Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 420

“This is really interesting. I can’t understand what happened here.”

Beside him, the Death Knight muttered with curiosity, and the skeletal Headmaster made a sound like bones clacking together instead of tutting.

“You still have a long way to go. I recognized it instantly.”, the Headmaster said.

“Is that so?” The Death Knight was astonished.

He was trying to figure out the secrets hidden within this mysterious scene.

Indeed, his master was worthy of being called the empire’s foremost sage, he thought.

Everyone knew Master Gonadal-thes. Even the people who made the most popular magazine in the empire, asked him for help.

“The culprit is undoubtedly Wodanaz.”

“…?” The Death Knight stared at his master, bewildered.

Of course, he knew his master enjoyed teasing his favorite students, but this was utterly far-fetched.

If he was too harsh and a student went wrong, it would cause big problems later.

“I’m not being far-fetched, you empty-headed dolt.”

“Understood. I trust in your judgment, Master.”

“A truly trusting fellow wouldn’t need to say it. Now, think. You can tell that first-year students have been here, can’t you?”

“That is…” The Death Knight nodded.

Though the knights and wizards wouldn’t admit it, the scene suggested that first-year students had indeed been present.

“And among the first-year students, Wodanaz is the only one friendly with both the wizards and the knights.”

“But the escapees were from the White Tiger Tower… and even if they are close, is such a thing possible…?”

“There must be some underlying story. Remember this well: once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth.”

The skeletal Headmaster spoke with a knowing tone. The Death Knight bowed his head, eyes filled with admiration.

I knew they were close, but I didn’t expect he could help them like this. He truly has a knack for it.

“Yes. I am still amazed. Those two sons of b—”

The Headmaster cleared his throat loudly, “Ahem.”

“My apologies. For the impolite expression.”

“No, no. Lower your voice and continue. They are sons of bitches, indeed. If they don’t listen to reason, are they even human?” The skeletal Headmaster was genuinely intrigued.

There were many geniuses in the vast empire.

Of course, Ethan was a bit more exceptional among those geniuses, but still…

Even among Ethan’s seniors, there were several who displayed remarkable talent in their respective fields.

But those geniuses were usually only interested in their own studies; they didn’t bother feeding their friends, helping professors, or helping outsiders in their spare time.

Yet, Ethan was capable of all that.

Now that he thought about it, Ethan had clearly helped the knights and the wizards get along.

This was no easy feat, even for a seasoned imperial official…

It’s absurd when you think about it. This is supposed to be the professors’ job. How can a student be more sociable than his teachers?

The Death Knight thought to himself, ‘Aren’t those the professors you brought in, Master?’ but remained silent.

Instead, he changed the subject.

“You must be very pleased to have such a talented disciple.”

“Indeed. Now that I know he’s capable of this much, I can give him even more tasks. What should I assign him next…?”

“……” The Death Knight couldn’t help but think it was a bit much to ask of a first-year student, but he remained silent.

A loyal familiar knew when to be silent.

“Ah, I almost forgot. Take charge of this.”

“What do you mean? A reward?” The Death Knight wondered if the skeletal Headmaster was giving a reward for the extra work he was assigning to his disciple.

Honestly, helping the wizards and knights get along was more difficult than defeating a wicked demon lord.

“Are you mad? What reward? Does Einroguard look so weak that we give rewards to escapees?”

“…Yes. My apologies.”

“I meant, find out how Wodanaz escaped.”

“Didn’t he leave with the White Tiger Tower students?”

“I thought so at first, but upon reflection, Wodanaz isn’t so careless. He released the staff, didn’t he? He probably left separately. Look into it.”

The skeletal Headmaster, surprisingly, was careful about the rules he established.

Unless caught in the act or leaving behind material evidence, he wouldn’t imprison a student based solely on suspicion or testimony.

If he were to imprison someone, he would catch them definitively, leaving no room for argument!

“Wouldn’t it be difficult for a first-year student unless it’s an exceptional situation?”

“Ah, that complacency is truly arrogant! I’ve told you so many times not to underestimate your opponents. Remember this! Erase the thought that he’s just a first-year. Think of him as a seasoned fourth-year!”

“…Yes. Understood…”

Ethan had a crazy weekend and just got back very early in the morning. He managed to catch a bit of sleep and woke up promptly in the morning.

The acolytes didn’t show it, but they were talking about the sudden change in the morning menu.

“Is today a special day…?”

“No. We should be eating this much for nutritional balance.”

Ethan spread a generous amount of jam on a slice of bread and pushed it towards the most malnourished-looking acolyte.

One of the acolytes suddenly remembered something and asked,

“Did the students of the Blue Dragon Tower eat like this last semester?”

“More or less?”

“Ah…!” The acolytes nodded as if they understood, “Ah, I see!”

No wonder the Blue Dragon Tower students weren’t desperate for snacks during the first semester, and even when the acolytes tried to share food, they would say, ‘Haha, it’s alright, acolytes, you eat it.’ But lately, their eyes had been hollow, which was concerning.

“No wonder…”

“But if those who used to eat like that aren’t eating, wouldn’t they be hungry? Should we perhaps take some over…”

As an acolyte was about to get up with a plate filled with egg custard, pumpkin pie, egg rice, and aged duck barbecue, Ethan immediately warned,

“Anyone who takes food to other towers will not be chosen first when we pick orders.”

“Ah, no!”

“Why…?” The acolytes who were about to bring food were flustered.

Since they desperately wanted Ethan to awaken his next divine magic with their order’s divine magic, they couldn’t afford to be pushed back in the order.

“I don’t think we should be eating so lavishly…”

“I heard it’s not good to eat like this in the order…”

Ethan ignored the acolytes’ grumbling and continued to feed them.

Ihan smiled warmly at the thin, tired-looking priest across the table. “Priest Tizling, you haven’t eaten enough. Let me give you more food.”

Tizling, already facing a generous pile of food, looked worried. “Oh, but sir, you’ve already given me so much… really, I couldn’t eat another bite!”

Ihan, pleased that the priests were eating well, glanced out the dining hall window. Even though he had only been at Einroguard for a few months, he knew this place well. He felt a tension in the air, like before a storm.

Looking out, he saw more Death Knights than usual marching along the high walls. Dark shapes he didn’t recognize, like shadowy birds, circled above the towers. Something was definitely wrong.

He muttered to himself, “It has to be because of those fools from White Tiger Tower.”

Ihan muttered to himself, “Those White Tiger Tower students are completely useless.” He knew he was partly to blame for agreeing to go with them that weekend to earn some money, but it was the White Tiger Tower group who had caused all the problems.

And then they had even dared to tease him, saying, “It’s lucky you ran into the Knights.” Useless, the whole group of them.

A cold feeling went through Ihan. “Have they found out?” He stared at the tall watchtower, imagining eyes watching him. He had asked the others to keep quiet about him sneaking out to get supplies, but there were too many of them. He knew secrets didn’t stay secret for long here.

He hadn’t been taken to the punishment chamber yet, so maybe he was safe, for now. Maybe the Skull Headmaster hadn’t discovered he was gone… not yet. “But he never lets anything go,” Ihan thought, his stomach tightening.

“I need to sneak out at least three or four times each semester to get more potion ingredients,” Ihan thought. Despite the increased patrols, Ihan felt surprisingly calm. He had managed to bring back a good amount of rare herbs and crystals, hidden safely. And he even had a valid outing pass, signed by a professor – a lucky find! Things were much better than he expected.

The excitement of the Mage’s Festival last week was over, so now he just needed to focus on his classes this week…

Just as Ihan reached the door of Professor Voladi’s lecture hall, *CRASH! BANG!* Before he could even step inside, something slammed into him, sending him sprawling onto the floor. He scrambled up, rubbing his head.

“Professor Voladi! Are you attacking me *now*? Seriously?”

Professor Voladi stood calmly at the front of the room. “I’m afraid so, Ihan. It can’t be avoided.”

Ihan sighed, even though he was actually quite curious. “And why is that, Professor?”

Voladi said, “Because the Headmaster has instructed me that the best way for you to learn to defend against spatial magic, at your current skill level, is through constant practice.”

Ihan blinked. “Spatial magic? I need to practice lightning magic form manipulation! There’s so much to do…” He was bewildered. Where had the safe curriculum items like Basilisk egg care gone? Why spatial magic defense training all of a sudden?

Professor Voladi held up a piece of parchment. “The Headmaster sent this.” Ihan squinted at the note. It read: *Voladi Begreck, Student Ihan Wodanaz is struggling and discouraged after his recent defeat by a golem using spatial magic. Ensure he receives appropriate training in spatial magic defense. Osu Gonadaltes, Headmaster.*

Ihan’s face went pale. “Is this… is this because I snuck out?” he thought wildly. “Did the Headmaster find out already? Just put me in detention! Spatial magic? Really?”

“So,” Ihan said slowly, “we’re learning to defend against spatial magic now?”

“Exactly,” Professor Voladi nodded, his face completely serious. “It’s important to be prepared, Ihan. Imagine if you were traveling in the wildest, most dangerous parts of the Empire, and you met a powerful mage who only used spatial magic. You would be in terrible danger.”

Ihan almost rolled his eyes. *Why not teach me how to fight a dragon while we’re at it?* he thought. He could just imagine Professor Voladi saying, “Excellent idea, Ihan! We’ll start dragon-slaying lessons tomorrow!” Instead, Ihan said, with a fake cheerful voice, “Oh, I’m *so* thrilled to learn how to fight a super-rare spatial magic expert that I might meet, maybe, twice in my entire life. Really, Professor, I’m overjoyed.”

“Really?” Professor Voladi beamed. He actually thought Ihan was happy! As a teacher, there was nothing more rewarding than giving a student exactly what they wanted to learn. “From now on, I want you to be completely honest with me, Ihan,” Professor Voladi said, puffing out his chest slightly. He thought Ihan was just too shy to say how grateful he was.

“Yes, Professor, I’ll be *completely* honest,” Ihan said, trying to keep a straight face. “And please, Professor, just… please don’t listen to what other professors tell you about me. Things always get mixed up when people talk about each other, don’t they?”

“That is very true, Ihan,” Professor Voladi nodded seriously, completely missing Ihan’s point. Ihan just sighed quietly.

Professor Voladi continued, “Spatial magic, especially when used to attack, is incredibly hard to defend against. Because you can’t see it coming.” He explained, “Magic that controls space and time is some of the most complex magic there is. That’s why mages who are good at spatial magic, especially in battle, are very rare. It also takes a huge amount of magical energy to use. If you just want to hurt someone, a simple spell is much easier.”

Ihan asked, “So, Professor, do we really need to worry about something so rare?”

Professor Voladi raised an eyebrow. “But you’ve already faced it, haven’t you, Ihan? And as they say, what happens once can happen again.”

Ihan felt defeated by Professor Voladi’s logic. To be defeated by such logic…

“There aren’t many ways to defend against spatial magic,” Professor Voladi said, “but there are some.” He explained, “Even though spatial magic seems to appear from nowhere, there are tiny signs, little movements the caster makes before they use it. If you can learn to see those signs, to predict what they’re going to do even before they do it, you can dodge even the strongest spells.”

“You mean… like seeing the future?” Ihan asked, surprised.

“Something like that,” Professor Voladi nodded. “We call it precognitive magic – magic that lets you sense what’s coming.”

Ihan blinked. “Oh. So, I don’t have to get hit by things to learn this, right?”

“Oh no, Ihan,” Professor Voladi said, a glint in his eye. “You absolutely *must* get hit. Many, many times. That’s how you learn to react quickly, to develop your instincts.”

Just as Ihan started to protest, a wooden chair suddenly appeared right where he had been standing and *whizzed* past his ear. Before he could even jump back, a heavy oak desk materialized behind him and *thumped* him hard in the back. Ihan yelped and went flying across the room.

“Excellent first dodge, Ihan!” Professor Voladi called out. “You have a natural talent!”

Gasping for breath, Ihan mumbled, “That wasn’t talent, Professor, that was just dumb luck!” But Professor Voladi was already raising his hand again, and another chair was forming in the air…