Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 287

“This is a real contest,” Lee Han stated firmly. “Even Professor Thunderfoot will see that.”

And it was true. Professor Thunderfoot had worked very hard to create the exam questions, and Lee Han had worked just as hard to answer them.

It was a fair fight between them.

A fair fight should mean no one is angry afterwards.

“‘But he doesn’t look like he understands at all,'” Yoner thought, watching the Professor.

Professor Thunderfoot’s face showed anything but a teacher happy for his student’s win.

His cheeks were red with anger, and his tight lips seemed to whisper, “Just wait until the next exams!”

Yoner was reminded again that people can say so much without speaking a word, just with their faces.

“‘Is this really going to be okay?'”

If things kept going like this, Yoner worried he might have to actually make the Philosopher’s Stone in the second semester!

Suddenly, Lee Han mumbled, almost to himself.

“…But I can’t just try to fail on purpose.”

“……”

Yoner looked at his friend with pity.

It wasn’t that Lee Han didn’t understand the situation. He knew exactly what was happening, but he was choosing to ignore it anyway!

Professor Fluework entered the room and saw the students. He spoke, sounding a little sorry.

“Well, students,” he began, “I must apologize. My exam is going to be quite boring, I’m afraid, unlike your other tests.”

“Wh… what kind of exam is it?” someone asked nervously.

Professor Fluework didn’t answer directly. Instead, he waved his wand. Suddenly, exam papers, quills, and ink bottles appeared on each student’s desk.

“A normal exam? Where we just solve problems and write down the answers?” one student asked, surprised.

“W… Whoa!!”

“Professor! Thank you!”

“You’re the best, Professor!”

“!?”

Professor Fluework was very surprised by the students’ loud and happy reaction.

*Why are they so happy?* he wondered.

“So,” Gainando said, his voice shaking with relief, “this is what Lee Han meant when he said he was happiest when he was sitting and studying.”

They could just sit calmly and use their quills, instead of running around doing strange things for an exam.

*’That’s not exactly what I meant,’* Lee Han thought to himself.

As the students sat down, they turned over the exam papers.

**Question 1:** *Given that the following statements are true, choose all the statements from the list below that must also be true.*

*- The Imperial mage Tadingo plans to summon and make a contract with five demons. In this process, the demon Zerkluwo cannot be contracted unless he is contracted before the demon Volwuda…*

Lee Han felt calm and peaceful as he looked at the page full of questions.

It was the complete opposite of the worried and unhappy faces of his friends.

*’This isn’t too hard,’* he thought.

“I… I think Lee Han tricked me,” Gainando whispered sadly beside him. “I really would rather be riding a horse right now.”

But Lee Han ignored him, pretending he couldn’t hear.

Muhadin, a priest from the Sisenja Order, a group that valued knowledge and learning, said a quick, quiet prayer and picked up his quill.

Phoenix Tower students were known to get good grades, even though they only went to classes they liked. This showed how hard they studied when they were interested. Muhadin was known as very smart and knowledgeable, even among these students.

So, for Muhadin, an exam like “Basic Imperial Language and Logic” was easy, just a small thing to get past.

*’If only all the exams were like this,’* he thought.

Muhadin didn’t want to dodge spells while riding a horse. He didn’t want to control spirits by waving a wand. Muhadin just wanted to sit, read, and learn.

This exam, after all the strange ones, was very enjoyable for him.

*’Is this question number 3? Hmm… Ah. Am I finishing too fast?’*

Muhadin was surprised when he looked up and realized he had already answered half the questions.

He looked at the hourglass in front of the room. There was still plenty of time left.

*’I can take my time a little more…’*

Tap-

Lee Han stood up, walked to the front, and gave his exam paper to the Professor. He bowed his head politely.

“Thank you for teaching us this semester, Professor.”

“No, thank *you*, Wodanaz,” Professor Fluework said happily. “It’s been a pleasure to have such a brilliant student.” Lee Han was slightly touched by the kind words.

“Officials are important people who support the Empire, doing the hard work,” Lee Han said seriously.

“Oh, please,” Professor Fluework laughed. “Don’t say such grand things! I’m just a simple worker! It’s nothing for you to worry about, Wodanaz.”

Lee Han walked away, his face a little sad.

Professor Fluework was in a good mood and didn’t notice that the atmosphere in the room had changed.

Muhadin quickly focused again and looked down at his exam.

*’…Am I taking too long to finish!’*

Dukema from the Jay family, in White Tiger Tower, looked at his friend and they nodded to each other.

-Ready? Dukema mouthed silently.

-Of course, his friend mouthed back.

They had been preparing for the “Basic Imperial Language and Logic” exam.

Really, they were preparing to cheat, but they told themselves it was still exam preparation.

Cheating on other exams wasn’t very useful, but for “Basic Imperial Language and Logic,” it could really help.

*’I’ve been planning to cheat on at least one exam, and this is it!’* Dukema thought excitedly.

If Lee Han had heard them, he would have said, “You silly fools, you should be studying!” But the White Tiger Tower students were serious about their cheating plan.

Luckily for them, Professor Fluework didn’t seem to have made a very hard exam.

This was the perfect chance.

*’I managed to sit right behind Wodanaz without it looking planned,’* Dukema thought, pleased.

*’Now I just need to peek without getting caught.’*

After some time, Dukema felt it was the right moment. He carefully took out a small telescope with blue lenses from his pocket.

He had bought this special item from a student in Black Tortoise Tower for an expensive price.

With this, he could finally see Wodanaz’s exam paper!

Tap-

Lee Han stood up and gave his exam paper to the Professor at the front.

Dukema and his friend were completely shocked and speechless.

“???”

“???????”

*’He finished it all??’*

*’Already??’*

*’What kind of person is he…?!’*

*’No! Come back!!’*

No matter how much they yelled in their minds, Lee Han didn’t turn around. Gainando, feeling their stares, jumped and shouted.

“Hey! You guys! You’re trying to look at my exam! Professor! These guys are trying to cheat off me!”

“N-No, we’re not!” Dukema stammered.

“We were just surprised! We were just looking because we were surprised!” his friend added quickly.

The White Tiger Tower students had to give up their cheating plan, feeling defeated.

Anyway, with Wodanaz gone, the only exam they could see was Gainando’s, and copying from him wouldn’t help at all.

“They are really mean people!” Gainando complained loudly. “Those guys tried to peek at my exam paper!”

” ? ”

” ? ? ”

The students from Blue Dragon Tower looked at Gainando, tilting their heads in confusion.

They weren’t surprised that the White Tiger Tower students tried to cheat. What was strange was that they tried to cheat off *Gainando*.

“Why would they want to copy from *you*?” one student asked.

“W-Well, maybe they didn’t study as much as Gainando?” another student guessed, sounding unsure.

“Is that even possible?” a third student said, raising an eyebrow.

“I don’t know. Those White Tiger Tower guys never study at all,” someone else added.

“They must have been really desperate…” someone concluded.

“Anyway,” Lee Han said, changing the subject, “I need to go to the Healing Magic exam now.”

“Oh, right. I’ll come with you, Wodanaz,” said one of his friends.

“Me too,” added another.

The students who were being made to take Healing Magic (even though they didn’t want to) walked with Lee Han.

As they walked to the next lecture hall, some of them grumbled quietly.

“It’s still hard to believe they are making us take this. We have our *real* exams to worry about.”

“I know, it’s just… hard to believe, isn’t it?”

Lee Han didn’t argue with his friends or get annoyed. He just smiled gently.

“Ah, wait a minute,” he said suddenly.

“What’s wrong?” someone asked.

“I need to go back to my tower. I forgot my Illusion Magic book.”

“What are you talking about, Wodanaz? The Healing Magic exam is now, remember?”

“Yes, and the Illusion Magic exam is right after this one,” Lee Han explained calmly.

“……”

“…W-We can go get it for you, if you want?” one friend offered.

Lee Han thanked them but said he would go himself. He turned and headed back towards his tower.

*’Actually, I’m not too worried about the Illusion Magic exam,’* he thought as he walked.

The exam he was really scared of was Enchantment Magic.

The fact that it was last on the schedule had made him anxious all week.

But Illusion Magic?

*’That’s a perfectly normal exam,’* he thought, feeling much calmer.

Lee Han went to his tower, picked up his book, and then walked to the west lecture hall on the first floor of the main building.

The Healing Magic exam was waiting for him there.

*’Healing Magic probably won’t be too hard either,’* he thought.

Professor Garcia had said that Healing Magic needed a lot of time and practice before you could use it on real people.

So, the exam for first-year students would probably be simple.

Lee Han expected a written test, like the “Basic Imperial Language and Logic” exam.

“Hey, you! What are you doing?” a voice called out.

“!” Lee Han jumped slightly.

Two familiar older students were walking towards him from the lecture hall.

It was Phil and Chill, the two seniors in charge of helping with Healing Magic classes.

Lee Han realized that seeing seniors around usually meant something unusual was happening.

“Are you here for the exam?” Phil asked.

“Yes, I am,” Lee Han replied.

“I thought you might be more surprised to see us,” Chill said. “But you don’t seem to be.”

“Sorry?” Lee Han was confused.

“Don’t first-year students usually get surprised when they see seniors?” Phil asked, looking puzzled. “We were when we were first years.”

At Einroguard, students were always surprised when they became second-year students. Suddenly, seniors, who they hadn’t seen much before, were everywhere.

“That’s not important right now,” Chill interrupted. “Come with us. The exam room has been changed.”

“What happened?” Lee Han asked, worried.

“Apparently, a third-year student blew up the lecture hall during their exam,” Phil said casually.

“Wait, wasn’t that a different lecture hall?” Lee Han asked. “I heard a magical item made by second-year students exploded.”

“……” Phil just shrugged.

Listening to this scary story, Lee Han followed the two seniors.

*This school is really crazy!* he thought.

“Oh, wait,” Phil said, turning to Lee Han. “Why are you late and by yourself? Weren’t your friends here earlier?”

“I went back to get my book,” Lee Han explained. “I forgot my Illusion Magic book.”

“Ah, I see… Oh, shoot!” Phil suddenly exclaimed. “I forgot mine too! Just a second.”

Phil quickly turned around and went back the way they came. Chill shrugged, looking a little amused, and said,

“Let’s wait for him. Sorry about that.”

“It’s okay,” Lee Han said. “There’s plenty of time.”

As Lee Han stood in the hallway, trying to get his book out of his bag, Chill looked around and chose a nearby lecture hall. He opened the door and gestured for Lee Han to enter.

“Don’t read while standing,” Chill said kindly. “Come in and sit down.”

“Thank you,” Lee Han said, stepping inside.

“No problem,” Chill replied.

Chill looked at Lee Han with pity in his eyes.

*Having to go to all those classes, and even take Healing Magic…* Chill thought. *That must be awful.*

*It would be less painful to be cursed!*

*If a senior didn’t show kindness to a junior in this situation, they should go straight to the worst part of hell.*

Grrrr…

Creak…

” ? ”

Lee Han stepped into the lecture hall and stopped, confused by the strange groaning sounds of animals.

He looked around. Cages were stacked against the walls, and inside, animals with bandages or looking sick were sitting quietly.

“What is all this?” Lee Han asked, surprised.

“Ah,” Chill said, “these are injured animals we rescued from the villages nearby. They are for your final exam.”

“!” Lee Han was very surprised.

He was surprised by the animals, and also by how calmly Chill had just told him the exam question.

*Is this really okay?* Lee Han wondered. *Or is it just normal for this school?*

He was a little nervous, but the exam was about to start, and maybe this was normal for Healing Magic. So, Lee Han didn’t say anything.

“So, the exam is to heal these animals?” Lee Han asked to confirm.

“That’s right,” Chill nodded. “If you want, you can practice once before the exam starts. I can watch you and give you some tips.”

Lee Han was touched by the senior’s kindness.

Letting him practice the final exam beforehand!

There was a real feeling of friendship between students who had to deal with difficult… or, well, *challenging* subjects.

“Are you sure it’s alright?” Lee Han asked, still a little unsure.

“Yeah, it’s fine,” Chill said. “Not everyone will be able to heal all of them anyway. We seniors will have to heal the rest later. It’s okay if you make mistakes, I’m here to help.”

Chill had a special reason for being so helpful.

Because this wasn’t the first-year final exam. It was the second-year final exam.