Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 791

Nilia dodged quickly, like she knew it was coming. She had seen Gainando get hit a few times, so she was ready.

“Wind Wall!”

“…Why are you even using magic to block that?” Leehan asked, looking bewildered.

Nilia quickly crouched behind the wall of wind, preparing for another attack.

‘He was just complaining about wasting mana when he was scooping water earlier,’ she thought.

“…I knew he’d attack again. That’s what Gainando does when he misses.”

“Gainando complains too much, really.”

Leehan used telekinesis to flick off the mana aphids that appeared.

It wasn’t hard, but it took patience.

“Wait, Nilia. Can’t we just get a spirit to do this?”

“We could, but the spirits don’t like it. Mandragoras emit a faint toxic aura, you know.”

It wasn’t enough to hurt a wizard, but it made the lower-level spirits uncomfortable.

Leehan felt a twinge of guilt.

‘I thought they could handle it since it’s not life-threatening, but I guess this makes a difference.’

Maybe that’s why the spirits liked Nilia and didn’t like being around Leehan.

Of course, mana probably accounted for 99% of it…

“Then I’ll get an undead to do it.”

Plop!

Leehan summoned a skeleton warrior, Gonadaltez, and ordered him to clean the mandragoras.

A weak, stinging smell drifted out, like burning leaves. Gonadaltez didn’t dare disobey Leehan and silently brushed off the mana aphids.

Nilia watched, her eyes wide.

‘Wow, black magic is amazing! It’s so much easier than wind magic for this!’

Students trickled in and took their seats. When the time came, Professor Willowtree started the lecture.

“Now, this plant…”

“It’s a Barometz, Professor,” Bartrec answered confidently, raising his hand.

Bartrec knew the Barometz, a strange plant with sheep-like fruit that looked like flowers. His family specialized in Eastern Alchemy.

The sheep-like fruit was full of nutrients, and the stems and leaves were used in alchemy too…

“Excellent, Bartrec.”

Leehan praised him, and Bartrec rubbed his nose, embarrassed.

“I wasn’t asking for the plant’s name, little one.”

“……”

Bartrec glared at Leehan, embarrassed. Leehan shrugged.

‘Did I tell you to speak?’

“Knowing the name is good, but a second-year student should know more than that. So, where is this Barometz…”

“The stems are used for blood potions, and the leaves are for buffering potions! The fruit has too many uses to list!” Bartrec spoke again. Leehan clapped softly.

“…It would be good to listen to the whole question. I was going to ask where it’s mostly sold and what the price is. The fruit, that is.”

“Yes?” Bartrec was surprised by the question. The students were surprised too.

>Oh! Is there such a plant in the Empire? The book lists the plant’s name, habits, and uses, but not the current market price or quantity.

Professor Willowtree smiled, a playful spark in his eyes.

“Most of you in this botany class are also in alchemy. You know alchemists in the Empire’s magic community need potions more than anyone.”

The Alchemy School and the Botany class were closely linked.

It was like how students from the Transfiguration School often took Zoology.

Since gathering and managing ingredients was part of alchemy, the botany class was almost required.

“So, how should you get potions?”

“Shouldn’t we… get them ourselves?” Bartrec answered, repeating what he’d heard in alchemy class.

Professor Willowtree shook his head.

“You can’t always do that.”

“B-but Professor Thunderfoot said we should always gather them ourselves?”

Professor Willowtree smiled.

“He would have said that in the first year. Later, he’ll tell you to buy them too.”

“……”

Surprisingly, Einroguard professors could also change their minds easily.

A professor who said in the first year, ‘What? A wizard buying potions? Are you even a wizard!’ would say by the third year, ‘What? A wizard gathering all the potions himself? Are you even a wizard!’

In the first year, when they needed few potions, they taught them to save and gather. But in the third year, when they needed many potions, they taught them to get them any way they could!

“So, do you understand why you need to know the market price?”

Professor Willowtree took out a small booklet and made it bigger. The cover said >The Imperial Horticulturalist Club Journal<. “You need to know what plants are popular, what events change prices, and who has good plants… Don’t ignore these things and try to learn them later when you’re in a hurry. Wizards don't easily share good plants with people they don't know.” “Would it be good to join the Imperial Horticulturalist Club?” “That’s a good idea, but it won’t be easy. The Imperial Horticulturalist Club has strict rules… Try to get information other ways. Make wizard friends, or get informants…” The Imperial Horticulturalist Club was a prestigious club for horticulturalists who had done great things in the Empire. Professor Willowtree suggested easier methods to the students. “So, where is it mostly sold, and what is the price?” “I, I don’t know.” “Indeed. Next, little one?” “I also don’t know…” “What about you?” After several people failed, starting with Bartrec, the question came to Leehan. Leehan was surprised but answered, remembering what he'd read. “Wouldn’t it be mostly sold in the southern Valtane Mountains around now? The price… about twenty gold coins?” “Oh. Why?” “The Walpurgis Festival is happening in the Valtane Mountains, and the Barometz fruit is popular there. Also, the south wasn’t that cold last winter, so many Barometz would have grown. So, I don’t think the price would be much higher than average…” “You’re almost right. The price is a little higher because the adventurers who collected the Barometz are working together to set the price, but that would be hard to know.” “I thought about that too, Professor. But I thought the adventurer guilds in that area were having money problems, so they wouldn’t be able to negotiate for long and would give in.” “……” Professor Willowtree opened >The Imperial Horticulturalist Club Journal< and checked. Barometz Fruit - Currently 25 Imperial Gold Coins (Southern Valtane Mountains) “That’s an interesting guess. But it’s wron…” Barometz Fruit - Currently 20 Imperial Gold Coins (Southern Valtane Mountains) “Incredible!” Professor Willowtree was impressed for the first time in a while. “How did you guess this?” “I read the Imperial Newspaper carefully.” “Excellent. Well done.” “Kuh…! Wodanaz, that guy!” Bartrec wrung his hands in frustration. He couldn't believe Leehan studied even those details. The top student was truly far ahead. 'That’s not it…' Yoner thought, embarrassed, as another reader of the Imperial Newspaper’s economics section. It seemed Bartrec misunderstood. Professor Willowtree taught for half the lecture and let the students care for the mandragoras for the other half. Even with time outside lectures, they still needed to ask the professor questions. “Right, Wodanaz. Do you want to join us?” “Join what?” “Mandragoras need strong sunlight to grow well, right?” To grow mandragoras, you had to water them, catch pests, give them sunlight, and do many other things. The scary thing about plants was that even after all that, the mandragora could still die if it was in a bad mood. 'I’d rather deal with a basilisk,' Leehan thought, stroking the baby basilisk. The basilisk, dozing in the greenhouse, happily wrapped its tail around his finger. “Right?” “We’re going to make that sunlight.” “……” Leehan thought his friends had gone crazy. Making sunlight was much harder than summoning light or fire. You needed light, fire, and a dozen other things to make something like the sun. “Are you already thinking about your graduation project?” “What are you talking about, Wodanaz? We’re not you.” “What did you say?” “I heard there’s an artificial sun in the headmaster’s vault. If we steal it, we’re sure to get a perfect score on the mandragoras!” “…Um, if you steal it, tell me. I’ll pay you to borrow it.” “Wodanaz! What’s happened to you this year! You were more excited last year!” Leehan ignored his friends. He didn’t want to visit Headmaster Skull’s vault, especially since he was already in danger and had many enemies. “So, this way like this…” “Ha. This isn’t pretty.” “What are you two doing?” Leehan asked, puzzled, seeing Ratford and Bartrec whispering in front of the garden. They looked very serious. Bartrec quickly pointed to the garden. “It’s nothing. Right, Ratford?” “Ah. We were trying to make patterns on the mandragora leaves.” “Hey!” Bartrec was angry at the betrayal. Ratford didn’t care. “Why are you acting like this when we’re partners? I can say what I want.” “Th-that’s why the Black Tortoise Tower guys are…!” “What? Patterns?” “Mandragoras are valuable not only for medicine but also if they have rare patterns.” Bartrec blushed, embarrassed to be talking about making money in front of the top student! Wodanaz looked shocked. “You two are… geniuses?!” “……” “That’s right. That’s what it was. Why did I forget? Damn it. I’ve wasted my magic.” Some people, like Leehan, cared about how well things worked. Others cared about how they looked. Some Imperial collectors would pay a lot for mandragoras with special patterns on their leaves. “How far have you gotten?” “I’ve tried using potions, but I’ve only made dot patterns…” “That’s common. You need rarer patterns! Bartrec. Is that all you’ve got?” “M-my bad.” Bartrec apologized and then wondered why he had. “Thought becomes a flash, a flash becomes a moment, a moment becomes an instant.” “Very good,” Professor Garcia said, checking Leehan’s >Lower-Level Internal Time Extension< magic, which increased the perceived time within a wizard. Leehan was learning incredibly fast for his grade level. But he wasn't happy… “Kuh!” “I told you, you don’t have to rush…” “Yes. I understand. Kuh!” “……” Professor Garcia thought about hitting him. “Oh, right, Leehan. Next week is Club Week, so there will be many visitors.” “I understand.” “Leehan, you’re in many clubs, so you’ll be called to many places.” “I underst… Wait. What did you say?” Leehan flinched, pulled from his thoughts about magic. Had Professor Garcia just said something bad?