Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 742

Lee Han thought, ‘I should pretend I don’t know them.’

Instinctively, he turned and lowered his head.

As a member of the Stonemason Club, he knew he’d meet his seniors eventually. But he didn’t want it to be today, at a demolished workshop.

Maybe Lee Han just wanted to relax on the weekend.

Whoosh!

As Lee Han worried, the Bagni’s Flame Bull wavered, spitting flames.

The seniors spoke cautiously, “Junior, we don’t usually interfere, but this curse looks like it needs to be lifted.”

“It looks a bit dangerous.”

At Einroguard, strange things were normal. Students often ignored someone partly turned to stone or with a basilisk biting their head.

Because they probably knew best!

If it was painful, they would solve it themselves.

Also, some students did it on purpose for magical research.

They might be testing petrification spells or figuring out which part of the head a basilisk liked, so students didn’t interfere.

However, the junior from the Wodanaz family seemed too dangerous to ignore.

“It’s not a curse, it’s magic practice.”

“What magic practice? What madman would curse themselves to practice magic…”

“Wodanaz!”

Because of the flames, everyone was looking at Lee Han. Then, one of the Stonemason Club members recognized him.

It was Alde from the Marcan family, who had been released that morning.

“Hey! Hey everyone! Look! It’s him! It’s *him*!” Alde exclaimed. “The junior who rescued me from the disciplinary chamber! Remember I told you?!”

The Stonemason Club members looked confused, unsure whether to believe Alde.

They knew Lee Han was a great junior because he took courses from every department and joined all the clubs. But visiting the disciplinary chamber was a bit much…

‘Isn’t that too much?’ they wondered.

‘Marcan is probably exaggerating.’

They thought he had tricked a naive junior into creating a heartwarming story as a ‘respected senior.’

Wasn’t it like the heartwarming stories that Headmaster Skull sometimes published in the Imperial Newspaper?

Alde got angry because his colleagues didn’t believe him.

He was angry because nobody believed him, not even the people in the disciplinary chamber!

“I’m telling you, it’s true!” Alde said. “Junior, tell them! You came to the disciplinary chamber, didn’t you?! To help me!”

“Yes, I went there because you helped me, Senior,” Lee Han replied.

“Tell them how you got in, too!”

“I persuaded the Death Knights and asked the spirit of the disciplinary chamber to let me pass for a moment.”

“Hey,” Alde whispered, embarrassed. “Make it sound believable.”

Even he didn’t believe the story.

“But that’s how I got in.”

“What? That’s ridiculous…” Alde paused. “Never mind. Don’t you have anything more believable? No one believes me!”

The Stonemason Club members shook their heads and pulled Alde away.

“Marcan, we understand. We believe you,” one said. “You’re so great that a junior would visit you in the disciplinary chamber.”

Another added, “The Blue Dragon Tower is always so sleazy. Is honor that important?”

“It’s true, you bastards!” Alde insisted.

The Stonemason Club members changed the subject.

“Lee Han of the Wodanaz family, right? We’re not really interested in the disciplinary chamber visit. We’re interested in club activities. Do you know what the Stonemason Club does?”

“Isn’t it… building buildings?” Lee Han asked.

Einroguard had a surprisingly high demand for construction.

From the students’ secret warehouses and cabins to magic research workshops and fortresses.

“Yes, building buildings is the main thing,” a senior said. “But that’s not all.”

“You also have to be able to destroy them,” another added. “If they don’t pay or change their minds, you have to destroy them. Quickly.”

“Sometimes, if someone tries to destroy a building, you have to be able to stop them.”

“And you are talented in all of this. We look forward to working with you, Junior.”

“Yes?” Lee Han asked, surprised by their expectations.

“I don’t have that much experience building buildings. And I’m not from a guild…”

He had followed Headmaster Skull around last year, repairing Einroguard or helping with fortress construction, but Lee Han didn’t think he was an expert.

What were the seniors seeing that made them think that?

“You have a lot of magic power, right?”

“Yes.”

“Yes, you have a lot of magic power. That alone can solve almost all of the problems I just mentioned.”

Surprisingly, what the Stonemason Club members said was true.

Salco of the Tutankha family, who had joined earlier, nodded as if he knew Lee Han would come.

“There’s no way you wouldn’t come, Wodanaz,” Salco said. “There’s no club that suits you better than this.”

“I was forced to join, Salco.”

Salco pretended not to hear and continued, “Magical structures need many spells, like stacking bricks. Stamina is really important.”

“I see.”

“Destroying them is the same. You can’t destroy them in one blow, so you have to gradually use magic to undo them. Stamina is really important as well.”

In the end, stamina in magic was almost the same as the amount of magic power.

There were mental concentration and other factors, but when magic power ran out, casting spells became very difficult.

“Salco.”

“What is it?”

“I’m done.”

Salco’s eyes widened, and his beard seemed to vibrate with excitement. “Wodanaz, you’re incredible! A worker like you should be in the guild!”

He had expected it, but Lee Han’s speed was far beyond his expectations.

Lee Han gathered the magically treated wood in one place and asked, “Salco, did you join this guild because of construction?”

While moving to the Stonemason Club area to work, Lee Han could hear the members’ conversations.

People might think the Stonemason Club is just about breaking things or fighting. But really, they love to build and create.

This love of building might be why many students from the Enchantment magic classes joined the club. Students who study Enchantment magic, called Enchanters, can make magical objects and design buildings.

“Hope we get paid for this job,” one student said, wiping sweat from his forehead.

“Do you think that’s possible? It’s already so high that monsters are attacking it.”

“Once the Azure Tower is finished,” he grinned, “graduation will be a piece of cake. This tower will be so powerful, even the Headmaster will be impressed!”

Salco was an Enchanter and came from a family of Stonemasons. People thought he joined the club because he wanted to build a special building of his own.

Ihan paused, looking at Salco. “So,” he began, trying to sound casual, “you joined the Stonemason Club because you wanted to build something, right?”

Salco shrugged, as if the question was silly. “Nah,” he said easily. “I’m just here for the money. Good pay, you know?”

Ihan felt a little foolish. He had imagined Salco had some big, important building in mind.

“I thought all the school clubs paid okay?” Ihan asked.

“Okay? Wodanaz, that bit of wall you just built is worth thirteen Imperial gold coins! If we get jobs like this often, no club pays better than the Stonemasons.”

“Actually,” Ihan thought, “I am pretty good at this stonemason stuff.” He decided he would do his best for the club. Then, an idea popped into his head. ‘Being in more than one club could be really useful!’

Suddenly, CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! The bell on top of the Stonemason Club building rang loudly. A student leaned out of a window and shouted,

“Emergency job! Emergency job!” he yelled. “Double pay, maybe more! Anyone who wants to help, meet at the Nightmare Echo Forest!”

“Emergency job?” Ihan asked, surprised. “But isn’t the Nightmare Echo Forest dangerous?”

“Yeah, it can be,” Salco said. “But an emergency job means they need a building *fast*. They pay extra for speed. So, we can earn more money!”

Ihan was amazed at how much money people were willing to pay the Stonemason Club. He couldn’t believe some people had so much gold they would pay *extra* just to get a building finished quickly.

Anpagon, a student from the Blue Dragon Tower and the Enchantment Magic School, stared at the tower, his jaw tight. He wasn’t happy.

“The effect isn’t as strong as I thought.”

“I used the magic of the Nightmare Echo Forest to make the sound in the tower stronger,” Anpagon muttered. “But it’s not working as well as I thought. Is the forest magic getting weaker?”

The students from the Enchantment Magic School were known for being tough and determined. In a situation like this, that was a good thing.

When Ihan and Salco arrived, they were surprised. Students were everywhere, working quickly. Half-built walls stood tall, and magical sparks flew through the air.

“Wow,” Ihan whispered, looking around. “Are they building a whole new tower *next* to the old one?”

The club members, who were in the middle of working, welcomed the new juniors.

“Welcome! Tell us if it gets too hard.”

“Don’t collapse for no reason!”

“Thank you, seniors.”

The senior students watched Ihan work. He moved quickly and efficiently, placing stones and using magic with surprising skill.

“Is that the new student everyone’s talking about?” one senior asked. “The one who was amazing in the entrance exams?”

“Yeah, that’s him,” another replied. “We were lucky to get him in our club.”

As the additional building next to the tower showed a nearly completed appearance, the club members exclaimed with joy.

“It’s done. All of you! Go back to your dorms and get some rest when you’re finished.”

“Yes!”

This kind of big building job took a lot of energy.

“Wodanaz. Once this is done, why don’t you rest today instead of going to another club?”

It was the students who had gathered to study music magic.

“It’s finished!”

“It’s amazing!” one music student exclaimed. “The sound in here is going to be incredible!”

The bard Ipadur, who was talking with the students, discovered Ihan and waved his hand.

“Student Wodanaz!”

“Ah. So you’re Wodanaz? I was just about to call you.”

The music students rushed over to Ihan, excited. They surrounded him and led him towards the tower, eager to show him the results.

Salco stared blankly at their retreating figures, then shook his head as if feeling sorry for him.

“W-wait a minute. Aren’t you supposed to be resting?”

“No. Wodanaz probably intended to go straight in and do magic research as soon as the work here was finished to save time. What a determined fellow…”

“Wow,” Salco said, shaking his head. “He’s really going straight to magic research? That guy is unbelievable. Taking classes in every school and still working like this…”