Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy

"Strictly speaking, it is not impossible."

Calling it jealousy might make it difficult to understand, but surprisingly, this sort of thing sometimes occurred while learning magic.

A phenomenon in which one spell interfered with the performance of another spell.

There were various reasons.

It could simply be a difference in difficulty, it could be because of the rules of an other-dimensional being connected to that magic, or it could be because training in one spell interfered with training in another.

"To transform into a dragon, you have to receive recognition from the dragon race itself, do you not? If so, there may be some condition attached to the magic as well."

"Is that not a little too petty?"

Karnella spoke as though dumbfounded.

Of course, Jarun's guess did make some sense, but that did not make it sound any less petty.

A restriction requiring one to learn dragon transformation before any other transformation.

For such a dignified and complete race, it was a little...

"Strength and pettiness have always been separate matters. You can tell just by looking at the Skull Principal. If you read the old records of the dwarves, they show just how petty dragons are."

'Honestly, was that not the dwarves' fault for going all the way down beneath a sleeping dragon and mining there...?'

Karnella only thought it inwardly.

The last time Karnella had actually said that aloud, Karnella had nearly severed ties with the senior forever.

Jarun was as outstanding a miner as he was knowledgeable about the mining records left by ancient dwarves, and as such, he also knew a great deal about the incidents and accidents caused by dwarves.

And whenever the opportunity arose, he would tell those stories and insist that 'the dwarves were wronged.'

But in Karnella's opinion, it seemed more like the fault of the dwarves who had noisily swung their pickaxes directly beneath a dragon that had gone in first and fallen asleep...

"Why are you saying nothing? Are you perhaps thinking something else?"

"N-no. What are you talking about, Senior? The dragon truly went too far!"

Karnella hurriedly made excuses. Jarun was sending a gaze full of suspicion.

"...Well, it is also possible that the dragons did not tamper with the magic. It could simply be because of the magical structure."

"The structure?"

"That bastard has an absurd amount of mana, does he not? Then ordinary forms may not suit him well when he transforms."

"!"

Karnella sent him an admiring look at the rather plausible explanation.

Other mages might say, 'What sort of bizarre story is that supposed to be?' upon hearing it, but was the junior's amount of mana not bizarre to begin with?

They had to think according to standards that matched it.

Normally, when casting transformation magic, the mage worked to meet the standards of the transformation target, but...

...Sometimes the transformation target had to meet the mage's standards instead.

From that perspective, it made perfect sense that Lee Han kept transforming into a dragon.

It was easy to lose control over one's mana during the transformation process, and at such times, one would instinctively choose the form among familiar shapes that could most easily withstand that mana.

In that junior's case, there was a high possibility that the form was a dragon.

"You said he could transform even into something like a basilisk when transforming only part of his body, did you not? Once he becomes somewhat accustomed to dragon transformation, he should be able to practice other transformations then."

"You should have said that from the beginning! That sounds far more plausible than jealousy!"

"I think the dragons' jealousy sounds more plausible."

Jarun looked at the junior as though asking what nonsense Karnella was talking about. Karnella hurriedly changed the words.

"Actually, I also thought the dragons' jealousy sounded more plausible. Dragons truly are something."

"So what is the reason?"

Lee Han asked in a tired voice.

It was frustrating because the two of them kept whispering without telling him anything.

"There is a high possibility that it is because of the dragons' jealousy."

"Excuse me?"

"It is shocking, but Senior is right. Junior. You have to accept it."

While voicing agreement, Karnella quickly mouthed the words.

'The dragon form may be more comfortable because of your amount of mana.'

"......"

Lee Han started to say something, then stopped. He was considerably tired from the continuous transformation attempts.

'Next time, I really should ask someone else...'

He could not even begin to guess what the two of them were doing for them to act like this.

***

Fortunately, Lee Han succeeded in maintaining the form before becoming completely exhausted.

"About thirty minutes? It would be best not to push yourself beyond that. In fact, when first learning it, doing less than that would be better."

Jarun offered advice to the junior who had transformed into the form of a dragon.

When one still lacked experience with transformation magic, it was better not to overdo it. The duration had to be increased gradually.

"Until you become somewhat accustomed to it, I do not recommend transforming into other animals."

-Even a basilisk?

The baby basilisk cried out pitifully, but the mages could not hear it. Lee Han heard it, but he was too tired and merely nodded.

"Hmm. In any case, it truly is a beautiful creature."

Jarun murmured in a low voice. Karnella asked in surprise at those words.

"Wait, Senior. Did you not have a grudge against dragons?"

"That is separate from the truth. Dragons are powerful and beautiful creatures."

"Exactly! Look at those beautiful wings and scales. If he entered a jousting tournament, he could trample every creature there."

Although Her Majesty Jowrin could not be entered, perhaps there was still a possibility with the junior.

Karnella's eyes burned with ambition.

Failing to notice the ambition possessed by the insane junior beside him, Jarun continued murmuring.

"Look at those pitch-black scales. No jewel could produce that color."

...Wait, why am I a black dragon?

Lee Han, who had been resting while merely maintaining the form due to exhaustion, suddenly became curious and asked.

It was slightly ridiculous for him to ask about his own transformed form, but Lee Han had not transformed while thinking about a dragon's color.

Yet the dragon he had transformed into was unmistakably a pitch-black black dragon.

Why?

"Were you not close with a black dragon among the dragons?"

"No? The dragon Junior is close with was definitely a gold dragon."

Karnella spoke in puzzlement.

Her Majesty Jowrin, who had followed the junior everywhere, was unquestionably a gold dragon.

"How would you know that, Hormasi? There may be another dragon he is closer with."

"Is that so? That... that could be."

At Jarun's rebuke, Karnella nodded.

Come to think of it, friendship was difficult to understand from the outside.

Perhaps Lee Han was closer with that black dragon who had come as the Inspector this time than with Her Majesty Jowrin...

'Now that I think about it, he even acted as the right hand, did he not?'

Absolutely not!

Lee Han cried out in horror, forgetting even his exhaustion.

No matter how tired he was, he could not simply let this conversation pass. He could not even imagine how Jowrin would react if she heard it.

'She would not attack His Highness Uman, would she? ...He is still her younger brother...'

"It is originally difficult for a person to understand their own heart. It is only natural to develop affection for a dragon who helps you rather than one who bothers you."

Lee Han snorted and sent Jarun flying backward. The dwarf senior rolled down the underground slope.

"Hey!"

Please stop spreading strange rumors.

"It was only one opinion! What an impatient bastard..."

Jarun grumbled as he climbed back up.

If it was not because of a personal relationship, there were other possible reasons.

"Have you recently handled a great deal of the dark element or associated with major figures connected to dark magic? If so, you may have been unconsciously influenced in that direction."

I have!

Lee Han answered brightly.

He had met famous dark mages from across the Empire and the Devil Hag worshiped by those dark mages.

At the explanation that made sense, Lee Han let out a sigh of relief.

However, Jarun remained indifferent.

"Are you not mistaken? Unless they were extremely powerful beings, it would not be easy for them to influence your transformation."

I met some of the Empire's foremost dark mages and a major other-dimensional being worshiped by those dark mages. Is that enough?

'He is lying.'

'Is he not far too bad at lying?'

The two seniors frowned at the excessively brazen fabrication.

Even so, to bring up such a story and ask them to believe it...

However, the two seniors nodded with smiles on their faces. It was their junior speaking, and above all, the junior was still transformed into a dragon.

Not provoking a companion who had transformed into a powerful animal was an iron rule among transformation mages.

All the more so when the companion was a junior who had transformed into a dragon for the first time.

"I see. If that is the case, it makes sense that you transformed into a black dragon."

"It truly makes perfect sense, Junior."

...Enough. More importantly, can I not change this color?

"The color? Is there any reason to be so fixated on the color?"

To the dragon race, color had no particular meaning.

Some dilettantes claimed that the color of a dragon's scales revealed differences in its mental image and Authority, but it was closer to the dragon's own preference and choice than anything else.

Would it not be better to practice something else instead of spending time practicing that?

It is absolutely necessary. In particular, I must be able to transform into a golden color.

"Y-yes. Understood."

When Lee Han spoke while staring at them seriously, the two seniors flinched. As he released mana while transformed into a dragon, the force was truly overwhelming.

"If it is a golden color... You could increase the amount of time you spend with a gold dragon..."

Is there nothing else?

Lee Han reacted with disgust.

The only gold dragon he could currently spend more time with was Jowrin, and Jowrin possessed an extremely sharp intuition in strange areas.

If she learned that Lee Han had become capable of transforming into a dragon, matters would become extremely troublesome.

'And if that dragon is black, I do not know what might happen.'

-Hmph. You should be grateful simply for the fact that you can transform into a dragon.

The baby basilisk grumbled.

Even though they were friends, it could not help feeling jealous.

"...Are you certain the two of you are close?"

"Shh. Their relationship may have worsened a little. Senior. Let us not pry too deeply."

The two seniors looked suspiciously at Lee Han, who was avoiding contact with Jowrin.

Considering that he had transformed into a black dragon as well, perhaps they were not as close as everyone thought?

"Hmm. Another method... Playing with some gold and becoming familiar with its properties could also be one possible method..."

"Oh! Then Senior can lend him some gold!"

"Have you lost your mind?"

Jarun immediately became stern.

Jarun would not hand over gold even if his parents came asking.

And now to a junior?

"I only said to lend him some. Who told you to give it away?"

"That is the same thing!"

"You said the junior even stole a professor's artifact for you."

"...That is...!"

Strictly speaking, I have never officially acknowledged that fact.

"Y-yes."

Karnella was slightly flustered by the meticulous junior's answer.

Bang!

Having returned to human form, Lee Han brushed the dust from his hands and legs.

The power of a dragon was certainly formidable, but it seemed there was still a long way to go before he could properly control and use that power.

-Whine. When do you think you will be able to transform into a basilisk?

"...I will try as hard as I can. I am sorry I lack the talent."

"......"

"......"

Jarun and Karnella looked at the junior with gazes of shock and disgust.

Was that really something someone who had transformed into a dragon in a single day should say?

'What an unbelievably irritating bastard.'

Jarun once again realized why he had not called for juniors.

Juniors were troublesome burdens who brought nothing but suffering.

"I will obtain some gold myself and try handling it."

"Come on. How much could you possibly have gathered, Junior? I told you to just ask Senior."

At Karnella's words, Jarun muttered in the ancient dwarven language.

"■■■■ ■■."

'I do not know what it means, but it is definitely an insult.'

In any case, Lee Han shook his head.

Perhaps not in the past, but Lee Han had accumulated a considerable amount of gold by now. It was all thanks to working diligently without rest.

"I have some saved up as well."

"How much?"

Karnella became curious and approached the junior, asking him to whisper it.

"So... About this much..."

"What... That much...?!"

After hearing the answer, Karnella opened the eyes wide, looked once at the junior, then once at Jarun.

And finally, Karnella sent Jarun a gaze filled with pity and sympathy.

'After suffering underground all this time, only that much...'

"What is that look supposed to mean?!"

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