Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 902

The test this time was to confirm my progress with the magic I had learned previously: Lower-Level Body Time Extension, Lower-Level Time Deceleration, and Lower-Level Time Acceleration.

Lower-Level Body Time Extension is a 2nd Circle spell that increases the length of time an individual perceives.

It’s not flashy, but it’s a basic spell essential for time magic, which is difficult and requires a lot of calculation.

Lower-Level Time Deceleration and Lower-Level Time Acceleration are 3rd Circle spells cast directly on objects.

Time magic cast on living things is much more difficult, so it’s essential to practice on inanimate objects first.

“Please confirm, Professor.”

…

I succeeded in all three flawlessly.

The casting was stable, completely different from the unstable performance I had shown last time.

Professor Garcia hid his discomfort and asked,

“Didn’t you say it was difficult last time, Mr. Lee Han?”

“So I practiced.”

“I see…”

Professor Garcia suddenly remembered his school days.

He used to think his friends, who were jealous of his magical skills, were pathetic. But now, looking back, he felt a little responsible.

‘Did I look like that too?’

“Professor?”

“Oh. It’s nothing, Mr. Lee Han. Perfect. I don’t know why you grumbled so much last time when you could do so well…”

“I really thought it was difficult last time.”

“But it works well when you practice, right?”

“Yes.”

“Did you learn anything from our conversation?”

“The world of magic is wide and vast, so you should never be arrogant?”

“…Besides that… No. Never mind.”

Professor Garcia was about to tell me to have some confidence but gave up. It was a matter of personality, so it was difficult to change quickly. Professor Garcia imagined me grumbling about how ‘new magic is difficult’ even after becoming a professor.

“Anyway, full marks. Good job.”

“Thank you, Professor.”

“Wait. Professor Lightning Steps must still be busy.”

Professor Garcia checked the time and realized his mistake.

He realized it was the time when Professor Lightning Steps was teaching.

“Then I’ll wait a moment. Oh, by the way, do you have any advice for me, Professor? You seem to have a lot of experience in this kind of thing.”

At my question, Professor Garcia stopped with his back turned.

“What do you mean, Mr. Lee Han? A lot of experience? Are you claiming that I illegally brought a large, rare creature into Einroguard and raised it???”

“Yes? No… Have you ever done that?”

I was slightly embarrassed. I didn’t understand why Professor Garcia was suddenly so serious.

“Of course not! Ha, haha. It was a joke, Mr. Lee Han! A joke!”

“Oh… I see. It was a difficult joke, so I guess I didn’t understand it. The experience I was talking about was the experience you had counseling students, Professor.”

“Ah… That experience?”

Professor Garcia’s voice rose, and his stiff expression relaxed. The troll-hybrid professor cleared his throat and said modestly.

“There must be many other professors who have more experience than I do.”

“Who?”

“…Mr. Lee Han, it’s rude to ask about such things.”

Professor Garcia used his authority because he couldn’t think of another professor in particular.

I thought to myself, ‘Who is that professor? Is it someone who has retired?’

“Still… I’m glad that Mr. Lee Han is relying on me. Although I’m not the best, I will share some wisdom.”

Professor Garcia rummaged through the library and took out a red book.

“Oops.”

The professor muttered, ‘I forgot to erase the cover,’ and waved his wand. The words *Breeding Journal of an Immortal Starfish* faded away.

“Shall we take a look? When you’re stubborn…”

“What book is that?”

“It’s a record book written by a wizard who raised a large, rare creature that I obtained a long time ago.”

“There is such a book? Can I borrow it?”

“It’s still too difficult for you, Mr. Lee Han, so no! I’ll interpret only the parts you need.”

‘Is it a book about ancient evil creatures?’

Professor Garcia flipped through the book and exclaimed, “Ah.”

“Potion to make you listen. He even tried this.”

“Is there such a thing as a potion to make you listen?”

I was tempted. ‘I wonder if it works on Gainando too?’

“It wasn’t very effective. This type of potion is virtually meaningless to creatures with strong resistance.”

“I see.”

“Corporal punishment using electric shock…”

“That seems too cruel.”

I expressed my disapproval.

The disciplinary methods were too cruel, perhaps because it was a book about ancient evil creatures. How could he electrocute Zaurin? And considering his resistance, it didn’t seem like it would work well.

At my words, Professor Garcia began to cough.

“Cough, cough! I’m not telling you to do it, Mr. Lee Han. It’s just in the record. The wizard who wrote this book also regretted it greatly. He wrote that he was furious because the large, rare creature ate his research.”

“Oh dear. But Zaurin doesn’t do things like that.”

Professor Garcia was slightly taken aback by my boastful tone.

‘So Zaurin has a good personality, and the Immortal Starfish has a bad personality? Humph. It’s just a difference in species. If the Immortal Starfish had been a dragon, it would have been much more docile.’

“Let’s move on to the next one. A switch…”

“It doesn’t seem like it would do much damage if you hit it over the scales.”

“He used a special switch that could inflict physical pain on large creatures. Of course, this didn’t work very well either.”

Professor Garcia told me a few more methods: electric shock, switch, no meals, kneeling, copying old books, etc.

“How is it?”

“I don’t think any of them are very good.”

I said honestly. None of these methods seemed to work for Zaurin.

However, Professor Garcia nodded as if he thought so too.

“That’s right, Mr. Lee Han. As I was reading these methods, I realized that each one was ineffective. But this large, rare creature eventually came to understand the wizard’s intentions. I think the reason for that is trust.”

Professor Garcia, recalling his past, realized something he had missed.

At that time, he was so out of his mind and suffered so much that he only resented the other person. But in the end, the Immortal Starfish matured and came to understand Professor Garcia’s intentions, even though it could have escaped.

The Immortal Starfish must have felt the trust that Professor Garcia had in him, and it must have also placed its trust in Professor Garcia. The accidents and problems they caused each other were trivial in the end. If there is trust, these things can be fixed.

…

“Are you dissatisfied because it’s not a magical solution, Mr. Lee Han?”

Professor Garcia asked cautiously when I was silent. But I slowly shook my head.

“No. I think you’re right, Professor. I think I didn’t trust Zaurin enough.”

“It’s not all Mr. Lee Han’s fault. Who would have known he would take out the dragon stone like that?”

“That’s what I’m saying! I told him not to do that…”

“Still, Mr. Lee Han is lucky. Zaurin didn’t eat all of Mr. Lee Han’s research and smash up his private room.”

“Zaurin isn’t a slime, why would he do that? Zaurin is so smart.”

…

Professor Garcia’s fist clenched and then unclenched.

“I’ll have to apologize to Zaurin when I get back for being angry. I’ll have to trust him when he says he won’t do it again.”

“Then are you going to take the test with me now?”

“No? An outing ban is an outing ban. I’m going to keep him on an outing ban for the rest of the week.”

Professor Garcia was honestly impressed by my firm answer. Who else could be so consistent in front of a dragon?

*

*

“Thank you, Professor!”

“You guys worked hard too. Don’t rest, study for the next exam.”

The first-year students cursed inwardly at Professor Lightning Steps’ kind words.

“Maybe that original professor was better. What was his name? Ben… Benderjul? You know, Professor Benderjul.”

“I used to respect him because he was often featured in the Imperial newspaper as an adventurer, but it’s a complete scam!” Alhides of the Peng Erinn family said quietly to his friends’ curses.

“We don’t even know who Professor Benderjul is. Professor Lightning Steps’ teachings are harsh, but it may be inevitable to keep up with Einroguard’s standards. It’s okay to complain, but let’s all work hard together afterwards.”

The students felt ashamed at the words of their friend, who always had a book in his hand despite being the top student in the tower. If it were a guy who was usually arrogant, he would have waved his wand right away, but Alhides had never done that. He was a truly respectable friend.

“Peng Erinn, sometimes I think you should go to the Phoenix Tower.”

“I heard a rumor that Peng Erinn was arrogant, but I don’t know who spread that nonsense. Look at him.”

Alhides shook his head at his friends’ compliments.

“No. The rumor is true. I was an arrogant and conceited wizard.”

“This guy…! How can he be so honorable?”

“Blue worms. Move aside.”

The Blue Dragon Tower students’ faces hardened at the words of the White Tiger Tower students from behind. A student from the White Tiger Tower pushed through, calling them ‘Blue worms,’ a rude nickname for students from the Blue Dragon Tower.

“Dare to?”

“What dare to? Move aside.”

“Okay. I’ll move aside. But try to withstand this curse of laughter…”

“Hey! Ulgan! Ulgan is coming!!”

One of his companions whispered, and the faces of the White Tiger Tower students turned pale. Even though he was a friend from the same tower, they were clearly afraid.

“You guys! You’re not fighting, are you?!”

The White Tiger Tower students were horrified and denied it when a large friend ran from afar and shouted loudly.

“Wh, what are you talking about, Ulgan? We’re fighting? We didn’t fight. Right?”

“Of… Of course. We didn’t fight.”

Surprisingly, the Blue Dragon Tower students also agreed. They knew the danger of Ulgan very well.

-Stop! Stop fighting!

-Get lost, Ulgan! Either fight with your tower guys or get lost!!

-Ulgan! Are you going to stand still after hearing those words! Help us!

-I told you to stop fighting! Please stop! …I told you to stop!!!

-Cough! Ugh!

-Ack! Ouch!

The students who were severely beaten for starting a fight in front of Ulgan, who hated fighting, learned a painful lesson: Ah, you shouldn’t provoke someone who hates fighting!

“That’s a relief. I thought you guys were fighting.”

“Ha, haha.”

“Hahaha.”

After an awkward laugh, Ulgan said as if he had remembered something.

“Oh, right. Eandurde is handing out food over there, so go get it quickly.”

“What? Again?! Where is the food coming from? Does the Turtle Tower have a warehouse they found?”

“I heard a Blue Dragon Tower senior gave it to them?”

“No. What crazy senior would give food to juniors who aren’t even in their tower?”

The students were puzzled but ran to stand in line anyway. The first-year students were always hungry, and there was nothing to receive if they stood at the back of this distribution.

“Hello, everyone.”

“…Priest Karl, don’t come near us.”

“Why, why are you doing this?”

“You’re going to steal from us if you come near us!”

“Such rude words…! What did I do wrong…”

Like other squirrel beastmen, Karl could manipulate people’s guilt with just his expressions.

The White Tiger Tower students felt guilty as if they had done something wrong, even though they had been robbed several times.

“I’ve also picked up this basket for you. Here you go.”

“Th, thank you…”

“You’re welcome. It’s a natural joy as a priest.”

A paper magic beetle quietly flapped its wings inside the food basket. Karl smiled. He was finally able to open the White Tiger Tower students’ warehouse lock.