Life of a Magic Academy Mage – 57



Chapter 57

With a thud the sound resonated. The iron ball propelled through a magic spell by Yi-Han hit its target precisely: the mud golem. However what followed was beyond Yi-Han’s expectation.

“!”

His complexion changed a sign of surprise. The connection to the iron ball had been severed. Embedded within the massive body of the mud golem the iron ball was now irretrievable. Yi-Han clicked his tongue in annoyance berating himself for his oversight. The mud golem sustained by mana was a formidable opponent. Any object linked by magic once inside was likely to be disrupted by the golem’s own power.

Clatter-clatter –

The bone summon waved its hand seemingly pleading to be sent forth.

“Can you extract it? Then… go!” Yi-Han commanded.

Upon his order the bone summon charged. Scampering over the mud golem it struggled mightily to dislodge the iron ball embedded in its back.

Silence ensued.

But the ball was embedded too deeply. Despite its frantic efforts the bone summon couldn’t reach it.

“Enough. Come back” Yi-Han called out. Disheartened the bone summon withdrew. Fortunately the mud golem did not attack.

Yi-Han mused ‘No need for invisibility magic just yet.’

Prepared to flee if necessary he now readjusted his stance readying for another attack. The iron ball approach had failed but…

‘Water orbs might work.’

Reluctantly he acknowledged the usefulness of Professor Boladi’s teachings once more. Dodging projectiles and practicing magic under Professor Boladi had enabled Yi-Han to conjure water orbs. The concern now was their destructive power.

‘Aren’t they weaker than iron balls?’

Yi-Han had initially chosen iron balls for their greater destructive force despite the ongoing rain. Moreover the process with iron was simpler: lift focus and release. Their heavy material and ease of concentration naturally lent them greater power. Water orbs in contrast were more complex and thus disadvantageous. They required summoning water forming it into orbs and then propelling them – a process several times more complex than that with iron balls. Yi-Han who had mastered iron balls still struggled with water orbs a fact that had earned him numerous reprimands from Professor Boladi.

“Spring forth!” Yi-Han conjured a water orb. 

Water sprang up in mid-air swiftly compressing into a sphere. The rain seemed to make the process easier.

Thud!

‘As I thought not effective.’

The water orb burst but its impact was weaker than that of the iron ball evident from the shallow crater in the mud. Even the bone summon shook its hand in disappointment.

Yi-Han pondered ‘The professors as heartless and ruthless as they are wouldn’t prepare a golem like this without some strategy to defeat it.’

Though this particular golem wasn’t prepared by Professor Uregor Yi-Han had no way of knowing that.

‘Professor Uregor knows I’m under Professor Boladi’s tutelage. He must have discussed it with him. Perhaps there’s a way to utilize the magic I’ve learned from Professor Boladi.’

Round and round.

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Yi-Han lifted his head. The water orb was spinning in a circle. Seeing this he let out a bitter laugh. Due to his extensive training and repeated failures under Professor Boladi even his subconscious movements now traced circles. Suddenly an idea sparked in Yi-Han’s mind.

‘What if I rapidly spin the water orb itself?’

Yi-Han pondered the possibility of enhancing the orb’s penetration by spinning it before release as opposed to simply throwing it. Ceasing the circular motion Yi-Han began to spin the water orb.

Swoosh!

—

Perceiving Professor Ingurdel’s apparent displeasure the skull principal sent a telepathic message to Professor Uregor “Do something about it.”

Professor Ingurdel was a rare talent difficult to come by even for the magic academy. The prospect of him resigning and leaving was too dreadful to contemplate.

The principal dreaded the aftermath: having to submit a letter to the emperor stating ‘It wasn’t my intention to torment him’ explaining to the imperial dignitaries ‘I’m not purposely tormenting the examiners’ and pleading with the knights ‘Please I really won’t torment anyone just lend me a swordsmanship professor.’

The mere thought was horrifying.

“Why me…” Professor Uregor grumbled but descended to the cabin’s cellar to fetch a hefty amount of honey wine from a dwarf-made barrel. After all the request came from the principal.

“Don’t forget the snacks.”

“…!”

Professor Uregor gathered smoked meats and vegetables from the cabin’s shelves his eyes catching the vegetables Yi-Han had harvested and left behind.

‘Oh. I was planning to eat those.’

As frugal as he was in ransacking the hut those first harvested vegetables were what Uregor himself intended to eat. But the skull principal was very observant.

“Surely you’re not going to bring delicious food just for yourself are you?”

‘Damn it.’

Resigned Professor Uregor carried everything back.

Thump!

“Here Professor Ingurdel. Please enjoy. This is my own honey wine vegetables from my garden and meat I smoked myself.”

“My goodness! Our alchemy professor’s brew a celestial flavor unseen anywhere in the empire!”

“…”

The skull principal was not very good at praising. Fortunately Professor Ingurdel a kind-hearted elf appreciated the gesture raising his glass and complimenting the flavor “This is really good Professor Uregor.”

“Thank you.”

It wasn’t just politeness; the taste was genuinely delightful. A skilled alchemist was also a skilled cook and brewer. It couldn’t be anything but delicious.

Feeling the atmosphere lighten the principal spoke warmly “Don’t worry too much about the students. It was much harder in my time.”

“…”

“…”

The two relatively younger professors remained silent at the principal’s stories which seemed to go back to ancient times.

Well everything was tougher back then…!

“This batch of freshmen is quite interesting. They’ll overcome any moderate crisis on their own.”

“You’re right.”

Professor Ingurdel nodded awkwardly feeling somewhat reassured by the principal’s words wondering if he had been overprotective. Perhaps the slight intoxication contributed to this sentiment.

“Right? Take for instance the student from the Wardanaz family who went to the mountains. Isn’t he quite astute?”

The other two professors agreed with the principal’s remark. Yi-Han the subject of their unanimous interest was indeed a topic they all resonated with. As the younger professors empathized the principal’s mood brightened.

“Exactly. So don’t worry too much. The Wardanaz lad is clever enough to learn from my magic books on his own and there’s another student who…”

“?”

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“?”

The two professors who had been quietly enjoying their honey wine paused at the principal’s words.

“What did you just say?”

“About what?”

“…You said he’s learning from your magic book on his own…?”

Both Professor Ingurdel and Professor Uregor stared at the skull principal in astonishment. It was common for a professor to provide personal instruction to a student in a magic academy. But the skull principal was an exception. As his recent comment revealed he belonged to an ancient breed of mages his way of thinking diverging from that of contemporary professors.

Realizing his slip of the tongue the principal a mage from ancient times chose to press forward rather than retreat.

“I am the principal and representative of this academy. Am I not allowed to give instruction as I please!!”

“…”

“…”

The principal sensed the mood was not favorable. The two professors were not easily swayed. Recognizing the disadvantage he changed tactics.

“It’s not just me. Professor Boladi Bagrak also gives personal instructions doesn’t he? And you Uregor are doing the same!”

With the cunning of a seasoned mage he implicated both present and absent professors a deft move typical of an old mage.

“No… I only provide instruction appropriate for first-year level. So does Professor Bagrak. But you you’re different aren’t you!” Professor Uregor exclaimed in disbelief.

The tasks Uregor had assigned to Yi-Han though physically demanding were entirely safe posing no risk of madness. In contrast that skull principal was a person who would teach all sorts of arcane and bizarre magic even to a first-year student.

“Professor Bagrak is also teaching magic beyond first-year level. Last time I heard he was practically teaching 3rd Circle magic.”

The principal having drawn in Professor Uregor now shifted the focus to the absent Professor Boladi Bagrak. And it wasn’t a lie. Indeed Professor Boladi had been teaching something akin to 3rd Circle magic.

-“The boy from the Wardanaz family recently passed the training of perfectly drawing circles with an iron ball.”-

-“Really? That’s impressive. It’s tough to demonstrate such control with 1st Circle magic.”-

-“So we’ve moved on to the next stage.”-

-“And what’s that? The water orb magic? That’s 2nd Circle isn’t it?”-

The Circle a measure of a spell’s complexity was determined by the number of steps in casting it. Summoning water and maintaining it in an orb form was classified as 2nd Circle magic.

-“He’s succeeded in creating an orb made of water and is now drawing circles with it.”-

Adding control to it essentially made it 3rd Circle. Of course it wasn’t officially 3rd Circle magic. True 3rd Circle magic involved weaving all these steps into one spell with a single staff movement and incantation. Separately performing the steps of summoning water forming it into an orb and then rotating it in a circle wasn’t strictly 3rd Circle magic. But it was nonetheless an impressive feat. If one becomes familiar and quick with magic it could potentially lead to mastering 3rd Circle spells. 

A first-year student struggling with 2nd Circle magic was now completing such a complex task. Any other professor might have been shocked but the principal coolly accepted it.

-“That’s good to hear.”-

He then thought to himself.

-‘If Boladi is doing this then there’s no issue with me personally transmitting magic too!’-

“What nonsense is that? It’s like a dwarf grazing on grass! Professor Bagrak’s methods are his own and your magic is yours!”

Professor Uregor of course did not fall for the principal’s words. He harbored doubts about whether Professor Bagrak was truly teaching 3rd Circle magic and even if that were true the principal’s teachings felt significantly more dangerous.

“I’m teaching safely! Only magic that matches his level I swear it upon my honor!”

“…”

“…”

“I swear it upon my very magic!”

“Ah. If that’s the case…”

“Then we’ll believe you.”

The two professors reluctantly set aside their suspicions when the principal swore on his magic. They had suspected that the principal was teaching incomprehensible ancient magic to first-year students potentially damaging their brains. Fortunately it seemed that was not the case.

“But what exactly is Professor Bagrak teaching?”

“Water element combat magic.”

Upon hearing a detailed explanation from the principal both professors were amazed. While not exactly 3rd Circle magic as the principal had described the fact that a first-year student could demonstrate such proficiency was truly remarkable. An astounding result possible only with a combination of talent and effort!

“I’m not a mage so I don’t understand fully but is it common for a student of that grade to show such achievement?”

“It’s very rare. Perhaps he has a special affinity with the water element. Of course that alone wouldn’t suffice; other talents are also necessary… Wait isn’t Professor Bagrak specialized in magic combat? So is he now doing repetitive training? It’s a tremendous ordeal for both mana and mental strength…”

“Ah that’s really troubling.”

“…”

“Well he wouldn’t go beyond that. The training he’s currently doing is manageable isn’t it? Given the difficulty of the magic it’s unlikely to escalate further.”

—

Swoosh!

‘I’ve done it.’

The water orb furiously spinning in place created a buzzing sound.

Yi-Han with a throbbing headache looked up at the mud golem.

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