Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 898

“Everyone, calm down!” Yoner raised his voice, trying to calm his panicking friends.

“Let’s check the exam details first. It’s too early to despair. What’s the exam about?”

The exam paper said: ‘Each student in this class must take a wooden box. Inside is Sandalwood of Thunderous Steps. You have one week to figure out the scent.’

“Are you kidding me?!” Yoner shouted. He threw the exam paper into the air, frustrated.

Some students didn’t know what Sandalwood was. They were confused. “Maykin, what’s Sandalwood?” one asked.

“Remember the flower smells we learned?” Maykin asked.

“Yeah,” someone replied. “If it’s like that, I can do it in a week…”

“This is much, much harder,” Maykin said. “Dozens of times harder.”

“Are you kidding me?!” The students panicked. They started talking loudly and moving around the room, all confused.

Lee Han was also confused. He started to think hard.

Lee Han thought, ‘What’s happening? Why is the exam different? Did the older students get it wrong?’ Even though Lee Han was a very good student, he didn’t think the professor would make the exam hard just for him.

His friends started complaining loudly. They said the professor was mean and the older students were useless.

“These people told us to trust them! Didn’t they investigate properly?!”

“We shouldn’t have trusted the seniors after all!”

Jo Ulin was sleeping by the fireplace. The loud noise from the students woke him up.

The students from Blue Dragon Tower were waving their wands, looking angry. Jo Ulin, still sleepy, thought, ‘Is someone attacking again?’

“No, Your Highness. The professor simply set an exam.”

Jo Ulin, still sleepy, blinked and cautiously asked, “All this fuss over that…?”

“Shhh,” Lee Han whispered. “If your friends hear you, you might be in trouble too.” Lee Han quickly put his hand over Jo Ulin’s snout.

The exam was much harder than they thought. His friends were very upset. Lee Han knew it wasn’t a good time to make them angrier.

Jo Ulin lowered his voice and said, “All this fuss over that?”

“Yes, it is… it’s quite hard,” Lee Han said. Jo Ulin was surprised. If other students said that, it might not mean much. But Lee Han was from the Wardanaz family. If *he* said it was hard, it must be really hard.

It must be really difficult! “Yes, it is… but why do you agree so quickly?” Jo Ulin really wanted to see the exam now! He wanted to be clever again, like he was with the magic math exam. He tapped the wooden floor with his paw.

Lee Han gave him a suspicious look.

“No… it’s nothing, Your Highness. I just remembered Your Highness suddenly shooting breath and charging…”

Jo Ulin grumbled inwardly. It seemed like they would bring up the breath incident whenever he did anything.

‘That was a mistake!’ Lee Han should forget that it was a mistake!

“I understand. Come to think of it, I remember Your Highness secretly entering the greenhouse and shooting breath.”

Jo Ulin pursed his lips and looked sulky.

When a big dragon sulked, things near his tail often got broken. Jo Ulin’s tail swung back and forth, smashing chairs. Lee Han quickly tried to calm him down.

“I’m sorry, Your Highness. Your Highness did it with good intentions, after all.”

“Then, if I show you the exam, you won’t act on your own accord or anything, right?”

“Of course! Lee Han can trust Jo Ulin!” Jo Ulin declared, flapping his wings.

“Look. This is the exam.”

Jo Ulin looked at the exam. It was much harder than he thought.

Math was easy for Jo Ulin. But this exam was about alchemy, which needed special skills and knowing a lot.

He smelled the Sandalwood scent from the box. It was very complicated. He couldn’t even guess what it was.

“Gasp. Hallucinations…”

“My skin is turning to stone!”

Jo Ulin was even more disadvantaged because of his resistance.

The other students could feel the scent’s effects right away. They could use that to figure out what it was. But Jo Ulin and Lee Han had natural resistance. They couldn’t feel much even when they smelled the Sandalwood.

“Hmm. No effect, as expected.”

This is unfair! Lee Han is at a disadvantage!

Jo Ulin, angry at the unfair reality for Lee Han, shouted. The student still seeing hallucinations and the student whose skin was turning to stone stared at him in disbelief, but Jo Ulin didn’t notice.

“There are disadvantages to having advantages. Anyway, Your Highness, this is the exam.”

“Your Highness, you don’t have to help with every exam. This is my exam, and I can handle it myself,” Lee Han said, slightly worried because Jo Ulin was pondering too seriously.

‘Do I look that worried?’ Lee Han thought. It seemed like Jo Ulin, who was new to the school, thought Lee Han was working too hard and wanted to help.

Yes, it was hard work. But Lee Han didn’t want Jo Ulin, who was still just a young dragon, to worry about him.

No! Jo Ulin wanted to solve the exam in a great way and show off to everyone! Especially to Lee Han!

Lee Han was surprised. Jo Ulin just wanted to show off!

Gainando was fixing the broken chair next to them. He looked a little impressed. “That dragon is annoying, but he’s not stupid.”

“Hey, I’ll fix the chair,” Lee Han said. “You go study.” Lee Han made Gainando leave. Gainando complained, “You always tell me to help the Tower!” but he went away.

Jo Ulin was thinking hard. Suddenly, his eyes opened wide. He had a great idea!

Lee Han!!

“…What is it?”

Why are you suspecting me! Jo Ulin hasn’t done anything yet!

“Haha. I’m not suspecting you. I’m just asking. So, what is it?”

Jo Ulin is a dragon.

“I suppose that’s true.” A dragon’s flesh is a very powerful reagent.

“Wait!” Lee Han stopped him quickly. He had spent time with royal people before. He knew that feeling when they were about to say something crazy.

“You’re not suggesting that we try to decipher the scent using a part of Your Highness’s body, like scales or claws, are you?”

Jo Ulin was thinking that. What does Lee Han think?

“Well, unlike other reagents, it’s a very powerful reagent, so the process would be much easier and simpler. It would also shorten the time.”

That’s right! Jo Ulin thought so too!

Lee Han smiled. Jo Ulin smiled along. And Jo Ulin had to be scolded for an hour after that.

‘It’s not over yet…!’ It was night. Jo Ulin pretended to be asleep in the common room and slightly opened one eye. Among the students passing by, Lee Han’s movements came into clear view, along with the reagent pouch that Lee Han was wearing. ‘I will prove it with Jo Ulin’s power!’ Before coming to Einroguard, Jo Ulin would have stayed still after being told not to do something. But after coming to Einroguard, Jo Ulin had grown rapidly, and naturally, his stubbornness had grown too. He had been scolded for charging at the demon monster and forcibly growing the Mandragora, but that was that, and this was this. Jo Ulin was right this time! If Lee Han knew, he would have deeply regretted, ‘I shouldn’t have shown him around Einroguard, I’ve raised a dragon brat.’

‘But there aren’t many opportunities, so I must move carefully.’ Jo Ulin used his brilliant mind to think over the situation. Originally, he would have experimented using various dragon parts, but since Lee Han had scolded him and refused, such a thing was impossible. He hadn’t analyzed the Sandalwood and hadn’t experimented with the reagents, so it seemed like all methods were blocked… But that wasn’t the case.

“Maykin! Maykin!” Jo Ulin called out. “I have a question! Which part of a dragon is the strongest… for magic stuff?”

Maykin looked confused. “Uh… Your Highness? Did someone ask you to give them dragon parts? Was it Professor Beaver?”

Yoner looked suspicious. But Jo Ulin kept asking, so Maykin finally answered. “Well,” Maykin said, “dragon parts are all strong for magic. But the Dragonstone is probably the most powerful right now.”

“Heh heh heh…” Jo Ulin chuckled quietly.

Yoner frowned. “Your Highness,” he asked again, “did someone *really* ask you for that? Please tell me it wasn’t Professor Beaver…”

He couldn’t analyze the scent, and he couldn’t experiment with the reagents, but it didn’t matter. Jo Ulin was planning to take out the Dragonstone and solve it in an instant.

“-H-hello?” Jo Ulin woke up from his thoughts when he heard the voice of the baby Basilisk. A wise dragon doesn’t do these things alone. Naturally, Jo Ulin had enlisted his comrades: the baby Basilisk and Ean Durde. These two comrades, bound by friendship, would be reliable helpers.

The two, suddenly summoned, wore very displeased expressions.

“-You caused a big problem when you shot breath in the greenhouse last time!”

That was the old Jo Ulin! The current Jo Ulin has grown and is different!

“It seems reckless…”

Does Ean Durde not trust Jo Ulin!?

“Huh? Yeah.” Ean Durde looked at Jo Ulin as if asking what he was talking about. Jo Ulin was greatly shocked. Shouldn’t the answer here be ‘I trust you’?

…If you don’t help, I’ll tell on you for participating in the greenhouse incident!

Jo Ulin, filled with venom, immediately switched his stance. Thanks to being taught by a great teacher, Jo Ulin’s threats were quite excellent. The baby Basilisk was startled.

“-T-t-that’s not right..! Eeeng..!”

Hmph. Decide whether to participate or not instead of crying. Before I tell on you. In the end, the baby Basilisk said he would participate with a tearful face.

Next was Ean Durde. Jo Ulin looked at Ean Durde and said, Jo Ulin is disappointed in Ean Durde.

“Okay.” Ean Durde replied with an indifferent expression, whether he was disappointed or not.

You always say you want to get stronger, but you don’t participate at times like this!

“…What?”

Think about it, Ean Durde! Why is Lee Han so strong? Because he boldly stepped forward even when it was reckless and difficult. He didn’t make excuses and avoid it like Ean Durde!

Ean Durde’s face hardened. Jo Ulin’s speech had touched his pride. Ean Durde shouted almost growling.

“…I’ll do it!”

I believed in you!

Jo Ulin was overjoyed that his two friends had finally stepped forward out of friendship.

“-So, what’s the plan?”

It’s very simple. Jo Ulin explained excitedly: Steal Lee Han’s reagent pouch. Put the Dragonstone inside. Put it back. Lee Han, who is preparing for the alchemy exam by opening the reagent pouch, realizes he was wrong and reflects. The end! Hooray for Jo Ulin! Even Lee Han, who had scolded him, couldn’t blame Jo Ulin for this.

“-Uh, why?”

Because there’s no evidence! There’s no evidence that Jo Ulin did it!

The two suddenly thought that if a very rare reagent like Dragonstone suddenly appeared in the reagent pouch, anyone would know that there was only one culprit, but they didn’t bother to say it out loud. They were worried that this dragon would come up with another strange plan. It’s not like they’re the ones getting scolded anyway…

“-I like it!”

Good! Then go and steal the reagent pouch!

“-Suddenly I don’t like it anymore.” The baby Basilisk grumbled. He didn’t expect that he would have to steal it. It was the most suitable role in terms of size, but…

Ean Durde has to attract Lee Han’s attention!

Ean Durde was slightly considering whether to just report it to the senior right now. Jo Ulin, sensing the danger with his race’s innate senses, immediately said, If you give up here, it means Ean Durde got scared and backed down!

“I get it.” In the end, Ean Durde grumbled and accepted the role.