Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy - Chapter 272

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 272

Fortunately, it didn’t lead to a fire. Thanks to Lee Han stepping forward first, the students had time to close the windows and hurriedly put out the flames.

“My… my assignment…”

“When we get back to the manor, I’m throwing away all the phoenix fairy tale books!”

The panicked students breathed heavily and glanced out the window.

The phoenix looked at them as if asking what was wrong, flapping its wings.

Tap tap!

“Why is it doing that? Why is it acting like that!”

“Isn’t it asking us to open the window? It’s pointing at the window!”

“Didn’t the mage in the fairy tale who granted the phoenix’s request receive a great reward?”

“Absolutely don’t open it!”

At Gainando’s words, his friends growled and shouted.

Being fooled twice was one thing, but being fooled three times would mean they weren’t qualified to be mages.

■■■■■■…

Suddenly the phoenix began to chirp. Rather than chirping, it was more like a song-like cry.

The phoenix’s song even calmed the anger of the student whose assignment had just burned.

“…Maybe we could open it?”

Smack!

“Agh!”

“Get a grip.”

Lee Han struck his friend’s solar plexus with his staff.

Looking around, surprisingly all the students had faces with their anger subsided.

‘What? Does it have an effect that interferes with the mind?’

No matter how beautiful a song was, it couldn’t soothe the anger from a burned assignment. There was definitely some magical power at work.

Among monsters, there were those that bewitched people’s minds with sound.

If the phoenix’s song had such power…

“Block your ears.”

Lee Han personally put cotton in his friends’ ears. Then the student who had just calmed down exploded with anger again.

“That damn bird is playing with me?!”

‘So the song was the cause.’

The students waited with their ears blocked. When the song ended, Lee Han spoke again.

“It’s over.”

“Wardanaz! Give us orders!”

The student holding the burned assignment said with blazing eyes.

“Orders?”

“Yes!”

“I’ll do anything!”

At his friends’ passionate cries, Lee Han also answered solemnly.

“Then… let’s sit down and study again.”

“…”

“…Huh?”

“What do you mean ‘huh’? Sit down and study again.”

“No, no. Weren’t we going to catch the phoenix?”

“How am I supposed to catch a phoenix?”

At Lee Han’s question, his friends were speechless.

Huh?

‘That’s right?’

‘Come to think of it…’

They had thoughtlessly assumed Wardanaz would catch it, but thinking about it carefully, a phoenix wasn’t a monster that first-year students could catch.

“Why did I think Wardanaz would catch it?”

“Me, me too.”

“It’s probably because you don’t want to study. Sit down quickly.”

The students who were putting on their coats sat back down with dejected expressions. The Imperial Princess secretly put back the fire resistance potion she had taken out of the box.

“Still, it’s brighter so it’s good for concentrating. Don’t you think?”

‘He’s my friend but sometimes he really seems crazy.’

Gainando thought this as he picked up his quill pen.

* * *

Contrary to the expectations of several friends (actually there were more than that), Lee Han had no intention of catching the phoenix at all.

In fact, even if he tried to catch the phoenix, he had no idea how to do it.

How could a first-year student catch a divine beast with eternal life that revived no matter what attacks it received?

However, when the phoenix blocked the path to morning lectures, he seriously thought ‘should I catch it?’

■■■… ■■■…

The phoenix chirped while circling around in front of the students.

It looked comical as if playing around, but seeing fire crackling below with each circle made it impossible to laugh.

“Th-this is heaven’s revelation telling us not to attend lectures!”

“Don’t talk nonsense. Everyone scatter! Draw its attention!”

Professors never understood tardiness.

Even if the world ended on the way, professors wouldn’t take it into consideration, so there was no way they’d understand over just one phoenix.

“Freeze!”

“Wait. Wardanaz. Right now ice magic because of the phoenix…”

Crackle!

“…is a very effective choice.”

“You were just about to say ice magic wouldn’t work because of the phoenix, weren’t you?”

“When did I ever.”

The Blue Dragon Tower student changed his words upon seeing ice shards forming in the air.

Yoner whispered urgently.

“Lee Han. If you provoke it unnecessarily, only you might be in danger.”

The relatively realistic Yoner wasn’t even thinking about catching the phoenix.

Such thoughts were only for friends who now had sawdust instead of brains in their heads…

“That’s definitely right. Wardanaz. Even if we try, let’s set up bait just in case. Other bait for the phoenix to chase.”

Gainando seemed to think Asan’s words made sense and nodded. Then he asked.

“How do we set up bait?”

“Well…”

“?”

Lee Han stopped the conversation before the two could fight.

“I’m not trying to attack. I’m trying to draw its attention.”

With his words, ice shards began circling in the air. The phoenix, which had been blocking the students’ path and throwing a tantrum as if asking to play, showed interest in the ice shards and chased after them.

“Run!”

The ice shards didn’t last long and melted away. Lee Han sent the next ice shard to draw the phoenix’s attention and then ran.

Gainando panted and shouted.

“Why, do we have to, go this far, to study!?”

The Blue Dragon Tower students running alongside unconsciously nodded their heads.

* * *

“Everyone worked hard during the semester. If this semester you learned magic from various schools, next semester you’ll learn basic and practical magic that doesn’t belong to any school.”

Instead of cramming knowledge into students’ heads until the last lecture of the semester, Professor Garcia took time to receive questions from students.

If there are parts you’re stuck on in basic elemental magic, then basic elemental magic; if there are parts you’re stuck on in basic illusion magic, then basic illusion magic; if there are parts you’re stuck on in geometry and arithmetic, then geometry and arithmetic…

He was truly a genuine educator.

“Professor.”

“Please ask.”

“There’s a phoenix outside the lecture hall. How do we drive it away?”

“I couldn’t sleep last night because of the phoenix!”

The Blue Dragon Tower students weren’t the only victims.

Students from other towers also had bloodshot eyes from the phoenix’s pranks that had begun in earnest since yesterday evening.

When they tried to sleep, it would wake them with bright light like broad daylight, and when they went to attend lectures, it would appear and pester them to play…

Cases like Lee Han cleverly avoiding it were rather rare, and the White Tiger Tower students had to come out 30 minutes late because of the phoenix.

Nigisor Priest looked puzzled.

“Why are the other fellow students acting like that? The night became as bright as day and the cold hid its form, so shouldn’t they be grateful to the phoenix…”

“Shh. Be quiet.”

“Make him shut up.”

The quick-witted priests covered Nigisor Priest’s mouth.

Just because they had all spent their lives only in temples didn’t mean they lacked awareness.

“Oh dear… What should everyone do? Defeating a phoenix would be beyond your level.”

Professor Garcia spoke with a face full of sympathy.

“Even with Wardanaz? Would it be too much even using Wardanaz?”

At Angrago’s question, the Blue Dragon Tower students looked at him as if he were ridiculous.

Is Wardanaz your sword or something?

“Even student Lee Han would find it too much, naturally…”

‘Thank you, Professor.’

Lee Han felt gratitude rising at Professor Garcia’s response in an incredulous voice.

Other professors should learn from this attitude.

“Basically, while a phoenix isn’t a violent monster, it’s not an easy monster to defeat either. Most attacks don’t work on it.”

Professor Garcia swung his staff and shot a rock spear at the phoenix outside the window.

Thud!

With a dull sound, the rock spear pierced through the phoenix, but the rock spear instantly burned away and disappeared while the phoenix continued flapping as if nothing had happened.

Seeing how unconcerned it was despite being pierced by a spear, it seemed like it didn’t feel pain at all.

“Did you see that?”

“Then… then do we have to live like this forever?”

“Not forever. It will disappear with time. Magical beasts that appear from other dimensions can’t stay in reality for long.”

“When approximately?”

“When its mana runs out?”

“…”

* * *

In less than two days, the phoenix had driven the first-year students to neurosis.

It would wake them when they slept, pester them to play when they went out to attend lectures, and burn their papers when they tried to study while getting some sunlight…

New rules were even created within the towers.

-Forbidden Words of This Month-

Phoenix

Festival

Bird

Chicken

Fire

Hot

Warm

The phoenix was giving the students a clear lesson.

What kind of disaster could befall from the thoughtless actions of mages!

Who could have predicted that such a thing would come just from celebrating a festival somewhat modestly?

“Isn’t there really any way?”

“A phoenix is… too much.”

Lee Han heated the frying pan hot, coated it with oil and butter, then threw in mushrooms he had dug up near the vegetable garden.

Mushrooms that absorbed oil and butter were bound to become crispy and moist.

However, despite such bribes, Professor Lightningstep didn’t give the answer he wanted.

“Tomorrow starts the weekend, but if this continues during the weekend, next week’s exams will be a disaster. Didn’t the Principal summon that thing?”

“That’s an interesting conspiracy theory, but if the Principal wanted to interfere with your exams, he would have done it with a cheaper method. Summoning a phoenix, really. If it was done artificially, it would be tremendously expensive.”

Professor Lightningstep said this while picking up mushrooms to eat. Come to think of it anew, the most genius talent his disciple before him possessed might not be magic but cooking.

“Still, haven’t you definitely picked up the knack for avoiding the phoenix?”

“That’s true, but will there be another occasion in life to use the knack for avoiding phoenixes?”

“There might not be outside, but at magic school there might be one or two more times.”

“…”

“That’s a joke.”

When Lee Han looked serious, Professor Lightningstep spoke soothingly.

“It’s not that I’m deliberately not telling you, but there really isn’t a proper method. A phoenix is a kind of… magical beast close to a natural disaster. If you asked me to teach you how to prevent drought or floods, it would be difficult to answer. I couldn’t give an answer when Professor Bagrek asked either.”

“I see… Excuse me?”

Lee Han, who had been listening, raised his head.

He was suddenly flustered by Professor Boladi appearing.

“What did Professor Bagrek ask about?”

“He wanted to capture the phoenix and use it for combat. That would be too much though.”

“…”

Lee Han inwardly patted his chest in relief.

Without knowing it, he had passed through a danger that could have killed him.

“I think so too.”

“Professor Bagrek was convinced too. So he asked if he could borrow the Cerberus…”

“…What!??!”

Lee Han’s eyes shook with betrayal.

After cooking with good mushrooms for him, this betrayal?

“I told him that Cerberus was raised rather preciously so it would be too much for combat use.”

“…Thank you so much. Would you like some beer?”

“Sounds good? But why suddenly?”

Lee Han opened the secret floor door that Professor Thunderstep had hidden and took out a beer barrel.

“By the way. Isn’t Professor Thunderstep coming today?”

“Ah… he’ll be a bit busy.”

“Is there some matter?”

“No. He’s racking his brains trying to make the final exams difficult.”

“…Please wait a moment. I’ll bring some snacks too.”

Lee Han also opened another secret floor door that Professor Thunderstep had hidden.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————