Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 352

Yumidihus clicked his tongue, annoyed by what his disciple was saying.

Of course, Alsicle didn’t hear it. Alsicle could ignore voices that insulted him.

‘Such an ugly sound.’

Of course, magic wasn’t all about circles.

When measuring magic, people often use ‘circles’ as a simple way to measure. But it’s not always the most exact way.

But it was audacious to change his tune after bringing up circles first and then losing…

‘That’s why Alsicle still doesn’t understand he was wrong.’

Anyone else would have been embarrassed, but Alsicle was as solid as an iceberg.

He immediately changed the subject and asked a question.

“Knowing many different kinds of magic is more important than just circles. At your age, I had mastered not only ice elemental magic but also transformation and summoning magic. Understand?”

“It would be best to stop there, Alsicle.”

Yumidihus spoke up for his disciple.

He wanted to snap Alsicle out of it, but not so severely that he’d do something drastic.

What if Alsicle, overcome with shame, threw himself off that glacial cliff?

However, Alsicle misunderstood Yumidihus’s intention.

“No, Yumidihus. This needs to be addressed. Otherwise, the young mages of the Empire might feel discouraged.”

“……”

It was even more astonishing because it wasn’t just pretense; you could feel that he genuinely thought that way.

‘I don’t think they’d be discouraged to that extent.’

There were far more discouraging things to experience upon entering Einroguard.

“I’m saying this because Wodanaz here has mastered a wider range of magic than you, Alsicle.”

“…Don’t lie!”

Alsicle, like the penguin he was, waved his short arms and shouted.

However, when Yumidihus glared at him, he quickly corrected his posture and changed his words.

“D-don’t lie.”

The memory of being beaten was still vivid in his mind.

“How could he have mastered a wider range of magic than me? It’s impossible. What did he master?”

“Let’s see. Dark magic, summoning magic, illusion magic, enchantment magic, divination magic, transformation magic, healing magic…”

“So, which of those did he master?”

Alsicle asked with a slightly sulky voice.

“I’m telling you what he has mastered.”

“…Huh?”

Alsicle stood still for a moment, so great was his shock.

Unable to watch any longer, Ihan whispered.

“Is it okay to leave him like that?”

Professor Volardi silently nodded in response.

“Penguins are resistant to the cold.”

“No… that’s not what I meant.”

It wasn’t a question of whether he would freeze to death, but whether he was mentally okay.

Fortunately, Yumidihus stepped in to sort things out.

“Alsicle!”

“……”

“Do you want another beating!”

“No! No!”

The penguin mage’s vacant expression returned to normal.

“What does it matter who was better when they were young? What matters is what magic you’re doing now. Wodanaz is here to learn ice elemental magic from you. So, stop with the nonsense and teach him ice elemental magic.”

“But who was better when they were young is a very important question…”

“……”

Yumidihus suppressed a subtle anger at Alsicle’s insistence on dragging his feet when he was trying to move on smoothly.

Professor Volardi spoke up.

“I’ll give you an answer.”

“What is it?”

“Wodanaz is better. Is that enough?”

“……”

“……”

Yumidihus thought to himself as he watched Volardi making the situation worse.

‘I should have left Volardi Beggrak behind.’

“M-more talented than me? Volardi Beggrak, are you serious? Seriously!? Did you overwork yourself at Einroguard and go crazy!?”

Ihan was slightly surprised by the penguin’s unexpectedly accurate statement.

How did he know?

“Wodanaz is better in circles and range.”

“Y-yes… application! How well you use magic in real situations will be different!”

Alsicle shouted after pondering for a while.

Since he couldn’t compete with range or circles, he decided to compete with the skill of applying magic.

“I mastered the transformation of water elements at that age! Volardi Beggrak!”

“…Can’t I just say I lost?”

Ihan whispered, tired of the fight, but Professor Volardi ignored him and replied.

“Wodanaz has mastered transformation.”

“He is currently mastering rotation and evaporation attributes.”

“……”

Alsicle covered his head in disbelief at the two mages’ ruthless truth attacks.

Then, wailing, he tried to run towards the cliff.

“No way! A genius better than me… it can’t be!”

“Not again!”

Yumidihus summoned a water whip, grabbed Alsicle’s ankle, tripped him, and then bound him.

Once the situation was under control, Yumidihus looked at Ihan and apologized.

“I’m sorry. Alsicle is a bit emotional.”

‘It’s okay.’

“Seems like more than a bit.”

His true feelings accidentally came out the opposite way. Yumidihus sighed as if he understood.

A blast of icy air hit Ihan as they entered Alsicle’s tower. It was a dry, biting cold.

The tower was stark. Bare stone walls rose up around them, and the floor was cold and dusty. Their footsteps echoed in the empty space, making it feel even more desolate.

Ihan was puzzled by the different appearance from the workshops he had seen in Einroguard.

“Do you need to have few possessions to master ice magic?”

“No. He’s probably stuck in his research and sold off the things inside to cover the experiment costs. It’s a common sight in magic towers built by mages.”

Mages who build towers want to understand all of magic. Sometimes, they become obsessed and lose their minds. Magical research is very hard. It can take a long time and cost a lot of money. Mages can get stressed and desperate.

Yumidihus sighed, knowing they had a long day of teaching ahead of them in this bare, cold tower.

“Waaah… Waaah…”

Alcycle cried loudly, tears as big as marbles rolling down his cheeks. He was very sad.

Bound by Yumidihus’s magic and sitting in the Magic Tower, he looked like a wizard captured by bullies.

“To think there was a wizard more talented than me… I am nothing!”

“Alcycle, I told you, it is not about early achievements but…”

“Yumidihus, who became strong by working hard, not by being naturally talented, does not understand my heart!”

“……”

“……”

Yumidihus gestured for Ethan and Professor Volardi to step outside for a moment. Ethan nodded and turned to leave.

“Professor, come out here.”

“Why?”

“…Just come out.”

Ethan, annoyed that Volardi was just watching and doing nothing, seized his wrist and dragged him out.

A loud thud BANGED from inside.

“-I’m sorry! I’m sorry, Yumidihus!”

“You may come in now.”

“Yes.”

Ethan entered and stood as if nothing had happened.

“Sniff… sniff…”

“Now that you’ve been properly punished, pull yourself together and teach him ice elemental magic.”

“Waaaaah! Ack! Ack!”

Normally, Alcycle would have listened at this point, but today, the shock was too great, and he simply wailed, ignoring Yumidihus’s words.

Seeing this, Yumidihus regretted giving him such a shock.

Alcycle possessed immense pride in his own talent.

His stress levels were likely high due to his recent magical research block, and now even his pride had been shattered, multiplying the impact on Alcycle’s personality.

“This won’t do. Step outside again.”

“…Are you going to beat him again?”

Ethan was slightly taken aback.

Ethan didn’t know Alcycle well, but he knew that beating him wasn’t going to solve the current problem.

“I am not beating him. I prefer the term ‘magical instruction.’”

“…Whatever it is, I think you should try to persuade him with words right now.”

“Wodanaz.”

Yumidihus looked at Ethan with pity.

“There are times when some people simply cannot be reasoned with.”

As he spoke, Yumidihus glanced very slightly at Volardi.

Ethan also glanced very slightly at Volardi.

“Still, would you give me a chance to persuade him, just once?”

“Indeed. You are learning under Volardi Begreck, after all.”

“…I don’t think that has anything to do with it…”

Ethan frowned slightly, feeling a little annoyed that Yumidihus seemed to think of him as some kind of disciple expert.

“Pengarin.”

Alcycle sobbed and did not answer.

“Whether you mastered 3rd circle magic or 4th circle magic in your first year, what does it matter? Gonadaltez also said that what’s important isn’t the circle of magic but…”

“You say that because you have more talent than me! Right? You’re looking down on me!”

“……”

Ethan was astonished by Alcycle’s condition, which was more severe than he had anticipated.

However, Ethan was someone who had dealt with even crazier people than Alcycle.

He would never be bothered by such things.

“Pengarin. I am so sad.”

Ethan suddenly covered his face with his hands and reddened his eyes.

If the opponent came out with tears, he would come out with tears as well.

“Do you know why Yumidihus brought me here? It’s because I begged him repeatedly to learn from Pengarin.”

“????”

“?”

Yumidihus and Volardi stared as if wondering what nonsense he was spouting, but Ethan boldly continued.

“I have heard about Pengarin’s amazing achievements countless times. Do you know how I mastered 4th circle magic? It was by trying to follow even a little bit of what Pengarin has accomplished.”

“Th-then that magic too?”

“Yes.”

Alcycle, perked up and listening intently, tilted his head.

“…Even so, isn’t that a bit too much?”

“……”

Ethan hesitated for a moment whether to slap Alcycle’s plump cheek, but he refrained.

“I thought that was the only way I could reach Pengarin.”

“Still, it seems like you’re learning too much.”

“…Anyway, that’s how much I respected you. But you’re using tricks like this because you don’t want to teach me.”

“Tricks?”

Alcycle asked, confused.

“If it weren’t a trick, there’s no way Alcycle would show such a sight. You must not like me, so you’re doing this.”

“…I’ve been found out!”

Alcycle, his spirits completely restored, blurted out without realizing it.

Yumidihus had to suppress the urge to slap his cheeky student.

“Truly amazing. To see through my acting.”

“No matter how well Pengarin acts, it’s not easy for a genius to play the fool.”

“Very well. Since I’ve been found out, there’s nothing I can do. Wait there! I will teach you some ice elemental magic.”

As Alcycle regained his energy, stood up, and waddled inside, Yumidihus looked at Ethan and said quietly.

“I see why you can be a disciple of Volardi Begreck.”

“…Did I make some kind of mistake?”

Alcycle spread out potions all over the floor and had Ethan stand on them.

Yumidihus, who had been watching without much thought, was startled when he saw the potions on the floor.

Each and every one of them was an extremely expensive potion.

They looked like they were prepared for research…?

“Is that alright?”

“Yes?”

When Volardi asked back, Yumidihus pointed out the price of the potions.

“Alcycle needs to do research too, but if he uses up all those potions…”

“It’s alright.”

“Ah. Did you check the inventory? That it’s okay to use those…”

Professor Volardi shook his head and answered.

“It’s Alcycle Pengarin’s business.”

“…Wait! Wait a minute!”

Regretting that he had even listened to Volardi Begreck for a moment, Yumidihus stepped forward to stop Alcycle.