Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy - Chapter 697

Lee Han was so dumbfounded by what he had just heard that he reacted a beat late.

“No, how can you even call that an answer right now…?!”

Saying he should avoid them on his own was one thing, but without the Skull Principal’s magic, avoiding contact with first-year students was no simple matter.

In chaotic Einroguard, he would have to detect first-years first and avoid them, of course, and if there were too many first-years around, he might have to stay invisible at all times.

It was such a difficult problem that even Lee Han, who usually adapted to reality with a “Damn it, Professor, isn’t this too much? Still, I’ll do my best. You’re a professor and I’m just a student, so I respect your authority,” felt completely at a loss.

POOF!

But just as he was about to protest the absurd difficulty, the Skull Principal, having finished the spell, vanished on the spot.

“Master speaks less than last year.”

“What did Senior hear?”

“Master said that losers who fail to graduate will be locked in the punishment ward forever.”

“…T-that was a joke, right?”

In the space where the second-year students had been gathered, students from the other years all revealed themselves at once as well.

To lecture all the students of each year simultaneously, the Skull Principal had split the area apart like a kaleidoscope, layering multiple spaces over the same location.

Then the Skull Principal had created duplicates and delivered different lectures suited to each year.

‘What a completely pointless place to waste magic on!’

At that ludicrous waste of magic, Lee Han forgot he had even been about to get angry and could only stare in disbelief.

“Lee Han. It’s the seniors!”

“Look at those eyes. They’re trying to trick us!”

“Gainando. Isn’t that a little too—”

“You only think that because you came late during winter break and don’t know! Seniors are all thieves!”

The second-years, suddenly finding themselves face-to-face with the third- and fourth-years, began to murmur.

Lee Han and his friends, who had experienced the seniors’ true viciousness during the smuggling, looked at them warily, but the rest of the second-years showed friendliness like baby birds meeting their mother.

“Senior. Please take care ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) of us.”

“Ha ha. Sure. By any chance, do you know about smuggling?”

“Huh? What’s that?”

“You can still do it even now! Here…”

“……”

Even after entering Einroguard, their determination to instantly find fresh bait left Lee Han shaking his head.

“Blue Dragon Tower, this way!”

“White Tiger Tower over here. No need to talk to seniors from the other towers. Gather over here!”

“Even if they’re seniors from your own tower, do not be tempted by any offer! Don’t make any deals today. I’m warning you! Don’t make any deals today!”

Still, not all the seniors were without principle.

The ones who knew very well how third- and fourth-years used second-years went around, split the second-years by tower, and issued stern warnings.

Anglago asked Lee Han,

“Wardanaz. What do you think that warning means?”

“Anglago. That warning means—”

“Right. Those seniors have already fallen to the Skull Principal.”

“……”

Lee Han looked at Anglago the way he looked at Gainando.

But astonishingly, Anglago was not the only one thinking like that.

“Hey. They say smuggling is possible?”

“What? I’ve got some food with me right now. Can I bring it in?”

“This artifact that controls quills sounds pretty useful…!”

The story that smuggling was possible spread rapidly among the second-years.

Human greed was never easy to stop.

Lee Han and his friends went around from tower to tower, trying somehow to persuade the students.

“Friends. Listen to me. Those seniors are trying to use you.”

“Everyone, don’t fall for that! You can’t trust the seniors!”

“Everyone, listen to me! The seniors are—”

But the reaction was smaller than expected. If half the students believed Lee Han, about half did not.

That was how strong the force of desire was.

“Isn’t Wardanaz the one lying?”

“Wardanaz is the Skull Principal’s secret disciple. Maybe Wardanaz is spreading false rumors under Master’s orders to stop us from smuggling…”

“…Hey. Which bastard said that? Step forward.”

This bastard really needed to learn there were things one could say and things one could not!

When the furious Lee Han called out, the White Tiger Tower student immediately lowered the posture.

“Quiet, all of you! Each year to its designated place!”

“Silence! Anyone who causes a disturbance will be attacked!”

“Hey. By any chance, if you’re interested in smuggl—”

Even though the Death Knights had appeared, one senior who had tried to sneak up to the second-year section and whisper was sent flying backward.

More than ten arrows condensed from black energy were stuck in the body.

“Ghk!”

The Death Knight who had fired the dark-element arrows shouted viciously.

“Do not make noise or move around until the inspection begins!”

“Tsk tsk. What an idiot.”

“You had to do it with some tact. Some tact.”

“……”

As the mood turned cold, the Death Knights formed a cordon around the students gathered in front of the main gate.

It was to prepare for any possible assault, riot, rebellion, surprise attack, terror strike, and so on.

“Some students may not know, so let us explain. Einroguard is a sacred school of magic protected by strict rules passed down since antiquity! As such, the school’s rules must be observed more strictly than any sacred law!”

“What utter bullshit.”

“Has that undead bastard lost its mind?”

Savage curses flowed out among the third- and fourth-years.

What kind of ancient, strict rule was it to confiscate sugar and butter if someone brought them in?

“Therefore, outside goods may not be brought in without separate permission. If items are discovered, punishment may range from confiscation all the way to the punishment ward, so keep that in mind!”

“All right, we get it, so hurry up and start already!”

“Does it feel good, becoming a knight just to steal children’s property? Is that why you became a knight?!”

“Did the knight’s oath include stealing property too?!”

“Silence! Do not make a disturbance!”

“Do not approach at will, student! Any further and we will regard it as an attack!”

“Tch. What a shame.”

“……”

Lee Han realized that the students gathered here were more varied than he had expected.

There were students trying to deceive the Death Knights’ eyes and pass the inspection, but there were also some who seemed ready to break through the cordon itself and just make a run for it.

There had even been students just now slowly provoking the Death Knights while edging closer…

As expected, since they were all Einroguard students, their abilities were no joke.

Even someone who had only finished first year at Einroguard was treated outside as a mage capable of pulling their own weight, so the seniors who had spent even more time here were mages that even the Death Knights had to stay wary of.

‘Indeed. If it’s structured like this, rebellion really is a plausible option.’

If every student gathered here caused an uproar, it would definitely be hard to stop them all.

Aside from the drawback of it being impossible to deal with the aftermath later, it was an option worth considering once.

“We will begin the inspection. Sixth-year students and fifth-year students, step forward!”

Lee Han watched a few seniors whose faces he recognized and some he did not come forward.

Maybe because they were fourth-year and above, their numbers were overwhelmingly lower than the other years.

“Is this all your luggage?”

“Yes.”

“Pass.”

The Death Knights did not rummage through or thoroughly search the fifth- and sixth-year students either.

The storehouse keeper did not step in, and they merely pretended to search and let them through.

Seeing that, one third-year student shouted to provoke the Death Knights.

“You’re discriminating against students! Search them properly!”

“Shut your mouth! Have you no human heart as a student? Do you not pity the seniors entering fifth year?”

“That was too much, even for you. No matter what, telling them to search someone entering fifth year even more harshly?”

“Boo! Trash!”

But astonishingly, this provocation backfired.

The Death Knights, along with the other students, all began criticizing the one who had just spoken.

No matter what, how could anyone try to torment someone who had advanced to fifth year?!

“……”

“……”

Of course, that consideration was not particularly effective on the actual fifth- and sixth-years.

Lee Han noticed that Diret, who had passed the inspection, was wearing a complicated expression. Not just Diret—the other fifth-years looked much the same.

“It is finished.”

“Understood. Do not lower your guard. From now on, we begin inspecting the second-years through fourth-years! Students who pass the inspection may head to their towers!”

‘Now it really begins.’

With the fifth- and sixth-years out of the way, the years truly aiming to smuggle now remained.

Even under the watch of the Death Knights and the decent seniors, they cleverly sent messages to the second-year juniors.

Interested in smuggling? If there’s anything you want brought in, you can still join now!

There were the paper birds often used for delivering messages, of course, along with telepathy spells. Some students even floated words in the air or across the floor.

Anyone who wants to protect their rightful property, northeast!

Lee Han exchanged looks with his friends.

“You all prepared?”

“Yeah.”

The most important smuggling had already been successfully completed through the underground route, but the most important thing in any Einroguard job was the cleanup afterward.

To confuse the other side as much as possible and make everything impossible to predict.

For that reason, Lee Han and his friends had each prepared one modest backpack.

A few magic books that would not hurt much to lose, coffee grounds or tea leaves, sugar, chocolate, and other snacks.

Even things like that had to get confiscated so the Skull Principal would be less suspicious.

“Do your best, everyone. I’m going to meet some seniors.”

After picking up his backpack, Lee Han moved to make contact with the seniors he had arranged to meet.

“…All right. So, this box…”

“…That’s right… if you put the box in your luggage and carry it in… they won’t inspect all those boxes one by one, so one or two should get through…”

After finishing the whispered conversation, Dreumcha looked with satisfaction at Lee Han’s back as he walked away.

The other unprepared students were now desperately trying to find second-year bait, but in a situation like this, it was not nearly so easy.

With saboteurs watching and Death Knights watching, persuading juniors and assigning them exactly what had to be done was unexpectedly difficult.

As expected, this sort of thing had to be prepared in the city beforehand.

‘The early-rising mage steals much from the Skull Principal’s storehouse.’

“Then I’ll be going.”

“Yes. Yes.”

Dreumcha’s plan was simple.

If a disturbance broke out in one inspection line, the inspection in the other lines would become relatively easier to pass.

Of course, the one assigned to that line would be the junior!

“Step forward.”

“Y-yes.”

Dreumcha stuffed several boxes into the bag with magic, then walked forward.

Ahead, one senior had already been caught and was pleading.

“No, why can’t I bring in my gold coins? I need them! Just let this slide once! To confirm whether the plague I created really turns gold completely into lead, I need an enormous amount of gold!”

“Then obtain gold coins yourself. Gold brought from your house is forbidden.”

“Why is it forbidden?! Bring out the Skull Principal!”

“These gold coins will be confiscated and used as research funds for the entire year.”

“You thieves! You evil undead bastards!”

‘Tsk tsk.’

Dreumcha clicked the tongue inwardly.

Dreumcha had heard that by fourth year, the pressure of graduation made seniors do crazy things often, but to make such an obvious mistake so openly…

Trying to sneak family gold in only made the Skull Principal happy.

Dreumcha had clearly seen one senior who got caught bringing in gold last year get mocked by the Skull Principal every time they met:

“Has Einroguard’s donor arrived? When’s the next donation?”

“Skull Principal idiot! Skull Principal idiot!”

‘It’s starting!’

When Dreumcha heard the shrieking cry of a bone-catching parrot, Dreumcha cleared the throat.

Then Dreumcha launched into a desperate performance.

“What?! What is the meaning of this?!”

Dreumcha shoved the backpack forward, trying to move in.

But from Dreumcha’s backpack came an unexpected cry as well.

“Skull Principal idiot! Skull Principal idiot!”

“……”

“What exactly are you doing right now?”