Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy - Chapter 1162

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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 1162

Lee Han didn’t lower his guard, but at the same time, he tried not to do anything that would cause misunderstandings with the other party.

This wasn’t near the ruins entrance, but rather a section you had to find a secret passage and descend through.

In other words, the adventurer party visible over there wasn’t just common riffraff, but had come down here knowing something and believing in something.

Indeed, looking around, he could feel the remnants of magical power from intense magical combat.

‘There’s no reason to approach people who are already on edge and cause misunderstandings.’

After all, Lee Han had Sarataan. There was no need to stealthily follow behind other adventurers.

However, surprisingly, they called out to Lee Han’s group first.

“Wait… wait! Please wait a moment!”

“?”

“Are you also a mage? If so, could you tell us your identity? I am Garko of the Arzo family.”

The Arzo family was a mage family whose name Lee Han had heard several times.

Giselle had also heard of them and nodded.

‘Elf race. And if he’s a transformation mage, then he’s definitely from the Arzo family.’

A sharp-eyed Einroguard mage could easily distinguish graduates from the transformation magic school.

If someone had various animal furs attached to their clothes, there was a high chance they were from the transformation magic school.

“Indeed. …Should I use Stedal Nago’s name?”

“…Didn’t you just agree that he was from the Arzo family?”

“He does seem to be from the Arzo family. But he could be an evil god worshipper from the Arzo family.”

“…”

Giselle was horrified to realize that this friend from a great noble family of the Empire had become several times more suspicious than usual.

It was truly frightening to see someone who was already suspicious acting like this.

“Are you perhaps mages who came from Einroguard?”

“!”

Lee Han was greatly surprised.

And with a serious expression, he whispered to his friends.

“There’s a possibility we have a spy among us.”

“I, I’m not! Wardanaz! Just because I scolded you earlier about studying magic diligently doesn’t mean you should suspect me…”

“Don’t worry. The one I suspect is Ibinta.”

Ibinta, who was waiting forlornly outside, suddenly became suspected of being a spy.

It was rather fortunate that she could remain unaware of this fact.

Unable to watch any longer, Giselle asked instead.

“Why do you think we came from Einroguard?”

“Aren’t you Lee Han of the Wardanaz family? Alsicle of the Penguerin family has praised you repeatedly at academic conferences, so I remember.”

“…”

“…”

“…So Penguerin was the spy.”

“No, no. He probably didn’t do it on purpose!”

The White Tiger Tower students quickly comforted their friend.

Although Alsicle had bragged unnecessarily, his feelings weren’t incomprehensible.

They too had shamelessly acted like ‘Actually, I’m also close with Wardanaz’ when Wardanaz rumors came up after returning to their families.

Moreover, mage conferences were places where everyone bragged to each other (this was the White Tiger Tower students’ prejudice), so where else could you find a junior as good for bragging as Wardanaz?

“Even so, you would have only heard stories, so I don’t understand how you recognized me immediately.”

“Alsicle of the Penguerin family even drew your appearance while praising you.”

“…”

While no other mages suspected anything, Alsicle seemed to want to definitively prove they were close, so he had magnificently drawn a portrait with magic that no one had asked for.

Lee Han cursed Alsicle inwardly.

What kind of embarrassing senior mage was this?

“…What do you want to talk about? We’re also busy with ruins exploration.”

“Won’t you exchange information?”

-You can ignore such words.

Sarataan snorted.

When it came to Bakwantalana’s ruins, there was no expert who knew them as well as he, a spirit, did.

So why would they need to exchange information with such a mage?

They might unnecessarily lose useful items from the ruins.

-Look at that mage’s attire. He seems to have managed to find the passage, but clearly doesn’t know how to avoid fights. That’s why he fought so fiercely.

Sarataan’s observation was indeed reasonable. Lee Han nodded slightly.

Garko maintained such an upright and flawless posture that it wasn’t obvious, but looking at the adventurers behind him, it was very blatant.

Fatigue, fear, frustration, and moving their lips as if saying ‘Please help us’…

‘Isn’t the last part a bit much?’

Lee Han was slightly flustered.

Even if they were adventurers good enough to be hired by a mage from the Arzo family, they should have some credibility and experience, yet they showed such weakness.

“I can also tell you about the ruins watchman our party just fought!”

-How persistent. It’s annoying, so tell him clearly instead.

Sarataan spoke with an air of importance.

Now that a chance to be active had come after a long time, this spirit was unstoppable.

He would crush the other party’s worthless information head-on!

-That watchman definitely had six legs.

“Did the watchman have six legs?”

“!”

Garko’s face wavered for the first time today. Though he didn’t show it outwardly with gentlemanly dignity, he was greatly shocked inside.

Deals between mages were only possible when on equal footing. If this side’s information was useless, they couldn’t demand the other side’s information.

“…That’s correct.”

“Does it use its tail as a weapon?”

“That’s also correct.”

“Does it continuously make loud screeching sounds until intruders retreat?”

“You mean ultrasonic waves. That’s correct.”

“No. Not ultrasonic waves, just screeching sounds.”

“…?”

Garko tilted his head. The adventurers also reacted as if it was strange.

“It was shooting ultrasonic waves though?”

-…That’s a lie! How dare they lie! This is why lowly and greedy mortals are!

Sarataan shouted indignantly.

However, Lee Han was already casting suspicious glances.

“Aren’t you the one who’s wrong?”

-…How, how can you say such a thing! Have I been wrong even once while coming this far!

Sarataan was truly wronged.

Who was it that told them the location of the passage to go down after passing through the ruins entrance?

It was Sarataan.

Who was it that swallowed their shame and said ‘That room is for confining spirits trying to escape, so there’s no need to force your way in’?

It was Sarataan.

Who was it that told them the password Bakwantalana had prepared in case a watchman appeared?

It was Sarataan.

But to treat him so poorly after hearing everything.

‘As expected, mortals can’t be trusted. To think I considered such a guy a friend!’

“No… sorry. I do trust you.”

Perhaps Lee Han could feel Sarataan’s sincere sobbing from inside the staff, as Lee Han rarely apologized.

And Lee Han muttered.

“I was thinking that over time, even if mechanical devices remain intact, things like chimeras inside could become corrupted or undergo mutation, but of course you would have thought of that too, Sarataan. Sorry for not trusting you. I formally apologize.”

-…

“Sarataan? You must have been hurt enough to not want to answer. I understand. Talk when you feel like it.”

-It’s just… it’s just that.

Sarataan hesitantly opened his mouth.

-Actually… I didn’t think about contamination or mutation… Now that I think about it, the watchman could have changed like that…

“…”

-Aaaaaaahhh!

Sarataan let out a scream of agony as powerful mana filled the staff after a long time.

To suffer such pain again in Bakwantalana’s ruins of all places!

It was a very unpleasant coincidence.

* * *

“Indeed. Thank you for the information.”

Lee Han looked at Garko with newfound eyes.

Unlike his appearance as a stylish gentleman commonly seen in the Empire’s clubs, his magical abilities were quite extraordinary.

Chimeras that had changed due to contamination were several times more troublesome to deal with.

Even watchmen created by mages were quite difficult opponents, but now they had gained unpredictable properties, making them hell itself for intruders.

Yet this Garko had somehow managed to handle it successfully with pure magical skill alone, without any special information.

Lee Han had at least received advice from Sarataan, but the opponent mage was truly remarkable.

‘Well, just because someone is sociable doesn’t mean they can’t do magic. This is also prejudice.’

Lee Han reflected on himself.

Just because students from a certain… no, some magic school were sociable didn’t mean all sociable mages were terrible.

“Um, excuse me. Mages from Einroguard. If this ruin has been contaminated due to the blasphemous rituals of evil worshippers… shouldn’t we first seal it and then approach it after a purification process?”

The adventurers put forward a truly orthodox opinion.

When it came to ruin exploration, only slightly mad mages tried to finish everything at once.

The general process was to first approach and check, continue entering if it wasn’t as dangerous as expected, and if more dangerous, retreat and devise countermeasures.

Since they couldn’t pressure Garko, they hoped these Einroguard mages would support their opinion.

However, these adventurers were very unlucky.

Who would have thought that leading these Einroguard mages was Lee Han, burning with vengeance?

“If it’s been eroded by the aura of evil worshippers, we need to enter quickly and check the situation. What if they planned this deliberately? Shouldn’t we punish them?”

‘…All mages are insane!’

The adventurers screamed internally.

Did these mages have no fear at all?

To boldly declare they would enter when mutations or contamination had occurred inside and no one knew what might be there.

Perhaps such boldness was indeed the qualification of one who walks the path of magic.

“I knew Lee Han of Wardanaz Family would say that.”

Garko nodded slightly as if not surprised at all.

If what Alsicle said was correct, the level of danger that appeared today couldn’t stop this bold genius mage.

Rather, it would become an entertaining pastime that sparked the genius mage’s interest.

“…?”

Lee Han felt there was some misunderstanding in the other person’s reaction, but his head was currently filled with thoughts about evil worshippers, so he didn’t bother to ask.

“As payment for the information, I’ll share one piece of information I know. Please don’t resent me if it’s wrong.”

“Of course not.”

“The way to go down from here is to find Bakwantalana’s emblem. The condition is to recite the password ‘Great dedication to magic’ in front of Bakwantalana’s emblem.”

“!”

“!!”

“!!!”

Not only Garko but also Giselle and Catten were greatly surprised.

To think it was actually Bakwantalana’s ruins!

The White Tiger Tower students stood there blankly as if uninterested, but when Lee Han and Giselle glared at them fiercely, they finally shouted loudly.

“Ba, Batalwanlana! To think it was Batalwanlana’s ruins!”

“We never imagined it! We’re really lucky!”

“…At least memorize the name properly.”

* * *

“Sob sob.”

The White Tiger Tower students, scolded from both sides, wandered around with pitiful faces searching for Batalwanlana’s, no, Bakwantalana’s emblem.

Lee Han spoke in a pathetic voice.

“If you had spent the time you were interested in Imperial politics on magic, you would have received half the scolding from Moradi.”

“But then it wouldn’t have been as fun… Ah. No. That’s good advice, Wardanaz.”

The White Tiger Tower students quickly changed their words.

‘No more watchmen are visible.’

-That’s natural. Bakwantalana hated inefficiency, so he placed exactly the predetermined number in each area. The contaminated watchman wouldn’t follow such rules and would wander around areas freely, so the other watchmen would have been destroyed.

‘That’s fortunate at least.’

Honestly speaking, Lee Han didn’t want to fight the watchman Garko had mentioned.

Even with Catten there, it was a more formidable opponent than expected.

Once they found the way down, he wanted to check the contamination and then focus only on the objective.

“Ah, Arzo sir.”

“Please call me Garko, Lee Han.”

“Thank you, Garko sir.”

Lee Han had quite a favorable impression of this transformation magic school mage.

His magical skills were excellent, his work handling was decent, and above all, his sociable personality.

Such mages always did the work of several people.

“How much do you know about Bakwantalana?”

“I’ve heard about him a few times when learning enchantment magic.”

Lee Han answered with a modest attitude.

There didn’t seem to be any need to mention that he had helped cast Bakwantalana’s magic.

Garko spoke with a serious expression.

“Actually, you see, Bakwantalana was a transformation mage.”

“Pardon?”

“Later enchantment magic school mages manipulated the information to favor themselves.”

‘Oh right. This person was friends with Alsicle sir.’

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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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