Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy - Chapter 579

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 579

“How does Ponrig know that?”

Lee Han protested while looking at Professor Lightningstep suspiciously.

He suspected that Professor Lightningstep might be lying to mess with Lee Han.

How would Ponrig know just from riding a Pegasus a bit?

“Of course he knows. Don’t underestimate a griffin’s sense of smell. It’s not just ordinary smell. Especially if it’s a species like Pegasus, he’ll detect it even more.”

Of course, Professor Lightningstep dismissed his disciple’s protest as if it were absurd.

Just as Pegasus could sense their master’s sincerity and honor, griffins could keenly detect whether their master had ridden other beasts or not.

If it were a beast that griffins looked down upon like horses or wyverns, it might be different, but if it were a beast that griffins hated like Pegasus…

“What happens then?”

“Either the Pegasus dies or the griffin dies. You… you probably won’t die though.”

“…”

Lee Han silently looked at the Pegasus.

With its dazzlingly white fur and soft wings. The Pegasus with kind eyes slowly blinked as if it understood Lee Han’s worth.

It seemed to be saying to hurry over and ride it.

“…No. Is there really no way?”

“If there was, I would have told you. Why are you being like this? How fortunate it is that a griffin chose you!”

“Didn’t you force us together, Professor!”

“This guy can’t even be grateful. Just hurry up and bring the griffin.”

Lee Han grumbled as he moved his steps to bring Ponrig.

The Pegasus made a mournful cry as if asking where he was going, leaving it behind.

“…”

When Lee Han’s steps stopped at that cry, the baby basilisk hissed threateningly.

“Hey. Don’t threaten.”

The basilisk shrugged its tail and made an expression as if it knew nothing.

* * *

When Lee Han temporarily lifted Ponrig’s curse and brought him over, some of his friends who were quick had already become friendly with the Pegasus.

Ponrig showed very obvious disgust at the sight.

“…Is there a need to hate Pegasus that much?”

When he casually asked the question, Ponrig kicked mud with his front paw. The innocent Gainando got hit in the back of the head with mud.

“Who was that!? Angrago, it’s you, isn’t it, you bastard?!”

“Good catch. Yeah. I’m the one who took your cake. You shouldn’t have bragged about cake for a whole week!”

“What nonsense! I’m talking about the mud!”

While his friends were making noise, Lee Han looked at Ponrig with a bitter expression.

Seeing him growling threateningly at the Pegasus, reconciliation seemed impossible.

‘Ugh.’

Since the creatures he usually met only showed three reactions – fear, terror, and submission – the Pegasus’s reaction was incredibly precious.

A creature that acknowledged what Lee Han had done and respected his honor.

Would he ever meet such a creature again?

Ponrig stared intently at Lee Han. It was a look as if suspecting whether he was interested in the Pegasus.

“…Look at those Pegasus! They’re so skinny they couldn’t even carry anyone!”

Ponrig nodded excitedly at Lee Han’s words.

“Compared to that, your appearance is truly that of a king of the sky. There’s no comparison with Pegasus.”

Ponrig’s nodding speed became so fast that it created wind around him.

“That’s right, that’s right. You’re the best.”

“Oh. Wardanaz. When Ponrig comes, the Pegasus might get scared, so you go around separately over there.”

“…”

Lee Han was hurt by Professor Lightningstep’s honest words.

‘Isn’t that too much?’

“Look at this! I’m flying!”

Nilia screamed as she soared into the sky.

Since she became friends with the Pegasus the fastest, she was also the first to take flight. Professor Lightningstep shouted.

“Keep your back straight calmly! Don’t show that you’re scared! Pegasus aren’t violent creatures, but if you keep being afraid, they might despise you! Convince them that you’re qualified to ride them!”

“Y-yes!”

“After that, follow the path along the flags! If you return without falling off, you pass!”

Nilia looked at the flags planted in the ground and the sky paths drawn with light above them.

The path stretched along the sky and then at some point descended close to the ground, even going over muddy swamps.

Nilia tensed up for a moment and looked at the Pegasus.

Would this noble creature trust Nilia and pass over the swamp?

“Hey. Hey. Hey. This is killing me. Hey! That’s not the path!”

“…”

Nilia, who had been tense, instantly relaxed when she saw a familiar friend in the distance riding a beast with a lion’s lower body and eagle’s upper body.

Lee Han was hitting the griffin’s head with his staff while getting angry.

“Stop looking at the Pegasus. Follow the path. Stop growling! That’s my friend! Just follow the path!”

‘…Hang in there.’

Seeing Wardanaz struggling, Nilia realized how very lucky she was.

“Thank you. Really.”

-?

The Pegasus purred pleasantly when the dark elf master suddenly expressed gratitude.

What a truly good-natured master.

* * *

Professor Lightningstep’s test became a topic of conversation for a while even after it ended.

First-year students from all towers talked excitedly about Pegasus without discrimination.

“So that Pegasus definitely liked me more, right? You saw it turn its head when Dulark came, didn’t you?”

“That was just because it was tired! Where do you get off slandering!”

“Isn’t there a way to raise a Pegasus? It was really cool.”

“I know a senior knight, and he said he went up to the mountain range himself and brought back a Pegasus foal.”

“Oh…! There’s such a method?”

“Wait. Is it okay to bring one back that way?”

“No, it’s not. In the short time he was away, his lodging was destroyed and the Pegasus had disappeared.”

“Geez…”

The White Tiger Tower friends who had been actively exchanging opinions looked at Lee Han beside them and asked.

Since he was the year’s top student, he was knowledgeable in these areas too.

“Wardanaz. What do you think? Isn’t there a way for us to raise a Pegasus?”

“How about going to catch one together during winter break?”

Lee Han answered with an expressionless face.

“I have a griffin.”

“Wouldn’t it be nice to have a Pegasus too?”

“If a griffin smells Pegasus, it bites its master.”

“…”

“…”

The White Tiger Tower students were horrified.

They knew that griffins were notoriously violent among the beasts considered as mounts, but they didn’t know it was to that extent.

It was incomparably more ferocious than Pegasus.

“Griffins are said to be fierce though.”

“Still, isn’t a griffin cool too? Isn’t there a way to get a griffin?”

“It would be even harder than a pegasus. Like I said earlier, if you had brought out a griffin chick, it wouldn’t just be the dormitory getting destroyed—the surroundings would have been a bloodbath.”

“No. Even considering that, a griffin is worth it. There’s a senior knight I know, and he praised griffins so much.”

“What? He has a griffin??”

“No. He said his arm got torn off by a griffin on the battlefield once.”

As his tactless friends kept trying to overturn Lee Han’s composure, Durgyu glanced around and spoke up.

“Lee Han. Don’t worry too much about it. Everyone’s talking like that because they don’t know how troublesome griffins are.”

“You don’t need to worry. Durgyu. I was thinking about other exams.”

“Oh. Really?”

Durgyu’s face brightened at Lee Han’s words.

Since Professor Ingoldel’s final exam would start this evening, it was a good sign that Lee Han was focusing.

“Yeah. Of course, the griffin tried to charge at the pegasus earlier and I barely stopped it, but I don’t really care.”

“…”

“…”

‘He’s caring about it tremendously…’

Durgyu and Giselle thought to themselves.

Of course, Lee Han had particularly struggled during Professor Lightningstep’s exam this time.

The griffin, which usually listened well, kept growling and picking fights with the pegasus as if it had some grudge.

Even when Lee Han hit it with his staff and pulled on its leash, it didn’t care and kept glaring at the pegasus with unusual stubbornness.

“Hey. Wardanaz. Forget about the exam you got full marks on and focus on the next exam.”

“You’re right. Moradi. How embarrassing.”

Lee Han admitted it obediently, which was rare for him.

Either way, there was no reason to obsess over a finished exam.

Though the image of the pegasus still lingered in his eyes…

“You’ve made the temporary shelters, right?”

“Three places. I’ve also divided and hidden the food supplies.”

“I also made and hid two places.”

Lee Han and the two White Tiger Tower students exchanged meaningful glances.

Professor Ingoldel’s final exam was originally about surviving a night camping with bare bodies in the cold winter mountain range, but experienced Einroguard students interpreted the exam somewhat differently.

-It’s an exam about hiding as many supplies as possible in the mountain range without getting caught!

Of course, Professor Ingoldel had never said anything like that, but Lee Han and his friends understood on their own.

“Is there any information about where we’ll start yet?”

“None. The professor didn’t give us a single clue.”

“Wherever we start, let’s get our bearings and move quickly. This is a recently made map of the mountain range. There are many missing parts, but even the parts that are there should be helpful.”

“Thank…?”

Giselle, who had received and was looking at the map, tilted her head.

The handwriting on the map looked strange no matter how she looked at it.

Sheep Cave

Majesty! No Approach!

It was large and crooked as if drawn by a giant.

‘Where did he get this?’

Clank clank clank-

“…?”

“No, why are those bastards here again?”

When the young apprentice knights of the White Birch Knights approached, the Einroguard students were disgusted.

Just like during the last exam, outsiders coming had never been a good thing.

Moreover, the students were already preparing for the exam in their own way, so making sudden changes…

“Professor. Why are those knights here?”

“Does the White Birch Knights have spare time or something? Why do they keep coming to Einroguard? Do they want to learn magic?”

The apprentice knights’ faces reddened at the White Tiger Tower students’ words.

“These bastards came to help!”

“Is that what you say to people who came to help with the exam you’ll face! Did you forget shaking hands and greeting each other last time!”

“???”

The students were confused by the apprentice knights’ words.

“You came to help?”

“I’ll explain.”

Professor Ingoldel tapped the ground with her sword as if telling everyone to calm down and spoke.

“Since students need to scatter and spend a day in the mountain range, I thought it would be better to add a few more people.”

“Then we’ll just combine our groups among ourselves!”

“Wardanaz! Join us! What? You’ll join us! Yes! Great!”

Ignoring the White Tiger Tower students’ protests, Professor Ingoldel continued.

“When you go outside, you’ll have many occasions to work with other people. Especially as mages, you’ll often travel alone, won’t you.”

‘Hmm. I’d like to tell Professor Boladi about this.’

Lee Han thought to himself as he listened.

How nice it would be if Professor Boladi thought the same way.

“As mages, learn how to coordinate with other people as well. That’s all!”

Professor Ingoldel wasn’t a violent person, but she also wasn’t soft enough to change rules she’d decided once due to protests.

The students grumbled and looked at the apprentice knights.

The apprentice knights were glaring at the students with very spiteful faces.

“…Actually, we said that because we didn’t want to make you suffer.”

“Get lost!”

“Ah. Why are you like this. Hey! We trained hard together in the dormitory during vacation!”

“I don’t know bastards like you!”

Fortunately, Lee Han, Giselle, and Durgyu kept their mouths shut.

Perhaps because of that, the apprentice knights didn’t get angry at the three and waved their hands happily.

“Choi. We meet again after meeting last time.”

“Good to see you. Moradi. I heard you subjugated anti-magic extremists with Wardanaz last time? Are you going to recommend Wardanaz to the knight order by the family name?”

‘Haha. I think there’s a misunderstanding, how could I recommend someone from the Wardanaz family to a knight order?’

“Are you out of your mind, you crazy bastard?”

Lee Han, who was listening to Giselle’s words that accidentally came out opposite to her inner thoughts, whispered quietly.

“Hey. You should think that to yourself.”

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————