Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 396

But it’s Einroguard.

Lee Han couldn’t ignore what the White Tiger Tower student said.

This passage seemed impossible. But Einroguard was a place where anything could happen.

In Einroguard, you could walk down a few stairs from the highest tower and suddenly find yourself in a village basement far outside the school walls.

It was filled with magical secrets so old that even the Skeleton Headmaster couldn’t understand them.

“No,” Lee Han said, after thinking for a moment. “It’s not possible.”

Of course, there was a tiny chance, but that was as likely as pigs flying.

“Stop talking nonsense and step aside.”

“Sniffle.”

Tap tap tap-

Carefully, Lee Han used spells to check the floor door. He looked for magic, traps, anything dangerous. He tapped the door, listening.

‘Seems clear,’ Lee Han thought. But he wasn’t sure. He called out to his friends.

“Anyone here confident in detecting or disarming traps and mechanisms?”

“……”

“……”

The White Tiger Tower students stared at Lee Han with bewildered expressions.

Being from knight families, they probably didn’t know much about traps.

Lee Han scolded them anyway.

“No one? What have you lot been doing if you haven’t even learned any skills?”

“Well… we’re knights…!”

“Never mind,” Lee Han muttered. “I’ll do it.” He looked at the door again, using skills Raetford had taught him.

How wonderful it would be if Raetford were here!

The White Tiger Tower students felt unfairly treated, but they didn’t argue while Lee Han checked the door.

‘Where on earth did that bloke learn that?’

“Doesn’t seem to be anything… Good. I’ll open it. Before that, let’s pick three of you.”

“What for?”

“Three to open the door with me. The rest of you, just in case, stand by that doorway over there and run away immediately if there’s trouble.”

“……”

After some arguing (mostly from Angaro), and Lee Han explaining his plan again, they were ready. 10 minutes later…

The three unlucky students stood with Lee Han. Angaro, who had just finished extra lessons, looked like he might cry because he’d been picked.

“Open it!”

Coo-coo-coo-koong-

With a heavy sound, the door opened upwards.

Dust so thick it made them cough filled the air as the door opened, showing a dark staircase leading down.

“Cough, cough… An escape route?”

“No chance. Everyone got their dark vision spells on? Let’s go!”

Lee Han had already cast spells to protect his friends. He lowered his head and stepped into the darkness.

Even with dark vision, walking in the dark felt cramped and uncomfortable.

He wanted to light a fire, but Lee Han held back.

He didn’t know what might be inside.

“Potions, Wodanaz!”

“Quite a lot!”

As they descended the stairs and walked a little way along the passage, shimmering glass bottles caught their eyes on a side shelf.

The White Tiger Tower students whispered excitedly, thinking they’d found something valuable.

However, Lee Han shook his head.

“I can’t feel any magic. It’s alcohol.”

“……”

“Isn’t that even better?”

“Shhh,” one student hissed, confused. The student next to him gave a warning look.

Even if you loved alcohol, you couldn’t shout ‘Yay! It’s alcohol!’ in front of Wodanaz.

It would look so silly and rude.

“…Right. Alcohol is quite a good thing too. We can trade it with the Black Tortoise Tower.”

“Y-yes? I thought so too.”

Angaro replied, hiding his drool.

He was planning to drink his share himself, trade or no trade.

‘Was this a secret stash for older students?’ Lee Han wondered, looking at the shelves of alcohol.

In Einroguard, new rooms appeared and disappeared every moment. It wouldn’t be strange if a room that had been used well for years suddenly flew off somewhere else.

There were bottles with labels bought from outside, but there were also bottles that anyone could tell were homemade.

Cursing the mad Skeleton, I complete this alcohol here.

Is it right to have us fighting each other in midterms? I will report it to His Imperial Majesty someday!

To any junior who finds this empty bottle someday, be wary of outsiders! They are invited to trample on you!

If I don’t graduate next year, I won’t complain even if I become undead!

‘They seem to have put quite a bit of effort into brewing it…’

Aside from the complaints, Lee Han wondered why the seniors had left these bottles behind.

Of course, finding it again wouldn’t be easy. But older students who had been in the school for years knew rooms moved around all the time.

There was no reason for experienced wizards to just give up on this…

“Wo, wo, wo, Wodanaz.”

Lee Han reacted immediately when he heard Angaro’s terrified voice from the side.

He pointed his wand, immediately prepared to cast a spell, and turned his gaze.

‘What is it?’

A giant statue was walking towards the group.

The statue was twice as tall as them, its head almost touching the ceiling.

Lee Han hesitated whether to cast a spell or not, as he didn’t feel any sense of intimidation or hostility from the opponent.

It was the opponent who broke the hesitation first.

-Welcome, challengers.

Suddenly, a wooden sword flew from one of the White Tiger Tower students’ hands and appeared in the statue’s grip.

Lee Han was shocked.

‘Space magic? Just like that?’ Everyone knew space-time magic was incredibly hard.

No matter how magically special Einroguard was, for a statue to cast space magic like that…

It was truly an unbelievable sight.

“M-my sword!! Give me back my sword!!”

-This is the price of the challenge. Now. When shall we begin?

The statue asked emotionlessly.

“…What are we competing in?”

-What else could it be? If wizards meet, it’s naturally magic.

‘Damn it.’

Lee Han clicked his tongue.

If it was something other than magic, maybe, but if it was magic, it was a battle of pure skill.

If it was a wizard who could snatch a wooden sword with space magic without even reacting…

“That’s it!”

“If it’s magic…!”

“…You crazy bastards.”

“?!”

The White Tiger Tower students, who had been cheering, were shocked to be cursed.

Giselle stopped at the doorway of the storage room, her eyes wide. Students from the White Tiger Tower were all crowded inside, looking busy. “How can this be?!” she thought.

“…So, you were looking for something useful in the storage room?” Moradi asked, noticing Giselle’s surprised face.

Giselle arrived at the storage room a little late. She frowned when she saw all the White Tiger Tower students there.

She knew they wanted to fix the golem, but looking at them all working…

*Is Wodanaz making them do his job?* she wondered.

“It’s not like that, Moradi,” one of the students said, overhearing her.

“Why do you say that?” Giselle asked.

“The priests are helping too. Wodanaz wouldn’t trick us like that,” the student explained.

Before she could get an explanation, someone came bursting up the stairs with a clatter.

The White Tiger Tower students, pale with fright, screamed.

“Wodanaz is dying!!”

“What?!?!”,

“What nonsense are you spouting?!”

The White Tiger Tower students, who had been waiting, rushed over in surprise.

“Not dying… you blithering idiots…”

Lee Han, carried on a stretcher made by his friends, grumbled irritably.

He had expected it, but the sculptor’s skill was truly astonishing.

As soon as the fight started, rocks seemed to appear out of nowhere right in front of Lee Han!

Lee Han knew his magic blocked direct teleportation, but this statue was clever.

Even with magic blocked, the attacks kept coming, fast and strong.

If it couldn’t teleport rocks directly, it would do it in pieces!

*Whoosh!*

Suddenly, rocks flew in from all sides, like they were trying to trap Lee Han. They hit him hard and fast.

He hastily tried to defend with transformation magic, but the impact was unavoidable.

Lee Han tumbled. The attack, utilizing space magic, was relentlessly airtight.

-Since the leader has fallen, this challenge ends here. The Room of Knowledge is not so easily entered.

“The Room of Knowledge??”

The students who heard the explanation were bewildered.

“What’s the Room of Knowledge?”

“When I asked… they said it’s a place where the seniors studied, and all their old stuff is piled up,” another student explained. “Like a dusty old attic, maybe full of forgotten books and notes.”

“What? Something like that exists?”

“It’s meaningless even if it exists! We can’t go in there anyway!”

Anglago said in a trembling voice.

The intense pressure that only those who faced it directly could feel was present in the opponent.

That Wodanaz, knocked out in one go.

“Let’s take Wodanaz to the healing room first. We need to check, just in case.”

“Y-yes.”

Deuregyu and Giselle grabbed Lee Han’s shoulders on either side. Giselle absentmindedly supported him, then glared at Deuregyu as if in disbelief. Deuregyu lowered his head as if begging for forgiveness.

“Why am I…”

Deuregyu shouted loudly, making sure everyone could hear, “What was that, Moradi?! You’ll support Lee Han! You truly are a knight of honour!”

Giselle stared at Deuregyu, completely surprised. *Why is he acting like this?* she wondered. Deuregyu, doing something nice for Wodanaz? It was unbelievable!

“You crazy…” Giselle started to say, confused and a little angry.

“S-sorry. Honestly, I don’t trust those guys.”

Before being carried out, Lee Han called out to Anglago.

“Anglago…”

“S-speak. Wodanaz! Should I close the door?? Any instructions?”

“No… bring out the liquor inside…”

“……”

-He took quite a beating.

-I… Is he in a dangerous condition?

-No. He was hit well, so he’s not badly hurt. Once the shock is recovered, he’ll be fine soon.

-Lee Han! Did you hear that? He must have protected his body with magic. To show such resourcefulness in that situation!

-Deuregyu… you’re making me nauseous, so please be quiet…

After resting for a few hours and recovering, Lee Han shook his head and headed towards the Black Tortoise Tower.

‘I was careless and got hit hard.’

He should never have let his guard down in Einroguard, but he was careless for a moment and suffered because of it.

He had a hunch about what had happened.

Some of the seniors had found a room and used it as a liquor storage and reading room, but as the school’s space was rearranged, some crazy statue bastard had intervened.

Since it challenged anyone who approached to a duel, it was no wonder the seniors couldn’t break through.

Moreover, its magical combat skills were terrifyingly complete…

‘I shouldn’t even think about the basement and just repair the golem.’

If it were anything else, he would have cleared the path and checked what the seniors had left behind, but honestly, this was a dead end.

“Wodanaz!”

Several Black Tortoise Tower students he recognized, sitting on the chairs in the black market, waved at Lee Han.

“It was a pity you weren’t here. A big spender like you is needed to revitalize the market.”

“Sorry. I’ll be bringing goods from outside soon, so don’t worry.”

“Heh heh…”

“Heh heh heh.”

The students, exchanging glances while sharing wicked conversations, were the very image of seasoned smugglers.

“Instead, I brought something else today.”

Lee Han placed the liquor that the White Tiger Tower students had taken out from the basement while getting beaten up.

The Black Tortoise Tower students stared at the bottles of liquor, amazed.

“Wow, so much liquor! Wodanaz, what are you…?! Where did you get all this?!”

“Why do you ask silly questions?”

“Heh… heh heh. I asked something unnecessary.”

“Why are you two talking so strangely…?”

The real expert, Raetford, was puzzled by the unnecessarily suspicious atmosphere.

They didn’t talk so suspiciously in the black market.

They just talked amicably…?

Lee Han handed five bottles of liquor to the Black Tortoise Tower students and received various supplies in return.

Lee Han, estimating the weight of the cheese wrapped in a paper bag, nodded in satisfaction after the negotiation.

“This should be good for a week.”

“You’re exaggerating, Wodanaz. That’s enough to last a month. Oh, did you know the Imperial Alchemists are here?”

“…Who came?”

“The Imperial Alchemists are here, I heard? Some other friends saw them earlier.”

“I see.”

Lee Han suddenly remembered the phrase he had seen in the basement.

To the junior who finds this empty bottle someday, be wary if outsiders enter! They are invited to trample you!

“…No, it’s not even the midterm exams yet… it can’t be.”