Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 4

Lee Han stepped into his room. It was bigger and nicer than he expected. “Not bad,” he thought, looking around. The Headmaster, even if he was a bit strange and bony, had at least given them decent rooms.

But then Lee Han remembered the other students, the rich nobles. He knew they probably wouldn’t be happy. To them, these rooms might seem very plain. He could almost hear them complaining already.

“Is this a beggar’s room?” one might ask in disgust.

“Maybe someone stole all the furniture!” another might whisper.

The room was simple. It had just the basics: a desk, a chair, and a bed. Because there was nothing else, the room felt even bigger and emptier.

Lee Han first organized the clothes he had received and placed his luggage simply in a corner. Then, he took out a book.

It was a thin book called “About Einroguard,” given to each student upon arrival. It contained a brief explanation of the school.

‘Mandatory courses must be taken, and the rest can be freely chosen. For the first month, you can explore and decide which lectures are best…’

The school seemed strict, yet it was open in these ways.

Once admitted, the school didn’t care what a student studied.

‘A wizard is one who explores the truths of the world. Even if seniors and teachers help, one must determine their own path and move forward.’ – Osu Gonadaltes

‘So, the Headmaster’s name is Osu Gonadaltes.’

Lee Han learned the Headmaster’s name, Osu Gonadaltes. He didn’t really care about the name, but now he knew it. He quickly finished unpacking and stood up.

Since he could go to the new student lounge, he thought he would go and have a chat.

“I want to learn alchemy,” Yoner said. He had already come down. Upon discovering Lee Han’s arrival, Yoner waved his hand in welcome.

“Alchemy?” Lee Han asked.

“Yeah. I’ve been interested in alchemy since I was in the family. My dream is to set up my own workshop and supply the Imperial Family.”

“That could make some money.”

“Want to do it together?” Yoner asked.

“Hmm. I’ll think about it. The alchemy business isn’t that easy,” Lee Han said.

Lee Han didn’t immediately accept.

Just as Yoner had been interested in alchemy since he was in the family, Lee Han had been interested in business since he was in the family.

Alchemy seemed like a good idea. But Lee Han knew the alchemy business in the Empire was very tough.

The guilds created by outstanding alchemists were fighting fiercely to take away market share from each other.

They were distributing potions for free to the Adventurer’s Guild, spreading bad rumors about potions made by rival alchemy guilds, and monopolizing all the herbs used as potion ingredients to check them, and so on.

Each rumor was so grim that it was bound to be frightening.

‘Maybe something stable would be better.’

Lee Han’s main goal was to become an Imperial official, a civil servant.

There was nothing wrong with being a civil servant, then or now.

“Then what are you interested in?” Yoner asked.

“Me?” Lee Han was slightly embarrassed by the question.

Because…

‘I was thinking of taking subjects with little competition and good grades.’

He knew that good grades here would be important later, like a good record when you leave school.

Of course, Lee Han couldn’t help but care.

“I have a month, so I was thinking of looking around and deciding. You shouldn’t judge anything rashly,” Lee Han said.

“Wow… amazing,” Yoner responded.

“?” Lee Han looked at Yoner, not understanding what was so amazing.

Was there anything amazing?

“Usually, you come here thinking about the magic you want to learn. Something that suits your taste. But that’s not always a good method…”

It was hard to know what kind of magic you were suited for until you tried it.

And forcibly learning magic that didn’t suit you was less efficient than you might think.

A wizard pursuing the truth had to be able to abandon their stubbornness and choose a better path.

But as humans, they had desires, and if they had desires, they wanted to go the path they wanted.

Abandoning such desires was not easy.

“Is it a rule of the Wodanaz family again?” Yoner asked.

‘Why does the Wodanaz family come up whenever I say something?’

Lee Han was dumbfounded.

He didn’t know when he was in the family, but when he came out, he realized the power of the family’s name even more.

Like the gazes the Black Turtle Tower students sent him earlier…

Perhaps the image of the Wodanaz family was much stronger than Lee Han had thought.

“This is a disaster!” Gainando, who arrived late, shouted in a hurry.

“?” Lee Han was surprised.

“What’s wrong?” Yoner asked.

“I think my room was robbed! There’s nothing there!”

“……”

Understanding Basic Magic.

It was a mandatory subject for first-year students entering Einroguard.

Only students from the Blue Dragon Tower were seen; students from other towers were not visible.

“Why does everyone look so strange?” Gainando asked.

“I’m hungry, sleepy from not sleeping properly, and the clothes are rough, so I’m conscious of them when I move,” Yoner replied.

Gainando nodded in agreement with Yoner’s words.

When he woke up early in the morning, Gainando thought yesterday was a dream.

He expected freshly made white bread with butter and hot soup made with chicken and spices to be provided, of course.

But it wasn’t a dream. What greeted Gainando when he got out of bed was hard black bread, hard rice balls, and a cup of cold water.

‘I thought it was edible…’

Lee Han thought so.

He had lived in luxury since he was born into the Wodanaz family, but originally, Lee Han had lived a very difficult life.

-Uh… Did I see it wrong? Senior. If you work from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., when do you eat?

-Here. An energy bar. It’s for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, so save it.

-…Are you kidding me?

-Don’t do that to me. I have to eat an energy bar too. But when it’s over, a feast awaits.

-I’ll kill you if you say it’s cup ramen.

-…Sorry. It’s cup ramen.

-……

-But there’s also triangular kimbap…

‘Hmm. I think now is a little better.’

But everyone except Lee Han in the Blue Dragon Tower looked exhausted.

This happened in just one day of entering the school.

Creak-

The lecture room was located on the first floor of Einroguard’s main building.

It was the school’s kindness to the new students.

The higher they went, the more likely the new students were to get lost.

“…Uh…?”

“Did we come to the wrong place?”

“You came to the right place. Now. Everyone, sit down.”

Lee Han was puzzled when the students stopped in front of the door and whispered.

Why are they doing that?

The answer came right away.

There was a troll in the lecture room.

“……”

“……”

“I told you to come in quickly!”

“Uh… um…”

The students hesitated and entered the lecture room with expressions mixed with fear and dread.

Troll.

It was a ferocious and violent monster that even students who had lived in the family all their lives had heard of.

It was only natural to be embarrassed when such a troll was dressed up like a professor and waiting.

They were confused as to whether this was a lecture room or a troll’s buffet.

“Okay. I should introduce myself first. I’m Garcia Kim. I’m a troll, but also a little bit different. I know you’re all scared, but you don’t have to be. I don’t eat people unless I’m very hungry.”

“……”

“I guess I shouldn’t have made a joke.”

Garcia was very sorry when the atmosphere became even more chilly.

“Okay! Our headmaster always says that time is the greatest treasure. Shall we start the lecture?”

Garcia waved his wand. Then, the students who were standing awkwardly were pushed back to their seats as if they were being pushed.

“You are the seeds of wizards who have been recognized with the title of Steel. Some of you arrogant or stupid people may have secretly used magic, but most of you have never used magic. This lecture is to teach you what magic is and to help you find the magic that suits you. The path of magic is a difficult and narrow path, and you have to walk that path alone, but I want to be a compass before you walk that path.”

The expressions on the faces of the students inside softened at the kind troll professor’s words.

‘He seems like a much better person than the skeletal Headmaster?’

“Okay. Then we should start with the very basics. What is magic?”

Princess Adenarte answered in a cold voice.

“Magic is using your will to change things in the world.”

“That’s right. Changing the world with the wizard’s will. The problem is ‘how’. How do you change the world?”

“With the power of mana?”

“Very good. Magic power, mana… It is changing the world by borrowing this fundamental power. Everyone here knows how to feel magic power and is aware of the magic power within themselves.”

Everyone nodded.

Since it was a place that basically only accepted qualified people, everyone was aware of their magic power.

“But that’s just the beginning. You have to go beyond that to use magic. It is to draw out magic power with your own will, weave that magic power delicately, and ultimately create it. People often say that magic requires spells, hand movements, or special ingredients, but… what’s really important is will. The wizard’s own will. You must not forget that. Of course, you will need spells and gestures. As much as you are still very immature. Okay. The story has become too long. Are you sleepy? Let’s do it while trying it out ourselves. Take out your wands and gather your magic power.”

Oooooong-

The energy of magic power began to spread throughout the wide lecture room.

The young wizards began to squeeze out the magic power within themselves.

Lee Han also concentrated and began to gather magic power in his wand. The magic power in his body flowed out and gathered in his wand.

“Now, while maintaining that magic power… you must not lose your concentration! In that state, imagine an image of light. The image of light that you think of. Bright, warm, and sparkling. Anything is fine.”

This time, groaning sounds began to come out.

Controlling magic power was closer to grabbing and pulling the reins of a wildly running horse.

If you lose your concentration even a little, it will just scatter.

“While imagining it more and more strongly… shout it out. Anything is fine. Light! Light! Brightness! Bright light! Any spell that comes to mind from within you.”

“Light!”

“Bright light!”

“Light that is more dazzling than the sun and as beautiful as my glory!”

“Don’t use spells that are too long! If you chant spells that are too long for your level, your concentration will be scattered instead.”

Concentrate, gather magic power, change that magic power with your will, and finally, end it firmly by chanting a spell.

Lee Han felt like he knew what magic was.

Of course, it didn’t work right away.

Bang! Poof! Pop!

“Ugh!” “Kuhuk!” “Augh…!”

The groans of young wizards who had failed in magic leaked out from all over the place. The troll professor smiled and waved his wand.

If you fail to cast a spell, the gathered magic power can lose its owner and hurt the wizard.

It was the professor’s role to prevent that.

“Okay. Don’t be afraid of failing, don’t panic… everyone is like that at first. As long as there is magic power left in your body, again!”

Second attempt.

Again, there were popping sounds and the students groaned.

The troll professor laughed inwardly.

Originally, it usually took more than a month to learn this simplest light spell.

Magic was that difficult.

But the professor had no intention of telling them that. It was something the students had to experience for themselves.

“Okay! Again!”

Third attempt.

Now, students who had used up all their magic power and were exhausted began to appear.

Magic power consumed a tremendous amount of magic power than expected.

More than half of the students sat down with tired expressions.

“Again!”

Fourth attempt.

“Again!”

Fifth attempt.

“Again!”

Sixth attempt.

“Again!”

Seventh attempt.

“Uh… Professor. I’m really sorry to interrupt you, but do we have to keep doing it…?”

The troll professor, who had been shouting without a care, realized something was wrong.

Usually, it should have ended on the 4th attempt, or at most the 5th, but one person had been standing until the 7th attempt.