Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy - Chapter 616

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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 616

“That’s right. If you dislike fighting, wouldn’t being a mage suit you better than being a knight?”

Unaware of Lee Han’s inner thoughts, Alsicle persuaded him as if it was a good thing.

Indeed, like someone who had never attended Einroguard, he confidently spouted nonsense.

“Knights shed blood and sweat daily while wielding iron. In comparison, mages can spend as much time as they want researching in workshops if they choose.”

“Hmm.”

“??”

When Lee Han made a contemplative sound instead of agreeing, Alsicle looked at him as if asking what was wrong.

“I wonder if being a mage really suits someone who dislikes fighting?”

“!?”

Alsicle was flustered by Lee Han’s suddenly bewildering words.

“Why, why are you saying that? Aren’t we supposed to be persuading him?”

“That’s true, but I’m wondering if Einroguard is really a place that suits someone who dislikes fighting.”

“How much fighting could there be! Hey. Look here. You’d encounter monsters on weekends at most!”

“At Einroguard, you’d encounter monsters every other day…”

“…”

Alsicle was left speechless.

What…?

After pondering, Lee Han looked at his prospective junior and asked.

“Are you interested in magic?”

“Well… that is…”

“You can speak honestly. I have no intention of dragging you along by force.”

“I am interested.”

Ulgan spoke while gauging their reactions.

They clearly seemed like impressive mages, so he wondered if it was okay for a mere woodcutter like himself to say he was interested in magic.

However, neither Lee Han nor Alsicle looked down on him or mocked him. Instead, they asked as if it was a good thing.

“Oh. Really? If you’re interested, that’s great. What kind of magic are you interested in?”

“You know those mages who cast magic on axes or limbs, right?”

“Enhancement magic… specifically specializing in strengthening spells, I’d say.”

“That’s traditional. Don’t White Tiger Tower graduates usually excel in that school of magic?”

Lee Han and Alsicle conversed with interest.

Encouraged by their reaction, Ulgan spoke more.

“There’s more besides that.”

“Good. Tell us anything.”

“Spirits…”

“Do you want to contract with spirits?”

“No. I’d also like to learn spirit banishment magic. They interfere with logging. I’d also like to make potions that kill trees all at once. Sometimes the trees that come alive and move around are bothersome…”

“…”

“…”

‘I must never let him meet Senior Ilendil.’

Lee Han inwardly resolved, seeing the potential of this junior who seemed likely to devastate Einroguard’s forests.

“Ulgan. As someone who attends Einroguard, I’ll be honest with you. Einroguard isn’t an environment where you can avoid fighting. It’s as vast as this mountain range, so monsters roam around too.”

“Ah. I’ve heard about that.”

Ulgan nodded.

He knew about Einroguard’s reputation from the patrol unit hunters who occasionally visited.

“It’s incredibly vast!”

“That’s right.”

“A senior who’s a former Shadow Patrol hunter is top of the class, popular, and all the professors want to take him as their disciple!”

‘Was there such a person?’

Lee Han was puzzled.

“Sorry. I don’t know all the seniors. Anyway, because it’s so vast, you can’t completely avoid fighting. You might encounter monsters while going into the mountain range to gather alchemy materials. Sometimes the Principal attacks too.”

“I see… Excuse me?”

Ulgan wondered if he had heard wrong.

Or maybe it was the senior’s unique sense of humor.

“I understand. Thank you for telling me. Of course, I dislike fighting!”

Ulgan clenched his fists.

Alsicle and Lee Han unconsciously leaned back slightly.

“But I won’t run away from unavoidable fights either. Northern woodcutters are not cowards!”

“Well thought, well thought!”

Alsicle clapped by moving his wings.

Seeing this young mage’s resolve, persuasion seemed like it would be easy.

“If that’s the case, Einroguard will welcome you!”

“Right. I’m just saying it this way, but it’s not like there’s no way to avoid fighting at Einroguard. If you focus only on your research, there’s not much occasion to fight. Actually, I don’t really like fighting either.”

Eandurude, who had been dozing and listening nearby, looked up with surprised eyes, but Lee Han didn’t notice.

“I see. So you don’t really like fighting either, Senior.”

“I’m a complete pacifist.”

“Hey, aren’t you Baegreck’s… never mind.”

Alsicle was about to say “Aren’t you Baegreck’s disciple?” but stopped.

It wasn’t polite behavior to bring up such topics in front of other people.

Crack!

“!”

At the loud noise from the distance, Lee Han immediately drew his staff and chanted a spell.

“Feet, dominate the ground!”

At the same time, he threw his body to the side and rolled. This was in case the opponent was making a ranged attack, to disrupt their aim.

“…”

Alsicle made a complicated expression seeing Lee Han react so extremely to the sound of a tree breaking.

“It’s just a tree breaking.”

“Is that so? I thought it was something else.”

Lee Han got up while brushing himself off.

His attitude was as if this level of reaction was as natural as breathing.

“No! It really is a monster!!”

Ulgan urgently shouted while grabbing his axe.

A ghost tree had appeared from behind the broken tree.

Ghost trees, monsters formed when evil spirits combined with trees rather than moving in spectral form, were always a threat to woodcutters.

The very act of cutting trees disturbed the forest’s order and balance, inevitably giving rise to such monsters.

“I’ll stand in front. Please support me from behind!”

At Ulgan’s words, Lee Han shook his head and said.

“No. I’ll stand in front, so Alsicle, please help from behind.”

At Lee Han’s words, Eandurude shook his head and said.

“Me! I’ll stand in front!”

“???”

Ulgan was bewildered by the mages’ excessive preference for the front lines.

Wasn’t it common for mages to provide magical support from behind in typical combat?

“Stay in the back. Junior.”

“Hmph.”

“What’s with the ‘hmph’? You’ll encounter ghost trees again when you go to Einroguard anyway, so fight then. For now, leave it to me.”

As the senior, Lee Han couldn’t let his juniors take the lead.

He cast 【Baegreck’s Momentary Foresight】 and 【Gonadaltes’s Surging Power】, then chanted 【Spatial Awareness】 as well.

“Space, be perceived…”

“…Do you usually cast all those spells when fighting?”

“I do?”

Lee Han didn’t understand why Alsicle was asking.

Why would a lion give its all when catching just one rabbit?

The answer was ‘because if it’s a rabbit from Einroguard, you never know what it might do.’

Since the rabbit could teleport, spew deadly poison, or cast evil curses, it was right to prepare as much as possible.

‘Someone with a lot of mana is on a different level!’

Alsicle clicked his tongue inwardly.

Seeing him casually commit what other mages would have been horrified at as wasteful was truly surprising.

Wasn’t this the kind of ability that would receive high praise if he participated in battlefields as a combat mage?

-■■■…

As the ghostly tree approached, Lee Han lightly fired a water orb bullet.

With a heavy sound, the ghostly tree staggered. The spinning water sphere had delivered a shock all the way inside with a vicious sound.

At the same time, Lee Han gripped Dawnstar in one hand and charged in. As the black-purple stone sword slashed once, the evil spirit inside the tree screamed in agony.

‘Mana absorption!’

Alsicle was surprised to see Dawnstar’s blade tearing mana from the opposing monster.

And he was surprised once more when he realized Lee Han was wielding Dawnstar.

‘Why does a mage have such an artifact…’

Mana absorption equipment was almost taboo for mages.

There were already many mages who refused to use items that affected mana flow because they found them unpleasant, and now mana absorption equipment on top of that.

The ghostly tree attempted a counterattack with a spine-chilling sound. Its long branches undulated like whips, threatening Lee Han.

However, when the counterattack came, Lee Han had already created distance.

With foresight magic and spatial awareness magic, the opponent’s simple movements were at the level of being in the palm of his hand.

Thud!

Lee Han quickly finished off the ghostly tree without giving Alsicle a chance to support.

He exploited the broken balance from its counterattack by firing a water orb bullet, then delivered a finishing blow to the fallen creature.

After sheathing Dawnstar and returning, Lee Han spoke in a pleased voice when he saw Ulgan staring at him intently.

“You said you were interested in enhancement magic? You must have quite liked the spells you just saw.”

However, the junior spoke in a intimidated voice.

“Seeing you fight, Senior, makes me worry whether I’ll be able to adapt well at Einroguard…”

“?!”

If even a pacifist senior who didn’t particularly like fighting had such skills, he suddenly became worried whether someone like him could survive well.

* * *

“That’s how I succeeded in securing funding for 【Research on Races Preferred as Food by Trolls】.”

“Th-that’s amazing.”

‘He’s quite the braggart.’

The Skeleton Principal was chatting with the knights in front of the log cabin, telling them about his recent heroic tales.

The knights pretended to respond enthusiastically while secretly doubting him.

No matter how they thought about it, it was too far-fetched.

Getting funding for 【Research on Races Preferred as Food by Trolls】…

He probably exaggerated some other funding.

“I’m not just saying this because he’s my disciple, but that guy truly deserves the title of Bureaucrat Slayer. You should also cultivate such talent to make it easier to receive support.”

“…We’ll compete with our skills.”

The knights were envious but didn’t show it. Showing it here would hurt their pride.

“Talking about skills and such. How much has Einroguard devoted itself to the Empire? Yet those bureaucrat bastards only think about stealing gold coins.”

‘Aren’t you thinking about the damage Einroguard has inflicted on the Empire?’

‘If you really received funding for 【Research on Races Preferred as Food by Trolls】, shouldn’t you not be saying such things!’

“That’s right. Those bureaucrat bastards!”

Even while thinking other thoughts inwardly, the knights agreed for now.

They too had many bad memories regarding the Empire’s bureaucrats.

Especially for knights who often had to fight monsters in harsh environments like the Northern Region, the bureaucrats’ stinginess was always a target of resentment.

“Last time we held out at the fortress for nearly half a year, and these bastards didn’t provide support even once. They said we could survive on stockpiled supplies!”

“That’s right.”

“When we requested more mages because we were short-staffed, they said a magic criminal had escaped and they had to prioritize that!”

“Hmm. The bureaucrats probably had their circumstances too.”

“!?”

The knights were flustered by the Skeleton Principal’s sudden change in attitude.

“Your Excellency.”

The veteran knight who had been looking for an opportunity interjected when the conversation paused briefly.

No matter how he thought about it, he couldn’t understand the Skeleton Principal’s intentions.

“May I ask why you’re sharing such wisdom with us?”

‘Wisdom?’

The knights nearby wondered what kind of wisdom this was supposed to be, but couldn’t voice it out loud.

With Lord Gonadaltes’ power, even nonsense could become wisdom.

“We’re too dull to understand Your Excellency’s intentions, so we’re curious about why you keep bestowing such favor upon us.”

“Hmm. Perhaps it’s time to tell you.”

As the Skeleton Principal nodded, the veteran knight listened carefully.

What meaning could this conversation possibly have had?

Just then, Lee Han’s group came up from below with Ulgan.

“Principal. The junior said he wants to enter Einroguard.”

“Well done, Bureaucrat Slayer.”

“Please don’t call me by that nickname.”

“That’s settled then, so let’s be on our way. It was enjoyable talking with everyone.”

The Skeleton Principal lightly stood up, encouraged the knights, and cheerfully departed with Lee Han’s group.

The knights could only glare at their retreating figures with eyes filled with shock.

‘We’ve been had!’

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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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