Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 33

The dwarf asked, “Do you know Professor Thunderstride?”

Yihan blinked. “Yes… I do. How did you know?”

“I am Lightningstride,” the dwarf said, pushing goggles onto his head. “Thunderstride is my aunt.”

*’His aunt? Dwarves really are all related!’* Yihan thought, surprised. He had joked about it, but it seemed to be true.

Lightningstride repeated, “So, you know Thunderstride?”

Yihan felt a little nervous. *’Professors remembering you is never good,’* he thought. *’Not back on Earth, and not here either. Please don’t let this be like getting stuck in extra studies again…’*

He hesitated. “I… I know him a little.”

“Wodanaz is Professor Thunderstride’s best student!” one of Yihan’s friends shouted proudly.

“Yes! Professor Thunderstride really likes Wodanaz! He even lets him go to his special room!” another friend added.

Yihan sighed and looked at his friends. They were grinning, so proud of him. *’You silly fools,’* he thought, but they didn’t notice his annoyance. They just kept smiling.

Lightningstride chuckled. “If you are Thunderstride’s best student, then maybe you are almost like my student too!”

“Well, not really a student…” Yihan mumbled.

“But you can go to his special room! That means he trusts you,” Lightningstride insisted.

Yihan gave up. “Okay, yes. That’s me.” He decided to just go along with it and hope to make a good impression.

Professor Lightningstride jumped down from his large bird and stood tall in front of the students. His voice was like thunder, shaking the air as he yelled, “Attention!”

A student, still shaky from fainting, asked weakly, “Professor… what about the people who fainted?”

“They’ll be fine! Leave them. They’ll wake up,” Lightningstride said loudly, waving his hand dismissively. It didn’t sound very smart for someone who should know about health, but no one argued.

“I am Lightningstride Choidar,” he announced, puffing out his chest. “I will be your teacher this semester. Your usual professor, Bendozol, is missing. He went to find a unicorn and hasn’t come back. So, they called me in quickly.”

*’Missing while looking for a unicorn? Why isn’t anyone surprised by that?’* Yihan wondered. But looking around, he saw the other students were more amazed by Lightningstride’s name.

“The famous explorer Lightningstride?” someone gasped.

“The Lightningstride who tamed a Behemoth and rides it?” another student exclaimed.

“The one who went to the Spirit Crater, where no one has ever gone before?” a third voice whispered in awe.

*’Maybe I should read something other than just the important news,’* Yihan thought, feeling a bit out of the loop. He realized Lightningstride must be a very famous person. The students were looking at the professor with wide eyes, full of respect.

“Now,” Lightningstride said, his eyes twinkling, “can anyone guess why I arrived on a Thunderbird?”

The students gasped. Thunderbird! Even Yihan knew that name. It was a monster from stories, huge beyond belief, moving like lightning, and able to control storms. Just imagining a Thunderbird attacking him made Yihan shiver. *’This school is crazy! Someone should check if they are following the rules,’* he thought to himself.

A brave student raised their hand. “Is it… is it because we’re going to learn to ride Thunderbirds this semester? Are you trying to get us used to them?”

Lightningstride threw back his head and roared with laughter. “Ride a Thunderbird? Hahaha! What a silly idea! Even if you trained for a hundred years, you couldn’t ride a Thunderbird!” He laughed so hard that tears came to his eyes. The student who had spoken blushed and looked down, embarrassed.

*’Oh, right. Not many people here took the special potion class,’* Yihan realized. He remembered that class was optional, while this horse riding class was required for everyone. That meant many students wouldn’t know that dwarf professors from the Walking family often taught in strange and unexpected ways.

Another student asked, “Did you ride the Thunderbird because you had to come a long way, Professor?”

“If I wanted to come fast, I would have ridden a Sleipnir – a really fast magical horse! No. Hmm, Wodanaz! You tell them.”

Yihan really didn’t want to be noticed anymore, but he knew he had to answer. He tried to look calm and said, “Is it because… because you came on such a dangerous monster so we can learn how to deal with them if we ever see one?”

Some students laughed loudly, like it was a ridiculous idea. They thought this class was about riding gentle horses in fields, not fighting monsters. Why would they need to learn about Thunderbirds in a horse riding class?

“Correct!” Lightningstride boomed. “That’s why Thunderstride likes you!”

*’Oh, great,’* Yihan thought, rolling his eyes inside. He couldn’t believe he was right. He sighed. Since he was now connected to both Thunderstride and Lightningstride, he had to try to stay on their good side. Being liked by a professor was better than being disliked, even if it was annoying.

“P-Professor?” a student stammered. “Isn’t this… isn’t this supposed to be a horse riding class?”

“Y-Yes,” another added. “Why are we learning about Thunderbirds?” They were completely confused.

“What if you meet a Thunderbird while you ARE riding a horse?” Lightningstride snapped, as if they were being incredibly stupid. The students shut up quickly, looking scared.

*’Thunderbirds live in very high mountains or way up in the sky… it’s not like we’ll just bump into one on a horse ride,’* Yihan thought, but he kept quiet. It was better not to argue with a professor, even if you were right.

“Don’t worry,” Lightningstride said, softening his voice a little. “You will ride horses too. The horses you like so much. Wodanaz, come here. You’re going to help me with this class.”

Yihan walked forward, feeling the stares of the other students. Some looked impressed, some looked jealous. He could handle the impressed looks, but he wanted to punch the jealous ones. *’They have no idea what they’re getting into,’* he thought.

“Horses are the most common animals to ride in our land,” Professor Lightningstride explained. “Anyone who can’t ride a horse isn’t ready to travel. If you want to ride dragons or griffins one day, you must first learn to ride a horse well.”

Some students looked bored. Many of them already knew how to ride horses. They thought, *’What’s so new about riding horses?’* But Lightningstride just smiled kindly.

*’Uh oh,’* Yihan thought, feeling uneasy at that smile. *’This isn’t going to be a normal horse riding class.’* This school never let you relax for a second.

“Now, to the stables!” Lightningstride announced.

They walked towards a large building near the main school building. It was the stables, bigger than a giant house, like a three-story stone warehouse. As the professor approached, the large doors seemed to open by themselves, as if alive.

*’Magic,’* Yihan thought. He could feel the faint magical energy around the stables. These weren’t just ordinary horses inside. They needed magic to protect them.

“Wow!”

“Amazing!”

The students gasped as they entered. Rows and rows of horses stood in their stalls, shining in the light. White, black, brown, gold – all kinds of colors. They were beautiful horses, strong and well-bred. The students’ eyes lit up at the thought of riding such magnificent animals.

But Yihan wasn’t fooled. He whispered to Yoner, “Be careful.”

“Careful of what?” Yoner asked, confused.

“Remember the potion class? Professor Lightningstride is related to Professor Thunderstride. Do you think there won’t be any tricks?”

Yoner’s eyes widened. He nodded quickly, understanding.

Lightningstride stroked his beard, a mischievous smile on his face. He turned to Yihan. “Wodanaz, since you’re going to help me teach, you can choose your horse first.”

A wave of angry whispers went through the other students. They wouldn’t mind other favors, but choosing a horse first? That meant Yihan would get the best horse, his partner for the whole semester.

*’They think I’m getting a prize,’* Yihan thought, seeing the jealous looks. He remembered that glint in the professor’s eye. “It’s okay,” he said loudly. “I’ll choose last. It’s not fair for me to go first.”

“Wodanaz!”

“You’re so noble!” His Blue Dragon Tower friends were impressed. They thought he was being very honorable, giving up the first pick.

“How should we pick then?” someone asked.

“Let’s decide the order for each tower, then one person from each tower can choose. If two people want the same horse, we’ll draw lots,” someone suggested.

“Okay!”

The students split into groups to decide their order. The Blue Dragon Tower students drew straws, and Gainando won.

“Yes!” Gainando cheered. He felt lucky after being scared by the Thunderbird earlier. The other Blue Dragon Tower students groaned.

“Why Gainando?”

“We should have let Wodanaz pick for us.”

“Crybabies,” Gainando muttered, ignoring them. Yihan was curious. He asked Yoner, “Does Gainando even know how to choose a good horse?”

“W-Well…” Yoner said doubtfully. “I don’t think so.”

Gainando marched forward and pointed at the biggest horse he could see, a white one that looked very angry. The other students stared, surprised. Bigger wasn’t always better with horses. And if you had to become friends with it, choosing an angry-looking horse seemed like a bad idea. It could cause problems later…

*WHAM!*

“Oof!” Gainando cried as the white horse slammed its head into him, sending him flying backwards.

*SPIT!*

“Ack!” Another student yelled, wiping horse spit from their face.

*PTOO!*

“KRAAAH!”

“?!” The students were in shock. It wasn’t just Gainando. Horses were biting, kicking, and spitting at everyone! The horses… why were they so wild?

*NEIGH! NEIGH! HMPH! HMPH!*

The stables erupted in noise. Horses that had been calm moments before were now screaming and stomping, glaring at the students like they were enemies. Their wild side had exploded all at once.

“Hahahaha!” Lightningstride roared with laughter. “I told you, you need to learn to ride a horse! Your first task isn’t riding. It’s getting to know these horses! Did you really think I’d let you beginners just pick any horse you wanted?”

“W-What…?”

“This is too much!” Some students, especially those who hadn’t taken the potion class and didn’t know what to expect, looked like they might cry. But Lightningstride just kept laughing.

“If you take care of them, feed them, clean their stalls, morning and night, maybe, just maybe, one of the kinder ones will become your friend. That’s your goal. Just one! Befriend just one horse!”

“…”

*’These are definitely not normal horses,’* Yihan thought, now completely sure. No ordinary horse would act this crazy.

*Tap-tap-*

As Yihan was trying to decide which horse looked the least angry, Professor Lightningstride’s hand, as big as a cooking pot lid, landed on his shoulder.

“?” Yihan looked up.

“Ah, Wodanaz,” Lightningstride said, grinning. “I’ll choose a horse for you.”

“…” Yihan stared at him. *Did you really have to?*