Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy - Chapter 713
At the unusual club name, Lee Han thought to himself.
<Teleportation> Club. It sounded like it might have something to do with space magic research.
“That’s a pretty good club name.”
“You think so?”
Ratford brightened up.
“As expected of Lord Wardanaz. I thought you’d like it.”
“I have to practice space magic this year.”
The magic of the other schools would probably be extensions of what he had learned last year, but spacetime magic was one he would have to start almost from scratch, so Lee Han had plenty of worries.
If there were upperclassmen studying space magic, that would be a huge help.
“Space magic?”
Ratford wondered why Lee Han had suddenly started talking about a new kind of magic, but simply accepted it.
The friend in front of Ratford had always been the type to pick up some new magic out of nowhere and start studying it whenever bored.
Even if Lee Han said next week that he had started another new kind of magic, Ratford would not be surprised at all.
“This way.”
Ratford went into a side path running next to the tightly packed buildings of the Exiles’ Village on the seventh floor, then advanced deeper along the alleyway.
Lee Han asked in puzzlement.
“It’s pretty far in?”
“It’s hard to get a building, after all.”
Given the nature of the club, secrecy and security were important, so it could not be located on a main road like the other clubs.
Lee Han took Ratford’s words differently.
“Right. They did say it’s hard to find a building here in the Exiles’ Village that’s actually safe.”
From the outside it looked like a prosperous village, almost like a city, but in reality most of the buildings were dangerous places people were forbidden to enter.
So even if Ratford’s <Teleportation> Club was deep in the alley, it was not strange.
“You’ll have to go underground from here.”
“Underground too? Ratford. If it weren’t you, I might’ve thought I was being kidnapped.”
“Haha. What kind of lunatic would kidnap Lord Wardanaz?”
“Upperclassmen.”
“You really do joke a lot.”
“I’m not joking. I’m serious.”
Lee Han said it was not a lie, but Ratford did not believe it.
Even upperclassmen were still people, after all. There was no way they would try to kidnap Lee Han.
And even if a few upperclassmen somehow got the wrong idea, a few beatings would bring them back to their senses.
“We’re here. This is it.”
After going down the basement stairs and walking through a dim sewer passage, Ratford lightly knocked on the wall.
Then, with the sound of bricks rolling from inside, the door opened and a path into the club appeared.
“This feels much more secretive than the Library Club.”
He wondered why it had to be in such a secluded and secret place, but Lee Han just assumed it was the difference between an official club and an unofficial one.
An official club, with more members and greater funding, could afford to use a large building in a sunny, visible location. An unofficial club, naturally, would have no choice but to use a building tucked away in some remote corner.
“What a sad reality. You can really feel the gap in club funding.”
“Is everyone here?”
“Ratford’s here!”
“What? Who came? Don’t tell me it’s some tracker the Skull Principal sent…”
“No, no. Ratford’s here.”
“Ah. That’s a relief.”
“?”
The upperclassmen’s conversation drifting out from inside sounded far more tense than necessary.
“Did they attack the Skull Principal recently or something?”
“I brought a friend who’s interested in the club.”
“A friend? How skilled?”
“The skill is guaranteed. I stake my honor on it.”
“If Ratford says that much, then it must be true. Welcome.”
CLACK—
At the sound of a bolt being lifted inside, Lee Han thought the club’s security was certainly thorough.
RATTLE-CLANK-THUD-THUD!
But then the sounds of locks being opened, chains being undone, and all sorts of other restraints followed one after another, and Lee Han made a slightly horrified face.
“Did you lock up a devil in there or something?”
“Haha. What kind of madman locks up a devil in a social club?”
“House Wardanaz would… no, never mind.”
At last, the door opened.
The building of the <Teleportation> Club had a warm and cozy atmosphere, similar to a year lounge.
Near the fireplace, where the firewood crackled and burned, one upperclassman was skewering several birds that had already been plucked and gutted, roasting them until golden brown.
Beside that, other upperclassmen were handling reagents. They seemed to be trying to alter the crest on a wooden crate, but from the looks on their faces, it was not going well.
“It’s done. Eat while you work.”
“What is it? What kind of meat?”
“Meat we got from the Soup Club. We borrowed some traps. Is the job not going well?”
“The Stonemason Club crest won’t come off.”
“…?”
Lee Han felt a strange sense of dissonance.
It certainly was warm and cozy, but this atmosphere felt familiar in a very different sense.
Specifically, it felt like the times Lee Han had gone out at night with his friends and come back after securing supplies…
“AAAGH! That’s a Blue Dragon Tower student?!?”
Only then did the upperclassmen realize who Lee Han was and cry out in horror.
Since Ratford had invited him, they had naturally assumed he was a Black Turtle Tower student, but no matter how they looked at him, he was clearly a Blue Dragon Tower student.
Slightly flustered, Lee Han asked,
“Uh, students from the Blue Dragon Tower can’t join this club?”
“It-it’s not that there’s a rule like that.”
“It’s just that Blue Dragon Tower students usually don’t join. Students from the other towers don’t either.”
“??”
Lee Han could not understand why students from the Blue Dragon Tower would not join.
The Black Turtle Tower students were interested in space magic, so why wouldn’t Blue Dragon Tower students be?
“Why don’t they? Is there some reason students from the Blue Dragon Tower aren’t interested in space magic?”
“Space magic?”
This time it was the upperclassmen’s turn to be flustered.
“What space magic?”
“Isn’t this the <Teleportation> Club? I thought it was something like a space magic research society.”
“……”
“…Uh, Lord Wardanaz. It’s not that kind of place.”
Ratford whispered in confusion.
“…Then what kind of place is it?”
“It’s… a club for permanently relocating the… location… of objects.”
Lee Han finally understood the source of the dissonance he had felt earlier, and shuddered.
No wonder…!
*****
The Teleportation Club.
This fairly traditional club selected only the most outstanding relocators from among the students of the Black Turtle Tower.
Since it had strict membership standards, students from the Blue Dragon Tower or White Tiger Tower usually had no reason to join.
“I’m not trying to insult your tower or the White Tiger Tower, but to be honest, the bastards from those two towers have no finesse. What they do is closer to looting or raiding.”
One of the club’s upperclassmen explained.
Every Einroguard student eventually became used to “borrowing” supplies, but there were differences in method.
From the Teleportation Club students’ point of view, the methods used by the other towers were too violent and crude.
If you wanted sustainable theft, you had to move things quietly and secretly. But those people caused an uproar and started fights every single time…
“You’re that junior, right? The one the official clubs are trying to kidnap?”
“No, what kind of lunatics are trying to kidnap Lord Wardanaz?!”
Ratford cried out in horror.
Did they not value their lives?
“Ratford. The students of Einroguard were half-kidnapped when they came into this school anyway. There’s no rule saying clubs can’t do the same.”
“Anyway, Wardanaz. We’re different from the official clubs. We don’t let just anyone join.”
“The official clubs don’t let just anyone join either.”
Seeing the upperclassmen trying to reject him in solemn fashion, Lee Han made a dubious expression.
He had not even said he wanted to join!
“Upperclassman. Lord Wardanaz is more than qualified.”
“Ratford. Being good at magic is completely different from this. There are ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ people who can only use first-circle magic but are excellent at relocation, and there are people who can use fifth-circle magic and still can’t relocate worth a damn.”
“I know. But even by that standard, Lord Wardanaz is qualified.”
When Ratford refused to back down, the upperclassmen started speaking seriously.
“You know this too, right? Our club doesn’t let people join just because they’re friends with us. You need achievements.”
“Achievements?”
Lee Han asked, wondering what they were talking about.
“That’s right. Achievements. The most impressive relocation you’ve ever pulled off. We look only at skill. Only skill. If you’ve got skill, you can join on the spot. If you don’t, then no matter how close we are, you can’t. An incompetent relocator gets fellow members caught too.”
“Couldn’t they just call it theft?”
Lee Han suddenly wanted to have a brief conversation with the upperclassmen about the social function of language.
“Wardanaz. The greatest relocation I ever pulled off was the sixth-floor kitchen raid. That place was a demonic pit that sent eleven people to the punishment ward.”
“I robbed a workshop on the fourth floor. Thanks to the reagents in there, I didn’t have to worry about my research for half a year.”
“So. What did you do?”
“Uh… well…”
As the upperclassmen stared at him like they were pressuring him, Lee Han grew slightly nervous and said the first thing that came to mind.
“I robbed the Principal’s villa?”
“……”
“……”
As the atmosphere turned icy, Lee Han realized his mistake.
“Damn it. I should’ve just talked about the smuggling.”
That would have been more than enough!
“Wh-what are you talking about? You robbed the Principal’s villa?”
The upperclassmen asked back as if they could hardly believe it.
But in their voices there was also the tiniest trace of anticipation. The hope that what this junior had just said might actually be true.
“What Lord Wardanaz says is true. He robbed the Principal’s villa last year.”
“N-no way…!”
“You insane bastard! How are you still walking around alive?!”
The Teleportation Club upperclassmen trembled all over with awe.
Excited, Ratford continued.
“And that’s not all. Starting with the professors’ lounge, other dormitory towers, and even smuggling—”
“Ratford. I think what you just said was enough.”
Lee Han quickly covered Ratford’s mouth.
He was worried that if they said any more, they might throw him out for being too much of a lunatic.
“Wardanaz. I take back what I said earlier. You’re more than qualified to come in.”
“Join our club. We may not be an official club, but when it comes to living in abundance, we don’t lose to the others!”
“The food comes from the Soup Club, and the reagents come from the Stonemason Club. If you’ve got ability, you can get whatever you need!”
Since the needed supplies were provided by the clubs and storage rooms within Einroguard, the students of the Teleportation Club lived fairly comfortably.
Of course, there was always the risk of being sent to the punishment ward, but wasn’t that a risk every Einroguard student carried anyway?
“If you’ve got talent, you can always make a big score and— Oh, Upperclassman, you’re here. Upperclassman! We’ve got a new prospect here! Ratford’s friend, and the achievements are no joke! Honestly, I’d like to bring him along on this relocation too!”
“There are really that many talented people?”
With a puzzled voice from outside, an upperclassman who had just arrived revealed himself.
It was a hamster beastkin who looked very familiar.
“……”
“……”
Lee Han and Sebius stared at each other with equally dumbfounded eyes.
“What is this person doing here?”
“What is this bastard doing here?”
Lee Han was the first to recover and asked,
“Upperclassman. Aren’t you a member of the Library Club?”
“It doesn’t matter if you join more than one club. And I joined the Teleportation Club first. What are you doing here?”
“I was invited.”
One of the other upperclassmen could not hold back and shouted,
“Upperclassman, this guy says he robbed the Principal’s villa. Can you believe it?”
“…!”
Sebius had been indifferent toward the junior, but this clearly shocked Sebius, because those eyes widened in surprise as Sebius looked at Lee Han.
“…Impressive.”
“I got lucky.”
“Are you trying to join all the unofficial clubs too?”
“What kind of nonsense is that?!”
Lee Han protested furiously. But Sebius remained indifferent.
“Judging by what you do, it sure looks that way. Do whatever you want. If you’ve got the ability, then do it. I’ve got a relocation to carry out today.”
“What are you stealing?”
“Books.”
“Oh, are you going into the library?”
“What are you talking about? Taking something out of the library isn’t stealing.”
Sebius looked at Lee Han as if asking what kind of idiotic thing he was saying.
“Then…?”
“I’m going to steal them back from the bastard I sold the books to.”
“……”
Watching the way the two clubs created a perfect synergy, Lee Han felt the true depths of what Einroguard’s upperclassmen were capable of.
“They’re all insane!”
