Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy - Chapter 674
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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 674
“Professor?”
At Lee Han’s call, Professor Bendozol spoke while shedding tears of blood.
“The unicorn’s wounds haven’t fully healed yet. Don’t make it exert itself.”
“Understood.”
Following the professor’s words, Lee Han didn’t resist and followed as the unicorn gestured for him to come along.
The fully grown adult unicorn was gentler than expected. Whether it was because it was injured, because Professor Bendozol was there, or because it found Lee Han somewhat frightening, it guided them without throwing a tantrum.
“!”
The place the unicorn led them to was a small pond. The pond formed by clouds gathered atop the mountain peak was emitting a peculiar color and magical power.
“This is…”
“Unicorns have the power to transform the places they inhabit to suit themselves. You could consider it another world.”
Just as the Frost Giant King had eroded the surrounding reality into his domain merely by descending, unicorns possessed similar abilities.
Only then did Lee Han realize who had summoned the mist enveloping this mountain peak.
It wasn’t Professor Bendozol’s magic, but the unicorn’s ability.
“Scoop up water from that pond and tend to the unicorn. Since it’s a pond created by the unicorn, it should be useful for healing wounds.”
“Is the reason the unicorn continues to stay in the Bitter Mountains also because of this place?”
“That’s right. Creating a new alternate world like this consumes a lot of stamina. For a unicorn that hasn’t recovered from its wounds yet and is even caring for a baby, creating a new sanctuary elsewhere would be dangerous.”
“I see…”
“Hmph! You’re not completely stupid, I suppose.”
Professor Bendozol treated the burst blood vessels in his eyes from shedding tears of blood.
He was an enviable and jealousy-inducing fellow, but he certainly had a good head on his shoulders. It wasn’t for nothing that Professor Lightningstep kept him around.
Splash, splash-
Lee Han slowly scooped up water from the pond and poured it over the unicorn. The unicorn bowed its head as if in gratitude.
At that moment, the basilisk that had been dozing in his sleeve woke up and spotted the unicorn.
-…
The basilisk looked at Lee Han from inside the sleeve with eyes full of betrayal, but unfortunately, since it was inside the sleeve, its gaze didn’t reach him.
Tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap!
“?”
When it suddenly started frantically tapping his wrist with its tail, Lee Han asked in confusion.
“What’s wrong?”
“Hmph! To think you’d try to receive a unicorn’s love while already receiving a basilisk’s love. Do you think the world will forgive you?”
The professor cursed Lee Han while contorting his already spiteful face even more.
Disciple or not, he seemed to really want to see Lee Han get bitten by the basilisk and kicked by the unicorn.
Regardless, Lee Han ignored him and conversed with the baby basilisk.
“I can’t help it. You can see it’s injured, right? I’ll make you something delicious next time, so bear with it. Yes. Good boy. Good. Phew. You’re better behaved than Ponrig.”
“…”
When the basilisk was satisfied and closed its eyes again, Professor Bendozol was horrified.
That…
How dare that bastard deceive an innocent basilisk with such petty wordplay!?
“Ba, basilisk… To toy with an innocent basilisk’s heart…! You…! How dare you…!”
“Professor. This flower field that formed behind the pond seems to serve as medicinal herbs, is that correct?”
“That’s right! If you’ve washed its body with water, next you should make medicine using the herbs.”
Professor Bendozol answered Lee Han’s question even while getting angry.
The important thing was caring for the unicorn.
“Do you know alchemy?”
“I know a little.”
“What about Dobrooke’s Soul Revival Potion?”
“I’ve helped make it before.”
In truth, Dobrooke’s Soul Revival Potion was absolutely not a potion for someone of Lee Han’s level to make.
It was far too difficult a potion for lower-year Einroguard students to handle.
However, Lee Han had assisted in brewing the Soul Revival Potion while helping Yoanen, Yoner’s sister.
Professor Bendozol looked at Lee Han with approval when he said he had helped make the Soul Revival Potion.
“Your family must deal with alchemy then?”
“Well… they don’t not do it…”
“If you know that, this makes things easier. It’s a potion with almost the same principles. Come here!”
Professor Bendozol set up a cauldron, personally lit the fire, and began preparing the potion.
Then the unicorn made a faint crying sound. It meant it was hot because there was a fire nearby.
The professor jumped up and apologized.
“I’m sorry! How could I make such a mistake! It’s because several noisy and bothersome fellows came!”
“Can’t you just tell it to endure it?”
“You… you… can’t you keep your mouth shut!”
Professor Bendozol looked at Lee Han with the eyes of someone viewing the most terrible barbarian in the Empire.
Being violent and barbaric was one thing, but how could he say such things?
“Watch the fire carefully. After boiling for 30 minutes, turn it off and you can rest for a while.”
“Is there really a need to stop?”
“Because I need to prepare the Drapilla.”
Drapilla was a plant with liquid components firmly fixed inside its roots, so preparing it and extracting the internal components was more troublesome than expected.
If you tried to force it with strength, the roots would be destroyed and the liquids would mix, so Professor Bendozol had to do it himself.
“I can prepare it too…”
“Ha! If you can prepare it cleanly, I swear on the unicorn’s name that I’ll crawl around on all fours and teach you!”
* * *
“What should I do next?”
“Wait a moment. I can’t see.”
Professor Bendozol, who had been lying prone on all fours in front of the cauldron, groaned as he lifted his head.
“Wouldn’t it be better if you just stood on two feet since it’s fine anyway?”
“Hey, does an oath made on a unicorn’s name seem like a joke to you?!”
‘Don’t you just enjoy crawling around on all fours?’
Lee Han looked at Professor Bendozol suspiciously.
Without even imagining he was receiving such ridiculous slander, Professor Bendozol instructed the remaining process.
“Now we just need to wait. Your preparation skills are excellent. Ugh.”
“Thank you.”
“But I don’t remember seeing someone like you… didn’t you take the mount training lecture?”
“Well, I entered last year, so we wouldn’t have met.”
“…”
Professor Bendozol dropped the coffee cup he was holding in his mouth.
“…Are you saying you’re advancing to 2nd year now???”
“Yes. Professor Lightningstep told you, didn’t he?”
He definitely explained when he came that he was trying to solve this matter with the help of new students, right?
“I think he did… I don’t usually listen to what that guy says.”
“…”
“Amazing. To think you were a 1st year.”
“Thank you.”
“For such a guy to receive the love of a griffin and basilisk. Damn it. The world is disgustingly unfair…”
“…”
Lee Han was about to say ‘I didn’t want to receive it either’ but held back.
He remembered the professor trying to scoop up dirt with his palm to throw it earlier.
“Good! I’ll acknowledge your abilities. Though you’ll need to fix this habit of deceiving innocent beasts with clever lies…”
“I wasn’t lying.”
“…You at least have the basics to care for animals.”
“!”
When Professor Bendozol suddenly acknowledged him, Lee Han felt more troubled than happy.
A professor’s recognition often brought more harm than good.
Especially when it came to someone like Professor Bendozol.
‘What kind of nonsense is he planning to make me do?’
“No. I’m lacking.”
“I said you have the basics.”
“No, I don’t. You’re mistaken.”
“…Are you the professor? Are you the professor?!”
Professor Bendozol growled and exploded in anger.
The student in front of him might not know, but Professor Bendozol rarely acknowledged students easily.
Even upperclassmen were no exception.
Caring for animals required devoted dedication rather than outstanding magic.
Normally, instead of immediately acknowledging the boy in front of him, he would have watched him work steadily for several years and only acknowledged him when he seemed sincere.
But since he was loved by the griffin and basilisk and even recognized by the unicorn, there was no need to test or observe him further…
Yet this insolent brat was stubbornly denying it!
“What’s not is not. I’m still lacking.”
Having dealt with all kinds of crazy professors, Lee Han didn’t back down easily.
Lee Han wasn’t weak enough to be intimidated by a professor he met outside during vacation, unlike during lectures at school.
“I said you have it!”
“I don’t.”
“…Fine! You don’t, you don’t have it! Do whatever you want!”
Professor Bendozol stamped his feet and turned his head away. Since he was crawling on all fours, it wasn’t very threatening.
After a long silence, Professor Bendozol spoke again.
“Brush the unicorn’s mane.”
“Yes.”
Annoyance aside, since the unicorn liked that brat, the unicorn would be more comfortable if he took care of it.
“Be careful when brushing its mane!”
“Yes. I’ll be careful not to lose even a single strand.”
Since unicorn hair was a very rare and expensive magical reagent, if any hair happened to fall out, it shouldn’t be thrown away but collected.
At Lee Han’s answer, Professor Bendozol replied with a face on the verge of losing his mind.
“You fool worse than a mule, I meant brush it so the unicorn doesn’t get hurt!!”
“Ah. Yes. I’ll pay attention to that too.”
The unicorn leisurely entrusted its body to Lee Han’s touch.
Contrary to Professor Bendozol’s worries, he sighed in relief as Lee Han took good care of it. The unicorn really seemed to like him.
Tap-
The unicorn rubbed its head and left something in Lee Han’s palm.
It was a very small fragment of horn.
“!!”
Lee Han was very surprised.
However, he wasn’t as surprised as Professor Bendozol.
Professor Bendozol spoke desperately as the unicorn he had lovingly cared for seemed to be falling for some rude and suspicious disciple.
“Don’t be fooled by that guy! That guy sees you as money!”
‘No. How did he know?’
Lee Han felt a pang of guilt.
In fact, he had been wondering how much the unicorn’s hair or horn fragments would be worth.
Rumble!
At that moment, something like thunder echoed from the sky. Professor Bendozol jumped up and spoke with a serious face.
“It’s him!”
“What…”
“The Dochul! He’s coming this way. What did Professor Lightningstep go off to do!”
Professor Bendozol huffed and waved his staff.
Then, beyond the fog surrounding the mountain peak, an ominous black shadow could be seen circling around.
“Is that the Dochul?”
“Yes. He can transform into shadow and slip through gaps in magic.”
Below that mountain peak, monsters could be seen flocking as if being chased by something.
Lee Han realized that the Dochul had driven the mountain range’s monsters to send them this way.
‘…Those guys should be able to stop them.’
Deciding to trust his friends who had set up camp below, Lee Han turned his gaze.
“Can’t we take the initiative and attack first?”
“No! He’s wrapped in the curse of retribution on his hide.”
The Dochul wasn’t just a monster with outstanding physical abilities.
Thanks to being born with such powerful curses, it was a threatening monster that even decent mages were reluctant to face.
The curse of retribution also played a part in creating such notoriety.
A powerful curse that returns attacks in equal measure!
“A curse?”
“Yes! He’ll avoid confronting us directly and try to kill only the unicorn. We mustn’t show any openings!”
“Understood. Strike down, lightning of Perkuntra!”
“?!”
When Lee Han shot out a thick bolt of lightning, Professor Bendozol momentarily thought he was insane.
Indeed, the black shadow that was hit by the lightning howled cunningly. It intended to return the curse directly to the mage.
The curse returned to Lee Han so fast and accurately that it couldn’t be avoided or blocked.
Professor Bendozol watched with anxious eyes, wondering if the young fool would be burned to a crisp.
“Strike down, lightning of Perkuntra!”
“!?”
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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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