Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy - Chapter 368

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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 368

Originally, people didn’t change that easily by nature.

If they changed that easily, why would Giselle suffer so much in the White Tiger Tower?

White Tiger Tower students would choose outdoor pleasures over studying no matter how much they got beaten or locked in the punishment room. Even beast cubs would be more obedient than that.

“Moradi. What do you think?”

“…They seem sincere though.”

Unlike the two who were very suspicious, the Knights of the Hornbeam Knight Order were truly sincere.

Lee Han didn’t realize it, but the fear felt by the knights who directly faced Duke Ikalderen’s wrath was on a different dimension.

It was a fear that made them think they might really die here.

Such fear had the power to make one look back on their actions and repent.

The knights who barely escaped from the crisis were sincerely ashamed of their actions.

“Well… it wasn’t a big deal. I’m glad everyone’s okay.”

Unable to read the other party’s intentions, Lee Han gave a moderate response for now.

He planned to play along and then create distance.

“That knight who got hit and flew away… no, fell back quite far, is he okay?”

“He broke some bones but he’s fine.”

‘He doesn’t seem fine though.’

Lee Han subtly positioned himself behind Giselle. It was to prepare for any unexpected situation.

“That was truly amazing magic. I knew Einroguard students were skilled, but…”

“No…”

“That’s…”

Lee Han and Giselle both stepped forward to deny it simultaneously.

Not only had he cast all the enhancement magic before the duel started, but in the case of Yumidifus’s water orb blast, he had dragged out time until the start to complete it.

In fact, it was a violation that wouldn’t have been allowed if Lee Han hadn’t cheated, yet they were packaging it as magical skill.

“There’s a hidden story behind that…”

“You’re being modest.”

“Originally, magic that takes this long isn’t recognized as properly learned…”

“Truly modest of you.”

“…”

Since they were knights who didn’t know magic, there was a limit to what he could say.

Lee Han tapped Giselle’s shoulder. It meant for her to speak instead. Of course, Giselle ignored him.

‘Wait. When did he move behind me?’

Realizing Lee Han had moved behind her, Giselle turned her head and frowned.

This bastard…

“We want to repay you.”

“What kind of repayment?”

“We’ll teach you swordsmanship!”

“…”

“…”

Lee Han and Giselle looked at the knights in great confusion.

* * *

Knights teaching swordsmanship to nobles happened more often than one might think.

Quite a few nobles learned swordsmanship for culture, hobby, or light self-defense, and only knights could really teach such people.

No matter how skilled they were, not many nobles would learn from adventurers or mercenaries of unclear status.

It was a good opportunity for both sides – nobles learned swordsmanship and knights made connections with nobles, but…

…Lee Han’s case was a bit different.

Hadn’t he learned proper swordsmanship rigorously in actual combat, beyond just culture or self-defense?

Having skills counted among the best in Einroguard’s swordsmanship lectures meant he wouldn’t fall behind even compared to apprentice knights of the same age throughout the Empire.

To develop Lee Han’s level of swordsmanship, they couldn’t teach lightly with culture or self-defense in mind.

They had to dig deep with determination, making him directly break through and overcome walls…

‘No matter how I think about it, they didn’t say it with that level of resolve.’

Lee Han’s thoughts matched Giselle’s.

No matter how he looked at it, it felt closer to wanting to teach lightly.

If they crossed swords carelessly and learned of Lee Han’s skill, it would become an awkward situation for both.

Lee Han decided to trust his friend and leave it to her.

“You refuse for me. Moradi.”

“What crazy talk… what should I say to refuse!”

“What if you say I’m sickly and too weak to learn swordsmanship?”

“…”

Giselle looked Lee Han up and down like he was insane.

If she called this sickly, Giselle might become known as blind.

“You usually make up lies like breathing… don’t you have any other lies?”

“That kind of thing doesn’t just come to mind. You have better relations with knight families than me, so try refusing for me.”

“You call that talking?”

Flatly refusing the sincere offer from those knights was quite burdensome for her too.

Lee Han wasn’t from a knight family, but wasn’t Giselle from one? They might immediately hold a grudge saying ‘A Moradi family bloodline interfered with repaying kindness…!’

“…We must have made another rude request. Trying to repay kindness somehow…”

Seeing Lee Han and Giselle whispering, the knights seemed to catch on and suddenly became dejected.

“Of course you wouldn’t want to learn swordsmanship from knights like us. We understand.”

“Ah, no. That’s… learning swordsmanship would be good. I’d like to learn.”

“Is that really true!?”

“Yes.”

Lee Han gave up.

Rather than Lee Han becoming the bad guy, it seemed better for the Knights of the Hornbeam Knight Order to become embarrassed.

“Well resolved. Then I’ll…”

“Moradi will also learn together.”

“…”

* * *

As expected, the knights became embarrassed in less than 30 minutes.

“Ahem.”

“Hmm.”

“Your swordsmanship is… excellent.”

Lee Han silently nodded.

Lee Han had done his best.

The Knights of the Hornbeam Knight Order being embarrassed was close to their own doing.

“Do you perhaps know how to infuse mana into a sword…”

“I haven’t completed circulation, but I know how to infuse it.”

“…”

The knights became even more awkward and exchanged glances.

They were sending each other looks asking ‘what should we teach now?’

-At this rate, there’s nothing to teach, is there? What should we teach?

-To go further from here would be impossible with just today’s teaching…

-How about teaching other swordsmanship?

-When he’s already mastering and delving into one swordsmanship, what’s the point of teaching other swordsmanship…

-More importantly, wasn’t he a mage? Why is his swordsmanship at that level…?

The knights were feeling the exact same emotions that the White Tiger Tower students had felt.

…Why on earth is he so genuinely serious about swordsmanship?!

No matter how they thought about it, this wasn’t the kind of hobby a mage born into a great noble family should have.

While the knights exchanged glances without saying a word, Lee Han waited while managing his expression.

Though it was awkward between them, eventually when there was nothing more to say, the other party would feel embarrassed and let him go.

Then Lee Han could just say ‘today was enjoyable’ and leave…

“There’s no choice. I’ll have to teach you one of my secret techniques.”

“A secret technique?!”

There were countless swordsmanship styles in the Empire, and among the famous ones, quite a few techniques were well known.

The Rock Cleave technique from the Cliff Rock Sword Style that Lee Han had learned was famous enough that anyone who had properly learned swordsmanship would know it.

The more famous a swordsmanship style became, the more famous the swordsmen who learned it became, so naturally rumors about the techniques those swordsmen used would spread.

However, swordsmen didn’t go around revealing all their techniques.

Revealing all one’s techniques was like asking others to exploit the weaknesses of one’s swordsmanship.

Experienced swordsmen made efforts not to show certain techniques unless it was absolutely necessary.

Those techniques were secret techniques.

‘Can he really learn it just by being taught right now?’

It was surprising that he was offering to teach a secret technique, but it was also questionable whether Lee Han could learn it.

Even Alarlong, who had taught Lee Han swordsmanship, hadn’t bothered teaching secret techniques or difficult techniques until Lee Han was completely proficient in Cliff Rock Sword Style.

Alarlong’s belief was that a swordsman faithful to basic forms was much stronger than one who used difficult and complex techniques they couldn’t handle properly.

“I’m doubtful whether I can learn it due to lack of skill. Are you really sure it’s okay?”

“It’s sufficient. With that genius talent, surely…”

“…I don’t think it’s quite to that extent.”

He understood that the other party was grateful, but it was hard to endure when every single word was filled with such praise.

The knight took Lee Han and moved to the courtyard.

This was a technique he hadn’t shown to other knights either. He couldn’t teach it where everyone could see.

At the knight’s cautious attitude, Lee Han began to feel interest bubbling up.

No matter how much the Chestnut Knights weren’t a knight order famous for martial prowess, he was still a knight.

For such a knight to treasure a technique to this degree.

‘What is it?’

Lee Han felt anticipation rising within him.

Maybe it was a technique that helped with mana circulation, or perhaps one that helped when infusing mana into a sword, or maybe one that condensed mana…

“Watch carefully.”

Swish!

The knight drew his sword and thrust quickly. It was an ordinary thrust with nothing special about it.

However, at that moment, the tip of the sword grew longer.

Lee Han exclaimed in surprise.

“Did you create a blade with aura?!”

When one could go beyond the stage of infusing mana into a sword and circulating it stably to even condensation, the mana contained in the sword became not merely an aid but a deadly weapon in itself.

Just as mana woven by a mage’s will becomes the miracle called magic, mana woven by a swordsman’s intent becomes the invincible spear called aura.

But to go one step beyond that stage of aura and even disguise its appearance to look like a blade.

From the perspective of an opposing swordsman, it would be shocking.

For aura that could pierce through most armor like cutting butter to even change its appearance like that.

Even though it might seem like nothing special, that was an amazing technique.

Unlike when there was simply aura, if its appearance was indistinguishable from a sword, the opponent couldn’t let their guard down.

Facing a sword that gradually lengthened and shortened, one would have to worry not only about distance perception but also whether aura was being used or not. In a fight between equal masters, it would be fatal.

‘What? Was he really an amazing swordsman?’

“N-no, it’s not aura.”

“…It’s not?”

“That’s right.”

The knight, perhaps a bit embarrassed by Lee Han’s fuss, cleared his throat and thrust the sword tip into the wall.

Then surprisingly, nothing happened at all. If it had been aura, the wall would have easily been pierced.

“…Is it an illusion?”

Lee Han, being a mage, realized the true nature of the blade formed at the sword tip.

It wasn’t aura but just an illusion.

A very limited illusion achieved through swordsmanship, not magic.

From a magical perspective, it was nothing special, but if it was swordsmanship, the story was different.

Even Lee Han had almost been fooled by it.

“That’s right. Of course, compared to something like aura, it might seem like a rather shabby technique. But this is quite useful…”

The knight started making excuses, perhaps feeling self-conscious.

Wouldn’t he want to use aura if he could?

But there were things in the world that one couldn’t do even if they wanted to.

Rather than giving up entirely, even a technique close to trickery like this…

“This is really a good technique!”

“…D-do you really think so?”

The knight’s face brightened a little at Lee Han’s reaction.

The response was much more enthusiastic than expected.

* * *

“I’m really grateful. To teach me something like this.”

“I didn’t think it was such an amazing technique, but hearing you say this makes me embarrassed…”

“No. It’s really a good technique. Thank you.”

Lee Han spoke with sincerity.

It wasn’t difficult to learn, and it was a good technique for confusing opponents through application.

It was a technique that perfectly matched Lee Han’s taste.

His mood must be satisfied, so Lee Han said something the other party would like to hear.

“I knew that the Knights of the Hornbeam Knight Order were excellent, but I didn’t know they were excellent to this degree. Truly magnificent.”

“…”

The knights watching from the side looked at their colleague with slightly jealous eyes.

He was receiving far more praise than expected.

Thinking about how he would receive praise from others with this story after returning to the knight order, they couldn’t just stand still.

“W-wait a moment…”

“?”

“There’s one secret technique that might interest you.”

“…Aren’t secret techniques originally not supposed to be revealed to other people like this??”

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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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