Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy

Surprisingly, there was.

"My family does belong to the Chestnut Tree Knight Order..."

"What a coincidence! I happened to receive an invitation from the knights of the Chestnut Tree Knight Order!"

"You received an invitation?"

The knights were quite surprised by Yi-Han's words.

It was rare for mages to be invited to gatherings of knight families unless they were greatly indebted...

"The knights of the Chestnut Tree Knight Order were truly excellent knights. They were so insistent on repaying the favor to me..."

"Our knight order is indeed like that."

The knight who heard Yi-Han's praise said with a relaxed face.

Of course, Yi-Han inwardly cursed that knight.

What do you mean it's like that!

"I didn't know you were a mage who was so close with the knight order."

"I know, right? If we had known, we would have invited you as soon as you arrived at the village."

Becoming close with one knight allowed one to become close with the other knights around him.

From the knights' perspective, there was no reason not to welcome Yi-Han, who seemed to have a great friendship not only with their colleague but also with the Chestnut Tree Knight Order.

After a moderate amount of conversation, Yi-Han casually asked his seniors.

"By the way, what were you trying to request?"

"Ah. To deal strongly with the suspicious guys in the village and drive them out..."

'As expected.'

Even if it sounded like a bit of an unreasonable request, it was something the knights could sufficiently do if they put their minds to it.

The reason the knights didn't drive away the travelers flocking to the village wasn't because they lacked the ability or authority, but because they didn't want to create more disturbance than necessary.

If the driven-away travelers spread bad rumors or caused a commotion here and there, it would be troublesome for nothing, so they let those who had permission pass for now.

As such, it was easy to find an excuse and drive them away if they wanted to.

The seniors didn't ask to drive away all the other travelers, and only asked to drive away the obviously suspicious people, so to this extent...

"...And asked them to block other travelers from entering while we go in."

"...Let's ask again without that part?"

Yi-Han was appalled by the shamelessness of these seniors.

Surprisingly, the knights even granted the shameless request.

"You're a benefactor of the Chestnut Tree Knight Order, so we should at least do that much for you."

"What is a knight's honor for?"

'This seems more like corruption than honor...'

Yi-Han thought so but kept his mouth shut as he was in a position to benefit.

I can't believe they even granted that request.

"From your perspective as mages, you can't help but be concerned if there are suspicious travelers."

"We'll escort them out of the village and adjust the order of entry for you."

The knights escorted Yi-Han's group to the village square. Seeing the knights waving their hands and shouting to be careful going in, the seniors said.

"The Wardanaz family student didn't bribe those knights, did he?"

"Even if he bribed them, I don't think it would be to that extent..."

"No. We're just acquaintances."

"That's being acquaintances...!?"

"Oh, acquaintances were this powerful?"

The seniors were confused by Yi-Han's excuse that didn't sound like him.

If that was being acquaintances, then what had they been doing all this time?

"Anyway, you did really well. Junior. Thanks to you, we can enter comfortably."

"Why don't you play around in the village like the other first-years? We should be the ones doing this originally, so I feel bad that you're doing it all..."

-How dare you use a dark magic curse deck!? Are you looking down on me!?-

-What does it matter to you what cards I use! Don't make excuses after losing!-

"...Don't play around like that."

"Hurry and go stop them!"

At Direth's shout, the seniors rushed out.

Bagdugul, dressed like a curious traveler enjoying a trip, was sitting on the first floor of the <Chirping Sparrow> inn.

Like other mages or travelers, Bagdugul had also rented the entire inn.

It was convenient for activities, and...

...anti-magic extremists were usually not welcome guests in the empire.

Such Bagdugul was sitting there, bewildered.

"They were expelled?"

"Yes..."

"Explain it again."

"So, well."

The subordinate was also quite flustered and calmly explained again.

First, two parties were expelled from the village by the knights for being suspicious, and another party was driven out after a big fight broke out while playing a mage card game.

Bagdugul's mouth opened wide.

He had gone through the trouble of hiring parties and obtaining permission for these parties to enter the realm, and now they just had to wait and go in...

Three out of four parties were expelled.

It was so absurd that he couldn't believe it.

Bagdugul scratched his cheek and lowered his voice.

"We weren't found out, were we?"

"Th-that's absolutely not the case."

The subordinate hurriedly denied it.

Because he knew well that inside the appearance of a loitering wealthy idler, there was a cold-blooded person who could kill a subordinate at any time.

"If we were found out, there would be no reason for them to drive away only the other party guys without touching us, right? They would only raise suspicion unnecessarily!"

"Indeed..."

Bagdugul thought the subordinate's words made sense.

If their identity as anti-magic extremists was discovered, they would have immediately surrounded the inn instead of unnecessarily driving away other underlings and raising suspicion.

It must have been a coincidence.

"Either the superior of those knight bastards came, or there must be another reason they're picking on us. Damn it..."

Bagdugul closed his mouth and pondered what to do.

The top priority for Bagdugul's gang right now was to gather as many mountain ring mushrooms as possible.

For the grand plan, they needed a mountain of these rare mushrooms.

So he brought adventurers and mercenaries, but before they could even start, their manpower was reduced.

"We have no choice. First, send a message to the people waiting outside."

"What should I send?"

"Tell them to retrieve the gold coins from those who were expelled."

"Mr. Bagdugul. Considering the temperament of the hired guys, I don't think they'll readily hand them over in this situation..."

Usually, those who took on such missions were a bit shady and rough, so even if they failed the mission due to their own mistake, they often didn't readily return the contract money.

"Of course, you shouldn't tell them to hand it over with words. Tell them to kill and take it."

"I-I apologize."

"We can only enter with one party... Rather than the knight bastards picking on us, I can understand that, but what the hell is that bastard who got expelled for playing a mage card game doing? Tell them to kill him especially painfully."

"I think he got angry because the opponent used a dark magic curse deck and won."

"...Goodness... Our luck is really rotten. To encounter such a foul bastard in this remote village."

"Yes. It's truly unbelievable."

"Enough. Then just tell them to kill him comfortably."

Bagdugul retracted his previous words.

If he encountered such an opponent, he could understand the commotion a little.

"You know that I won't forgive you if things get more complicated, right? No more mistakes can happen now."

"I... I keep that in mind. Don't worry! I've already grilled the knights properly. They'll let us know at least a day before the others!"

"Shh. Everyone, come out quietly. The realm is getting closer. It will open within an hour."

When the knights carefully knocked on the inn door and entered late at night, whispering, Professor Mortum was bewildered.

Then he looked at the dark magic school students and asked.

"Cough... How much money did you give them? You didn't use all the public funds, did you?"

"No. Professor."

"This junior here persuaded them."

Professor Mortum looked at Yi-Han like he was a monster and nodded.

"It's good that they informed us in advance. Cough. Let's go in."

As the mages came out, the knights said confidently.

"We'll try to hide this fact from others as much as possible. If we do it well, we can buy you more than two days."

"...Is this really okay?"

Yi-Han tried to hold back, but he couldn't help but ask.

Is this really okay??

"For the sake of honor, this much is nothing."

"Have a safe trip."

"..."

Yi-Han moved his feet, pondering what a knight's honor was.

As it was not even dawn yet, the students yawned and walked along the trail.

"!"

Yi-Han's expression hardened first. Seeing that, Professor Mortum spoke as if admiring.

"You already detected mana? Even I haven't yet!"

"Ah. Gainando ate all his share of snacks..."

"..."

Professor Mortum felt awkward for nothing.

And the group walked again.

"!!"

"...Could it be that you really detected mana..."

"Yes."

"Cough, excellent!"

Professor Mortum praised Yi-Han. Fortunately, this time he really did detect mana.

"Negative mana is gathering, is this the overlap?"

"That's right. The stagnant mana is explosively causing abnormal phenomena under the influence of the surrounding environment."

Professor Mortum pointed ahead.

It was already dark, but the mages could feel an even darker darkness settling over that darkness.

"It's coming."

"Juniors, stay in the back. Don't get hurt by being in the front for nothing."

Bang!

A powerful wave of mana that only mages could feel burst out.

It was so strong that the nearby seniors staggered, stumbled, or knelt down.

Direth barely maintained balance and looked back at the first-years.

"Is everyone alri... alright."

"Only Yi-Han is alright...!"

Gainando, who fell over Raphael, grumbled and got up.

Everyone except Yi-Han was rolling on the ground.

"It's open. Let's all go in!"

"Yes!"

"For gold coins! For abundant dark magic research!"

Shouting a slogan that was embarrassing to shout in front of others, the seniors began to run.

The knights tilted their heads and asked.

"What magic was that just now..."

"Then I'll see you next time!"

Yi-Han also took his friends and hurried in.

"Damn it. It's a cave."

"Our luck sucks."

"Think positively. Mushrooms actually come out more often in caves."

The dark magic school students who passed through the realm gate grumbled.

Originally, the terrain of other realms didn't turn out as the mages wanted. Luck had to be on their side to some extent.

The best was open, easy-to-move terrain...

Terrain like dark, narrow, and complex caves wasn't very good.

"Cough. Everyone, keep in mind what you learned. Use magic as carefully as possible. Be even more careful when using dark magic. Avoid fights if possible..."

With those words, Professor Mortum waved his staff. The dark vision magic was cast on everyone present.

"...Move slowly. Don't make loud noises. Don't warm your body."

"Professor. I have a question."

Yi-Han carefully asked.

"Cough. What is it?"

"Is my mana okay? Because I have a lot of mana..."

At Yi-Han's words, a senior next to him said it was fine.

"It gets a bit more twisted if you have a lot of mana, but it's okay. I'll buff you."

"Cough. That won't work for him."

"..."

"..."

"And it doesn't matter. With your level of mana, the undead in Area 1 will run away."

The seniors were shocked.

Of course, they learned that having an overwhelming amount of mana beyond just a little gave off a threatening aura, but...

...To think they would actually see it!

"Senior?"

"Wh-why are you calling me, sir junior?"

"..."