Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 687

“What was that just now?!”

Ihan and Il Rendell were startled by Diret’s shout.

“That crazy sen… No, did Senior Yookvelteere find this place?”

“…Yookvelteere left a while ago. More importantly, didn’t you say you were making a >Liberation from the Skull< potion?” Ihan answered with a question of his own. “Not yet.” “Right, right?” Diret thought he had misunderstood and tried to sit down again. “I've only finished the undiluted solution, so I need to dilute it.” Diret was shocked by his junior's surprising answer. If he finished the undiluted solution just before diluting it, wasn't it practically done? “How did you make it? >Liberation from the Skull< is supposed to be a pretty difficult potion, isn't it?” “Thanks to my love for spirits…” Il Rendell started to say happily, but Ihan cut him off. “Some steps are like the >Dovrook’s Soul Return Potion< that I helped make. Plus, we could use magic for many of the steps. Senior Il Rendell also did the hard work beforehand.” Il Rendell waved his hand as if it was nothing. “More importantly, >Dovrook’s Soul Return Potion<… where did you make that before?” Dovrook's Soul Return Potion was tricky to make, so a first-year student wouldn't have made it. “I made it while helping Mr. Yoaneen of the Maykin family.” Clang! Il Rendell dropped the enamel bowl he was holding and stared at Ihan, shocked. “You… worked for Mr. Maykin…?” *Maybe he also hates Mr. Yoaneen?* Ihan was a little embarrassed by his senior's reaction. He didn't expect such a strong reaction. “Yes. I worked there last time.” “How did you survive…?” Ihan didn't answer Il Rendell's muttering right away. It was true that Yoaneen's workshop made people work hard. “Well, it wasn't as hard as I thought.” “That place is nicknamed the place where alchemists are ground instead of reagents…” “When I think about it, Mr. Yoaneen was a bit scary. I was scared too.” Ihan quickly stopped defending Yoaneen. He felt like he would become strange if he agreed with him. Il Rendell comforted Ihan as if he felt sorry for him. “It must have been hard. Making potions like that in the workshop…” “Well, that level of work wouldn't be a big deal for him. You don't have to worry that much,” Diret added. Considering what Ihan had done, making potions in the workshop would be easy. Of course, Il Rendell didn't know the full story and was horrified. *He’s a scary person after all…!* Yookvelteere was known for being very strict and emotionless when he led the Black Magic School. Not everyone could do that. The wizards who had been wandering around like cultists had given up and disappeared. Dawn began to break in the distance. Ihan, who had been diligently making potions with Il Rendell (carefully putting the finished ones in his backpack), looked outside and said, “I think we can go out now.” “Okay. Thanks again. Thank you for welcoming me to the workshop like this,” Diret said. Il Rendell was shy, as if it was nothing. “He’s also a junior from the same school…” Diret looked at Ihan with complicated eyes. It was normal to take care of students from the same school, but Ihan was a junior to almost all the seniors. *Let’s not say anything unnecessarily.* Diret held back his words for Il Rendell's sake. Even a strange person needed at least one good junior. “…Because he’s taking care of the dark spirit.” Ihan paused. *Oops.* He remembered the promise he made to Il Rendell to take care of the dark spirit (which he had forcibly contracted). *I haven’t summoned it since then…* Usually, you summon a spirit when you need it. But there was no need for a dark spirit. Dark elements were complex, so you often needed a spirit's help. But Ihan just used them himself. Fire or ice spirits were good for small tasks, but dark spirits were harder to use that way. So, Ihan hadn't summoned it. “Could I... could I see it?” Il Rendell asked, his eyes wide and shining like polished stones. He leaned forward, eager. Ihan felt a sudden weight in his stomach. *Oh no,* he thought, *this is going to be bad. That spirit probably hates me. If I call it now, will it try to bite me?* Ready to defend himself, Ihan cautiously called upon a low-level dark spirit. A moment later, a small ball of swirling, dark mist appeared in the air. It pulsed gently, like a tiny, shadowy heart. “Are, are you doing well…?” When Il Rendell called out, the dark spirit turned around. It had been wild last time, but it was friendly now, maybe remembering the owner who created it. Also, Il Rendell was a dryad hybrid, so spirits liked him. “Is there anything uncomfortable… or any problems in the spirit world? What about elemental power?” Ihan was nervous watching them talk. He didn't know when the dark spirit would tell on him. “Is the contract okay?” The dark spirit spun around and then pretended to bow before Ihan. It looked loyal to anyone who saw it. “I guess it’s okay!” “It’s rare for a spirit to be so loyal. Have they been together for a long time?” Not only Il Rendell but even Diret was amazed. Ihan was also amazed. He didn't understand why the dark spirit was acting like that when he hadn't summoned it. It had been full of hate when they met! “Um. Senior,” Ihan said in a whisper. “?” Diret turned to him. “That dark spirit…” “Wow. Amazing? It’s hard to get loyalty from a spirit like that, especially a dark spirit. How did you meet it?” Ihan changed the subject, thinking that if he told them the truth, the two would feel awkward. “I contracted it the first time and haven’t summoned it since then, so why is it acting like this?” “…What?” Diret couldn't believe it. Time was important to become close to a spirit. The time a wizard and a spirit spent together made them friends. But he hadn't summoned it even once. “Why didn’t you summon it?” “Because there was no reason to summon it…?” “You didn’t need dark elements? You summoned skeletons by combining dark elements, right?” “I just cast it myself.” Diret realized that too much talent was a problem. He was doing everything he should have gotten help with. Maybe that's why he wasn't close to spirits. “Usually, they only act like that if they're scared.” “Usually?” “It’s because they’re scared.” “…I didn’t do anything.” “Even if you don’t do anything to the spirit, it knows about the wizard’s life. Let’s see, junior, you…” Diret thought about what Ihan had done recently, from the Bitter Mountains to the exchange meeting. …There were too many things. “That’s why it’s scared.” “No, no. You said it was loyalty.” “Loyalty from fear and loyalty from love can look the same.” Diret, being from the Black Magic School, was okay with using fear. Summons from the Undead dimension were often violent, so black magicians used fear like a whip. Ihan didn't like that, since he wanted to be different. “Maybe it was happy about not being summoned…” “I don’t think spirits think like people. Junior, just accept it. Some people get close to spirits, but some people have to control them.” Ihan glared at the Black Magic School senior who was being unhelpful. He was annoying, just like Yookvelteere. Il Rendell finished talking to the dark spirit and said goodbye. He didn't know what Ihan and Diret were talking about. “Huhu. I’m so happy to see it so healthy…” Ihan and Diret looked complicated when they saw Il Rendell's happy face. Diret changed the subject. “Junior, when are you going to Granden City? It’s about time.” “Yes? There’s still time, isn’t there?” When winter vacation ended, students gathered in Granden City, near Einrogaard. Ihan and his friends planned to go, but not yet. Why stay near Einrogaard? “Ah. I see. Well, you guys don’t know since this is your first time,” Diret said. “Usually, staying in Granden City during winter vacation isn't a good idea. Since it’s close to Einrogaard, you might meet a professor.” “I met him even in Flaherty City.” “You were born to attract professors, Junior,” Diret answered sharply. Ihan looked hurt. *How could he say that?* Ihan thought. “It’s good to wait before going to Granden City, but after the second year, everyone arrives early.” “Why is that?” “To prepare what to bring into the school.” Ihan was amazed. “Oh, is that allowed from the second year?” Einrogaard gave students books and equipment… but not everything. Students had to get some things themselves. From the second year, they bought what they needed and brought it in. Was it because the magic was harder? “That’s amazing. The headmaster allows that from the second year? I thought he would forbid it.” Diret and Il Rendell stared at Ihan. Ihan realized he was wrong. “Wait, could it be…” “Of course he doesn’t allow it. I was talking about smuggling.” Diret meant sneaking things in, not bringing them officially. The headmaster forbade outside items, no matter the year. But students who had been at Einrogaard for a year needed outside items. Where there is need, there is magic. Einrogaard students tried to sneak as much as possible into the school at the start of the semester. “Can’t you just leave during the semester and get supplies?” “Junior, you know that students like you can't just leave and come back, right?” Diret looked at his junior with a pitying look, as Ihan kept saying things that were hard to believe.