Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 554

“Can we go now?”

“I don’t think you need to worry about leaving yet…”

I asked without thinking, but I didn’t expect him to consider it so deeply.

Yoner tried to cheer up his sad friend with a slightly bitter look.

“Lee Han, get up. I know it’s tough, but we can’t keep doing this.”

“…Spirits are all ungrateful bastards.”

The basilisk hissed in agreement.

“Yeah, maybe. Anyway, get up. There’s a squirrel spirit here, too.”

The squirrel spirit made of ice and frost pulled at Lee Han’s cheek as if to say, ‘I’m here!’

Lee Han perked up slightly at the sight.

At least there was one spirit left.

“You want to make a contract?”

“There must be plenty of other good wizards.”

“No, Lee Han.”

“That’s right, Mr. Wodanaz. Don’t say things like that.”

The two friends quickly broke in, afraid the squirrel might run away.

If the spirit wanted to make a contract, whether out of pity or confusion, they should just let it happen. Why say unnecessary things?

Fortunately, the squirrel spirit didn’t mind. It rubbed its tail against Lee Han, showing its affection.

“See? Lee Han, spirits don’t forget the kindness you’ve shown them!”

“…Maybe.”

Irendel, who had finished his work, walked over to where his juniors were.

He smiled warmly seeing the squirrel spirit being friendly with Lee Han.

For the spirits to show such kindness… it was something that couldn’t be achieved without special care and love.

“Here.”

Irendel took out a handful of ice nuts, which the squirrel spirit loved, from his pocket and held them out.

The squirrel spirit instantly ran to Irendel and began to rub its head against his palm, munching on the nuts.

Lee Han, who had just taken out his wand to make a contract, stared intently at his senior.

“It eats well, doesn’t it?”

“Why are you still here, senior? Don’t you have a lot to do?”

“Uh… are you perhaps angry…? Why?”

As they came out of the dark forest, where the trees stood like tall shadows, it was already night. Only the moon and stars twinkled, lighting the students’ way…

Lee Han, who was stroking the squirrel spirit after making the contract, noticed flickering torches in the distance and wondered what was happening.

Students weren’t allowed to wander around at night like this.

Unless they were on duty or had been given a task by a professor, they were supposed to be in the dormitory.

Of course, some students wandered around at night anyway, but they didn’t carry torches like that.

It was like sending a signal to the guards patrolling Einroguard, their magic school, to come and catch them.

‘What’s going on?’

“Wodanaz!! You bastard. I thought you were dead!”

Anglago, looking battered and bruised, rushed over and hugged Lee Han tightly.

Lee Han grabbed Anglago’s face with one hand, pushed him away, and asked,

“What happened? Was it the Headmaster?”

“The tainted creatures sent by the Headmaster popped out of the forest and are attacking the dormitories!”

“Ah.”

“Uh.”

“Hmm.”

Lee Han, Yoner, and Siana the Priest hesitated.

They knew that this incident had nothing to do with the skeletal Headmaster.

“It’s impossible to sleep. Everyone’s out there chasing them down.”

“I see.”

Lee Han now understood why his friends were all out.

Not many students could sleep peacefully while tainted creatures kept trying to get into the dormitories.

Moreover, if it was the skeletal Headmaster’s doing, they shouldn’t fall asleep even more. They had to find the cause and solve it as soon as possible.

“Wodanaz, it’s a relief you’re here. Quickly command the remaining kids and find the source!”

“But Mr. Wodanaz isn’t from the White Tiger Tower…?”

Siana the Priest tilted her head, but Anglago ignored her.

What did that matter now!

Lee Han yawned widely and said,

“Is Moradina Salco looking around the forest right now?”

“Yeah!”

“I see. Tell them to search a little and come back. We’ve already caught the person who did it. We’re going to go get some sleep.”

Yoner and Siana the Priest nodded at the same time at Lee Han’s words.

They were exhausted from wandering around all day. They felt like they would collapse if they closed their eyes even for a moment.

“Hey? Wodanaz! Wodanaz! Come back! Are you planning to abandon your duty as a knight!”

‘Crazy bastard…’

He was too tired to even argue.

Lee Han and his friends waved once and slowly walked back to the dormitory.

Friday.

Lee Han, who had some free time for once, went into the secret base and focused very hard.

The lounge or library weren’t bad places to study, but it was hard to focus because of the other students.

-Mr. Wodanaz, do you perhaps know about the amazing thing that happened in the southern part of the Empire this time? And do you know which order caused that amazing thing? Here’s a hint: it’s neither the Aphah Order nor the Agltaqua Order.

-Wodanaz, why do you think people should learn magic? It’s not that I absolutely don’t want to study, but I suddenly had a question…

Lee Han was the type to tell himself that he could do it even in a poor environment, but he couldn’t ignore the good results of a quiet space.

>About Wodanaz’s Water Orb and its Basic Principles> and >About the Problems of Water Orb Magic and its Way to Improve>, fill in the contents of these two books, write up the pocket knife fortress design request proposed by Professor Alpen, organize the magic learned this week…

‘Hmm.’

Lee Han wondered if he should also organize the Lightning Spear he used when fighting the tainted creatures yesterday.

He had certainly fixed the form of the lightning element, but the problem was…

‘I don’t remember how I did it.’

He couldn’t exactly go to Professor Voladi and say, ‘Professor, I cast a Lightning Spear, but I don’t remember how I did it.’

In that case, Professor Voladi would try to kill Lee Han while saying, ‘So your abilities grow when your life is in danger. I’ll help you.’

The safest way was for Lee Han to remember it first and complete it again before Professor Voladi tried to kill him.

In fact, he had even thought about hiding it from Professor Voladi altogether…

‘Professor Voladi is strangely quick at getting information.’

It wasn’t like he was as friendly with other professors as Professor Garcia, but strangely enough, he often knew when Lee Han was learning magic from other schools.

It was as if they were sharing information in the professors’ lounge.

Junior. Junior.

When letters began to form on the note he used to contact Dirett, Lee Han picked up his quill and approached the note.

-What’s the matter?

I heard a strange rumor, so can I ask you something?

-Yes. What are you curious about?

I heard that you’re very loved by the spirits of the forest. Is that true? I heard that the spirits of the forest love you so much that they all returned to their own dimensions at your request.

-??????

Lee Han almost dropped his quill for a moment.

-What on earth are you talking about?

I happened to hear your name, and I heard that you’re close to the spirits. It’s a bit strange.

Basically, it wasn’t easy for black mages to get close to spirits.

As they worked with the undead, their unique smell filled their souls.

Isn’t it difficult for black mages to be friendly with spirits?

-Ah. That’s right, now that I think about it. Could that be why the spirits are avoiding me?

No, now that I think about it, it’s more likely because of your magic power. Spirits are sensitive.

Lee Han frowned at his senior’s words.

-Could it be because of black magic…

The possibility is low, right?

Lee Han changed the subject, feeling like he would only get sadder if he asked more.

-It’s probably because of Senior Irendel. There was a tainted creature outbreak in the forest this time, and I helped him out a bit.

Lee Han briefly explained what had happened this time.

After hearing the explanation, Dirett seriously considered where to start asking again.

You were trying to artificially create a dark spirit? That won’t be easy. Among spirits, dark spirits are really unstable and picky.

-That’s exactly right. I don’t know why I didn’t ask for help from the outstanding seniors in the Black Magic School.

Dirett was silent for a moment.

Lee Han sensed that his praise had worked and felt pleased.

It’s not that much.

-That’s what I think.

Well… anyway, it’s no wonder you didn’t ask for help if it was about Irendel. They don’t have a good relationship.

Lee Han paused, not understanding.

Irendel didn’t seem like a particularly evil or violent person.

-What happened?

Irendel is part dryad, which is like a tree spirit, right? He likes and protects the forest. Our school’s kids were attacked by Irendel when they went into the forest to collect ingredients…

-Ah.

Lee Han felt like he knew what had happened.

Irendel was a laid-back and kind person, but it was also true that curses came out of his mouth the moment the forest was harmed.

-That’s a shame. Still, I’m glad that you heard about what happened yesterday, senior.

Regardless of the grudge between Irendel and the Black Magic School seniors, Lee Han was grateful inside.

It was clear that Irendel had spoken well of him to the other seniors, as he had hoped.

Otherwise, there was no way Dirett would have heard the rumors.

Pleased?

-Yes. Isn’t it a good thing? A good evaluation among the seniors…

I don’t know if you know this, but Irendel has a bit of a… strange reputation.

-Is that so? How strange?

A bit more than the Black Magic School?

Lee Han’s face turned pale.

So, it’s not necessarily a good thing for you that Irendel is praising you…. The friend who told me about it is also a bit…

Dirett fiddled with his quill, looking worried.

In fact, the friend who had told Dirett the rumors also thought Lee Han was very strange.

-Dirett, if Lee Han is from the Wodanaz family, isn’t he the junior you mentioned? The admirable one?

-That’s right. Why?

-You know Irendel, right? He said he met a junior of the same kind as him and was praising that Wodanaz… Isn’t he a strange junior?

Lee Han slammed his head on the table after hearing the explanation and felt hopeless.

‘Damn it. I thought he was a decent person because he was respected in the Alchemy School.’

-Senior Dirett. Please help me, senior. I’m not a strange person…

That’s, I’m sorry.

I’ll try my best to say something, but I’m also from the Black Magic School, so it might not be that effective…

Lee Han was speechless at the sad reason.

-It’s okay, senior. Thank you for even thinking about it.

Okay. Anyway, be careful. Especially when you go into the forest. Irendel isn’t a bad kid, but he can get a bit violent when his own things are involved.

‘From now on, I have to cast an invisibility spell before entering the forest.’

Lee Han decided not to get involved with Irendel.

Now that he thought about it, he had instinctively disliked it from the moment he showed off his popularity with the spirits. He must have sensed this problem.

As he was feeling empty after finishing the conversation, the mirror vibrated this time.

Lee Han approached the mirror.

I want to buy some more information about the freshman from the Wodanaz family that I mentioned last time.

The mirror in front of Lee Han, who was wondering if he should just pretend he didn’t see it, continued to vibrate.

The information you gave me last time was useful. I’ll be sure to thank you.

But there’s a new rumor I heard this time.

I heard he’s a close, quirky friend of Irendel from the Alchemy School. Is that true?

-Absolutely not.

Lee Han wrote down the answer without realizing it.