Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy - Chapter 406

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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 406

“Cough. Why did the sound stop?”

Professor Mortum left his disciples behind and went inside.

He was worried that Lee Han might have made some mistake.

If it were other magic, he wouldn’t have worried much, but this bone explosion magic was particularly dangerous for Lee Han…

Fortunately, the inside was fine.

The prepared shock absorption magic circles and explosion dispersion magic circles were still maintained, and there were plenty of bone fragments left in the boxes for practice.

Professor Mortum asked, not understanding.

“Did you perhaps run out of mana?”

“That’s not it.”

“Right, that couldn’t be it.”

“…It’s not that, but I heard that I need to prove something at the festival…”

Lee Han had his doubts.

Wasn’t this related to summoning magic lectures in the first place?

Whatever Professor Milay would make him do, the standards probably wouldn’t be easy, and it would require quite a bit of time and effort…

On top of that, Lee Han had too much to do to shoulder the pride of dark magic as well.

“Ah, that thing. Cough.”

“Professor. I have too many things I need to do right now.”

Though Lee Han enjoyed lying in front of professors, he was confident at times like this.

Even now, he had to go take care of the basilisk’s egg right after the lecture ended.

“I know. All the professors probably know.”

“Is that so? From what I can see, there seem to be more who don’t know…”

“Cough. And you don’t particularly have anything to do at the festival.”

“??”

Lee Han was flustered by the professor’s words.

He told him to prove the pride of dark magic, but now he said there was nothing particular to do?

‘What? Is this a trick?’

“I don’t quite understand?”

Professor Mortum coughed and answered as if asking why he was questioning something so obvious.

“Well, knowing your personality, you’ll try to prove it on your own even if I don’t specifically tell you to do anything. Cough. I trust you.”

“…No!”

Lee Han shouted in anger for the first time in a while.

Why on earth such a misunderstanding!?

* * *

If there was a professor who wanted to catch a capable disciple and have them carry on the academic lineage, there were also professors who had no such ambitions and only wanted to focus on their own research.

The professor who taught transformation magic, Professor Doppelganger Lezi, was exactly that kind of professor.

While the formidable lunatics… no, professors within Einroguard were fighting over Wardanaz, Professor Lezi acted in the opposite way.

If you get too close to the sun, you’ll melt.

There was no need to drag Wardanaz along. Professor Lezi hoped his peaceful daily life would continue to be maintained.

“…You studied steel transformation in the first semester. You must have tried to touch and understand steel a lot during that time. Probably all of you did.”

Professor Lezi clasped his hands together and explained slowly.

When in his professor form, Professor Lezi exuded an atmosphere so dignified that it wouldn’t pale in comparison to the great nobles of the Empire.

It was an unimaginable sight compared to when he had transformed into fake Gainando and got beaten by Lee Han.

“Even if you didn’t understand it perfectly… it’s okay. There’s no need to be too discouraged. Mastering any material takes time.”

‘…Wasn’t it supposed to be mastered before the second semester started?’

Lee Han, who had learned steel transformation while getting beaten by Professor Boladi, was inwardly bewildered.

“As you continue to learn other magic, the parts that were blocked will gradually be resolved. Don’t forget. The goal of this semester is… to find your aptitude by handling the transformation of various materials.”

If the first semester covered the easiest and most common steel transformation and its applications, the second semester involved handling all kinds of materials and selecting substances that matched the mage’s aptitude.

Excellent transformation mages would carry compressed reagents and transform them into materials they handled well for use in emergencies.

They could transform compressed reagents into mercury and then explosively increase the volume for offensive use, or transform them into compressed fine sand to use as a solid sand shield.

It wasn’t only used for combat methods. They could transform materials needed for alchemy or transform their appearance to deceive monsters’ eyes.

Professor Lezi, who had finished today’s lecture with satisfaction, bid farewell to his students with dignity and turned around.

…Until Lee Han followed him.

“Professor?”

“Hic.”

At the unexpected visit from the monster disciple, Professor Lezi hiccupped.

“Are you alright?”

“Of… course I’m fine.”

Professor Lezi spoke with overflowing dignity while hiding his hiccups. When in his professor form, Professor Lezi could always maintain his composure.

“What brings you here?”

“I have something to ask you, Professor.”

Lee Han had something he was doing alongside the divine magic recommendations from fellow tower priests, attending lectures, and handling miscellaneous tasks.

That was taking care of the basilisk’s egg.

However, the basilisk’s egg was as difficult to care for as that monster’s notorious reputation.

Building a dedicated cabin to care for it was just the beginning.

After feeding it and adjusting the temperature, he had to immediately move on to the next task.

After feeding it generously for several days until the egg no longer eats, prepare a new nest according to the egg’s preferences. Basically, basilisks found in the western Empire prefer soft bird feathers, and those found in the east prefer hard rocks, but this isn’t absolute. The safe approach is to have a transformation mage standing by to accommodate the basilisk’s whims…

At this ridiculous demand, Lee Han asked Professor Boladi who had come to the cabin.

-Professor. There are limits to the materials we can obtain now, so how do we accommodate its whims?

-Learn transformation magic. You’re lucky. You needed to learn more transformation magic anyway.

-…

Though it was nonsense, a transformation mage was definitely needed.

Lee Han looked at Professor Lezi and asked.

“Could you possibly help me take care of a basilisk’s egg?”

“There’s no reason… I couldn’t.”

“Thank you!!”

Though he didn’t want to get involved, Professor Lezi couldn’t bring himself to refuse.

There was his responsibility as a teacher, but more than anything, he was worried that this ambitious monster disciple might hold a grudge for refusing his request.

He was already at this level now, so by graduation he might be appointed as a professor or even principal.

‘What a truly kind person.’

Unaware of Professor Lezi’s inner thoughts, Lee Han was impressed.

Pop!

When Professor Lezi transformed his appearance using his doppelganger ability, Lee Han was slightly flustered.

Because the other person was…

Gainando.

“Uh… Professor? Why Gainando?”

“Just because.”

“Ah. I see.”

Lee Han didn’t understand but decided to just accept it.

Since the professor was helping, whether it was Gainando’s appearance or the Skeleton Principal’s appearance, what did it matter?

…Though the Skeleton Principal’s appearance would be a bit concerning.

‘Other professors won’t be able to recognize me.’

Professor Lezi didn’t want to get involved in other professors’ disputes.

How troublesome would it be if later, when he went to the professors’ common room, someone said, ‘Where was Wardanaz that day? I think Professor Lezi was with him.’

If it was Gainando’s appearance, other professors wouldn’t notice even if they saw from afar.

* * *

“Hey. Gainando. Stop fooling around and let’s go quickly. We have a lot to do. We need to finish our assigned work today.”

“Don’t worry. Don’t worry! We can finish it even if we go in a little later!”

His friends clicked their tongues at Gainando, who kept lingering in the main building instead of going to do the dormitory duties they were assigned.

“That bastard doesn’t listen at all when Wardanaz isn’t around.”

“Gainando. You’re going to get in big trouble if you keep this up.”

“Hmph. Wardanaz isn’t even here, so who’s going to scold me…”

Gainando, who was speaking, widened his eyes at the sight of himself passing by in the distance.

“Gh… Ghost! It stole my appearance! Sh, shapeshifter!? When did it steal my appearance!?”

“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

“Over there! Look over there!!”

Gainando shouted, but Lee Han and Professor Yoner had already passed by.

His friends looked at Gainando as if he was talking nonsense.

“Hey. Stop playing around and let’s go.”

“Don’t make weird excuses.”

“I’m telling the truth! Really…!!”

Gainando shouted with a voice full of injustice, but his friends didn’t believe him.

“There was definitely a monster that stole my appearance passing by there…!”

“Does a monster have nothing better to do than steal your appearance?”

* * *

“I have something I’m curious about.”

Gainando, no, Professor Yoner carefully asked a question.

“Yes. Ask me anything.”

“…Why exactly are you taking care of a basilisk egg? It’s not something a 1st year should be doing, is it?”

“There’s a long and sad story behind that…”

Lee Han, who entered the cabin by opening the door, trailed off and sat down.

Professor Yoner stared intently at the basilisk egg placed in the center.

Although the professor wasn’t an expert on rare animals, he could roughly guess what state this basilisk egg was in.

‘It’s in very good condition.’

Thanks to receiving proper nutrients and building a solid bond with its caretaker, the basilisk was very psychologically stable.

Honestly speaking, it was surprising that a 1st year student had raised it this well.

‘Blue Dragon Tower students shouldn’t have a talent for taking care of things.’

Although they always showed excellent grades when it came to magic, Blue Dragon Tower students had their weaknesses too.

When it came to taking care of things, whether animals or plants, they were as clumsy as White Tiger Tower students.

“You’ve taken very good care of it. Now let me check it once.”

‘My goodness. Gainando can actually look reliable!’

Lee Han was amazed by the sense of trust that Professor Yoner, speaking with Gainando’s appearance, gave him.

It felt extremely awkward to hear such words from Gainando’s face.

Shriririk!

Professor Yoner’s magic began with the incantation. In the blink of an eye, the basilisk’s nest was transformed into dozens of different materials.

Copper, clay, sand, maple tree branches, hot amorphous liquid (Lee Han couldn’t even guess what kind of potion this liquid was), gold, lava…

Seeing the golden light flashing by, Lee Han unconsciously asked.

“Wouldn’t the basilisk like it if we made the nest out of gold?”

“I already checked, but no. Basilisks don’t all like gold like humans do. And it’s actually fortunate. If gold had been the answer, maintaining it would have consumed an enormous amount of mana.”

‘Tch.’

Lee Han was disappointed but had to admit that the professor’s words weren’t wrong.

The rarer and more valuable the material, the higher the difficulty and the harder it would be to maintain.

“Found it.”

Professor Yoner stopped his movements and spoke. Lee Han asked very happily.

“What is it? What material looks best to use, Professor?”

“Mercury.”

“…Ah. Will you do it for me, Professor?”

“I’ll do it once, but from then on you’ll have to keep casting it yourself to maintain it, so you need to learn.”

Professor Yoner calmly explained the current situation.

Transformation magic wasn’t fixed forever.

Moreover, if it was a matter of raising a basilisk like this, a mage had to consistently support it from the side.

“But mercury isn’t something I can handle with transformation magic.”

“That’s true… you probably haven’t fully mastered steel yet.”

“…Um… well…”

Lee Han slightly avoided answering Professor Yoner’s words.

“Then I’ll…”

Just as Professor Yoner was about to say he would visit and help every time, the door opened and Professor Boladi entered.

Professor Boladi looked at Gainando, raised his eyebrows, and asked.

“Professor?”

“…Yes. That’s right…”

Pop!

Professor Yoner became dejected and returned to his original form.

Of all people, to be caught by Professor Boladi.

Wasn’t he an inflexible and uncompromising opponent?

“What were you discussing?”

“Wardanaz… wants to learn mercury transformation, but says it’s difficult. Since it has some difficulty, I was wondering if he should master steel first before proceeding…”

“He already knows how to handle steel.”

“Is that so?!”

“Yes.”

Professor Boladi looked at Lee Han as if asking whether his words were correct.

This time it was Lee Han’s turn to become dejected.

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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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