Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 452

“I-Ihan. Shouldn’t we listen to Moradi’s explanation?”

Recognizing the look in Giselle’s eyes, Derghyu called out to Ihan, who was swimming ahead.

“Ah, right. There might be something I missed. Sorry, Moradi. I was too hasty. Explain, please.”

“…If you go around the other way, near the lumberyard tower, there’s a lot of debris floating in the water… Forget it. Screw you, you bastard.”

“?!”

Ihan, suddenly cursed, was taken aback.

“What’s wrong with him? Could it be because I beat those White Tiger Tower guys yesterday for not studying?”

“That sounds like a good thing to me…”

Derghyu muttered.

The White Tiger Tower students grumbled, ‘Why does that Wodanaz hate us so much?’ but Derghyu didn’t think it was Ihan’s fault.

If they didn’t want to be nagged, they shouldn’t do things that deserved it.

“More importantly, Moradi, there’s something I’m curious about.”

“Speak. I’m listening.”

“Shouldn’t we tell the others too?”

“?!”

“?!”

Ihan and Giselle stared at Derghyu as if he were talking nonsense.

Then they exchanged glances.

“Shall we get going?”

“Let’s go.”

“Let’s go, Derghyu.”

“Ah, no… the others…?”

Ihan and Giselle, pulling and pushing Derghyu, began to move in the opposite direction.

The knights of the White Poplar Order on the ship watched the students swimming from the distant horizon and were impressed.

It was easy to imagine that studying at Einroguard meant being a frail wizard locked in a room, poring over magical books, but the students, being from knightly families, were indeed robust.

“It seems they are still training their bodies even in Einroguard.”

“Hmm.”

Professor Inguldel didn’t bother to mention the harsh environment of Einroguard, where the body was trained even if one did nothing.

“Fire.”

“B-but, sir. If we keep shooting like this, they might drown…”

“Ahem. Where did you learn to pity the enemy? Did I teach you that?”

“Ah, no, sir. I apologize.”

Originally, the young apprentice knights of the White Poplar Order didn’t get along well with the White Tiger Tower students.

Starting with the difference between belonging to the pure knightly order and the magic school, they had competed several times this year, so it was impossible not to feel competitive.

However, even those apprentice knights felt so sorry for the White Tiger Tower students now that they couldn’t bring themselves to attack them coldly.

‘This is too much…!’

‘Do we really have to go this far?’

The White Tiger Tower students, swimming through the stormy, rainy sea, looked as precarious as drifting leaves.

“By the way, can the students climb onto the ship without using magic?”

One of the knights suddenly wondered and asked.

Approaching in a scattered formation might be possible over time, but climbing the slippery outer wall of the ship on a rainy day was no easy task.

Knights who had broken the Aura Wall could climb the outer wall using superhuman physical abilities and magical power, but it was still too much for the students’ level.

“Of course, it will be difficult. But this test is not prepared solely to test physical abilities.”

Professor Inguldel pointed around the ship.

Equipment was floating among what looked like fragments and debris.

“Ah! You’ve scattered boarding equipment!”

“That’s right. Students should be able to find it.”

“I misunderstood, thinking you were just going to make them climb up with their bare hands! Haha!”

“…D-did I look like that?”

Professor Inguldel was slightly taken aback.

Unlike the other professors at Einroguard, he thought he was teaching quite rationally.

Splash!

“?!”

The professor and knights turned their heads at the sound coming from behind while they were talking.

Ihan and his group, soaked in water, were glaring at them from the deck of the ship.

“Wait. Is it even possible to climb up without using magic?”

“…!”

While their friends were playing water-dodging games in the other direction, Ihan and his group succeeded in approaching the ship.

However, the outer wall of the ship was not easy to deal with. Without using magic, it didn’t seem easy to hook fingers or support weight.

Derghyu whispered cautiously.

“No matter how I think about it, I don’t think the professor would just tell us to climb up like this. Isn’t there something else somewhere? Aren’t we missing something?”

“Derghyu, I respect you, but you’re thinking like a first-semester student right now.”

“That’s right, Choi. Get a grip. Does this look like the Knights’ dormitory to you?”

Ihan and Giselle sharply rebuked Derghyu.

Derghyu felt wronged but closed his mouth, thinking they must be right.

“In my opinion… using magical power to climb is the answer.”

“Using magical power?”

“Yes. Do you remember the Enger family’s swordsmanship?”

“Wodanaz, you may not know, but Choi and I are from knightly families.”

Giselle threw her words with a look of disbelief.

The Enger family.

They were famous among knightly families for using swordsmanship of the Absorption (吸劍) lineage.

Ihan had learned the trick of using this absorption property in their duel and was using it quite usefully.

“It’s not perfect enough to use skillfully in swordsmanship, but it’s enough to climb. That’s what he intended when he told us to capture the ship.”

“But… using magical power won’t be that easy.”

Giselle’s eyebrows arched.

Using magical power was just a way of speaking; it was a transformation that uniquely changed the properties of magical power.

It was much more difficult because it was a knight’s technique that had to be transformed by instinct and sensation, not a wizard’s magic researched with logic, reason, and laws.

“Is that the goal of this test? Is that really it?”

“Moradi, think about it. This is Einroguard.”

“……”

Although she was upset, Giselle had no choice but to agree.

Now that they had swum all the way here, she figured there was nothing the professor wouldn’t make them do.

“…Alright, Wodanaz. Tell us what to do.”

Ihan explained the trick of absorption to his friends as best he could.

Draw out magical power from deep within the center of the body, circulate it, but transform it while imagining the properties of viscosity, and at the same time, release the magical power…

“The principle is similar to elemental magic. It’s about changing the properties with imagery, but you have to maintain it while circulating it. And at the same time, you have to release some of it.”

The two were fed up with the ridiculously difficult explanation. Dergyu cautiously asked,

“Is there a trick or something?”

“Well… um. You can give up on circulating and just focus on converting and releasing.”

“Really? Wait. Wouldn’t that waste too much mana?”

“Yeah… it would.”

An awkward silence returned. Giselle gave up and said,

“Just climb. I’ll catch up somehow.”

After that, they tried several times.

Giselle and Dergyu were top students. They could change their mana to stick to things, but they couldn’t do it long enough to climb the ship.

“This won’t work. We’ll get caught. Here, take this.” Lee Han said.

Lee Han took off his coat and made it into a rope. Then he threw it to Giselle.

Giselle looked at Lee Han carefully.

“What are you thinking?”

“…I’m thinking we tie ourselves together for support.”

“Ah.”

Giselle felt a little embarrassed but didn’t show it. She tied the rope around herself. Dergyu, who was next to her, blushed a little.

‘It’s a relief I didn’t say anything.’

Dergyu had thought Lee Han would tie Moradi up and use him as bait.

“Let’s try again. Three, two, one… go!”

Whack!

Lee Han hit the ship’s wall hard with his hand, like using an axe.

He should have slipped, but the mana from his hand kept him steady.

‘It works!’

This was the best try so far.

Lee Han climbed the ship’s wall slowly and carefully.

Creak—

“……”

Lee Han was scared when a piece of wood fell off. He had used too much mana.

He hadn’t worried about saving mana, but now he saw he needed to control it.

‘I need to use less power.’

Lee Han took a deep breath and moved the mana inside his body. He controlled how much mana came out of his hand.

Lee Han felt surprised.

‘Have I gotten better?’

It was much better than in the sword class. He had fought many real battles since then, so it made sense that he was better at controlling mana.

Also, Lee Han had stopped trying to control his mana and just used a lot of it without caring…

“!”

Giselle was climbing below Lee Han and was surprised.

Lee Han’s body was glowing with a faint magical light.

He was only Giselle’s age, but he was showing something that usually only happened when knights gathered their power before using Aura.

If she was right, Lee Han was close to reaching Aura.

He could reach it if he just understood something!

Giselle felt many different emotions.

She was jealous, but she also wanted to cheer him on as a knight.

It was very lucky to be so focused. How long he stayed like that would change how long it took him to reach Aura…

Thump!

“All done! Come on up!”

Lee Han got to the deck, stopped using his mana, and pulled up the rope.

He had to hurry and pull up his friends before they were found.

The magical glow was gone.

“You…!!! You crazy…”

Giselle almost fainted.

Why did he throw away such a good chance?

“You just now…! You…!”

“What’s wrong? Are you crazy?”

“Be quiet. We’ll get caught! Dergyu. Come on up.”

Lee Han quickly pulled up Dergyu. Then he moved quietly. The people on the deck were far away, so they didn’t seem to notice.

‘Thank you. White Tiger Tower guys.’

Lee Han was thankful for their help and tried to get closer…

“…they’ve left equipment for climbing the ship…”

“…if they’re students, they’ll find it…”

“?”

“???”

Lee Han, Giselle, and Dergyu were quiet.

Dergyu looked at his friends, feeling angry.

Plop!

Lee Han threw down his coat. He had to fight the apprentice knights, so he needed to be lighter.

“Ah, why from that side?”

“…wasn’t this way the normal way… Ah, never mind. Moradi. Go left. Dergyu. I’m counting on you for the right!”

Lee Han thought talking more would make his friends feel worse, so he attacked right away.

Giselle seemed to think the same and moved quickly.

‘Wasn’t the right side the right way?’

‘I thought they told us to go around…’

Lee Han felt bad as he ran.

The apprentice knights were aiming the ballista at the bottom of the ship. They were surprised and got ready to fight.

“How did you get here!? More important, how did you climb up? You don’t even have equipment!”

“……”

Lee Han decided to attack quickly instead of wasting time.

“Cough… cough. Cough, cough! Cough cough!”

Lee Han coughed like he was very sick. He looked like he was freezing because he had been in the sea.

“Wardanaz! Are you okay! I told you this was dangerous…”

“You fool! Don’t look away from the enemy!”

The apprentice knight turned to call for a knight, then turned back when he was scolded.

Lee Han had been coughing like he was dying, but now he was attacking him fiercely.