Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy

"What is that on top of your head??"

Professor Thunderwalk asked the question anyone would have asked upon seeing the student’s current appearance.

Practicing alchemy with a hamster perched on his head.

It was not as though he were imitating the terrible cook from an old fairy tale, an adventurer who had inherited a ruined inn...

"It is a mage who infiltrated the academy. The mage transformed into a hamster and is helping me."

-......

The hamster staggered and nearly fell from the top of Lee Han’s head.

Of course, this was not some enormous secret. The Skull Principal knew the hamster was imprisoned here, so the Einroguard faculty had probably heard about it as well.

But hearing it spoken aloud like that made it difficult to endure while sober. The hamster looked around to see whether there was any alcohol nearby.

Since this was the tower of the alchemy school, there had to be spirits somewhere...

"Ah. So it was that magical criminal. Are you planning to listen to its advice?"

After understanding the situation, Professor Thunderwalk gave a derisive snort.

There was a certain kind of pride in that scoff.

No matter how notorious a magical criminal had reached the level of a great mage, no one could excel in every school of magic.

Moreover, a magical criminal who wandered outside Imperial academia would inevitably be even more ignorant of current information due to a lack of exchange.

An Einroguard professor would not easily feel intimidated even upon meeting a great mage, and all the more so if that great mage was a magical criminal...

"Will it truly be of any help?"

"You need not worry, Professor. It will only be supervising simple work."

"???"

Professor Thunderwalk did not know that the young prince had already finished giving all the necessary advice.

Regardless, the hamster wanted to bite its tongue in humiliation.

It was humiliating enough to be looked down upon by that brat, and now even this dwarf was doing it!

'What does he mean by supervising only simple work?'

Professor Thunderwalk, who had been about to leave, seemed to grow interested. The professor dragged over a round iron chair and dropped heavily into it.

After taking out a pipe and lighting it, the professor gestured with one hand.

"I will watch from here, so go ahead and show me."

"By the way, Professor."

"What?"

"I would like to increase the amount of time I am allowed outside. I wanted to ask whether that would be acceptable."

"My. You must have accumulated a great many commissions."

Professor Thunderwalk was not particularly surprised by the student’s words.

The person who had received the most commissions this semester, after outside commissions had been permitted, was this very boy from House Wardanaz.

The number far surpassed the old record established by Professor Garcia.

Considering that, it was understandable that Lee Han wanted to increase the amount of time he could spend outside.

Even if he accepted only the commissions among those currently waiting that he truly could not refuse, an entire semester would pass.

"Do as you please. The first-years are tending the garden anyway, and going outside a little more will not cause you to fall behind in your progress."

Professor Thunderwalk smacked the professor’s lips in regret.

Although nothing in the world lasted forever, comparisons were unavoidable.

When the current first-years were compared with Lee Han during his first year, no matter how hard they worked, there was still a difference between them and their senior.

"The first-years have been tending it?"

"Yes. Those brats need to start learning how to work."

'Was it not simply because the professor found it bothersome?'

Lee Han thought as he boiled the water in the distiller and evaporated the reagent.

Of course, it was not as though there was nothing to learn from managing an alchemist’s garden.

But that was one thing, and this was another. It did not change the fact that Professor Thunderwalk was pushing the work onto the students.

'I should leave some food near the garden.'

Thanks to His Highness Uman, the first-years’ eating conditions had improved slightly, but they were probably still living in poverty.

Lee Han resolved to set aside various preserved foods, beginning with canned goods that were high in calories and kept one full for a long time.

The juniors probably did not even know how to steal food from the cellar beneath Professor Thunderwalk’s cabin...

"Be separated."

Alchemists often referred to their school as comprehensive magic.

That was because alchemy required such a wide variety of abilities.

They had to memorize not only magical spells but also numerous combination methods and structural formulas, and sometimes they had to display intuition that went beyond calculation.

The same was true now.

The mana concentration in Gaksu Hall today was slightly denser than usual, and perhaps because of that, the reagent was mixing with basilisk oil and evaporating faster than normal. In such a case, there was a risk that its properties might change.

However, even while conversing with the professor, Lee Han did not miss a single part of the process. After noticing the change in mana with his sensitive senses, he lowered the intensity of the flame and separated the evaporated reagent first.

'What an unlovable brat.'

Professor Thunderwalk grumbled inwardly.

There was a scene every Einroguard professor wanted to see, though of course someone like Professor Garcia would not agree.

It was the sight of Wardanaz making a mistake and looking ready to cry.

Show it to me just once before you graduate!

Concealing that wicked desire, Professor Thunderwalk spoke again.

"It was convenient back when I could work Professor Bendozol to the bone."

"After fighting with the professor like that?"

"I will not deny that the professor drove me mad. Still, that was a professor. A professor’s skill cannot be compared with a student’s."

Professor Thunderwalk exhaled smoke and wore a wistful expression.

Professor Bendozol had personally taken over odd jobs in order to create time for Lee Han to care for the unicorn.

During the second semester, with a new Inspector having arrived and the first-years available to order around, there was no longer any excuse to work Professor Bendozol, so Professor Thunderwalk had given up, but it remained quite a pleasant memory.

Of course, Professor Bendozol ground his teeth whenever remembering it...

"The first-years this year are rather disappointing. Of course, the blockheads are always disappointing... Right, you. You said you were close with Eandurde?"

"They are first-years, so they may fight with one another. That is how they become close."

Lee Han answered immediately.

-......

"......"

Not only the hamster but also Professor Thunderwalk was left speechless by that absurd answer.

"I have not said anything yet."

"My apologies. Did Eandurde beat someone up?"

"I do not know. Perhaps he did."

"As long as he is not the one being beaten, that is fine."

Professor Garcia would have launched into a lecture, but Professor Thunderwalk had little interest in children throwing magic at one another.

What interested the professor was something else.

"Eandurde was using House Meikin’s alchemy. What happened?"

"Ah. He was also with Yonair during the vacation."

"I see... Then, regarding Pengerine."

"Lord Alshicle? Ah. You must mean Alhild."

Lee Han quickly realized the professor was referring to a junior. There was a first-year junior from House Pengerine.

"How is Alhild also using House Meikin’s alchemy?"

"Alhild asked during the vacation, so after receiving Yonair’s permission, I taught it."

"...Did you open an outside Einroguard tutoring school during the vacation?!"

Professor Thunderwalk was dumbfounded.

The professor wondered whether these first-years had become excessively absorbed in magic during the vacation instead of causing trouble or going out to play.

Perhaps it was because of their senior’s influence. Professor Thunderwalk stared intently at Lee Han.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"It is nothing. Nothing at all."

"Are there no other juniors besides those two who have distinguished themselves?"

"Distinguished themselves? Hmm... There is someone named Karre in Phoenix Tower."

"Oh."

Lee Han, who was extracting components from the tightly compressed reagent, was surprised.

He had not expected to hear a name he knew.

This squirrel beastkin junior from the Vildotzkal Order was one of the juniors Lee Han had personally invited together with the Skull Principal.

Even among juniors, he could not help taking a little more interest in those he had gone around inviting with the Skull Principal.

"Phoenix Tower priests are generally skilled at alchemy. After all, do they not receive gifted education at their temples?"

"That blockhead stole every reagent prepared in Gaksu Hall for use in lectures."

"......"

Lee Han paused for a moment. Then he spoke again.

"Is stealing not also a skill? Professor, you clearly said that obtaining reagents is also one of an alchemist’s abilities. As expected, that junior is outstanding."

'What is wrong with this bastard?'

It was such extreme favoritism that his arm was not merely bending inward but practically twisting around itself. Professor Thunderwalk stared at the student in disbelief.

Stealing only the reagents one needed and securing them was completely different from stealing and hiding every reagent required for a lecture because one did not want to attend it!

The former was an excellent alchemist. The latter was simply punishment-room talent.

"Did you teach that brat by any chance??"

"I do not know what you mean. As you know, contact between first-years and their seniors is forbidden by the rules."

"How can the person breaking the most rules say that... I nearly forgot about White Tiger Tower. There is a brat named Ulgan there who is somewhat talented."

"Oh."

Lee Han brightened.

Ulgan was also one of the first-years Lee Han had gone to retrieve together with the Skull Principal.

Looking at it this way, the Skull Principal certainly did have an eye for disciples. It made all the suffering involved in bringing them back worthwhile.

"It would be nice if that brat would stop fighting inside the tower."

"What nonsense are you speaking? That is not the kind of junior Ulgan is."

Lee Han objected strongly.

Although Ulgan belonged to White Tiger Tower, he was unusually not from a knightly house, and above all, he had a peaceful personality that disliked fighting.

He disliked fighting so much that when his friends scuffled, he would intervene and beat them until they stopped.

"...You did not notice anything strange while saying that? That brat tries to stop fights with force and creates chaos, so the equipment gets destroyed."

"Please consider the intention. Is the heart behind it not admirable? Compared with those who do nothing but quarrel with each other..."

"Shut up."

Lee Han shut up. Professor Thunderwalk, who had been watching him work, suddenly seemed to remember something and asked again.

"By the way, how much are you planning to increase your time outside?"

Come to think of it, Lee Han had already received permission from the professors concerning commissions at the beginning of the semester.

Yet now he was asking to increase it even further.

"I intend to finish everything before the midterm examination period begins and then leave."

"......"

Professor Thunderwalk nearly dropped the pipe in surprise.

'What is wrong with this bastard, seriously??'

He was not saying he would finish before the examinations. He was saying he would finish everything before the examination period even began and then leave.

Of course, he was qualified to say such a thing. He had already displayed monstrous ability before by finishing an examination ahead of schedule.

But this meant he intended to surpass even that and shorten the time further!

At this point, even Professor Thunderwalk, who did not possess any particularly strong sense of responsibility as a professor, began to feel pride and stubbornness welling up.

If you are that skilled at magic, then try solving this as weㄹ...

"It is finished, Professor."

"Huh? Yes. Understood."

Professor Thunderwalk, who had been deeply absorbed in thinking about how to raise the difficulty of the midterm examination, lifted the professor’s head.

At some point, the flame in the pipe had gone out, and Wardanaz had finished not only the basic work but also the second and third stages.

"Would you check the Incense of Knowledge and Perception?"

"Yes... Wait, you made the Incense of Knowledge and Perception as well?!"

"Pardon? Yes."

Professor Thunderwalk’s pupils trembled at the revelation that, instead of merely making the basic Ascending Incense for practice, Lee Han had additionally produced the difficult compound incense.

For some reason, the professor felt ominous.

Professor Thunderwalk did not know it, but it was the ominous feeling that, upon checking it, a small part of the professor’s pride might crumble away.

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