Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 802

The most frightening kind of enemy wasn’t a powerful leader, but a follower who was lost and confused, unaware of their true role. Lee Han’s heart pounded in his chest as the realization hit him.

*This isn’t just some random bad guy.*

He swallowed hard, his voice trembling slightly. “So… this ‘Gonadaltes’… who exactly *is* he?” Lee Han asked, desperately hoping, against all logic, that there might be someone else with that strange, old-sounding name in the vast Empire. Maybe, just maybe, this was all a terrible mistake.

“He is an Archmage who has attained enlightenment, a scion of a noble royal lineage, and one born with the destiny of the Great Wheel! Are you truly asking this out of ignorance?”

“…Where is Intarendals from?”

“I am from the Kingdom of Margada.”

“……”

The Kingdom of Margada didn’t even exist in the current Empire. Lee Han felt a chill as he recognized the name of a kingdom he had only heard of from the era of the Three Kingdoms.

With this, the identity of his opponent became clear.

He wasn’t a subordinate of the Skull Headmaster, but of the mad clone.

‘The defense of Einrogaard… is this really alright?’

Of course, given how vast it was, completely preventing intrusion was impossible, but if there was a mad monster within the territory, shouldn’t they be paying more attention?

To think that a subordinate of the mad monster would enter so brazenly…

“How did you even get in?”

“What do you mean?”

“The Einrogaard territory is protected by powerful magic. Especially these days.”

Lee Han was afraid and in pain, but he tried his best to extract even one more piece of information from the enemy.

That was the only way he could report to the Death Knights and strengthen the defenses.

“Of course, I entered with permission.”

Intarendals said with a noble smile. He seemed to think Lee Han was making a joke.

“…Permission?”

“Yes. Are you perhaps curious about the permit?”

“…I would appreciate it if you showed me.”

Lee Han barely managed to hold onto his sanity and asked.

Surprisingly, the permit Intarendals presented was genuine.

The permit was real. It used the Dalcard family’s seal and blood to prove who Intarendals was. It said he was allowed to enter Einrogaard. But there was a strange warning: a curse would happen if he didn’t spend a lot of gold.

The rules of Einrogaard were not lax.

First, in order to visit during Club Week, one had to clearly prove their identity.

In the case of noble families, the seal and blood of the ring were the means of verification.

Since both were not easily forged, they were reliable as proof of identity.

Now, after providing such proof of identity, one would enter Einrogaard after promising, ‘I will definitely invest or sponsor this much’…

“”,””

Lee Han tilted his head, unable to understand.

‘The Dalcard family should be Asan’s family.’

Asan, his friend from the Blue Dragon Tower.

Why would a great noble family that had served as imperial treasurers for generations be cooperating with such a mad clone?

‘Asan… could it be that you were the traitor…!’

While he was trembling with an absurd sense of betrayal, Intarendals cast a worried glance.

The noble boy before him seemed to be in poor health. He had been staggering with a pale face since earlier.

“Are you alright?”

“I’m fine. Um… I have a question, are you connected to the Dalcard family? I don’t seem to have heard of them before.”

“Ah.”

Intarendals smiled elegantly.

Only then did he realize why the boy was so flustered.

“I am not connected to the Dalcard family ‘now.’ In the first place, when I was alive, the family name wasn’t even Dalcard; the names weren’t in this format back then.”

“……”

Surprisingly, the person before him was a distant ancestor of the Dalcard family.

So much so that the name no longer remained.

Lee Han was dumbfounded at the ancient-style signet ring and blood that the other party showed him.

And the Dalcard family would be even more dumbfounded.

Someone was pretending to be their family, and it was their resurrected ancestor.

‘This is an absurd nightmare.’

“I have been briefly resurrected to visit Einrogaard under the orders of Gonadaltes. Does that explain things a bit?”

Intarendals, who had been Gonadaltes’ chief attendant, had briefly defied death and resurrected under his master’s orders.

Then, he took his old signet ring and property to visit Einrogaard. Fortunately, there was quite a bit of gold that his descendants had failed to secure and had been lost.

‘Later… I’ll have to ask about it later. I can’t ask now.’

Lee Han was so shocked that he couldn’t even ask about the location of the gold, even after hearing about it.

“I think I understand a little. Why are you looking for a boy named Lee Han of the Wodanaz family?”

“I cannot tell you the reason, as it is related to my mission. Do you happen to have any ideas?”

“Ah! It just occurred to me. I think I heard he was in the sixth grade, so perhaps you should look among the sixth graders.”

“Indeed. Thank you.”

Intarendals turned around to give an elegant bow, but the boy had already disappeared quickly.

‘Such an impatient boy!’

“Puh! Where are you going?”

As Lee Han ran quickly to escape the 7th floor village area, Palcrius spotted him and grabbed him.

“Senior, have you been bribed!”

“Huh? Bribed with what?”

“Never mind. Let go of me. Something urgent has come up.”

“What are you talking about? What could be more urgent than getting gold coins from outsiders?”

The pot-bellied senior from the kitchen club didn’t understand what Lee Han was saying.

Where was he going after preparing so diligently?

“Puh… you. You’re scared right now. Aren’t you?”

“I am scared, but…”

“Even a genius like you gets scared. But that’s how it is for everyone. I was the same.”

Palcrius said with melancholic eyes.

He was reminded of the moment when he first faced Club Week in his second year.

He had been truly overwhelmed and afraid back then. Even when a customer asked a question kindly, it sounded like they were disparaging his magic.

-Is this magic pot useful?

-D, did you just insult my pot?!

‘Hmm. Memories.’

Palcrius sent another apology to the customer whose head he had almost shoved into a pot because of himself, and looked at his junior with encouraging eyes.

“But Wodanaz! It’s something everyone has to overcome. And you will be able to overcome it better than anyone else. If you can’t overcome it, who will?”

Lee Han fidgeted with his fingers. “It’s not because of the test that I’m scared, Senior,” he mumbled.

“I did say that nothing is 100% certain, didn’t I? Heh. But if it’s you, it might be close to 100%. Even at the Imperial Magic Academy, a genius like you is truly rare.”

Falkrius, a large man with a booming laugh, clapped Lee Han on the back so hard it almost winded him. ‘Don’t be scared, genius! You’ll be amazing!’

He didn’t usually praise his junior, not wanting to make him arrogant, but Lee Han’s skills were enough to impress even the seniors of Einroguard.

“And more than anything, there are guests who want to see you. Come along. I’ll put gold coins in your hand!”

Falkrius chuckled, grabbing Lee Han by the arm and pulling him towards the dining hall. Lee Han stumbled slightly, surprised by the senior’s strength.

The Kitchen Club was a busy, steamy place, filled with the clatter of pots and pans and the smell of baking bread. They walked into the dining hall, a large room with long wooden tables. Guests in fine clothes stood around, watching Kitchen Club members demonstrate magical knives and bowls.

“Look at this!” a Kitchen Club member exclaimed, holding up a shiny knife. “This kitchen knife is so sharp, even someone who’s never cooked before can cut meat perfectly! Think about how amazing this would be for the Butchery Guild!”

“Hmm. But wouldn’t our guild’s artisans lose their competitiveness because of this knife?”

“…Oh… I hadn’t thought of that. How about reducing the number of artisans in the guild?”

“Are you even saying that right now?”

The people from the Baking Guild and the Butchery Guild each added a word or two about the magic that the Kitchen Club members were researching.

Then, they saw Lee Han and Falkrius and exclaimed,

“Falkrius!”

“Greetings, Mr. Goladek!”

“Much better than when you threw me into the pot two years ago!”

“Heh heh. Sorry!”

“No, no. Thanks to your magic, I was able to crush the noses of those nasty Confectionery Guild fellows.”

Goladek from the Baking Guild praised Falkrius several times.

If it weren’t for this Einroguard magician, the Baking Guild would have lost the Sugar War in the capital! It was a big fight over who sold the most sugar treats.

“Is this magician perhaps that junior of yours?”

“Yes, he is, Mr. Goladek.”

Lee Han quickly looked around. Good, Intarendals wasn’t here. That powerful magician always made him nervous.

“Greetings. I am…”

“Lee Han of the Wodanaz family, am I right?”

“I heard you’re taking courses from all the schools. Is that true?”

“I heard you’re already being recognized by external magicians? Is it true that you were recognized by Yoaneen of the Maykin family?”

“Artisan Puyo has also mentioned your name. I was surprised.”

“I heard you’re already discussing research with the fifth-year seniors. Have you really completed the 5th Circle magic?”

Lee Han was taken aback by the guests who introduced him before he could even introduce himself.

‘What is this?’

“How?”

“Heh. Wodanaz. The people who visit here aren’t fools! They investigate very diligently and sharply.”

The Empire was rich, but people didn’t waste money. At least the people gathered here were those who wanted to invest their gold coins in the best talent.

Goladek said with a proud expression.

“Of course, Einroguard is a secret sanctuary of magic, but our artisans also have ears all over the Empire. I dare say, we haven’t missed a single piece of information. Isn’t that right?”

Lee Han recalled the many formidable opponents he had fought against this year and last year.

Then, he quickly smiled and said,

“I really can’t hide anything. You haven’t missed a thing!”

“Isn’t that right? Haha.”

“I want to sponsor you.”

“Me too!”

Lee Han paused at the guests’ suggestions.

“I haven’t even talked about my research yet, though?”

“What’s so important about research? The important thing is the person.”

‘No…!’

One of the seniors next to him trembled, holding a ladle. His ambitious work, >a bowl that allows you to withstand eating even poisonous food>, was criticized for not being marketable!

‘That’s why non-magicians are…! They don’t know anything!’

Falkrius wore a proud expression at his junior’s success.

“Heh. Congratulations, Wodanaz. It looks like it will be a successful conclusion. But don’t be too arrogant! If you act like Professor Verdus – you know, the one who argued with all his sponsors – even the mild-mannered sponsors can get angry.”

“Nonsense?” one of the guests scoffed. “Don’t even say that name!” another added, shuddering slightly. “Professor Verdus… he was trouble.”

“…What exactly do I have to do?”

Lee Han asked, just in case.

Free gold coins were nice, but there was no such thing as a free lunch in the world.

Falkrius waved his pot lid-sized hand as if to say not to worry and explained.

“Like I said, as long as you don’t act arbitrarily like Professor Ver-something, investors and sponsors won’t get angry. Show them what you’re researching, and if the investor or sponsor has a request, fulfill it.”

“A request?”

“The direction of the research… improvement plans, and sometimes they ask you to see if their child has magical talent.”

‘Doesn’t seem too difficult.’

An arrogant and picky magician might be disgusted by such pride-hurting suggestions, but Lee Han could even visit a sponsor’s mansion and hold a splendid magical birthday party if they gave him gold coins.

He didn’t know exactly what Professor Verdus had done…

‘…I wouldn’t go that far, would I?’

“Twenty Imperial gold coins.”

“Then I’ll offer thirty coins.”

“Sixty coins…”

While the sponsors were discussing the amounts, someone asked Falkrius,

“Is this where Lee Han of the Wodanaz family is?”

“Yes, it is.”

“Indeed. And those people?”

“They’re people who have gathered to offer sponsorship.”

“You can tell them all to go back; they’re not needed.”

“Pardon?”

Falkrius was taken aback, wondering what the other person was talking about.

Suddenly, a tall figure stepped forward. It was Intarendals. He didn’t say a word, just slammed a massive wooden chest onto the table. The heavy thud echoed in the room, and the chest groaned under the weight of gold coins inside.

“I alone am enough to sponsor Lee Han of the Wodanaz family. The people gathered here should help other magicians.”

“…!”

“!!!!”