Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 86

“Are you sure we’re in the right place? This looks nothing like a school… more like a scary prison.”

Yoner just stared, his face pale. He didn’t want to believe this was the school.

Lee Han sighed, his face grim. “It’s the school, alright. It’s the punishment ward.”

“…?!?”

Whispers about the punishment ward were common in the school. Students said all sorts of things. *Fail three classes, and they drag you there for the whole vacation,* some would say in hushed tones. *I heard the bottom ten in the midterm exams get dragged to the punishment ward!* others claimed. *This is just a rumour, but I heard some seniors failed an experiment and got dragged to the punishment ward.* *If you get caught trying to escape the school, you get dragged to the punishment ward, but that’s probably a lie, right??*

Most felt it was a lie, but rumours usually contain a grain of truth.

Clunk!

The heavy metal door echoed as Lee Han pushed it open.

“!”

Lee Han hesitated, then quickly grabbed the cold metal doorknob of a room. He expected it to be locked, but to his surprise, it swung open easily.

‘A punishment ward, but…’

Lee Han realized that this punishment ward wasn’t currently in use.

The hallway outside was filled with dust and cobwebs, and the private rooms on both sides were all empty and open.

“It seems like this place isn’t used anymore.”

“That’s not very comforting.”

Yoner muttered in a frightened voice.

A punishment ward without people was scarier than one with people.

It would be better if there were people…

“Finding the punishment ward is quite difficult, so this is troublesome.”

“How did you kno… Ah.”

Yoner looked at Lee Han with a sorry expression. He knew that Lee Han had been to the punishment ward before.

“It wasn’t as bad an experience as you might think.”

“The Headmaster didn’t threaten you, did he?”

“No. If the Headmaster ever threatens me to say something in the future, I’ll put ‘I swear’ in front of it.”

“That’s a good idea.”

Once they were sure, the two walked to the end of the hallway.

But there were no stairs.

“…???”

“????”

All that stood there was a solid brick wall.

Flustered, Lee Han turned around. There was no other passage on the opposite side. They had to go this way.

‘This is…’

Lee Han understood what was happening. Even though he’d only been at the magic school for a few weeks, he was learning fast.

‘A magical passage.’

Just like when he tried to escape to the underground warehouse, the path was hidden by magic.

There were two options.

Find it or force it open.

Lee Han took out charcoal powder neatly wrapped in paper from his pocket. Yoner asked, puzzled.

“What’s that?”

“I made it with Ratford in case we needed it to escape.”

It was a similar principle to finding fingerprints on an object by sprinkling graphite powder.

Yoner was speechless at Lee Han’s prepared attitude.

Lee Han thought that Yoner was envious of him, judging by Yoner’s strange look.

‘I should teach him later.’

Yoner would definitely like this kind of skill!

“…It’s not working.”

However, this time it didn’t work as easily as the underground warehouse. No traces were found.

Lee Han didn’t give up.

“Yoner, step back.”

If the technique didn’t work, he would use force.

Lee Han was planning to blow away the magic hiding this passage, just like he blew away the defensive magic at the dormitory entrance last time.

‘I don’t need to hit it that hard. Just enough. Just enough to reveal the passage.’

Stop it, you fool!

“!”

The spirit’s voice echoed loudly in the hallway. It was a fierce voice that felt violent just listening to it.

“Who are you?”

My name is not for just anyone to know. Why have you come to my shadow ground? I will not forgive you if you do not answer quickly.

“I was introduced by Mr. Parakis.”

Parakis?

The fierce spirit’s voice paused, seemingly flustered. It seemed unexpected.

He sounds strong, like you’d expect from a professor here, but that doesn’t qualify him to make a contract with me. I don’t know what Parakis was thinking sending you…

“Um, I’m not a professor, I’m a student.”

Yoner interjected.

?!

“I’m a freshman…”

……

A brief, awkward silence fell. Lee Han could feel the waves of magical power flowing through the walls and ceiling.

The spirit seemed to be rechecking.

A young wizard… Wait. Is he really a young wizard? Or is he disguised?

“You can check if you don’t believe me.”

The fierce spirit seemed to hesitate, then decided not to doubt any further.

Then it makes sense that Parakis sent you. He tends to be kind to young wizards. But I will not make a contract. I do not contract with those I do not know well.

“I knew it…”

Yoner said, sounding disappointed.

“You’re avoiding Lee Han because he has too much magical power. Like the other spirits.”

…What are you talking about? No!

The opposing spirit was flustered by Yoner’s words.

It wasn’t just a mistake; the spirit thought he was *scared* of Lee Han’s magic! This was something the spirit couldn’t ignore.

“But you’re not showing yourself. From what Mr. Parakis said, Lee Han’s very existence causes fear to the spirits.”

“Yoner… he didn’t say that much…”

I sound like a weirdo!

“Isn’t that why you’re not showing yourself?”

No! Do you think I’m a spirit who’s afraid of magical power and won’t show myself?!

“Then what’s the reason you’re not showing yourself?”

This time, Lee Han asked, sounding curious.

Then the spirit hesitated and said.

I just… don’t like meaningless fights, so I was trying to avoid it.

Lee Han and Yoner stood in the dimly lit room, staring at the wall. It seemed ordinary, just stone. But a faint hum vibrated in the air, and they could feel a strange pressure. They exchanged a quick glance, unsure what to say. Lee Han spoke first, trying to sound like he understood something mysterious.

“Is that so?”

Yoner nodded slowly, adding,

“That could be.”

Suddenly, a voice boomed in their heads, filled with anger.

“You little human wizards! Do you think I can’t read the meaning in your voices?!”

A voice echoed in their minds, and a name resonated with power: “Perkuntra.” It was the name of the spirit, a name they had not been told, but somehow now knew.

A spirit summoned by a wizard usually did the work agreed upon in the place provided by the wizard, or appeared whenever the wizard called, to perform the agreed tasks.

The important thing here was the contract.

The wizard could not order the spirit to do more than what was initially agreed upon, and the spirit would not comply with such demands.

However, conversely, it meant that the spirit would uphold what was initially agreed upon, staking its honor on it.

Perkuntra was behaving strangely. If this were a punishment room with students, his anger might make sense. But this room was empty, closed off, with no one to punish. Why was Perkuntra so agitated?

The answer was because a proper contract hadn’t been made.

“I summon you, great spirit, Perkuntra. Submit to me. Be subservient to me. I know your true name, so you shall kneel!”

“-Don’t spout such nonsense, you foul-smelling lich! Even if I respect power, do you think I would kneel to someone as disgusting as you?!”

The Lich Headmaster, having learned the name from an artifact in the ancient ruins, summoned Perkuntra with that name.

Of course, Perkuntra didn’t readily submit just because he knew the name. He didn’t want to contract with a lich, if nothing else.

The two fought for a full week, day and night.

When Perkuntra didn’t yield no matter how he threatened him, the Lich Headmaster eventually offered a compromise.

“-If you hate contracts so much, how about a compromise, you impudent spirit Perkuntra? If you do just one thing for me, I won’t give you any orders. In return, I will offer you regular tributes!”

“…What kind of work are you talking about?”

“-I am raising young wizards. There is a building where these young wizards are educated, and I want you to prevent these young wizards from escaping from this building!”

“-Just that?”

“-Just that!”

Perkuntra was swayed by the Lich Headmaster’s words.

Compared to all sorts of complex and detailed contracts, guarding a building and preventing young wizards from escaping wasn’t very difficult.

Besides, since it wasn’t a formal contract, he wouldn’t need to get close to that lich’s soul.

“-If you refuse…”

“-You impudent spirit! This is my final offer. The moment you refuse, I will tear your entire body apart and seal you away, and the books with your name written on them will be locked away in forgotten tombs. Will you enter eternal oblivion, or will you accept my offer?”

“…Fine. I accept!”

Perkuntra, knowing he couldn’t beat the Lich Headmaster, eventually accepted the offer.

And he thought, how much could young wizards possibly run away?

At most, they’d just miss the outside world and go out.

…But the young wizards were more capable than he thought, and escape attempts were frequent.

Perkuntra belatedly understood the reason.

That lich was actually encouraging the escapes.

“-If they succeed in escaping, wouldn’t that also be a talent? Try to escape with your talents.”

The Lich Headmaster was clearly mad. He should have used the punishment room for students who misbehaved. Instead, he seemed to encourage escapes. As soon as a student succeeded in escaping the punishment room, he would stop using it for punishment. This just made the older students constantly try to escape, turning it into a game.

Thanks to that, the work in the underground prison was much more arduous and difficult than Perkuntra had anticipated.

The only time he could rest was when he was alone and quiet in a closed punishment room like this.

This was a peace that would soon be broken if the students tried to escape…

Still, when there were no students, this closed punishment room was truly wonderful.

But today, suddenly, two young, green wizards came to the place where Perkuntra was resting.

‘Parakis. That fellow!’

He knew he cherished the young wizards, but to send them here like this.

Perkuntra wriggled and said,

“The reason I don’t show myself is out of consideration for you young wizards!”

“Ah… I see…”

Yoner was quiet and respectful, unlike some students Perkuntra had encountered. But even Yoner’s polite silence seemed to irritate the spirit, perhaps because Perkuntra sensed doubt behind it.

A spirit of Perkuntra’s caliber could read what a fledgling wizard was thinking.

Yoner was thinking that Perkuntra was scared.

It was a truly absurd misunderstanding.

Of course, the young wizard next to him did have tremendous magical power, but Perkuntra wasn’t a spirit who would be scared and run away from something like that.

Lee Han was getting tired of the conversation, so he politely asked.

“Alright. Spirit. I understand you don’t want to make a contract, so could you perhaps open a path for us?”

“Wait!”

“?”

“You two young wizards are now doubting my strength in your hearts. Do you know how insulting that is?”

“No…”

Lee Han protested as if he was wronged.

“We spoke with courtesy, didn’t we? Why are you having such paranoid thoughts?”

“Do you think I can’t read such emotions?!”

Lee Han and Yoner felt a little guilty. But Lee Han didn’t back down.

“But we can’t help the thoughts that come to mind. Regardless of what we think, we believe we have acted with courtesy in accordance with honor.”

Yoner nodded, saying ‘uh-huh’ to Lee Han’s words.

There was really nothing wrong with what he said.

Of course, Perkuntra didn’t agree.

“Then I will show you a fraction of my power.”

“I think we could see it if you opened that wall…”

“Be quiet and prepare. You! Gather your magic.”

“I haven’t even been learning magic for a year.”

“I know. That’s why I’m trying to show you in the simplest way possible. Convert the elements with the magic you gather!”

The opponent didn’t seem likely to back down easily.

Lee Han gave up and gathered his magic. He thought he would have to persuade that spirit to find a way out.

“Which element should I use?”

“The most destructive force!”

“……”

“I told you not to doubt me!!”

The spirit got angry again, as if he had read Lee Han’s mind. Lee Han was startled.

“Burn!”

The most destructive element was, of course, fire. Lee Han hoped that the realization he had gained while petting the dog would be helpful and summoned fire.

Suddenly, the air crackled with intense energy. A blinding flash of white light ripped through the darkness above, followed by a deafening CRACK! A bolt of pure lightning, thick as a tree trunk, slammed down from the ceiling, striking directly at the small flame Lee Han had conjured.

“!”

“!!”

Lee Han and Yoner were startled by the loud noise.

And they were also surprised by the sight that followed.

The fire that Lee Han had summoned was unharmed.

“…Uh, what did you do?”