Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 882

“-Wodanaz… Drink this. Anger… gone.”

The good-natured giants wanted to calm Leehan down. They offered him a large container filled with their giant brew.

This strong drink was made from the milk of mountain-destroying sheep. It was so strong that just one sip could calm even the angriest person.

Whump!

“…If I’m not wrong, it looks like it’s on fire?” Intarendal asked, a little confused.

-Correct! That’s how it gets even hotter!

Leehan didn’t drink the fiery brew. But just hearing about the giants’ strange drinking habits made him chuckle a little. *Drinking fire! How ridiculous,* he thought. His shoulders relaxed, and he turned to face Intarendal, feeling much calmer.

“Thank you all for your concern.”

-That wizard is suspicious.

“Giants! Intarendal would never hurt our master’s disciple…”

“He is a little at fault, though.”

“?!!”

Intarendal was shocked by Leehan’s sudden words.

What had he done wrong?

-Throw him off the cliff! Throw him off the cliff!

“It’s not that bad. You don’t need to get angry for me.”

-Wodanaz, so generous! So kind!

The giants pretended to pat Leehan on the back (because they knew what would happen if they actually did) and praised him.

‘Right. There’s no need to worry yet. Prophecies aren’t absolute,’ Leehan thought.

Prophecies were not absolute. In fact, blindly following them could be more dangerous.

And Intarendal was just a wizard, wasn’t he? He could easily misunderstand things.

For example, maybe the rogue star Arna had changed its orbit and become a star that helped the good students of Einrogard…

‘Even I think that sounds like utter rubbish,’ Leehan thought.

Studying magic made it hard to trick yourself, because you became smarter.

“Leehan of the Wodanaz family, we have to persuade the giants.”

Even though Intarendal had wrongly accused Leehan, he didn’t mention it. He thought, *I should stay here, because my master sent me.* He needed to think about what he had done.

“I understand. Let’s persuade them toge…”

-Wodanaz! The sheep had a baby! Let’s go see!

-Wodanaz! I got a new pot! Come see!

-I said it first!

-A sheep having a baby is normal! A pot is much more important!

Thump! Crash!

The giants started grabbing each other and arguing. Leehan quickly stopped them.

“I’ll go to both! Both!”

After stopping the fight, Leehan left with the giants. Intarendal watched him go and said in a panicked voice, but a little late.

“But, the persuasion… ?”

As Intarendal waited for Leehan, sadly guarding the carts alone in the giants’ camp, he heard a low, rough voice.

-Now this is a strange guest. Living longer than this old man, eh?

‘Yacha!’ Intarendal thought.

Intarendal bowed slightly to the old Yacha.

“Greetings. I am Intarendal, chief servant, sent by Gonadaltes to talk.”

-Gonadaltes…? Ah. I see. Make yourself comfortable.

“I should stay here, because my master sent me.”

-Then I will respect you too.

Yacha thought Intarendal was a servant of the ‘mad doppelganger’. He didn’t think Intarendal was important enough to be a servant of the ‘Skull Archmage’.

None of the Skull Archmage’s servants had ever been brought back as chief servants.

-But why are you here alone…?

“Well, you see…”

Intarendal sighed and explained what had happened. He had expected the talks with the giants to take a long time, but he never thought he would be left waiting like this.

He should be in the middle of talking right now, but instead, he was just waiting. So, it was natural that he would complain.

-Ah. The giants really like the boy from the Wodanaz family. It’s been a while since they had a visitor, so they must have a lot to talk about.

“Were the giants always so friendly?”

-Not really. It’s just that the boy from the Wodanaz family is quite special, don’t you think?

Intarendal nodded. As Gonadaltes’ student, Leehan was sure to be extraordinary.

…He just didn’t expect it to be because he was friends with giants…

“Anyway, we need to talk, but I don’t know when he’ll be back.”

-Talk, you say?

“Didn’t I mention it? We need guards to protect the mountain fortress, and…”

-Ah. It’s not that I didn’t understand you.

The old Yacha put down the frame and basket he was carrying and said,

-The giants will probably just agree if Wodanaz asks them.

“Haha. You’re funny! …Wait. You’re not joking, are you?”

-Nope.

“That’s… ridiculous.”

Intarendal didn’t believe it. He knew that Leehan was friendly with the giants, but business was business. The giants wouldn’t do a job for free just because they were friendly.

-I’m serious. You can check when he gets back…

Before he could finish, the giants came back to the camp with Leehan after their last visit.

-Isn’t our sculpture great!

“Yes… truly magnificent…”

-We made one on the eastern peak too! Let’s go see that one as well!

“…Let’s see that one next time. Masterpieces shouldn’t be seen all at once. It will be less impressive…”

-Wodanaz is so clever!

The giants had recently started sculpting as a hobby and were making rough giant statues on every mountain peak.

That was fine, but they were trying to show him each one while dragging him around, which was tiring for Leehan.

“Oh. Hello.”

Leehan saw the old Yacha at the camp and greeted him. Before the Yacha could answer, the giants started complaining angrily.

One of the giants stomped his foot and yelled, “Hey! Old Yacha!”

“You made Wodanaz angry! Wodanaz is suffering because of you! You must take responsibility!”

The old Yacha looked confused. He didn’t understand what they were talking about.

Giants were not always easy to understand, but what was this about Wodanaz suffering?

“What silly things are you talking about? What did I do?”

“Wodanaz met the Yacha King! He suffered because of it! The old Yacha must take responsibility!”

“…You met the Yacha King?!”

The old Yacha was more surprised than he had been all day.

Yacha people lived in many different places. But there was only one special Yacha, the Yacha King.

The wisest Yacha, respected and honored by everyone!

“You met that wise king?”

Lee Han grumbled, his voice sharp with displeasure. “Wise? What’s so wise about him?”

The old Yacha noticed Lee Han’s unhappy tone and asked, clearly puzzled.

“You met His Majesty the Yacha King, and you’re complaining? What a great chance!”

The wisest of all Yacha, the King, was said to live in a palace hidden in a dimension far away, a place unreachable by normal people, where he guarded wisdom and secrets.

People believed the Yacha King was so wise, they would give anything to meet him.

“There is an old Yacha story. A traveler, lost and wandering, finds a house in the middle of the night and opens the door, only to find inside…”

Lee Han interrupted, “I don’t care about legends. It didn’t help me at all. I almost died, you know.”

“Ooh! You’re awful!” one giant exclaimed.

Another giant chimed in, “Old Yacha, apologize!”

‘Was the teaching perhaps a little too harsh?’ The old Yacha thought to himself.

The Yacha King was a kind king who liked to share his wisdom with lost travelers, but maybe it had felt a bit too extreme for the young wizard.

Thinking this, the old Yacha felt truly sorry, regretting that Lee Han had misunderstood the King’s good intentions!

‘It’s alright. In time, he will understand the King’s intentions and be grateful.’

The old Yacha nodded, picturing Lee Han getting angry and telling the giants to grab him.

“Hmm. It seems there was a crisis. Still, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity…”

Lee Han said, “He told me to visit again, though.”

“No! Then of course you must visit, you young wizard!” The old Yacha exclaimed without realizing it.

If the King invited you, you should say ‘Thank you’ and visit to receive his wisdom, but this young one didn’t even know how to be grateful!

Lee Han retorted, “What silly things are you talking about? I’m not going.”

“Think about it. The King…”

“Wodanaz not visiting! Old Yacha be quiet!” one of the giants interrupted.

“…These young ones, really!”

The old Yacha, feeling motivated by all the good things he had done, grabbed a large wooden switch. The giants screamed and ran away.

“…The King was teaching you all for your own good. Do you understand?”

Lee Han replied, “For your information, the crazy doppelganger of the headmaster is also teaching me for my own good.”

The old Yacha realized again that the boy before him had far too many excellent teachers.

Even one such teacher was rare to find in a lifetime, yet these teachers were fighting to teach him, leaving the disciple exhausted.

‘The King is not someone to be treated like this!’

Intarendals, unable to wait any longer, finally cleared his throat and spoke, “Um, everyone.”

“Should we start the negotiations soon? Even if we start now, it will take another two days, so…”

“Oh? No.”

“We finished talking while walking around earlier. We’re going to help now,” the giants said as they walked towards the workshop.

Intarendals was very shocked and couldn’t speak for a moment. Then, he finally said, “…This chamberlain is too old to help his master any longer!”

Lee Han quickly calmed his friend’s ancestor, who was in shock. “No. Why are you like this again? The giants are just being friendly.”

Kangla’s Shadow, a group of bad adventurers, had worked with Antagondals for a long time.

No matter how skilled a wizard, one could not do everything alone. The magical criminal Antagondals was the same.

He needed adventurers who could quietly and skillfully carry out his requests, and Kangla’s Shadow were among the best.

In return, Antagondals provided the party with powerful magical support.

Skilled adventurers always had a wise wizard to help them on their adventures, and for Kangla’s Shadow, Antagondals was that wise wizard.

So, it was natural that these adventurers would take it seriously when Antagondals’ contact was lost and a request for rescue arrived.

‘It’s not just about the support being cut off. It’s a chance to get more of the magical items he possesses.’

Frankly, they could find a new wizard to provide magical support to the party.

There might not be a great wizard like Antagondals, but it wouldn’t be impossible to find someone.

But what about the countless treasures Antagondals possessed?

These adventurers knew better than anyone how many treasures and artifacts the notorious magical criminal Antagondals had collected. They had worked under him, after all.

Even if they couldn’t save Antagondals, they needed to find the keys or ways to get to his treasures.

“But will Antagondals give them up willingly?” one of them asked.

Another responded, “If we can’t rescue him, we should think about killing him. He is trapped in Einrogard, so he must be weaker. Einrogard makes even strong people weak.”

The locksmith spoke. He wore a cloak and mask as dark as midnight, covering his whole body.

The adventurers belonging to Kangla’s Shadow were reluctant to reveal their identities or names. It was too dangerous if something went wrong.

An adventurer called the Swordsman offered an opinion. “What about killing him and just taking the body?”

“That’s a last resort. The treasures might all be locked up if he dies,” replied another.

The archer muttered, “Damn it. To think I’d be visiting Einrogard. I heard so much about it from my grandfather…”

The other adventurers asked with curiosity, “What did your grandfather say?”

The archer explained, “My grandfather once invaded Einrogard and was captured. He barely managed to escape.”

“Oh. Isn’t that lucky for us? He must have heard about Einrogard,” one of them said.

The archer continued, “No. He couldn’t say a word about Einrogard. Not until the day he died. His soul was cursed. All he could say was a fear-filled warning not to go to Einrogard.”

Even though they were experienced in dangerous situations, the adventurers felt a sudden fear.