Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 522

“Put me in front! I will get us the win!”

Anglaise yelled, puffing out his chest.

Lee Han’s muscles still hurt. He stared at Anglaise like he was crazy.

‘Why is he so confident?’

He’d heard their opponents were Quidditch fanatics who played Quidditch all day. The students here were wizards first, magic came first.

He couldn’t understand why Anglaise was so confident.

“Anglaise, how do you plan to win?”

“I have been playing Quidditch without rest. Sometimes, I’ve played more than ten matches.”

“……”

Lee Han looked at Anglaise with disdain.

‘So that’s why this bloke was dozing off during study…’

Thinking about it, he felt Quidditch should be banned by school rules.

If that happened, the average score of White Tiger Tower students would easily increase by 20 points.

“Professor! Let me lead the attack…”

“Hold on, Anglaise. Didn’t you fall off your mount during the last race?”

“Yes? Yes, that’s true, but it was a mistake…”

“Then you’re a substitute.”

“…No, Professor! This isn’t right! This isn’t right!!”

Anglaise argued strongly, not like his usual lazy attitude in class. But Professor Lightningfoot did not change his mind.

They were already at a disadvantage, and he couldn’t trust someone who was all talk and no action.

All that mattered was skill.

“Richmond, Wodanaz. The others are important too, but you two are especially so. Do you understand?”

“Professor, I haven’t fully recovered from the Stone Throwing Festival this week.”

“Stone Throwing Festival? Ah, the Saint Iactus Festival? Wait, why were you even there… Never mind. Professor Verdus must have taken you.”

‘Not really.’

Lee Han stopped himself from saying it was Professor Lagrinde.

He didn’t feel the need to point it out.

“Is your muscle pain severe?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm.”

Professor Lightningfoot looked in his bag and took out a potion.

“This should be alright. It’s a potion not covered by the rules. Drink it.”

“Thank you… Hmm. Is this a healing potion?”

Lee Han opened the lid and drank the potion, feeling puzzled.

The pain all over his body was rapidly disappearing.

This worked much better than the normal healing potion from the healing room.

“No. It’s a potion that prevents you from feeling pain.”

“……”

While Lee Han was in shock, Professor Lightningfoot gathered the students with good grades and gave instructions.

“You lack team tactics and individual skills. Even your mounts are somewhat inferior.”

Nilia raised her hand, looking dumbfounded, and asked.

“Couldn’t we at least get better mounts?”

The opponents had brought ostriches, mountain goats, wolves, and turtles, while they only had horses.

However, Professor Lightningfoot slowly shook his head.

“Those are actually more advantageous for you. Unusual mounts have their advantages, but they are also more difficult to handle and more violent. In comparison, your horses are loyal and steadfast. Especially if you have taken good care of them throughout the year.”

The students started to look proud.

They were reminded of the effort they had put into caring for their horses, going back and forth to the stables throughout the year.

The sweat and time they had invested had not betrayed them.

Gainan pulled straw from his hair, grumbling.

“Loyal and steadfast, my foot… It bites my head every time it sees me.”

Professor Lightningfoot ignored him and continued.

“The only plan is to wear them out. If the match lasts long enough, their energy will run out before ours.”

Shiles, a student from Black Turtle Tower, asked with a puzzled expression.

As his family had made a business out of carriage transport, he was well aware of the characteristics of various mounts.

“Aren’t the opponents’ mounts not particularly lacking in stamina compared to horses?”

“Ah. The horses you ride are specially raised by me, so their endurance is much better. Don’t let the opponents find out.”

“……”

“……”

“Alright. Now, lower the defensive line, try not to drop the reins, and don’t cry if you get hit… Wodanaz, come here.”

“?”

Lee Han was puzzled when Professor Lightningfoot called him aside.

“Are you perhaps going to give me another potion? I know it’s cheating, but if there’s a way not to get caught…”

“What? No. That’s cheating. I wouldn’t even think of making you do that.”

‘I wouldn’t be surprised if you did.’

“Actually, one of the reasons I expect victory in this friendly match is you.”

“Yes?”

Lee Han paused.

In a situation where he couldn’t use magic or magical attacks, there were limits to what Lee Han could do.

Could he really defeat skilled Quidditch players, no matter how well he rode a horse or how skilled he was in swordsmanship?

“What will you be riding?”

“Phone Leaguer?”

“Yes. And Phone Leaguer is…”

“Ah.”

Lee Han realised what the professor was aiming for.

‘Aha!’

“You want me to undo Phone Leaguer’s transformation and scare away all the other players’ mounts?”

“…Are you perhaps dissatisfied that I’m forcing you to go out there? If you are, please tell me now.”

Professor Lightningfoot, having finished preparations, crossed his arms and frowned as he looked at the stadium.

Bulpard, the team captain from a noble city family standing next to him, said with a smile.

“Thank you for giving us this opportunity.”

“Don’t mention it.”

“What greater honour could there be than competing against the prestigious Einroguard students? By the way, I heard that the Einroguard Quidditch Club students achieved good results this time?”

“Unless they win the championship, it’s all meaningless…”

“Don’t say that. Isn’t the process important?”

“Hmm.”

Professor Lightningfoot frowned even more at the rising anger.

In fact, the opponent was not at fault at all.

They were a pure opponent who had come after receiving the proposal and thinking, ‘This is a good offer’…

But originally, if someone is insensitive when you’re in a bad mood, you tend to dislike them even more for no reason.

Moreover, the fact that several key players, including the captain, were missing from the Quidditch Club players also angered Professor Lightningfoot.

Of course, the opponent had arranged it that way to be considerate of the freshmen who had no Quidditch experience yet, but originally, people become very narrow-minded when it comes to their favourite sports.

Due to the recent insufficient results achieved by Einroguard students, Professor Lightningfoot was very thirsty for victory.

“I hope that many people will feel the charm of Quidditch in today’s friendly match and join the Quidditch Club next year.”

“I’m going to join!”

Anglaise shouted loudly from the audience. Bulpard nodded with a bright face at those words.

“Someday, we might even meet and play Quidditch together! But Professor, why is that student sitting down? He seems to like Quidditch?”

“His leg is broken.”

“Oh dear…”

He looked perfectly fine, but his leg was broken. Bulpard looked at Anglaise with pity.

Meanwhile, the students and players faced each other and greeted each other.

“Please take care of us.”

“It’s an honour to have a friendly match with the students of Einroguard.”

The Granden City players spoke with sincerity.

Lee Han, suddenly curious, asked a question.

“But among the seniors, there must be some who belong to the school’s Quidditch Club, so haven’t there been any friendly matches until now?”

“Ah. Einroguard students usually play with students from other magic schools, right?”

“That’s… no.”

Lee Han was dumbfounded.

‘Then why are we…’

If the other magic school students are busy, they could just wait, so why bother bringing such a difficult opponent?

“I see…”

As if Lee Han was interested, the excited opponent player enthusiastically talked about the charm of Quidditch.

“The Einroguard Quidditch Club is a club with a real history. The imperial prize money record they set in the past hasn’t been broken yet.”

“Prize money?”

“Yes.”

“Is there prize money in Quidditch?”

“There is?”

Lee Han was surprised.

Shiles next to him was also surprised.

‘Why doesn’t he know that…?’

From the money donated by the audience to the prize money put up by various dignitaries in their names.

Quidditch was a game where you could earn as much as you could if you could win.

And above all, he couldn’t understand why Wodanaz didn’t know this.

“Magic school students use the prize money they receive for magic research, don’t they?”

“Ah. Yes. Well, that’s right.”

Lee Han came to his senses after imagining embezzling the prize money distributed by the Quidditch Club and diverting it to business expenses.

After all, no money would come out of the friendly match now.

‘Let’s focus.’

“Oh. Are you perhaps from the Richmond family?”

“Ah. Yes.”

The players also spoke to Shiles next to him.

The eyes of the friendly players turned sharp, and they whispered to each other.

“Keep that student in check first…”

“Don’t let your guard down, just in case.”

“……”

As soon as it started, dust soared into the wide stadium.

Two players riding ostriches and wolves fiercely dribbled the ball with their poles and charged.

Shiles, in charge of the right side, shouted urgently.

“Everyone, maintain formation and don’t fall back… Cough! Cough cough cough!?”

The wolf prevented Shiles from moving, and the ostrich quickly kicked him.

Shiles was knocked away as he rolled and rolled.

The White Tiger Tower students, seeing that, shouted without realising it.

“Such advanced technique!”

“Perfect player knockdown!”

‘What kind of technique name is that…’

“Everyone, hold on! I’m going!”

Lee Han realised that the difference in skill between his friends and the players was more significant than he had thought.

At this rate, instead of holding on, they would be broken through and concede a goal.

The only one who could buy time right now was Lee Han, who was riding the Griffin.

“Phone Leaguer, I’m counting on you.”

Phone Leaguer’s eyes burned red, and rough breaths flowed from his mouth, having heard affectionate words from his master for the first time in a long time.

Bang!

“Careful! Right!”

“Block him!”

As Lee Han, who was on the left, moved rapidly to the right, the other players blocked him to protect the player dribbling the ball.

Lee Han gritted his teeth and prepared for the collision.

Even if he couldn’t make a direct attack above the shoulder, there were various situations from attacks using mounts to attacks below the shoulder, as he had seen earlier.

He couldn’t cut down the experienced players in one fell swoop, so he had no choice but to break through, trusting in Phone Leaguer’s mass.

-Squawk! Squawk! Squawk!!!!

“?”

The mountain goat blocking the front suddenly screamed and changed direction, surprising the player on top.

How could a colleague who had been working together show such a reaction?

The wolf next to him was the same.

As Phone Leaguer approached, they were terrified and distanced themselves.

As a breakthrough was created in an instant, Lee Han ran for it. Professor Lightningfoot, seeing that, punched the air with his fist.

“That’s it!”

“H-how?!”

Bulpard shouted, unable to understand.

What on earth just happened?

‘It’s much more effective than I thought!’

Professor Lightningfoot suppressed a smile and rejoiced inwardly.

It was such a great performance that he wanted to shout full marks right now.

“That horse was originally a Griffin.”

“Yes? But…”

As the opponent was flustered and lost for words, Professor Lightningfoot made the first move.

“Of course, it may feel dangerous for a first-year student to handle a Griffin. But if there is thorough preparation, handling a Griffin is not that dangerous.”

Professor Lightningfoot lied easily and confidently.

In fact, objectively speaking, handling a Griffin is a very, very dangerous thing, no matter what preparations you make.

“No… that’s not it.”

“?”

“We even trained in preparation for meeting a Griffin as an opponent in the match. But why are they so scared…”

“…?!”