Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 627

Giselle saw that Wodanaz looked truly upset, and she suddenly felt angry.

“Whose fault do you think it is that I’m fighting with my sister now!”

“Wait. Moradi. Are you fighting too?”

“…Yes.”

Ian thought to himself, ‘Why is he asking? Is he going to trick me? Is this a trap?’

Ian looked troubled. Giselle gritted her teeth and said,

“I’m fighting with you because you’re about to die…”

“Hey. Isn’t that a bit of an exaggeration?”

“It’s not an exaggeration, so get a grip. Why are you being so nice to my sister for no reason?”

As Giselle explained, Ian’s face turned serious.

Hearing about the northern knights that Zieklin had crushed, he realized the problem was bigger than he thought. If he messed up, he might have to walk around on crutches for the rest of his winter vacation.

“I’m a guest from outside, shouldn’t she at least control her strength?”

“She might, but I wouldn’t trust it. My sister isn’t good at controlling her strength,” Giselle said, twisting her hands together, her brow furrowed with worry.

“No, why can’t someone who can just chop off an Imugi’s head control their strength?”

“Hey, watch your mouth. Everyone has something they can’t do,” Giselle said, not allowing even the slightest criticism regarding anything related to Zieklin.

Ian was lost in thought.

‘How outrageous. To try to kill me just because I said I wanted to see her swordsmanship.’

This was Ian’s mistake. He should have noticed and been careful when he was forced to make a promise after suggesting they have a meal together!

“Moradi. You said you’d fight with me, right?”

“Yes. That way, my sister will control her strength at least a little more.”

“What if I grab you and use you as a hostage?”

Alsicle, who was listening from the side, looked at Ian in disbelief. Was he really saying that?

However, Giselle answered seriously.

“I thought about that too, but it’ll backfire with my sister’s personality. She’ll just take me and then kill you.”

“I see.”

“…”

Alsicle wondered if he was the only sane person in this room. Looking to the side, Eandurde was munching on his sardines.

“Hey, it’s not just me who thinks this is weird, right? You think it sounds weird too, right?”

” ? ”

Eandurde looked at him as if wondering what this penguin-person was talking about.

Later that night, as Ian went to sleep, he felt a familiar pull…

Ian found himself in the dreamscape again. It was a flat, grey wasteland under a heavy, dark sky. The ground was cracked and dry, stretching to the horizon with no sign of life. A cold wind whispered across the empty land.

“Greetings.”

The black book, bound in thick, worn leather, floated in front of him. Its pages were yellowed with age, but the writing glowed with a faint, silver light.

It was the black book given by the Skull Headmaster, the one that always taught Ian new magic in his dreams whenever he faced adversity and hardship.

Whatever else, it was certain that the Skull Headmaster had been considerate of Ian in this regard. If it weren’t for this black book, Ian might have died once or twice in Einrogard.

‘But come to think of it, wouldn’t the amount of hardship I experience be reduced by about half if it weren’t for the Headmaster?’

The black book fluttered as if telling him not to think useless thoughts, drawing Ian’s attention.

“Black book. I’m going to fight a strange knight tomorrow, and I need help. Teach me some useful magic.”

The black book fluttered as if telling him not to worry. Seeing that, Ian suddenly became worried.

“But it’s not another close-combat magic, is it?”

The magic that the black book taught him was basically magic created by the Skull Headmaster. Since the black book itself was like an artifact created by the Skull Headmaster, that was only natural.

The problem was that the magic was all biased towards close combat.

>Gonadalte’s Nimble Steps< or >Gonadalte’s Sharp Hand<. Even >Gonadalte’s Surging Power<… The only non-combat magic, >Gonadalte’s Dark Vision<, was versatile, but it still felt like magic developed for close combat. Close-combat magic didn't seem very helpful when fighting a knight like Zieklin. Would putting a single drop of water into an empty cup fill it? The magic the black book newly unfolded was >Gonadalte’s Quickening Agility<. "…" The black book fluttered as if telling him to learn quickly, not caring about Ian's expression. Giselle, who had tossed and turned all night, munched on bread and pondered. She still hadn't decided how to fight when she faced her sister today. Ian walked into the dining hall, a small smile playing on his lips. "Moradi," he said, "I've got a good idea." Giselle, who was chewing on a piece of bread, looked up, puzzled. "What is it?" "Sparring," Ian began, leaning against a table. "Can we... you know... use magic?" Giselle shrugged. "Yeah, this time it doesn't really matter. It's just to show Zieklin's skills, not a proper duel." "Right," Ian nodded. "And when does it end? Like, how do we know when it's over?" Giselle sighed, picking at her bread. "When *she* decides she's shown enough. With my sister... well, it's when she's satisfied." Ian's eyes widened slightly. "Satisfied? So, she just... stops when she feels like it?" "Pretty much," Giselle confirmed. Ian thought for a moment, tapping his chin. "Okay, I get it. So, here's the plan. We're mages, right? Not knights." "Yeah...?" Giselle said slowly, wondering where he was going with this. "Let's just... spam magic. As much as we can. Then, when we're tired," Ian lowered his voice conspiratorially, "we just lie down and say we're out of mana!" Giselle blinked, then stared at him. "...!" Ian grinned. "Think about it! If a knight just gave up, Zieklin would be furious. But what can she do if a mage says, 'Sorry, no more magic left'?" It was a slightly sneaky idea, Giselle admitted to herself, but she was desperate enough to consider it. “Definitely,” Leehan said, nodding eagerly. “My sister doesn’t know magic, so it might actually work.” Giselle chewed her lip. “Maybe…” “But,” Leehan continued, his enthusiasm fading slightly, “it doesn’t solve everything. We won’t even have time to cast spells, will we?” Good knights, like Jicklin, never gave wizards time. They were too fast, too relentless. A wizard who had time to prepare spells was dangerous, yes, but Jicklin wouldn't allow that. She would be on them in an instant, a whirlwind of motion. Magic was always available, but under this kind of intense pressure, with Jicklin bearing down on them, swordsmanship felt like the only real option. “That’s right. We need to keep our distance as much as possible.” “You don’t expect me to be the bait while you create distance, do you? And that won’t work on sister anyway.” “Moradi, what do you think of me?” Leehan protested to his friend and explained the tactic he had prepared. Given Jicklin’s skill, trying to create distance clumsily and cast spells as he usually did would be suicidal. Even if she didn’t use her full power, that wouldn’t be enough to create sufficient distance. He had to focus solely on running away. “There are two of us. We need to take advantage of our numbers. I learned an agility enhancement spell recently, so I’ll carry you and run away as much as possible. You rapidly cast spells at Lady Jicklin.” “Really… Wait a minute. I don’t have anything suitable among my ranged spells.” “What? What have you been doing if you haven’t learned any ranged magic?!” Giselle was taken aback by Leehan’s remark. White Tiger Tower students mostly built their combat magic around enhancement or enchantment, so they were relatively weak in ranged combat. But other tower students couldn’t cast many spells quickly like Wodanaz was saying either. Casting spells repeatedly was a very difficult thing to do. “Casting spells repeatedly isn’t a joke, you know? Don’t you know you can really get exhausted if you mess up?” “Ah. Really… It would not be helpful if I really got exhausted.” Leehan, who had been pondering, nodded as if he couldn’t help it. “Then there’s only one way.” “??” Jicklin, standing in the training ground, showed a faint surprise on her face at the unexpected sight. Her sister was standing there holding the Wodanaz family’s boy in her arms. “Giselle, what is this…” “…It’s a strategy of sorts.” “I know what kind of strategy it is. The wizard himself can’t create distance and concentrate on casting spells at the same time, so Wodanaz is trying to cast spells while Giselle runs away, isn’t he?” “!” They were both surprised by Jicklin, who, instead of being surprised by this strange sight, immediately guessed what they were up to. “As expected of Lady Jicklin. You understand our plan immediately!” Leehan, nestled in Giselle’s arms, shouted, and Jicklin nodded as if it were nothing. “Wizards don’t always use completely unexpected tactics. If you take into account that they’re going to use magic, you can predict it easily enough.” “Indeed.” “Do you have time to praise in this position, you little one?” Giselle was very surprised by Wodanaz, who was praising her while stretched out horizontally. But Leehan was confident. “Moradi, it’ll feel even weirder if you’re embarrassed here.” “It’s already weird enough.” “How’s your condition?” “I think I still have enough for spells. Unleash everything as soon as we start. You can’t give sister an opening.” Before the duel started, Leehan cast all the enhancement magic he could on Giselle, such as >Gonadalte’s Nimble Steps< and >Gonadalte’s Quickening Agility<. This was the only way to achieve a speed that exceeded Jicklin’s expectations. ‘It has to work.’ “Then, let’s begin.” The moment Jicklin said ‘begin,’ she was already in front of them. Giselle desperately exploded mana into her legs and began to create distance. Her body felt lighter than ever, but she wasn’t relieved in the slightest. She’s catching up! “Mistwood, spread forth!” Mist spread around Giselle. It was an illusionary mist that made it difficult to focus from the outside. But Jicklin closed her eyes and tracked them with her senses, changing direction. Leehan and Giselle both wore expressions of dismay at the sight. “Darkness, sweep over!” Leehan spread a wave of darkness as if he were swinging it over a wide area. Even if its attack power was lacking, the characteristics of the dark element would surely have the effect of briefly stopping the charging knight’s feet. But Jicklin held her sword in one hand, clenched her other empty hand into a fist, and threw a punch into the air. With the sound of air tearing, the wave of darkness was negated. Just swinging a fist imbued with mana created such power. ‘Is she really a monster!?’ Leehan was horrified, but there was no time for that. He gritted his teeth and chanted the next spell. “Gather, rotate!” Blobs of water gathered in the air and began to rotate rapidly. Spinning orbs of water flew in with a heavy sound. Jicklin swung the sword, still in its scabbard, and shot down the water orbs. The impact must have been considerable, but her posture didn’t waver at all. ‘Amazing!’ Leehan admired Jicklin’s swordsmanship. Moradi’s swordsmanship was also an ever-changing dual-sword style, but Jicklin’s swordsmanship was even more flamboyant, as if claiming that this was the real family swordsmanship. Even though she was only using one sword, he couldn’t keep up with the changes. “Sharkan, Gonadalte. Come forth! Arise, warriors made of bone…” Leehan wondered if he should summon Perkuntra in the worst-case scenario. Summoning Perkuntra in a practice match was absurd, but the knight rushing towards him made him consider it. If they kept getting closer like this… Tap! Jicklin, who had finally caught up to Giselle, stretched out her sword and stopped it in front of her sister’s forehead. Then, she praised her in a gentle voice. “You both did well. I’m glad you’re better than I expected.” “……” “???” They were both bewildered. Giselle spoke first and asked. “Uh, is this the end?” “Yes, it is.” “But we're not even hurt, and you’re just ending it?” “Giselle, what are you saying? People watching will misunderstand.” “……”