Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy - Chapter 277

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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 277

‘Damn. Like an iron wall.’

Lee Han was disappointed.

Well, it wasn’t really surprising.

The Empire’s officials were famous for being honest and upright, so there was a high chance they wouldn’t be swayed by such personal appeals.

Still, since we’re from the same tower, I thought something might work…

“If I were to work in a government position, what kind of role do you think would suit me?”

Unable to give up, Lee Han asked bluntly.

Normally he wouldn’t have gone this far, but he was that eager for it.

Of course, Iwunrade made a face as if he’d heard the most ridiculous joke in the world. Seeing that expression, Lee Han quickly changed his words.

“That was a joke.”

“Haha. I thought so.”

Lee Han clicked his tongue inwardly.

To think he’d be this honest and upright.

No wonder he was dispatched to Einroguard.

“Anyway, Student Wardanaz… thank you for kindly responding to today’s consultation.”

“Not at all. It was something I had to do.”

“I hope you don’t mind me saying this, but as a senior, I’m worried that Student Wardanaz might be carrying a bit too much burden on your shoulders.”

Lee Han’s face brightened.

“But don’t worry, I have no intention of stopping Student Wardanaz. For those with talent, trials are blessings and gifts, aren’t they?”

Lee Han’s face darkened.

‘As expected of a graduate, he naturally says crazy things.’

* * *

While Iwunrade was worrying about the shock His Imperial Majesty and the imperial officials would receive, there were people breaking out in cold sweat elsewhere.

The adventurer Kilbedek wiped his sweat with his sleeve and looked at his accomplice.

“How is it?”

“Still seems a bit lacking.”

“Don’t bullshit me! This is enough! Even when I went hunting a rampaging dungeon troll, I didn’t prepare this much!”

“Don’t get angry. I don’t want to do this either. You know that crazy mage won’t be satisfied.”

“…”

Kilbedek shut his mouth.

Even with adventurers you’d never seen before, there were cases where you’d quickly become close if you got involved in a dangerous mission together.

That was exactly Kilbedek’s case right now.

The situation of being caught and dragged here while trying to scam a mage from Einroguard!

-If we’d known he was a mage from Einroguard, we obviously wouldn’t have tried this scam!

Kilbedek and the other adventurers had wailed like that, but it was already too late.

The crazy mage asked the adventurers who had used deception whether they would help with work or receive appropriate punishment according to imperial law…

The adventurers naturally said, ‘We’ll help with the work!’

It was called appropriate punishment according to imperial law, but such things had no meaning to high-level mages.

If they chose the latter, they might be secretly buried alive.

-What exactly is he trying to make us do?

-I heard Einroguard’s grounds are vast, maybe there’s work gathering materials?

-We might have to conquer a dungeon…

-Nonsense. Why would a mage affiliated with Einroguard call adventurers like us?

-Then, then?

-Live experiments… maybe he wants to do live experiments?

The captured adventurers trembled.

But fortunately, the situation unfolded differently than they expected.

-Coordinate your attacks.

-Excuse me?

-Assume one intruder, and coordinate so you can subdue them.

-…!

It wasn’t gathering materials, conquering dungeons, or offering their bodies for magic.

The crazy mage wanted the adventurers to work together to subdue a single intruder.

-We can do that much right now!

-I know my reputation isn’t that great, but I’m someone who’s solved dozens of requests in the western region!

-I see. Let me test you.

And the crazy mage neutralized their coordinated attack without batting an eye, then thoroughly beat up the adventurers.

-Again. Prepare properly.

-Ugh… urgh… uuuurgh…

The crazy mage beat up the adventurers and made them prepare again, then beat them up again and made them prepare again.

No pleading, begging, persuasion, or bribery worked.

He was truly the crazy mage that adventurers feared.

Why else would the saying ‘don’t get involved with mages’ circulate among adventurers?

Having high-level personnel like a mage in your party couldn’t be more useful.

Nevertheless, the saying ‘don’t get involved with mages’ existed precisely because of beings like this crazy mage.

An evil being that once you got wrongly involved with, you couldn’t escape until death!

“…Let’s prepare again.”

Kilbedek let out a long sigh. He wanted to spit, but was too scared to do so.

Since he couldn’t run away, all he could do was prepare until the mage was satisfied.

“Shooting arrows the moment the basement door opens seems good. But the follow-up attack is a bit ambiguous.”

“What about setting a stepping trap in front of the door?”

“Good. Let’s add more. Have someone wait on the side and launch an attack.”

“Can we match the timing?”

“Damn… we have to try at this point.”

“Alright. Then I’ll also draw my crossbow and charge forward.”

“What about the potion?”

“It’s set up. It’ll fly as soon as you pull it.”

The adventurers enthusiastically planned to repel intruders who would open the underground workshop door and enter.

Not just Kilbedek, but all the other adventurers were preparing with full effort like this for the first time.

Adventurers didn’t usually spend their spare time receiving lacking training and preparing for the next mission in advance.

Rather, there were more who indulged in eating, drinking, and enjoying themselves.

It was a dangerous profession where you earned big and spent big, so in a way it was natural.

But today was different.

Thanks to the crazy mage, all the adventurers were united with full effort, drawing out 200%, 300% of their abilities.

“How about changing the spear shaft? Let’s increase the length.”

“Might not be bad… Good. Should we add some reinforcement to the shield too?”

“My serrated blade and your mace. If we swing them together, the effect will be great. Let’s coordinate our movements.”

Bang!

“!!!!”

At the sound of the door opening, the adventurers instinctively cowered.

The crazy mage had returned.

“Please give us just a little more time!”

“It’s not finished yet!”

Knowing they’d get beaten by the crazy mage once the breakthrough began, the adventurers pleaded desperately.

Professor Boladi asked with an expressionless face.

“How long will it take?”

“1 hour… no, no. 30 minutes! 30 minutes will be enough!”

“Understood. We’ll start in 30 minutes. Your opponent is a student.”

“Thank you… who?”

Professor Boladi didn’t answer twice. He gestured as if telling them to prepare and left the underground workshop.

The remaining adventurers’ eyes widened as they pressed themselves against the workshop windows.

…So we have to attack that young student coming over there?

It was better than the crazy mage, but this time they were worried in a different direction.

Was it really okay to attack?

“A-aren’t we going to get arrested?”

“We’re already captured.”

* * *

Despite arriving at the eerie underground workshop following Professor Boladi’s guidance, Lee Han wasn’t surprised.

‘I was prepared for this.’

Final exam week.

If he hadn’t expected this after seeing Professor Boladi put adventurers in coffins and ship them to the school last time, Lee Han wouldn’t be qualified to survive at Einroguard.

Professor Boladi nodded lightly at Lee Han’s appearance, maintaining tension throughout his entire body.

It was the attitude of an excellent battle mage.

“The adventurers are waiting inside. Break through.”

“Understood.”

A battle mage had to know how to flexibly handle all kinds of situations.

They had to be able to deal with enemies hiding and waiting inside buildings.

…Though he didn’t quite understand why he had to do this in his first year, Lee Han gripped his staff tighter instead of arguing.

‘Prepare everything possible.’

Cast various enhancement magic, disrupt the enemies’ vision with illusion magic, then send summoned creatures inside…

He wasn’t surprised since he knew this day would come from when Professor Boladi brought the adventurers, but his heart felt heavy.

He had to enter a basement where experienced adventurers who had been through everything were prepared and waiting.

No matter how thoroughly Lee Han prepared, he could lose.

‘Let’s think of it as fortunate that there’s no phoenix or cerberus.’

Lee Han steeled his mind with that thought.

Suddenly feeling eyes on him, he looked to the side and saw adventurers observing him through the underground workshop windows.

Lee Han hardened his expression.

‘As expected of adventurers.’

Indeed, the experience accumulated by adventurers wasn’t something to take lightly. They were already carefully observing Lee Han’s capabilities.

If he accidentally exposed his magic here, he’d be immediately countered.

‘I don’t know if this will work, but…’

“Professor. I’m so scared.”

“?”

“Can I really defeat the adventurers inside?”

“Does your head hurt by any chance?”

Professor Boladi expressed his bewilderment briefly and simply.

* * *

Hearing the student’s frightened and anxious voice from outside the window, the adventurers became troubled.

They wondered if it was really okay to attack like this.

“We haven’t fallen into some conspiracy, have we.”

“What kind of conspiracy?”

“Maybe he wanted to kill a disobedient disciple, but didn’t want to get blood on his own hands, so he called us.”

“…”

Now that they heard it, it sounded plausible. The adventurers fell into silence.

That moment of relaxed guard gave Lee Han precious time.

Bang!

Lee Han immediately kicked open the underground workshop door. Arrows flew from inside.

Thunk, thunk-

The arrows stuck into the water shield he had floating in advance. Having cast various enhancement magic including 【Spatial Awareness】 beforehand, Lee Han knew without seeing.

“…Let there be light!”

Instead of entering, Lee Han intensely released mana into the underground workshop and cast 【Light Creation】 magic.

A bright sphere of light reminiscent of a blazing sun rose inside the underground workshop.

“Light, light, light…!”

Normally, there would be no need to invest this much mana in a mere 1st Circle spell.

Mana was a limited resource, and distributing that resource was also part of a mage’s skill.

However, Lee Han ignored such calculations and poured light into the workshop. Even though there was a light source, the adventurers accustomed to darkness were momentarily blinded.

“Rise, skeleton warriors! Heat, distort the air!”

Lee Han threw bone fragments to summon skeleton warriors. They were creatures that couldn’t even move properly yet, but to the adventurers who didn’t know that fact, they were sufficiently threatening.

“Undead! Dark magic!”

“Prepare!”

Even in that chaos, the adventurers’ movements had no waste and their coordination never broke. Lee Han couldn’t help but be impressed.

‘I thought they were fraudsters, but they actually have skill. Well, if they had no skill, they wouldn’t have dared to scam an Einroguard professor.’

Inside the underground workshop that was blindingly bright.

The summoned skeleton warriors, empowered by illusion magic, seemed like more than ten creatures.

Nevertheless, the adventurers accurately swung their weapons to defeat the skeleton warriors.

They had practiced that intensively in this underground workshop.

“I, I got one!”

Kilbedek was surprised even after defeating a skeleton warrior himself.

“Bones, seize the enemy!”

Lee Han immediately launched into the next attack.

From the beginning, bursting light and sending skeleton warriors inside wasn’t for attack but to draw attention.

It was enough just to prevent the enemies from pouring what they had prepared onto Lee Han.

Using the bones of the destroyed skeleton warriors, Lee Han frantically fired bone magic.

“Bones, seize the enemy!”

With nerve-grating sounds, bone fragments gathered from all directions to form restraints.

The remaining adventurers fled to blind spots invisible from the entrance and shouted.

“He wasn’t a young student!!!”

“Hold on! Using magic like that won’t last long! Exhaustion will come soon!”

“Urgh…!”

One unlucky adventurer was hit by the barrage of bone magic and collapsed.

The other adventurers persisted tenaciously. Thanks to the crazy mage’s trials helping them grow.

‘The end is coming soon!’

‘A mage’s mana isn’t infinite either…’

…But why is this taking so long?

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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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