Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 739

The air in the transformation classroom buzzed with nervous energy. Professor Bendozol paced in front of the students, his voice echoing, “Even if animals familiar with transformation magic have an advantage…”

Turning yourself into an animal was the hardest kind of transformation magic. It was tricky to control.

This was because you had to keep your mind as a wizard, even while your body changed shape.

So, it was often easier to transform into animals you knew well.

For example, a wizard who grew up with sheep might try to become a shark, but end up as a sheep with fins! This happened a lot in training.

But even if you knew the animal well, transforming into a powerful monster was much, much harder.

Powerful monsters had a lot of magic packed inside them.

Even for a wizard, copying that kind of body was really hard.

But Wodanaz was just starting transformation magic, and he was already turning his arm into a basilisk head!

No one could guess how powerful he’d become once he got the hang of it.

“Wodanaz, that… that *thing* on your arm! It’s supposed to be a basilisk, not… not a lumpy green sausage!” Professor Bendozol exclaimed.

“Is it? Oh, well, it feels a bit clumsy anyway,” Wodanaz replied, sounding casual.

Professor Bendozol just couldn’t take it anymore. He yelled and stomped out of the room.

The students were surprised by his outburst and started whispering.

“Why is he acting like that?”

“He probably wanted to transform into a basilisk too. Who knows.”

“Yeah, Wodanaz, just ignore him.”

Lee Han watched his friends ignore Professor Bendozol and wondered if that was right.

They were getting used to magic too quickly, it seemed…

The strange class ended, and Lee Han sighed with relief. *Finally, the weekend.*

It was only the first week of term, but it felt like it had been going on forever.

If it felt this long before real classes even began…

He worried the term would drag on forever once classes really started.

Time seemed to move strangely in Einroguard. ‘Is there some kind of time magic at work here?’ he wondered.

The class, ‘Elemental Magic,’ was about learning to use the elements in more powerful ways.

Lee Han wasn’t usually arrogant, but he felt quite sure of himself in this class.

‘After all that hard work with Professor Voladi…’

No one had learned the basics of controlling elements as well as Lee Han.

Even if they were older students, he was sure he was better than them at this, wasn’t he?

“Wodanaz,” Adenarte said as Lee Han approached. He bowed slightly. “Your Highness.”

When they first met, Lee Han had been very careful around her. He worried she might make his life miserable, even after school. But after a year, he realised she wasn’t so bad.

She just really loved food, just like her brother Gainando. He remembered seeing her devour a whole cake at the last school feast.

Adenarte smiled back, not knowing Lee Han was thinking she was just like her food-obsessed brother.

Unlike her other followers, who were always so serious and proper, Lee Han was much more relaxed.

At first, she thought he was lazy because he took easy classes. But after a year, she knew she was wrong.

He was even more dedicated to magic than she was, and that was saying something.

She never liked to think anyone worked harder than her, but even she had to admit Lee Han was incredibly dedicated.

It was hard to know what would happen to the second-year students, but everyone agreed on one thing about Lee Han.

“‘He’ll probably become a professor here one day,'” one senior had said.

Lee Han, still thinking about how much Adenarte resembled her brother, said,

“You look happy to be here,” Lee Han said to Adenarte. “Is ‘Elemental Magic’ a second-year class?”

“No,” Adenarte replied, a little too quickly. “It’s actually a third-year class.”

Lee Han’s face fell.

It seemed Adenarte was also taking a class meant for older students.

“Your Highness, you must be finding it tough too,”

Adenarte looked confused. “Huh? What do you mean, Wodanaz?”

“Aren’t you annoyed about being in a third-year class?”

“I… I see it as an honour,” she said, though her voice didn’t sound completely convinced.

Lee Han suddenly understood he’d said the wrong thing.

He realised Adenarte probably didn’t take many third-year classes at all.

Maybe just one, or even none!

‘No, wouldn’t she be annoyed even if she had to take just one or two extra classes?’

Lee Han looked at Adenarte, feeling sorry for her.

She should be furious, he thought, but she was calling it an honour. Poor thing.

“Your Highness,” Lee Han said quietly, “it’s okay to be angry sometimes, you know.”

“I… I don’t really understand…” Adenarte stammered, looking confused.

Meanwhile, a senior student shuffled past them, his body stiff and grey. About a quarter of him looked like stone, the petrification curse making him move like a statue. Each step made a clinking sound, like rocks hitting each other.

“…Could you help me? …Please.”

“Yes.”

Hearing the senior’s stony voice, Lee Han quickly opened the door. The senior nodded in thanks (though he couldn’t actually nod, only made a gesture).

The Elemental Room was like stepping into a dozen different worlds at once. It was a strange and amazing place.

Inside, in a space no bigger than a large garden, all the elements were mixed together. Fire roared in one corner, water gurgled in another, and lightning crackled near the wall.

Behind the lizard-like senior, lava bubbled and flames danced. Beside him, at the feet of a human student, clear streams flowed and tiny waterfalls splashed. And in the far corner, where everyone kept well away, thunder rumbled and lightning flashed, making the air smell sharp and electric.

Lee Han and Adenarte stared, amazed. Even in Einroguard, a school full of oddities, this room was something special.

“Still stuck like that, eh?” one senior asked, nodding at the stone-like student. The cursed student sighed, a gravelly sound. “Yeah, taking ages to shift. Shouldn’t have messed with that old box, should I?” Another senior chuckled. “Told you not to go poking around with ancient artifacts.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” the cursed student grumbled.

“Professor Benmalfa, I guess?” one senior whispered. “He gives me the creeps.”

“Me too,” another agreed. “Still, he’s not as bad as Professor… you-know-who,” the first one added, lowering his voice even further.

Lee Han listened carefully to the seniors’ conversation.

He knew that to stay safe in Einroguard, he had to listen to everything.

‘Professor Benmalfa?’ Lee Han didn’t recognise the name.

Unless a professor was particularly friendly, like Professor Garcia, students rarely met them outside of class.

If a professor didn’t teach his classes, he might never meet them until he graduated…

‘I wonder what he’s like,’ Lee Han thought.

“Hello,” Lee Han said politely to the older students.

“Oh, hello!” one senior replied, surprised. “You’re second years, aren’t you?!”

“Taking *this* class already? Wow, impressive!” another added.

And the seniors from Blue Dragon Tower immediately started to brag.

“See?” one Blue Dragon Tower senior puffed out his chest. “This is the power of our noble bloodline!” Another senior from a different tower snorted. “If your bloodline is so great, why are *you* only taking this class now, instead of last year?”

While the seniors started arguing, Lee Han quietly asked the question he wanted to ask.

“Excuse me, seniors,” Lee Han interrupted politely. “What exactly *is* this class about?” One senior shrugged. “Hmm? It’s… well, it’s exactly what the name says, isn’t it?”

He knew the Empire’s magic schools used to be based on elements, like fire or water. But now, they were organised differently. Einroguard taught you to use elements for different *purposes*, not just to master one element.

The reason for all the different elements in the room, the senior explained, was to help students learn to use them all. They weren’t supposed to just focus on one element, but to be flexible and creative with all of them.

‘No, this is too… normal?’ Lee Han thought. After Professor Voladi had yelled at him all last year for focusing on just one type of elemental magic, this sounded almost wrong.

“So,” Lee Han asked, “what are *you* hoping to learn in this class?”

“Me?” the senior replied. “I need to get better at mixing water and earth magic. I’m working on a project, but my magic control isn’t good enough yet. It keeps going wrong.”

“Water magic?” Lee Han asked, sounding interested. “Like making lots of water balls at once? Or changing the shape of water really fast? Or even making water spin with magic?”

“…Well, I wasn’t planning on getting *that* complicated,” the senior stammered, surprised by Lee Han’s questions.

“But wouldn’t you need to know that stuff eventually?” Lee Han asked.

The senior shrugged. “Unless you’re planning to fight monsters using *only* water, probably not.”

Lee Han’s face fell again.

He started to worry that Professor Voladi’s class last year had been a waste of time.

It seemed the older students just learned what they needed for their projects, instead of obsessing over one element like he had.

…Was *that* the right way to learn magic? He wasn’t sure anymore.

‘…No. Going deep into one element can’t be bad. It’ll probably help with other elements later.’ If it didn’t, well, he’d have words with Professor Voladi.

“Hey, junior,” the senior asked, “why are *you* taking this class?”

“Um…” Lee Han hesitated. *’I can’t exactly say ‘a magic artifact made me do it,’ can I?’* he thought.

Adenarte spoke up before Lee Han could. “I want to learn to control and strengthen rare elements,” she said.

“Oh, right, me too!” Lee Han quickly agreed, thinking it sounded like a good answer. “And, you know, the normal elements too.”

The truth was, Lee Han was unusual. He was much better at using rare elements like darkness, lightning, and cold, than normal ones.

He still felt a little nervous whenever he had to use fire magic. It just didn’t feel natural to him.

Listening to their answers, the senior guessed Adenarte was probably the better student.

Lee Han had said he needed to work on even the basic elements, which made him sound less skilled.

“Everyone, take your places!” A booming voice echoed through the room. Professor Benmalfa strode in.

The professor was human, with a huge, bushy walrus moustache. He wore a fancy suit, like a rich gentleman from the city.

Most Einroguard professors dressed however they liked, so Professor Benmalfa’s smart clothes were unusual. Lee Han frowned, confused.

‘Is *that* why the seniors said he was unsettling?’ Lee Han wondered.

“Welcome, everyone!” the professor announced, his voice loud and cheerful. “I am Zorzic Benmalfa! And I will be the next Headmaster of Einroguard!”

“Wait, are you the Headmaster’s… replacement?” one senior blurted out, confused.

“Successor?!” Professor Benmalfa laughed loudly. “No!”

“…But you just said you were the next Headmaster,” another senior pointed out, bewildered.

Professor Benmalfa winked. “You don’t need to be chosen to be Headmaster, my friends! One day, the Emperor himself will see my brilliance and make *me* Headmaster, instead of old Lord Gonadaltes!”

Watching Professor Zorzic, with his wild eyes and confident voice, Lee Han finally understood why the seniors found him so strange.

And Lee Han thought to himself, *’He’s even madder than Professor Verdus!’* This was definitely a professor to avoid.