Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy

“How… about… a… mana… recovery… brooch… for… War… da… naz…”

“It… would… be… absolutely… useless…”

In Yi-Han’s perception, it was about 5 seconds.

During those 5 seconds, the words of the people around him sounded slow. Yi-Han realized that the time in the surrounding area centered on the watch had accelerated by nearly twice.

‘A time magic artifact!’

Time magic, along with spatial magic, was considered the highest difficulty magic in imperial magic.

The talent and effort required to learn it, the mana and reagents consumed during casting, and the inevitable dangers that followed even if all those conditions were met, and so on.

These numerous drawbacks prevented space-time magic from becoming a separate school.

Even divination magic had formed a school with mages gathering, but space-time magic was something that only an extremely small number of geniuses risking their lives would even attempt.

‘Who made something like this? No, how did Mage Baldoorn know about this?’

As he quickly ran through his thoughts, the 5 seconds ended.

At that moment, Yi-Han received a strong impact. It felt as if all the muscles in his body were screaming.

“Ugh!”

“How about a mana recovery letter opener?”

“I think anything with just mana recovery attached would be absolutely useless even if I died.”

Alcicle and Yonaire’s conversation could be heard normally. Yi-Han fell to his knees in pain.

Thud!

“Everyone, step back!”

Alcicle jumped up in shock and swung his staff. Like the experienced senior mage he was, he realized what had happened.

He must have touched some faulty artifact!

“Don’t come closer! It could be poison or a curse!”

“B-but… poison or curses shouldn’t work on Yi-Han, right?”

“…”

Alcicle marveled even as he swung his staff to create a barrier.

Indeed, it was a sharp observation befitting a close friend.

“That could be true. But there are always exceptions! And Wardanaz has too many artifacts from a crazy mage!”

“A crazy mage?”

“I mean Lord Gonadaltes! I knew Lord Gonadaltes would cause an accident someday!”

While living with danger was part of being a mage, and Alcicle was a mage who would take any risk for results, even to Alcicle, the skull principal was a bit too much.

He had thought that suspicious and vicious artifacts like Yi-Han’s Behemoth necklace or the bracelet of ten thousand demons might stab their owner someday.

“That bracelet is suspicious. How much evil energy was rippling from it!”

“Ti… time magic.”

“What did you say, Wardanaz? What??”

“That pocket watch… has time magic on it… it just accelerated…”

“!!!”

Alcicle immediately understood Yi-Han’s words.

Time magic!

The rarity was surprising, and the artifact with that magic was surprising, but that wasn’t what was important right now.

Just as powerful enhancement magic brought various side effects, so did time magic.

It isolated the caster’s surrounding world from the outside world and distorted the time axis, so when the magic ended, there was bound to be a rebound.

Even with very short time magic, if one wasn’t prepared in advance, their body could be torn apart.

“Bring recovery potions!”

“But you said the bracelet was suspicious!”

Gainando shouted in anger.

His eyes were already half looking at Alcicle as if he were a quack.

He had already been wrong once, if he was wrong twice, he might kill Yi-Han completely.

“I could be wrong! Hurry up and bring them!”

“Here!”

“Mana recovery potions too! Call a demon… no, a golem? Call a golem and tell it to bring all the healing potions in the mansion!”

“Mana recovery potions too?!”

“Don’t talk about things you don’t know! You youngsters who don’t even know what time magic is!”

Alcicle shouted as he laid Yi-Han down.

The rebound of time magic didn’t end with the physical burden that came as the slowed time returned.

As the isolated world collided with the outside world, the mana inside the mage also went berserk.

Alcicle knew well that there was nothing more dangerous than a mage losing control of their mana.

‘If he’s lucky, it’s mana depletion, if he’s unlucky, it’s an explosion!’

Alcicle, who knew Yi-Han’s mana well, gripped his staff tightly while breaking out in a cold sweat.

“Wardanaz. Are you listening? From now on, your mana somehow…”

“Phew. I’m fine now. Thank you.”

“…”

“…”

When Yi-Han, who had been lying down, suddenly got up, Alcicle felt the urge to grab this genius by the collar.

***

Still, just in case, Alcicle began a precise examination.

“Are you really sure there’s nothing wrong?”

“Just a bit of muscle pain…”

Alcicle closed his eyes tightly.

There were many eyes watching here. He couldn’t be called or among imperial mages.

“That’s not even a problem…”

“Why isn’t that a problem!”

Gainando shouted angrily.

Between suspecting the bracelet earlier and this, he doubted whether this mage’s abilities could be trusted.

“Yi-Han. You didn’t hear earlier, right? Mr. Pengerin said the bracelet was suspicious? But then he immediately changed his words!”

Alcicle summoned a snowman and made it attack Gainando. Gainando was chased out of the mansion while screaming.

The penguin mixed-blood mage, who had barely regained his composure, took a deep breath and said,

“Right… muscle pain is a problem too. It’s probably the rebound from the time magic.”

“Aha. Like how enhancement magic that skips the physical protection process causes pain?”

“That’s right. It’s a much higher-level magic, but the principle isn’t that different.”

“Still, the rebound wasn’t as big as I thought. The time magic I read about in grimoires seemed much more dangerous.”

“…”

Alcicle silently got up, opened the mansion door, and went outside.

Then he fired a barrage of snowballs at Gainando, who had defeated the snowman.

When Alcicle returned after venting his anger, his face was much calmer.

“It is much more dangerous. In my opinion, the reason your rebound wasn’t big is first, because the magic’s duration was short and its intensity wasn’t strong. Second, because you’ve trained your body to the level of a decent knight. Third, because you have a lot of mana.”

“So it ended at this level because the magic’s duration was short and its intensity wasn’t strong.”

“…Hey, just forget about the first and second. In my view, the third is the biggest.”

“?!”

Annoyed by his junior’s constant nonsense, Alcicle spoke bluntly.

“Look. Here’s a snowflake. If you close the window and then open it, the snowflake immediately flies away in the wind. But this big table? It stays still. You’re this table. Got it?”

“Yes. But why are you angry…”

“I’m not angry!”

At Alcicle’s shout, Yonaire and Nillia whispered.

“I think it’s because of Gainando.”

“Right? He must be hurt that he was wrong earlier.”

“…”

Feeling that talking further would only damage his dignity, Alcicle changed the subject.

“More importantly, you bought such an artifact in town? And even from a shop that sells used items cheaply?”

“Yes. I think Mage Baldoorn might have known and recommended it…”

Yi-Han explained how Baldoorn had recommended this watch at the shop near the school.

Alcicle listened with interest.

“That could be.”

“Should I send a letter and ask what he meant?”

“It probably won’t be of much use? Even if it were me, I wouldn’t answer. To think you’d immediately ask instead of figuring it out yourself after throwing a teaching to a junior. He might even be displeased.”

‘Why do mages act like this?’

Yi-Han thought inwardly, but he couldn’t deny that Alcicle’s words had a point.

If he asked without trying to figure it out himself after being recommended with some meaning, how lazy would he look?

“And I can guess what he meant too. Since it’s an artifact with time magic on it, he probably meant for you to research time magic.”

“Isn’t that too much of an interpretation? Time magic for a student who’s just finished their first year?”

“Hmm. You’re right, Wardanaz. It’s as impossible as a first-year student implementing domain control. Right?”

“…You’re really not angry?”

“I said I’m not angry.”

Yi-Han resolved to take special care in preparing sardine dishes for dinner tonight.

“I’m more curious about who made this artifact. You said it activated when you touched the escapement? It must be a very eccentric mage.”

Usually, artifacts were made to show ‘I am an artifact’.

If someone touched it unknowingly and accidentally activated the magic, the caster could get seriously injured.

But this pocket watch felt quite eccentric and malicious in intent.

On the surface, it looked like an ordinary object with no magic, but when deeply explored, secrets were revealed.

And that secret was magic that could deal a big blow to the caster!

In the world, such artifacts were usually called cursed artifacts.

‘That’s certainly true.’

Yi-Han sympathized with Alcicle’s words.

To think there was such a trap-type artifact.

“Could it have been made by the principal? It was an antique shop near the academy, and there probably aren’t many people who could handle something like this.”

“I don’t want to blame all misfortunes on Lord Gonadaltes, but honestly, it is suspicious. There aren’t many people who can use time magic at Einroguard. Lord Gonadaltes, Professor Garcia…”

“Ah. I think I’ve heard about the professor.”

Yi-Han nodded.

He had heard before that Professor Garcia’s original field was space-time magic research.

She wasn’t called the eccentric who had taken all schools at Einroguard for nothing.

‘Maybe the professor was a bit crazy when she was young too. How could a person take all schools?’

While Yi-Han was forcibly dragged, Professor Garcia had chosen voluntarily.

No matter how he thought about it, it was something only a madman would do.

“Bagrak too.”

“Oh, can Professor Bagrak use time magic too?”

“But it won’t be Bagrak. He only uses it in an abbreviated form for combat.”

“No. Professor Bagrak might have made it and placed it outside. In preparation for when I would discover it someday.”

“…Did Bagrak do something to you?”

Alcicle was very perplexed by Yi-Han’s suspicion of Professor Boladi more than the skull principal.

Moreover, wasn’t that reasoning at the level of a crazy conspiracy theory?

“Wait. This seems to have opened.”

The pocket watch was in a form with glass covering the hands without a lid, but now the back side seemed to have opened.

It was clear that it had opened when the magic was cast, as the back side had originally been seamlessly filled. Yi-Han carefully opened the back.

Congratulations, stupid and foolish junior. If you’re reading this, you must have experienced great magic.

If you master the magic engraved in this watch, come find me. Then I shall rightfully teach you the arcane!

-From a great senior

‘Isn’t it Lord Gonadaltes?’

Alcicle tilted his head.

It seemed to be an Einroguard student. This meant the skull principal was moving away from the list of suspects.

Or perhaps the skull principal had insidiously pretended to be an Einroguard senior?

“Hmm. Wouldn’t it be Professor Bagrak after all?”

“…Wardanaz. I’m not close with Bagrak, but I think I can swear that Bagrak isn’t someone who would do this kind of thing.”

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