Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy

Uregor didn’t expect the students to have so little faith in him.

Still, he wished to get to the bottom of this. Hence, he called out to Yi-han, who could be considered his disciple.

“Wardanaz.”

“Yes, Professor?”

“You trust me, right?”

Yi-han had believed Professor Ingurdel’s words. Surely, he’d be willing to believe his words as well!

Yi-han nodded and said, “But of course! I wouldn’t dare to question the professor!”

“…You might as well have said you don’t trust me at all.”

Professor Uregor was annoyed by the response.

He much preferred the other students’ reactions over Yi-han’s. Unlike him, the others were at least honest about what they thought.

“So you guys actually didn’t encounter any bulls? Well, I’ll be damned. They were pretty expensive to prepare… And where did the earth golems come from?”

“…Wait, what do you mean?”

Professor Ingurdel’s expression became serious when he heard Professor Uregor’s mutters.

Realizing his mistake, Professor Uregor quickly covered up the truth.

“Hahaha…I was just joking, Professor Ingurdel. Both the golems and the bulls were prepared by yours truly, but it seems the bulls went on a stroll somewhere.”

“…..”

However, his excuse wasn’t enough to convince Professor Ingurdel, and his eyes remained cold.

All hell would break loose if a swordmaster were to lash out in anger.

To resolve the situation, Professor Uregor dragged Yi-han into their conversation.

“Wardanaz, you tell me. Who do you think prepared those earth golems?!”

“…..”

Yi-han was speechless. Just a moment ago, he’d said that the golems weren’t his doing, yet he was playing a different tune already.

Nevertheless, he decided to cooperate with the professor as his eyes seemed desperate.

“Who else could it have been if not you, Professor Uregor?”

“Right? Look, Professor Ingurdel. Even Wardanaz who’s so clever agrees with me.”

“Let’s say that you’re right, Professor Uregor. Do you think it was appropriate to pit the students against earth golems?”

“…..”

Professor Uregor once again sought Yi-han for help, but he and his friends had already fled the scene by then.

***

It was Saturday, but the Blue Dragons weren’t enjoying their time outside the dorm, exploring the academy and seeking magical encounters.

Instead, they were racking their brains in the resting lounge, struggling to complete the mountain-load of assignments that had been given to them.

“Damn it…I don’t spot any paradoxes in the book. Wait, the paradox here must be that someone as exalted and distinguished as me is wasting time on a bogus assignment.”

“How the hell are we supposed to know how much it costs to construct the magic circle? Just use the money in our household! Why be so petty?”

The students all groaned as they went about their work.

None of the assignments were easy to complete, and as a result, Yi-han’s treasure trove of snacks was selling like hotcakes.

It was becoming a hassle keeping track of everyone’s purchases, so Yi-han ended up placing a basket full of goodies besides the fireplace. Along with it was a paper that read:

Apple flavored candies – one silver coin

Apricot jam cookies – two silver coins

The Maykin Family’s chocolate bars – four silver coins

A cup of black tea with sugar– one silver coin

And the list went on.

Sure, they were expensive, but none of the students complained.

They were just glad that they could get their hands on these snacks.

Outside, the Black Tortoise was holding on to dear life with their assortment of fake cookies, candies, and chewing gums…

“Stop complaining, the classes you guys are taking are easy, nothing like our alchemy class.”

“Yeah, you call this hard? Compared to our alchemy assignment, this is child’s play!”

“…..”

There were a couple of students among the Blue Dragons that took alchemy with Yi-han and the others, and they were bragging about their experience in the mountains.

They seemed so proud, to the point where onlookers would think they’d slain a dragon or something.

“Pretentious bastards… I bet Wardanaz did all the work…”

“Leave them be. I kind of pity them. I mean, an encounter with earth golems?”

“You’re right. The professor must be insane. How could he have students fight against earth golems?”

Instead of telling them to shut up, their friends were kind enough to listen to their tales.

It was truly a product of friendship and honor.

‘What they don’t know is that they’ll probably experience something similar…’

Yi-han shook his head sympathetically.

They were thinking to themselves, “We’re not taking alchemy. What’s the worst that could happen?”

But that was where they were wrong.

Take as an example. Having a loose screw was one of the prerequisites of being a professor in this academy.

Even if one were to avoid a class with an insane professor, they’d only find themselves in the class of another one.

‘They’ll learn the truth when the time comes!’

Bubble, bubble, bubble— 

“Orcish bellflower and… mushrooms? Add them together, and then…”

“Ew, what’s this smell? Are you sure this is right? This…??”

Those that took alchemy were discussing how to complete the assignment, each with their cauldron in front of them.

They’d gathered all the ingredients necessary to concoct , but they were just beginners when it came to alchemy.

Gathering ingredients for the potion was only half the journey, and the other half was brewing them.

They had limited ingredients to work with, so they were naturally nervous, and their hands sometimes trembled.

Boom!!

“Ahh!!”

Boom! Bang! Boom! Bang!

“Ugyaa!!”

“Hold on a sec.”

Yi-han held his hand out and signaled his friends to stop.

During class, they had already learned that even a small mistake in movement or timing could lead to failure.

However…

‘There must be something else that’s wrong here.’

Something felt off.

Yi-han had been watching the students brew the potion, and curiously, smoke rose up from the cauldrons even when they performed quite well. 

Minor mistakes would only lead to a drop in the potion’s quality, yet the potions produced looked nothing like the one in the picture.

“Is something wrong?”

“…Don’t you think there’s a chance that Professor Uregor taught us the wrong recipe?”

“…..”

“…..”

Silence descended in the resting lounge, and a gust of cold air passed by them.

The other students that were working on assignments from other classes also looked up in disbelief.

“That’s going a little too far, don’t you think…?”

“But we’re talking about Uregor here! He must’ve tricked us, I’m sure of it!”

“!?”

If it had been before, they would’ve thought “No way” and moved on. However, their trust in the professor had hit rock bottom, finally assimilating into the academy.

“That psychopath must’ve withheld the recipe on purpose!”

“Is he telling us to figure it out ourselves!?”

There was an outcry among the students.

Yi-han, however, was deep in thought, and so too was Yonaire.

Their friends’ anger was justified, but this concerned their grades.

Even if they wished to grab the professor by the collar, they had to turn in their assignments first.

“We should test out various recipes, modifying the one that the professor has given us one line at a time. Yonaire, any idea where we should start?”

“The presence of demon beard flower, troll mushroom, jade dragon flower, and Marlene is suspicious… from what I know, they have nothing to do with spirits.”

“You mean they’re all there to trick us?”

“Not quite. I think only one or two of them are unneeded. Even if they don’t have a direct connection to spirits, some of them might amplify the effects of the potion or help fortify the user’s mind.”

Yi-han was impressed by Yonaire’s analysis.

He was an old-timer when it came to conducting experiments, but he couldn’t hold a candle against Yonaire, who had read countless books about alchemy ever since she was young.

‘Other than the economics column of the newspaper, I should’ve read up some books about alchemy as well.’

“We can try removing the ingredients one at a time, but the problem is…we might not have enough ingredients by the end.”

Yi-han began contemplating the purpose behind these traps.

Why did Professor Uregor fiddle with the recipe?

“We might have to flip through some books related to alchemy and compare the recipe we have on hand with the ones used in the past to determine where the problem lies…”

Yonaire muttered, sounding discouraged.

That gave Yi-han the answer he had been looking for.

‘He wants us to arrive at the answer ourselves instead of relying on others’ recipes.’

Knowledge obtained through one’s own work and studies always lasted longer.

Yi-han shivered when he arrived at this thought.

He was getting so good at reading the professors’ minds that it gave him the shivers.

If you gaze long enough into the abyss, the abyss will also gaze back at you.

To get rid of this thought, he shook his head violently.

‘I refuse to be swayed by the professors.’

“Should we go look up some books?”

“Yonaire, will that take up the whole weekend?”

“Probably…”

“Then no. I’m leaving the academy tomorrow.”

Yi-han said this with a look of determination on his face. His eyes conveyed conviction, one which left no room for argument.

Yonaire felt slightly moved.

“…..”

At the same time, she felt conflicted.

‘…Is this something to get emotional over?’

“Everyone, pause what you’re doing and come over here!”

“??”

“We’re going to use trial and error to brute-force this.”

“But we’ll run out of ingredients then.”

“We should each have some ingredients to spare. We’ll pool them together. Let’s seek the other towers’ cooperation as well.”

“…!”

Asan was in awe.

Ingredients from one student would be nowhere near enough for the trial-and-error approach, but it was a different story if they all came together.

They would definitely have enough ingredients to spare.

Yonaire nodded in approval.

“Getting help from the other towers is indeed a good idea. Some students may know something that I don’t.”

“Priestess Siana would be a big help.”

“She belongs to the Immortal Phoenix, what if she doesn’t cooperate?”

“I hear she’s been singing Wardanaz’s praise. I bet she’ll agree to come if it’s his request.”

Leaving the others behind, Yi-han confidently left the resting lounge.

His confidence portrayed his firm conviction. He wasn’t going to let anything get in the way of his holiday.

“Wardanaz..! We’ll leave it to you!”

“I’ll be back.”

“Oh, and please call Her Highness as well.”

Yi-han stopped in his track when he heard this.

“…Can’t you do that yourself?”

“But we’re not close with the princess…”

“Yeah, you seem to be acquainted with her, so…”

“She’s royalty and all…”

“Right, then I’ll—”

It wasn’t anything difficult, so he was about to nod his head in agreement.

“Hey, Gainando! You got the multiplication wrong! We have to start all over again!”

“I wasn’t wrong! You were!”

“Bullshit! Who are you trying to trick here? Your calculation here is wrong!”

“….”

Yi-han was at a loss for words.

‘These sons of—’

***

-Your Highness, it’s Wardanaz.

-!

When Yi-han knocked on the door, the princess rushed out looking expectant.

She immediately looked towards his hands, but was disappointed when she noticed that he hadn’t brought anything over.

She walked downstairs to the resting lounge after hearing the explanation, her shoulders drooped.

Yi-han felt sorry when he saw this.

‘I should probably bring something with me next time.’

The others were willing to pay for her, so the more he brought, the more he would profit.

It pricked his conscience a bit as he was essentially tricking these naïve kids and robbing them blind.

‘It’s here, right?’

Upon arriving at his next destination, Yi-han looked around him.

Since he belonged to the Blue Dragons, he didn’t have much chance to visit the other towers.

Unlike the excessively extravagant Tower of the Blue Dragons, the Tower of the Immortal Phoenix exuded an air of piety. It accurately reflected the students that resided there.

‘…Hold on. How does one enter?’

It was only when he arrived before the tower that he realized he didn’t know how to enter the other dormitories.

He decided to try it out first.

Tooong—

“!”

Yi-han was immediately pushed out by an invisible force that protected the tower’s front gates.

‘Probably a spell that defends against intruders. I guess this much is to be expected.’

It would be a huge issue if anyone could just waltz into the tower of the Immortal Phoenix.

“Sir Wardanaz?”

A familiar voice sounded from behind. A snake demihuman wearing a priestess uniform was staring at him, confused.

The moment he saw Priestess Siana, he began flattering her, almost like a reflex.

“If it isn’t Priestess Siana who brewed those amazing potions!”

“Your praise is excessive.”

“How could that be? I’m only stating the truth.”

“These are potions that I just brewed. Please take them with you. They’ll help with your fatigue.”

Saying this, she handed him some potions, a wide smile hanging on her face.