Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy Chapter 690

Chapter 690

"?!"

At the sound of "I'm done," Siana turned around with wide eyes.

It was already surprising that he was analyzing magic he had seen on the spot, but he was already done?

"Oh, you're done?"

However, Gainando wasn't surprised at all and opened the door.

"Then shall we play a round of mage cards..."

"No."

"Right? I was just asking."

Watching Gainando quickly retreat, Siana fell into slight confusion.

'...Am I the strange one?!'

Perhaps this wasn't actually that surprising, and only Siana herself was amazed?

"What's the matter, priestess?"

"Well, he says he's finished analyzing the seniors' magic."

"Gasp!"

Dolgyu almost fell over in surprise.

At that reaction, Siana let out a sigh of relief.

'Thank goodness. Gainando was the strange one!'

"As expected, it was transformation magic."

Yi-Han came out from inside and looked around at his friends. Seeing Dolgyu in an awkward posture, Yi-Han looked at him strangely and asked,

"Why are you standing like that?"

"I-I was just exercising a bit."

"Aren't you training too hard? Anyway, it was transformation magic."

<Lesser Box Transformation>, a 3rd Circle magic that transforms creatures below a certain size into wooden boxes.

The flow of mana seen from the outside was familiar and easy to understand, so he had judged it would be within expectations, and he was right.

"Luck seems to be on our side. The seniors used magic that I could see and analyze."

'That doesn't seem like luck...'

Siana thought inwardly.

From the seniors' perspective, this was honestly very unfair.

How could they predict that a junior who had just finished 1st year might grasp and learn the structure just by glancing at the magic?

Nillia whispered to Yonaire.

"I always thought Wardanaz was good at magic, but doesn't he seem more and more insane lately?"

"Yeah. I want to deny it, but I can't..."

After quieting his chattering friends, Yi-Han spoke again.

"They're probably trying to throw noisy and disruptive things into our luggage pile."

"That's truly despicable!"

"Let's definitely do it next year too!"

"..."

When his friends stared at him, Gainando became flustered.

"Huh? Is everyone not going to do it next year?"

"Now that we've figured out the magic, we don't have much to worry about on this end."

Yi-Han ignored him and continued speaking.

This kind of method wasn't very difficult to block if one could just recognize and distinguish the magic.

They just had to find what was mixed in the luggage pile, dispel it, or throw it back into the seniors' luggage pile.

"Then everyone prepare to go out and wander around."

"Again?"

"What do you mean again? How much have we done?"

At Yi-Han's words, his friends sighed and got up from their seats.

When they arrived in Granden City, Yi-Han had chosen the least popular gate among dozens of city gates on the outermost edge to enter.

Not content with that, he had thrown a rough and worn cloth over the carriage to make it unrecognizable as a noble family's carriage.

All this was to avoid the seniors' eyes and enter the villa. If they arrived in Granden City with plenty of supplies and were discovered by seniors, it could become troublesome.

After safely storing the supplies in the villa like that, Yi-Han's next choice was to contact as many seniors as possible.

To probe the seniors' smuggling methods a bit, and if they had evil intentions, to prepare in advance...

To do that, Yi-Han and his friends needed to wander around various corners of Granden City like innocent 1st years who knew nothing.

"Now. Everyone remember. If a senior brings up smuggling or talks about Einroguard's secrets..."

"Gasp!"

"I'm surprised!"

"How could that be!"

"How could such a thing! Impossible!"

Yi-Han nodded with satisfaction at his friends' exaggerated reactions.

"Yes. Don't forget to react like that and pretend to be fooled. Everyone depart!"

***

The skull principal's loyal knight, the Death Knight, walked down the main street of Granden City with his robe pulled low.

In fact, he could have walked in the midday sun, but it was out of consideration for the people of Granden City.

'The Wardanaz family's villa...'

Arriving at the Wardanaz family's villa as ordered, the Death Knight knocked on the front gate.

-Who is it?-

-I've come on the principal's orders. Students, please open the door.-

-...Aaaaah! It's an attack from the principal!-

-It's not an attack, but a message...-

The Death Knight tried to explain in confusion, but the students made clattering noises as they prepared defenses.

-Yi-Han! A death knight has come to the door!-

-What is... What have we been caught for?-

-I don't know!-

-I'll send a message to the temple. Let's call the priests and attack!-

The Death Knight who came as a messenger today had relatively little experience dealing with students.

Unlike experienced Death Knights, he shouted in panic.

-There's a misunderstanding, everyone!-

-Don't listen to him! He's trying to deceive us into opening the door!-

-I've come to take the new students! The new students!-

-...-

Creak-

The door of the villa inside the front gate opened, and students poured out with suspicious gazes.

Only then could the Death Knight breathe a sigh of relief.

"Is it true?"

-I can swear on my honor as a knight. The new students need to enter first.-

Although the skull principal had left Eandurde in Yi-Han's care during the break, he couldn't do so with the semester about to start.

As Yi-Han was becoming a 2nd year now, he couldn't be placed with new students.

"...A trap?"

Eandurde, who had been solving equations, looked at the Death Knight with suspicious eyes.

"It's not a trap."

"But... you're a Death Knight."

"Ah. The principal usually uses Death Knights as minions."

"?!"

Leaving the shocked Eandurde behind, Yi-Han opened the front gate.

He couldn't keep the skull principal's messenger standing outside any longer.

As the Death Knight entered, he looked over the Wardanaz family's villa. It exuded a practical neatness that showed little interest in appearance or luxury.

-You're not all preparing for smuggling, are you?-

"Ugh."

"Cough."

The Death Knight, who had asked lightly, was taken aback when the students coughed as if choking.

-Ah, no. Are you already preparing for smuggling? As 1st years?-

"What... What makes you say that?"

-Well, you arrived early, and I see various luggage piled up... Don't smuggle. I'm saying this for your own good.-

At the Death Knight's words, the students threw accusing glances that said 'Just like the skull principal's minion'.

Belatedly realizing those glances, the Death Knight shouted,

-I'm not saying this because I serve my master!-

"Sure..."

-I'm really saying this for your sake. Smuggling is not good! It might seem tempting at first glance, but you could lose all your prepared items and end up in the punishment room. And...-

The Death Knight hesitated.

He didn't want to sow discord among the students unnecessarily.

-...Well, it's also dangerous to trust the seniors too much.-

"Yes."

"That's right."

"We know."

-?!!-

The Death Knight was taken aback when the students showed indifferent and dry reactions.

-Ah, no. Aren't you surprised?-

"We are surprised."

-You don't look surprised at all...-

"My friends are all rather expressionless."

Yi-Han insisted shamelessly. The Death Knight was confused but had no choice but to nod.

"How is the principal doing these days?"

-Yes. Thanks to Mr. Wardanaz defeating all the bureaucrats, his work has become much easier.-

"????"

The friends beside him doubted their ears.

What did Yi-Han do?

However, Yi-Han himself had no time to clear up the misunderstanding. Now that he had met the principal's minion, he had to scrape out as much information as possible.

"Is there anything the principal is wary of or cautious about?"

-Are you asking this to smuggle now?-

The Death Knight wasn't a fool.

He could perceive the intent behind the students' questions.

-But I'll answer you.-

"!"

-Because if you learn about Einroguard's iron-clad defenses, you'll give up the idea of smuggling.-

"Oh...!"

If the skull principal had heard this, he would have scolded him saying 'That will work on some but not on others!', but fortunately, the skull principal wasn't beside him.

-The master has increased the number of Death Knights in preparation for the new semester. Knights patrolling other areas have also returned.-

'Do they have to go this far just to inspect smuggled goods?'

While noting down the number of Death Knights, Yi-Han lamented inwardly.

Couldn't they just do it with the existing personnel?

-Realm hounds have also been summoned. They'll check for any smuggled goods that might come over, patrolling from the school's main gate to the mountains.-

"...Uh, do they usually inspect to this extent?"

-Usually about once every ten years. After all, we have to gather knights from other places... And the realm hounds are quite troublesome creatures.-

'Why this year of all years?'

Yi-Han was inwardly furious at the fact that he had drawn the worst luck in the smuggling difficulty that periodically rose and fell.

Couldn't they have chosen a low difficulty!

"What about the sky..."

-Good question! The number of wyverns has increased. I thought it was unnecessary to go that far with the sky, but the master is a thorough person. He probably judged that there might be students who would try to come over through the sky.-

"...!!"

This was a bit chilling.

It could be a coincidence, but Yi-Han sensed that the skull principal was targeting him.

'No. The break is over, but still...!'

The skull principal was determined to somehow pay back the humiliation of Yi-Han escaping through the spire stables last year.

If he had tried smuggling with Amur's help without knowing this, he would have been in big trouble.

'It's fortunate I found out in advance, but it's painful to lose one of our methods.'

Unlike the seniors, it was one of the methods only Yi-Han could use, but now it was blocked.

But there was nothing he could do about it, no matter how regrettable. Yi-Han resolved to endure without the spire stables route until the skull principal's vigilance eased.

"But aren't there many excellent mages among the seniors? Is it possible to check all of their magic one by one?"

The Death Knight hesitated to answer, as if a sore spot had been hit.

-We can't... catch everything. But that doesn't mean you should smuggle. Only a very small portion succeeds a little, do you really want to take that risk?-

'Yes...'

'I do want to take that risk.'

The students thought inwardly.

"Hearing this, the thought of smuggling does fade a bit."

-Is that so!-

The Death Knight's eyes brightened.

He was satisfied if his words could help prevent the students' mistakes even a little.

-That's good then. You'll see when you experience it this time, but there's no such commotion. No student passes through the inspection quietly. They cast magic, cause disturbances, try to sneak out, sometimes even riots break out...-

"...Uh, riots?"

-They probably think they can't be put in the punishment room if everyone goes wild together! Of course, the master does put them in. That year, lectures were held in the punishment room for the first week.-

The seniors' past was very interesting.

Yi-Han focused intently, wondering if there was anything he could reference.

-And this time, the warehouse keeper will also come out to help with the inspection. No matter how excellent the students' magic is, it will be really difficult to pass through!-

Yi-Han nodded.

The warehouse keeper, who had the ability to detect mana, was the very embodiment of terror for students taking night walks.

Even Yi-Han had been in danger a few times.

'Wait. If the warehouse keeper comes out to inspect, then the underground...'

-Mr. Wardanaz?-

"Yes?"

-Who is that person?-

The Death Knight pointed ahead with a perplexed look.

A tightly bound senior was being dragged back by students after trying to escape from the villa's outer room.

-You brats. How on earth did you know? Who told you?-

-Senior. Please stay still!-

Thud!

As the door closed, Yi-Han shrugged and said,

"I'm not sure what you're talking about."

-...-