Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy Chapter 701

Chapter 701

"Among the schools, there are some unusual ones. Besides the schools you saw in your 1st year..."

"Aren't you going to ask about students taking four or more?"

When Gainando raised his hand and asked, Perse scolded him sharply.

"Don't waste my time, junior. Even though I'm your senior, I can't indulge all your pranks."

"Ah, no..."

Gainando felt very wronged.

He had asked for his friend's sake!

"Where was I? Ah. Unusual schools."

"Do you mean schools like dark magic?"

At someone's question, Gainando bristled.

However, it was Yi-Han who had asked. Gainando quickly canceled his anger.

"The dark magic school doesn't even count as unusual. It just has relatively fewer numbers, but it maintains its members and traditions continuously."

"In our time, seniors were worried it might really be abolished."

Ignoring Gainando's words, Perse continued.

"An unusual school at Einroguard is one you've never even heard of or think 'who would take this?' If you want to take it, you'd have to ask the principal to find a professor, or be lucky enough to learn from a 5th or 6th year senior who's researching it."

'I see.'

Yi-Han nodded.

Music magic or Professor Bagrak's magic (if it could be called a school!) fell into that category.

'Wait. Is there a separate school for time magic?'

"Senior. I have a question."

"What is it?"

"Is there a separate school for time magic within Einroguard?"

"Uh... Just a moment."

Yi-Han's question seemed difficult even for Perse, as he took out a conch shell-shaped artifact and asked.

"Senior Yukbeltire. Are there any time magic school lectures this year?"

-No.-

"When was the last time there was a lecture?"

-14 years ago. If there's a junior interested in time magic, tell them to know their place.-

"Thank you for the advice."

Perse heard the answer and relayed it to the juniors.

"It seems it disappeared because no one took it for a while. If you're really interested, in your 5th year you could directly..."

As he was speaking, Perse unknowingly covered his mouth in shock.

To think he was about to say such a terrible thing to his juniors!

"...Pretend you didn't hear that just now."

"5th year?"

Perse violently swung his staff. Gainando was hit with a silence curse and made protesting gestures.

"Juniors. You may not need to respect and revere your seniors, but don't mention the year that's one more than 4 in front of seniors! Especially in front of 4th year seniors!! Understood?"

"We-we're sorry."

"We'll keep it in mind."

As Perse's eyes looked like those of a desperate beast cornered, the 2nd year juniors were overwhelmed by that intensity.

"Let's get back to what we were talking about. 2nd year lectures will mostly revolve around the schools you've chosen. There are still mandatory and elective lectures, but most will be determined by your interests within the school."

Even in the same school, each mage's goals were different.

Even in summoning magic, some mages specialized in spirits, some in inanimate objects, some in ancient artifacts...

As such, Einroguard mages needed to know how to cleverly choose the lectures they needed within their chosen school.

"By the way, choosing will be quite difficult."

"Why is that?"

"Because there are really a lot of lectures."

Perse pulled over a blackboard and unrolled a huge paper on it.

Terrible Cases in Summoning Magic

Fire Spirit Summoning Magic and Elementology

Economic Analysis of Golem Summoning

The Necessity of Summoning Magic in Ancient Artifact Research (2nd years prohibited)

Weaknesses of the Principal's Summons?

...

...

Unlike in their 1st year, the students were aghast at the lectures with all sorts of names without any uniformity.

"Are all these lectures available?"

"No. There are far more unavailable lectures."

Perse quickly explained before the juniors got more scared.

Einroguard's lectures were usually conducted by professors or the most unfortunate 5th and 6th year students on the continent.

Every year, professors and unfortunate mages would write up and submit lecture lists...

...And those lists remained unchanged even as years passed.

"????"

"Uh, is that allowed?"

"It's not. So among those lectures, quite a few don't have professors or seniors to teach them. Also, quite a few are lectures that only start if you take them. No professor conducts a lecture that no one attends."

'Hmm.'

Yi-Han thought there were some, but he remained silent.

"In the end, you have to check directly. Of course, the best method is to ask the school professor. Get lecture recommendations tailored to what you want to learn."

As Perse swung his staff, the lecture list on the paper changed.

Fire Spirit Summoning Magic and Elementology

Fire Botany

Pleasing Spirits Using Fire Materials

Most Famous Fire Elementals

"These are recommended lectures the professor wrote for me before. It's not much different now."

"Senior. I have a question. Bea... Not all professors seem likely to give such detailed recommendations."

"Right. I know that not all professors give such detailed recommendations. And you guys are lucky. There's one outstanding senior."

Perse spoke with a voice mixed with respect.

At that sight, Yonaire cautiously asked.

"Is that senior... someone who's gone one year beyond 4th year?"

"That's right. But the senior doesn't find that distressing at all. That's what's really amazing."

"Is that senior perhaps Senior Yukbeltire?"

Yi-Han asked, just in case.

Perse brightened and answered.

"That's right. How did you know?"

"Uh... I've seen her outside before. So she's the one who does the counseling? Lecture counseling?"

"Yes."

"..."

Yi-Han blanched.

The advice Senior Direth had given him was still vivid.

'Can this person really counsel on anything?'

He doubted to the point of wondering if it was a different person with the same name.

There was someone with the same name as Professor Verduus, wasn't there? Perhaps Senior Yukbeltire could be the same.

They seemed to have similar personalities too...

"We'll start counseling now, so don't say anything useless. The senior dislikes wasting time as much as I do."

"Senior. Can I perhaps..."

"Quiet! Go in quickly."

"...Yes..."

***

It was usually hard to know, but there were advantages to spending 5th year and above at Einroguard.

One of them was that most of your seniors and peers graduated.

Although Yukbeltire didn't particularly care about her notoriety, the fact that most of the remaining Blue Dragon Tower students were her juniors definitely helped her reputation.

To be honest, the perspective of juniors who weren't peers was bound to be a bit different.

To her peers, Yukbeltire was 'Verduus's top disciple', but to her juniors, she was 'Blue Dragon Tower's top brain and respectable senior'!

Yukbeltire's indifference was contrasted with some evil seniors and packaged as kindness.

Yukbeltire's madness for magic appeared as just outstanding intellect to juniors who didn't directly encounter it.

Originally, if you look from afar without encountering them, even the skull principal would seem like a wonderful grand mage of the empire, wouldn't he?

Yukbeltire took out a clock artifact with a complex structure on the table.

The clock artifact was so large that it seemed more suited for a bell tower than a table.

'When will they come in?'

The reason Yukbeltire helped 2nd year juniors with their vast lecture choices wasn't out of responsibility as a senior.

Such responsibility didn't exist in Yukbeltire to begin with.

The reason Yukbeltire helped with lecture choices was solely because of a deal she had made with friends in her 3rd year.

-You're going to use this Tear of Orbidos alone, Yukbeltire?!-

-You can't use it even if you take it, can you?-

-...That's true, but we collected this. Yukbeltire! We brought this from the skull principal's warehouse at the cost of three people going to the punishment room!-

-Let's make a deal. What do you want? If you want, I'll give advice on your small airship research.-

-I don't need it, I've already completed it! ...Wait, but does it look like I need advice? Does it seem that lacking?-

-About 10% or so.-

-About 10%... Well, if it's only lacking that much, it's not bad, right?-

-No. I mean about 10% is completed. That research.-

-...-

-...Yukbeltire. He doesn't need advice on his small airship research.-

-W-wait. I think I might need it.-

-What we want is for you to help the 2nd year juniors a bit. This year's lectures are too confusing as it is. How can 80% be non-existent lectures?-

-Why are you asking for help with something the juniors should do themselves? Do you have relatives?-

-I do have relatives, but it's not just because of that. Yukbeltire. We want to help as seniors. It's noble honor.-

-I'm royalty, but I've never once thought such useless care had anything to do with my honor. Perhaps you're misunderstanding the meaning of honor?-

-...Ah, forget it! Are you going to make the deal or not!-

-I'll do it.-

-Are you serious? It'll take quite a long time.-

-If I make an artifact to handle it instead, the time will be reduced.-

-As expected... Wait. Yukbeltire. Then I'll add a condition.-

-What is it?-

-Help the 2nd year juniors with lectures until you graduate.-

-Have you finally gone mad?-

-If you don't like it, forget it. And Yukbeltire. Don't think about stealing the Tear of Orbidos. If the deal is broken, I'll destroy it now. You think we don't know your intentions? We may not be as good at magic as you, but we're Einroguard students too.-

-...!-

Yukbeltire opened her closed eyes.

Even now, it was a very unpleasant deal. She had never been caught like that by her peers before.

Thanks to that, Yukbeltire had to match lectures for talentless 2nd year students until graduation.

"Hello, senior!"

"Put your hand on the artifact. Think of the school you're taking, and think of your interests within that school."

"Is, is that all?"

The student asked in bewilderment. Yukbeltire stared blankly instead of answering.

Feeling pressured by that cold gaze, the 2nd year student hurriedly put his hand on the artifact.

Then, with a clicking sound, the clock produced a day's lecture schedule.

"...!!!"

The junior looked at the artifact in shock.

Surprisingly, this lecture timetable included not only the school he was taking and his interests, but also lectures he hadn't thought of!

"H-how is there a water element fluidity lecture...? I'm not interested in that?"

"This clock analyzes your abilities too. If your abilities are lacking, it recommends lectures that will fill those lacking abilities."

"Th-that's...!"

"Are you planning to keep standing there?"

"No! Thank you!"

The junior diligently wrote down the lecture names and went outside.

As the next junior entered, Yukbeltire closed her eyes and repeated what she had just said.

And for the next junior, and the next...

"Hello."

A voice that sounded somehow forcibly altered was heard.

However, Yukbeltire wasn't the type to open her eyes and look just because a junior's voice sounded a bit strange.

"Put your hand on the artifact. Think of the school you're taking, and think of your interests within that school."

"Yes."

Yi-Han let out a sigh of relief as the crazy senior didn't look at him and put his hand on the artifact.

He was thinking of resolving this quickly and bolting.

Ting!

"...?"

Yi-Han was flustered when the clock clicked and stopped.

As Yukbeltire was about to open her closed eyes, Yi-Han unknowingly threw his cloak.