Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 569

Professor Voladi looked at Lee Han with a serious face. “Lee Han,” he said, “I think you are ready for more… challenging practice.”

Lee Han blinked, surprised. “More dangerous situations? What do you mean, Professor?”

Lee Han’s heart jumped. *Had he made a mistake?* He racked his brain, trying to remember everything he had done in class. Had he broken a rule?

Professor Voladi continued, “Now, when we face monsters that can heal quickly, like vampires, we have some common tools. Fire, acid, and poison are all useful.”

He paused, tapping his finger on his desk. “Poison is often the easiest to use. Unlike fire, which can be put out, or acid, which can be messy, poison works slowly and surely once it’s inside the creature.”

Lee Han nodded, trying to follow. “So,” he said, “normal poison won’t work well enough because the vampire heals too fast?”

Professor Voladi gave a small, knowing smile. “Exactly,” he said. “So, I’ve been working on something… special.”

He leaned forward slightly, as if sharing a secret. “A poison that doesn’t just weaken regeneration, but… overwhelms it. Makes it work too hard, until it breaks down.”

Lee Han’s eyes widened. “Can you actually *make* something like that?”

Professor Voladi chuckled softly. “Not entirely on my own, no. I’ll need to ask for help from some of my older colleagues. But yes, together, we can create it.”

Lee Han suddenly suspected he had made a mistake. ‘Wait. Did I say something unnecessary?’

With a soft *thump*, the baby basilisk collapsed onto the floor, its little chest heaving as it panted. Professor Voladi glanced down at it, a slight smile playing on his lips. “Ah, it seems our little friend has had quite enough exercise for one day.”

Lee Han stared at the basilisk. It was definitely glaring at Professor Voladi with intense, tiny eyes. *Was that… the Evil Eye?* he wondered. It looked less evil and more… grumpy.

“Here,” Professor Voladi said, pushing a chest filled with toys towards Lee Han. “Don’t spoil it too much, though. A basilisk needs to be a bit… disciplined, to grow up properly.”

“I… I understand,” Lee Han mumbled, trying not to make eye contact with the baby basilisk, which was now clinging to his wrist, looking up at him with big, watery eyes. *I have to be firm,* Lee Han thought, *even if it’s hard.*

“And this too.”

“What is this?” Lee Han was puzzled when Professor Voladi took out a container filled with crossbow bolts from inside the lecture room.

Professor Voladi opened the container, revealing bolts with strange patterns carved into the wood and metal tips. Lee Han, who had learned a lot about magic from Professor Verdus, still couldn’t understand all the magic woven into these bolts. *Fire magic, definitely,* he thought, examining one closely. *But there’s more… something to make it last longer, burn hotter, and… curses?*

“These,” Professor Voladi said with a glint in his eye, “will burn… and burn… and burn. They won’t stop burning until the vampire is nothing but ash. Maybe even longer!”

“Thank you, Professor!” Lee Han said, impressed and slightly worried about the power of these bolts.

Professor Voladi sighed, as if he had tried everything to make Lee Han sensible, and failed. “Just… try not to cause too much trouble,” he said, his voice flat. “The giants are waiting for you, remember.”

Lee Han just nodded, taking the bolts. *Giants?* he thought. *Right now, a vampire sounds much more interesting.* He definitely wasn’t going to hold back.

Life at the magic school, despite the talk of vampires, went on. Lectures continued, exams loomed, and for most students, the biggest worry was still homework.

Professor [Professor’s Name] stood at the front of the classroom, his voice booming as he spoke about a wizard named Mr. Cladrell. “And so,” he declared, “we must learn from the unfortunate case of Mr. Cladrell, mustn’t we?”

“Yes, Professor!” the students chorused.

“Good. Then, that’s all for today…”

A student named Asan raised his hand. “Professor,” he asked, “what if Mr. Cladrell had done things differently? If he had gotten rid of all the demons in his house *before* making that deal with the angel, would things have turned out better for him?”

Asan, ignoring the death glares from his classmates who were eager to leave, asked for more lecture time. “Please, Professor, just a little bit longer?”

Professor [Professor’s Name] smiled. “Well,” he said, “next week *is* the final exam… perhaps a few more minutes won’t hurt?”

A groan went up from the class, but Asan just grinned, pleased with himself.

But Lee Han’s day wasn’t over yet. As he was leaving the lecture hall, a voice echoed in his mind, cold and dry like rustling leaves.

Suddenly, the image of the Headmaster, his skeleton face grinning, appeared before Lee Han. He was standing in the Headmaster’s office, even though he hadn’t walked there. Magic, of course.

“Lee Han,” the Headmaster’s voice rasped, “you remember the magic I taught you last time? The one that stops those… nasty tricks magical criminals use?”

“Yes.”

“And what about the magic *designs* on those objects they use?” the Headmaster continued.

“Huh?” Lee Han blinked. “You didn’t teach me about those last time. You said we ran out of time.”

The Headmaster’s skull seemed to narrow its eyes. “Don’t try to trick me, boy. I was just wondering if you had been studying them on your own.”

Lee Han stared at the skeleton headmaster in disbelief. Was he some kind of magic fanatic, secretly investigating artifacts and studying them in his spare time?

The Headmaster ignored Lee Han’s thoughts. “Never mind that,” he said. “Do you remember *this*?” He held up a white bone.

Lee Han squinted at it. “Is… is that one of *your* bones, Headmaster?”

The Headmaster sighed, a dry, rattling sound. “Have you already forgotten about the Ghoul King? The one from your summer vacation?”

“Ah!” Lee Han exclaimed, finally recognizing it. “Right! The bone from the Ghoul King’s… kingdom!”

Dust motes danced in the air of Headmaster Skull’s office as Yihan watched him pick up a strange bone. It wasn’t just any ordinary bone, but one personally offered by the King of Ghouls.

Headmaster Skull had taken it to investigate, but had been too busy to remember it…

“Ah, yes, the bone! When I first saw it, I must admit, I was quite impressed. Haha, even I can be fooled by a truly remarkable bone!”

Headmaster Skull seemed pleased by this comment. He always liked it when people admired bones, especially unusual ones.

“I had to ask the King of Ghouls a few times, but eventually, he gave me some interesting hints. I think this might be a bone from Duke Behemoth.”

“Behemoth,” Yihan repeated, his eyes widening. “Isn’t that… a monster?”

Headmaster Skull chuckled. “Monster? Some might call it that. But Behemoth was more than just a monster. Imagine a creature from the oldest fairy tales, a truly gigantic magical beast.

It was said to be so powerful, it could swallow clouds in the sky while standing on the ground. Its size was so immense, it wasn’t just a monster; it was like a walking natural disaster. Wherever it went, destruction followed.”

“A monster?” Headmaster Skull repeated, a glint in his eye. “Yes, in a way. But not here anymore. Not on this continent. The last one… well, let’s just say I dealt with it a long time ago.”

Yihan’s eyes widened. He wanted to ask more about this incredible claim, but Headmaster Skull continued, his voice changing slightly. “However,” he said, “there are still Behemoths in other dimensions. I heard a rumour…”

“Can monsters become Dukes?”

“Of course,” Headmaster Skull replied, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “In the demon realms, strength is everything. If you are powerful enough, you could become a king, even an emperor! In fact,” he leaned forward, a mischievous glint in his eyes, “if you were brave – or foolish – enough, you could go to the demon realm right now and declare, ‘I am your Emperor!’”

Yihan blinked. “Why would anyone do something so crazy?”

Headmaster Skull chuckled, a low, rumbling sound. “Well… let’s just say I understand the appeal of ambition.”

“Demons,” Headmaster Skull explained, “are creatures of immense pride. For them, pride is everything. Titles like Duke or Count are incredibly important.”

“If a demon who wasn’t worthy tried to take a high title like Count or Duke, the other demons would attack them immediately. They would not stand for it.”

“So… a Behemoth became a Duke?” Yihan asked, still trying to understand. “But then… why is its bone just… here?”

“Exactly,” Headmaster Skull nodded. “It must have been defeated. By other demons. You see, even for a powerful creature like a Behemoth, the demon realm is a dangerous place to live for long.”

“To survive there,” Headmaster Skull continued, “you need more than just strength in battle. You need… other talents. Cleverness, diplomacy, the ability to make deals and outsmart your enemies. Things that Behemoths, sadly, lacked.”

“Behemoth, for all its power, wasn’t very bright in those areas. If it was hungry, it would simply eat other demons. If it was bored, it would stomp all over their lands. It’s no surprise it made enemies quickly and was eventually brought down.”

“They probably sealed away its power and even tried to erase its name from history. Imagine the shame for those demons!”

“So,” Yihan asked, “could the King of Ghouls have been part of the fight against Behemoth?”

“Ha!” Headmaster Skull scoffed. “The King of Ghouls? Don’t be ridiculous. He’s not even close to that level. The only reason he calls himself ‘king’ is because he’s a ghoul hiding in some forgotten corner. If he dared to boast about being a king in front of real demons, they would tear him apart instantly!”

Yihan felt a slight pity for the King of Ghouls for the first time.

Yihan imagined the King of Ghouls hearing these words and felt a pang of sympathy. He might actually cry.

“The King of Ghouls probably just found this bone by chance, after Behemoth was defeated and its body scattered.”

“I see. So, is it possible to summon Behemoth with this?”

“What?!”

Headmaster Skull stared at Yihan, his eyes wide. He looked almost horrified.

“Summon Behemoth?!” Headmaster Skull exclaimed. “Are you out of your mind? Do you have any idea what would happen? This entire place would be flattened! Please tell me you haven’t been dreaming of destroying the Empire again!”

“No… it was just an academic question…”

“Well,” Headmaster Skull said, calming down slightly. “In theory, yes, you could try. But summoning a Behemoth is impossible with this little bone. You wouldn’t even get half of it formed before it collapsed. Far better to make it into an artifact.”

“Again?”

“It’s good to have many artifacts, isn’t it…”

As Headmaster Skull said those words, he scanned Yihan up and down. Necklace, ring, bracelet, even a belt—it was quite a lot. Moreover, there were even artifacts that he didn’t usually wear but would put on additionally when needed. It was almost surprising that he could walk around without causing magical interference.

“You certainly have… a collection,” Headmaster Skull remarked, looking impressed. “But even with all of those, this Behemoth bone is still special. It’s definitely worth making into another artifact.”

“Why is that?”

“Because,” Headmaster Skull explained, “this bone is incredibly strong and can hold a huge amount of magic.”

“…?” Yihan was slightly taken aback by the unexpectedly simple effect. “Is that all?”

“Yes, that’s all in simple terms. But it’s very important for someone like you. In fact,” Headmaster Skull added with a sly smile, “I bet your magic-absorbing bracelet, the one Professor Garcia made, is practically begging for mercy right now!”

“…It’s not that bad…” He knew that the magic absorption bracelet wasn’t very effective, but it stung a little to hear it like that.

“Actually,” Headmaster Skull chuckled, “I’m exaggerating a little. It’s not screaming. It’s probably just… working very, very hard to absorb all that magic you’re constantly radiating.”

“I understand. Let’s just make it then.” Yihan grumbled and changed the subject. The thought of making another one made him excited; that’s just how people are.

“Wait,” Yihan said suddenly, pausing his excitement. “If I wear an artifact made from Behemoth bone… will it stop spirits from being afraid of me?” He hesitated, then explained, “Having so much magic is… complicated. It scares away spirits, and it can be lonely.”

Headmaster Skull considered this. “Usually,” he said, “the biggest problem with having too much magic is control. It’s like having a wild storm inside you. Many wizards with powerful magic struggle to control it properly. It can be very dangerous, even painful, when learning magic.”

“I somehow manage to overcome that, though.”

“I see…” Headmaster Skull nodded without being surprised by his student’s words. As always, it was a truly rare talent. And what was even rarer was that he had such a personality despite having that talent.

‘Remarkable,’ Headmaster Skull thought to himself, a small smile playing on his lips. ‘Truly remarkable.’

Unaware that Headmaster Skull was having impolite thoughts, Yihan cast a hopeful gaze. “So, will it block it?”

“No,” Headmaster Skull said firmly. “Absolutely not. To block that much magic, you’d need to cover yourself in artifacts, constantly draining your power. Even then, I doubt it would work completely. One artifact won’t make spirits suddenly unafraid of you.”

Yihan’s shoulders slumped. “Then… what’s the point?”

Headmaster Skull raised an eyebrow, looking at Yihan as if he had missed the entire point. “The point, Yihan,” he said slowly, “is the artifact itself. Artifacts are for magic, for power, for… well, for being amazing magical objects! Not for simply hiding your magic away.”