Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy - Chapter 931

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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 931

‘This should be enough to check ahead and escape.’

Lee Han coldly checked the presence of people outside the window, below the stairs, and among the cafe customers sitting nearby.

There didn’t seem to be any potential Einroguard spies.

Ting-

With a clear sound, Lee Han spun a small crystal top. As his mana was consumed, the top spun round and round.

This was one of the divination techniques he had newly learned after advancing to second year – 【Crystal Top Divination】.

If the top kept spinning, it meant relatively safe, and if the top stopped, it meant danger was approaching.

The divination upperclassmen didn’t rate this technique highly since it required paying a price while giving ambiguous results with limited applications, but Lee Han had memorized it thinking it might be useful later.

Most of all, the fact that it only required paying mana without needing separate reagents was very attractive.

‘Safe… for now.’

Inside Einroguard, there were so many mages of higher level than Lee Han that he rarely had occasion to use it, but outside was a different story.

If spies bought by Einroguard approached, there was a high probability Lee Han could catch them with divination.

“Young Master of Wardanaz Family. What club business brought you outside?”

“First I went out for business related to the drama club…”

“Ah. Drama club. That suits you.”

“After that, cooking club, masonry club, ball game club, library club…”

“…”

Arien almost spat out the coffee he was drinking, but maintained composure with a merchant’s experience.

Come to think of it, this Young Master of Wardanaz Family had peculiar and eccentric aspects befitting that family’s reputation.

For such a person, joining various clubs and enjoying social activities wasn’t particularly strange.

‘The Wardanaz Family isn’t a very social family, but he’s truly unique.’

Unaware that he was being falsely accused, Lee Han carefully brought up the topic.

A situation where he had to ask an outsider for help while simultaneously hiding his purpose from that outsider.

He had to choose his words carefully.

‘Hmm. The first item to retrieve is…’

Retrieve 【Asen’s Polarizing Mirror】 held by mage Uap and deliver it to Professor Verdus.

Uap confirmed at 【Dwarves’ Oath】 workshop in the western district of the city.

‘I don’t want to do this from the start.’

Lee Han frowned after checking the paper.

Having to steal from innocent imperial citizens for Professor Verdus.

No matter that it was a professor’s request, he didn’t want to do it.

“Do you happen to know about mage Uap?”

“Yes. Ah. Are you perhaps retrieving Einroguard items, Young Master?”

This time Lee Han almost spat out his coffee.

How did someone he just met today know Einroguard’s deepest secret?

“…I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Ah. Oh my. How tactless of me. I apologize.”

Arien apologized sincerely.

Asking this so openly in front of an Einroguard student was tactless behavior.

“…I’m curious about the reason you asked such a question.”

“Well… Young Master of Wardanaz Family. The thing is, Einroguard’s item retrieval is more famous than you’d think.”

Arien spoke cautiously, wondering where to begin.

He was worried about hurting the pride of the proud Einroguard student before him.

“…Excuse me?”

“Think about it. Precious magical items disappear without a trace, and the people who were robbed remain silent. There aren’t many places capable of such things.”

“…”

Lee Han felt deep shame.

‘Did I really enter Einroguard for nothing?’

He had thought they weren’t caught, but even outside merchants knew about it to this extent.

If he went up to the capital, he might hear conversations like ‘You’re from Einroguard?’ ‘Shh. Everyone hide your purses’ behind his back.

“…No. Even if Einroguard mages live without imperial law, how does that make sense? People who were robbed staying silent!”

“What? I think you misunderstood. Do you perhaps think Einroguard mages rob belongings from innocent, good imperial citizens?”

“Yes? Yes.”

“…Ahaha! What a joke!”

Not only Arien but Amur burst into laughter.

The joke from that statue-like boy hit just right.

Such a joke in this situation!

“…Isn’t that right?”

“Hahahaha! You can stop joking now. Of course not.”

Arien was laughing so hard that tears gathered in his eyes. Wiping his tears, the merchant explained again.

It was easy to mistakenly think Einroguard mages were particularly evil due to how often they were mentioned in imperial newspapers and rumors, but that wasn’t the case.

Einroguard mages caused large-scale accidents because they were capable, not because they were particularly evil among mages.

Imperial mages were basically all on the evil side.

Creatures who only cared about themselves and their magic!

“Among magical items, there are many dangerous and contaminated goods or items obtained through illegal channels. Einroguard mages retrieve such items. Naturally, the mages who had their items taken can’t speak up anywhere since they did wrong.”

Arien was an experienced merchant well-versed in rumors from all over the empire.

As such, he could sometimes connect incidents where evil mages with bad reputations lost or had artifacts stolen to Einroguard.

If only those who touched items that Einroguard mages were trying to retrieve or purchase got robbed…

“When you mentioned mage Uap from 【Dwarves’ Oath】 workshop, that’s why I asked. Uap is a mage with many bad rumors. Recently I even heard rumors that he stole an artifact from an Einroguard professor, so I brought up the retrieval story.”

“…Is that professor perhaps Professor Verdus?”

“Probably so.”

‘My goodness.’

Lee Han was shocked.

An outside mage stealing Professor Verdus’s artifact.

If Einroguard students knew this fact, they might erect not just a medal but a statue within the magic school territory.

‘Honestly, I want to erect one too.’

Lee Han felt a different kind of guilt than before.

Having to punish with his own hands a righteous thief who had punished Professor Verdus on behalf of the students.

‘But… this is a job.’

Now he understood what the upperclassmen meant about not letting personal feelings interfere with work.

Lee Han stopped his sympathy and decided to retrieve the other person’s item.

“I understand your anger too, Young Master. That bastard Uap is an endlessly greedy mage! I hope he learns a lesson from this incident.”

“Yes? Ah. Yes.”

Arien mistook Lee Han’s feelings as anger as a disciple.

Who could imagine he was thinking about a statue of gratitude?

* * *

The western guild district of Grandden City was full of noises qualitatively different from street noise.

The sound of failed alchemy potions exploding and spewing smoke, the sound of failed medicinal herbs escaping from fields and screaming loudly, the sound of runaway magic needles from the seamstress guild breaking down walls…

And now rhythmic hammering sounds echoed through 【Dwarves’ Oath】 workshop.

“Don’t rest, you idiots! This is why you Eastern Dwarves!”

Dwarven mage Uap shouted while swinging his hammer.

In the empire, there was a prejudice that unlike Eastern Dwarves who loved alcohol, food, and feasts, Western Dwarves loved only solitude and gold.

Uap was a Western Dwarf who seemed to embody all such negative prejudices.

The dwarf workers muttered curses under their breath while swinging their hammers.

‘Damn mage bastard.’

‘Shh. He’s incredibly temperamental.’

“If you don’t complete the ingots by evening, I’ll cut all your wages, so keep that in mind!”

Uap shouted and headed to the basement.

The spacious first floor had been converted into a workshop with facilities and equipment arranged for various workers, but the basement was the mage’s personal workshop, off-limits to outsiders.

When he unlocked the triple seal and opened the door, a strange and complex flow of mana rushed out from inside. Uap hurriedly closed the door.

‘Damn it! What a waste of mana.’

Maintaining the workshop’s interior with high-density mana required considerable cost.

For the miserly Uap, such expenses were always a nagging concern, like a thorn stuck in his finger.

‘But it can’t be helped.’

Though no one was in the dark underground workshop, Uap looked around once before slowly walking to the center.

On the work table made of pure silver sat a dazzling box engraved with ancient characters.

It was 【Asen’s Polarizing Mirror】.

“Beautiful… beautiful. Asen truly was a genius.”

Uap, who had been admiring the ancient mage’s wisdom anew, suddenly scowled deeply.

An unpleasant face had come to mind at the mention of genius.

“Verdus, you bastard! Just wait and see. I’ll definitely crush your reputation!”

Many people disliked Professor Verdus, but Uap disliked him for a somewhat unique reason among them.

He hated him because he was jealous of his genius.

If Einroguard students had heard this, they would have said, ‘Why choose that reason when there are 99 other reasons to dislike him?’ But Uap didn’t care at all about Professor Verdus’s character or personality.

“Once my magic is complete, his reputation, his disciples, and all the mages who help him will flock to me!”

Uap shouted toward the air as if making a declaration.

Actually, there was some delusion in this too.

Professor Verdus’s reputation aside, his disciples and supporting mages weren’t there because they particularly liked it.

Even if Uap completed his magic and achieved outstanding accomplishments, the professor’s disciples and nearby mages wouldn’t flock to Uap.

To begin with, it was hard to say they had “flocked” to Professor Verdus either. The disciples and nearby mages all did their own work rather than following Professor Verdus.

“…Ugh. I’m dizzy.”

Uap, who had been peering into the polarizing mirror, suddenly staggered.

Lately, every time he looked at that polarizing mirror, inexplicable headaches and dizziness would strike.

Rationally thinking, he should have stopped immediately and checked what was wrong, but Uap, blinded by jealousy, couldn’t bring himself to have such thoughts.

‘I should go back upstairs.’

After a brief rest and regaining his composure, Uap tried to go back up.

These workers would try to slack off at every opportunity, so Uap had to keep cracking the whip…

Thud!

Uap collapsed to the side. It was a perfect ambush.

Even as his consciousness faded, Uap was shocked.

‘Impossible! The defensive magic…!’

The underground workshop was protected by various magics starting from the entrance.

The door was enchanted with a magic called 【Asen’s Soul Scream】 that would separate an intruder’s soul from their body the moment they touched it, and the magic circle beneath it was loaded with powerful illusion curse magic.

Excluding those, the other magics also had enough power to tear intruders apart, so how could such an ambush happen?

Uap held onto his fading consciousness and expanded his senses.

Surprisingly, all the magics from the door to where Uap stood had been completely destroyed.

Uap had meticulously planned countermeasures assuming invasion by other mages, but he had never once considered such a barbaric intrusion.

‘A monster? A demon?’

He couldn’t even guess what kind of terrifying being had attacked in this manner.

“Phew. Fortunately, he’s an illusion mage.”

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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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