Life of a Magic Academy Mage – 54



Chapter 54

“Did Professor Mortum really give you this bone?”

“Mr. Wardanaz. I may not know much about magic but in our field there’s a saying to avoid dealing with dark mages.”

There was a heavy silence.

The two friends coldly pointed out the harsh reality. No matter how one looked at it the bone summon was indeed a creepy gift. The thought of a professor giving such a thing…

Without realizing it Yi-Han found himself making excuses.

“But it’s not entirely useless.”

“It may be so but it’s still creepy” Ratford said loyally though the content of his words was anything but loyal.

Yet Yonaire sensing Yi-Han’s complex feelings made an effort to find advantages in the bone summon.

“Well it doesn’t need food it’s loyal and it can do many things…”

“What can it do exactly?”

Yonaire chose to ignore Ratford’s question.

“…And maybe in a way it could be considered cute?”

“Thanks Yonaire. But hearing that makes me realize this is definitely strange.”

Yi-Han wanted to believe that the gift he received was useful but he could no longer deny reality.

The bone summon was indeed strange.

“Why on earth would someone gift a bone summon?”

“Who knows… But I’m more curious about why the bones were given separately.”

“Maybe it means to find more bones scattered around the academy and combine them?”

Ratford’s suggestion made Yonaire laugh in disbelief.

“That’s absurd… Wait it is absurd right?”

Yi-Han couldn’t laugh however.

Ratford’s idea seemed all too plausible.

‘Could it really be meant for that?’

Otherwise the hand bone found by a student from the Black Tortoise wouldn’t have attached so perfectly to form a combined entity.

Of course a normal person would think ‘Who would enjoy such a bone collecting game?’ But as is well-known the professors were far from normal in their thinking.

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They probably thought ‘The students will have fun looking for these bones.’

‘Creepy.’

Yi-Han shivered.

More terrifying than the bone summon itself was the twisted thought process of the professors. A chilling unthinkable idea for any sane person!

“Wardanaz! Did you finish exploring the black market? …Wait what’s with that bone?!”

Arriving late Asan Dargard was startled by the sight of the bone summon circling around Yi-Han.

What in the world?

—

The number of students gathered in front of Professor Ingurdel was significant.

Not only students from the Blue Dragon and the Black Tortoise but also those from the Immortal Phoenix and even the White Tiger were present.

It was natural for students taking alchemy classes to need ingredients.

This was an opportunity not to be missed as gathering materials from the mountains was challenging for students on their own.

Once all the students had gathered Professor Ingurdel slowly began to speak.

“Safety first and foremost. First students from the same tower gather together. Make sure to recognize each other’s faces and memorize the number. Periodically check to ensure no one is missing.”

A tense silence filled the air.

The faces of the students were already taut with tension.

‘But it’s better to be tense.’

It was better to be on edge than to approach the mountains as if on a picnic only to encounter a disaster.

The students of the Blue Dragon were all familiar faces to each other. This included Yi-Han and Yonaire as well as Asan and even the princess.

Asan with a hint of curiosity asked “Wardanaz. I heard from the students of the Black Tortoise that the dish you cooked was really delicious.”

“That’s an exaggeration. It was just a simple stew” Yi-Han thought the students of the Black Tortoise were overstating things. After all anything tastes good when you’re hungry.

The dish Yi-Han had prepared earlier was a simple stew made with freshly cut vegetables and seasoned only with oil salt pepper and tomato sauce.

“No it was really tasty.”

“It was indeed delicious.”

Yi-Han was puzzled.

He could understand Ratford’s reaction but he hadn’t expected Yonaire to respond like that too.

“It didn’t even have meat in it. Isn’t the food we usually have at the dormitory better?”

“No maybe because we all ate it together outside? It seemed much more delicious.”

‘Could it be the ingredients?’

The only plausible reason Yi-Han could think of was the freshly harvested vegetables in the stew.

He wondered if Professor Uregor who had a cabin with a suddenly sprouting garden had sprinkled some special potion on them.

‘Oh no. I hope the professor didn’t sprinkle precious elixir and I unknowingly took it.’

Yi-Han felt a twinge of regret.

But then he realized that if that were the case Professor Uregor would have warned not to touch the garden. Besides wasn’t that his own garden?

‘No matter how I think about it it’s not my fault.’

If he had known his cooking would be so well-received Yi-Han slightly regretted not trying it himself.

What did it taste like after all…

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“Wait. You’re from the White Tiger aren’t you?”

Asan Dargard spoke to an elf with long black hair.

It was a student from the White Tiger he had conversed with once before.

What was unique was that instead of moving with other students from the White Tiger this student had pledged loyalty to the princess!

“I have already obtained permission from my tower mates. I will serve the princess.”

Already a few students from other towers had gathered around the princess.

Their loyalty was remarkable.

In contrast…

Yi-Han looked around. Then a student from the Black Tortoise approached him with a suggestion.

“You don’t like the students of the White Tiger do you? Shall we gather other people and pick a fight?”

Yi-Han was speechless.

What exactly do they think of me?

—

“This place looks good. Everyone go and gather your ingredients.”

After walking for a few hours Professor Ingurdel stopped upon finding a flowerbed.

Watching the students moving in small groups the elf professor wore a content expression.

Contrary to his worries the students moved in an orderly and efficient manner.

The students felt it too. To survive in this academy they needed to stick together.

‘Everyone is doing well.’

In each tower there were a few students who took on leadership roles.

Their personalities and methods varied but it was undeniable that these student leaders were helpful to their peers in times of crisis.

The boy from the Wardanaz family was one of them.

With an icy charisma befitting his noble heritage he wielded a strong influence not only over the students of the Blue Dragon but also those from other towers.

It was fortunate that his nature was not malicious. Otherwise the towers would have been much more tumultuous.

‘Leaders naturally emerge among students but he’s on a different level’ thought Professor Ingurdel slightly misunderstanding Yi-Han. Yi-Han for his part harbored no delusions of grandeur about ruling over others due to his noble lineage of a family of mages.

Chirp chirp chirp.

“?”

Professor Ingurdel sitting down turned his head towards the sound of birds chirping behind him.

In an instant Professor Ingurdel disappeared.

—

“Wardanaz.”

Yi-Han while placing cloud mushrooms and dwarf hammer mushrooms into a basket sensed that something was amiss. A group of students from the Black Tortoise approached him their faces pale with shock.

“What’s the matter?”

“The professor… Professor Ingurdel… he’s vanished!”

Yi-Han was stunned.

Several thoughts flashed through his mind. Had Professor Ingurdel deliberately disappeared to teach the students a lesson?

‘No. I trust Professor Ingurdel. …Although trusting the professors here isn’t always the wisest choice… but still.’

Yi-Han shook his head.

Could it be that malevolent enemies like anti-magic extremists from the empire had secretly infiltrated and abducted Professor Ingurdel?

‘That doesn’t make sense either. After the last attack security would have been increased. If they breached that the principal would be incompetent.’

If not that then what?

‘Was he attacked by a monster? But Professor Ingurdel is as skilled as Arlong. How could such a master be taken by a monster without making a sound? And would such a monster even appear in the outskirts of these mountains?’

Though Yi-Han felt it unlikely given the nature of the magic academy nearby anything seemed possible. Yet he still believed in Professor Ingurdel’s capabilities.

He wasn’t someone to be taken down so easily.

“What should we do? What should we do?”

“Everyone calm down. Maybe Professor Ingurdel just went somewhere else for a moment.”

Yi-Han himself wasn’t entirely convinced by his own words but he maintained his composure to calm the others.

‘No monsters have appeared and we haven’t lost our way. There’s no need to panic. We just need to return the way we came.’

The mountains often thought of as wild and untamed actually had paths scattered throughout naturally carved by the passage of senior students.

Although the students had walked quite a distance if they just retraced their steps along the same path…

Suddenly a torrential downpour began from above.

“…”

“…”

As the rain started to pour heavily Yi-Han began to seriously wonder if this was all a trap.

—

Yi-Han and several students gathered under a nearby cliff to shelter from the rain.

Nillia shaking off the moisture with a queasy expression said “Trying to find our way in this situation is futile. We’ll definitely lose our bearings. And what’s even more dangerous is losing body heat or encountering monsters. Meeting monsters on a rainy day is a nightmare of nightmares.”

Her friends’ faces fell in despair at Nillia’s words.

However Nillia reassured them “But don’t worry. We’re in a good spot right now. As long as we can hold out until the rain stops…”

“Even if it’s risky we should try to find the way. If the rain gets worse it’ll be even harder to find the path.”

“No we just need to wait…”

“The students from the Immortal Phoenix and the White Tiger are missing. How do we find them in this rain?”

“That’s why we should wait…”

“We need to find the professor! Let’s figure out a way to call for him.”

Nillia relented and sulked in defeat.

Yi-Han beckoned her over gesturing as if to say come this way. Nillia scurried over and started gathering wood next to him.

Meanwhile the students engaged in fervent discussions. They debated about finding the way regrouping with other students and searching for the professor.

During this time Yi-Han lit fires in various places. The bone summon moved through the rain collecting more branches.

“We should at least start moving on our own!”

“We need to find the other students! It’s common sense that there’s strength in numbers!”

“We should find the professor first!”

The students’ argument grew more heated.

Realizing their opinions were at a deadlock they sought a judge.

“Wardanaz!”

“Wardanaz what do you think?”

“What?”

Yi-Han who was busy starting a fire was taken aback when the focus suddenly shifted to him.

“Shouldn’t we wait until the rain stops?”

“…Oh right.”

“Yeah we should wait.”

“…”

Nillia glared at her friends.

When I speak you turn a deaf ear…!

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