Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 646

While the kind penguin sorcerer was out helping someone (he had even taken Gainando as an assistant!), Ethan opened a book from the time of the Gawang Kingdom. It was full of music, and Ethan started to study it carefully.

It was much more interesting now that he understood what it was about.

‘Fascinating.’

If Ethan had to pick one word to describe magic in the Empire, it would be ‘efficiency’. They liked magic that was quick and easy to use. If there were two ways to do the same magic, they always chose the faster one.

The history of magic on the continent was longer than the history of the Empire. Because of this, there were many different types and schools of magic. People were still discovering old and unusual magic that the Empire didn’t even know about.

How could so many different kinds of magic, from different places and times, be combined into one system?

The Empire’s wizards combined them by using efficiency as their guide.

Old and slow magic was thrown away.

If two kinds of magic did the same thing, the faster and simpler one was kept.

This method worked very well.

Even if a wizard from the far west of the Empire met a wizard from the far east, even if they had different customs and histories, they could still work together without any major problems.

It was different in the old fairy tale, >The Unfortunate Accident of Two Wizards Whose Methods of Creating Flame Differed,> where it was dangerous for different wizards to work together.

Ethan agreed that efficiency was a good idea.

However, there were always exceptions.

Some old and slow magic, even though it was ignored, would sometimes appear and show its power.

That was the magic of the wizards from the Gawang Kingdom era.

People in the Empire might call this ‘music magic’. It was a way to control things around you using sound and magic!

There was no faster way to control things than with sound, but there was a reason why no one used music magic.

‘It is very hard to put magic into sound, and even if you do, it wastes a lot of magic power.’

Headmaster Skull had told him to just use language magic instead of trying music magic for a reason.

A wizard’s spell was like talking to himself. If you put magic into the spell itself, that was the start of language magic.

Of course, it was impossible to do with normal willpower and focus.

Ethan could only do it with a few songs, and even then, only in a limited way…

The wizards of the Gawang Kingdom era knew this well. Ethan was amazed by their wisdom in overcoming these problems.

First, they used magic circles, like the carvings on the tomb walls. These circles helped to gather more magic power in the area.

‘You need a lot of magic power to use music magic.’

Ethan already knew this, so it didn’t surprise him.

It wasn’t very important to Ethan because he could solve this problem with his own magic power.

‘Next is… an artifact?’

The wizards of the Gawang Kingdom era used musical instruments like artifacts.

After choosing a song, they would make a special instrument just for that song.

This instrument was enchanted to make the song sound its best. It would work with the wizard’s song to add the power that was missing.

They were able to succeed in music magic this way. It was amazing how dedicated they were.

‘They practiced only one song with a special instrument for 20 to 30 years… I guess they would put magic into it, even if it wasn’t already in the song.’

It didn’t matter that it wasn’t efficient; it was still very impressive.

Ethan thought that this was the only way to do music magic properly right now.

The older students at Einroguard who were trying to study music magic couldn’t all waste magic power or put it into spells like Ethan, could they?

‘This is a good method for me too.’

Right now, Ethan could sing a few songs like music magic, but he didn’t really know how he did it.

This wasn’t real magic. To do magic properly, you needed to know what you were doing.

If he could use the power of an instrument to add the things that were missing, it would be much easier for Ethan to practice music magic.

He even had the instrument Headmaster Skull had given him…

Zing-

When Ethan took out his violin and started playing, his friends looked at him.

“Is that… ‘The Bad Dragon is Coming’?” Ratford asked, tilting his head to listen.

“Yep,” Yoner replied, nodding slowly, his eyes closed as he enjoyed the music.

It was an old nursery rhyme about a red dragon coming and breaking the fence, a black dragon coming and destroying the house, and a white dragon coming and trampling the remains.

…The headmaster came and broke the fence. The terrible headmaster! Could there be a worse disaster?

Then the headmaster’s clone came and destroyed the house. The vicious headmaster! …

When Ratford, Yoner, and Nilia sang it in the Einroguard version, Eandurde tilted his head.

“Isn’t it a dragon…?”

“…D, dragon. I said dragon.”

“You said headmaster…”

“No! It’s a dragon!”

The older students quickly changed their words when they realized their junior was there.

Meanwhile, Ethan finished practicing and slowly played the sheet music.

‘Based on dark elements, spreading magic power around, praising and mourning the king’s sacrifice…’

A slow song was played. Ethan sang along to the lyrics.

“We all praise the king’s sacrifice, as the king sacrifices, all enemies…”

As the song continued, Yoner stood up and offered his hand to Nilia.

The two danced slowly and gracefully.

In the Empire, people danced not only when they were happy but also at farewell ceremonies.

Ratford clapped along to the music, tapping his foot. ‘Oh,’ he mumbled to himself, always a bit worried, ‘Is it okay to dance when Gainando isn’t here? She’d probably cry a river if she found out…’

“Hmm.”

“Eep! Why did you stop so suddenly!”

Nilia almost lost her balance when Ethan stopped the violin and paused.

It was lucky that she had trained in the mountains, or the dance would have been even worse.

“Didn’t you feel anything special while listening to the song just now?”

“???”

Ethan’s friends tilted their heads, confused by his question.

“Tell me one thing each.”

“The low notes of the song are rich and delicate?”

“I don’t know who the king is, but if he died receiving a song like this, there must be a lot to steal at the funeral?”

“When did Wodanaz even practice the violin? Does he live two days in one?”

After answering, the other two, except for Yoner, were embarrassed.

Lee Han should have been enjoying the music. Instead, he was sighing loudly.

‘Hmm,’ he mumbled. ‘Still can’t put magic into this song.’

Yoner looked at Lee Han, his face showing he couldn’t believe it.

‘Trying to put magic *into* the song itself? Can you even do that?’

‘Well, it’s like this…’ Lee Han tapped the sheet music with his finger. ‘See these notes? I think they are like words, but for magic. I’m trying to find a way to put magic *directly* into the music itself.’

As Lee Han spoke, Yoner’s eyes widened in amazement, but then his eyebrows furrowed with worry.

‘That’s really interesting,’ Yoner said. ‘But I’m a bit worried.’

‘Why?’ Lee Han asked.

‘You’re already planning to take as many classes as you can in your second year, right? And you want to do this music magic thing *too*?’

‘…No, it’s not decided yet if I’ll take *all* the classes,’ Lee Han mumbled.

‘Yes, you will take all of them,’ Nilia said firmly.

‘He *will* take all of them,’ Retford added, sounding serious.

Lee Han was still hoping he could take fewer classes, but his friends were being very direct.

Many professors already liked Lee Han a lot and wanted him in their classes. If he took even *more* classes from these professors, it would be too much, even for him. There’s a limit to how many classes one student can take.

Lee Han looked closely at the sheet music, tapping his chin.

‘Hmm,’ he said. ‘I think… I think the problem isn’t the music itself, but the words of the song. The lyrics.’

‘Not a problem with the *music* of Einroguard?’ Yoner asked, confused.

‘No,’ Lee Han explained. ‘If the music makes the magic happen, then the words help to guide the magician’s own magic. So, we can change the words. No, we *should* change the words!’

Lee Han grabbed his quill and started scribbling notes quickly on a piece of parchment. He remembered what he had learned about music magic when he followed the skeletal headmaster on that strange adventure. Because of that, he understood things faster now.

Just like a magic spell helps a wizard focus their mind and believe in their own magic, the words of a song must do the same thing. Otherwise, it doesn’t make sense why some songs work for me, and others don’t.

*Lee Han thought to himself*, ‘I need to find a way that works for *me*.’

He remembered reading about old magic from a long time ago, from the time of the Ga Kingdom. Back then, wizards would spend their whole lives learning just *one* song, changing themselves to fit the song perfectly. But Lee Han was thinking of doing something different. He wanted to change the song a little bit to fit *him*.

‘I need words that are like a hymn – a song of praise – and also like a dirge – a sad song for the dead. And I need to feel them in my heart. I need your help to write them. It’s too hard to do alone.’

“Hmm!” Yoner said, scratching his head.

“Ummm!” Retford mumbled, looking at the ceiling.

“Ummmmmm!” Nilia groaned, burying her face in her hands.

They all felt like Lee Han was asking for something really difficult. Nilia thought, *’Maybe I should have gone to gather plants with Guinan instead of this!’* She remembered how close she came to failing her ‘Imperial Literature’ class.

Retford sighed. ‘I even wrote in my essay for ‘Composition’ class that stealing should be allowed by law! The professor called me in to talk about it afterwards!’

Yoner was left speechless. He felt a cold sweat on his forehead. *’I’m the only one who can help him now!’* he thought.

Yoner knew he had to think of something, *anything*, to help his friend. Lyrics that were like a hymn and a dirge, and that Lee Han could feel deeply… It was a tough problem.

“Guys?” Lee Han asked, looking at his friends hopefully.

“Eh…” Yoner mumbled, still thinking hard.

“Eh?” Retford echoed, looking confused.

Then, Yoner’s eyes widened a little. “Eh! What about… Einroguard?”

“Einroguard?” Lee Han repeated, interested.

“Tell me more, Yoner!”

Yoner took a deep breath. “So, Einroguard is… um… well… if you’ve… if you’ve *entered* Einroguard… then… then you can sing a dirge! Because… because it’s so hard to get in!”

Nilia and Retford stared at Yoner, completely speechless. But Lee Han’s eyes lit up.

‘That… that actually makes sense!’

‘Exactly!’ Lee Han said, nodding. ‘It makes perfect sense! The hymn part is praising how great the student is for getting into Einroguard, like they sacrificed themselves for the Empire by going to such a difficult school!’

“I, I didn’t mean *that* much!” Yoner stammered, surprised that Lee Han had taken his simple idea so far.

But Lee Han was already scribbling again, his eyes shining with inspiration.

‘Perfect!’ Lee Han said excitedly. ‘A song that is sad and praising at the same time, for the new students going to Einroguard! We can make it a bit dark and serious… I think it’s great! Isn’t this much better than the old song?’

“Why are you calling it ‘Dalkard’s song’?” Nilia asked, wrinkling her nose.

‘It’s just… *that* song,’ Retford said, making a face. They all felt disgusted whenever they heard that song that tricked people into thinking Einroguard was amazing, when it was actually so hard to get into.

“Penguin, I can’t go in there!” Guinan whined. ‘Penguin’ was Alsicle’s nickname for Guinan, because he waddled a bit when he walked.

“Don’t worry, Penguin,” Alsicle said, sounding much sterner than before. “I’ll tell you what to do. Hold your wand and use the spell to cut things – but aim *low*, near the ground. Don’t aim high, the branches are too thick and it won’t work. When you make a hole, crawl in.”

“Hmph,” Guinan grumbled. “Why *me*?” But he did as he was told. Tears welled up in his eyes as he crawled under the scratchy bushes. Carefully, he picked the prickly mushrooms, trying not to get poked, and then crawled back out.

Inside the mansion, Alsicle had been friendly and fun, like a cute penguin wizard. But outside, he was like a completely different person – a very strict older wizard. Guinan was shocked. He had thought they would just gather some easy ingredients and then go back. He definitely didn’t want to do anything too hard.

“Can’t I just say it’s too hard and we should go back?” Guinan asked hopefully.

“Guinan,” Alsicle said sternly. “What do you think Wardanaz will think if you say you couldn’t do it because it was too difficult?”

“Well, yes,” Guinan said, confused. “Wouldn’t he think I couldn’t do it because… well, because it *was* too hard?”

Alsicle sighed. “Just… quickly, climb up that tree.” With a flick of his wand, Alsicle made a ladder out of ice appear against the tree and pointed up.

This prince didn’t seem to care about his pride at all. Guinan grumbled and started to climb. He kept complaining as he climbed, so Alsicle shouted up to him, trying to calm him down.

“Think about it, Guinan,” Alsicle called up. “Wouldn’t it be better to finish quickly and go back to the mansion?”

“That’s true,” Guinan agreed. “But… I think *Penguin* wants to stay longer,” he said, pointing at himself with a confused look.

“That’s a misunderstanding!” Alsicle said quickly, sounding very serious. “*I* want to finish quickly and go back too! I want to watch Wardanaz research music magic, remember?” Alsicle said this very sincerely.

For a wizard like Alsicle, watching a younger wizard like Lee Han study magic that was rare and new was really interesting. He knew he could learn a lot just by watching Lee Han figure things out.

“Oh!” Guinan suddenly said.

“Penguin!”

“*What* is it *now*, Guinan?” Alsicle asked, sounding annoyed.

“If you want to watch Lee Han so much,” Guinan said, “shouldn’t you go back *right now*? Lee Han learns magic so fast, it might all be finished by the time you get back!”

“Hey! Do you think I’m stupid or something?” Alsicle said, getting angry. He couldn’t take it anymore. He started making snowballs appear in the air and throwing them at Guinan.

Guinan screamed and yelled as snowballs hit him.

“I, I’m serious!” he shouted. “I’m serious!”