Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy Chapter 49

Chapter 49

In the Empire, dark magic inevitably suffered from a poor reputation.

Firstly, its very appearance was somewhat gloomy and dark, not to mention eerie.

Moreover, the spells it involved were ominous and unsettling - curses, undead summoning, dark and poisonous elements, negative energy, and so on.

It was only natural that people found it repulsive.

-"Good day to you. I am the newly appointed dispatched mage in this village. My main field of expertise is elemental magic, especially fire."-

-"Oh! That means we won't have to worry about the cold in winter!"-

-"H-hello. I am the new dispatched mage. My main field is... dark magic..."-

-"What did you say?"-

-"Dark magic, specializing in undead summoning."-

-"...Block the mage from going near the graves."-

As much as most people despised it, the new students shared the same sentiment.

They had entered the academy with grand aspirations and had no desire to learn dark magic, a discipline faced with persecution.

But Yi-Han looked at the professor with an intrigued expression.

‘There is always a path where others do not tread.’

Even before enrolling, Yi-Han believed that dark magic held considerable value.

For starters, fewer students would mean less competition.

And it wasn't necessary to follow the path of a dark mage just because one attended lectures on it.

‘I can just get the credits and then move on to something else.’

After all, he was going to learn various other magics anyway, so there was no need to worry prematurely.

To Yi-Han, the life of an Imperial dark mage didn't seem so bad.

Although people were afraid of them, the scarcity of mages meant that once employed, they were almost never removed from office.

An absolute job security!

"Everyone reacted just as I expected."

Professor Garcia, sensing the mood of the students, spoke on their behalf.

"However, contrary to popular prejudice, dark magic contains profound mysteries and principles. You all are still unrefined mages. To discover where your talents lie and what goals you should set, you must continue to challenge and experience. I hope that you pursue your studies with a mage's curiosity rather than discarding opportunities due to bias."

Professor Garcia's words, calm and reasonable, slightly moved the freshmen as they looked at her.

"Now, who would like to assist Professor Mortum in teaching dark magic?"

"..."

"..."

Of course, that was one thing, but dark magic was still dark magic.

The students, avoiding Professor Garcia's gaze, bowed their heads.

"Yi-Han, bow your head! Bow your head!"

Gainando, gripping Yi-Han's collar, frantically shouted.

"If you associate with a dark mage, even after death, you'll end up an undead soldier!"

"...Are you really a mage?"

Yi-Han looked at Gainando in disbelief.

It's one thing for ordinary people not to understand magic, but why would you believe such things?

"I will help you."

"!!"

Yi-Han raised his hand.

The students looked at him with a mix of astonishment and awe.

They knew that the boy from the Wardanaz family was acting as a leader in the Blue Dragon.

But to volunteer to assist in the teaching of dark magic was unexpected.

Even the students of the Black Tortoise, who had feared Yi-Han based on rumors about the Wardanaz family, changed their expression.

"Student Yi-Han!"

Professor Garcia looked at Yi-Han with great joy.

Yi-Han knew exactly what that expression meant.

When another close professor was requested to "come and give a lecture sometime," the anxiety was palpable when the students remained silent as if they had eaten honey.

So much so that preparations were made in advance, instructing a student to raise their hand and ask a question.

For Professor Garcia, the gratitude felt towards Yi-Han, who had just stood up, was immeasurable.

"Cough, cough. Thank you. Come here."

As Yi-Han approached Professor Mortum, he understood why the temperature in the classroom had dropped.

A significant amount of mana was emanating from the stationary Professor Mortum.

And not just any mana, but one of the negative attribute.

This cold and eerie negative mana was like a symbol of dark mages.

While mana was essentially colorless, there were often times when one had to change the attribute of their mana to suit the spell they were casting.

Dark magic often required changing the mana to the negative attribute in this way.

'No wonder it's unpopular.'

It was bad enough that it already had a negative image, but to carelessly scatter such mana around students who approached was off-putting.

This would make even students interested in approaching take a step back in alarm.

Whether here or there, professors generally lacked the knack for enticing students.

"You have a lot of mana."

"Thank you."

"Alright. Hold your staff... I'll demonstrate first."

After coughing several times, Professor Mortum waved his hand.

In an instant, the previously chaotic negative mana aligned themselves orderly.

"Rise, my skeletal minions!"

With a chilling clatter, skeletal summons suddenly appeared among the students, dancing a strange dance and spinning around the room. The students looked as if they were about to faint.

Professor Mortum looked at asked Yi-Han with a pleased voice.

"Cough... How is it, alright?"

"Yes?"

"I prepared it thinking the students would like it."

"Hmm. It's interesting."

Yi-Han, not wanting to hurt the professor's feelings, avoided the truth. Professor Garcia expressed gratitude with her eyes.

"Of course, I wouldn't ask you to perform magic of this level. Cough. That's too difficult."

Though obvious, Yi-Han felt a newfound gratitude for these words.

Professor Boladi should hear this!

"First, try converting your mana to the negative attribute."

Yi-Han drew out his mana.

Having already converted it to light and water before, he knew the knack of changing attributes.

He visualized in his mind, focusing on the image and imbuing his magic with it.

Pop!

"You're quite good at this."

Impressed by the skilled conversion, Professor Mortum admired.

"Thank you."

"Try converting more."

Yi-Han focused and continued to change his mana.

'No way. He's good at this?'

Watching Yi-Han, Professor Garcia was slightly taken aback.

Although it was regrettable for Professor Mortum, Garcia had not wanted a student like Yi-Han to choose the thorny path of dark magic, avoided by others.

'Being too good could also be a problem...'

Other mages often struggled more than expected when thinking of the negative attribute.

The concept of negative was broader and more ambiguous than one might think.

Cold?

The ice attribute was also cold.

Dark?

The darkness attribute was also dark.

With several overlapping aspects, many mages struggled to grasp it.

But Yi-Han thought simply.

'Just think of something like non-Euclidean geometry or imaginary numbers... bizarre mathematical images.'

A unique advantage of Yi-Han, unreachable by other mages.

It was the breadth of his thinking.

Fortuitously, the image Yi-Han had conjured was precise, and his mana smoothly transitioned to the negative attribute.

More and more.

And then even more.

"...Professor?"

Yi-Han felt a sense of unease.

Despite it being broad daylight, the classroom darkened, and the temperature, already low, dropped further, making their breath visible.

However, Professor Mortum, far from intending to stop the process, urged him on with an intrigued expression. The man who was coughing just moments ago was now bright-eyed and not coughing, almost unrecognizable from before.

"How far can you go? Try more."

"Professor Mortum?"

Professor Garcia attempted to intervene.

Of course, it was pleasing to see Professor Mortum so happy, but there were other students in the classroom too.

An eerie atmosphere pervaded the room, and the more sensitive students began to hear hallucinations of voices from lifeless entities.

In Professor Garcia's view, it was time to stop.

'Considering Student Yi-Han's mana...'

Curiosity aside, continuing to transform it could lead to unpredictable consequences.

"Why is that?"

"Wouldn't it be better to stop?"

"Just a bit more. I'm curious to see how far he can go."

"That could be tested in other situations as well."

"But..."

"Stop now."

"Oh. Alright then."

As Professor Garcia became stern, Professor Mortum backed down.

'Such a pity...'

Mortum looked at Yi-Han with a look of regret.

One of the most important things in dark magic was the quantity of negative attribute mana.

While mana was important in all fields of magic, in dark magic, having a substantial amount of it opened up endless possibilities.

Undead summoning?

Mana was important.

Curses?

Mana was important.

The same went for dark and poisonous elements...

He wanted to see how far it could go, but to be stopped like this.

'Professor Garcia is really stingy.'

"Professor."

Yi-Han called out to Mortum.

Due to the halted transformation, a vast amount of mana was slowly dissipating.

"Ah. Sorry. Just swing your staff like this and say the incantation. 'Be paralyzed!'"

<Lesser Paralysis Curse>.

A 1st Circle dark magic spell, one of the easiest.

It caused a mild paralysis in the arms or legs, akin to a cramp.

Everyone has experienced numb arms or legs at some point in their lives.

This made the image easy to conjure and the staff movement simple.

"Whom should I cast it on?"

"Obviously, on me."

Unlike other spells, curses required a target.

Yi-Han was taken aback.

Professor Mortum, as far as he knew, looked frail enough to be knocked over by a mere gust of wind.

'I had hoped for a day to cast a spell on a professor, but not like this?'

"Is it really alright?"

Mortum answered as if it was a nuisance.

"Of course. Go ahead."

"Isn't there any protective magic or something?"

"Cough, cough... It's just a spell that paralyzes an arm or leg. How much trouble could it cause?"

'He does have a point.'

Yi-Han was convinced.

Upon reflection, it was presumptuous for Yi-Han, a freshman, to worry about the professor.

'Focus more. Don't get on the professor's bad side by being presumptuous.'

As Yi-Han closed his eyes and concentrated, Professor Mortum shrugged his shoulders, urging him to proceed.

Mages generally possessed more mana than others and knew how to control the mana within their bodies according to their will.

Consequently, mages possessed strong resistance to magic attacks.

Even when struck by an attack, their mana instinctively protected their bodies.

And someone like Professor Mortum, who had almost a lifetime of experience handling negative attribute magic, had even stronger resistance to it.

A spell from a freshman like Yi-Han was not expected to have any effect even without any defensive effort.

'Once it's blocked, Yi-Han will realize how deep and vast the study of dark magic is.'

Professor Mortum believed that if a full-powered spell was blocked, Yi-Han would be profoundly impressed.

-'I used all my strength, and yet it had no effect...! I didn't realize dark magic was so powerful. I want to learn more!'-

-'Cough, if you wish to learn, I wouldn't dissuade you.'-

It was an optimistic thought only a professor who had metaphorically suffered a brain paralysis could have.

"Be paralyzed!"

Yi-Han, along with the incantation, pointed his staff at Professor Mortum.

Then, the gathered mana explosively surged forward with intent, enveloping Professor Mortum.

"!!!"

Surprised by the unexpectedly immense mana, Professor Mortum was momentarily flustered.

Professor Mortum hurried to counteract, but the mana that had already covered his body wrapped around him as if suffocating him.

...Eventually, Professor Mortum fell backward, his entire body stiff with paralysis.

Thud!

"...Professor? Professor!!"

Yi-Han was horrified.

In his mind, the dishonorable title of 'Professor Killer' fleetingly crossed his mind.