Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 443

“What did you say?” Lee Han asked, a little confused. He was still perched high on the back of the enormous Tanchewer, looking down at Professor Rogine. The creature itself was a sight to behold – a towering skeleton of some sea beast, shimmering with a faint, ghostly blue light, and dripping seawater onto the stone floor of the hallway.

A voice, surprisingly loud for such a small demon, had just declared, “Perfect score!”

“It’s *not* a perfect score!” Professor Rogine said quickly, her voice a little flustered. She hurried to Oriphlaus, the small demon perched on her shoulder, and gently placed a hand over his mouth to quiet him. “Not yet, Oriphlaus! Everyone, please come inside!” she called out to the students waiting outside the lecture hall.

Why was Oriphlaus giving a perfect score without even starting the exam?

“That’s what I want to know! The exam hasn’t even started yet!”

Oriphlaus felt genuinely wronged. He was trying to reduce Professor Rogine’s workload in his own way!

“The exam must be taken,” Professor Rogine insisted.

“Surely not, wizard? Are you going to follow rules just because they are old?” Oriphlaus asked.

“…There are still many unconfirmed aspects,” Professor Rogine said, unmoved.

Of course, she somewhat understood why Oriphlaus had shouted that it was a perfect score just now. Just controlling that Tanchewer so effortlessly and arriving in front of the lecture hall was already impressive enough. However, the midterm evaluation had more than one requirement, and various factors had to be fully considered.

“First, where and under what circumstances did you find it…” Professor Rogine inquired.

Where did they meet?

“Lee Han summoned it with his fellow disciples,” Professor Rogine answered.

“Perfect score!! Perfect score!!!” Oriphlaus clapped his hands in admiration.

He had been working for the Empire’s wizards for over a hundred years, but such an amazing sight was rare.

“I told you to be quiet!” Professor Rogine gritted her teeth and covered Oriphlaus’s mouth. The contract binding the demon activated, and Oriphlaus’s tongue stuck to the ceiling.

“Uuuuh! Uuuuh!”

“…How did you all make the contract?” Professor Rogine couldn’t resist asking, even though she tried to move on. Honestly, she was too curious. Let’s say they were just incredibly lucky to summon it. Of course, she still couldn’t quite understand that part… But how did they really make the contract? What kind of contract allows them to control the Tanchewer like that?

“Lee Han asked, ‘Do you want to attack the Headmaster’s office? Or do you want to help us?’ So it said it would help,” a student explained.

Oriphlaus, his mouth still covered, applauded with an impressed expression. He thought Lee Han used a clever trick. He offered the Tanchewer a choice it didn’t really want, making it choose what Lee Han actually wanted. This is a very advanced technique! That technique that made clumsy and inexperienced beings from other dimensions develop a hatred for wizards after being tricked once.

“…Lee Han doesn’t have to take the midterm, so he’s just observing from the side,” Professor Rogine stated.

“Yes? Did I do something wrong?” Lee Han asked, taken aback. Professor Rogine, who usually praised students with such a cheerful voice, looked so exhausted. ‘Did I make some kind of mistake?’ he wondered.

Fortunately, it wasn’t. Lee Han, having grasped the situation, agreed with Professor Rogine’s instructions.

“The Headmaster is really going too far,” Lee Han commented.

“We-well, of course, the Headmaster has his reasons!” Professor Rogine, who had been exhausted, snapped back to her senses at Lee Han’s words. The role of a professor was to stop students from badmouthing the Headmaster, not to encourage it.

“He must have his reasons. The reason to inflict pain on the students, that is,” Lee Han retorted.

“……” Professor Rogine wondered if Lee Han had been hit by the Skull Headmaster.

“-Grrrr wizard! Grrrr kill!”

“I… I didn’t trap you, so why are you doing this to me! I-I’ll call Lee Han!” Gainan Do, terrified, shouted at the monster trapped in the cage. Of course, the monster didn’t understand Lee Han’s name and roared wildly.

Hmm… Threatening is a good choice, but the other party needs to know the name, Oriphlaus gave advice, awarding points from the side. If the other party doesn’t know the name, you should at least explain it so they can guess.

“B-behind me, there’s a crazy friend who’s taking all the magic courses at Einroguard!”

“-Grrrr kill! Grrrr!” Unfortunately, the monster didn’t understand. Oriphlaus regretfully ended the scoring.

“Next!”

“It seems you like jewels, Professor, so I brought some. If you contract with me, I’ll give you the same amount next week…”

Quickly grasping the other party’s preferences is also important. You’ve improved a lot, Oriphlaus thought.

“Th-thank you.”

However, those kinds of beings are greedy and don’t like promises of periodic payments. Of course, they sometimes accept, but they’re even more dangerous then. There are even those who kill their contractors and cut open the goose’s belly to take out the gold.

“……”

While the students were taking the exam, Lee Han approached the Tanchewer, who was splashing water in the hallway in front of the lecture hall. Then he asked,

“Are you alright?”

…… The Tanchewer didn’t answer. It seemed a little sulky.

“Um, after this exam is over, we have to move to the next lecture location again,” Lee Han said.

“…Need… need to recover strength…” The Tanchewer seemed genuinely displeased, making a gurgling sound and spraying water to the side. He wanted to rest somehow, and Lee Han could sense his subtle desire.

“Recovery. Oriphlaus, do you know any way to restore the Devourer of Ships?” Lee Han asked.

Oriphlaus, who had been evaluating the students, quickly ran over at Lee Han’s call. Most of the tasks requested by the Empire’s wizards were boring, so he had to enjoy these fun things while he could. When else would he see a young wizard using a Tanchewer through a contract? As a demon, these comical moments were sweet happiness.

“Recovery! It’s easy but difficult. The best way to restore its strength would be to use a part of its old body, from when it was alive. Or, maybe you have some of the summoning potion left over?” Oriphlaus suggested.

“I used it all up while summoning it,” Lee Han replied.

“That’s a shame. But it can’t be helped. It would have been more surprising if there had been any potion left over after summoning such a huge monster like the Tanchewer,” Oriphlaus said, not surprised.

“‘Huh?’ Professor Rogine, who had been listening from the side, was puzzled. Where did the first-year students get the potion to summon the Tanchewer? It wouldn’t have been easy to get.”

“It’s a bit difficult to bring this up… but what about your magic power? I remember you having a lot…” Oriphlaus was cautious, as befitting a gentlemanly demon. Magic power was like life to a wizard. No matter how much magic power he had, it wouldn’t be easy to restore the power of a huge monster like the Tanchewer.

“Magic power is enough?!” Lee Han was startled. Really? With such an easy method?

“I don’t know why you’re surprised, but if the quality and quantity are sufficient, it’s possible,” Oriphlaus stated.

“Is it possible to restore it even further? From its current incomplete spirit state…” Lee Han wondered.

The Tanchewer suddenly coughed and began to spew water from its mouth and back. As an excellent spirit beast, it instinctively sensed danger.

“That’s impossible. Magic rules don’t allow you to make a summoned creature stronger than it was when it first appeared,” Oriphlaus declared.

“That’s a shame,” Lee Han said.

“More importantly, are you really alright? I think we should be talking about normal recovery, not recovery beyond the limit…” Even normal recovery didn’t seem easy, yet he was saying such things. Oriphlaus was worried. How regrettable would it be if this young wizard collapsed and the Tanchewer was released from the contract?

“I’m alright. Devourer of Ships, I thank you for your hard work, and I will offer my magic power to restore you,” Lee Han said.

“…Don’t do…” Before the Tanchewer could finish speaking, the magic power began to move. The bones of the Tanchewer, which had been exhausted and drooping, gradually began to glow, and the color of its spirit-composed body regained its vitality.

……

“Is it restored?” Lee Han asked.

The Tanchewer didn’t answer. Instead, Oriphlaus answered. “You will become an excellent summoner. Please continue to torment other beings for a long, long time.”

When the exam ended, the students lined up to ride the Tanchewer. The exhausted Tanchewer didn’t respond to the students’ thank-you greetings and kept its mouth shut.

“Everyone did really well!! You did this much even in these difficult circumstances, so you’ll definitely do even better in other situations!!” Professor Rogine energetically saw off the students who had finished the exam. The students who had worked so hard deserved to receive such greetings.

“Professor Fluywork, did you take the special box from the 47th Spirit Warehouse?” Professor Rogine asked.

“Yes. I needed it to trap the Heart-Eater in the cage…” Professor Fluywork replied.

“I wonder if it’s really necessary to use such an expensive one for the Ironheads…” Professor Rogine muttered.

The Skull Headmaster, floating down, was horrified to see the Tanchewer summoned in front of the lecture hall, waiting sadly.

“Skull and bones! What is that?!” he exclaimed.

“???”

“?????” The students in line were taken aback by the Skull Headmaster’s scream.

“Headmaster, that’s… the Tanchewer. Don’t you know the Tanchewer?” a student asked.

The Skull Headmaster hung Gainan Do upside down with just a look. Gainan Do, hanging upside down, screamed with a mix of unfairness.

“Who on earth got the Tanchewer from where?!” the Headmaster demanded.

“…I don’t know!”

“We don’t know anything about it!” The students bravely stood up. One of the things they had learned at Einroguard was ‘If there’s no evidence, stubbornly insist on it.’ But the Skull Headmaster wasn’t asking because he didn’t know in the first place.

“Wodanaz!”

“Yes?”

“How on earth did you get it?” the Headmaster asked.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about?” Wodanaz replied.

…… The Skull Headmaster almost broke the ‘innocent until caught’ principle that he had repeatedly told the students and grabbed his disciple by the collar. Like master, like disciple…

“I’m not angry, so tell me honestly. I’m asking out of pure curiosity,” the Headmaster said.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. We just happened to meet the Tanchewer while it was drifting,” Wodanaz answered.

“…Bibley? He must have gotten Bibley to get it,” the Headmaster thought.

The Skull Headmaster asked, trying to lead him on. However, the disciple in front of him was not easy to deal with. He answered without changing his expression.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about…”

…… The Skull Headmaster glared at Lee Han with suspicious eyes. He wasn’t doing this just because the Tanchewer had been taken away. Well, of course, that was also absurd… ‘How on earth did he get into the professors’ lounge and steal it?’ What the Skull Headmaster wanted to know was the method. If he couldn’t find that out, the professors’ lounge could be broken into again.

“…Bibley… it must be Bibley. There’s no one else but Bibley,” the Skull Headmaster said, half convinced and half testing.

Lee Han didn’t say anything. It was best to stay still in these situations.

“Very good. But remember, the Tanchewer is a very dangerous beast…” The Skull Headmaster, who had been about to curse something out of frustration, looked at the Tanchewer waiting sadly. It was doing all sorts of odd jobs, properly bound by the contract.

“You moron! Are you really a spirit beast of the sea?!” The Tanchewer sprayed water with a sad expression at the sudden insult from the Archmage. It was already feeling sorry for itself…

“Alright. I’ll acknowledge it this time. But someday… someday you’ll fall into a trap too. Do you understand?” the Headmaster said.

“I will keep that in mind,” Lee Han replied.

“Hmph. We’ll see then. I’ll prepare the most boring and dull spot in the punishment room for you!” The Skull Headmaster made a strange sound and disappeared into the distance.

The students behind him thought to themselves. ‘…The professors’ lounge…’ ‘…He broke into it??’

While his friends were in shock, wondering if it was possible, Oriphlaus opened his mouth. “Twenty thousand points, twenty thousand points…!”

“Shhh. Be quiet,” Professor Rogine said, watching the Skull Headmaster flying away and silencing Oriphlaus. Provoking the Skull Headmaster, who was in a foul mood, was not a good idea. ‘Where did he get the materials needed to summon the Tanchewer…?’ Professor Rogine quietly drew another + next to A+. It was a sign of respect for an outstanding student.