Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy - Chapter 842

Professor Garcia felt a flicker of regret at having spoken too coldly.

“I’m sorry, Lee Han. I got angry for no reason.”

Hmm. Professor Garcia isn’t apologizing to Professor Verdus, though.

That was what Lee Han thought.

Professor Garcia apologized for speaking curtly to Lee Han just now, but absolutely did not apologize for assigning work to Professor Verdus.

Lee Han agreed with that part.

Right. There’s no reason to apologize.

Feeling sorry in this situation was something only an Einroguard novice would do.

A seasoned Einroguard student or professor would never apologize.

Even if they hadn’t dumped this work on Professor Verdus, the professor would have found some other excuse to postpone the previous task anyway.

“But can I really do this?”

“What kind of nonsense… I mean, what are you saying, Professor?”

Professor Garcia immediately started to snap, then held back.

There was a disciple listening nearby, after all.

“It seemed like Yukbeltire wanted to do this.”

Professor Verdus usually insisted on doing anything interesting personally, regardless of whether a disciple had any interest in the subject. However, there were a few exceptions.

One of them was having an angry Professor Garcia standing right in front of him.

If it later turned out that this staff-making project was something the disciple had wanted to work on…

Then it wouldn’t stop at the collarbone. Every bone in Professor Verdus’s body might be crushed.

Professor Garcia’s physical strength had awakened the common sense slumbering deep within Professor Verdus.

“Didn’t I tell you to stop saying nonsense?”

But Professor Verdus’s sincerity failed to get through. At the sound from the shoulder under Garcia’s hand, Professor Verdus screamed.

“It’s not nonsense! It really isn’t!”

“What do you mean, Yukbeltire wants to do it? You don’t even know what your own disciple wants, Professor.”

“That’s true, but this time Yukbeltire really did— Agh! Aaaagh!”

“Enough. Don’t try to dump this on Yukbeltire.”

Subdued by force, Professor Verdus shut up.

Since the warning had not been an attempt to dump the work on a disciple in the first place, but an attempt to avoid getting thoroughly beaten by Professor Garcia later, Professor Verdus had no intention of pressing the point.

I definitely said it. This isn’t my fault.

“Then shall we begin?”

“Yes.”

“Could you please take your hand off my shoulder?”

“No.”

“Okay…”

Professor Verdus began working with a drooping posture that might {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} have inspired sympathy.

Fortunately, neither Lee Han nor Professor Garcia was moved in the slightest.

***

“Your skill really is impressive, Professor.”

Despite everything, Lee Han couldn’t help admiring the work.

Special metals that absorbed mana, like obsidian, were extremely difficult to refine or shape. That was only natural, since even blacksmiths who didn’t cast magic still relied on magical tools.

Yet despite those adverse conditions, Professor Verdus was processing and shaping the obsidian at lightning speed.

Of course, part of that might be because Professor Garcia still has a hand on that shoulder, but even taking that into account, it’s genuinely impressive.

Whoosh!

Professor Verdus took out a necklace with a small glass cube hanging from it and blew on it. Flames flickered inside the cube.

A Lesser World!

Lee Han was startled.

Was the enchantment magic on that necklace actually Lesser World magic?

He might have been mistaken, but the power radiating from it felt that immense.

The flames inside the glass cube rode the outside wind, escaped, and wrapped around the obsidian as though licking it.

If they had been ordinary flames mixed with mana, they should have been extinguished immediately. Instead, the flames suppressed the obsidian’s properties and softened the ore.

Changing reality itself to refine metal like that… It would be difficult without a Lesser World.

“Professor Verdus is certainly a skilled craftsman.”

Professor Garcia nodded in agreement.

The Lesser World magic Professor Verdus was using, the flames of Magnum Opus, could melt and burn all kinds of rare and special materials.

There were likely only a handful of mages in the Empire who carried around a creation-specialized Lesser World stored in the form of enchantment magic.

“Mmph!”

Professor Verdus grabbed the heated obsidian barehanded and shaped it.

The second method for refining mana-absorbing metal was simple.

Endure it.

Keep casting magic, and endure with brute strength as the mana was absorbed.

Apparently finding it somewhat difficult, Professor Verdus glanced back. Lee Han met those eyes and tilted his head.

“What should I help with?”

“Yes! …Agh! Aaaagh!”

“Face forward, Professor.”

Professor Garcia cut off the conversation with force before words could do the job.

Still not understanding the situation, Lee Han asked,

“What was that about?”

“Lee Han. Professor Verdus was trying to borrow your mana. Just ignore it.”

“Ah.”

If Professor Verdus had a disciple with infinite mana nearby, then of course that disciple could be made to do this work instead of relying on artifacts and potions for recovery.

Finally understanding, Lee Han called out to the professor.

“Professor.”

“?”

“Keep it up.”

“…”

Professor Verdus pouted and continued working.

The third method for refining mana-absorbing metal.

Whirrrrr—

A magical device connected to a massive forging hammer appeared.

In ancient times, craftsmen had to cast magic directly onto hammers and control them to pound metal into shape.

Modern Imperial craftsmen, however, did not use such primitive methods. They had massive magical forge equipment with built-in magical gears and mechanisms, so there was no need to cast each spell individually.

Pulling a single rope caused steam from mana combustion to burst out, and the hammer automatically struck the metal.

“Won’t the obsidian absorb the mana?”

“That’s why it’s been modified. Look, Lee Han.”

Professor Garcia pointed upward.

The magic’s only role was to amplify the hammer’s mass and lift it to the ceiling.

Once it fell from there, even if the mana vanished because of the obsidian, the force itself would remain.

Ah.

Lee Han was impressed in a different way this time.

Using Lesser World magic, or simply enduring mana absorption, were impressive methods too, but this was admirable because of the unexpected shift in thinking.

I should have thought of that before hearing it. Have I been relying too much on magic lately?

“I’ve reflected on this, Professor Garcia. From the moment I enrolled, I learned not to rely too much on magic, yet I still failed to think of such a method.”

“You’re being too hard on yourself, Lee Han. If anything, the fact that you’re reflecting on it is impressive. It isn’t easy for mages to forget magic.”

“Haha. That’s true too.”

Lee Han and Professor Garcia chatted pleasantly.

Meanwhile, Professor Verdus, drenched in sweat from working, turned around while panting.

“Can’t we rest a little?”

“No. Rest after you finish.”

“Hing…”

So cool.

Lee Han once again looked at Professor Garcia with the most heated respect he had shown anyone all year.

He wanted to become a mage like that.

***

“Hmm.”

Lee Han examined the completed staff as he walked.

Ordinarily, he would have liked to test it leisurely over several days, gradually breaking it in and checking its performance, but Einroguard’s brutal schedule, especially Lee Han’s own, would not allow that.

—Huff, huff… I finished everything. Save me.

—Are you sure you finished everything properly? If you left anything out because you were lazy, your bones will be pulled out too.

—I don’t do that with work I’m interested in! There isn’t a single flaw!

—There shouldn’t be flaws in work you aren’t interested in either… Fine. Just tell me the precautions.

—Like any powerful new staff, it’ll take time to get used to. A few days at shortest, a few months at longest. This one will be even worse because both materials are so strong and unusual. You’ll have to test all kinds of things.

The wood spirit’s authorities were <Authority of Recovery>, <Authority of Life>, and <Authority of Stubbornness>, right? Since that guy called Gwangmok King awakened, there must be more now. It would be nice if I could use <Authority of Grafting> too.

Just because Lee Han attended lectures from every school did not mean he learned every kind of magic equally.

Even within elemental magic, there were types he used relatively rarely, such as earth and wood.

In that respect, Gwangmok King’s branch was definitely useful. Even without Lee Han investing separate time, it would give him an advantage when using wood-element or earth-element magic.

The two elements are closely related, so they influence each other. The problem is…

The time Professor Verdus had mentioned—the time it would take to get used to the staff.

Unlike the basic staff Einroguard gave new students, this one was made from extremely powerful materials. There was bound to be trial and error.

How troublesome would it be if he tried to summon a wooden wall in front of him and accidentally trapped himself in a wooden coffin instead?

…I should practice a few things.

Lee Han shifted his gaze from Gwangmok King’s branch to the black amethyst.

The ore, softly radiating a mingled black and violet glow, formed one mysterious axis of the staff.

It had originally been chosen to control Gwangmok King’s branch, but since this material was no ordinary ore either, it would surely have its own influence.

“Water.”

With the incantation, a familiar mass of water appeared.

It did get faster. The spell is stronger too.

Lee Han tried to control the mass of water, but his focus accidentally shifted to the black amethyst portion of the staff.

The next instant, the water scattered into the air.

Control is harder… but not so hard I can’t handle it.

Another student might have groaned, but Lee Han had suffered too much already to be troubled by something like this now.

When he entered the <Poison, Bone, Blood> lecture hall, Diret, who was sitting there reading <Monthly Dark Magic Trends>, waved in greeting.

“You’re here, junior?”

“Hello, Senior Diret.”

Lee Han bowed and noticed the various dark magic reagents arranged at the front of the lecture hall.

<Large Monster’s Bone> — Skeleton Golem

<Shriveled Toad Skin> — Demon Toad

<Soul Fragment of Chiyeon Agwi> — Chiyeon Agwi

…

…

Like the clever junior he was, Lee Han quickly grasped the intention behind the reagents Diret had prepared.

“Is this for undead enhancement?”

“That’s right.”

Diret smiled in satisfaction.

It had been worth the effort of preparing and bringing them.

Whether one practiced ancient orthodox dark magic or modern Imperial dark magic, no dark mage disliked strengthening and evolving the undead under their command.

Just as an excellent Jousting Club player raised a mount from youth, dark mages also strengthened their undead summons by adding various materials to them.

Is this a quiz? I should do my best.

Lee Han examined the reagents with a serious expression.

Currently, the Skeleton Warriors Lee Han commanded were being strengthened by adding dark elements or blood elements.

Both were rare and powerful methods, but it was still difficult to escape the limitations of Skeleton Warriors.

It might be time to learn how to find and create new undead.

Skeleton Golem… Hmm. It has similarities to Skeleton Warriors, but I’m not sure I can summon something medium-sized or larger properly on my first attempt. Is the Demon Toad the one Senior Diret summoned when kidnapping the duke last time? It’s not bad, but I’m not sure I have the skill to reproduce the muscles too. Ugh. If I choose something easy, Senior Diret will give me a low score, won’t that happen?

Hehe. He likes it. He likes it.

Diret was pleased to see the junior thinking so carefully.

Because so many incidents had happened recently, and there would be a quiz this week as well, Diret had prepared this to let Lee Han rest a little.

Who knew he would enjoy it this much?