Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy Chapter 709

Chapter 709

Startled, Yi-Han apologized first.

"I'm sorry, Professor. Do you perhaps dislike pocket watches?"

If it had been Professor Verduus, he would have shouted, "Is being good at magic everything? Even if I die today, I'll blast you with one spell in the face!" But since it was Professor Garcia, he thought there must be some circumstances.

Professor Garcia, who regained her composure with deep breaths, covered her face with both hands and despaired.

"...Student Yi-Han, where did you get that?"

"Huh? I bought it cheaply from an antique shop outside the school."

"..."

Professor Garcia cursed Einroguard for eventually bringing out secret items, cursed Einroguard students for selling just about anything, and cursed the Einroguard principal for making those students obsessed with gold coins.

Whoosh-

As the professor weakly swung her staff, the pocket watch that had flown away returned and the shattered wall was restored to its original state.

"Student Yi-Han. Actually, this watch... I made it."

"What?!?!?!"

Yi-Han was more surprised than when he learned that the skull principal was actually of royal descent.

How could such a diligent and kind Professor Garcia have engraved such words on a pocket watch?

[Congratulations, stupid and foolish junior. If you're reading this, you must have experienced great magic.

If you master the magic engraved on this watch, come find me. Then I shall rightfully teach you the arcane!

-A Great Senior]

Click!

"...There's no need to read it again, is there?"

When Yi-Han opened the pocket watch and started reading the words inside again, Professor Garcia quickly closed the lid.

"Ah. Did the principal perhaps force you to do this? To write such words?"

"Honestly, I'd like to answer yes, but... No, no one forced me. Student Yi-Han. I wrote it. And why would the principal force something like this?"

"He forced me to..."

"..."

Professor Garcia thought she should corner the skull principal later and interrogate him about what kind of conversations he was having with Yi-Han.

She couldn't understand why he was doing this to a diligent and kind student, as if trying to make him go through a stormy adolescence.

"Student Yi-Han. People... change as they live. It might be hard to imagine, but I was very different from how I am now."

"Was Professor Verduus different in the past too?"

"The professor was like that even in the past... Student Yi-Han."

"I'm sorry. I was just too curious."

Professor Garcia cleared her throat and said.

"Student Yi-Han. During my school days, I was a bit rough."

"!"

Yi-Han was shocked.

To think Professor Garcia had been a rough person.

It was as unimaginable as intellectual Gainando or thoughtful Professor Verduus.

How could such a person be rough...

'Hmm. Come to think of it, I can imagine it.'

Looking at Professor Garcia's fist and the wall that had just been shattered, it seemed imaginable.

Rather, he wondered why he hadn't imagined it until now.

"Especially when it came to magic, I was even more so. I didn't understand why my friends couldn't keep up with my magic and got angry."

"Anyone would be like that."

"Usually, they're not. Don't force yourself to agree."

Professor Garcia had already regained her composure. She firmly blocked forced flattery.

Yi-Han became slightly gloomy.

"I think it was because I was taking all the school magics."

"Anyone would become strange."

"Student Yi-Han, please look in a mirror after this is over. Anyway, at that time, I was researching space-time magic alone, and succeeded in making some progress. When I managed to put it into a watch, I had this thought."

"What kind of...?"

"If I left this watch at Einroguard, wouldn't a junior with ambition see it and become interested in space-time magic?"

'I don't think so.'

Yi-Han made a sour expression.

As could be seen with the dark magic school or music magic school, creating a new, unpopular or non-existent magic school was no easy task.

One needed to strategically gather juniors and colleagues and show a rosy outlook for the school, not write provocative words on a strange artifact and expect people to come.

Fortunately, even without Yi-Han saying so, Professor Garcia seemed to have realized it herself.

"But no one came."

"The magic difficulty might be a bit high..."

"That's not really the issue."

Professor Garcia sighed deeply.

"It's surprising enough that student Yi-Han came to listen to this lecture, but to think you got that watch during the break. I couldn't have imagined it even in my dreams. Is this what they call karma..."

"Professor, you're still the object of my respect!"

Professor Garcia's gloomy face softened slightly at Yi-Han's flattery.

"Thank you, student Yi-Han."

"From now on, if anyone asks about this watch, I'll say the principal wrote it."

"There's no need to go that far."

Professor Garcia answered coldly.

  *

After finishing the explanation about her embarrassing past, Professor Garcia began explaining about space-time magic.

"Time magic, actually, when you study time magic, you inevitably learn about space magic too. The two have somewhat complementary aspects. So if student Yi-Han learns time magic, you'll build a foundation in both magics before moving on to advanced topics..."

Professor Garcia hesitated as she was speaking.

"But is student Yi-Han really okay with this?"

"Pardon?"

"I know you're already taking all the schools. To add schools that aren't even here..."

"It's fine, Professor. I want to listen to your lecture."

Yi-Han was sincere.

With all sorts of bizarre lectures crawling on the list, Professor Garcia's lecture seemed much more reliable.

He might end up meeting a second Professor Verduus if he changed it just because the difficulty was high.

"Student Yi-Han..."

As Professor Garcia stared at him, Yi-Han felt awkward.

Professor Garcia seemed moved by the solid trust sent by an excellent disciple.

"In 1st year, I still denied it somewhat, but these days I'm thinking someone might need to stop student Yi-Han..."

"..."

While Yi-Han was dumbfounded, Professor Garcia changed the subject.

"Then shall we start with <Time Perception> and <Spatial Perception>?"

"Ah. I've already learned both."

"...When? Did you perhaps learn them with someone else?"

Professor Garcia folded her arms and sent a suspicious gaze.

Yi-Han, who didn't notice that gaze because he was focusing on magic, answered straightforwardly.

"I learned them with Mr. Alcicle during the last break."

"I see."

Professor Garcia secretly noted in her spellbook 'Hang Alcicle of the Pengerin family upside down'.

"Wait."

"What's wrong, student Yi-Han?"

Afraid she might have been caught, Professor Garcia casually closed her spellbook. Yi-Han, not noticing at all, answered.

"I learned <Spatial Perception> with Senior Balpatan at the beginning of last year."

"I see!"

Professor Garcia added 'Hang student Balpatan together' under the note.

Outside mages or seniors were all doing the same things.

Smiling so that Yi-Han wouldn't notice, Professor Garcia said.

"Then we can move on to the next magic, student Yi-Han!"

"Professor, are you perhaps angry...?"

"What are you saying, student Yi-Han. I'm not angry at all?"

Professor Garcia, inwardly stung by her sharp disciple's intuition, made excuses.

"The next magic is <Lesser Internal Time Extension>. Although it's 2nd Circle magic, its difficulty is comparable to 3rd-4th Circle, so don't rush too much. Understood?"

"Yes."

The extreme difficulty of time magic lay in the fact that the very concept of the magic directly conflicted with the laws of the world.

If a mage wanted to light a fire?

It was enough to slightly deceive the world's laws to make it seem like an ember had caught on the fuel.

As it wasn't a very difficult phenomenon for fire to catch on fuel, deceiving wasn't very difficult either.

However, if a mage wanted to slow down time?

That itself was close to a collision with and rebellion against the world itself.

To handle this, the mage needed massive resistance.

Before using such full-fledged magic, <Lesser Internal Time Extension> was magic close to a workaround.

Magic that extended the mage's internal time, that is, perceived time, rather than external time.

The primitive form of this magic was what experienced combat mages or swordsmen referred to when they said they experienced time slowing down during battle.

'As it only deals with the internal, the difficulty should be lower.'

Yi-Han felt that Professor Garcia was trying to help him adapt with relatively lower difficulty magic before full-fledged time magic.

Of course, while it was low difficulty within time magic, it wasn't easy at all in absolute terms...

"Thought from a flash to a moment, from a moment to an instant!"

Unlike other 2nd Circle magic, Yi-Han concentrated while chanting a long and complex spell.

The fortunate thing was that Yi-Han had experienced time slowing down a few times.

...Whether it was good to have done this a lot was unknown, but at least it helped now.

"In the case of this magic, the caster has to directly confirm whether they succeeded or failed. Student Yi-Han. Judge using time perception magic."

"Thank you."

Professor Garcia held out a teacup as if telling him to take it easy.

She thought there was no need for Yi-Han to overexert himself here when he would be overworked by professors from other schools anyway.

Yi-Han drank the hot tea in one gulp and cast the magic again. Professor Garcia thought inwardly while looking at the empty teacup.

'...Should I make it hotter next time?'

  *

'Ugh.'

Yi-Han moved his steps, feeling regretful.

In the end, he had failed to completely master the magic.

He had the sensation of time slowing down a few times, but if he couldn't fully control it, it wasn't mastered.

Although Professor Garcia comforted him saying it was very fast even now, Yi-Han wasn't fooled.

'Professor Garcia is generous in these aspects.'

Just as it was hard to believe when Professor Verduus said "You're slow!", it was hard to believe when Professor Garcia said "It's fast even now!"

"I think we need to persuade that junior directly. The kid has innate qualities for the stonemason club. We need to take him before the library club guys snatch him away."

"I've heard many rumors about the Wardanaz family, but this is surprising."

'Damn it.'

Yi-Han immediately cast invisibility magic at the sound coming from beyond the corridor.

To think he had to avoid seniors before even seeing juniors.

'I'll need a more definite way to be on guard.'

-By the way, I heard that junior takes all school magics, is that true?-

-Hmm. I couldn't believe it either so I checked, but it seems to be true. The mad rumors entangled with the Wardanaz family didn't arise for nothing. Truly terrifying...-

-Which is scarier, moving an entire sea to make a reservoir or taking all school magics? I think the latter is scarier.-

"..."

Yi-Han almost couldn't resist and nearly blasted magic at the seniors' backs as he passed by.

How could people who didn't know why he ended up taking them all talk so easily.

Woong-

Suddenly, Yi-Han felt a mana change that only he could sense. It was the artifact notebook Direth had made, <Whispers of Einroguard>.

'What is it?'

Yi-Han was puzzled, wondering if his friends had already charged mana and started doodling.

-I have a proposal for you.-

-Hmph. Get lost.-

-...-

'Oops. Was that too harsh?'

Yi-Han felt slightly regretful as the other party fell silent.