Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 407

“Okay, mercury then…” Professor Lezhie said. He really didn’t want to.

“Great… thanks,” Ian replied. He also didn’t want to learn about mercury.

Nobody in the cabin was happy. Only Professor Voladi seemed pleased.

Professor Voladi was usually a quiet man.

But here, in the small cabin with Ian, Professor Lezhie, and a Basilisk egg, he became the most talkative of them all. For him, this was talking a lot!

“Transfiguration magic is crucial for combat wizards,” he began.

“Yes,” Ian responded.

“As I mentioned before…” Professor Voladi continued, explaining how useful Transfiguration magic could be in battle: quick casting and low mana consumption.

Making defenses stronger or attacks stronger with enchantment magic takes a lot of time. It’s much faster to just change a bush by the road into a sharp sword and attack someone! The key to magical combat is being efficient.

And that wasn’t all.

Some Transfiguration wizards who were very skilled didn’t even use summoning magic. They would change things around them into living creatures, or even turn themselves into monsters.

Professor Voladi kept talking, telling Ian to imagine all the possibilities. He spoke calmly, but Ian was getting more and more miserable.

‘If I turned into a Basilisk, would accidentally swallowing the professor be a good excuse?’ Ian wondered.

“But Professor, isn’t mercury poisonous?” Ian asked.

“Indeed.”

Transfiguration wizards didn’t just create any substance without thinking.

The more skilled they were, the more they needed to know about poisonous substances.

If they changed a substance the wrong way and poisoned themselves…

“We need to learn how to handle it… but we definitely need to learn poison resistance first,” Professor Lezhie said, suddenly having an idea.

Learning how to handle mercury was one thing, but it would be safer to learn poison resistance first. And what was the best way to learn poison resistance?

“Poison resistance is more related to Dark Arts than Transfiguration…”

“I learned poison resistance in the first semester, Professor. Wodanaz is also taking Dark Arts,” Ian added.

“……”

“……”

Professor Lezhie and Ian became sad again at Professor Voladi’s reply.

The air in the cabin felt heavy. Even the Basilisk egg seemed to notice.

“Okay, okay… let’s just try to learn about mercury first, alright?” Professor Lezhie said, trying to hide a sigh.

“Then, I’ll leave it to you.”

“Huh?” Ian turned around quickly. Professor Voladi was standing up. “Are you… leaving?” Ian asked, surprised.

“Yes. I have things to do.”

“Oh…” Ian pretended to be concerned. Professor Voladi nodded as if he understood.

“Don’t be too hasty.”

“Haha. I understand.”

Ian even watched Professor Voladi leave the cabin. Only then did he feel a little better.

‘Wait. Professor Voladi doesn’t… really have that many things to do, does he?’

Ian thought. Wasn’t he Professor Voladi’s only student right now?

As he thought about the future, Ian pushed the thought away. Maybe it was because he had learned prophecy magic, but he felt like bad things were always on his mind.

“Hoo.”

Professor Lezhie was confused by Ian’s sigh of relief.

He didn’t understand why Ian was so relieved.

Wasn’t Ian a student who wanted to be the Headmaster, or even higher, since his first year?

Why was he sighing like that?

‘Did I get him wrong?’

Professor Lezhie thought as he took out a reagent from his pocket.

Yellow Alloy Iron was easier to get and handle than mercury. It was a metal that changed easily because it worked well with mercury.

It was good for new Transfiguration wizards to use.

“Oh dear. I’ve left the Yellow Alloy Iron behind.”

Ian’s face lit up.

“I’ll make it for you right now, so…”

Ian’s face went dark.

After this happened a few times, Professor Lezhie started to wonder.

…Could it be?

“You… don’t really want to learn mercury transformation, do you?”

“What do you mean, Professor? I do want to learn. Maybe you don’t feel like teaching today? If that’s the case, I’m happy to wait,” Ian said, giving a perfect answer as if he had been waiting for the question.

But Professor Lezhie wasn’t fooled. That was the same answer Professor Lezhie gave to the Skull Headmaster’s annoying orders.

-Professor Lezhie. There have been reports of suspicious Transfiguration wizards in some of the northern noble families’ territories. Could you go and check during the break? Oh. You don’t look too happy. You don’t really want to go, do you?

-What do you mean, Headmaster? I do want to go. Maybe you don’t want to send me, Headmaster? If that’s the case, I understand.

-Thank you. Have a safe trip.

-……

People who are alike recognize each other.

Professor Lezhie felt like he understood his student, even though it didn’t make sense.

…Could it be?

“Ian. Answer honestly… no, never mind. Just listen. I’m thinking of skipping mercury transformation today.”

Ian didn’t argue or say, ‘What are you talking about? I should be focusing on magic right now.’ Instead, he stayed quiet.

Professor Lezhie was sure he was right and was very surprised.

He couldn’t believe that Ian had a similar personality to him!

If so…

The Headmaster must be the reason.

‘Good heavens. He’s gone too far.’

Professor Lezhie knew that the Headmaster always pushed his students hard, but to make Ian learn all types of magic…

Ian was clearly going through this difficult process against his will, just because he was talented.

It was surprising and sad.

“I was wrong. I thought Ian wanted to become the lord of Einrogard as the Headmaster’s successor.”

“…Huh???”

Ian, who was trying not to answer, spoke without thinking.

What was going on?

“You must have suffered a lot, with the other professors pressuring you when you didn’t want to.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. But I’m grateful that you’re concerned, Professor,” Ian replied.

The two exchanged knowing looks. Ian was happy, and the Basilisk egg wriggled excitedly.

When wizards heard the Boltzmann Festival would be in Einrogard, the young and less experienced ones were very happy.

Einrogard was known as a place with very powerful, old magic, wasn’t it?

It was a place they might never have had the chance to visit.

But wizards who knew more, or who had been around longer, were not happy at all.

“-Why Einrogard?”

“-It’s going to be so difficult there.”

Someone who didn’t know much about magic might not understand, but the master of Einrogard was known to be very strict with other wizards.

Think about a wizard’s workshop. It’s like their private space. When you visit, you have to be careful. Workshops are full of secrets and magic research. You don’t want to accidentally see something you shouldn’t. If the wizard is very picky, the rules are even stricter. And the master of Einrogard was known to be *very* picky.

Kutang, a black magician, had already heard many warnings from the Death Knight. He was tired of hearing them. He shivered, remembering the warnings, and walked into Einrogard.

‘Did I come too early?’

Nearby wizards interested in summoning magic were coming to Einrogard to participate in the festival, but Kutang had arrived earlier than most.

It was probably because he was a black magician.

It was annoying to chat with other wizards on the way.

A wizard with a bright smile walked up to Kutang. ‘Hello! I’m Tadingo, and I study summoning magic. Are you here for the festival too?’

Another wizard joined them, nodding eagerly. ‘Tadingo! That’s my name too! Summoning magic is amazing, isn’t it? What kind of magic do *you* study?’ he asked, turning to Kutang.

Kutang sighed quietly. ‘I’m Kutang. I study black magic.’

The two Tadingos went quiet. The first Tadingo cleared his throat. ‘Black magic, huh? That’s… interesting.’

There was a good reason why black magicians usually stayed away from other wizards.

‘I should avoid contact until the festival starts.’

Thinking this, Kutang looked around for a quiet, empty place to wait.

The school grounds were huge. It looked like he could easily find a quiet spot in the woods or even on a small hill to wait until the festival began.

Thud-

Kutang was startled.

He was surprised to see young students controlling golems in a small open area in the woods.

‘Indeed, it’s Einrogard! They don’t even look half my age, but they already have golems…!'”

He was even more surprised to see them using the heavy golems for simple tasks, like cleaning.

Wizards usually didn’t use golems for simple tasks. Golems were hard to make and control. Why would anyone waste them on everyday work?

There was only one reason.

‘It’s training.’

He realized: ‘They’re not just making golems, they’re training to control them!’

Suddenly, Kutang heard a voice behind him. ‘An, an outsider!!’ a student whispered loudly. Kutang jumped in surprise.

Kutang was even more surprised to see the students surrounding him.

‘Wait, calm down! I have permission to be here! Look, I have a permit.’

Kutang felt nervous as the students crowded around him in a circle.

‘Why? Don’t they trust me? Did they find out I’m a black magician?’

Kutang became stiff, worried the Einrogard students might attack him.

“-Excuse me…”

“-??-”

“-Do you happen to have anything to eat?”

“-……-”

Kutang and the White Tiger Tower students quickly became friends. Kutang was a little surprised by the students. Even though they were just strangers, they were friendly and funny. They were clearly very happy to get the sweets. The students ate them quickly and eagerly, grabbing at crumbs and even licking cream off each other’s fingers. ‘Are they not feeding you properly here?’ Kutang wondered to himself, accidentally guessing the truth.

“I saw you guys controlling the golems earlier…”

“-Cough.”

“-Cough. Cough, cough.”

The White Tiger Tower students began to cough like crazy.

“-Di… Did you give this to me because I controlled the golem well?”

“-Huh? No.”

“-Phew…”

“-That’s a relief.”

“-??-”

Kutang was flustered as the White Tiger Tower students stroked their chests.

What is it?

“-I’d like to ask you a few questions about the control. Is that alright?”

“-Well, um.”

“-We want to answer because we ate it, but, um.”

The White Tiger Tower students hesitated.

Kutang wondered, ‘Are they going to ask for the sweets back?’

“-Actually, another student controlled the golem.”

“-Huh? You mean, not from here? From somewhere else?”

“-Yes, kind of,” another student explained. “He gave the golem instructions earlier, and then it just followed them.”

The students tried to explain it simply. Usually, a wizard has to stand next to a golem and control it every step of the way. But this student, Wardanaz, had figured out how to give the golem orders in advance for simple tasks. Then he could go do other things while the golem worked.

Kutang was genuinely surprised to hear that explanation.

‘He not only made the golem, but he can also make it follow orders even when he’s not there?’

Kutang wasn’t usually very friendly, but he was always interested in magic.

“-Thank you. It was really fun.”

“-We really enjoyed the food!”

Kutang, who had even learned the name of the student, Lee Han, decided to tell his black magician friends about this amazing thing. He said goodbye to the students and left.

And a little later, Lee Han returned.

“-Everything okay?”

“-A magician who came for the festival came to see it for a while.”

“-Nothing else.”

“-I see.”

Suddenly, Lee Han felt a strange, worrying feeling.

‘What is it?’

A situation with nothing strange at all.

‘Is the headmaster plotting something strange?’