Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 412

What?! How with a golem?!

Just how?!

The black mages noticed the golem summoning mages’ reaction. At first, they were confused, but they quickly understood what was happening.

The black mages made a mistake. They thought a student from Einroguard was controlling the golem.

Ah. We didn’t do that…

Quiet! Be quiet. We… we can figure it out.

No…

The black mages were flustered.

The black mages tried to explain, but the summoning mages, full of pride, refused to listen and started thinking to themselves.

What is it? How can they waste so much mana on a golem? It must take a lot of mana.

Are they collecting and reusing the mana?

How well would that work? It’s hard to get back even a tenth of it. Could it be… have they found a magic circle we don’t know about?

Black magic… is there something like that in black magic? A rare type of negative mana…

I’ve never heard of that! We would know if there was!

What else could it be? What other way?!

Don’t stare! It’s too obvious! Look without being noticed.

The summoning mages started to groan and whisper.

They glanced at the golem, trying to hide their pride, but they couldn’t understand it.

It wasn’t a new magic circle or new materials. It looked like a normal golem…

How could they keep the mana going while doing such careful moves?

Maybe they just used a ton of mana?

Do you have to make such silly jokes? Even if we can’t figure it out?

There were no magic stones or potions near the golem. That simple answer couldn’t be right.

Hey.

Wait! Just wait a moment.

No… just explaining…

Just a moment!! I said wait a moment!! Ahem!!

……

The black mages looked awkward. They usually argued whenever they saw each other, so they didn’t like the summoning mages acting like that.

They wanted to tell them, but…

Ugh… Uuugh… Uuuuuugh.

Ugh… Uuugh… Uuuuuugh.

Huh. Huhu.

The summoning mages kept worrying.

Some summoning mages were so upset they even started to cry.

Not only were the black mages beating them with golems, but they couldn’t even guess how it was happening.

The summoning mages felt ashamed and defeated. The black mages, who had been waiting for this, suddenly felt excited.

Huh?

Actually, what happened was…

Shhh. Just a moment.

What’s wrong?

Let’s not tell them. They said we didn’t need to explain.

…!

The summoning mages didn’t know the black mages were about to play a trick on them. They gritted their teeth and said,

It’s not… it’s not over yet. I don’t know how you did it, but I will find out before this festival ends. Just wait!

The summoning mages couldn’t stay in their seats any longer. They felt humiliated and quickly left.

The black mages didn’t say anything. They just laughed.

…Kha-ha-ha! Kha-ha-ha-ha-ha!

Wahaha-ha-ha-ha-ha!

…Just you wait!!

After the summoning mages left, the black mages looked at each other, their faces full of joy.

It had been a long time since they felt so good!

…Um. Black mages?

……

Lee Han had been watching from behind. When he called out, the black mages finally realized he was there.

Why aren’t those golem guys getting ready?

Who knows? Did something happen?

The other summoning mages were confused by the golem summoning mages’ behavior.

The golem summoning mages were usually the loudest and proudest group. Golems were powerful summons, and everyone knew it.

But today, they looked as if they had lost something important.

Are you okay? If you don’t get ready, we’ll go first?

…Do as you please…

!?

Everyone was surprised. The golem summoning mages, who would normally jump up and down and say, ‘How dare you take our turn!’, were now quiet and pale.

Is it really okay if we go first?

Yes…

Are the guys who usually make fun of ego items really okay?

Yes…

…No. Are these guys really okay?

I’m worried about this…

The summoning mages had been trying to ignore it, but now they started to worry too.

They were starting to get seriously worried about the golem summoning mages.

Even people who didn’t know magic could get depressed, but it was especially dangerous for mages.

A mage who lost control was much more dangerous than a normal person.

If they accidentally caused an accident…

Hey. I know you’re having a hard time. But being sad won’t fix anything.

That’s right. Come here. When you feel like this, it’s good to clear your head and watch other mages’ magic. Oh, the Einroguard students are going to show summoning magic. Let’s watch that. It’s rare to see real magic. They’re students of Milay.

Summoning something small…

Already at that age?!

You still can’t summon a paper bird, can you?

I, I’m not good at it…

Shouldn’t we just throw these guys in a hole and leave them?

Shhh. Be nice.

The other summoning mages tried to comfort the golem summoning mages with the kindness of fellow mages.

Finally, the golem summoning mages gave up and stood up.

Hoo… How did they do it?

I told you to stop worrying about it! Let’s watch the students’ magic.

A paper bird?

They can do that already?!

You still can’t summon a paper bird, can you?

I’m just not good at it…

The summoning mages chatted and sat down to watch.

Some of the summoning mages at the festival could use magic that was higher level than the Einroguard students.

But very few mages had built up the basics of summoning magic as well as the students of Einroguard.

Magic is a hard path, even for those who are talented.

Not many mages could keep working on the basics while seeing what they could do right away. And not many places let them do that.

So, the first-year students of Einroguard didn’t seem less important than the mages at the festival.

They were like the start of a big wave coming from far away. It was still small, but it could easily swallow a small boat once it got going.

It’s starting. A paper bird!

Cool! They summoned it in one try!

The summoning mages admired and applauded.

However, some of the best summoning wizards just watched. They didn’t look very impressed. These wizards were known to be very skilled, so it was hard to impress them.

“Juniors, please…”

“Shhh! Professor’s listening!”

The older students watched nervously. Professor Milly tried to look calm, but you could tell she was nervous.

“Stop right there!”

Whirr-

The paper birds, flying in neat lines, wobbled slightly, then stopped. Applause rippled through the crowd, but the older students sighed quietly.

“Too slow,” muttered a senior boy, shaking his head. “They’re supposed to stop instantly.”

“And look at the circles,” whispered a girl, pointing. “Magic’s leaking out. See how shaky they are?”

“Wasteful,” another senior added, clicking his tongue.

Across the room, the best summoning wizards watched, their faces still and unreadable.

Next, the paper birds that flew out began to speak.

Applause and cheers erupted, but some summoning wizards still didn’t react.

“They should have made them sing! They should have made them sing instead…”

“You couldn’t even succeed, and you’re telling the first-years to do that??”

“If they had succeeded, everyone would have given a standing ovation!”

“Let’s just go and threaten them to stand up now. It’s better than going to the punishment room.”

While the seniors were talking, one of the first-year students launched his paper bird late. He was the last to start because he needed more time to prepare.

“…Oh, isn’t that Lee Han? He was with the dark wizards earlier.”

“Why was he with the dark wizards?”

“I don’t know…? Can dark magic even help a paper bird?”

The paper bird that Lee Han sent was ordinary.

Like the others, it whirled into the air and floated slowly.

Many summoning wizards clapped but looked puzzled.

‘Is he just late?’

‘I should clap so he doesn’t feel embarrassed.’

Even the older students were confused. They didn’t understand what was happening at first.

“Did he not prepare because he was late?”

“Did the dark wizards catch him? Those dark wizards…!”

“No. He’s taking dark magic class…”

Thump!

One of the summoning wizards stood up and looked at Professor Milly.

Professor Milly nodded. It was a sign that she allowed him to do what he wanted.

Suddenly, a spirit hawk appeared in the air. It flew quickly, trying to tear the paper bird apart.

Lee Han cursed to himself and controlled the bird.

‘Is he crazy?!’

To attack someone else’s summon during a demonstration was rude.

If it weren’t for the festival, Professor Volardy would have shouted, ‘Hit the main body!’ and broken a few of the attacking wizard’s bones.

Lee Han gritted his teeth at the wizard’s attack and focused.

‘Evade, evade, evade…!’

Whoosh!

The paper bird twisted suddenly! It dodged the hawk’s sharp claws. Again and again, the hawk swooped, and each time, the paper bird just barely escaped.

“…!!”

“Th-that?!”

Then, even the summoning wizards who hadn’t understood began to be surprised.

“What’s wrong? What’s going on?”

“Look at the movement! Look at that movement!”

The movement of a paper bird summoned after recording it in a magic circle had limits.

Even if it tried to dodge, it couldn’t withstand the attack of a fierce spirit hawk.

But now, the paper bird was dodging with surprising skill. It was clear that the wizard was controlling it directly.

Hwaaaah-

‘…Is he really crazy!?’

Lee Han was angry when the wizard sprayed fog, blocking his vision.

Not only was he attacking the paper bird, but now he was spraying fog to stop Lee Han from controlling it.

Lee Han vowed to settle things later, punishment room or not, and focused on long-range vision.

If he couldn’t see through the wizard’s eyes, he would see through the bird’s eyes.

‘Just hold on a little longer… Got it!’

The long-range vision magic worked! The paper bird dodged the spirit hawk’s attack again.

The summoning wizard saw enough. He knew Lee Han was skilled. So, he made the spirit hawk disappear.

He held out his hand.

“Congratulations, Professor Milly. You have an excellent student.”

“I knew that Einroguard students were outstanding, but I didn’t know they were this good.”

The summoning wizards stood up and congratulated her. Professor Milly looked pleased. The older students sighed in relief.

“He still has many flaws. That magic is just copying my magic. He needs to create his own magic soon.”

“There’s no need to rush. A young wizard with that much skill will find his own way.”

‘Even though she’s our teacher, isn’t she too much sometimes?’

‘I know, right.’

The older students clicked their tongues at their teacher’s comment.

It’s too much!

Thud!

“Which wizard just cast fog…”

“Ah. This is the wizard who impressed us.”

“I was moved.”

Lee Han, about to explode, understood the situation when he saw Professor Milly and the surrounding wizards.

“…Thanks to your consideration in spraying it, I was able to overcome the crisis.”

“What? I never held back. Haha!”

‘…Did that junior look angry just now? Was it just my imagination?’

“No way!!”

“!?”

They thought it was over, but a shout came from behind.

The golem summoning wizards stared at Lee Han, shocked.

“H-he wasn’t a dark wizard?!”

“Then how did he control the golem… No… How… Paper bird… Uh… Both…?!”

“Hey. What are you guys…”

The summoning wizards next to Professor Milly frowned. It was rude to act like that in someone else’s territory.

“No! Please wait! He controlled the golem! I saw it with my own eyes!”

“He knows how to control golems! He controls them amazingly…”

The summoning wizards thought the golem summoning wizards were talking nonsense.

What were they saying to a first-year student who was tired from controlling the paper bird?

Lee Han noticed the mood and whispered to Professor Milly.

“I think you should step in, Professor.”

“You’re right, Lee Han.”

Professor Milly adjusted her monocle and said,

“Let’s show them the golem control too.”

“……”