Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 237

Professor Volardi was a kind teacher and didn’t mind his student’s unusual ways of learning.

A good teacher should always help students, even if they try to learn in their own quick ways.

“No…”

Lee Han was shocked to see Professor Volardi take out his sword and run towards him!

Wasn’t this going a bit too far?

“Quite decent.”

Lee Han, lying on the classroom floor, didn’t even answer. His whole body hurt from the beating.

A great swordsman is good with his fists and feet too.

Professor Volardi kept hitting Lee Han until he turned his cloak into steel.

After that, Lee Han managed to turn not just his cloak, but all his clothes into steel too.

‘Could it be that violence actually helps you learn, and I didn’t know it?’

Lee Han shook his head to get rid of those silly thoughts.

“But you’re still too slow. Try to wear steel things all the time.”

Transformation mages need to know the things they wear and the stuff they want to change.

For a mage like Lee Han, who wanted to get good with steel, it was best to learn everything about it: its color, feel, weight, smell, and so on.

“I will keep that in mind.”

“Don’t forget to practice with the floating ice shield either.”

“Yes.”

“And the advanced water thing change.”

“Yes.”

‘He didn’t usually talk this much.’

He only talked a lot when he gave students homework.

Lee Han cursed in his head while getting his excuses ready.

A silly student makes excuses at the last minute. But a smart student starts making excuses as soon as they get the task.

“But Professor, I have so many classes right now that it might take a while. Like you said, I want to connect different types of magic and be ready for anything, so…”

Lee Han didn’t really want to do it, but this was the best excuse he had.

Even the strictest professor would have to say, ‘Okay, take your time,’ if they saw how many classes Lee Han had.

Professor Volardi nodded.

Lee Han sighed in relief.

‘It worked somehow.’

“There is a way.”

“…Yes?”

Lee Han felt worried.

Surely, it’s not something like, ‘Don’t sleep,’ is it?

“When I asked Professor Verdus, he said he was thinking about a simple magic item as the thing before the final test.”

“Ah.”

The professors at Einroguard usually gave out a lot of homework.

Actually, the professors loved to give homework every week.

But sometimes they gave homework that was more serious than usual.

Homework that was hard and took a lot of work.

That was the thing before the final test.

It was a bad sign for the students that ‘the final test is coming.’

‘It’s starting already.’

Lee Han thought hard.

If Professor Bible’s thing before the final test is making a simple magic item…

‘Fireworks would be good.’

Magical fireworks.

He had (to) make them at the last festival, so Lee Han was sure he could make fireworks.

No matter what level the professor wanted, he should be able to pass because of the level of illusion magic he had (to) learn last time.

“Use the floating shield for that homework.”

“…Yes?”

Lee Han, who was planning to relax, stopped when he heard Professor Volardi’s words.

What did he say?

Professor Volardi looked a little confused, like he was thinking, ‘Why do I need to explain something so easy?’

“What part of the >Floating Ice Shield< magic is still not working well right now?" "The part where the shield protects the person using it on its own." The >Floating Ice Shield< magic was hard. Of course. …Because it was a 4th circle magic! Even for a 4th circle magic, it was one of the hardest. First, it's hard to keep the cold energy thing working because it doesn't stay that way naturally. Second, it takes a lot of magic power to keep the shield working. Third, making the shield move on its own is hard. Actually, it was weird that Lee Han had already gotten past the first and second parts and only had the third part left. "That's right. If you make a floating shield magic item, you should be able to get past the part that's not working well." "…Aha!" Lee Han didn't really understand and say 'Aha.' He said 'Aha' because he was surprised. So, what he's saying now is… …that I should try my hardest on homework that I could pass easily? 'Doesn't he think I might fail?' Lee Han cursed in his head, and Professor Volardi said what he had to say. "And." "…Yes?" Lee Han felt even more worried. Was this not the end? "Professor Milay is thinking about making deals with beings from another world as the thing before the final test." "Ah. That's right. I already made a deal with an undead creature." The intruder messed it up over the weekend, but Professor Milay made a magic circle with safety things, so it wouldn't be weird for a deal to be the thing before the final test. Lee Han was happy. Luckily, he already finished one of the homework assignments. 'I'm glad I made a deal with the skeleton warrior.' "I see. Find a water spirit in the spirit world." Lee Han, who had made a deal with an undead creature, and Professor Volardi, who had a deal with the skeleton headmaster, didn't care. "It will help you learn the advanced water thing change." "Professor, the truth is, spirits don't like me. They won't even want to make a deal with me." "Catch a water spirit, then learn from it, but don't make a deal with it." "Aha…" Even the students who weren't scared by the news of the intruder got scared when the things before the final test started one by one. "S-So, does that mean we have to make a simple magic item?" Professor Moradi beamed, his eyes twinkling behind his glasses. "See? Isn't this exciting?" A student named Hana, from the White Tiger Tower, shifted uncomfortably. "Um, Professor," she said, "we already have mountains of homework, though?" Moradi chuckled, waving a hand dismissively. "Yeah? So what? Homework is part of the adventure!" Another student, a tall boy with messy brown hair, spoke up, "But Professor, if you give us even *more* on top of everything else..." Moradi leaned forward, a mischievous glint in his eye. "Even with homework, you still find time to sleep and eat, don't you? And I bet you sneak in a few breaks for fun, eh? Just think of this as *extra* fun!" Durgyu, who was next to Lee Han, whispered in a shocked voice, "Are, are you joking?" Lee Han shook his head, a bitter expression on his face. He knew exactly how much work this assignment would be, and it wasn't fun at all. Looking at Moradi, his face was shocked, and his mouth was slightly open. Even Moradi, who was usually very calm, looked shocked by the homework. "Umm… uuum." "Uuuuung." Many of the students taking the Enchantment Magic class were from the White Tiger Tower. Sunlight streamed through the tall windows of the Enchantment Magic classroom, but the light did little to cheer the White Tiger Tower students slumped at their desks. The students of the White Tiger Tower generally didn't like sitting at their desks for long periods. Some wizards in the Imperial Newspaper boasted, 'I use magic with intuition and inspiration, not theory,' but that was just showing off. Just as it wasn't true when the top student of the year said, 'I didn't study separately and only focused on lectures,' magic wasn't easy enough to overcome with just intuition and inspiration without theory. But the students of the White Tiger Tower still believed in intuition and inspiration. "Kroooooh… Kroooooh…" "Why… why do we have to do this, Moradi? Why are you doing this to us? What did I do wrong?" "I’m trying to learn Physical Enhancement Magic, not do this petty blacksmith work!" Giselle looked at her friends, wondering if she should hurt them or not. Anyone watching now would think she had told them to go into the Blue Dragon Tower and capture Wodanaz. Giselle had only asked for something really simple: "Since each of you has to make a simple artifact, at least draw a simple design on paper." Then, the White Tiger Tower students groaned and dramatically threw themselves onto their desks, banging their heads as if in terrible pain. Lee Han was grateful for that sight. 'Because they are complaining, I will get a better grade.' "Lee Han?" "Ah. Sorry, Durgyu. Where were we?" "Um. I want to enchant my shield with light-emitting magic. What do you think of this design?" "Overall, it’s okay, but there are a few inefficient parts. And here, at the edge, the circuit is twisted. There’s a possibility that magic won’t flow through or it’ll break." "I, indeed." Durgyu looked at Lee Han with respectful eyes. Of course, Lee Han was always a reliable friend, but he became several times more reliable as the exam approached. Where else could you find such a reliable friend in the face of the storm of assignments? "Then… here…" Durgyu, who was diligently modifying the design according to Lee Han's advice, suddenly became curious and asked, "But Lee Han, what are you going to make and submit?" "…A floating steel shield." "A, a floating steel shield?! Are you perhaps talking about a shield that autonomously protects the wizard??" "…Yes." "A… Amazing!!!" Durgyu exclaimed. And then he wondered, 'Huh?' Lee Han's face looked unhappy. "Is there something wrong, Lee Han?" "No… nothing." Several White Tiger Tower students nearby heard the conversation and cast shocked glances. "Did you hear? What kind of artifact is Wodanaz making?" "What is he making? A Bone Dragon?" "Does that even make sense? He’s making a floating shield!" "A… a floating shield?!" 'Isn't a Bone Dragon even more ridiculous?' Even if the White Tiger Tower students were a little lacking in magic skills, they weren't blind to magic itself. Even if they were from knight families, or rather, precisely because they were from knight families, there were some magics they were more familiar with. Enchantment magic or healing magic were bound to be more familiar to those from knight families. "You’re talking about one that blocks autonomously, right?" A shield that protects its owner with its own will. It was an artifact that any knight would dream of. Of course, the White Tiger Tower students knew how precious and expensive such an artifact was. "If… if you make one, can I get one?" "Wodanaz, is there anything you need?" The White Tiger Tower students slyly approached Lee Han. That's how much they wanted it. Lee Han clicked his tongue and said, "You heard something strange and came here… You guys misheard." "Ah. Is, is that so?" The White Tiger Tower students became embarrassed. Come to think of it, it was a bit strange. Giving autonomy to a shield was an incredibly difficult level of magic. Even if it was Wodanaz, wasn't he just a first-year student? There was no way he could do something like that. "Where did you hear such nonsense and spread it around?" "That’s right, you jerk." "I, I really heard it…" While the White Tiger Tower students were scolding the friend who had misheard, Lee Han kindly explained. "Now. Look. What is an artifact?" "…Wodanaz. Aren’t you looking down on us too much… It’s an item with enchantment magic…" "To be precise, it’s an item with semi-permanent enchantment." If you cast enchantment magic and it disappears after a few days, that's not an artifact. No matter how good the magic is, it has to last almost forever to be called an artifact. Enchantment mages who specialize in artifact creation put their heart and soul into making magic that lasts almost forever. Naturally, this alone was a field with tremendous difficulty, and it was definitely not a field for freshmen to touch. "Got it?" "U, uh. But why are you suddenly explaining this…?" "What I’m trying to do is temporarily give autonomy to the shield, not give it magic that lasts almost forever. Got it? So don’t spread strange nonsense about making a floating shield artifact." The White Tiger Tower students, who had been tilting their heads while listening to the explanation, paused. ...So anyway, in the end, you're still making a floating shield, right???!