Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 223

Even as he said that, Ethan carefully controlled the flames.

He had to be careful with the flames. If he burned the library by accident, the headmaster with the skeleton face might punish him badly, maybe even by burning him.

Whoosh!

Bright orange flames suddenly filled the narrow passage.

The flames were small, you could just feel the heat on the back of your hand. But fire magic was very strong, so even these small flames were enough.

‘There’s no point in raising the fire element if it’s just going to be hard to control.’

The flames flew haphazardly through the passage, burning the approaching shadow wraiths. Each time a flame burst, the shadow wraiths writhed and tumbled.

Shadow wraiths are like ghosts and are creatures of darkness. This means fire and light hurt them even more than other monsters.

The flames were like fires that would not stop. They kept getting magic power and burned brightly.

-■■■■! ■■■■!

The shadow wraiths made chilling noises as they tried to break through the narrow passage, but Ethan continued to manipulate the flames.

No matter how massive the number of wraiths, there was a limit to breaking through in such a narrow passage.

Especially if the wizard blocking the passage could continuously summon flames without any limit to their magical power!

‘I can block them…’

Crack!

Just as he thought he could block them, an ominous sound came from behind.

Whether it was because the shadow wraiths kept ramming into it, one section of the bookcase filled with books collapsed, creating a hole to enter.

“Block it!”

At Ethan’s command, the students hurriedly cast spells towards the newly formed hole.

“Flames, be…”

“Launch…”

Bolts of magic shot out, and flames leaped up. The library passage flashed with bright colors of magic – red, blue, and gold.

It seemed quite powerful, but Ethan coldly assessed the situation.

‘The hole is bigger than I thought!’

Unlike the narrow passage, the hole created by the collapsed bookcase was too wide.

The princess was directing her friends and pouring out magic, but shadow wraiths were already entering one by one.

Ethan gritted his teeth and spun his staff.

“Burn!”

Thanks to Ethan spinning his staff, the momentum of the shadow wraiths rushing through the newly created hole subsided.

He had to do it. If he was even a little bit slow, everything would have become completely chaotic.

The problem was…

‘They’re coming!’

Meanwhile, the shadow wraiths coming through the narrow passage had significantly closed the distance.

Even if he attacked again, some of them were bound to collide with him.

It was something he had already prepared for. Ethan channeled magical power throughout his body, preparing for possession.

‘The more magical power I have, the stronger my resistance will be. Even if the shadow wraiths try to possess me, I can shake them off relatively quickly…’

Ethan believed his magic would protect him.

His magic had been strong against mind control and poison before. So, he thought it would also be strong against these wraiths trying to take over his body.

Just like Gainando was possessed earlier but somehow managed to escape, Ethan too…

Thump!

“?”

“??”

-?

A strange sound was heard.

It was the sound of the shadow wraith, which had rammed into Ethan with all its might, bouncing off.

And not just bouncing off, but burning as if it had been hit by fire magic!

Thump thump thump thump thump thump thump thump thump!

It wasn’t just one shadow wraith that came rushing.

Dozens of them squeezed through the passage, gaining momentum and ramming straight in.

And they all bounced off and burst into flames.

“……”

“……”

The Blue Dragon Tower student who was helping Ethan from behind stared at Ethan with a horrified expression.

What is that…?

Thump thump! Thump thump thump thump thump thump!

As dozens of them were instantly eliminated due to failed possession, the shadow wraiths behind them seemed to sense something was wrong.

They tried to slow down, but the other shadow wraiths behind them didn’t wait.

Thump thump thump thump thump thump thump thump thump…

“Wraith… Wraith Destroyer! Wraith Destroyer!!”

“Don’t give me useless nicknames.”

People in the Empire would think ‘Wraith Destroyer’ is a great and respectful nickname for someone who did something so amazing. But Ethan didn’t want his friends to call him that.

Especially if all he did was wipe out the wraiths in such a crude way!

Ethan swung his staff and pushed back. Now that he realized the shadow wraiths couldn’t possess him, there was no need to be afraid.

The shadow wraiths crowded in the narrow passage were literally blown away.

“We’ve come to help!”

“What? Did you block all the passages?!”

The students who were blocking the collapsed bookcase hole were surprised when Ethan and his friends from the passage returned.

“It’s a long story!”

“Let’s go!”

“?????”

The students were startled when Ethan and his friends ran straight towards the hole where the shadow wraiths were crowding, instead of casting spells.

“What are you doing…”

Thump thump thump thump thump thump thump thump thump!

“…Go, good heavens.”

“What is that…?”

“I made up a title after seeing that! Wraith Destroyer! Not bad, right?”

“Wraith Destroyer… Oh…”

Asan thought that was a pretty good nickname.

If there ever came a time to introduce Wodanaz, who was fighting honorably over there, that nickname would suit him well…

‘I should give it to Wodanaz if I ever have to introduce him in the future.’

“Stop talking nonsense and provide magical support!”

The princess, who had been nodding in agreement with the title, was startled by Ethan’s shout.

In fact, not only the princess but also the other students were showing similar reactions.

“But did you ask Ethan? Does Ethan like it?”

“Of course, he’d like it. It’s a title given by friends who know honor to praise his achievements.”

“Wraith Destroyer… I don’t really like it…”

Gainando mumbled, and Yoner next to him was slightly impressed.

Yoner thought Gainando was surprisingly clever to come up with that idea.

“No, no,” Gainando said, joking. “A better nickname would be something really long and fancy, like ‘The Great, Dignified, and Noble Lineage Inheritor, the Enemy of Wraiths…’”

“Oh. That’s pretty good?”

“……”

Yoner shook his head.

Salco and the students in his group were building barricades at the front.

“Pile up, earth!”

“Become as hard as rock!”

Heavy thump-thumps shook the barricade of earth and stone. The shadow wraiths seemed to be gathering in large numbers.

“One’s coming in from the side!”

Whoosh!

Nilia’s arrow flew true, piercing the shadow wraith trying to sneak in from the side.

Nilia’s shot was perfect, even in the chaos. She should have been proud, but her face was still worried.

The other Black Tortoise Tower students felt the same.

“The numbers… don’t seem to be decreasing, do they?”

“This is bad.”

While Lee Han was confident he could take them all down if there were no unexpected problems, he stood guard in the passageway. The Black Tortoise Tower students weren’t about to do anything reckless.

Instead, they built barricades throughout the passageway and hunkered down.

Barricading themselves was a good idea at first. But too many shadow wraiths were coming.

Unfortunately, things weren’t going that way.

The lights in the ceiling weren’t getting any brighter, but the number of shadow wraiths was steadily increasing.

“I bet the other places are in chaos too…”

Nilia trailed off, lost in thought.

What if the Blue Dragon Tower students were possessed by shadow wraiths and came this way?

‘…If Wodanaz, the strongest student, was possessed, it would be truly terrifying…’

“Wodanaz!”

“N-no!”

“??”

Ratford, who was beside her, stared at Nilia as if she were quite strange.

“What’s a no-no, exactly?”

“Ah… it’s nothing.”

Nilia hurried towards the barricade.

Thankfully, Lee Han wasn’t possessed by a shadow wraith. He looked perfectly fine.

“Thank goodness…” Nilia started, then stopped, eyes wide with shock.

Thud thud thud thud thud thud thud thud thud!

The Blue Dragon Tower students were charging forward with Lee Han leading the charge like some sort of battering ram.

Each time they collided with Lee Han, the shadow wraiths screamed and burst apart.

The Black Tortoise Tower students were too astonished to speak.

After sweeping away the shadow wraiths with a few elegant turns, the Blue Dragon Tower students proclaimed with dignity,

“Consider our thanks received.”

In truth, they had come to prevent the other tower students from being possessed and causing chaos, but even considering that, the Blue Dragon Tower students thought of themselves as quite honorable.

After all, they had come to help!

“But why aren’t those blokes saying anything?”

“Yeah, what’s up with that?”

The Blue Dragon Tower students hesitated, waiting for a response, but when none came, they grumbled and left.

Don’t they know how to say thank you!

However, it wasn’t that the Black Tortoise Tower students were ungrateful; they were simply speechless.

Only after they had left did one of the students finally speak.

“W-what on earth just happened????”

The Phoenix Tower priests had a similar reaction.

Except the passageway they were in was a tunnel of roaring fire, the heat making the air shimmer and the smell of burning wood thick in their noses.

Lee Han cast a low-level fire resistance spell and then proceeded to obliterate the shadow wraiths.

Nigisore, a priest of the Aphah Order, greeted him with delight and expressed his gratitude.

“Lee Han! Thanks so much for coming!”

“Glad I wasn’t too late.”

The Phoenix Tower students were actually in the best situation.

Unlike the Blue Dragon Tower, where a wall had collapsed and created a new entry point, or the Black Tortoise Tower, where shadow wraiths had piled up.

It seemed that the fire magic Nigisore had cast was quite helpful.

Lee Han asked, puzzled,

“Did you use a wide-area fire spell throughout the entire passageway? How did you not burn down the library?”

Lee Han wondered if it was a secret technique of the Aphah Order.

As an order that specialized in handling flames, they might have a way to cast wide-area magic in this area without burning down the passageway.

‘If that’s the case, I definitely want to learn it.’

Priest Nigisore didn’t understand what Lee Han was saying and tilted his head.

“I just went for it, you know?”

“…Ah. I see.”

Lee Han took a small step back.

He thought that was true madness right there.

Using wide-area spells in the library without thinking about the consequences…!

“Wodanaz, let’s go save the White Tiger Tower blokes.”

‘Annoying.’

He stepped up because it would be a nuisance if the others were defeated, but after a few rounds, he was starting to get tired.

Priest Nigisore said with admiration,

“You are doing truly good work, Lee Han of the Wodanaz family. If you don’t mind, I could help…”

“…No. I cannot borrow another’s hand in such a glorious endeavor.”

Lee Han felt tempted for a moment, but he resisted.

…He had been lucky this time, but there was no guarantee it wouldn’t turn into a sea of fire next time!

The Skull Headmaster smiled contentedly as he watched the students, looking grimy and tired, walk out of the library.

They must have studied hard.

The students ignored him.

Not because they didn’t want to please the Skull Headmaster, but because they were too tired to respond.

The Skull Headmaster, annoyed by the disregard, spotted Lee Han and floated over.

He was a rather peculiar student, simultaneously wanting to praise his outstanding skills in the dungeon raid and scold him for making the dungeon raid boring.

“Studying hard, were we?”

“Yes, thanks to you.”

“You’re quite… subtly competitive, aren’t you? Going and catching the Rock Drake. The other professors were quite surprised.”

“…Pardon?”

Lee Han paused.

Regardless of the misunderstanding that he had ‘caught’ it, the fact that the Skull Headmaster had been watching surprised Lee Han.

Actually, it wasn’t that surprising.

It was common knowledge that the Skull Headmaster had eyes everywhere in the school, and there was no way he would miss such an entertaining spectacle, given his personality.

However…

“The other… professors?”

“Yes. But honestly, wasn’t it a bit of a bother during this expedition? How about going in alone next time?”

Ignoring the Skull Headmaster’s subtle nonsense, Lee Han asked, suppressing his rising dread,

“Were any particular professors present, by any chance?”

“Hmm. So many came and went… and I’m not the type to remember such things in detail, you know.”

“Was Professor Baegreuk there?”

“Baegreuk was there. That bloke has a knack for spoiling my fun, so I remember him.”

Lee Han’s face twisted in sorrow and agony.