Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 582

Lee Han muttered, “How can a slime behave like that?”

Giselle stared at him, unable to believe he was serious. ‘Does he really have no idea?!’

Feeling his friend’s gaze, Lee Han asked, puzzled, “Do you have something to say?”

“Not really anything. Stop!” Giselle shouted.

The students and knights running up from below paused. Lee Han watched them, wondering, ‘How many of those guys are slimes?’

Fake Lee Han, fake Giselle, and fake Deorgyu were definitely slimes, but he couldn’t identify the others. ‘It would be nice to attack and find out, but we’d immediately be branded as the fakes.’ He didn’t know how fake Lee Han had persuaded them so well.

The students stood behind fake Lee Han with unwavering eyes. He wanted to be angry at them for being fooled, but Lee Han held back. He could get angry later. Now was the time to persuade them. ‘Even a Shifting Slime has its limits. The real thing can’t be imitated perfectly.’

Lee Han exchanged glances with Giselle. The two friends nodded meaningfully. ‘Can you persuade them?’ he thought. ‘Of course,’ she replied in thought. Weren’t they friends who had shared joys and sorrows for a year? Even a powerful transformation ability couldn’t fake memories.

“Speak! Fake Moradi!” Fake Lee Han (the slime) shouted. “I told you to stop, so why are you still doing that? Are you perhaps struggling to come up with a lie?”

“What the heck…” Lee Han was dumbfounded to see fake Lee Han starting the agitation so quickly. ‘This is so irritating.’

Giselle seemed to think so too, as she glared at Lee Han. Lee Han pointed below and said, “Moradi, you should glare over there.”

“Shut up. I’m going to do it,” Giselle said.

Giselle cleared her throat, pointed her sword, and shouted at her friends gathered below. “You morons! Do you even know what you’re doing right now? You’re being deceived!”

Her friends paused, surprised. It was Giselle herself, sharply snapping in the White Tiger Tower lounge as usual.

Then, fake Giselle stepped forward and gently persuaded her friends. “Calm down, friends. The fake is just nervous because she’s been exposed.”

“Th-that’s right!” one student said.

“As expected of Moradi,” another added.

Lee Han and Giselle were speechless.

Lee Han shouted, “Seriously… did you replace your eyes with fake ones, planning to change them into artifacts later? How is that Moradi? She’s too kind!”

The friends below the slope scoffed and retorted. “Moradi has always been like this, you know?”

“That’s right. If Wodanaz doesn’t provoke her, Moradi is usually kind and gentle!” another student said.

‘Such ridiculous slander?’ Lee Han was furious at the White Tiger Tower students’ slander. Moradi was originally like that, and it wasn’t because of Lee Han. …Or was it?

“Come to think of it, she seemed a bit more gentle when we first met…” Lee Han mumbled.

“Do you want to go down there?” Giselle asked.

“No. I’m just trying to recall memories to persuade them. More importantly, Moradi, your friends seem to like your masked self, so why don’t you try persuading them with that?” Lee Han suggested.

“Are you serious right now?” Giselle asked.

“I am serious. Look at your friends,” Lee Han replied.

Giselle looked down the slope and sighed deeply. They seemed completely taken by whatever conversation they had with the slime in her absence.

“Fine. Fine,” Giselle said, clearing the anger from her face and managing her expression. It was the kind and gentle Giselle who occasionally appeared when needed.

“Everyone…” Giselle began.

“That fake Moradi is acting! Don’t listen!” Fake Lee Han shouted, waving his staff.

Lee Han really wanted to kill that slime.

“As expected of Wodanaz!” one student said.

“You can’t fool Wodanaz’s eyes!” another added.

Lee Han growled and shouted, “No, let’s say Moradi is like that. But do I really look like that to you right now? Why?”

Fake Lee Han shouted, “Everyone, don’t be fooled by that fake’s words! That fake is trying to deceive you. I am the only one who can protect you. Trust me! I am your savior!”

“Wodanaz…!” the students cried.

Lee Han almost grabbed the back of his neck. They believed such sweet talk?? ‘What exactly did he say that fooled them?’

Lee Han asked, “Are you really falling for those words right now? Seriously?! You have to protect yourselves! How can you fall for some sweet talk!”

“Don’t listen to the fake’s words! Trust me!” Fake Lee Han shouted firmly.

The White Tiger Tower students nodded as if possessed. Compared to the fierce fake on the slope, Wodanaz, who continued to offer warm words beside them, seemed like the real Wodanaz.

‘I’ve failed.’ Lee Han felt a sense of frustration, losing to a fake in persuasion!

Giselle seemed to think similarly, as she covered her face with her hands and sighed.

“Wait. We have Deorgyu. Let’s try persuading them with Deorgyu,” Lee Han suggested.

“The fake will probably be more popular,” Giselle said cynically, but she still threw the words out there.

“Choi. If you’re the real one, say something,” Giselle commanded.

Fake Deorgyu didn’t say anything.

Lee Han and Giselle were flustered. The slime disguised as fake Deorgyu seemed to be a little less trained.

Seeing that, the students below the slope became triumphant and shouted, “Heh heh. Fakes! Deorgyu wouldn’t fall for something like that!”

“It’s not even worth answering!” another student said.

While Giselle was in shock, Lee Han opened his mouth after some thought. “Moradi.”

“What?” Giselle asked.

“I think those guys are all slimes,” Lee Han stated.

“What?” Giselle asked again.

“They’re all slimes. There’s no other explanation,” Lee Han insisted.

“Even so, they can’t all be slimes…” Giselle almost wavered for a moment. Could it be? Even if not all of them, more than half of them could be slimes, as Wodanaz said. Otherwise, their stupidity couldn’t be explained.

“…Okay. A considerable number of them could be slimes,” Giselle conceded.

“Right?” Lee Han raised his staff. It was a mistake to think there were only a few slimes and try to solve it with persuasion from the start. They were all slimes!

“Buy me some time. I’ll take them all out at once,” Lee Han said.

“Okay. Wipe them all out,” Giselle agreed.

Except for fake Lee Han, fake Giselle, and fake Deorgyu, the rest were all real students. Lee Han and his group looked down at the students sprawled out, beaten with snowballs, with complicated expressions. The wind howled around them, biting at their faces. Snow crunched loudly under their boots as they ran up the icy slope.

“Kraaah…” one student groaned.

“I trusted you…” another said.

Giselle tried to kick the back of her fallen friend. “Trusted what, you morons!” Lee Han and Deorgyu barely managed to squeeze in between and stop her.

“What exactly did those slimes say?” Lee Han asked.

“That fakes were wandering around. To be careful…” a student replied.

“So we should join forces and wander around…” another added.

Lee Han, who was listening, was dumbfounded and asked back. “Didn’t you ever think to suspect the guys who said that?”

“They seemed so real!” a student exclaimed.

‘These guys would think anyone who gives them candy is real.’ Lee Han, looking at the pathetic students with contempt, clicked his tongue and stood up.

“Okay, so rest until the exam is over…” Lee Han said.

“There! The fake attacked our friends!!” a student shouted.

Lee Han sighed deeply, looking at a new group of students coming up the slope and the fake Lee Han, Giselle, and Deorgyu leading them.

“Everyone, prepare to fight,” Lee Han commanded.

“W-wait a minute. Let’s try to persuade them…” The fallen White Tiger Tower student said, but Lee Han ignored him as if he hadn’t heard.

The next day, Professor Inguldel and the knights of the White Poplar Knights looked at the mountain range with expectant faces. What kind of faces would the students who had endured the cold of the mountain range have when they returned?

One of the knights, unable to contain his curiosity, asked cautiously, “Professor, shouldn’t you tell us now? What kind of monster did you prepare in advance?” All the knights knew about the ordeal of the cold mountain range, but they hadn’t heard about the monster that Professor Inguldel had prepared separately. But now the exam was about to end and the students would be returning soon, so it wouldn’t be a big deal to ask.

Professor Inguldel said with an awkward smile, “Well, I’m afraid everyone will be disappointed…”

“What are you talking about? Who would be disappointed with Professor Inguldel’s choice?” a knight asked.

“An enhanced bull? Or a wild boar?” another guessed.

“Since it’s a mountain range in winter, wouldn’t it be a monster closely related to snow? Like a white snow hedgehog or an ice drake?” a third suggested.

Professor Inguldel, who had been listening to the knights’ guesses with interest, thought it was time to tell them the answer. “I prepared Shifting Slimes.”

“Excuse me?” a knight asked, confused.

“What slimes?” another echoed.

“Shifting Slimes, I said,” Professor Inguldel calmly began to explain. But he couldn’t hide the fact that he was slightly excited. He had put so much thought and effort into preparing these Shifting Slimes.

“I heard from other professors that monsters like Shifting Slimes can be created artificially,” Professor Inguldel explained.

“Th-that’s probably true. This is Einroguard, after all,” a knight replied.

“I thought, ‘This is it.’ When I asked, the other professors also said it was a very good idea,” Professor Inguldel continued.

“Uh…” a knight mumbled.

“Hmm…” another hummed.

Professor Inguldel, who didn’t notice the knights’ subtly changing expressions, continued his explanation excitedly. “I received the slimes and had them observe the students during each lecture. As the final exam week approached, they transformed quite convincingly. The students have to endure the cold of the snowy mountains while distinguishing the fake friends who come to them. Isn’t that great?!”

The professor finished speaking in an excited voice. He had always been worried that his exams were bland compared to those of other professors at Einroguard, but this time he was confident. The other professors had also said it was a good idea…

“Th-that, Professor,” a knight stammered.

“Isn’t it a bit too much?” another asked.

Professor Inguldel was taken aback. “W-we do train them quite harshly, but…”

“Isn’t it a bit too difficult to infiltrate trained Shifting Slimes?” a knight questioned.

“Won’t it be traumatizing…?” another worried.

Professor Inguldel was flustered by the knights’ reactions and replied, “B-but the students should be able to handle this much. Many other lectures have much more dangerous things.”

Of course, the knights were not convinced. Because the knights didn’t know what came out in other lectures! The knights just thought Professor Inguldel was exaggerating.

“Even so, I don’t think there’s a reason for the professor to take the exam like this…” a knight said.

“That’s right, Professor,” another agreed.

‘Th-this is strange. What’s going on?’ Professor Inguldel was sweating and flustered. Even the situation where all the allies had retreated on the battlefield and were surrounded by enemies on all sides was less embarrassing than this.

Professor Inguldel wondered, ‘I-is that so? Did I make it too difficult?’ He was confident that he had created a very appropriate exam while talking with other Einroguard professors, but where did it go wrong?

‘No. The knights of the White Poplar Knights don’t know Einroguard, so they might be reacting like this. If they knew Einroguard, they would definitely think differently…’

“Ah! The students are coming back!” The knights pointed to the entrance of the mountain range, reaching out their hands.

The students who had spent a day in the mountain range were returning triumphantly. …To be precise, only Lee Han and his group were triumphant, and the rest of the friends were being carried on stretchers and pulled by sleds.

Seeing that, Professor Inguldel immediately came to his senses. ‘Ah. I made it too difficult!’