Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 404

Professor Lightningfoot frowned, but his eyes didn’t have the same stormy look as Professor Thunderfoot’s. Even when he seemed angry, there was something different about him.

Professor Lightningfoot had traveled all over the Empire and faced many dangers. He was not just a teacher; he was an adventurer, and it showed.

Asking an angry person, “You’re not really angry, are you?” only makes them angrier.

Professor Lightningfoot skillfully changed the subject.

Professor Lightningfoot sighed. “They’ll be here next week, most likely.”

Lee Han frowned. “The summoning mages? Are they really coming?”

“Let me just think…” Professor Lightningfoot mumbled, and then he started counting on his fingers, bending each one down slowly.

Lee Han stared. Counting fingers? That meant… “Wait,” he said, his voice rising, “You’re counting how many teams are coming?”

Professor Lightningfoot nodded, still counting. “Looks like… at least two.”

Lee Han groaned inwardly. *Summoning mages. Just what we need.* He thought about the priests who had visited before, always bringing food and helping people. These mages would be different. He just knew it. They wouldn’t be here to help anyone.

“They’re coming to watch us, aren’t they?” Lee Han asked, his voice a bit sharper now. “To see how good we are at magic?”

Professor Lightningfoot looked up, a little surprised by Lee Han’s tone. “Well, I suppose so, yes. It’s the festival…”

“But that’s awful!” Lee Han exclaimed. “How can they just come and judge us like that?”

Professor Lightningfoot blinked. “Huh? Why are you so upset?” he asked, genuinely confused.

“Anyway, next week is the ‘Boltzmann’s Summons’ festival. Don’t worry too much. They aren’t as skilled as the Paragranum Guild. Quite a few mages who are less skilled than you will probably come, you know?”

The ‘Boltzmann’s Summons’ festival was not like the usual town festivals with music and food. This was a festival for mages only. It was a rare chance for them to meet, show off their magic, and see how good they were compared to others.

If you wanted to be serious, you could put your pride on the line. But you could also just have fun.

Because of that, many less skilled mages took part.

Einroguard was not a school that treated first-year students badly. It was a place for the Empire’s best young mages. They were learning magic from the most respected teachers in the land.

Many self-taught mages or those taught by difficult teachers were not as skilled as the first-year students.

Since these mages would also be at the festival, there wouldn’t be a problem like with the Paragranum Guild…

“They’re not going to come from outside without bringing anything, are they? The priests always brought food.”

“…Just finish your work.”

“Yes.”

Lee Han worked faster while controlling the golem.

Professor Lightningfoot was impressed that he grumbled but still became more skilled at controlling it.

*But what is he muttering about?*

Professor Lightningfoot wondered if he was gaining wisdom from the professors’ advice and chanting extra spells.

“Summoning mages. I won’t let them off easily when they come.”

“……”

Professor Lightningfoot was surprised to see Lee Han skillfully controlling the golem while saying other things, even though he should have been focused.

When they got back to the tower after working hard, the lounge was subtly silent.

It wasn’t a tense silence, but an atmosphere of reflection.

Lee Han was curious and asked Priest Tizling, “What happened?”

“Everyone is reflecting.”

“!”

The priests rarely argued or raised their voices.

But the priests were different from the other students in the tower.

After a heated discussion, they had decided to understand, consider, and respect each other’s opinions.

Lee Han was touched by the explanation.

*The priests are immune to Headmaster Skull’s poison!*

The priests’ fight had nothing to do with Headmaster Skull, but that’s what Lee Han thought.

“So, from now on, can I ask about the clergy without worry?”

“Pardon?”

Priest Tizling stared at Lee Han, wondering what he was talking about.

“Isn’t it? Since… since you’ve reflected, is faith now a matter of individual freedom…?”

“No. Everyone decided that the problem was that we were deciding the order based on luck. So, we changed the method.”

“…Which is?”

“The winner will get to recommend faith to Lord Wodanaz.”

“……”

Lee Han turned and looked at the priests.

He looked closer and saw that the priests, who he thought were just quiet, were in groups of three or five, making plans.

-To think *Geometry and Arithmetic* would be the competition.

-Don’t worry. We have a priest from the Sisenja Order.

-I’ve never cared about other orders before, but I’m impressed by the Sisenja Order’s skills.

-Haha, I’m just embarrassed…

“???”

-Even if there is a Sisenja Order over there, it doesn’t matter.

-That’s right! Let’s share information and talk about how to beat them.

-Our order is…

“……”

It was unlikely that someone could win alone in a competition with so many people.

Smart people often gathered and worked together, even if they got less of the reward.

The priests were actively planning, meeting with those who shared their goals or were similar in their orders.

Headmaster Skull would have liked it.

“…What have I done?”

“Pardon?”

Priest Tizling tilted his head at Lee Han’s words.

Priest Tizling didn’t think the situation was bad.

The priests, who usually only focused on their own work, were now talking and discussing faith with other priests.

The priests were enjoying talking about things they normally wouldn’t and getting to know each other.

“I should go rest… Thank you, Priest Tizling. See you tomorrow.”

As Lee Han went upstairs looking sad, the other priests stopped talking and asked,

“Lord Wodanaz’s face looked dark; was it just me?”

“I heard from the Blue Dragon Tower people that the White Tiger Tower people kept bothering them while they were working…”

“That’s too bad. I will go to the White Tiger Tower people next time and ask them about it.”

“I should go with you. But who told you?”

“Gaynando told me.”

“I should remember that.”

The next day, the angry White Tiger Tower students threw crumpled paper balls at Gaynando as soon as they saw him.

Professor Milley raised her eyebrows at the distracted class. She was talking about how to improve the ‘Paper Bird’ summoning magic they had learned in the first semester.

“Does everyone have something to say? Student Raphaël, speak.”

Raphaël, a black magic student who hated black magic, was nervous when he was called out.

Lee Han looked at Raphaël and gave him some advice.

-Tell them the truth.

Professor Milley would move on without making him suffer like Headmaster Skull if he admitted his mistake.

“They, they were talking about whether the summoning mages are really coming.”

“……”

Lee Han sighed. Raphaël saw this and asked, “W, wasn’t I supposed to do it like this?”

“You may sit down, Student Raphaël. It seems everyone is worried about the ‘Boltzmann’s Summons’ festival. It’s natural to be excited about the summoning mages visiting.”

*Are they excited?*

Lee Han wondered. He and his friends were thinking, *Oh great, what crazy people are going to come and bother us again?*

One of the Black Tortoise Tower students bravely raised his hand and asked, “Are they bringing food?”

“No. It’s not that kind of festival.”

The class started to stir. People whispered things like, *Then why are they coming? Is the school a joke? Aren’t they being rude to Einroguard?*

Professor Milley stopped the murmuring with a gesture and said, “I’m sorry I can’t meet everyone’s expectations, but the ‘Boltzmann’s Summons’ festival is not for eating, drinking, and having fun. It’s a festival where summoning mages show their magic and remember Boltzmann. Of course, I don’t expect much from the students.”

“That’s a relief.”

“Isn’t it?”

“……”

Lee Han was sad that his friends were still so naive.

The professor wasn’t being sincere when she said, ‘I don’t expect anything.’

Even the kind Professor Garcia would be disappointed if her students didn’t do well.

It was something professors couldn’t avoid.

“But if you look bad in front of the mages, it will hurt your pride.”

“That’s right!”

“I’m glad you know. Let’s focus on summoning magic. ‘Paper Bird Summoning’ may seem simple, so many mages ignore it after they learn it. But the best mages never underestimate it.”

Professor Milley summoned a paper bird.

The paper bird flew around the room. Professor Milley looked at the White Tiger Tower students and said, “Fixing golems should wait until after class.”

“…!”

The White Tiger Tower students blushed and closed their books.

They had been thinking about how to make the golem look cooler.

*Clairvoyance magic.*

Lee Han realized that Professor Milley was using the paper bird to look around the room.

It looked simple, but connecting the summon’s vision to your own was advanced.

Summoning, connecting vision, and focusing while flying the summon at the same time.

“You don’t have to go this far…”

-Consider the golem’s balance!

The students were surprised when the paper bird spoke.

Recording and sending voices to the paper bird was also useful, though easier than clairvoyance.

*I want to learn that.*

Lee Han knew he needed it.

He needed to contact the other tower students.

He wanted to check prices with the Black Tortoise Tower’s black market managers and see how many meals the Blue Dragon Tower friends had missed…

“…There is also this method.”

The professor finished, and the paper bird crashed into the wall.

It disappeared in a flash, leaving a magic mark on the wall.

It had used the paper bird to engrave magic on the wall.

“A great mage doesn’t focus on fancy magic. Even easy magic can be powerful. Remember that. Now, let’s each change the paper bird. I’ll see how you change it this semester.”

The simpler the magic, the more the mage’s personality shows.

Professor Milley hoped the students would learn a lot from changing the paper bird this semester.

*To record a voice…*

Lee Han started looking through the book to record a voice first.

Professor Milley looked at Lee Han and raised her monocle. “What will Student Lee Han do?”

“I’m going to try recording a voice.”

“Hmm…”

” ? ”

Lee Han wondered why Professor Milley looked so serious.

Had he done something wrong?

“It would be good to make it harder.”

“…Professor. I haven’t even tried it yet…”