Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 549

Yoner looked at her friend. She felt a little suspicious, but didn’t have time to think about it.

More undead creatures crept out of the forest.

Ethan frowned. “Spirit-tainted creatures? Is it because of dark magic?”

People in the Empire knew that frost spirits were more active in winter, but that wasn’t the whole story.

Winter awakened many magical beings.

Wind spirits appeared more often where the wind was strong. In mining areas, rock and metal spirits roamed around.

But the undead were the most frightening.

The undead hiding in the long winter nights scared the people of the Empire more than anything else.

Professor Woolegulum had tried to stop undead from rising in the forest, but there were always exceptions.

The spirit-tainted creature was one of those exceptions.

When a spirit became wild or violent because of strong magic, it could mix with another being and become an amorphous monster.

Because it was mixed with a spirit, it wasn’t a normal undead, so the usual ways to stop undead didn’t work.

This creature was even worse. It was a mix of a dark spirit and an undead being.

Normally, spirits avoid undead, even wild ones.

This dark spirit was different, making this creature especially dangerous.

Siana the priestess was shocked. “A dark-affinity spirit?!”

Lightning spirits were rare, but dark spirits were even rarer.

“I know it’s fascinating, but now is not the time!” Yoner said, quickly grabbing a potion.

The dark, shifting spirit-tainted creatures crawled out of the forest in greater numbers.

Some of the creatures were interested in the cabin, while others fought each other.

A beetle-shaped creature, as big as a pig, attacked another tainted creature, which kicked back with its hind legs.

“Here, a fire potion!”

“Thank you! Lady Maykin!” Siana said.

Yoner gave Siana the fire potion she usually carried to protect herself.

This potion burst into flames when the glass broke and touched the air. It was useful everywhere in Einrogaard.

It was especially effective against dark spirit-tainted creatures, which were weak against fire and light.

“Oh, Yoner? What about me?” Ethan asked, tilting his head. He was casting spells to make his friends stronger.

Yoner had skipped over Ethan without giving him a potion.

“Huh? …Ah! Here!”

Yoner suddenly remembered Ethan could also use a fire potion.

Ethan was a strong fighter. Yoner just didn’t think he would need a potion.

“I… I was going to give it to you… really.”

“Alright. Thanks,” Ethan said, looking out the cabin window.

The number of tainted creatures was growing. There were so many creatures now, it was like a horde.

‘This doesn’t seem like it happened by chance. Did one of the older students research dark magic and dump it in the forest?’ Ethan wondered.

If seniors caused this, Ethan was going to be very angry at them.

He was already having a hard time, and this was a nuisance.

The first-year students always suffered the most from these problems.

Older students at Einrogaard were good at avoiding monsters. They could easily get away from even the fiercest creatures near the dorms or the schoolyard.

“Let’s stay inside until the professor comes,” Ethan said.

“Do you think the professor will come?”

“If he doesn’t come, his cabin will be destroyed, so he’ll probably come.”

The two almost asked, ‘Did you fight with Professor Wodanaz?’, but they didn’t.

No matter what Ethan said, staying inside was the smart thing to do.

It wasn’t smart to go outside when so many monsters were rampaging around.

The best plan was to wait for the monsters to leave, then move slowly and carefully.

The squirrel spirit that had tried to prank the cabin earlier reappeared. It had retreated because of the banishment potion.

The squirrel spirit was scared by the tainted creatures and tried to stop them by creating snowflakes everywhere.

“No!”

“If that happens…!”

The students sighed as they watched.

Even though it was scared, it was foolish to attract attention in front of the tainted creatures.

It was a stupid thing to do.

The dark spirit-tainted creatures quickly noticed the squirrel spirit and started chasing it.

“We have to help.”

Yoner carefully opened the cabin door and got ready to go out.

By touching the magic circle around the cabin, she could let the squirrel spirit inside.

“That’s right. Spirits don’t forget kindness. If we save it, it will surely repay us,” Ethan said as he followed his friends to the garden.

Siana the priestess thought she heard voices saying, ‘Can we really trust spirits? These ungrateful bastards?’, but she ignored it.

“Ethan. I’ll do it,” Yoner said.

Yoner saw that Ethan was still angry about spirits. She tried to tell him to go back inside.

If the squirrel bit Ethan after they saved it, he might hate spirits forever.

She joked that Ethan might become someone famous for hating spirits, like ‘Ethan the Spirit Hater’.

“No. It’s faster for me to help since I set it up. Can you cover me while I stop the flow for a moment?”

“Ethan. Even if that spirit comes in and acts violently, it’s because of the situation…”

“What are you talking about?” Ethan asked, looking at Yoner in disbelief.

Yoner was saying something else when they needed to focus, stop the magic circle, and let the spirit inside.

“…Nothing. I’m ready!”

Wooo-ooo-oong-

Yoner, covering Ethan with her staff and fire potion, was amazed by the change in the magic circle.

Ethan was able to stop the magic circle because he knew it so well and could control magic.

The friend who had been grumbling about the spirits suddenly seemed like one of the Empire’s most outstanding magical geniuses.

Siana the priestess seemed to think so too, as she looked at the magic circle with admiration.

“Come in!” Lee Han shouted to the squirrel spirit. He was holding back the magic circle with his power. The squirrel spirit was running away from something and finally heard Lee Han’s voice. It looked towards the cabin.

“This way! Hurry!” Yoner called out. Priestess Siana waved her hand, also urging it to come faster. When the squirrel spirit started to run towards them, Yoner and Siana sighed in relief.

Lee Han spoke quietly to himself. “Even when it’s in danger, it doesn’t listen to me.”

Yoner quickly said, “Ah, no, it’s just by chance.”

Siana added, “But it also didn’t come when you called it, Wodanaz-nim…”

Yoner looked annoyed at Siana. “Priestess Siana!” He felt she was making things worse.

Siana explained her thoughts. “I don’t think we should force it to be on our side. It’s a little… rude, isn’t it, that it didn’t come to you?”

Yoner started to agree, “That’s true, but…”

Lee Han sighed, trying to reassure them. “Hey, I’m really fine, everyone.” He looked at his friends, trying to smile.

It was true the spirits seemed unkind, especially after Lee Han tried to help. But Lee Han wasn’t going to be upset about it for long. If the spirit didn’t like him, what could he do? He had his own path to follow. Actually, it bothered him more that his friends were so worried about him.

“Maybe the spirit is just a little scared of me,” Lee Han said. “So, really, don’t worry so much.”

“Sorry, Lee Han,” Yoner said, looking truly sorry. He realized he was making Lee Han feel worse by trying to help.

“It’s okay, really. Just be honest with me, okay?”

“Okay, I will be.”

Siana, who had been listening, quietly asked Yoner, “So, it’s really true? It didn’t come when you called it before?”

“Yeah,” Yoner admitted. Lee Han’s smile faded a little when he heard Yoner’s words.

*Thump-* The squirrel spirit darted through the magic circle. Quickly, Lee Han made the magic circle work again.

The creatures chasing the spirit sensed something bad from the circle. They screeched loudly and ran around the edge of it.

“Don’t be scared,” Yoner said gently. “We won’t hurt you. See?” Yoner and Siana slowly opened their hands to show they meant no harm to the frightened squirrel spirit.

They knew scared spirits could be dangerous. If you startled them, they might become wild and cause trouble.

The squirrel spirit paused, looking around at them all. It seemed to be thinking. Then, suddenly, it scurried up Lee Han’s leg, climbed onto his ankle, and then up to his wrist.

It rubbed its head against Lee Han’s skin, as if saying thank you.

Lee Han was completely surprised. “Huh?” he said, confused.

“L-Lee Han!” Yoner gasped.

“It’s a miracle!”

Siana exclaimed, “Priestess Siana… I mean, maybe it’s a small miracle?”

Lee Han was so focused on the squirrel spirit, he didn’t even hear what Yoner and Siana were saying. All he felt was the soft fur rubbing against his hand.

“Lee Han… are you crying?” Yoner asked, sounding worried.

“No!” Lee Han said quickly. “Just… dust in my eye.”

Inside his sleeve, the basilisk hissed quietly. *It doesn’t deserve your kindness,* it seemed to say about the ungrateful spirit. But the squirrel spirit stayed close to Lee Han, holding on tightly.

“Wodanaz-nim,” Siana said, pointing into the trees. “I think we should go inside now. Look over there…” Lee Han followed her gaze. Deeper in the forest, more of the contaminated creatures were moving around. Maybe they were hunting other spirits.

For now, they weren’t coming closer to the cabin, but if more of them arrived, one might get brave and attack, just like before.

“Are they chasing another spirit?” Lee Han asked.

“I… I don’t know, maybe?” Siana replied, sounding unsure.

“Let’s help them,” Lee Han said firmly.

“Huh?” Siana looked surprised. “What? But… it’s different now. Before, those creatures didn’t really care about us. We used the magic circle to surprise them. But now… now they are angry. They are screaming and looking right at the cabin. It’s much more dangerous than before.”

“I can handle this many. Trust me, Siana.”

“Okay, I do trust you… but are you sure you’re not doing too much?”

“No, it’s okay. And I can’t just watch those creatures hurt innocent spirits.” The squirrel spirit seemed to understand. It snuggled closer to Lee Han.

Siana hesitated for a moment. “…Okay,” she said finally. “I’ll get ready.”

Professor Thunderfoot saw the contaminated creatures suddenly appear and yelled, his voice full of anger and irritation. “Get—out—of—here!” He blew a loud blast on his magic horn. The creatures coughed up green goo and shrank back.

“By the beard of my ancestors!” Professor Thunderfoot roared. “If my students caused this, they will be in HUGE trouble!”

The dwarf professor jumped onto his spirit deer and rode fast. He couldn’t waste time. There were many cabins all over the school grounds. As Professor Thunderfoot raced along the high path, looking at the cabins in the three forests, he suddenly thought of his first-year students.

*Oh no!* He thought. His students’ cabins were on the other side, near the forest too. They could be in danger first if these creatures attacked. *Wait, no. They have a magic circle. And that Wodanaz guy is there.* Thinking of Wodanaz made him feel a little better. Professor Thunderfoot turned his spirit deer around and flew quickly towards them.

*Good…* he thought. He could see the cabin in the distance. It looked okay. *Everything must be fine.* *CRACK! CRUNCH!* Professor Thunderfoot stopped suddenly, staring. “What… what happened here?!” he whispered in shock. The clearing in front of the cabin was destroyed, like a bomb had exploded. It was a mess of broken trees and deep holes. Had there been a huge battle?