Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy

Chapter 656

Basiu urged his friend.

It seemed that continuing to deal with that arrogant prince who only knew magic would only put them at a disadvantage.

"Ingsen. Let's bring out the magic we prepared."

"For whom? For that prince?"

"...E-except the prince."

Basiu spoke, suppressing his shame.

It was embarrassing, but he couldn't help it. He didn't think they could win against that prince.

Ingsen felt the same way.

'How frustrating. Just you wait!'

Ingsen resolved to study magic even harder when he returned to Baldurguard.

He would study fiercely, about two days a week, and definitely crush that arrogant prince.

"How about that Wardanaz family? He seems kind."

"The Wardanaz family certainly isn't lacking when it comes to showing magic."

As they had their pride too, they didn't intend to show magic to just anyone.

Someone with a certain level of skill, a family name, and above all, kindness that seemed capable of having serious conversations like 'What is magic?' ℞

That was Yi-Han of the Wardanaz family.

"Um. Mr. Yi-Han of the Wardanaz family."

"?"

Yi-Han, who had been covering Gainando's mouth, signaled with his eyes for the other friends to cover his mouth instead, then turned around.

"What is it?"

"I prepared a magic... I'd like you to see it once."

Although Ingsen and Basiu didn't notice, their attitudes had become very polite without them realizing it.

It was the opposite of when they passed through the mansion's main gate saying they would 'crush the other's pride'.

Though they didn't realize it, they instinctively felt it.

That Einroguard's mages were somehow different from the Baldurguard mages they had met until now!

"Magic? Show me."

Yi-Han nodded readily.

Although he had said 'Don't lose to Baldurguard bastards!', even considering that, Gainando's provocation had been a bit too much.

Thanks to that, Yi-Han was in a slightly kind mood.

'I should soothe them a bit.'

Resolving to praise them no matter what magic they used, Yi-Han put on an artificial smile.

Ingsen gained courage from that smile.

Unlike that rude prince earlier, the Wardanaz family mage had noble manners contrary to the rumors.

"Hmm! Then I'll do it. First, I place the outer bark of an old pine tree here. And here, I place steel gem powder. Then..."

"Ah. You're trying to summon a fire bird, aren't you?"

Yi-Han praised with an artificial smile.

Fire bird summoning was a 2nd Circle summoning magic with quite a high difficulty.

Besides the basic difficulty, the fact that it required high-purity ruby powder as a reagent made it feel even more difficult than forbidden magic to mages like Yi-Han.

But if one could bear that, it was quite a good magic. One could call a fire bird that would help the mage without any special contract.

"...H-how did you know?"

Ingsen was flustered.

The original plan was to summon the fire bird and then surprise the unsuspecting Einroguard students.

He had prepared hard because it was difficult to tell what magic it was just by looking at the reagents, and the fire bird's flashy appearance was good for surprising others...

...But the other person had figured out what magic it was before he even started.

"It's good magic, but actually, it's better not to use old pine bark and steel gem powder together. They're both powerful reagents, but they don't have good compatibility and cause conflicts. The magic circle here is wrong too. If there are errors like this, it causes the casting speed to slow down and the effect to weaken."

"..."

It didn't end with just figuring it out.

Yi-Han started kindly pointing out Ingsen's magic one by one.

With each point, Ingsen's eyes wavered and his expression paled, but Yi-Han didn't notice as he was focused on the magic.

"Wait. What is this powder made of?"

"I... I bought it directly from a jeweler..."

"You shouldn't do that. A mage should grind it themselves. Laziness is the enemy of magic."

"Isn't there not much difference?"

"Not much difference? What nonsense."

Yi-Han took the gem powder in disbelief.

Then he carefully, finely ground it.

"Fire bird, appear and protect!"

Whoosh!

As soon as he sprinkled the powder and chanted the spell, a bird made of fire appeared, tearing through the air.

Ingsen could only blink at the summoning speed several times faster than his own, and the much more powerful summon.

How?!

"Now. This is magic using reagents carefully ground by oneself. I'll use reagents roughly ground by a jeweler."

Yi-Han sprinkled powder again and chanted the spell.

Another bird made of fire appeared.

"?"

"...It doesn't seem much different?"

The friends watching from behind tilted their heads.

They couldn't feel much difference between the two fire birds.

They both overflowed with energy thanks to receiving abundant mana.

Yi-Han answered irritably at his friends' reaction.

"Look carefully. This one moves much more smoothly while this one moves sluggishly and stutters. Don't be fooled by mana, you should be able to observe the subtle movements contained inside."

"..."

'It really doesn't seem much different...'

The friends could only feel lessons like 'high-purity mana can overcome reagent quality' between those two fire birds.

When Yi-Han infused mana, the reagent difference wasn't very noticeable.

Fortunately, Ingsen, who was dumbfounded from the shock, couldn't argue that there wasn't much difference between the two fire birds. He just nodded as if entranced.

"I... I see... I'll keep that in mind."

"Now. Look at this magic circle too."

'It wasn't over?!'

Yi-Han's pointing out didn't end. This time he pointed out Ingsen's magic circle.

"Why is this shape here?"

"It... it was in the book..."

"How can you do it like that? You should understand and then draw it. This is a magic circle for the purpose of gathering surrounding mana. If there's enough mana from reagents, it only causes conflicts because of excess mana."

"I... I didn't know that."

"What do you do if you don't know!"

Yi-Han shouted out of habit.

Gainando next to him instinctively corrected his posture. Even though it wasn't directed at him, his body remembered the movement.

"Oops. I'm sorry. It was a habit for a moment... Haha. You might not know. You can learn from now on."

Yi-Han apologized after belatedly coming to his senses. However, Ingsen was already completely frozen.

"Try it."

"Pardon?"

"The fire bird summoning. You were going to do it, weren't you?"

"Ah, that, it seems fine..."

Not only Ingsen, but Basiu too shook their heads quickly.

What kind of skill boasting would it be to summon a fire bird in this atmosphere?

They instinctively felt it.

That if they cast magic here, they might suffer an even greater humiliation than the one they had just suffered!

"What are you saying? Why aren't you doing it after preparing reagents like this? Do it quickly. Aren't the reagents going to waste?"

"Well..."

"Quickly!"

Yi-Han urged sternly.

It was a strict gaze that wouldn't accept any excuses.

Completely intimidated, Ingsen nodded and raised his staff.

"Fi-fi-fire bird..."

"When chanting a spell, stand up straight and chant in a clear, distinct voice."

"Fire bird..."

"Move with it. Move with it. Your movements are separate from the chant. Eyes forward. Focus. Focus. Focus! I said focus! You keep failing!"

Yi-Han harshly urged them to succeed in the Baldurguard students' magic to soothe them.

Receiving Einroguard-style education that was unimaginable in their original school, tears welled up in Ingsen and Basiu's eyes.

The Wardanaz family boy shouting loudly in polite speech from the side was so scary.

"M-mana is lacking..."

"It's not lacking yet. Again!"

"This much should be fine..."

"You were one beat late just now. Again!"

Seeing the students suffering terribly, Gainando looked at his friend with disgusted eyes.

"Wow, to think I'd feel sorry for Baldurguard bastards..."

His friends silently nodded.

***

Whoosh!

At a much faster speed than usual, Ingsen summoned the fire bird.

A cute bird of fire circled around Ingsen, staggering. It looked tired and exhausted like its master.

"Everyone, applaud."

"...Wow! Amazing!!"

At Yi-Han's instruction, his friends started applauding in unison. Nillia hurriedly woke up Siana who had been dozing off.

"Thank you..."

Ingsen and Basiu gave thanks while drenched in cold sweat.

Although they received applause, they weren't happy at all. They were so mentally exhausted that they just wanted to run away.

"Did you prepare other magic too?"

"Yes."

Basiu answered without thinking.

Then he was terrified.

'Oh no!'

"Oh. Let's see that too."

Ingsen glared at his friend as if he would kill him.

It was a killing intent he had never felt before in Baldurguard.

"It's not an amazing magic..."

"Bring it out quickly."

"It's an unimpressive magic..."

Ingsen realized that a noble's pride wasn't much of a thing.

Pride was something that could be thrown away as much as needed.

However, Yi-Han ignored Ingsen's words and searched the reagent pouch he had brought.

"Aha. You were going to cast a flame barrier summoning magic."

"...Sob!"Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Having his magic instantly exposed, Ingsen unconsciously burst into tears from despair.

"No, why are you crying?"

"Hic. Hic hic! Hic hic hic!"

Yi-Han was surprised when Ingsen and Basiu started crying loudly.

"Why are they crying?"

"Don't be fooled, Yi-Han. It's a trick. I do that too when I don't want to study."

Gainando was cold, but the other friends still had warm hearts left.

"Let's let them rest for a bit? I'll go make some tea."

"Here, let's give them a bit of vitality recovery potion."

At his friends' reactions, Gainando grumbled.

To think they had to be lenient on guys crying because they didn't want to study.

'We shouldn't fall for such tears.'

"Hic hic. I... I wanted to use magic well..."

"Oh my. You wanted to use magic well."

Yi-Han soothed them for now.

"But I keep making mistakes... And the magic I completed doesn't seem that great..."

"Then you should practice more. Don't cry."

"Yi-Han. Want to step out for a bit?"

His friends decided to send Yi-Han out for a while.

If Yi-Han kept staying next to them, the two Baldurguard students' minds might collapse.

***

When Yi-Han returned after being outside for about 30 minutes, Ingsen and Basiu had wiped their tears with handkerchiefs and regained their composure.

"We're s-sorry. For such an unsightly..."

"It can happen."

"Ah. Which family are you from?"

"I'm from the Shadow Patrol of the northern mountains."

Nillia replied indifferently.

Ingsen was surprised.

"I-I'm sorry. I thought you were from a noble family..."

'These guys are so annoying.'

Yi-Han thought inwardly.

"Those people are so annoying."

Siana just muttered. Yi-Han was surprised.

"Did her inner thoughts slip out?"

"Huh? Uh, no. I just thought it wouldn't matter even if they heard..."

"..."

It seemed like the Immortal Phoenix Tower priest friends had become a bit rougher in personality, but Yi-Han shook his head thinking it must be his imagination.

"Nillia. Let's show our magic too."

"Huh?"

"They showed theirs, so we should show ours too."

"Wouldn't it be better if you did it, Wardanaz?"

Nillia scratched her cheek.

It would be better for the top student of the year to do this kind of thing, if Nillia made a mistake it would be a disgrace to the school.

"No. I believe in you."

"...Alright. Shall I give it a try?"

Nillia grinned at her friend's trust. Yi-Han nodded and held out a bow.

"First, cast an enhancement magic on this."

"...W-wait a minute."

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