Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy Chapter 897

Chapter 897

'Still, it wasn't a meaningless request.'

For now, the most dangerous person regarding lightning transformation was Professor Boladi.

Of course, Professor Yonramo who taught transformation magic could become dangerous too, but based on past experience, Professor Yonramo wasn't the type to push forcefully.

At least Professor Boladi said he would forget...

'I've put out the urgent fire, I suppose.'

"To have grasped such magic and ask us to pretend we didn't see it? I simply can't understand. I may not be a mage, but shouldn't you strike while the iron is hot?"

"I agree. To throw away an opportunity that might come once in ten thousand times, isn't that too arrogant even for the top student of the year! Opportunities are precious."

The knights who had been listening to the conversation whispered behind them.

Even to them who didn't know magic, Yi-Han's current behavior seemed like throwing away good fortune that had rolled in.

Whatever the reason, if he had succeeded with such a powerful high-level magic, he should have been grateful for the opportunity and thrown himself into it wholeheartedly. Wouldn't that be how it becomes ingrained and not forgotten?

Of course, from Yi-Han's perspective, who was working on five or six high-level magics similar to lightning transformation, it was just an annoying remark.

What do they mean once in ten thousand times!

Such opportunities came around once in a while just by attending lectures. By the knights' logic, Yi-Han should have mastered about ten 5th Circle magics by now.

'Talking about once in ten thousand times. This is why mages hate knights.'

When he first entered Einroguard, Yi-Han had thought 'I should learn magic calmly and coolly and not learn irrational hatred towards knights', but after dealing with White Tiger Tower friends and outside knights, hatred naturally accumulated.

"W-wait. Everyone calm down. Wardanaz has his reasons."

Noticing the flashing hatred in Yi-Han's eyes, Professor Ingurdel stopped his friends.

"What reasons?"

"He can't learn it right away because he's already practicing several magics of a similar level to that one."

"...Professor Ingurdel. Even if he's your disciple, such an absurd lie is a bit..."

"..."

Professor Ingurdel almost swung his sword in frustration for a moment.

  *

If Einroguard students built their own information networks to prepare for exams, Einroguard professors strived to catch them off guard.

This year's Professor Uregor was one of those professors. Green light flickered and rose from the lamp he was holding.

"Kukukuk."

'Though he's my nephew, he's really pathetic.'

Professor Bungaegor thought inwardly as she watched Professor Bungaegor laugh vilely.

"Do you have to go that far to deceive students?"

"Deceive? What nonsense are you talking about?"

Professor Uregor bristled at the words of his family elder.

This was something an Einroguard professor had to do.

If you didn't occasionally catch students off guard, they would become arrogant and complacent.

"Professor Kim doesn't seem to do such things..."

"Professor Kim is too soft, that's why."

"Professor Verduus doesn't seem to do such things either..."

"..."

"I take that back. That wasn't a good example."

"Thank you."

Professor Bungaegor apologized for using Professor Verduus as an example.

Come to think of it, Professor Verduus probably had no thoughts about exams.

"Einroguard students are more cunning and petty than you think. They band together, seniors and juniors, to try to deceive professors!"

Feeling wronged at being scolded, Professor Uregor poured out things that had been piling up.

It was somewhat better when they were isolated 1st years, but 2nd year Einroguard students tried to pass exams using all sorts of deceptions that professors could hardly imagine.

Asking seniors to check records of existing exams or predicting new exams was just a basic method.

If you prepared carelessly, you might suffer the humiliation of all students getting perfect scores.

"Couldn't that happen? Are you going to set traps like this every time?"

"Even if not every time, we need to catch them off guard occasionally. That's how students stay on edge."

If that professor gained a reputation for being unpredictable, students would naturally become tense.

That's why, even if not every time, they had to occasionally prepare exams that exceeded students' expectations like this.

The trap Professor Uregor had prepared for this upcoming exam was Nephertum.

By showing students the carefully cultivated Nephertum, he would induce the misconception that 'this exam must be related to Nephertum'.

"I've prepared it so subtly that students won't even notice it's a trap."

A hideout hidden below a cliff.

Powerful sinking incense blocking that hideout.

After breaking through such obstacles and discovering the Nephertum cultivation pond, they surely wouldn't suspect it was the professor's trap.

"Wait. If you hide it so carefully, won't students be unable to find it?"

Professor Bungaegor raised an obvious question.

Her nephew's plan sounded plausible, but if students couldn't find it, Professor Uregor would just be doing useless work alone.

"I've thought of that too."

"What is it?"

"There's Wardanaz. He'll find it somehow."

'It's annoyingly plausible.'

Professor Bungaegor thought inwardly.

Though her nephew was clearly being unreasonable, it was strangely hard to refute.

If it was the Wardanaz family boy, he really did seem like he would find something like that.

"And Wardanaz won't hide such facts from his friends. Ha! Students are truly... like reagents playing in a cauldron."

"Stop with the unpleasant alchemist metaphors. Please."

Though Professor Bungaegor chided from the side, Professor Uregor ignored her.

To work as a professor at this magic school, you had to know how to find your own joy.

And one of Professor Uregor's joys was this.

"Then is the Nephertum not used for anything?"

"It will be used. In testing the performance of the completed exam."

"The students will be so happy."

Even hearing the sarcastic remark, Professor Uregor laughed heartily.

No matter what Professor Bungaegor said, it only heightened Professor Uregor's joy.

Whoosh!

The color of the flame spewing from the lamp finally changed to purple. Professor Uregor's purple sandalwood incense was complete.

The real exam for this <One Drop of Potion Instead of Complex Magic> lecture was not making a potion using Nephertum, but reversing this purple sandalwood incense.

Reversing incense was a tricky task that even skilled alchemists could easily make mistakes with. Even a small mistake would immediately mix up the scents and make a mess.

Only with accurate analysis and careful progression, neutralizing the incense components one by one in reverse, was complete reversal possible.

"I'll use the Nephertum to check whether they properly reversed the incense or not."

"You're really wasting things properly. More than that, isn't the exam too difficult? Isn't this a 2nd year exam?"

As far as Professor Bungaegor knew, her nephew's purple sandalwood incense was quite complex and difficult even among arcane incenses.

Wasn't the difficulty too high for a 2nd year student exam?

At those words, Professor Uregor showed signs of hesitation for the first time today.

"...This can't be helped. If I made it easy, Wardanaz would help other friends and make the exam meaningless."

"..."

Though the words sounded plausible, it ultimately meant he couldn't find an appropriate difficulty and just brought a difficult exam.

Under Professor Bungaegor's reproachful gaze, Professor Uregor spoke as if making excuses.

"I'll tell them the content from this weekend and give them a week. Very generously."

"I'm sure you will..."

"No. Honestly speaking, how much benefit have the 2nd year kids gotten and how comfortably have they lived thanks to Wardanaz? Then it's only natural they should bear with the exam being difficult because of Wardanaz too!"

'This kid. Why is he making such hard-to-refute arguments today?'

Professor Bungaegor was once again overwhelmed by her nephew's assertion.

Certainly, considering the benefits the 2nd year students had enjoyed, they shouldn't complain about the exam being a bit difficult.

Wasn't the difficulty this high in the first place because they kept receiving help? In a way, it was reaping what they sowed.

"You're right. Yes. This level of difficulty might even be appropriate consideration given the average of 2nd year students."

"Haha! Thank you for understanding."

"But let me ask one last thing."

Professor Bungaegor asked with a serious expression. At his family elder's solemn attitude, Professor Uregor also tensed up unnecessarily.

'What is she going to ask?'

"You said you prepared the Nephertum trap because you read Wardanaz's movements, right?"

"That's right."

"And the exam difficulty increased because you read Wardanaz's movements too?"

"You could say that."

"Then why are you excluding the possibility that Wardanaz might easily solve this exam too?"

At the other's question, Professor Uregor relaxed and laughed heartily.

As expected, not being a professional alchemist, she showed signs of misjudgment in this area.

"Because he can't!"

"Hmm?"

"I know Wardanaz has overwhelming magic resistance. The purple sandalwood incense probably won't work on him either. But this isn't a resistance test, it's a reversal test. It has nothing to do with resistance. He has to analyze and reverse it one by one, which requires knowledge and perseverance. He absolutely can't solve it easily."

"Hmm. I may not be an outstanding alchemist like you, but I'm wise enough not to use the word 'absolutely'. There are no absolutes in magic, right?"

Professor Uregor grumbled as he answered his family elder who kept nitpicking.

"Of course there are no absolutes. If there's a powerful incense reversal agent, it could be solved easily. Like a potion I made."

"Do you have any made?"

"Ha! I even got rid of what I had made."

Professor Bungaegor made a slightly disgusted expression.

'Does he have to go that far?'

"What about other reversal agents?"

"Well, equal incense... That would take a year to make. Dragon stone? You'd have to bring that out of legends, wouldn't you?"

As Professor Uregor listed them one by one, Professor Bungaegor had to admit in the end.

Honestly, there didn't seem to be anything among those that an Einroguard student could obtain within a week.

"Alright. You're so great. But don't let your guard down too much. I may not know potions better than you, but I've seen more people. Wardanaz is a genius like the principal."

"...Is that an insult?"

"Damn. Even though I said it, it does sound a bit like an insult."

  *

"Yi-Han. What are you doing?"

"Oh. I'm writing promotional phrases for Senior Caten's lecture so he can take in many students next semester."

"...You know we have exams next week, right?"

"I know that too, you know?"

Yi-Han flared up angrily.

He knew it was exam time too.

But what could he do? Professor Ingurdel's teachings hadn't been much help to Senior Caten.

'I should just fill it with plausible phrases and finish.'

"Aaah... Professor Uregor has gone mad!!!"

"What?"

"What's going on? What happened?"

When a friend taking the alchemy lecture burst into the lounge with a pale face, everyone murmured.

"The midterm exam has been announced!"

"Isn't it a bit much to say he's gone mad for announcing it on the weekend in advance?"

"Nephertum isn't included at all! I only prepared for that!"

"This crazy professor!"

The students immediately hurled curses.

How could he give an exam different from the content he announced in advance (though he hadn't actually announced it)!