Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 90

“Everyone, gather around! Dergyu has been captured!”

Gainando stopped walking, his eyebrows going up in confusion. “?”

Lee Han turned towards the shouting. In the nearby courtyard, students in white uniforms were standing around looking messy and tired, like they had just run a long race.

“Did White Tiger Tower get caught too?” Lee Han asked Yoner. “Did those guys throw Gainando at them because they were angry?”

“No,” Yoner said. “Gainando just tripped.”

“…Right.”

While Lee Han and Yoner listened to the professors talk about why “real wizards go to graduate school, not become office workers,” students rushed out of the lecture hall. The class, called “Basic Imperial Geometry and Arithmetic,” was so incredibly boring that everyone needed fresh air.

—Wake up! Don’t fall asleep! We have another class!

—I… just leave me here… I need to sleep…

Students from all towers looked like they were about to collapse. It was a long and boring class for everyone.

—Are Wodanaz and Maykin really okay? What if the professor noticed they left?

—He wouldn’t notice if we put a monster in their seats.

—True…

—Seriously, this is awful. If I have to sit through this class again, I’ll fall asleep forever.

—The homework is already bad, what about the test? Can I just hand in a blank paper? I don’t want to go to the punishment room…

—I know! I almost wanted to set this place on fire during the lecture.

—Me too. I even wished a monster would appear to interrupt.

*Thud!*

As if the school heard their complaints, or maybe just because it was noisy, a sound came from the bushes. Students who were starting to relax jumped in surprise. Then, a vine monster burst out! It was the same monster they had seen before – green and leafy, with thick vines covered in thorns.

—Everyone, run!

—Run back inside the building!

—Someone, get the professor!

—No! The professor won’t help! Just run!

Some students ran fast. Others, like Gainando, tripped and fell.

The vine monster didn’t bother chasing the fast runners. It slowly wrapped its vines around a few fallen students. It lifted them into the air and then walked away happily, dragging them along.

“…Wait. Did Dergyu fall too?” Lee Han asked, looking closer. “He’s not the type to fall.”

“That orc friend from White Tiger Tower got caught trying to save Gainando,” someone said.

“……”

Lee Han felt sorry for Dergyu. He got captured trying to help Gainando, just because they were friends…

A White Tiger Tower student ran out of the main building, breathing hard.

“What happened?! The professor?!”

“He said… he said we have to deal with it ourselves…”

“……”

“……”

The White Tiger Tower students, and students from other towers, were speechless. They couldn’t believe the answer the student brought back. *Deal with it ourselves?* Was the professor serious?

Lee Han, however, stayed calm.

‘I should have picked a professor more carefully,’ he thought. ‘I was too quick to ask for help.’ He should have found someone he knew a little better, someone who might actually care…

‘Wait. Are there *any* professors who care?’

…He needed to ask a professor who was a bit closer to him and maybe a little weak-willed. The White Tiger Tower student probably just grabbed the first professor he saw in his panic.

“What should we do? Wodanaz? What should we do?” The Blue Dragon Tower students looked at Lee Han, their eyes full of worry. They didn’t know what to do.

Should they chase after the monster? Or find a professor again? It was too hard for them to decide.

“Let’s chase them,” Lee Han said. “We don’t know where any other professors are, and if we wait too long, it will be hard to find the monster again.” The monster’s tracks were easy to see on the ground, and they weren’t too far behind.

And Lee Han had something else he trusted.

‘Perkuntra!’

As Lee Han said the name in his mind, the piece of Perkuntra inside him reacted. It was time to call on the spirit he had made a pact with.

“Sing of thunder, spirit! Of thunder and lightning! The bell ringer guarding the steeple of the ruined kingdom, the watchman of the small boat wandering the vast sea, both fear your name. The one who has contracted with you calls you with due qualification!”

The princess gasped when she heard Lee Han chanting. As the fastest spirit summoner here, she knew what spirit Lee Han was calling. The long, complicated spell… it must be a very powerful spirit.

*Bzzzzzt!*

Bright white lightning exploded from the ground where Lee Han’s staff touched. The air crackled with energy, and the smell of ozone filled the air. The lightning twisted and turned, slowly taking the shape of a spirit.

‘The spirit of lightning!’ the princess thought, amazed.

Rowena, the knight, was even more surprised. She could accept that Wodanaz had a stronger spirit than the princess. Wodanaz was clearly a magician with incredible talent.

But the spirit of lightning was known to be one of the most wild and dangerous spirits. And a spirit summoned with such a long spell must be very strong.

‘How is this possible? How did he make a pact with *that* spirit?!’

“Appear!” Lee Han commanded.

Perkuntra’s avatar appeared. It was a ball of lightning, about the size of a fist, sparking and jumping with energy.

The students stared, confused.

Huh?

“???”

“…Ah! That’s right!” one student said. “The strength of a spirit isn’t about its size!” They remembered hearing about Thunderstep’s rabbit spirit, which was also very strong. “This spirit might look small, but it must be incredibly powerful. Otherwise, Wodanaz wouldn’t have used such a long spell to summon it.”

Wodanaz wouldn’t make a mistake like that! The students nodded, understanding.

But Lee Han did not nod. This Perkuntra was very different from the one he had first met. Even if it was just an avatar…?

-What is this? Did you only bring a tiny piece of me? Perkuntra shouted in Lee Han’s mind, sounding angry. -Have you forgotten that I am… trapped here because of you?!

-Don’t you believe me…? Perkuntra asked, sounding hurt.

-It’s not that I don’t believe you… but if there’s always a reason why you can’t help when I need you, what am I supposed to think when I summon you? Lee Han replied calmly, but his eyes were cold.

Perkuntra missed the old magicians. The arrogant, rude ones who just did what they wanted without listening to anyone. Perkuntra could easily argue with them, or just blast them with lightning. But this young magician was being annoying by being polite. And it was hard to argue back because Lee Han was right.

-Don’t worry! I don’t know why you summoned me, but this little bit of power is enough to handle this. Just watch! Perkuntra insisted.

‘Is that really true?’ Lee Han thought, doubtful.

-I told you I can feel your emotions! Perkuntra snapped.

-No. Can’t you even think? Let’s respect each other’s privacy, Lee Han thought back, annoyed.

Lee Han ran quickly, leading the Blue Dragon Tower students. Behind them, he could hear the White Tiger Tower students also running, trying to keep up.

“Hey! Don’t copy us!” shouted a White Tiger student.

“We should be saying that! You guys get lost!” yelled a Blue Dragon student back, out of breath. “You can’t even use magic properly… Huff… huff…”

The Blue Dragon students were quickly falling behind. It was impossible for them to keep up with the White Tiger Tower students, who had special classes for swords and physical training. Lee Han looked back at his tired classmates with pity.

“You should have exercised more,” he said.

“Those… those guys are too strong…” gasped a student. “Huff… huff…”

“I’ll go ahead,” Lee Han said. “Follow as fast as you can.”

“No! Wodanaz! Cough… If you go alone, those White Tiger Tower guys will…”

‘I don’t think that will happen,’ Lee Han thought.

Rowena and Asan, who knew Lee Han a little better, also thought, ‘The White Tiger Tower students might be in danger if he’s alone with them.’

“It’s alright,” Lee Han said to his classmates. “Just follow when you can.” He sped up, leaving them behind.

-Why are you so fast? Perkuntra wondered, watching Lee Han run effortlessly. -You don’t seem like you’re from a knight family, so why…?

But before Lee Han could answer, Perkuntra shouted urgently. -Enemy! An enemy is hiding!

“I hide in the night!” Lee Han chanted automatically. But nothing happened. No attack came.

-Where is it hiding? Perkuntra asked, confused. -There’s nowhere to hide around here?

There were only a few small bushes by the side of the path. To find real cover, they would have to run towards the trees on the side of the mountain.

-Below! Perkuntra yelled suddenly. -It’s below us!

“!”

Lee Han jumped to the side just in time. If the monster was hiding underground, it probably wouldn’t have noticed him even if he used invisibility magic.

But the vine monster wasn’t attacking Lee Han. It burst from the ground and grabbed a White Tiger Tower student who was running ahead.

“Angrago!! No!” cried another White Tiger student as his friend, Angrago, a goat beastkin, was wrapped in vines and lifted into the air.

-How was it hiding? Perkuntra wondered.

-The magicians must have given it strange abilities, Lee Han thought. -It’s not a monster that can naturally hide underground and camouflage itself!

‘Not only are the professors crazy at this school, but the older students are too,’ Lee Han thought, gripping his staff tightly. He focused on the vine monster. The captured White Tiger Tower student hung limply in the vines, looking weak.

-It absorbs magic power! Perkuntra warned. -Be careful it doesn’t steal your magic! You have a lot, so you can lose some, but still be careful! You don’t want to get caught!

-I wasn’t planning on it, Lee Han said calmly. He wasn’t stupid enough to get caught by a vine just because he had a lot of magic. He raised his staff, ready to summon flames.

“Burn…” Lee Han started to chant.

-NO!!!! Absolutely not!!!!! Perkuntra screamed, interrupting him. He was terrified of Lee Han’s fire magic. -Don’t use fire!

He absolutely could not let Lee Han use fire magic until he was completely sure it was safe.

-Can’t I? Lee Han asked, surprised.

-It’s too dangerous! You could burn the other students to death! Perkuntra wailed.

-Not for attacking, just to keep it away… Lee Han argued.

-Still dangerous!! No fire!! Perkuntra insisted, his voice full of panic.

‘Is it really that bad?’ Lee Han wondered, puzzled. It seemed like just a few small fireballs floating nearby would be enough to scare the monster away…

-Normally, I could defeat it in one blast, but right now, I don’t have enough power, Perkuntra explained quickly.

Lee Han looked at Perkuntra with a betrayed expression. He had said earlier that this much power would be enough!

Perkuntra rushed on. -But I’ll teach you magic! You can use magic instead of me!

-Can’t you just use it directly somehow? Lee Han asked. -I’m a little worried about using magic right after I learn it…