Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 380

“It looks like it’s calming down.”

“Calming down?!”

Ogoltos was confused by what his junior said and shouted, “What do you mean, ‘calming down’?”

Ogoltos would usually ignore anything a losing enemy said. But the Ghoul King was right this time.

*That magic circle… it can’t last forever.* It looked like it was only held together by the magician’s own power, with no extra help.

“We have to leave before that magic circle breaks! I’ll handle it, you get out of here!”

Lee Han was surprised by Ogoltos’s words. He looked at the magic circle. *If Ogoltos tries to take that on… he’ll be drained and die in seconds.*

“But…” Lee Han started.

“Hurry!” Ogoltos urged.

“Wait…”

“I said go! You’ll fall!”

Ogoltos pulled Lee Han towards the exit, ready to step into the magic circle himself. Lee Han panicked. He didn’t even think, the words just came out.

“…If *you* try to handle that, you’ll drop dead!”

Silence.

It was a very awkward silence. Ogoltos didn’t say anything, just looked down. Lee Han immediately felt bad.

“Sorry,” Lee Han mumbled.

“…You’re right,” Ogoltos said quietly. “You’re a better magician than me.”

“Oh, come on, Senior! Don’t be like that. You have so much more experience.”

*One year more, you little…* Ogoltos thought, annoyed.

One year at magic school was intense, sure, but it wasn’t *that* big of a difference. And Lee Han was the last person who should be saying that!

“Okay, I’m sorry,” Ogoltos said. “I haven’t been helpful at all, I just got in your way… But are you really alright?”

“Yes,” Lee Han said. “I’m getting my energy back faster than I’m using it.”

Ogoltos looked at him doubtfully. *Don’t lie to me!*

“Isn’t that a bit embarrassing for a king?”

Lee Han looked down at the Ghoul King, trapped in the magic. He didn’t respect him at all. *Even though they’re both called ‘kings’, the Frost Giant King had real power and presence. This Ghoul King is just like a common bully.*

“The ‘king’ in summons… it’s more like a title for someone strong,” Ogoltos explained.

Lee Han nodded, understanding. “So, it’s just a name they give themselves?”

*Like Gainan Dodo, who calls himself the ‘Magician Card King of the Blue Dragon Tower’.*

Lee Han rolled his eyes and ignored the thought.

“Senior. I have a favor to ask.”

“Yes! Tell me!”

Ogoltos exclaimed with a bright expression. And then he realized he had exclaimed too excitedly and became embarrassed.

“Ah, no. Tell me.”

“Please give me some water. I’ve been thirsty since earlier…”

“…Alright!”

Come to think of it, this junior had been fighting fiercely since the underground prison. It wouldn’t be strange if he collapsed from exhaustion right away.

Ogoltos raised his staff and tried to summon water.

“Water, appear…”

A small ball of water formed in the air, but it smelled awful, like rotten eggs.

Ogoltos suddenly remembered. *Oh no! We’re in an undead dimension!*

This whole place was filled with dark magic, messing with all other magic. Making clean drinking water here was going to be really hard.

“Senior?”

“Ju… Just a second!”

Ogoltos focused harder than he ever had, even during his hardest black magic test.

*How do I purify this water? What kinds of poison can I even remove? Dark magic… can I even get rid of that with magic? Wait! I have that purification cloth!*

“Senior?”

“Wait! Just wait!” Ogoltos said, still struggling.

“Too late,” Lee Han said calmly. “I already made some.”

“What?!”

Ogoltos turned around. Lee Han had summoned a big ball of water and was drinking it.

“Don’t drink that!!!” Ogoltos yelled.

“Huh?” Lee Han looked surprised.

“It’s poisoned water!!”

Ogoltos ran faster than ever before, tripping and falling in his rush.

*Thump!*

“…Is it?” Lee Han asked, looking at the water.

“It’s not poisoned,” Lee Han said. “I checked.”

“But even if you can’t see it, there could be…” Ogoltos insisted, still on the floor.

“I used magic to break it down and see what’s in it,” Lee Han explained. “It’s just water. We *are* in an undead dimension, remember?”

Ogoltos, still on the floor, weakly poked the floating water. It was just pure water, no sign of the undead dimension’s bad energy.

“Want some?” Lee Han offered.

“…No,” Ogoltos mumbled. “I’m okay.”

“Hey, Senior, why are you so down?” Lee Han asked, noticing Ogoltos’s sad face. “You probably don’t have any water to drink, huh?”

“No, I have water,” Ogoltos said. “I can make as much as I want with magic.” He really didn’t need water.

“…I’m really sorry I’m not being helpful,” Ogoltos said quietly.

“What? Why are you saying that? You *were* a big help! You helped me before, remember?” Lee Han said, confused.

“…?” Ogoltos tilted his head, even more confused now.

“You know, with… getting rid of all those undead,” Lee Han explained.

Ogoltos felt something he couldn’t quite name. His junior was worried about *his* feelings? In this situation? It just made him feel even worse about himself.

*This is no good,* Ogoltos thought. He had to do something to save what little pride he had left. *I’ll do what I can!*

“I’ll go look for a way out,” Ogoltos announced, standing up straighter.

“Be careful, Senior,” Lee Han said.

Only three beings were left in the throne room of the ruined palace. The battle was over. The undead magician, the berserkers – all gone. Only the Ghoul King remained, trapped in the glowing magic circle, teeth grinding angrily.

It was quiet now, no immediate danger. But the palace was like a confusing maze, and finding the exit wouldn’t be easy.

“Don’t worry about me, just rest,” Ogoltos said, trying to sound confident.

*I’m really worried,* Lee Han thought, watching Ogoltos go. He couldn’t leave his spot, not while he was keeping the magic circle going.

“Wait, Senior! Hold on a second.”

“What is it?” Ogoltos asked, turning back.

“Just a moment…”

Lee Han pulled out some colored stones from his pocket. They were fortune-telling stones, something he’d learned about in his first prophecy magic class.

*Okay, be careful,* Lee Han thought. He was usually confident with magic, but prophecy magic was different.

His professor had always warned them about how risky it could be. It would be weird if he *wasn’t* nervous.

*Using prophecy magic to find an escape route… that sounds too complicated and dangerous. Maybe something simpler…*

After thinking for a moment, Lee Han made up his mind.

“Stones, is it safe for Senior to go out there?” he asked the pebbles.

A bad feeling flashed in his mind.

Lee Han looked at Ogoltos. “Guess not?”

“Oh… okay,” Ogoltos said, surprised. He wouldn’t normally have given up so easily, but he wasn’t feeling very confident right now.

Instead, he was curious about something else. “Wait, is it really okay to use prophecy magic already? Isn’t it supposed to be really dangerous?”

“It’ll be fine if I’m careful,” Lee Han said. “…Probably.”

*This guy is crazy,* Ogoltos thought, shaking his head.

Was this what a true magic genius was like? Someone who just threw themselves into magic without thinking about the danger?

“Senior?”

“Huh? Oh! What?” Ogoltos blinked, coming back to reality.

“I’m going to make some food,” Lee Han said. “Anything you want to eat?”

Ogoltos just stared at him, speechless.

The magic circle was bigger than Lee Han expected. He could walk around the hall while still keeping it going. He started to explore, looking around.

While Lee Han was exploring, Ogoltos was digging through the backpack Lee Han had been carrying. He was amazed. Inside, neatly packed, were all sorts of emergency food, spices, even tea, coffee, and sugar.

“You… you carry all this around?” Ogoltos asked, holding up a packet of coffee.

“Yeah?” Lee Han said, glancing back. “Oh, doesn’t everyone at Einroguard?”

“Someone like *you*… no…” Ogoltos trailed off, still surprised.

“Really? That’s interesting,” Lee Han said, and went back to looking around.

Ogoltos just closed his mouth, shaking his head. He started taking out the food that would go bad soonest, putting it aside. Then, he moved the food that would last longer closer to Lee Han.

“Do you drink coffee? Tea?”

“Water is enough for me.”

“Senior, perhaps…”

“Wh, what.”

Ogoltos hesitated, feeling like his inner thoughts had been exposed. Lee Han silently brewed another coffee and handed it over.

“If you don’t drink it, I’ll give it to the Ghoul King over there.”

“…Thank you.”

“Why are you being so nice about this?” Ogoltos asked, taking a sip of coffee, his face a little red.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I thought you weren’t really serious about black magic, even though you’re so talented.”

He wasn’t completely wrong. Lee Han *was* interested in black magic mostly because it seemed like a safe job with not much competition.

“Anyone could think that,” Lee Han said, sounding a little bored. “I’m just glad you’re saying sorry.”

Lee Han’s casual answer moved Ogoltos even more. *Where else would you find a junior this amazing?*

“…Tell me if you need help later. I don’t know what help I can be, but I’ll do my best.”

“Ah. In that case, when school reopens and you go to Einroguard, could you bring some supplies in for me?”

Ogoltos chuckled at Lee Han’s joke. He was a junior with a strange sense of humor, but this one was definitely a funny joke.

*It wasn’t a joke.*

Lee Han cursed inwardly.

After a quick meal, Ogoltos started searching the hall more carefully. Even though they were trapped, they were in the main part of the palace, right by the throne. If there was any treasure, it would be here.

Of course, doing this right in front of the Ghoul King made him even angrier.

“You…” the Ghoul King growled.

“Ah, shut up,” Lee Han said, throwing a pebble at him, knowing it wouldn’t do anything.

The magic circle burned the pebble instantly. Seeing that, Lee Han had an idea. He picked up the pot of trash.

“Now what…” the Ghoul King muttered.

“Whoa,” Lee Han said, impressed. *Sssssss!* He poured the leftover trash from the pot onto the Ghoul King. It burned up completely in the magic!

“Verdus… Thank you,” Lee Han said to the magic circle. It was a shame the name was the same, it sounded a bit weird. But the undead magician Verdus was way nicer than his professor. He’d even sacrificed himself to make this magic circle. Lee Han hoped Verdus would get better soon and answer his summons.

“You son of a…” the Ghoul King started cursing in ghoul language.

Lee Han ignored him and called out to Ogoltos. “Senior, find anything good?”

“Just a second…” Ogoltos said, still searching. *Click!* He opened something hidden in the wall, behind a loose stone. “I found it!!! I found something, Junior!!!” he shouted excitedly.

“Treasure?!” Lee Han asked, surprised, jumping up from his trash-throwing game.

“Yes! Treasure!” Ogoltos grinned.

“Wh… What kind of jewels are there?” Lee Han asked, trying to hide his excitement.

Ogoltos looked at him like he was crazy. “Jewels? No! Bones!”

“…Bones?” Lee Han repeated, confused.

“Bones!” Ogoltos said again, holding up a pile of bones that were purple and black. “These are amazing! You’ll use these a lot!”

Ogoltos came back, beaming, with the pile of strange bones. He didn’t know exactly what creature they came from, but the color and the magic patterns on them told him they were from something very powerful. For a black magician who used bone magic, bones like these were incredibly valuable. Good bones weren’t just stronger, they could also let you use more powerful magic.

Lee Han just stared at the bones.

Of course, he had no idea why these bones were so great. He sighed and started throwing trash at the Ghoul King again.

*I guess so. He’s a black magician too,* Lee Han thought. *Black magicians probably think bones are better than jewels.*

“Thanks,” Lee Han said, sounding bored. “I’ll use them.”

“Great! That’s really good!” Ogoltos said happily. “Take a closer look when we get back to Einroguard.”

Lee Han forced a smile and started packing the bones. Suddenly, something hit him. He shouted, “Senior!!!”

“Huh?! What?!” Ogoltos jumped, startled.

“If we stay here much longer, won’t we be late for the start of school?!” Lee Han asked, his face suddenly pale.

Ogoltos stared at him, confused. This was the first time he’d seen Lee Han look worried, even when the Ghoul King was going crazy…