Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 55

It was a great relief. The friends who kept saying, “Let’s go outside!” and “We need to find a way!” were finally quiet. They had stopped arguing.

Lee Han spoke, and suddenly, the noisy students were quiet. Everyone listened to him.

Nilia was impressed by Lee Han from the Blue Dragon Tower.

He silenced all the noisy students with just a few words.

“Wow,” Nilia thought. “Lee Han just said a few words and everyone listened! Is that because he’s from the Wodanaz family? They are a really famous magic family.”

“Everyone’s been rained on, so we should get something warm into them. Gather around. I’ll make something for you all.”

At Lee Han’s words, everyone’s faces lit up, and they scurried over.

Watching them, Nilia was reminded of someone familiar.

‘Um… Mum?’

Must be her imagination.

Nilia was surprised by how Lee Han acted. He didn’t seem like someone from a powerful magic family. He was… normal. Not like she expected.

If Gainando had seen it, he would have said, ‘Why are you carrying so much?’ but Lee Han had come on this mountain trip with his backpack full.

Lee Han had brought a lot of food in his backpack. He wasn’t just being careful. He wanted to be ready for anything, even if they got stuck here for a long time.

Thanks to that, there were enough groceries to treat all the assembled students and still have some left over.

“Spring forth.”

Having suffered so much under Professor Voladi, the water creation magic now flowed smoothly without the slightest hesitation.

He was even able to simplify the wand movements little by little without completing them all.

He realized something as he made the water spell. The more you practice magic, the easier it becomes. Like learning to ride a bike. At first, you follow every step carefully. But later, you can do it without thinking.

He had heard bits and pieces when he was in the family, but there were things that could only be understood by experiencing them firsthand.

Spells and movements were just such things.

Magic is the act of changing the world with the will of the wizard.

No matter how talented and gifted a wizard might be, changing the world with unfamiliar magic was bound to raise doubts.

Can I do this magic? Is there something I’m misunderstanding? What if I make a mistake?

Detailed spells and movements erased these doubts and made the wizard stronger.

Conversely, the more familiar one became with magic, the more easily these spells and movements could be simplified.

Lee Han thought about Professor Voladi’s class. ‘Learning magic shouldn’t be so hard,’ he thought. ‘Why did we have to suffer so much?’

Bubble bubble-

The pot on the fire began to boil. Lee Han poured water into tin cups and brewed coffee.

The students, who had been shivering from the cold spring rain, received their cups of coffee with blissful expressions.

Tap-

Seeing Lee Han cracking eggs into a small, square frying pan, Nilia looked puzzled.

“Where did you get all this stuff?”

“I bought it from the Black Tortoise Tower students.”

“?!!”

Come to think of it, there were rumors earlier about a big hit at the black market…

That was Wodanaz?!

Lee Han chopped the scrambled eggs into small pieces and shared them with his friends.

The rain fell in a steady rhythm, drumming on the leaves above and hissing as it hit the fire. The air smelled damp, but also of woodsmoke and something warm and comforting from Lee Han’s cooking.

Warm coffee and eggs.

As their bodies warmed up and relaxed, the students suddenly became romantic.

“This isn’t so bad.”

“Yeah. This is the first time I’ve had such a pleasant time since entering the school.”

Lee Han was surprised. Were his friends really enjoying this? They seemed too happy considering they were stuck in the rain.

It couldn’t be that there was something in the coffee or eggs, but everyone was suddenly talking nonsense…

Meanwhile, Rowena, an elf from the White Tiger Tower, approached.

“The Princess says she is grateful.”

“Oh. I see.”

Nilia whispered, just loud enough for Lee Han to hear, “Does the Princess think she’s too important to say ‘thank you’ herself?”

“What did you say?”

“Nothing.”

Nilia quickly changed the subject when Rowena tilted her head and asked.

She heard that!

“But, Master Wodanaz.”

“?”

“May I ask if you have any plans to make that vegetable stew again?”

“…???”

“Wait. You’re making that vegetable stew again?”

“That legendary vegetable stew?”

The Black Tortoise Tower students, who had been sipping their coffee, jumped up.

Not that stew?

“No. I have no plans to.”

“……”

The Black Tortoise Tower students sat down again with gloomy expressions.

He’s not making it!

Rowena wasn’t as disappointed as the Black Tortoise Tower students, but she still looked disappointed.

“Is that so? I was looking forward to it after hearing the story.”

Lee Han was dumbfounded.

How did the rumor spread so quickly…?

‘More than that, I don’t know if it will taste the same even if I make it again.’

Since it was a dish made by throwing in all the ingredients he had and simmering them thoroughly, there was no guarantee that it would taste similar even if he made it again.

Rowena went back to the Princess and whispered something. The Princess listened with a blank face, but Lee Han somehow felt that her expression looked disappointed.

Yoner shook his head and said.

“Maybe Rowena is just being very loyal,” he said. “I don’t think the Princess really cares about the stew. She’s probably just asking because she heard others talking about it.”

“Is… Is that so?”

Lee Han tilted his head.

Yoner seemed to think of the Princess as an ascetic who lived only on dew.

But in Lee Han’s eyes, the Princess was a bit more…

‘I thought she had a strong appetite like Gainando, but this is a bit much.’

Lee Han reflected. No matter what, comparing her to Gainando was a bit much.

In any case, from Lee Han’s perspective, who had run errands for the Princess, it was hard to admit that the Princess had no desire for food.

She really ate well…

“!”

The Princess stood up. Lee Han jumped a little. He felt like the Princess could read his mind!

Rowena spoke instead.

“She says she wants to help with the work as much as she has received food and drink.”

“I’d appreciate that.”

Lee Han was delighted.

The Princess was a figure with outstanding magical talent.

If she helped with this and that, it would be a great help.

“Ooh…”

“Impressive.”

The Princess raised her staff and chanted a spell.

Suddenly, a lump of dirt-colored mass and a lump of red shimmering mass appeared in the air, firming the surrounding ground and intensifying the bonfire.

‘Elementals!’

Lee Han could immediately recognize that they were elementals.

Even though she hadn’t formally learned it yet, the Princess had succeeded in summoning elementals based only on what she had heard in other lectures and read in books.

Imagining the Princess communicating with the elementals in the elemental realm and building rapport before summoning them, Lee Han suddenly regretted taking Professor Voladi’s class.

…Should I have just taken a popular class?

Thud-

“!!”

While everyone was marveling at the Princess’s elementals, a huge shape appeared through the rain. It was a golem, made of mud and stone, and it was massive. It stood at least three meters tall, its eyes glowing red, and mud dripped from its heavy arms.

People often had the prejudice that knight families ‘can only swing swords,’ but in reality, it was different.

When you think about it, it was only natural.

In order to deal with monsters and bandits in the frontier, various skills were needed.

In the first place, if they only knew how to swing swords, the White Tiger Tower students wouldn’t have come to learn magic.

As such, there were surprisingly many students in the White Tiger Tower who excelled in various skills.

Bartrec of the Bark family, a dwarf from the eastern part of the Empire, had an outstanding talent for alchemy, befitting his family’s reputation.

So much so that when the White Tiger Tower students groaned from muscle aches and bruises, he would make ointments and lend them out.

Giselle, the head of the White Tiger Tower, praised him, so there was no need to say more about his skills.

“Here. Drink some tea.”

Bartrec poured tea from a kettle in a gruff voice.

The White Tiger Tower students were impressed by the Bark family’s secret herbal tea. They felt their bodies warming up immediately.

“Thanks, Bartrec. You’re the best.”

“You might be better than that Siana priestess over there? Haha!”

“Hahaha!”

The White Tiger Tower students were gathered together with the Phoenix Tower students.

Meanwhile, not far away, the students from the White Tiger Tower were also dealing with the storm.

When Professor Inguldel disappeared and a sudden downpour began, the students here had also taken refuge to avoid the rain.

In some ways, it was fortunate.

If the Blue Dragon Tower students and the White Tiger Tower students had been placed in the same place, they would have definitely fought.

However, the White Tiger Tower students were laughing and chatting among themselves and didn’t see Siana’s face contorting.

In the first place, it was a light-hearted joke that the Phoenix Tower students had blurted out without thinking the others would hear.

“……”

“……”

The Phoenix Tower students unconsciously glanced at Siana.

She wouldn’t put poison in the medicine, would she?

“It seems like the rain is getting weaker, should we try to clear a path?”

“I… I don’t think the rain is getting weaker?”

“Isn’t it getting weaker?”

“I think we can get through it at this point.”

The White Tiger Tower students were much more high-spirited than the Blue Dragon Tower students.

Of course, they knew it was dangerous to move when it was raining like this, but the number of students with them made them feel confident.

At this point, there was no reason to hesitate.

“Finding a path is one thing, but shouldn’t we join up with the other Tower students?”

“The Blue Dragon Tower? Those arrogant guys?”

The White Tiger Tower students were disgusted. However, the Phoenix Tower students didn’t back down easily.

“Still, we can’t just leave the other Tower students and go back.”

“Hmm…”

The fierce and aggressive White Tiger Tower students couldn’t bring themselves to lose their temper in front of the priests.

“Tch. We have to find the Black Tortoise Tower too. It’s unlucky, but…”

“Let’s find the other Tower students first. But where did Professor Inguldel go?”

Thud-

What had happened to Lee Han’s group far away also happened to the White Tiger Tower students.

A golem had appeared in front of them.

“…!!!”

An imposing size that seemed to be at least 3 meters tall.

The students froze at the sight of the mud golem. Rowena spoke quickly. ‘Golems are made by wizards. They use magic to bring stone or mud to life. They usually follow rules.’

Golems were different from other wild monsters.

The problem was that if these magic cores were damaged or broken and then discarded, and they happened to combine with materials, a golem that didn’t listen to human commands would be born.

‘This magic school has a problem with safety management.’

Lee Han swore inwardly and raised his staff.

Certainly, as Rowena said, golems had rules.

Whether it was a normal golem or a broken golem, that was certain.

The problem was that it was difficult to guess the rules of a broken golem.

What if it had a rule like ‘Smash all freshmen’…

Swish-

The mud golem approached the students threateningly and began to draw a line with its foot.

A thick line was drawn in front of the students who were sheltering from the rain under the cliff.

“?”

“Does it mean we shouldn’t go outside the line? What happens if we go out?”

“Let’s experiment.”

“No! Wodanaz! Gainando isn’t here!!”

Asan screamed and tried to stop him. Of course, Lee Han had no intention of going out himself.

The bone summon rattled forward. The mud golem mercilessly swung its fist.

Crack!

“……”

“……”

The students were horrified.

Fortunately, the shattered bone summon was resurrected after a while and returned to its original form.

Rowena stared at the bone summon, then back at the golem. This was very bad.