Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 487

Lee Han looked serious. It was rare to see him like this.

Siana, the priestess, still didn’t seem to notice anything unusual. She blinked her eyes. Her pupils were like thin lines, like a snake’s eyes, and she tilted her head.

“Wasn’t that a threat?”

“How could I threaten Professor Voladi…”

Suddenly, Lee Han remembered saying, ‘If Professor Voladi hears about the Sea Serpent, our request will become a big mess and argument.’

‘That wasn’t a threat. It was closer to a desperate plea.’

Lee Han thought quickly and explained what happened.

“The task of persuading the other guilds finished quickly.”

“How?”

“…Did I help?”

“……”

Siana looked at him. Her eyes seemed to say, ‘That’s even harder to believe than you threatening the professor.’

Lee Han saw something in her eyes that made him feel uneasy and asked back.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“You must be mistaken?”

“Get ready to leave. Everyone, stop what you’re doing and let’s go.”

The princess was in the corner, taking out a new balance scale. She nodded with a bright smile when she heard Lee Han.

“Oh? You haven’t left yet?”

Lee Han asked Yoner in surprise. Yoner, in response, was rather taken aback.

“So, you thought we had left?”

“Huh? Yeah.”

“…Why?”

The princess was also one of the top students.

She wouldn’t just leave without a reason, right?

“Oh, I thought there would be a lot of snacks being sold outside?”

“……”

Yoner’s eyes widened in horror.

“Lee Han, don’t tell me you’re thinking of the princess the same way you think of Gainan…”

Yoner couldn’t finish the question.

All the other friends had gathered while he was asking the question.

“Shall we start then? Is anyone missing?”

“Wait. Wodanaz. Shouldn’t we check where the guys who left earlier are before we start?”

Asan raised his hand and asked.

Then Lee Han asked back as if he was saying something obvious.

“We should have fun first! We can find those guys later. No time to waste!”

“Huh?”

Asan was flustered, and the other students opened their mouths.

“That’s right.”

“I think so too.”

“Me too…”

“Is, is that so?”

Asan felt confused. His friends were usually smart and sensible, but now they were saying strange things.

Radford thought hard for a moment and then spoke.

“I think we need to move the wallet location at least once…”

“No, no!”

“It’ll be a big problem if we get caught!”

The friends urgently stopped Radford, who was trying to pickpocket.

Of course, silver coins were tight, but that didn’t mean they could have a friend steal.

“We can have fun with what little we have.”

“But what if the professor gets angry?”

“It’s okay. Even if he gets angry, he won’t be able to do anything.”

“But what if Wodanaz gets angry?”

“……”

“…You son of a… Why are you saying such bad luck things when we’re about to have fun?”

The friends all scolded the White Tiger Tower student who brought it up.

“Then let’s all find a way to make money.”

“That’s a good idea. Wodanaz always made money whenever he went out.”

Radford’s words made the students excited.

“With what? Did he threaten people with his staff?”

“I think I heard he took on requests…”

“Going out and doing that? In that short amount of time?”

“We can’t do that… Let’s find something else.”

Rengid from the Black Tortoise Tower came up with a realistic idea.

“There will be places that need magic if we go around the shops. I often called wizards when I was helping out at the chef’s guild. If we say we’re from Einroguard, they’ll readily accept.”

Many people pretended to be wizards, but they were often not very good and acted proud. So, if you said you were from Einroguard, people knew you were a real wizard. It was the best way to prove it.

The problem was…

“So, Rengid. Are you saying that we, who came from Einroguard, should go around the shops next to the street and say, ‘We came from Einroguard, please give us some work’?”

The Blue Dragon and White Tiger students asked in a strong, questioning way. Rengid felt a little scared by their questions.

“Is, is that a bit much?”

“No. That’s a very good idea?”

“Let’s do it quickly.”

“……”

The Black Tortoise Tower students whispered as they watched the Blue Dragon Tower students and the White Tiger Tower students rush off, afraid of losing a good spot.

“Are those guys really from noble families?”

The main street was very busy and loud. It went from the water statue, which Isran was famous for, all the way to the harbor. There were old shops and tall buildings everywhere, making so much noise you could barely hear someone next to you.

In front of the shops, there were stalls selling things. They had fresh seafood from the harbor and sweet treats made with sugar, which was special in the south. People sat at tables outside cafes and tea houses, enjoying the sun and watching everyone walk by.

Such shops were bright enough for even the city’s little children to come and go, but those weren’t the only kinds of shops there were.

These alleys felt dark and sad. Only a few people from the big crowd went into them. They were connected to pubs and inns and full of everything from antique shops dealing with suspicious stolen goods to shops selling artifacts that no one knew whether they worked or not.

“Why are we doing this when we came from Einroguard? Uh… well… um… it’s to improve our magical skills.”

“That’s, that’s right. Even small, everyday things can help you learn magic…”

The students did their best to make up excuses for the shop owner’s questions.

Fortunately, the shop owner was impressed by those words.

“Oh, my…! Wizards are truly amazing! To do even these small jobs. Is this silver coin really enough? I’m so sorry…”

“No, it’s training that’s important to us.”

After persuading the shop owner, Rengid asked Bartrec.

“Hey, you have good reflexes. How did you come up with that?”

“I just copied what Wodanaz said.”

“……”

The students who got jobs worked hard.

Casting fire resistance magic on the inside of the furnace, repairing scrolls that could be repaired…

Clink!

“Thank you. Wizard.”

The shop owner politely bowed his head and handed over a silver coin pouch.

The students gracefully received the pouch, turned around, and shouted.

“Money! Real money!”

“With this, we can leave that awful place! We can be free! Let’s make our own school!”

“Yes! Let’s do it!”

“Huh?”

The students, eyes wide with excitement for the silver coins, rushed out, talking loudly.

“Gasp!”

“What is it? What’s wrong?”

“Look! It’s Wodanaz! And the redhead is with him!”

“Oh no!”

The students gasped and looked like they might faint.

They saw Ethan and his friends walking towards them in the distance.

‘They’re here to get us!’ they thought.

They had just gotten the silver coins. They couldn’t lose them now.

The students became determined, their faces set, and they crouched down low.

“Hey, you shouldn’t say Wodanaz’s name so loud…”

“Hey! Shut up, Retford!”

“Mmph! Mmmph!” (Retford’s mouth is covered)

“This way! Run this way!”

The friends ran quickly. Because there were so many people around, they got away easily.

“We made it!”

“We can’t get caught yet! We still want to play!”

“Yeah! Even if we are from different groups, we are together now!”

‘Are they being serious?’ Retford thought, looking at his friends. They were talking like they were planning something really important.

They only act like this when they have tests at school…

“Sounds like wizards to me.”

“!”

The students jumped, surprised by the voice from the dark alley.

A figure in a long, dark robe hid their face completely. The voice was strange and low, making it impossible to know if it was a man or a woman, or even what kind of person they were.

In the shadows, they could see a simple wooden table in front of the stranger, covered with strange symbols they had never seen before.

“Would you like to know what will happen to you?”

“Is he some kind of old-style wizard?”

“More like a fake, I bet. Just trying to trick people.”

In the far parts of the Empire, there were still old kinds of magic that the main magic schools didn’t understand or even know about.

People in the magic world called these old magics “primitive magic.”

But someone offering to tell fortunes in a place like this was probably just a fake, not a real fortune teller.

“Heh heh… I see you don’t believe me,” the stranger chuckled. “How about this? I won’t charge you anything. And if I’m wrong? I’ll give you a silver coin back.”

“Wow!”

If Ethan were here, he would have warned them, “Don’t trust people who give things away for free.” But the students really wanted more silver coins.

Bartreck was the first to step up.

“Okay, I’ll do it! Tell me, what family am I from?”

“No need to rush,” the stranger said calmly. “First, put your hand on the table.”

The wizard, who we now know is called Ianop, looked at Bartreck closely from inside his dark robe.

This simple wooden table looked normal, but it was actually a special object with magic spells on it.

But even though it had eight spells, it wasn’t really powerful or expensive.

In fact, the magic spells did nothing at all!

They were just there to trick people into thinking magic was happening. The spells were layered on top of each other so cleverly that it looked like no magic was there at all.

You might wonder, ‘Why would someone make such a trick?’ But very clever wizards think differently.

A good wizard might touch the table and not feel anything.

But a truly amazing wizard, one of the best in the Empire, would be surprised. First, they would feel that there was magic on the table. And then, they would be even more surprised that it was hidden so well.

That’s because this table was made by someone called Antagonthals, a very famous wizard.

‘This simple trick can tell if someone is a truly great wizard,’ Ianop thought, impressed by Antagonthals’ cleverness.

A really talented wizard can’t help but be curious when they find something like this.

Who made this? Why? What else did they know?

This kind of curiosity is like a spell itself for talented wizards; they can’t ignore it.

“Is my hand on it enough?”

“Yes, yes. Enough,” Ianop said, sounding bored.

Ianop frowned under his robe. *This kid is too slow.*

He quickly gave a random answer, wanting to get rid of him and give him a silver coin.

“You are… from a family of knights.”

“Wow! How did you know?” Bartreck’s eyes widened.

“…” Ianop stayed silent.

“Just one more thing! Please! Am I good at any kind of magic?”

“…”

Ianop was getting annoyed. He wanted to look at the other students, but Bartreck wouldn’t leave.

“I’m studying alchemy,” Bartreck went on, “but there are so many good alchemy students. And since I’m from a knight family… maybe alchemy isn’t right for me? But my family knows a lot about alchemy, so it’s hard to quit…”

“…Yes, well,” Ianop interrupted, “the future, you see, is not always easy to guess exactly…”

Ianop’s unclear words seemed to make Bartreck even more hopeful.

Scammers always say they can predict things they can’t! Ianop thought in frustration.

“A sign! Just give me a sign! What should I do?” Bartreck begged.

‘Why is this talentless idiot bothering me so much?’ Ianop thought angrily.

He sighed and gave another quick answer.

“…I see a dragon, a noble person, and a great wizard. Follow that sign.”

“Wow… Is that Wodanaz?” Bartreck gasped.

“Wodanaz?!” the other students whispered in shock.

Wodanaz was the only person they knew who was noble and a great wizard.

And he was said to have magic power like a dragon…

“Follow Wodanaz?” Bartreck wondered aloud.

“Maybe it means he will help us in the future…” another student whispered.

“Yeah, but he also beats you up,” someone else mumbled.

“Were you talking about us?” a familiar voice asked.

The students screamed in surprise.

Ethan and his friends were standing at the entrance of the alley, each holding a colorful cotton candy.

“W-Wodanaz! Please! Have mercy! We’re sorry!” the students cried, bowing low.

What in the world are they doing? Ianop thought, confused.

He looked at the students. They seemed like normal students, but they were acting as scared as criminals facing someone who would punish them.