Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy

"It seems like you haven't had a chance to talk with the students from the Immortal Phoenix yet..."

"We'll make time for that later. So, in which area of healing magic are you interested?"

The two seniors bombarded Yi-Han with questions, giving him no chance to rest.

"Oops! You might not have realized yet which area interests you."

"But that's okay! That's what we're here for. Now, what other classes are you attending? Tell us, and we can help you realize your interests."

"Alchemy. Are you taking alchemy?"

Listening to the seniors excitedly talk among themselves, Yi-Han nodded.

"Indeed! Taking alchemy, that's a field deeply connected to healing magic. Analyzing diseases and concocting potions to cure them. That might be even more significant than an individual mage's healing."

"What about enchantment magic? How about that?"

One senior questioned, to which another rebuked as if asking what he was talking about.

"He's taking alchemy."

"Oops... But you can take two, right?"

"Would he really do that?"

"Didn't the professor say he's enthusiastic about learning, so he's taking other classes too?"

The whispering seniors then looked at Yi-Han, who nodded in response.

"I'm also taking enchantment magic."

"Exactly...!"

"Are you by any chance also taking transformation magic?"

"Why. You're also taking summoning magic, right?"

"I'm taking both, actually."

“...”

“...”

The seniors, initially thinking it was a joke and about to laugh, halted when they saw Yi-Han's expression unchanged.

...Was it not a joke?

"All... huh? For real?"

"Is something wrong?"

Yi-Han's voice became slightly harsh.

Being human, when looking at his current class schedule, even Yi-Han couldn't help but feel a simmering anger, despite his best efforts to stay calm.

"It's not that something's wrong, but..."

"So, you were talking about Professor Garcia..."

When Professor Alkasis mentioned 'taking all the other classes,' they thought at most it would be one or two more majors, but they hadn't imagined it would be to this extent.

The seniors looked at Yi-Han with a slightly pale face and asked.

"Are there more classes you're taking?"

"Yes. Well."

With each additional class Yi-Han mentioned, the seniors' expressions turned from pale to horror.

This is...

This is real...

'...Even if we're short on people, should someone like him be allowed to take healing magic? Isn't this too much??'

The two seniors started to seriously feel a pang of conscience.

Phil and Chil.

Those were the names of the two seniors who were temporarily in charge of the healing magic lecture.

"Is that a nickname?"

"Yes."

"Why use nicknames?"

"You'll understand eventually, but when healing mages go out, it's better not to mention your family or name."

There was nothing good about having a healing mage's identity specifically known.

If you were good at healing, you would get requests to help out in case of any incident, and if you weren't, you would receive calls blaming you for it.

To avoid being dragged out on your days off, it was better to use common and hard-to-remember nicknames.

"..."

"..."

The students from the Immortal Phoenix didn't take the blood-earned advice of the seniors well.

Instead, they looked at the seniors as if they were absurd.

"Trying to avoid helping those who request it as priests seems a bit..."

"Quiet! You're from the Immortal Phoenix, right? One of my friends is from there too, and he acted just like you in his freshman year. But this is reality!"

If Professor Alkasis had been there, she might have said, "Are you insane? I told you to entice the students, not drive them away!" Unfortunately, Professor Alkasis was not present.

The seniors, possibly infuriated by the recent comment from the Immortal Phoenix student, vented their accumulated frustrations explosively.

"You need to rest to properly cast magic! Is it magic if you're dragged out even on your days off because someone needs help?!"

"Who said we're not dedicated to serving the people of the empire?! We just want some sleep! I was like you guys in my first year too..."

The ranting seniors suddenly came to their senses and hesitated.

"...I got a bit carried away, didn't I? Of course, there are these minor downsides. But healing magic has more advantages."

"Saving people and receiving their heartfelt thanks."

"Being respected wherever you go in the empire."

"And not to mention, rarely going to the punishment room."

Yi-Han thought to himself.

'That's not an advantage...'

Other students might be fooled, but Yi-Han was not.

Why would the skull principal rarely send someone to the punishment room?

It was clear there was a shortage of hands for healing mages.

"...So, you see how good healing magic is?"

The seniors, having squeezed out every possible advantage, sent desperate looks to the juniors.

Please don't run away!

Without you, our faction is doomed!

Fortunately, the new students were either kind or naive. Even after hearing such ominous conversations, they didn't run away.

"Yes!"

"We'll do our best."

"...Thank you, everyone!"

"Though doing your best might not be enough...!"

'Puppet play, how refreshing.'

The students each received a plush doll to fiddle with.

Of course, they weren't given the dolls to actually play with them.

“Heal.”

<Lesser Cut Healing>.

It was a healing spell designed to heal cuts or wounds inflicted by sharp objects.

While healing spells dealing with internal organs or bones required a perfect understanding of their complex structures, wounds on the skin and muscles were relatively easier to approach.

That didn't mean the difficulty level was low, however.

Just as enchantment magic directly cast on people is specifically classified as enhancement magic, and illusion magic directly affecting people is classified as mental magic, casting spells on living beings was inherently difficult.

Just like first-year students were initially trained with specially made strings, these plush dolls were items created for similar training purposes.

“The difficulty has indeed increased.”

Priestess Tijiling wiped the sweat from her forehead with her sleeve, feeling slightly tired from the mana expended.

Rejoining a string and mending a wound on a plush doll might seem similar at a glance, but they were fundamentally different. The former involved a simple string, while the latter dealt with a doll made to mimic humans.

“It's definitely gotten harder.”

Yi-Han nodded, putting down the plush doll.

He had healed not only the cut wounds but also a broken arm (a fracture) on the doll without breaking a sweat.

"..."

Priestess Tijiling stared intently at Yi-Han.

"I believe in Mr. Yi-Han's goodwill, but... others might not take kindly to such comments, don't you think?"

"Why would that be?"

Of course, healing fractures was also among today's objectives.

However, none of the seniors who had set the goals expected the fractures to be healed too.

Healing the cut wounds alone was considered doing well.

But Yi-Han, utilizing his immense mana, control honed in other schools of magic, and understanding of bones acquired from dark magic, advanced to healing fractures as well when the seniors weren't watching.

"That's... not it."

"?"

Priestess Tijiling changed the subject.

"By the way, there will be an event at the academy during the holiday. Are you interested?"

"Of course."

Yi-Han was very interested in making a good impression on the clergy of various orders.

So much so that he didn't limit his faith to just one order but believed in several.

"...Wait. Can I ask what kind of event it is?"

Considering that the Presinga Order specialized in curses, more specifically, they were interested in wearing cursed artifacts.

Yi-Han was willing to wear artifacts cursed with mana afflictions, but he was hesitant about other types of curses.

"It's a standard event. We invite the faithful, serve meals, pray..."

'Fortunately, it sounds ordinary.'

"...and wear any cursed artifacts brought by the faithful, and destroy those that can't be worn..."

"..."

Yi-Han, initially incredulous, paused to consider.

'Wait. If they're destroying them, can I take some with me?'

Of course, lifting curses wouldn't be easy, but if he could manage to do so, it might be more worthwhile than he thought.

"Would it be alright if I took some of the artifacts that are going to be destroyed?"

"It wouldn't be a problem... but do you plan to wear more?"

Priestess Tijiling looked at him as if to say, 'Even with deep faith, wearing too many cursed items could be detrimental.'

Of course, Yi-Han had no such intention...

"You've caught me. My devotion is showing."

"You two, stop talking and focus on your magic."

The seniors, returning from assisting other students, advised Yi-Han and Tijiling.

Yi-Han nodded.

"I'm sorry."

"There's no need to apologize. You don’t feel particularly upset because I gave you advice, right? If I offended you, I would apologize. Please don't take it the wrong way."

"...Ah. Yes."

Overwhelmed by the senior's earnestness, Yi-Han nodded. Of course, he wasn't offended.

"Phew. He seems alright, doesn't he?"

"Yeah. He still seems interested in healing magic."

The two seniors walked away, talking among themselves, relieved.

They didn't notice.

That Yi-Han had healed every cut and fracture on the plush doll when they weren't looking!

Yi-Han yawned as he walked towards the tower. He had been attending classes non-stop, and the sky had already darkened.

'I still have to use the eggs I brought from the cabin last time, should I make an omelet or scrambled eggs... How many pieces of bread are left? Maybe I'll cut them up and fry them in butter today. And then study summoning magic in the evening.'

"Out of the way!"

"Push through!"

"...Aren't you guys supposed to be doing your assignments?"

Yi-Han was at a loss for words upon seeing the students from the White Tiger bumping shoulders and playing a ball game.

Originally, it was a game played on horseback, hitting a ball with a long stick, but in the absence of horses, it was acceptable to run with a stick and hit the ball.

The latter was what the White Tiger students were currently doing.

"Why... Why would you say something so harsh? What did we do wrong to you?"

"...Didn't I just ask if you were doing your assignments? Didn't say anything else, right?"

For a moment, Yi-Han wondered if he had insulted the families of the White Tiger students.

"Wardanaz. Usually, the body and mind are connected, so you need to exercise the body for the mind to function."

"Hey... but Wardanaz is top of the class."

Realizing the flaw in his friend's logic, a White Tiger Tower student elbowed him.

"...You wanna play a round?"

"I'll pass."

Yi-Han declined.

There was no need for him to test the limits of his physique through a ball game.

He was already testing the limits of his body in other ways.

Thwack!

"Ouch!"

As soon as he finished speaking, one of the White Tiger students was sent flying. Yi-Han clicked his tongue and approached.

"Do you guys get itchy if you don't cause trouble?"

"My... my ankle..."

"Stay still."

Yi-Han checked the fallen student's ankle. It was clearly in bad shape.

'I'll have to administer first aid and take him to the infirmary.'

"Stick together!" Yi-Han cast a healing spell.

"Call Professor Garcia! Get Professor Garcia!"

"...Oh."

Yi-Han hesitated.

Was this a common occurrence, as the White Tiger Tower students immediately tried to call Professor Garcia?

...Did I unnecessarily use magic?

'If I knew they were going to call the professor, I wouldn't have bothered with first aid.'

The student with the broken ankle, realizing he had been healed, looked at Yi-Han with an awkward expression.

-Shouldn't you be stopping them from calling the Professor?-

That was the kind of expression he had.

Yi-Han chose to ignore it.

They're your friends, so you stop them!