Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy

Professor Uregor had asked questions like ‘Wasn’t there a bull? Why is it missing?’, upon seeing the returning students the previous time.

Yi-Han couldn’t figure out why that image from that time suddenly flashed through his mind.

‘Let’s focus.’

Yi-Han averted his gaze.

The elemental ox in front of them was emitting a distinct and unique energy.

The were two types of magic on it. There was clearly the aura of reinforced magic and an aura of a potion.

Theoretically, it was difficult to explain, but the energy of reinforced magic that was shown externally and the magical potion working from within had distinct differences.

Additionally,  there was another energy similar to magic but with a different trajectory.

‘Is it the power of a spirit?’

Even though Yi-Han didn’t know much about spirits, he could at least tell that the bull before him was mixed with some kind of spirit.

Because a regular bull would not be made up of ice that seemed to ripple along with half of its body.

Each time it stamped its hooves menacingly, staring in his direction, the ground beneath it was covered in a thin layer of frost.

“Yi-Han. It’s staring this way. Do you think it might charge at us? What do you think?”

“I do not really have much thought, but it might be angry because I lit a light.”

“….”

Dolgyu and Jijel turned their heads and looked at Yi-Han.

Hey!

“What? One should turn on the lights in the dark, shouldn’t they? The one who gets angry when the lights are turned on should be the strange one.”

“Right now, I don’t think it’s important to debate whether the spirit-infused bull is strange or not…”

“Ask him if there’s a way to deal damage to it, Choi.”

‘Is it not over yet?’

When Jijel conveyed her message to Yi-Han through Dolgyu, Dolgyu let out a deep sigh.

“Perhaps ordinary physical attacks won’t work against the elemental aspect. Enchanting weapons with magic is still beyond our capabilities…”

Among the monsters, there were quite a few that ordinary attacks didn’t work against.

To deal with these kinds of creatures, adventurers often carried weapons enchanted with magic or learned how to imbue their weapons with magical energy.

“Is there anyone among us who knows how to infuse even a little magic into weapons?”

In response to Yi-Han’s question, Dolgyu raised his hand. Jijel also raised her hand. Yi-Han, who asked the question, raised his hand as well.

…Jijel stared at the two of them as if they were crazy.

Setting aside Dolgyu, why would someone who wasn’t even from a knightly lineage know how to infuse magic into a weapon?

“I asked the question to Dolgyu but you answered as well. Anyway, if all three of us can attack, isn’t that a good thing? Let’s disperse and strike it.”

Actually, the fact that these three were gathered in one team was quite fortunate.

Yi-Han and Dolgyu were among the most skilled students in the swordsmanship class, and while Jijel was slightly weaker compared to them, she still possessed formidable swordsmanship abilities.

Of course, their relationship still wasn’t very good.

“Ask him who’s going to stand in the middle, Choi.”

In a situation like this, if they started approaching, there was a high chance the elemental bull would dislike whoever was in the front.

With respect for the captain, Yi-Han inquired.

“Wouldn’t it be natural for the captain to stand in the center? Could you convey that, Dolgyu?”

Jijel responded with a gesture of her middle finger. Dolgyu let out a sigh.

“Rock-paper-scissors?”

“Rock-paper-scissors.”

Yi-Han in the center. Jijel on the right, and Dolgyu on the left.

Dolgyu felt like it was the first time he had seen Jijel smile so brightly.

**`*

Fortunately, the elemental bull didn’t immediately charge despite the ignited light.

The three students’ strategy was simple.

They spread out in three directions, approaching the elemental bull while waiting for its reaction.

Once the creature began to react, the targeted student would focus on avoiding its attacks, while the other two students would deal damage.

‘The problem is in the evasion.’

Originally, in hunts like this, the person who can evade well is more crucial, while the one dealing the strikes had a relatively easier task.

Yi-Han regretted his inability to avoid being in the center.

-■!

Until just a moment ago, the spirit bull had only tapped its hooves, but now it let out a fierce roar, exhaling icy breath.

It was clearly a warning gesture that seemed to say, ‘Back off meekly.’

Instead of approaching further, Yi-Han decided to use his magic.

“Surge forth, move!”

Water droplets surged forth into the air and headed straight for the spirit bull. The spirit bull, which had been standing still, was startled and moved its body. The bursting water droplets explode upon impact with the ground.

Thud, thud!

“Aweso… Wait.”

Watching the impressive display of magic that continued to amaze everyone, Dolgyu felt something was off.

It was because the direction in which Yi-Han had thrown the water droplets seemed a bit peculiar.

It seemed as if he was aiming to bring the elemental bull down from above, and the result was as if he was pushing the elemental bull to the right…?

‘Damn, son of a bitch.’

Jijel drew her twin swords.

Dolgyu noticed, hence there was no way Jijel could have missed it.

Since the first time, Jijel had also intended to push the elemental bull to move towards Yi-Han’s side when it came her way.

Dash!

Jijel jumped diagonally backwards to the left.

It was to redirect the attention of the elemental bull which was focused on her back onto Yi-Han.

While it was momentarily distracted, it was clear that the elemental bull perceived one of them as a more imminent threat.

It was a clever attempt, but in the end, it was a move that sealed their own fate.

-■■!

Provoked, the elemental bull completely changed its angle and charged towards Yi-Han and Jijel.

“I’ll hide at night!”

“…?!”

Yi-Han’s figure disappeared. Jijel didn’t even have time to curse. To confront the elemental bull, she had to draw her twin swords and wield her magic blade.

She waved the sword in her right hand to lure the elemental bull’s attention, and with the sword in her left hand, she aimed directly at the bull’s jaw. Jijel, like a skilled bullfighter, sidestepped and managed to deal damage to the elemental bull as she passed by.

‘Tsk.’

Jijel clicked her tongue at the sensation she felt at her fingertips. It seemed like she had attacked the elemental part, but the bull appeared to take no damage at all.

The sword she held was covered in frost, but the area where the elemental bull had been attacked was instantly restored.

Creak–!

The elemental bull made an unpleasant noise as it changed direction. Despite its massive size, it was surprisingly agile and flexible.

With a nod, Jijel swung her sword again, as if signaling for it to come forth again.

Boom!!!!

In that moment, the elemental bull was sent flying sideways as if struck by something.

Yi-Han dispelled the invisibility spell and revealed his form. The sturdy wooden sword he had been holding was completely reduced to dust.

“….”

“….”

***

Of course, it might sound like an excuse, but Yi-Han had a reason for shifting the elemental bull’s attention towards Jijel.

For Yi-Han to execute a proper attack, someone needed to divert the attention of the elemental bull.

Telling Jijel would not make her believe it, of course…

It would be painful for her feelings, but he had no choice except to show the results.

“Will this be okay, Yi-Han?!”

“It’s fine! We wouldn’t have to be in the same team outside of this lesson anyway!”

With a cheerful response, Yi-Han chased after the back of the bull in his transparent state.

“Feet, grip the ground!”

Yi-Han’s muttering transformed into an incantation that surged through his entire body.

With his already sharpened focus, his vision became even more precise, allowing him to perceive the movements of the elemental bull more distinctly.

Whooong!

Remembering the last time his sword broke, Yi-Han infused his magic without hesitation.

Thanks to the attention the spirit bull had fixed on Jijel, Yi-Han had managed to buy himself some precious time.

Yi-Han swung at the spirit bull before the sword shattered. Naturally, the attack ended with the sword breaking apart.

Boom!!!!

Still, the effect was evident. The spirit bull was knocked to the side. Yi-Han shook his numb hand from the impact and shouted before the spirit bull could get up.

“Now’s the time! Let’s get out of here!”

“O… okay.”

Dolgyu couldn’t bring himself to look at Jijel’s expression. It was too frightening.

***

The goat-headed centaur, Angrago, looked at the exit with a worried expression.

Having entered first and come out, Angrago from Team 3 was deeply concerned about Team 4.

“What should we do if that Wardanaz bastard uses Dolgyu again?”

“Don’t worry. Moradi is there. Moradi will prevent him from doing that.”

“Right? Since Moradi is around.”

Although everyone said that, their expressions were still filled with worry.

It felt like putting a wolf and a lamb in the same place!

As the three of them walked out, the students couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.

‘What a relief.’

“Finally you came out, Dolgyu!”

“Moradi, you worked hard!”

“….”

“….”

“???”

However, the students who came out realized that there was something strange about the atmosphere of Team 4.

Wardanaz was usually an expressionless and cold guy, but even Dolgyu seemed to be acting awkwardly with an unfamiliar expression, as if he didn’t know where to put himself.

Moreover, Moradi…

For some reason, there was a tense atmosphere that seemed as if they would be killed if they spoke to her.

Angrago stopped trying to speak to her because he was too scared.

“A-Angrago.”

“Dolgyu! Did you avoid it well?”

“Yeah. We managed to avoid it. How did you guys handle it?”

Dolgyu asked curiously.

No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t imagine other team students solving it the same way as Yi-Han did.

“We grabbed a torch hanging in the corner, threw it, and while the creature was distracted, we made our escape.”

“We conjured flames and threw them at the creature, then ran like crazy before making our escape.”

“Hey, you guys are clever. We don’t have those abilities, so we had to take turns luring the bull while barely finding our way to the exit.”

Students from each team spun tales of their adventures.

There were teams that cleverly strategized their way through, and others who charged in headfirst relying on brute force to overcome the challenge.

With each story he heard, Dolgyu’s expression grew more rigid.

‘Come to think of it, the Professor did say to confront it and then head to the exit, he didn’t specifically tell us to defeat it, right?’

Professor Ingurdel hadn’t uttered a word about knocking it down, yet due to Yi-Han and Jijel’s conversation about how they should beat it down, Dolgyu had also been swept up in the atmosphere.

The next teams that entered also came out one by one. Some students emerged with their cloaks or clothes covered in frost, looking dishevelled and distressed.

“You all did great. I instructed you to face the challenge and make your way to the exit, but there was even a team that went so far as to beat the summoned monster. While that wasn’t my original intention, the team’s excellence in beating it deserves nothing less than praise.”

The students buzzed in response to Professor Ingurdel’s words.

Some students were about to ask Jijel, ‘Jijel, did you do it?’ but seeing Jijel’s foul mood, they simply backed off.

“How did it feel to face the monster?”

“It was stronger than I thought. Its movements were fast too.”

“I didn’t expect that the attacks themselves wouldn’t work.”

The White Tigers Tower students expressed their impressions according to what came to their mind. The elf professor nodded in response.

“I’m sure everyone thought the same.”

“….”

As he listened to the professor’s words, Dolgyu pondered where his team had gone wrong.

“Everyone probably felt differently. However, while escaping from the monster, you must have realized one thing. That is, there’s no need to be so terrified.””

“You are right!”

The White Tigers Tower students agreed.

Even if it was just running away, facing the monster directly and experiencing it firsthand diminished the fear more than expected.

Ultimately, in order to dispel fear, one must face that fear directly.

“Facing monsters is ultimately akin to the fundamentals of swordsmanship. Stay composed, assess your opponent, and think about how to escape if you can’t win. I’m pleased that you all seem to have gained an invaluable lesson today that words alone couldn’t teach.”

Dolgyu agreed with the professor’s words.

Of course, Dolgyu’s team just beat it outright, though…

“Oh. For this semester’s lessons, I plan to proceed with the teams formed today. It seems the balance is better than expected.”

“….”

Dolgyu nodded his head as he listened, but then froze in place. After that, he looked at Yi-Han and Jijel.

Their expressions were similarly frozen, much like Dolgyu’s. Yi-Han asked Dolgyu in a low voice.

“Hmm, do you think it’s a good idea to apologize now for what happened earlier?”

“…I think it might be best to let me be the mediator for that…”