Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 285

Lee Han remembered the lesson from yesterday: be careful in Einroguard.

In Einroguard, suspect everything!

‘I didn’t expect a water cannon to come flying at me.’

If all he had to do was jump over things, it would be too simple, wouldn’t it?

Lee Han naturally anticipated additional traps.

Because of this, only the students who rushed ahead without thinking were getting surprised by the traps.

“Wodanaz! That’s too much…”

“Wodanaz didn’t shoot that!”

“Ah. Really?”

“……”

“Professor! Is the spirit supposed to be doing *that*?”

“I installed it, so try to avoid it well.”

“What do you mean, ‘Yes?'” the Professor’s voice boomed.

“Focus on the course, not complaining. Fall, and you lose points. Simple as that.”

The students, who had started off with great enthusiasm, were now bewildered, slowing down and scattering.

They realized that simply running fast wasn’t everything.

If they recklessly increased their speed and got ambushed, the loss would be even greater.

“Gather around here! Let’s go this way!”

“Traps this way, you think?” Asan asked, his voice a little shaky.

“It *was* clear a second ago,” Yoner replied, trying to sound confident. “Let’s stick together and go for it.”

Fwooosh!

“Don’t try to remember the pattern. I didn’t make it that simple.”

“No… Professor!!”

The student whose hair had been burnt off stared at Professor Lightning-Foot with a dumbfounded expression.

Why was he so serious about these obstacles?

Couldn’t he just set up hurdles that they could jump over?

“Everyone, this way.”

Lee Han called his friends together.

He had felt it before, but the riding training lecture was basically more advantageous to pass through by forming a group.

When the group became larger, it was easier to withstand attacks coming from the outside, and the more magicians there were, the more magic they could use.

“Don’t rush, let’s just go at a trot. Asan, you take the left. Yoner, I’ll ask you to take the right. Nilia, please take the rear.”

“Am I the front?” Gainando asked, sounding confident,

“No. You just stay next to me and use magic when I tell you to.”

“So I’m like a secret weapon, then? For emergencies?” Gainando grinned, puffing out his chest.

Lee Han hesitated, then said, “Uh… yes. Exactly.”

Asan smiled slightly at Gainando’s enthusiasm.

“Let’s go. It’ll be hard to catch up if we’re late once.”

Lee Han and his friends nodded once and set off.

Professor Lightning-Foot, who saw that, highly praised them in his mind.

‘They planned it well in a short time.’

Riding a horse and coordinating with other people was completely different from coordinating with them on flat ground with their bare bodies.

As they had to control the rough horses and match each other’s speeds, it was important to be good at handling horses as well as understanding each other.

It was impressive how quickly they worked together, even though they weren’t all from the same student group.

“Right!”

As soon as Lee Han, who felt the flow of magic power, spoke, Yoner immediately took out a potion.

Casting magic on a shaking horse could lead to failure. A pre-made potion was safer in that case.

Clang!

The sound of the potion bottle breaking was heard, and the magic missiles that were flying towards them scattered.

‘A potion of lesser magic nullification.’

“Left!”

Asan waved his wand as if he had been waiting. The magic was successfully cast as he had been preparing for it since earlier.

The lump of mud that was flying towards them with a strong wind changed its trajectory.

Lee Han didn’t even need to tell them about the attacks coming from behind. Nilia, who noticed it first, immediately shot an arrow and knocked them down.

‘A good start!’

‘At this rate…!’

The friends could feel that they understood each other even without exchanging glances.

A sense of unity that could only be felt in perfect harmony!

Fwoooosh!

Suddenly, a thick green mist billowed from behind them, rolling across the ground like a poisonous fog. It smelled faintly of rotten eggs and seemed to cling to the air.

It was an obstacle that couldn’t be shot down with arrows or blocked with the magic they had. Nilia’s hand stopped for a moment.

“Evaporate!”

When it seemed like Nilia couldn’t respond, Lee Han immediately waved his wand. The green mist scattered in the air.

Professor Lightning-Foot, who saw that, was very surprised.

‘Evaporation?!’

The evaporation attribute, which was an advanced area of the water element.

As it was a difficult and complex area, it was naturally not something that a first-year student could handle.

Furthermore, to maintain balance on the horse and blow away the distant mist at once.

This skill was new even to him, and it was amazing to watch each time.

Talent was talent, but that thirst for knowledge to explore magic without resting at all was really…

Papapapapapap!

“!!!”

This time, a crisis struck Asan’s side.

Earth, protect us—” Asan started, but he lost his focus as the magic balls flew closer.

No matter how experienced a magician was, they could make mistakes at any time if they were not professionally trained in magical combat.

It wasn’t a battle situation now, but it was enough to make a first-year student make a mistake.

“Shield, unfold!”

Lee Han quickly summoned water and transformed it into a long shield shape. The spheres of magic power poured down on it, making a dull sound.

“My potions are all gone!”

Gainando shouted urgently. Attacks were flying from Yoner’s direction while he was blocking the other side.

“Flash!”

Only after blocking the attack by throwing lightning could they finally take a breather.

When a moment to catch their breath came, Lee Han said to his friends.

“Everyone worked hard. We were able to break through thanks to everyone combining their strength.”

“……”

“……”

“……”

“What’s with the faces?” Lee Han asked, noticing their strange looks.

“Oh, nothing,” Yoner said quickly, waving a hand. Asan and Nilia just avoided his eyes.

…Maybe *he* could have done this alone…

As time passed, students who succeeded in breaking through began to emerge one by one from various places.

No matter how many obstacles there were, the ability to block them would inevitably increase if they kept hitting them.

“Increase the speed more!”

Shiles Richmond raised his arm high, signaling his friends to start.

He was a very good rider, and his friends were some of the best riders in the school.

These students were very confident riders. They even played polo on horseback during their free time. Because of this, they were easy to notice.

They knew some riders might fall behind, but they were ready for that risk.

While Lee Han’s group chose a direct approach with a strong formation, Shiles’ group decided to break through by riding as fast as they could.

“I’ll be top of the class!”

Hooves thundered against the dusty ground as Shiles urged his horse forward. Sand sprayed behind them as he raced ahead. To ride this fast, dodging obstacles that seemed to jump out of nowhere, took more than just skill – it took real nerve. Shiles had both in spades. He was a truly gifted rider.

“There it is! The turning point!”

*Finally!* Shiles thought, his heart lifting. He could see the flag marking the turning point in the distance. Soon, they’d be heading back.

But just as hope bloomed in his chest, the ground beneath them shuddered. A deep rumble echoed through the air. Then, with a sound like ripping earth, something huge burst from the ground right in front of them.

“…?!”

Before the dust could settle, a loud shout came from behind.

“It’s a Hydra!”

“What?! A Hydra?!”

The students were startled and shrank back.

However, when the dust cleared, it wasn’t a Hydra that appeared.

It was just an ordinary Sand Octopus.

“O-oh, thank goodness. It wasn’t a Hydra.”

“It’s not exactly good news!”

The massive Sand Octopus was by no means an easy monster.

Of course, compared to a Hydra, it didn’t have venom and was much less ferocious, but in this situation…

Whack!

The Sand Octopus’s long leg lashed out like a whip. With a sharp sound, sand billowed up, making it hard to see.

“Don’t attack it, it’s my precious monster!”

Professor Lightning Gait said from behind, looking pleased.

Professor Lightning Gait watched, pleased. ‘It’s worth feeding it expensive food,’ he thought.

“Professor! Even so, this is aaaaaargh!”

One of the students who tried to argue was entangled by the octopus’s leg and dragged away.

“Instead of arguing, think about quickly reaching the turning point and getting out of here.”

“It wasn’t a Hydra.”

Lee Han, who arrived late, muttered as he watched the chaotic scene unfolding at the turning point.

When a huge monster suddenly popped out from below, he immediately thought of the Hydra he had heard about before.

“Oh no! It’s not a Hydra! This is a trick!”

Lee Han was about to reply that it was a mistake when he heard protests from the other side.

However, Asan and Gainan Do answered first.

“If you get tricked, you are the fool!”

“In a race, don’t trust anyone! You lose if you are too relaxed!”

“Kuh…! You bastards!”

Lee Han stared blankly at the back of their heads before looking away.

Right now, what was more important than clearing up misunderstandings was reaching the turning point and getting out of there.

‘I need to do it as quickly as possible.’

The longer it took, the fewer other students there would be to draw attention, increasing the difficulty.

“O mirage!”

One of the Black Tortoise Tower students had a talent for illusion magic and managed to summon an illusion amidst the chaos.

The illusion wasn’t strong. It was blurry and unclear. Anyone looking carefully could see it was fake.

But in this chaotic situation, it was easy to be fooled at first glance. Especially since the opponent was a monster.

Fwoosh!

However, the Sand Octopus didn’t even glance at the illusion and simply stretched out its leg, grabbing a student and carrying them away.

“!”

Lee Han realized something from that sight.

‘It’s not sensing it visually!’

Having learned quite rigorously about illusion magic, Lee Han knew that illusion magic was divided into several types.

The illusion just now was illusion magic that used sight.

It was magic that created illusions by distorting the surrounding air with heat or freezing the air with cold.

But it was meaningless if the opponent didn’t see it with their eyes. In fact, the Sand Octopus had buried about half of its body in the ground.

‘I thought its eyesight was too good, as expected…’

It could feel enemies coming by the shaking of the ground.

In that case, that kind of illusion was meaningless.

‘Pahite’s illusion magic won’t work. He needed a different way…’

Lee Han prepared to use Gonadaltes’ Cloak of Invisibility and the Invisibility Necklace.

Pahite’s illusions used heat. But Gonadaltes’ Cloak and Necklace were different. They worked by changing how things were seen.

“Cloak, swallow me!”

“Oh no. It’s impossible to coordinate on horseback!”

“I know. Let’s break through one at a time. Everyone else, distract it!”

Instead of breaking through all at once, Lee Han chose to break through separately.

It would take a little longer, but it was safer. The area of the invisibility magic wasn’t wide enough to include all the friends on horseback.

“Let’s go!”

Lee Han set off with Yoner. The other friends scattered to distract the Sand Octopus, so it wouldn’t become suspicious.

Whoosh!

“!”

The Sand Octopus suddenly puffed up its body. Lee Han and Yoner tensed at the unexpected situation.

Sssssss!

Sensing something strange, the Sand Octopus started to blow out a strong wind.

The wind mixed with sand swirled around the students like a storm. It was hard to see anything in the sudden wind.

‘This is bad!’

Even if Lee Han himself could withstand it, Yoner’s horse was flustered and floundering in the sudden sandstorm.

The moment they came out of invisibility, the Sand Octopus would notice their approach.

Just as Lee Han was about to tie up Yoner’s horse with force, help arrived from behind.

It was Gainan Do.

“Get itchy!!!”

Gainan Do, who cast a curse magic with great vigor, continued to rampage forward without stopping.

At the sight of Gainan Do running madly, the Sand Octopus stopped paying attention to the other students and focused on Gainan Do.

The rude curse magic made the Sand Octopus angry.

“Gainan Do…!”

Lee Han was truly surprised.

He knew that Gainan Do had a talent for black magic, but he never expected him to be so active in a situation like this.

“Lee Han!”

“I understand! While you draw attention, I’ll quickly pass through…”

“Help me!!! This horse won’t listen!!!”

Gainan Do left those words behind and ran, no, was dragged away like an arrow.

Yoner, who barely calmed his horse and returned, asked Lee Han.

“Didn’t Gainan Do shout something?!”

“He told me to break through quickly while he drew attention.”

“!?”

Yoner was startled.

There’s no way he would say that?!