Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy - Chapter 645
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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 645
“The faces of the people in the Wardanaz Family territory will always be blooming with smiles. Oh right. Wardanaz. I heard you went around with the Principal during this vacation?”
“Yeah. I persuaded some of the underclassmen who didn’t want to enter.”
“Why on earth?!”
Gainando was horrified as he listened from the side.
Why would he commit such an evil act?
Ignoring his friends, he continued the conversation.
“Come to think of it, was there any memorable underclassman among them?”
“Hmm. There was an underclassman who had talent as a knight and was even born with supernatural powers…”
“Oh.”
“But he hated fighting.”
“??”
His friends tilted their heads in confusion.
Even if a knight hating fighting was one thing, would it be okay to hate fighting at Einroguard?
“But I persuaded him well.”
“Wasn’t there a Blue Dragon Tower student?”
“There was an underclassman from the Penguerin family. His skills were decent.”
Yoner and Gainando showed great interest at Lee Han’s words.
If it was an underclassman from the Penguerin family, wouldn’t he enter the Blue Dragon Tower?
Of course, due to the rules of protecting new students, they wouldn’t be able to meet immediately in their second year, but still, the fact that an excellent underclassman was entering their tower was welcome.
“What about his personality?! What’s his personality like?!”
“Since he has skills, he’s overflowing with confidence.”
“Oh no!”
Gainando let out a sigh.
The most important thing for an underclassman wasn’t magical ability or wisdom, but personality.
A polite underclassman who knew how to respect his seniors should come!
“What about mage cards or cooking by any chance?”
“Why are you asking that…”
Nilia looked at Gainando as if she couldn’t believe it.
“Are you looking for a new War-, a new caretaker among the underclassmen?”
“Didn’t you just try to say Wardanaz?”
“N-no, I didn’t.”
Ratford, who had been listening to the story, asked curiously.
“Was there perhaps an underclassman like me?”
“There was. That’s great, Ratford. If you meet him, you two will get along well, right?”
Lee Han thought it worked out well and brought up the story of Priest Karle from the Bildotscal Order.
Ratford, who had been listening with interest at first, frowned more and more as the story progressed.
“What a foolish underclassman!”
“I-is that so?”
“Being so greedy that he won’t even join a guild. What does he think guilds are! Such an underclassman will probably act alone even after entering the dormitory.”
Ratford was rarely angry.
Even though they were both from thief backgrounds, their ways of thinking were completely opposite.
‘Hmm. It’s fortunate they won’t meet for a year.’
Lee Han thought so to himself. Ratford looked at Lee Han and asked.
“Wardanaz. You must have given that foolish underclassman a sharp scolding, right?”
“Of, of course. I told him he shouldn’t do things that way.”
“You did very well! What else did you say?”
“Uh, well, I said he should take care of his friends…”
While Lee Han was lying, overwhelmed by Ratford’s momentum, Eandurude, who was beside him, stared intently at Lee Han.
Only then realizing he had left out one person, Lee Han hurriedly shouted.
“Oh right. Here’s a reliable underclassman from the Black Tortoise Tower!”
At Lee Han’s praise, Eandurude nodded proudly. Nilia and Ratford praised the admirable underclassman.
“I’m glad such a reliable underclassman like you came.”
“That’s right. I’m very much looking forward to it.”
“Looking forward to what…”
Gainando grumbled so Eandurude couldn’t hear.
He still felt like his wrist, bitten by the underclassman, was aching.
“Oh right. Wardanaz. Aren’t any other people coming?”
“The ones who sent letters saying they’d come are Durgyu and Priest Siana, but I don’t know when they’ll arrive. Won’t they come soon?”
“I’m here.”
With the sound of the door opening, a penguin beastman entered with a tired face.
The students who had expected other friends to come stood up and greeted Alsicle.
“Hello. Penguerin.”
“Good to see you all.”
Alsicle groomed his disheveled feathers and put down a basket of herbs.
Seeing this, Yoner asked in puzzlement.
“Are you planning to make potions?”
“No. Wardanaz asked me to.”
“…”
“…”
Yoner looked at Lee Han in shock.
Did he just use Alsicle of the Penguerin family as an herb errand boy?
He was quite a famous mage among the young rising mages of the Empire…
‘How on earth did he ask him?’
Yoner slightly suspected his friend had used mind magic.
He wondered if he had tempted him with food, but that would only work on Gainando…
“Here are some sardines. I fried some while you were away.”
“Wow! Thanks.”
Alsicle casually took the plate and tossed it into his beak before sitting down.
‘He really tempted him with food?!’
In fact, the reason Alsicle granted Lee Han’s request was because he owed him a lot.
After pouring out so much mana generously in the last experiment, how could he not do this one errand?
Besides, he didn’t know how he might ask for help again in the future…
‘He really seems to like sardines.’
“Arsil left?”
“Yes.”
After hearing the story from Lee Han, Alsicle clicked his beak as if finding it interesting.
It was completely different from how nobles usually left.
Normally, there should be luxurious banquets with musical performances and various events, but Arsil had left quietly, just like someone from the Wardanaz family would.
“Wardanaz. I suddenly became curious, but the Family Head and other family members don’t seem very interested in social circles… How did you participate in social events when you were young?”
Of course, the manor had loyal guard knights, golems, and demons who had sworn allegiance, but their presence didn’t mean one could participate in social events.
After all, family members had to participate together and maintain proper etiquette to be included in social events.
“Ah. Relatives helped me. I usually did it there.”
“Ah. I see.”
Alsicle nodded and chewed on the fried sardines while inwardly tilting his head in confusion.
‘Huh? Were there branch families of the Wardanaz family?’
If that were the case, they would have been much more famous, so why couldn’t he remember hearing about them?
“Oh right. Penguerin. I have something I’m curious about.”
Lee Han took out the sheet music he had received from the tomb.
Originally, I had planned to slowly decipher it, but Arsil’s words were so meaningful that it piqued my curiosity.
“This is sheet music we found in the ancient tomb behind our estate. I was wondering if you could read the script.”
“Do ancient tombs appear so commonly behind your estate…?”
Alsicle looked flustered but accepted the sheet music.
Since Lee Han had taken the trouble to ask a question, he intended to answer with his utmost effort.
In truth, occasions like this were rare opportunities to prove his abilities in front of this Wardanaz family boy.
‘It might be my imagination, but sometimes he seems to see me as a mage who lives off his looks.’
Alsicle stared intently at the sheet music. However, he couldn’t immediately identify which era’s script it was.
“Mmm. Mmmmm…”
A long, drawn-out groan.
Unable to watch any longer, Lee Han cautiously spoke up.
“It’s fine if you don’t know…”
“No, no! I know this script! Just a little! Just give me a little more time!”
“Ah, yes.”
Alsicle concentrated so hard on the parchment it seemed he might bore holes through it.
Ratford, who had been looking at it alongside him, casually spoke up without much thought.
“Isn’t this script from the Fake Kingdom era?”
“Fa… Fake Kingdom! Right, script from the Fake Kingdom era! Ugh, urgh! If you had given me just one more minute, no, 30 more seconds, I could have remembered it too. Really!”
At Alsicle’s desperate excuse, Ratford replied in confusion.
“Of, of course I thought you would.”
“I’m telling you it’s really not an excuse!”
“Lord Penguerin. Please calm down. This isn’t a competition to see who answers first.”
“Urgh…!”
Alsicle realized his disgraceful behavior and sat back down with a flushed face.
The Fake Kingdom era, meaning the era of fake kingdoms, was a nightmarish period for the Empire’s historians.
An era of shifting alliances where there were no proper kings, only many who falsely claimed the title.
Though division was more common than unity in the continent’s history, the Fake Kingdom era was particularly severe in its fragmentation.
To recover his dignity, Alsicle pulled out a book on Fake Kingdom era script and began reading the sheet music haltingly.
“Praising the king’s sacrifice… The king blocked the misfortune that befell the castle walls… It’s roughly a hymn of praise and funeral song combined, but I can’t read the notes or lyrics below the title. They seem to be bound to you.”
“!”
Just as a spirit’s name could only be read and called by its contractor, there were certain magics that could only be read and memorized by specific individuals.
When Alsicle found that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t make sense of the notes and lyrics on the sheet music, he recognized the magic cast on this score like the experienced mage he was.
“My brother said this song would be helpful to me, but I wonder why? I don’t have any reason to go around singing hymns or funeral songs.”
“It’s probably not because of the song lyrics, but because of the magic cast on the song.”
Having heard in detail what had happened inside the tomb from Lee Han, Alsicle shrewdly guessed Arsil’s intention.
The reason Arsil had recommended this song from a nameless ancient kingdom to Wardanaz wasn’t because of its lyrics or melody.
It was because of the power the song possessed.
“You said the song dominated the surrounding area? That’s more impressive than you might think.”
“!”
Mages put more effort than one might expect into dominating their own territory.
Just look at a mage’s workshop or magic tower – how much magic was carved into them.
Conversely, this meant that dominating territory was that difficult.
To control vast spaces where all kinds of forces flowed irregularly through individual will.
But the mages of this ancient kingdom had succeeded in showing something similar through songs carved into tombs.
Though it had now disappeared and the magical connection was severed, it was certainly a remarkable achievement.
“I had never thought of it that way.”
“Neither had I. Music magic wasn’t even worth researching in the first place.”
“The Principal told me I should learn word magic instead. What do you think about that?”
“…Word magic isn’t some levitation spell that you can learn so easily.”
Alsicle looked at Lee Han as if he found it absurd.
He knew the Skeleton Principal was shameless, but he was truly shameless.
It was one thing to tell him not to learn music magic, but to tell him to learn word magic…
‘Was that what he meant?’
Lee Han fell into thought.
After hearing Alsicle’s explanation, he thought he understood why Arsil had told him to treasure this sheet music.
Arsil clearly wanted Lee Han to learn the knack of controlling territory as a mage.
The other currently known methods for controlling territory were much more complex or had higher difficulty levels.
Compared to the difficulty of word magic, no matter how hard this sheet music might be, it was incomparably easier.
In contrast, this forgotten kingdom’s music magic was providing Lee Han with a clever shortcut that other magics couldn’t offer.
“But aren’t you interested in this magic, Lord Penguerin? From what I hear, it sounds quite impressive…”
Alsicle answered indifferently.
“I’m interested, but you can tell at a glance that the mana consumption is too severe.”
“Ah.”
“The kingdom’s people probably only had it performed in tombs too. It suits you, but it wouldn’t suit me.”
Eandurude tilted her head and asked.
“Is it because your skills are lacking?”
“No!”
“No, Eandurude. Don’t say rude things.”
Lee Han covered his junior’s mouth.
Though there were many magics he needed to learn right now, even considering that, this magic was definitely worth attempting once.
What flashed through Lee Han’s mind was the Skeleton Principal’s unique world that he had shown him once before.
The ultimate magic that went beyond dominating territory to changing territory according to one’s own rules.
Of course, perfectly mastering this music magic wouldn’t enable him to use a unique world, but he might be able to take the first step on that distant path.
“Thank you, Lord Penguerin. I’ll practice hard. I even received a violin as a gift.”
“Really? Are you going to practice now?”
Alsicle looked at Lee Han with expectant eyes.
Even if it wasn’t magic he could master himself, mages were always curious about magic they didn’t know.
“No. I’m going to gather some herbs first. I don’t have enough quantity to complete the request.”
“…I’ll gather the herbs, so you practice music magic.”
Alsicle couldn’t hold back and spoke seriously.
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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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