Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 680

“Did you just say ‘directly’…”

“Dirette.”

“!”

A wizard I had never seen before was talking to me.

This wizard looked a bit like Adenart, especially with his silver hair and blue eyes.

But there was a big difference: this wizard felt cold and distant.

Leehan had become friends with Adenart. People thought Adenart was cold, but Leehan knew he was not.

‘A capable wizard from Gainan is the same kind of person,’ Leehan thought.

Unlike Adenart, this wizard seemed to have a completely different personality.

The wizard didn’t look at me but spoke to Dirette.

“You came to see it.”

“Of course. It’s Yukbeltire’s work, after all.”

“Good thinking. It will surely be helpful.”

‘A princess!’ Leehan realized that this person was Princess Yukbeltire, who Dirette had mentioned before.

‘So, she’s Adenart’s sister?’

Yukbeltire was talking to Dirette about magic. Then, she finally noticed me.

Yukbeltire glanced at me, frowned, and said to Dirette.

“Are you looking after your juniors again?”

“Ah, leave it. It’s my business.”

“Then my advice is my business too. Stop taking care of juniors who don’t match your level. It won’t help your magic at all.”

The princess didn’t sound arrogant or mean. She just seemed sure that her words were right.

Dirette knew Yukbeltire was trying to be helpful, but her words still felt cold and made Dirette uncomfortable. She replied.

“Enough, I’ll take care of my own affairs. And this junior is smart.”

“You’ve said that every time. But I don’t think I’ve ever seen a truly smart junior.”

Dirette’s face turned slightly red because her friend’s words had hit a sore spot.

None of the juniors in the Dark Magic Department were as good as Dirette.

“This junior is really smart!”

“You said that last time too. Is there any difference?”

“Hey, go away. Get lost.”

“This isn’t your place, so you can’t tell me what to do.”

“…Junior, let’s go.”

Dirette tried to pull me away by my sleeve.

But the princess followed us, trying to persuade her friend.

“You’re going up to the fifth year together now. How long are you going to keep taking care of juniors? You need to focus on your own magic too.”

“Why did I even come to a place like this?” Dirette regretted coming.

She felt like she had come to see her friend’s spells but ended up with an even bigger problem.

When Dirette ignored her, Yukbeltire turned to me.

“Third year. You answer me. How long are you going to keep relying on Dirette? Aren’t you ashamed of being a student of Einroguard and holding back Dirette, who is going to become a great wizard?”

‘Why does she think I’m in the third year?’ I’m in the first year?

I was confused.

But before I could answer, Dirette got angry.

“Hey, you’re crossing the line right now. There’s a limit to being a friend.”

“I’m just giving advice as a friend…”

“Say one more word, and I might just forget we’re at a presentation.”

“!”

I felt the power of the senior going up to the fifth year, and I trembled.

Magic power filled the air, and I felt like five spells were about to be used.

“Well, isn’t it true, though?”

“…Hey… Junior…”

Dirette looked at me as if to say, ‘Why would you say that? Why are you taking the side of my rude friend instead of taking my side?’

“No, I think the Dark Magic Department seniors rely too much on Dirette… It was like that last time too… Even the professor is a bit like that, isn’t he?”

“You have a good eye.” Yukbeltire readily agreed.

She seemed to have a bit of conscience, even if she didn’t have talent.

“The Dark Magic Department is using Dirette’s talent. Professor Mortum, of course, and Coholt, who is in the same year, has never been helpful. Are you going to deny that too?”

Dirette paused, as her sore spot had been poked again.

“That’s just the nature of the Dark Magic Department…”

“I think that’s true.”

“Hey!” Dirette was furious at her junior’s betrayal.

‘Is this kid a spy?’

I tried to calm Dirette down and shared my thoughts.

“In my opinion, the Dark Magic Department students should stop relying on Dirette now. They should do their own work. Professor Mortum should stop making Dirette do it too.”

“!”

Dirette forgot about the fight and was deeply moved.

It was the first time she had heard a junior say such admirable things.

“…I’m happy just to hear your heart.”

“I’ll write a petition to the headmaster every time the professor calls Dirette!”

“……”

“……”

Dirette and Yukbeltire looked at me as if I were crazy.

“Is he perhaps a mentally unstable junior?”

“…No. He’s just close to the headmaster.”

“Then he’s definitely mentally unstable, isn’t he?” The princess said without meaning to be mean.

There was no way he could be a student of the Skull Headmaster, and anyone who wasn’t a student but was close to him could only be in trouble.

“Junior… I appreciate your heart. You don’t have to go that far. And the Dark Magic Department just seems to have a lot of work because there are so few of us.”

“To be precise, Dirette alone has a lot more work.”

“You shut up.”

“I refuse.”

I suddenly had a thought and asked, listening to their conversation.

“Which department does Yukbeltire specialize in?”

“Enchantment magic. Professor Verdus’s direct line.”

“Ah, I see!” I immediately understood.

Dirette said with a reluctant expression.

“Still, isn’t it too harsh on my friend…?”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

Dirette sighed.

There were few things as rude as asking someone, ‘Are you perhaps a student of Professor Verdus?’ but there were exceptions.

If the other person was really a student of Professor Verdus!

Yukbeltire was one of those cases, so she had nothing to say even if she had ten mouths.

-Yukbeltire, please prepare.

When the wizards called her name, the princess checked the time and turned around.

“Dirette, don’t forget today’s advice.”

“Yes. I will definitely change!”

‘Why are you answering…’

Yukbeltire said she would watch with a blank face and left.

Dirette felt exhausted, as if she had run a full sprint.

“What a hardship to go through just to see magic…”

“You can say that again.”

“And why are you taking her side!”

“I, I’m sorry.” I felt a little wronged.

To be honest, it seemed like the Dark Magic Department was also at fault.

“By the way, why did that senior think I was in the third year?”

“She knows the fourth years, and there’s no reason for the second years to be here, so she must have thought you were in the third year.”

“Aren’t there first years?”

Dirette looked at me like I was the most pathetic junior in the world.

As Gawon prepared the magic, Dirette flipped through the book without much interest.

“Are you not very interested in that magic?”

“I saw the pre-announced version, and it wasn’t very good.”

The magic announced at the exchange meeting was written in a catalog in advance and given to the wizards.

Smart wizards could tell if the magic was good or not just by looking at it.

“There was no development in the Ota’s Light Prism magic, which makes a shield of light.”

“Well, wouldn’t it be good to improve the magic circle a bit more and shorten the process?”

“It would be good, but it’s not easy.”

Improving magic needed both knowledge and a feeling for it.

You needed to know how to create and fix all kinds of magic circles, and you needed to feel the flow of magic power more than others.

You needed that to know how to improve it.

But knowing how to improve it wasn’t enough. You also needed to be able to do it.

For example, if the magic would be better if you put 1,000 units of magic power into the magic circle, then you had to find a way to do it and prove it. If you couldn’t do it, no one would care.

“Still, he improved the Gwangryeongmuk magic circle again, and he compressed and put magic power into the Black Shadow…”

“…Is that so?” Dirette closed the Monthly Dark Magic Trend book and narrowed her eyes.

When she looked closely, she could feel that it had changed.

“He simplified the shape fixation a lot? He got rid of the left-side shape fixation magic?” Dirette was surprised by the bold choice.

Wizards from outside Einroguard tended to be more careful than you might think.

But this magic circle was very bold.

“Is it good?”

“It’s good… It’s good.” I felt proud.

It seemed that what I had fixed was not wrong.

“Wait a minute, he completely improved the magic circle and then compressed and put magic power into the Black Shadow? He’s not Professor Bible, how did he come up with such an idea?”

“…Other people can do it besides the professor…”

“That’s true, but that kind of method is the one Professor Bible likes to use.”

A magic method that cuts out unnecessary things for efficiency, no matter how hard it is.

It was the method that Professor Verdus liked to use.

I was disgusted.

‘How unfair.’ To be misunderstood as using Professor Verdus’s method!

It seemed that what I had learned from the professor had influenced me without me knowing. I felt humiliated.

“Amazing.” Dirette said and leaned back. Her eyes were full of interest.

“That wizard seems to have a plan… Come to think of it, Junior, how did you recognize it right away?”

I was impressed again.

From this far away, and even though the junior couldn’t have seen the catalog, he knew that magic was special.

“I helped improve it.”

“…What?”

“Because you gave me a ride in the carriage…”

I told the story of how I helped the wizard Gawon because he had given me a ride in his carriage.

Dirette was so surprised that she couldn’t even answer.

Seeing that, I asked carefully.

“Is it forbidden to touch the magic submitted to the exchange meeting?”

“No. It’s not that. Usually, you don’t change magic just because someone gives you a ride in a carriage…”

It wasn’t like the story of a wizard who cast a spell on a village after getting a single coin. How could he be so generous?

Dirette shook her head and looked ahead.

-Isn’t there anything different from Ota’s Light Prism?

-W, well, that’s…

-You’re stupid! Don’t you have eyes! Look at that magic circle. It’s been improved several times more than Ota’s Light Prism!

-That level of improvement isn’t enough!

-Can’t you see the magic power compressed in the Black Shadow! You moron, you?!

-How dare you… Come out! It’s a duel!

-I was going to say that. I need to get rid of one moron at the exchange meeting!

Except for a few people who tried to find fault but were insulted and went to duel, the wizards at the exchange meeting liked the magic.

Gawon sighed in relief, then found me and was very happy.

Then, pointing at me from the stage, she shouted.

“Thank you, Mr. Leehan! Thank you! This magic would not have been possible without his help!”

As the wizards looked at me, Dirette pulled her hat down and said quietly.

“Junior. I think it would be better for us to sit separately next time.”