Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 24

Dergyu was saying Gainan wasn’t strong, but Nilia started talking about what they needed for a long night outside.

“We really need good boots and socks,” Nilia said, “but…”

Lee Han said sadly, “We don’t have those.” This made everyone feel a little sad.

The headmaster gave them bad, old clothes on purpose. So, they knew they wouldn’t have good boots or socks.

Nilia already had supplies ready in her hands.

‘Did I look silly again?’ Nilia thought.

Nilia grew up in the mountains, as a Shadow Patrol. The others grew up in rich families in the city. They were very different.

-Look! A red flower!

-Yes! It looks yummy. It’s sweet.

-Um… I mean, isn’t it pretty?

-It’s pretty and yummy! Best flower ever!

She felt awkward before, so she stopped talking. But now she spoke again. She thought, ‘This was a mistake.’

Nilia smiled. Her eyes became bright because Lee Han and Yoner liked her gifts.

“…It’s nothing special?”

“Nothing special? What are you talking about.”

“That’s right. Who here could do that?”

“Nilia. You should go into business.”

“Yes. Sell them to the other tower students for money.”

Nilia waved her hands, the pleasant praise taking an odd turn.

“I don’t like business.”

“Why not?”

“Why? Nilia. Why do you dislike money?”

Nilia was dumbfounded by Lee Han and Yoner’s sincere expressions.

‘Isn’t it normal not to want to do business with friends!?’ Anyone would think Nilia belonged to the Blue Dragon Tower.

“I’m not taking money for something like this! I don’t want to!”

Lee Han and Yoner became serious at those words.

“That’s not right,” Lee Han said. “If people want to buy it, you can sell it.”

“That’s a really good point. Nilia. Do you understand?”

“…Can’t I just finish explaining? Huh??”

“Ah. Sorry. Go on.”

Nilia cleared her throat, happy to change the subject. She looked much happier now. Her long ears stood up straight, showing she felt good.

No matter how much she pretended otherwise, being recognized was bound to be pleasing.

“But what’s so great about this?” Gainan asked, not understanding.

Thwack!

Yoner smacked Gainan on the back. Lee Han kicked Gainan in the shin.

“Nilia. Don’t give him any. He needs to learn what’s so great about it by not using it.”

“That’s right. He needs to suffer a little.”

“You… aren’t you going too far?! I’m still a prince…!”

‘He was a prince?!’ Nilia was horrified.

Lee Han and Yoner were from noble families, so princes were not special to them. There were many princes. But for Nilia, a prince was very important.

A direct descendant of the emperor. The name alone was majestic…

‘…Actually, no.’

Seeing him get hit by Yoner and Lee Han, he looked more like someone sick, not a prince.

“Hey. Do you know how precious those boots and foot wraps are when you don’t know how many hours you’ll have to walk? Your feet will be ruined after just one hour.”

“Let’s just leave him behind.”

“Ah… no! I understand! I understand, so don’t leave me behind!”

As the situation settled, Lee Han apologized to Nilia on his behalf.

“Sorry, Nilia. You worked hard to prepare, but Gainan said something rude.”

“Ah, no. I really don’t mind.”

“You look upset. Should I tell him off again?”

“I’m really okay!!” Nilia was horrified again and stopped him.

She wasn’t upset. Gainan was a prince, so he probably never walked far. It was normal he didn’t know about these things.

“Here. A coat I made. It’s spring, but it will be chilly at night. And it’s quite windy around here.”

“Nilia…”

“Really…”

“…Can you stop reacting every time I say something?” It felt good, but Nilia was starting to get annoyed with their fussiness.

“Leather backpack. You’ll need it when we enter the village. Leather water bottle. I made this too.”

‘She’s so talented. Why doesn’t she sell these things?’ Lee Han thought. ‘I could make a lot of money if I made these!’

Looking to the side, Yoner had a similar thought and wore a regretful expression.

“To move in the dark for a long time, you need to wrap your feet well, prepare a coat in case of the cold, and have enough to drink and eat…” Nilia hesitated as she spoke.

She was worried about food.

Nilia could go without food for a day while traversing the mountains, but would the others be okay?

“I brought food. Sausages, sliced bread, goat cheese, and dwarf honey candy. Is that enough?”

“!”

Nilia was startled.

The food Lee Han brought was enough for emergency rations.

“Where did you get it?”

“I swiped it from Professor Uregeoreum’s cabin.”

“……”

Are you really part of the Blue Dragon Tower?

“My brave friends, knights who follow me,” Giselle said.

At Giselle’s words, the students with sturdy builds nodded.

They were White Tiger Tower students who trusted Giselle and decided to attempt the escape together.

They hadn’t heard any plans, but they could see the influence Giselle had from the way they gathered.

There were several students taller and bigger than Giselle, and several who looked much more menacing.

Giselle was an elf, and looked small and delicate. But she was not scared at all. She stood confidently in front of them.

And she spoke in an arrogant and sharp voice.

“Don’t worry about the fools and traitors who didn’t gather here. They’ll find out soon enough.”

“Of course!”

“You’re right, Moradi.”

“We depart in ten minutes.”

There was a reason why Giselle was so confident.

‘If we move according to the map, four hours should be enough.’ Surprisingly, Giselle had an escape map.

An escape map she had found when she was in the Moradi family, before entering the school!

-An introduction to magic for beginners, what is magic, the legend of Einrogard… Is that all you have?

-I’m sorry, Moradi.

-Bring as much as you can. I don’t intend to be ignored by the other wizards.

Students from knight families were worried before magic school.

Will I be able to keep up?

Unlike those from other families, they had only held and swung swords their whole lives, so it was natural for them to worry.

The proud Giselle had no intention of being ignored. Before entering magic school, she read various books and studied as much as possible.

And the escape map was stuck between those books.

-Einrogard escape map…? What’s this?

A map with detailed methods of escaping the school.

Giselle was dumbfounded when she first saw it.

Einrogard wasn’t a school that just anyone could enter.

The best magic school where only the most talented from the empire were selected to enter.

What kind of pathetic person would seize such an opportunity and then worry about how to escape?

However, Giselle learned why the map was made just one day after entering this school.

Ah, it’s understandable!

At the top of the map, it said: “To anyone who wants to escape Einrogard: This map shows the only way out. We, your seniors, made this path for you. Use it to escape!”

Lee Han and his friends hid in the bushes. They watched torches moving far away.

The White Tiger Tower students had begun to move.

‘It was the mountains after all?’

Lee Han thought there were two ways to escape. One way was through the big walls and gates at the front of the school. It was near, and they could get to the village quickly. But the walls and gates were hard to break.

The other was the vast and majestic mountain range behind the magic school.

The long walls would also be cut off deep in the mountains, so if they entered well, they could bypass them and escape.

Lee Han had thought that if Giselle knew a method, it would be the latter.

The vast mountain range behind the magic school looked too densely forested to even consider entering from the outside, but if someone had the ability, they could break through with a map.

That prediction had come true.

“Move. Let’s follow them!”

“Huh? Why are we going to the mountains??” Gainan chased after them in a panic.

He had naturally expected to go out through the gates.

“We’re going over the mountains to break through.”

“Huh? Why?!”

“Because there’s a path there. Dergyu. I’m counting on you to take care of Gainan.”

“Understood.” Dergyu nodded readily.

Nilia was the best at climbing mountains among them, and Lee Han and Dergyu had received quite a bit of training as knights. Yoner was also confident in his walking ability, having wandered around collecting alchemy ingredients since he was young.

The most worrying was Gainan!

“Huh? What are you counting on me for??”

“I’m behind you. Prince. Breathe through your nose and don’t stop walking. Go!”

“Huh? No, wait…” Gainan tried to resolve his questions, but soon he couldn’t ask any more.

“Haa… haa… haa…”

“Go!”

“Wh… Go… haa… haa…”

“Go!”

‘Stop it…!’

The moon was dim, giving very little light. Walking on a strange mountain path in the dark was very tiring.

Even though Nilia took the lead, checking the path and cutting down and clearing obstacles, the group was soaked in sweat.

Lee Han tried to record the path even in the midst of that.

Thanks to being harshly trained under the crazy professor, Lee Han drew a map on the paper even without being able to see.

“???”

Yoner walked next to him and stared in surprise.

‘Did he use Night Vision magic?’ Yoner thought. Only someone from the Wodanaz family would know that magic.

“Oh. Look at this.”

“What is it?”

“Sleep grass. If you grind it into powder and mix it with water, it helps you sleep.”

“Let’s take it.”

“Huh?”

“Let’s take it. We don’t know when we’ll need it.”

“Will we ever use this?” Yoner tilted his head and took the sleep grass.

‘It’s been at least an hour.’

“Nilia. How far do you think we’ve come? I think we’ve been walking for an hour.”

“An hour and ten minutes.” Nilia answered and looked at Lee Han with a fresh gaze.

To not lose his sense of time in this mountain even though he wasn’t a hunter.

Suddenly, Lee Han felt scared. His hair stood up on his arms.

‘A monster?! No, Nilia would have seen it, right?’ Then he heard laughter.

Haha! Haha! Haha!

It was the skeleton’s laugh.