“So, we’re just going to wait here while it comes?”

“It’s coming this way, but it might not come to our hill. It might go somewhere else.”

“If we wait any longer, we won’t be able to escape!”

His friends couldn’t agree.

‘This isn’t easy.’

Lee Han thought both sides had good points.

The Rock Drake wasn’t very sensitive, but if a group of students moved, it might notice, even from far away.

But hiding here and hoping for the best wasn’t a good idea either, and they didn’t have any other plans…

“Should we try throwing silver coins?”

“…That’s not a bad idea.”

“What? Lee Han, are you okay?”

Gainando was surprised that Lee Han agreed with him.

He thought Lee Han would say it was a crazy idea…

“I’ll just use it as a maybe. Stones, show me the way.”

Lee Han threw the stones on the ground and focused his mind.

He didn’t want to use precognitive magic, but he had no choice.

The good thing was that it was the near future, not the distant future.

‘I can handle this much.’

If Professor Paselt or Professor Garcia were here, they would say, ‘Easy or not, it’s not something a first-year student should be doing,’ but they weren’t here.

He wanted to know if the Rock Drake was coming this way or not.

He saw blurry images flash by. Lee Han focused on one of them.

“…It looks like it’s coming.”

“Damn it!”

Seeing the Rock Drake destroying the hill, Lee Han decided to escape with his friends.

“There is a way out. There’s invisibility magic, but…”

“Ah!”

“The problem is, I can only use it on myself right now.”

“Ah…”

Even if it was the same magic, using it on others was harder than using it on himself.

“But I have something that can help. Gainando, try this.”

Gainando took the belt and put it on.

Then, he fell to his knees.

“M-mana…”

“Oh dear. It uses more mana than I thought.”

“Lee Han… are you trying to kill me…?”

“Yoner, can you give me some potion?”

Lee Han opened the potion and gave it to Gainando.

Gainando felt better after a while.

“It looks like I can’t lend you this.”

His friends nodded.

Even if they needed invisibility magic, they didn’t want to wear that belt.

‘How is he wearing those things!’

“Lee Han, I have an idea.”

Gainando said.

“What is it?”

“You can just learn the invisibility magic that you can use on others right now.”

“……”

“……”

“Shouldn’t we just offer him as bait to the Rock Drake?”

His friends looked scary, so Lee Han stopped them.

‘It’s true in a way.’

The idea behind casting invisibility magic on yourself and on others wasn’t that different.

It was just that it was more complex.

‘Let’s try a few times.’

Lee Han decided to use the time before the Rock Drake got too close.

Having a lot of mana meant he could try.

If he could figure it out, great. If not, he would give up.

“Gainando.”

“…Am I just imagining that I’ve been the test subject for a while now…?”

Gainando complained as he stood in front. Lee Han pointed his staff.

“Cloak, hide my friend.”

‘I guess it’s not working.’

He focused and the movements were right, but the magic didn’t work.

Mana moved and crashed while making the magic, so it failed.

He didn’t really understand the magic yet.

“Cloak, hide me.”

Lee Han cast the magic on himself.

It worked, and Gainando’s arm disappeared.

“Aaaargh, my arm!!”

“It’s fine?”

“Ah. It is?”

Gainando was scared because his arm had turned invisible, but he was relieved when it came back.

When he stretched out his arm again, it turned invisible again.

“Everyone, look at this!”

Invisibility was spreading in a few meters around Lee Han.

‘More power!’

Lee Han realized what was happening.

Lee Han was casting another spell while using the invisibility necklace.

Two spells were working together and making each other stronger.

‘This… I didn’t expect this. Is this what the Headmaster meant?’

Lee Han was surprised.

This kind of thing didn’t happen often.

-What happens if you cast a spell again after casting it once?

Every wizard wondered about that.

Casting a strength spell again, or a speed spell again, or an invisibility spell again…

What happens?

The answer was ‘no one knows.’

It was impossible to guess because it depended on the situation, the place, and the magic.

But it made the magic stronger.

‘Wait. Then why wasn’t the belt stronger too?’

The belt from the Priesinga Order also had invisibility magic.

But it wasn’t stronger because…

‘It’s different!’

Lee Han realized something.

Even if it looked like the same invisibility magic, it was done differently.

The Priesinga Order’s belt confused vision by using camouflage that bent light…

The necklace was closer to magic that confused the viewer, making them unable to see it.

The necklace and the Headmaster’s magic were the same, so they made each other stronger.

‘So that’s why he told me to think more about it. To let me know this.’

Lee Han felt his mind clearing.

Lee Han didn’t know it, but a wizard’s understanding was like this.

Understanding a little bit of the magic and making progress.

Lee Han didn’t notice because he was talented.

Talent was helpful, but it could also make the wizard not try as hard.

If the Skeleton Headmaster was there, he would have said, ‘Yes, that’s it. Be grateful and…’

“Lee Han! We have to move!”

“Sorry. I was thinking. Let’s move.”

Lee Han moved instead of being grateful.

‘I can make the invisibility magic stronger.’

Lee Han cast the invisibility magic and made it stronger again.

How much should he cast?

At first, he didn’t know, but after a few tries, he got it.

“Cloak, hide me… Okay. This should be enough. Let’s go!”

If you understood something, you should be grateful and focus on it.

But sometimes there were exceptions.

A genius who moved without being grateful!

Lee Han put his friends in the invisibility range and ran.

The Skeleton Headmaster would have made it harder for him.

Even after getting away from the Rock Drake, the Blue Dragon Tower students couldn’t relax.

They looked for a new library, searched the books, and hid themselves.

“Is it okay now?”

“What if it comes after us again? We have to watch for a bit.”

“I want to start a fire…”

They needed a fire to rest, but they were still scared of the Rock Drake.

“Th-there!”

“?!!”

Someone shouted, and everyone turned.

It wasn’t the Rock Drake.

“It’s not!!”

“I didn’t say it was the Rock Drake…! Look at that!”

White Tiger Tower students were walking around, looking around.

The Blue Dragon Tower students were hidden, so they hadn’t been seen yet.

“What should we do, Wodanaz? Should we call them?”

“Is Deorgyu here?”

“Deorgyu? He’s not here?”

“Then we have no choice. Subdue them.”

“……”

What do you mean we have no choice?