Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 77

People said summoning magic was very tricky. Even a tiny mistake, like being just 1% off, could make it fail.

But the magic quills fluttering down were exactly what he wanted.

The problem wasn’t that the magic failed. It was that there were too many magic quills.

Professor Garcia understood right away and nodded.

“I see. So, it wasn’t a failure,” he said.

Professor Troll let out a small breath he didn’t realise he’d been holding. *Thank goodness*, he thought. He cared about all his students, but he couldn’t help but feel a special concern for Lee Han…

Because he had so much magic power, even simple spells were hard for him to control.

Lee Han faced these problems with courage, which was impressive for a freshman. Still, Professor Troll felt sorry for him. Wasn’t this something a teacher should help him with?

Professor Garcia felt guilty because he couldn’t find a good solution.

“Lee Han is very talented, isn’t he?” Professor Garcia said. “He succeeded perfectly.”

Professor Milay nodded. “He has talent.”

“You think so too?” Professor Garcia asked.

He knew how hard summoning magic was and how strict Professor Milay was. So, her approval meant a lot.

“He can learn summoning magic,” Professor Milay said. “But he has one weakness.”

“Weakness?” Professor Garcia was surprised.

“His magic power is a little… well, actually, it’s incredibly high. But he’s getting better at controlling it.”

Professor Garcia started to say something untrue, but his honest nature stopped him. Lee Han was improving quickly, considering his magical power.

“He’ll get better over time,” Professor Garcia said.

“I’m not talking about his magic power, Professor Garcia,” Professor Milay said.

“Then what is it?”

“His weakness is arrogance.”

“Arrogance?” Professor Garcia was confused.

Lee Han might seem arrogant at first. He had a cold look and the proud manner of a noble, which made him seem unapproachable. But Professor Garcia knew he wasn’t like that.

He even personally fed the students of the Blue Dragon Tower. Someone like that couldn’t be arrogant.

“I think you’re mistaken,” Professor Garcia said.

“Professor Garcia, watch carefully,” Professor Milay said, pointing to the quills. “He succeeded on the first try. Yet, he made dozens of quills. What does that mean?”

Succeeding on the first try showed he understood the magic circle well and had great control over his magic. It was rare for a freshman to have both knowledge and talent. He was clearly skilled enough for summoning magic.

But why make so many quills? If he could succeed on the first try, why not just make one?

There was only one answer: He was showing off.

“No…” Professor Garcia said, surprised.

“Lee Han wouldn’t do that.”

“Arrogance is good for a wizard, but it’s dangerous at a young age, especially with his knowledge and talent,” Professor Milay said.

“That’s… well…”

Professor Milay raised her eyebrows, and Professor Garcia flinched. Not all professors were equal, especially when one had been the other’s student.

But Professor Garcia wanted to clear up the misunderstanding. “I don’t think Lee Han is like that. Maybe it was a mistake… I think…”

“A mistake?” Professor Milay’s voice showed a hint of surprise, which wasn’t good.

“Are you seriously telling me, Garcia, that he did this by *accident*?”

Professor Garcia’s face went red. He thought about what he just said and realised it sounded silly.

To make so many quills, he couldn’t just use more magic power. The magic circle wasn’t made for multiple summons, so adding more power could break it or cause the opposite effect.

Once magic power is used, the circuit changes. So, to add more power, he had to recalculate everything.

The only way to make multiple quills was to repeat the process carefully, many times.

He had to calculate and add the right amount of magic power each time. Then, he had to check the magic circle and calculate again.

Repeat, repeat, repeat.

He would only do that if he was very proud of his skills. It was only possible on purpose!

“Maybe he practiced first to avoid breaking the magic circle… and forgot there was still magic power in it…?”

Professor Milay looked at Professor Garcia with a stern face, then softened. She seemed to pity her kind student.

“Professor Garcia, a student that outstanding wouldn’t forget that.”

‘That’s right…’

Professor Garcia had nothing to say. He knew his excuse was weak.

But he really thought it was possible! “It’s good to trust your students, but don’t ignore their faults, Professor Garcia,” she said. “Sometimes, trust can cloud your judgment.”

“Yes…”

Professor Garcia leaned back in his chair. “He’s talented, no doubt about it. But that talent could be wasted if he becomes too arrogant. We need to be careful.”

Professor Milrei nodded once, his gaze sharp. “Yes.”

“Don’t worry too much,” Professor Garcia continued, a small smile playing on his lips. “Summoning magic will fix that arrogance quickly enough.” He chuckled softly. “It has a way of humbling even the biggest geniuses who think they rule the school.”

Professor Milrei’s face remained serious. “And with my classes,” he added, his voice firm, “any arrogance will be knocked down to a normal level of confidence very soon.”

Professor Garcia turned his head.

Lee Han was sending the magic quills he summoned at Angalo, trying to scribble ‘I don’t have a quill’ on him.

Because of that, a brawl was breaking out between the White Tiger Tower students and the Blue Dragon Tower students.

While trying to stop them, Professor Garcia thought, ‘This doesn’t seem like arrogance at all.’

‘No matter how I think about it, that doesn’t seem to be it.’

One disturbance ended. Ink was smeared on the students’ faces.

It was the result of magic quills that were summoned properly and those that were not.

The summoned magic quills disappeared over time, but the ink left by the quills did not disappear.

“Everyone, I hope you understand how difficult summoning magic is today. The magic we practiced today was the most basic, and originally, it should be done without a magic circle.”

Professor Milrei’s words made the students fearful. However, he continued speaking seriously without paying attention to their reactions.

“Nevertheless, if you want to learn summoning magic seriously, come to my workshop. Keep this in mind: it’s easy to think talent or intelligence is necessary, but…”

Lee Han felt that Professor Milrei’s gaze was directed at him for a moment.

Was it just his imagination?

‘Was it a problem that I had the magic quills harass Angalo?’

“…what is most needed is persistence and patience. If you keep trying without giving up, summoning magic will open the way for you.”

Professor Milrei finished speaking and left the lecture hall.

The remaining students gathered and whispered among themselves.

“Should I visit the workshop?”

“The professor said it would be difficult to catch up if we start in the second year. If you want to learn summoning magic, it seems important to practice from the first year.”

The students nodded.

After trying to summon a quill, they understood how difficult summoning magic was.

Summoning an object that acts on its own with the magician’s power…

“But can we go to the professor now and learn summoning magic separately?”

“Why not?”

“Really? We already have a lot of assignments, more will be added, and we’ll have to prepare for pop quizzes soon. Can we really study summoning magic separately?”

“……”

Realistic concerns frightened the students.

Summoning magic was attractive, but not many students could handle the increased workload.

‘That’s why I told you to take easy subjects.’

Lee Han thought so and then reflected.

Come to think of it, wasn’t Lee Han experiencing a threat to his life because he was trying to take easy subjects?

Lee Han suddenly became curious.

What elective classes are the other students taking?

“What are you taking as electives?”

“Me? . Everyone’s taking it, you know?”

“I’m taking . It’s practically semi-compulsory.”

“I’m taking . I want to buy one later during vacation.”

“……”

Lee Han was slightly embarrassed by the list of lectures his friends were taking.

…Am I the only one who’s uncultured?

“There are no lectures without assignments.”

“Me too. But I can’t not take summoning magic.”

“Shouldn’t the school lend us an artifact that can turn back time?”

“Gainando? That’s a fairy tale. How could there be such a thing?”

“Even if there was, would they lend something like that to a student to take lectures? It would be used in a much more valuable place.”

Lee Han, who was listening to his friends’ conversation, checked the time and stood up.

“Gainando, let’s go.”

“Where are you going? And why are you taking Gainando with you?”

“Are you going to use him as bait if you meet a summoned beast?”

“No. I have to meet Professor Mortoom.”

While everyone was worried about whether or not to go to summoning magic, there was also a professor who was sadly abandoned without any interest.

It was Professor Mortoom, who teaches black magic.

Since Lee Han and Gainando were directly called by name by Professor Mortoom, they had no choice but to visit regularly and learn black magic, unlike other students.

“Do we have to go? Can’t we just send Gainando?”

The friends didn’t want to send Lee Han, but Gainando had no intention of going alone.

“…If I go alone, I’ll recommend all of you.”

“Gainando! My noble friend! I think there’s a misunderstanding!”

The friends immediately changed their attitude.

Yoner asked if it was okay.

“I think the students who want to learn summoning magic will visit now. Are you sure it’s okay?”

“We didn’t set a time, so we can visit Professor Mortoom and then visit with Gainando.”

Lee Han was also interested in summoning magic. He just had a prior engagement.

It was best not to break appointments with professors. Especially if that professor was lonely because he had no students looking for him.

“Then, see you later.”

“Be careful. Wodanaz.”