Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 768

‘That little rascal. He didn’t trust me.’ Lee Han thought, seeing their messages.

*NewbieLee* must have asked the others about his idea. That’s the only reason for this reaction.

*LeaderGuard*: So, you told *NewbieLee* that magic wouldn’t work right now?

*MagicExpert*: Actually, no. I told him to do it.

*LeaderGuard*: Don’t lie, *MagicExpert*.

*MagicExpert* had told him to do it, but in a sarcastic way…

*LeaderGuard*: *WiseOne* is smarter. *MagicExpert*, you need to think more.

*Beaver-Penguin-Fox*: Actually, *NewbieLee*, I also thought it sounded a bit strange at first.

*LeaderGuard*: …

*WiseOne*: Maybe we shouldn’t tell everyone what we talk about in private chats.

‘No one trusts anyone here,’ Lee Han thought, annoyed. He knew his idea was a bit unusual, but he didn’t expect everyone to doubt him, especially as the newest member. They called themselves “Guardians of Einrogard,” but they acted like “Doubters of Everyone.”

*NewbieLee*: I’m busy now, gotta go. Thanks again, *LeaderGuard*.

*LeaderGuard*: No problem at all. Unlike some people. I’m leaving too.

*MagicExpert*: …

*WiseOne*: …

*MagicExpert*: He’s really not the headmaster, right?

A gdung jumped back, nearly dropping the staff. “Whoa! You really scared me! What kind of magic was that?”

Professor Tasfan’s staff was protected by strong magic. A gdung knew that if someone broke it, there could be big trouble. People might think it was an attack, and it would be in all the newspapers.

But this student had broken the magic with just his mind! Telekinesis, moving things with your mind, was hard to use in fights. It took a lot of energy. Most magic users only used it a little bit, to help them in small ways.

But this student, from the Maringgwan school, had used telekinesis to break the magic and pull the staff over. From far away!

‘How could he do that? What kind of magic is that?’ A gdung wondered. ‘For telekinesis… maybe a “Magic Push” spell? No, not strong enough. “Small Shockwave”? No…’

“It’s ‘Wordanaz’s Telekinesis’,” the student said.

“Ah, I see. A family secret magic.” A gdung nodded. That made sense. There were secret magics that were incredibly powerful. He had heard stories about the Wordanaz family, like the head of the family moving seawater to make a lake.

“Family? Well, you could say that,” the student replied.

“Can I ask, what level of magic is it?”

“It’s level 5.”

A gdung blinked. “Level 5?”

“Yes. To get that much power with telekinesis, it needs to be around level 5 to be steady, right?”

“Uh, yes. But that’s not what I meant…” A gdung thought the student misunderstood. He wasn’t asking if level 5 was *enough*, he was asking if it was *possible* for a student to use level 5 magic so easily.

“…’Tainted ones, go back!’ or ‘Fight against evil,’ remember those spells?” the student asked.

“Yes? Yes.” One was level 3, the other level 4. Both were defensive spells from the dark magic school.

“You hadn’t learned either of those?”

“That’s right.”

“What did you say back then?”

“I said sorry for not learning the magic?”

“…No! You said you couldn’t learn it because you were a second-year student!” A gdung finally lost his patience. He was getting annoyed. Lee Han looked surprised.

“S-sorry?”

“Ah, no. Sorry… Forget I said anything. Anyway, you said you couldn’t learn it because you were a second-year student!”

“Yes.”

“But the magic you just used is level 5!”

“Well, it’s normal for magicians to learn magic that fits their level. But sometimes, if you’re really good at a certain type of magic, you can learn spells that are one or two levels higher, right?”

“…” A gdung felt like his head was spinning. The student was right, according to the magic books. But level 5 telekinesis was not “somewhat easy magic.”

“Right. I forgot about that…” A gdung rubbed his jaw again. It felt like it might fall off.

‘When I get back, I have to remove Wordanaz from the student list,’ he thought. This was too much. He had to hide this student’s talent so other students wouldn’t feel bad about themselves.

*Whoosh!* Flames erupted as the pollutants burned. The ground and water turned over, revealing the source of the foul smell. Seniors from the Outcast Village rushed towards the flames.

“Fire mages, this way!” someone shouted.

“Priest! Can you use holy magic?”

“The only holy magic I know turns water into wine, so…”

“Einrogard students! Let’s move back!” A gdung told his juniors. Reliable help had arrived. Lee Han and his friends could rest.

“Senior, do you have any of those pollutant cloaks left?” Lee Han asked.

“Yes, I do. Why?”

“Could I buy some from you?”

“?” A gdung looked surprised. “You’re not thinking of selling them in a town or city, are you? I’m telling you, pollutant cloaks don’t sell well. Actually… they don’t sell *at all*.” A gdung tried to be gentle, but then decided to be honest.

“I was thinking of selling them to those seniors over there,” Lee Han pointed to the group fighting the pollutants.

“Hmm. Do you think they’ll buy them?” A gdung was proud of the “Pollutant Cloak” that Kalarogard students had invented, but he wasn’t sure anyone would want to buy it. Black magic students were never good at selling things.

“Well, they’re magicians, so they know how to protect themselves. And these cloaks aren’t very pretty. And now that I smell them again, they kind of stink…” A gdung’s confidence was shrinking fast.

‘That’s the opposite of what you said before,’ Lee Han thought, a little surprised. The senior who had been so sure of the cloak’s power was now doubting everything as soon as selling was mentioned.

“Have faith, Senior A gdung. The ‘Pollutant Cloak’ is a good item,” Lee Han said encouragingly.

“R-really?”

Lee Han nodded and walked towards the seniors who were fighting the pollutants. He spoke to them for a few minutes, then came back.

“How did it go, Lee Han?” Gainando asked.

“They said they don’t need them. They said they can handle it without this… without this item.”

“Ugh. Why do magicians have to be so good at everything? It’s annoying,” Gainando grumbled. It was hard to sell anything to magicians because they could usually just use magic to solve problems themselves.

“I’m going to look around,” Lee Han said.

“Huh? Why? Where are you going?” Yoner asked, confused.

Lee Han left the mushroom field and walked away.

Thirty minutes later, more groups of pollutants appeared from different directions. Just then, Lee Han, who had been invisible, reappeared in the mushroom field.

“Lots more pollutants now,” Lee Han said calmly.

“…” His friends stared at him, unsure what he was planning.

“I’ll go ask the seniors again,” Lee Han said, turning back towards the fighting magicians.

“…No, Lee Han…” Imirgue started to say, but stopped.

“Shhh. Be quiet,” Lee Han whispered. He approached the seniors again.

This time, the seniors, who were now struggling with even more pollutants, listened to Lee Han’s offer with much more interest.

‘If it’s now, they’ll definitely buy them…’ Lee Han thought.

‘Maybe… maybe he’s right…’ one of the seniors muttered.

After a short conversation, Lee Han returned to his friends.

“Did you sell them?!” Siana asked excitedly.

“Not yet. I said no this time,” Lee Han replied.

“Huh? Why?!” Gainando exclaimed.

“I think I can sell them for even more if there are even *more* pollutants. Senior A gdung, could you teach me a little about how to attract pollutants…?”

“…” A gdung stared at Lee Han, speechless.

“Everyone together! Fight for the forest!” Ilendil shouted.

“Aaargh! It’s Senior Ilendil!” students yelled, running away in panic.

Ilendil clicked her tongue, watching them flee. She had tried to stop the students who were cutting down trees, but they always ran away from her. Still, at least the pollutants were getting weaker. The students in the Outcast Village were good magicians, and they were making a difference.

“Huh…?” Ilendil stopped, seeing a familiar student resting in the mushroom field with a Kalarogard student. It was that kind junior who had been nice to her even when her dark spirit had gone wild before.

“You…” Ilendil started to say.

“I-Ilendil Senior…!” Imirgue stammered, looking terrified. Lee Han was confused by Imirgue’s fear. He knew Ilendil had attacked students and created crazy dark spirits, but…

‘Hmm. She *does* look a bit scary,’ Lee Han thought, looking at Ilendil properly for the first time. Even for him, Ilendil seemed like one of the more… intense seniors. Wasn’t she a bit *too* close to the spirits?

“What’s wrong?” Ilendil asked, noticing Imirgue’s fear.

“The other seniors told me to be careful of Senior Ilendil,” Imirgue whispered to Lee Han. “They said she’s really dangerous.”

“Eh. She doesn’t look that dangerous,” Gainando scoffed, not knowing anything about Ilendil. To him, Ilendil, who looked like a forest creature, seemed much less scary than Imirgue, who was huge.

“No, Gainando. Senior Ilendil *is* dangerous,” Siana said seriously.

“That’s right,” Yoner agreed, nodding. Since they were alchemy students, they had heard stories from other seniors.

“They said she’s the most dangerous person in the alchemy school,” Siana added in a low voice.

“What’s the most dangerous…?” Ilendil asked, stepping closer. The two second-year alchemy students almost jumped.

“We were saying… that Professor Uregeoreum’s greed is the most dangerous thing,” Lee Han quickly said, thinking fast. Ilendil nodded, agreeing. Professor Uregeoreum was a great alchemist, but he wanted to take too many materials from the forest.

“Are the spirits okay…?” Ilendil asked, her voice softer now.

“O-oh, um, yes. Fine,” Lee Han replied.

“Here…?” Ilendil gestured to the mushroom field.

“I was helping to clean up the pollutants,” Lee Han said simply. He didn’t mention selling cloaks for profit.

“As expected! I knew it!” Ilendil looked touched, tears welling up in her eyes again. Lee Han just nodded silently, not wanting to upset the scary senior.

“What brings you here, Senior?” Lee Han asked politely.

“I was also helping to clean up,” Ilendil said.

“I see…” Lee Han nodded. Of course, someone who loved the forest as much as she did would be here.

‘Huh?’ Lee Han suddenly thought. Someone who loved the forest, had many forests, was a bit strange, and had a bad temper…

‘!’ The Guardian Club’s *BeaverPenguinFox* username flashed in Lee Han’s mind. There were probably other seniors like that, but the possibility was suddenly very strong.

“Senior,” Lee Han said, testing his idea. “Now that I think about it, I’ve seen more animals around Einrogard lately.”

“Really?” Ilendil asked, interested.

“What kind of animals do you like, Senior?” Lee Han asked casually.

“I like foxes or… penguins…?” Ilendil said, thinking.

“I see,” Lee Han replied, hiding a smile.

“And beavers, I guess…?” Ilendil added.

“Ugh. Why would you like that kind of professor?” Gainando blurted out, making a face.

Ilendil’s gentle look vanished, replaced by anger. “Did I say beaver or beaver *demihuman*? Can’t you even tell the difference between humans and apes?!”

“S-sorry.”