Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy

"Why are you doing that?"

"It's nothing."

Yi-Han regained his senses.

Although the Princess's group's luxurious sense of money was dizzying, it was definitely helpful in the current situation.

'Well, there's nothing good about asking the professors.'

Even if he asked Bea... no, the professors, there was a high possibility they wouldn't readily agree.

In that case, it was better to receive the favor of the sponsors.

"Then let's go get the staff."

However, Yi-Han's face was distorted.

Seeing that, Rowena whispered in a worried voice,

"I'm worried that the impact of the earlier battle might still be affecting him."

"Well, given Wardanaz's personality, he doesn't seem like the type to say anything even if he's struggling."

"We should have him get examined on the way."

Arriving at the staff shop, Yi-Han asked, not understanding,

"Why did we meet the healing mage just now?"

"J-just because my body was a bit unwell, so once..."

"Your body is unwell? Wouldn't it be better to rest?"

Yi-Han thought Rowena might have overworked.

So he spoke slightly, only for Ctran to hear,

"Does the Princess make you work too hard?"

"?!"

The Princess's eyes widened with a sense of injustice.

"T-that's not it."

"Seeing you stutter, it seems suspicious."

"I said it's not?!"

The healing mage they met earlier had examined Yi-Han and confirmed that he couldn't be healthier.

Even if Rowena or Ctran said, "He fought a poisonous contaminated being!" "That's right, please examine him more closely!" it was of no use.

There was really nothing wrong, so what could they do?

Rather, the other three got an earful.

-It seems you've overused magic recently. You've reached the point of mana exhaustion, so there's still some damage left.-

-It looks like you practiced alchemy all night, but even if you're a mage, you can get poisoned if you handle reagents without proper ventilation, so be careful.-

Ctran quickly opened the door, feeling like he would only receive strange misunderstandings if he said anything more.

The sign that read <Puyo's Banyan Staff> spun around as the door opened.

"Mr. Puyo is the most outstanding staff craftsman in Granden City."

Located in the central district of the city, the shop's exterior also looked quite old-fashioned, so it didn't seem to have a short history.

Just from that, one could tell he was an artifact craftsman with a lot of experience.

"Would he know Professor Beavle?"

"Well...? I'm not sure about that."

Rowena also tilted her head.

The reason the Princess's group could visit Puyo's shop was because the sponsors were acquainted with Puyo, not because they were close to Puyo.

In fact, Puyo was far from the type of person freshmen could easily get close to.

An artifact craftsman with a lot of experience meant a seasoned enchantment mage.

It wasn't easy to be friendly with mages who were decades older than oneself.

"Is this perhaps your first time meeting him?"

"I greeted him once outside last time, but this is the first time visiting like this..."

"Is everyone here?"

A tree walked out from inside.

To be precise, Puyo was a tree spirit mixed-blood. His face, hands, and arms were like tree branches, so they had mistaken him for a tree.

"It's an honor to see you again, Mr. Puyo."

"Enough with the unnecessary greetings."

Puyo disliked bothersome formalities.

In the first place, if it weren't for the earnest request of the sponsors, he wouldn't have let young students into his workshop.

"You said you needed staffs with no magic cast on them?"

"Ah, yes, that's right."

Overwhelmed by Puyo's force, Rowena slightly stuttered.

Of course, Yi-Han didn't particularly care.

Among the professors, there were far more insane people than Puyo.

In fact, even if someone was blunt like Puyo but directly said what needed to be said, they would be in the top 5% in terms of personality.

Rustle-

As Puyo gestured, a few boxes stacked on the shelves opened, and long staffs poured out.

They were staffs that had no magic cast on them yet, purely made of wood.

"Do the work only here. Don't come inside. Don't touch anything in the shop carelessly, and as Einroguard students, you should have learned the basics of enchantment magic."

The students nodded.

"Then I trust you won't cause any unnecessary accidents."

With those words, Puyo went into the inner part of the workshop.

Only then could Rowena and Ctran let out a sigh.

"That was nerve-wracking."

"I know. I thought I couldn't breathe. ...Wardanaz. What are you doing?"

"Huh? Ah. I was looking to see if there were any usable staffs."

Yi-Han had been looking around, regardless of whether the two talked about Puyo or not.

He was thinking of taking one if there was a good one.

"Did you have any thoughts about Mr. Puyo?"

"Not really. Didn't he only say what was necessary?"

Do the work here, don't cause accidents, don't touch anything else.

He really only said what was necessary, so there was no reason to be unnecessarily scared.

"First, let's classify the staffs. The long ones go here. The short ones go there."

"Got it. Oh. But Wardanaz. Why are we classifying these?"

At Ctran's question, Yi-Han stared at Ctran as if looking at Gainando.

Then he answered with a smile,

"The longer the staff, the stronger the effect tends to be, right?"

"Ah... T-that's right!"

The staff, the artifact that most directly assists a mage's spellcasting.

As such, even a slight change in the material of the staff could greatly affect its performance.

In general, the longer the staff, the greater its power, and the higher the strength, the more stubborn the magic became.

Naturally, someone who handled staffs had to memorize these general tendencies like laws.

Of course, Ctran didn't particularly know, but he answered as if he knew.

"I think that was the case!"

"Ctran. If you don't know, just say you don't know."

"...Sorry. I didn't know."

"Did you sleep during enchantment magic class? It's in the textbook."

"..."

Ctran felt a surge of injustice.

'You told me to say it...!'

If he were a student of the Blue Dragon Tower, he wouldn't have fallen for such a simple trick, but the inexperienced Ctran had no choice but to fall for it.

Puyo put down his tools, trying to focus on his work.

After all, with other people in the workshop, it wasn't easy to concentrate.

Although he couldn't refuse as Puyo's sponsors had earnestly requested, he did regret it.

It wasn't simply that he felt uncomfortable with other people entering the workshop.

No matter how much they were Einroguard students, they were freshmen.

Even if they had learned enchantment magic, the time they had learned it was short, and they were likely to lack experience.

Giving high-quality staffs to such students was close to a waste.

Thinking that the potential of the staffs, which had not been properly processed yet and had infinite potential, would be chipped away by the students' clumsy magic and become failures, his heart ached.

'I really can't stand it.'

Puyo approached the door and peeked at how the students were working.

No matter how much the Princess and the sponsors had requested, if they were working too absurdly, he had no intention of staying still.

He would stop the work and send them out with any excuse...

"Now. Ctran. Since you said you understood, tell me now. A mage who specializes in fire elemental magic and summoning magic has come here. This mage's race is a dwarf, and the staff he previously used was a maple staff with a fire spirit stone embedded in it. Then what kind of staff would you recommend?"

"Uh... Uh..."

"Start with the length."

"F-first, since it's fire elemental magic, prioritizing power, make it long..."

"Wrong. Even if it's fire elemental magic, power isn't always important. Rather, control might be more important. Above all, since the person is a dwarf, recommending a long staff will only make it inconvenient to carry around. Did you really learn enchantment magic?"

"Ugh..."

Ctran was completely discouraged. Rowena, who was next to him, was also terrified and stuck close to the Princess. She felt like she would be bombarded with questions like Ctran if she moved even a little.

'????'

Puyo, who was watching, was surprised by the unexpected situation.

He thought the students would carelessly handle the staffs and waste them unnecessarily, but they were preparing rather systematically.

It was surprising.

"But can't we just try one by one and get a feel for it..."

Smack!

Yi-Han hit Ctran once with the staff.

"Do you think we have extra staffs?"

'We do have extra...'

Ctran grumbled inwardly but couldn't say anything more, afraid of Yi-Han's staff.

"You have to calculate perfectly before doing it. Now. Ctran. Answer me. Among water, wind, and light elements, which one should be enchanted first? And which staff among these would be suitable?"

"...C-can't you ask Rowena too?"

"!!"

Rowena was so surprised that her long ears stood up.

She looked at Ctran with eyes full of betrayal, but Ctran had no mind to care about that now.

'I need to save myself first!'

"Uh, w-well, Princess?"

"..."

Adenart stared at Rowena. Rowena lowered her head, feeling embarrassed.

Instead of saying anything more to her followers, Adenart picked up a staff.

"An elm staff. You chose well, Ctran. The reason water element should be enchanted first is that it's more stable compared to other elements..."

"Ugh...! I should have just said it! I could have gotten it right! Really!"

"Just listen."

Hearing the students' conversation, Puyo pondered whether he should change his thoughts from earlier.

He had heard a lot from the followers about how outstanding the Princess's talent was, but seeing it like this, she was indeed exceptional even among the outstanding geniuses gathered at Einroguard.

Moreover, the boy over there was also remarkable.

It wasn't simply knowledge about enchantment magic.

As an outstanding craftsman, Puyo could tell a person's skill by seeing the various preparations they made before work.

In that sense, that boy looked as if he had done this kind of work more than once or twice.

No matter how much he had learned at Einroguard, it didn't make sense to become familiar with it so quickly. Wouldn't he have learned the same as the other students?

It was clearly an innate talent.

'Truly amazing. To think such a thing is possible with talent.'

Not knowing that Yi-Han had been overworked under other professors, Puyo was purely amazed that such a thing was possible with talent.

"Now. This is the magic circle we'll use for the water element today."

While Puyo was admiring, Yi-Han flipped through a book and chose a magic circle.

Ctran timidly asked,

"Wardanaz. Is there a reason you chose this among the water elemental magic?"

"It's a magic circle I'm familiar with because I've done it a lot."

"I see. ...Huh? This wasn't given as an assignment, right?"

"I did it separately with Professor Beavle."

At those words, Ctran was amazed.

To work separately with a professor.

As expected of Wardanaz.

"That's amazing, Wardanaz. I'm envious..."

"Ctran. Before saying you're envious, think again about what you're saying and then speak."

"..."

Ctran thought about it again.

And upon thinking about it again, he wasn't particularly envious.

Even if not as much as Yi-Han, the students learning enchantment magic had all felt Professor Beavle's madness to some extent.

Rowena asked, puzzled,

"But when did you find the time during the semester?"

"I did it together during the break..."

"Ah..."

Suddenly, a heavy silence lingered.

Even the Princess, who was usually accustomed to silence, was flustered, not knowing how to resolve this atmosphere, and looked around.

"Were you Professor Beavle's disciple?"

The one who broke the silence was Puyo.

As Puyo walked out from inside, Yi-Han flinched.

'...I won't be attacked if I say I'm his disciple, right?'

No matter how he thought about it, if someone knew Professor Beavle, there was a high possibility they had a bad relationship.