Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy - Chapter 926

“And Sharkhan isn’t that type either.”

‘Then am I that type?’

The baby basilisk protested inwardly.

It was plenty mature and grown-up too. If anything, Jowurin was the most childish one.

“True. An undead summon wouldn’t sulk just because it hadn’t been called, right?”

Gainando nodded, agreeing with his friend.

Unlike in other fields, Gainando did know quite a bit about dark magic.

Fundamentally, undead summons didn’t get hurt or sulk just because their master called them less often.

“You’re right, Lee Han. I guess they’re all the same? Who would enjoy being summoned at a mage’s convenience while playing cards in another dimension? They’d probably prefer not being called. Spirits must be the same.”

“No. Spirits should be called regularly.”

“…”

Gainando drooped.

Mages who contracted with spirits valued intimacy more than one might expect, so they summoned them regularly to commune with them.

Lee Han also regularly summoned his flame sparrow spirit, cold squirrel spirit, and dark orb spirit in his private room, even if he didn’t summon Sharkhan. Though the spirits didn’t particularly enjoy it…

“Sob. I wish my undead liked being called too.”

“You’ll become close someday.”

‘Or subdue them by force.’

In Lee Han’s opinion, it seemed far easier for Gainando to learn more dark magic and subdue the undead than to become friends with them.

Undead summoning didn’t work through intimacy the way spirit summoning did.

‘But if it isn’t sulking, what is it?’

Lee Han rubbed the bone fragment containing his binding oath with Sharkhan and tried summoning it again, but there was still no response.

If it really were sulking, there should have been at least some kind of rejection, which made the situation all the more baffling.

“Cough. Is there a problem?”

“Ah. Professor!”

Just then, Professor Mortum of the dark magic school walked out, coughing dryly.

Thinking the timing was perfect, Lee Han asked a question.

“There’s something I’d like to ask.”

“Something you’d like to ask?”

The perpetually sickly-looking professor tilted his head.

It would have been one thing if it were Gainando, Imirg, or Raphaedel, but it was quite rare for the boy from House Wardanaz to ask questions.

“It must be quite a difficult problem.”

“No, it isn’t.”

“Really? Then tell me.”

Since his disciple said it wasn’t, Professor Mortum changed his mind.

If Lee Han said that, then it probably wasn’t much of a problem.

“Sharkhan won’t summon.”

“…Cough! Cough cough cough cough!”

Professor Mortum suddenly began coughing violently, as though something had gone down the wrong way.

Lee Han asked in alarm.

“Are you alright?”

“Cough… Didn’t you say it wasn’t a difficult problem?”

“Ah, no. I thought it was a minor issue?”

Even while coughing, Professor Mortum shook his head.

Sharkhan refusing to summon was a more serious problem than Lee Han had expected.

Originally, Sharkhan was a powerful monster born between rocky mountains and leopards, worshiped by leopards.

Naturally, controlling such a powerful monster as an undead was dangerous.

Strong bodies tended to draw strong beings into them, and that was even more true when the being belonged to the undead realm.

No matter how much Professor Mortum was a professor at Einroguard, he wouldn’t deliberately hand a dangerously hazardous undead summon to a mere first-year. Before giving it as a gift, he had put sufficient safety measures in place.

“…”

Lee Han looked doubtful.

‘Was there really anything like that?’

He had never felt any particular safety measure.

Sharkhan had been a destructive undead summon from the start. If Lee Han hadn’t subdued or persuaded it, there was a high chance it would have attacked him at any moment.

“Was that safety measure something that kept it from attacking me? Sharkhan did act somewhat friendly…”

“Cough. Not that. I weakened its power.”

“…”

Lee Han’s gaze turned slightly cold.

Did Professor Mortum perhaps not know what “safety measure” meant?

‘No wonder the coughing never stops when he says nonsense like that.’

A prohibition against attacking would have made sense. What kind of safety measure was simply reducing its power a little?

“So what exactly did you do with that safety measure… the weakening?”

“Cough. Sharkhan is a projection.”

“?”

“The main body is a powerful great being from the undead realm. When that being’s power weakened, I stole one of its projections and brought it out.”

“What???”

Lee Han was shocked by Sharkhan’s lineage, which was far more extraordinary than he had imagined.

He had stolen whose what and brought it out?

Even leaving aside the Skull Principal, there were quite a few beings with the nature of splitting themselves into projections.

Hydras were a good example. Didn’t their nine heads each make separate judgments?

If such hydras became stronger or gained the ability to create projections, they would split themselves apart like a divided body.

Naturally, beings split off in that way were inevitably weaker than the original.

…But that didn’t mean one should steal one and bring it out!

“No. What exactly did you do? You committed such careless theft just because the opponent was weakened?”

Shocked, Lee Han lost his composure and criticized the professor.

To steal outright just because the opponent was weak.

It was a stupid mistake no member of the <Teleportation> Club would ever make.

If someone ransacked a devil archduke’s mansion just because the archduke was slightly weakened, what kind of retaliation would come once the archduke recovered?

And this wasn’t even some object or treasure. It was the being’s own projection.

“Cough. Listen to the end. I didn’t steal it recklessly. I did steal it, but I negotiated with the other party.”

“That seems different from the definition of theft I know…”

Professor Mortum coughed and continued explaining.

In the past, while traveling through the undead realm, the professor had the chance to confront a powerful being.

That being resided in a palace built on bedrock of obsidian mirrors that spewed smoke. Its form constantly shifted, and when one focused and stared, the vague shape of a gigantic leopard could be seen above it.

Recognizing the opponent’s power, Professor Mortum immediately prepared to invade the palace and acquire its treasures.

“…”

Lee Han was inwardly dumbfounded, but held it in.

“Cough. I sensed that the opponent had been weakened in battle. Normally, I don’t recklessly pick fights with natives of other dimensions.”

‘I don’t think most people would immediately prepare to rob someone just because the opponent was weakened.’

In any case, Professor Mortum followed the principle of the strong preying on the weak. He did not miss the opportunity to gain treasure from another dimension and took action.

Naturally, the other party noticed his intentions too.

When the mage tried to enter even after sensing the palace’s aura and hearing the being’s title, the being stepped back and proposed a negotiation.

-Mage. Do not invade the palace of the fierce beast that rules death and darkness. I shall gift you one of my projections, and that projection shall become a powerful undead.

-Cough. What if I still wish to enter?

-Then you shall face ruin.

Sensing the opponent’s power even in a weakened state, Professor Mortum chose not to be greedy and retreated.

A powerful undead’s projection was valuable enough.

“Cough. Though it was terribly stingy. It only gave me a fragment-level projection without even self-awareness.”

Professor Mortum still seemed to think he had gotten a bad deal and kept complaining between coughs.

“Please continue. What happened to that projection?”

“Ah. That thing.”

The professor slowly nodded and explained.

The projection he had received from the powerful undead and brought out certainly possessed extraordinary power, but it was merely a projection, like a newborn infant with no ego or reason.

For Professor Mortum, controlling and managing such a thing wasn’t very cost-effective.

After pondering what to do with it, the professor fixed the projection to Sharkhan’s remains and reincarnated it as an undead monster.

The result was successful. The newly born undead monster, Sharkhan, faithfully protected the new students and completed all sorts of difficult tasks.

“…Professor. I have a question.”

Lee Han, who had been listening as calmly as possible, raised his hand while trying to keep his expression composed.

He could somehow accept that Sharkhan wasn’t an ordinary undead monster and had the lineage of an extraordinary undead being.

“So what was the safety measure you mentioned, Professor?”

“Cough. I told you. I weakened its power. Since it’s only a fragment-level projection, it isn’t very dangerous.”

“…”

He had hoped otherwise, but that really was the safety measure.

Lee Han firmly resolved to blast Professor Mortum from behind with magic later and shout, “This much doesn’t actually hurt, right? Haha.”

Even if it was a fragment-level projection without an ego, it would still be dangerous enough if it possessed the body of a powerful monster.

Hadn’t Sharkhan, in fact, fought incredibly well?

If Lee Han hadn’t been able to subdue or control it, those attacks could have flown straight at Lee Han himself…!

‘Come to think of it, its behavior was a little childish.’

If it was a newly born projection separated from the main body, that explained it. It also made sense that its behavior resembled a kitten or puppy.

“But why can’t I summon it?”

“Cough. There are several possible reasons. But the most likely one is that the main body has recovered its power.”

“!”

Lee Han realized what Professor Mortum was saying.

Since the original body had given up the projection under unfavorable circumstances, it wouldn’t be strange for it to retrieve the projection once it recovered its {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} power and regained the advantage.

“No way. You went there to steal it and made such a losing deal? After only one year together?”

“Cough. It is strange. I thought it could be used for at least a hundred years…”

Professor Mortum was a mage, so of course he knew the loopholes in contracts.

Since it was the opponent’s projection, the opponent would naturally retrieve it once the injuries healed and power returned.

But from the professor’s perspective, that should have taken at least a hundred years.

How had that been shortened to about one year?

“Strange. Very strange. Cough. Sharkhan didn’t happen to absorb mana separately, did it?”

“Excuse me?”

“Cough. If the projection absorbed mana, then the main body would have absorbed mana too, and its recovery would also…”

Professor Mortum trailed off and shook his head.

No matter how he thought about it, the calculation was absurd.

Based on the strength he had sensed when meeting the being in the undead realm, he could roughly estimate how much mana would be needed for injury recovery.

No matter how much mana the boy from House Wardanaz had, it would be difficult to remain fine after having that much mana absorbed. It would be even harder not to notice…

“…”

Lee Han’s complexion turned pale.

That sight shocked Professor Mortum more than anything else that day.

***

“Cough! To waste mana so recklessly!”

“You didn’t explain anything when you gave it to me in the first place! If I’d known it was that kind of creature, I would have gotten rid of it!”

Lee Han wanted to add a rule to the school regulations forcing Einroguard professors to provide proper explanations.

Why on earth did they hand dangerous items to their disciples as gifts without saying anything?

Come to think of it, this staff also had an evil and violent being sleeping inside.

‘I hope there isn’t a demon sleeping in the rags the school gave me too.’

Diret, who had been walking out while yawning, was startled to see the professor and junior arguing loudly.

The dark magic school didn’t have many advantages, but harmony was one of them.

“What?! What’s going on?!”

“Senior! I almost died because of the professor!”

“Cough. I gave you a gift, and now you slander me…”

“Wait. Explain calmly.”

Diret calmed the junior down and listened to the explanation.

And the more Diret listened, the stranger Diret’s expression became.

“…Uh, so you’re saying that while going about your daily life, you helped a powerful being from the undead realm recover?”

“It’s all the professor’s fault!”