Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 58

I couldn’t even remember how many hundreds of times I’d tried.

It was very hard, but I finally made the orb.

“…Lee Han?”

” ?”

“I’m not saying I know a lot about that magic, but hasn’t the size become too big?”

Yoner asked, looking confused.

The other students were also surprised.

The water orb, which started as small as a fist, was now as big as a small car.

You might even ask, ‘Can we still call that an orb?’

Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh—

The giant water orb spun around, making a deep rumble.

Asan told his friends they were wrong.

“Is… is that right?” Rowena whispered, “It seems too… dangerous for a first-year’s magic.”

Nilia jumped in, sounding angry. “What do you think of Wodanaz! Wodanaz can do that much!”

“……”

His friends’ concern was nice, but it also made Lee Han feel pressured.

Lee Han suddenly felt burdened.

‘Did I push myself too hard?’

There were old sayings that young wizards knew well.

-Don’t mess with a well-made spell.

A spell was already perfect. An inexperienced wizard couldn’t change it without getting hurt.

Lee Han wasn’t making a big change, but it was still a change.

‘Am I doing it wrong?’

It was hard for Lee Han to keep the water spinning. The water was squeezed tightly into a ball.

Lee Han didn’t know it, but even older students found this magic hard unless they studied it a lot.

It was high-level magic that needed him to keep the orb shape with a certain amount of magic and spin it inside!

Of course, Lee Han didn’t know that.

So Lee Han added more magic power.

To keep it spinning.

As he added more magic, the water orb spun faster, but it started to lose its shape.

Because there was lots of water, Lee Han made the orb bigger.

But as the water orb got bigger, it started to slow down again.

…Lee Han pushed even *more* magic into it.

Normally, one of two things would happen: either the wizard would collapse or the water orb would burst.

But Lee Han had too much magic power to collapse, and he focused too well for the water orb to burst.

So, after many minutes…

Lee Han finally did it.

He made a water orb that spun and barely kept its shape!

…It was now much bigger than the original!

‘No. I can control it.’

Lee Han aimed the water cannon… no, the water orb at the golem.

It was hard just to keep the magic going.

‘Go!’

Boom!

The water orb shot out with a loud roar. It was so strong, it didn’t fly exactly where he wanted it to go.

‘Oops!’

He aimed for the golem’s back, but it hit the golem’s shoulder instead.

Lee Han clicked his tongue, disappointed.

‘Can I do that again? My head hurts even after making one…’

Thwack!

“……”

“……”

“??????”

The students blinked, not believing what they saw.

The mud golem, hit on the shoulder by the water orb, burst. Mud flew everywhere, like brown rain. Chunks of clay scattered across the training ground, leaving a crater where the golem had stood.

“W-Wowwwww!”

“Wodanaz! Wodanaz! Wodanaz!”

“See!? What did I tell you!”

“……”

Lee Han stared at the remains of the mud golem, dazed.

It was this powerful even though it missed…

He couldn’t tell if it was because the water orb was strong or the mud golem was weak.

‘Still, Professor Volardi’s teachings helped me survive.’

Of course, Professor Volardi didn’t teach exactly this.

* * * *

“Wodanaz. Are you okay? I’ll give you a piggyback ride.”

“No. I’ll carry you.”

“I will carry you.”

Lee Han staggered from using magic, and his friends rushed to him.

They grabbed and pulled on his arms and legs, and Lee Han felt a headache coming on.

“…I can walk on my own.”

“Oh, really?”

After resting and drinking the rest of his coffee, he felt normal again. Lee Han was surprised at how fast he recovered.

‘Coffee might be a magic potion everywhere.’

Slurp-

“Hmm. The rain is lighter. Nilia, can we leave now?”

“I’d like to wait a little longer…”

“Everyone, let’s go!”

“Wodanaz said we can go!”

“…Listen to the end of my sentence, you brats!”

Nilia was angry that her friends were moving before she finished talking. Lee Han called them back.

“I want to wait, but seeing the mud golem come out, we shouldn’t relax. Let’s go now that the rain is lighter. I’ll lead, so follow me. Don’t stop, don’t go anywhere else, and don’t look at anything amazing…”

“Oh. Is that a chocolate vine fruit? It looks good.”

Whack!

Lee Han hit the back of a Black Tortoise Tower student with his wand.

The student was surprised.

“I… I’m sorry. Mr. Wodanaz!”

“I’m sorry!”

The Black Tortoise Tower students quickly straightened their clothes and stood up straight.

Nilia looked at Lee Han, thanking him. Lee Han thought sadly to himself.

‘Damn it. I should have made someone else do it.’

Nilia was the kind teacher, and Lee Han was the mean teacher.

It was a common setup for retreats or picnics…

…Lee Han wanted to be the kind teacher too.

‘I should have just made Nilia do it.’

Nilia finished explaining, not knowing Lee Han had a secret plan.

“Okay, everyone, groups now! Stay together, okay? If you have any trouble, shout. Ready? Let’s go!”

The students set off in neat rows.

They walked in straight lines, like soldiers, not like students learning magic. They were very organized.

“Light, be!”

Lee Han pointed his finger. A bright ball of light appeared, like a small sun, and floated up to light the dark path.

It was to help the students following behind.

Lee Han wasn’t alone; other students capable of magic also used their abilities to aid their friends.

Watching them, Lee Han was struck by a thought: ‘Wouldn’t this be a good time for me to try fire magic?’

Fire magic might be the most suitable choice in this situation. Though the rain had weakened, the students were still shivering with cold.

Professor Garcia said Lee Han could not use fire magic in school yet, because he needed more practice.

Lee Han could potentially injure himself if he wasn’t careful. However, in this rainy weather, the risk seemed minimal. The bigger concern was whether a fire could even properly ignite in this downpour.

Indeed, even students who knew the Fire Creation spell were failing to cast it in this rain. The constant rain, along with the cold, damp environment, was affecting the mages’ focus.

Could I even ignite a flame in these conditions?

As soon as he doubted himself, he knew the spell might not work.

‘Let’s do it.’

“Blaze forth!”

Lee Han conjured the image of fire and recited the incantation. He remembered the movements perfectly, having constantly glanced enviously at his friends during Professor Garcia’s lectures.

Fwoooosh!

Nilia, who had been walking beside him, jumped, her ears twitching.

Suddenly, a rush of hot air exploded in front of him, and a huge wave of fire roared out. It was much bigger and hotter than he expected!

“S-sorry.”

Nilia didn’t shout, lest she startle the students behind them. Truly, she was worthy of her Shadow Patrol background.

Instead, she expressed her shock with her whole body. Waving her hands, widening her eyes, and stamping her feet, her meaning was perfectly clear.

“I’m really sorry. I didn’t realize it would be so uncontrollable.”

“What… what did you do?”

“Fire creation.”

Nilia couldn’t believe her ears.

Fire creation? That was no small flame!

“It’s my first time using it, so I lost control. But it’s okay now. I’ve got the hang of it.”

As if to prove he wasn’t lying, Lee Han adjusted the size of the flame. A sphere of fire flickered in the air.

The intense heat warmed her, and Nilia’s expression softened.

“Blaze forth!”

“Why?”

“Oh… it’s nothing.”

Wait, is it safe to make so many fireballs?

Nilia glared at Lee Han.

In any case, the fire and light sped up the students’ progress. The balls of fire Lee Han summoned warmed the frozen hands and feet of the students.

‘Professor Ingardel is still gone.’

Having reached the spot where Professor Ingardel had been, Lee Han looked around. Professor Ingardel was nowhere to be seen, but Lee Han wasn’t disappointed. He had been secretly certain of it all along.

‘It’s a trap set by the professors, just as I thought.’

Whimper-

The bone summon suddenly trembled as if terrified, hiding behind Lee Han. It seemed to be afraid of the spot where Professor Ingardel had disappeared.

‘What is it?’

Lee Han focused his mind. He felt a strangely familiar magical power emanating from the spot where Professor Ingardel had vanished. Where had he felt it before?

Boom!!!

The students all turned, startled.

Suddenly, the ground shook. BOOM! A huge mud golem, like a monster made of dirt and rocks, crashed through the trees, charging towards them with heavy steps.

Lee Han’s group had a leader in Lee Han, but the students from the Phoenix Tower and White Tiger Tower had no such figure.

When the mud golem appeared, the students each offered their own opinions. Naturally, it became a mess.

They threw hastily made potions to weaken the mud golem’s body, and the White Tiger Tower students wielded spears and swords to chip away at it. They showed the combat prowess expected of knights’ families.

But that was the limit of their success. When the potion’s effect wore off and they failed to defeat the mud golem, the students immediately began to be pushed back.

“Retreat! Retreat! We’ll all be crushed if we stay here!”

“Run! Run if you want to live!”

Realizing that their weapons were no longer effective, the students screamed and began to flee. Unfortunately, they were running towards Lee Han’s group!

Lee Han muttered, watching the chaos running towards them from afar.

“They are completely useless…”

Nilia decided to pretend she hadn’t heard that, for the sake of Lee Han’s image.