Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy - Chapter 396

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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 396

“But this is Einroguard.”

Lee Han couldn’t completely deny what the White Tiger Tower student said.

Even if such a passage seemed structurally impossible, Einroguard was a place where nothing was absolute.

It was a place where you could go down a few steps from an upper spire and end up in the basement of a village outside the school.

It was filled with ancient magical legacies that even the Skeleton Principal had difficulty grasping…

“No. No matter how much I consider it, that’s not it.”

After pondering, Lee Han firmly denied it.

Of course there was a possibility, but wasn’t that possibility about the same as Gainando becoming valedictorian this year?

“Stop talking nonsense and move aside.”

“Sob sob.”

Tap tap tap-

Lee Han carefully cast magic to check the composition, detected mana as much as possible, and knocked on the floor door while trying to confirm if there were any mechanisms or traps inside.

‘It doesn’t seem like there are any.’

Still, since he couldn’t be certain checking alone, Lee Han called his friends.

“Anyone here confident in detecting and dismantling traps or mechanisms?”

“…”

“…”

The White Tiger Tower students looked at Lee Han with bewildered faces.

They were from knight families, so there was no way they’d be skilled in such techniques.

However, Lee Han mercilessly criticized them.

“You don’t have any?? What the hell have you guys been doing instead of learning skills?”

“No… we’re knights… though…!”

“Fine. I’ll do it myself.”

Lee Han grumbled and checked the door again using techniques he’d learned from Ratford.

How great it would have been if Ratford were here!

The White Tiger Tower students felt wronged but couldn’t bring themselves to argue while watching Lee Han’s inspection.

Where the hell did that bastard learn this stuff?

“There doesn’t seem to be any… Good. I’m opening it. But first, let’s pick three of you.”

“What for?”

“Three people to open the door with me. The rest of you stand by that doorway over there, and if something goes wrong, immediately run out and escape.”

“…”

10 minutes later.

The three unluckily chosen ones (Angrago, who had returned after finishing supplementary lessons only to be wrongly picked, was on the verge of tears) stood in front of the door with Lee Han.

“Open it!”

Creak creak creak thud-

With a heavy sound, the door opened upward.

When the thick dust that made them cough cleared, dark stairs leading underground revealed themselves.

“Cough, cough… An escape route?”

“No way. Everyone has dark vision cast, right? We’re going in!”

Lee Han, who had cast all possible enhancement magic on his friends before opening it, lowered his head and stepped forward.

No matter how much dark vision was cast, moving around in darkness naturally limited vision and felt suffocating.

He wanted to light a fire, but Lee Han held back.

He didn’t know what might be inside.

“It’s potions, Wardanaz!”

“Quite a lot!”

After going down the stairs and walking a bit through the passage, glass bottles glinting on side shelves caught their eyes.

The White Tiger Tower students whispered in happy voices, thinking they’d found something good.

However, Lee Han shook his head.

“I don’t sense any mana. It’s alcohol.”

“…”

“Isn’t that even better?”

“Shh. Wardanaz is right there.”

When one of the White Tiger Tower students said this in confusion, someone next to him gave him a look.

No matter how much you liked alcohol, there was nothing good about saying “Hey! It’s not potions, it’s alcohol! How exciting!” in front of Wardanaz.

How ignorant and vulgar would that look?

“…Right. Alcohol is also pretty good stuff. We can trade it with Black Turtle Tower too.”

“R-right? I was thinking the same thing.”

Angrago answered while hiding his drool.

Trade or whatever, he was planning to drink his share himself.

‘Was this upperclassmen’s secret storage?’

Lee Han fell into thought while looking at the alcohol on the shelves.

At Einroguard, new rooms appeared and disappeared every moment. It wouldn’t be strange if a room that had been used well for several years suddenly flew off somewhere else.

Among these bottles, there were some with store-bought labels, but there were also some that were obviously homemade.

Cursing the crazy skeleton as I complete this alcohol here.

Does it make sense to have fistfights over midterms? I’m going to report this to His Imperial Majesty someday!

Junior who will someday discover this empty bottle, be wary when outsiders come! They are invited guests meant to trample you!

If I don’t graduate next year, I won’t complain even if I become undead!

‘They seemed to have brewed this quite diligently…’

Complaints aside, Lee Han wondered why the upperclassmen had left these bottles behind.

Of course it wouldn’t be easy to find them again, but upperclassmen who had spent several years at magic school wouldn’t have experienced location changes just once or twice.

There was no reason for experienced mages to just give up on something like this…

“War, War, War, Wardanaz.”

When he heard Angrago’s terrified voice from beside him, Lee Han immediately reacted.

He aimed his staff and prepared to cast a spell immediately, then turned his gaze.

‘What is it?’

A giant statue was walking toward the group.

The statue, about twice as tall as the gathered students, approached while barely grazing the passage ceiling.

Lee Han hesitated whether to cast a spell, seeing no intimidation or killing intent from the opponent.

The opponent was the first to break the hesitation.

-I welcome the challengers.

Instantly, one White Tiger Tower student’s wooden sword teleported into the statue’s grasp.

Lee Han was startled.

‘Spatial magic this easily!?’

Among all magic, space-time magic was notoriously known for having the highest difficulty.

No matter how magically special Einroguard was, for a statue to cast spatial magic like that.

It was truly an unbelievable sight.

“My… my sword!! Give me back my sword!!”

-This is the price of challenge. Now. When shall we begin?

The statue asked emotionlessly.

“…What are we competing in?”

-What else would it be? When mages meet, it’s naturally magic.

‘Damn.’

Lee Han clicked his tongue.

If it had been something other than magic, it might have been different, but when it came to magic, it was a pure contest of skill.

A mage who could steal a wooden sword using spatial magic without giving the opponent a chance to react…

“This works!”

“If it’s magic…!”

“…Hey, you crazy bastards.”

“?!”

The White Tiger Tower students who had been celebrating were very surprised to be cursed at.

Why?!

* * *

“…So you were looking for something useful in the storage?”

Giselle, who arrived at the storage late, frowned when she saw the White Tiger Tower students gathered together.

Of course, she understood wanting to repair the golem, but no matter how she thought about it, this was…

‘Isn’t Wardanaz making them do his work instead?’

“That’s not it, Moradi.”

“…Why do you think that?”

“The priests are working on it together too. He wouldn’t use such tricks.”

“…Oh… right.”

Giselle held back the curse words that were about to come out.

“So where did that Wardanaz bastard go?”

“He went down to the basement here.”

“…?!”

Before she could even hear the situation explained, someone came running up the stairs with a clattering sound.

The pale-faced White Tiger Tower students screamed.

“Wardanaz is dying!!”

“What?!?!”

“What kind of nonsense is that?!”

The White Tiger Tower students who had been waiting rushed over in surprise.

“I’m not dying… you idiots…”

Lee Han, carried on a stretcher made by his friends, muttered irritably.

As expected, the mage statue’s skill was truly remarkable.

As soon as the duel began, it teleported several rock fragments right to where Lee Han was standing.

-No, your mana is… impressive!

Of course, direct teleportation was blocked due to Lee Han’s abnormal mana causing magic resistance.

But the statue’s strength was revealed after that.

Even when the magic was blocked, it didn’t panic and continued attacking like flowing water.

If direct teleportation was impossible, then indirectly!

Swoosh!

In an instant, rock fragments appeared surrounding Lee Han from all sides and rapidly pummeled him.

He tried to defend hastily with transformation magic, but the impact was unavoidable.

Lee Han was knocked down. The attack using spatial magic was relentlessly flawless.

-Since the leader has fallen, this challenge ends here. The Room of Knowledge cannot be entered so easily.

“Room of Knowledge??”

The students who heard the explanation were confused.

“What’s the Room of Knowledge?”

“When I asked… they said it’s a place where things the upperclassmen studied are stored.”

“What? There’s such a thing?”

“Even if there is, it’s meaningless! We can’t get in there!”

Angrago said in a trembling voice.

There was an intense pressure from the opponent that only the students who faced it directly could feel.

To think that Wardanaz would be knocked out in one go.

“Let’s take Wardanaz to the infirmary first. We should check just in case.”

“R-right.”

Durgyu and Giselle grabbed Lee Han’s shoulders on both sides. Giselle unconsciously helped support him, then glared at Durgyu as if dumbfounded. Durgyu bowed his head as if pleading to be forgiven just this once.

“Why should I…”

“What did you say? Moradi?! You’ll help support Lee Han! You really are an honorable knight!”

Durgyu shouted loudly for everyone to hear.

Giselle opened her mouth wide in shock.

To think Durgyu would pull such a Wardanaz-like move!

“You crazy bas…”

“S-sorry. Honestly, I can’t trust those guys.”

Before being helped out, Lee Han called to Angrago.

“Angrago…”

“S-speak, Wardanaz! Should I close the door?? Any orders?”

“No… bring out the alcohol inside…”

“…”

* * *

-You got hit quite hard.

-Is… is it dangerous?

-No. You were hit well so you’re not badly hurt. You’ll recover soon once the shock is healed.

-Lee Han! Did you hear? You must have protected your body with mana. To show such presence of mind in that situation!

-Durgyu… I’m feeling nauseous, so speak quietly…

After resting and recovering for a few hours, Lee Han shook his head and headed toward the Black Turtle Tower.

‘I let my guard down and got badly hit.’

He should never relax his vigilance at Einroguard, but he had let his guard down for a moment and paid dearly for it.

He could guess what had happened.

Some upperclassmen had found a room and used it as an alcohol storage and reading room, but when the school’s space was rearranged, some crazy statue bastard got mixed in.

Since it challenged anyone who approached to a duel, it was natural that the upperclassmen couldn’t break through.

Moreover, its magical combat skills were lethally refined…

‘I shouldn’t even think about the basement and just repair the golem.’

Normally he would have tried to break through and check what the upperclassmen had left behind, but honestly, this was hopeless.

“Wardanaz!”

Several familiar Black Turtle Tower students sitting in black market chairs waved at Lee Han when they saw him.

“We missed you. The market needs big spenders like you to be active.”

“Sorry. I’ll bring goods from outside soon, so don’t worry.”

“Hehe…”

“Hehehe.”

The students exchanging evil conversations and meaningful glances looked exactly like seasoned smugglers.

“Instead, I brought something different today.”

Lee Han brought out the alcohol that the White Tiger Tower students had retrieved from the basement while getting beaten up.

The Black Turtle Tower students were amazed by that liquid of life.

“So much alcohol…?! Wardanaz, you really…! How did you get it?!”

“Why are you asking such crude questions?”

“Heh… hehe. I asked something unnecessary.”

“Why are you two having such a strange conversation…?”

The real expert Ratford was puzzled by the unnecessarily suspicious atmosphere.

They didn’t have such suspicious conversations in the black market.

They’re just having a friendly conversation…?

Lee Han handed five bottles of alcohol to the Black Turtle Tower students and received various supplies in return.

Gauging the weight of the cheese wrapped in paper bags, Lee Han nodded with satisfaction as he finished the negotiation.

“This should be fine for a week.”

“You’re exaggerating, Wardanaz. That’s enough to last a month. Oh right. Did you know the Imperial Alchemists came?”

“…Who came?”

“The Imperial Alchemists came, apparently? Some other friends saw them earlier.”

“I see.”

Lee Han suddenly recalled the message he had seen in the basement.

Junior who will someday discover this empty bottle, be wary when outsiders enter! They are invited guests meant to trample upon you!

“…No, it’s not even midterms yet… It can’t be.”

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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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