Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy - Chapter 20

Chapter 20

He had stayed in the Wardanaz estate for such a long time that he had forgotten how much of a showoff the Empires nobles were. They valued their pride and honor above their lives, and they would prepare a lavish feast even if they were on the brink of bankruptcy!

All that effort, and it turned out to be for nothing.

Splendid! We have two people who have mastered it from the Blue Dragons!

?

Yi-han looked to his side and saw the princess with her hand raised as well. Not only that, she was staring coldly in his direction, her blue eyes holding blatant animosity.

Whats up with her? Yi-han wondered.

With the princess being one of the most talented students among the Blue Dragons, it wouldnt do to be on her bad side, and as far as he was concerned, he hadnt done anything to garner such hatred from her.

In fact, all their interactions had been friendly until now. During their initial meeting, he had helped her defeat the boars. Then, they exchanged information about which classes were great for students.

I was planning on asking her for help in assignments and exams in the future. Why is she suddenly acting like that? Is it because Im always with Gainando?

Poke. Poke.

Hey, Wardanaz, Asan whispered. It seems the princess believes the strange rumor thats been going around about you.

A strange rumor?

Apparently, youre here to laze around, not to explore the profound world of magic. Its complete bogus, I say.

Asan looked pissed as if the rumor was about him. In his mind, there was no way that a member of the Wardanaz Family would display such behavior.

On the other hand, Yi-han, the subject of the rumor, was surprised.

Truly, it couldnt be more accurate! How did they know though?

It was so spot-on that he got goosebumps hearing it. Yi-han, however, didnt think it was slanderous in any way.

After all, it was completely true.

Asan, who wasnt aware of this, seemed extremely furious that such a lie was being spread around.

Im really disappointed by the princess. Of course, this is all because of the person that started the rumor, but she shouldnt have believed in it without first confirming the facts!

WellI wouldnt really blame her for that.

?!

Asan was at a loss for words Just how kind and magnanimous could a person be?

Though the students of the Blue Dragons were all of noble birth, to him, none seemed to fit the image of an ideal noble better than Wardanaz.

Asan finally realized why his family sent him to this academy. It was to meet friends like him.

Wardanaz, youre a great guy.

??

Yi-han was confused by this sudden praise.

Did he take the wrong medicine this morning?

***

Light!

Light, come forth.

Both Yi-han and the princess managed to cast successfully. Balls of light appeared at the end of their staves, making them look like lanterns.

There was a bit of chilliness to the ball of light that the princess produced, whereas Yi-hans was as fierce and bright as the Sun.

Professor clapped his hand in joy.

Excellent! Very few students have ever managed to cast on their first week at the academy. Im happy to have such talented students. But of course, theres no need to feel discouraged even if you failed to master it. is the simplest spell out of all the first-circle magic. Its a spell that teaches beginners what magic is, and learning it a bit faster or slower doesnt determine how far you can go as a mage.

Doesnt sound all that convincing, Yi-han thought.

As the professor said, alone couldnt be used to determine a students ability or talent. Just because someone learned addition faster than others, it wouldnt translate to being good at solving complicated problems using calculus later on in their lives.

Having said that, the students here were all very competitive, and the professors words fell on blind ears.

They were burning with the desire to master the spell before the students of the other towers could!

Professor Garcia continued with a big smile on his face.

You might be curious as to why I taught firstand thats because well be focusing on learning elemental magic this semester. While trying to master , everyone here has subconsciously been learning how to use elemental magic.

!

This aroused a great deal of interest from the students, and they straightened their backs to listen to the professor.

Elemental magic!

Within elemental magic, there were simple elements such as fire, water, wind, and earth, and there were also complicated ones such as plants and darkness. They often served as the foundation for learning more difficult and complex spells.

Want to summon a spirit? To summon a fire spirit, the mage would have to know fire elemental magic to some extent, or else they wouldnt be able to control it.

Want to create an artifact? To handle ores of the fire element or to cast fire enchantments, the mage would obviously need to know fire magic.

Want to travel? Have a job in a secluded corner of the Empire? Just by knowing basic elemental magic, the mage would be welcomed anywhere. They could start a campfire or prepare drinkable water wherever they were, so they were considered valuable human resources.

The only benefit to learning water magic was that he wouldnt have to worry about running out of drinking water during travel

Even that is a bit

He was planning on becoming an imperial mage so that he could laze around without putting in any effort, so he had no real use for spells that were for survival.

But there wasnt anything he could do about it at the moment. He might burn the whole place down if he practiced fire magic.

Gush Forth!

Wardanaz, Im so jealous of you. The professor gave you special teaching.

Asan, who was also practicing beside him, spoke to him in an envious tone. Yi-han, however, begged to differ.

Does this look like special teaching to you?

He wished to be like his fellow students and practice fire magic. Where would he find the need to use water magic anyway

Gush Forth!

Gush Forth!

Chuaaaaaak!

It only took him three attempts before a ball of water appeared out of thin air.

!?

And it wasnt just a few droplets. The ball of water was roughly the size of a fist!

Yi-han and Professor Garcia were both surprised by this.

Granted, he kind of got the hang of elemental magic while practicing , but three tries? Now that was a rare sight, especially since so much water was produced at once. It would only be possible if he had a high affinity for water magic.

Amazing!

Look over here, everyone! Yi-han has succeeded in casting water magic!

Woah!

Way to go, Wardanaz!

As expected of Wardanaz!

Those of the Blue Dragons were happy as they watched his magic. Meanwhile, the members of the White Tigers were staring at it with jealousy.

Clap, clap, clap-

The professor applauded him.

Excellent work, Yi-han. Everyone should learn from his examples. That said, no need to grow impatient. We all have different affinities to magic, and once you discover yours, youll become good at it in no time. Students that grew up near volcanoes or smithies are often better at fire magic, students that grew up near rivers and oceans are often better at water magic, and students that grew up in locations with strong wind are often better at wind magicThe more familiar you are with the element, the easier it is for you to control it.

The explanation made Yi-han even more baffled.

I didnt grow up near a river or an ocean though?

The only real connection he had to water was getting screwed over by his professors in his previous life.2 is water in Korean, and theres this phrase , which means to get screwed over.

Did his personality just resemble that of flowing water?

It wasnt necessarily a bad thing, but

I wouldve been much happier if I had an affinity for one of those rare elements, like ice and thunder.

It was good that he had an affinity for water, but he had mixed feelings about it.

For a split second, he felt someones gaze, so he turned sideways. As it turned out, the princess had been staring at him, and noticing his gaze, she quickly looked away.

?

Having lost focus, the ball of water couldnt maintain its shape and splashed to the ground.

Professor Garcia nodded.

Yi-han, your next assignment will be to maintain its shape and hold it in place.

Understood, professor.

Now that he knew how to bring forth water, maintaining its shape by remaining focused didnt sound too difficult, and he replied without putting much thought into it.

However, a certain question popped up in his mind.

Professor, for how long do I have to maintain its shape and keep it in place?

Well, your mana will probably run out before long, so ah. Hmmm

Normally, a student would run out of mana rather than lose focus, but the boy before him was the polar opposite. He had so much mana that it couldnt possibly dry out.

The professor nodded to himself before readily replying to the question.

Lets say until the end of class!

???

Yi-han questioned what he just heard.

Uhisnt this a punishment?