Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 269

The students from White Tiger Tower whispered to each other.

They wondered if it was fair to take someone else’s chance like that.

But Angalo didn’t care.

“Knights can do this. It’s not wrong.”

“Is that guy crazy?”

Ignoring the prince’s words, Angalo continued to speak.

“There’s something I want, and I’m offering to pay for it. That’s all.”

‘I shouldn’t be the one saying this, but is this really okay?’ Lee Han thought to himself.

He knew the White Tiger Tower students were adapting to the magic school, but this seemed like they were adapting too well.

“Angalo, that’s something a merchant would say…”

“Buying something isn’t only for merchants! Should knights not buy things? There’s a famous sword here that you all want. Are you going to give up just because someone else is trying to buy it first? Is that really smart?!”

Angalo was talking fast and making excuses because the task was hard.

Angalo spoke so strongly that the White Tiger Tower students looked confused and thought, ‘Maybe he’s right?’ ‘It sounds like it could be true.’

Gainando muttered, “That’s nonsense,” but the White Tiger Tower students didn’t hear him.

“Alright, Wodanaz! I’ll pay double, so let me go first…”

“Wait a minute. I’ll pay triple!”

Angalo had forgotten one thing.

If he offered double, others could raise the price and join in.

This time, Shiles of the Black Tortoise Tower, from the Richmond family, joined in.

As one of the leading carriage transport families in the empire, Shiles had plenty of money.

‘These guys are just swimming in money,’ Lee Han grumbled inwardly.

How could they waste money like that when it wasn’t even their own?

“Richmond, you! Are you trying to stop White Tiger Tower?”

“What nonsense are you talking about? Didn’t you say it was allowed?”

“Then I’ll raise it to four times!”

“Do you think I’ll back down? Five times!”

“…Wait. Wait. Everyone, gather around!” Angalo, realizing that things were getting serious, called the White Tiger Tower students together.

Rowena, who had spoken up earlier, was also dragged along to put their heads together.

“This is too expensive for one person. Let’s work together.”

“Work together?”

“We’ll all buy it together and share it.”

Lee Han stared at the White Tiger Tower guys like they were crazy.

What were these lunatics going to share?

However, the madness spread not only to the White Tiger Tower but also to the Black Tortoise Tower.

Shiles also gathered his tower friends.

“Tutankha! The White Tiger Tower students are trying to use money to get Wodanaz first! Help me!”

“Those guys are terrible. Are they even knights?”

Asan, realizing that the situation was getting out of hand, spoke up.

“Wodanaz, this is getting a bit…”

“Yeah. I didn’t expect this either.”

“Right? There’s only one way.”

“What way is that?”

“Everyone, gather around.” Asan began to gather his Blue Dragon Tower friends.

Then, he seriously calculated how much each of them could pay.

“We have to get him first! So they won’t even try anymore!”

Lee Han was frustrated.

Lee Han wanted to destroy a castle, but he didn’t.

Lee Han knew it wasn’t right, and bad deeds always come back to hurt you.

He didn’t want to be in the newspaper as ‘Einroguard first-year student cheats too much… many people are hurt, is Einroguard going to allow this?’

“Stop raising the price. I’ll just help you in the order you asked.”

“But Wodanaz, if you do that, the last ones might not get help because you run out of magic.”

“That won’t happen.”

“But…”

“I said it won’t happen.”

Lee Han said firmly.

He was sure of this.

His magic power would be more than enough!

“Wodanaz, it might seem a bit messy to you, but…”

“Enough with the excuses. Do I put the magic here?”

“Uh, yeah.”

Bzzzt!

The torch, lit by magic, burst into flame. The White Tiger Tower students were amazed.

“Amazing!”

“I thought it would take time, but it works right away! Is this the final version?”

“We were supposed to make the magic stronger, but it works right away! Maybe we don’t need to do more…”

“Stop talking silly and finish it the right way.”

The White Tiger Tower student looked sad at Lee Han’s words.

After that, Lee Han looked at the other students’ projects.

“Mr. Wodanaz, this is a device to defeat the undead that attack when it’s turned on…”

“Did you make it to target the headmaster?”

“Wodanaz, it’s a wooden horse that moves with magic. What do you think?”

“A horse? It has eight legs! I thought it was a spider!”

Lee Han felt relieved after seeing his friends’ projects.

He was worried that his own project was too simple, but it seemed like he was doing okay.

‘No?!’ Lee Han’s thoughts changed when he saw the princess’s project.

The drawing showed a small fountain, made very carefully by putting together five magic parts.

It was beautiful! It used different kinds of magic, like magic to trick the eyes, magic of nature, and magic to make things special.

Rowena said, feeling proud, “What do you think, Mr. Wodanaz? The Princess made this without sleeping for days. I was worried because she was studying three majors, but she still made something this good. Really…”

Rowena stopped talking.

The princess’s friends also stopped.

It was very surprising to study three magic majors. Usually, it was one or two.

Studying three was impossible without being smart and loving school…

…but right now, someone was studying twice that many.

“…E-Even though taking three majors might not sound like much, it’s still really amazing…”

“It’s amazing, so you don’t have to say that,” Lee Han said, surprised.

It was amazing to study three at the same time, but Lee Han’s life had become strange by accident.

“It’s really well made.”

Rowena clapped her hands, her face bright with happiness. “Is that so?!” she exclaimed. Ihan, watching her, just thought to himself…

‘Shouldn’t she be worried about her own grades first?’

‘Looking at her project blueprint earlier, it was a mess of lines and unclear notes,’ Ihan thought. ‘She’s really behind.’

Since she liked it, Ihan didn’t say anything more. Well, with an acquaintance like a princess, she might be able to secure a position for herself after graduation.

Unlike Gainando, who seemed to think money could solve everything, Rowena had something else: she was a princess. Ihan figured this connection might be more useful than just money after graduation.

Ihan carefully checked the blueprint again and asked,

“So, where do I infuse the magic?”

“Here.”

“?”

Ihan paused.

The place Rowena pointed to had only a circular frame.

This fountain needed five complex magical devices to work. But when Ihan looked at where they should go, all he saw was a simple circular frame. Just a frame?

“Ah… are the other devices somewhere else?”

If this was Gainando, Ihan would have told him to stop talking big and make the project easier. But Rowena was a princess, so Ihan had to be polite.

“No!”

“No?”

“Yes! It’s still in preparation!”

Ihan felt a momentary dizziness at Rowena’s bright answer.

Only a week left, and not a single device, not even one, was completed.

…Is that even possible?

‘This feels dangerous, no matter how I look at it.’

Even with a generous estimate, the fact that not a single device was completed, while other friends were more than halfway through their structures, was a danger sign.

“Isn’t that… too slow?”

“It’s alright!”

“Ah. So, you have a plan.”

“Yes! This is a level of task that Her Highness can solve sufficiently.”

“…?”

Ihan tilted his head slightly at Rowena’s words.

“So, what is that plan?”

“Well?”

“……”

A fresh look at the White Tiger Tower student emblem on Rowena’s coat caught his eye.

‘That’s right. She was from the White Tiger Tower.’

Ihan nodded as if he understood. Rowena, still not understanding, tilted her head.

“Neblen.”

Neblen of the Kirak family, belonging to the same Blue Dragon Tower.

Ihan called Neblen and asked.

“Isn’t it too slow?”

“It might feel a little slow, but if it’s Her Highness…”

“…No. Forget that faith. Is there a way to complete five devices in a short amount of time?”

Neblen hesitated. Ihan became definitely uneasy.

This…?

“Your Highness, are you sure it’s alright? It seems a bit slow?”

At Ihan’s question, Adenarte sank into thought with a cautious expression.

Although she hadn’t fully realized it, the truth was that time was quite tight.

“It’s definitely a bit…”

“It’s alright, Lord Wodanaz!”

“Her Highness will be able to do it!”

“……”

The princess, who had opened her mouth, hesitated at the words of her followers and closed it again.

“I think the princess was about to say something just now.”

“Was she?”

“She was probably going to say she could do it.”

The princess fidgeted with her fingers, hesitated, and eventually gave up and sat back down.

Ihan thought to himself.

‘No matter how I look at it, she has realized the problem.’

Her face was expressionless, but Ihan had seen students like that countless times.

That was the look of a student who, even while pretending to be calm, had already sensed their fate.

“…Alright. You’re probably right! Where do I infuse the magic?”

Having become annoyed, Ihan decided to just do his job and leave.

The princess stared intently at Ihan, trying to send some kind of signal with her eyes, but Ihan ignored her, pretending not to see.

‘Sorry. Your followers are annoying.’

The princess’s followers were more troublesome than he thought, and if he messed with them, Ihan could get into trouble too.

After infusing the magic and turning around, Ihan looked at Gainando passing by and said,

“Gainando. Maybe someone without annoying followers like you is happier.”

“…W-what did I do wrong?!”

“Hey guys. How many suns were there originally?”

“…S-so, finally someone’s lost their mind.”

“I knew it would happen eventually.”

The friends stirred at the words of one of the Blue Dragon Tower students.

“Not that! Look!”

“???”

Not only the Blue Dragon Tower but also students from other towers raised their heads.

Surprisingly, there were two suns in the sky.

“…W-what is that?!”

“It’s the Headmaster’s attack! It’s the Headmaster’s attack!”

Gainando lowered his stance and lay down. Then Professor Alphen said,

“It’s not the Headmaster’s attack.”

“Ah. Is it not?”

Gainando, embarrassed, stood up sheepishly.

“That’s a phoenix.”

“Yes?”

“Ah, you might not have seen one before. That is a phoenix,” Professor Alphen explained gently.

Very rarely, when fire-attribute magic gathered strongly and some special conditions were met, a phoenix would appear from within the condensed mass of magic.

“It’s truly a mysterious and rare occurrence. All the students gathered here can be said to be lucky.”

“Wow…”

“That’s a phoenix?”

The students had been subtly celebrating the phoenix throughout the week.

The newly created small sun far away was a phoenix.

That alone made one feel a warmth in their heart, which had become barren due to assignments and studying.

“It’s like a miracle!”

Then, from the bright spot in the sky, redly glowing feathers began to drift down, like fiery rain. Each feather shimmered with heat as it twirled towards the ground.

And wherever the glowing feathers landed, small flames sparked to life, licking at the grass and stone. Soon, these sparks grew into hungry fires, crackling and spreading quickly.

“……”

“…Aargh! Aargh! Stop it!”

“You crazy phoenix bastard! What are you doing!”

It didn’t even take 10 seconds for the miracle to turn into a disaster.