Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy

"Ahem. Why did the sound stop?"

Professor Mortum left his disciples and went inside.

He was worried that Yi-Han might have made a mistake.

If it were any other magic, he wouldn't have been too concerned, but this bone explosion magic was especially dangerous for Yi-Han...

Fortunately, the inside was intact.

The prepared shock absorption magic circle and explosion dispersion magic circles were still maintained, and the bone fragments filled in the box for practice were still plentiful.

Professor Mortum asked, not understanding.

"Did your mana run out by any chance?"

"That's not it."

"Well, that can't be."

"...It's not that, but I heard that I have to prove something at the festival..."

Yi-Han couldn't believe it.

In the first place, isn't this related to the summoning magic lecture?

Whatever Professor Millei makes him do, the standard probably won't be easy, and he'll have to invest quite a bit of time and effort...

On top of that, Yi-Han had too much to do to bear the pride of dark magic as well.

"Ah, you mean that. Ahem."

"Professor. I have too much to do right now."

Although Yi-Han enjoyed lying in front of the professor, he was upright at times like this.

Even now, he had to go take care of the Basilisk's egg right after the lecture.

"I know. All the professors probably know."

"Is that so? It seems to me that there are more who don't know..."

"Ahem. And you don't really have anything to do at the festival."

"??"

Yi-Han was startled by the professor's words.

He told him to prove the pride of dark magic, but he doesn't really have anything to do?

'What is it? A trick?'

"I don't quite understand, but..."

Professor Mortum answered as if asking why he was asking such an obvious thing, coughing.

"That's because you'll try to prove it on your own without being told to do anything, given your personality. Ahem. I trust you."

"...No, I won't!"

Yi-Han shouted in anger for the first time in a while.

Why this misunderstanding!?

If there are professors who try to make a promising disciple continue the legitimate lineage of their studies, there are also professors who want to devote themselves only to their own research without such ambition.

Professor Yonramo Reuji, who taught transformation magic, was such a professor.

While the crazy bastards... no, professors within Einroguard were fighting over Wardanaz, Professor Reuji acted the opposite.

The law of melting when approaching the sun.

There was no need to drag Wardanaz. Professor Reuji hoped that his peaceful daily life would continue.

"...We studied iron transformation in the 1st semester. You must have touched and tried to understand iron a lot during that time. Everyone probably did."

Professor Reuji explained slowly with his fingers interlocked.

When in professor mode, Professor Reuji exuded a dignified atmosphere that wouldn't lose even when compared to the great nobles of the empire.

It was an unimaginable appearance compared to when he transformed into a fake Gainando and was hit by Yi-Han.

"Even if you haven't fully understood it... it's okay. You don't need to be too discouraged. It takes time to master any material."

'...Wasn't it supposed to be mastered before the start of the 2nd semester?'

Yi-Han, who had mastered iron transformation while being hit by Professor Boladi, was inwardly perplexed.

"As you continue to learn other magic, the parts that were blocked will gradually unravel. Don't forget. The goal of this semester is... to find your aptitude by dealing with the transformation of various materials."

If they learned the easiest and most popular iron transformation and its applications in the 1st semester, in the 2nd semester, they deal with all kinds of materials and select substances that suit the mage's aptitude.

Excellent transformation mages used to carry compressed reagents and transform them into materials they were good at handling in case of emergency.

Transforming compressed reagents into mercury and then explosively increasing the volume for offensive use, or transforming them into compressed fine sand and using them as a solid sand shield.

It wasn't used only for this combat method. It could also be used to transform ingredients needed for alchemy or transform one's appearance to deceive the eyes of monsters.

Professor Reuji, who finished the lecture with a sense of pride today, said goodbye to the students with dignity and turned around.

...Until Yi-Han followed him.

"Professor?"

"Ugh."

At the unexpected visit of the monstrous disciple, Professor Reuji hiccuped.

"Are you alright?"

"Of... course I'm alright."

Professor Reuji said with overflowing dignity while hiding his hiccups. When in professor mode, Professor Reuji could always maintain his composure.

"What brings you here?"

"I have something to ask you, Professor."

In addition to receiving holy magic recommendations from the priests of the Immortal Phoenix Tower, Yi-Han was also doing something else while attending lectures and doing chores.

It was taking care of the Basilisk's egg.

However, the Basilisk's egg was as difficult to take care of as per the monster's notoriety.

Building a dedicated hut to take care of it was just the beginning.

After feeding it and adjusting the temperature, he had to move on to the next task right away.

After feeding the egg abundantly for several days until it no longer eats, prepare a new nest that suits the egg's taste. Basically, Basilisks found in the western part of the empire prefer soft bird feathers, and Basilisks found in the eastern part prefer hard rocks, but it's not absolute. The safe thing is for a transformation mage to stand by and cater to the Basilisk's whims...

At the absurd request, Yi-Han asked Professor Boladi, who came to the hut.

-Professor. There's a limit to the materials I can get right now, so how do I cater to its whims?-

-Learn transformation magic. You're lucky. You needed to learn more transformation magic anyway.-

-...-

It was nonsense, but a transformation mage was definitely needed.

Yi-Han looked at Professor Reuji and asked.

"Can you help me take care of the Basilisk's egg by any chance?"

"It's... not impossible."

"Thank you!!"

Although he didn't want to get involved if he could help it, Professor Reuji couldn't refuse.

There was a sense of responsibility as a teacher, but above all, he was worried that this overly ambitious monstrous disciple might hold a grudge for refusing the request.

Even now, he was already like this, so by the time he graduated, he might be appointed as a professor or even a principal.

'He's really a kind person.'

Not knowing Professor Reuji's inner thoughts, Yi-Han was impressed.

Poof!

When Professor Reuji transformed his appearance with the ability of a doppelganger, Yi-Han was slightly startled.

Because the other person was...

Gainando.

"Uh... Professor? Why Gainando?"

"Just because."

"Ah. I see."

Although Yi-Han didn't understand, he decided to just accept it.

When the professor was helping, what did it matter whether it was Gainando's appearance or the skull principal's appearance?

...If it were the skull principal's appearance, it might bother him a bit.

'The other professors won't be able to tell even if they see him.'

Professor Reuji didn't want to get involved in the disputes of other professors.

What if he went to the professors' lounge later and someone said, 'Where was Wardanaz that day? I think Professor Reuji was with him'? How troublesome would that be?

If it was Gainando's appearance, the other professors wouldn't notice even if they saw him from afar.

"Hey. Gainando. Stop fooling around and let's go quickly. There's a lot to do. We have to finish the assigned tasks today."

"Don't worry. Don't worry! We can finish even if we go a bit later!"

Seeing Gainando insisting on staying in the main building instead of going to do the assigned dormitory chores, his friends clicked their tongues.

"That guy really doesn't listen without Wardanaz around."

"Gainando. You'll get in big trouble if you keep doing that."

"Hmph. Who's going to scold me when Wardanaz isn't even here..."

Gainando, who was talking, widened his eyes at the sight of himself passing by in the distance.

"A gho... ghost! It stole my appearance! Sha, shapeshifter!? When did it steal my appearance!?"

"What are you suddenly talking about?"

"Over there! Look over there!!"

Gainando shouted, but Yi-Han and Professor Reuji had already passed by.

His friends looked at Gainando as if he was talking nonsense.

"Hey. Stop playing around and let's go."

"Don't make strange excuses."

"I'm serious! Really...!!"

Gainando shouted in a voice full of injustice, but his friends didn't believe him.

"I'm telling you, a monster that stole my appearance was definitely passing by over there...!"

"Does a monster have nothing better to do? To steal your appearance?"

"I'm curious about something."

Gainando, no, Professor Reuji cautiously asked a question.

"Yes. Ask anything."

"...Why are you taking care of the Basilisk egg in the first place? It's not something a 1st year should do, right?"

"There's a long and sad story behind it..."

Yi-Han trailed off and sat down after opening the door to the hut.

Professor Reuji stared intently at the Basilisk's egg placed in the center.

The professor wasn't an expert on rare animals, but he could guess what state this Basilisk's egg was in.

'It's in a very good condition.'

Thanks to properly supplying nutrients and building a strong bond with the caregiver, the Basilisk was very psychologically stable.

Honestly, it was surprising that a 1st year student raised it so well.

'The Blue Dragon Tower students probably wouldn't be good at taking care of it.'

Although they always showed excellent grades in magic, the Blue Dragon Tower students also had weaknesses.

When it came to taking care of animals or plants, they were as clumsy as the White Tiger Tower students.

"You took very good care of it. Now let me check it out."

'My goodness. Gainando can look reliable!'

Yi-Han was surprised by the trustworthiness Professor Reuji exuded while speaking in Gainando's appearance.

It was extremely awkward to hear such words in Gainando's face.

Swish!

Professor Reuji's magic began with a spell. In the blink of an eye, the Basilisk's nest was transformed into dozens of different materials.

Copper, clay, sand, maple tree branches, hot amorphous liquid (Yi-Han couldn't even guess what potion this liquid was), gold, lava...

Seeing the flashing golden light passing by, Yi-Han asked without realizing it.

"Wouldn't the Basilisk like it if we made a nest out of gold?"

"I already checked, but no. Basilisks don't like gold as much as humans do. And fortunately so. If gold was the answer, it would have consumed a tremendous amount of mana to maintain it."

'Tsk.'

Yi-Han was disappointed, but he had no choice but to admit that the professor's words were not wrong.

The rarer and more valuable the material, the higher the difficulty and the harder it would be to maintain.

"Found it."

Professor Reuji stopped his movements and said. Yi-Han asked very happily.

"What is it? Which material seems to be the best, Professor?"

"Mercury."

"...Ah. Will you do it, Professor?"

"I'll do it once, but from the next time, you'll have to keep casting it to maintain it, so you need to learn."

Professor Reuji calmly stated the current situation.

Transformation magic didn't stay fixed forever.

Moreover, if it was a task like raising a Basilisk this way, the mage had to persistently endure by its side.

"But mercury isn't something I can handle with transformation magic, right?"

"That's true... You probably haven't even mastered iron yet."

"...Hmm... Well..."

Yi-Han slightly avoided answering Professor Reuji's words.

"Then I will..."

The moment Professor Reuji was about to say that he would visit and help each time, the door opened and Professor Boladi entered.

Professor Boladi raised his eyebrows when he saw Gainando and asked.

"Professor?"

"...Yes. That's right..."

Poof!

Professor Reuji returned to his original appearance, feeling gloomy.

Of all people, he had to be caught by Professor Boladi.

Wasn't he a stubborn and uncompromising opponent?

"What were you talking about?"

"Wardanaz... wants to learn mercury transformation, but he says it's difficult. Since there's a level of difficulty, he should probably master iron first before moving on to it..."

"He already knows how to handle iron."

"Is that so?!"

"Yes."

Professor Boladi looked at Yi-Han as if to say his words were correct.

This time, it was Yi-Han's turn to feel gloomy.