Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy
chapter-498

'Is it really senior Direth?'

In fact, the question Yi-Han threw out was not with great confidence either.

He just suddenly thought of senior Direth while talking and asked.

But when the other party's answer suddenly disappeared, suspicion turned into conviction.

[Who is that?]

'It is indeed senior Direth.'

This time, when Yi-Han didn't answer, the other party wrote a few more lines. For some reason, it felt like they were talking incoherently.

[I don't know who that is, but the habit of throwing out any random name while probing the other person is not a good habit...]

[Senior. I am Wardanaz. The Wardanaz who shared the punishment room meal.]

The answer disappeared again.

Yi-Han slightly regretted asking thoughtlessly.

'Should I have just pretended to be Moradi?'

Come to think of it, as a junior, pointing out a senior's mistake was not a good habit.

Sometimes, one had to pretend not to know in order to be a loved junior.

[Why are you, a 1st-year, getting your hands on such an artifact...]

Direth finally gave up and admitted it.

The writing on the notebook looked unusually powerless.

Direth gave Yi-Han additional explanations about the artifact.

[It requires quite a bit of mana, so it will be drawing mana from the surroundings. That's why it can't move... You said you found it in a warehouse used by graduates?]

[Yes.]

[It would have been difficult to find such a thing by chance, how did you find it?]

[I asked a graduated senior who was trapped in the forbidden area of the punishment room.]

[...If you don't want to tell me, just say you don't want to tell me. Junior.]

Direth answered, slightly sulking.

'It's true though.'

Yi-Han felt wronged.

[Actually, I caught the Forest Mouse guarding the Polymorph Forest on the 3rd floor and threatened it, and it told me.]

[Ah. That mouse...! It's clever, right?]

"..."

Yi-Han was flustered by Direth's appearance of not doubting it at all and accepting it, even though he had thrown an absurd lie out of a sense of injustice.

'Does she really think that makes sense?'

It was enough to make one doubt how Direth thought of Yi-Han.

[Just now, do you really think that makes sen...]

[I have to go out soon too, so I'll quickly tell you what I need to say. First of all, if you get more of these communication artifacts, don't approach them recklessly like today. The seniors here at Einroguard are never kind to juniors.]

[You are so kind like this, but they are really bad people.]

[Shut up.]

Direth cut off Yi-Han's flattery with a single stroke.

1st-year students often had fantasies about seniors, as they usually had no contact with them.

-Since Einroguard is so dog-like, wouldn't the seniors be a bit better?-

-Since the professors are so trashy, wouldn't the seniors be a bit better?-

But if you think about it, there are many loopholes in that fantasy.

What kind of beings would the Einroguard seniors, who have gone through the same 1st-year life and moved up first, be?

They were the ones who could sell out their juniors without hesitation for their own survival and benefit.

Innocent students who had just moved up to the 2nd year could only gain the realization that 'Ah, here, seniors and professors are all the same' after experiencing being used to the bone a few times.

As such, Direth was a little worried about Yi-Han.

Of course, this boy from the Wardanaz family had extraordinary talent that could be counted on the fingers in many ways, but if only social experience was compared, it was difficult to keep up with the worn-out Einroguard seniors.

Moreover, as can be seen from the fact that he got his hands on a communication artifact this time, his talent in this aspect was rather poisonous.

Wouldn't he have many occasions to clumsily come into contact with seniors?

[I'll tell you a few rules, so remember them. First, approach strongly. You don't need to use honorifics or anything like that.]

[Should I try approaching while cursing a bit?]

[Not a bad idea. You can hide your background.]

'Oh.'

It was a joke, but Direth answered seriously.

Yi-Han nodded and took a memo next to him.

1. Curse like a back-alley thug.

"...???"

Ratford, who was organizing luggage next to him, saw Yi-Han's memo, tilted his head, and turned away.

[Never show that it's your first time using an artifact. Those who use these artifacts often have a lot of experience, so they are quick to notice.]

[I will keep that in mind.]

This was definitely true.

If it weren't for the fact that the other party was Direth, Yi-Han could have been deceived in any way if the person had evil intentions.

[It's not bad to speak less either. You can just ask what you want and what the other person wants. If they are experienced, they will know what you mean.]

Yi-Han added to the memo.

2. Speak less.

"???"

[There are few people who use tricks blatantly. But there is no one who doesn't use tricks. You have to keep that in mind.]

As it was difficult to obtain these communication artifacts, it was rare for someone to openly break a promise with the other party.

There was loyalty even among thieves, and there were rules even in the disorderly back alleys.

However, ambiguous word plays were within the permissible range.

[Don't believe everything the other person says too much. Don't use this for too long. Your grades will suffer. I have to go now. Anything to ask?]

[Senior.]

[What?]

[I will also take dark magic in my 2nd year. Please take good care of me.]

[...I didn't ask to pressure you. I understand about the monster wave and not taking dark magic, I just wanted to know in advance. So that I can say goodbye to you without burdening you. I'll say it again, I'm really not pressuring you, and if you don't want to take it, you don't have to. Okay? Are you listening?]

'Was she always this talkative?'

Yi-Han felt slightly overwhelmed by the writing that filled the notebook at twice the speed of before.

[I'm taking dark magic because it's really interesting.]

When he engraved the ink on the paper, there was no response for a while again.

Yi-Han thought Direth had left and was about to close the notebook.

Then one more line was added.

[That's good to hear. See you next year too.]

[Yes.]

When Direth really left, Yi-Han also closed the notebook.

Ratford, who was organizing next to him, approached and asked carefully.

"Excuse me. Mr. Wardanaz. Do you perhaps need to act like a back-alley thug?"

After clearing up the misunderstanding, Yi-Han finished the work together with Ratford.

After sending back Sharakan and Gonadaltes, who had worked hard all day (Gonadaltes looked at Yi-Han with sorrowful eyes every time he cleared a large piece of luggage, lamenting his situation), and pushing in the trash, some space was created.

"Was there a window here too?"

"Yes. It seems to have been forgotten because there was too much graffiti above."

Looking up at the small skylight, the stars were already twinkling.

Yi-Han sighed as he placed the necessary books on the long and heavy table located in the center of the warehouse.

"The day just passed. I should start slowly."

"Huh? Did you have an assignment?"

Ratford, who was cutting cheese for the two of them to eat, was puzzled.

The lectures this week were all rested together, and last week was the midterm exam?

No matter how many lectures Wardanaz took, the time to receive an assignment...

"I received a separate assignment when I went out last time. I have to write two books."

"Ah. You received it separately. It must be tough to have to read two books."

Ratford nodded and walked to the side.

Yi-Han sat at the table, opened the book, and prepared to concentrate.

"...Wait a moment. You said you have to write them?"

"Huh? Yeah. I said I'm writing two books, right?"

"..."

Ratford tried to say something but gave up and changed the subject.

He couldn't bear it without changing the subject because it was too unfortunate.

"Ah. Mr. Wardanaz, since you newly acquired this place, shouldn't we give it a name? Like Wardanaz's secret base?"

"Can't we call it Moradi's secret base?"

Yi-Han preferred a name that would not be assumed to be him in case he was caught later.

"Why Moradi...?"

"Alright. Let's call it Wardanaz's secret base. The name doesn't matter."

Yi-Han quickly changed his words because Ratford's eyes were too innocent.

"Ah. Ratford. Do you have anything to do right now?"

"Huh? No, I don't."

Ratford said, biting into a thick piece of cheese without much thought.

"Then sit in front of me and open an alchemy book. We can study together."

"...Ah, ah, come to think of it, there are still a lot of junk left over there. Please let me search a little more!"

"Hmm. Isn't that too much? I think it's greedy to try to do it all in one day..."

"You have to do your best to make progress little by little!"

Ratford ran away to the pile of junk. Yi-Han shrugged his shoulders and turned his gaze to the book.

<On Wardanaz's Water Bullet and Its Basic Principles>

[Water element combat magic is often easily underestimated, but its true value cannot be easily denied by any Imperial mage. Imperial mage Eumidiphos organized the classic water element combat magic and…]

<On the Limitations of Water Bullet Magic and Its Development Direction>

[What is Water Bullet magic? To explain this, we must first talk about the underestimated water element combat magic... Imperial mage Eumidiphos…]

'Hmm. My skills haven't died yet.'

Yi-Han was slightly amazed at his own ability to densely insert the same content into different books.

Professor Bagrak or the skull principal might dislike such a useless preface, but originally, books should have such a preface.

There had to be consideration for the reader.

[...First, the following preconditions are necessary... Such a large amount of mana consumption is a disadvantage... To compensate for this, a means of mana amplification such as blood magic...]

'Is it too extreme?'

While writing an introductory book on <Wardanaz's Water Bullet>, Yi-Han hesitated.

As he wrote that mana consumption was a disadvantage and that it needed to be compensated for, it seemed a bit extreme.

"Mr. Wardanaz?"

"Ah. Ratford. Are you going to study alchemy?"

"...Ah, no."

Ratford became a little scared of Yi-Han.

"There's a unique artifact here."

"!"

Yi-Han put down the quill and moved his steps to where Ratford was.

As the pile of junk was cleared away, a mirror firmly fixed to the floor was revealed.

The bronze mirror was very flawed, with a blurry outer surface, and it couldn't even properly reflect a face.

However, thanks to the notebook he had just dealt with, Yi-Han instinctively realized what kind of artifact this mirror was.

The mana wavelengths of the two were similar.

'It's a communication artifact!'

There was more than one in the warehouse.

Yi-Han approached the mirror with a curious gaze. And he activated it in the same way he had activated the notebook earlier.

"..."

"..."

However, unlike before, nothing happened.

'Is the connected artifact also in a state of having lost its owner?'

It was a sufficiently possible situation.

There were many abandoned places in Einroguard, and in that case, the artifacts connected to them would have been abandoned together...

Earlier, he was lucky that Direth had the connected artifact, and it was fortunate that she was nearby when Yi-Han connected, otherwise it would have been difficult to even hear a response.

"Hmm. Unfortunately. I thought I could talk to another senior."

"I will keep watch."

"No. It's something only the connected person can see anyway. Let's stop cleaning now and sit down to study."

"...Yes..."

Ratford sat down in front of Yi-Han, crestfallen. He instinctively felt that excuses would no longer work.

'Is the old saying that if you know alchemy, you can become an excellent thief really true? Is it a lie? Is alchemy really necessary?'

As he opened the alchemy book, skeptical thoughts trapped inside the book began to torment Ratford, wielding boredom.

Woong-

"!"

Yi-Han, who was wielding a quill next to him, was startled by the sound of the mirror vibrating.

"It's here!"

"Let's go see!"

"No. You finish studying what you were doing."

"..."