Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy

Baishada marveled in thought, ‘Are all students of Einroguard like this?’ It seemed only natural, given that Einroguard was a place where the empire's greatest talents were gathered and educated.

These were individuals who, even when half their arrows were embedded in a rock, would lament, "Ah, only half the arrow stuck in the rock."

However, Baishada did not hear the exchange between Jijel and Dolgyu,

"Tell your friend to stop talking nonsense."

"He's your colleague too."

Baishada wondered about a young patroller who had recently enrolled in Einroguard from another fortress of the <Shadow Patrol>. If all Einroguard students shared such a temperament, then this young patroller would likely be similar. Baishada admired the young patroller he hadn't even met, thinking that such capability was a prerequisite to enter Einroguard.

"If you want more accurate aiming, how about reducing the power?"

"Are you talking about reducing power?"

"Yes. It seems like you're too obsessed with power. That much power isn't necessary."

"But aren't there monsters like the Colossal Hungry Ghost that have unusually strong armor? It seems like this level of power would be necessary to defeat those kinds."

"Well, that's true, but normally, first-year students wouldn't encounter such monsters, right?"

Baishada was flustered.

Of course, among the monsters, there were those with strong defenses, but usually, such monsters were rare encounters.

Especially for first-year students at a magic academy.

Yi-Han smiled bitterly. Baishada did not quite understand why the boy in front of her felt this way.

"You're right. Then, I'll give up on power and focus on aiming."

"Why don't you try using <Lesser Guidance>?"

Jijel said mockingly.

It was obviously not serious advice.

The 'Guidance' property, which allowed an object to move towards its target on its own in enchantment magic, was quite a difficult property.

It was a property with a much higher difficulty level than 'Acceleration' or 'Weight Increase'.

"Ah. Thanks, Moradi."

However, for Yi-Han, who was already handling the 'Autonomous Defense' property, <Lesser Guidance> was considered manageable.

Since they had quite a bit in common, Yi-Han was able to successfully apply <Lesser Guidance> on his first try.

"..."

Jijel was at a loss for words. Dolgyu, standing beside, commented with a slight surprise.

"I didn't expect you to give advice."

"Shut up."

"?!"

Yi-Han reduced the power enhancement magic and added <Lesser Guidance>.

After several trials and errors, Yi-Han achieved a well-balanced combination of spells:

'<Lesser Accuracy Enhancement>, <Lesser Aiming Enhancement>, <Lesser Guidance> twice, and <Lesser Penetration Enhancement>. This combination seems alright.'

With this precarious yet optimal combination for his current skill level, Yi-Han drew the bowstring, and the arrow struck precisely at the center of a distant rock.

Baishada, pleased, clapped his hands, "Brilliant!" Yi-Han was equally surprised, "Thank you. I didn't expect it to go this well."

Yi-Han was also somewhat taken aback by how well it turned out.

To think that archery could be so easily replaced by a single spell (though it was never just one).

It was enough to make one think that there was a reason why mages were often cursed at for being unpleasant.

"Feels almost too easy to shoot an arrow like this," he remarked.

"It's fine," Baishada replied, revealing his pride as a skilled archer. "It's better for beginners to enjoy using convenient and useful tools rather than wasting time and giving up. Wouldn't even the best archers use good bows and arrows? They actually seek out and use such things even more."

Archery was a profound skill with no end to its depth once one delved into it.

Archers who followed such paths were not overly concerned with mages substituting archery with magic, for they had strong confidence in their own archery skills.

"Indeed, that's true. Thank you for the good advice," Yi-Han responded as he released several arrows in succession. Baishada was momentarily taken aback as Yi-Han precisely split the end of an already shot arrow with another.

Magic really did seem unfairly advantageous!

"Moradi. Thank you. For the advice," Yi-Han said.

"..."

"I'll need to practice a few more times."

Yi-Han picked up another arrow, slightly excited. One might ask why bother learning archery when magic exists, but the bow had advantages that magic did not.

First, its overwhelming range was an advantage.

If used well, a range of over a hundred meters was something that would be insanely difficult to achieve with magic.

For freshmen like Yi-Han, who frequently encountered monsters, it was essential to prepare methods for striking from as far a distance as possible.

Swish, swish, swish, swish!

Baishada was bewildered watching Yi-Han earnestly embed arrows into the target. He had recommended it as a light change of pace, but Yi-Han was practicing with intense dedication.

"Hopefully monsters aren't descending on Einroguard, right? Ha ha," Baishada joked.

"..."

"..."

"...St-Students. It was just a joke."

Professor Uregor drew on his tobacco pipe, puffing out smoke vigorously.

Students often mistakenly thought, "The professors are truly wicked for assigning such homework and exams." However, the truth was that the professors themselves were not fond of grading these assignments and exams. After all, the burden of evaluating them fell upon the professors themselves.

Yet, the students, unaware of their mentor's toil, would complain, "Why make it so difficult?"

"This is truly problematic! These youngsters, I swear!"

"But isn't it true that you made the assignment difficult?"

"Does that mean I should deliberately make it easy?"

Uregor grumbled, pouring tea for Professor Bungaegor.

The table was cluttered with potion bottles students had submitted, haphazardly strewn about.

"This one missed the Setribi's Dew Potion. This one has insufficient quantity for a <Lesser Mental Strengthening Potions>. I asked them to make Dobruk's Blood Drop Potion, but it seems like they fetched water from a sewer instead. Just smell that foul odor!"

"Keep it down, I'm trying to drink tea here."

"Yes."

An alchemist of Professor Uregor's caliber could discern the composition of a potion merely by looking and sensing its mana. The final assignment was Aurum's Golden Potion. Although not excessively difficult, it required a combination of various potions, which was quite a nuisance.

It started with mixing the <Lesser Mental Strengthening Potions> and Setribi's Dew Potion to create the base. Then, this base had to be mixed with Dobruk's Blood Drop Potion, followed by...

"Isn't that why the students dislike it when you assign such tasks?"

"Alchemy is inherently such a discipline," Uregor defended himself.

He felt wronged, having endured such troublesome tasks himself to become an alchemist. If one couldn't handle these, how would they craft more complex potions in the future?

"Uh... what?"

"What's wrong?"

"This is strange."

Uregor examined a potion bottle under a magic lamp. Despite looking again, it remained peculiar.

Too...

clean and perfect.

"What's strange about it?"

"It's made too well."

"Isn't that a good thing?"

"No. I assigned this assignment with the intention of them making it poorly."

"..."

Professor Bungaegor looked disdainfully at her nephew, but Professor Uregor paid her no mind. The students, after all, weren't getting their materials from a specific supply; they were foraging around the academy grounds, so perfection was hardly expected. The byproducts and residues were supposed to be present, but this Aurum's Golden Potion was too perfect.

What's going on?

"This... this seems like a potion bought from an Alchemy Guild’s workshop?!"

"Smart move."

"No, this isn't just being smart! Who made this?"

Yi-Han Wardanaz.

"..."

Upon seeing the name on the potion label, Professor Uregor was at a loss for words. How did this student manage it?

"You told them to use any means necessary, so they did."

"But how could he buy a potion from outside!? How did he even manage this!?"

"Probably bought it during his last outing."

"But how did he guess Aurum's Golden Potion would be the assignment?"

"Interesting, isn't it?"

Professor Bungaegor was amused, as it wasn't her concern. Professor Uregor, however, felt differently. Even for a favored student, this was a matter of pride. To not struggle with an assignment meant to be challenging? How dare he!

"Blame yourself, Wardanaz. The difficulty of the final exam will increase because of this," Uregor muttered darkly. Professor Bungaegor shook her head, thinking how such behavior reinforced the stereotype of alchemists as reclusive, gloomy individuals.

Tuesday.

Professor Alpen Knighton surveyed the assignments created by his students with a serious gaze. The pre-final assignment for <Basic Imperial Geometry and Arithmetic> was to draft a design for a structure, and the final exam involved its actual construction. Since the two were interconnected, most students were already constructing their structures.

With evaluations scheduled for the next week, anyone who hadn't nearly completed their work this week faced significant difficulties. The challenge was exacerbated by the fact that the following week also had final exams for other classes, leaving even less time available.

"Professor Knighton."

"Professor Fluerwerk. Hello."

Professor Alpen replied, slightly bowing his head to Professor Rosine. As they were both former imperial officials, they were acquainted.

"Your students' assignments look wonderful! You must be teaching them well."

"I'm embarrassed, as there is still much room for improvement," replied Alpen modestly.

"For first-year students, this is more than sufficient."

"Even if they're first-years, they're mages. They wouldn't want to be treated any differently."

"..."

The students working behind them pursed their lips in disagreement. Not true!

"Mr. Wardanaz. Mr. Wardanaz."

Yi-Han, who was embedding a magic stone into a column made of vermilion wood, responded to Rowena of the White Tiger, shaking his head, "I'm busy right now and can't make snacks, Rowena. Tell the princess to wait a bit."

"..."

The princess, working on her own assignment with her followers nearby, looked at Yi-Han with a mix of indignation and astonishment.

"What? No, I didn't come for snacks."

"Oh, really?"

Yi-Han set down his hammer and turned.

"Then why are you here?"

"Could you lend me some of your mana?"

"..."

"..."

"Is she a dark mage?"

Asan muttered in a disgusted tone.

For a mage, the magic of absorbing another's mana was almost a taboo. It was a natural response, considering it involved tampering with something even more vital than a mage's life.

Gainando vehemently denied the assumption, "Just because one is a dark mage doesn't mean they absorb others' mana!"

"What? There's no such method?"

"It's not... exactly non-existent."

"Don't come any closer."

"This guy! Other schools of magic might have such methods!"

'But they probably don't.'

Realizing the misunderstanding she had caused, Rowena urgently exclaimed, "I am not a dark mage!"

"No, it's not about being a dark mage. You should say you don't intend to steal mana."

"I don't have the intention to steal mana..."

"Yeah. Sure."

Yi-Han quickly grasped the situation. Like the various trials and errors that depleted mana during the creation of magic circles, constructing magic structures was equally draining. While Yi-Han could continuously pour his mana into his work without tiring, other students had to rest until their mana was replenished. Yi-Han's contribution of mana could significantly shorten the production time.

"You don't have to pay me back right away; I'm okay with credit."

"Really?"

Rowena, who was about to pull out a whole chunk of meat, was delighted. Surprisingly, Einroguard's students preferred spending money outside the academy over bartering. Yi-Han was just thankful.

"Wait!"

"?”

Anglago of the Alpha family interrupted, leaving Yi-Han puzzled. What was he trying to say?

'Is he trying to interfere?'

Given the nature of the White Tiger students, they might not like it if their friend received help from another tower...

"Wardanaz. I'll pay double, so help me first..."

"..."

"..."

"Is that guy really a knight? From the White Tiger Tower?"

Gainando murmured in confusion.