Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 683

“Too bad,” the Duke of Pride said softly, his voice smooth but cold.

He was not like the lesser demons, those mindless creatures that only wanted to destroy. Duke demons were different. They were intelligent, with plans beyond simple killing. They had… dignity.

Garisaima, the Duke of Pride, was one such demon. He was a collector. He didn’t just want to kill the wizards; he wanted to *collect* their souls. He saw them as valuable prizes.

The current situation was a series of fortunate events for Garisaima.

When else would he have the chance to use his power without holding back, control the wizards, and force them into a contract?

Wizards were truly cunning creatures, always setting traps when making deals with powerful demons.

Such an opportunity was truly rare.

Especially the young wizard who had made a contract with the Thunder Lord right before his eyes; he was truly desired.

‘Like a jewel!’

It seemed unlikely that such a soul could be found among those displayed in the Duke of Pride’s showcase.

However, the Thunder Lord seemed to feel that greed as well, burning his power with the determination to kill the wizard rather than be defeated.

Lee Han couldn’t use his wizard knowledge because this magic was unlike anything he knew. The Duke of Pride regretted it and steeled his resolve.

Fine, then! I will deal with the Thunder Lord later!

He’s coming again!

In an instant, a wave of dark magic crashed from behind the Duke of Pride, making the air heavy and cold.

Lee Han was not surprised, as he had seen the King of the Frost Giants transform the surrounding space to suit himself before.

It was another aspect that surprised Lee Han.

‘The attribute of the magical power…?!’

A strange, purple magic, unlike anything Lee Han knew, twisted and writhed around the Duke, like smoke made of shadows.

Demon Dukes use their own unique attributes. Be careful! It will probably be different from other elements.

A magical power of a heterogeneous attribute, neither dark element nor any other element, surrounded the Duke of Pride.

Because this magic was new, Lee Han’s wizard knowledge was useless.

Do you know what its characteristics are?

Lee Han asked, sensing the ominous magical power. Perkun Tra replied immediately.

You don’t need to know that!

Huh?

No sooner had the words been spoken than the Duke of Pride’s attack began.

Unlike trying to control him earlier, there was a murderous intent to kill Perkun Tra for sure.

‘Fog…!’

The Duke of Pride turned into a dark red fog and tried to surround Lee Han. Anything the fog touched seemed to age and decay instantly. A wooden chair nearby cracked and turned to powder, vanishing in the air.

“!”

Lee Han shuddered at the bizarre attribute that seemed to be neither weathering nor corrosion.

However, Perkun Tra was still confident.

I’ll show you lightning.

Thunder Transformation!

Perkun Tra, who had become one with Lee Han, transformed into lightning itself at that moment and moved.

A streak of lightning pierced through the space that the Duke of Pride had dyed with fog.

It didn’t end there. Perkun Tra moved continuously, instead pressing the Duke of Pride. Each time the lightning moved, the Duke of Pride’s space diminished.

Thunder-Lord-you’re-having-fun!

If you’re so upset, why don’t you borrow some magical power!

No matter how unrestricted he was in passing through the dimensional gate, the Duke of Pride’s power ultimately came through that connected gate.

In comparison, Perkun Tra, who fought by directly merging with the contractor, could amplify his power as much as the contractor’s skill allowed.

The Duke of Pride had no choice but to admit that the Thunder Lord was a formidable opponent.

He didn’t know how the contractor was holding out like that, but…

Wizard-truly-amazing-

But, Perkun Tra.

Lee Han asked, puzzled.

The magic like Thunder Transformation just now could be seen as a type of transformation magic.

Transforming into lightning and dominating the surroundings, a simple yet incredibly difficult magic.

Is it really okay for me to use this?

What kind of stupid question is that when you have so much magical power!

No, it’s not about the magical power. I mean, if I use magic that doesn’t suit my level like this, won’t it put a strain on my body?

Just like how powerful enhancement magic puts a strain on the body, other magic was the same.

Transforming into lightning and striking, will my body be okay later?

With that much magical power, your body won’t collapse and will be maintained.

Really? Won’t there be any muscle pain or anything?

There might be some…

……

Dealing with a Demon Duke, muscle pain is a cheap price to pay!

Perkun Tra protested as if wronged.

‘Well, he’s right.’

Lee Han had no choice but to admit that.

The Duke of Pride took out a black-red sword and smiled in a mean way.

Good-good-let’s-keep-going-Thunder-Lord!

The moment the words ended, the Duke of Pride disappeared.

The Duke’s magic spread like a dark night sky, swallowing the light and making everything feel cold and empty. It was like being trapped in a place where stars had died. Within that fog, the Duke of Pride moved freely, showing his sharp teeth.

Perkun Tra responded with a belligerent thunderous roar, transforming into lightning. Each time he swung, lightning spears and blades tore through the fog and collided with the Duke of Pride’s sword.

In a short span of less than 5 seconds, the two collided nearly hundreds of times. The Duke of Pride spoke with an excited voice.

Even weak demons whine like birds when they are trapped here! But you are different, Thunder Lord!

Are you planning to keep transforming into fog? That fog can’t defeat my lightning!

Although he would take massive damage the moment he touched the Duke of Pride’s space, Perkun Tra resisted with the sacred lightning containing his true name.

If the power of the fog didn’t work, it was just a loose net.

We’ll-see-about-that-no-matter-how-cunning-your-contractor-is-he’ll-eventually-fall!

“That’s enough. Demon. Get away from my junior! Unless you want to be trapped in the endless prisons of Einrogaard!”

Dare-you-threaten-me-like-that-?!

‘There’s a place like that?’

As the battle between Perkun Tra and the Duke of Pride began, the wizards calmly assessed what needed to be done first and started to act…

…or so one would hope, but they just stood and watched.

They should quickly isolate the space of this exchange to prevent any possible damage and prepare a powerful magic that would work against the demon!

But it couldn’t be helped.

Wizards were fundamentally seekers and pursuers of the mysterious.

The wizards were stunned. They had never seen magic like this before. It was so incredible, they just stood and watched, forgetting everything they should be doing.

‘Amazing!’

Each time Perkun Tra swung his lightning, the wizards let out low exclamations.

They felt that this lightning was on a different level from ordinary lightning elements.

Lightning elements enhanced through an incomprehensibly difficult and profound process!

If they could observe and learn even a hundredth of that lightning, the wizards here would gladly offer their limbs.

Amidst all this, Yukbelltire was focusing on something else.

‘How is he holding out?’

Contracting with a Great Spirit and summoning it wasn’t that surprising.

It was just a matter of luck and aptitude; it wasn’t as if there were no wizards who had succeeded.

However, it was amazing that he was holding out while the Great Spirit was flaunting its power without restraint.

Yukbelltire suddenly remembered a rumor he had heard about a first-year student from the Wodanaz family.

According to the rumors, he was taking classes in various schools of magic, ranking at the top, and assisting the seniors with their magic.

Judging from the fact that he was eccentric enough to hang out with Ilendil and had close ties with the students of the Dark Magic school, he was probably a student with narrow and unfriendly relationships.

‘Could it be?’

Yukbelltire wondered if it might be the junior who seemed close to Dirett.

“Yukbelltire, help me. I’m going to cut off the connected dimension.”

“Is that junior perhaps from the Wodanaz family?”

“What? Yes. But that’s not important right now.”

“Is it true that he’s taking Dark Magic, Alchemy, and Enchantment classes?”

“Are you going to help or not?”

Dirett glared at her friend with a mixed look of annoyance.

Her own creation was causing hell right before her eyes, and what nonsense was she talking about?

“I have to help. What kind of check are you thinking of using?”

“I need to cut off the dimensional gate first.”

Beings from other dimensions were originally greatly restricted when they descended into the mortal realm.

This was because they could only use a portion of the power they could bring from their own dimension.

The reason the Duke of Pride was rampaging now was because the dimensional gate was open behind him, and he was continuously receiving power from his own dimension.

If they cut off the gate, the Duke of Pride would have no choice but to hesitate.

“There seem to be a few difficulties. Such a powerful demon would immediately notice the moment we interfere with the dimensional gate. Then he’ll target us instead of that spirit.”

The princess explained the situation calmly. Dirett nodded with a knowing expression.

“I’m planning to interfere without being detected.”

“Is that possible?”

“It’ll be difficult, but I have to try.”

At Dirett’s words, Yukbelltire realized that her friend had been researching outstanding magic without her knowing.

With that realization, Yukbelltire expressed a very subtle satisfaction and praised her.

“Excellent, Dirett. I was worried that you were too busy taking care of juniors who weren’t up to your level, but you were also focusing on your magic.”

“Hey. Shut up. You’re the one who caused a dimensional accident because you couldn’t even make one artifact.”

“It’s not my fault. It was the mistake of other wizards. It was definitely a mistake to trust and entrust it to those stupid wizards.”

“Noticing it is also a skill. The junior noticed it from afar, you know? You should listen to what people say. You’re just stubborn.”

“……”

The princess, stung where it hurt, closed her mouth.

The fact that a first-year student had noticed it but she hadn’t was hard to argue with no matter what.

“I was careless.”

“Careless, my foot. That’s what guys who can’t study always say. They’re careless before taking the exam and careless before doing their homework.”

“Don’t compare me to those guys, Dirett.”

“I don’t want to.”

“I’m different from those gu…”

“It’s done. Hey. Help me.”

Geometric patterns of magical letters were rising on Dirett’s arms and white face.

Yukbelltire realized that Dirett was borrowing the power of a demon she had contracted with.

“When did you contract with a demon?”

“I got permission from the headmaster and borrowed a demon trapped in Einrogaard.”

The Duke of Pride would be sensitive to the magic of wizards, but he would be relatively insensitive to the power of demons.

Dirett was planning to use the power of the demon to contact the dimensional gate and seal its connection.

“Can you conceal it? If you can’t do this, you’re worse than Cohorti.”

“……”

With a slight twitch at the end of her eyebrow at the insulting remark, Yukbelltire grabbed Dirett’s hand and chanted a spell.

The power of the demon, different from ordinary magical power, snaked through the space and began to wrap around the dimensional gate.

Once.

Twice.

Three times…

Dirett was sweating a lot because she was borrowing the power of the demon. Despite paying a fair price according to the contract, the backlash was considerable.

‘…How is that guy…?’

Looking ahead, the junior was literally transformed into lightning and fighting. The sight of him tearing through the Duke of Pride’s fog with lightning was surreal.

The other wizards were just watching. Dirett wanted to blast a curse at them from behind.

“Trash.”

“I agree.”

Yukbelltire also agreed with Dirett’s words.

They weren’t doing what they should be doing and were just watching.

No matter how mythical the battle was…

“Hey. Focus!”

“……”

Yukbelltire was startled to realize that she had made a mistake while observing the battle before her eyes.

‘I… made such a trivial mistake…?’

“You’ve fallen all the way down to Cohorti now.”

“No, I haven’t.”

“What do you mean no? Focus. …Done! That’s enough. Demon. Get away from my junior! Unless you want to be trapped in the endless prisons of Einrogaard!”

The wizards, who had been watching, were awakened by Dirett’s shout.

“Th-they sealed the dimensional gate!”

“Why didn’t I think of that…?!”

‘I really want to kill them.’

“Wait, isn’t that Dirett-nim!?”

Dirett quickly pulled her hat down and shouted.

“You’ve mistaken me.”

“Uh…”

“Attack that demon quickly!”