Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy - Chapter 222
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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 222
“Wardanaz is certainly impressive.”
Even the Blue Dragon Tower students, who had grown accustomed to Lee Han’s remarkable feats, were surprised and murmured among themselves.
Unlocking the mechanism was one thing, but how did he do it so quickly?
“Imperial Princess? Imperial Princess?”
When Neblen of the Kirak family called again, Adenart finally came to her senses.
The Imperial Princess apologized as if she was sorry.
“No. You were thinking about how he solved it. I’ll ask him later.”
While Neblen was speaking, Gainando shook the locking mechanism.
There was a rattling sound from inside, as if something had broken.
“Huh? Isn’t this broken?”
“Gainando. High-difficulty magical locking mechanisms originally make those sounds.”
“Really? It sounds like a toy I broke before…”
Gainando tilted his head and started walking.
Seeing this, Yoner asked.
“He solved it, right?”
“No. He broke it. Don’t tell anyone.”
“…”
He really broke it?!
* * *
The students carefully stepped down the stairs leading underground.
Since it was so long and dark that they couldn’t see the bottom, going down the stairs was quite nerve-wracking.
“Light.”
Lee Han conjured an orb of light at the front.
Honestly, he would have preferred to cast dark vision magic rather than summon an orb of light if he had his way.
Being able to see ahead clearly meant the other side could see Lee Han’s group clearly too.
In a situation where they didn’t know what was at the bottom of the stairs, such light was quite a gamble.
‘But it would be more dangerous for this many people to walk in darkness…’
Thud-
Fortunately, there was no Rock Drake waiting at the bottom of the stairs.
Instead, they saw the familiar sight of a library and corridor.
It was the familiar scenery they could see around the entrance area when entering the library before.
“Phew!”
“Sigh…!”
The students seemed to feel it too as they let out sighs of relief.
“Here! There are chairs next to the library here! Tables too!!”
“There are torches hanging on the walls!! Can you see?!”
‘Anyone watching would think the students have gone mad.’
The sight of students shouting as if they had made a great discovery about something so obvious was somehow pitiful.
In fact, this was how the library was supposed to be originally.
Walls and passages composed of tightly packed bookshelves, tables and chairs positioned here and there, cozy and warm lighting…
The wasteland where Rock Drakes appeared wasn’t usually called a library.
“Wardanaz?”
A familiar voice was heard from afar.
On the opposite side of the corridor, Nilia was standing with Phoenix Tower priests. The dark elf from the Shadow Patrol called Lee Han with a pleased face.
“Why are you so late? I was waiting wondering when you’d come. Did you see the marks I left?”
“?”
Lee Han felt something was off.
Neither Nilia nor the priests looked particularly exhausted.
‘What’s this?’
“Nilia. How did you break through the Rock Drake?”
“What Rock Drake? Why would a Rock Drake appear?”
“…”
Lee Han felt a moment of dread.
The other students behind him seemed to feel similar emotions.
No way…
No way…?
“…Did you guys come straight here as soon as you entered?”
“Yeah. Huh?? What’s this. Did you guys fall somewhere else?”
“…”
The faces of the Blue Dragon Tower students and White Tiger Tower students contorted simultaneously.
How could there be such an unfair thing in the world…
* * *
When the Blue Dragon Tower students and White Tiger Tower students fell into the Rock Drake’s wasteland, the Black Turtle Tower students and Phoenix Tower students fell directly into the library maze area.
The library maze area was a place densely packed with all kinds of books.
Thanks to this, students from both towers were able to find books relatively quickly.
“It was really close.”
Other Black Turtle Tower students who appeared late from behind joined the conversation.
“You guys. Do you know what appears in this library maze area?”
“What appears?”
A White Tiger Tower student asked back in a cold voice. It definitely wasn’t an expression of curiosity.
“Shadow wraiths appear.”
Shadow wraiths.
Among wraith-type monsters, they were monsters with relatively strong dark attributes that possessed people who carelessly made contact with them.
Although the library maze area wasn’t without lighting, since the structure was complex with all kinds of bookshelves and books, and there were many dim places, monsters like shadow wraiths were bound to be troublesome.
If unlucky, one could be caught immediately without even being able to avoid them.
Of course, that was that, but no matter how you compared it, it wasn’t as troublesome as a Rock Drake.
“Right. Good for you. We just came from dealing with a Rock Drake.”
“What nonsense are you… wait, is that true?”
The Black Turtle Tower students, who were snorting thinking the White Tiger Tower guys were bragging again, hesitated and looked at Lee Han.
Lee Han nodded.
“A Rock Drake appeared.”
“…Well, we both had a hard time getting here!”
“What do you mean we both had a hard time!”
The White Tiger Tower students got upset, but the Black Turtle Tower students ignored them pretending not to hear.
It wasn’t the Black Turtle Tower students’ fault that they chose wrong and suffered!
At least Nilia looked at Lee Han with some pity.
“That’s… too bad. What should we do?”
“It’s fine. It’s all over anyway. If you have any records of book locations, please share them.”
“I can do that, but wouldn’t it be better to prepare for camping first?”
“Camping? We’re tired, but everyone should be able to move for a few more hours.”
Nilia pointed to the ceiling.
The lights hanging throughout the ceiling and walls were gradually getting dimmer.
“The surroundings have been getting darker little by little since earlier. The number of shadow wraiths is increasing too. If we wander around carelessly…”
“Gainando got caught by a shadow wraith!!”
“Stop the possession!”
“Too late! It’s possessed!”
“Hit him! Until the possession breaks!”
“Priest! Please hit him, Priest!”
“…It could turn out like that.”
“I see.”
Lee Han nodded as he watched Gainando getting slapped while his friends held both his arms.
Though they looked weakened from encountering the Rock Drake, the shadow spirits were definitely troublesome monsters.
Especially in terrain like this, they became stronger the more people there were.
A friend in the back would suddenly get possessed and cause chaos, and while the formation was disrupted, a friend next to them would also get possessed, and just when they managed to dispel it, other shadow spirits drawn by the commotion would attack again…
If this were an area with other monsters as well, it wouldn’t be strange for the entire party to be wiped out.
‘If the number of shadow spirits increases periodically, then there must be moments when their numbers decrease again. Is this why they set the duration to more than a day?’
“Nilia. I’d like to hear some advice about camping preparations.”
“…Of course!”
Nilia answered with the most excited expression she’d shown all day. Durgyu beside her flinched slightly, seemingly overwhelmed by her enthusiasm.
“Don’t think too hard just because it’s the Library Labyrinth Area. What’s important are the basics. You remember what I told you before, right?”
‘I wonder if she’s running out of breath.’
Lee Han nodded.
“First find a clearing area where several people can enter. The passages leading there should be as narrow as possible. That way monsters won’t come. You know shadow spirits are drawn to light, right?”
“I see…”
‘He understood all of that?’
Durgyu was surprised once again.
Honestly, he couldn’t really understand what that Black Turtle Tower student was saying.
Was it because he was smart?
* * *
“Is it all done?”
“More or less.”
The Blue Dragon Tower students who took Nilia’s advice found a decent place to camp.
They unpacked their belongings in a wide clearing-like area and hung cloth over the narrow passages to prevent light from leaking out.
Flickering lights could be seen from the distant corridor.
“Where was that again?”
“Probably the Black Turtle Tower guys? Looks like they’re preparing well too.”
Though somewhat separated, students from all four towers were scattered around this area preparing to camp.
As the Library Labyrinth Area was considerably complex, the farther one got from the center, the easier it became to get lost.
Moreover, this central area had various advantages.
Starting with the fountain that provided water, various convenience facilities were located here.
“Alright. Everyone draw lots. As decided, we’ll take turns standing guard in pairs.”
Gainando reached out and drew a lot. It was roughly a middle order.
“It’s the middle. Is that good?”
“If you think so, then anything would be good.”
Lee Han subtly avoided answering.
In truth, for camping like this, the beginning or end was better – the middle was more tiring because you had to wake up at an awkward time.
“I should go fetch some water.”
“No need. Spring forth.”
The student who was about to fetch some washing water from the fountain looked at Lee Han with a moved expression.
Unlike the wasteland where the Rock Drake appeared earlier, water creation magic was possible here, but no student would waste their precious mana like that.
But Lee Han was different.
Mana at a level where it didn’t matter if he wasted it or not!
“Wardanaz… If other adventurers ever ask me to recommend an excellent mage needed for their party, I’ll definitely recommend you.”
‘What kind of horrible thing to say?’
Lee Han was shocked at his friend who was spouting curses after he created water for him.
“Wardanaz. The light has gotten much dimmer.”
“It would be better to put out the fire on this side too.”
The library’s light felt noticeably dimmer than before.
The more this happened, the more the wandering shadow spirits would be drawn to the students’ lights.
The Blue Dragon Tower students simply finished their meal with sliced bread, ham, a few candies, and water, then each lay down in their spots.
It was essentially lying on hard library floors with blankets spread out, but no one complained.
Whoo-
“Lee Han. Are you sleeping?”
“No.”
“Want to play a round of cards?”
“No.”
“The shadow spirits won’t come here, right? I hope they went to the White Tiger Tower guys.”
“…”
“What if the guards fall asleep? What if shadow spirits come in while we’re sleeping?”
Someone from the other side threw an empty candy box. Gainando got hit.
“Who was that?!”
“Just go to sleep. Please.”
“Right. Shut up and sleep. Gainando.”
Complaints came from various places. Gainando grumbled and closed his mouth.
‘It should be fine.’
To prevent monsters from possibly entering, two people at a time were standing guard outside the passages leading to the clearing.
Of course, Lee Han didn’t rely only on his friends. He had also summoned Sharkan and kept him on standby nearby.
Though it wasted mana, well, this much was…
‘Should I have just told them Sharkan would stand guard so they could rest… No. Being thorough is better. I don’t need to do everything for them.’
Lee Han had a thought that would have made his friends yell ‘Hey!’ if they had heard it.
In truth, with Sharkan there, they didn’t need to stand guard.
* * *
“!”
Lee Han opened his eyes without realizing it. Checking his pocket watch in the dim ceiling light, it was dawn.
-Grrrowl!
Sharkan was pulling at his sleeve with his mouth. Lee Han instinctively knew something had happened.
‘What…’
“Guys!! Wake up!! Wake up!!!”
The friends who had been standing guard outside the passage came running in frantically.
“The spirits are swarming around!”
“D… did you wake us up just because of that?”
A Blue Dragon Tower student who barely woke up rubbed his sleepy eyes and asked.
“They could be swarming, why…”
“It’s not that level! Look!”
Several students staggered toward the passage.
Then they backed away with expressions of complete alertness.
“…!!!!”
“Wh, what are the shadow spirits…?”
The area outside the passage was barely visible.
That’s how much the number of spirits had increased.
At this point, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call it a sea of specters.
“They’re coming this way!”
Specters began pouring in relentlessly from the end of the narrow passage. It was like fierce waves crashing.
Lee Han gripped his staff and prepared his magic.
“Blaze…”
“Lee Han!”
“What?”
“Is it okay to use fire magic in the library?!”
“…If there’s a problem, let’s say it’s the Principal’s responsibility. Blaze up!”
“!?”
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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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