Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy Chapter 754

Chapter 754

The griffin made a low cry. Anyone could see it was in a bad mood.

"Who pulled the griffin's feathers?! Salko, was it you?!"

"Be quiet, you foolish prince! The griffin is acting like that because it can't find Wardanaz!"

"Guys. I don't want to say anything negative, but..."

At Yonaire's words, Jijel answered as if she knew.

"You mean we might all be wiped out if we don't find him before the antidote potion runs out, right?"

"No. I was going to say the angry griffin might eat us before that."

"..."

"..."

The atmosphere among the friends turned chilly at Yonaire's words.

As if to prove those words weren't lies, the griffin made a clicking sound with its beak. Its flickering eyes seemed to be suspecting the mages.

Gainando said indignantly,

"We really brought you because Yi-Han disappeared!"

Although it had followed the students' words for now, the griffin didn't trust any being other than its owner, no matter how close they were.

The cunning mages might have deceived it to use the griffin's power while Yi-Han was gone.

If that was true, it wouldn't leave them be.

-■■■■■!-

The griffin started a steep dive with a cry.

At the sudden movement, the students could only scream while holding onto the griffin.

"There, there's Yi-Han!"

"You guys...! How did you come?!"

Yi-Han, who had been racing down the mountain path like an arrow, was surprised to see his friends.

The griffin shook its body, trying to throw off all the friends and carry Yi-Han.

"Niffirg! You can't do that!"

-!-

"Apologize to my friends. Trying to suddenly drop them."

-...-

As Niffirg looked aggrieved, the friends watched cautiously and tried to stop Yi-Han.

After all, hadn't it flown here diligently believing only their words?

"That's right! Apologize!"

Gainando jumped up and down while dusting himself off. Unfortunately, as he had been sitting on the outermost edge, he alone had rolled once.

Niffirg glared at Gainando as if to remember this.

"Wardanaz. Let's get out quickly. The potion's time isn't that long."

"Yeah. Thanks everyone. I didn't know you'd come like this."

Yi-Han looked around at his friends, feeling moved anew.

It would have been hard to come rescue him even if he had just gone missing normally, but to think they came looking for him where he had been kidnapped by the mad doppelganger.

"Wait. Isn't this time when you should all be attending lectures?"

"Uh... Lectures were canceled today."

"Right. The professor said something came up."

Yi-Han smiled bitterly at his friends' words.

It was an obvious white lie to anyone.

"You don't need to lie. You skipped lectures to rescue me."

"N-no. The professor really said something came up...!"

Yi-Han ignored his friends' explanations and climbed onto the griffin. When everyone was on, the griffin flew into the air again.

Gainando chattered in a relieved voice.

"The seniors weren't any help at all. Even though so many gathered, they couldn't undo a single magic for days."

"What are you talking about? This was solved by the seniors and professors."

"Professors?"

The friends were puzzled.

They hadn't known even professors would come.

"Professor Garcia and..."

"Ah. So that's what it was!"

"Professor Bagrak and Professor Verduus came too."

"Wardanaz. Aren't you misunderstanding something?"

  *

"The junior has joined up. It seems they'll escape soon!"

"Strange."

"??"

Direth was slightly flustered at Professor Bagrak's words.

"What's strange, Professor? Of course, it might sound strange that the junior tamed a griffin, but he's originally..."

The professor shook his head.

That wasn't what was strange.

Professor Garcia and Professor Verduus also belatedly realized the strangeness and their faces hardened.

"A realm?!"

"It seems he summoned something?"

"Trackers, I suppose. Send a message."

Professor Bagrak gave instructions coolly.

Trackers summoned by the skull principal's doppelganger wouldn't be ordinarily troublesome.

"Wh-what should I send?"

"To disguise as other beings. Are there students nearby?"

Professor Bagrak poked his head out of the magic tent and checked the campsite.

Fortunately, a few students who had come after lectures ended were marveling at the melting sky.

"Help is needed."

"Aack!! What the-... Professor Bagrak! What's going on?"

Pop!

Professor Bagrak waved his staff and transformed the student. The student, transformed to look similar to Yi-Han, cried out in shock.

"Wh-what is this?!"

"Run away. Next!"

Professor Verduus understood and marveled.

"Transforming them to emit similar energy to confuse the trackers! An efficient method!"

"Is this the time to say such things?!"

It was Direth who made the juniors, who were flustered from being suddenly forcibly transformed, come to their senses.

"Everyone, to the main building! Trackers from other realms are chasing, so we need to confuse them!"

"Y-yes!"

Although flustered, the juniors each hurriedly started moving.

Ikurusha and the giants, who arrived a step late, were confused seeing students running away emitting energy similar to Yi-Han.

-What are you doing now...-

"Mr. Ikurusha. We need to help the student escape, but nasty trackers are on his tail. We're disguising them to deceive!"

At the explanation from Professor Garcia, whom he was acquainted with, Ikurusha quickly grasped the situation.

-Trying to deceive the trackers. I see. I'll cooperate. The giants here too!-

"Uh... Um... Yes!"

Professor Garcia thought 'Will transforming giants really work?', but for now, as the situation was urgent, she cast transformation magic.

Then giants who somehow looked similar to Yi-Han appeared in droves. Even in the urgent situation, the giants burst into laughter at each other's ugly faces.

-No time for laughing and playing! Scatter!-

-Understood!-

"Professor!"

Meanwhile, a griffin appeared in the distance.

Although not even a week had passed, Professor Garcia and Direth felt like they were meeting the student before their eyes after almost a year.

"Student Yi-Han...!"

"Aack! Yi-Han turned into a giant!!!"

Before they could exchange emotional greetings, Gainando screamed and pointed at a giant running away.

The giant looked pleased at that sight.

The transformation had worked well enough to deceive even human mages.

-Haha. Foolish mage!-

The giant left, satisfied.

"...Listen well, everyone. We're going to scatter and move to the main building now. Professor Bagrak. Please take these two. Professor Verduus. Please take these two. If you lose a student, your life ends there too. Understand?"

Professor Garcia spoke strongly in case Professor Verduus might abandon the students out of laziness.

"Student Direth. You..."

"I'll take these two with me."

Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop!

Seeing friends changed to have features similar to Yi-Han, Jijel made an expression like she was about to vomit.

"I'm sorry, Moradi."

"...It's fine. I volunteered for this."

"Moradi. That's not me but Salko imitating me after transforming."

"You bastard..."

"Moradi. It's really me. Salko was joking."

"..."

"They're coming!"

For a moment, the students thought night had fallen seeing the darkened sky.

But that wasn't it.

Over a thousand bats were flying in, blocking out the sunlight.

Professor Garcia muttered.

"Hounds...! Of all things, such troublesome trackers!"

"Depart!"

Professor Bagrak divided the students remaining at the campsite and Yi-Han's group and had them depart.

Yi-Han asked while moving on the griffin with Professor Bagrak.

"Professor. Why are those called hounds?"

No matter how he looked, they were bat-shaped monsters, far from hounds.

As soon as the question ended, a few bats disappeared and appeared in front of Yi-Han.

Then they rose as rippling smoke and shadows and suddenly changed into four-winged demons.

Professor Bagrak shattered the demon with one hand gesture and answered.

"They're the Demon Duke of Greed's hounds. Don't lose sight of them."

The Demon Duke of Greed, another demon duke on par with Garisaima-the-Duke-of-Pride, the demon duke Yi-Han had met.

Mages called those pets of the Demon Duke of Greed the Greed Duke's hounds.

To be precise, they weren't in dog form, but monsters that could change into any form...

Shik!

"!"

Yi-Han was shocked to see a hound outside his field of vision narrow the distance with spatial movement.

It had clearly cast spatial movement immediately after leaving his sight.

He knew other-realm bizarre beings could instinctively use from birth magic that mages had built up researching for a lifetime, but this was quite shocking.

To use such high-level spatial movement so casually?

Crack-crack-crack!

Suddenly, jade-colored chain lightning burst out in the western sky and started tearing apart the hounds.

Professor Verduus screamed in a shrill voice.

"Garcia! Friend or foe identification! Friend or foe identification!!!"

Unlike Professor Bagrak, Professor Garcia was clearly not used to combat.

Battle mages had skills to skillfully distinguish allies and enemies, but Professor Garcia had little interest in such aspects.

Professor Verduus hurriedly defended against Professor Garcia, who boldly called forth high-destructive magic even though he was in range.

"Block it yourself!!"

"Bagrak! Switch places!"

Professor Bagrak ignored her and kicked the griffin's side. It meant to increase speed.

Despite the arrogant order, the griffin increased speed. That's how threatening the Greed Duke's hounds felt.

'I see. So that's why they're called hounds!'

Unlike demons with reason, these demons felt completely unreasonable.

They didn't falter or feel fear no matter what powerful magic they were hit with.

They only chased their target.

Moreover, their abilities were vicious. To spatial move the moment they left the opponent's sight.

Bang!

When one of the Greed Duke's hounds approached, Yi-Han cast Wardanaz's Telekinesis he had just learned.

Its durability wasn't very strong, as the demon disintegrated into dust when hit by a shockwave-form strike.

Professor Bagrak asked at that sight.

"What was that magic just now?"

'Oops.'

Yi-Han felt he had slipped up, but having already shown it, he couldn't deceive.

Professor Bagrak would have immediately recognized what level of magic that was, created with non-verbal instant casting.

"...I learned it when kidnapped by the doppelganger."

Yi-Han tattled without leaving anything out about how the mad doppelganger had pressured him.

This was a coincidence, and the possibility of it happening again was really slim...

"That's a dangerous method of teaching."

Even in this urgent situation, Professor Bagrak criticized the mad doppelganger's education policy.

Magic should be passed down through trust between master and disciple, not learned through such rough coercion.

"That one doesn't seem suitable as a master."

"..."

Yi-Han was momentarily speechless.

No...

No...!!

Of course, it was good that Professor Bagrak criticized the skull principal's mad doppelganger.

Yi-Han could be moved just by the fact that Professor Bagrak didn't say something like 'That's a good method, as expected of ancient people's wisdom'.

But it felt too unfair when Professor Bagrak said such things.

Why did it feel so unfair?

Yi-Han couldn't understand the reason himself.

"What's wrong?"

Professor Bagrak asked, wondering if magic rebound had come as his disciple looked distressed.

"It's nothing. I think some dust got in my eye."

"Still, don't lose sight of the enemy."

"Yes..."