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Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy Chapter 970
🕑 Added 2024-10-26 10:01:06 +0000 UTCChapter 970
"What does what you just said mean..."
Yi-Han, who was about to ask, was startled to realize his surroundings were becoming blurry.
-This connection ends here for now. Let's meet again next time, Disciple of Os.-
"Wait! Then the small world..."
The Yaksha King expressed his respect for the mage who didn't let go of his curiosity about magic until the very end.
However, that wasn't what Yi-Han had intended to ask. Watching the realm fade away, Yi-Han inwardly shouted.
'...Was the initiation really irrelevant after all?!'
It seemed like he could have come out on his own when the time came even if he had just stayed still...!
*
"Gasp!"
"What's wrong?"
The seniors were startled when the junior, who had been lying on a sleeping bag taking a short nap, got up with a shout.
When exploring such underground areas, one had to be cautious of nightmares too.
It might not be an ordinary dream, but a precursor symptom of an evil monster or phenomenon.
"Ah, it's nothing. I was just so immersed in magic in my dream..."
"..."
Sigunting and Anpagon inwardly admired him.
The enchantment magic school students were aware that they were the most devoted to magic among Einroguard's various schools.
This wasn't an unfounded pride.
If not, what mage would learn magic under Professor Verduus?
Just learning magic under Professor Verduus qualified the students to say they were the most devoted to magic.
But to be so immersed in magic even in dreams.
'He really is no ordinary fellow.'
'The mental burden must be considerable to be so devoted to magic training even in dreams. Amazing.'
Meanwhile, Yukbeltire quietly approached behind Yi-Han. Seeing that the other seemed worried, Yi-Han waved his hand.
"I'm fine, Senior."
"That's good. I was actually researching methods to train magic in dreams, could you explain the detailed situation?"
"Go away, Senior."
Yi-Han was starting to adapt quickly to the enchantment magic school.
He was beginning to respond sharply and gruffly when a senior spoke to him.
-It was a wasted trip.-
-That's right.-
"!?"
The group was startled by the voices of other students coming from above the cliff.
"Were we followed?"
"No! They don't seem to know we're here. It looks like they found Steelshoe by another method..."
-Who's there!-
Eventually, they seemed to notice the presence from above and shouted sharply.
Anpagon answered without lowering his guard.
"Enchantment magic school. Who are you?"
"Were you the crazy ones? We're from the transformation magic sch... No! Wardanaz! Why are you there?!"
The surprised transformation magic school seniors eventually realized.
"Ah. Wardanaz took enchantment magic classes too."
"Yes... More importantly, seniors. How did you find this location?"
The transformation magic school students on top of the cliff pondered for a moment before opening their mouths.
If it had been only enchantment magic school students, they would have ignored them saying 'Why should I answer you? You little Verduuses', but Yi-Han was there.
"Senior Jarun borrowed our reagents many times and didn't return them, so we secretly put tracking magic on him."
"..."
All the enchantment magic school students, including Yi-Han, were inwardly shocked.
They weren't the only ones who had cast magic!
"One of us can transform into an Alicanto, so we could break through easily. But how did you guys get here so quickly?"
The transformation magic school seniors were puzzled.
They said they came quickly because they luckily had a student who could transform into a bird of this area, but that wouldn't be the case for the enchantment magic school.
"Surely you didn't force your way through the golem cave above..."
"..."
Yi-Han's face contorted at the other's explanation.
He had learned another lesson today.
That he shouldn't blindly accept a senior's tempting proposal!
'Damn. If I had just checked once with the transformation magic side, we could have come much more comfortably.'
Who would have thought there were more people who had put tracking magic besides Yukbeltire.
It was Yi-Han's mistake for underestimating the Einroguard seniors.
"We were lucky. But... Senior. Did you find Senior Jarun? Why can't I see him?"
"We found him, but it's meaningless."
"??"
"Come up if you're curious. Wait. Only you, Wardanaz, come up."
The transformation magic school students warned with faces full of wariness.
They might trust Yi-Han, but the enchantment magic school students weren't trustworthy opponents.
It wouldn't be strange if they suddenly hit them from behind while standing there blankly.
"Alright. I'll come up alone."
Yi-Han easily headed towards the top of the cliff using telekinesis magic.
Then he was shocked to see the distant sight.
"!!"
A familiar dwarf senior was trapped inside a large green crystal vein. His hardened face was full of shock and horror.
"Did you seniors imprison him?!"
"What? No!"
The transformation magic seniors strongly denied it.
"But it feels good. Should we say we did?"
"Wardanaz. When we arrived, Senior Jarun was already trapped there. We checked all around, but there was no vein."
The transformation magic school students thoroughly searched the surroundings after discovering the crystal trapping Jarun.
They were hoping to find traces of an orichalcum vein.
However, there were no traces of orichalcum or any other veins, nor any signs of development or exploration in this area.
After pondering, the students reached a conclusion.
-Senior Jarun must have lied about finding a non-existent vein to get support.-
"...N-no. No matter how Senior Jarun is, would he tell such a lie?"
"He's already done it a few times before. Though it was different kinds then..."
"..."
Yi-Han realized once again that he had underestimated the Einroguard seniors.
Einroguard upperclassmen were capable of telling even ridiculous lies without hesitation to obtain equipment or funds they needed.
The students, accustomed to such things, weren't particularly disappointed.
Still, Yi-Han tried to defend him one last time.
"But isn't lying about an orichalcum vein on a different scale? Right now, other seniors and even professors are interested, surely..."
"Wardanaz. You shouldn't think about a crazy person by your standards."
'That's true.'
Yi-Han's defense was immediately shot down.
In Einroguard, it was meaningless to define something as 'Surely they wouldn't do such a thing?'
"An orichalcum vein wouldn't be discovered so easily. We'd be lucky to find any other vein, but there's nothing even like that."
"Judging by the looks of it, Senior Steelshoe must have applied in advance to use it for his own work later. Otherwise, there's no way there wouldn't be traces of exploration or mining around. We've searched as much as we could, so we're going back. Wardanaz. Do you want to go back with us?"
"Uh... Aren't you taking Senior Jarun?"
At Yi-Han's question, the transformation magic school students looked at the junior as if to say 'What are you talking about?'
"Wardanaz. Senior Steelshoe ignored us even when we greeted him and didn't reply to our letters. He just went into his workshop alone and kept mining gold. We're not particularly sociable either, but there's a limit. Even the enchantment magic school crazies wouldn't do that."
'No... They're similar...'
Yi-Han thought inwardly.
"But now we don't want to cling to a crystal vein we don't even know how to release for such a senior. He won't die anyway, so if we leave him, the Death Knights will collect him or a professor will pick him up."
The atmosphere of the transformation magic school wasn't as cold as the enchantment magic school, but it was cruel to some people.
Especially in Jarun's case. Perhaps due to the karma he had accumulated, no one stepped up to help him.
"Do you want to go back together?"
"...I think it would be difficult because I came with others. And there's something that's bothering me too."
"I see. Then it can't be helped. Let me tell you one last thing, don't be too obsessed with the orichalcum vein. It's a vein that's hard to see in the first place."
"No, I was worried about Senior Jarun."
"Ah. Is that so? Then there's even less need to be obsessed. Just think of it as an ore that looks like that."
With those final words, the transformation magic school students finished preparing to return.
One transformed into an Alicanto, and the other students climbed on top and quickly flew away.
-Wardanaz. Can we come up?-
"Yes. I think you can come up now."
As the enchantment magic school students came up one by one, Yi-Han explained what had happened.
Then the three seniors coldly said.
"If that's the case, there's a high probability it's fraud."
"...Is there no possibility of a misunderstanding?"
"There are no traces of anything nearby for that. If work was in progress, there would have been mining traces. He probably came down trying to escape after hiding important equipment or support funds in his workshop."
Sigunting supported Anpagon's speculation.
"I can guess why he went in there too. He probably went in so that pursuers couldn't kill him."
Yi-Han was shocked by the fresh and bold speculation, but the other seniors nodded.
Even Yukbeltire did so.
"Judging by his attire, he was indeed fleeing."
"Could it be that he moved for an unavoidable reason after finding the orichalcum vein?"
Yukbeltire shook her head.
"No. If he really found orichalcum, he wouldn't have left that area even if it meant dying."
"That's right."
If it disappeared or was taken by someone after leaving, that anguish would be unbearable for life.
A mage like Jarun would have definitely stayed near the vein.
Being found here without any particular traces was evidence that the vein didn't exist.
"...I understand. Then let's get Senior Jarun out and ask him."
"What?"
"Why do such a thing?"
"You have a bad habit of wasting time on unnecessary things, like Direth."
The three seniors scolded him one by one in order of their years.
Yi-Han answered firmly.
"Since I've come this far, I have to get him out and ask, even if just out of frustration."
If by any chance he was trapped for another reason, it would be well worth it.
But the seniors thought differently.
"That's a waste of time..."
"If you don't help, I'll fire magic in all directions and call monsters."
"..."
"...Alright. We'll help."
When a usually diligent junior becomes stubborn, it's scary.
When the junior who had been devoted without complaint so far became stubborn, the seniors had no choice but to accept.
...It was definitely not because they were afraid of the threat.
*
Fortunately, Yukbeltire seemed to have grasped the nature of the crystal vein trapping Jarun.
"It's a very unique metal. It seems like a naturally formed alloy, but it's not something you see often."
"How do we get him out?"
"It's very sturdy against external force. If we forcibly strike it, Jarun of the Steelshoe family might break out along with it."
"So how?"
"It seems to have some purplestone mixed in too. Seeing how the mana circulates strangely, there's an absorbing property somewhere..."
"Senior."
"Yes?"
"Could you please just tell me the main point of how to get him out?"
"Melting it with heat containing mana seems to be the best option."
Yukbeltire drew an artifact blueprint on the ground on the spot.
It was an artifact that could collect mana from the surroundings, convert it to heat, control that heat so it wouldn't leak out or cause other damage, and consequently steadily melt the ore.
Looking at the complex blueprint and the even more complex list of materials needed, Yi-Han nodded.
"I'll just try melting it with my mana."
"..."
A very slight hint of disturbance appeared and disappeared on Yukbeltire's expressionless face.
But Yi-Han had no choice.
When would he gather all that, bring it down, and then set it up again?
He had to resolve it on the spot.
Fortunately, hearing the principle, it seemed like something Yi-Han could brute force.
'Convert mana into fire attribute and radiate it.'
It was a much more crude and wasteful method than Yukbeltire's artifact, but given enough time, the result should be the same.
Yukbeltire, watching from behind, spoke up.
"Junior of the Wardanaz family."
"Don't interfere."
"I'm not interfering..."
"Setting up your artifact takes too long, Senior."
"That's not what I'm..."
"Shh. Then please be quiet."
"..."
Yukbeltire closed her mouth.
In fact, she hadn't really spoken because of the artifact.
A faint illusion of a crown had been flickering above Yi-Han's head for a while.
'...What magic is that?'
