Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy Chapter 952

Chapter 952

In Ilendil's opinion, people who got along well with spirits often had poor relationships with others.

Starting with Ilendil herself, after all.

However, the junior from the Wardanaz family was a bit excessively sociable.

To even contact a friend's family separately and talk about gatherings...

Though Ilendil might have seen wrong, this was still...

'Gasp. That makes sense.'

Nillia felt goosebumps at Ilendil's words.

To think that if you get along well with spirits, you don't get along well with others.

For Nillia, who had dreamed of cakes from picture books while the Shadow Patrol hunters of the northern mountains held feasts with the blood and liver of freshly caught beasts, it was a very relatable statement.

"Come on. Nillia has many friends and many spirits."

"I think that senior is just making excuses for having no friends. And she has no friends because she secretly summoned artificial spirits in the forest."

"..."

However, the friends were indifferent to Ilendil's words.

Even Adenart chimed in.

"Affinity with spirits has nothing to do with sociability. That's nonsense."

"Isn't that right?"

As even Adenart, who didn't want her sociability denied, kept nodding and denying it, the friends became even more certain.

Meanwhile, Yi-Han returned with a permit. Unusually, he was holding a new coat in his other arm.

"...Wardanaz. What's that?"

"Here, Asan. Mr. Daihal said he had prepared clothes for you."

"What?! Wasn't he blaming my test scores?"

"...He did that a little too, but anyway that's not important. Here. Take it."

Asan checked the coat very suspiciously.

He thought there might be a letter inside saying something like 'Don't be satisfied with 100 points, get 200 points', but there was nothing like that.

"Hmm. Maybe I doubted my brother too much..."

"I told you Mr. Daihal doesn't not think of you."

Of course, when Yi-Han visited, Daihal had given him a new coat saying, "Wardanaz! I was just preparing to give this as a gift next time I saw you, this is perfect."

But that didn't mean he didn't think of his brother. He had kept asking questions about Asan's magical achievements.

'But there's no need to relay that.'

"And Asan. Here's pocket money from Lady Haidan."

"Wait. The pouch has 'Yi-Han Wardanaz' written on it?"

"That's because I transferred it to my gold coin pouch as I was leaving."

'Isn't this fabric too luxurious for Yi-Han to use?'

Yonaire felt something off but didn't say anything.

There was something more important than that.

"Senior. Once we enter, where should we search first?"

The barracks where Granden City's guards and senior knights stayed was larger than expected and had several buildings inside.

If they rummaged around carelessly, the enemies might notice first.

"The underground temporary prison."

"Indeed. That's certainly the most likely place."

Yi-Han nodded as if agreeing with Ilendil's designation.

Though they could be hiding in other guard barracks, armories, or warehouses, those weren't such good places.

In the case of barracks, they would have to bribe all the personnel belonging there, and in the case of armories or warehouses, there were too many possibilities for unexpected events.

Compared to that, a temporary prison dug underground was dark, spacious, and wouldn't attract much attention...

'To grasp that right away. As expected, you're amazing.'

"Yes... The spirit just told me."

"...Then let's go in."

Yi-Han turned abruptly and strode forward. Ilendil was slightly flustered and asked the friends.

"D-did I do something wrong...?"

"You tried to attack Wardanaz with artificial spirits in the forest, didn't you? It's natural for him to be wary."

'That was so long ago...!'

Ilendil felt wronged inwardly.

  *

"This is bad. Of all people, for Akdin to be captured."

"We can handle it ourselves without that guy."

"Is this the time to put on airs? You evil... No, you couldn't even solve this thing?"

The mercenaries were gathered in a hidden space behind the underground temporary prison.

Originally, it was a place to stack wooden barrels containing food for prisoners, but now it had become a forgotten place known only to a few servants and thieves.

Experienced mercenaries secured several such places in the city to use as temporary hideouts when carrying out jobs.

Staying near inns or taverns with many watching eyes was like sticking out their necks asking to be caught.

But despite such experience and ingenuity, the power of the evil god was gradually eating away at them.

The ancient relic emitting an evil light.

This relic, which they could neither throw away nor discard, was strangling them.

Move... Obey my command...

'Damn it!'

Though they wanted to go to temples or mages and ask to be freed, in the current situation, there was a high possibility of being immediately reported if they did so.

From the mercenaries' perspective, it was maddening.

Ting!

"!"

As the string hung in the corner broke, the mercenaries' eyes changed.

They weren't just hiding. They had installed light devices to detect movement at the entrance and passageways.

The bribed servant would only come at set times, so this was...

"A guard?"

"Shh."

One of the mercenaries took out a crossbow emitting a bluish light in the darkness.

This crossbow, said to have been enchanted by Zenbaya himself, boasted penetrating power that could pierce through thick metal armor as if it were mud.

The fact that they were armed with such artifacts itself proved the combat power of these mercenaries. After all, mercenaries tended to prefer this kind of power increase rather than personal training or practice.

'They're not coming in?'

As the door only opened and no one entered, the mercenaries narrowed their eyes.

What was going on?

Crash!

With the sound of breaking glass, smoke began to rise thickly inside the basement.

The mercenaries exchanged hand signals in shock.

-Cover your mouths and use scrolls!

If they breathed in the toxic smoke concocted by an alchemist, they could collapse in less than ten seconds. The mercenaries hurriedly tore their scrolls.

"They used scrolls."

Yonaire, who had been waiting after throwing the glass bottle from above, confirmed the activation of the scrolls and spoke.

Unlike the mercenaries' misconception, the potion thrown just now was simply for smoke screening.

There was no reason to launch a powerful attack from the beginning since the other side would have poison defense measures too.

For an Einroguard mage, this level of deception was basic.

"Understood."

Adenart shot a chakram-shaped artifact into the smoke. The artifact detecting vitality rampaged regardless of the disadvantage in visibility.

-It's mages! Mages above!-

-Break through the encirclement and get out!-

Once the raid was certain, the mercenaries moved boldly.

They immediately activated the potions and scrolls they had, then ran towards the side wall.

Though this underground prison seemed to have only one exit, in fact, the mercenaries had already identified the location of a thin wall.

If they broke through here...

Crash!

As a mercenary who had drunk a strength potion swung a hammer and broke the wall, the figures of mages appeared beyond it.

Anglago and Rowena, who were holding out behind a rock barricade with enhancement magic cast, didn't look easy to shake.

"To the other side!"

"It's too late. Just break through!"

Without Akdin, confusion arose among the mercenaries. At that moment, a purple-glowing arrow precisely sniped one mercenary.

"Turn left and one more!"

"They're seeing through the smoke screen!!"

As Asan, who had cast divination magic, assisted Nillia, the darkness and smoke in the basement became one-sided obstacles only for the mercenaries.

"Argh!"

One mercenary who couldn't hold out rushed out, relying only on his temporarily amplified strength.

As getting close was always the answer when dealing with mages, he charged even if he took a few hits.

However, the mages above were prepared even for that. As Anglago launched an attack to break his posture, Rowena swung her staff to knock him out.

"Tutanta! Collapse the wall by the torch and bury them!"

"Wait. If we do that, the passage will become too wide!"

Realizing they were properly caught, the mercenaries retreated back inside with curses.

Then Yonaire threw another potion. This time it was a proper attack potion.

'Again?!'

As people often said, if there's just one decent mage in a party, it becomes tricky to deal with.

With just one mage, the party's gaps were filled and their strength diversified.

But today, there were several such mages in front of the mercenaries.

And they were very skilled at moving in cooperation with each other!

Even a mage acting alone was tricky, but mages moving in such thorough coordination...

From the mercenaries' perspective, it was almost nightmare level.

"S-surrender. We surrender!"

"Alright! Just keep breathing in the smoke there!"

"..."

The mercenaries who had tried to create an opportunity shuddered.

They didn't know which magic tower mages the Granden City people had brought, but they were extraordinarily vicious.

Even the Lava Clan Tower probably wouldn't be this nasty...

Thud!

"Have they all collapsed?"

"Let's wait a bit longer before going in, just in case. Yonaire. Can you throw one more potion?"

At Yi-Han's words, Ilendil shouted in a shocked voice.

"H-how...!"

"...Th-that doesn't seem like such a waste."

"N-no, that's not it. How did everyone..."

"???"

The friends were puzzled by the senior's unexpected reaction.

'Were we too harsh?'

'No. Einroguard was harsher to us, what nonsense is she talking about?'

"You work well together...?"

"Ah."

At Ilendil's words, the students finally realized what the senior was talking about.

It was certainly an unfamiliar sight.

Not just one or two, but for so many people to move without a single error.

"Are you all close friends?"

"Wh-what. We're not close!"

"Alpha, you bastard. Won't you move aside?"

The students from each tower shuddered and pushed each other away.

It was a very unpleasant misunderstanding. As expected of a strange senior, even her misconceptions were unpleasant.

As the friends who had just fought together started to fight unnecessarily, Yi-Han stepped in.

"We're not close, we've just cooperated a lot together."

'...Isn't that being close?'

Ilendil couldn't understand the second-year students at all.

Of course, she hadn't understood juniors well before either, but these second-years were especially...

'I really don't get it!'

  *

"Oh. It's a magic crossbow. Nillia. Take it."

"Thanks."

"This armor seems to fit Anglago well. Wait. There's an intelligence reduction curse."

"Doesn't matter, does it?"

"What do you mean it doesn't matter, you Tutanta bastard?"

"I mean it doesn't matter because you can wear it with this intelligence increase bracelet."

"...Ah. That's what you meant? Haha."

"Then what did you think I meant?"

Yi-Han's group thoroughly stripped the mercenaries.

Watching that strange scene, Ilendil shook her head and focused on the original goal.

The ancient relic, Echo of the Demigod.

-■■■■■■!-

"Ugh."

Ilendil frowned as the level of contamination felt from inside was worse than expected.

It seemed they shouldn't touch it carelessly.

"What's wrong?"

"The contamination level is worse than I thought... We should purify it first..."

Ilendil pondered how to approach it.

As it was an object related to an evil god, there was a high possibility that half-hearted methods wouldn't work.

"Shall I ask for a moment?"

"Who?"

Instead of answering, Yi-Han opened the echo stone and called the mad doppelganger.

-I warn you for the last time, if you're wasting time on useless things again…-

"It's different this time, Master. This relic..."

The mad doppelganger's anger subsided upon discovering the relic. He spoke in a much kinder voice than before.

-...I forgive you. You're quite admirable. I didn't expect you to find the next magic to learn on your own…-

Pop!

Yi-Han immediately turned off the echo stone.

"...Huh???"

"Oh dear. It seems he doesn't know well after all."