Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy - Chapter 506

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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 506

Lee Han watched helplessly as the dwarven mage scurried away with quick steps, when something suddenly occurred to him.

‘Wait…!’

This wasn’t the time to feel dejected about being pickpocketed—or rather, pocket-stuffed.

“Professor. You need to move now!”

“?”

Lee Han quickly began pushing Professor Boladi’s back, urging him to move.

Thanks to being trained by Einroguard’s harsh environment, he could predict the other transformation mages’ behavior.

‘I need to get out of here!’

“What’s going on?”

“I have something to ask about magical combat! It’s not a question suitable to ask here, so I’ll ask somewhere outsiders can’t reach!”

Professor Boladi seemed quite intrigued by the mention of magical combat and obediently began walking.

As Lee Han escaped down a side stairway next to the corridor to avoid the outsiders’ pursuit, he could hear murmuring voices behind him.

-Huh? I think they went this way…

-Wait. Why did you come here? You acted like you weren’t interested earlier!

-Haha, let’s not blame each other when we both came together. We’re all in the same boat!

-Ah… Fine! Then let’s talk together!

‘I’m really glad I learned divination magic.’

Thanks to practicing divination magic, he was able to escape without being caught by the crazy mages. Lee Han silently thanked Professor Kraer.

Of course, this had nothing to do with divination magic.

* * *

Gainando, who had come out with his backpack to attend the dark magic lecture, looked puzzled when he saw Lee Han’s face.

“Hey. Grall. Lee Han seems a bit strange.”

“Wardanaz was always strange. And don’t talk to me like we’re close. Don’t poke me with your staff either.”

Raphadael irritably swatted away Gainando’s staff poke.

Usually, when other Blue Dragon Tower students were told ‘don’t talk to me,’ they’d respond with ‘What? How dare you be so arrogant?’ and stop talking to each other, but this prince just ignored the ‘don’t talk to me’ and said whatever he wanted.

“He looks tired, doesn’t he?”

“Of course he’d be tired. Learning that much magic, how could he not be tired.”

“No. Usually that much was fine for him.”

“…”

‘Is this guy really his friend?’

Raphadael looked at Gainando with a very subtle expression.

If a friend was trying to learn that much magic, you should worry about their health and try to stop them, not say ‘usually that much was fine for him.’

He couldn’t tell if what came out was words from his mouth or noise from his snout.

“Are you okay?”

“Hm? Oh. Transformation mages came from outside, so I was greeting them.”

“I see.”

Ymirg, who had been nodding, felt something was off.

‘Huh?’

He had never heard about transformation mages coming from outside, and it was strange why Wardanaz would be greeting them.

Moreover, today wasn’t even a day for transformation magic lectures!

“Transformation mages visited? Why would you greet them?”

Raphadael seemed to think the same and asked the question.

Gainando looked at his friend as if he was pathetic and said.

“Don’t you know that? When summoning mages visited before, and when dark mages visited, Lee Han greeted them too. It must be the same with transformation mages.”

“…No… wait… Hey! Hey!!”

As Gainando spouted his nonsense and entered the lecture hall, Raphadael almost grabbed the back of his neck.

It was such absurd talk that while he was wondering where to start refuting it, Gainando had already left.

That prince bastard had a special talent for making people angry.

“Good day, Professor.”

“Cough. Yes. You’ve worked hard. I heard you went out to solve a commission?”

Having heard about the commission, Professor Mortum coughed and gestured for Lee Han to sit down.

“Yes. Since other professors were with me, it wasn’t that much trouble.”

Lee Han spoke insincerely without even wetting his lips. It was almost an instinctive response.

Since he couldn’t know how conversations between professors might go in his absence, being careful was the best option.

“It wasn’t trouble? Cough. You were lucky. It’ll be trouble from now on.”

“…”

“…”

His friends were fed up, but Lee Han agreed with Professor Mortum’s words.

‘That counts as warm and kind concern.’

Considering the difficulty of the commission he had just completed, by second year, there was a possibility they’d send a student out alone to hunt a dragon and bring back change.

“Cough, cough… Commissions from outside are troublesome since they have to meet the standards of employers who pay silver coins. And you guys are… well. Dark mages.”

“…”

“…”

His friends’ faces darkened.

If there had been upperclassmen present, they would have said ‘Professor, please keep quiet since they’ll find out anyway when they become second years,’ but Professor Mortum just told them honestly.

Apparently, the difficulty of commissions that dark mages received was higher than those received by mages from other schools.

When enchantment school mages received commissions like ‘Please fix our broken artifact, we’d be grateful,’ dark magic school mages received commissions like ‘A plague zone broke out in the south, please call some dark mages’…

“But wouldn’t there be demand if we make golems or summoned creatures well?”

Gainando, who was taking out bones he’d picked up from his backpack, asked incredulously.

Surely Lee Han had said this before.

-Lee Han. Why do we have to study magic like bone armor enhancement? I don’t think people would request bone armor enhancement.

-Oh my. Gainando. You don’t seem to know, but bone armor enhancement magic is popular among adventurers these days. Everyone’s clamoring to have it cast on them.

-What?! Really!? Then what about bone spear enhancement?

-That’s right. There’s even a shortage because there aren’t enough dark mages.

-Then what about skeleton-type summoned creatures or golems?! Are those popular too?

-Those are the most popular. When I asked before, nobles said there are few things that can show off like bone golems.

-I’ve never heard such talk?

-That’s because they’re embarrassed they can’t get bone golems, so they pretend not to be interested.

-Aha!

“Cough. Those kinds of golems or summoned creatures are only used by dark mages. Why would ordinary people who don’t know magic be interested in such hideous summoned creatures?”

“…???”

Gainando looked at Lee Han with an expression like his world had collapsed, but Lee Han ignored him, pretending not to hear.

“Don’t think about selling strange things, and build your skills to handle any commission. Cough. Everyone take out your bones.”

The students took out their bones.

They were currently practicing magic to additionally strengthen summoned creatures from the undead category when summoned.

“Cough. Wardanaz, go over there and practice dark elements.”

Lee Han moved without surprise or confusion now.

‘Well, I have done undead enhancement several times already.’

Since he had successfully done it several times, there was no need to practice it again now.

“Professor. Aren’t the upperclassmen here today?”

At Gainando’s question, Professor Mortum soothed his throat with hot tea and answered.

“They have their own studies to do… You should be able to handle this much on your own.”

‘Indeed.’

Lee Han understood.

And this was good for Lee Han in the long term too.

Considering the dark magic school’s lack of personnel, Lee Han might have to look after first years even after becoming a second year.

‘I need to be able to do the magic I can handle myself. That’s right.’

Moreover, since he had encountered Senior Diret last time when she was trying to anonymously gather information from behind her notebook, it seemed better to keep some distance for a while.

People have something called shame, don’t they?

‘Unless you’re the Skeleton Principal, it would be a bit embarrassing.’

“…”

“…”

Following Professor Mortum’s instructions, Lee Han opened the side door and entered, then paused at the sight of Diret wearing a mask.

Huh?

“Professor? You said the seniors weren’t here?”

“Cough. That was about bone magic… would I let you practice dark element magic alone?”

Professor Mortum scolded Lee Han with an irritated voice.

To think that someone like Wardanaz, not Gainando, would ask such a stupid question.

If one was going to practice dark element magic, naturally there had to be a dark mage watching from the side.

“I, I see.”

“Just hurry up and practice. You’ll also be tested on dark elements during the final exam.”

Gainando asked in surprise.

“Us too?!”

“Cough. No. Just Wardanaz as an additional test.”

“Phew. That’s a relief.”

“…”

“…”

Ymirg and Raphadael looked at Gainando like he was trash.

Lee Han turned his gaze to the masked Diret.

“Um, Senior.”

“No, I’m not.”

“Excuse me?”

“I’m not a senior. I’m someone you’re meeting for the first time.”

Lee Han turned his gaze to the masked raven beastman mage he was meeting for the first time.

“Yes… Dear dark mage whom I’m meeting for the first time. Please guide and instruct me in dark element magic…”

“…Please take care of me…”

The dark element lecture began in a mutually awkward atmosphere.

* * *

The raven beastman mage he was meeting for the first time was very skilled.

“Dark elements are among the most peculiar and alien elements among the various elements.”

“That’s correct.”

“Therefore, you need to be even more careful when handling them, and rather than using them by themselves, it’s advantageous to combine them with magic from other schools. This is especially true for transformation magic and enchantment magic, where just temporarily imbuing dark elements can…”

Diret went through dark element magic starting from the basics.

Even if Lee Han was receiving direct instruction from other professors or the Skeleton Principal, neglecting these fundamentals wasn’t Diret’s style.

“But Senior.”

“Yeah. …Wait. I told you I’m not a senior.”

“Yes… Dear dark mage whom I’m meeting for the first time.”

Lee Han pointed behind and asked.

“What are those?”

Behind the raven beastman mage he was meeting for the first time stood large straw dolls.

One would be fine, but with similarly-looking straw dolls standing there ominously, he couldn’t help but be concerned.

“Ah. Those are practice straw dolls.”

“Do I release dark elements into those dolls?”

Since he had done basic elemental training in a similar way with Professor Boladi, it wasn’t particularly surprising.

Of course, Professor Boladi had used living people instead of straw dolls, but there wasn’t much difference, was there?

“It’s not release… it’s closer to enchantment… You’re making curse dolls.”

“Curse dolls… you say?”

Perhaps sensing something ominous in Lee Han’s voice, the raven beastman mage he was meeting for the first time suddenly spoke faster and longer.

“This isn’t for use in strange places, but it’s originally a method commonly used when learning to utilize dark elements.”

Due to their nature, dark elements were mainly used through indirect methods like enchantment or transformation rather than direct methods like form transformation or release.

One of the most commonly used applied magics among them was the dark curse doll.

Just by firmly imbuing dark elements into a straw doll, this doll would become a cursed item that drained people’s life force when possessed.

Dark mages who were skilled at this magic could create cursed items from all sorts of objects.

“You understand, right? This is absolutely not strange magic or anything that violates imperial law. Junior. Are you listening?”

“You just said junior…”

“You heard wrong. Now. Focus.”

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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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