Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 611

A shout ripped through the air from downstairs. “It’s a wizard’s attack!”

“What?!” The cry echoed on the dusty upper floor.

Mercenaries, lounging and gambling just moments before, jumped to their feet, startled by the panicked yell.

Ugda, their leader, reacted instantly. He ripped open a small bottle of regeneration potion, the liquid inside glowing faintly green, and gulped it down. The bitter taste barely registered as he snatched up his heavy, dented shield and his iron club, its head spiked and menacing. This was the quick thinking of a man who had survived countless battles.

“How dare they!?”

“Didn’t the Thieves’ Guild request this? Those arrogant bastards. We should have finished them off!”

“Everyone, calm down. A wizard isn’t invincible!” Ugda shouted firmly to his subordinates.

The most important thing now was to prevent his men from fleeing.

Any mercenary who had been on the battlefield feared wizards. It was common for dozens of people to be smashed to pieces when a bizarre spell was chanted and completed, so fear was inevitable.

“Their magic is powerful because the preparation process is long. This isn’t a battlefield; since they came in here first, they won’t be able to use very strong magic!”

“Indeed…!”

“Follow me. I’ll cut off that wizard’s head!” Ugda raised his shield and took the lead, setting an example.

Ugda knew his men were like wild dogs and wolves – they would turn on him if they sensed fear. He couldn’t show any weakness.

With a magic-treated shield and a regeneration potion, he should be able to withstand at least one decent spell!

One of the mercenaries waiting at the top of the stairs swallowed hard.

The screams from downstairs were getting closer. The wizard was coming up.

A sarcastic voice came from below. “Hey, mercenaries. You’re all visible up there. Why don’t you just come down?” The mercenaries looked at each other in surprise.

“Don’t be fooled. The wizard is provoking us. Magic can’t be cast twice in a row right away!”

“That’s only true for street thugs who haven’t learned properly.”

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a sword burst through the floor. The sword, radiating a chilling blue aura, pierced through the mercenaries in a straight line.

“Aaaargh!”

“Kraaah!”

Ugda shouted in horror. “Why, why is this happening! Who sent you!”

The wizard’s skill was several times greater than expected.

To have this many men subdued in one blow…

Even if he stole all the Thieves’ Guild’s assets, he probably couldn’t hire a wizard like this.

“You should have received a letter.”

“A… a letter?”

“Yes, a letter from Einroguard. Surely you received it? But don’t feel unfairly treated if you didn’t. It’s your fault for not getting it.”

“Ah… no. I received it. I received it! But I didn’t know it was a serious letter!”

“You mean you didn’t think the letter I wrote with all my heart was serious? How insulting.”

Ugda was sweating at the opposing wizard’s reply.

Ugda had heard a few times about the wizard’s eccentric temperament. Judging by this wizard’s skill, his personality would surely be just as eccentric.

“It’s because I don’t know anything about magic.”

“Of course, you ignored it because you don’t know anything. If someone who knew ignored it, they’d be crazy.”

“…Let’s resolve this with words. With words!”

“With words? Aren’t we resolving it with words right now?” The Skull Headmaster smirked as he climbed the stairs.

“If I weren’t resolving it with words, everyone here would already be dead.”

“……”

“And if you were going to say that, you should have put down the iron club. You’re so obvious, you trash.”

“!”

Ugda flinched, realizing his inner thoughts had been exposed.

He had been planning to catch the wizard off guard during the conversation and then attempt close combat once the wizard came up.

To think he was being played in the palm of the wizard’s hand.

Ugda clenched his iron club and was about to rush out with a shout.

At that moment, the sword embedded in the wall returned like lightning, piercing through Ugda’s body.

Bzzzt!

“Kuh… kergh.” Seeing Ugda, who had turned completely into an ice statue except for his face, the Skull Headmaster advised,

“Don’t ignore letters in the future.”

“Why… why my slave that I bought with my own money…! Someone like that can’t even be used in the Magic Tower! At best, he’s only good as a test subject, so why go this far…”

Wham!

Lee Han, who was listening from behind, was slightly angered and blasted Ugda’s jaw with a water bullet.

His words were too harsh!

“Weren’t you being too harsh?”

“Are you talking about your water orb? It was a bit much, but there’s no need to feel guilty about killing a piece of trash like that.”

“No… I was talking about what that person just said. …Oh, did he die, by any chance?”

“He might be dead, or he might not be. If he’s unlucky, he’s dead; if he’s lucky, he’s alive. What does it matter? This way.”

The Skull Headmaster treated the scattered mercenaries like crumpled and discarded pieces of paper.

After roughly kicking them out of the building, he ordered the Death Knights to take them to the prison.

Creak—

Lee Han frowned at the musty, moldy smell inside the door.

He knew the mercenaries were buying slaves and locking them up, but the environment was worse than he had imagined.

There were no other slaves, and a cloth-covered cage was visible deep inside the room. It was a metal cage that looked like it was used to confine wild beasts.

“Is it a strong race, perhaps?”

“Who knows? Take off the cloth.”

At the Skull Headmaster’s words, Lee Han approached and removed the cloth.

And then he was startled.

The slave who was sleeping inside the cage was surprisingly a Gorgon hybrid.

“…Oh…”

Is it okay for a Gorgon hybrid to enroll in Einroguard?

Lee Han was momentarily flustered.

Gorgons, above all else, are monsters born with the petrification curse. They are creatures that turn enemies to stone when their eyes meet.

Naturally, a Gorgon hybrid would have inherited some of that ability…

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing.”

“Too bad. If you had asked if a Gorgon hybrid could enroll, I was going to pass it on to Professor Garcia as is.”

“……”

Lee Han shuddered at the Skull Headmaster’s wicked intentions.

“Wake him up. We need to take him out.”

“Wait. Headmaster, won’t the petrification curse activate when he opens his eyes?”

“There’s no one here who’ll be petrified, is there?”

‘Does he only think about himself?’

Lee Han grumbled and said,

“It’s fine for you, Headmaster, but I…”

“It won’t work on you either.”

“…Oh, is that so?”

“You’ve faced a Basilisk before, have you already forgotten? Why are you acting so surprised?”

Lee Han felt a little embarrassed at the Skull Headmaster’s disapproving gaze.

Lee Han felt silly, like he had forgotten what he could do.

“I was just asking because I thought I might be able to withstand the Basilisk’s gaze but not the Gorgon’s.”

“Don’t say nonsense, just wake him up.”

Lee Han opened the cage door, went inside, and shook his Gorgon hybrid junior by the shoulder.

Snore!

“How can he sleep so well in this situation?”

“Originally, those with monster blood mixed in tend to be mentally tough. Seeing him sleep so well, it’s almost a shame to wake him.”

The Skull Headmaster used magic to make the Gorgon hybrid junior move.

The sight of him being forced to move while still fast asleep was like a bizarre jointed doll.

“Won’t he spread the petrification curse around if he wakes up midway?”

“That’s true.”

The Skull Headmaster covered the junior’s face entirely with bandages, leaving only his nose and mouth exposed.

“Done? Let’s go.”

“Headmaster, it might not be a bad idea to go separately on the way back…”

Of course, the Skull Headmaster didn’t let Lee Han go.

When Ean Durde opened his eyes, the first thing he noticed was that the air had changed.

It felt much fresher than the usual damp and musty air.

Sniff!

After taking a long breath, Ean Durde closed his eyes and checked his body’s condition to prepare for the next battle.

It wasn’t bad. He felt ready to turn any enemy to stone.

Having met many slaves while being sold from place to place, Ean Durde’s way of thinking was still simple.

If an enemy appears, fight.

If you win, you eat your fill; if you lose, you starve.

He had little interest in anything else. Ean Durde counted down to when the next fight would be held.

Judging by the changed surroundings, he might be able to fight soon. Ean Durde nodded in satisfaction at the excitement of battle and the feasting afterward.

‘Who covered my face?’

After nodding, Ean Durde finally realized that someone had wrapped his face in bandages.

It must have been the people running the arena.

Ean Durde didn’t quite understand, but the people who ran the fights often said things he didn’t understand, like ‘to make it fair’ or ‘for the show.’

This was probably something like that.

“Headmaster, he’s awake.”

“Take off the bandages and tell him to eat.”

“There’s nothing but sardines on the table right now.”

“Then go to Peng Erin and knock some sense into him.”

“…I’ll just prepare it myself.”

Hearing the voices from afar, Ean Durde took a fighting stance.

The fight might start as soon as the bandages were removed.

Sniff!

Ean Durde took another breath, preparing for battle.

“I’m going to take off the bandages. Don’t be surprised.”

The moment the bandages were removed, Ean Durde acted.

He stared at the opponent with all his might and simultaneously moved his snake hair to bite the opponent.

“…Uh, what are you doing?” Lee Han looked at his junior with a dumbfounded expression.

Ean Durde’s snake hair hissed and tried to bite.

Suddenly, the Basilisk in Lee Han’s sleeve popped its head out. It glared at the snake hair with a scary look.

“Junior, I think there’s a misunderstanding, I’m…”

Ean Durde grabbed Lee Han’s shoulders, jumped up, and tried to choke him.

Lee Han reacted automatically to the movement. He kneed his junior in the solar plexus, created distance, and then kicked him sideways, sending him flying.

“…Gasp! What have I done…!”

Lee Han was horrified by what he had done and apologized.

Having spent harsh times in Einroguard, he had reacted automatically to the attack.

Sniff!

Ean Durde charged as if he hadn’t given up yet. Lee Han immediately grabbed Ean Durde’s head with one hand and pressed it firmly to the floor.

As the snake hairs all tried to bite at once, the Basilisk in his sleeve immediately popped out and cast a menacing gaze. At that, the snake hairs lost their spirit and lowered their heads.

Ean Durde, who had been struggling to get up with all his might, gave up and declared surrender when his stamina was exhausted.

“I lost…”

“Y-yes. I’m sorry. Are you not in too much pain?”

“I’m okay…”

“I’m going to let go now, you’re not going to attack again, are you?” Ean Durde nodded. Lee Han let go and helped his junior up.

“Headmaster. Please explain about Einroguard.”

“I’m busy, so you do it. Just don’t beat up your junior too much.”

“……”

Lee Han cursed the Skull Headmaster and began explaining to Ean Durde.

So, there’s this really awful place in the Empire…

“…But still, there’s no place like this for learning magic and building connections. Your magical talent is outstanding. I hope you learn magic here. It’ll be a good opportunity for you.”

“Do they provide meals?”

“They do, but you have to struggle inside to eat enough, should I say…”

Ean Durde’s eyes sparkled at Lee Han’s words.

“I’ll go!”

“…Wait. I think you’re deciding too hastily. Let me explain again. So, Einroguard is a really awful…”

“Enough! The kid says he likes it, why are you doing this!” The Skull Headmaster, who was in the study, scolded Lee Han for adding unnecessary words.

Lee Han sighed, knowing there was no point in arguing with the Skull Headmaster. He looked at Ean Durde, a mix of concern and resignation in his eyes. Bringing Ean Durde to Einroguard felt like throwing him into a monster’s den, but perhaps, just perhaps, he might find a place for himself there. Only time would tell.