Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy - Chapter 958

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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 958

“Hmm. Senior. Ponrig seems angry, will it be okay?”

“It’s proof that you’re an excellent player, junior.”

Karnella, who was giving demon bones to the Cerberus, answered immediately without being flustered.

“Pardon?”

“Look. Look at this eager appearance. To calm a griffin and make it wait for the match. The hearts of master and mount are in sync. Excellent.”

Ponrig bumped his beak with joy.

Among these crazy mages, there was at least one person who understood Ponrig’s heart.

However, Lee Han looked at his senior with a dubious expression.

‘Isn’t this person just spouting nonsense because he’s obsessed with the match?’

No matter how he looked at it, Ponrig seemed angry, yet he insisted it was waiting for the match.

It was something only a crazy person would say.

Come to think of it, Karnella wasn’t a good person to ask such questions.

If he asked ‘Would it be okay if Ponrig doesn’t participate?’ before the match, wouldn’t he answer ‘I’ll allow it if you transform into a griffin and participate instead, junior’?

“Junior. Don’t think about other things. When my dog draws the enemies’ attention and breaks through their formation, you just charge in. Got it?”

“What if Ponrig doesn’t want to run…”

Karnella placed his hands on Lee Han’s shoulders. His fingers gripped with force like hooks hung on a ship’s rail.

But what was truly threatening wasn’t his fingers but his gaze.

Karnella’s pupils flickered with madness without a single blink. It was the kind of gaze only Professor Bur Mo, Professor Bol Mo, or Alchemist Yo Mo could show.

“Didn’t I just tell you not to think about other things? That’s exactly what other thinking is. Very useless thinking. Junior. Your griffin really wants to run. It couldn’t even run for a while because of the curse. It must have been waiting only for the cheers of the arena, right? Maybe it’ll go wild thinking the enemy players are Professor Lightningstep.”

“…Yes…”

Overwhelmed, Lee Han had no choice but to nod.

What could he say in front of a crazy person?

“Sorry, Ponrig. You can tell me later if you don’t want to do it.”

Ponrig looked straight ahead with a detached expression.

It was the look of someone who had given up on expressing emotions rather than be misunderstood.

Please just start quickly!

* * *

Before the match started.

Angrago and Salko were thoroughly enjoying the pre-match event from their seats…

…or not.

“That’s a gargoyle and… Damn! That’s a Bokabat! Let’s quickly return to our seats, Tutanta!”

“Hmm. What kind of metal are those iron gates made of? To safely contain various monsters…”

“Tutanta. Run! What if we’re late for the match start!”

“Be quiet. It’s still far from starting.”

Salko wandered around the underground passages near the cages, waving his hand dismissively as if bored.

Angrago nearly grabbed the back of his neck at this sight.

Even when a rare mount like a Bokabat appeared, he was only looking at old buildings.

‘I shouldn’t have brought this bastard after all!’

When there wasn’t even enough time to enjoy the pre-match event, this fake dwarf was down underground sightseeing buildings.

“Look at that long tail! Do you know what players call Bokabats? They call them stranglers!”

“Shouldn’t something like that be banned?”

The Bokabat, a reptilian monster with six legs and a long, flexible tail that it waved threateningly, was cunning and persistent, making it perfect for sniping players in matches like this.

It was a creature that rarely appeared in the Eastern Empire, so he never expected to see one here!

-A Bokabat, I never expected to see one here.

-Indeed. But seeing it alongside a griffin makes it seem somewhat diminished. Who would have expected to see such a well-grown griffin?

The noisy chatter of people came from the open seats above the cages.

It was music to Angrago’s ears.

“Gr, griffin! Tutanta! They say there’s a griffin! There’s a griffin! We need to get back to our seats!”

“There are griffins at Einroguard too.”

“How is that the same thing!”

Salko wanted to say ‘What’s the difference,’ but Angrago’s gaze and expression were so earnest that he was momentarily overwhelmed.

“…Right. We’ve seen enough. Let’s head back now.”

“Quickly! Quickly! Quickly! Quickly!”

‘What a noisy bastard.’

The two cursed each other internally as they ran up the stairs.

In the arena, several mounts that had already emerged from their cages were performing various tricks.

Among them, the griffin naturally drew everyone’s attention with its imposing size and majesty…

“Isn’t that Wardanaz?”

“Wardanaz came to catch us?!”

Angrago was horrified and crouched below his seat, then cast a spell. As the color of his cloak changed to match the seat for camouflage, the people around him murmured in surprise.

“No, you crazy bastard. Isn’t that Wardanaz on the griffin over there?”

“What are you talking about? Why would Wardanaz be…”

Angrago raised his head and his jaw dropped.

Among the gargoyles, hippogriffs, and hellhounds, Lee Han was performing tricks while riding a griffin.

“…Something seems wrong.”

“Isn’t it the Wardanaz Polo Club?”

“He’s only a second-year! What crazy people would send out a mere second-year!”

“But Wardanaz learned magic quickly too.”

“…How is that the same thing!”

With his logic crumbling, Angrago resorted to stubbornness.

In fact, even he found it hard to refute.

If he was learning upperclassman-level magic, then polo too…

“That bastard Wardanaz. Why did he hide this from me?”

“It’s not that he hid it, you just didn’t ask…”

“Wardanaz! Do your best! You’re the pride of Einroguard’s second-years!”

Angrago stood up and began cheering loudly. Salko looked at Angrago with horrified eyes.

‘Does this bastard have no shame?’

However, such cheering wasn’t particularly embarrassing in a polo arena. Fierce cheering was already going back and forth everywhere.

-Long live the Granden City Polo Club!

-Einroguard students should use magic! Use magic secretly!

-Where do you get off saying such vile things!

-Stop fighting! If you argue any more, you’ll be expelled from the arena!

In the section where rough spectators had gathered, they were already throwing mud and stones over who would win.

Guards and knights who couldn’t stand it anymore came running to separate them.

“Tutanta. Wardanaz is only a second-year but was semi-forcibly made to participate.”

“I don’t think Wardanaz would have been semi-forcibly made to participate…”

Salko was somewhat skeptical.

No matter how much they were upperclassmen, it didn’t seem like they could break Lee Han’s will and force him to participate.

However, Angrago was certain.

Lee Han must have been semi-forcibly drafted because of Einroguard Polo Club’s recent disastrous record!

“He definitely went out reluctantly because of the griffin. We should at least cheer for him! If not us, who would cheer!”

“…Indeed. That’s a valid point.”

Salko nodded.

If Angrago had participated, instead of cheering, he would have sneakily made some mud to throw at the arena, but if it was Wardanaz, the story was different.

If they didn’t cheer for him, who would…

-Who is that student who came out riding the griffin?

-He’s a direct descendant of the Wardanaz Family.

-Ha! You’re saying someone from the Wardanaz Family is interested in ball-striking?

-Just because it’s a great noble family doesn’t mean they can’t like ball-striking, right?

-This person doesn’t know what kind of family the Wardanaz Family is.

-More importantly, if he’s a student from the Wardanaz Family, isn’t he the one who defeated the mage criminal last year?

-Wasn’t it a basilisk?

-Oh, wasn’t it an anti-magic extremist?

“…It seems like we don’t need to do anything.”

“Be quiet! It’s starting! Long live Einroguard!”

The ball-striking match began with trumpets, drums, and dragon roars.

The Granden City ball-striking club, firmly positioned in formation across the vast arena, took the spectators’ breath away.

Masters could spread intimidation just by standing still.

Angrago gritted his teeth.

“How much did they train? To form such a formation so quickly!”

“Is that impressive?”

“It’s impressive! With such solid defense, it’s hard for us to attack first!”

“Then should we wait?”

“The Einroguard ball-striking club has weak defense compared to opponents, so we can’t wait!”

“…?”

If both offense and defense were weak, wasn’t that just being weak…

Bang!

-Student Wardanaz charges forward riding a griffin!

“You… that seems too reckless?!”

Angrago screamed. Not just Angrago, but people everywhere were stirring.

If the opponent had no openings, you should gradually chip away and shake them, but charging alone like that would only lead to being surrounded and self-destructing.

Even Karnella, who was trying to coordinate with her junior, was surprised by the unexpected charge and was a beat late.

“Junior! Too fast! The rear is completely empty…”

As Lee Han entered the territory, players rushed at him from all directions. A gagonil leaped high toward the empty rear.

Grrrrowl!

Murderous sparks flew from the griffin’s eyes.

Even when attacking enemies of hundreds of years, it probably wouldn’t be this bloodthirsty. The gagonil unconsciously hesitated before the majesty emanating from the king of the sky.

Thud!

The giant lion’s hoof kicked the gagonil and sent it flying. It was kicked so far that it rolled around.

…Kraaaaaaang!!!!!

Even after the brief skirmish, the griffin’s rage didn’t stop. A frightened hellhound was bounced away by the griffin’s body slam. A bocabat trying to swing its tail while watching nervously fled in panic after one strike from the beak.

Lee Han, clinging to the griffin, was just bewildered.

‘…Why is this guy acting like this?’

As a swordsman who had experienced various battles, Lee Han didn’t fall off even when Ponrig went wild. He skillfully maintained his posture and stayed close.

But inwardly, he was confused.

Ponrig was being far too enthusiastic.

Whether he was angry or really loved ball-striking…

“…To think I’d see such unity between rider and mount in my lifetime.”

Defender Hadagak looked at Lee Han with eyes mixed with fear and awe.

He thought he had completely figured out his opponent, but to collapse their formation like this right from the start.

“I apologize for underestimating you, Wardanaz Family boy. The bond between you two is far stronger than my meager knowledge about griffins…”

“Get out of the way!”

Before Lee Han’s shout even ended, the griffin charged at the next opponent.

Hadagak quickly steered his hippogriff to the side. He had no intention of facing the bloodthirsty griffin head-on.

“…Could it be scared?!”

Hadagak, who was observing his opponent, was shocked when he looked at his own hippogriff.

He had been so focused on observing the enemy that he belatedly realized his own mount was acting strange.

“Remember what we trained for! We’ve encountered many more terrifying and stronger monsters!”

-…

Despite its master’s shout, the hippogriff hesitated.

Though it had encountered monsters more terrifying than griffins, this was the first time it faced a griffin carrying such terrifying beings.

“No need to clash head-on. Evade! He can’t follow your movements! He’s very tired too!”

The hippogriff barely regained its courage.

The advanced acrobatic moves and deceptive maneuvers it had trained with its master were hard for simple-minded enemies to follow.

This trick of pretending to dodge to the side then using the hind legs’ elasticity to change direction was something the griffin, exhausted from defeating multiple enemies, could never follow…

Bang!

As if determined not to be fooled twice, the griffin, though panting, made a sudden stop and chased after to strike again.

There was a clear intent to crush the enemy with overwhelming physical ability, regardless of tricks.

The griffin Lee Han was currently riding was the most determined griffin in the Empire’s history!

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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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