Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 266

“Still, it wasn’t anything particularly impressive.” Leehan looked slightly disappointed. “Still, I guess it wasn’t anything particularly impressive,” he mumbled.

“Observational skills are important.”

Professor Voladi nodded slowly. “Observational skills are indeed important,” he said, his voice thoughtful.

A wizard’s duel is like two worlds colliding.

To win, you must see into your opponent’s world before they see into yours.

“And you must have learned emotional control magic as well.”

“……”

He had expected the question, but hearing it still stung. It felt like Professor Voladi was seeing right through him, which was unsettling.

“It may not work well on wizards, but it is useful magic for those who cannot wield magic.”

“?”

Leehan paused.

‘It worked on all the Blue Dragon Tower students, though?’

Leehan clicked his tongue, thinking of his friends. “They are so careless,” he thought. “How could they be caught by such simple magic?”

“Continue to practice. Transmutation magic is still steel, I presume.”

“Yes.”

Professor Voladi seemed to know more about the transmutation magic curriculum than the students taking it.

The current transmutation magic lecture focused on the most basic task: turning the clothes wizards wore into steel.

Items worn on the body were easy to change because they were familiar, and steel was one of the materials wizards could easily get and use.

Whoosh!

With a sharp sound, Professor Voladi waved a handkerchief from an unseen angle. The handkerchief turned into steel and flew like a whip.

Leehan was always tense around Professor Voladi. He reacted quickly, throwing his coat and shouting,

“Steel, be a cloak!”

Fortunately, he managed to make it in time. The handkerchief was blocked by the coat and fell.

The steel handkerchief whistled past Leehan’s ear, missing his chin by a hair’s breadth. Professor Voladi, completely unfazed, said calmly,

“Increase the speed further.”

“Yes…” Leehan almost said, ‘Please stop ambushing me,’ but stopped himself.

It would be like talking to a stone statue.

“Do not be too greedy with divination magic and healing magic.”

“Yes… yes?” Leehan paused, having listened quietly.

‘Not ‘divine the future a thousand years from now’ or ‘prepare to heal immediately even if you have several holes in your body,’ but ‘do not be too greedy’?

‘Anyone would think I was being greedy…’

“What do you mean by ‘do not be too greedy’?”

“Just as it sounds. Divination magic is unpredictable and wild. If you force it, you can pay a heavy price.”

“……”

Leehan, who had already used divination magic several times, could only feel awkward.

‘Divination magic must really be dangerous.’

Of course, everyone he met said divination magic was dangerous, but Professor Voladi saying it was on a different level.

It really was crazy dangerous magic!

“Oh? Then is healing magic also unstable and capricious?” Leehan, who had been nodding and listening, asked with a puzzled expression.

“It is different.”

The reason for not being too greedy with healing magic was similar to divination magic, yet different.

Healing magic is tricky. If you don’t know what you’re doing, it can hurt more than help. Trying to heal yourself when you’re badly injured is dangerous.

“Ah, I see.”

Leehan was grateful to Professor Garcia for keeping his secret.

It seemed he had to hide the fact that he had successfully performed healing magic on a person until he entered his grave.

Professor Voladi did not assign separate tasks but gave various advice on other magics.

-Make it possible to move skeletons, and combine poison and curses to strengthen them.

-Lord Ogonin’s illusion magic – they say he was the greatest illusionist of our age – will be very helpful. Try to reach the 4th Circle in it as soon as you can.

-I heard you have completed the steel shield. Now try casting it without the help of a magic circle.

‘I would rather you just give me assignments.’ Of course, Leehan only thought it in his head. If he said it out loud, he knew Professor Voladi would actually give him assignments.

“Be careful with fire magic.”

“Yes?” Leehan raised his head.

It was an unexpected piece of advice.

There was no elemental magic as widely known as fire magic, but for Leehan, the story was a bit different.

Fire magic is powerful, especially for someone with a lot of magic like Leehan. If he’s not careful, he could easily start fires without meaning to.

As such, when using fire magic, Leehan had always worn multiple layers of cursed, no, fire-reducing artifacts, and used the magic as safely as possible by not increasing its scale.

Professor Voladi should know that, so why?

“I am always careful?”

“It would be good to be more careful.”

According to Professor Voladi, a hint of fire energy was gradually being felt in the magic flow within the school.

The magic that originally existed in nature was strongly influenced by the environment.

The energy of fire in the hot summer.

The energy of cold in the cold winter.

Einroguard, with its magic strong enough to be one of the best in the Empire, was bound to be more strongly affected by the seasons.

“But summer has not even arrived yet. Is it still that dangerous?”

“It must be because of the festival.”

“Yes?”

“The Phoenix Festival. The students must be celebrating it.”

Wizards were those who changed the world with their will.

Naturally, the rituals performed by wizards, whether consciously or unconsciously, affected their surroundings.

The Phoenix Festival, a celebration to welcome summer, was already filling the air with fire magic. It was making the natural fire energy in the school even stronger.

“……”

Leehan was dumbfounded.

The atmosphere was already chaotic and disorganized because of the festival, and now he had to suffer this kind of damage!

He was already starting to hate the festival.

Leehan sighed, Professor Voladi’s words echoing in his mind. Swordmanship was next, but after that intense session, he needed a moment to breathe.

Lee Han tapped the backs of the White Tiger Tower students with a branch.

“Is *that* how you calculate? Again! If you mix the potions like that, the cauldron will melt and get a hole in it!”

As he had promised to help the White Tiger Tower students study, Lee Han (who they jokingly called Wodanaz) was assisting his friends before the swordsmanship lecture began.

Of course, the White Tiger Tower students were suffering terribly.

“Short break. Rest for five minutes and then we’ll start again. Don’t wander off!”

“Ugh, what’s up with Wodanaz today? He’s being extra mean!”

“Did someone badmouth Wodanaz?”

“Did he hear us trash-talking him?”

“Damn it, that’s why I told you not to say anything!”

The White Tiger Tower students whispered in shock and terror.

It was maddening to be tormented with comments like, ‘Your potion is so weak that you’d be thrown in jail if you tried to sell it!’

They almost preferred it when Lee Han just tapped them with the branch, rather than making them study so hard.

The White Tiger Tower students were fundamentally not used to sitting and studying for long periods.

“Wodanaz, you may not know this, but the White Tiger Tower students were from families of knights, so they were used to fighting, not studying…”

“Shut up and sit down, or do you want to be beaten into sitting?”

“……”

Normally, Gisele would have found everything Lee Han did annoying, but this time was different.

‘Insult him more, Wodanaz. Keep going.’

Gisele didn’t regret joining the White Tiger Tower, but there were times when she felt a little disappointed. Maybe she wished for more serious training or more challenging situations.

The students who usually hated studying were now working hard because of Wodanaz…

“What are you all doing?”

Elven Professor, Inguldel, asked with a puzzled expression. The students groaned as they sat at desks set up in the dusty swordsmanship training grounds.

“Professor!!”

The students were so happy to see the professor, who had arrived 30 minutes early, that they almost shed tears.

“Wodanaz is… trying to force me to study…”

“Ah.”

Professor Inguldel looked at Lee Han and said,

“You’re doing a good deed for your friends. Even though they’re not in your tower. I’m touched.”

“It’s nothing, Professor. Aren’t we all training in swordsmanship together?”

Professor Inguldel was moved by Lee Han’s insincere words. A White Tiger Tower student next to him, sensing something ominous, quickly said,

“Since you’re here early, let’s start the lecture!”

“No, there’s still time left, so study a little more. I’ll wait here.”

“……”

“……”

The White Tiger Tower students were soaked in sorrow and pain. Professor Inguldel said calmly,

“In the past, people who learned swordsmanship often neglected their studies. Don’t let that be you.”

“Yes…”

The White Tiger Tower students, who had stubbornly filled the entire 30 minutes with additional study, stretched and rose from their seats. They felt as if their whole bodies had turned to stone from sitting for so long.

Professor Inguldel waited for the students, smiling with his sword in hand.

“You’ve all worked hard studying. I’m curious if you’re preparing well for the final exam?”

“You don’t have to worry!”

“That’s right. We feel like the mountain range is our garden now.”

Lee Han thought they were being very cheeky.

Gisele rolled her eyes at their bragging.

Those guys who were very close to dying when the Kurare Lizard appeared last time were now pretending to be brave.

“I’m glad to hear that. But I thought you might still need some help… so I’ve invited someone to help you today.”

“!”

“Is it the Poplar Knights?”

The students wondered if the knights from the Poplar Knights who had come last time had returned.

“Are they helpful? I don’t think they know anything about the mountains?”

“Let’s drag them to where the Kurare Lizard appeared last time.”

‘Are these guys really knights?’

Lee Han was dumbfounded by the sight of his White Tiger Tower friends plotting revenge after they had lost.

“It’s not the Poplar Knights. This way.”

Professor Inguldel called out, and two strangers, whom they had never seen before, walked forward. They had seen many adventurers in the village yesterday, but the guests in front of them seemed to have much better equipment than those adventurers.

Their equipment looked old and worn, but Lee Han could sense powerful magic in them. It was definitely an artifact. The potion bottles and tools hanging from their belts, their steady gait and posture…

‘Are they famous adventurers?’

“This is Baishada from the Shadow Patrol. And this is Gesse from the Wasteland Star Chasers.”

“!”

Lee Han was surprised.

He knew very well that the Shadow Patrol were the patrols of the Northern Mountains, as he had heard about them so much from Nilia.

The Wasteland Star Chasers were those who patrolled the wastelands of the western part of the Empire. Both were outstanding groups, but there was a significant difference in their recognition.

The Wasteland Star Chasers were more famous because they were known for their adventures in the west and often appeared in stories. Thanks to this, the Wasteland Star Chasers, who often had their names in fairy tales or imperial newspapers, were incomparable to the Shadow Patrol in terms of recognition.

Nilia always said the Wasteland Star Chasers were unfairly famous, just because they got mentioned in the newspapers more.

‘Hmm. I shouldn’t tell Nilia.’ She was already stressed out because of the final exam, and if she heard that the Wasteland Star Chasers were here, she might collapse.

“These two will advise you on how to find monsters and how to attack them.”

Before Professor Inguldel could finish speaking, the White Tiger Tower students slowly moved. Naturally, it was in front of Gesse, who belonged to the Wasteland Star Chasers.

In comparison, Baishada, who belonged to the Shadow Patrol, stood still as if she didn’t expect anything.

“…!”

Baishada was startled.

Three students had gathered in front of Baishada.

“Moradi. We decided by majority vote, so don’t complain.”

“Dergyu is on your side, how is this a majority vote…!”

“If you’re upset, you can bribe Dergyu too.”

“I, I wasn’t bribed. I just thought it would be better to learn from someone who belongs to the Shadow Patrol.”