Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy Chapter 796

Chapter 796

Ragesa and the chained pirates drew their weapons and prepared for an ambush.

There was a solemnity in their appearance, like hunters waiting for prey to appear on its usual path.

'Even professional-like.'

To Yi-Han's eyes, already overflowing with respect, their appearance was only more admirable.

Professor Verduus was walking leisurely with a nonchalant expression, unaware of the danger lurking nearby.

"That fool Gonadaltes. Did I ask for much? I just needed five boxes of diamonds for fuel, but he refused! Is he really a mage!?"

"Attack! Trample that debt-ridden fraudster!!!"

With Ragesa's shout, the pirates burst out from the corridor. Professor Verduus cried out in surprise.

"What!? What's this!?"

"Give me back my gold coins, you fraudster!"

"I-investment failure is the investor's responsibility!"

Professor Verduus responded without panic even to the attack of imperial archipelago pirates. He had experienced such attacks far too many times.

The belt and amulet the professor was wearing linked together to emit light, creating a powerful barrier.

Instantly, the distance between Professor Verduus and the pirates widened.

"You fraudster. What? You said you'd make a flying pirate ship? Where's that pirate ship!"

"Great magic requires trial and error, I tell you!"

"..."

Yi-Han, having grasped the situation, wore a complicated expression.

There was someone with a lower status than pirates in the empire right in front of him. That was a fraudster.

'To think you'd scam pirates.'

"Whee-ik!"

Professor Verduus's skin turned pale and swelled up blue. Ragesa had interfered with the professor's blood flow, stopping it.

The professor, gasping for breath, barely moved the tip of his boots. Then <Curse Expulsion Wave> activated, removing the interference.

Meanwhile, the pirates wrapped in chains pounced.

Ragesa shouted loudly.

"Whoever catches him first will be freed!"

"!!"

At those words, the pirates' eyes burned even more fiercely.

For those who had been forcibly serving after being caught pirating in the archipelago, freedom was a blessing they dreamed of even in their sleep.

'It's an item with magic resistance.'

Yi-Han realized as he saw the pirates advancing while enduring the magic bullets Professor Verduus was firing.

Those chains not only restrained the pirates but also acted as shields protecting them from external magic. It was a unique artifact hard to see even in Einroguard.

Clang!

The pirates swung enchanted axes and cutlasses, trying to break the barrier.

Professor Verduus shouted urgently from inside.

"Inside Einroguard, I'm protected by the territory's law, not imperial law! You can't do this!"

"I came with the lord's nominal permission too, you fraudster. Drop the barrier! I'll just beat you up a bit and take what you have!"

"Who called this pirate?!"

Professor Verduus grumbled while starting to summon artifacts from subspace.

Fortunately, his defenses were heightened due to recent betrayals and attacks from wicked colleague professors.

Seeing this, Ragesa became even more enraged.

"How much fraud have you committed to go around so heavily armed!"

Someone unfamiliar with magic might think mages could easily produce magic.

They might think one could summon flying swords and shields with a single gesture.

But behind flashy magic, an equal amount of effort was necessary.

Such artifacts required daily consistent management, charging, and checking.

When waking up in the morning, checking artifacts one by one, preparing them for use in case something happens today, considering combinations of compatible ones since artifacts could conflict with each other...

Right now, Professor Verduus was in a more thoroughly prepared state than an ordinary pirate captain.

Seeing him so thoroughly defend himself after receiving investments but not even making one sail of a pirate ship, anger welled up even more.

"Mana, swirl and shake the magic!"

The old pirate chanted a spell while swinging her sword.

Yi-Han opened his eyes wide at this amazing sight.

'The magic is getting mixed up!'

The mana flow of any space was supposed to flow under certain rules.

Mages read and drew on these flows to cast magic based on that premise.

But now, Ragesa was deliberately making these flows irregular and turning the surroundings into chaos.

Then the cast magics started to mix and become confused.

The sword Professor Verduus had summoned, which shot light wedges to seal enemies, staggered and lost direction, embedding itself in the ceiling. The magic bullets he had been firing also twisted strangely in their trajectories and stuck in the walls and floor.

That wasn't all. The barriers protecting the professor collided with each other, making creaking sounds and creating gaps. Professor Verduus was aghast and rushed to reinforce them.

'I think I understand why Professor Bagrak called her.'

Ragesa's magic combat was quite unique.

Positively speaking, it was unorthodox and ingenious; negatively speaking, it was unsystematic and all over the place.

If Eumidiphos had attacked Professor Verduus, she would have cast counter-magic to temporarily neutralize the artifacts or engaged in a head-on power struggle to break through them.

But Ragesa dragged her opponent into a chaotic muddy melee rather than such a frontal battle.

In this case, it could become a disadvantageous situation for herself too. The magic mixing just now could easily backfire.

But befitting an experienced pirate, this old woman didn't mind such things at all and rather enjoyed it. She clearly thought the more chaotic it was, the more advantageous it was for her.

'If I fight a mage stronger than me, like the skull principal... no. I don't know why the skull principal's name came up momentarily. Anyway, there's a lot to learn if I fight a mage stronger than me.'

When fighting someone stronger than oneself, one couldn't win in a head-on battle. One had to shake things up and create variables somehow.

"...Aigh!"

Professor Verduus, seeming to realize the situation was unfavorable, quickly stretched his hand into the air and put it into subspace.

Then he grabbed whatever was inside and threw it.

Clang!

Imperial gold coins and jewels, various rare reagents and artifacts were thrown on the floor.

Professor Verduus, who had scattered treasures on the floor like a lizard cutting off its tail, hurriedly fled the way he had come. Seeing this, Ragesa snorted.

"Hmph. No need to chase. I'll forgive him this much today."

"You are truly generous."

Yi-Han quickly flattered her.

If he made a good impression, maybe he could call her to the lecture hall during Professor Verduus's next lecture too?

'I want to show this to the seniors.'

"Kihihi. You have a discerning eye. Wait. Why didn't you activate the necklace?"

The old pirate was startled to realize Yi-Han hadn't activated the necklace he had received.

"You told me to wear it, didn't you?"

"...Usually people wear it and activate it too. You greenhorn! If told to eat, would you just put bread in your throat without swallowing?"

Ragesa was dumbfounded by Yi-Han's answer.

Just now when Ragesa had mixed up the magic in the space, a mage would have felt quite strong dizziness.

It was rare for a mage not to feel dizzy when the surrounding mana changed arbitrarily.

Yet this kid was standing with a calm face without even activating the necklace.

"I'll activate it next time."

"...Yes! Good, very good!"

Impressed by his talent, Ragesa burst into laughter and slapped Yi-Han's back hard. Yi-Han swayed back and forth and thought inwardly.

'What's so good?'

  *

"Um. I have a question, Lady Ragesa."

"I know. I know."

The old pirate nodded.

She thought he must be very interested in her magic, and after seeing such magic combat just now, it would be hard to hold back.

Usually, she would confirm a challenger's talent through trials and tests, but this time Ragesa decided to let it pass.

She liked that he was both Eumidiphos and Bagrak's disciple, and that he was clever and cunning.

"It can't be helped! I'll have to explain the magic I showed today."

"Pardon? That's not it, I was curious about how much Professor Verduus scammed..."

"..."

Ragesa looked at Yi-Han as if dumbfounded.

The chained pirates following behind also had dumbfounded expressions.

'Is that what he's curious about now?'

"Ah. I'm sorry. I'll call him Verduus."

"That's not why I'm surprised! Are you really curious about that? Hmm. Beavle took about... twenty boxes of imperial gold coins? Something like that."

"!!"

Yi-Han's eyes trembled with shock and horror.

"Th-then why did you let him live?"

"I didn't know at the time. I thought the flying pirate ship would come out soon."

Ragesa grumbled, deepening the wrinkles on her face. She still seemed to feel wronged thinking about it now.

"By the time I realized I had been deceived, he had already fled to Einroguard!"

'Perhaps to catch magic criminals, should one search Einroguard instead of the empire?'

"You be careful with investments too."

"Yes. I'll receive investments."

"Kihi. Right. You seem like you'll do it diligently, unlike that Beavle."

"..."

Yi-Han averted his gaze for a moment. Fortunately, this great pirate didn't notice.

"Now about the magic you asked about. Let's see... Where should I start?"

"?"

Yi-Han tilted his head at Ragesa's words.

'Did I ask?'

He didn't think he had asked...

But Yi-Han stayed quiet. The pirate seemed to be in a good mood.

"Do you remember how I cast magic with just one or two syllables in the underground lecture hall earlier?"

"Yes."

"What do you think that was?"

"Spell abbreviation... isn't it?"

At Yi-Han's words, the old pirate burst into laughter as if she had been waiting for this. After clapping her hands and stomping her feet, the old woman barely stopped her giggling and said.

"Yes, yes! I knew you'd think that! All mages who see it for the first time think that way! But it's not. This is pirate magic, the pride of our family."

The spell abbreviation that compresses spells to utter them shortly and the magic Ragesa cast with spells like "Ee-ha" or "Ai-ya" were fundamentally different.

'Certainly, now that I hear it, that's true.'

Even with spell abbreviation, usually words or abbreviations symbolizing that magic would be included.

Since spells were originally tools to help mages concentrate, they couldn't be completely unrelated.

But spells like "Ee-ha" or "Ai-ya" seemed to have little to do with transforming chairs into flocks of parrots or changing back doors into walls.

"While imperial mages rack their brains tying and weaving mana and making a fuss, my ancestor simply entrusted himself to the flow of mana. And then shouted like a pirate."

"...?"

Yi-Han's expression became strange as he listened to the explanation.

So now...?

'Could she mean random magic?'

Magic always required thorough calculation and control.

Otherwise, magic could stab the mage himself.

But amazingly, Ragesa was denying this fundamental principle of imperial magic.

Moderately, roughly, draw out mana and throw it freely!

"...Uh, then doesn't the magic come out somewhat randomly?"

"It does tend to be that way. In fact, earlier I was hoping for a bald eagle to come out, but parrots came out. But aren't parrots good birds too? They're pirates' friends."

"What if the magic flows in an unexpected direction?"

"You have to enjoy that flow! Even ordinary magic sometimes flows in unexpected directions, doesn't it?"

"..."

Yi-Han recalled the time when his fire magic had tried to flow in an unexpected direction.

'Can one enjoy this?'