Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 441

“Crazy man!” Death Knight muttered to himself, his bony fingers twitching. The Headmaster’s words, though gruff, were definitely praise. *Complimentary*, the Headmaster had actually said. It was rare indeed for the skeletal Headmaster to offer such a thing.

*We are certainly causing chaos in the school!* Death Knight thought, a flicker of something like amusement in his hollow eye sockets. *High praise, even?* He almost smiled – a strange thought for a Death Knight. Yes, he decided, he deserved the Headmaster’s unusual commendation. He had led the students through the rising flood, hadn’t he?

In the current situation, the safest place was likely the library, where Einroguard’s books were stored.

Even during the flood ten years ago, some clever students had stayed in the library to do their homework.

Yihan used all the rafts and rowboats he had prepared in advance to move the students from the four towers.

It looked like a fleet of ships migrating to a new island.

“Wodanaaz, I respect your judgment, but…”

Salco spoke cautiously.

Salco was usually one to speak his mind without regard for Yihan’s feelings, but today was different.

“Water! The water’s rising!!”

“We’ve bailed it out, so don’t worry!”

“There’s a hole in the boat…!”

“We’ve plugged it, so don’t worry!”

“The wave capsized the boat!!”

“Launching the ice boat now! Transfer immediately!”

After weathering a storm, sailors tend to respect their captain.

Even Salco had to acknowledge the debt they owed this time.

“…Is staying in the library really a good idea?”

“Even if it’s not the best option, let’s at least avoid the worst.”

In truth, Yihan was also anxious.

Choosing the library as the safest place from the water wasn’t wrong.

But the library was not without its own dangers.

Given that the library’s layout could shift and change at any time, if they were unlucky…

‘We’re alive!’

Yihan breathed a sigh of relief.

As he entered the library, a familiar sight greeted him.

They stumbled into the library lounge, blinking in the dim, warm light. It was a cozy space, filled with worn leather armchairs and plush velvet sofas, scattered around low tables piled with books. The air smelled faintly of old paper and woodsmoke from a crackling fireplace in the corner. Corridors lined with towering bookshelves branched off from the lounge, promising further mysteries.

“The rain stopped!”

“Wodanaaz! We’re alive! We’re alive!”

The students, having found a new haven, kissed the floor with expressions of deep emotion and started a fire. Gainando, shivering and cold, grabbed a thick book from a shelf, thinking of starting a fire. But as he yanked it free, the book snapped open like jaws and bit his hand! He yelped, dropping it with a scream.

“This is no time for that.”

“Yes, it’s dry here, which is good,” Salco said, looking around. “But we can’t just sleep on the floor. We need to find somewhere to rest.”

Yihan shook his head. “That’s important, Salco, but there’s something more urgent.”

Yihan gathered the students from the four towers. The students, who had been grumbling as they tried to start a fire and boil something, rushed over.

“Tables, desks, bookshelves… be careful with the bookshelves. They’ll have book protection magic on them. Anyway, sweep up anything useful around here and build a barricade first. We need to make a fortress.”

“……”

“…Uh, why?”

One of the friends, not quite grasping the situation, asked in confusion.

“You idiot,” one student muttered. “The Headmaster could attack.”

Another agreed, “This lounge is too open. Hard to defend.”

The first student finally understood. “Ah, I see…”

Yihan cut off his friends, looking dumbfounded.

“No. It’s not because of the Headmaster, but because there were originally a lot of monsters in the library.”

“Ah…”

“Wait, Wodanaaz,” someone asked. “Were the monsters only in the wild parts of the library? This is just the lounge, so it should be safe, right?”

Yihan and Yoner shook their heads at the same time.

“Monsters sometimes come out in the lounge area too.”

“They attacked me while I was studying last time.”

“……”

“Alright. Everyone’s tired, but let’s just work on this much. Otherwise, we might have to keep waking up at night.”

“Wodanaaz, I think we should dig ditches around the outside too. Can we ask the Black Turtle Tower students to help?”

Yihan readily agreed to Salco’s words.

The Black Turtle Tower friends, whose workload had suddenly increased, glared at Salco. It was a very rare occurrence.

“It’s too much work for just the Black Turtle Tower,” Yihan added. “We’ll need the White Tiger Tower to help as well.”

The White Tiger Tower friends, whose workload had suddenly increased, glared at Yihan. Of course, it was a common occurrence, so Yihan didn’t care.

The Princess, who had been sitting among her followers, stood up immediately.

She was planning to show something this time.

“Oh, right. I’m going to go out for a bit. There’s something I need to get.”

“Be careful.”

“Can you go alone? Should I come with you?”

“Gainando, please stop talking nonsense and stay here. Don’t make things harder for Wodanaaz.”

“…Is it wrong to offer help???” Gainando mumbled, hurt.

An hour later.

Yihan returned, carefully cradling a large egg. It was a pale, mottled green, with faint ridges running across its smooth, cool surface. It felt strangely heavy in his arms, and a faint tremor seemed to run through it.

The friends who were working looked at the egg with puzzled expressions.

“What kind of egg is that?”

“A basilisk egg,” Yihan said, trying to keep a straight face. His friends burst into laughter, thinking it was a joke.

“Let’s get back to work.”

“A basilisk egg… Pfft! Haha!” one friend repeated, still chuckling.

Yoner glanced at Yihan and the egg, then decided to stay quiet. He had a feeling Yihan wasn’t joking.

Shiver shiver-

The basilisk egg trembled and clung to Yihan. Yihan, who had to work, said with a troubled expression.

“I need to work…”

Shiver shiver shiver!

“Alright. Alright.”

Yihan soothed the egg, wrapped it tightly in cloth, and carried it on his back.

Given the flooding around the cabin, it was understandable that it was scared.

Students rushed towards Yihan, each with their own urgent request.

“Wodanaaz! Our side of the barricade is falling apart! It’s urgent!” one cried.

Another student scoffed. “Nonsense! Digging ditches can wait. Wodanaaz, we need the barricade built *here* first! That’s the real priority!”

Then, a third student pulled at Yihan’s arm. “Wodanaaz, you know I’m from a family of chefs! We need to start cooking! You have to help with the meal!”

Yihan was speechless as his friends rushed at him, trying to drag him away before he could even take a step.

The basilisk egg on his back rattled as if it was dumbfounded.

It seemed to be wondering what was wrong with these blokes.

Evening fell. Students who had finished their two weeks of duty had worked together to build a strong fortress in the library entrance area.

The usual study tables and chairs were gone. In their place, the students had built strong walls and dug trenches to protect themselves.

Student 1: “Here, take some soup.”

Student 2: “Hmph. Tomato soup again. Not bad, I guess.”

Student 3 (jokingly): “Just eat it and be quiet, you little brat!”

Even students from different Towers, who normally argued all the time, were being kind to each other today. They were not even bickering.

The huge flood outside made everyone feel like they were in danger. Even students who disliked each other and were usually mean were now working together.

Lee Han used a piece of bread to wipe up the last of his tomato soup from the wooden bowl. Salco saw him and gave him a thumbs up. Lee Han then looked around at everything.

‘Not bad, especially since we did it so quickly,’ Lee Han thought. He felt he had wasted the weekend not studying, but now he thought it was good that they had at least made the library safe.

The flood had washed away some food, but they could replace it with food they had brought from outside. ‘Good thing I stored all the important potion ingredients and books in my private room,’ Lee Han thought. ‘And I brought the books I need for studying to the library. Everything should be okay.’

Lee Han unpacked his bundle again and checked the books he needed for studying.

Gynan Do, who was busy looking at his wizard cards, glanced at Lee Han with a look of disgust on his face.

Around them, other students were lighting small fires. Someone started singing loudly, changing the words of an old song: “The red-haired swordsman shouted, ‘Skull Headmaster, your end has come! Here is a sword to strike you down! Forged with the tears of students and sharpened on quills…’”

Students had lit small fires around the room. They lay on blankets, singing funny songs with new words (songs that were usually about a swordsman fighting a dragon). Others were telling stories about what had happened during the day.

Student 1: “Wait, really? When you went outside, those people who hate magic attacked, and Wodanaz caught their leader?”

Student 2: “I know, it sounds crazy, but it’s true!”

Student 3: “See? I told you! Wodanaz is someone who learned all the secret, dark magic of his family even before school!”

Student 4: “Are you still spreading those stories without knowing if they are true? Do you even know how much trouble I got into for asking Wodanaz about that?”

Student 3: “Ha! You’ll see, one day I’ll be proven right!”

Lee Han was enjoying the quiet, peaceful feeling. But then, a strange feeling of unease crept over him. “Is there something I forgot?” he wondered aloud.

“The Tanjua horn? You were going to try using it when the flood started.”

“I was thinking of preparing it and using it as soon as it gets light tomorrow.”

“Then I don’t think you forgot anything?”

Even with Yoner’s words, Lee Han was lost in thought.

And finally, he realized.

“…Yoner. Isn’t it the midterm next week?”

“…Ah!”

The next morning, a new week began. Students walked to the library entrance looking gloomy. No one was foolish enough to think, ‘Maybe they will cancel the exams because of the flood?’ Only a brand new student would think that.

Student 1: “Advanced Basic Imperial Literature lecture, this way!”

Student 2: “Hey! That’s the person who flipped over the boat yesterday! Why would we trust him to drive us?”

Student 3: “Advanced Geometry lecture on Monday! Come here! Wait, where did everyone go?!”

Student 4: “I’m going to the Wednesday lecture. It’s safer to travel with Wodanaz!”

The area in front of the library now looked like a temporary dock. Students got into boats depending on which lecture they needed to attend. Many students refused to get into boats with drivers they didn’t trust.

“Lee Han. What are you doing?”

“Preparing for a summoning.”

“What kind?”

“Tanjua.”

“What’s that?”

“Gynan Do. I’m a bit busy right now, so please go over there for a while.”

“!!!”

Gynan Do was shocked and ran to his friends from the Blue Dragon Tower.

Then he tattled, sniveling.

“Those priests…! Those priests!!”

“What are you talking about?”

His friends usually ignored Gynan Do’s words, but this time it was different.

They had clearly seen Lee Han preparing for the summoning with the priests.

“Gynan Do is right. That’s something we can help with too.”

“Right?! He pushed me away…”

“Even if Gynan Do isn’t helpful, we can be.”

“That’s right. That’s right.”

“……”

Ignoring the glaring Gynan Do, the Blue Dragon Tower students crept closer.

“Wodanaz. We can help too.”

“No… it’s okay.”

Lee Han declined.

He had already rehearsed this Tanjua summoning ritual several times with the priests, so there was no need to do it with the help of the Blue Dragon Tower friends.

“Gi-Give us a chance! A chance to prove ourselves!”

“???”

Lee Han was taken aback by his friends’ nonsense.

‘Did the morning go bad?’

Why are they talking nonsense after eating well?

Lee Han: “Proving ourselves or whatever… This is just about getting the ingredients ready and adding magic like we planned. Ah, wait. Where’s Priest Siana?”

Priest: “Priest Siana is getting drinking water ready.”

Lee Han: “Right, I forgot. We’re missing someone. Princess, would you mind helping me?” Lee Han looked around and saw the Princess. He knew she understood alchemy, so he could trust her to help even without Priest Siana.

Princess Aden Artt: “I can help.” She nodded calmly and quickly came over.

Before the Blue Dragon Tower students could say anything, she was already part of the summoning team.

Blue Dragon Tower Students (thinking): “……” “……” They stared at the Princess, feeling betrayed. Just her?!

Lee Han: “To the one who swallows ships, I humbly ask you to come. I offer you these gifts: Sea Shadow Sand, Eightfold Water…” Lee Han began to chant in a deep, strong voice.

The Tanjua summoning ritual was actually quite easy, except for two things: the ingredients were very hard to find, and it used a lot of magic. The priests carefully sprinkled the ingredients into the magic circle as they had practiced. Suddenly, the magic in the air began to spin wildly, and the water around them started to move faster.

Lee Han: “Tanjua’s horn, a piece of wood from a ship that sank eighty-eight years ago…”

Student: “It’s coming!!!!” students screamed.

The water in the school suddenly split open, like a curtain being pulled apart. A huge creature began to rise from below. It was enormous, like a whale, and water gurgled and rushed around it as it opened its massive mouth. Each word it spoke sounded like a splash and a slosh of water.

Tanjua: “Thank… you… for… calling… me… back… to… the… sea…”

Lee Han (thinking): ‘It’s not the sea… It’s the school hallway filled with floodwater. Should I correct it?’