Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 579

Lee Han frowned. “How would Von Rigg even know?” He looked at Professor Lightning Foot, not quite trusting him. Was the Professor just joking again? Lee Han wondered. It seemed impossible. How could Von Rigg know just because he rode a Pegasus?

Professor Lightning Foot chuckled. “Of course, he knows! Don’t think Griffins are dumb. Their sense of smell is amazing. It’s not just smelling like you and me. Especially with creatures like Pegasi, they can smell them from far away.” He waved his hand, as if Lee Han was being silly. “Don’t be absurd, Lee Han.”

Professor Lightning Foot explained that Griffins are like Pegasi in some ways. Pegasi can sense if their owner is honest and good. Griffins can also sense things, especially smells. They can even smell if their owner has been riding another creature.

Professor Lightning Foot added, it would be one thing if the Griffin considered the other beast inferior, like a horse or Wyvern. But it was a Pegasus, a beast the Griffin disliked.

“What happens then?” Lee Han asked.

“Either the Pegasus dies, or the Griffin dies. You… I don’t think you’ll die,” Professor Lightning Foot responded.

Lee Han silently stared at the Pegasus.

The Pegasus had fur as white as fresh snow and wings as soft as silk. Its eyes were big and round, and it blinked slowly, as if it knew Lee Han was a good person. It seemed to be saying, ‘Come quickly and ride me.’

“…No. Really? There’s no other choice?” Lee Han asked.

“If there were, I would have told you. Why are you acting like this? It’s lucky that the Griffin chose you!” Professor Lightning Foot exclaimed.

“Didn’t you force him to choose me, Professor!” Lee Han protested.

“Stop complaining and bring the Griffin here,” Professor Lightning Foot said.

Lee Han grumbled and went to get Von Rigg. The Pegasus cried sadly, as if asking why Lee Han was leaving it behind.

At the sound of its cry, Lee Han stopped. The baby Basilisk hissed, sounding threatening.

“Hey. Don’t threaten him,” Lee Han told the Basilisk. The Basilisk shrugged its tail, looking innocent.

When Lee Han brought Von Rigg over, some of his friends were already riding the Pegasi. Von Rigg looked disgusted.

“…Do you really have to hate Pegasi so much?” Lee Han asked.

Von Rigg kicked mud with his front paw, sending it flying. The mud hit Gainando in the back of the head.

“Who did that!? Angalo, was that you, you rascal?!” Gainando shouted.

“You noticed. Yes. I took your cake. You shouldn’t have bragged about it all week!” Angalo replied.

“What are you talking about! I’m talking about the mud!” Gainando yelled.

While his friends argued, Lee Han looked at Von Rigg, feeling sad. Von Rigg was growling at the Pegasi, as if threatening them. Lee Han thought it would be impossible for them to get along.

The Pegasus’s reaction was special to Lee Han. Usually, creatures were scared of him. But this creature saw Lee Han’s good deeds and respected him.

Would he ever meet such a creature again?

Von Rigg stared at Lee Han, as if he thought Lee Han liked the Pegasus.

“…Look at those Pegasi! They’re so skinny, they can’t even carry anyone!” Von Rigg said.

Von Rigg nodded happily at Lee Han’s words.

“You are the king of the sky. There’s no comparison to a Pegasus,” Lee Han said.

Von Rigg nodded so fast that a breeze stirred around him.

“Yes, yes. You’re the best,” Lee Han said.

“Oh, and Wodanaz, the Pegasi might be scared when Von Rigg comes. Go around separately over there,” Professor Lightning Foot said.

Lee Han was hurt by Professor Lightning Foot’s honest words. ‘Is that really necessary?’ he thought.

“Look! She’s flying!” Nilia screamed and flew into the sky.

She had become friends with the Pegasus the fastest, so she was the first to fly. Professor Lightning Foot shouted.

“Keep your back straight! Don’t look scared! The Pegasus isn’t mean, but it might not like you if you’re afraid! Show him that you deserve to ride him!”

“Yes, sir!” Nilia replied.

“Next, follow the flag and go around the path! If you come back without falling, you pass!” Professor Lightning Foot instructed.

Nilia looked at the flags and the paths of light in the sky. The path went up and down, and at one point, it went over a muddy swamp.

Nilia tensed up and looked at the Pegasus. Would this noble creature trust her and fly over the swamp?

“Hey. Hey. Hey. Calm down. Hey! That’s not the path!” Lee Han shouted.

Nilia relaxed when she saw Lee Han riding a Griffin in the distance. Lee Han was hitting the Griffin’s head with his staff, looking angry.

“Stop looking at the Pegasus. Follow the path. Stop growling! He’s my friend! Just follow the path!” Lee Han commanded.

‘Hang in there,’ Nilia thought. She realized how lucky she was when she saw Wodanaz struggling.

“Thank you. Really,” Nilia said.

The Pegasus fluttered its wings happily when its Dark Elf owner thanked it. It thought she was a kind owner.

Professor Lightning Foot’s test was a popular topic for a while. First-year students talked about Pegasi, no matter which tower they were in.

“I’m telling you, that Pegasus liked me the most! You saw him turn his head when Doulac came, right?” one student said.

“That was just because he was tired! You’re making things up!” another student replied.

“Can we raise a Pegasus? They’re so cool,” a student asked.

“I know a knight who went to the mountains and brought back a baby Pegasus,” another student said.

“Oh…! Can we do that?”

“No, you can’t. The dorm was destroyed, and the Pegasus disappeared while he was gone,” the student replied.

“Wow…”

The White Tiger Tower friends looked at Lee Han. As the top student, he knew a lot about these things.

“Wodanaz. What do you think? Can we raise a Pegasus?” a student asked.

“Do you want to go catch one together during winter break?” Lee Han asked with a blank face.

“I have a Griffin,” Lee Han added.

“Wouldn’t it be nice to have a Pegasus too?” the student asked.

“If a griffin smells a Pegasus, it will bite its owner.”

Silence fell over the group. Everyone looked surprised and a little scared.

One student whispered, “Really? Bite its *owner*?”

The students from White Tiger Tower looked shocked.

They knew griffins were very wild animals to ride, but they didn’t know they were *this* dangerous.

“Griffins are much fiercer than Pegasi,” one student said, shaking his head.

“People say griffins are really fierce,” one student repeated.

“Yeah, but aren’t they amazing?” another student asked. “Is it impossible to get a griffin?”

“It’s much harder than getting a Pegasus,” the first student replied. “Like I said, if you brought a baby griffin here, it wouldn’t just destroy the dorm. It would be chaos everywhere.”

“Still,” a third student insisted, “a griffin would be worth it! I know a senior knight who always talks about how great griffins are.”

“Really? You have a griffin?” someone asked, surprised.

“No,” the third student said. “He lost his arm to a griffin in a battle.”

Lee Han’s friends didn’t notice he wasn’t really listening. They kept teasing him about the griffins. Deorgyu, who looked worried, spoke quietly.

“Lee Han, don’t worry too much about what they’re saying. They just don’t know how hard griffins really are.”

“It’s okay, Deorgyu,” Lee Han said. “I’m thinking about the other exams.”

“Oh! Really?” Deorgyu asked, his eyes lighting up.

Deorgyu smiled widely when Lee Han said that.

Professor Inguldel’s final exam was starting tonight, so Lee Han thinking about it was a good sign.

“Yeah,” Lee Han continued. “Actually, my griffin tried to attack a Pegasus earlier. I almost couldn’t hold him back. But it’s fine, I don’t really care.”

Deorgyu and Giselle exchanged glances.

‘He definitely cares,’ they both thought.

Lee Han had been struggling a lot with Professor Lightning Steps’ exam lately.

His griffin, who usually listened to him, had been growling and trying to fight with the Pegasus all week. It was like the griffin really hated the Pegasus.

Even when Lee Han tapped the griffin gently with his wand and pulled hard on its leash, the griffin didn’t listen. It just kept staring angrily at the Pegasus, being unusually stubborn.

“Hey, Wodanaz,” Deorgyu said, using Lee Han’s nickname. “Forget about getting a perfect score on that exam. Let’s focus on the next one.”

“You’re right, Moradi,” Lee Han replied, using Deorgyu’s nickname. “I feel bad about it.”

Lee Han agreed easily, which was unusual for him.

There was no point in worrying about an exam that was already over.

But he couldn’t stop thinking about the Pegasus. Its graceful movements and white wings kept appearing in his thoughts.

“You guys built the simple shelters already, right?” Lee Han asked.

“Yeah, three shelters,” Giselle answered. “And the food is hidden in different spots.”

“I made two shelters and hid food too,” Deorgyu added.

Lee Han, Giselle, and Deorgyu looked at each other and smiled secretly. They all knew what they were really doing for this exam.

Professor Inguldel said the final exam was about surviving a night in the cold mountains with nothing. But students who knew Einroguard well understood something else.

*This exam is really about who can hide the most supplies in the mountains without getting caught!*

Professor Inguldel never said that, of course. But Lee Han and his friends knew it was true.

“Any idea where we’ll start?” Lee Han asked.

“No,” Deorgyu said. “Professor hasn’t given us any hints.”

“Okay, let’s just pick a direction and go fast, no matter where we start,” Lee Han said. “I made a map of the mountains recently. It’s not complete, but even the parts that are there might help.”

“Thanks…?” Giselle said, taking the map.

She looked at the map and frowned, tilting her head.

The writing on the map was very odd. It looked strange no matter which way she turned it.

*Sheep Cave*

*Danger! Do Not Enter!*

The letters were huge and messy, like a giant had written them.

*’Where did he even get this map?’* Giselle wondered.

Tap, tap, tap –

“What’s that noise?” Giselle asked, looking up.

“Ugh, why are *they* here again?” Deorgyu groaned.

The Einroguard students looked annoyed as the young apprentice knights from the Poplar Knights walked towards them.

It was like last time – whenever outsiders came, it was never good news.

The students were already getting ready for their exam in their own way. They didn’t understand why things had to change now.

“Professor Inguldel,” Giselle asked, “why are those knights here?”

“Do the Poplar Knights have nothing better to do?” Deorgyu added sarcastically. “Are you here to watch us fail?”

The apprentice knights’ faces went red with anger.

“We’re here to help you!” one of them shouted.

“Is *that* how you talk to people who are trying to help with your exam?” another knight said, sounding offended. “Have you already forgotten that we were friendly last time?”

The students blinked, confused.

“Help?” they repeated.

“Let me explain,” Professor Inguldel said, and he tapped his sword on the ground to get everyone’s attention.

“You students will be spending a day alone in the mountains,” Professor Inguldel explained. “So, I thought it would be good to add a few more people to each group.”

“Then we’ll just team up!” Giselle said quickly.

“Wodanaz, let’s work together!” one student called out. “What? You’ll work with *us*? Awesome! Great!”

Professor Inguldel ignored their complaints and went on.

“As wizards, you will often need to work with others. You won’t always be alone.”

*’Professor Volardi should hear this,’* Lee Han thought to himself.

*It would be so much better if Professor Volardi thought the same way.*

“Learn to cooperate with others. That’s the point of this,” Professor Inguldel finished.

Professor Inguldel was not a cruel man, but he was also not someone who would change his mind just because students complained.

The students muttered angrily and stared at the apprentice knights.

The apprentice knights stared back, looking just as angry.

“Actually,” one of the apprentice knights mumbled, “we just wanted to make sure you guys would be okay.”

“Go away!” one of the White Tiger Tower students yelled.

“Hey, come on, Enge!” another knight said, sounding hurt. “We even practiced together in the dorms during the holiday! Remember? We helped each other with spells!”

“I don’t remember you!” Enge snapped back.

Lee Han, Giselle, and Deorgyu stayed quiet, watching everything.

Maybe that’s why the apprentice knights were still friendly to them. They smiled and waved.

“Choi, good to see you again!” one knight said to Deorgyu.

“Nice to see you too, Moradi,” Deorgyu replied politely.

“Hey, I heard you and Wodanaz defeated those anti-magic people last time!” Moradi said to Lee Han. “Are you going to ask your family to recommend Wodanaz for the Knights?”

*’Wait, what? Recommend me? Why would they think that?’* Lee Han thought, confused.

“Are you crazy?” Giselle said, her voice sharp.

Lee Han, hearing Giselle’s words, which showed exactly what she really thought, whispered to her.

“Hey, you should keep those thoughts to yourself.”