Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 490

“Yes…?” one mercenary mumbled, scratching his head. They were more confused than they had been all day. Helping with the fight in the port wasn’t the problem. They expected chaos – city guards, loud adventurers, and even local groups acting like police. A few shady figures like them would easily blend in. But *this*? They exchanged worried glances. *Were they really going to try and bother those Einrogard wizards again?* *That’s like kicking a sleeping dragon for no reason…* They knew Ianop, the wizard leading them, wasn’t helping the city out of kindness. He wanted something from those powerful wizards from Einrogard.

Suddenly, a cold, sizzling sound filled the air, like meat burning on hot coals. Strange, glowing lines appeared on the mercenaries’ necks, pulsing with a faint purple light. They gasped, hands flying to their throats as they felt a tight pressure.

“M-Magician…” one choked out.

“Magician, please! Spare us! We’ve been loyal!”

Ianop smiled thinly. “Of course, I trust you completely.” He waved his staff, and invisible magical cords seemed to tighten around their necks. He couldn’t risk them running off now.

“Kuh… Forgive me for not knowing it was such powerful magic… Please, spare me!” another begged, mistaking the enchantment.

Ianop rolled his eyes, annoyed by these fools calling his beautiful magic “dark.” But he kept his anger hidden. He needed to focus on getting that gemstone from Einrogard.

“Wodanaz, look at this quill! Isn’t it beautiful?” Asan asked, holding up a pen with a shimmering, blue feather.

“Hmm… it is nice,” Ihan admitted, turning it over in his hands, “but it looks expensive.”

“But it’s so pretty!” Asan insisted. “And aren’t you tired of using those plain goose feather quills we get from Einrogard?”

Ihan shrugged. “Maybe I can ask them to lower the price.”

“Really? You’re serious?” Asan whispered, eyes wide. Ihan just nodded, already looking around for the shop owner. Asan’s respect for Ihan grew even more. It wasn’t just about defeating Frost Giants or showing off magic to rich families; it was about his practical, down-to-earth nature.

But their fun market trip was cut short. A group of serious-faced Shadow Patrol hunters hurried back towards them, their usual relaxed manner gone. Ihan sighed. He knew why they were back.

“The Sea Serpent is coming, for sure,” he said to his friends.

“Understood,” someone replied.

Ihan reluctantly turned to go find Professor Voladi. The whole city would need to get ready.

Nilia looked at Ihan, her face full of worry. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. It was rare to see Nilia so upset.

“Hey, it’s not your fault,” Ihan said kindly. “It’s just that annoying Sea Serpent! Everyone, listen up! Fun time is over, back to the mansion! Quickly buy anything you want before we go!” Ihan shouted to his friends, then lowered his voice to the quill shop owner. “Hey, any chance of a discount if we help catch that Sea Serpent coming to the port?”

The shop owner just blinked. Nilia almost disappeared into the crowd, wanting to leave right then.

Soon, the friends gathered, each carrying something. Yoner proudly showed off a small, thick bronze pot – much stronger than the thin ones from Einrogard, perfect for powerful potions. Ratford grinned, holding up some lock-picking tools that looked a little bit bloody, but were a bargain. Bartrec grumbled about a healing cream for broken bones, unsure if it would actually work.

Adenart looked around, surprised. Everyone had bought something. Ihan noticed her empty hands.

“You don’t have to buy anything, Princess,” he said gently. “Nilia didn’t get anything either.”

“Oh!” Nilia quickly glanced around, then tucked a book she’d been hiding – *Wasteland Starfinders, They are the Empire’s Sentinels!* – deeper inside her jacket.

“R-Right, right! It’s… not cool to just buy things when you come to a market like this. Isn’t it?”

“It’s not about being cool or not,” Ihan said, smiling slightly. “Let’s go if everyone’s ready.”

As they walked back to the mansion, they saw Professor Voladi coming from the other way. Ihan greeted him. “Professor, where have you been?”

“Looking for something useful,” Professor Voladi replied casually, not stopping. The professor’s short answer made Ihan’s mind race. *What does “useful” mean for Professor Voladi?* *Is he finding a tougher monster for me to fight in the next school term? Did he maybe kidnap a criminal from some dark alley?* With Professor Voladi, anything seemed possible, and that was a little scary. Ihan noticed something dark on Professor Voladi’s coat. *Was that… blood?*

“Professor,” Ihan said, “I need to tell you something.”

“What is it?” Professor Voladi asked, finally stopping and turning to face him.

“Um… the Sea Serpent is coming.” Ihan explained what the Shadow Patrol hunters had said, trying to be careful with his words. He didn’t want Professor Voladi to think he was hiding information.

“A Sea Serpent?” Professor Voladi repeated.

“Yes.” Professor Voladi’s face, usually so stern, softened just a little. Ihan realized the professor was actually happy about this. *Oh no.*

“…Ah, Professor,” Ihan quickly added. “I’m not saying we should go and catch it together or anything, but just to follow the rules… if a big monster comes to the port, shouldn’t we tell the people here first? And then maybe others in the city who can help?” Of course, telling Professor Voladi was the right thing to do. But if he thought, *’What a helpful student, coming to me to deal with the Sea Serpent,’* Ihan would be in trouble.

“I suppose so,” Professor Voladi said, his eyes gleaming slightly. *I don’t think he understood,* Ihan thought, worried.

“The Sea Serpent is finally coming?” Professor Thunderstride grumbled, walking out with a frown when he heard the news. “Looks like we’ll have trouble tonight.”

“Professor,” Ihan said, holding out a small pouch. “Here’s your wallet.”

“Oh, thanks,” Professor Thunderstride said, taking it without looking. He opened it, then frowned even deeper. It was empty. “…” *What a cheapskate!* Ihan thought, hiding a smile.

“That monster has no manners,” Professor Thunderstride complained. “Coming now, after we’ve finished all the important work.”

“Tell me about it,” someone from the Meikin family agreed, shaking their head. “If it had come before we finished the deal, we could have used it somehow. But now, hunting it is just a pain.”

“Let’s look on the bright side,” Professor Lightningstride said, trying to be positive. “Sea Serpents always bring useful things… The professors will just have to work a bit harder.” The other professors nodded in agreement. With a big monster like a Sea Serpent, it was expected that the professors would be the main fighters.

“You students stay behind us,” Professor Thunderstride told them. “It shouldn’t be too dangerous, but stay alert. You never know when we might need your help.” Even though they were just first-year students at Einrogard, outside the school, they were powerful young wizards from important wizard families. Compared to the average wizards you found outside, the Einrogard students were highly respected.

“Yes, Professor!” the students replied, standing up straight, their faces serious. They had faced many tough challenges at Einrogard, but this felt different, more real.

Ihan started to move with his friends, ready to help. But Professor Thunderstride looked at him, confused. “Where are you going?”

“Sir? You said we should wait behind…”

“Ah!” Professor Thunderstride suddenly burst into a loud laugh, as if he’d forgotten something obvious. “Of course, not *you*!” Professor Lightningstride joined in, laughing loudly. “Why would *you* go to the back!”

“…” The Meikin family members looked confused and a little embarrassed by the loud laughter of the dwarf professors. Ihan wasn’t amused either. *Those dwarves are annoying,* he thought.

“Light, be!” Ihan commanded, waving his staff. A ball of bright, white light, like a miniature sun, floated into the air. The professors had laughed earlier, but they knew it wasn’t really a joke. When you needed to quickly get ready for a huge monster, you didn’t ignore someone with almost unlimited magic power like Ihan.

The first thing Ihan did was make light. The sun had already disappeared below the horizon, and darkness was creeping over the port. If fighting started in the dark, it would help the Sea Serpent. So, light was essential.

The people of the city, seeing the wizards, had hoped magic would solve everything. But *this*…

“…What in the world is this?” one city guard whispered, staring up.

“Did I get the time wrong? Is it morning already?” The city guard soldiers who rushed to the port stopped in amazement. The port was bathed in light, brighter than daylight. They wanted lights, but this was too much! *Is this… is this safe?*

“W-Was magic always this strong?” another soldier stammered.

“Well, they *are* wizards from Einrogard…” said another, but even he didn’t sound sure. Frankly, everyone was stunned.

“Light, light, light, light, light…” Ihan kept going, creating more and more light spheres and sending them floating around the port. The adventurers, holding their bows and arrows, just stared, speechless.

“He’s a student… isn’t he?” one mumbled.

“Can Einrogard students really use *this* much magic? The wizard we hired last time complained just making a tiny lantern-sized light…” Unaware of the huge impression he was making, Ihan kept circling the port, placing light after light. He had plenty of magic, but it was still hard work to set up all these lights because the port was so big.

*If you’re not clever, you have to work harder,* Ihan thought, sighing to himself. He understood now why the skeletal headmaster was so insistent on learning powerful magic. If he knew higher-level spells, he could light up this whole area with just a flick of his wrist!

“I’m done,” Ihan announced, landing back on the ground.

“Good work,” Professor Thunderstride said, impressed.

“Next, I’ll put magic enchantments on the weapons,” Ihan said, already moving towards the guards.

“…O-Okay,” Professor Thunderstride replied, a little taken aback. He was about to tell Ihan to rest, but Ihan was already starting the next task. The Shadow Patrol hunters had already gotten their weapons enchanted, but many people in the port, like the city guards, were using normal bows and crossbows. And there were also the large siege weapons set up on the walls…

“Um, Professor,” one of the Meikin family members said hesitantly. “Shouldn’t he rest for a bit?” They were careful because they didn’t want to question how Einrogard trained its students in front of a professor. But this time, they couldn’t stay silent.

Professor Thunderstride glanced at the outsiders and quickly made up an excuse. “This little bit of work? It’s just like a walk in the park for Wodanaz.”

“…Really?” The Meikin family stared at the countless light spheres floating all over the port, completely speechless. *What nonsense is that?* they thought. But Professor Thunderstride was confident and bold. He had started the lie, and he was going to stick to his story.

“Actually,” he continued, puffing out his chest, “telling him to rest would be insulting to Wodanaz’s pride! Please, don’t mention it again.”

“Ah… I see,” one of them said, nodding slowly.

“Indeed,” another agreed. If Ihan had heard Professor Thunderstride, he probably would have kicked him into the sea, but Ihan was too busy enchanting the weapons of the city guards.

The Meikin family members were even more impressed than before. *No wonder he’s from the Wodanaz family,* they thought. *I guess that’s why Yoaneen likes him so much.* The Meikin family respected Yoaneen for his amazing skills, but they also knew he had his flaws. To be honest, Yoaneen worked way too much. Hearing someone like him say, “I really like you, I want you to work in my workshop after you graduate,” was a bit worrying, even if it was a compliment about his abilities. It suggested that maybe Ihan was also a bit obsessed with work…