Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy

'Wait. That potion is...'

Professor Bungaegor, who was shaking her head, felt something off.

Smelling the scent of the potion, it seemed to contain royal mint, but that combination method was quite an old one.

In the past, potions containing royal mint were used to repel Quineae, but these days, Quineae are trained to endure such scents during training.

It won't work, right?

'More than that, where did he find out about such a potion?'

"Uwaaaaah!"

Before her thoughts could end, a student flew up into the air.

The Quineae, excited by a person entering the racetrack, rushed in and wrapped its huge trunk around the student.

For the monster, it was just playing around, but for the student, it was sheer terror. The student, bound by an invisible force and shaken up and down, screamed.

"Wardanaz! Wardanaz! The repellent potion has no effect!"

"Dukma, you idiot! The repellent potion isn't all-purpose!"

Bartreck, a White Tiger Tower student, shouted from outside.

As he was from a family skilled in alchemy, Bartreck was often called upon whenever alchemy was needed within the White Tiger Tower.

"The repellent potion only makes the enemy feel disgusted by you and avoid you to some extent! If you go in too blatantly, it can endure it and rush at you!"

"You should have, ugh, told me that, earlier..."

"Throw another potion!"

"Isn't it meaningless to throw it now?"

The black liquid potion brought to figure out the Quineae's location was meaningless in a situation where he was caught like that.

The excited monster spun the White Tiger Tower student around, made him covered in saliva, and only then put him down.

"Ugh... Ugh..."

"Everyone needs to be careful."

Tension crept onto the faces of the students who were overflowing with confidence due to the potion they had prepared in advance.

Bartreck sighed and spoke to Yi-Han and Yonaire.

"Everyone really looks down on alchemy. It's important to make potions, but it's also important to know how to use them correctly. They can't even use it properly even though you two made it for them."

"...Right."

"It, it's unfortunate."

Bartreck didn't notice the subtle expressions on Yi-Han and Yonaire's faces.

The two were conversing with their eyes.

-Isn't the effect too weak? I definitely heard that Quineae would back off just by smelling it.-

-Did I make a mistake while making it?-

-I also checked next to you, and it doesn't seem like there was a mistake. It's meaningless to look for mistakes now... There's only one thing we can do now.-

-What should we do?-

-Let's pretend we don't know.-

-...?!-

However, surprisingly, it was effective.

The students who entered after that acted much more cautiously than the first person who entered.

They sprayed the black liquid potion to figure out the location of the approaching Quineae, raced on top of the racetrack, and avoided the slope...

As a result, the Quineae also made mistakes while chasing, feeling puzzled. Seeing that, the students cheered.

"I think it's working! It's definitely working! Didn't the Quineae just make a mistake??"

"So that's how you use the repellent potion!"

"Wardanaz does make it well."

"???"

At Bartreck's praise, Professor Bungaegor, who was grading, was dumbfounded.

That has nothing to do with the repellent potion, though?

'That guy Wardanaz, even if he sells a fake that doesn't work...!'

"...Wardanaz. Go in."

Yi-Han carefully entered the racetrack.

Realizing that the repellent potion didn't work, Yi-Han was naturally tense as well.

'Figure out the location by sound and spray the black liquid potion when it gets close.'

Quineae was gentle but liked to play. Although its direction change was a bit slow, once it gained speed, it was difficult to avoid in a straight line.

In other words, it was advantageous to make it not gain speed when avoiding.

Then...

'Scare it as much as possible.'

He shouldn't directly attack it.

If he angered the gentle monster for no reason, he would be caught and thrown away.

It was about making it feel enough danger to hesitate.

Whoosh-

When Yi-Han summoned flames, Professor Bungaegor chuckled.

Seeing that Wardanaz making a mistake, she thought he was also human.

'Quineae doesn't fear flames much. Wardanaz.'

Yi-Han, who summoned the flames, focused his mind on the direction the Quineae was approaching from.

-Don't come near.-

Intense thought.

Yi-Han didn't notice, but according to his concentration and thoughts, his mana naturally transformed into pressure and was emitted.

It was the same thing the skull principal had shown to the students when he was entering the academy, which the empire's swordsmen called momentum or intimidation.

Of course, compared to the skull principal's experienced and skilled pressure, it was far lacking, but it was unbelievable that a mere 1st year student was emitting such a thing.

'Does that make sense!?'

Professor Bungaegor was so surprised that she almost dropped the quill she was holding.

It wasn't something that could be done just by being smart or well-versed in magic theory.

One had to convert mana itself into a separate property with an instinct-like sense, and this was an ability that mercenaries with a lot of real combat experience had an advantage over mages.

But how did Wardanaz...

'Ah. Come to think of it, it might be possible for Wardanaz.'

Professor Bungaegor, who was surprised, quickly understood when she traced back her thoughts.

Of course, it was an unbelievably fast speed, but what Wardanaz was listening to and doing now didn't make sense either.

Sneakily-

The Quineae, feeling the pressure, began to back away.

Not all monsters were sensitive to mana.

Some, like spirits, sensed mana that wasn't revealed and showed wariness, while others couldn't even detect mana.

Quineae belonged to the latter category of dull fellows, if it had to be classified.

However, even such a Quineae could feel the blatantly emitted pressure.

"It's... backing away!"

"See? Wardanaz knows how to use potions properly, so that's why such an effect occurs. That's the proper way to use a potion."

Bartreck boasted to his friends.

Professor Bungaegor clicked her tongue and recorded 6 points out of 5 on the paper.

Yi-Han Wardanaz (6/5)

Next time, bring a tougher fellow (be careful with security. Absolutely don't let Wardanaz know)

The skull principal's lectures were always filled with tension and freshness.

The lecture hadn't even started yet, but the students were holding their staffs with stiff faces without even the usual small talk.

So that they could respond even if undead barged in as soon as the lecture room door opened.

“Welcome. Ironheads.”

"Hello. Principal."

The students answered in unison.

The floating skull continued with an indifferent look.

“Let's start today's lecture. Repeat after me. <I will not attack guests from outside and rob their pockets>.”

"...???"

"?????"

“What are you doing? Am I giving lectures too softly and kindly?”

"Uh... I will not attack guests from outside and..."

"Rob their pockets?"

The students shouted with puzzled faces. The skull principal said with a yawn.

“Again.”

"I will not attack guests from outside and rob their pockets!"

"I will..."

“Good. Now move the quill with the staff and write that. It's good training for magic and also a lesson, right?”

Curses flowed from here and there in low voices.

They could just write with the quill using their hands, but they had to move it with the staff while consuming mana.

Of course, Yi-Han picked up the staff without any particular emotion. He had already been overworked since the 1st semester.

"Principal. Why do we have to write this?"

Gainando asked, grumbling.

The White Tiger Tower students sent gazes filled with respect at that.

Although that prince guy rudely and thoughtlessly despised knights as mud-covered, sweaty ignoramuses, his occasional appearance like this was admirable.

He has no fear!

“Why do you have to write it? To engrave it in your heart.”

"Isn't it just common sense not to attack guests from outside and rob their pockets?"

“Yes. Right. I thought so too. Until your seniors did that.”

"..."

"..."

A heavy silence lingered among the students.

The skull principal, who dominated the atmosphere with a single word, slowly continued his explanation.

“Don't be too angry. Your juniors will have to write that they will never break the dormitory barrier.”

"Oh no."

Yi-Han felt sorry.

But he wasn't sorry.

It wasn't Yi-Han's fault that the juniors didn't come in early.

“Now, write it again. When you're done, the next one is this. <If I had no choice but to attack a guest and rob their pockets, I would disguise myself well so as not to get caught.>”

"..."

A White Tiger Tower student couldn't hold back and asked.

"Honestly, isn't this something only Wardanaz needs to write?"

"How dare those brazen bastards?"

The Blue Dragon Tower students were outraged by the malicious slander.

"Did you forget that you guys always gathered to attack Wardanaz?"

"You attack-loving bastards! Those guys will join the attack club when they become 2nd years!"

The White Tiger Tower students didn't back down either.

"Wardanaz attacked us more than we attacked him."

"If we join the attack club, that guy Wardanaz will join the robber club?"

'Were the White Tiger Tower originally that good at talking?'

The skull principal was amazed.

The White Tiger Tower was traditionally filled with guys whose fists were faster than their words, but perhaps because of Wardanaz, there were several guys whose eloquence had strangely improved.

“Everyone, stop this ugly fight. And Wardanaz doesn't even need to write that.”

"Pardon?? Why is that?"

The White Tiger Tower student asked, filled with disappointment and injustice.

Is it because Wardanaz is his beloved disciple?

“Wardanaz is the type of guy who will naturally disguise himself well if he attacks and robs others. There's no need to emphasize it.”

"..."

"..."

The White Tiger Tower students momentarily looked at Yi-Han with apologetic expressions.

Yi-Han answered with a serious face.

"That's malicious slander."

After the lecture, the skull principal called Yi-Han for a moment.

“Are you going to attack?”

"...No."

“You don't have plans now, but do you have any?”

"I don't."

“You don't seem like you'll ever show greed toward the visiting guests?”

"I'm an Einroguard student, so there's no way I would attack guests visiting the academy."

Yi-Han's protest didn't even enter the skull principal's ears.

“Strange... The 1st years must be quite lacking in supplies now. Why are you so calm?”

"Even if we don't have it, living without it is also a way. That's better than attacking guests."

That wasn't actually the case.

As soon as this weekend came, Yi-Han was planning to go outside and return with supplies packed tightly.

Because he had a reliable corner, he had leeway!

‘Didn't you ignore me when I said that in the 1st semester?’

The skull principal asked as if he couldn't understand.

“When I told you to abandon your friends and live well alone, you said something nauseating like 'My friends are me and I am my friends, friendship is my everything'...”

"...I didn't answer to that extent."

“It's roughly similar. Anyway, I got it. I'll find out later if there are any mages who got their pockets robbed... Did you try handling bones?”

"You mean bones?"

Yi-Han tilted his head and recalled Professor Mortum's lecture.

It seemed that the undead control and bone explosion magic had reached the principal's ears.

"If it's bone explosion magic, I'm practicing it."

“...No. Not that.”

"Other than that... Is there more?"

…

The skull principal looked at Yi-Han as if he was crazy.

“The precious bones you brought from the palace. You couldn't have forgotten, right?”

"Ah."

Only then did Yi-Han recall the bones he had extorted from the King of Ghouls.

"I was too busy."

“What are you so busy with... All students are busy.”

"Haha."

Should I kill him?