Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy

"Is it that hard to express the number four? Hey! That's a one!"

"It's not, Gainando. That's not a one, it's the middle finger... never mind."

Yi-Han was about to advise Gainando but then he stopped himself.

Befriending a summoned creature was also a task for a mage.

It would be better for Gainando to realize it on his own than for Yi-Han to give unwanted advice.

'And besides, it's too bothersome.'

Having completed his assignment, Yi-Han quickly turned away. There were still mountains of tasks awaiting him.

"Why do you keep showing one? Keep this up and my fearsome friend, the great mage, won't leave you alone! Yi-Han? Yi-Han!!"

Yi-Han ran off, pretending not to hear.

"What's going on?"

Having left Gainando behind and rushed to the alchemy classroom, Yi-Han hesitated at the scene before him.

In front of the students of the Immortal Phoenix, led by Priestess Siana, other students waiting in a long line for the alchemy lecture.

"Here you are."

"Sob sob. Thank you, Priestess. You are the only one."

"You, there's no need to be like this."

"No! You are the only one, Priestess! So, could you please give me a little more...?"

"I'm sorry, I can't."

"Please! Just a little more!"

Boos erupted from the students waiting in line.

"Are you the only one with assignments?!"

"Can't you just leave already!? You disgrace!"

"...????"

Confused, Yi-Han turned to see Yonaire appearing behind him.

"It's because of the assignment."

"The assignment?"

"Yes."

Beneath Yonaire's eyes were the marks of sleeplessness and exhaustion. Yi-Han looked at his friend with a pained expression.

"The alchemy pre-final assignments are trickier than we thought, right?"

"They're just very tricky."

The kind Professor Uregor had instructed them to create a potion of appropriate difficulty for the pre-final assignment.

-Make an Aurum's Golden Potion. It's not too hard, so all of you should be able to make it.-

Of course, the students were not fooled.

The Aurum's Golden Potion was not too difficult to make in terms of complexity.

The process was relatively simple and didn't require many additional steps...

However, the ingredients involved were terribly complex.

First, one had to mix a Lesser Mental Strengthening Potion and Setribi's Dew Potion to create the base, then add a mixture of the same Lesser Mental Strengthening Potion with Dobruk's Blood Drop Potion, and then again Lesser Mental Strengthening Potion with Belezen's...

Since other potions A, B, C, D, E, etc. were needed to make one potion, this potion was already the nemesis of alchemists.

Even if the difficulty was not too high for first-year students, making a few mistakes was expected, but a single mistake meant starting over from scratch.

Making the Lesser Mental Strengthening Potion again, remaking Setribi's Dew Potion, and Dobruk's Blood Drop Potion...

Professor Uregor had said, 'Knowing how to make an Aurum's Golden Potion will reduce mistakes and improve your skill in making other potions', but the students were already plotting to toss him into a cauldron.

"I heard that the Immortal Phoenix priests have a lot of <Lesser Mental Strengthening Potions>."

"!"

Most of the Empire's orders were based on virtues like frugality, conservation, and devotion.

Thus, the students of the Immortal Phoenix adapted to Einroghard more quickly than anyone else.

Not only that, but they also shared with their fellow students.

The students of the Immortal Phoenix, who grew up working in the temple, were just as resilient as the students of the Black Tortoise.

-Would you like some dessert? I have a slice of black bread from the academy and coffee made from dandelion roots.-

-...Well... I appreciate the thought, but Wardanaz must be waiting with dinner. Snacking now would disappoint him!-

And it was in potion making that this resilience shone the brightest.

Having grown up in the temple, even those who didn't major in alchemy had heard and helped enough to be knowledgeable in potion making.

While the students of the White Tiger scoured the mountains and forests for game, and those of the Black Tortoise gathered various odds and ends for the black market, the Immortal Phoenix priests, in their spare time, gathered ingredients and made potions.

As a result, they had accumulated quite a stock of <Lesser Mental Strengthening Potions>...

Faced with this situation, they decided to distribute them to their friends without any conditions.

"Oh no!"

Yi-Han sighed upon hearing Yonaire's explanation.

"I should have gone to the Immortal Phoenix... Ah, sorry, Yonaire. I don't mean to complain about the Blue Dragon Tower."

"Honestly, with the things you do, Yi-Han, no one could blame you even if you had complaints..."

Yonaire thought if anyone had a conscience, the students of the Blue Dragon Tower should keep their mouths shut.

"And I do feel it's a waste."

"Right?"

Yi-Han and Yonaire sighed together.

If there were surplus resources, they should be efficiently bartered to increase capital, not distributed for free.

The vile students from the other towers were exploiting the goodness of the Immortal Phoenix priests.

'If I were there, I would have taken charge.'

After sighing, Yi-Han joined the line with Yonaire.

It was regrettable, but if they were offering potions, they had to accept them.

"How many bottles of <Lesser Mental Strengthening Potion> would be enough?"

"Twenty bottles... No, even twenty might not be enough."

"The finals will be similar, right?"

"Yeah..."

Yonaire's face darkened.

With the pre-final assignments being so dreadful, she worried about how difficult the final exam potions would be.

But Yi-Han had not yet given up.

'There's a way.'

Yi-Han had plans to go out this weekend.

If he went out and bought all the useful alchemy ingredients and potions he could find...

It would be like solving half the problem, no matter what difficult task Professor Uregor set.

"Hehehe..."

"Yi-Han of the Wardanaz family?"

The Immortal Phoenix priests tilted their heads when Yi-Han didn't respond.

Yonaire, slightly puzzled, tapped Yi-Han's shoulder and called out.

"What's wrong? Shocked by the assignment?"

"Oh. It's not that, it's just..."

"Hurry up and take it!"

A student from the White Tiger behind Yi-Han grumbled. When Yi-Han stared at him, the student averted his gaze.

"Priestess Siana, a brilliant star of the Flameng Order. It's a pleasure."

"Compared to Yi-Han of the Wardanaz family, a connoisseur and adept in alchemy, I am nothing."

Priestess Siana greeted him warmly and began placing potion bottles into a basket.

The basket quickly filled up...

And then another bottle for another basket...?

"?"

"??"

Yi-Han and Yonaire looked at each other.

'It seems like she's giving us more?'

'She is giving more.'

"Here. Take it."

"Uh... thank you."

Yi-Han briefly wondered whether to point out the 'mistake' of being given too many potions or just accept them as they were.

However, a student who had received his portion earlier exclaimed in disbelief.

"Priestess! The amount Wardanaz received seems to be at least twice as much as mine?!"

'It looks more like three times as much.'

In truth, even twice seemed a rough estimate.

"Well, what you just received was the potion given by the priestess, and what Wardanaz received was from Siana, the brilliant star of the Flameng Order."

"..."

"..."

"Do you have any complaints? Would you like to return it..."

"No, no."

The student who had just questioned hastily collected himself and stepped back.

"Siana, the Venus-like priestess of the Flameng Order..." A student tried the flattery method.

"It's too late now. Next!"

Yi-Han thought to himself.

'Tsk tsk. Should have done it earlier.'

He always felt this way, but preemptive flattery never hurt.

Especially seeing these belated attempts only reinforced this thought.

"Wardanaz...! To have even the priestess in the palm of his hand...!"

"Do you have eyes just for decoration?"

Yi-Han was incredulous at the other tower students' reactions.

How could they see this as Yi-Han manipulating Priestess Siana?

They didn't do it themselves in advance!

Professor Rosine, who was in charge of the <Basic Imperial Language and Logic> class, started off by praising the students.

"Wow! Student Shyles! Professor Bungaegor said that the horse you're taking care of is doing really well!"

"Th-thank you."

"Student Asan! I heard you brought a magnificent spirit. Excellent!"

"I was just lucky. Thank you!"

"And Student Yi-Han! Student Yi-Han is..."

Professor Rosine hesitated for a moment when it came to Yi-Han.

There was so much to praise that it was momentarily confusing what to choose.

"... Anyway, you're doing well!"

"?!"

Yi-Han was taken aback.

"What did I do wrong?"

"Well... Who knows?"

After praising more students, Professor Rosine stood at the front.

The students, who rarely received praise from the professors at Einroghard, beamed with satisfied self-esteem.

"Professor. Is there no pre-final assignment for <Basic Imperial Language and Logic>?"

The professor answered cheerily in a bubbly voice.

"Oh! There's no separate pre-final assignment. Instead, there will be a simple exam!"

"..."

"Ah, never mind. I trust Professor Fluerwerk."

The students' faces fell at the sudden announcement of a surprise exam.

While some still held onto their belief that 'Professor Rosine is different,'...

"Come in."

"Hello, everyone."

As a giant demon with a voice full of pressure entered, the faces of the students who had just been saying 'Professor Rosine is different' turned to stone.

Einroghard's professors were...!

"Do we have to fight? Is fighting part of the exam?"

"Surely not... Even Professor Rosine wouldn't do that."

"Well, there are professors who do."

"Don't joke, Wardanaz! It's not funny at all!"

"..."

Yi-Han slightly regretted not forcefully dragging his friends to Professor Boladi's class.

"Here we have Mr. Orifulas, an outstanding demon who served as an imperial legal officer for 131 years! What do you think enabled such a powerful demon to work as a legal officer?"

"A contract?"

"Excellent! A round of applause, everyone!"

The applause from the students was softer and less enthusiastic than before.

"Of course, Mr. Orifulas is a powerful demon. And it's not easy for a mage to contract with a being more powerful than themselves! How should we proceed?"

"Uh... persuasion?"

"Correct! Everyone, a round of applause!"

Clap, clap, clap.

"Today, you all will attempt a mock contract negotiation with Mr. Orifulas! He will seriously consider and evaluate the terms you propose, so please give it your best effort. With such exceptional students as yourselves, I'm sure you can do it!"

"????"

The students displayed expressions of not fully grasping the situation.

At least it wasn't a fight...

But how to persuade?

"What and how should we persuade? Should we offer our hearts and blood...?"

"Gold?"

"A friend's life?"

"A friend's card deck?"

"Wanna die?"

"Maybe start by asking what he likes and engage in light conversation..."

Meanwhile, one unfortunate student was the first to sit before Orifulas.

Orifulas asked with a serious expression.

“Why should I make a contract with you, a green young mage?”

"Th... That's because. If you contract with me, I'll give you gold..."

“Gold? Gold?? Are you in your right mind? Do you really think I'm a being who would help a mage for mere gold? How exactly do you see me?”

"I'm... I'm sorry...!"

The student began to tear up under Orifulas's intimidating interrogation.

The rest of the students stirred uneasily.

This...

This is no ordinary task!

-A card deck is…-

-If it’s a joke, then it’s not bad, but that's worthless.-

-I'll supply mana to strengthen you and provide potions if needed…-

-That's something you'd say when contracting with a weaker being. What demon would accept such an offer, thinking a weaker being's mana or potions would be better than what they can get themselves? Mana? It would be faster and stronger if I got it myself. Potions? It’s better if I make them…-

-Do you like things like hearts or blood?-

-You need to relearn basic manners.-

'This is bad.'

Watching his friends being swept away like fallen leaves, Yi-Han too felt tense.

Orifulas was more fastidious in his tastes than expected.

It was hard to guess what kind of offer would appeal to the demon.

'Carefully throw out suggestions and gauge his reaction. That's the only way.'

"Good day."

“Hmm!”

"Let's start with the basics. As a contractor, I'll do my utmost to supply mana..."

“Accepted.”

"...Excuse me?"