Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 42

Magic exploded outwards, hitting Garakse hard. But the blast also slammed into Lee Han.

He flew backwards, the force hitting him like a wall. ‘Ugh!’

It hurt even more than when Alar Rong hit him. Lee Han thought, ‘Did I use too much magic?’ He had used all his power to defeat the enemy.

But now, he was shocked. His body felt numb and heavy. He couldn’t move.

Luckily, all the bad guys were down. But…

“Lee Han!” Professor Garcia shouted, running towards him.

Lee Han blinked, confused. ‘Wait, weren’t those attackers going after Professor Garcia?’ Then he saw it.

The attackers near Professor Garcia were on the ground, twisted and broken, like toys smashed by a giant. Professor Garcia’s fist was red with blood, but it wasn’t his own blood.

‘Oh, right… he’s part troll.’ Lee Han felt a little foolish.

Maybe he didn’t need to use so much magic. Professor Garcia could have handled them himself. Trolls were famous for being strong, even without magic.

How dare they attack *his* school!

Suddenly, a huge skull, glowing green, zoomed through the air from the school buildings. It was the Headmaster.

Usually, seeing the Headmaster’s skull made Lee Han nervous. But now, he just felt relief wash over him. ‘Finally, I can rest.’

Lee Han closed his eyes, sinking onto the ground. Every part of his body throbbed. All he wanted was to sleep.

The Skull Headmaster hurried to the scene with Professor Volardi close behind. ‘The Imperial Anti-Magicists,’ the Headmaster thought grimly, ‘they are like weeds, always popping up in the dark.’

For them to attack a professor here, at the school… He bowed his skull slightly to Professor Garcia. “Professor Garcia Kim, I am truly sorry. I was not careful enough. I put you in danger.”

Professor Garcia looked surprised at the Headmaster’s apology. He hadn’t heard the Headmaster say sorry in a long time.

Professor Volardi, standing beside him, said, “I disagree. The Headmaster *should* be able to stop this from happening.” The air went still.

Professor Garcia stared at Professor Volardi, his mouth slightly open. Volardi seemed to have no idea how rude he sounded.

The Skull Headmaster felt a flash of anger, but he held it back. ‘No, it’s my fault,’ he thought. ‘I should have been more watchful.’

He sighed. “I am ashamed. Is that… an ancient artifact?” He pointed to something on the ground.

“Yes,” Professor Garcia said. “A very strong artifact. It blocked magic.”

‘They planned this well,’ the Headmaster thought, clicking his teeth in annoyance. ‘Anti-magicists are the worst enemies for wizards. And they even brought an ancient artifact.’

“This is Garakse,” Professor Volardi said, pointing to the swordsman who was barely alive. “He’s famous, even in the Twilight Dawn. They call him ‘Magic Slayer’ because he’s so good at fighting magic users.”

Volardi checked Garakse. “He’s still alive. I’ll take him to my prison. I need to get information about the Twilight Dawn from his mind.”

The Skull Headmaster looked around at the battlefield, seeing it clearly now. He could see the marks of Professor Garcia’s lightning magic and other spells. Most of the attackers were burned and smoking.

‘Garcia isn’t a combat expert,’ he thought, ‘but he used magic well, without destroying everything around him.’

But then, the Headmaster noticed other things. Some attackers had cuts and stab wounds from swords. Others looked like they had been thrown back by magic. He knew instantly who had done that.

It was the Wodanaz boy, Lee Han, who was now asleep on the ground. ‘Why are the Wodanaz family so good with swords?’ he wondered.

To fight Garakse, even with luck, you needed real skill. The Headmaster was curious, but he didn’t want to wake the boy.

‘Wizards don’t just do magic,’ he thought. ‘They have other interests. Some ride horses, some knit… maybe his hobby is swords.’

Professor Garcia saw the Headmaster looking at Lee Han and said, “It could have been much worse if Lee Han hadn’t helped. He saved the workers. No one else was hurt because of him.”

“Yes,” the Headmaster agreed, impressed. “He has real talent. To use magic so well under pressure, without losing his head… He has a gift for magical combat. Professor Volardi, did you teach him?”

Volardi shrugged. “It’s not surprising. The Wodanaz boy is the type who focuses well when things get tough. And he has a lot of magic. It’s natural he’d do well in a fight like this.”

‘I shouldn’t have brought Volardi,’ the Headmaster thought, annoyed. He had brought Volardi because he was a strong combat mage, just in case.

But Volardi always said the wrong thing and irritated him. Volardi was acting like Lee Han’s actions were normal, but the Headmaster knew they were not.

Even the Headmaster, who rarely praised anyone, was amazed by what Lee Han had done.

A first-year student, just arrived at school, fighting against the dangerous Imperial Anti-Magicists. And from what Professor Garcia said, Lee Han had fought cleverly.

It wasn’t just brute strength or raw magic. If he had just won because he was powerful, it wouldn’t be so impressive. But Lee Han was weaker than his enemies, in a bad situation, and he had *outsmarted* them.

That was the mark of a truly gifted wizard. ‘I want him!’

The Skull Headmaster felt a strange thrill, like a spark in his bones. He imagined taking Lee Han to his workshop, teaching him everything he knew, like the old wizards used to do – one master, one student, passing down secret knowledge.

But he knew he couldn’t. Not anymore. If he tried to take Lee Han as his personal student, there would be chaos. Complaints from other professors, from the Wodanaz family, even from the Emperor himself.

He remembered the arguments, the complaints. *‘Headmaster, wizards need more than just magic! They need to be normal people too!’* *‘Gonadaltes, if your way of teaching worked, everyone would be a genius! It doesn’t! You’re just making them weird!’* *‘I gave money to this school to train leaders for the Empire, not to create a bunch of crazy wizards! Stop stealing talented students!’*

The Headmaster sighed. ‘This era is so annoying.’ He had made those rules himself, for good reason. What could he do?

But Lee Han was now at the school. He would have chances to guide him, to teach him, bit by bit. The Headmaster hoped, with all his skull-heart, that Lee Han would become his student someday.

Then, he could share all his secret, forbidden knowledge! “Clean up this mess,” the Headmaster ordered his summoned creatures. “Give the workers extra pay. They deserve it. And take that artifact.”

He needed to hide all signs of the attack, so the nearby villages wouldn’t worry. “Professor Volardi, what are you doing?” he asked, noticing Volardi still looking at the fallen attackers.

“I’m looking at how some of these attackers were knocked out,” Volardi said. “It’s strange.” The Headmaster frowned. “Strange how?”

They could see the sword cuts, the burn marks, the holes from bullets. But some attackers had injuries that looked like they had been hit by something huge and blunt.

“What the heck?” the Headmaster muttered. ‘Did the Wodanaz boy move rocks with magic? Even with a ‘Low-Level Manipulation’ spell? Impossible… Could *he* have done it?’ He looked at Professor Garcia.

Just then, Professor Garcia raised his hand, looking embarrassed. “…Um, Headmaster? Actually, I… I knocked them out with my fists.” He smiled weakly.

Lee Han woke up in a soft bed. The first thing he saw was the Skull Headmaster’s skull floating above him. ‘Is this a dream?’ he wondered.

“Lee Han, student,” the Headmaster said, his voice surprisingly gentle. “You did very well.” Professor Garcia smiled beside him. “Yes, you worked hard.”

“Oh, it was nothing,” Lee Han mumbled. “I just did what I had to do.”

“Still, you deserve praise,” the Headmaster said. “Well done.”

“Thank you,” Lee Han said. Then the Headmaster’s voice changed, becoming sharper. “Of course, trying to sneak out of school is another matter.”

‘Damn it,’ Lee Han thought. Suddenly, he felt angry at the Anti-Magicists again. ‘If it wasn’t for them, I’d be in the village right now!’

Professor Garcia looked sorry. “I’m really sorry, Lee Han. After all you’ve done…”

“Don’t worry about it,” the Headmaster interrupted. “Rules are rules. Rewards are rewards. Punishments are punishments.” He leaned closer to Lee Han. “But more importantly… how did you get through the underground warehouse passage?”

The Headmaster’s skull seemed genuinely curious. “That warehouse behind the main stairs is a challenge for all new students. Even if they just want food, students would do anything to get in there.”

The Headmaster chuckled. “I even leave keys around, just to make it a little easier to get to the back of the stairs. But to get through the *underground passage* from there… I didn’t expect that.” He looked at Lee Han closely.

“Even if you resisted eating anything in the warehouse, how did you get past the warehouse keeper?”

“I… I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Lee Han said quickly, keeping his mouth shut. He had been caught, but he would deny it to the end.

The Skull Headmaster seemed to see right through him. He smiled slightly. “He’s something else, this boy. But too bad for him. The underground passage is now closed for good.”

‘Damn it!’ Lee Han thought again. Suddenly, the Headmaster’s voice became serious again. “Listen, Lee Han of the Wodanaz family. For the school, I want to thank you deeply for fighting the Imperial Anti-Magicists and protecting our workers and professors.”

Lee Han blinked, surprised. “As a small gift,” the Headmaster continued, “I want to give you this famous sword, ‘Dawn Star’.” He gestured to a sword lying nearby.

“Thank you…” Lee Han said, then stopped. “Wait, isn’t this the sword that enemy was using?” He almost asked, ‘Is it really okay to give a sharp sword to a student?’ He should have asked that first. ‘Should I break it?’ he wondered.

“I guess so,” Lee Han said. “I’ll… use it well.” He understood instantly. ‘I can sell this later.’

Professor Garcia looked a little surprised. Lee Han had understood too quickly. Garcia had been ready to say, ‘The sword isn’t evil, only the person who used it was. Please use it for good.’ But Lee Han hadn’t refused at all.

“And take this too,” the Headmaster added, handing him a piece of paper. “It’s an outing pass.”

Lee Han’s eyes widened. He was much happier about the outing pass than the sword. The Skull Headmaster watched, a little surprised to see the usually calm boy jump up and down with joy. ‘That sword is worth much more!’ the Headmaster thought.

“Thank you, Headmaster!” Lee Han said, grinning. “I will be loyal to you!”

“Okay, okay,” the Headmaster chuckled, slightly overwhelmed by Lee Han’s sudden excitement.