Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy Chapter 746
Added 2024-08-13 08:31:59 +0000 UTCChapter 746
"But will the principal help us?"
Anglago asked with an anxious face.
Originally, the skull principal was far from being a warm educator.
In fact, most of Einroguard's professors were far from being warm educators.
There had been several times when students went missing until now, but even then, the skull principal hadn't stepped up to help.
-You disappeared on your own, so return on your own!-
"...But this time might be a bit different because it's his fault."
Jijel spoke cautiously.
Honestly, Jijel was also half in doubt right now.
It seemed like the skull principal wouldn't help, but Wardanaz was his direct disciple so he might treat him specially, and it was caused by his own doppelganger...
-I don't think the principal will help Mr. Wardanaz...-
-I agree. The world ending in fire seems more likely than the principal helping Mr. Wardanaz.-
'Why are the priests the most negative?'
Jijel looked down at the paper wad irritably.
It wasn't that others couldn't think negatively. Wasn't this a time when they should think positively even if forced?
Looking to the side, Anglago already had an expression like the world had ended.
"Right? The principal won't help, will he?"
"Wait a bit."
"But..."
Jijel drew her sword. Anglago immediately came to his senses.
"I'll wait!"
"Good."
How much time had passed?
The princess's excited, trembling writing came up.
-Theprinciplesaysheunderstands!!!!-
"!!!!"
"Really...?! Wait a moment."
Jijel felt a sense of discomfort. Wardanaz, who was confined, seemed to feel the same as he asked the question Jijel was about to ask first.
-Princess, was that all?-
-Pardon?-
-I mean, was there no talk of when and how he would rescue me?-
-...No...-
Adenart seemed to realize the discomfort too as she couldn't continue writing.
All the students watching had similar thoughts simultaneously.
'...Is he really going to rescue him?'
Even if he had jumped up right away saying 'Let's go rescue him! Follow me!', it would have been slightly suspicious, but to just say 'I understand' and nothing more.
-Anyone going to meet the professors?-
-Let's go together.-
-It seems better to go meet the professors rather.-
-I'llgoalongaswell...-
The students quickly accepted reality.
It seemed faster to ask other professors than to trust the skull principal.
*
"But why professors plural?"
"..."
At Anglago's question, the other friends couldn't answer and remained silent.
Come to think of it, there was no one they could really talk to except Professor Garcia.
"How about Professor Verduus?"
-Guys. I shouldn't be the one saying this since I'm captured, but Professor Verduus really doesn't seem like a good idea.-
Yi-Han answered his friends' question immediately.
"Professor Bagrak?"
-Guys. I shouldn't be the one saying this since I'm captured, but you might get attacked.-
"Hey. Stop asking Wardanaz."
Jijel glared fiercely at Anglago.
He had been asking the captured guy about escape methods one by one since earlier.
"B-but Wardanaz knows the professors best."
"Professor Garcia will speak well to the other professors."
Tijiling spoke with a voice full of trust.
With Professor Garcia's personality, she would surely speak well to professors who could help.
"Professor Garcia seems too shocked, I'm not sure if she's alright."
"It's fine. Professor Garcia could probably beat up a doppelganger with her fists."
"..."
His friends inwardly tilted their heads at Anglago's groundless belief, but didn't say anything.
For now, they needed hope.
"Then let's go to the seniors."
"Can we persuade the seniors?"
"We have to deceive them. Don't mention the mad doppelganger at all. Just say he went missing somewhere in the mountains."
At Jijel's words, some friends showed negative reactions.
"I think we need to flesh out the story a bit more."
"It feels a bit awkward to just say he went missing. How about saying he went in to tame a new animal and went missing?"
"That would work for the ballgame club seniors."
Seeing even the priests putting their heads together and planning 'how to deceive', Anglago stuck out his tongue.
"Wow. I didn't know the priests were so skilled at lying too."
Thud!
"Wh-why are you hitting me, Moradi?!"
*
The mad doppelganger attacked every time Yi-Han cast 3rd Circle or lower magic, then lamented.
"Fate, be curs..."
"Your Highness. But don't we need to practice such magic to learn higher magic?"
The honor-obsession left by the ancient royal looked at Yi-Han with contempt and said,
"You should have thrown away such lowly spells within two or three years of starting magic."
"I've been learning magic for one or two yea... Kuk."
After attacking the disciple who kept climbing up word by word again, the mad doppelganger started explaining.
The lower elemental magics, enchantments, transformations, divinations, summonings, etc. that Yi-Han was currently casting were too rudimentary in the mad doppelganger's view.
Such magic was for boiling water and lighting fires, not for showing achievements in front of a master.
The only magic this lowborn had shown that was barely tolerable was telekinesis shield magic.
"Then should I practice 4th Circle magic?"
Another attack.
Yi-Han flew backward.
"...5th Circle?"
The mad doppelganger was about to attack but stopped and sighed.
Yi-Han couldn't read the other party's inner thoughts, but he could feel that the other party was cursing fate inwardly right now.
He was probably thinking something like 'How did I end up with such an idiot'.
"Fine. 5th Circle. Let's compromise on 5th Circle. Lowborn."
"Yes. Thank you."
"Then cast it."
"...But I haven't learned any?"
Instead of attacking, the mad doppelganger shuddered at the disciple's terrible stupidity.
Then he said.
"Shield magic."
"?"
"Make that shield magic you used last time so you can explain it to this royal."
The mad doppelganger's voice strongly conveyed the intention that he was really tired and would compromise to this extent.
Of course, from Yi-Han's perspective, it was nonsense.
How could he do something he had never done before, whether the other party was disappointed or not.
It was essentially telling him to create a new magic...
"I've never done it before."
"Then do it now."
With those words, the mad doppelganger sent Yi-Han flying backward. A solid rock face cracked open its jaws and swallowed Yi-Han.
Then a workshop hidden inside the rocky mountain revealed itself.
"!"
Except for being slightly antique, it was similar overall to Einroguard's magic workshops.
There were various reagents and magic books...
'It's similar except for the lack of an exit.'
"I'll give you one day."
Yi-Han didn't ask questions like 'What happens if I fail?' to the mad doppelganger disappearing beyond the wall.
He could guess without having to ask.
'Let's try to guess that bastard's thoughts.'
Yi-Han sat in a chair and fell into thought.
No matter how crazy the other party was, grasping their thoughts was quite important.
'What's the connection between telling me to learn 5th Circle magic and then telling me to create shield magic?'
Creating magic sounded grand, but in fact, it could become easy if approached simply.
Right now, if he uniquely composed the <Fire Creation> magic with his own incantation, movements, and mana movements, he could attach a name like <Wardanaz's Fire Creation>.
But this kind of magic development was meaningless.
Usually, magic like <Fire Creation> had almost perfect efficiency as it had been developed over a long history.
Forcibly messing with this would only result in magic slower and more mana-consuming than the original magic.
To be a bit more meaningful, it needed to have at least one better aspect than existing magic.
Specifying shape transformation, or delving deeper into the fire attribute...
The shield magic Yi-Han had unconsciously created was magic cast to block the mad doppelganger's attack.
Summarizing its characteristics...
'It's telekinesis-type magic. The casting speed is very fast. Non-verbal? I cast it non-verbally. Is it true that people can do anything when faced with a life-threatening crisis?'
As he was pondering and organizing, Yi-Han suddenly remembered Professor Bagrak's theory and shuddered.
'No. You can't put accidental phenomena as general educational theory.'
Yi-Han returned to the main point.
'Does organizing and creating this shield magic help in learning 5th Circle magic?'
Nothing else particularly came to mind.
If not, why would he talk about 5th Circle magic and then make a fuss about creating shield magic?
-Junior, are you okay???-
"?"
Yi-Han was surprised by Direth's sudden contact as he was drawing the incantations and mana structures of the telekinesis magic he had learned, trying to fit them to the shield form.
He had told his friends but hadn't told Direth.
He didn't want to add anxiety to the 5th year whose life was already full of harsh trials.
-What's the matter?-
-That's what I should be asking! Where are you?!-
-I'm in the Blue Dragon Tower dormitory?-
-Junior, do you really want to die???-
-...I was kidnapped by the mad doppelganger.-
-Right! Rumors were going around the club!-
'Ah.'
Yi-Han realized what had happened.
It seemed his friends had visited various clubs to request help.
-The ballgame club says you went missing while trying to tame a new animal, the kitchen club says you went missing while trying to catch a mountain-destroying goat, the library club says you went missing while looking for a sleeping secret book somewhere in the mountains, the stonemason club...-
-My friends seem to have lied. Moradi probably made it up.-
Yi-Han thought only Moradi would make up such lies.
-Good strategy. So where's your location?-
-I'm not sure either. It's a workshop inside a rocky mountain, but tracking seems difficult. This mad doppelganger isn't an ordinary mage.-
-I see. Alright.-
-...Senior, you're not writing an anonymous letter, are you?-
Direth, who was in the main building far away, was shocked.
'How did he know?!'
-An anonymous letter is a bit... You might get hurt for nothing, Senior.-
-Is that important right now?!-
-No. The principal said he'd come look for me too.-
-And you believe that??-
'You're hitting a sore spot.'
In fact, Yi-Han was also a bit skeptical about whether the skull principal would really come help.
-Apart from that, since it's the principal's doppelganger, it won't be easy to resolve by sending an anonymous letter.-
-So? Are you planning to stay trapped there forever?-
-Absolutely not. I'm thinking of enduring and waiting for now, then finding a gap to escape.-
"..."
Direth suppressed her anger and exhaled a long breath.
Certainly, Yi-Han's words weren't wrong.
Having directly seen the magic left by the skull principal's mad doppelganger, she felt with her whole body how outstanding a mage he was.
It wouldn't be easy to find such a mage if he hid with determination. Even if it looked ordinary on the outside, dozens of mysteries and arcane knowledge would be imbued inside.
In the end, the junior inside directly finding a gap to break through and escape, then requesting rescue was the most likely and fastest way.
'To think this is the only way!'
Direth lamented that magic was a useless trivial skill that couldn't do anything, and grasped her quill pen.
-Alright. Do you have a plan to find a gap?-
-Yes. For now, I'm thinking of creating new magic as ordered and learning some 5th Circle magic. I'll aim for when the other party is satisfied and lets his guard down.-
"..."
Direth covered her face with both hands and let out a groan mixed with pain.