Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 350

Lee Han dabbed at his eyes with a handkerchief. Everything looked blurry.

“‘Is it raining?'”

“‘…It would be best if you ate something. I’ll go buy some,'” one of the seniors said.

“‘No, we should buy it for you,'” another replied.

“‘If we take our juniors’ money to buy ice cream when they’re not even joining, even fewer will come next time,'” a third added.

The seniors led Lee Han to a beautiful fountain in the center of the square. They sat him down, and the water danced and sparkled in the sunlight, the sound calming and peaceful. Then, the seniors walked towards the ice cream stand.

“-…I’m telling you, I don’t want to…”

“-…I can’t concede on this either…”

Lee Han watched, confused. *Are they arguing about the price? Maybe I should go help. Seniors can be so stubborn sometimes,* he thought, a little worried.

“‘Why are they doing that?'” he asked.

“‘Ah… the merchants we know usually don’t want to accept silver coins from us,'” one of the seniors explained.

“-I can’t accept it. I won’t accept it,”

“-Haha, no way! You guys are healing mages! You’ve done so much for everyone. We can’t take your money, not after all you’ve done!”

“-That’s right. Oh, and we made some crepes here, please have some.”

“-What? Did the healing mages of Einroguard come?”

As the argument continued, merchants from around the area began to gather. Recognizing the students of Einroguard, the merchants eagerly packed up the snacks they were selling and piled them up for the students.

The seniors were flustered, not knowing what to do.

“-It’s alright…”

“-Goodness, you’re all skin and bones!”

“-That’s a prejudice…”

“-It’s true! You need to eat more!”

“-We’re healing mages, why are you saying such ridiculous things…”

“-Take this too!”

The seniors looked overwhelmed and a little lost as they came back, carrying piles of snacks. The merchants had given them so much food! They piled a mountain of colorful snacks onto the table – sweet-smelling crepes, golden donuts, and bright ice cream cones.

“‘Eat up, junior,'” one of the seniors said.

“‘…Y-you’ll eat with me, right?'” Lee Han asked.

“‘Yeah, but we’ve been working too hard and lost our appetite. You need to eat a lot,'” another senior replied.

Lee Han decided he would have to eat until he burst.

*At least their popularity is a good thing,* he thought.

Dark mages sometimes refused to take silver at shops, but that was a little different. These healing mages genuinely seemed to want to treat them without taking any silver.

Each senior took an ice cream cone. Some admired the fountain. Others started a wizard card game. A few set up a board and dice for a game. Everyone’s face was filled with gentle happiness and peace…

The peaceful afternoon was perfect, but a faint unease started to creep into the air.

Rumble!

“‘What’s that sound?'”

“‘Sounds like an accident in the guild district! That’s the one! The one they were building…'”

“‘Smoke’s rising, is it a fire?!'”

The seniors silently looked down at the ground before standing up.

“‘Seniors. Don’t tell me…'” Lee Han said.

“‘Sorry, Wodanaz,'” one of them replied.

“‘You never know. The professor might need our help,'” another added.

“‘We had a great time today, thanks to you. Glad a junior like you joined,'” a third said.

“‘No…!'”

Before he could stop them, the seniors each stuffed a donut in their mouths and ran towards the scene of the accident.

“‘The headmaster is there… he’s strong, he’ll handle it… I hope!'” Lee Han shouted anxiously, but the seniors just waved and left.

Only a mountain of snacks remained, and Lee Han sighed.

*If they spend a few more years like that, even the kindest person would become ill-tempered,* he thought.

The square became deserted as even the merchants went to see the accident site. Lee Han watched them go, feeling a mix of worry and admiration. *They are so selfless,* he thought. He looked at the mountain of snacks, now feeling a little lonely in the deserted square. Just then, a voice came from behind.

“‘Why are you eating all this by yourself?'”

Lee Han turned his head at the familiar voice.

An old mage with a kind, grandmotherly face stood behind him.

“‘Yumidihus…!”‘

“‘It’s been a while,'” Yumidihus said.

Yumidihus, the famous water element mage from the Empire, sat down in front of Lee Han and pointed to the waffle.

“‘Of course, you can have some,'” she offered.

“‘Thank you,'” Lee Han replied.

Yumidihus didn’t even move, but the syrups on the table rose up and gently covered the waffle. Taking a bite, Yumidihus looked at Lee Han and asked.

“‘Why are you so nervous?'”

“‘Well…'”

Yumidihus himself was a reasonably mad mage, but the mage who came after Yumidihus was a different story.

“‘…Didn’t Professor Beggurek visit Yumidihus to prepare what he needed for the second semester’s lectures?'” Lee Han asked.

“‘Ah ha. That’s right,'” Yumidihus nodded.

“‘You were worried Voladi Beggurek wouldn’t be able to find me,'” she stated.

“‘…Ah, yes,'” Lee Han answered, carefully controlling his facial muscles.

Yumidihus continued as if to reassure him.

“‘He found me just fine, so there’s nothing to worry about,'” she said.

“‘Yes…'”

“‘Anyway, I’d like to see some water element magic. Can you show me?'” Yumidihus asked with a twinkle in her eye. “Now, let’s see if you’ve learned anything useful, young wizard! Conjure it, quickly now, before the waffles get cold!”

Lee Han gripped his wand. Yumidihus spoke in a gentle but firm voice.

“‘Conjure it,'” she commanded.

“‘Spring forth!'”

“‘Shape shift,'” she instructed.

“‘Become a wall!'”

“‘It’s about time you did it all at once. Try it all at once,'” Yumidihus said.

Lee Han’s spellcasting speed was among the fastest compared to other wizards. As he was being rigorously trained as a combat mage, it was only natural. As such, even when casting water element magic, it wasn’t much of a problem to cast each process separately. But Yumidihus was telling him to graduate from that as well. Like an exceptional wizard, all at once.

Lee Han nodded.

*I guess it’s about time,* he thought.

Of course, if his other friends heard him, they would say, ‘Wodanaz, get a grip, you’re still a freshman, what do you mean it’s about time,’ but Lee Han’s perception had been slightly warped by the other professors.

“‘Water, become a shield!'”

He cleanly compressed the action of conjuring water and transforming it into a shield into a single spell and a single motion.

“‘Excellent,'” Yumidihus praised.

“‘I was lucky. It’s the most familiar element, so…'”

“‘That familiarity comes from your effort, so you shouldn’t call it luck,'” Yumidihus said. She waved his hand, and the water from the fountain shot up and turned into a wall.

“Let’s take a look at the rotation property. Can you break through this wall?”

“I’ll try.”

Rotation was a special water magic skill. Lee Han had been practicing it since his first semester. It wasn’t easy, and he had used it a few times in a limited way when facing the Rakshasa Ghoul. It inevitably took time to master.

Using rotation magic well at his level was hard. Lee Han could make it weaker and faster, or stronger but slower. He needed to spend time to make it strong and fast. Yumidihus was curious to see how far Lee Han had overcome these challenges.

Of course, an ordinary student would need to put in effort for more than two or three years, but Lee Han was different.

Suddenly, a soft *whirring* sound filled the air.

Yumidihus blinked, surprised. Dozens of water orbs appeared around Lee Han, shimmering like pale blue pearls. *What is he planning to do with so many?* Yumidihus wondered, his eyebrows raised.

“Spin!” Lee Han called out, his voice clear and focused.

With the incantation, several of the dozens of water orbs lost their shape and disappeared because the rotation property was clumsily applied. They couldn’t maintain their form, and the magic was canceled.

Lee Han focused his mind on the orbs that had a proper rotation applied. As the rotation sped up, several more orbs were canceled. Lee Han accelerated the remaining orbs without concern.

Yumidihus was frankly impressed, not by Lee Han’s magical talent, which he already knew about, but by Lee Han’s way of thinking.

Even with strong magic, not many wizards would use it like that, sacrificing dozens of other spells to complete one spell.

Other wizards would think it was a big waste, but for Lee Han, it was not hard to do. In less than a few minutes, a fiercely rotating water orb was completed.

Thwack!

As the orb easily penetrated the barrier set up by Yumidihus, the old wizard applauded.

“Lee Han, that was excellent! Honestly, I didn’t expect you to grasp it so quickly.”

“Really? I wasn’t sure if it was good enough.”

Lee Han’s face lit up. He was relieved to see Yumidihus so satisfied.

“Of course, you did well. Why are you surprised?”

“I still have many shortcomings…”

“Professor Voladi Begrek makes it hard for you to see how good you really are. You’re doing well, you know.”

“Thank you.”

Lee Han always felt good when he heard praise, even if it was about Voladi’s insults. He bowed his head.

“I was originally going to give you advice if you were stuck, but with that method… I don’t think I have anything to advise you on.”

“Yes? No, please give me advice.”

Lee Han felt wronged. There was no way that floating dozens of those orbs was a good method. The excellent advice of a great wizard like Yumidihus would be much more effective than such a crude method…

“No, you’re doing well.”

Yumidihus thought Lee Han’s method was very good. There is no easy way to learn magic. For magic like rotation, where feeling is important, you need to practice and learn by doing. Lee Han’s way of making many water balls and trying rotation on all of them was surprisingly good. If he continued like that, he would soon be able to grasp the rotation property.

“I’m late. I apologize.”

Professor Voladi walked over, looking tired and annoyed. He brushed dust off his robes, as if he had just come from a messy job. Lee Han’s heart sank.

‘What on earth did he catch?’

As Lee Han would be facing what Professor Voladi had caught in the second semester, fear inevitably filled his soul.

“Why are you late?”

“Late, yes. Some professors can’t handle a simple magical mishap without calling for *me*.”

“It’s unusual for you to agree to help.”

“Headmaster Gonadaltes asked for help too, so I had to go.”

“Gonadaltes?” Yumidihus was startled. The skeletal headmaster wasn’t the type to try to resolve such things himself. He usually ordered his students or professors to do it…

“Was it that serious?”

“It wasn’t. I think he did it to give the students a break.”

Lee Han, who was listening, couldn’t help but ask.

“Did the students end up participating?”

“No. Professor Garcia had them rest.”

Lee Han was touched. Yumidihus nodded and said.

“Rest is important too. Frankly, the young healing wizards of Einroguard are being overworked.”

“Yes. Rest is important.”

Lee Han stared intently at Professor Voladi. Was the person who knew that the one who had been pushing them so hard until now?

“Now that Voladi Begrek is here, let’s get to the main point. I came because I heard you have an aptitude for the cold element.”

Lee Han looked at Professor Voladi again. Professor Voladi nodded slightly, as if understanding the meaning of that gaze. Lee Han couldn’t even imagine what the professor meant by nodding.

“It’s not exactly an aptitude…”

“If you can summon cold, it’s an aptitude. It’s hard to summon rare elements if you don’t have an aptitude. Anyway, the cold element is also closely related to the water element, and applying the two together can be educational in many ways. So, for what you’ll be using in the second semester… Ah. I wasn’t supposed to say the name, was I?”

Professor Voladi nodded again. Lee Han stared intently at the professor’s collar. He wanted to grab it for once.

“I caught that and then came to find you like this.”

“Thank you.”

Lee Han didn’t have any major complaints about Yumidihus’s suggestion. Unlike other professors, Yumidihus taught relatively normally. If he could stay at the mansion and learn about cold element magic, that wouldn’t be bad either.

‘Besides, it would be an excuse when other professors come.’

“Shall we depart then?”

“Ah. Aren’t I learning at the mansion?”

“Learning at the mansion is not really set up for teaching. There’s a tower where a wizard who owes me a favor resides.”

“Is he your disciple?”

“Not a disciple, but I did give him some teachings.”

‘Isn’t that a disciple?’

Lee Han, who was thinking inwardly, paused. Come to think of it, wasn’t Professor Voladi also a disciple of Yumidihus?

“Is that person perhaps like Professor Begrek?”

“No.”

“Ah. I see.”

Lee Han was relieved, until Yumidihus’s next words came out.

“He’s a more rude fellow.”

“……”