Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 322

Everyone wanted mages. Good mages could get any job they wanted. But then there were black mages.

People didn’t really want to hire *them*.

Black magic? Most people didn’t like it. They thought it was scary or wrong.

“I wouldn’t call a black mage if I could help it,” Lee Han thought to himself. There were so many other mages from better schools. Why choose a black mage?

But then Ratford had told him about a job. A job that *needed* a black mage.

That sounded strange. Very strange.

“Where did you hear about this?”

“Ratford told me!”

“Oh. In that case.”

“…Wait. Something’s not right, is it?”

Gainando felt something was wrong when Lee Han reacted to Ratford’s name.

“What’s strange about it? Let’s just go quickly.”

“Right. I don’t know what we’ll be doing, but it’s got to be better than studying… Oops.”

“Your studying, not mine…”

Ratford wasn’t a black mage himself, but he had a friend who was learning black magic.

It was Imirg from the same tower.

The Black Tortoise Tower friends shared any promising job opportunities with each other, so it had reached Ratford’s ears as well.

‘Now that’s true friendship.’

Lee Han couldn’t help but envy the friendship of the Black Tortoise Tower friends.

The Blue Dragon Tower friends only ever threw parties at their mansions and invited each other…

“Long time no see, Imirg.”

“Long time no see!”

“N-Nice to see you.”

Since there weren’t many first-year students learning black magic, the students couldn’t help but be close to each other.

“Did you call Raphaël as well?”

“Why would I call that guy!? No need for him!”

…Some students were close to each other.

“I, I told the White Tiger Tower too… but he said he needed to rest due to fatigue.”

“Oh dear.”

“Can’t even manage himself, what kind of knight is he? Hmph.”

As much as he bickered with Raphaël usually, Gainando continued to grumble.

“But it’s not anything serious, is it?”

“I don’t think so.”

Lee Han, knowing the truth, muttered to himself.

It was clear that his fatigue from the last Ghoul King subjugation hadn’t fully worn off.

‘But he’s less trained than I thought.’

Lee Han, imagining Raphaël grabbing him by the collar if he heard that, turned his gaze away.

“Since Raphaël can’t make it, let’s work even harder in his place. So, Imirg, is it this way?”

“Uh-huh.”

The place Imirg was leading them to was the southern district of the city, a general area.

This southern district had a different kind of vibrancy compared to the central district where the nobles resided or the western district where the guilds were located. It was the kind of vibrancy that only came from a mix of people from all over.

Suspicious travelers covering their entire bodies with cloaks, merchants selling dubious potions labeled >Gonadaltes Duke’s Elixir<, and mercenaries carrying five swords and even a spear didn't seem out of place here. "You rascal! Carrying a spear inside the city. Do you think Granden City is a joke! Come with me!" "I-I’m sorry!" Of course, it wasn’t a completely lawless zone. As they went down the road towards the outskirts of the city, the number of people gradually decreased. Lee Han suddenly became curious and asked. "But what kind of job is it?" "G-Guard duty." "Guard duty?" Lee Han pondered at the unexpected name. 'Is there a reason to hire a mage, especially a black mage, as a guard?' Mages were expensive. If guard duty was needed, it would be better to hire a few more experienced adventurers or mercenaries. Even if they were hired at a high price, many mages were not familiar with combat. If a raid or combat situation occurred, there was a high possibility they wouldn't be worth their cost. If one had to specify, there were uses like barriers or boundary magic, but… 'Why specifically a black mage?' "Do you know where the guard duty is?" "Uh-huh. The cemetery." "...Ah." Lee Han immediately understood. A place like that might need a black mage… "C-Cemetery? We’re going to the cemetery now???" Of course, Gainando was different. He looked at Imirg with betrayed eyes, and Imirg was also flustered. "Why… why? Is there a problem?" "Cemeteries are scary!" Lee Han and Imirg were momentarily speechless in bewilderment. Was that something a black mage should be saying? "Didn’t Professor Mortum have a few cemeteries around the Black Darkness Hall?" "That’s why it was so scary! Why do we have to go to a place where they’re all gathered?!" Gainando tried to resist, looking disgusted. "You’ve summoned skeletons before, and you’ll be summoning more undead in the future, so it’s better to get used to it in advance." "I can meet the undead separately, why do I have to go to a cemetery!" "Gainando." "?" "Doing things you don’t want to do and getting silver coins is life. Shut up and follow me." Gainando followed dejectedly. Imirg asked worriedly. "I-Is it okay to be like that?" "It’s fine. Just buy him a cotton candy after work." The cemetery keeper guarding the outskirts of Granden City was very pleased at the appearance of the three. "Oh my! Mages, welcome! I’m so glad to see you. I was very worried." "What were you worried about?" "I was worried about what to do if there weren’t any Einroguard students learning black magic this year. There are so few black mages in the city as it is." The three students wore awkward expressions. Even in Einroguard, there weren’t many students learning black magic. The easiest way to find skilled and well-rounded mages in Granden City was to hire Einroguard students who came out during vacation. But if there were no students learning black magic among the Einroguard students this year, it would be a serious problem. "But to have three of you, I’m really happy!" "Ah… yes." "But are there really that few black mages?" Gainando asked, not understanding. Even if there were few from Einroguard, they could just call black mages from other places… "Oh my. You’re saying something terrible. Black mages have to be people with more reliable identities than other mages." "Why?" "Well…" As the cemetery keeper hesitated, Lee Han answered instead. "Because they might take corpses from the cemetery?" "Cough… Cough. I don’t think so. I just feel sorry for the prejudice against black mages." "For someone who says that, there seem to be too many incidents consistently reported in the Imperial newspaper…" "Now! I’ll guide you through the cemetery." The cemetery keeper hurriedly changed the subject. He didn’t want to list the incidents caused by black mages in front of students learning black magic. "There are times when the negative energy in the Empire periodically becomes stronger. When negative energy fills the surroundings, the power of the dead also increases. Then…" "Something unusual could happen in places like cemeteries." "That’s right. As expected of someone from Einroguard." The magic that filled nature often caused all sorts of capricious phenomena. Even if it wasn’t as much as a phoenix being summoned out of nowhere in Einroguard, it wasn’t uncommon for the dead to rise and beings from other dimensions to cross over the cracks due to the strengthened negative magic. The ones who could best respond to these problems were, of course, black mages. No matter how bad the perception was, black magic was one of the essential magics for the Empire. "But we haven’t learned about the complex mysteries of black magic yet." "It’s alright. Even so, we wouldn’t entrust everything to the students who came for the first time. There’s a senior black mage here to help you. Dirett!" Lee Han was surprised at the familiar name. If it was Dirett, it must be… "I thought juniors would come… More came than I expected?" A raven beastkin student flapping black wings behind his back walked out of the cemetery tower, waving his hand. It was Dirett, a fourth-year student at Einroguard majoring in black magic. "Senior! …Are you alright?" Lee Han habitually scanned the surroundings. Dirett nodded as if he understood. "You don’t go to the punishment room here just for having a conversation, so you don’t have to worry about that." "I see. That’s a relief." "And you don’t die from going to the punishment room. You guys will have to keep going to Einroguard in the future, so you should learn how to get used to the punishment room." Gainando disliked it as if asking what he was talking about, but Lee Han took it seriously. 'It's definitely good to prepare for the punishment room in advance.' From how to escape when trapped to Plan B, where you can rest comfortably when escape is difficult. The only fortunate thing was that he was close to Perkhuntra, one of the prison wardens, but he couldn’t rely on Perkhuntra alone. And Lee Han thought Perkhuntra was a bit… '…He makes frequent mistakes at important moments.' "Anyway, why did you two come? Aren’t you from the Blue Dragon Tower?" Dirett was puzzled by the appearance of Lee Han and Gainando. Usually, Blue Dragon Tower students didn’t do this kind of work. Gainando immediately answered. "I’m earning the money I’ll use myself!" "What? Why would you do that? You should go and get it if you can." Gainando, who had expected to be praised, became sullen. Lee Han didn’t say, ‘I’m crazy about silver coins.’ Judging from the looks of it, there was a high possibility that he would be thought of as a strange person if he said it. "I thought it was an opportunity to train in black magic." Dirett looked at Lee Han with a shocked expression. Come to think of it, this junior was a crazy genius who was taking magic from all schools. "O-Oh, I see." 'Huh?' Lee Han felt something was off. The reaction was even more… than when it was Gainando’s turn. "Still, it’s good that three of you came. There were many times when there were fewer. Originally, a third-year student should be explaining this, but he went to the east to find a usable corpse." "I, I see." This time, it was Lee Han and his friends’ turn to stammer. "I couldn’t refuse because they begged so earnestly." The cemetery keepers were tearfully begging, and it was also difficult to refuse as a black mage. In the end, Dirett had to attend for this explanation. "You’re amazing. Well, if they offer several times the pay, it’s a little difficult to refuse…" "What? No. The pay is the same." Lee Han was shocked at Dirett’s words. "The pay is the same?" "Huh? Uh…" Dirett was flustered by the pressure emanating from his junior. "The cemetery keepers tricked you, Senior. I’ll go and protest." "No, no… We’re originally acquaintances, so this much is…" "No. The more you know each other, the more thorough you have to be with money transactions!" Dirett momentarily had a strange thought at the sight of his junior, who was suspiciously sincere about silver coins. 'This junior, could it be that he came to work because of the silver coins?' "Basically, this job is more about prevention than aftercare." Dirett said, tapping the floor with his staff. "As such, you have to pay attention to the flow of magic. You juniors will be able to sense the magic of the negative energy system a little better since you’ve learned black magic." As Dirett was explaining, adventurers passing by on the road above the cemetery in the distance frowned as they passed. "Ugh, grave robbers?" "Are they trying to steal corpses again?" "Don’t worry about it. They’re guys who can’t even say anything to our faces. Now. So… Wait. Where did one of the juniors go?" Dirett was flustered at the sight of Lee Han disappearing. Turning his head, he saw Lee Han running towards the road above.