Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy - Chapter 1029

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 1029

 

When his thoughts reached that point, Professor Garcia subtly broached the subject.

 

“Student Lee Han. Did you know that there are quite a few students at Petrograd who are interested in incantation studies?”

 

“?”

 

Lee Han couldn’t understand what Professor Garcia meant by bringing this up.

 

So suddenly?

 

‘What? Does she mean I shouldn’t hate the Petrograd students?’

 

But even for that, it was too out of the blue. Just because they were interested in incantation studies didn’t mean he’d hate them any less.

 

“Oh, I see. Incantations are important in magic.”

 

For mages, incantations weren’t simply tools of concentration that resonated with the soul.

 

Broadly speaking, they were also powerful frameworks that defined the form of magic.

 

For mages who used existing magic as is, it wasn’t something to worry much about, but mages who sought to create or improve new magic always had to know how to make realistic compromises from infinite possibilities.

 

While the possibilities of magic were endless, the mages who cast them were people of reality.

 

That’s why such incantations served as anchors that protected mages.

 

They became barriers that prevented the runaway of possibilities or loss of control that even the mages themselves hadn’t intended.

 

“I’m also interested in incantation studies.”

 

Lee Han liked efficient and compressed incantations.

 

Incantations related to ancient magic were good for quickly concentrating and drawing up magic, as just calling their names served as simple summaries.

 

“No, no. Petrograd students prefer the beauty of incantations themselves.”

 

“Pardon?”

 

“I mean the rhythm and melody of the incantations themselves, and the inherent magical effects that come from them…”

 

As she spoke, Professor Garcia sent a look hoping her disciple would understand.

 

If he was a clever disciple, he should be able to realize what kind of magic this connected to.

 

Music magic that created effects through incantations themselves!

 

“Wow. Do they really have that much free time?”

 

“…”

 

“I’m sorry, Professor. I spoke without thinking.”

 

“It’s fine, Student Lee Han.”

 

Professor Garcia felt slightly deflated.

 

Still, since they had come all this way, she wanted to leave a good impression about Petrograd, but it didn’t seem easy.

 

“We’ve arrived.”

 

Dalseur pointed ahead.

 

In the flat fields ahead, dozens of carriages covered with waterproof cloth roofs were gathered in a circular formation. They looked more like wandering merchants or pioneers than mages.

 

However, there was something peculiar about the scene.

 

If they were merchants or pioneers, there should have been all sorts of luggage, camping supplies, and lit campfires inside the circle of carriages, but there was none of that.

 

“Let’s go in.”

 

“Where to?”

 

“Ah. You can just lift the cover of any carriage and go inside.”

 

Saying that, the Petrograd mages suddenly entered a nearby carriage.

 

Professor Garcia, Professor Boladi, and Alsicle moved as if this wasn’t surprising at all. The students also carefully followed behind them.

 

Whoosh!

 

Gainando was startled.

 

Upon entering the carriage, a completely different scenery greeted them.

 

‘All the carriages were magic passages!’

 

He had wondered how a magic school like Petrograd could travel around the entire Empire, but this way made sense.

 

The magic school territory existed as a separate magical space, and only the carriages that served as entrances moved leisurely.

 

Petrograd’s territory had a completely different atmosphere from Einroguard.

 

First of all, there was no main building, and only buildings built without unity were scattered around the territory as if carelessly thrown about.

 

From buildings shaped like demon horns to buildings perched on top of growing giant trees, buildings floating on lakes, and buildings with just tents thrown over them with signs reading 【Petrograd Lecture Hall】.

 

Gainando called to Lee Han beside him.

 

“It’s really unique, isn’t it? Lee Han? …Lee Han?”

 

Gainando looked around. He could see the other guys, but Lee Han was nowhere to be seen.

 

“Where did Lee Han go?!?!”

 

“What are you talking about? He came in with… Wait, where did he really go?!”

 

* * *

 

Lee Han initially thought Petrograd was a really unique magic school.

 

To think the school was actually in a basement.

 

But that wasn’t it.

 

When the mage ghost he had met before appeared beside him with a swoosh, Lee Han realized something had gone wrong.

 

-You promised… to break the magic… didn’t you…

 

At the ghost’s voice, which seemed to have gained both intelligence and resentment since last time, Lee Han started with excuses.

 

“No, I’m working on it. It just takes time. It’s a difficult problem that other mages couldn’t solve either.”

 

Who would have thought he’d suddenly kidnap him like this just because he hadn’t broken the magic.

 

Lee Han spoke carefully to avoid provoking the other party.

 

“But how can you kidnap me like this?”

 

-Kidnap…?

 

The ghost reacted as if it didn’t understand the meaning of kidnap.

 

“You brought me here. …Wait, there were professors on both sides of me, so how?”

 

One of them was even Einroguard’s Archmage and the other was Professor Boladi, so how did he kidnap him right under their noses?

 

-I… didn’t kidnap you… You… visited…

 

“…??!”

 

Lee Han grabbed the mad mage’s ghost and continued asking questions to understand the situation.

 

Since the other party wasn’t capable of rational conversation, it wasn’t easy, but as the questions accumulated, he could understand to some degree.

 

So…

 

‘I was doing spatial movement and accidentally got drawn to this basement?’

 

Mages who traveled through dimensions sometimes fell under troublesome curses.

 

Some monster would smell the scent from a mage’s soul and chase them across dimensions, or their physical form would be altered when crossing dimensions…

 

Lee Han’s case was a bit different but similarly troublesome.

 

To accidentally fly to this basement while doing spatial movement.

 

That meant he could accidentally come to this capital villa basement every time he did spatial movement from now on, right?

 

He didn’t do spatial movement that often, but it was still a subtly annoying restriction.

 

‘Is it because I accepted the ghost’s proposal?’

 

Lee Han wanted to confirm what magical principle had brought him here, but it wasn’t easy.

 

Since other mages had given up solving it and just destroyed it, traces connected to this complex spatial labyrinth were very hard to find.

 

‘Ugh. Should I have studied space-time magic more?’

 

Having such an absurd thought, Lee Han looked around.

 

When viewed from outside, there seemed to be no way to enter this basement, but now that he was inside, it was an extremely ordinary basement.

 

“Is there any way to get out of here?”

 

-What… are you saying… Can’t you just go out through those stairs…

 

“?!”

 

Lee Han was flustered by that obvious, if obvious, statement.

 

Certainly, it was impossible to enter from outside, but that didn’t mean it was impossible to leave either.

 

Carefully, Lee Han stepped up the stairs.

 

At that moment, the space changed again. Lee Han dropped right into Petrograd territory where he had originally intended to go.

 

* * *

 

Recently, a considerable number of Petrogard’s students were completely infatuated with someone called the ‘Great Artist.’

 

They knew neither the name, status, age, gender, nor even the face of this person, but such things didn’t matter.

 

The abilities and charisma this person displayed were enough to captivate Petrogard’s students.

 

“Thus you shall prosper happily in this land! …This is both your right and your duty!”

 

The Great Artist overwhelmed the audience with a languid voice that contained tremendous power within.

 

“To reach the great heights of magic, one must think only of oneself, only of one’s own self. Being utterly selfish is the ultimate good. You need not think of anything else. Do you understand?”

 

One of the listening Petrogard mages raised his hand and asked.

 

“G-Great Artist, sir. Not only does my family pay my tuition, but I’m squandering all the money they send me as well. But is that really okay?”

 

“It’s fine. I forgive you. If you want to do it, then it is good.”

 

“Great Artist, sir! My family tells me to quickly build my career as a mage and enter a decent government position or guild, but I don’t want to do that. The moment I go work at such places, I feel like my art will disappear!”

 

“It’s fine. If you don’t want to work, you don’t have to work. If you want to do that, then that too is good.”

 

Passionate cheers erupted from the gathered students. It was a response like that of cultists.

 

The Great Artist lightly touched the obsidian placed in the center with a casual gesture.

 

This hard ore, which barely responded to ordinary refining methods due to its mana-absorbing properties, began to bloom like a flower and gracefully display its form with just one light gesture from the artist.

 

The students stomped their feet and cried out at this masterpiece of beauty, unable to even guess what magic had been used.

 

At that moment, one student quickly turned back and whispered.

 

This was a student the Great Artist had recruited in advance, asking to be informed if anything unusual happened at the school (for example, if floating skeletons appeared).

 

“Great Artist, sir. Guests have visited the school.”

 

“What kind of guests?”

 

“They say they’re guests from Einroguard.”

 

“!”

 

Though his face was hidden by a mask, the Great Artist was visibly shaken.

 

“Is there a flying skeleton among them by any chance?”

 

“No. There wasn’t.”

 

“…Then that’s fine. Wait. If it’s not the skeleton, then who has visited this land of happy hedonists?”

 

“I heard it’s Professor Garcia Kim and Professor Voladi Bagrek.”

 

“Those traitorous brats…!”

 

“Pardon?”

 

“No. It doesn’t matter anyway. Those brats can’t persuade me.”

 

Crash!

 

“???”

 

At the sudden commotion in the audience, the Great Artist turned his gaze.

 

A mage who clearly seemed to be from somewhere else was mixed among the Petrogard students, apologizing.

 

“I’m really sorry about this. I didn’t expect to suddenly fall here.”

 

“Did the carriage’s spatial door malfunction? Anyway, it’s fine, so don’t worry. Actually, this worked out well. You’ve gotten a very good opportunity.”

 

“Pardon?”

 

“The Great Artist, who is an archmage and came to teach us true art, was giving a lecture. Do you know what he just told me? He said I don’t have to work for the rest of my life.”

 

“…Uh, that’s a lecture?”

 

Lee Han was bewildered.

 

What kind of Great Artist’s lecture was at Gainando’s level?

 

No, even Gainando wasn’t that bad.

 

‘Even Gainando would look at me nervously after playing for about a week and ask if there’s anything to study.’

 

“Are you a guest from Einroguard?”

 

The Great Artist called out to Lee Han in a melodious voice.

 

Facing the archmage who had completely hidden his identity with a mask, spacious cloak, and magic surrounding him, Lee Han tensed up slightly.

 

“Yes. That’s correct.”

 

“Everyone welcome the guest from Einroguard! Einroguard’s mages are pitiful souls of the Empire who deserve sympathy.”

 

While another person might have felt slightly insulted, Lee Han reacted a bit differently.

 

He was actually slightly moved.

 

‘Is he a good person?’

 

“They are learning magic for utterly ridiculous and nonsensical purposes. They throw themselves into those mysteries and devote themselves to them. And what remains as a result is nothing but a handful of completely useless magic.”

 

“I don’t think it’s quite that extreme.”

 

Lee Han was flustered by the absurd overestimation.

 

There were quite a few students at Einroguard who learned magic half-heartedly too.

 

The Great Artist seemed to know this as well and didn’t deny it.

 

“Quite a sharp observation! You’re right. Not all Einroguard mages are like that. There’s some hope, I suppose. Any mage with their right mind would try to graduate as quickly as possible and never set foot on that cursed land again.”

 

“Actually, I felt that way too.”

 

“Is that really true?”

 

The Great Artist showed a very favorable reaction to Lee Han’s agreement.

 

“But that was in the past, and recently my thoughts have changed a bit…”

 

“Why? How did they change?”

 

“Well…”

 

Lee Han, who was about to mention what happened with the Skeleton Principal’s projection, hesitated.

 

He thought the other person might get angry if they were a former disciple of the Skeleton Principal.

 

“You won’t get angry at what I say, will you?”

 

The Great Artist burst into laughter.

 

“Me? I never get angry. Do you know why? Because I live for my own pleasure. Someone like that has no anger.”

 

“Actually, I learned magic from the Principal and his projection…”

 

Crash!

 

The Great Artist couldn’t control his anger and hurled the obsidian flower to the floor.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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