Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 498

Lee Han spoke, the name just popping into his head. “Is that really Senior Dirette?”

Lee Han wasn’t even sure it was Dirette.

He was just talking, and Dirette’s name came to mind, so he asked, not really expecting an answer.

But then, the note went silent. Lee Han started to think it *might* actually be Dirette.

“Who is it?”

“So, it *is* Senior Dirette,” the note wrote back. When Lee Han didn’t answer, the writing kept going, almost like it was talking too much.

I don’t know who that is, but randomly throwing out names to test the other person isn’t a good habit…

-Senior, it’s Wodanaz. Wodanaz. Remember me? We shared meals together…

Again, there was no response.

Lee Han wished he hadn’t said anything. *Maybe I should have pretended to be Moradi,* he thought. *It’s not good to correct a senior, especially as a first-year.*

Sometimes, acting like you don’t know things is how you get seniors to like you.

Why are you, a first-year, getting your hands on artifacts like this…

Dirette finally admitted it was him.

The writing on the note now looked tired.

Dirette gave Lee Han additional information about the artifact.

“It must need a lot of magic,” Dirette wrote. “It’s probably taking magic from around it. That’s why it can’t move… You found it in a storage room for older students?”

-Yes.

It would have been hard to find something like that by chance. How did you find it?

-I asked an older student who was locked up in the forbidden prison area.

…If you don’t want to tell me, just say so, junior,

Dirette wrote, sounding a little annoyed.

‘It’s the truth.’ Lee Han felt unfairly accused.

-Actually, I caught the forest mouse guarding the third floor’s Forest of Shapes and threatened it, and it told me.

Ah. That mouse…! Clever, isn’t it?

“……”

Lee Han felt a bit unfairly accused, so he told a silly lie. He was surprised Dirette believed it completely.

‘Does he really think that makes sense?’ Lee Han began to doubt what Dirette really thought of him.

-Did you just say that makes sen… Listen, I have to go soon, so I’ll tell you quickly. If you find more of these communication things, don’t use them too quickly like you did today. The older students at Einroguard are not nice to younger students.

-But you’re so kind, Senior. What terrible people they must be.

Quiet.

Dirette cut off Lee Han’s compliments with a single word.

First-year students usually don’t have much contact with their seniors, so they often have wrong ideas about them.

-Since Einroguard is so awful, maybe the seniors will be alright?

-Since the professors are bad, maybe the seniors will be alright?

But if you think about it, there were many problems with that thinking.

What would the older students at Einroguard *really* be like? They went through first year just like Lee Han, and now they were seniors.

They were the kind of people who would betray their juniors without hesitation to save themselves and get ahead.

New students who had just entered their second year would have to experience being taken advantage of a few times before they could realize, ‘Ah, seniors and professors are all the same here.’

So, Dirette was a little worried about Lee Han.

Of course, this boy from the Wodanaz family had remarkable talents in many ways, but when it came to social experience, he couldn’t keep up with the clever and sneaky older students of Einroguard.

Also, getting this communication artifact shows that being talented can actually be dangerous here.

Wouldn’t he have more opportunities to come into contact with seniors?

I’ll tell you a few rules, so remember them. First, approach them strongly. There’s no need to use polite words.

-Should I try approaching them while swearing a bit?

That’s not a bad idea. You can hide your background.

‘Huh.’ It was a joke, but Dirette answered seriously.

Lee Han nodded and wrote a note next to him.

1. Swear like you’re from a rough street gang.

“???” Ratford, who was tidying up his luggage next to him, tilted his head and turned away after seeing Lee Han’s note.

Never show that it’s your first time using an artifact. Those who use these artifacts often are experienced and quick to notice.

-I’ll keep that in mind.

This was definitely true.

It was fortunate that the other party was Dirette; if it had been someone with bad intentions, Lee Han could have been easily deceived.

It’s not bad to say less. You can just ask what you want and what the other person wants. If they’re experienced, they’ll know what you mean.

Lee Han added to his note.

2. Say less.

“???”

There are few people who openly cheat. But there is no one who doesn’t cheat. You must keep that in mind.

Since it’s hard to get these communication artifacts, there aren’t many people who openly break their promises with the other party.

There is honor among thieves, and even the chaotic back alleys have their own rules.

But being unclear with your words was allowed.

Don’t believe everything the other person says too much. Don’t use this for too long. Your grades will drop. I have to go now. Do you have anything to ask?

-Senior.

What?

-I’ll be taking Dark Arts in my second year too. Please take care of me.

…I wasn’t asking to put pressure on you. I understand if you don’t take Dark Arts, especially with the monster wave and all. I was just trying to find out in advance. That way, I can say goodbye without putting pressure on you. I’m saying again, I’m really not putting pressure on you, and you don’t have to take it if you don’t want to. Got it? Are you listening?

‘Was he always this talkative?’ Lee Han was slightly overwhelmed as he watched the letters on the note fill up twice as fast as before.

-I’m just taking Dark Arts because it’s really fun.

After the ink was written onto the paper, there was silence for a while.

Lee Han thought Dirette had left and was about to close the note.

At that moment, one more line was added.

If that’s the case, that’s good. See you next year.

-Yes.

When Dirette really left, Lee Han closed the note.

Ratford, who was tidying up next to him, approached and asked cautiously.

“Um, Mr. Wodanaz. Do you perhaps need to act like a street criminal?”

After the conversation with Dirette, they finished cleaning.

Sharkan and Gonadaltez, who had worked all day, were sent back. Gonadaltez gave Lee Han sad looks every time he moved something heavy, as if complaining. After pushing out all the trash, the room felt much bigger.

“Was there a window here?”

“Yes. It seems like it was forgotten because there was too much graffiti on it.”

Looking up through the small skylight, the stars were already twinkling.

Lee Han sighed as he placed the necessary books on the long, old table in the center of the warehouse.

“The day is already gone. I should start soon.”

“Huh? Did you have an assignment?” Ratford, who was cutting cheese for the two of them, asked in confusion.

“But… lectures are canceled this week, and exams were last week, right? How could you have homework already?” Ratford asked, still cutting cheese.

“I received a separate assignment when I went out last time. I have to write two books.”

“Ah. You received them separately. You have to read two books. That must be tough.” Ratford nodded and walked to the side.

Lee Han sat down at the table, opened a book, and prepared to concentrate.

“…Wait. You have to write them?”

“Huh? Yeah. I said I’m writing two.”

“……”

Ratford tried to say something but gave up and changed the subject. He couldn’t bear it without changing the subject because he felt so sorry.

“By the way, Mr. Wodanaz, since you’ve practically acquired this place, shouldn’t we give it a name? Like Wodanaz’s Secret Base?”

“Can’t we call it Moradi’s Secret Base?” Lee Han preferred a name that wouldn’t be associated with him in case he got caught later.

“Why Moradi…?”

“Alright. Let’s call it Wodanaz’s Secret Base. Any name is fine.” Lee Han quickly changed his words because Ratford’s eyes were too innocent.

“By the way, Ratford. Do you have anything to do right now?”

“Yes? No, I don’t.” Ratford said, biting into a thick piece of cheese without much thought.

“Then sit in front of me and open an alchemy book. We can study together.”

“…Ah, actually. Now that I think about it, there’s still a lot of junk left over there. Please let me look for a little more!”

“Hmm. Isn’t there too much? Trying to do it all in one day seems greedy…”

“You have to do your best to improve little by little!” Ratford quickly ran away to the pile of junk. Lee Han shrugged and turned his gaze to the book.

>About Wodanaz’s Water Orb and Its Basic Principles< Water element combat magic is often underestimated, but its true value cannot be easily denied by any imperial mage. The imperial mage Yumidihus organized the classic water element combat magics and… >About the Limitations of Water Orb Magic and Its Direction for Development< What is Water Orb magic? To explain this, we must first talk about the underestimated water element combat magic… The imperial mage Yumidihus… ‘Hmm. I haven’t lost my touch yet.’ Lee Han was slightly impressed by his own ability to cleverly insert the same content into different books. Professor Volardy and Headmaster Skull might dislike such unnecessary prefaces, but books should originally have such prefaces. There had to be consideration for the reader. …First, the things you need first are… The disadvantage is the consumption of a large amount of magic power like this… To compensate for this, ways to make magic stronger such as blood magic… ‘Is this too extreme?’ Lee Han paused while writing the basic introduction to >Wodanaz’s Water Orb>.

He was writing that the disadvantage was the high consumption of magic power and that it needed to be compensated for, but it seemed a bit extreme.

“Mr. Wodanaz?”

“Ah. Ratford. Are you going to study alchemy?”

“…Ah, no.” Ratford became a little scared of Lee Han.

“There’s a unique artifact here.”

“!” Lee Han put down his quill and moved towards Ratford.

As the mountain of junk was cleared away, a mirror firmly fixed to the floor was revealed.

The bronze mirror was heavily scratched, and its surface was cloudy, unable to properly reflect a face.

However, Lee Han instinctively recognized what kind of artifact this mirror was, thanks to playing with the note earlier.

The magical feeling of the two were similar.

‘It’s a communication artifact!’ There wasn’t just one in the warehouse.

Lee Han approached the mirror with curious eyes. And he activated it in the same way he had activated the note earlier.

“……”

“……” However, unlike before, nothing happened.

‘Could the connected artifact also be in a state of having lost its owner?’ It was entirely possible.

There were many abandoned places in Einroguard, and in that case, the artifacts connected to them would have been abandoned as well…

He was lucky that Dirette had the connected artifact earlier, and it was fortunate that he was nearby when Lee Han connected; otherwise, it would have been difficult to even get a response.

“Hmm. That’s a shame. I thought I could talk to another senior.”

“I’ll keep an eye on it.”

“No, it’s only visible to the connected person anyway. Let’s stop cleaning and sit down to study.”

“…Yes…” Ratford sat down in front of Lee Han, feeling instinctively that excuses would no longer work.

As he opened the alchemy book, Ratford felt bored already. *Is alchemy really useful?*

Woo-oong-

“!” Lee Han, who had been playing with his quill next to him, was startled by the sound of the mirror vibrating.

“It’s here!”

“Let’s go see!”

“No. You keep doing what you were studying.”

“……”