Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 429

Lee Han understood the situation quickly when Tizling Priest whispered to him.

‘Oh dear.’

Lee Han thought, *Of course they’re excited.* They probably hadn’t done many night walks. If Gainan was here, he might have flicked them on the forehead. But Lee Han was gentle with the priests.

“Don’t worry, everyone,” Lee Han said kindly. “This boat is just for now because we’re in a hurry. If we keep doing night walks, we’ll cross lakes like this a lot. We’ll make a proper boat next time.”

The two priests’ faces brightened.

Tizling Priest, listening nearby, thought to himself, *Is there really a next time?*

Everyone else was talking excitedly about the next night walk, making plans as if it was already decided.

*Splash-*

The ice ferry cut through the underground lake, which was as still as glass. Lee Han checked again for monsters. Seeing nothing, he became bolder.

He created a glowing sphere of light and floated it above the ferry, like a small sun in the darkness.

*If there are any monsters hiding, this light might attract them,* he thought. He was ready to blast them with magic if they appeared.

But the lake stayed quiet. He couldn’t hear any monsters moving.

“Strange.”

Lee Han felt uneasy for no reason.

He never thought he’d miss the monsters that usually jumped out in hidden places at the school…

Because they weren’t appearing, he felt even more worried.

*Why?*

“It’s strange,” Siana Priest said.

“I think a lake this big should have fish or something living in it, don’t you?”

“!”

Lee Han’s eyes widened at Siana Priest’s words.

She was right.

Lee Han had been thinking only about monsters. He hadn’t thought about normal things. A lake this big *should* have fish or something living in it.

Even if it was underground…

“Siana Priest, do you mean…”

“That’s right.”

Siana Priest nodded. She looked so sure of herself that Lee Han was very impressed.

*What clever idea does she have?* Lee Han wondered.

“Isn’t it really amazing?” Siana Priest said.

Nigisor Priest agreed, “Yes, a lake like this! Einroguard is full of surprises.”

“……”

Lee Han regretted expecting something smart.

The two priests were just excited and not helpful at all.

Tizling Priest felt a bit sorry and tried to guess instead.

“Maybe if it’s a closed, man-made place, there might not be any living things.”

“But there are plants and soil, and the water flows. It must be connected to something,” Lee Han said.

“What if there’s a powerful monster at the bottom of the lake?” Tizling Priest suggested. “What if it ate everything or scared everything away?”

“If there was a monster like that, it would have come out when we made all this noise,” Lee Han replied.

The two priests seriously discussed ideas.

Meanwhile, Siana Priest and Nigisor Priest were doing their own thing.

“Wow! Look, carvings over there!”

“Look at these flat stones for skipping!”

“……”

“……”

Lee Han and Tizling Priest stared blankly at them. They didn’t even notice.

“Wait, it’s an island!” Lee Han suddenly shouted, looking up.

His good eyesight helped him see it before the others.

A small island, barely bigger than a large rock in the sea, appeared in the distance as they got closer. It had been hidden in the deep darkness before.

The two priests got even more excited.

“Maybe there’s a lost magic book!” one said.

“Or a history book! A very special one we can’t find anywhere else!” said the other.

Einroguard had many old and valuable books.

Of course, finding them and being allowed to read them was difficult. Even professors struggled to find lost books.

Finding precious books in a place like this sounded exciting and romantic.

“Stop talking silly talk,” Lee Han said. “Everyone be quiet, or we’ll have bad luck.”

“……”

“……”

Except for Lee Han.

Lee Han didn’t care about romance. He needed to find supplies, any supplies he could.

*A warehouse built by old students. A warehouse built by professors. A warehouse built by the headmaster. Please let it be one of those,* he hoped.

While the priests sulked, Lee Han steered the ferry to the island and landed.

A huge, dark rock took up almost the entire island, like a giant sleeping animal.

Lee Han guessed that if anything was on this island, it would be hidden inside the rock.

*Light of Truth…*

Nigisor Priest and Siana Priest seemed to understand what Lee Han was going to do. They also picked up their equipment.

*Let’s find hidden paths with fire and acid!*

*Lord Gonadaltes?* Lee Han thought about something else for a moment.

Suddenly, a booming voice echoed from inside the rock. “!!”

Only then did Lee Han realize that what he thought was a giant rock was actually a monster.

A monster as big as the island itself!

Lee Han’s brain worked fast. A direct fight here was not a good idea.

“I am the evil…”

*Not Lord Gonadaltes,* Lee Han thought. *It’s a student.*

“……”

*Huh? What was I going to say?* the voice mumbled.

“I am a student who learned dark magic from Lord Gonadaltes,” the voice boomed.

*Ah, that’s why the magic is like that,* Lee Han thought. *I almost thought it was something else.*

The giant rock continued to speak in a slow, gentle voice.

It was clear it could sense them with magic, even though it had no visible eyes.

“Are you a rock spirit?” Lee Han asked.

“I don’t think it’s a spirit,” he replied, not really paying attention.

Then, the giant rock answered with a booming voice, sounding proud.

“That’s right! I’m not a spirit. Amazing! Everyone thinks I’m a spirit. How did you know?”

“…Just guessing,” Lee Han said. He almost said, *‘Because spirits usually hate me,’* but he stopped himself.

“I am Bulgasari.”

“!”

Bulgasari.

*A monster that eats iron and gets bigger.*

Bulgasari monsters can look very different. This is because their appearance changes based on the metal they eat and where they live.

The Bulgasari on this small island was big and calm. It must have had plenty of food and a peaceful life. You could tell by its size and how gentle it seemed.

Lee Han looked surprised. “A Bulgasari? Why is it here in Einroguard?”

The Bulgasari said slowly, “Hmm, when was it? A long time ago, I don’t really remember. A student brought me here secretly when I was very young. They raised me here. I guess they thought this place was good for me.”

The Bulgasari spoke in a calm, slow voice.

Lee Han was shocked by this story. He couldn’t believe it.

Lee Han thought to himself, “How irresponsible! Bringing a monster here!”

He thought, “Even if this is Einroguard, how could someone bring in a dangerous creature without asking?”

Siana, the priestess, spoke carefully. She had been listening closely. “Bulgasari-nim,” she asked, “you don’t want to hurt the students or cause trouble, do you?”

“No,” the Bulgasari replied. “Why would I do that? The student who brought me here is a professor now. We are friends.”

Lee Han’s face went stiff. He was shocked again.

He thought, “The person who did this is a professor!”

Lee Han tried to guess. “Were they… maybe someone from the beast people?”

The Bulgasari sounded confused. “Huh? No, not that.”

“No… wait,” the Bulgasari said. “Stop asking. I don’t want to talk about it anymore.” The Bulgasari stopped talking and closed its mouth. It seemed worried about getting the professor in trouble.

“You shouldn’t disrespect that professor just because they brought me here,” the Bulgasari said. “Everyone makes mistakes when they are young.”

“Indeed,” Priest Nigisore said, nodding. He understood.

Priest Nigisore remembered his own youthful mistakes. He had once played with fire in the temple, trying to make a bigger flame. It was a silly thing he did when he was young.

Siana mumbled, “I don’t think I would ever secretly bring in a monster as big as this school, no matter what mistake I made…” She stopped talking when Lee Han covered her mouth.

“Shhh, Priestess Siana,” Lee Han whispered quickly. “Don’t make it angry for no reason.” He put his hand over her mouth.

Lee Han thought, “It’s too bad it’s not the treasure room of a senior student, a professor, or the headmaster. But this is still a chance.”

He knew it was rare to find a creature that was nice to students and knew about the school. Usually, monsters just attacked students right away. He remembered the golem from before…

Lee Han thought to himself, “I need to get as much information from it as I can.”

Lee Han said to the Bulgasari, “That’s right. No matter what, our respect for the professor will not change at all.” Lee Han was not telling the truth.

He thought, “Even if the professor had brought in a baby Bulgasari, my respect wouldn’t change. Because I had no respect for them to begin with!”

“Really? That’s good to hear,” the Bulgasari said. It seemed happy and relaxed.

Lee Han watched the Bulgasari’s face and asked, “So, you live here?”

“Yes,” the Bulgasari answered. Then, it started to tell them more.

“This lake,” the Bulgasari said, “is called Web Lake.” It’s where I live, swim, and eat. It’s not named after spiders. The name comes from the shape of the lake, like a web.”

“Web Lake is very deep underground, in the basement of the main school building. It’s so deep, you can’t even count the floors down. Over a long time, this lake became connected to many different parts of Einroguard.”

“Einroguard is a strange place. Sometimes, the rooms and hallways inside change places, like magic. But the parts of the school connected to Web Lake always stay together. They never get moved around.”

The professors know this secret. They use Web Lake as a shortcut to get around the school quickly.

Lee Han’s heart started to beat faster. “!!” He tried to sound calm, but he was very excited. “Then… are there any places connected to *this* part of the lake?”

“I don’t know about other places,” the Bulgasari said. “But there’s one right below me. I think it’s a place the professors use.”

“!!!” Lee Han’s eyes widened when he heard “a place the professors use.” Priest Nigisore and Priestess Siana were also very excited. They nodded quickly and looked at Lee Han, their eyes shining.

Lee Han thought, “Is it a treasure room?” Siana thought, “Maybe it’s the professors’ library?”

Priest Tiziling, who had been quiet until now, raised his hand carefully. “Excuse me,” he said politely. “Can I ask something? You seem friendly with the professors and the headmaster. Is it okay for you to tell us all this?”

“Huh?” the Bulgasari said. “Of course it’s okay. You came all the way here, so you must be older students. You would find out soon anyway, even if I didn’t tell you.”

“……” Lee Han said quietly, “We’re first-year students…”

“Oh??” The Bulgasari sounded very surprised. The ground under them seemed to shake a little, like the Bulgasari was moving suddenly.

“If you’re first-year students,” the Bulgasari asked, “how did you cross Web Lake?”

“We froze the water,” Lee Han explained, “and made a boat out of ice.”

“Wow,” the Bulgasari said. “Amazing! Are first-year students getting stronger these days?”

Lee Han thought, “No, they are not.” Siana thought, “Not really.” Nigisore thought, “No.” They all agreed in their minds.

The Bulgasari explained that you usually needed magic to cross Web Lake. If you tried to cross without magic, the water would push you back to the shore right away.

Lee Han thought, “Those stingy professors!” He clicked his tongue in annoyance.

He realized that even if you knew about the shortcut, you couldn’t use it easily. Web Lake was big and confusing. You needed to know exactly where to enter and exit. And the professors had even added magic to stop people without magic from using it.

Lee Han asked, “Did a professor put that magic there?”

“Huh? No,” the Bulgasari said. “It’s natural. Magic just built up over time, and then the lake became like that.”

Lee Han asked, “Then, is that magic also why there are no animals or fish living in the lake?”

“No,” the Bulgasari said casually. “It’s because the water spirits are getting ready to cause trouble. They ran away because a big flood is going to happen soon.”

“……” “…What?!” Lee Han and his friends were stunned. The Bulgasari was talking about a flood like it was nothing important.

Priest Tiziling said nervously, “Um… if there’s going to be a flood,” Priest Tiziling said nervously, “shouldn’t we go back and warn everyone?” But Lee Han ignored the shocking news about the flood. He kept moving forward, into the passage under the Bulgasari, towards the professors’ secret place.

Priest Tiziling was confused and worried. He stared at Lee Han’s back. “Shouldn’t we go back?” he thought. “Shouldn’t we get ready for the flood now?”

Lee Han said, “Priest Tiziling, we need to get even *more* things in a situation like this. If it’s the professors’ treasure room, there will be useful things we can use when the flood comes.”

“That’s right!” Priest Nigisore said, nodding eagerly. “I agree!” Priestess Siana added, her eyes bright with excitement. They both grabbed the ladder and started to climb quickly.

“Going back now won’t change anything,” Lee Han said. “Besides… look up there…” Lee Han, who was climbing the ladder at the front, suddenly stopped moving.

His face became serious. “What’s wrong?” Siana asked, worried. Lee Han whispered, “…It looks like… a professors’ lounge?”