Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy - Chapter 1198

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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 1198

‘This is…’

Although Enstair had been more cautious lately, this was too difficult to just pass by.

If this really was a letter from the mage criminal Antagondals, it was too precious an opportunity to ignore.

Enstair took pride in his achievements as a mage, but compared to Antagondals, he was like a firefly before a full moon.

The period they had spent building their foundations as mages was vastly different to begin with.

‘Why on earth did he send me a letter? Does he have a proposal for me? An attack? Plunder? Ruin exploration?’

Any proposal felt tempting.

Just because they were mage criminals didn’t mean they had no accomplices. Whether attacking and plundering some temple or manor, or exploring ancient ruins, moving together in groups was more advantageous than going alone.

Of course, a mage criminal like Antagondals might use Enstair as cannon fodder…

…but there was no gambling in the world without stakes. Such risks naturally had to be accepted.

The important thing was something else.

‘Surely Antagondals isn’t related to the order, right?’

Mage criminals often joined hands with worshippers of evil gods relatively easily when needed.

If Antagondals had joined hands with the Sainguiros Sect remnants and sent this letter, he would be walking into a trap.

‘No. That can’t be. Antagondals is a big-shot mage criminal. He has no reason to join hands with the remnants of a ruined order. If anything, he’d plunder them instead.’

Enstair finally made his decision.

If this really was a letter sent by Antagondals, it would be worth meeting him!

* * *

“Wouldn’t it be better to just use an evil worshipper?”

“The great Professor Bagrek doesn’t want to use one. Hmph.”

Despite the annoying interference from his disciple and friend, Professor Boladi focused silently on his work.

Instead, the hamster bristled and shouted.

-Just wait! He’ll fall for it soon.

“Hamster sir. It’s not that I doubt your abilities, but…”

‘Now he doesn’t even call me by name.’

The death knight thought to himself.

In the past, he seemed to call the mage criminal by name, but at some point he had started calling him ‘hamster.’

What was most surprising was that the person in question had gotten used to it and didn’t show any complaints.

Anyone watching would think he was really a magical hamster that could speak from birth.

“…As you heard, the other party is extremely wary of the situation. But would he come running just from hearing Hamster sir’s name?”

-Is this my plan?

The hamster squeaked in protest.

This plan was originally devised by Professor Boladi.

Professor Boladi, who was nearby, opened his mouth.

“That fellow has a greedy personality. The possibility is high.”

“I see.”

-…

The hamster was so dumbfounded that he was momentarily speechless.

When he was speaking, this guy kept saying ‘Well, the opponent isn’t stupid either’ and ‘Would he fall for just a name’?!

-It’s exactly as I said! This bastard who wouldn’t be satisfied even if buried in a pit…

The hamster, who was squeaking and trying to curse, threw his body in terror at the killing intent flying from above.

Thud!

Professor Boladi had suddenly stabbed with a dagger.

‘This guy really tried to stab me!!’

The knight nearby gave advice.

-Professor. That fellow can escape if he dies, so you mustn’t kill him carelessly.

“I know.”

-…

The hamster felt a chill for a moment.

It was hard to tell whether “I know” meant he planned to stab just enough not to kill, or whether he was confident he could prevent escape even if the body died because the dagger had some kind of magic on it.

Maybe it was both.

The hamster newly realized that Wardanaz was quite soft among mages.

Though he usually tormented him with grapes or water drops, real mages typically came at you with blades.

“Professor. Even though his words are harsh, he’s quite a kind hamster, so please don’t be too hard on him.”

“Understood.”

-…

The hamster felt even more humiliated.

Just stab me with the blade!

-…Mage criminals are guys who only think about magic all the time. No matter how careful they are, there are bound to be limits.

“Ah. Like when Hamster sir infiltrated Einroguard… Oh. I’m sorry.”

The hamster’s brow trembled.

-The important thing is to make the proposal leisurely without showing desperation from this side. It’s not difficult, so just watch. I’ll show you how to toy with him without using a single spell.

“Will you stay in the basement again during that time?”

Lee Han asked considerately of the hamster.

Professor Boladi had a good nature, so he might secretly attack a mage who spouted nasty words like the hamster.

Wouldn’t it be better to keep him in the basement rather than wake up to find the hamster had become some bizarre skewer?

-…No! Let me wait here!

“???”

Lee Han was puzzled when the hamster in the cage showed a violent rejection.

Was there some problem with the basement space accessible through the dimensional bag?

There was nothing but miscellaneous items there. If anything, there was also a portrait of the young prince, but the young prince wasn’t someone who would torment others.

“Did you perhaps say something evil?”

No matter how he thought about it, it was most likely the hamster’s fault.

If he had gone and spouted nonsense about offering someone as a sacrifice, wouldn’t it be natural for the young prince to get angry?

-Do I look like an idiot to you? Would I reveal my true intentions in front of a fragment of such an archmage?

The hamster shuddered.

He wasn’t some idiot – would he carelessly blabber in front of a fragment of Gonadaltes?

While waiting in that basement, the hamster really didn’t say a word. The young prince was the same.

The basement was filled only with silence.

However, the hamster could feel it.

Though the young prince remained politely silent, inwardly he was thinking about how to deal with the hamster like a fish on a cutting board.

That was close to an instinct honed as a villain.

-Anyway, you can carry me in your sleeve, so please don’t put me in the basement.

“Come on. Once you get close, there’s no one better than him… Understood.”

The hamster couldn’t bring himself to curse outwardly and cursed inwardly instead.

He was honestly afraid that if he cursed carelessly, he might be put back in the basement.

* * *

Enstair carefully prepared his reply.

He drew symbols very faintly with mana on the workshop sign.

This symbol frequently used among mage criminals would convey to the other party that he had received the letter positively.

Soon an additional letter arrived.

Dimensional ruins exploration.

Minimum 15 golems mobilized.

5% compensation.

If interested, leave the workshop door open at midnight.

It was a letter with no courtesy, containing only his demands, but that actually made it more trustworthy.

If the content had been kind or gentle, he would have been suspicious instead.

Dimensional ruins meant the ruins were located somewhere in a dimension rather than on the continent.

The difficulty was higher and conditions more demanding than ordinary ruins. It was natural for someone of Antagondals’ caliber to seek accomplices.

The demand to bring at least 15 golems meant that those without ability shouldn’t come and cause trouble…

And the 5% compensation was obviously a testing condition. There was no way Enstair would just accept that.

‘So he wants to meet and negotiate.’

From the start, telling him to keep the workshop door open meant he would come personally.

When mage criminals met, it was usual for the stronger one to visit the weaker one’s territory.

What would give the weaker one confidence to enter the stronger one’s domain?

‘Good, if I can meet Antagondals…’

Enstair left the workshop door open at midnight. His heart pounded with anticipation.

Creeak-

The darkness wavered and someone entered. Enstair pretended to know nothing and asked.

“Who are you?”

“Let’s not waste time with pointless talk. I am Antagondals. Are you ready?”

“I don’t know what you mean, but please come inside first.”

Enstair closed the workshop door and confirmed once more that no one was eavesdropping or spying around.

Then he cast soundproofing magic again before speaking.

“It’s an honor to meet you, Antagondals.”

To see that powerful and evil mage criminal was truly moving.

However, Enstair didn’t grovel or act cautiously. Showing weakness among mage criminals was immediately a vulnerability.

Antagondals didn’t answer immediately. He exchanged glances with the hamster on his shoulder, then spoke in a voice difficult to discern from behind the silver mask.

“I’m pleased to meet you too.”

“That hamster… what kind of summoned creature is it?”

“You don’t need to know.”

Even at Antagondals’ indifferent answer, Enstair didn’t get angry.

Mage criminals weren’t the type to kindly share such information anyway.

Enstair would have reacted similarly if asked about his golems.

“Since you accepted the proposal, let’s get to the main point.”

“Wait, wait. I accepted, but I haven’t completely agreed yet.”

“What nonsense are you talking?”

“I need to confirm that you’re really Antagondals before proceeding.”

As soon as those words ended, he felt tremendous mana movement from the other person.

It had no attack power, but it was a show of force that any mage could feel.

Enstair was also shocked.

‘Amazing! How can he have such an amount of mana…?!’

Mages weren’t strongmen, and having a lot of mana didn’t necessarily mean higher mastery, but there were limits – the amount of mana that just moved was truly shocking.

The mage criminal’s infamy truly had its reasons.

“You’re being quite insolent. You want me to prove that I am who I am?”

“I, I hope you’ll understand. As you know, I, Enstair, am lower in mastery and weaker compared to you. I can’t help but be cautious.”

Enstair threw out several prepared questions.

If this wasn’t Antagondals but an imposter from order remnants or others, these would be difficult questions to answer easily.

However, the other person answered immediately. Enstair felt slightly relieved.

“Is that enough?”

“Just one more thing.”

Enstair prepared to flee underground if the other person got angry, then spoke.

Whoosh!

“This furnace goes out if it hears lies. Can you testify that you came solely for this commission, with no other evil intentions?”

“!”

Lee Han, who had been feeling relieved as well, flinched.

He thought he had deceived everything, but this was happening!

Magic really couldn’t be trusted. All sorts of methods existed.

‘Should I get angry and crush this? Or should I strike first even now?’

In that brief moment as Lee Han thought dozens of things, the hamster sent a blunt telepathy.

-Just say you’ll do it.

‘What?’

-Just do it. Curse a bit first, then do it for him. He’ll be thrilled to death.

“??”

Lee Han was slightly confused but testified as the hamster instructed.

And surprisingly, the furnace fire didn’t go out at all. Enstair’s face immediately brightened.

“Thank you, thank you! Of course I trusted you. Would a mage like Antagondals stoop to such undignified deception? Follow me. I’ll show you the golems.”

“…Ah!”

Lee Han finally realized and reflected.

‘What a stupid thing to do… That furnace was fake. He was testing my reaction.’

Making complex mana felt from an ordinary object wasn’t difficult. Lee Han could do it too.

Then if you said this object had powerful effects, people would inevitably be fooled momentarily.

-What are you talking about? That furnace is real. It’s valuable, so make sure to take it later.

It didn’t work simply because of the magic resistance phenomenon caused by Lee Han’s mana amount.

It was a method that read wavelengths felt from the opponent’s soul, but it was impossible to operate at all due to the massive mana.

‘…I see.’

Lee Han felt slightly embarrassed.

You could have told me before I started deducing…

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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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