Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 326

“I thought you gave up for the same reason as me, Senior,” Lee Han said.

“What do you think I am, Junior?” Dirette replied.

“No… it’s just that there’s no reason to give up otherwise. We were all chasing it,” Lee Han explained.

Guinan nodded, as if he expected it. “Typical Lee Han,” he thought. Lee Han never gave up, not even for a piece of bread.

“Junior, being thorough is good, but if you act too aggressively, bad rumors about dark wizards might spread,” Dirette cautioned.

“But Senior, dark wizards already have bad rumors, don’t they?” Lee Han asked.

Dirette looked a little sad after hearing Junior’s words.

Guinan whispered from the side, “Why are you saying that! Only those who don’t know would say such things!”

“No. Quite a few people would say that,” Lee Han countered.

“…Really?” Dirette asked, surprised.

“Really. Why else would those guys who got caught and dragged here pick a fight just for walking past?” Lee Han pointed out.

“W-we have repented,” one of the adventurers stammered. They had picked the wrong fight, got beaten up, did chores in the graveyard, and ended up chasing an undead chimera. They were the unluckiest people that day.

“Don’t be sad, Senior,” Lee Han said. “People who know us will know the truth.”

Dirette sighed. “…But what if everyone else thinks we are bad?”

Lee Han smiled a little. “Then we will change their minds.”

Dirette looked at his junior. Lee Han’s words were full of confidence. *He really believes that,* Dirette thought. *Maybe he’s right.*

Dirette felt a little ashamed. *I should be the one with that kind of hope,* he thought. *I’m the senior here.*

“That’s right, Junior,” Dirette agreed.

“Thank you for understanding, Senior. From now on, if I see anyone spouting nonsense about dark magic, let’s stomp them like those guys,” Lee Han suggested.

“…No!! That’s not what I meant!!!” Dirette exclaimed.

“Wasn’t it?” Lee Han asked, tilting his head.

Dirette was horrified by the junior’s aggressive words that would surprise even a magic duelist. To change their minds by attacking anyone who spouted nonsense… what was that…

Bang!

With a deafening roar, two apprentice knights were sent flying into the air. The cornered undead chimera caused an explosion from its body and broke through the encirclement. The apprentice knights were startled and screamed as the encirclement was breached.

“It’s escaping!!!” one of them yelled.

“Be caref… Ah!! Wodanaz! It’s Wodanaz! Wodanaz!!” another cried out.

“What?! Wodanaz!? That Wodanaz?”

“Yes! That Wodanaz!”

Lee Han wore a disgruntled expression as the apprentice knights who had visited the school last time recognized his face and acted friendly. *We’re not that close,* he thought.

“Wodanaz! Catch it!! If it escapes…”

Before the apprentice knights could even ask, Lee Han was already holding his staff and preparing. There was no way he would let the undead chimera escape after chasing it this far.

The undead chimera was a horrible sight. Its fur was falling off, and you could see bones under its skin. It smelled like old meat and made a wet, croaking sound as it glared at Lee Han. Its nine eyes darted around, staring at Lee Han, full of wariness due to being severely beaten earlier. It felt like it was trying to find an opening in Lee Han to land a blow and escape.

“Darkness, gather here,” Lee Han commanded.

Lee Han didn’t rashly cast a lightning spell. It wasn’t an environment where he could easily fire indiscriminately because there were apprentice knights behind him, and the monster was extremely wary. The advantage of a wizard is being able to adapt flexibly to any situation.

Having learned how to deal with it from Dirette, Lee Han immediately gathered the surrounding dark elements. Black smoke seemed to rise from the ground and swirl around his staff. The air around him turned cold.

The undead chimera seemed to feel its power draining, even if it didn’t know what Lee Han was doing. It quickly jumped back to create distance.

But it was no use.

‘The range…!’ Dirette, the only dark wizard who knew how to handle dark elemental magic, could tell what was happening. That junior’s magic was gathering dark elements from a much wider range than Dirette had done.

‘…Amazing!’ While he was admiring his junior’s magic, Lee Han urgently shouted.

“Senior!”

“Huh? What is it?” Dirette responded.

“A bit too much dark element has gathered! Please help if I mess up!” Lee Han requested.

“…Hey!” Dirette screamed when he saw the sphere of dark elements gathered at the end of Lee Han’s staff. It was two or three times the size of what he had cast earlier at a glance. Because he cast it against such a wide range, it gathered so quickly in a shorter time than before.

“What are you planning to do?!” Dirette asked, worried. Even if he tried to fire it as a projectile, it needed to be controlled to some extent, but if he forcibly fired it now, it could explode at the end of the staff and injure his junior. Dirette couldn’t understand how Lee Han was planning to handle that dark element.

Plop!

Lee Han solved it with a simpler and more straightforward method than expected. He charged forward with his staff and shoved the sphere into the undead chimera. The undead chimera couldn’t avoid the sudden attack.

Dirette was flustered. ‘Wait, dark elements have the opposite effect on the undead…!’

Lee Han threw his staff to the side and drew his sword. The starlight flashed as it split the undead chimera’s body. From the start, gathering the surrounding dark elements was to slow down the opponent’s movements and bind its feet.

Once that was achieved, there were several ways to destroy the opponent. A powerful strike, propelled by the exploding magic power, hit the undead chimera, and then his sword moved in a way that made the chimera lose its balance. After launching a series of attacks without a moment’s rest and then beheading it, cheers erupted.

“As expected of Wodanaz!”

“Excellent!! Your swordsmanship is as good as ever!”

“A friend?”

Dirette asked the question, and Leahan answered firmly.

“Not a friend.”

Bikelintz arrived a little later and thanked Leahan.

“Thank you. It seems the young knights almost made a big mistake, but you helped.”

“I just did what I had to do.”

“Indeed…” Bikelintz continued, sounding impressed. “Some people hate dark mages because they don’t understand. But if they saw dark mages like you, working so hard, they would change their minds!”

“Thank you,” Leahan replied, but he thought, ‘But the other dark mages cause too much trouble.’

Leahan thought, ‘Catching undead is good, but other dark mages cause problems by stealing bodies. It feels like one step forward, two steps back.’

Alradne arrived after a moment. He looked confused at the scene in front of the mansion and asked, “What happened?”

“Lord Wodanaz caught it,” the mansion’s chief steward answered, sounding a little disappointed. “It would have been better for Lord Greenbel’s reputation if our guests had caught it instead of someone from outside.”

Alradne looked away, thinking he would have to speak to the chief steward after the guests left.

The undead Chimera was definitely destroyed. It had been hit by several spells, and there were sword wounds that seemed to have been made by the apprentice knights. And the final blow…

Alradne frowned. ‘A sword?’ he thought. ‘Did the apprentice knights and dark mages trick me?’ He couldn’t understand why they would.

“Lord Greenbel, thank you for your hospitality,” Alradne said.

“Not at all. You have stepped forward for the sake of Granden City, and I am only sorry that I cannot provide more help.”

‘He’s being excessively kind,’ Leahan thought. Leahan was confused by Alradne’s kindness. Alradne was usually known to be strict and perfect. Why was he being so friendly now?

‘Is it really because of the Wodanaz family name? Even so, is there a reason to go this far?’ Leahan never imagined that Alradne was mistaking him for an incredibly ambitious person.

‘Anyway, I should be grateful since he helped,’ Leahan thought.

Leahan bowed politely again and walked away. Apprentice knights who knew Leahan excitedly gathered around him.

Seeing this, Alradne asked Bikelintz, “Does the student from the Wodanaz family know the apprentice knights?”

“Ah, that’s something that happened when we visited Einrogard last time. It was amazing! This young Wodanaz is so skilled!” Bikelintz began to tell the story as if it were a good thing.

Meeting an excellent swordsman is always enjoyable, so Bikelintz didn’t notice that Alradne’s expression was turning to astonishment and confusion as he listened to the story.

“-Wodanaz, I heard the story of you catching the King of Ghouls. But do you know? Those White Tiger Tower guys are weak.”

“-That’s right, Wodanaz. Real strength comes from hard work in tough places.”

“-So let’s go catch the King of Ghouls together!”

‘They’re all crazy,’ Leahan thought.

Leahan shook his head, remembering the conversation with the apprentice knights. They had heard the rumor that Leahan and the White Tiger Tower guys had defeated the King of Ghouls in a strange way, and they were burning with a competitive spirit.

But they couldn’t bring the rival White Tiger Tower guys as magicians. The apprentice knights wanted to bring a much more outstanding magician and a friend who was bound to them by the sword.

Of course, from Leahan’s point of view, it was just crazy nonsense. Leahan reported it immediately.

“-Lord Bikelintz, those apprentice knights are planning to catch an enemy stronger than their level.”

“-Those…! You rascals!” It was fortunate that Bikelintz was sensible. Otherwise, the apprentice knights might have collapsed in some remote cave they didn’t even know the name of.

Dirette looked worried at Leahan’s appearance and asked, “Are you alright, junior? Is it still because of the magic you used earlier… the lack of mana…?”

“Ah. No. It’s just because those apprentice knights are talking nonsense,” Leahan replied.

Dirette decided not to worry about this junior regarding magic anymore.

Returning to the cemetery, Leahan saw a familiar face among the gravediggers. It was Daihal of the Dalcard family, the special imperial administrator whom he had met in connection with the King of Ghouls.

“I didn’t expect it, but really…!” Daihal said, sounding awed as he saw Leahan. “To be involved in something like this in less than a week. Aren’t you being too reckless with your body?”

Dirette was puzzled. He hadn’t heard the news about the King of Ghouls yet. “Junior, what did you do a week ago?” he asked.

Leahan quickly looked around the cemetery and thought fast. Then, he plopped down on one knee.

“Kuh-heum. All that magic… it took a lot out of me…” Leahan coughed weakly, bending over slightly.

“That’s what I was saying! No matter how talented you are, it’s meaningless if you can’t take care of your own body,” Daihal said.

“Bu-but… as a dark mage… undead roaming Granden City is… cough, cough.”

Dirette and Leahan’s friends stared at Leahan, speechless. They couldn’t believe that their friend, who hadn’t even broken a sweat until just now, was staggering and acting like that as soon as he passed through the cemetery’s main gate.

Imirgue whispered, “Is… is there poison in the cemetery?”

“Leahan isn’t affected by poison, is he?” another friend asked.

“What do you mean… Ah. Could it be…”

While the three were whispering, Leahan pretended to be even more exhausted in front of Daihal. He had realized something after the last King of Ghouls fight: Even if you do the same thing, it’s better to show that you did it as hard as possible! It was a magic that easily increased rewards.

“If you hadn’t been here, Dirette… I… I don’t think I would have made it…” Leahan said with more drama.

“You must be Lord Dirette. I’ve heard a lot about you from the gravediggers,” Daihal said.

“I just did what I had to do…” Dirette replied.

“The city people are too harsh on dark mages who dedicate themselves like this… I will definitely speak strongly about it,” Daihal said.

“No, the compensation is already good enou…” Dirette started to say.

“Cough, cough, cough!” Leahan cut off his senior’s words with a dry cough.