Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 880

The Archmage’s voice cracked like ice. “Quiet, you commoner!” he snapped, his eyes narrowing at Ihan.

“Yes,” Ihan mumbled, instantly going silent. He felt the teacher’s cold glare.

“This,” the Archmage continued, his voice dripping with scorn, “is why wizards like you, who are nothing special, don’t understand what is true or what real work means.”

Professor Zorzik stepped forward carefully. “Excuse me, Archmage,” he began, his voice a little shaky. “Do you know what my goal is? What Zorzik wants?”

The Archmage raised an eyebrow, a hint of amusement in his cold eyes. “Why should someone royal like me care about such small things?”

“My goal,” Professor Zorzik announced, standing a little straighter, “is to become the next Headmaster of Einrogaard.”

The Archmage blinked. For a moment, he just stared at Professor Zorzik, a flicker of surprise in his usually harsh expression.

Professor Zorzik’s goal was so surprising, it seemed almost crazy. That’s why the teacher looked at him like that.

“Impressive.”

“As a candidate for the next Headmaster of Einrogaard, I have a duty to protect the students.”

The Archmage asked Ihan as if he could hardly believe it. “Is he really a candidate?”

“Um… yes.”

Ihan couldn’t hear exactly, but he thought he heard the Archmage mutter, ‘The dregs have gone mad.’

“As you know, the ancient magical style not only harshly treats disciples but also regards them as expendable. We cannot help but suspect that the Archmage considers Wardanaz students as expendable.”

“Dare you?”

Professor Zorzik and Professor Voladi immediately drew their wands. It wasn’t just strong magic. It was the power of an archmage, controlling all the magic around them and filling the room!

“I am being nice to you, and you are being rude. Do you think teaching someone from a royal family is so unimportant that it can be given to someone who is useless?”

The Archmage’s voice was even and without inflection, but that made it all the more chilling.

His words were scary. It felt like this room could become a deadly place if they said the wrong thing.

But why call Ihan a commoner?

Jowoonin, who was listening intently to the conversation while holding her beloved Ehandurde, opened her mouth.

The Archmage paused, taken aback by the sudden intervention of the dragon.

“…Because he is of lowly status, so I call him a commoner.”

But Ihan is a noble?

“I am not referring to bloodline status, Your Highness.”

The Archmage explained the customs of the ancient mages.

It doesn’t matter if they are royal or slaves. Students are always learning, so they are seen as unimportant.

Jowoonin was very upset by how students were treated in the old days.

So, maybe it’s true that they think students are just tools to be used and thrown away!

“No, Your Highness. Just because the title is such does not mean they are expendable…”

The Archmage continued to explain calmly to Jowoonin, without showing even a hint of anger.

However, Jowoonin was indeed of dragon lineage.

No matter how many ancient customary and conventional laws the Archmage brought up, she shook her head, denying them all.

Jowoonin doesn’t know! Ihan is pitiful!

“……”

The teacher tried to convince her for a long time, but Jowoonin wouldn’t change her mind. Finally, the teacher gave up.

“…I understand. I will call him disciple, Your Highness.”

Wow!

Ihan, who was watching this scene from the side, was even more moved than before.

“Your Highness. I don’t think I’ve ever been so proud of you.”

Hee hee. Jowoonin… wait. So, you’ve never been proud before?

‘Oops.’

Before Jowoonin could notice anything strange, Professor Zorzik and Professor Voladi intervened.

“Your Highness. Please ask about other things as well.”

“I think you should also point out the dangerous teachings.”

“……”

The Archmage cast a contemptuous gaze at the sight of the professors using Jowoonin as a shield to inject their own opinions.

The teacher thought to himself, ‘This world is so bad. It just gets worse and worse.’

After they talked (mostly Jowoonin telling him what to do), things changed.

Ihan’s title was now disciple instead of commoner. It was truly a tremendous change.

Compared to that, it was minor, but the Archmage’s teachings also changed slightly. He promised not to teach magic that could kill anyone, at least for now.

The teacher tried to argue using old rules, saying, ‘But you can bring them back to life!’ But Jowoonin was firm and wouldn’t listen.

No! No way! It’s painful to die!

“……”

Thanks to this, the Archmage, who only suffered losses, seemed to be in a very bad mood. Ihan was wary of his master.

Ihan didn’t usually care if his teacher was angry or sad. But this teacher was different. This teacher was scary when angry.

There was a reason why the word ‘mad’ was attached to his name.

“Master. Still, I have had some achievements in the meantime.”

The Archmage ignored him, pretending not to hear, as he was still in a bad mood.

Ihan. He seems sulky…

As Jowoonin was the one who sulked the most often here, she had an expert’s eye for distinguishing emotional grudges.

Of course, Ihan couldn’t say ‘That’s right,’ so he denied it for now.

“He’s not sulking. He’s just slightly uncomfortable.”

…Isn’t that sulking…?

“Shhh. More importantly, please help me. I have to talk about my achievements.”

Okay! I understand!

Jowoonin also felt a little sorry for being unreasonable with the Archmage, so she nodded her head up and down.

“Look. The staff is now complete.”

“It would have been more powerful if you had used a branch of the World Tree. Disciple.”

“……”

Ihan missed the days when the Archmage was coldly angry.

It was harder to handle him when he just ignored you and pretended not to hear.

“Oh, right. I also completed a skeleton golem.”

“Reflect on completing it so late. It took you this long to complete just one skeleton golem.”

While the teacher was being short and rude, Professor Zorzik and Professor Voladi were talking.

“Professor Begreck,” Professor Zorzik said, being careful with his words, “I think our way of teaching magic at Einrogaard is better than the old way.”

“I agree.”

Professor Zorgic spoke in a loud voice, “Even if you learn ancient magic, you don’t have to copy how they taught it!”

Lee Han shifted his weight from one foot to the other and asked quietly, “Can’t we talk about this somewhere else?”

Professor Zorgic, with his long white beard, and Professor Volardy, who always wore thick glasses, were deep in a serious talk about old magic books and how to teach students. Lee Han felt lost and bored listening to them. Seeing Lee Han’s unhappy face, Jo Woori, his friend, tried to help.

Jo Woori gently touched Lee Han’s arm and smiled kindly.

Professor Volardy looked at Lee Han’s work and said, “Lee Han, you have made a backpack with space magic and learned to build an airship! That is very good progress.”

Suddenly, a cold voice cut through the air. It was the Mad Doppelganger, their teacher. His eyes were like ice as he looked at Lee Han.

“How impressive,” he said, his voice sharp and cold. “You are good enough to be a craftsman in a guild workshop.”

Jo Woori’s smile faded. He knew the Mad Doppelganger’s words were not a compliment. The Mad Doppelganger rarely praised anyone.

Lee Han was puzzled.

“Isn’t that a compliment?” he wondered.

No matter how he thought about it, it sounded like a good thing. For a moment, he even wondered if the Mad Doppelganger’s anger had gone away.

But when Lee Han looked at the Mad Doppelganger’s face, it was still hard and emotionless, like stone. Lee Han realized he still had a long way to go.

The Mad Doppelganger turned his cold gaze to Lee Han and asked, “What have you been doing lately?” his voice still sharp.

Lee Han hesitated, then began to speak slowly.

“Well… Master, I… I visited the Gusan Palhae dimension. I met the Yaksha King, heard his story, and even made a contract with a star…” As he spoke, Lee Han cautiously glanced at his master, trying to see if his anger had lessened even a bit.

And then, Lee Han was shocked.

The Mad Doppelganger was looking at Lee Han with an expression he had never seen before. His face was a mixture of shock, admiration, and emotion, making it hard to understand.

“Keep talking,” the Mad Doppelganger ordered, his voice now filled with a strange urgency.

“What do you mean, ‘that’s all’? Details, boy! Tell me everything, every single thing.”

Lee Han felt the pressure that if he didn’t explain in detail, he would be punished. Lee Han quickly told his story, his words rushing out. “The Yaksha King was very tall, with horns like a bull, and he told me about…” The Mad Doppelganger gestured for him to skip the part about the Yaksha King’s wicked tricks, as if it were bothersome.

After Lee Han explained the name of the star he had contracted with, the Mad Doppelganger was silent for a long moment.

The Mad Doppelganger was silent for a long moment. Then, he spoke again, his voice softer, almost… warm?

“You…” he said, looking at Lee Han with those intense eyes. “I am… proud.”

Lee Han blinked, completely surprised.

“You are worthy,” the Mad Doppelganger continued, “to be called my disciple.”

Lee Han realized one thing: the ancient, mad archmage was far more terrifying when deeply moved and looking at him with expectant eyes than when he was angry or cold.

The Mad Doppelganger, now in a surprisingly good mood, turned to the two professors. He actually *smiled* at Professor Zorgic as he answered his questions about ancient runes, and he even nodded thoughtfully at Professor Volardy’s ideas about making lessons more interesting.

Professor Volardy, still a little surprised by the Mad Doppelganger’s sudden good humor, asked cautiously, “Master, didn’t you say earlier that you were preparing for… intruders?”

The Mad Doppelganger waved his hand dismissively. “Ah, that’s right. I had forgotten about it since it was such a trivial matter.”

The two professors didn’t particularly object either.

Intruders are always a nuisance, like flies buzzing around. Einrogard is well protected. But, even the strongest magic has its limits. A clever thief can always find a way in when you are not looking. That is why every sensible mage has minions, loyal creatures to guard their precious things.

Lee Han thought for a moment.

“But Master,” he said, “if you used really powerful magic to protect the workshop, wouldn’t it be impossible for anyone to get in? Like… like trying to break down a stone wall with your bare hands?”

The Mad Doppelganger said coldly, “You want me to use such magic to protect such a prisoner?”

Lee Han was dumbfounded.

Professor Zorgic frowned slightly and said slowly, “Well… yes, I suppose it would be a great waste of powerful magic to protect… a single prisoner.”

Professor Volardy nodded quickly. “Exactly! If you have such strong magic, Master, it should be used for important things, for your students, for example!”

Lee Han thought to himself, ‘Did I really bring these two for nothing? It seemed like it would have been much better to just bring Jo Woori.’

“Shall I stand guard? With Prince Jo Woori and Earendurde…” Jo Woori offered.

The Mad Doppelganger scolded Lee Han, “Did you become arrogant just because you met the Yaksha King and made a contract with a star? You should be spending more time practicing magic.”

Lee Han cursed his master inwardly, ‘Then don’t call me.’

The Mad Doppelganger continued to scold him. “To try to make a descendant of a noble lineage do such trivial things. How many times do I have to teach you etiquette?”

The Mad Doppelganger ignored him as if he hadn’t heard. Jo Woori pouted.

“It’s the same with trying to make a low-level junior do the work. You need to learn for a few more years,” the Mad Doppelganger said.

Earendurde looked at Lee Han and Professor Volardy with a shocked expression. Was his own level that low?

“No, Earendurde. Don’t be fooled. Master is just being strict,” Lee Han said.

“You’re doing well enough,” Professor Volardy added.

The two of them tried hard to comfort Earendurde.

Then Lee Han asked again, “Then do you have a good idea?”

“As I said, we need minions. Then we should look for them around here,” the Mad Doppelganger replied.

“Indeed. You’re talking about the seniors of Einrogard,” Lee Han said.

At Lee Han’s answer, not only the Mad Doppelganger but even the professor cast a look of astonishment. Even Professor Volardy looked slightly surprised.

“Oh, is that not it?” Lee Han asked.

The Mad Doppelganger ignored Lee Han’s question and said, “He is indeed a descendant of a noble lineage. What a pathetic disciple. There are several races living in these mountains.”

The group ignored Lee Han’s words.

“The most suitable race among them is the giants. As a disciple of the royal family, I will entrust you with full authority, so visit the giants with Intarendals. The giants are rough and untamed, so you must be extra careful in your attitude. Don’t act arrogantly just because you can give them generous rewards. Their anger is never light.”

Lee Han wondered, “Are there other giants in the mountains?”