Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 384

Ihan saw the skull Headmaster’s eye sockets widen in surprise and quickly took a step back.

“Just curious,” Ihan said, trying to sound casual. “You know, for academic reasons.”

The skull Headmaster’s voice was sharp. “Why are you talking about a bone like it’s a precious jewel?”

He tapped the bracelet on his own bony wrist. “This bracelet,” he said, “made from *my* bones, is strong. Only weak bones could be broken by the spirits inside. Not mine. Not even ten thousand demons could break it.”

Of course, jewels were unnecessary.

The skull Headmaster looked at Ihan and thought, ‘Too bad. That rascal is thinking it’s too bad!’ He cursed inwardly.

Professor Mortrum would have been so grateful!

“So, this bracelet… anything I should know before I use it?” Ihan asked. “Like, will it drain my magic?”

The skull Headmaster scoffed. “If it drained your magic, it would have to be a powerful curse. It’s not that dangerous.”

“Tsk.”

He paused. “But it’s not simple either. Think about the beings inside.”

Ihan listened and pondered. According to the Ghoul King, the beings inside were those he had defeated.

If that’s the case…

“Do you understand? Strong…”

“Weak… er, strong, are they?” Ihan asked.

The skull Headmaster seemed annoyed. “If they were weak, would I have bothered imprisoning them like this?”

He was surprised by Ihan’s words.

If they were weak, there would be no need to imprison them in a bracelet. They must be useful for him to have made it and given it away like this.

“I thought they’d be weaker since they lost to the Ghoul King,” Ihan said.

The skull Headmaster, usually a ruthless dark wizard to the undead, almost felt sorry for the Ghoul King.

To be disrespected by a green first-year student!

His pride must be wounded.

“Be careful what you say,” the skull Headmaster warned. “The fellows inside might be listening. They are fighting now, but one day, one of them might become strong enough to get out.”

The inside of the bracelet was like a small version of the underground prison Ihan had been in.

The fierce and proud beings, even though defeated and imprisoned, would never cooperate. Instead, they tried to relieve their resentment by fighting each other.

Ihan couldn’t see it, but countless souls were locked in battle inside the bracelet.

But if Ihan’s skills improved and he became interesting to the imprisoned souls…

The souls might stop fighting and try to talk to Ihan.

“Conversation… does that mean they’ll obey my commands?” Ihan asked.

“Well, I can’t say,” the skull Headmaster replied. “The fellows trapped inside are savage and foolish.”

‘He just told me to watch my tongue.’

“But one thing is certain. You are the bracelet’s master. Those fellows are imprisoned slaves. Make sure they recognize that. Then they might obey your commands.”

“Indeed. Like the Einroguard students…” Ihan muttered.

The skull Headmaster ignored him, pretending not to hear.

Meanwhile, Professor Garcia lifted Ogolth like a straw.

“Let’s take him out for now,” she said.

Ihan suddenly felt respect for the professor.

It was because of the way she cared for her student, certainly not because she lifted Ogolth so lightly.

“It would be better to let him rest here for a day rather than moving him right away. Forcing him to move might make his condition worse,” the skull Headmaster said.

“Headmaster…” Ihan was slightly moved.

To think the skull Headmaster would care this much.

After all, like it or not, there was no one else but fellow Einroguard people.

“I’m talking about Ogolth, not you. You’re perfectly fine,” the skull Headmaster clarified.

“……”

While Ogolth was resting soundly in the inn, Ihan asked Professor Garcia about the missed lessons.

The fact that he had fallen behind in his studies for two weeks bothered Ihan more than being trapped for two weeks.

“Two weeks behind!? I’m finished!” Ihan exclaimed.

“N-no, Ihan. I don’t think that’s the case…” Professor Garcia said.

“How am I supposed to catch up on two weeks!”

‘He could catch up easily enough…’ Professor Garcia thought, but she didn’t say it because Ihan looked so worried.

“It’s the beginning of the semester, so everyone hasn’t taught much. All the other professors have only taught the basics,” she explained.

In Professor Garcia’s view, Ihan had already learned what the other professors were teaching.

She thought he could rest for two months, not just two weeks, and still catch up.

“Come to think of it, what are you teaching this semester, Professor Garcia?” Ihan asked.

“This semester, I’m teaching magic that’s useful in everyday life,” she replied.

Having introduced the magic of other schools and taught the basics in the first semester, she planned to teach magic that wasn’t specific to any school but would be useful for young wizards in the second semester.

Knowing these things would make it easier to survive in Einroguard.

“…To miss such lectures for two weeks!!” Ihan lamented.

“C-calm down, I’ll teach you now,” Professor Garcia said.

The magic Professor Garcia had taught for two weeks were >Component Separation> and >Lesser Dark Vision>.

>Component Separation> was essential for wizards preparing potions or reagents, separating specific mixtures with magical power. >Lesser Dark Vision> allowed one to see in the dark, though not very clearly.

And Ihan had already learned both of them.

“Oh. I already know both of them,” Ihan said.

“……”

Professor Garcia found Ihan annoying for the first time in a while.

“…I’ll explain the second semester lectures then. Since you haven’t heard them,” she offered.

“Thank you,” Ihan replied.

Unlike Professor Garcia, who taught >Basic Practical Magic>, most of the lectures hadn’t changed much.

Professor Uregeol still taught >Advanced Understanding of Basic Alchemy>.

Similarly, >Advanced Basic Imperial Geometry and Arithmetic>, >Advanced Basic Imperial Language and Logic>, >Advanced Basic Vehicle Training>, and so on were all extensions of the first semester.

“Fortunately, none of the professors have gone missing, so everything has remained the same,” Professor Garcia said with a smile.

“……”

Ihan felt a chill at Professor Garcia’s smile.

‘Is it okay to say that so cheerfully?’ he wondered.

“Wait. Professor. I couldn’t apply because I was late, so what should I do?” Ihan asked.

“But Ihan, don’t you take almost all of them anyway?”

“……”

Ihan was speechless.

Professor Garcia quickly changed her words, perhaps feeling a little sorry.

“W-well, it’s not that you don’t need to apply. It’s just that I applied on your behalf since you weren’t here,” she said.

Ihan received the paper Professor Garcia handed him.

Almost the same lectures as the first semester were written on it.

“Professor. Why is the Headmaster’s >Advanced Basic Magical Character Education> included?” Ihan asked.

“Yes? It’s a required course… you took it in the first semester too, didn’t you?”

Ihan turned his gaze away as if disappointed that it wouldn’t work.

“……”

Professor Garcia glared at him, but Ihan pretended not to see and stared at the paper.

‘Wait.’

Lee Han was very confused when he looked at the list of courses under his name.

Basic Practical Magic – Garcia.

Understanding Basic Alchemy, Vol. 2 (crossed out) Advanced – Swift Steps.

Practicing Advanced Magic Battles – Baegrek.

Magical Character Education.

“Why is the handwriting all different here?”

“Ah. Some of the professors came in person and wrote them down.”

Lee Han’s eyes widened.

Not only was Professor Garcia writing on his behalf, but other professors had come to add their lectures and leave.

Was that even allowed?

“Isn’t that… possible?!”

“Well, weren’t you going to listen anyway?”

“That’s true, but I might not listen…!”

“Is there anything you want to remove?”

“Not really, but…”

“?”

Professor Garcia tilted her head, not understanding what Lee Han’s problem was.

Lee Han frowned, a knot of worry tightening in his stomach. “This feels like a bad sign,” he muttered to himself.

It was okay *now*, he supposed. But the fact that professors could just *add* courses to his list without asking… it made him uneasy. *Were the professors here always this… unpredictable?*

He knew he was helping out in an emergency, but didn’t the professors at Ainrogard have a habit of calling everything an emergency when it suited them?

Lee Han made a mental note: *Stay far, far away from the professors during course registration next year.*

“Uh? Wait a minute, Professor. Why is >Basic Dance and Social Skills Advanced> here? I’ve never taken this before.”

“Really? I didn’t write that either?”

Both Lee Han and Professor Garcia were bewildered.

A selective course that neither of them had requested or written was on the list.

…I added it.

“No…!”

Lee Han looked at the skeletal headmaster as if he had been betrayed in the most despicable way possible.

The skeletal headmaster was dumbfounded by the sense of betrayal, as if someone had stolen his disciple’s soul.

Was adding one more lecture really something to react to like that?

“Why would I take that?!”

“The Emperor… I mean, you are too focused on magic. You need to pick up some other hobbies.”

Professor Garcia almost nodded absentmindedly.

“That’s why I’m taking swordsmanship, riding training, geometry, and languages.”

“The average young person in the Empire wouldn’t call that a hobby. Anyway, it’s already decided, so you can’t change it. Just take it.”

“Don’t lie. Headmaster, you could fix it with your magic.”

The skeletal headmaster wanted to hit his disciple, who was talking back without knowing what was going on, but he held back.

If he met the Emperor later and said, ‘The headmaster hit me,’ he might get a message saying, ‘Come to the capital immediately’ and have to fly over.

Wait, the knights are calling me from outside!

“Headmaster! Headmaster! I might seriously file a petition in the Imperial Capital!”

The skeletal headmaster floated away, snorting.

“I’ve heard all sorts of threats, but that’s the most absurd threat I’ve ever heard! Go ahead and try!”

The knights were really calling the skeletal headmaster.

“Gonadaltes. The adventurers were causing such a commotion that we investigated, and some of them had bounties on their heads. What about the others…”

If one member of the party was a criminal, what to do with the others became unclear.

Since there was suspicion but no concrete evidence, it was best for the highest-ranking person in the room to make the decision.

And the person in charge here was the skeletal headmaster.

The skeletal headmaster resolved it neatly.

“Are you all acquainted with each other?”

“No!”

“You fool! Don’t answer the wizard’s question…”

“That’s a lie. They know each other. Send them to the capital’s prison!”

“No! No!!”

Amidst the screaming anti-magic activists, Park Deok-geul’s eyes widened in terror. His face went pale as a ghost.

He couldn’t believe how that Archmage of Ainrogard knew them and arrested them.

Apart from resentment, he was even afraid of that formidable ability.

‘How…! How on earth! Did he foresee it with magic!? That’s impossible!’

While the skeletal headmaster was praising the knights’ neat work, Lee Han came out and spoke to him.

“Headmaster. My senior has woken up.”

“Good. Let’s get going soon.”

“But that dance and social skills…”

“Ah, yes. There’s one serious problem with you.”

Pretending not to hear Lee Han’s words, the skeletal headmaster changed the subject.

“What is it?”

He should have been trembling with fear, but Lee Han looked at the skeletal headmaster with distrust.

The knights next to him were quite surprised.

‘How can he be so rude in front of Gonadaltes?!’

‘How much favor does he receive…?!’

“You’ve been in the Undead Dimension for too long, so your soul is smelling strongly of evil energy.”

“If you spend a lot of time with spirits, the scent of spirits comes from your soul, but if you spend a lot of time with the undead, the scent of the undead comes from your soul.”

There was a reason why black mages weren’t popular.

But Lee Han was puzzled by the explanation.

“Doesn’t it matter?”

He wasn’t popular with spirits anyway, and if he was going to learn black magic, it didn’t matter if he smelled strongly of evil energy.

It was a little sad, though…

“That’s usually the case. What problem would there be if the scent of the magic you’re learning comes from your soul? The problem is that you have more magical power than you think, that evil energy is greater than you think, and finally, you even have undead enemies.”

“If a wizard who smells of spirits is often visited by spirits, then a wizard who smells of the undead is often visited by the undead.”

“And if you have as much magical power as Lee Han, smell strongly of evil energy, and even have undead enemies…”

“You never knew what dangerous undead might become interested and come looking for you.”

Lee Han’s face hardened as he realized the seriousness of the situation.

‘Black magic really has too many drawbacks!’

If you study magic hard, you get visited by the undead.

What kind of magic is this?

“But don’t worry too much. There’s an easy way.”

“Is it to take dance and social skills?”

“No. Stay in the Phoenix Tower. The priests’ energy will drive out the evil energy. This semester should be enough.”

The skeletal headmaster said it as if it was nothing. It really wasn’t a big deal.

Just living with the priests would quickly reduce that evil energy.

But Lee Han said in a serious voice.

“Headmaster.”

“Why?”

“Then my friends might starve to death?”

“…People don’t starve to death that easily. Probably.”