al_squad

Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy Chapter 727

Added 2024-08-06 07:27:57 +0000 UTC

Chapter 727

"Ugh. He's particularly throwing a fit this time."

"Let's all try to understand. It's a unicorn after all."

The students active as ballgame club members initially distanced themselves from Professor Bentozol's outburst.

The fired magics turned into gargoyles when they hit rocks and into tree spirits when they hit trees.

Professor Bentozol, who wielded various schools of magic powerfully, was that much of a difficult and threatening opponent.

-Grrrr...-

Of course, Einroguard students didn't run away scared of gargoyles or tree spirits.

"Professor. The unicorn won't love you for doing this. Leave it to us!"

"You summoned monsters here, so why don't you play with them?"

"Shut up!"

Professor Bentozol shouted angrily with a face flushed red from blood rushing to it.

Those arrogant and greedy students always made Professor Bentozol angry.

To begin with, arbitrarily using such beautiful creatures was an arrogant act.

Couldn't people pull carriages, and couldn't people plow fields?

Let alone ballgames, there was no need to even mention it. They could just have people transform and go out, yet they were trying to take out a unicorn.

"I don't care if the unicorn hates me. I'll make sure you lot absolutely can't approach it!"

"Professor, you're committing an outrage right now. The unicorn might want us, you know."

At the student's words, the unicorn firmly shook its head.

The ballgame club members felt slightly embarrassed at this, but like experienced Einroguard mages, they didn't back down.

"It's acting like that because we just met."

"That's right! Won't it change its mind once we get close?"

"I'll turn any bastards who don't leave into maggots and throw them into Einroguard's desert!"

While the tense confrontation between the professor and members continued, new students appeared from behind.

They were 2nd year students who had decided to join the club this year.

"..."

"...This is a bit different from what I thought."

The 2nd year students whispered with shocked faces at the scene unfolding before their eyes.

The ballgame club they had imagined was a bit different.

The empire's rare animals secured in the club's stables.

Club members with excellent horsemanship, united by sportsmanship.

Similarly cultured opponents and refreshing sweat drops shed after fierce matches.

And prize money.

"???"

"What prize money?"

"...Don't we get prize money?"

Yi-Han was slightly flustered by his friends' reactions.

He had clearly heard that Einroguard's ballgame club received prize money from matches with ballgame clubs from other regions?

"Ah. That? Wardanaz. Why does that matter? What's important is honor."

"That's right. That's right."

"Are you all perhaps crazy?"

However, his friends didn't waver at Yi-Han's words.

Although club activities were also a means to secure research funds for students, pure passion for ballgames blinded his friends' eyes.

"If it's a ballgame club, they should secure animals like that in the first place. Otherwise, where would they get mounts?"

Although it seemed like the rider's horsemanship and ballgame skills would be most important in ballgames, in fact, what was even more important was preparing mounts.

If you came out riding a skinny pony while your opponent came out riding a Behemoth, it would be impossible to win no matter how skilled you were.

"A-auction houses or... raising them on ranches..."

"If you had that many gold coins in Einroguard, you'd probably use them for research."

While they were talking like this, a familiar senior came running. It was Perse, a 4th year from Blue Dragon Tower.

"I'm sorry everyone came for a club tour! It would be better to go back today. The professor is more stubborn than expected."

"What's going on?"

"A unicorn appeared in Einroguard, and Professor Bentozol is insisting on monopolizing it alone."

Perse shook his head with a sigh.

Then suddenly realizing, he shouted.

"Ah. You probably don't know Professor Bentozol. He wasn't here last year, was he?"

"No. What kind of person is Professor Bentozol?"

"Professor Bentozol is... well... he cares a lot about animals."

"..."

Unlike his friends, Yi-Han, who had already met Professor Bentozol during winter break, made a complicated expression.

Of course, he was someone who cared a lot about animals, but Yi-Han wondered if that expression was really telling the truth.

If it was like that, the skull principal would be 'someone who worries a lot about the empire'.

"Isn't he attacking students over there?"

"Be quiet! That's just a bit of a misunderstanding."

As the juniors hit the nail on the head, Perse got angry because he had nothing to say.

Although Professor Bentozol was one of the biggest obstacles to the ballgame club, he couldn't openly badmouth Professor Bentozol in front of juniors already.

"Don't be like that, Senior Perse. The juniors should know what they need to know too."

Hormasi, a 3rd year student from White Tiger Tower, stopped Perse.

Hormasi, who was of the dark elf race, was a tall person who gave off an agile atmosphere.

Even though she was wrapped tightly in a coat, cloak, and long skirt, a nimble and dynamic energy could be felt throughout her body.

Picking up the riding crop hanging at the side of her long skirt, Hormasi looked at the juniors while making a tapping sound on her palm.

"Nice to meet you, juniors. Welcome to the ballgame club. I'm Hormasi."

"Hello, Senior!"

As one White Tiger Tower student shouted, Hormasi nodded with a rather satisfied expression.

"There are many students from the same tower. Actually, the two towers that join the ballgame club the most are White Tiger Tower and Blue Dragon Tower. What are your goals for joining the ballgame club?"

"Honorable victory and..."

"...Friendship and competition..."

"Trophies..."

As the juniors each chattered their reasons, Hormasi nodded again, making 'mm-hmm' sounds.

"Prize money..."

"Right. You each have similar yet different goals. Wait. Who just said prize money?"

Hormasi, who had paused at the unusual answer, soon continued speaking. It wasn't that important.

"Do you know how to achieve your goals?"

"We have to compete and win!"

"Ah. Good. Good. But there's something you need to do even before that. To compete, you need to be recognized within the club, right? How do you think you should get that recognition?"

"Do we have to win in practice matches?"

"...That's good too, but what's better is showing your abilities. Look. Do you see Professor Bentozol and the unicorn over there? If there's a junior who can bring the unicorn while avoiding the professor's eyes, I'll give up my right to compete and let them play in matches even if it costs me."

"!!!"

"Hormasi!"

Perse glared at his White Tiger Tower junior with an angry face.

"How long have these juniors been in the club for you to make them do something like that!"

"Then let me ask you in reverse, Senior Perse. How much do we have to cherish newly joined juniors? They're not even 1st years, but 2nd years."

Hormasi answered in an indifferent voice.

Hormasi, an outstanding striker, had little interest in raising or considering juniors.

What she wanted were juniors who would rise up beside her, crush enemy players, subdue the empire's rare creatures and bring them to the club, not ones who acted clumsily.

The dark elf senior pointed at Professor Bentozol with her crop and said,

"You heard from the side? I'm not forcing you. It's up to you whether you seize glory yourselves or just stay here quietly."

"It's dangerous to face Professor Bentozol in that state and bring the unicorn!"

"Originally, even breathing is dangerous in Einroguard, Senior. If we nitpick everything, there's nothing we can do. Juniors. Think carefully. If you miss this opportunity today, you might not meet a unicorn until you graduate."

"...!"

At those words, the 2nd year students all steeled themselves without exception.

Wasn't Einroguard's life high risk, high return in the first place?

"Let's go!"

"I'll be the chosen one!"

"Yes, yes! That's how you should charge in! Go!"

Hormasi clapped her hands while bursting into laughter.

However, the students who had rushed out with momentum suddenly stopped moving before they got far.

"?"

As Hormasi wondered, the students shouted.

"Th-the unicorn is coming this way!"

"...?!!"

"No one can approach!"

Professor Bentozol shouted and pulled out a ballgame club student swimming through the ground, throwing them away.

The professor turned around and shouted.

"Don't worry. I'll make sure those vulgar and greedy beast bastards can't even approach you!"

-■!-

The unicorn, which had been watching the mages' fight as if bored, suddenly raised its head.

Professor Bentozol was overjoyed at the unicorn's reaction.

"Are you worried about me? You don't need to. It's not even difficult to block a few of those bastards..."

Before he finished speaking, the unicorn moved. It kicked the ground with its hooves and blinked out of the fight scene several times with short-distance spatial movement.

Then it dashed towards where the 2nd year students were.

"The unicorn is coming this way!! The unicorn is coming here!!!"

"Th-the unicorn chose me! The unicorn chose me!"

"Why would the unicorn choose you?"

"I suffered in Einroguard. The unicorn recognized that sacrifice and dedication!"

'...Shouldn't the whole school be chosen then?'

A student who had almost accepted his friend's words quickly came to his senses.

Although it was an extremely painful sacrifice, it didn't seem like the unicorn would choose based on that.

Hormasi, who was behind, shouted with a cold, hardened face.

"Everyone back off!"

A unicorn that started moving like that was very dangerous.

As it wouldn't have come running arbitrarily choosing students who hadn't done anything, this was a hostile action.

Perse must have felt that too, as he shouted at the juniors to back off for now.

"Something's strange. Everyone get out of the way!"

"Are you trying to steal our unicorn from us now?!"

"..."

Hormasi and Perse looked at the juniors as if they were pathetic.

Well, it was a junior's privilege to not understand and ignore good advice from seniors.

"Ah. Fine. Do as you please! Try catching it!"

"Hormasi. You can't even stop them!"

"Would they stop even if I tried?"

Hormasi sneered and pulled out her staff.

Even giving advice to juniors once was bestowing a huge favor. It was something she would never do normally.

Now Hormasi herself would directly block the unicorn and gain recognition.

Pop!

The unicorn leaped through space once more, shaking off the mages, and arrived in front of one 2nd year student. Then it knocked the student down and aimed its horn.

"Unicorn, back o...!"

"Calm down. Calm down."

"?"

Perse, who was about to attack the unicorn, was flustered by the junior's voice.

It was a calm voice that didn't show even a hint of panic or fear.

Yi-Han said while removing the unicorn that was tugging on his sleeve with his hand.

"I know you're glad to see me, but don't knock me down. It hurts."

The unicorn licked his hand as if apologizing.

The ballgame club seniors who had belatedly run over opened their eyes wide at this sight.

"Is... is this perhaps the unicorn you were raising?"

Although they knew it was an impossible, stupid question, seeing the scene before them, such a question flowed out without them realizing.

"That's not it. Last time..."