Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy - Chapter 743

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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 743

“Oh. Senior.”

Lee Han, who had entered the tower, was surprised to see a familiar face.

Illeg from the Chaegla family, a bear beastman student with glasses, was waiting for Lee Han with a gentle expression.

Of course, Lee Han wasn’t fooled by the gentle and kind attitude the man before him was showing.

The monstrous strength this priest senior had displayed at the library club last time was still vivid in his memory.

“Wardanaz. Good to see you. How’s school going? You’re not overworking yourself, are you?”

“I think I’m doing fine. As for overworking… well…”

Lee Han hesitated.

Honestly, it felt a bit awkward to say he wasn’t overworking himself.

“But are you also interested in music magic, Senior?”

“Yes. I’m very interested in several characteristics of music magic.”

“Music magic probably isn’t very efficient like other primitive magics.”

“But it has irreplaceable advantages.”

Illeg said with sparkling eyes.

True to a student who had advanced to 5th year, Illeg didn’t easily lose interest even if there were no immediate results or efficiency.

This library club student was interested in the spatial control aspects that music magic possessed.

It was quite appealing to cast magic on an area itself without using incantations, unique worlds, or various grand magics.

“Of course, it’s limited since most sheet music has been lost, and the effects are weak since efficiency research hasn’t been done… That’s why I prepared this tower. The tower’s power will amplify the magic.”

Illeg pointed to the 【Tower of Echoes】 with his muscular arm that bulged with strength.

While researching music magic this semester, Illeg planned to restore several lost sheet music pieces and use them to cast music magic in various locations within Einroguard.

His ultimate goal was to recreate semi-permanently lasting music magic!

‘Oh.’

Lee Han became somewhat interested upon hearing the muscular senior’s words.

Indeed, when a 5th year senior systematically organized and set goals, things became a bit clearer.

Music magic seemed too restrictive and limited, but as Illeg said, if they could restore sheet music and enhance efficiency, they might really be able to grant effects to desired locations.

‘Hmm. If possible… first, a stamina recovery effect for my personal lounge. A concentration effect for the 2nd year common lounge. No, that wouldn’t be enough. I’d need to add a curse music that causes pain when doing other things. An intelligence boost effect for the base. For the cabin, growth enhancement…’

“Wardanaz. I heard you know how to perform one music magic. Could you show us?”

Even if Lee Han didn’t know how to perform music magic, if a senior with Illeg’s build had asked, Lee Han would have learned non-existent magic on the spot.

And fortunately, Lee Han had learned one music magic.

“I do have one, but the song is a bit strange. The effect also amplifies dark elements…”

“Wardanaz! That alone is amazing enough.”

Not just because Illeg was kind, but other students interested in music magic also nodded in agreement.

Since music magic was in a situation where they had to rebuild the foundation from the bottom up, just being able to cast one complete magic like Lee Han was a great help to the students.

Bard Ifadur also seemed to think so and encouraged Lee Han.

“Student Wardanaz. There’s no such thing as a strange song in the Empire. Whether it’s a concerto or satire, symphony or rhapsody, songs are beautiful in themselves.”

Receiving encouragement from the upperclassmen and the bard, Lee Han realized he had been thinking wrongly.

‘Right. That’s correct.’

The music magic Lee Han had practiced during winter break might sound a bit strange, but it was perfectly good magic.

The effect of amplifying dark elements to change the nature of an area could be needed in many situations.

…Though it would mainly be limited to dark magic, anyway.

“Then I’ll give it a try.”

Lee Han took out his violin to repay their warm encouragement. Then he began playing the hymn.

“Praise the sacrifice of new students, mages…”

“?”

“??”

“What did your upperclassmen see? They saw demons of hell and those demons walking around…”

“???”

“????”

The lyrics were so peculiar that the students couldn’t focus on the changes happening around them.

Despite having brightly lit the room, the surroundings were getting darker and the concentration of dark elements was growing thicker.

But the students were still murmuring about the lyrics.

“What kind of lyrics are those? It sounds like music from the Three Kingdoms period…”

“Did Einroguard exist back then too?”

“The building probably did? No, more importantly, are those all based on experience?”

“Surely not… unless he’s the most unlucky guy in the Empire…”

After finishing the performance, Lee Han looked at the amplified dark elements in the room, and seeing that this effect wouldn’t easily disappear, he said admiringly.

“Indeed, the tower’s effect is amazing! I didn’t expect it to be maintained like this.”

“…”

“…”

“Seniors?”

Illeg, who came to his senses first, began clapping loudly.

Then he simultaneously signaled to the other students with his eyes.

Clap clap clap clap clap clap!

“That was a moving song!”

“Indeed, we can definitely prove the effects of music magic!”

“Wardanaz, I’m truly happy to have a junior like you!”

Burying their questions about the lyrics deep inside, the upperclassmen quickly praised their junior.

Lee Han bowed his head proudly.

“Thank you. I didn’t expect such praise.”

“Shall we all practice together then?”

Illeg said, looking at the students.

The best way to learn magic was indeed to cast that magic directly.

Luckily, their junior had completed one sheet music here, so it would be even better for practice.

“Excuse me. Junior.”

“Yes?”

“In these lyrics here…”

“Is the song strange after all?”

“No! No! It’s absolutely not that! I’m just curious about the meaning of the lyrics! What does this lyric ‘saw demons of hell and those demons walking around’ mean?”

“That was something I experienced last year…”

“…”

* * *

-Mages…

“Oh. Someone’s singing.”

“Does music magic have practical value?”

“I’m not sure either. But if Senior Illeg decided to research it, there might be quite some potential.”

The stonemason club students, who were about to leave after finishing their cleanup, unconsciously stopped and listened to the music flowing down from the 【Tower of Echoes】.

Come to think of it, such cultured luxury was truly a rare treat at Einroguard.

Outside, one could listen to magically recorded music, but who would do such a thing here inside?

“Nice…”

“I’d like to ask them to play the Lich Subjugation Overture later if it’s okay. I like that song.”

“It’s a good opera. The moral lesson of the lich being subjugated is good too.”

-What did your upperclassmen see? They saw demons of hell and those demons walking around…

“?”

“???”

The stonemason club students, who had been entranced by the music, belatedly noticed the lyrics and looked up.

Through the window leading to the top of the Tower of Echoes, darkness was ominously writhing.

“…Should we go back?”

“Let’s do that.”

Come to think of it, no matter how good the music was, lurking around near a workshop where magical research was being conducted didn’t seem like a wise course of action.

* * *

“I didn’t expect to have results like this from the very beginning.”

The students who had gathered for music magic were delighted with excited faces.

At first, the lyrics felt awkward because they were unfamiliar, but as they continued practicing, the unfamiliarity disappeared. Rather, they were lyrics that any student of Einroguard could relate to.

“Thank you, Wardanaz. We should practice this regularly!”

“We should let other friends hear it too. The effect might be weak, but they’ll be amazed by just the song alone.”

“I’m glad you say that.”

Lee Han felt joy welling up from deep within his heart as all the upperclassmen liked the song.

Perhaps this was how an artist felt.

‘I thought the lyrics were a bit strange, but I guess they’re fine.’

“Now then, everyone. Could you gather over here?”

Illeg poured hot cocoa from a kettle for the students who had gathered for music magic even on the weekend, and pointed to the bookshelf.

The bookcase was packed full of books and sheet music so old that their age was impossible to guess.

“These are music magic scores I’ve collected from the library. There aren’t many complete ones, so we’ll need to restore them, but there are a few in decent condition that you can learn right away. Master Ifadur here will help you play and sing these scores.”

At the upperclassman’s words, the students’ eyes sparkled with curiosity and anticipation.

Since they were all interested in music magic and had gathered to learn and utilize it, they couldn’t help but be curious about the accumulated sheet music.

“Master Ifadur.”

“Mm.”

The old turtle beastman bard nodded and stood up. Then he took out the sheet music that was in decent condition one by one and began reading them.

“【The Rain-Calling Lizard】, it seems to be a piece using pan flutes. It probably has effects related to the water element… The performance difficulty would be about intermediate level.”

In music magic, performance was as important as magical gestures, and naturally, magic with high performance difficulty had correspondingly higher difficulty levels.

The students listened carefully, prudently gauging the instruments they could handle well and the performance difficulty.

“Next is 【Iaktus’s March】. It’s a piece using drums, and it probably won’t suit anything other than percussion instruments. It might have effects in combat…”

“I’d like to try learning that one!”

One of the upperclassmen raised his hand and shouted.

Then Illeg shook his head.

“We’ll choose songs in a different way.”

“Huh? How?”

Illeg pulled out paper lots folded into bird shapes as if he had been waiting for this.

The students looked bewildered at this sight.

“Are we drawing lots for this?”

“That’s right. Otherwise, I think several people will flock to only the popular songs. We need to practice as diversely as possible to leave records, don’t we?”

Lee Han tilted his head.

Of course, from the standpoint of having to research music magic, it was advantageous to handle it as broadly as possible while securing information.

It was important to gather information like which scores were good, which scores were mediocre, which scores had special effects, and so on.

But the students who had gathered to learn music magic had limited instruments they could handle and specific songs they could sing well.

If it was a type of music they had never handled before, wouldn’t it take much more time to practice?

“Won’t it take too much time to practice if the song doesn’t suit us?”

“That’s right. Really, Senior Illeg.”

At Lee Han’s question, another upperclassman nearby nodded in agreement. Since everyone seemed to have similar thoughts, comments came one after another.

“This just raises the already high difficulty even more.”

“When it’s already at a level that’s only limitedly possible inside the tower.”

The upperclassmen who had been chattering for a while seemed to think their opinions had reached consensus, so they all called out to Illeg together.

“Senior!”

“What’s wrong?”

Lee Han felt slightly nervous even though he wasn’t the one who had called out.

How would Senior Illeg react to his juniors’ rebellion?

“Please proceed quickly! We want to see the sheet music we’ll be performing!”

“Right! Wait a moment.”

Illeg smiled and began shuffling the lots.

When Lee Han looked at him with bewilderment, not understanding the conversation that had just taken place, the upperclassmen said matter-of-factly.

“We can’t go against Senior Illeg’s words.”

“Right. It’s enough that we complained moderately among ourselves.”

“…”

Lee Han was so amazed by the upperclassmen’s excellent social skills that he was left speechless.

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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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