Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy

Direth gently brought her palms to both of Yi-Han's ears. Yi-Han pushed her away, feeling displeased.

"Uh, wouldn't it be dangerous to lure the undead from another realm?"

"Cough. It usually is."

Professor Mortum readily agreed with Direth's point.

One of the common mistakes made by talented mages was entering another realm and acting as usual, only to meet a miserable death.

Using dark magic and summoning undead in the undead realm was similar to smearing honey and approaching a swarm of starving insects.

No matter how much dark magic was used outside, there was no particular resonance, but in a realm with different rules, the mage wouldn't know what changes might occur.

Bluntly put, with bad luck, using a curse just once could attract a great demon who felt a special displeasure from the mana's vibration.

And besides that, gathering undead in one place was just a dangerous act.

An undead army gathered in one place would grow in scale on its own like a snowball rolling down a slope until it became too large for anyone to stop.

"But there is a method."

"What...?"

"Using this Wardanaz... No, borrowing the power of Wardanaz."

Yi-Han gave a bitter smile at the sight of Professor Mortum speaking like Professor Beavle.

'You reveal your true colors after I went through the trouble of having you attend the gathering.'

"Cough. The fact that the undead avoid Wardanaz... In other words, it means we can also guide the movement of the undead. Without the need to use complex magic to lure the enemy."

Professor Mortum intended to use only a few very simple spells.

Just detecting the location of the enemy and the undead and conveying it to Yi-Han through telepathy.

With Professor Mortum's skill level, he could completely hide the flow of mana leaking out, and it wasn't dark magic, so it could be considered safe to this extent.

"What about the risk of undead gathering in one place?"

"It's alright. Senior."

Yi-Han answered instead. Direth was puzzled.

"Why?"

"The enemies will end up fighting each other first anyway, so if it seems strange, we can stop then, right?"

"...Y-yeah."

Direth wondered if the junior was angry.

"You're not angry, are you?"

"Huh? No, I'm not?"

"Chase them and finish them off."

"Yes!"

As the enemy's vanguard, who had persistently endured with shields and heavy armor, finally collapsed, Bagdugul gave a fierce order.

The frightened enemy party turned their backs and fled in a fluster.

Now all that remained was the time for slaughter...

Screech-

"Damn it, how many undead were there around here?"

"Ghouls from the side!"

The subordinates who were about to chase shouted in frustration at the sight of undead rushing out from the side passage.

The undead had been coming out since earlier, prolonging the fight, and now they were coming out again.

"Deal with them. If we let them chase from behind, it'll be annoying."

"I know!"

The subordinates tried to sweep away the undead like before and pursue.

However, before that fight even ended, a new group of undead appeared from the back.

"Zombie lizards!"

As huge monsters resembling long-legged crocodiles approached from the back with heavy footsteps, the subordinates let out sighs mixed with irritation.

Dealing with such large monsters alone was no ordinary task.

"Allow us to use potions!"

"You think we have potions to spare?"

"But..."

"Tsk. Use only one!"

Bagdugul finally allowed the use of potions.

He had tried to limit the usage because there was still a lot of work left to do, but he could see that the subordinates were gradually getting tired.

Clang!

Whoosh!

As a potion bottle was thrown into the passage, blue flames erupted. The approaching undead hesitated, not daring to approach.

Bagdugul and his subordinates had naturally prepared accordingly to enter the undead realm. The <Flame of Exorcism Potion> was worth its expensive price.

"Deal with... No, what!!"

The subordinates shouted.

The undead, who normally wouldn't even be able to approach the flames, suddenly started rushing in as if they had eaten something wrong, even enduring being burned by the flames.

As if something more terrifying than the flames was chasing them from behind.

"I'm going to kill that alchemist bastard!"

"Split in half and respond!"

Shouting curses and yells, the subordinates confronted the monsters with all their might.

An hour later.

Bagdugul's subordinates moved their feet, drenched in blood, filth, and sweat.

"...This won't do. Let's go out for a bit and come back in."

"Thank you!"

Normally, there would be no time to spare due to being late, but the battle was too intense.

If they kept pushing forward like this, even the most loyal subordinates would inevitably rebel.

Bagdugul gave up and decided to go out for a while.

"Rest..."

"Drop your weapons and raise your hands, adventurers! If you don't comply, we will attack!"

"?!?"

Bagdugul and his subordinates were startled by the brutal siege network completed near the entrance.

Not only the knights but also the nearby soldiers seemed to have been called, forming a tight siege network near the entrance.

'This is...!?'

The sight of crossbows and bows sharply aimed and ready to fire was not ordinary.

This was on a different level from a typical arrest.

"I-I don't know the reason!"

"You are suspected of arbitrarily attacking others inside the realm. Drop your weapons!"

"It's a misunderstanding! It was purely self-defense..."

There was a reason for Bagdugul's frustration.

Attacking another party inside a realm or dungeon was indeed a clear crime.

However, in practice, it was a meaningless statement.

How would they prove what happened inside?

Even if they investigated or inquired, parties that caused problems in this way often cleverly provoked the other side.

They would push until the other side attacked and then claim self-defense.

As such, even if they heard testimony that a fight broke out inside and they were attacked, the response was usually lukewarm at best.

Giving a warning or expelling both sides, that sort of thing.

But for some reason, these knights seemed to have eaten something wrong this time, bringing all the nearby soldiers to make a definite arrest.

This was not a typical situation.

'Should I kill them all?'

Bagdugul felt his murderous intent squirming.

It was hard to endure the knights constantly picking fights without knowing their place.

Why were these knights acting like this?

"This is the final warning. If you don't drop your weapons, we will attack!"

"...Let's drop our weapons."

Bagdugul spoke while gritting his teeth to the point of bleeding.

The siege network was so tight and solid that if a fight broke out, half of his subordinates would die.

It was better to be arrested and pay gold coins to be released as quickly as possible.

"Take their weapons and tie them up tightly! Keep them separately so they can't collude with each other and keep a close watch!"

"Uh, Sir Knight. I have a question... Why are you imprisoning those guys to that extent?"

A soldier who had been called from guarding another area asked, tilting his head.

Hearing what had happened, they didn't seem to be the type to respond this strictly.

At most, there were only one or two testimonies that they had acted violently or started a fight inside the realm...

"You still don't know justice. We must subdue suspicious individuals in advance to protect innocent imperial citizens. In my eyes, they are very suspicious!"

"I-is that so?"

'They don't seem that suspicious though...'

The soldier thought so but didn't ask further.

As knights to some extent, he believed they must have some insight.

"You even asked the knights for a favor?"

Direth asked in a surprised voice.

"Yes. They seemed to be quite violent individuals, and I thought nothing good would come from being with them, so I asked the knights."

"You did well. But it won't have much effect. They might inform us in advance, but there's a limit to holding them."

There was a limit with just testimony that they started a fight.

In most cases, trying to determine who was at fault first in a place like this was fruitless.

"They'll probably be questioned for a few hours and released."

"I thought even that much was okay. If they keep being annoying, they might get frustrated and back off."

At Yi-Han's words, Direth chuckled.

"Yeah. That would be nice."

The two never imagined that the knights outside would have deliberately held them.

"It's Area 2. Is everyone ready?"

At Professor Mortum's words, the students nodded and took steps forward.

Whoosh!

From the sudden change in the feeling of the air, Yi-Han understood why the seniors said, 'You'll know when you feel the area inside the realm change.'

Even the color of the soil on the ground was different. The soil that had been white until now had turned gray.

"The mana with strong dark elements will gradually become darker in color."

"Wow, it's wide!"

The student who passed through the passage first exclaimed with joy.

The narrow and winding cave path ended, and a wide-open wilderness came into view. The sky without a single starlight was rippling with black turbidity.

Crack!

The sound of a bone fragment being crushed under someone's foot was heard. Bones were scattered like weeds everywhere.

"Cough. Fortunately, it's bones."

"Is there something unfortunate?"

"If there's a lot of poison instead of bones, it becomes quite troublesome."

"Aha."

Yi-Han understood and then hesitated.

'Isn't poison more convenient for me?'

"Why are you like that?"

"Ah. I was thinking it's fortunate that it's bones."

"Cough. Don't think it's too fortunate. Bones can also become troublesome in their own way. Then, let's each move."

Professor Mortum stuck his staff into the ground. Then the staff grew like a giant tree and transformed into a marker.

"Everyone will remember, but I'll say it again. Don't move in a hurry, don't move noisily, cough. Don't use a lot of magic, don't go far."

"I'll keep that in mind."

The seniors began to move, each holding a staff and basket as if they were used to it.

The seniors who had entered not just Area 1 but Area 2 were students with some confidence and experience.

Unlike the group action in Area 1, they had the confidence to take care of themselves, so they began to move in search of the ingredients they each wanted.

"Let's go together with me."

"Thank you."

Yi-Han expressed gratitude for Direth's kindness.

To think she would try to protect her junior like this.

'...I wonder if I can really protect him...'

Direth was momentarily confused by Yi-Han's words.

She wondered if she had the skill to block enemies that the junior couldn't handle.

"...I'm not sure about protecting, but I can teach you how to find your way in the undead realm. Just trust me. Junior."

"Wait, why are you not sure about protecting...?"

"Oh my! Look at that, junior! It's a bone tomb! We're really lucky, right??"

"I suppose so."

"A poison swamp!! There's even a poison swamp next to it! Does this make sense!?"

"Is that so?"

"That...! That terrain itself is cursed!"

Direth, who had been shouting excitedly alone, came to her senses belatedly.

In the eyes of the junior who didn't know what that was, she probably looked like a strange person.

"Ahem. What that is..."

"Senior. There's a monster over there."

Yi-Han stretched out his finger and pointed across the poison swamp.

A poison predator the size of a troll, seemingly made by entangling several types of undead, was mumbling and swallowing poisonous mucus.

'Even such a thing appears.'

According to what he heard, the poison predator was quite a strong monster, but to think he would see it like this.

It wasn't another realm for nothing.

'How do the seniors deal with such things?'

"What should we do?"

"It's..."

"?"

"It's a big problem...!"

Direth whispered with a pale, frightened face.

It wasn't a monster that should have appeared in Area 2.