Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy - Chapter 237

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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 237

However, the generous Professor Boladi did not blame his disciple’s shortcuts.

An excellent educator is always generous.

Even when a disciple tries to use shortcuts, guiding them to the right path is what makes a true educator.

“No…”

Lee Han was horrified at the sight of Professor Boladi drawing his sword and charging at him.

Isn’t this really too much?

* * *

“Not bad.”

Lee Han lay sprawled on the lecture hall floor and didn’t even respond. His whole body ached from being beaten.

An outstanding swordsman is skilled not only with the sword but also with punches and kicks.

Professor Boladi fiercely struck until Lee Han could transform his cloak into steel.

Then Lee Han succeeded in transforming not only his cloak but all his other clothing into steel as well.

‘Was violence actually effective in education, and I just didn’t know it?’

Lee Han shook his head to dismiss such foolish thoughts.

“But you’re still slow. Carry steel objects with you regularly.”

Transformation mages had to be familiar not only with the items they carried but also with the materials they wanted to transform.

A mage like Lee Han who wanted to become familiar with steel should get accustomed to all aspects of steel – its color, texture, weight, scent, and so on.

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Don’t forget to practice the floating ice shield either.”

“Yes.”

“And the advanced attribute conversion of water elements too.”

“Yes.”

‘He wasn’t usually this talkative.’

He only becomes talkative when giving his disciple assignments.

Lee Han cursed inwardly while preparing his excuses.

Foolish disciples make excuses for not doing their assignments only on the day they’re due, but clever disciples carefully build up their excuses from the first day they receive the assignment.

“But Professor, I’m taking many lectures right now, so it might take some time. As you mentioned, I’m aiming to organically connect magic from various schools to perfectly respond to all possible situations.”

It wasn’t exactly something Lee Han had chosen to do, but there was no excuse more appropriate than this.

Even the most ruthless professor would have no choice but to say ‘take your time’ if they saw the list of lectures Lee Han was attending.

Professor Boladi nodded.

Lee Han inwardly sighed with relief.

‘Somehow it worked.’

“There’s a way.”

“…Excuse me?”

An ominous feeling washed over him.

Surely it’s not something like ‘don’t sleep’?

“I asked Professor Verdus, and he’s thinking of simple artifacts as a pre-final assignment.”

“Ah.”

It wasn’t that Einroguard professors didn’t give assignments regularly.

After all, the professors’ hobby was giving assignments every week.

But there were times when they gave assignments more seriously than usual.

Assignments with high difficulty and a lot of work to do.

Those were the pre-final assignments.

For students, these assignments were like an ominous hint that ‘final exams are approaching.’

‘Is it starting already?’

Lee Han fell into thought.

If Professor Beeble’s pre-final assignment was creating simple artifacts…

‘Fireworks would be good.’

Magic fireworks.

Having made them (forcibly) at the last festival, Lee Han was confident he could make fireworks well.

Whatever level the professor wanted, considering the level of illusion-type enchantment magic he had (forcibly) learned last time, he should be able to pass.

“Submit the floating shield for that assignment.”

“…Excuse me?”

Lee Han, who had been thinking of taking the easy way out, hesitated at Professor Boladi’s words.

What did he say?

Professor Boladi spoke with a slight bewilderment, as if wondering ‘why do I have to explain something so obvious in detail?’

“Where are you stuck in the 【Floating Ice Shield】 magic right now?”

“The part where the shield protects the caster on its own.”

The 【Floating Ice Shield】 magic was difficult magic.

Of course it was.

…It was 4th circle magic!

Even considering it was 4th circle magic, it belonged to the difficult category.

Handling the cold element that was naturally hard to maintain was the first barrier.

Enduring the enormous mana consumption while maintaining such an element in shield form was the second barrier.

Finally, granting autonomy to this shield was the third barrier.

In fact, Lee Han, who had already broken through the first and second barriers and only had the third barrier left, was the strange one.

“Right. If you make a floating shield artifact, you’ll be able to break through the stuck part.”

“…Ah!”

“Are you tired or something? Missing something so obvious.”

Of course, Lee Han didn’t say “Ah!” because he was truly convinced.

He said “Ah!” because he was dumbfounded.

So right now…

Instead of taking an assignment that could be done easily enough, he’s telling him to deliberately test his own limits?

‘No. Doesn’t the thought that I might fail even enter your head?’

Whether Lee Han cursed inwardly or not, Professor Boladi said what he had to say.

“And.”

“…Yes?”

Lee Han felt even more ominous.

This wasn’t the end?

“Professor Milay is thinking of contracting with beings from other dimensions as a pre-final assignment.”

“Ah. That’s right. I also made a contract with an undead.”

Although it had ended up being left unfinished due to an intruder incident over the weekend, seeing that Professor Milay had created a magic circle with various safety measures, it wouldn’t be strange if contracts came up as a pre-final assignment.

Lee Han felt relieved.

Fortunately, one of the assignments was already completed.

‘I’m glad I contracted with the skeleton warrior.’

“I see. Find a water spirit in the spirit realm.”

“…”

Professor Boladi, who had contracted with the skeleton principal just like Lee Han had contracted with an undead, didn’t care.

“It will help you learn advanced attribute conversion of water elements.”

“Professor, actually spirits tend to avoid me. Even if I ask them to contract, they’ll dislike it.”

“Subdue them first, then obtain their teachings on the condition that you won’t contract with them.”

“Ah…”

* * *

Even the students who hadn’t been too frightened by news of intruders were terrified as pre-final assignments began appearing one by one.

“So, so we really have to make simple artifacts?”

“That’s what I said, isn’t it? Fun, right?”

“But, but we have too many assignments right now?”

“Hm? So what?”

“I mean, Professor. We have a lot of assignments, and if you add more here…”

“Even if you have many assignments, you’ll still sleep and eat, right? You’ll also rest in your spare time, right? You can just do it enjoyably then, can’t you?”

“…”

“Are, are you joking?”

Durgyu, who was beside him, whispered in a horrified voice.

Lee Han shook his head with a bitter expression.

Looking at Moradi, his mouth was slightly open with a shocked face.

Even for Moradi, who had quite strong mental fortitude, the pre-final assignments seemed quite shocking.

“Mmm… mmmmm.”

“Grrrrrgh.”

Among the students taking enchantment magic, there were many White Tiger Tower students.

And White Tiger Tower students basically didn’t like sitting at desks for long periods.

Occasionally there were mages who boasted to the Empire newspapers that ‘I use magic through intuition and inspiration, not theory,’ but that was close to pretense.

Just as it’s not true when the top student of a year says ‘I didn’t study separately and only focused on lectures,’ magic isn’t easy enough to get through with just intuition and inspiration without theory.

But White Tiger Tower students still believed in intuition and inspiration.

“Grrrrrgh… Grrrrrrrgh…”

“Why… why do we have to do this, Moradi? Why are they doing this to us? What did I do wrong?”

“I want to learn physical enhancement magic, not do these trivial blacksmith tasks!”

“…”

Giselle looked at her friends, contemplating whether she should kill them or not.

Anyone watching now would think she had told them to go into Blue Dragon Tower and capture Wardanaz or something.

Giselle had only asked for something really simple.

-Since we each have to make simple artifacts, try drawing simple designs on paper.

Then the White Tiger Tower students twisted their bodies and banged their foreheads on desks in agony.

Lee Han was grateful seeing that sight.

‘Thanks to those guys, my ranking goes up.’

“Lee Han?”

“Ah. Sorry, Durgyu. Where were we?”

“Mm. I want to enchant my shield with light magic, what do you think of this design?”

“Overall it’s fine, but there are several inefficient parts. And here at the edges, the circuits are tangled. There’s a possibility the mana won’t flow through or it’ll break.”

“I, I see.”

Durgyu looked at Lee Han with respectful eyes.

Of course, Lee Han was always a reliable friend, but as exams approached, he became several times more reliable.

Where else could you find such a reliable friend in the face of a storm of assignments?

“Then… here…”

Durgyu, who was diligently revising his design according to the advice he heard from Lee Han, suddenly became curious and asked.

“But Lee Han. What are you going to make and submit?”

“…A floating steel shield.”

“A, a floating steel shield?! Don’t tell me it’s a shield that autonomously protects the mage??”

“…Yeah.”

“A… Amazing!!!”

Durgyu was impressed.

And then he was puzzled.

‘Huh?’

His top-of-the-year friend’s expression was rotting away as if he had chewed on something.

“Is there some problem, Lee Han?”

“No… nothing.”

Several White Tiger Tower students nearby heard the conversation and cast looks of shock.

“Did you hear? What kind of artifact Wardanaz is making?”

“What’s he making? A real dragon?”

“Does that make sense? He says he’s making a floating shield!”

“A… floating shield?!”

‘Isn’t a real dragon even more nonsensical?’

Even if White Tiger Tower students were a bit lacking in magical skills, they weren’t without an eye for magic.

Even if they were from knight families, or rather, precisely because they were from knight families, there were several magics they encountered closely.

Enchantment magic and healing magic were inevitably more familiar to those from knight families.

“You mean one that blocks autonomously, right?”

A shield that has its own will and protects its master.

It was an artifact every knight dreamed of.

Naturally, White Tiger Tower students knew how precious and expensive such artifacts were.

“If… if he makes one, could we get one?”

“…”

“Wardanaz. Do you need anything by any chance?”

White Tiger Tower students quietly approached Lee Han.

That’s how much they coveted it.

A floating shield artifact.

Lee Han clicked his tongue and said.

“Where did you hear such nonsense… You heard wrong.”

“Ah. Is, is that so?”

The White Tiger Tower students became embarrassed.

Come to think of it, it was a bit strange.

Granting autonomy to a shield was magic of tremendous difficulty.

No matter how much of a Wardanaz he was, wasn’t he still a 1st year student?

There was no way he could do such a thing.

“Where on earth did you hear such a false rumor and spread it?”

“Right. You bastard.”

“I, I really heard it…”

While the White Tiger Tower students were berating the friend who had heard wrong, Lee Han kindly explained.

“Look here. What’s an artifact?”

“…”

“…Wardanaz. Aren’t you looking down on us too much… It’s an item with enchantment magic cast on it…”

“To be precise, it’s an item with semi-permanent enchantment.”

If you cast enchantment magic and it disappears after a few days, that wasn’t an artifact.

No matter how good the magic, it could only be called an artifact if it was maintained semi-permanently.

As such, enchantment mages who specialized in artifact creation devoted their heart and soul to this semi-permanent maintenance.

Naturally, this alone was a field of tremendous difficulty, and absolutely not a field for new students to touch.

“Do you understand?”

“Y, yeah. But why are you suddenly explaining this…?”

“What I’m trying to do is temporarily grant autonomy to a shield, not grant it semi-permanently. Understand? So don’t spread strange false rumors about making a floating shield artifact.”

“…”

“…”

The White Tiger Tower students who had been tilting their heads while listening to the explanation paused.

…So anyway, in the end, he is making a floating shield, right???!

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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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