Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy Chapter 772

Chapter 772

Shock and silence.

Direth understood the shock her junior had received, so she waited for him to wake from it.

"...H-how is that possible?"

"Which part? White Tiger Tower 5th year? Or zero schools?"

"It's all confusing... Can you advance to 5th year if you've failed?"

The common joke among Einroguard's lower-year students, "Won't you get to 5th year if you keep failing?", was far from reality.

Einroguard wasn't kind and gentle enough to send you to the next year just because you failed.

Once you failed, where the student usually went was the punishment room.

Instead of going outside during breaks, staying in the punishment room usually resolved most failures.

Although it didn't work for 4th year students aiming for graduation, that was because it was graduation, and generally, the orthodox process was fail -> punishment room -> overcome.

But to endure while continuously failing and even reach 5th year?

"First of all, that Jahan guy... was in the punishment room all break."

"..."

Yi-Han suddenly felt chills.

To think a person had been confined in Einroguard continuously since admission without ever going outside.

It was an ordeal sufficient to turn even a normal person into a monster like the skull principal.

"I-isn't that too cruel?"

"These things happen at Einroguard, junior. Not just me, but even Yukbeltire and the professors tried to teach him..."

Yi-Han unconsciously swallowed.

It felt more tense than when he met the skull principal's mad doppelganger.

"...But failed. Jahan couldn't understand even a little about the calculations or laws needed for magic. It's as if he's cursed by numbers."

"I-I see."

Yi-Han nodded.

As magic was basically an advanced process requiring one to sense mana, know how to move it, calculate in one's head, and concentrate, it couldn't be done by sensation alone.

Even if one luckily learned a few, they couldn't progress beyond that.

If Caten of the Jahan family was cursed by numbers as Direth said, it wouldn't be strange for him to have failed continuously.

"Wait. Then how did he become a 5th year?"

"His swordsmanship was outstanding."

Caten had swordsmanship skills that didn't lose even when compared to seniors from White Tiger Tower, let alone his own year.

He made up for his lacking magic somehow by creating auras with mana and unfolding various secret swordsmanship techniques.

-Mr. Jahan. The test content was clearly to create a wall of water, but...-

-I made it, Professor.-

-This is swordsmanship... Although it's amazing that you created a wall of water by swinging your sword... What swordsmanship form is this?-

-It's a secret technique I created in the punishment room to pass the test. I swung my sword all day to implement a wall of water.-

-...Wouldn't it be better for you to just enter a knight order?-

The skull principal and professors, moved by that dedication and talent, suggested "How about graduating early and entering a knight order?", but Caten firmly refused.

Caten himself had aspirations for magic.

-A man of the Jahan family doesn't bend his resolve once made, Principal. As swordsmanship is also a technique for handling mana, if I reach the pinnacle, I might find a point of contact with magic.-

-...I know a bit of swordsmanship too, but regardless of the point of contact between the two, you won't gain enlightenment about magic just because your swordsmanship level rises...-

-Principal. Didn't you say not to put limits on magic!-

-How cowardly to bring up my own words. This bastard.-

In the end, the skull principal, overcome by Caten's stubbornness, allowed him to advance to 5th year.

If you insist that much, try to produce results through swordsmanship research!

...As a result, a monster called a zero-schools 5th year student was born.

"...Couldn't he just go to a knight order?"

"Junior. I, his seniors, and his juniors have all said that a hundred times each."

Hearing this, he seemed to be a swordsmanship talent on par with Jijel's older sister Jicklin, to the point where it was incomprehensible why he was doing this at Einroguard.

Wouldn't it be consideration for the empire's swordsmanship world to just let him focus on swordsmanship?

But in the end, one's own will was important no matter what others said, and Caten was convinced that if he delved into swordsmanship, he would someday be able to comprehend magic.

"I see. Hmm. But he's not a senior with a bad personality or anything strange, right?"

"You're asking if he's not a strange senior after hearing that conversation just now?"

"...But he's not a strange senior like Professor Verduus or Senior Yukbeltire, right?"

"He's not that kind of guy. But... Hmm... No. I don't think I need to say this in advance."

"..."

Yi-Han wanted to say "Do you know there are two ways to make people angry, Senior?", but he held back.

The senior before him was too pitiful to get angry at.

"I understand. Then I'll go listen well."

"Alright. Good luck."

"Ah. When should I come help with the pseudo-holy object research?"

"It's still far off."

"Then I'll come this weekend."

Yi-Han greeted her and went outside.

"Did he perhaps not hear me say it's still far off?"

Direth grumbled at the back of her junior's head.

It was hard to lie when her junior was too smart.

'Ah. I should put in some gold coins.'

Left alone in the Dark Shadow Hall after Yi-Han left, Direth approached the safe.

As the dark magic school was so poor, there were times when Direth secretly put in her own money.

She was worried that there might be 0 new students this year, so she should open her wallet a bit...

-!!!!!!

A shrill scream burst out from the Dark Shadow Hall.

  *

The <Sword and Life> lecture was held in the Hell Outskirts Lecture Hall on the 6th floor.

'It's fortunate that what burst on the 6th floor was a poisonous swamp.'

Yi-Han passed through the poisonous gas emitted by the swamp with his bare body and opened the door of the Hell Outskirts Lecture Hall.

Inside, lava was flowing like a river along with sweltering heat.

"..."

Although he felt a strong urge to close the door, Yi-Han endured.

'Wait. The elemental magic lecture was like this too. Einroguard lecture halls are all unique. I can't hastily judge the lecture content by the lecture hall's characteristics.'

Of course, the professor in charge of the <Elemental Magic and Its Applications> lecture had set Yi-Han's body on fire, but Yi-Han tried to accept it as positively as possible.

'...Why is there no one here?'

When he saw no one among the lava and igneous rocks, Yi-Han felt the urge to retreat once again.

'No. Professor Verduus's lecture was like this too. The seniors might come late because they're overflowing with composure.'

Unlike Yi-Han, an Einroguard 2nd year, 3rd and 4th years were people overflowing with composure.

So they might come late.

"Ah. Is it a junior? Welcome."

When he noticed Yi-Han had come, a short cat mixed-blood student waved happily.

He was a male student with quite thick animal blood, and Yi-Han instinctively flinched when he saw him.

'Animal mixed-bloods with cute appearances were... dangerous in my experience.'

In Yi-Han's experience so far, animal mixed-bloods with cute appearances often had broken personalities.

Yi-Han inwardly called this the <Animal Mixed-Blood Personality-Cuteness Inverse Proportion Hypothesis>.

The most fitting example was of course Professor Verduus.

If not for his appearance with thick animal blood that evoked sympathy and cuteness, Professor Verduus probably wouldn't have survived until now.

'Among animal mixed-bloods with broken personalities, only those with thick animal blood and cute appearances survive. It's a fairly convincing hypothesis.'

"Are you perhaps Senior Caten of the Jahan family?"

"That's right! Junior."

'Damn it.'

Yi-Han inwardly lamented.

He had thought that even if it was a somewhat dangerous senior, it would be okay if they were taking the lecture together, but he was the senior conducting the lecture.

"How did you know my name?"

"Well... Other seniors told me."

"I see. I know your name too."

Caten took off his wide-brimmed fedora and smiled as if satisfied. Yi-Han hesitated.

"Pardon? How?"

"Aren't you Yi-Han of the Wardanaz family? I've wanted to meet you ever since I heard the rumor that you're taking all schools, to think you'd come to this lecture."

"..."

Yi-Han regretted not clinging to Direth's ankle earlier to hear more about the senior.

He was truly scared now that the other party was acting like this.

'He's not trying to take revenge just because I'm taking all schools, is he?'

Yi-Han happened to be from Blue Dragon Tower and the other party was from White Tiger Tower.

If his 2nd year friends had whined and begged for revenge...

"When are the others coming?"

"Other people?"

"Yes."

"There are no other students taking this lecture."

Caten blinked and looked at Yi-Han.

"...How do you know that?"

"Well, because except for you, junior, all the students taking the swordsmanship lecture are from White Tiger Tower, and I've already asked the White Tiger Tower students?"

"..."

Yi-Han resolved to grab the collars of the White Tiger Tower students when he met them later.

If a crazy senior went around asking about the lecture, they should have shared that information, how could they just let it slide!

"Should we try persuading them again? It seems too much of a shame for me to take this lecture alone."

"There's no need for that, junior. And I was the one who prevented them from taking it."

"Pardon?"

Yi-Han was surprised at the unexpected words.

Could a professor go to students and threaten them not to take the lecture?

'That's a novel method.'

It would be a method Professor Verduus would be afraid of the consequences if he found out.

To go to students first and threaten them not to take the lecture...

"After all, there's a qualification to take this lecture. I asked and if it seemed they couldn't, I told them not to take it."

"By qualification, do you mean swordsmanship?"

Yi-Han was puzzled.

Of course, although Yi-Han had outstanding swordsmanship among his year, if even Jijel and Dolgyu, not to mention seniors, had given up, there was no reason for only Yi-Han to take it.

"Ah. Have I perhaps not taken the test yet?"

Yi-Han carefully asked, wondering if he could leave the lecture hall if he was defeated here.

Then Caten shook his head.

"It is a test, but not swordsmanship. It's closer to wisdom. Here, junior. Take this book."

Caten handed Yi-Han a book.

It was <Basic Fire Magic>, quite an old book, but with good explanations that 1st year students had found useful to pass around.

"?"

"The back, 3rd Circle page. <Lesser Fire Barrier>. Do you know this magic?"

"Yes."

"Can you explain it?"

"Pardon?"

Caten urged as if telling him to hurry up and do it.

Yi-Han pondered slightly, wondering how he should explain.

'Hmm. The senior probably hasn't learned many magics.'

According to Direth, except for a few basic magics learned through sensation, Caten was making up for the rest with swordsmanship.

Yi-Han prepared to explain, thinking of the other party as Gainando who didn't know numbers for now.

"So first, this <Lesser Fire Barrier> is magic that uses fire elements and shape transformation. In the case of fire elements, as there are phenomena like backdraft, accurate calculation is essential, but sometimes when there's too much mana or you can't calculate, you need to use other methods. I recommend casting protective magic and using magic, and although it seems reckless at first, if you repeat it, you can find that there are surprisingly many parts that can be replaced by sensation..."

"You pass, junior."

"??"

"I look forward to working with you."

"Uh, what do you mean?"

"I'll teach you swordsmanship, and you teach me magic. Hmm. Won't we create synergy together?"

"..."

Yi-Han felt he understood a little what Direth was about to say earlier but stopped.