Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 451

Nilia stepped back, and the students from the Black Tortoise Tower looked disappointed. Lee Han watched them, a small smile playing on his lips. *Am I getting used to this place?* he wondered.

“Ah… I thought it might have worked if she tried…!”

“Maybe she should have offered something else?” one student mumbled.

“Yeah, but what? Wodanaz doesn’t care about money like we do,” another replied.

“I thought Nilia was close to the Blue Dragon Tower kids, so there was a high chance it would work.”

Lee Han clearly saw Nilia twitch and glance at her friends.

“…Nilia. Just a moment.”

“Huh? Why? What is it?”

“The Blue Dragon Tower kids are looking for you. They must be having a hard time without you.”

“Oh? Really?” Nilia asked, her voice going a little higher than normal. She quickly tried to smooth her robes, a small smile starting to appear.

“Of course. The Blue Dragon Tower kids would starve to death without you. I know you’re busy with your Black Tortoise Tower friends, but pay them some attention.”

Nilia nodded with the most dignified expression she could muster.

“Ha. Oh dear! I didn’t even think of that.”

“It happens.”

Behind her, the Black Tortoise Tower students looked at Nilia with admiration.

Nilia, whom even the students from the great noble families of the Blue Dragon Tower relied on and respected, was an object of admiration among her friends.

A hunter from the Shadow Patrol, descended from the distant northern mountains, on a different level from them!

They whispered about her bravery and her mysterious past, making her seem like a legend in their eyes.

“She didn’t even blink at the ball last time. Not a flicker.”

“To Nilia, who’s been through thick and thin, a ball must have seemed like child’s play.”

Nilia perked up her ears, listening to the conversation, and then whispered to Lee Han.

“But did the Blue Dragon Tower kids really look for me?”

“Yeah…”

“…Anyway, thanks.”

Nilia nodded as if she expected it, expressing her gratitude to Lee Han.

Lee Han, having helped Anpagon finish supervising the students’ midterms in Enchantment Magic, went outside to prepare for the next exam.

“Hmm…”

“What’s wrong? What happened?”

“What my senior said was a bit strange.”

Lee Han explained what had happened to Yoner, who was casting his fishing rod beside him.

Helping Anpagon supervise the Enchantment Magic exam wasn’t surprising to any of his friends, but what Anpagon said after the exam was a bit odd.

“What did he say?”

“He said that if other teachers heard about a junior doing so well, they might become *too* interested, and it could cause unwanted attention for both Lee Han and himself. He said it was better to be careful and not stand out too much, at least for now.”

Lee Han didn’t understand.

Lee Han had already made a name for himself among the seniors since the first semester.

Just from listening to Senior Dirett or Senior Ogoldos, it was clear that quite a few seniors knew Lee Han’s name.

‘Isn’t it already too late? Or… is it not too late yet?’

“Maybe only the Dark Arts teachers know?” Lee Han hoped.

Yoner caught a trout, tossed it into the net, and then looked puzzled.

From what he had heard, the seniors in the Enchantment Magic department seemed just as unlucky in their social relationships.

In Yoner’s view, the seniors in the Enchantment Magic department seemed to have even narrower social circles than those in the Dark Arts department.

At least the seniors in the Dark Arts department had enough social skills to cooperate with friends from other departments to summon the Frost Giant King to the school.

Although whether that was a positive thing was another matter…

‘Could the Enchantment Magic department senior be mistaken?’

“Yoner. Yoner. Are you listening? It seems like only the Dark Arts seniors know. Then, surprisingly, the other seniors might not be that interested.” Lee Han was pleased.

He didn’t want to receive unnecessary attention.

“Yeah… yeah.”

Yoner hesitated, looking at Lee Han’s hopeful face. He didn’t want to burst his bubble, so he just nodded slowly.

“Wodanaz! Come down here quickly!”

“?

Lee Han, who was sitting on Tanjua, turned his head.

The White Tiger Tower friends, who had left earlier to take the swordsmanship exam, were splashing and swimming in the water.

“Why are you guys doing that there?”

“What do you mean? We have to take the exam!”

Lee Han was momentarily taken aback.

‘Shouldn’t you take the swordsmanship exam on solid ground?’

Since it was a swordsmanship exam, he naturally thought it would be held on solid ground.

“Are we taking the exam in the water?”

“Yeah. We have to take the ship.”

“Wodanaz! Come down here! It’s chaos here! We need to figure out what to do!”

“You have to get rid of Tanjua or any boats. Get rid of them and come in.”

“…How do I know you guys aren’t tricking me?”

The White Tiger Tower students, stung by Lee Han’s suspicious gaze, shouted in frustration.

“Would we all be here doing this just to trick you?!”

“Just come in already!”

Some of the White Tiger Tower students, shouting in anger, suddenly thought to themselves.

‘Huh? If we could trick Wodanaz even once, wouldn’t it be worth it?’

Thinking about it, it was definitely a worthwhile deal.

The knights of the Poplar Knights, who had come to help with the exam, were taken aback by the sight of Einrogaard completely flooded.

“Shouldn’t we stop the rain and drain the water first?”

“The Headmaster says stopping this much rain is beyond even the strongest magic here,” Professor Inguldel explained calmly.

“Yes? That can’t be right. I heard that Gonadaltes once dried up seawater, so surely this little flood…”

Professor Inguldel quickly changed the subject.

Talking about this for too long would only lead to the knights outside criticizing Einrogaard.

“Turning a crisis into an opportunity is also a virtue of a knight. There’s no need to worry. We can still hold the exam in this environment.”

“Ah, I see. Are you holding the exam indoors?”

The knights looked at the professor as if that was a great idea.

If they held it indoors, they could properly assess the students’ swordsmanship skills even in this flooded situation.

“The indoors is also heavily flooded… so we’ve prepared a ship here.”

Professor Inguldel pointed behind him.

A sleek ship with a rather nimble appearance was waiting behind him.

“Ah! So you’re having the students compete in swordsmanship up there…!”

“I’m thinking of having the students swim and try to take this ship.”

The knights were momentarily speechless.

The young apprentice knights behind them whispered.

-Isn’t that too much?

-Having them swim and take the ship in this weather is a bit…

Professor Inguldel himself didn’t realize it, but from an outsider’s perspective, he was already a perfectly fine Einrogaard professor.

He spoke about turning a crisis into an opportunity as if having a swordsmanship exam in a flood was the most normal thing in the world.

Lee Han spoke to the White Tiger Tower students while floating on the water.

Three in a group, without using magic, swimming with their bare bodies, and taking one of the ships in the designated area.

It was a simple but unbelievable exam.

‘Has Professor Inguldel finally become completely immersed in Einrogaard?’

Lee Han felt sorry.

Professor Inguldel was someone who kept to the rules, but…

“What, what is it? Why is everyone in the water?”

“Come in. Quickly.”

The students who came in later than Lee Han were dumbfounded when they heard the exam details.

“Where’s the ship?”

“Do you see the reef and the peak over there on the sea?”

“It’s not a reef, it’s a stable, and it’s not a peak, it’s a tower…”

“Anyway, they say there’s a ship if you go around that way.”

“Then why are we doing this here?”

“…To listen to Wodanaz’s plan?”

“What are you talking about!” Duke Ma shouted as if he couldn’t believe it.

Duke Ma puffed out his chest, his eyes flashing with competitive fire. “Of course, it’s every man for himself. Do you think I’d take orders from Wodanaz!? Wodanaz is also a competitor!”

“Hey. Just a moment! At least listen to what I have to say…”

“You guys stay there! Let’s go! We’ll be the first to plant the flag!”

Duke Ma took his teammates and began to swim vigorously. Lee Han looked at their retreating figures with regret.

‘I haven’t even decided how to use them yet, and they’re just leaving like that!’

As Duke Ma and his friends disappeared around the stable, no, the reef, a moment of silence hung in the air.

Suddenly, the water erupted around them. *Thwack! Thwack!* Thick jets of water, like solid spears, slammed into the students. They weren’t sharp, but the force was incredible, knocking the air from their lungs and pushing them under the waves.

“Gah! Ugh! Glug! Glug glug!”

The thick water spears, though not sharply honed, had the power to push the students deep into the sea with each hit.

Duke Ma and his friends screamed and dove deep into the water. Then, they hurriedly distanced themselves and returned to their friends.

“What happened????”

“Knights on the ship… are being unfair…!”

They had expected interference from the deck if they climbed onto the ship, but they hadn’t anticipated being shot with water spears from ballistae as soon as they approached.

Duke Ma and his friends coughed and spat out water.

“Thank you, Duke Ma. Thanks to your sacrifice, we know what’s going to happen.”

“…Wodanaz.”

Duke Ma felt a slight pang of remorse.

Wodanaz was focusing on the problem at hand, setting aside petty rivalries and emotions, even though they weren’t White Tiger Tower students.

Yet Duke Ma himself had rebelled against that and ended up in this state.

“Since you’re going first anyway, let’s try one more time. This time, the three of us will scatter…”

“…Get lost!!”

Duke Ma snapped, grumbled, and turned his head. Lee Han felt sorry.

“Was I too hasty?”

“Y-yes, it seems so.”

Dergyu couldn’t bring himself to side with Lee Han.

As Lee Han failed to come up with any special tactics, the students slowly began to murmur.

“Wodanaz. Do you really not have any special tactics?”

“It seems difficult if we can’t use magic.”

“Really?”

“…Do you think I can’t beat you up just because I can’t use magic right now?”

The White Tiger Tower students, who were about to doubt him, flinched and stepped back at Lee Han’s serious question.

“Damn it. Is Wodanaz out of ideas too…”

“Well, it’s a competitive exam in the first place. Alright. Let’s break through on our own.”

As the students scattered across the water, Lee Han also fell into thought.

‘I can’t use underwater breathing, illusion magic, or ice magic… It’s difficult.’

Lee Han realized that he relied on magic much more than he thought.

Perhaps Professor Inguldel threw the students into this extreme situation to teach them this.

Or maybe he just wanted to see the students suffer, like the other Einrogaard professors.

“Wait. Dergyu. Where did Moradi go?”

“A-are you asking that now?”

“There were so many White Tiger Tower students earlier that I didn’t notice.”

“Moradi moved to scout before you came.”

No sooner had he finished speaking than Giselle raised her head from the water with a small splash from the opposite side.

Lee Han shouted as if he had realized something at the sight.

“Did he go around and approach from the opposite direction? He saw through our complacency that we wouldn’t be able to come this way because the path is too far! But there must have been someone watching… Ah. I see. If you go around the opposite direction, there are many debris floating around the lumberyard tower. If he disguised himself among those debris, he could have approached without being noticed. Excellent, Moradi! Let’s set off right away!”

The situation where other students were loitering in the front and drawing attention was the perfect opportunity.

Lee Han began to swim in the direction Moradi had come from to avoid wasting even a little time. Dergyu stood still for a moment, then inadvertently chased after him.

Giselle gasped for breath, water streaming from her hair and clothes. She had swum all the way around, just as planned, and she was ready to explain her clever idea.

Giselle, who had swum with all her might to a distant place and returned, taking deep breaths and about to explain, was dumbfounded by the sight of the two.

That bastard…

…what is he really??