Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy - Chapter 1054

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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 1054

 

Naturally, Gainando didn’t notice. He was too busy whining to pay attention.

 

“Sob sob sob.”

 

“Stop whining, Prince. You came here because you wanted to, so why are you acting like this now?”

 

Giselle scolded her Blue Dragon Tower friend from behind.

 

Seeing him act like this when he came because he wanted to, that Prince was far too cowardly.

 

“…Who said I wanted to come…! *sniff*. Fine, I did want to come.”

 

Gainando, who was about to make excuses, shut his mouth again at Lee Han’s look telling him to be quiet.

 

“So stop whining already.”

 

“…”

 

Gainando thought to himself.

 

Was laughing along with the Skeleton Principal really a sin that deserved this much punishment?

 

‘…No. It really was a sin…’

 

Come to think of it, it really was a very unpleasant sin. Gainando reflected anew.

 

Still, if there was something unfair about it, it was that the Skeleton Principal himself wasn’t being punished.

 

“The Principal should have come along too.”

 

‘Is he insane?’

 

Giselle looked at the muttering Gainando with horrified eyes.

 

What on earth was he thinking to say such a thing?

 

“So who exactly are you trying to catch?”

 

Lee Han asked Professor Boladi.

 

Since he was following along, it was natural to be curious about who the target was.

 

And…

 

‘I need to check if they’re related to the evil deity cult too.’

 

The Professor didn’t seem to have noticed yet, but there was no such thing as absolute certainty in worldly matters.

 

He had to continue surveillance secretly and cleverly.

 

“A mage.”

 

“!”

 

Lee Han and Giselle exchanged surprised glances.

 

And said simultaneously.

 

“An Einroguard graduate then.”

 

“No.”

 

“…”

 

“…”

 

Lee Han and Giselle exchanged looks that said ‘You made me look foolish!’ Gainando, who still hadn’t grasped the situation, asked in confusion.

 

“You only said mage, so why did you assume they were an Einroguard graduate?”

 

“…Good question.”

 

“Don’t ask, Prince.”

 

“???”

 

While Gainando blinked in confusion, Professor Boladi explained about the wanted criminal with a bounty on his head.

 

The Dwarven Mage, Toman, showed the typical path of a mage from the Empire’s non-magical schools.

 

Living as an adventurer, accidentally obtaining magic from a relic he found, becoming intoxicated with that magical power and trying various things, gradually becoming more and more corrupt…

 

‘Hmm. Doesn’t seem much different from Einroguard graduate mages?’

 

Lee Han thought to himself secretly.

 

Mages from the Empire’s magic schools often said ‘self-taught mages without education are dangerous,’ but honestly, being educated didn’t seem to make them less dangerous.

 

If anything, thanks to their education, they seemed to cause trouble more systematically and dangerously.

 

In fact, that Toman wasn’t even called a mage criminal. Mages of that level were just treated as common criminals in the Empire.

 

“But is there a particular reason you chose this mage among all the wanted criminals?”

 

Lee Han asked casually.

 

While doing so, he glanced at the wanted poster. He wondered if there might be some record of evil deity worship.

 

‘For something the Professor chose, it’s surprisingly ordinary?’

 

The bounty was less than a few dozen gold coins and he wasn’t particularly dangerous either (his only crimes were stealing corpses from family graveyards and stealing 14 horses from western ranches), yet Professor Boladi chose him.

 

Was there some inside story Lee Han hadn’t noticed?

 

“He’s currently in the capital.”

 

“?!”

 

Not only Lee Han but Giselle was surprised too.

 

No matter how skilled a mage Professor Boladi was, who would have thought he’d know the exact location of a wanted criminal?

 

“What? Do bounty hunters have methods like that too?”

 

“Ah, no. I’ve never heard of anything like that. Maybe Professor Bagrek is exchanging information with other bounty hunters?”

 

At Lee Han’s question, Giselle speculated.

 

All sorts of bounty hunters came and went in the north, but there was no one who could pinpoint locations without even looking.

 

“No, Moradi. That’s ridiculous.”

 

“Why?”

 

“Professor Bagrek couldn’t possibly have such extensive social connections.”

 

“…”

 

Giselle looked at Lee Han, wondering if he was joking.

 

However, the Wardanaz Family Boy was very serious. There wasn’t the slightest hint that he was joking.

 

“I think it’s divination magic.”

 

“That’s nonsense. Using divination magic to find that would be…”

 

Divination magic wasn’t omnipotent.

 

If you wanted to find someone, you needed appropriate clues and leads, and without them, the difficulty would skyrocket insanely.

 

If you gathered enough necessary clues and leads?

 

Then it would be easier to just chase them with those. There was no need to rely on high-difficulty magic like divination.

 

Even Einroguard used territory-level grand magic to divine suitable students.

 

The saying that the more skilled a divination mage, the less they rely on magic, wasn’t said for nothing.

 

“The Professor must have found a way to bypass those constraints. Isn’t that right, Professor? You found him using divination magic, didn’t you?”

 

At his disciple’s question full of trust, Professor Boladi answered briefly.

 

“No. I got information from other hunters.”

 

“…”

 

“Hey.”

 

* * *

 

Toman, the Dwarven Mage and wanted criminal with a bounty on his head, was staying at a shabby inn located near the southern gate of the capital.

 

The southern gate was a place where wandering adventurers and mercenaries bustled about frequently, and thanks to that, wanted criminals could hide without standing out much.

 

Knock knock knock-

 

“Who is it?”

 

“I brought your meal.”

 

“Leave it at the door and get lost!”

 

Toman shouted in a prickly voice.

 

In some ways, it was a reaction that might seem suspicious, but the employee didn’t particularly care.

 

At this inn, customers who reacted like that weren’t uncommon.

 

As long as they paid the room and meal fees in advance, they didn’t care whether guests died in their corners or not.

 

“Damn it. Petty and stingy bastards. Sending a pursuit team just because I stole some corpses…”

 

Toman recited the exact same words that countless senior dark mage criminals had said before.

 

Practicing undead-type dark magic required corpses, or more precisely, high-quality corpses.

 

The strength a corpse had in life would also affect the undead.

 

But such corpses were naturally expensive and mostly hard to obtain even with money. What crazy knight family would sell their family corpses for gold coins?

 

For the advancement of dark magic, Toman had no choice but to make that unavoidable selection.

 

…breaking into the cemetery of a knight family in the dead of night to steal corpses.

 

Sadly, the knight family didn’t understand Toman, and not only reported him but even organized their own pursuit team to send after him.

 

Getting caught by the Empire’s soldiers would be fortunate, but getting caught by the pursuit team would likely result in his head being cleanly severed and his corpse dumped in the wilderness. Toman grumbled as he pulled open the wooden window and looked down at the street below.

 

‘There shouldn’t be anyone who looks like a knight, right?’

 

Knock knock knock-

 

“…Who is it?!”

 

Even though an employee had just brought his meal, someone was knocking on the door, making Toman extremely nervous.

 

Toman held his staff in one hand and a crossbow in the other, preparing to cast a spell.

 

If a fight broke out, Toman planned to cast the most wicked and powerful black magic he could currently use, 【Bone Arrow Shot】.

 

Since he had put his independently developed poison reagent into these bones, their power was even more vicious.

 

‘Just try coming in, whoever you are.’

 

“It’s the person staying in the adjacent room.”

 

“…What? So what?”

 

“Open the door for a moment and let’s talk. Toman. If I report you to the Empire, you’ll be in trouble too, won’t you?”

 

“!!!”

 

The dwarven mage’s eyes filled with shock.

 

He hadn’t done anything particularly conspicuous since entering this inn, yet this person knew his name exactly?

 

‘This bastard…!’

 

Having seized the initiative, the other person continued in a soothing tone.

 

“Toman. I’m not trying to report you. As a fellow Empire fugitive, I have a proposal for you.”

 

“You have a proposal?”

 

“That’s right. Open the door. Put down your weapons. If you fire even by accident, I can’t guarantee your life either.”

 

“…”

 

After pondering, Toman carefully opened the door.

 

Surprisingly, standing in front of him was the aged employee who managed this inn’s stables.

 

The guy who usually struggled to manage guests’ mounts, whose face was barely memorable, was capable of such threats.

 

Toman asked in confusion.

 

“You… you. I saw you when I entered this inn. What was your name? Weren’t you an employee?”

 

“Names aren’t important. Occupations aren’t important either. The only thing that matters is true faith.”

 

‘Worshipper of Evil Gods!’

 

A single word flashed through Toman’s mind.

 

In the Empire, only worshippers of evil gods would go around doing such strange things.

 

“…What? Which order do you belong to?”

 

“I can’t tell you that. Toman. You don’t have the qualifications yet.”

 

The old employee spoke with gleaming eyes.

 

“Talking about qualifications and such. Who said I wanted to join?”

 

“Is that really so? Be honest, Toman. Aren’t you tired of being chased? Isn’t it tedious searching for reagents alone without any guild, workshop, or tower to protect you?”

 

“…”

 

Toman wavered slightly.

 

It was certainly true. A mage living as a fugitive in the Empire had no leisure to focus on magic.

 

While worshippers of evil gods were repulsive, thinking about it differently, they weren’t unusable.

 

Couldn’t he just receive their help and then escape at the right moment?

 

“What are you trying to say?”

 

“Here, Toman. Take this.”

 

The old employee threw a small wooden statue carved in a bizarre manner. It looked hideous and disgusting, more like a monster than a deity.

 

“Offer sacrifices to this and pray. Then you’ll be able to obtain what you desire.”

 

“Ha. What nonsense are you spouting…”

 

Toman snorted.

 

Among Empire people, few hadn’t gone to temples to pray at least once in their childhood.

 

And among such prayers, even fewer people had seen any effects.

 

When every coin was precious while on the run, what evil deity would he offer sacrifices to?

 

“I don’t have time to waste on things like prayer. If you’re going to say such things, get lost!”

 

“Toman. The deity I serve is called this: The Fair Regent. Do you know what this means? It means he absolutely never ignores sacrifices. Try it once. You won’t regret it. And if you change your mind, come find me.”

 

The employee said no more and quietly closed the door.

 

Normally Toman would have ignored it, but that clean attitude conversely shook his heart.

 

Such an attitude would be hard to display without real confidence.

 

“…”

 

Toman rummaged through his reagent pouch and pulled out a large monster’s liver. Then he held the wooden statue and prayed earnestly.

 

“!!!”

 

Instantly, Toman felt surging mana and was startled. When he opened his eyes, the wooden statue seemed to be smiling ominously.

 

Toman stared at the wooden statue as if entranced. The statue seemed to whisper ‘bring more.’

 

More.

 

And more bloody…

 

Knock knock knock-

 

“What now?!”

 

At the third knock of the day, Toman’s nerves exploded.

 

Why did they keep knocking?

 

“Customer! There’s a fire in the kitchen hearth downstairs!”

 

Normally, if Toman had heard such words, he would have been suspicious and escaped through the window first.

 

However, his judgment was currently dulled due to his first transaction with the evil deity.

 

Toman carelessly opened the door.

 

“What were you cooking that caused a fire… Gasp!”

 

“!”

 

Just as Toman was surprised, Lee Han and his friends were also surprised.

 

Professor Boladi had predicted that the opponent would escape through the window.

 

‘No way?’

 

Thwack!

 

Attacks struck Toman’s head and solar plexus. Lee Han attacked with his staff, and Giselle attacked with her sheathed sword.

 

The frail dwarven mage, caught in a surprise attack, collapsed forward without even letting out a scream.

 

“I, I was startled…!”

 

Lee Han cried out in a surprised voice only after the opponent had fallen. Gainando thought to himself.

 

‘For being startled, he beat him up way too calmly.’

 

If this was being startled, he was curious how he would have beaten him if he wasn’t surprised.

 

“Wait… wait. Let’s, let’s negotiate.”

 

“If you have any hidden reagents, speak up now. If you try to cast magic later, a scarier and more powerful mage than us will beat you up painfully.”

 

Lee Han ignored him and tied up Toman. When subduing a mage, the standard procedure was to first take away their staff and reagents, then gag their mouth.

 

“There’s a worshipper of evil gods! Isn’t a worshipper of evil gods more tempting prey?”

 

“Don’t be fooled, Wardanaz. He’s just scheming to get out of this situation.”

 

Giselle didn’t believe it.

 

Fugitives usually threw out all kinds of lies when cornered.

 

“I know. Don’t worry.”

 

“It’s true! Look at this wooden statue! It’s an evil deity called The Fair Regent…!”

 

“…This bastard! What kind of pathetic scheme is this!”

 

Lee Han was horrified and hurriedly subdued the opponent tightly.

 

In the process, his mana exploded outward with overwhelming pressure. Not only the frightened dwarven mage but even Giselle and Gainando were startled.

 

“Why, why are you like this, Lee Han? Are you angry?”

 

“This shameless criminal who broke the Empire’s laws is mocking people!”

 

“That’s… not really something to get that angry about…? No, it’s nothing!”

 

Gainando quickly shut his mouth, afraid he might get caught in the crossfire.

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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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