Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 378

Lee Han was angry when he heard what the enemy wanted.

“‘They are terrible creatures,’ he thought. ‘They want us to go into the traps first, don’t they?'”

– “There are no traps up there.”

Lee Han frowned. “Sorry, what did you say?”

– “I said, no traps. This place is not a prison. Why would there be traps here?”

Lee Han was still confused. “Hmm?”

“Then why do they want us to come out?” Lee Han asked, thinking hard. “Is it a trick to stop us from using our magic?”

– “They are not the type for tricks,” the undead wizard replied.

“Then what is it?”

– “…I really don’t know.” The undead wizard sounded surprised and honest. “I have never seen these berserkers act so calm before.”

Lee Han carefully looked out. He saw the undead berserkers. They pointed for him to come out, their movements rough and simple.

‘This seems too easy to be a trap,’ Lee Han thought.

He did not want to go out yet. Lee Han waved his hand, a signal to go back.

To his surprise, the undead berserkers moved back!

“?!!” Lee Han and the undead wizard were shocked.

– “They are going back?!” the wizard exclaimed.

Were these really the same berserkers who had attacked them like crazy people before?

“I will go and see what is happening,” Ogolothos said, leaning on his staff for support.

Since they had fallen into this place, Ogolothos felt useless, like he was only slowing Lee Han down. He wanted to help, even in a small way.

“No! It’s okay. Let’s make some mist to hide us and go forward together,” Lee Han said.

“”…” Ogolothos felt his brave idea was now unimportant.

They moved forward slowly and carefully. The undead berserkers just stood still. They watched Lee Han and his group climb up the slope of bones to the ceiling.

– “They are really not attacking… It’s like they are letting us pass,” the undead wizard said in surprise.

“Maybe you need magic to climb up?” Lee Han asked.

– “The magic is gone now. Usually, this ceiling is so strong, you cannot break through it,” the undead wizard explained as he climbed the bone slope. “This underground prison was protected by very strong magic. Normally, it was impossible to break, no matter what you tried.”

“The explosion before was big,” he continued, “but if this prison was normal, the ceiling would still be unbroken.”

The undead wizard had to agree with Lee Han. Something was wrong with the palace’s owner!

– “This is amazing,” the wizard said. “Something must be wrong with the King!”

Lee Han was sweating a little. Ogolothos saw this and felt worried.

‘Is he okay?’ Ogolothos thought. ‘Did he use too much magic? Should I ask if he’s alright? Would that be annoying?’

“So… do you still follow the King?” Lee Han asked. “From what I can see, he seems to have a lot of problems.”

Lee Han was trying to make trouble between the wizard and the King, but the undead wizard didn’t notice. He answered quickly, – “Kings are naturally violent.”

“Really? Is that so?” Lee Han replied.

‘If he is so violent that he puts people in prison just because he is bored, shouldn’t someone stop him?’ Lee Han thought to himself.

– “Of course,” the wizard continued, “whether I dislike the King or not is different. I am angry because he doesn’t listen to my advice. But I am loyal because he is my King. Strong people are born to rule.”

“…Wait,” Lee Han said, “what happens if he becomes weak?”

– “Then he must die,” the wizard said firmly. “A weak king is not fit to be king.”

They heard a nodding sound behind them.

Lee Han and his group turned around. The undead berserkers were behind them. They stopped and nodded their heads.

Ogolothos gasped.

– “When did they get there…? What… What is happening…?”

“They don’t look like they will attack now. Right?” Lee Han asked.

– “It seems so,” the wizard said. “Don’t make them angry.”

Even though the undead wizard said this, the berserkers just followed quietly. When Lee Han and his group stopped, they stopped too. When Lee Han and his group walked, they walked too.

When you see something scary many times, it starts to feel normal. Lee Han started to wonder what he could make these undead berserkers do.

“Could you pick up some bone pieces?” Lee Han asked them.

– “I told you not to make them angry…” the undead wizard started to say loudly. But then, surprisingly, the berserkers picked up the bone pieces without fighting back.

– !

“Oh…” Lee Han said, surprised.

– “This… We need to test this more,” the undead wizard said, his eyes widening. He turned to Ogolothos. “You try asking them too.”

“…Please pick up some bone pieces,” Ogolothos asked.

The berserkers just stood still, looking at him blankly. It was like they were saying, ‘Who do you think you are to tell us what to do?’ Ogolothos looked at the undead wizard, feeling embarrassed.

– “This is…” the wizard said, thinking.

“What is it?” Lee Han asked. He waited to hear the undead wizard’s smart idea.

– “It seems they think you are one of them,” the wizard said.

“Does that even make sense?” Lee Han asked, confused.

– “Well, these berserkers are beings who love to fight,” the wizard explained, “so it’s not too strange that they think you are like them.”

“What do you mean, *I* love to fight?” Lee Han asked, annoyed.

– “Didn’t they think you caused the undead explosion before?” the wizard replied.

Lee Han argued, sounding angry, “The wizard did it! Not me!”

But the undead berserkers just stared, as if saying, ‘We don’t understand what you are saying.’

The undead wizard sighed, as if giving up. – “If they could understand words, they wouldn’t have suffered for so long. They don’t understand what we say.”

“No, but…” Lee Han was still trying to understand. Suddenly, he was one of them? He looked at the berserkers, feeling unhappy.

– “It’s not important right now,” the wizard said. “Let’s keep moving. Actually, being seen as one of them is not bad, right? Otherwise, we would have had to fight them to the death down there.”

“If it’s not bad, then you become one of them,” Lee Han said sharply. “Go and tell them.”

The undead wizard was a little scared by Lee Han’s harsh words and took a step back. – “I told you, they don’t understand words…”

“Haa… Okay, fine. So, how much further now?” Lee Han asked, changing the subject.

Escaping the underground prison and ascending into the palace, the undead wizard had one goal: To check the throne in the palace’s depths and find out what happened to the King.

Lee Han didn’t strongly object. After all, Lee Han also had to find the others and escape.

If the undead wizard, who was familiar with the palace’s geography, arrived at the throne in the depths, he would be able to use the palace’s power to find the others scattered throughout.

‘There is no King.’

And Lee Han was certain that there would be no King… Because Lee Han had beaten him up!

– “We’re almost there. It’s truly astonishing. To think he wouldn’t be here. Has the King really left…” The wizard muttered, tapping the wall with his staff.

Then the wall opened and a path appeared. The place that had been a path until just now disappeared underground.

“!” Lee Han’s expression changed.

From some point on, the quality of magic felt in the air had changed.

The undead wizard noticed Lee Han’s changed expression and said, – “You’re sharp. You must feel the pressure from the powerful magic, right? Even more so since you’re still a young wizard.”

‘I don’t feel it.’

He never felt pressure from this much magic, but Lee Han just glossed over it.

“Yes.”

– “It’s because of the magic coming from the King’s space. It’s the power that maintains this palace and its core. When the King was sitting inside, it was so overwhelming that you couldn’t even breathe.”

Creeeeeak- A huge stone door opened, revealing a vast reception room. When it was confirmed that there was no one inside, the undead wizard clicked his bones and made a tsk-tsk sound.

– “Truly astonishing…”

Get out.

“?!!” The undead wizard was surprised by the voice coming from the throne, but Lee Han was the most surprised.

The Ghoul King he had defeated last time. The voice was exactly the same as that King.

‘Has he already recovered!?’

He knew that he had been driven out of the continent and returned to his original dimension, but he didn’t expect him to have recovered from the damage already.

Lee Han lowered his head deeply. Ogolothos didn’t understand and was puzzled.

– “Are you the King?”

That’s right. How dare you enter my reception room. It wouldn’t be enough to inflict the most terrible punishment, but I’ll forgive you this once. Get out.

“Let’s get out,” Lee Han whispered.

Fortunately, the opponent didn’t seem to have noticed Lee Han’s identity.

If we get out when he says he’ll forgive us…

However, the undead wizard replied in a sarcastic voice, – “I don’t think you’re the King.”

What?

– “The King’s subordinates have all disappeared, the flames that lit up the palace have gone out, and the walls that guarded the prison have disappeared. What kind of king is a being without subordinates, a palace, or dignity?”

“Do you have to provoke him?” Lee Han tried to persuade the undead wizard, but it was meaningless.

What the beings of the undead dimension pursued was the logic of power.

The Ghoul King was allowed to be a tyrant because he had the power to match.

However, in the weakened state they were in now, that logic was applied in reverse.

How dare you, when you’re so weak?

– “You must have been seriously injured. I don’t know how you ended up in such a state, but…”

If you want to die, I’ll kill you.

– “Try it.”

Not only the undead wizard but also the berserkers behind him suddenly stepped forward.

There was not a trace of loyalty in their eyes. Only a fierce desire to test how strong the one above them was.

And the berserkers patted Lee Han on the shoulder and pointed to the throne.

“…No, wait. Are you perhaps…”

Were they telling him to fight as one of them?

Lee Han wondered how to convey the message that ‘I am human and you are undead.’

In the meantime, the undead wizard launched an attack.

– “Now, fake King! Show us your abilities one more time!”

‘Damn it. Why are all wizards different from their appearance?’

The undead wizard, who had been calm, composed, and rational until just now, immediately turned aggressive when he saw that the Ghoul King was weakened.

It was the logic of power that only the undead could understand.

The magic within the vast reception room began to gather towards the throne. The Ghoul King, who had forcibly absorbed the magic inside to recover his strength, growled.

Even if I am seriously injured and recovering, do you think I would lose to a wizard like you?

As the undead wizard had guessed, the Ghoul King was drawing in all the resources of the palace to recover from the serious damage he had sustained on the continent.

From the flames outside to his subordinates.

The damage was so severe that he had been sealed for a long time and had been defeated as soon as he was released.

However, he never thought he would lose.

He was confident that he could handle those prisoners with just the power he had recovered in this palace.

– “Poison, spread…”

As the berserkers charged, the Ghoul King looked at them annoyedly.

Those prisoners from the underground prison were crawling out without dying, making things troublesome.

He had left them alone because he was impressed that they were attacking the other prisoners…

Die.

Whack!

The Ghoul King focused his fluctuating form and appeared in front of one of the berserkers.

Then he unleashed a brutal blow. The thick torso of that berserker was pierced straight through.

“…!”

It was a spine-chilling attack, but the undead wizard and the berserkers didn’t seem surprised at all, as if they had expected it.

“…Spread into mist!”

A deadly poisonous cloud spread around the throne. The Ghoul King distorted his form and tried to quickly escape the poisonous cloud.

Then the berserkers chased after him and poured out attacks. The Ghoul King nimbly transformed his body to avoid the attacks.

“Burn!”

At that moment, flames flew after the Ghoul King. The size wasn’t great, but the heat felt from those small flames was tremendous. The Ghoul King felt a threat for a moment and pulled his body back.

You are…?

The Ghoul King felt an unfamiliar unpleasantness rising for some reason. The opposing wizard was covering his face with a mask made of bone.