Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 656

Basiu urged his friend.

He felt that continuing to deal with that arrogant prince, who knew nothing but magic, would only put them at a disadvantage.

“Ingsen, let’s use the magic we’ve prepared.”

“On whom? That prince?”

“…Everyone except… except the prince.” Basiu felt ashamed but said it anyway.

It was embarrassing, but he couldn’t help it. He didn’t think he could win against that prince.

Ingsen felt the same way.

‘Damn it. Just you wait!’

Ingsen vowed to study magic even harder when he returned to Valdrogard.

He would study fiercely, for about two days a week, and defeat that arrogant prince.

“What about the Wodanaz family? They seem friendly.”

“If it’s the Wodanaz family, they’re certainly worthy of seeing our magic.”

Both of them had their pride, so they weren’t willing to show their magic to just anyone.

They wanted to show their magic to someone who was skilled, from a good family, and friendly. They hoped to have a real talk about magic. Ihan from the Wodanaz family seemed like the right person.

“Excuse me, Ihan from the Wodanaz family?”

“?”

Ihan, who had been holding Gainando’s mouth shut, gestured to his other friends to keep him quiet and turned around.

“What is it?”

“I’ve prepared a magic spell… I was hoping you could take a look at it.”

Ingsen and Basiu didn’t realize it, but their attitude had become very polite without them even knowing.

It was the complete opposite of what they had thought when passing through the mansion’s front gate: ‘I’m going to crush their pride!’

Even if they didn’t realize it, they were instinctively feeling it.

The Einrogard wizards were different from the Valdrogard wizards they had met so far!

“Magic? Show me.”

Ihan nodded readily.

He had said, ‘Don’t lose to those Valdrogard guys!’ but even considering that, Gainando’s provocation was a bit much.

Because of Gainando, Ihan felt a little kinder.

‘I should be nice to them,’ he thought. He got ready to say good things about their magic and smiled, but it wasn’t a real smile.

Ingsen gained courage from that smile.

Unlike that rude prince earlier, the Wodanaz family wizard had the manners of a nobleman, contrary to rumors.

“Um! Then I’ll try it. First, I’ll place this cypress bark here. And then, I’ll place this corundum powder here. And then…”

“Ah ha. You’re trying to summon a Firebird.”

Ihan praised with a fake smile.

Summoning a Firebird was a 2nd circle summoning magic, which was quite difficult.

The basic difficulty was one thing, but the fact that it required using high-purity ruby powder as a reagent made it feel even more difficult than forbidden magic to a wizard like Ihan.

But if you could bear that, it was a pretty good spell. You could summon a Firebird to help the wizard without any special contract.

“…H-How did you know?”

Ingsen was flustered.

The original plan was to summon the Firebird and surprise the Einrogard students, who wouldn’t expect it.

It was difficult to tell what kind of magic it was just by looking at the reagents, and the Firebird’s flamboyant appearance was good for surprising people, so he had worked hard to prepare it…

…But the other party knew what kind of magic it was before he even started.

“It’s a good spell, but you shouldn’t use cypress bark and corundum powder together. Both are powerful reagents, but they don’t mix well and can cause a conflict. This magic circle is also wrong. If there are errors like this, the casting speed will be slow and the effect will be weakened.”

“……”

Ihan began to kindly point out each flaw in Ingsen’s magic. Ingsen’s eyes wavered and his expression turned pale each time he heard something, but Ihan didn’t notice because he was focused on the magic.

“Wait, what is this powder even made of?”

Ingsen mumbled, “I… I bought it from a jeweler.”

Ihan frowned. “You bought it? A wizard should grind their own reagents! Laziness is the enemy of magic, remember that.”

“But… is there really a big difference?” Ingsen asked, his voice shaky.

Ihan looked at him like he was crazy. “No difference? Nonsense!” He took the powder and, with quick, precise movements, ground it again himself.

Then, he threw the powder into the air and shouted, “*Firebird, manifest and protect!*”

*Whoosh!* A Firebird exploded into existence, a creature of brilliant orange flames, its wings beating with fierce energy. It circled Ihan, a miniature sun in the room.

Ingsen stared, his mouth open. Ihan’s summoning was lightning fast, and the Firebird was much stronger, much more alive than he could ever manage. Shame burned in his chest.

“Now. This is magic using carefully ground reagents. Now, I’ll try using reagents that a jeweler roughly ground.”

Ihan sprinkled the powder again and chanted the spell.

Then, another bird made of fire appeared.

“?”

“…It doesn’t seem that different?”

The friends who were watching from behind tilted their heads. They didn’t feel a big difference between the two Firebirds.

Both were full of energy, thanks to receiving an abundance of magical power.

Ihan, annoyed by his friends’ reactions, replied.

“Look closely. This one moves much more smoothly, while this one’s movements are sluggish and stuttering. Don’t be fooled by the magical power, and learn to observe the subtle movements within.”

“……”

‘It really doesn’t seem that different…’

The friends could only feel the lesson that ‘high-purity magical power can surpass the quality of reagents’ between the two Firebirds.

Because Ihan was pouring in magical power, the difference in reagents wasn’t very noticeable.

Fortunately, Ingsen, who was shocked and dumbfounded, couldn’t argue that the two Firebirds were not different. He just nodded as if possessed.

“I… I see… I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Now. Look at this magic circle too.”

‘It’s not over yet?!’

Ihan’s criticism did not end. This time, he pointed out Ingsen’s magic circle.

“Why is this shape here?”

“It, it was in the book…”

“How can you do it like that? You have to understand it and then draw it. This is a magic circle for collecting surrounding magical power. If there is enough magical power in the reagents, it will only cause a collision because there will be magical power left over.”

“I… I didn’t know…”

“How can you not know!” Ihan’s voice suddenly became loud, like a teacher scolding a student.

Gainando, who was next to him, instinctively straightened his posture. Even though it wasn’t directed at him, his body remembered the movement.

“Ah, sorry. It was a momentary habit… Haha. You might not know. You can learn from now on.”

Ihan apologized, belatedly realizing what he had done. However, Ingsen was completely frozen.

“Try it.”

“Yes?”

“The Firebird summoning. You were going to do it, weren’t you?”

“Oh, th-that, I think it’s okay…”

Ingsen, as well as Basiu, quickly shook their heads.

What kind of skill demonstration would it be to summon a Firebird in this atmosphere?

Both of them were instinctively feeling it.

If they cast magic here, they might suffer an even greater humiliation than what they had just experienced!

“What are you talking about? You’ve even prepared the reagents, so why aren’t you doing it? Do it quickly. Aren’t you wasting the reagents?”

“That’s…”

“Quickly!”

Ihan urged sternly.

It was a strict gaze that would not allow any excuses.

Completely frightened, Ingsen nodded and raised his wand.

“Fi, Fi, Firebird…”

“When chanting the spell, stand up straight and shout clearly and distinctly.”

“Firebird…”

“Do the movements together. Do the movements together. You’re playing separately from the spell. Look forward. Focus. Focus. Focus! I told you to focus! You keep failing!”

Ihan harshly urged the Valdrogard students to succeed in their magic and appease them.

Tears welled up in the eyes of Ingsen and Basiu as they received Einrogard-style education that was unimaginable in their own school.

The Wodanaz family boy, who was shouting at them politely, was so scary.

“M-Magical power is lacking…”

“It’s not lacking yet. Again!”

“This is good enough…”

“You were a beat late just now. Again!”

Gainando, who saw the students being tormented so severely, looked at his friend with a disgusted look.

“Wow, I never thought I’d feel sorry for the Valdrogard guys…”

The friends nodded silently.

Whoosh!

Ingsen summoned the Firebird at a much faster speed than usual.

The cute firebird staggered around Ingsen. It seemed as tired and exhausted as its master.

“Everyone, clap.”

“…Wow! Amazing!!”

At Ihan’s command, the friends started clapping in unison. Nilia hurriedly woke Siana, who had been dozing off.

“Thank you…”

Ingsen and Basiu thanked them, drenched in cold sweat.

They received applause, but they were not happy at all. They were too mentally exhausted and just wanted to run away.

“Did you prepare any other magic?”

“Yes.” Basiu answered without thinking.

And then he was horrified.

‘Oh no!’

“Oh. Let’s see that too.”

Ingsen glared at his friend as if he would kill him. It was a murderous intent he had never felt in Valdrogard.

“It’s not a great magic…”

“Show it to me quickly.”

“It’s a humble magic, so…”

Ingsen realized that his pride as a nobleman was not that important after all. Pride was something that could be abandoned at any time.

However, Ihan ignored Ingsen’s words and searched the reagent pouch he had brought.

“Ah ha. You were trying to cast a Flame Barrier summoning magic.”

“…Kuh!”

Ingsen burst into tears of despair without realizing it, as his magic was exposed in an instant.

“No, why are you crying?”

“Waaah. Waaah! Waaah!”

Ihan was surprised when Ingsen and Basiu started crying.

“Why are they crying?”

“Don’t be fooled, Ihan. It’s a feint. I do that too when I don’t want to study.”

Gainando was cold-hearted, but the other friends still had warm hearts.

“Should we let them rest for a bit? I’ll get some tea.”

“Here, let’s give them some potion of vigor.”

Gainando grumbled at his friends’ reactions. He had to look after the guys who were crying because they didn’t want to study.

‘I shouldn’t be fooled by those tears.’

“Waaah. I wanted to… I wanted to use magic well…”

“There, there. You wanted to use magic well.”

Ihan soothed them for now.

“But I keep making mistakes… and the magic I’ve completed doesn’t seem that great…”

“Then you should practice more. Don’t cry.”

“Ihan. Can you go out for a bit?”

The friends decided to send Ihan out for a while. If Ihan continued to stay next to them, the two Valdrogard students might have a mental breakdown.

When Ihan returned after about 30 minutes, Ingsen and Basiu wiped away their tears with handkerchiefs and regained their composure.

“I-I’m sorry. For showing such an unsightly appearance…”

“It can happen.”

“Ah. What family are you from?”

“I’m from the Northern Mountain Range Shadow Patrol.” Nilia replied listlessly.

Ingsen was startled.

“I-I’m sorry. I thought you were from a noble family…”

‘These guys are annoying.’ Ihan thought to himself.

“Those people are annoying.” Siana just muttered. Ihan was startled.

“Did my inner thoughts come out?”

“Yes? Oh, no. I just thought, what could they do even if they heard it…”

“……”

Ihan thought that his Phoenix Tower priest friends seemed to have become a bit rough, but he shook his head, thinking it was just his imagination.

“Nilia, let’s show them our magic too.”

“Huh?”

“They showed us theirs, so we should show them ours too.”

“Wouldn’t it be better for you to do it, Wodanaz?” Nilia scratched her cheek.

It would be better for the top student to do this. If Nilia made a mistake, it would be a disgrace to the school.

“No. I believe in you.”

“…Okay. Should I give it a try?” Nilia smiled at her friend’s trust. Ihan nodded and held out his bow.

“Try casting an enhancement spell on this first.”

“W-Wait a minute.” Nilia pointed the bow, her eyes serious. Ingsen and Basiu looked at each other, wondering what would happen next.

Who are you going to shoot?