Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy
chapter-456

In fact, the notion that midterm exams must be taken was a kind of fixed idea.

If there were unavoidable circumstances or the professor had a thought, the midterm exam could be replaced with another assignment or combined with the final exam.

Of course, the skull principal didn't easily allow it.

Basically, there were so many unscrupulous bas... fellows among the professors at Einroguard that if they were let loose, exams like 'I know it's annoying, but should I give the student who threw his staff and flew the furthest an A+?' could come out.

But in a situation like now, wasn't it really unavoidable?

The prepared dungeon was flooded!

"It's truly regrettable, Professor."

"It must be."

'What do you mean it must be?'

Professor Bagrak thought Yi-Han would also be genuinely agonized.

Of course, Yi-Han wasn't very agonized.

However, when the professor was agonized, the disciple showing a happy face next to him was equivalent to declaring 'I am a reckless fellow.'

Yi-Han tried his best to make an agonized expression.

'Imagine losing the top spot in the year. The skull principal is sneering next to me.'

"What about the basilisk?"

Rattle!

The sound of the basilisk egg trembling in fear inside the backpack Yi-Han had put down next to him could be heard.

These days, Yi-Han had to take care of it a lot, so he carried it in his backpack, and because of that, it ended up meeting a crazy mage.

"...Doesn't it still need more time?"

"I asked Professor Bungaegor for advice. She said there's a secret medicine that promotes growth."

"But there are side effects of becoming violent and eccentric."

Yi-Han had also heard about it since he was close with Professor Bungaegor.

-You handle animals well and are skilled in alchemy, so you might have this thought later.-

-Do I handle animals well?-

-You scare animals well and are skilled in alchemy, so you might have this thought later.-

-...-

-Buying rare baby animals at a cheap price, promoting their growth with all kinds of secret medicines, and selling them…-

-There is such a method?! Magic is truly amazing!-

-...Listen till the end. Originally, magic is about changing the rules and principles of the world. Recklessly doing that won't end well.-

Professor Bungaegor then told the story of a foolish dwarf alchemist who had tried to mass-breed manticores at a ranch and sell them to knight orders.

Feeding growth-promoting drugs to monsters that already had a fierce wild nature was an overly dangerous thing to do.

If the monsters exploded at some point, where would that anger be directed?

-By any chance, are you referring to Professor Uregor?-

-...No! Did you think of Uregor that way?!-

Anyway, since it was such a dangerous thing, Yi-Han had no intention of feeding secret medicines to the basilisk.

The basilisk egg stuck close to Yi-Han. It clearly felt who would protect it.

"Isn't it good to become violent and eccentric?"

Professor Bagrak tilted his head.

They'll fight anyway, right?

"..."

"..."

Yi-Han felt like the egg was glaring at Professor Bagrak in anger.

He couldn't be sure, but somehow it felt that way.

"Shouldn't it be cold and calm to be a more powerful match?"

"Indeed... Do you prefer that kind of fight more?"

"It's not that I prefer that kind of fight more... Damn it. I do prefer it."

Yi-Han admitted it because he couldn't bring himself to throw away the basilisk egg.

The egg was too scared.

'I need to change the subject.'

"Don't be too discouraged, Professor. There will be many ways. Like casting underwater breathing magic and going down..."

"I did think about it."

At Professor Bagrak's blunt answer, Yi-Han felt his heart sink.

He had joked about it without much thought!

'If I fail to control my tongue one more time, I will curse myself.'

Yi-Han reflected very deeply.

"But the damage was severe."

"Oh no."

Once again, Yi-Han was deeply grateful to the water spirit.

If it weren't for the great flood, he would have had to endure that with his body.

"Then is today's lecture over?"

Yi-Han asked with a slightly expectant voice. If it ended early, he was thinking of going and catching up on his studies.

The skull principal and the White Tiger Tower students spouted nonsense like 'You don't need to study,' but Yi-Han didn't fall for such words.

They were clearly trying to keep Yi-Han's grades in check.

"If it's over, I'll get going..."

Professor Bagrak slowly shook his head. Then he walked on the water and got on Yi-Han's raft.

Yi-Han, who suddenly had his raft taken away, was dumbfounded but couldn't say anything.

'My goodness, a robber with a staff.'

Professor Bagrak swung his staff without caring.

Then, as if someone invisible was pushing from behind, the raft began to move quickly.

Swish-

"?"

At first, Yi-Han sat without much thought, but as the raft gradually moved away from the main building, he became slightly flustered.

'What's going on?'

If they kept heading north like this, they would reach the Hell Mountains that Einroguard boasted of (actually, they were just mountains, but Yi-Han and his friends called them the Hell Mountains).

He thought they would just do some simple practice or training since the prepared dungeon was gone, and then it would be over...

Thud-

Even with the great flood, not all the mountains were submerged. As they approached to some extent, dry land and dense forests came into view.

Professor Bagrak looked at Yi-Han. It meant to get off.

"Professor, I have a question..."

Instead of answering, the professor raised one finger. It meant to be quiet.

At that, Yi-Han suddenly had a bad feeling.

Although Professor Bagrak was a crazy mage, he was a crazy mage who at least answered questions.

The reason he suddenly didn't answer the question was?

'Is it a dangerous situation if I make a sound now?'

Yi-Han quickly checked the monsters that appeared in the mountains in his head.

Having taken the <What Might Come Out in Einroguard's Back Mountains?> lecture from Professor Bungaegor whenever he had free time, numerous monsters came to mind.

'Damn it. There are too many.'

Come to think of it, there were too many monsters that were dangerous if he made a sound.

Yi-Han was nervous and pondered whether he should memorize magic in advance.

It was good to memorize magic in advance, but in a situation where he had to be quiet, chanting spells could also be dangerous.

-Did you come?-

The voice came from above.

Yi-Han unconsciously looked up. Among the tall and dense trees of the forest, a familiar giant's head was looking down at Yi-Han.

The hair that was shorter than last time.

It was Ikurusha, the giant of the mountains who had a bet with Yi-Han and gave his hair.

"Mr. Ikurusha!"

-It's nice to see you again. But please keep your voice down a bit.-

Ikurusha gestured as if to be quiet.

-The other giants are currently pairing up the mountain goats, and it's a sensitive time for the mountain goats.-

"?"

For a moment, Yi-Han didn't understand.

Even if the mountain goats became sensitive, weren't they just mountain goats?

-Ah. Sorry. Mages don't call them mountain goats. The name is a bit different.-

"What is it?"

-Was it mountain-destroying goat? Mountain-devouring goat? Mountain-collapsing goat?-

"..."

Professor Bagrak answered instead.

"It's mountain-destroying goat."

-Ah. That's right.-

The mountain-destroying goat looked like a goat but had a huge size rivaling giants and was a large monster that pierced through rock cliffs.

Calling that a mountain goat was as shameless as calling a devouring-ship fish a goldfish.

Ikurusha guided Yi-Han and Professor Bagrak to a newly built house.

The cave house had a crude exterior as if giants had built it with their fists, but the interior was truly cozy.

As soon as Yi-Han and Professor Bagrak sat down, Ikurusha brought a chessboard.

-Since we met after a long time, let's play a game.-

"Ah. Yes."

Yi-Han was reluctant but put it down for now.

The opening started with d4 and Bf4, and after solidly defending and castling on the queenside, he strongly pushed on the kingside, causing Ikurusha to self-destruct in vain.

-Oh no!-

"Mr. Ikurusha."

When Professor Bagrak called, Ikurusha pleaded in an earnest voice.

-Can we play one more game? I'll play quickly with blitz.-

The professor nodded.

Ikurusha excitedly organized the pieces quickly.

Seeing that, Yi-Han had a realization.

'Wait. If I drag out the time...!'

He didn't know why Professor Bagrak had brought him to Ikurusha, but if they just played chess until time ran out, they could just go back.

Last time, he saw that Ikurusha liked the opening that started with e4 Nf3 Bb5 when playing white.

Then Yi-Han could also put the knight on f6 and create a solid black wall.

'Drag it out and induce a draw.'

Ikurusha and Professor Bagrak didn't notice Yi-Han's wicked inner thoughts.

Not knowing that, Ikurusha was deeply immersed in thought, diligently knocking on Yi-Han's wall.

"Mr. Ikurusha."

-Ah. Sorry. I should stop.-

"..."

Seeing the giant who gave up without hesitation when an excuse arose in an unfavorable situation, Yi-Han was dumbfounded.

In other aspects, he was a gentleman-like person, but why was he like this regarding chess...?

'I played with him for nothing. I should have made a bet.'

-You probably know, but after the impressive confrontation last time, I talked about you to the professors a few times.-

"Pardon???????"

Yi-Han cried out in horror without realizing it.

Why the hell did he do such an ungrateful thing?

'Are all giants filthy bastards??'

Perhaps people should cut off heads, not hair, to prevent betrayal.

-Why are you so surprised?-

"...It's embarrassing for a mage to have false rumors spread."

-How humble.-

Ikurusha looked at Professor Bagrak as if praising him. The professor had a blank expression but nodded as if agreeing.

-Some professors showed interest. In the case of Professor Bagrak here, he asked if he could get some help with his lectures, so I accepted.-

"Oh..."

Yi-Han held back the words 'Why the hell did you do that?' that were about to come out.

-Unlike other giants, I try to fulfill the requests made by Einroguard's mages. Living in these mountains, I end up owing favors to mages whether I know it or not... Come to think of it, is the grand mage doing well?-

"He is."

-That's a relief. Tell him I'm grateful again for last time. The giant hunters are vicious and wicked fellows, so if the grand mage hadn't helped, the damage would have been great.-

The professor nodded.

Unable to endure the heartwarming conversation any longer, Yi-Han carefully asked.

"But what kind of help are you providing?"

-I was asked to create various situations that a combat mage might face. Listening to it, I thought the giants here might be a bit stupid, but they could do that well.-

Bang!!!!!!!

As soon as he finished speaking, a world-ending roar was heard from outside.

It sounded like the mountains were collapsing.

-Oh dear. A mountain goat escaped. We'll have to catch it by today.-

"..."

-What were we talking about? Ah. It was about helping with lectures. Giants can do it well, but the problem is that these fellows are a bit stupid... They might not understand things like strength control or exams. So I thought I should call you first.-

Telling the giants 'Test that mage with difficulty adjusted so he doesn't die' could be too difficult for them.

It was better to build some rapport and familiarity with the giants in advance.

If the giants thought of him as their friend, they would control their strength on their own.

"Above all, even if a mage is outstanding, it seems a bit dangerous and sudden to throw them into a crisis without checking first. Don't you think they need time to get used to it?"

Ikurusha shrugged his shoulders.

-It's fine.-

"Is that so?"

-If you can't believe it, try it now.-

"Professor. On second thought, I think the flooded underground dungeon will also have a sense of accomplishment in its own way."