Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 305

Balgaro wasn’t the only one staring at the vibrant, orange flames Lee Han conjured. They danced in the air, pulsing with heat, and drew gasps from the other fire mages in the temple.

“Who is that?” one mage whispered, eyes wide. “I’ve never seen him before.”

“He’s no ordinary mage, that’s for sure!” another replied, impressed.

Balgaro, suddenly nervous as people turned to look, leaned closer to Lee Han and whispered urgently, “Hey! I told you it’s bad if other mages know we’re from Einroguard!”

Lee Han lowered his head slightly. “I apologize. I didn’t control it well enough.”

Balgaro nodded, trying to sound like a wise older student. “Magic items aren’t all-powerful. Remember that. It’s not good to depend on them too much.”

Of course, when Lee Han said he failed to control it, he meant something else.

‘Fire magic is still hard,’ Lee Han thought. Because he had so much natural magic power, even if he lost focus a little, the flames could explode everywhere. So, Lee Han tried to make his fire magic small and focused.

Other mages would make big flames for arrows, spears, and shields, but Lee Han kept his flames small.

But even though they were small, they were still powerful.

The flames had so much magic power that they could break through most fire defenses.

The straw doll, which was strong against other magic, was now burning completely.

‘I was trying to make the fire weaker, but is that too hard to do?’

He tried to control how strong the flame was, but it wasn’t easy.

He had to cast the spell while using less magic power than normal.

Other mages tried hard to use all their magic power to make their spells stronger. So, Lee Han worrying about *too much* power was strange to think about.

Whirr…

As the straw doll burned, a strange wave of magic spread out.

The magic wave gently and warmly touched everyone in the temple. It felt like a blessing, without any bad intentions.

“How is it? Do you feel like your bad luck is going away?”

“I think so.”

“You’ll be lucky for a day or two. You burned a lot, so it might last longer.”

‘Oh.’

Lee Han smiled. If the blessing worked, he really needed it.

‘If it’s true, I need to get it before the second semester starts.’

“Now, everyone, please come here. I will explain the safety rules.”

The priests gathered the mages. Lee Han followed without thinking.

But that was a mistake.

“……”

“I’m sorry. You’re out.”

“Kuh!”

The mage stomped his feet, upset because sparks flew next to the candlestick instead of lighting it.

Lee Han was surprised and asked,

“Weren’t we supposed to listen to the safety rules?”

“We’re listening while doing it. You remember better when you experience it yourself than when you just listen, right?”

‘That’s why those knight families are…’

Getting permission from the priests to continue was harder than Lee Han expected.

The priests carefully watched to see if they could control the flames in different situations.

Lee Han became nervous.

This was where he was weakest.

‘If I lose focus, this temple will be in danger.’

“Hey. What’s wrong? It’s not that hard. Other mages are nervous, but we Einroguard students don’t need to be.”

Balgaro seemed confused.

The priests didn’t care about power, speed, or complex magic.

They only cared about controlling the fire.

For mages trained at Einroguard, and even for mages who learned magic on their own, this task should be simple.

However, Lee Han stayed focused.

Balgaro thought,

‘Is he not confident in fire magic?’

Well, some students at the White Tiger Tower weren’t confident in their magic.

Balgaro wanted to encourage his junior.

“Hey Gainando, relax! Don’t worry so much. Magic isn’t the only thing that matters, you know?”

“Uh… thank you?”

Fortunately, Lee Han did well.

The flames accurately floated in the air and burned the targets.

Balgaro clapped and cheered for his junior.

“Well done! You’re good at it!”

“Thank you.”

The priests also came to Lee Han and said,

“Woah…”

“Thank you, priests! Thank you for always teaching me!”

Lee Han spoke quickly so the priests wouldn’t say anything else.

“If the priests hadn’t helped me, I wouldn’t have improved my fire magic this much.”

“To think you would say that…”

The priests were touched by Lee Han’s thanks.

“The temple is always open, so please visit anytime. You’re welcome to practice controlling fire.”

“…Uh…”

Lee Han hesitated.

He planned to study during the vacation, but he didn’t want to add more to his schedule.

“That…”

“Maybe woah…”

“I will visit you. Thank you.”

Lee Han said quickly before the priest could say anything else.

He didn’t want to add to his schedule, but he felt he had to.

Balgaro watched and looked at Lee Han suspiciously.

“You…”

‘Did he find out?’

Lee Han was worried that Balgaro knew he wasn’t a student at the White Tiger Tower.

“You like studying magic?”

“…Yes!”

“That’s amazing. But why is your skill… Ah. No. That’s not important.”

“If I don’t have the skills, I have to work harder.”

Balgaro nodded.

Lee Han was a hard worker.

It was a shame his magic skills weren’t better.

“Let’s go. I’ll buy you a meal.”

“Uh… no. It’s okay.”

Lee Han liked free stuff, but he felt bad taking a meal from someone from a smaller family.

“No! The other White Tiger Tower guys might treat you like that, but as a knight and a White Tiger Tower senior, I have to buy you a meal.”

“……”

Lee Han wondered how to get away.

Whirr-

“?

A loud cheer went up from the wizards near the temple gate. I turned to see what was happening. They had permission to be there and were casting spells.

“Fire, gather in the form of a ring!”

A ring of fire burst into life, orange and red flames dancing in the air. I immediately understood the idea.

He was trying to change a simple fire spell into a ring shape. It looked risky and could easily fail. But if it worked, it would be a good trick.

‘A bit clumsy, though.’

“Oh my goodness! He made a ring of fire!” one wizard shouted.

“Unbelievable! Unbelievable!” cried another.

“Haha! Everyone, hand over the silver coins! Didn’t I say I could do it!”

Yihan and Balgaro stared at the wizards, speechless.

The wizard who won the bet strutted around, looking arrogant.

“What did I say? I said I could easily succeed with a 4th circle spell, didn’t I?”

“Wasn’t that not the case last time? When did your skills improve so much?”

“Thinking hard and becoming wise! That’s all it took!”

Yihan sighed to himself.

Wizards who didn’t learn magic properly from a teacher often had strange ideas about magic.

They even mistook the changed fire spell for a 4th circle spell.

‘I see why Einroguard students are welcomed.’

Even though wizards were rare, many were like these. He understood why people liked graduates from the Imperial Magic Academy.

“Senior! Wait, Thorn… no, Balgaro! Where are you going?”

Yihan was worried.

Balgaro was walking quickly towards the wizards, not the temple gate.

“I can’t just stand here and watch him cheat these wizards.”

“Wait, Senior. You said it would be troublesome if they found out we’re from Einroguard.”

He had said it wouldn’t be good if other wizards found out they were from Einroguard, but he was running right at them himself.

“But Yihan, he’s lying to them!” Balgaro said seriously.

“…Indeed, Senior, you are the White Tiger Tower spirit itself.”

Balgaro was embarrassed by his junior’s compliment.

“I-is that so? I don’t think it’s that much.”

The wizard, Otiero, was a wizard from the Thieves’ Guild.

He happened to read a book about fire magic and paid a retired mercenary wizard to learn the magic, but…

His progress wasn’t easy.

So Otiero changed direction, to use the magic he learned in a better way!

“Now, it’s not too late for you either. You can reach the same level as me. If you pay a small amount of silver, I will teach you out of friendship as a fellow wizard…”

“Enough with the nonsense!”

Balgaro growled and moved forward. The wizards were surprised when a young wizard approached with an angry look.

“What did you say?”

“Trying to trick other wizards with a simple fire spell. Can you even call yourself someone who studies magic?”

‘This isn’t good.’

Yihan sensed danger from the other person’s face.

The guy who should have been worried was calm.

He clearly had something to rely on.

“Oh? And what exactly is wrong with my amazing magic, young man?”

“Don’t play tricks.”

Balgaro already knew what the other person was trying to do.

He quickly took off his coat, showing the Einroguard crest.

“I am a student of Einroguard. As a student of Einroguard, I say that your magic is a trick!”

“A student of Einroguard?”

Otiero’s eyes widened in surprise, but he quickly calmed down.

“Indeed. You have the right to say that. But…”

Otiero also raised his coat.

Then he showed a crest that I had seen before.

…It was the crest of Valdrogard.

‘What the…’

While Yihan was shocked, Balgaro also looked embarrassed.

“I graduated from Valdrogard.”

“What nonsense! It’s fake! Where did you get a fake!”

“Ha… stop it. As a student, you are still new to this, so you must be mistaken. I understand. I was like that too.”

The opponent was better than Balgaro.

Even if it was a fake crest, the other wizards couldn’t tell, and Balgaro was losing the argument.

‘Should I help him?’

I was wondering if I should help him since he was from the same school, but Balgaro stepped forward first.

“It’s a duel, you son of a witch!”

“Draw! I’ll attack if you don’t draw!”

‘Is he really crazy?’

To ask for a duel inside the temple.

Yihan couldn’t help but admire Balgaro.

The priests rushed over.

“You can’t duel here!”

“Good! Follow me outside!”

“W-what kind of barbaric…”

“Calm down, everyone. You can settle it with magic.”

The wizards and priests stopped the two. Balgaro, panting, had to give in.

“Alright. Let’s settle it with magic.”

Balgaro didn’t think he would lose to a con man.

But nothing is certain.

“If it’s a match… how about competing in flame control?”

The priest suggested a game that fire wizards often played, creating flames and shooting them down.

It was simple, but complex if you studied it. You had to move faster and more accurately than your opponent’s flames to catch them.

Balgaro’s face turned pale. Yihan was confused.

“What’s wrong? Don’t tell me…”

“…I specialize in enchantment magic.”

Yihan clicked his tongue, feeling sorry for his senior.

“Then I’ll do it.”

“What?” Balgaro raised his head.

“You?”

“Yes.”

“No. It’s too much for your skills!”

Yihan was surprised.