Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy - Chapter 823
Completely unaware that his junior had just lowered his opinion of him to Princess Yukbeltire’s level, Palcrius began explaining in all seriousness.
It was a surprisingly scholarly side of him, completely unlike the man who usually shouted at Kitchen Club members to move faster.
“That disease isn’t ordinary. Look closely.”
Though reluctant, Lee Han examined the groaning mage lying on the bed.
It really is strange.
At first glance, nothing seemed unusual. But the mana radiating from the disease inside the mage twisted into bizarre whirlpools, constantly shifting and changing shape.
Because Lee Han’s sensitivity to mana far surpassed that of the other mages present, he could perceive the flow with startling clarity.
“It’s definitely unusual. Most curse-type diseases maintain consistent patterns no matter how vicious they are, but this one keeps changing.”
“Hehe. Wardanaz, as expected from someone taking classes from every school. You spotted it immediately. That’s exactly what makes it troublesome.”
Unlike ordinary curse diseases, the mana embedded within the mage’s body continuously transformed.
That made it extremely difficult to analyze its structure or identify any stable pattern for treatment.
Lee Han frowned.
“Diseases like this actually exist? I’ve never seen anything about them in any book.”
“Of course not. That mage created the disease personally.”
“…Excuse me?”
“To be more precise, he created it while experimenting on himself.”
Palcrius handed over a document containing testimony from the mage of the Watercloud Mountain Tower.
-Mage of the Watercloud Mountain Tower
-Complex curse disease (unidentified; curse-fusion mutation phenomenon observed)
-Patient repeatedly layered curses onto own body during curse-breaking research…
Among the patients sent to Einroguard, many truly were victims of terrible misfortune.
But a significant number had ended up there through entirely self-inflicted means.
And ninety-nine percent of those self-inflicted cases involved mages.
After all, suffering bizarre enough injuries that ordinary healers couldn’t handle them required a very particular kind of dedication.
Usually the sort of dedication shown only by people who kept stuffing suspicious curses into their own bodies.
“…So he voluntarily kept applying curses to himself?”
“Wardanaz. You shouldn’t look at patients like that.”
Palcrius quickly stepped in front of Lee Han. His junior’s expression had become far too cold.
“I think someone who willingly shoves curses into their own body needs mental treatment before magical treatment… Wait. Is that person from the dark magic school, by any chance?”
“Hm? No, no. Probably the enchantment magic school. He’s from the Watercloud Mountain Tower.”
Thank goodness.
Lee Han sighed inwardly in relief.
If the man had belonged to the dark magic school, its already abysmal reputation would have somehow sunk even lower.
“If it’s the enchantment magic school, then I understand. They’re all a little mentally unstable.”
“Wardanaz. The enchantment magic school at Einroguard is just somewhat unusual…”
Palcrius nearly added, And you belong to the enchantment magic school too, but managed to stop himself.
“Hehe. Besides, this level isn’t even especially abnormal. Mages do things like this all the time.”
“Have you also repeatedly put curses into your body before, Senior?”
“I once spent several weeks continuously eating poisonous mushrooms to discover new reagents.”
“…”
“Someone had to eat them!”
Sensing his junior might genuinely abandon the healing magic school on the spot, Palcrius hurried to explain.
And honestly, this kind of thing wasn’t unique to healing magic.
Magic research inevitably involved experimentation, and the easiest test subject to obtain was oneself.
At the very least, you couldn’t report yourself to the Imperial Court.
The mage of the Watercloud Mountain Tower had attempted to understand curses thoroughly in order to create a powerful curse-breaking artifact.
Not only the individual properties of # Nоvеlight # curses, but also the effects produced when multiple curses fused together or mutated.
-Hmm. So this is how the blood-clotting curse behaves.
-What happens if I add Parralkal’s Gaze here? Let me tear open a scroll.
-Still manageable. Two curses together don’t seem to produce major mutations yet. Good. Then next— Cough. Cough. Cough.
-Are you alright!? H-Healing mages! Somebody call the healing mages!
I might actually become an anti-magic extremist at this rate.
After hearing the full explanation, Lee Han struggled to maintain his composure.
“So how are we supposed to treat this?”
“Since there’s no precedent, we’ll have to proceed slowly and carefully through trial and error. He’ll probably remain here for the entire year. Hehehe.”
“…Senior. Did you just laugh?”
“I did not.”
Palcrius, who had unconsciously rubbed his enormous cauldron-lid-sized hands together in excitement at the thought of researching a fascinating new disease for an entire year, flinched slightly.
Regardless, the patient really would have to remain there for a long time.
Without an established treatment method, the only option was painstaking experimentation.
“What if we just force it out with brute strength?”
“Hehe. Wardanaz, don’t casually say things like that outside Einroguard. People will think you’re a deranged mage.”
A healing mage claiming they would cure diseases through overwhelming mana alone sounded roughly equivalent to saying, Let me drain all my blood for a transfusion, in front of a patient already dying from blood loss.
Technically, it was a solution.
It just sounded horrifyingly suicidal.
“And it wouldn’t work in this case anyway. If the curse merely clings lightly to the soul, overwhelming it with mana can forcibly wash it away. But when it’s embedded deep into the bone marrow, forcing it out risks severe damage to both body and mind. Since the patient isn’t in immediate danger, it’s better to proceed slowly.”
Normally, if the soul were compared to a smooth orb, curses resembled paint splashed across its surface.
Lee Han’s immense, pure mana resembled a raging waterfall.
No matter how stubborn the paint was, enough force would eventually wash it away.
But this situation was different.
Here, the dye had been injected directly into the orb itself.
To remove it, you would first have to crack the orb apart and force water inside.
Naturally, there was an extremely high chance the mage would be damaged in the process.
“Cases like this really exist? How does someone even get curses inside their soul?”
“Simple. He opened his soul himself and shoved them in.”
“…”
For a moment, Lee Han seriously considered whether all magical research should require official Imperial approval.
“Senior! The professor wants you immediately! A patient’s wrist just started growing feet!”
-Kid, where in the world did you even find a patient like that? You could search the entire ocean and still never find another one!
-Please stop admiring it and hurry over, Palcrius!
“Coming!”
Palcrius shouted back before giving Lee Han a wink.
“If you’re interested, feel free to experiment on that patient yourself. Wardanaz. Your hands must be itching already, right?”
Lee Han found the senior’s generosity toward his junior’s “educational development” deeply disturbing.
“Absolutely not…”
But Palcrius had already sprinted away.
Lee Han shook his head.
“Hey…”
“!”
At the weak voice from behind him, Lee Han turned.
The middle-aged mage from the Watercloud Mountain Tower was staring at him with hollow eyes.
“Do you need something? More pain-relief potion?”
“No, no. Earlier… I saw what you did. How did you remove those curses so quickly?”
“I forced them out with mana.”
“…Don’t joke around.”
It took Lee Han fifteen full minutes to finally convince the patient he was telling the truth.
The mage grew visibly more horrified the more convinced he became.
“How could someone actually… Wait. What’s your name?”
“Please call me Osyu.”
“Aha. So you honor the Demon Lord.”
Do you have a death wish?
Lee Han wondered whether the man had forgotten he was currently inside Einroguard.
Otherwise, remarks like that would be hard to explain.
“Fine. Osyu. I believe you. Then… do the same thing to me.”
“…Pardon? No. Absolutely not.”
“…Here. Take this.”
The mage slyly produced a pouch and pushed it into Lee Han’s hand.
Inside were several glittering sapphires.
“This should be enough, right? I need to return quickly. My research must be finished before summer.”
“No, you misunderstand. It’s not about money. Forcing it out with mana doesn’t cost anything.”
The mage seemed willing to believe Lee Han truly had solved the problem through brute-force mana.
What he couldn’t accept was that something like that might genuinely be possible without a hidden price attached.
Naturally assuming there had to be a cost, he had attempted bribery.
“Then why won’t you do it?”
“Because it’s dangerous.”
Lee Han repeated Palcrius’s earlier explanation.
Normally, diseases merely stained the outer surface of the soul like paint across a bead—
“It’s fine.”
“…Really?”
“Yes. I’ll be fine. I won’t die. So please just do it.”
That definitely does not sound fine.
The man really did feel perfectly representative of the enchantment magic school.
Even after hearing You could die, he continued talking only about what he wanted.
It reminded Lee Han exactly of a certain beaver beastman professor.
“I know some illusion magic too. I can extract my spirit body and suppress resistance, so if you use mana carefully enough—”
“No. I said no.”
“Please! You’re an Einroguard student! I’ll submit an official request through the Watercloud Mountain Tower! I’ll sponsor you too! I can even arrange outing invitations!”
The mage clung desperately to Lee Han’s sleeve.
Overwhelmed by the sheer intensity of the desperation, Lee Han hesitated before asking,
“This isn’t about profit. It’s genuinely dangerous. Wouldn’t it be much safer to proceed slowly and treat it properly?”
“I told you already—I have to complete my research before summer! You know Professor Verdus, don’t you? Do you know what happens when you receive massive investment funding and fail to finish your research on time?”
The mage’s voice trembled with terror.
“You become like Professor Verdus! Trapped inside Einroguard forever because assassins are waiting outside! I refuse to end up like that!”
“…”
The sheer desperation in the cry I don’t want to become like Professor Verdus carried startling emotional weight.
After a long pause, Lee Han finally considered trying something.
The professor is busy. Lady Ragesa’s occupied too. The only person left to ask is…
Lee Han glanced down at his staff.
He hesitated. It felt awkward calling again so soon after their last conversation.
Still, there was only one archmage he could ask about this right now.
“Please wait a moment… Master? Are you there?”
Silence.
Lee Han continued calling earnestly until, at last, a response arrived.
A phantom emerged from the Echo Stone.
What is it.
“Greetings, Master. Your disciple wished to respectfully offer his greetings, so I dared to call upon you…”
Considering the previous incident—and the fact he currently needed a favor—Lee Han’s tone was exceptionally humble.
Perhaps pleased by the flattery, the insane duplicate listened without interrupting.
It seems you’ve begun to vaguely understand, if only slightly, what proper conduct toward one’s master looks like. Perhaps your future is not entirely hopeless after all, you wretch.
“Haha. Thank you very much. Actually, Master, there’s something I wished to ask regarding my magical training.”
This time it’s fifth-circle magic, yes?
“…Actually, no.”
…
The insane duplicate narrowed his eyes at Lee Han.
He had repeatedly ordered the boy to study more fifth-circle magic, yet every single time this disciple contacted him, he seemed to be doing something completely unrelated.
Lee Han hurriedly defended himself.
“It’s all part of the process leading to fifth-circle magic! Everything I’m doing now is becoming a foundation for it!”
…Fine. Let’s hear this nonsense of yours.
Fortunately, the earlier respectful greeting seemed to have worked. Instead of immediately cursing him out, the insane duplicate actually listened.
Lee Han carefully explained the patient’s condition.
“Is there perhaps a way to treat someone like this quickly?”
Simple. I shall teach you a useful technique.
“Thank y—!”
Lee Han abruptly stopped himself.
“…It isn’t fifth-circle magic or above, is it?”
No. In terms of classification, it would only be around the third circle.
Thank goodness!
Strictly speaking, third-circle magic was still absurd for a second-year.
But Lee Han’s standards for magic had already become horribly distorted.
Third-circle spells now sounded manageable to him.
“I would be grateful if you taught me. What kind of magic is it?”
This technique absorbs all corruption from the other person into yourself.
“…Uh. So in other words, I suffer in their place?”
