Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy - Chapter 182
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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 182
Like the saying that the bird that sings the most beautiful song dies the fastest, it was quite common for mages with exceptional talent to actually live short lives.
Mages without talent don’t become greedy beyond necessity, but talented mages become as greedy as their talent allows.
The study of magic was like the sun.
A sun that burns you to death if you approach too close.
‘Isn’t there anyone to warn him?’
Diret bit his lip.
The evil professors of this magic school were only interested in their own fields.
When a talented new student appeared, they only knew how to say ‘You should learn this magic!’ without caring about what other magic that new student was already learning.
By the time the innocent new student came to their senses, it would already be too late.
They would be dragged into an inescapable magic hell.
‘Only weirdos like Professor Garcia could endure such things…!’
Moreover, since the midterm exam period had just ended, wouldn’t he learn even more different magic fields during the remaining time?
Someone had to warn him.
Right now!
“Junior!”
Diret steeled his resolve and shouted.
“Be careful! You’re being deceived by the professors right now…”
“???”
Lee Han was flustered by the sudden shout from behind and turned his head.
Pop!
However, there was no one where he looked.
“…”
“Wh-what was that just now?”
“I’m not sure, but it feels ominous.”
Lee Han frowned at the familiar feeling of mana faintly sensed in the empty corridor.
‘This feels like the Skeleton Principal’s mana…’
No way?
* * *
With bubbling sounds, the color of the potion in the cauldron slowly began to change to lead color.
Lee Han carefully extinguished the fire.
Only the final step of the 【Vitality Bone Regeneration Potion】 remained.
‘I just need to add freshly picked thistle flowers.’
“Why is mine blue? Why is mine blue!”
“Th-this looks like lead color, doesn’t it? Doesn’t it look like lead color?”
Leaving the friends who were denying reality here and there, Lee Han exchanged glances with Yoner.
Let’s go pick thistle flowers!
“Once tomorrow comes, the exams will be over too.”
At Lee Han’s words, Yoner nodded his head.
Even though it had only been a week, it felt like several weeks had passed.
To think they had to do this one more time…
“It was really tough.”
“Yeah. For me too.”
“…”
Yoner had to hold back the words ‘Lee Han, didn’t you dig your own grave?’
If it had been Gainando, he would have said it, but this was Lee Han.
He was already a friend who had enough troubles.
“Did you do well on all the exams?”
“So-so.”
“Huh?”
Yoner was puzzled by Lee Han’s words.
Among the 1st year students, there were several who studied well, but even among them, Lee Han was overwhelming.
Usually, if you excelled in lecture A, you’d be clumsy in lecture B, and if you excelled in lecture B, you’d show weaknesses in lecture C…
Lee Han was perfect as if he had no such weaknesses.
But he said he did so-so?
“Did you make a mistake in dark magic? How did your score turn out?”
“No. I got a perfect score.”
“Then in summoning magic?”
“No.”
“…Illusion magic?”
“I got a perfect score in illusion magic too… Hmm. Now that I think about it, I did well. Sorry, Yoner. It was just a habit.”
For the first time, Yoner almost got angry at Lee Han.
“What’s going on?”
Students were gathered and whispering where the thistle flower field should have been.
Lee Han approached with curiosity.
And then he was shocked.
“…!”
All those thistle flowers had completely disappeared.
“Did you guys pick them all?”
Lee Han asked as politely as possible.
Of course, just because his attitude was polite didn’t mean his voice came out kindly.
The students who had gathered flinched and stepped back at the murderous intent in his voice.
“No, Wardanaz. When we came, someone had already picked them!”
“How can I believe what you’re saying?”
“Think about it carefully, Wardanaz! We need freshly picked thistle flowers! So what reason would we have to pick them first! We wouldn’t be able to use them either!”
The White Tiger Tower student grabbed his wooden sword and shouted while trembling.
Due to everything that had happened so far, rumors like ‘when dealing with that Wardanaz bastard, at least four people should stick together’ were already circulating within the White Tiger Tower.
To think he’d end up facing him alone like this…!
“That does make sense.”
Lee Han lowered his staff for now. The White Tiger Tower student let out a sigh of relief.
‘Wait.’
“Move aside.”
Near the thistle flower field, footprints were scattered chaotically. They were footprints left by students who had come earlier.
However, Lee Han focused on the footprints inside the flower field. They were footprints he had seen somewhere before.
‘This is…’
Lee Han carefully examined and measured the shape of the footprints.
Seeing this, the Black Turtle Tower student asked in amazement.
“Are you distinguishing footprints that entered the flower field first? How?”
He couldn’t understand how Wardanaz, who wasn’t even from a hunter background, could use such skills.
Then Lee Han asked back as if he was the one who didn’t understand.
“Don’t you have Nilia in your tower? Why didn’t you learn?”
“…Because I’m not a hunter?”
“??”
Lee Han gave him a look that said he really didn’t understand. The Black Turtle Tower student suddenly felt like he had done something wrong even though he hadn’t done anything.
‘Where have I seen that look before…?’
The Black Turtle Tower student realized belatedly.
That was the look professors gave him when they looked at him pathetically.
‘Why! Why should I have to learn hunter skills…’
“Yoner.”
Lee Han approached Yoner with a serious expression and whispered.
“I know who the culprit is.”
“Who is it? A White Tiger Tower student?”
“No. Professor Thunderstep.”
“…”
* * *
Professor Thunderstep walked along carrying a bottle of well-made brandy.
The Einroguard professors who had arrived earlier were scattered around, sitting and resting with comfortable expressions.
As the midterm exams were coming to an end, the professors’ hearts were naturally relaxing too.
“You’ve worked hard. Professor Garcia.”
Professor Thunderstep spotted Professor Garcia and poured him a glass of brandy.
The troll hybrid professor, who was among the youngest of them, accepted the glass with a bashful expression.
“It was nothing much.”
“Not at all. Where else would you find someone who works as hard as Professor Garcia?”
Professor Thunderstep truly respected this troll hybrid professor before him.
While other professors were absorbed in their own field of magic, and people like Osyu Gonadaltes indulged in all sorts of wicked whims, this mage quietly did his work and looked after the students.
Without Professor Garcia, Einroguard would have become an even more hellish place.
“Professor Thunderstep is almost finished too, right?”
“Yes. The students will submit tomorrow.”
“You must be having a hard time with such a long period.”
If it had been the Skeleton Principal, he would have sarcastically said, ‘Isn’t alchemy the study of lazy people since you just give out problems and wait while drinking?’ (In fact, Professor Thunderstep partly agreed with this).
However, the kind Professor Garcia always found positive aspects.
“You have to continuously look after the students as they gather materials and craft.”
“That’s right.”
In truth, Professor Thunderstep hadn’t been looking after them as much as Professor Garcia said, but he nodded anyway.
There was no need to refuse someone’s praise and make them feel awkward!
And there were parts that were correct too.
“Just yesterday I had to go to the flower field and dig up all the thistle flowers.”
“What? Why?”
“For the students.”
Professor Thunderstep got slightly excited and began explaining.
The freshly picked thistle flowers needed at the end of crafting the 【Vitality Bone Regeneration Potion】.
The students all knew the location of this flower field.
But what if these flowers suddenly all disappeared?
With such a tight deadline, there would be no time to find new ones or obtain them elsewhere.
Eventually, the students would have to somehow complete the potion without the thistle flowers.
“The potion can somehow be completed even without thistle flowers. The quality would be lower, but that’s something the students must overcome with their wisdom.”
“…”
Professor Garcia’s face darkened.
Should he praise this or not…
‘Couldn’t he just tell them to make it without thistle flowers from the beginning?’
Did he really need to give the students shock and confusion?
“I… Indeed. That seems like a really good method.”
“Thank you, Professor Garcia. It’s affection for the students.”
Professor Thunderstep sipped his brandy with satisfaction.
However, Professor Thunderstep was forgetting one thing.
A student who had robbed a professor’s workshop once could rob it twice.
* * *
“We’re going to Kaksu Hall.”
Though he was tired from taking exams all day, Lee Han didn’t hesitate for even a second.
With submission due tomorrow morning, time was tight.
There were definitely thistle flowers on the 2nd floor of Professor Thunderstep’s tower, Kaksu Hall.
“If we gather the other friends…”
“We don’t have time for that. Yoner. Besides, it’s dangerous if there are too many people.”
Lee Han was well aware that this was the second time. The danger had increased accordingly.
Quietly and quickly.
“…But let’s call Nilia.”
“Good thinking.”
Yoner nodded.
Saying ‘we didn’t call you because it was dangerous’ later wouldn’t mean much.
“Hmm. Let’s call Ratford too.”
“Right.”
“Asan too…”
“…Wouldn’t it be better to just call everyone?”
“Yeah. That would be better.”
Lee Han gave up and decided to call his friends.
30 minutes later.
Lee Han and his friends gathered in one place, all wearing dark coats. Yoner suddenly wondered.
‘Does everyone have no resistance to stealing at this hour?’
Everyone was acting so naturally…
“Let’s go.”
No special explanation was needed. They had all worked together several times before.
Lee Han took the lead and moved forward.
Since he had been here before, it wasn’t too difficult…
“!”
What caught Lee Han’s eye was White Tiger Tower students wearing masks, attempting to pick the lock of Gaksu Hall’s main gate with clumsy movements.
‘What’s this?’
At first, Lee Han thought other students taking alchemy had arrived first.
However, upon closer inspection, they weren’t students taking alchemy.
Could they be raiding the professor’s workshop in the middle of the night to prevent Lee Han from securing the thistle flowers…
‘…That can’t be it.’
That would be going too far, no matter what.
“I think they came for a different lecture.”
Yoner whispered from behind.
“A different lecture?”
“Those guys are taking 【Basic Dance and Social Skills】. In that lecture, there was talk about a potion in Professor Thunderstep’s tower that helps you dance well…”
“…!”
Lee Han was surprised.
First, he was surprised that there were more students taking lectures like 【Basic Dance and Social Skills】 than he thought, and second, he was surprised that they would resort to potions just to dance well.
“They should solve it with their own strength, not through thievery.”
“I don’t think we’re in a position to say that.”
Before Yoner could finish speaking, rustling sounds came from the thicket ahead, and another group of students appeared.
They were Black Turtle Tower students.
“Do those guys also take 【Basic Dancing and Social Etiquette】?”
“No. Those guys… I saw them in 【Basic Music】…”
“…”
Lee Han shook his head back and forth.
Who would have thought that three different groups would meet in front of the workshop in the middle of the night for three different purposes.
“Thievery aside, is it okay to take an exam after drinking a potion?”
“I was curious too so I asked the professor, and they said it was fine.”
“…”
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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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