Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy

Yi-Han walked over and pulled Gainando's cloak instead of answering.

Gainando, whose hidden face was revealed, said with an embarrassed expression, "I, I wasn't looking for it to use. I was just curious about the principle... That's right! I need to know in advance so I won't be fooled later!"

"I didn't say anything."

"...Why are you here! You're here to find an artifact that can help you win card games too, right?!"

Yi-Han and Yonaire were momentarily at a loss for words at Gainando's absurd accusation.

Sometimes, when you hear too much nonsense, you can't react right away.

"Right?! I guessed it, didn't I?"

"No."

"Stop talking nonsense."

"...No?"

Gainando was slightly discouraged.

He thought they had obviously come to buy card game-related artifacts...

"Gainando. If you want to win at card games, there's another way."

"Huh? Really?"

Gainando's eyes sparkled at Yi-Han's words.

No matter what, Yi-Han was the top card game expert with the highest win rate in the Blue Dragon Tower.

"Change the composition of your deck a bit."

"No! They're all cards I cherish!"

Even though he died every time in the early game because he only put high-cost cards in his deck without a single low-cost card, Gainando tried to believe in his cards until the end.

"Then there's another way."

"What is it?"

"Don't whine even if you lose and accept defeat with courage."

"..."

Gainando glared fiercely at Yi-Han.

He didn't mind being scolded for not being good at magic, but he couldn't stand being scolded over card games.

"Yi-Han. Look at this."

Yonaire, who had been looking around ignoring their conversation, called Yi-Han.

"These glasses. Don't they look useful?"

"Are they alchemist's glasses? They definitely look good."

Alchemist's Glasses

These glasses, made by refining hoanstone from the Western Ikansel Mine, have a perfectly balanced design adjusted by the Empire's top artifact craftsmen. Experience the effect of a powerful component analysis magic that lasts for 5 years.

'How much?'

Price - 100 Imperial gold coins

Yi-Han momentarily lost his balance and staggered.

Yonaire was startled by his appearance. She thought the cruel mental attack from her sister had taken effect belatedly.

"Are you okay?! Could it be because of my sister?!"

"The, the price... 100 gold coins."

"...You startled me."

"Yonaire. No matter how I think about it, isn't this strange? How can this be 100 Imperial gold coins?"

Yi-Han couldn't understand.

Of course, the alchemist's glasses were indeed useful.

Even people who couldn't use magic could easily analyze the components of various ingredients or reagents.

But to Yi-Han, who was a mage, it was an excessively expensive price. Moreover, it wasn't even a permanent artifact, was it?

'If you gather the materials, cast magic, and work on it... The cost wouldn't even be one gold coin.'

Such an artifact was more expensive than Yi-Han's entire fortune.

'Am I wrong? Maybe I'm thinking wrongly.'

He had heard many times that artifacts were expensive, but if even such an artifact was this expensive...

Yi-Han's dream of getting rich quick might not be a dream.

"This is expensive because of the design and decorations, not the magic. Yi-Han."

"Huh?"

"Look here."

Yonaire pointed below the glasses.

The names of the craftsmen who participated in the creation of this artifact, their careers, and even the various gems used for decoration were explained in detail.

After seeing that explanation, Yi-Han checked the artifact again.

It was definitely a pair of glasses that looked expensive even without magic.

"Why did they do this? They could have just put magic on copper glasses."

"Well... Because the people who buy want this kind of thing..."

"Tsk."

Yi-Han bit his lip.

He resented the Empire's trend of focusing only on appearance and splendor without seeing the true value of magic.

Then, even if Yi-Han worked hard to make them, he wouldn't be able to sell them at such a high price, would he?

"I get it. Let's stop analyzing and look at something else."

"Argh! Why is it so expensive?!"

"?"

"?"

Yonaire and Yi-Han were slightly taken aback by Gainando's exclamation.

Gainando wasn't the kind of friend who usually made such a sound.

He was a friend with a never-drying allowance pouch...?

"You didn't say that usually. What's wrong?"

"Ah. That's."

Gainando said in a slightly discouraged voice.

After the bloody battle with the basilisk at the mansion...

"It wasn't a bloody battle. It self-destructed."

Yi-Han pointed out coldly.

If he said it like that, others might misunderstand.

"Isn't that enough to be called a bloody battle..."

"No, it's not."

"Anyway, after that, I received a lot of praise from my mother. She also praised my friends a lot."

"So?"

"I got excited... I told her about earning silver coins by working together with my friends. Then she praised me even more..."

Yi-Han had a slightly bad feeling.

"Could it be what I'm thinking?"

"...So I said I don't need an allowance anymore, that I'll handle it with my own ability..."

Yi-Han and Yonaire lamented at the same time.

What a foolish thing to do!

Of course, they understood getting excited after being praised, but kicking his own allowance pouch.

It was a very stupid thing to do.

Doing such a thing just for pride...

"But I did well, right?"

Gainando looked at his friends as if trying to mentally win.

His eyes seemed to say this.

-Praise me!-

However, Yi-Han answered seriously, "Gainando. Go back and say you thought wrong. Say that an appropriate allowance seems necessary."

"That's right. You can't endure it."

"Why not?!"

Gainando was choked up by the cruel answers of his two friends, whom he thought would cheer him on.

"Well... You don't really like working, do you?"

"No? No?? I'll work a lot too?"

Yi-Han and Yonaire looked at each other.

-No matter how I think about it, he'll probably regret it.-

-Right. But it's none of our business.-

-...Aren't we being too harsh on Gainando?-

-He needs to experience it to come to his senses.-

"Yi-Han. I want to work together too."

"You'll regret it."

At Yi-Han's words, Gainando tapped his chest.

"I'm also an Einroguard student. A proper mage."

Seeing that, Yonaire thought to herself, 'You're like that because you're from the Blue Dragon Tower...'

Listening to the stories of students from other towers, it was literally a series of desperate survival every day.

If it weren't for Yi-Han, who was in the same tower and took care of his meals, Gainando would have come out half-dead.

"Alright. If I get a job offer, I'll call you too."

"Really? Thank you!"

"It would be better to say thanks after finishing all the work... Anyway. I need to sell this."

Yi-Han called the clerk. Then he took out the artifacts he had brought.

The clerk quickly recognized the value of the artifacts Yi-Han had brought.

"A ring with the magic of <Lightning Emission>!"

"That's right."

"It's a well-made artifact. Do you have the manual from the mage who created it?"

"Here."

Yi-Han handed over the manual he received from the guild.

Seeing that, the clerk was surprised.

"...Could it be a gift offered by the Adventurers' Guild as a token of gratitude?"

"Is there a problem with that?"

"Are you perhaps Mr. Wardanaz who exterminated the evil being this time?"

"..."

Yi-Han was about to sigh deeply but held back.

No matter how he thought about it, there must be a Granden City information sharing bulletin board.

"That's right. Is there any discount?"

"Your sense of humor is also amazing. I heard from my friend who works at the Adventurers' Guild. I knew that the students from Einroguard were outstanding mages, but it's rare to see someone so active from the 1st year."

"I was lucky."

It wasn't a joke, but the fortunate thing was that there was no Granden City information sharing bulletin board.

"Anyway, there's no problem... But I wonder what was wrong with the gift offered by the Adventurers' Guild..."

The clerk asked cautiously.

If there was a problem with the gift offered by the Adventurers' Guild, it wasn't just one person's problem.

It became a problem for several people, from the artifact craftsman who created it to the person in charge on the Adventurers' Guild side who trusted that artifact craftsman and entrusted the request.

"There was no problem. It's just an artifact that I don't need."

"!"

The clerk was surprised by Yi-Han's words.

Saying that an artifact was not needed didn't simply mean knowing how to use that magic.

A mage casting magic required more concentration and time than one might think.

An artifact that compensated for that being unnecessary meant that the casting speed of the <Lightning Emission> magic was on par with the activation speed of the artifact.

'Indeed... Befitting someone who subdued the Mage of Baldurguard and defeated a basilisk.'

The clerk nodded, thinking something that would make Yi-Han grab the back of his neck if he heard it.

"The guild made a mistake."

"No. The thought behind a gift is what's important. Actually, I would have been satisfied even if they gave me gold coins."

The clerk couldn't hold back and burst into laughter. Then he made an embarrassed expression and recovered.

"Your sense of humor is truly amazing."

"..."

"Anyway, please wait a moment. I'll go appraise it and come back. Is this the only artifact you're entrusting?"

"Ah. Please take this helmet too."

The clerk nodded and headed to the back of the store.

An hour later.

The clerk returned with the two artifacts. Gainando slightly overturned the card game he was about to lose.

"This ring with the magic of <Lightning Emission> is worth about ten gold coins."

In a remote town's antique or miscellaneous goods store, there might be clumsy negotiations, but in this noble-specialized artifact store in the central district of a big city, there was no such thing.

If they did that, they would immediately hear from the nobles, 'Are you ignoring my honor now?'

'Not bad.'

Yi-Han was very satisfied.

Ten gold coins.

To earn that much, he would have had to work at the Maykin family's workshop several times and take dozens of missions.

It was a gift that conveyed the sincerity of the Adventurers' Guild.

"Please exchange it right away."

"Yes. And this helmet is..."

Yi-Han was slightly nervous.

'Wouldn't it be quite expensive? It's a sentient artifact. Sentient artifacts must be rare. But it has too shabby an appearance. Damn it. Should I have at least decorated it with jewels? No. If an amateur touched it, it would only have the opposite effect.'

"...It's a cursed artifact."

"Pardon?"

"A cursed artifact. To be precise, it's an artifact with an evil inclination. It tends to lead its owner to ruin... You managed to avoid getting hurt."

The clerk looked at Yi-Han with a gaze mixed with worry and respect.

The fact that he was fine while possessing such an artifact proved the strength of his mind.

Of course, Yi-Han was utterly absurd.

'It was a cursed artifact?'

"Ah... No wonder Yi-Han met a lot of strange guys."

Gainando clapped his hands as if he finally understood.

He had encountered unusually strong enemies many times, and it was all because of that helmet.

“It has nothing to do with me! He didn't even listen to me...!”

The helmet tried to protest as if it was unfair, but the clerk quickly covered its mouth with a cloth of silence.

There was nothing good about listening to the words of an evil artifact.

"We can't purchase this. I'm sure Mr. Wardanaz will handle it well, but please be careful as it's an evil artifact."

"Thank you."

Yi-Han glared at the helmet and took it. The helmet shut its mouth and fell silent at that gaze.

After buying Gainando a cotton candy and returning to the Wardanaz family's mansion together, a servant said to Yi-Han, "Young Master. You have a guest."

"At this hour?"

It was almost night, and a guest had come to visit.

It was a visit that wouldn't be made unless they were quite close or quite rude.

'It must be the former.'

"Is it Asan?"

"No."

"Dolgyu?"

"No. I don't think it was your friend. And it was someone I met for the first time."

"What race was the guest, by any chance?"

"A vampire."

"..."

Yi-Han's face turned as pale as a vampire.