Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy Chapter 963

Chapter 963

Unaware that the even more evil disciple of an evil grand mage was about to explode with anger from afar, Bardan laughed cheerfully.

"Hahaha!"

In fact, he wasn't very cheerful at all.

How could he be cheerful when some crazy magic criminal's attack had resulted in the theft of his relic and his mansion being half-destroyed?

However, among the city's nobles, the most important things were dignity and pride.

Even if the mansion was destroyed, showing oneself jumping up and down in anger or crying loudly in front of it would be like declaring 'This is all I amount to.'

To maintain dignity and pride, one had to keep a smiling face in front of people even if the mansion was destroyed and the relic stolen.

As if this level of incident was nothing.

'...That damn magic criminal bastard. Wasn't it enough to just steal the relic, did you have to destroy the mansion too? He must be a madman who became violent from learning magic. The imperial knights should track down and kill such bastards first, but they're spouting nonsense about him being a righteous thief!'

But the bitterness didn't easily subside.

Just looking at the rebuilt mansion reminded him of the amount of gold coins spent due to the attack and repairs, so it was natural.

"Lord Bardan. The fountain in the garden is truly beautiful. Despite the recent unfortunate incident, the beauty of the mansion remains intact."

Guests who had arrived early before the banquet began flattered Bardan as they looked around the mansion.

Thanks to this, Bardan, whose bitterness had subsided slightly, nodded and replied.

"I called the empire's best craftsmen. Just the spirit stones embedded in there cost as much gold as the weight of all the servants working in the mansion."

"Indeed... As expected of Lord Bardan. It's a wealth I couldn't even dream of."

Once the flattery began, it continued without anyone needing to take the lead.

"Come to think of it, there are so many fools in this city too. To call someone who entered coveting gold coins a righteous thief!"

"That's right. I don't know what the knights are doing. They should track him down immediately and hang him."

"..."

Though Bardan didn't reply, the corners of his mouth lifted slightly and his expression softened.

Realizing their flattery was working, the guests' expressions also became pleased.

None of the guests here truly cared for or cherished Bardan.

They had only come because of Bardan's connections, wealth, or his nasty temper.

It was a profitable business to praise him moderately and improve his mood.

"That western mansion isn't completed yet. I plan to build it more splendidly by calling mages from the stonemason guild. I was thinking of tearing it down and rebuilding it anyway, so I think it turned out well. It will become the most beautiful mansion in Granden City..."

Just as someone was about to yawn secretly at the boring self-praise, it happened.

Bang!!!

"..."

"..."

The guests froze at the sight of a corner of the newly rebuilt mansion exploding with a loud noise.

However, no matter how frozen the guests were, they weren't as shocked as Bardan.

To think the mansion he had rebuilt with wealth extorted through blood and sweat would be destroyed in an instant.

"Wh-what madman... What on earth... This..."

A familiar vicious mage appeared at the edge of the mansion's destroyed second floor.

Bardan shouted in a cracking voice, aghast.

"Se-Setlad Anog! You madman, again?! What are you doing! Why aren't you stopping him!"

He hurriedly called for his guards, but the magic criminal's attack was faster.

The barrage of magic began.

Faced with the storm of magic tearing everything apart, the guards suddenly realized why there was an old saying, 'Don't give time to a mage when facing one.'

As powerful and destructive elements like lightning, flame, darkness, and ice rushed in without any delay, the guards chose to evade instead of charging through the magic.

"You must escape!"

"Shut up! What nonsense! This is my mansion!"

"The mage seems to have prepared thoroughly! It's impossible to face him head-on. We must retreat for now!"

The guards' response was textbook perfect.

When facing a mage who had prepared thoroughly, one should first distance oneself and avoid their firepower, then strike again after the magic ended.

But from Bardan's perspective, it was an outrageous suggestion.

For a mage to cast such powerful magic like this, they needed quite a lot of preparation and time. And not just anywhere, but inside the mansion building here.

If they weren't discovered while sneaking in and preparing, didn't that mean the guards had been negligent in their duties?

"You bastards! If you had done your job properly!"

"We must escort you away!"

The guards grabbed Bardan and forcibly created distance.

Meanwhile, the vicious magic criminal diligently destroyed the buildings and structures within range.

"..."

"..."

Bardan, watching from a distance, shouted while shaking his body as if having a seizure.

"He's not stopping!! He's not stopping!"

"Th-this is strange. No matter how many mana recovery methods he has, there should be a limit due to physical strain?"

The experienced guards were perplexed.

A mage's magic was a powerful and threatening means, but the mage himself was a being of flesh and blood.

No matter how thoroughly prepared they were to cast grand magic, there should be a lull after casting magic several times.

However, this Setlad Anog kept casting magic after magic as if mocking such laws.

'Are there more mages? Is there some trick?'

"Stop him! I said stop him!"

"Th-that's..."

The guards showed difficult expressions.

While it might be different in one-on-one combat, it wasn't easy to rush in when a crazy mage was firing indiscriminately.

Who could have known such a magic criminal would attack again?

"H-he!"

"?"

"He's moving!"

A short scream burst out.

The guests, who had thoughtlessly felt safe after creating distance, could no longer endure and ran towards the main gate.

However, Bardan suppressed his fear with the power of anger and shouted.

"If he moves, there will be an opening! Catch him!"

"...Understood."

This time, the guards complied with the order.

Even for a rampaging mage like that, when moving there should be an opening...

Rumble-

"..."

"..."

"I-isn't that the spirit assigned to the mansion?"

The guards were shocked to see the water spirit reassigned to the mansion protecting the mage.

How on earth had he cast magic for the guardian spirit to side with the enemy?

The summons didn't end there. From the opposite side of the mansion, a huge golem rushed in along with other undead summons.

At that moment, the guards' last patience snapped. The guards quickly ran out following the path the guests had just fled.

No matter how much they were paid, they could no longer endure.

"You damn cowardly bastards! Don't come back! The money you received..."

Bardan shouted while stomping his feet, but the guards didn't even look back.

In a situation like this, they had to assume not one, but about a dozen mages had prepared and attacked the mansion.

There was no point in enduring in such a situation. The guards were cold-blooded in their experience.

As even the guards vacated their positions, the magic criminal proceeded with the destruction work at a leisurely pace.

Even though the main building had magical defenses, cracks began to appear in the walls as attacks continued relentlessly.

"N-no! Stop! What do you want! What do you want, I say!"

Finally, Bardan's spirit broke.

Gone was the appearance of spewing curses and bursting with anger, and Bardan pleaded desperately to the magic criminal.

If only it could be resolved with gold coins...!

"Nothing."

"...What?"

"I said I don't want anything."

"..."

Bardan was overwhelmed by the low, rough voice.

The greatest fear he had felt today swept over his entire body.

To cause such a commotion and want nothing.

What kind of person was this?

Nothing induced fear like an unknown being beyond imagination.

"Mo-monster... You monster...!"

The magic criminal ignored Bardan and focused again on destroying the mansion.

Bardan, paralyzed with fear, didn't notice, but at the back of the mansion, undead summons were taking out valuable items and throwing them over the fence.

-Wh-who's throwing these things?-

-How should I know! Just hurry and grab them!-

  *

"Hmm."

Alcicle opened the magazine <Promising Imperial Cold Mages This Year> at a table set up outside the Red Brick Cafe. He planned to envy and nitpick other cold mages' achievements today as well.

-Did you hear? Setlad Anog has appeared again! At Lord Bardan's mansion, no less!-

"Pft!"

Alcicle spat out a small amount of coffee.

'What on earth is that guy doing?!'

He had sent him out to do club activities, but he was attacking a noble's mansion. Alcicle wondered for a moment if this was club activity.

'Is it not? Is this club activity?'

But no matter how he thought about it, it was strange.

If it were club activity, it should have been anonymous suspicious mages, not Setlad Anog's identity...

-Didn't he attack last time too?-

-I heard that even though that Bardan fellow was robbed like that, he didn't reflect, so he took more extreme measures this time. They say he completely destroyed the mansion this time.-

-What an amazing mage! To think there are still mages like that these days.-

-That's really something. Did you hear? They say that Uap fellow who was robbed last time is now distributing all his workshop assets to his dwarf subordinates.-

-What? Why on earth?-

-He's scared! Last time he was dunked upside down in a canal, who knows what will happen to him this time? Hahaha!-

The people nearby highly praised the bold righteous thief.

'...Did Lord Gonadaltes order this...?'

Alcicle agonized, unable to understand the reason no matter how much he thought about it.

Why on earth would a kind fellow like Wardanaz attack a noble's mansion?

At that moment, Arien called out to Alcicle.

"Mr. Pengerin!"

"I-I didn't participate. Wardanaz did it on his own."

Seeing Arien running quickly from afar, Alcicle unconsciously made excuses.

He was afraid of being scolded for what he had done while being there as a senior mage.

"What are you talking about? People who want to sponsor Mr. Pengerin have come."

"...Why on earth?! Ah, no. Is that true?"

Alcicle was about to say 'Why on earth?' but caught himself and cleared his throat.

It wasn't a good response in front of people offering sponsorship.

However, Arien nodded as if he understood.

"I understand your surprise. Mr. Pengerin's research has genius aspects that are difficult for people to easily understand."

"Sniff... Thank you."

"Actually, Lord Wardanaz mentioned Mr. Pengerin's research while talking about the ball game."

"...??"

Alcicle hesitated, unable to follow what he had just heard.

To be precise, he didn't understand from 'ball game' onwards.

"...What does the ball game story have to do with my research?"

"Ah. You don't know from there? It's a bit long to explain, but..."

"Then please explain briefly."

"You could say that Lord Wardanaz received promises of sponsorship for his great performance riding a griffin."

"...I'm sorry. Just explain it at length..."

Arien wet his throat with tea as if he had expected this.

At that moment, voices were heard again from the side.

-Where do you think Setlad Anog will smash next?-

-Whoever it is, it'll be the house of some greedy bastard. Everyone's scared and just watching their step now! Hahaha!-

-Surely he won't destroy Bardan's mansion a third time?-

"Wait. What do you mean a third time? Wasn't it just once? Last time..."

Alcicle closed his eyes tightly at the other's response.

He should have just heard about the sponsorship and left!