Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy

'What the hell is this guy? What force raised a mage like this?'

"I apologize. That was somewhat rude of me."

The Undying One backed down first.

With the goal still not accomplished, there was no reason to antagonize a powerful enemy.

Of course, it was not as though the Undying One would necessarily lose in a direct confrontation, but there was no telling what other means the opponent might possess...

"What am I supposed to say?"

Lee Han whispered to the hamster, slightly flustered.

This was the first time he had ever received such a polite apology from an evil-god worshiper.

Until now, the evil-god worshipers he had encountered had generally done nothing but scream, spit out incomprehensible curses, or shout things like, 'Eek! A monster!'

-He's scared.

The hamster immediately understood the situation from the other party's reaction.

Evil-god worshipers were practically the embodiment of bullying the weak and yielding to the strong. They would never show an attitude like that so easily.

Considering that this one seemed fairly high-ranking and was still acting this way, it was obvious that the powerful magical resistance Wardanaz had just displayed had caused some sort of misunderstanding.

"A misunderstanding?"

-Normally, an Authority isn't repelled that easily. It's not as though it partially took effect and you resisted it afterward, either. From his perspective, there's no way to know what sort of monster you are.

"I see..."

Lee Han nodded at the hamster's advice.

His mana certainly did have a tendency to cause others to misunderstand him. This evil-god worshiper was clearly evaluating him far more highly than necessary as well.

-Act as strong and arrogant as possible. Nothing good will come from letting him look down on you.

"Ah, understood."

Before the other party could become suspicious, Lee Han quickly followed the advice.

"Hmph. What a pathetically worthless Authority."

-...I told you to act strong and arrogant, not pick a fight?!

The hamster was horrified.

Acting strong and arrogant was completely different from picking a fight and insulting someone.

All Lee Han had needed to do was say something moderate like, 'That's the extent of my magic,' so why was he provoking the other party by calling the Authority pathetically worthless?

"But you told me to act strong and arrogant!"

Lee Han was sincerely aggrieved.

The strong and arrogant mages around him usually behaved like this!

The hamster realized that Lee Han's senses had been numbed because there were far too many insane mages around Wardanaz.

There should have been some moderately strong and arrogant mages around him, but instead there had only been excessively strong and arrogant ones.

"I shall let that pass, since those are the words of one who knows nothing of the truth."

Fortunately, instead of bringing down the hammer of punishment on the insolent mage, the Undying One conceded another step.

That was because the bishop had read hidden confidence in the opponent's aggressive provocation.

Perhaps the mage was deliberately trying to provoke them. The Undying One calmly probed the enemy.

"What brings you to this domain?"

"The same reason as you. You must have made a contract with the Devil Hag as well."

"...You're the one who contracted with the Devil Hag?"

'Huh?'

When the Undying One showed surprise, Lee Han became puzzled.

The other party had spoken politely from the very first meeting, so Lee Han had naturally assumed that the bishop had already realized they were both connected to the Devil Hag...

The bishop hadn't known?

"That's strange. Why was he polite if he didn't know? It could be a trap."

-He probably saw you fighting and thought you were a powerful mage he couldn't afford to treat lightly.

The hamster spoke as though wondering what nonsense Lee Han was talking about.

If the other party had behaved politely without knowing about the Devil Hag, only one explanation remained.

He had seen Lee Han fight and misunderstood.

Wardanaz's characteristic firepower, just like his amount of mana, was excellent for misleading people who did not know him well. They were probably mistaking him for someone several levels above his actual level.

"...Ah. I see."

"When I heard that the Devil Hag had made a contract, I was surprised... but seeing you now, it makes sense. Impressive."

The Undying One quickly regained composure.

The fact that this was the Devil Hag's contractor was surprising, but in another sense it also made perfect sense.

How many mages in the world could possibly attract the interest of such a difficult monster? If the mage standing before the bishop was one of them, then it certainly made sense.

"Then that means you've also come to attack the followers of Sanguros."

"Correct."

Lee Han answered while turning things over in his mind.

How could he make good use of these people?

"How did you find this place?"

"?"

Lee Han paused at the unexpected question.

-He wasn't invited by Sanguros. There's a good chance he doesn't know Sanguros's true identity either.

'Ah.'

That was certainly true.

Unlike Lee Han, who had spoken directly with Sanguros and even received a key, these evil-god worshipers must have tracked down clues one by one from the beginning in order to reach this domain.

Of course, he could not tell them that directly...

"Pathetic. You're asking because you don't even know that?"

Lee Han changed the subject with an offended expression. The Undying One's eyes twitched at his arrogant manner.

'This is why mages are such bastards. Every last one of them is arrogant and conceited.'

Mages were all the same.

They did not even know what the true path was, yet strutted around proudly because of the shallow knowledge they possessed.

And the most humiliating part was that the Undying One did not possess that shallow knowledge.

How the hell had this mage found this place and entered it directly?

'Did the Devil Hag tell him? That damned bastard. Since when has she ever handed out that much to a contractor?'

The Devil Hag was absolutely not that kind.

Even if she wanted the heads of Sanguros worshipers collected, she would simply order someone to go collect them, not personally locate the place and tell them where it was.

"That's enough of this pointless conversation. Talking any further would only waste time."

Having made up his mind, Lee Han quickly cut the conversation short.

Originally, he had intended to make use of them, but the other party did not seem easy to handle.

Rather than continuing the conversation and risking having his identity exposed or information taken from him, it would be better to separate here.

'How dare he? What a disgustingly arrogant bastard!'

The Undying One seethed inwardly at the cold attitude.

Who would dare behave like that in front of the bishop?!

It had been so long since the Undying One had dealt with anyone that insolent that the bishop could not even remember the last time.

Even so, the Undying One controlled the anger. There would be plenty of time to repay this insult later.

"Then it seems we should move separately! Give the Devil Hag my regards."

Lee Han did not answer. He intended to put distance between them quickly before his lack of substance was exposed.

But an unexpected situation arose.

-Outsiders dare enter the sacred territory of a vampire House without permission.

Along with the sinister voice, a group emerged from deeper within the swamp.

Lee Han shuddered at the intense, twisted energy.

Their strength was completely different from that of the dead he had defeated earlier.

They seemed to have been a fairly powerful group even while alive. Their level could be guessed just by looking at the armor and weapons they wore.

Now those things were old, rusted, worn, and shabby, but in their place, the corrupted mana flowing through the domain overflowed from them like a curse.

'Are they something like the personal guard of a western vampire House?'

-Be careful. These won't be as easy as the ones from before.

The hamster immediately warned him, having grasped the situation as well.

At a glance, they looked like warriors thoroughly accustomed to fighting mages, and with the power of an evil god added on top of that, their resistance to magic must have become even stronger.

Lee Han might have to prepare for close combat.

"A vampire House? For slaves abandoned by their master who have lost their sanity, you certainly talk grandly."

The Undying One immediately sneered.

Because the bishop did not know what kind of beings the dead here were or how the rules of this domain worked, there was no hesitation at all.

In domains belonging to evil-god worshipers, beings who lost their reason and became dead like these were usually failures.

Those who had fallen from the path of faith midway, betrayed it, or become too greedy.

It was difficult not to feel contempt when failures like those invoked the authority they had possessed in life and tried to threaten others.

"...I am a noble from a vampire House. Can't you tell just by looking?"

"?!"

The Undying One, who had been preparing for battle, was thrown into confusion by Lee Han's statement.

The bishop could not understand what the hell he meant.

A mage on that level would hardly be afraid enough to avoid a fight...

Did those words contain some hidden meaning?

'Twisted and corrupted dead like these shouldn't be swayed by a claim like that. What exactly is this bastard plotting...?'

-I see. You do seem to be a noble from a vampire House.

"!!!"

But the dead overturned the Undying One's prediction once again.

Those who should ordinarily have ignored such words without even listening accepted them obediently.

The Undying One sensed that something was wrong.

There seemed to be some rule governing this domain that the bishop did not know.

-Then wipe out only those disgusting vermin!

"...Prepare for battle! Reduce those slaves to dust between dimensions."

As the two sides confronted each other, Lee Han let out a sigh of relief.

He had no desire to face enemies like those head-on if he did not have to.

'I should thank the Devil Hag.'

Perhaps the Devil Hag had anticipated something like this from the beginning when she recommended cooperation.

Since evil-god worshipers were generally combative, all one had to do was give them a slight push and they would immediately become convenient shields.

'I don't think that's what happened...'

The hamster quietly thought to itself.

No matter how powerful a dimensional being was, could even something like this really be predicted?

***

"Um, this is taking longer than expected. Wouldn't it be better to go check on him?"

Professor Garcia cautiously asked {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} the Yaksha King.

The king of the yakshas was such an overwhelmingly powerful and influential figure that even Professor Garcia found it difficult to treat him casually.

Professor of Einroguard. The disciple of Osu is handling the trial well by himself. If true danger were to approach, I would be able to see it. Yet despite knowing that, the reason you insist on asking must be because of anxiety regarding your own combat ability. If you're projecting that anxiety onto your student...

Professor Garcia returned to the original spot after having the very bottom of the professor's soul thoroughly picked apart.

Struggling to steady a dazed mind, Professor Garcia thought.

'How in the world does Student Lee Han manage to get along with that bastard?'

No matter how much Professor Garcia thought about it, it was astonishing.

Of course, befriending all manner of strange beings was one of the student's specialties, but that Yaksha King was truly too much.

"Professor. Professor."

"What is it?"

Professor Kirmin answered with slight caution.

Professor Garcia had been so frightening lately that Professor Kirmin could not help becoming wary first.

"Why don't you secretly slip away and watch him?"

"Hmm."

At the unexpected suggestion, Professor Kirmin fell into thought.

The Yaksha King's current order certainly did not sit well.

Intellectually, Professor Kirmin understood that Lee Han alone had received the key, and that rather than unnecessarily provoking a mad evil god, having him move alone and find a path was a sensible approach...

...But simply standing around doing nothing was hardly befitting a professor.

"Well, even if we help from a distance, we should be able to disappear before the evil god detects us."

"Exactly!"

Once the two professors had more or less reached an agreement, they called over another accomplice.

Professor Voladi.

"Professor Bagreg. What do you think?"

Professor Voladi did not answer.

"??"

"Voladi. Why aren't you answ..."

Professor Kirmin's complexion changed.

Surely not?

Thud!

Professor Kirmin immediately kicked the friend's leg.

The sound was not that of a human body, but of solid stone.

Professor Voladi had already left behind a duplicate and slipped away long ago.

"......"

"H-how?!"

"It's that angel bastard's dimension. Angel! We need to have a little talk!"

Professor Kirmin gritted their teeth and called for Apazragon.

Because that stupid angel had lost control of its dimension, Professor Voladi was now stabbing the professor in the back in several times more varied ways than before!

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!