Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy

werful.

However, thinking back, the technique that he used definitely wasn’t normal.

After all, it required the user to pour in an insane amount of mana.

Yi-han had been able to pull it off because of his ridiculous mana pool.
If it had been anyone else, who knows what would’ve happened?

In the end, the sword that he held shattered under the pressure.

According to Arlong, veteran swordsmen were capable of using aura, which was mana condensed and stored into their swords.
What he used, on the other hand…

‘…Hm, I don’t know what to call it, but I should be careful in the future.’

He didn’t want to do anything foolish and end up in the newspaper’s column.

After he finished his black tea, his eyes landed on one final object…the book given to him by the principal.

‘Should I open this?’

Yi-han took a moment to weigh his options.

Was this a gift, or was this a trap?

Scenario 1: It’s a gift => The principal’s not a demon.
He should know that Yi-han had risked his life to save Professor Garcia.
Though he locked Yi-han in the Punishment Room because of the rules, he felt sorry and gave the book as a gift.

Scenario 2: It’s a trap => Strictly speaking, the principal isn’t a human.
He’s an undead.
His heart is that of a demon’s.
Not to mention, he seemed to be enjoying himself as he sent Yi-han on his way.
In that case…

‘…It’s more likely to be a trap.’

No matter how much he pondered, he couldn’t help but think that it was a trap.

For the time being, he pushed the book away.

It was then.

Flip, flip, flip!

“!?”

The black leather-bound book opened by itself the moment Yi-han touched it.

Then, the words within the pages jumped out of the book as if they were alive, wrapping themselves around Yi-han’s hands and entering through his skin.

“!!!!”

He felt a shock in his brain, as if someone was forcefully shoving in knowledge.

‘The fuck..!?’

It was painful, and his mind was reeling, but he knew what the book was trying to do.
It was trying to transmit knowledge about a spell.

Yi-han opened his mouth subconsciously and uttered the name of the magic.

“Gonadaltes’…Nimble Footsteps…!”

Ppat!

Once the transmission was over, the book closed itself shut.
Confused, Yi-han tried to open the book again, but it was nailed shut.

‘What kind of book is this?’

He had a headache because of what just happened, so he held his head as he took a gander at the spell that he had learned.

Knowledge about was ingrained in his head, as if he had read and memorized the book by heart.

Everything from chanting to the movements involved was clear to him.

Of course, this didn’t mean he could use the spell immediately.
It was his responsibility to digest the knowledge and apply it.

‘So it’s a book that forces its reader to learn the spell recorded inside it…’

From the name of the spell, he could tell it was personally made by the principal.

Why then did he not call Yi-han over and teach him face-to-face? Why did he use such a weird method?

‘He’s a psychopath, I tell you.
Professors are bound to go insane after years of teaching.’

Yi-han came to his own conclusion.

The real reason was that several groups of people including the professors would’ve demanded an explanation for trying to ruin a talented student if the principal had tried to teach him one-on-one…

Unfortunately, Yi-han had no way of knowing this.

***

“My footsteps reign over the earth.
My footsteps reign over the earth.
My footsteps…”

There was nothing better to do, so Yi-han was hard at work chanting the newly acquired spell.

Though he claimed to have little interest in magic, objectively speaking, he was obsessed with it.

Other students would’ve found something to entertain themselves if they were bored.
They wouldn’t be studying like Yi-han.

Ttum, ttum, ttum-

“…?”

Yi-han stopped chanting for a second.

Did someone just knock on the walls? If so, who could it be?

“My footsteps reign over-”

Ttum, ttum, ttum-

This time, he had heard it clearly.
Yi-han carefully approached one of the walls in his cell and put his ear over it.

Ttum, ttum, ttum-

It was louder this time.

Yi-han also proceeded to knock on the wall, which made the other party stop.

Then, a low and husky voice was heard from the other side.

“…Is someone there?”

“Yes.”

“Which grade are you in?”

“I’m a freshman.”

“So an Iron.
Must be tough.”

“And you are…?”

“Gold.”

Gold represented fourth-year students.

Yi-han was surprised to learn that a senior was locked up in a room beside him.

‘How did a fourth-year student land himself in… never mind.
Not like I’m any better.’

Yi-han was quick to reflect on himself.

Indeed, he wasn’t in a position to say anything after being caught while trying to escape.

“Why are you here in the Punishment Room? Did a fight occur between dormitories?”

“No.”

“No? Then did you try to steal something from one of your dormmates?”

“No, I tried to escape, but got caught in the end.”

The senior in the next room chuckled.

“The freshmen this year are fast.
To think they’d try to escape after a week.
You went through the mountains, right? They all do, not knowing the walls extend all the way to the back, and most of them get captured.”

“It wasn’t through the mountains.”

The person on the other side seemed surprised to hear that.

“Underground then?”

“Yes.”

“Well, aren’t you a bright one? Unfortunately, that’s also a trap.
Alarms would ring if you touch anything in the underground warehouse, and the warehouse keeper is a monster that specializes in detection.
Which one did you get done in with?”

“Neither.”

“…Neither?”

“Yup.
I managed to leave the academy through the underground passageway.
I was caught while I was outside.”

“….”

The fourth-year student on the other side of the wall was horrified upon hearing this.

He was able to discover the underground passageway, go past the alarm trap, fool the warehouse keeper, and escape, all in one week???

‘Is this bastard really a freshman??’

“Wait.
Then how were you caught?”

“I was on one of the carriages, but the anti-magic extremists attacked, and I was discovered by the principal after confronting them.”

“……”