Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 374

In this dimension, the rules were strange. Sometimes, strong monsters appeared even where weak ones should be.

But a monster that dripped venom in Zone 2?

It wasn’t just seeing that monster. It meant all of Zone 2 was very dangerous, maybe even deadly.

“Keep your voice down, and let’s sneak away,” Dirette said. “I don’t think it’s seen us yet.”

“Wait, things like *that* aren’t normal here?” Lee Han asked.

“Normal? Of course not!”

Dirette almost shouted. He was worried.

*If monsters like that were common here, how could I have brought Lee Han?* he thought. *No student would ever come to a place like this.*

-■■■■■…

The venomous predator mumbled, then turned its head and spat something onto a pile of bones, like a small hill.

Then, it grabbed another slimy, grey lump, put it back in its mouth, and began to chew again.

“…?”

Dirette was confused.

What in the world was it doing?

“Senior,” Lee Han said, watching the creature. “I think… predators usually eat things to get bigger and stronger, right?”

He paused. “But it’s spitting food out. Maybe… maybe it’s giving it to something even stronger?”

“S-Something like that…”

Dirette was surprised by those words and suddenly felt curious.

How did this junior know that…?

“How do you know that?”

“I learned it from the professor.”

“You learn that kind of thing in the first year?”

“No, during extra lectures.”

“……”

Dirette felt a little sad, but he tried not to show it.

“Okay.”

“Why are you turning your head…?”

“It’s nothing. Anyway, if what you’re saying is true…”

If the venomous predator was giving food to an even stronger being, that was a chilling thought.

It meant there were several more dangerous monsters in this area.

“Let’s go back quickly and report,” Dirette said.

“Yes.”

Lee Han and Dirette quietly lowered themselves and turned back.

However, on the way back, new undead were already lurking about. They were Rakshasa Ghouls – fast, hungry undead with sharp claws.

Dirette frowned.

“There’s no choice,” he said.

“Yes. Prepare to fight…”

“What!? No! I mean, let’s go back!”

“Ah, is that so.”

Lee Han lowered his staff with a sheepish expression.

It had become such a habit that he automatically prepared to fight first.

“Senior! You’re back!”

“Did you guys see it too?” Dirette asked.

Dirette, returning to Professor Mortoom’s staff mark, was surprised that his juniors had arrived first.

“What are you talking about?”

“The predator. We saw a monster that dripped venom. And Rakshasa Ghouls…”

“A monster that dripped venom?! That must have been terrible.”

The junior’s reaction wasn’t that of someone frightened by the appearance of a strong monster.

It was the reaction of someone whose mind was elsewhere.

Lee Han whispered in amazement.

“If they’re not afraid of the venomous predator, they must be confident in battle…”

“What’s going on? Why is everyone so excited? You’re acting crazy!” Dirette asked.

“Senior, the professor has found a ruin!”

“!!!”

Dirette was shocked.

A ruin, here?

Finding a ruin in the normal world was already difficult and rare, but discovering one in another dimension was truly exceptional.

Many wizards never found a single ruin in their entire dimensional travels, so its rarity was beyond words.

“R-R-Really?”

“Yes!!!”

“…Senior, you said it was dangerous coming here…”

Lee Han was bewildered.

Dirette’s eyes suddenly gleamed with a strange light.

To be specific, it was a look similar to that of Professor Volardy or Professor Verdus.

“But other dimensions are dangerous anyway,” Dirette said.

“……”

Lee Han lamented inwardly.

‘Is Einrogaard’s location bad? Is it corrupting even the pure?’

“Senior, you clearly said when we arrived that we should prepare to leave quickly…”

Dirette had said this on the way here:

-With Rakshasa Ghouls and predators appearing, there’s no benefit to wandering around here. We’ve taken as much as we can from Zone 1, so it’s okay to leave Zone 2 alone. It’s profitable enough.

-But won’t the other seniors be dissatisfied if they haven’t found what they wanted?

-I’ll make them listen, even if I have to beat them. Don’t worry, Junior.

But now he had changed so drastically.

“That was when there was no ruin. A ruin is worth the risk.”

Not only Dirette but also the other seniors were whispering in bewitched voices.

“Junior, think about it. What kind of artifacts might be inside the ruin?”

“Certainly, if it’s a dark magic artifact, it would be interesting, but…”

“Ah. Dark magic artifacts are no good.”

The students reacted firmly.

“Dark magic artifacts aren’t expensive and are hard to sell, so the professor will use them for research. It has to be other magic artifacts. Those are easier to sell.”

“……”

“Soon the professor will return and tell us what kind of ruin it is…”

Just then, Professor Mortoom came galloping from afar on a bony horse. The professor coughed a lot, even though he had only been gone for a short while.

“How is it, Professor!?”

“What’s it like!?”

“Cough. Everyone… you can be happy. It’s a real ruin.”

“Oh, my goodness…!”

“Such luck in my lifetime!”

“Do we even need to go back for the next semester? I want to quit right now!”

“Let’s quit together!”

Professor Mortoom smiled at the sight of his happy disciples.

Even Lee Han, who didn’t have high expectations for the ruin, began to feel a slight thrill as the seniors acted like that.

Joining the seniors in quitting and throwing a resignation at the bony headmaster’s face.

Just thinking about it made him happy…

“Junior, which of the things they just said did you like?” Dirette asked.

Dirette was puzzled by Lee Han’s changed reaction.

He was worried just a moment ago, so why suddenly?

“I was impressed that they were going to quit. The professor is very generous too.”

“Ah.”

Dirette understood what he meant.

“He doesn’t care much if those guys quit because they’re not his favorite disciples, but he won’t let his favorite disciples quit.”

“…I-Is that so.”

Lee Han nodded, then suddenly became curious.

‘…Am I perhaps one of his favorite disciples? Not yet, right?’

Not all ruins were the same. Some were better than others.

The ruins that wizards liked were ‘untouched’ ruins.

Regardless of the form of the ruin, those without outside damage, looting, or weathering had many things to salvage.

In comparison, ruins that were half-destroyed were mostly difficult to expect much from. Such ruins were the kind that made wizards sigh.

In that respect, the dimensional ruin that Professor Mortoom discovered was amazing.

Amazingly, the ruin was a palace, and it was still whole!

The palace, built in a complex style that could not be identified, stood quietly in the dimension.

“Cough. From now on, you can use any magic,” Professor Mortoom told the students. “If you feel it’s dangerous, use it without worrying.”

There was a risk of angering the beings of this dimension, but considering the dangers around here, they had to be prepared for that.

“Magic, lose your power. Walls, widen… Let’s go in.”

Professor Mortoom cast a great magic to prevent the aftereffects of the students’ magic from leaking out and took the lead.

Then, the students began to prepare for exploration.

“Come out, doggy!”

“Ulcas, protect me.”

“Mist of poison, cover.”

“Curse, sense danger…”

From people summoning undead to those preparing curse magic or poison magic.

Dirette even took out a small crossbow.

“It’s subtly compatible because of the poison element magic… Wait, Junior,” Dirette said.

“Yes?”

Dirette, who hadn’t seen Lee Han for a while because he was preparing poison magic, was shocked.

From the panther monster with a body made of green jade solution to more than ten skeleton warriors.

He couldn’t believe when he had increased them so much.

“Will this be okay?”

“Ah. Of course not.”

“Yes. If you think there are too many, you can reduce the number…”

“I need to cast enhancement magic on the undead’s weapons. Enhancement magic is essential because their movements are slow.”

“…That’s not what I meant, Junior.”

The battle styles of black magicians who controlled undead varied, but they basically followed the principle of sending the undead forward to attract the enemy.

In the meantime, the black magician in the rear would strike or confuse the enemy in various ways.

Thud!

-■■■, ■■■, ■■■…

“It’s here. A guardian,” Dirette said.

“Everyone, be careful.”

As soon as they passed through the palace entrance, they were attacked by golems the size of people walking out of both walls.

Even though it was surprising, the students used the summoned undead as shields, slowly catching their breath and preparing magic.

A third-year student looked at Lee Han and said.

“Look. Even when an enemy appears, they never panic and calmly…”

Many wizards failed to cast magic due to the tension when they were in a battle situation, but black magicians were a little different.

They could complete the magic while the summoned undead bought them time.

However, there were exceptions.

People who had received harsh combat magician training from the start and could cast magic quickly even in this situation!

Whack!

Lee Han fiercely spun a water orb, knocking down the golem and beating its body. The golem, constantly struck, collapsed and revealed its core.

“Thank you for the advice, Senior.”

“…Y-Yes. My advice was very helpful, right?”

Dirette thought to himself that the third-year junior was shameless.

-■■■.

-■■■■■!

One of the summoned skeleton great warriors fought the golem with strength and pressed it down as it was.

Professor Mortoom slightly shook his staff, and dark elements settled on its body, further amplifying its power.

Thanking the professor for his help, the disciples immediately chanted. Then, a corrosion curse was placed on the body of the golem next to it, and its balance collapsed as it was.

“Bones, be fired. Bones, explode!”

Another black magician student finally embedded bones in the golem’s hard body and exploded it as it was.

Professor Mortoom scolded at the loud noise.

“Cough. Attacking is good, but don’t use noisy magic.”

“I’m sorry.”

Bone element magic, poison element magic, and curse magic were linked and erupted, making it very powerful.

In addition, the undead summons that the magicians had summoned in advance made it without a single gap.

Thwack thwack thwack thwack-

“……”

“……”

And Lee Han was single-handedly taking on the golems that charged at him on the right.

There was no need for others to help.

Lee Han’s skeletons shot bone arrows, inflicting frostbite and poisoning on the approaching golems.

It didn’t matter if the movements were slow. More than ten skeleton warriors were a threatening force in themselves.

“Bones, be fired!”

Lee Han used bone element magic like the other magicians.

‘Certainly, the power of magic is…’

He felt like he knew why it was an undead dimension. Even though it was the same bone element magic, its power was much more brutal.

“Q-Quickly defeat them. The junior is taking them all down,” one senior said.

“I know. Don’t rush me!” another replied.

Lee Han was just doing it, but the seniors were different.

The seniors, whispering under pressure and desperately trying to catch them, barely managed to finish before Lee Han.

When Lee Han finished and turned his gaze, the seniors pretended to be nonchalant as if nothing had happened.

“Did you catch them all?” Lee Han asked.

“Yes.”

“We finished catching them a while ago… Well, still, it’s amazing.”

“Is that so? You’re amazing!”

The seniors felt a little guilty when Lee Han purely admired them.

…Do I have to go this far to protect the dignity of my senior?!