Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy

Puck!

The orb made a dull sound as Yi-han propelled it using his magic, accurately embedding it inside the earth golem.

What happened next was unexpected.

“!”

Yi-han was surprised to find out that he had lost his connection with the orb, and he had no way of retrieving it from the golem’s body.

‘Crap, I should’ve thought about this a bit more.’

He clicked his tongue.

Earth golems were monsters that maintained their form through the use of mana. If an object controlled by mana were to enter their body, the connection could be lost due to interference from the golem’s own mana.

Rattle!

The skeletal summon waved its hand, signaling to Yi-han that it would go and retrieve the orb.

“You can do that? In that case… go!”

The skeletal summon went straight to work upon receiving the order.

It climbed up the earth golem’s back and did its best to remove the orb.

“…..”

“…..”

However, the orb was embedded too deep inside the golem, and no matter how much it tried, the summon couldn’t reach it.

“Forget it. Come back.”

The skeletal summon returned, looking gloomy as it did.

Fortunately, the earth golem didn’t seem to care.

‘I guess I won’t be needing the invisibility spell anymore.’

Yi-han, who had been planning on running away if the golem responded, got ready to attack once more.

The iron orb had failed, but…

‘How about a water marble?’

He didn’t wish to admit it, but Professor Bolady’s teachings were coming in clutch again.

Having trained tirelessly under a professor that kept shooting lethal projectiles, Yi-han had no trouble conjuring a water marble.

The problem was in its destructive power.

‘Is it going to be stronger than an iron orb?’

It was raining right now, so there was a lot of water to work with, but he had opted to use his iron orb because of its destructive power.

It was easier to maneuver as well. All he had to do was raise it in the air, concentrate on the target, and shoot.

Since the orb was inherently hard, it came with a decent amount of destructive power.

In comparison, shooting water marbles was much harder.

Before he could aim and shoot, he had to conjure water and compress it into the shape of a marble, something which required much more effort than simply using an iron orb.

He had achieved mastery over iron orbs, but he wasn’t quite there yet when it came to water marbles, and this was why he kept getting beaten up by Professor Bolady.

“Gush Forth!”

Yi-han began by conjuring some water in the air before compressing it to the shape of a marble.

It felt easier to do than usual, probably because of the rain.

Puck!

‘As I thought.’

The marble managed to hit its mark, but it wasn’t as strong as the iron orb. That much was clear based on how little it penetrated the golem.

The skeletal summon seemed to agree as it shook its body sideways.

‘Think. They may be beasts posing as humans – cruel creatures with neither blood nor tear – but even the most heartless professor wouldn’t prepare a golem that we have no hope of defeating.’

Yi-han began to contemplate.

In reality, the golem had nothing to do with Professor Uregor, but he had no way of knowing this.

‘Professor Uregor should be aware that I’m learning under Professor Bolady, and they must’ve exchanged words at one point. Maybe it’s a task that requires me to draw out everything that I’ve learned until now.’

Spin, spin—

Yi-han looked up.

He had conjured another water marble, and it was drawing circles above him.

A bitter laugh escaped his mouth. All that training under Professor Bolady had made him subconsciously begin to draw circles.

That was when an idea flashed in his mind.

‘What if the marble itself spun at a high speed?’

It should penetrate much deeper than before.

Rather than having it go around in circles, he began spinning the marble.

***

Meanwhile, Professor Ingurdel was sulking in the corner, prompting Principal Skelly to send a telepathic message to Professor Uregor.

-Do something about this.

Professor Ingurdel was a rare talent that could not be easily replaced, and the academy would be in a bind if he were to call it quits.

Principal Skelly dreaded what would happen afterward.

He’d first have to write a written statement to the Emperor claiming he didn’t bully the professor. Then, he’d have to explain to the higher officials that he wasn’t bullying sword instructors on purpose. Finally, he’d have to seek the knights and ask for someone to replace Professor Ingurdel, promising not to bully the new instructor.

Just imagining it gave him the shudders.

-Why are you asking that of me?

Though he wasn’t too happy about it, Professor Uregor went downstairs to the storage room of his hut and fetched several glasses’ worth of honey mead.

At the end of the day, he couldn’t say no to the principal.

-Don’t forget to bring some snacks as well.

“….”

Professor Uregor couldn’t be bothered to complain as he silently grabbed some vegetables and smoke-dried jerkies from the shelf.

That was when he caught sight of the vegetables that Yi-han had left behind.

‘I shall eat these when I’m alone.’

Professor Uregor was determined to keep the vegetables for himself. He had been robbed blind by Yi-han, so he had to get something in return.

Unfortunately, Principal Skelly had noticed the pause.

-You’re not planning on keeping the goods to yourself, are you?

‘Dammit.’

Giving up, Professor Uregor brought everything with him.

Koong!

“You must be hungry, Professor Ingurdel. By all means, try some of the honey mead that I made. It goes well with vegetables and dried meat, both of which I personally prepared.”

My! Honey mead made by our dear alchemist! It must taste divine!

“….”

Principal Skelly wasn’t used to flattering others.

However, being the kind elf that he was, Professor Ingurdel took a sip and gave an honest praise.

“It tastes delicious. Thank you, Professor Uregor.”

“It’s nothin’.”

It wasn’t just empty words.

Being a skilled alchemist entailed being a skilled chef and brewer. It was no wonder the mead tasted great.

Sensing that the atmosphere in the hut has gotten better, Principal Skelly opened his mouth.

You don’t have to worry about the students. Back in my days, it was much worse.

“….”

“….”

The professors fell silent as the ancient lich began reminiscing about his youth.

‘Of course everything was harder back in your day!’

Not to mention, there are some interesting students this year. They shouldn’t have any trouble finishing the assignment.

“It’s as you say.”

Professor Ingurdel slowly nodded.

Maybe the principal was right, and he was being overprotective of the students.

Or maybe it was the alcohol kicking in, clouding his judgment.

Let’s take Wardanaz as an example. He should be part of the group that went into the mountains. He’s a clever fellow, is he not?

The professors nodded in agreement.

Yi-han was someone all three of them were interested in.

Principal Skelly was happy to see that the young professors shared his sentiment.

With him around, what’s there to worry about? Tell you what. He’s clever enough to learn my magic on his own, not to mention…

“?”

“?”

The professors that had been chugging on the mead stopped when they heard this.

“…Can you repeat what you just said?”

Huh?

“…He’s learning your magic…?”

Not to mention Professor Ingurdel, even Professor Uregor was staring at Principal Skelly in absolute horror.

Granted, there was nothing wrong with professors giving personal lessons to certain students. After all, Einroguard was a place to learn magic.

Having said that, Principal Skelly was an exception.

He was a madman from ancient times, equipped with a set of morals and beliefs that differed greatly from the present.

It took a moment for the lich to realize his mistake.

However, as befitting an ancient mage, Principal Skelly was quick on his feet, and instead of backing down, he pushed forward with even greater momentum.

So what if I taught a student!? I’m the principal of this academy! I represent you all!

“…..”

“…..”

Even so, the principal knew he wasn’t off the hook yet. The professors wouldn’t let this go that easily.

As such, he tried to shift the conversation in a different direction.

It’s not just me. Professor Bolady is giving him personal lessons as well, and if we’re really getting to the nitty-gritty, you’re also guilty of the same crime, Professor Uregor!

He wasn’t an ancient mage for nothing. He was dragging other professors into this, even those that weren’t currently present.

“But sir… I’m only teaching things appropriate for first-year students. The same goes for Professor Bolady. But you? You’re different!” Uregor countered, feeling indignant.

He might have assigned Yi-han tasks that required physical labor, but none of them carried the risk of driving a student insane.

Principal Skelly, on the other hand, wasn’t the type to shy away from teaching a freshman all sorts of weird spells.

Oh, but I beg to differ! Professor Bolady’s teachings are beyond the scope of a freshmen’s curriculum. He’s pretty much teaching the lad third-circle magic.

The principal drew Professor Uregor into the conversation by bringing up the matter of Professor Bolady’s lecture.

What he said wasn’t entirely false.

Professor Bolady was teaching Yi-han something akin to third-circle magic.

– During the previous lesson, Wardanaz managed to draw a perfect circle using an iron orb.

– Is that so? It’s quite a feat to achieve such excellent control over magic, even if it’s just a spell of the first-circle. He’s as exceptional as I thought.

– What’s next, water marble? That’s a second-circle spell.

Circles were used to measure the difficulty of a spell, and they were based on the number of processes involved in the activation of the magic.

Conjuring water and maintaining it in a spherical shape was thus equivalent to second-circle magic.

– He was able to form a marble, so I made him draw circles with it.

Adding in control, the difficulty level would spike up to that of the third-circle.

But of course, it wasn’t a true third-circle spell.

Spells of the third-circle required all three processes to be completed in a single go.

Conjuring water, compressing it into a marble, and drawing circles with it. These were three separate processes, so strictly speaking, it was different from that of third-circle magic.

Nevertheless, it was still impressive as it meant that with enough practice, Yi-han would have no trouble using third-circle magic.

Second-circle spells were already considered difficult for first-year students.

If it had been any other professor, they would’ve been shocked to hear this, but the principal accepted the news readily.

– That’s great. Really great.

And then he thought to himself, ‘Since Professor Bolady’s going this far, there shouldn’t be any problem with me teaching him some of my spells, right?’

“What kind of grass-eating dwarven bullshit is this!? Your magic and his magic aren’t the same!”

Professor Uregor wasn’t going to be swayed that easily.

It was a problem that Professor Bolady was teaching something equivalent to third-circle magic, but a lesson from the principal was far more dangerous.

I’m not making him do anything dangerous! In fact, I’ve only taught him magic that he can handle. I swear it on my honor!

“…..”

“…..”

I swear it on my magic!

“Well, in that case…”

“We’ll trust you for now…”

It was only then that the professors gave way.

They were afraid that Yi-han would fry his brain trying to learn ancient magic that even the principal himself couldn’t decipher.

Fortunately, that didn’t seem to be the case.

“By the way, what is Professor Bolady teaching him?”

Magic combat using spells of the water element.

The principal explained further in depth. After listening, the professors were in awe.

Although it wasn’t a true third-circle spell, it was surprising that a freshman could display such a high level of mastery.

It wouldn’t have been possible without both talent and effort!

“I’m not a mage, so I’m not very clear about this, but is it normal for a first-year student to achieve so much in so little time?”

“Not at all. He probably has a high affinity for water magic. He seems to be talented in various fields after all… Wait. Isn’t Professor Bolady an expert in magic combat? He’s having him do repetitive training in that? Not to mention mana, the mental strain must be enormous…”

My, what a terrible person.

“…..”

But he seems to be keeping up just fine. Don’t worry, with his lesson being as difficult as it is, Professor Bolady won’t push him any further than he already has.

***

Shiiiiiiiiiiik!!

‘It’s finally complete.’

The water marble was spinning at an insane speed.

While holding his head, Yi-han looked up at the earth golem before him