Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 743

Lee Han stepped into the tall stone tower. He stopped, surprised. “Oh! Senior?” he said. Standing there, smiling gently, was Illeg. Lee Han knew him from the library club – Illeg, the bear beastkin student with glasses, from the Chegla family.

Illeg looked kind, but Lee Han wasn’t fooled. He remembered the amazing strength Illeg had shown in the club. It was still very clear in his mind.

“Wodanaz, good to see you,” Illeg said. “How is school? I hope you’re not working too hard?”

“It’s… okay, I think,” Lee Han replied. “Working too hard… well…” He paused. It was hard to say he wasn’t working too hard.

“But are you also interested in music magic, Senior?”

“Yes. I’m quite interested in some of the characteristics of music magic.”

“Music magic isn’t really as strong as other types of magic, is it?”

“But it has irreplaceable advantages.”

Illeg said, his eyes sparkling.

As a student who had moved up to the fifth grade, Illeg didn’t easily lose interest, even if efficiency wasn’t immediately apparent and there were no immediate results.

This library club student was interested in the space-controlling elements of music magic.

Illeg liked the idea of music magic. It could affect a whole area without needing spells or special worlds. This was interesting to him.

“Of course, sheet music is almost lost, so it’s limited, and the effects are weak since efficiency research hasn’t been done… That’s why I prepared this tower. The power of this tower will amplify the magic.”

Illeg pointed to the Echo Tower with an arm that bulged with massive muscles.

While studying music magic this semester, Illeg planned to restore some lost sheet music and use it to cast music magic in several places within Einroguard.

The ultimate goal was to reproduce permanently sustained music magic!

Lee Han was slightly tempted after hearing the muscular senior’s words.

It seemed clearer when a fifth-year senior systematically organized things and set goals.

Music magic seemed too restrictive and limited, but as Illeg said, if the sheet music were restored and efficiency enhanced, it might be possible to impart effects to desired locations.

‘Hmm. If I can… first, a stamina recovery effect in the personal lounge. A concentration effect in the second-year common lounge. No. That wouldn’t be enough. I should add a curse music that torments those who do other things. An intelligence-boosting effect at the base. Growth in the cabin…’

“Wodanaz. I heard you can play one piece of music magic. Could you perhaps show me?”

Even if he couldn’t play music magic, Lee Han would have instantly learned a non-existent magic if a senior with Illeg’s build had asked.

And fortunately, Lee Han had learned one piece of music magic.

“I do have one, but the song is a bit strange. It only amplifies dark elements…”

“Wodanaz! That alone is amazing enough.”

It wasn’t just because Illeg was kind; other students interested in music magic nodded in agreement.

Music magic was in a situation where the foundation had to be rebuilt from the ground up, so being able to cast one complete magic like Lee Han was a great help to the students.

The minstrel Ipadur seemed to think so too, as he encouraged Lee Han.

“Student Wodanaz. There are no strange songs in the Empire. Whether it’s a concerto, a satire, a symphony, or a rhapsody, a song is beautiful in itself.”

Receiving encouragement from his seniors and the minstrel, Lee Han realized he had been mistaken.

‘Yes. That’s right.’

The music magic Lee Han had practiced during winter break might sound a little strange, but it was a perfectly good magic.

The effect of amplifying dark elements and changing the properties of the area could certainly be needed.

…Mainly limited to black magic, but anyway.

“Then I’ll give it a try.”

Lee Han took out his violin to repay the warm support. And he began to play a hymn.

“Praise the sacrifice of the freshmen, wizards…”

“What lyrics *are* those?”

“What did your senior see? He saw the demons of hell and those demons walking…”

“Did he say ‘demons of hell’?”

“Is this… about real demons?”

The lyrics were so strange that the students stopped paying attention to the magic.

Shadows seemed to creep from the corners of the room, and a heavy, cold feeling filled the air.

But the students were still whispering about the lyrics.

“What are those lyrics? It sounds like music from the Three Kingdoms era…”

“Was Einroguard around back then?”

“The building might have been? No. More than that, is that all based on experience?”

“Surely… it can’t be. Unless he’s the unluckiest guy in the Empire…”

After finishing the performance, Lee Han was impressed to see the amplified dark elements in the room and that this effect didn’t easily disappear.

“The tower’s effect is truly amazing! I didn’t expect it to last this long.”

“Seniors?”

Illeg, who was the first to come to his senses, began to clap loudly.

And at the same time, he winked at the other students.

Clap clap clap clap clap!

“That was a moving song!”

“We can definitely prove the effectiveness of music magic!”

“Wodanaz, I’m so glad to have a junior like you!”

The seniors quickly praised their junior, burying their questions about the lyrics deep inside.

Lee Han bowed his head, feeling proud.

“Thank you. I didn’t expect you to praise me like this.”

“Then shall we all try practicing together?”

Illeg said, looking at the students.

The best way to learn magic was, of course, to cast that magic directly.

Fortunately, this junior had completed a piece of sheet music, so it would be even better to practice.

“Hey. Junior.”

“Yes?”

“In these lyrics here…”

“Do you think the song is strange after all?”

“No! No! It’s definitely not that! I’m just curious about the meaning of the lyrics! What does the line ‘He saw the demons of hell and those demons walking’ mean?”

“That was something I experienced last year…”

Wizards…

“Oh. Someone’s singing.”

“I wonder if music magic has any practical use?”

“I’m not sure either. But if Senior Illeg decided to research it, there might be some potential.”

The stonemasonry club students, who were about to return after finishing their work, stopped in their tracks and listened to the music flowing from below the Echo Tower.

Such cultural luxuries were hard to enjoy in Einroguard.

You could listen to music recorded with magic outside, but who would do such a thing inside here?

“Good…”

“I want to ask him to play the Lich Subjugation Overture later if it’s okay. I like that song.”

“It’s a good opera. The lesson that the Lich is subjugated is also good.”

“What did your senior see? He saw the demons of hell and those demons walking…”

“What?”

“What is he talking about?”

The stonemasonry club students, who had been absorbed in the song, belatedly realized the lyrics and looked up.

Darkness was ominously flickering from the window above the Echo Tower.

“…Shall we go back?”

“Let’s.”

No matter how good the music was, loitering near a workshop where magic research was underway didn’t seem like a wise move.

The students who had gathered for music magic were delighted, their faces flushed.

At first, the lyrics felt unfamiliar and awkward, but as they continued to practice, the unfamiliarity disappeared. Rather, the lyrics were something that any student at Einroguard could sympathize with.

“Thank you, Wodanaz. We should practice regularly!”

“I should let my other friends hear it too. The effect might be weak, but the song alone will be enough to impress them.”

“I’m glad you say so.”

Lee Han felt joy welling up from deep within his heart as the seniors all liked the song.

‘I thought the lyrics were a bit strange, but I guess it’s okay.’

“Alright, everyone. Would you like to gather around here?”

Illeg poured warm cocoa from a kettle for the students who had gathered for music magic even on the weekend, and pointed to the bookshelf.

The bookshelf was overflowing with old books and sheet music. The paper was yellowed and brittle, the ink faded, making it hard to guess how old they were.

“This is the music magic sheet music I’ve collected from the library. There aren’t many complete ones, so I’ll have to restore them, but there are still a few in decent condition that you can learn right away. Here, Ipadur will help you play and sing these scores.”

At the senior’s words, the students’ eyes sparkled with curiosity and anticipation.

Everyone was interested in music magic and had gathered to learn and use it, so they couldn’t help but be curious about the stacked sheet music.

“Ipadur.”

“Hmm.”

The old turtle beastkin minstrel nodded and stood up. Then he took out a piece of sheet music in decent condition and began to read it.

“>The Rain-Calling Lizard<, it seems to be a song using a pan flute. It probably has effects related to the water element… The performance difficulty is intermediate." In music magic, performance was as important as the magic's movements, and naturally, magic with a high performance difficulty also had a correspondingly high difficulty. The students carefully listened, gauging the instruments they were good at and the performance difficulty. "Next is >The Iactus Expedition<. It's a song using drums, and it probably wouldn't suit anything other than percussion instruments. It might be effective in battle…" "I want to learn it!" One of the seniors raised his hand and shouted. Then Illeg shook his head. "We'll choose the songs in a different way." "Yes? How?" As if he had been waiting for this, Illeg took out paper slips he had folded. The students were taken aback by the sight. "Are we doing this by lottery?" "Yes. Otherwise, many people would flock to only the popular songs. We need to practice as many different songs as possible to leave records, don't we?" Lee Han tilted his head. From the perspective of researching music magic, it was advantageous to gather information by covering as wide a range as possible. It was important to gather information such as which sheet music was good, which was bad, and which had special effects. However, the students who had gathered to learn music magic each had limited instruments they could play and specific songs they were good at. Wouldn't it take more time to practice if it was a type of music they had never tried before? "Won't it take too much time to practice if the song doesn't suit us?" "That's right. Senior Illeg, really." Another senior next to Lee Han nodded in agreement to Lee Han's question. As if they all had similar thoughts, words followed one after another. "This is just raising the already high difficulty even further." "It's only possible to a limited extent inside the tower, though." The seniors, who had been chattering to some extent, seemed to think their opinions were aligned and all called out to Illeg together. "Senior!" "What is it?" Lee Han, who hadn't even called out, felt slightly nervous. How would Senior Illeg react to his juniors' rebellion? "Please proceed quickly! We want to see the sheet music we'll be playing!" "Alright! Just wait." Illeg smiled and began to shuffle the slips. Lee Han, who didn't understand the conversation just now, stared in disbelief, and the seniors said calmly. "We can't argue with Illeg," one senior whispered, rolling his eyes playfully. "Yeah, we can complain to each other, but that's it," another chuckled. Lee Han was amazed at how easily the seniors changed their minds. He just stared, not knowing what to say.