Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 695

“This way!”

Alde called out. He stopped Lee Han, who was about to run to the stairs after they came through the door. Alde stood under a copper picture frame.

Then, with a grin, he stomped his feet three times – *thump, thump, thump* – and did a quick backflip. He landed with a flourish.

“…What are you doing?”

“Making a shortcut!” Alde replied.

Boom!

Suddenly, stairs appeared beneath the picture frame.

“This is a path that only a few people in the Blue Dragon Tower know, so don’t go around telling anyone!” Alde said.

“I’ll keep that in mind. But how did you find this path, Alde?” Lee Han asked. “Was it illusion magic?”

The stairs that had just appeared were so perfectly hidden that even Lee Han couldn’t detect any magical power.

And yet, Alde knew about this path.

Lee Han wondered if the illusion magic school seniors had some other trick for finding secret paths.

“No,” Alde said. “I found it by accident. One night, I was wandering around, and a professor surprised me. I fell, and then I saw it.”

“I see…” Lee Han responded.

“…There are paths found with illusion magic too, so don’t be too disappointed,” Alde added.

“I’m not disappointed. Haha,” Lee Han said.

Rattford froze, his ears twitching. Footsteps echoed in the distance, but not the heavy *clank, clank, clank* of Death Knights. This was lighter, quicker… human.

“Professor!” Rattford hissed, his eyes wide.

“Which one?!” Yoner snapped, his shoulders tightening. He hoped it was Professor Garcia. Professor Garcia was strict, but fair. Maybe they could explain, maybe…

“V-Verdus…” Rattford whispered, his voice shaking.

Yoner’s stomach dropped. Professor Verdus. The professor from Einrogaard. Reasoning with him was like talking to a stone wall. Even the Headmaster struggled to get through to him. What chance did Yoner have?

“He’ll be here soon. What should we do?” Rattford asked.

“I’ll handle him. Give me a signal when he gets close,” Yoner replied.

Yoner stood near the warehouse entrance.

Then, he waited calmly.

Three, two, one…

“Aargh! The luggage is collapsing! I’ll need the help of the wizards to reorganize this! Summon the wizards!” Yoner shouted.

Thud!

The sound of footsteps outside stopped.

And then, the sound of someone quickly running away in the opposite direction began to be heard.

“……

“…Phew. Saved,” Yoner said.

“Y-Yoner is a genius…!” Rattford exclaimed in admiration.

To predict Professor Verdus’s selfish mind and send him back in this way!

“It was… it was just luck. I often talked about Professor Verdus with Lee Han,” Yoner admitted.

“What did you talk about?” Rattford asked.

“That he’s crazy,” Yoner replied.

Rattford frowned to himself. *’What does that have to do with anything?’*

“It’s a relief. Somehow, the professor disappeared,” Yoner said.

“Yes, that’s…” Rattford started.

Knock knock-

Along with the sound of knocking on the warehouse door, the door opened.

And then, a professor revealed herself.

An elderly human female professor wearing a monocle on one eye.

It was Professor Milley, who was in charge of the Summoning Magic School.

‘I’m doomed,’ Yoner thought.

He might have been able to deceive Professor Verdus. Because he was mostly indifferent to things that weren’t his concern.

But the strict Professor Milley was not someone who wouldn’t notice the discrepancy in the number of workers and the luggage.

“Professor Verdus said he needed help,” Professor Milley said, “so I came to see.”

Professor Milley looked around.

Rattford suppressed his trembling voice and spoke.

“W-We cleaned it up ourselves,” Rattford stammered.

“In that short amount of time?” Professor Milley asked.

‘Oh dear,’ Yoner thought.

The two belatedly realized their mistake.

They should have made the surroundings more messy.

The insufficient number of workers and luggage. A lie that felt out of place.

Cold sweat ran down their backs.

“Yes,” Rattford replied.

“Hmm,” Professor Milley hummed.

Professor Milley looked around the warehouse and stared intently at the two.

The two felt even more anxious at the gaze that seemed to penetrate them.

After pondering for a while, Professor Milley let out a soft sigh and opened her mouth.

“Quietly clean up and leave,” Professor Milley instructed.

With those words, the professor turned around and left.

The two, who had thought it was the end but were revived, looked at each other in surprise.

“W-What was that just now?” Rattford asked.

“I… I don’t know either,” Yoner admitted.

“Isn’t it a trap? Are they going to catch us together when Wodanaz returns…” Rattford wondered.

“…I don’t think so,” Yoner replied.

Yoner was slightly impressed by Rattford’s idea.

As expected of someone from the Thieves’ Guild, the sophistication of his ideas was on a different level.

“Ah, beautiful…” Alde sighed.

“Are you talking about the box?” Lee Han asked.

“Aren’t you too emotionally dry?” Alde grumbled at his junior’s words, who was picking a fight from the side.

Any student who had been to Einrogaard would agree.

That the box before their eyes was far more beautiful than any beautiful poem or masterpiece!

He felt a strange stinging in his eyes, and tears seemed to well up.

“Let’s go when you’ve stacked them all. We don’t have much time,” Lee Han said.

“…Right. It’s not over yet,” Alde replied.

Alde steeled his heart.

His junior was showing such a spirited appearance, so he couldn’t, as a senior, only show a disgraceful side.

The work was only half done.

Only by finishing the remaining half would it be a true success.

“Let’s go. If we succeed, you’ll be remembered as one of Einrogaard’s legends. You’ve never done a job of this scale before, have you?” Alde said.

“I did take some friends outside the school last year, though,” Lee Han replied.

“’Friends’? You took a lot of them. Three? Four?” Alde asked.

“Almost the entire grade…” Lee Han said.

“…Don’t joke around,” Alde warned.

“I’m not joking,” Lee Han insisted.

“That’s impossible!” Alde exclaimed.

Alde stopped, about to argue, forgetting the situation.

Because the atmosphere was unusual as he was about to go out again through the exit under the copper picture frame.

“Light, illuminate the way,” Lee Han whispered.

With a small voice’s spell, the scenery beyond the closed exit began to be captured.

On the first floor of the main building, Death Knights were stationed.

“……

“……

The two widened their eyes, shocked by the rapidly changing situation in that short amount of time.

-Do we really have to participate in that inspection?

-Yes. It’s the master’s order.

-Does anyone think I haven’t received the master’s order? Patrolling the desert area is also the master’s order. What if there’s a gap during the inspection?

-The swamp area I’m in charge of is teeming with all sorts of troublesome guys if I take my eyes off it for just a few hours. There are so many knights here, wouldn’t it be okay if just one of me wasn’t there?

-There are no exceptions for anyone! Wait until everyone gathers. You may leave for your respective missions after the inspection is over.

-Damn it. Who are the ones who haven’t arrived yet?

-Isn’t it Sir Klzenberg? That person often gets lost.

-That guy again?

-Watch your mouth, brat! If Sir Klzenberg were alive, a brat like you wouldn’t even be able to say a word!

-That’s right, that’s right! Sir Klzenberg gets lost because of a curse he received in life.

-Don’t talk nonsense! Why would the curse remain when he’s been given a new body! He just gets lost!

The Death Knights began to argue noisily, each trying to outdo the other.

They seemed determined not to leave until everyone had gathered.

Lee Han checked the time with an anxious expression. It was starting to get really dangerous.

‘If I’m delayed here any longer, the return itself might fail. Should I force my way through? Even if I use invisibility magic, there are so many of them that the door itself is blocked, so how can I draw attention…?’ Lee Han wondered.

While Lee Han was pondering, Alde, who had been staring intently at him, tapped him and called out.

“Hey, junior.”

“Yes?” Lee Han responded.

“Do you have a plan?” Alde asked.

“Please wait a moment. I’ll try to think of something,” Lee Han replied.

“Forget it. Alright, kid, last lesson from your senior,” Alde said.

“?” Lee Han paused at the unexpected words.

Alde continued in a serious voice.

“You’re amazing, Lee Han,” Alde said seriously. “Einrogaard is full of smart people, the smartest in the land. But even here, there are special ones, like you… and Yukbeltire.”

“Why him of all people…” Lee Han retorted unconsciously at the unconvincing example.

“When I first saw you, I wondered what kind of guy you were. Every word and action was strange, and you were so full of bluff, I thought, ‘What kind of bluffer is this?’” Alde said.

“I don’t think it was that bad,” Lee Han protested.

“But I was wrong. I’ve never seen a guy like you in my year. The same goes for the years above me,” Alde admitted.

Alde’s attitude was solemn.

At first, he had approached him thinking of him only as bait to use in the smuggling operation, but that thought had changed long ago.

The junior before his eyes had the ability to lead Einrogaard’s great affairs.

“Sometimes,” Alde said, his voice low, “you have to know when to leave your friends behind, even seniors… you understand?”

With those words, Alde pushed Lee Han back and ran out, opening the exit door under the picture frame.

“?!”

Then, chanting a spell, he ran towards the Death Knights.

“Terrible memories, arise!” Alde shouted.

With an eerie sound, the skull headmaster’s illusion floated up.

The illusion, imbued with magic, struck the souls of the surrounding Death Knights, causing them to fall into hallucinations.

-Your handling of this is disappointing me!

-Sorry, Master… You bastard. Who are you?

-What insolent fellow is that?!

But that was it.

Against high-ranking undead like Death Knights, illusion magic prepared so hastily could not have an effect for more than a second.

The Death Knights, who quickly broke free from the hallucination, frowned at the skull headmaster’s illusion floating in the air.

“It’s me!” Alde shouted.

-…Ah, no. How did you get in first?

-Isn’t that a crazy student? Why did he come in first?

-Shouldn’t we send him to the healing room instead of the punishment room?

“I’m sane, you minions! I came in early to disgrace the headmaster!” Alde yelled.

-He’s sane!

-Fortunately, he’s extremely sane.

-Student. Come with me. I’ll guide you to the punishment room.

“Hmph,” Alde snorted.

The Death Knights felt unease at that smile.

The delinquent students of Einrogaard rarely got caught without putting up a fight.

-Student. Don’t try anything funny.

“The headmaster is the one trying something funny! Come forth, Illusion Devourer!” Alde shouted.

With the spell, a monstrous plant erupted from the floor around Alde. Its vines were thick as ropes, covered in thorns that gleamed like glass. Its gaping mouth dripped with a strange, shimmering liquid that seemed to blur the air around it – the Illusion Devourer.

The Death Knights were horrified as they recognized its identity.

-No! Don’t do that!

The Illusion Devourer was a vicious dimensional plant that destroyed its surroundings and turned them into its own environment by spewing corrosive fluid mixed with reality and illusion.

If they left it alone, the first floor of the main building would surely become a mess.

“Try to catch me if you can, you minions!” Alde taunted.

-Catch him!

The Death Knights rushed at Alde, gnashing their teeth.

Judging by their actions, they seemed to hold a serious grudge against the headmaster. If they didn’t catch him quickly, the mess could multiply.

Even as he was being subdued in an instant, Alde gestured towards the direction where Lee Han was.

The meaning of that gesture was only one thing.

“…!”

Lee Han stared at Alde, stunned. *Abandon his friends?* But Alde was… Then, Alde shoved him backwards. ‘Go!’ Alde yelled. Lee Han stumbled through the doorway, his heart pounding. He had to make this work. For Alde.

The Death Knights were all too busy dealing with the aftermath of the Illusion Devourer to notice Lee Han.

‘…Thank you, senior,’ Lee Han thought.

Hearing the shouts and struggles of the Death Knights in the distance, Lee Han made a resolution.

He would definitely succeed in this smuggling operation and repay the favor!