Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy - Chapter 130
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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 130
“One by one, come forward.”
As the test began, Professor Garcia called the students forward one by one.
Then she recited an incantation.
“Gentle Starlight Veil Obscures Vision.”
In an instant, mana intricately embroidered the air, weaving together like warp and weft. Complex changes that the new students could never hope to follow occurred in the blink of an eye.
As the veil unfolded, the students sitting in their seats couldn’t see Professor Garcia properly even when they tried.
They knew she was definitely there, but it felt as if their brains were rejecting that information.
“Can everyone see?”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“?”
The students who had naturally assumed everyone couldn’t see hesitated when they heard the opposite answer from beside them.
And Lee Han, who had given that opposite answer, hesitated just as much. He had thought everyone could still see.
“…Can’t you see?”
Lee Han’s question confused his friends.
“We can’t see.”
“Maybe only smart people can see?”
“Then why can’t I see?”
“Gainando. Stop talking nonsense.”
Over the voices of the Blue Dragon Tower students, Professor Garcia’s calm voice could be heard.
“Ah. That would be student Lee Han?”
“Yes.”
Lee Han felt like he had done something wrong even though he hadn’t done anything particularly wrong.
‘Is it because of my mana?’
When problems arose at the magic school, guessing it might be because of Lee Han’s mana was almost always correct.
And it was actually correct this time too.
“You resisted 【Ildellid’s Starlight Veil】 thanks to your mana.”
The stronger one’s mana, the more naturally their resistance to other magic would increase.
Of course, that was just in theory – having a bit more mana didn’t dramatically increase resistance abilities. The difference was almost imperceptible.
But sometimes there were exceptions.
The boy standing before Professor Garcia was exactly such an exception.
“Then what should I do?”
“Just turn around and don’t look this way.”
“I, I see.”
Lee Han was relieved by the simpler solution than expected.
He had thought Professor Garcia would cast a curse to weaken his resistance or make him drink a potion.
“I thought the professor would cast a curse on me.”
“Do you think the professor is someone like the principal?”
Listening to the Blue Dragon Tower friends murmuring, it seemed Lee Han wasn’t the only one who thought that way.
* * *
The students called forward used magic as Professor Garcia instructed.
“Oh, Burn Like My Soul!”
“Even with the same magic, having to recite such long incantations to create mental images is not a good habit. If you don’t increase your concentration so you can summon it in any situation, you’ll have trouble when learning advanced magic.”
“Blaze Up!”
“Even if it works fine normally, magic often fails in tense situations like this. It’s best to relax as much as possible and get your body accustomed to it through lots of practice.”
Lee Han’s turn came.
Professor Garcia smiled kindly to ease Lee Han’s tension and said.
“Student Lee Han, don’t do Fire Element. Now, show me Water Element.”
Lee Han created a water mass.
It was incomparably faster than other students, but Professor Garcia wasn’t surprised at all.
“Form Bestowal?”
Lee Han compressed the water mass into an orb form.
“Shape Transformation?”
The compressed orb changed into a shield shape.
“Control Manipulation.”
The shield began rotating around Lee Han at a constant speed. In a stable orbit without wavering.
Professor Garcia nodded.
What could she say to a disciple who was already mastering next-year level magic?
“Perfect. Full marks.”
“Thank you.”
“Student Lee Han. I understand your talent, but don’t… rush to get too far ahead. You know what I’m trying to say, right?”
“Of course.”
Lee Han wanted to explain himself.
He really had no intention whatsoever of getting ahead.
It was just that the magic school kept pushing Lee Han’s back!
“I have no intention of pushing myself to get ahead, Professor.”
Professor Garcia stared intently at Lee Han’s resolute face and then sighed.
“Well, even if you say that now, you’re a student who won’t hesitate to advance when the opportunity arises. Student Lee Han is. It might be the tragedy of natural talent…”
“…?!”
Lee Han felt wronged by the absurd accusation.
‘Why does she have such a misunderstanding?’
“Why do you think that?”
“Professor Ingoldel said that Student Lee Han attempted Multiple Water Orb Operation.”
“…”
Lee Han was speechless at the unexpected answer.
‘Professor Ingoldel…!’
Did he go around spreading rumors about that too?!
Of course, objectively speaking, Professor Ingoldel hadn’t done anything wrong.
His disciple had fought against the knights of the White Poplar Knight Order and even achieved victory.
Any ordinary master would have no choice but to tell others about it. It would be strange not to.
However, such things didn’t matter to Lee Han. Lee Han grumbled inwardly.
“There were really unavoidable circumstances…”
“That’s right. Even when you try to stay still, when you encounter unavoidable reasons, moving forward might be the fate of a mage born with talent…”
“…”
Lee Han wondered if they were having a conversation in different languages.
Why does it feel like our conversation is going in circles when we’re talking face to face?
“Still, don’t overdo it too much.”
Professor Garcia said finally.
Of course, she knew that even if she said this, talented geniuses would rush out whenever opportunities arose.
But even if her words had no effect, continuously repeating them was what a master had to do.
“Of course, Professor.”
Lee Han returned to his seat while seriously pondering how he should answer to make Professor Garcia believe his sincerity.
“Now. Then, dark magic… Student Lee Han.”
“…”
As he got up again right after sitting down and walked forward, Lee Han thought.
‘My words might be a bit hard to believe.’
* * *
Dark magic.
-Now. I’ll summon an undead, so try shooting out a curse.
-Yes.
-Shoot out a curse, and dodge curses. Well done. We’ll need a bone hand. Go ahead and call one.
-Yes. Appear, Bone Hand!
-Perfect. But Student Lee Han. That wasn’t an instruction for you, but a command for the undead I summoned.
-…
Summoning magic.
-This time you summoned just one quill pen properly. Were you showing off to other friends last time by summoning many? You say no? Then why? It was a mistake? Why would Student Lee Han make such a beginner’s mistake?
-Professor. I’m a first-year student.
-…Oops. Sorry.
Illusion magic.
-Now. Try using illusion magic.
-Heat, Distort the Air!
-Student Lee Han. That’s not magic we learned in lecture. It’s even 2nd Circle magic.
-…Disappear, Illusion!
-Should I give you perfect scores twice?
-No…
After finishing all the exams, Lee Han sighed and returned to his seat.
Although he had gotten perfect scores on everything, his heart felt heavy because he couldn’t clear up Professor Garcia’s misunderstanding.
Seeing this, Gainando looked at Lee Han with an expression full of anticipation.
When you failed an exam, the most reassuring thing was a friend who failed with you.
“You failed too! Right?!”
“I got perfect scores.”
“…”
Gainando looked at Lee Han with an expression full of betrayal.
Then why did you sigh?!
* * *
After the storm-like quiz week ended and the golden Saturday arrived, the students’ faces seemed to shine particularly brightly.
Lee Han also slept deeply for the first time in a while and woke up.
Actually, he had tried to sleep more, but he had no choice but to wake up because Sharkan was licking his face to wake him up.
Sharkan grabbed and pulled Lee Han as if asking him to go for a walk.
He had things to do in the morning anyway, so he needed to go out…
‘…But do leopards originally need to be taken on walks regularly?’
Lee Han suddenly wondered as he left the dormitory tower’s main gate with Sharkan.
Of course, Lee Han didn’t have professional knowledge about how to raise Sharkan, but shouldn’t a monster with a title like ‘King of Leopards’ show a more noble and dignified appearance…
-Woof! Grrrrowl!
-Whinnyyy!
When he brought the white horse out of the stables, Sharkan barked noisily. The white horse also neighed back as if it wouldn’t lose.
Lee Han nodded with an enlightened expression.
“Right. You can hate each other to your heart’s content while walking. Now. Stay apart. Don’t touch each other.”
However, Sharkan didn’t give up and rolled around.
He dug at the ground and growled while continuously pointing at the white horse with his front paw.
Lee Han said firmly.
“No. Sharkan. That’s not your food.”
At Lee Han’s words, Sharkan rolled around even more to the side.
He looked like he was going crazy because his words weren’t being understood.
“If I say no, then no. Sharkan. Stop throwing a tantrum and get up.”
-…
Sharkan, who had been struggling continuously, finally gave up and stood up. Lee Han nodded as if he had done well.
“Good. Sharkan. I’ll give you something to eat when we get back.”
-Grrrrowwwwwl…
-Snort.
When Sharkan growled low, the white horse also nodded its head.
It was as if they understood each other’s circumstances because they were going through similar hardships.
‘Animals are really hard to understand.’
Lee Han thought to himself as he watched the two animals.
No matter how much he learned, they remained incomprehensible beings.
“Professor. Good morning.”
Spotting Professor Lightningstep in the distance, Lee Han bowed his head.
Professor Lightningstep, wearing a leather jacket, looked at Lee Han with approval as he tended to the animals early in the morning.
Then he looked at Sharkan.
Then he looked back at Lee Han.
“…For an undead hunting dog, it looks too vicious. What is it?”
“Ah. You know that monster called Sharkan I asked you about before?”
“Right, you did.”
Professor Lightningstep nodded.
Professor Lightningstep had kindly answered Lee Han’s question.
Taming monsters was difficult work, and the more violent and strong the monster, the harder it became.
Using such monsters as undead was even more dangerous since you never knew when they might target the dark mage’s throat.
“That’s the monster.”
“…Are you perhaps rebelling against me?? Did I treat you that harshly?”
Professor Lightningstep asked in shock.
If you wanted to die at the magic school, there were many better ways than this. There was no reason to use such a monster as an undead summon other than rebellion.
“No. Professor Mortum gave it to me, so I received it.”
“Oh…”
“Does it seem okay?”
“No. I was thinking you were crazy.”
“…Still, Professor Mortum must have applied some magic treatment since it doesn’t attack me. It’s gentle and loyal.”
Lee Han found himself defending Professor Mortum without realizing it.
Professor Lightningstep approached Sharkan closely. Sharkan made low, menacing sounds and stood guard threateningly.
“Hmm…”
Professor Lightningstep narrowed his eyes and examined Sharkan carefully.
If Professor Mortum had cast additional magic to manage its temperament while creating the undead summon, there should be traces of it.
“But there isn’t?”
“Pardon?”
“There’s no particular magic treatment to make it gentle or loyal.”
“…”
Lee Han unconsciously took a step back and put distance between himself and Sharkan.
Sharkan barked with a hurt expression.
“Then… is it waiting for an opportunity like Ponrig?”
This time the White Horse neighed in protest.
How dare he doubt its loyalty!
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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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