Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 232

‘Decorating a room… I guess that could be fun,’ he thought.

His friends had been talking about decorating their rooms a lot lately. But Yihan hadn’t really paid attention.

Yihan didn’t really understand. He wondered, “Why?”

“Isn’t a private room just for sleeping?”

Yihan’s own room was full of skeleton warriors. Decorating it wasn’t something he cared about.

“Oh no… This is bad. I thought Wodanaz would like it, so I brought it.”

“Does Wodanaz think it’s too cheap? It’s a nice pot, isn’t it?”

“I told you! Wodanaz won’t be happy with something simple. The Wodanaz family is super rich! Their house walls are silver, and the windows are made of red and blue jewels. Of course, he won’t like this!”

‘That’s not right,’ Yihan thought. These Black Tortoise Tower students were making up stories right in front of him, so sure of themselves.

He knew there were rumors about the Wodanaz family because they were so private, but this was too much.

It wasn’t like his family was poor, but Yihan had never cared about fancy things.

If he could have fancy things, he wouldn’t feel so annoyed!

“This is a disaster. I don’t have anything else to offer. Can’t I promise to pay the value later, when we have vacation?”

“Are you serious? If you were Wodanaz, would you work just for silver coins? Nobles have pride, you know!”

Yihan placed his hand on his friends’ shoulders.

Then, he said kindly.

“You seem worried because you don’t have anything suitable. Then, just give me silver coins later, when we have vacation.”

“R-Really? Is that okay?”

“Of course. Richmond from your tower has done that before. Don’t worry about it too much.”

“But… why…?”

The Black Tortoise Tower student was still confused. His friend nudged him hard.

“Idiot. Wodanaz is trying to save our face.”

“Aha!”

‘Aha, my foot.’

The Black Tortoise Tower students thought Yihan was just saying he’d take silver coins to be nice. They thought he was helping them save face, so they wouldn’t be embarrassed.

This made Yihan realize how rich these other students were.

‘Rich bastards.’

Even in the Black Tortoise Tower, which was mostly commoners, things changed when money was involved.

The richest merchants in the Empire had more money than most noble families.

Yihan didn’t even get pocket money unless it was for school things. But these students could spend silver coins easily, like they had endless amounts.

“Thank you, Wodanaz. I can’t believe you’re helping us like this.”

“Think whatever you want. Here. Sign here. Where should I go to find you?”

“You can come to the Tutanta family…”

Salco wrote the contract, but he was a little confused.

Surely, he’s not really doing this for the silver coins, is he?

The next day, they were in the desert, far from room decorations and silver coins.

“Everyone, drink some water.”

“Thank you, Wodanaz.”

They walked into the desert. Hot air hit them like a wave. It was like the wasteland near the library, but much hotter and drier.

“Spring forth.”

Of course, that didn’t mean water wouldn’t appear. Yihan summoned water from the air without hesitation.

“Lodestone, show me the way,” Salco said. He tapped the sand and spoke magic words. A pattern glowed on the sand.

“This way is north.”

“That’s a good spell. Can you teach me?”

“You’re funny! You don’t need a spell like this… or do you? Really?”

Salco was surprised by Yihan’s interest.

Many wizards didn’t bother learning spells for everyday things.

They thought magic shouldn’t be wasted just to find directions. They had people to do that for them.

“Why? It seems like a useful spell.”

“…It’s nothing, really. It’s easy to teach. It’s not a hard spell, but if you’re not good with earth magic, it might be tricky…”

Salco remembered when Yihan destroyed the school maze. He had smashed the walls to pieces as he walked through.

“…but forget about that.”

“Why?”

“Just listen,” Salco said, a little quickly. “This spell works best where there’s a lot of earth. And it needs lodestone powder to work well. So, be careful…”

Salco looked at the ball of water floating next to Yihan.

It stayed perfectly round and cold, even in the burning sun.

“…or never mind that either.”

“You’re not explaining it very well!” Yihan said, sounding annoyed. But Salco just kept talking.

The other Black Tortoise Tower students went ahead to check the way.

“Here. Let’s leave marks so we can see them when we come back.”

“Stay there!” someone said. The desert sand moved when the wind blew, but magic marks were different. They would stay put.

“Thanks for the hard work. I’ll blow some wind.”

“Can I call a spirit?”

“Yeah, go ahead. It’s been more than three days since you rested, so a spirit will help you.”

A small, see-through wind spirit appeared. Suddenly, a soft, cool wind started to blow.

Yihan watched from behind, impressed by how well they worked together.

‘Why can’t the guys in our tower do something like that?’

It wasn’t that the kids couldn’t use magic.

When it came to magical skill alone, they were among the best of the four towers.

…It’s just that most of their magic wasn’t helpful in everyday life.

To be honest, a spell like ‘Magical Decoration for Waltz’ wasn’t very helpful for exploring.

Sharkan suddenly growled in a scary way. Yihan thought a monster had come.

‘No monster?’ Yihan thought. But right then, he felt a strong warning inside him.

A feeling he had felt often recently.

It was the same feeling he had when Professor Voladi had suddenly attacked him. Every part of his body felt alert.

“…Shield, unfold!”

Yihan didn’t hesitate to cast the spell.

Using magic without checking first might be silly for others. But for Yihan, it was different.

He had so much magic, he could use it freely in situations like this!

“Wodanaz?! Why?!”

“Salco, defend!”

“Right! Got it, Lee Han!”

At Lee Han’s command, Salco and the students from the Black Turtle Tower began to prepare their defenses.

Clang!

A sharp sound rang out as an attack struck the water shield.

Lee Han’s face went pale, but his eyes narrowed with focus as he watched the dagger fail to pierce the thick water shield and fall to the ground.

It might have looked like a weak attack since it couldn’t break the water shield, but it was far from it.

‘They know how to fight a wizard!’ Lee Han thought.

Having been endlessly tormented by Professor Volardi, Lee Han knew very well how enemies would try to take down a wizard once a battle began.

“-It doesn’t matter what method they use. The enemies will always try to take down the wizard first.”

“-Indeed… wizards can be quite the variable. How should we prepare?”

“-Perfectly.”

“-…I’m not fully recovered yet… Ack!”

Grandiose attacks took too long to prepare and were too noisy.

A single dagger was enough to take down an unprepared wizard.

The problem was that Lee Han had sensed the killing intent first and started his defense.

“Shield, unfold! Heat, distort the air!”

It was bad luck for the enemies.

Normally, not many wizards were skilled in combat.

Even less so if they were students of a magic school.

“Feet, wrinkle the earth!” Lee Han stomped his foot. The ground beneath them cracked and twisted, and from the broken earth, skeletal figures clawed their way out, their empty eye sockets glowing with eerie green light. Their bone swords clattered against each other as they rose.

The adventurers stared, mouths open in shock. How could he cast spells so fast? And defenses like this in mere seconds? Gelliac’s eyes widened. *Damn, he’s fast! We underestimated him.*

“What in the abyss is that?!” one adventurer yelled, stumbling back.

“Damn it!” another shouted. “He’s a fifth-year! From Einroguard! Get ready! He knows real combat magic!”

“…You’ll regret meeting a fifth-year from Einroguard!” Lee Han said, his voice hard.

“Shit…! What rotten luck!”

The Black Turtle Tower students, hiding behind barriers of water and earth, stared at Lee Han with bewildered expressions. A girl behind Salco whimpered, clutching her water flask. Salco himself, though pale, stood firm, ready to follow Lee Han’s orders.

The Viper’s Nest, a notorious adventurer organization in the Empire.

While most adventurers in the Empire cared about their reputation and were cautious, some didn’t care and accepted illegal requests.

The Viper’s Nest were exactly those kinds of people. They would accept all sorts of illegal requests if given the right amount of gold!

Of course, even the Viper’s Nest wouldn’t normally mess with Einroguard, where the Empire’s top wizards gathered.

Even ruthless villains weren’t unintelligent. Those who made their living through wicked deeds were quick to sense danger and sensitive to power.

But this time, it was different.

They had received an extremely lucrative request.

-There is an artifact I desire within Einroguard.

-But Einroguard is…

-I know. It is not a place where outsiders can easily enter. I will provide a way in. Follow the guide who has already entered and meet them. They will give you the details.

The adventurers didn’t ask, ‘If a guide has already gone in, why do we need to go in as well?’ Because they already knew the answer.

‘If we can steal a wizard’s treasure and get out with only two or three lives lost, it’s a cheap price to pay. Especially in Einroguard.’

It was a proposition that reeked of blood, but the adventurers didn’t refuse.

After all, an adventurer’s life was about taking risks.

The important thing was how much they could earn.

-Very well. We will do our best.

“What are we going to do?!” The adventurers shouted in rough voices.

They were incredibly unlucky.

To run into an Einroguard student the moment they emerged from the well through the underground passage. Even a fifth-year.

To adventurers who knew Einroguard’s reputation, a fifth-year student was a considerable threat. At that level, wouldn’t they be a rare grand wizard among adventurers?

Moreover…

“Judging by his reaction, he’s trained in magical combat! We can’t subdue him. We have to kill him!”

“We agreed not to harm the magic school students!”

“I know that, you damn idiot! Do you think I’m not afraid of retaliation? But we have no way to subdue him!”

“…God damn it. Fine! Kill him!” Gelliac’s face was grim. *Harm a student? We swore we wouldn’t… but we have no choice.* He gritted his teeth and nodded.

Looking at the other side now, the opposing wizard’s skills were extraordinary.

It was surprising that he had blocked the surprise attack from an unseen direction, and within seconds, he had nearly completed a fortress.

Illusions flickered, and barriers of water and earth, along with skeleton warriors, shielded the wizards.

Gelliac had seen Einroguard students a few times before. He knew how ridiculous this reaction was.

He had seen students who could use higher-level magic than this, but this was the first time he had seen a student who could so calmly and continuously cast spells in a fierce combat situation.

‘We’re just incredibly unlucky…’

Thwack!

But Gelliac wasn’t the only one who was unlucky.

The fifth-year students they had encountered today were just as unlucky.

Having entered the wizards’ den, did Gelliac and his companions come without any countermeasures?

It was Gelliac and his companions who feared wizards the most.

Naturally, they had gathered as many anti-wizard preparations as they could.

To meet in such a situation was nothing short of misfortune for the wizard.

“Tear the scroll! Quickly!”

Gelliac’s hand trembled above the scroll. He knew how much it cost, but there was no other choice.

“Shut up! Do you know how much this cost… Here I go!” As Gelliac tore the scroll, a wave of raw magical energy unleashed. It roared outwards like a invisible shockwave, distorting the air and making the ground tremble.

“Ugh!”

“Gasp…!” With pained cries, the Black Turtle Tower students knelt down, their faces turning blue.

At the same time, the barriers, illusions, and summons all disappeared.

As the cast spells were forcibly canceled, the connected wizard also suffered a blow.

‘It’s still powerful even after all this time.’

It was terribly expensive, but there was no greater death sentence for a wizard than this.

It involved investing a great deal of magical power to cast spells, only to have them all erased at once, shaking the magical power to its core.

A surprise attack that accurately targeted the weakness of wizards, who couldn’t use magic without magical power.

Moreover, it was easier to fall victim to the more skilled the wizard was.

Gelliac had once seen a 5-circle wizard subdued by this single scroll.

“Shield, unfold! Heat, distort the air! Feet, wrinkle the earth! Arise, warriors of bone…”

“…??!?!” Gelliac could only blink in disbelief as the fifth-year student began layering on spells again as if nothing had happened.