Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy - Chapter 394

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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 394

“????”

The two White Tiger Tower students were confused by their friend’s sudden question, but they gave an answer anyway.

“It probably won’t be a good reaction. Most likely.”

“No matter how generous Professor Ingoldel is, it wouldn’t be good if they met. Lee Han.”

“Hmm. I see. There’s a high chance Angrago’s gang is skipping lectures and playing around in the forest right now.”

“?!”

The two found it hard to believe how that could possibly make sense.

“Lee Han. Even if Angrago doesn’t like studying that much, skipping even swordsmanship lectures…”

“To fix the golem.”

“Ah. If it’s that, then it makes sense. I understand.”

Durgyu immediately understood.

Angrago and his friends had been constantly whining in the tower about ‘how can we not fix the broken golem?’

It got so bad that Giselle couldn’t stand it anymore and started swinging her twin swords.

“I guess I just need to tell them to avoid her well. I don’t want to see an angry professor.”

“…How?”

“Uh… don’t you guys have some way to communicate with each other? Secret signs or…”

At Lee Han’s question, the two students looked at him as if asking what nonsense he was talking about.

Why would such a thing exist?

“Are you being serious? Lee Han? Does Blue Dragon Tower have something like that?”

“Yeah. I learned it from someone from the Shadow Patrol. When entering places like forests, we leave signs before going in.”

“…”

“…”

The two were overwhelmed by the unexpected crazy talk.

Giselle secretly resolved that White Tiger Tower students should also start leaving such signs in the future.

* * *

Angrago swung his wooden sword to cut through the thicket blocking the path.

Kiiiiit-

“Blade flies again?!”

“Duck!”

A sparrow-sized insect flew at them making sharp sounds. Its continuously vibrating wings were sharper than expected and could inflict deeper wounds than a blade if hit wrong.

However, unlike before, the White Tiger Tower students had their senses sharpened through harsh training.

Not only from the commissions they completed during the first semester and vacation…

“Burn!”

As the flaming wooden sword swept past, the insect fell straight down.

“Hmph. Compared to that Wardanaz bastard’s magic, you’re nothing.”

“Hey. Do you have to say stuff like that?”

“S-sorry. I said it without thinking.”

“…No. I’m sorry.”

Angrago and his friends looked at each other warmly.

The strong friendship formed while facing the evil archmage couldn’t be destroyed by trivial arguments.

“According to the map, it should be around here…”

“The Black Turtle Tower guys didn’t trick us, did they? Those guys have no conscience.”

“No way. Would they really do that? Even that Wardanaz bastard makes deals with them.”

“…Even if Wardanaz is too scary to deceive, couldn’t they pull tricks on us?”

“…”

Angrago suddenly began to feel suspicious about the forest map he was holding.

Thud!

“!”

The White Tiger Tower students were startled.

A heavy sound echoed from inside the forest.

“…What was that?”

“Be careful. Strength, dwell within me!”

“Sound, circle around my ears.”

The White Tiger Tower students cast enhancement magic and raised their guard.

Other tower students mocked them saying ‘If they’re going to fight with their bodies, why didn’t they join a knight order instead of entering Einroguard?’ but White Tiger Tower students had their own areas of excellence.

Especially in enhancement magic, which required skilled physical senses, they progressed faster than other tower students.

The magic they just cast wasn’t as high-level as comprehensive enhancement magic like 【Gonadaltes’ Nimble Steps】, but even this much was quite effective.

…And that magic Wardanaz cast had side effects that were too harsh.

“I don’t see anything…”

The White Tiger Tower students walked forward tensely.

If Lee Han had seen this, he would have lamented.

When a strange sound occurred but the enemy’s identity wasn’t visible, they should explore using various methods and gather information, not just charge in recklessly.

And that complacency immediately came with a price.

Whoosh!

Thick tree branches shot up from underground, grabbed the White Tiger Tower students’ ankles, and hung them upside down.

“!!!!”

“It’s a ghost tree!”

A monster where an evil spirit combined with a tree and moved in that form rather than as a spirit.

The ‘thud’ sound from earlier must have been the tree awakening.

“Burn… Ugh!”

The staff fell from the White Tiger Tower student’s hand as he tried to chant a spell.

The monster, instinctively sensing mana, applied force to subdue him.

Angrago, left alone, fell into conflict.

‘What I can do right now is…’

Angrago suddenly thought of Wardanaz.

What would Wardanaz have said if he were here?

-If you can’t handle it alone, you should at least call for support. What are you doing?

“Friends! Wait there and I’ll get support…”

“Angrago! Hurry and save us!”

“What are you doing! Attack!”

“…N-no. Support…”

“What are you saying! You’re going to leave us behind!?”

“…Damn it. I’m coming!!”

Angrago changed his mind and gripped his weapon tightly.

But he couldn’t help feeling uncomfortable in one corner of his heart.

* * *

“Lee Han. Then in a situation like now where there are no signs, what should we do?”

“Huh?”

Lee Han looked at Durgyu as if asking what he was talking about.

Durgyu was slightly flustered.

‘Did I say something strange?’

“Well… if what you said is right, Lee Han, didn’t Angrago and his friends enter the forest first? I think we should quickly send word for them to come out. The professor might get angry, and more importantly, skipping lectures to search isn’t right behavior.”

Durgyu thought about what methods they could use right now.

If Lee Han was a mage of that level, he could send a paper bird, or perhaps tame and send a messenger bird…

“I can’t do that kind of thing.”

“Can’t, can’t you? Then is there another way?”

“There isn’t.”

“…There isn’t?”

Lee Han nodded. Durgyu was speechless and could only blink his eyes.

“Durgyu. I appreciate you thinking highly of me, but I’m not skilled in all magic. Without any marks or ways to contact them, what we need to do now is something else.”

“What kind of…?”

“Even if those guys are discovered, we insist we don’t know anything about it. In that regard, I have an advantage being from Blue Dragon Tower, but you two need to cut ties quickly.”

“…”

Durgyu gaped in bewilderment, but Giselle agreed.

“That’s right. There’s no need to take collective responsibility for nothing.”

“Durgyu. The living must survive. There’s no need to get points deducted for nothing.”

“No, that’s not…”

“What are you all doing over there?”

While they were chattering, Professor Ingoldel who had gone ahead called the three of them. Lee Han and Giselle immediately responded.

“We’re coming now!”

“Please come up quickly. Oh right. Wardanaz. I received contact from the Chestnut Knights and was very surprised. What did you do to earn such praise?”

“…I think it’s because the Chestnut Knight officers were kind.”

“I don’t think those people had that kind of personality…”

Professor Ingoldel tilted her head in confusion.

Thwack!

“Argh!”

“!”

One of the students who had gone ahead screamed and tumbled to the ground.

A human-sized wooden puppet holding a weapon had jumped out from the side.

“Professor, Professor! There’s something strange here!”

“Ah. I prepared that for today’s lecture.”

“…We, we’re surrounded!!!”

Another student belatedly realized the situation and screamed.

They realized that Professor Ingoldel hadn’t just set up one, but had densely placed them all around the forest.

“Don’t fight with brute force, fight cleverly using the terrain. Fighting in the forest is different from fighting in open spaces.”

Professor Ingoldel gave advice to the students.

Fighting in a forest packed with thickets and tree branches, where slope paths and stones could trip you at any moment, was a battle with oneself.

Only swordsmen who could conserve their stamina, calm their excitement, calmly assess the surrounding terrain, and flexibly utilize situations could fight long in the forest…

“This way! Break through the encirclement!”

“Break through to the side!”

“Scatter! Scatter!!”

Professor Ingoldel was flustered for the first time in a while as the students scattered in groups of three to five, trying to break through the encirclement and run away.

“No, no. If you all fight together…”

She had prepared for them all to fight together in the forest, but they were trying to escape leaving their friends behind?

Professor Ingoldel didn’t know that the students who had been tormented by the Skeleton Principal were seasoned in such situations.

When trapped in an encirclement of unknown scale, the most strategic choice wasn’t to fight together and get caught, but to scatter and have as many survive as possible!

‘Professor. I’m sorry.’

Lee Han naturally knew this principle, so as soon as the wooden puppets appeared, he was breaking through the encirclement toward what looked like the weakest spot.

“Space, be perceived! Durgyu. This way! Moradi! That side might be weak!”

“Is this the time for your nonsense!”

Giselle got furious. Lee Han was pulling useless tricks.

Who was he trying to use as bait right now!

Normally one should feel embarrassed when caught, but Lee Han didn’t even blink.

He shouted at another White Tiger Tower student.

“I think that side looks weak!”

“Thanks! Wardanaz… Gah!”

“Let’s go!”

Having sent another student first to shake the encirclement, Lee Han hurriedly ran out.

As the wooden puppets rushed at him, Lee Han drew his wooden sword and chanted a spell.

“Cold, dwell within!”

The strength of cold magic was that it could damage opponents even without landing a direct hit.

Frost swirled and stopped the wooden puppet’s feet.

Lee Han felt satisfied seeing the open space ahead.

‘I broke through!’

Although there were still many wooden puppets left, they were far away and there were many scattered students.

If they subdued other students first, they wouldn’t chase after Lee Han’s group…

“I underestimated you all. I should have thought of this as real combat.”

Professor Ingoldel’s serious voice came from behind.

Lee Han suddenly felt uneasy.

Usually when professors spoke seriously, it rarely turned out well.

Rip!

With the sound of a scroll tearing, a powerful wave of mana spread out.

And the number of wooden puppets began to increase like crazy.

“It’s different from what I planned, but a chase in the forest will also be good experience. Everyone try your best to escape!”

‘Damn it.’

Lee Han resolved that in the future, if students tried to ignore a professor’s curriculum and act on their own, he would definitely stop them.

“Transform into steel! Cloak!”

Clang!

The cloak that turned to steel blocked the wooden puppet’s attack with a dull sound.

Five wooden puppets jumped out simultaneously trying to pummel Lee Han. Lee Han defended with his cloak while stomping his feet. The footwork he learned from Alarlong saved his life.

‘Too many!’

He could newly appreciate that numbers were a tremendous weapon.

Even now, the numbers kept increasing…

Lee Han gritted his teeth and glanced at Professor Ingoldel in the distance.

“Wardanaz must not fight with magic other than enchantment or transformation magic!”

“…Tsk.”

How did she know?

Lee Han, who had been trying to secretly use other magic, clicked his tongue.

Giselle twisted a wooden puppet’s leg with her twin swords to knock it down and shouted.

“Let’s scatter too!”

In a situation where there were several times more enemies than before, it was a luxury for the three to stay together.

Lee Han nodded and raised his hand. Giselle also raised her hand.

Durgyu looked at the two in confusion.

Why were they raising their hands…?

“…I won! I won!!”

Giselle shouted with a highly excited face. Durgyu had never seen Giselle this happy before.

“Damn it.”

“…Did, did you just decide who gets to choose which direction to escape first…?”

“What? You didn’t know? Can’t be helped. Durgyu, you choose first.”

Lee Han yielded the second turn.

Durgyu had a lot he wanted to say, but there was no time left. He had no choice but to hurriedly run out. Lee Han, who remained last, looked at the wooden puppets swarming from behind and took out a steel ball.

“Move!”

He hadn’t taken it out to use in combat.

The method he had thought of earlier but postponed.

Lee Han ran toward the pathless cliff, grabbed the iron ball, and suspended his body in midair.

Thud!

However, the wooden dolls were more persistent than expected.

They began jumping into the air together, trying to catch Lee Han.

‘Which professor made these summoned creatures!?’

Lee Han cursed inwardly while swinging his staff.

It was a bewildering situation, but not entirely unexpected.

“Water…”

Along with the incantation, water began rapidly taking form and gathering below.

With one hand gripping the iron ball to support his body and wooden dolls leaping down in front of him in this desperate situation, his incantation was completed without wavering.

“…spread out!”

Professor Ingoldel honestly couldn’t help but be impressed.

Though she would have preferred to see only swordsmanship, how could she criticize a student who escaped so cleverly?

Splash!

Lee Han, who landed on the water, rolled to the side and quickly assumed his stance.

The wooden dolls shattered as they fell behind him, but he couldn’t let his guard down. They might resurrect.

‘Quickly escape and go down…’

“Wardanaz!!”

“…what are you guys doing??”

Lee Han was genuinely bewildered to see Angrago and his friends hanging upside down.

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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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