Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 244

‘Oh dear. What a blunder I’ve made.’

Lee Han regretted his reply.

Perhaps he wasn’t fully awake yet, for the words had tumbled out before he could think.

Had he ever worked as a professor?

Such an insulting thing to say…

“I’m not nearly clever enough for that, I’m afraid,” the giant replied, looking slightly embarrassed.

“…Ah. I see.”

Thankfully, the giant didn’t seem to notice Lee Han’s rude question.

“Very well. Shall we play another game of chess, then?”

Lee Han thought, *So what if the giant seemed smart?* He had decided to respect the giant, even if he was a little demanding, given that he had saved him.

…And he seemed rather strong, too.

“No. Wagers must be fair to both sides.”

“What could be fairer than chess…”

The giant ignored Lee Han’s words as if he hadn’t heard them.

“I must find another wager, then. What would be good?”

“…I think I’ve gotten myself into something,” Lee Han whispered to Giselle, who nodded slightly as if in agreement.

“Can’t we just subdue him?”

“Moradi, can’t you see the size of him?” Lee Han was dumbfounded. Asking if they could subdue such a powerful giant?

Was she telling him to just die?

“You attacked the Frost Giant King when he was even bigger.”

“…Speaking of which, why did you move your rook earlier?” At a loss for words, Lee Han cowardly changed the subject. Giselle was annoyed at Lee Han for dodging the question about the Frost Giant King.

“Are you kidding me?!”

“What would be good… jousting requires the right number of people, riddles we’ve already done… a drinking contest…”

Giselle, who had been listening quietly, couldn’t hold back any longer and snapped sharply.

“You said the wager had to be fair, so how can a drinking contest ever be fair?”

“There seems to be a misunderstanding. It’s not about who can drink the most.”

“Then what is it?”

“It’s a wager alchemists often make, though I suppose you wouldn’t know, being only first years.” The giant kindly explained what a drinking contest entailed.

Once the contest began, the alchemists would use various ingredients and potions to create a drink for their opponent. The receiving alchemist would drink it, then create a new drink to give back to their opponent.

“The first to fall loses.”

Lee Han thought about it. “Wait,” he said, “so it’s just a potion, then?”

“It’s just a way of talking, right? And as I said, you don’t have to accept if you think it’s unfair.”

“Oh… no. It sounds rather doable, actually.”

“Really?” The giant looked at Lee Han with a dubious expression.

In truth, this contest favored the giant, just as the student beside Lee Han had said. Wizards who wielded magic were naturally resistant to potions, but giants possessed an even stronger innate resistance.

“I’ll give you another chance to reconsider.”

“No, no. Despite appearances, I was top of my class in alchemy.”

“……”

Giselle and the giant stared at Lee Han, unsure of what to say.

‘Wodanaz, you fool… are you still half-asleep?’

“Hmm. Just because you topped a first-year class doesn’t mean you’ve learned everything about alchemy.” The giant spoke with concern.

Of course, Lee Han had other plans.

‘If it comes down to resistance, I absolutely won’t lose.’ He was certain of it, having experienced it several times now. Immense magical power meant immense resistance.

But if the opponent found out, the wager might change. Lee Han tried his best to look like a clueless first-year.

‘Think of Gainando.’

“A genius like me can learn almost everything just by attending first-year classes. What’s the point of studying?”

“……”

“…I, I see. Very well. Still, objectively speaking, this is a disadvantageous wager… so if you win, I’ll give you an extra reward. You can take anything you want from my home.”

“!”

Lee Han’s eyes sparkled.

‘…No. It’s not that great after all.’ At first, he thought, ‘Oh?’ but looking around, he thought, ‘Oh…’ The giant’s home was more spartan and chaotic than he had imagined.

What would Lee Han do with a rusty, oversized weapon, even if he could lug it away?

“Hey.” Giselle couldn’t take it anymore and poked Lee Han in the ribs, whispering. She tried her best to maintain her composure, but she couldn’t endure it any longer.

“Are you doing this on purpose? Why are you doing this?” Lee Han wanted to explain, but he stopped himself, worried that the giant might hear.

“Moradi. Who am I? I’m a genius, a genius unlike any other.”

“……”

Giselle felt like she was going mad.

The giant certainly had a knack for alchemy. He rummaged through the mess and piles of junk, pulling things out and pouring them in without hesitation. Just as Gainando had his own order, even if his private room looked like a junkyard, the giant’s cave clearly had its own system.

Of course, all of this worked against Lee Han. An alchemist who knew all the ingredients versus an alchemist who had to create something hastily in an unfamiliar place. It was obvious who had the advantage.

‘Should I just abandon him?’ Giselle thought quietly. No matter how she looked at it, Wodanaz didn’t seem likely to win. And more than anything, the way he was acting now was extremely unsettling…

Thud!

“All done! I call it Giant’s Mead.” After an hour, the giant finally completed the potion.

“May I ask about the recipe?” Lee Han asked, wondering if it might be useful later. Giselle had no more patience left to lose.

“I can’t tell you everything, but I can give you the basics. Honey and rose petals. Dreamshade and the blood of a two-headed snake. Mud from the acidic swamp. That should give you a rough idea, yes?”

“…Ah. Yes.” Lee Han’s expression turned sour at the sight of the poisons that were anything but alcohol. At this point, it was more like ‘Giant’s Poison’ than ‘Giant’s Mead.’

‘I trust in it.’ Lee Han thought as he downed the large glass.

Glug, glug—

Surprisingly, the mead tasted better than he expected. Whatever combination he had used, the sweet and cool taste flowed down his throat. And at the same time, an immense drowsiness tried to burst forth from within him.

“!”

It was unlike any status ailment he had ever experienced. Previous status ailments had been nullified before Lee Han even registered them…

‘I see. Because I drank the potion directly…!’ Naturally, the power of a potion he drank directly would be stronger than the power of an external attack. Lee Han focused his mind and drew upon all the magic in his body.

A torrent of immense magical power suppressed the drowsiness brought on by the mead and extinguished the embers.

Once. Twice. Thri…

‘Huh? Is it over?’ Lee Han, who had been tense, was slightly taken aback when the effects of the mead disappeared so quickly. He was nervous when the drowsiness hit him suddenly, but it disappeared quickly.

‘Hmm. I feel like I lost out by being scared.’ It must have been a potion that put everything into the initial effect. Once you got past that, the effect wasn’t very strong.

Lee Han opened his mouth, imagining the look of humiliation on the giant’s face if he knew.

“Then it’s my turn.”

“……”

The giant blinked, looking Lee Han up and down. He was too flustered to reply, only able to nod.

‘How!?’ He couldn’t believe it. How could he be so fine after drinking the Giant’s Mead he had personally made?

It wasn’t as if the student was an undead or a wizard with the magical power of a dragon… There was only one possible explanation. He had prepared an antidote to the Giant’s Mead beforehand and drank it.

‘There’s no way the level of students at the magic school has risen this high, has it?’ But that was just as astonishing. For a mere first-year student to see a potion for the first time and immediately prepare an antidote, and in an unfamiliar place, no less.

The giant recalled what Lee Han had said.

“No, no. Despite appearances, I was top of my class in alchemy.”

“A genius like me can learn almost everything just by attending first-year classes. What’s the point of studying?”

At first, he thought it was just the childish words of a young student, but now that things had come to this, he felt a chill down his spine. If arrogance was proven by results, then it wasn’t arrogance but justified confidence, was it?

Could he possibly be the most outstanding genius among all the alchemists he had ever seen…

“It’s done.”

“What!?”

Not only the giant but even Giselle was shocked.

He had already finished it in what seemed like less than ten minutes?

“Wodanaz, if you have a problem, say it! Don’t act like those idiots from my tower! I’m already about to lose it!!” Giselle finally exploded and grabbed him by the collar. Seeing this, Lee Han thought.

‘The students from the White Tiger Tower must give her a lot of stress.’

“I’ve already declared it, so I can’t take it back. What’s the name of this drink?”

“Oh… I suppose it’s something like a giant-sleeping draught.”

“An honest name. Let’s have a taste, shall we?” The giant smiled confidently and downed the entire cauldron.

And then his expression changed.

“…!!!”

An unbearable drowsiness suddenly began to wash over him. He was resisting as much as he could, but his instincts were telling him. He wouldn’t be able to hold out for long before falling asleep.

The giant staggered and looked at Lee Han. Then, in a faltering voice, he said.

“I… I never knew you were such a genius… What… is your name…?”

“Moradi.”

“Not you. He was asking you.” Giselle looked at Lee Han as if he was talking nonsense. He must not have fully recovered from his fatigue.

“Ah, right. I am Lee Han of the Wodanaz family.”

“I… see. I am Ikurusha. The giant Ikurusha.”

When Lee Han had asked for his name earlier, the giant had subtly changed the subject. Giants originally did not reveal their names to those they did not acknowledge. He had changed the subject out of consideration for the wizard’s pride…

…But a genius of this caliber deserved to know his name.

“…Your… victory… Take… anything… you wish…”

Thud!

With a snore that shook the cave, Ikurusha fell backward.

Lee Han breathed a sigh of relief.

“Thank you, Bartrec.”

The giant-sleeping draught that the students of the White Tiger Tower had been diligently making in their hideout. He had been worried that it might not work, even though the students thought they had made it properly.

“Bartrec of the Bark family? Why is that name coming up now?”

“He’s the one who made the potion.” Lee Han replied, taking out a vial from his pocket and shaking it.

“…!!!!”

Giselle cursed herself for thinking, ‘To create such a powerful potion in less than ten minutes, that’s… truly unbelievable talent!’ What a con artist…!

“Ah. Sorry I didn’t explain beforehand. I was worried Ikurusha might hear and change the wager.”

“…Let’s just get out of here.” Giselle no longer had the energy to be angry.

“Wait. We won the wager, so let’s take the reward.”

“Was there anything you wanted…?” Giselle asked with a frown. No matter how she looked at it, there didn’t seem to be any worthwhile treasures in this mess.

Scritch!

Lee Han carefully cut off the tip of the sleeping giant’s hair. He had been thinking about it since the story came up.

“That’s one final exam down.”

“You’re… really crazier than me…”

“Why are you suddenly swearing at me?”