Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy - Chapter 1058

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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 1058

 

‘Strange.’

 

While his disciple did have a nature that enjoyed dangerous matches against formidable opponents, persistently tracking an evil deity cult that had nothing to do with him certainly felt odd.

 

“It’s done! Professor! Hurry up and go in there to give them a stern talking-to!”

 

“!”

 

Professor Boladi, who had been lost in deep thought, looked up at Gainando’s shout.

 

And he showed a faintly surprised expression.

 

Before he knew it, Gainando had dug out a side path leading down to the underground fortress.

 

Looking to the side, he saw Gainando’s pride and most frequently summoned creature, the Thorn Revenant, clearing dirt with its arm transformed into a bone shovel.

 

It couldn’t have originally been in that form, so Gainando must have modified the undead’s shape on the spot.

 

“You managed to break through.”

 

“Huh? What did?”

 

Gainando tilted his head, not understanding what Professor Boladi meant.

 

“This passage.”

 

The underground fortress here was by no means easy to deal with.

 

The thieves must have spent quite a bit of money, as the defenses of the passages and hideouts were quite solid and thick, yet Gainando had broken through it all in such a short time.

 

Just transforming the undead’s shape wouldn’t have been enough…

 

“Ah. I used corrosive poison. Originally it’s poison I use when cleaning up trash… Gasp. Please don’t tell Lee Han about this!”

 

Gainando, who had been explaining, realized belatedly and hurriedly changed his words.

 

When disposing of trash from the tower, he was supposed to go far away and properly handle it, but if he got lazy and melted it with poison, he’d get his back thoroughly beaten.

 

“I usually do it properly! Professor? Professor?”

 

Gainando tried to make excuses somehow, but Professor Boladi had already entered the passage.

 

* * *

 

“Summoning a high-ranking spirit in an underground fortress like this might not be good.”

 

Lee Han said as he walked along the passage that had instantly become quiet.

 

Actually, describing the fortress passage as simply having ‘become quiet’ would have been an insult to the thieves.

 

The fortress passage was completely devastated.

 

Perkuntra, summoned for a proper reason after a long time, wielded joyful violence in all directions.

 

It destroyed the passage’s mechanical devices, devoured traps, and sometimes tore apart barriers to stuff fleeing thieves into a single sealed room.

 

The lightning-formed apocalypse completely devastated the underground fortress that had been cultivated for so long, but the thieves could do nothing about it.

 

The scrolls, potions, and magic items they had stockpiled in preparation for fighting mages couldn’t even be taken out. Perkuntra didn’t give them time and collapsed the passages.

 

They couldn’t scatter to their predetermined positions to buy time or engage in persistent guerrilla warfare. When Perkuntra roughly sensed souls hiding, it trapped them without giving them a chance to come out.

 

“…”

 

Giselle didn’t respond at all and tried to focus.

 

If she got into conversation with Wardanaz, her concentration would crumble in an instant.

 

‘Don’t let your guard down. Don’t let your guard down. Don’t let your guard down…’

 

Seeing the traces left by the Spirit King’s lightning-like claws made whispers rise in her heart saying ‘Isn’t it all over already?’, but Giselle ignored those whispers.

 

“Cra… Crazy mage bastards. What the hell did you come charging in here for?”

 

“!”

 

And surprisingly, that concentration was rewarded. A thief appeared at the end of the passage.

 

He looked disheveled as if he had swum through underground tunnels. His hair was completely disheveled, and clothes that would have originally been quite expensive were covered in mud and holes.

 

Only his eyes shone vividly with shock, fear, and resentment.

 

“See! Wardanaz! There was a remaining thief!”

 

“…Moradi. I don’t think that’s something to be quite so happy about…”

 

Lee Han was slightly flustered.

 

If a thief appeared after Perkuntra had swept through, wasn’t that something to be alarmed about?

 

The excited Giselle belatedly lowered her voice and cleared her throat.

 

“I was just pointing it out in case you let your guard down.”

 

‘I don’t think so.’

 

“Still, we don’t have to leave everything to it.”

 

Giselle clashed her swords together, creating frost.

 

After going through all the trouble to break in, it hurt her pride to leave everything to the Spirit King. No matter how much she was helping Wardanaz’s purpose, she couldn’t just watch like that stupid Prince.

 

“What’s your name?”

 

“I’m Ibintada.”

 

“Ibinta? …Ibinta? Iron Cloak Ibinta?!”

 

Giselle was shocked.

 

“Who is he?”

 

“About ten years ago… He was a wanted criminal who made a name for himself back then. I naturally thought he was dead.”

 

“I’ve been hiding like this. Without a soul knowing.”

 

Ibinta answered while grinding his teeth. The current situation still felt like an unrealistic nightmare.

 

1 second after the floor of the ruined village broke.

 

-Intruder! There’s an intruder!

 

-Is it those guys who were loitering around earlier? Get rid of them!

 

When the intruder alarm sounded, Ibinta gave orders indifferently.

 

5 seconds after the floor of the ruined village broke.

 

-The intruder seems stronger than expected! They look like battle mages!

 

-Block the passage and activate the traps.

 

Even with the subsequent report, Ibinta didn’t pay much attention. It wasn’t a place that could be broken through by just one or two battle mages.

 

10 seconds after the floor of the ruined village broke.

 

-We’ve closed all the paths and opened the walls! We’ll trap the newcomers and drain their strength!

 

-Good. Let’s see what the newcomers are capable of.

 

At the report that the passages he had commissioned from dwarves at great expense were worth their price, Ibinta chuckled. The trapped battle mages would have to face thieves swarming from all directions.

 

…15 seconds after the floor of the ruined village broke.

 

-The fortress is collapsing!!!

 

-What? What? What???

 

Rumble!

 

Ibinta, who had been sipping wine in the luxurious room at the very bottom of the fortress, called for his subordinate, but no answer came.

 

Instead, what returned was the sound of the entire fortress shaking and being torn apart.

 

Still not giving up, he shouted orders through the voice tubes connected throughout the fortress, but only chilling silence returned.

 

Feeling his drunkenness instantly clear, Ibinta immediately made a decision. He abandoned everything he had, cast the magic imbued in his cloak, and burrowed into the earth.

 

“Did he avoid detection thanks to that cloak? Moradi. That looks like an ancient artifact. The magic is quite unique.”

 

Lee Han whispered.

 

He had wondered how the thief managed to come up here without being caught by Perkuntra, but he must have swum up through the earth using the cloak’s power.

 

Moreover, the magic he sensed was a type not seen in the Empire these days. If he had the chance, he’d like to analyze it directly.

 

“What are you whispering about! Sneak attacks won’t work!”

 

Ibinta growled.

 

He guessed that the two battle mages were planning a surprise attack.

 

However, as long as he had this cloak, sneak attacks wouldn’t work. Ibinta glared murderously at the mages.

 

‘…I probably shouldn’t mention that Wardanaz was analyzing magic in the middle of all this.’

 

Giselle considered provoking the opponent but gave up.

 

Provoking more than necessary might backfire.

 

Besides, the opponent was already sufficiently provoked. Wasn’t he the leader of a thief band whose fortress had been smashed in less than a minute?

 

“Is it because of that bastard after all? Kitarenannum? I shouldn’t have accepted that guy…”

 

“What!? Kitarenannum was here?!”

 

This time it was Lee Han who was shocked.

 

Who would have thought that the mage criminal he assumed had naturally died along with everyone else during the void monster incident last time was still alive?

 

‘How on earth did he save his life?’

 

“…You didn’t come here because of Kitarenannum?”

 

Ibinta was slightly more confused.

 

He naturally thought all this chaos had happened because of Kitarenannum.

 

“I did think it was strange that there was high-level magic outside, so it was Kitarenannum’s magic.”

 

“Then why the hell did you come here?”

 

“I came to check for worshippers of evil gods.”

 

“…?”

 

Ibinta doubted his ears.

 

There were many criminals who had committed all sorts of crimes and fled to this underground fortress, but not a single one of them was a worshipper of evil gods.

 

“There’s no one like that here. Who are you talking about? No, which order?”

 

“I see. There aren’t any. That’s fortunate then.”

 

“…”

 

At the opponent mage’s response, Ibinta felt a cold realization pierce his spine like an icicle.

 

So…

 

…he caused all this chaos just to check if there were any, without even knowing if they existed???

 

Ibinta’s face turned all colors of the rainbow. It would have made more sense if he had come because of his old infamy or to subjugate the bandit group.

 

“You call that reasoning!?”

 

“I didn’t know it was such a large-scale bandit group either. They attacked first, so I had no choice.”

 

Lee Han was confident.

 

Originally, he had only intended to quickly check whether they were worshippers of evil gods while Professor Boladi was momentarily distracted, but it was the bandits here who escalated things.

 

Blood flowed from Ibinta’s mouth. Giselle thought he might just collapse at this rate.

 

“…Then answer this too. Why do you think I’ve been talking with you here when I should be running away?”

 

There was a flash of cunning in the bandit leader’s voice. Giselle flinched slightly at that sign.

 

‘No… surely not…? It should be fine.’

 

From Giselle’s perspective, Wardanaz was definitely not someone who would lose to anyone in terms of cunning.

 

And her prediction was exactly right.

 

Lee Han answered without much surprise.

 

“You were waiting for your cloak’s power to return, of course.”

 

Having recognized the cloak’s magic type from afar, there was no way he wouldn’t know about its power charging.

 

Ibinta was greatly flustered by that answer.

 

“You knew?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“…You think you can subdue me even when my power returns? Arrogant bastard. The price of that arrogance…”

 

“No. That’s not it.”

 

As soon as he finished speaking, Perkuntra burst up from below Ibinta, piercing through the earth.

 

Crackle!

 

As the lightning spirit’s body pierced through him, Ibinta collapsed on the spot.

 

The mage’s voice reached the falling Ibinta’s ears faintly.

 

“I was also calling my spirit back.”

 

I apologize. I got too excited and went too far.

 

“Even so, what am I supposed to do if you go that far?”

 

‘The spirit… was still… summoned…?’

 

Ibinta glanced at the battle mage with his blurring vision.

 

He hadn’t noticed earlier due to the shock of the fortress being destroyed, but strangely, the guy’s features looked familiar.

 

Why did he feel like he’d seen him somewhere before?

 

-To summarize, the problems are as follows. Food shortage due to plague and famine. The threatening force created by the alliance of rebels and bandits. Monster armies that came down from the mountain range due to mana rampage. I can only stay in this manifestation for two days, so I’ll have to solve them one by one. Send letters to each family to contribute food supplies. I’ll handle the threatening forces and monster armies myself.

 

-?!!

 

‘I remember…!’

 

The incident that caused Ibinta to leave 【Kangle’s Shadow】 in the past.

 

At that time, Ibinta had taken advantage of the southern volcanic chaos to accept a rebel commission and infiltrate the Imperial camp as a spy.

 

And that was when he witnessed an Archmage for the first time in his life.

 

It was amazing how he had turned the southern families, who were notoriously disobedient, into docile sheep, but what was most surprising…

 

Was how he swept away the allied forces of rebels and bandits and even subjugated the monster armies in just half a day.

 

-Distribute the remaining spoils to the families as recorded in the ledger. For families like Marsio and Bicale, they’ll show dissatisfaction, so provide only half initially and give them the original amount when they complain. The Laren family craves recognition from Lord Gonadaltes, so deliver a personal commendation letter from the Lord. It’s fake, but they won’t notice…

 

Seeing that chilling sight of him returning as if nothing had happened and ordering the Imperial bureaucrats to handle the aftermath, Ibinta had made a decision.

 

He would no longer remain in an organization that might clash with an Archmage!

 

The adventurers belonging to 【Kangle’s Shadow】 had babbled ‘What’s so great about an Archmage?’, but Ibinta was completely demoralized.

 

As the memory of fleeing in panic came back, the Archmage’s identity also came to mind.

 

He was definitely the eldest son and heir of a great noble family…

 

‘Wardanaz Family…!!’

 

Ibinta fainted with that memory as his last.

 

And then he muttered.

 

“If it’s the Wardanaz Family… you should have said so earlier…!”

 

“??!”

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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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