Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 645

Yoner leaned back in his chair, a thoughtful look on his face. “Everyone in Wardanaz’s lands always seems to be grinning. Oh, and Wardanaz,” he continued, turning to Lee Han, “I heard you went travelling with Headmaster during the holidays?”

Lee Han nodded, a small smile playing on his lips. “Yes, I convinced a few of the younger students to come along. Some who were a bit hesitant at first.”

Gainando blurted out, his voice sharp with surprise. “Why on earth would you do that?!” He’d been listening from the edge of their group, polishing his sword, and now he stopped, staring at Lee Han. *Taking young students on a trip? Madness!* he thought.

Yoner and Lee Han exchanged a quick glance, then continued their conversation, seemingly ignoring Gainando’s outburst.

“Speaking of which, were there any junior students who stood out?” Yoner asked.

Lee Han paused, considering. “Hmm, there was one junior who was talented as a knight and also gifted with superpowers…”

“Oh,” Yoner replied.

Lee Han continued, “But he didn’t like fighting.”

The friends frowned, tilting their heads in confusion. Even in Einroguard, a place known for its strong knights, was it alright for a knight to dislike fighting?

“But I persuaded him well,” Lee Han added with a smile.

“Were there no students from the Blue Dragon Tower?” Gainando asked, his curiosity piqued.

“There was a junior from the Pengaerin family. He was quite skilled,” Lee Han replied.

Yoner and Gainando showed great interest in Lee Han’s words. A junior from the Pengaerin family would likely enter the Blue Dragon Tower.

Of course, they wouldn’t be able to meet him until the second year due to the freshman protection rule, but they were still pleased that a talented junior would be joining their tower.

“What about his personality?! What’s he like?!” Yoner asked eagerly.

“Since he’s skilled, he’s full of confidence,” Lee Han said.

“Oh dear!” Gainando sighed.

The most important thing in a junior wasn’t magical skill or wisdom, but personality. They needed a junior who was polite and knew how to respect their seniors!

“What about magic cards or cooking?” Gainando asked.

Nilia looked at Gainando as if he were ridiculous. “Why are you asking that…”

“Are you perhaps looking for a new nanny among the juniors?” Nilia teased, a smirk playing on her lips.

“Weren’t you about to call Gainando a ‘nanny’ just now, but changed it to Wardanaz instead?” Retford asked curiously.

“Ah, no,” Nilia said quickly, waving her hand dismissively.

Retford, who had been listening to the story, asked curiously, “Were there no juniors like me, perhaps?”

“There was. Good, Retford. You two would get along well if you met,” Lee Han said, seeing a good opportunity to share a story.

Lee Han then brought up the story of Father Karle from the Bildotskal Order.

Retford, who had been listening with interest at first, frowned as the story progressed.

“Such a foolish junior!” Retford exclaimed.

“Is that so?” Lee Han asked.

“To be so greedy and not even join a guild! What does he think a guild is! Such a junior will probably act alone even if he comes to the dormitory,” Retford said, unusually angry.

Even though they were both from the same thief background, their ways of thinking were completely opposite.

*Hmm, it’s fortunate that the two won’t be able to meet for a year,* Lee Han thought to himself.

Retford looked at Lee Han and asked, “Wardanaz, you gave that foolish junior a stern lecture, right?”

“Of, of course. I told him he shouldn’t do things like that,” Lee Han stammered.

“Very well done! What else did you say?” Retford pressed.

“Uh, I told him he should take care of his friends…” Lee Han continued, making up the story as he went.

While Lee Han was lying, overwhelmed by Retford’s energy, Eandurde, who was next to him, stared intently at Lee Han.

Only then did Lee Han realize that he had left out one person, and he hurriedly shouted, “Oh, and here’s the Black Turtle Tower’s reliable junior!”

Eandurde nodded proudly at Lee Han’s praise. Nilia and Retford praised the commendable junior.

“I’m glad a reliable junior like you came,” Nilia said.

“Indeed. I have high expectations,” Retford added.

“Expectations, my foot…” Gainando grumbled, making sure Eandurde couldn’t hear him. He still felt the pain in his wrist from being bitten by the junior.

“Oh, Wardanaz, are the others not coming?” Yoner asked.

“Dergyu and Priestess Siana sent letters saying they would come, but I don’t know when they’ll arrive. I suppose they’ll be here soon?” Lee Han replied.

“I’m here,” a voice announced as the door opened.

A penguin beastkin entered with a tired face. The students, who had expected other friends to come, saw Alsicle and stood up to greet him.

“Hello, Pengaerin,” Yoner greeted.

“Greetings, everyone,” Alsicle replied.

Alsicle smoothed his ruffled feathers and put down a basket of herbs. Yoner, seeing this, asked with a puzzled expression, “Are you going to make potions or something?”

“No, Wardanaz asked me to,” Alsicle said simply.

Yoner looked at Lee Han in astonishment. Was he really using Alsicle of the Pengaerin family as an errand boy for herbs?

He was quite a famous magician among the young, up-and-coming magicians of the Empire…

*How did he even ask him?* Yoner wondered, slightly suspecting that his friend had used mental magic. He wondered if he had tempted him with food, but that would only work on Gainando…

“Here are the sardines. I fried some while you were away,” Lee Han said, offering a plate.

“Wow! Thanks,” Alsicle nonchalantly took the plate, tossed a sardine into his beak, and sat down.

*He tempted him with food!?* Yoner thought, surprised.

The truth was, Alsicle was helping Lee Han because he owed him a lot. He had poured so much mana into him during the last experiment, how could he not do him this one favor? Besides, he didn’t know what else he might ask for in the future…

*He must really like sardines,* Lee Han thought, watching Alsicle.

“Arsil has left?” Alsicle asked after swallowing a sardine.

“Yes,” Lee Han confirmed.

Alsicle clicked his beak as if he found it fascinating after hearing the story from Lee Han. It was completely different from how nobles usually left.

Originally, there would have been a lavish banquet with musical performances and various events, but Arsil had simply left, as if he were a member of the Wardanaz family.

“Wardanaz, I’ve suddenly become curious, but neither the head of the family nor the other members seem to have much interest in social circles… How did you participate in social events when you were young?” Yoner asked, leaning forward with interest.

The manor had many guards, like knights, golems, and devils. But even with them, you couldn’t just walk into parties.

You couldn’t participate in social gatherings unless a family member joined you and followed the proper customs.

“Ah, my relatives helped. I usually went there with them.”

“Ah, I see.”

Alcycle, nodding and munching on a small fried fish called smelt, tilted his head in thought.

‘Huh? Did the Wodanaz family have a cadet branch?’

Cadet branches of famous families were rare and very important. If the Wodanaz family had one, everyone would know about it. Why didn’t he remember hearing about them?

“By the way, Peng Erhin, I have a question.”

Ihan pulled out the sheet music he had received from the tomb.

He had originally planned to decipher it slowly, but Arsil’s words had made him curious.

“This is sheet music I found in the ancient tomb behind our territory. I was wondering if you could read the script.”

“Do ancient tombs just pop up all the time behind your territory…?”

Alcycle, though flustered, accepted the sheet music.

Since Ihan had finally asked a question, he was determined to answer it well.

He rarely had opportunities to show off his skills to the young Wodanaz outside of moments like this.

‘It’s probably just my imagination, but sometimes I think he sees me as a wizard who lives off his looks.’

Alcycle stared intently at the sheet music, but he couldn’t immediately recall which era the script belonged to.

“Ummm…”

Ihan, unable to watch any longer, cautiously opened his mouth.

“It’s alright if you don’t know…”

“No, no! I recognize the script! Just a little more time!”

“Ah, yes.”

Alcycle leaned forward, his eyes glued to the parchment. He studied every line, every symbol, with intense focus, as if the answer was hidden in the paper itself.

Ratford, who was looking on from the side, opened his mouth without much thought.

“Isn’t this script from the False Kingdom era?”

“F… False Kingdom! That’s right, script from the False Kingdom era! If I had just a few more seconds, I could have remembered it myself. Really!”

Ratford, taken aback by Alcycle’s desperate excuse, replied in a fluster.

“O-of course, I thought you would.”

“I’m not just making excuses, I swear!”

“Peng Erhin, please calm down. It’s not like this is a game to see who can guess first.”

“Kroooooh…!”

Alcycle, realizing his disgraceful behavior, blushed and sat back down.

The False Kingdom era, meaning the era of fake kingdoms, was a nightmare for imperial historians. That was a time in history known for fake kings and lots of fighting.

It was an era of shifting alliances, with no true king and only those who pretended to be.

The continent had been divided more often than united throughout its history, but the False Kingdom era was particularly fragmented.

To regain his composure, Alcycle pulled out a book on the script of the False Kingdom era and began to haltingly read the sheet music.

“I praise the king’s sacrifice… The king has averted the misfortune that befell the walls… It’s roughly a hymn or a dirge, but the notes and lyrics beneath the title are unreadable. It seems to be bound to you.”

“!”

Just as only the contracted party could read and call out a spirit’s name, some spells could only be read and memorized by a specific individual.

Alcycle tried hard to read the music, but he couldn’t understand the notes or words. Then he knew it was magic, like any good wizard would.

“My brother said this song would be helpful to me, but what’s the reason? There’s no reason for me to go around singing hymns or dirges.”

“It’s probably not about the words themselves, but the magic inside the song.”

After hearing the details of what happened to Ihan inside the tomb, Alcycle shrewdly guessed Arsil’s intentions.

Arsil recommended this nameless ancient kingdom’s song to Wodanaz not because of its lyrics or melody, but because of the power the song held.

“You said this song dominated the surrounding area? That’s more significant than you think.”

“!”

Wizards put a considerable amount of effort into dominating their territory.

Just look at a wizard’s workshop or magic tower—how many spells are inscribed within them?

That meant dominating a territory was difficult.

To control a vast space where all sorts of forces flowed erratically with one’s personal will…

But the wizards of this ancient kingdom succeeded in demonstrating something similar with the song inscribed in the tomb.

It had disappeared now, and the flow of magic had been cut off, but it was certainly a remarkable feat.

“I’ve never thought of it that way.”

“Me neither. In the first place, musical magic wasn’t even worth researching.”

“The headmaster told me to learn incantations instead. What do you think about that?”

“…Incantations aren’t levitation spells; there’s no way you can learn them that easily.”

Alcycle stared at Ihan as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

He knew the skeletal headmaster was shameless, but this was truly beyond the pale.

Telling him not to learn musical magic was one thing, but telling him to learn incantations…

‘Was that what he meant?’

Ihan was lost in thought.

After hearing Alcycle’s explanation, he understood why Arsil had told him to keep the sheet music safe.

Arsil clearly wanted Ihan to learn the knack of controlling his territory as a wizard.

The other known methods for controlling a territory were far more complex or difficult.

Compared to the difficulty of incantation magic, this sheet music, no matter how difficult, was incomparable.

This forgotten kingdom’s musical magic was offering Ihan a subtle shortcut that other magics couldn’t provide.

“But Peng Erhin, aren’t you interested in this magic? It sounds quite impressive…”

Alcycle replied nonchalantly.

“I am interested, but it looks like it consumes too much mana.”

“Ah.”

“The people of the kingdom probably only allowed it to be played in the tomb. It suits you, but it won’t suit me.”

Eandurde tilted his head and asked.

“Are you lacking in skill?”

“No!”

“No, Eandurde. Don’t say rude things.”

Ihan stopped his junior.

There were many spells to learn right now, but even considering that, this magic was definitely worth trying.

What flashed through Ihan’s mind was the unique world that the skeletal headmaster had once shown him.

The pinnacle of magic, which went beyond dominating a territory and changed it to one’s own rules.

Of course, perfectly mastering this musical magic wouldn’t allow him to use his unique world, but perhaps he could take the first step on that distant path.

“Thank you, Peng Erhin. I’ll practice hard. I even received a violin as a gift.”

“Really? Are you going to practice now?”

Alcycle looked at Ihan with expectant eyes.

Even if it wasn’t a magic he could learn himself, a wizard was always curious about magic he didn’t know.

“No. I’m going to gather some herbs first. I don’t have enough to complete the request.”

“…I’ll gather the herbs, so you practice musical magic.”

Alcycle couldn’t help but become serious.