Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy - Chapter 454

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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 454

‘He’s definitely preparing some evil test.’

Lee Han didn’t trust the Skeleton Principal one bit.

He would rather believe that Gainando had studied for an entire week than believe that the Skeleton Principal was looking around at the flooded scenery of Einroguard, feeling sorry for the students’ suffering.

What kind of test could he possibly be preparing?

Crackle-

…What are you doing?

The Skeleton Principal looked at his disciple breaking through several layers of magical barriers he had set up around himself with a dumbfounded expression.

It was already absurd that he had just said goodbye and immediately swam over to approach him…

‘What kind of brute is this.’

What was even more ridiculous was that he had broken through the intricately woven magical barrier by simply wielding mana brutishly.

With that much mana, even such a crude method became an effective approach.

The Einroguard professors wouldn’t have taught such a crude method, so he must have learned it on his own (if anyone had taught him, they would need to be locked in the punishment room), and he was truly an absurd fellow.

Is he really from the Wardanaz Family?

“The night air was nice, so I did some swimming.”

While breaking my magic?

“There was something in the way, so I used a bit of force, but I didn’t know it was the Principal’s magic.”

Lee Han stuck his head above the water surface and answered shamelessly.

Unfortunately, the Skeleton Principal was much more thorough than expected.

To think he had set up several layers of magical barriers over quite a wide area around himself to prevent intrusion.

The thoroughness of wanting to prevent even distant observation was evident.

Isn’t it still too early to attack me? Yes, you might start trying soon enough.

“What nonsense are you talking about? I’ve never once thought of attacking the Principal! If a disciple thought of attacking their master, would that even be human?”

Your second greatest virtue is precisely that loyalty of respecting your master. Well, if you were going to attack, you wouldn’t do it so carelessly.

The Skeleton Principal nodded as if he understood.

You must have followed me coveting the treasures hidden in my storage, right? Students are all thieves anyway. The moment I turn my eyes away, they’re desperate to rob my storage!

‘Then why don’t you guarantee some food, bedding, and experimental materials…’

Lee Han cursed inwardly.

When he had half-induced it himself!

Unfortunately, I didn’t come to manage the storage today.

“Then why did you come?”

I told you. Einroguard is flooded and I’m feeling sorry for the students’ suffering. I came to help the students.

“…”

Lee Han had to grit his teeth to suppress the scoffing laughter that was about to burst out.

‘He’s really lying without any sincerity.’

“Then I’ll help you from the side as well.”

Really?

The Skeleton Principal turned his gaze to Lee Han as if he had heard something unexpected.

Lee Han asked probingly.

“Would it be uncomfortable if I were here?”

Not uncomfortable, though there are times I want to punch you.

“…”

That’s a joke.

Though it didn’t sound like a joke, Lee Han nodded.

If it were other students, I would have told them not to mess around and go study, but you… well, it should be fine. Yes. Help me from the side.

The Skeleton Principal readily accepted.

Come to think of it, since Lee Han didn’t need to study separately for tests, it wouldn’t be bad for him to see in advance what he was about to do.

Lee Han was slightly flustered by that acceptance.

‘What? He’s not refusing.’

Even if he didn’t completely refuse, he had expected the disturbed Skeleton Principal to grumble.

But to accept so easily.

‘Is there another trap? Something I couldn’t figure out even if I watched from the side? Or even if I figured it out, it would be meaningless…’

As Lee Han became deeply absorbed in thought, the Skeleton Principal spoke beside him with an exasperated voice.

What are you doing when you said you’d help?

* * *

The Skeleton Principal hooked a telekinetic grapple to the boat Lee Han was riding and made it follow quickly.

The boat that would normally move by rowing oars quickly chased after the Skeleton Principal.

The Empire People think this territory is protected by great magical barriers.

“Isn’t it?”

It’s not entirely wrong thinking.

Einroguard itself was a massive magical presence.

Located in a place where the flow of mana was dense enough to be counted among the best in the entire Empire, it was the origin and orthodox lineage of ancient magic that had existed longer than the Empire’s history.

Since it had never sunk once during that long history, it was natural for the Empire People to harbor fantasies.

But if magic were that easy and convenient, mages wouldn’t have devoted their lives to it.

The magic cast on Einroguard was so complex, numerous, and powerful that even the Skeleton Principal couldn’t grasp it all.

Such magic sometimes collided with each other, creating unexpected phenomena, and even more rarely, creating holes.

Nothing runs well if left unattended. Everything needs management. Swords rust if not polished, clothes wear out and deteriorate if not cared for. Einroguard is the same.

Therefore, one of the Skeleton Principal’s duties was to patrol and check various parts of the vast Einroguard and fix problems before they occurred.

Sometimes catching escaping students too…

Moreover, after massive phenomena like the current flood of spirits occurred, Einroguard’s magical order became even more chaotic and eccentric.

Such patrols and repairs were particularly essential.

Tell me if you see any broken or cracked buildings, or if you discover anything different from usual.

“…”

Lee Han looked at the Skeleton Principal very suspiciously.

The explanation was so plausible that it made him even more suspicious.

‘It makes sense logically. But it’s suspicious.’

Could it really be a coincidence that he had been floating around during midterm period with sinisterly glowing eyes?

Lee Han didn’t think so.

Why are you like that?

“Seeing the Principal devote himself like this, I thought it was truly regrettable how outsiders look down on that devotion.”

Your words are truly right. Those idiots don’t even know what’s important.

The Skeleton Principal agreed, his eyes flashing.

Then bricks in the water began attaching to each other on their own, and a tower was completed in an instant.

These stupid third years. If they summoned a being from the dark elemental dimension, they should have kept it properly confined. It escaped.

“…”

Lee Han doubted his ears.

It can’t be helped. It’s a shame about the building we worked hard to construct, but… the next year students will use it well. Oh right. If you want to confine summoned creatures, remember this sealing tower.

The Skeleton Principal kindly gave advice since Lee Han was helping with the work.

Of course, the content wasn’t very kind.

But don’t confine creatures that are too weak here. Four wings, six legs, weight about eight foundation stones of castle walls? It’s better to only confine those above this level.

“Ah. Yes.”

You could try fixing that one. Go ahead and fix it.

“?”

Lee Han looked in the direction the Skeleton Principal was pointing and blinked.

There was nothing there.

“What was originally there?”

Ah. Sorry. You can’t see it with your eyes.

The Skeleton Principal spun three times in the air and then shouted, “All students are blockheads!”

Then, from the empty void where nothing existed, an antique, flat stone house revealed itself.

See those cracks over there? Try repairing them once.

“What kind of building is this?”

Lee Han asked as he brought the boat close to the stone house.

The architectural structures commonly seen at the school were usually towers (mostly built by professors) or cabins (mostly built by students).

Such low-height buildings that required a lot of materials weren’t very popular at Einroguard.

Though it was antique and beautiful, practicality was more important than that.

Even a cabin roughly built with wood and leather wasn’t much of a problem for mages who could use magic.

It was a building that a clever student built long ago, saying he wanted to raise monsters…

“Uh, it doesn’t look very good for monsters to live in though.”

It was a pretty building, but what was important for monsters was wide, open space good for running around.

Right. That’s why after building it, he barely used it.

‘Wasn’t he not so clever after all?’

Since then, junior students have been using it for other purposes generation after generation. It must have changed several times. Ten years ago, the polo club used it as a clubhouse, and five years ago, the mage card club held tournaments there… or not? Did it catch fire from a duel before the tournament? It’s not really important. Now it’s being used as lodging for guests who are properly ‘invited’ from outside.

The Skeleton Principal emphasized ‘invited.’

He seemed to really dislike guests coming from outside.

Anyway, since it’s being used as lodging, the repairs need to be done properly. You must have mastered earth, wood, and rock among elemental magic, right?

“No?”

Lee Han was dumbfounded.

How could he say such a thing when he knew Lee Han was currently suffering with advanced elements like lightning, darkness, flame, cold, and so on?

Oh dear. I’ll have to tell Bagrek about this.

“…”

It’s a joke, so don’t glare at me like that. You probably haven’t studied wood or rock professionally. You wouldn’t need them in your first year. What about earth?

“I only know the basics.”

Shape transformation, maintenance… do you happen to know decomposition too? Decomposition is important.

“Yes.”

Fortunately, he had learned 【Rock Decomposition of the Tutanta Family】 from Salko before.

He hadn’t mastered it perfectly, but thanks to his mana, he could use it.

Then that’s not basic at all, you blockhead.

The Skeleton Principal scolded Lee Han.

Being modest wasn’t a good habit for mages.

Right now you’re probably busy eating, sleeping, and playing like a beast, but when you become a second-year, you’ll have quite a lot of construction work to do. It won’t hurt to learn it now. But this requires some knowledge of transformation magic too… Ah. I worried for nothing.

The Skeleton Principal recalled the schools Lee Han was attending and retracted his previous statement.

“Uh, I’m still not confident with transformation magic…”

Just listen quietly.

The Skeleton Principal decided to dismiss 95% of what Lee Han would say from now on as exaggeration.

* * *

Earth elemental magic was quite easy in terms of difficulty.

Since every mage lived stepping on earth, they couldn’t help but be familiar with it.

Moreover, unlike flame or water, earth was the easiest to summon from close by.

Magic like summoning earth, building shapes, and fixing them solidly were things other students could do too.

But now, to repair buildings made using complex materials, he needed to know how to control not just earth but various other elements as well.

The Skeleton Principal pushed Lee Han to be able to transform rock into sand and sand into rock.

Though Lee Han had somehow learned to transform cloth into steel, transforming hard rock into sand was still not easy.

The Skeleton Principal threw pebbles and scattered sand to help his disciple who was stuck at a wall.

Feel it! You need to feel it! That transformation just now was slow to react. That transformation just now lost focus! Pour more mana into it. This magic can afford to have some left over anyway!

Lee Han desperately learned the magic to escape, even for a moment, from the pebbles and sand hitting his face.

And he really succeeded.

“…!”

When he quickly shape-transformed the damaged parts of the stone house to make the cracks disappear, Lee Han suddenly felt doubtful about himself.

Why can’t I succeed until I get hit?

‘Is it right to keep succeeding this way? It’s efficient, but…’

Well done. You’ll find those spells quite useful. Rock is quite troublesome to manipulate as is…

‘I could definitely earn pocket money at any stonemason guild.’

The two mages had different thoughts.

“Where to next?”

Hmm. There was a dock by the lakeside, and there might be damage there too. Let’s go check it out.

“Yes. …?”

Lee Han, who was nodding and about to leave, felt something strange.

Huh?

‘Are we really just doing repairs?’

Are you really not preparing any evil schemes or tests?

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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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