Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy - Chapter 897

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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 897

‘Still, it wasn’t a meaningless request.’

For now, the most dangerous person regarding thunderfire was Professor Boladi.

Of course, Professor Yonramo who taught transformation magic could also become dangerous, but based on experience so far, Professor Yonramo wasn’t someone who would force things.

At least Professor Boladi said he would forget about it…

‘I’ve put out the urgent fire for now.’

“He awakened such magic but asks us to pretend we didn’t see it and forget? I simply cannot understand. I may not be a mage, but shouldn’t you strike iron while it’s hot?”

“I agree as well. To throw away an opportunity that comes once in ten thousand times, no matter how much of a top student he is, isn’t that too arrogant! Opportunities are precious.”

The knights who had been listening to the conversation murmured among themselves from behind.

Even to them who knew nothing about magic, Lee Han’s current behavior seemed like throwing away fortune that had rolled right to him.

Whatever the reason, if he had succeeded in casting such a powerful high-level magic, he should have been grateful for the opportunity and thrown himself into it with all his heart and soul. Only then would he not forget it and make it part of himself.

Of course, from Lee Han’s perspective, who was already working on five or six high-level magics similar to thunderfire, it was just annoying talk.

What do you mean once in ten thousand times!

Such opportunities just came naturally while attending lectures. By the knights’ logic, Lee Han should have mastered about ten 5th circle magics by now.

‘They’re talking about once in ten thousand times. This is why mages hate knights.’

When Lee Han first entered Einroguard, he had thought ‘I should learn magic coolly and calmly, and not learn irrational hatred toward knights,’ but after dealing with White Tiger Tower friends and external knights, hatred naturally accumulated.

“Wait, wait. Everyone calm down. Wardanaz has his circumstances too.”

Perhaps noticing the hatred flashing in Lee Han’s eyes, Professor Ingoldel stopped his friends.

“What circumstances do you mean?”

“He’s already practicing several magics of similar level to that one, so he can’t learn it right away.”

“…Professor Ingoldel. Even if he’s your disciple, such ridiculous lies are a bit…”

“…”

Professor Ingoldel almost drew his sword in frustration.

* * *

If Einroguard’s students built their own information networks to prepare for exams, Einroguard’s professors tried to catch them off guard.

This year’s Professor Thunderstep was one such professor. Green light flickered and surged from the lamp he was holding.

“Kuk kuk kuk.”

‘He’s my nephew, but really pathetic.’

Professor Lightningstep thought to himself while watching Professor Thunderstep laugh wickedly.

“Do you really need to go that far to deceive students?”

“Deceive? What nonsense are you talking about?”

Professor Thunderstep bristled at his family elder’s words.

This was something any Einroguard professor had to do essentially.

If they didn’t occasionally poke at students’ weak points, they would become arrogant and complacent.

“Professor Kim doesn’t seem to do such things…”

“Professor Kim is too soft-hearted, that’s why.”

“Professor Verdus doesn’t seem to do such things either…”

“…”

“That was a slip of the tongue just now. That wasn’t a good example.”

“Thank you.”

Professor Lightningstep apologized for using Professor Verdus as an example.

Come to think of it, Professor Verdus probably had no thoughts about exams at all.

“Einroguard students are more cunning and petty than you’d think. Upperclassmen and underclassmen band together tightly to try to fool professors!”

Perhaps feeling wronged by the scolding, Professor Thunderstep vented his usual accumulated frustrations.

While 1st year students were somewhat better since they lived in isolation, 2nd year Einroguard students tried to pass exams using all sorts of tricks that professors could hardly imagine.

Asking upperclassmen to check records of previous exams or predict new exams was such a basic method.

If they prepared carelessly, they might suffer the humiliation of all students getting perfect scores.

“Couldn’t that happen? So you’re going to set traps like this every time?”

“Even if doing it every time is too much, we need to catch them off guard occasionally. That’s how students stay alert.”

When the impression formed that ‘this professor is unpredictable,’ students would naturally become tense.

So even if not every time, they had to occasionally prepare exams that exceeded students’ expectations like this.

The trap Professor Thunderstep prepared for this upcoming exam was none other than Nephertem.

By showing students the Nephertem he was carefully cultivating, he would induce the misconception that ‘this exam must be related to Nephertem.’

“I’ve prepared it so cleverly that students won’t even notice it’s a trap.”

A hideout hidden below the cliff.

Powerful sinking incense blocking that hideout.

After breaking through such obstacles and discovering the Nephertem cultivation pond, they surely wouldn’t suspect it was the professor’s trap.

“Wait. If you hide it so carefully, couldn’t the students fail to find it?”

Professor Lightningstep raised an obvious question.

His nephew’s plan seemed plausible, but if students couldn’t find it, Professor Thunderstep would just be doing pointless work alone.

“I’ve thought of that too.”

“What is it?”

“There’s that Wardanaz kid. He’ll find it somehow.”

‘It’s annoyingly logical.’

Professor Lightningstep thought to himself.

His nephew was definitely being unreasonable, but it was strangely hard to refute.

The Wardanaz family boy would probably really find something like that.

“And Wardanaz won’t hide such facts from his friends. Ha! Students are truly… like reagents playing in a cauldron.”

“Stop with the annoying alchemist analogies. Please.”

Professor Lightningstep scolded from the side, but Professor Thunderstep ignored him.

To work as a professor at this magic school, one had to know how to find enjoyment for oneself.

And one of Professor Thunderstep’s enjoyments was exactly this.

“So the Nephertem isn’t used for anything?”

“It will be used. To test the performance of the completed exam.”

“The students will be so pleased.”

Even hearing the sarcastic remark, Professor Thunderstep laughed heartily.

Whatever Professor Lightningstep said only added to Professor Thunderstep’s enjoyment.

Whoosh!

The color of flames shooting from the lamp finally changed to purple. Professor Thunderstep’s purple sandalwood incense was complete.

The real exam for this 【One Drop of Potion Instead of Complex Magic】 lecture wasn’t potion-making using Nephertem, but reversely dissolving this purple sandalwood incense.

Dissolving incense was tricky work that even excellent alchemists could easily make mistakes with. Even a small error would immediately mix up the incense and create a mess.

Complete dissolution was only possible by neutralizing the incense components one by one in reverse through precise analysis and careful progression.

“The Nephertem will now be used to check whether the dissolution was done properly or not.”

“What a proper waste. More than that, isn’t the exam too difficult? Isn’t this a 2nd year exam?”

As far as Professor Lightningstep knew, his nephew’s purple sandalwood incense was quite complex and difficult even among secret techniques.

Wasn’t the difficulty too high for a 2nd year student exam?

At those words, Professor Thunderstep showed hesitation for the first time today.

“…This can’t be helped. If I made it easy, that Wardanaz kid would help other friends and make the exam meaningless.”

“…”

The words sounded plausible, but ultimately it meant he couldn’t find an appropriate difficulty level and just brought a difficult exam.

Under Professor Lightningstep’s reproachful gaze, Professor Thunderstep spoke as if making excuses.

“I’ll announce the content starting this weekend and give them a full week. Very generously.”

“I’m sure you will…”

“No. Honestly speaking, how much have those 2nd year kids benefited and lived comfortably thanks to Wardanaz? Then they should naturally bear with exams becoming difficult because of Wardanaz too!”

‘This guy. Why is he so good at saying things that are hard to refute today?’

Professor Lightningstep was once again overwhelmed by his nephew’s argument.

Certainly, considering the benefits 2nd year students had enjoyed, they shouldn’t complain about exams being a bit difficult.

In the first place, hadn’t the difficulty increased this much because he kept receiving help? In a way, it was his own doing.

“You’re right. Yes. Something this difficult might actually be appropriate consideration when thinking about the average level of 2nd year students.”

“Haha! Thank you for understanding.”

“But let me ask you one last thing.”

Professor Lightningstep asked with a cautious expression. At the serious attitude of the family elder, Professor Thunderstep found himself getting nervous for no reason.

‘What is he going to ask?’

“You said you prepared the Nephertem trap because you read Wardanaz’s movements, right?”

“That’s right.”

“And the exam difficulty increased because you read Wardanaz’s movements too?”

“You could say that.”

“Then why are you excluding the possibility that Wardanaz will easily solve this exam too?”

At his opponent’s question, Professor Thunderstep relaxed and laughed heartily.

As expected, since he wasn’t a professional alchemist, his shortcomings showed in areas like this.

“Because that’s impossible!”

“Huh?”

“I know Wardanaz has tremendous magic resistance, of course. Purple sandalwood incense wouldn’t work on him either. But this isn’t a resistance test, it’s a scent-breaking test. It has nothing to do with resistance. You have to analyze and dispel each one individually, and that requires knowledge and persistence. There’s absolutely no way to solve it easily.”

“Hmm. I may not be an outstanding alchemist like you, but I’m wise enough not to use the word ‘absolutely.’ There are no absolutes in magic, you know.”

Professor Thunderstep grumbled in response as the family elder kept finding fault.

“Of course there are no absolutes. If there were a powerful scent-breaking agent, it could be solved easily. Something like the elixir I made.”

“Do you have any made?”

“Ha! I destroyed even the ones I had made.”

Professor Lightningstep made a slightly disgusted expression.

‘Does he really need to go that far?’

“What about other scent-breaking agents?”

“Well, equal incense or… that would take a year to make. Dragon stone? That’s something you’d only find in legends, wouldn’t you say.”

As Professor Thunderstep went through the list one by one, Professor Lightningstep finally had to acknowledge it.

Honestly, there didn’t seem to be anything among those that an Einroguard student could obtain within a week.

“Fine. You’re brilliant. But don’t be too complacent. I may not know potions as well as you, but I’ve seen more people, haven’t I? Wardanaz is a genius like the Principal.”

“…Is that an insult?”

“Damn. Even though I said it, it does sound a bit like an insult.”

* * *

“Lee Han. What are you doing?”

“Oh. I’m writing promotional copy for lectures so Senior Caten can accept many students next semester.”

“…You know we have an exam next week, right?”

“I know that too, you know?”

Lee Han got angry and snapped.

Lee Han knew about the exam too.

But what could he do? Professor Ingoldel’s teachings hadn’t been much help to Senior Caten.

‘I’ll just fill it with some plausible phrases and finish it.’

“Th… Professor Thunderstep has gone crazy!!!”

“What?”

“What? What happened?”

When a friend taking alchemy lectures burst into the common room with a pale face, everyone started murmuring.

“This midterm exam has been released!”

“Isn’t calling him crazy just because it came out early on the weekend a bit much?”

“There’s no Nephertem at all! That’s all I prepared for!”

“What a crazy professor!”

The students immediately hurled curses.

What were they supposed to do when he gave an exam different from the content he announced in advance (though he hadn’t actually announced it)!

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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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