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Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy Chapter 1101
🕑 Added 2024-12-09 12:02:16 +0000 UTCChapter 1101
"If a baby barghest tries to bite you, just let it. Though its teeth are poisonous, that can be detoxified later..."
Professor Bentozol, who had been imparting extreme teachings to the students, paused.
The most enviable disciple at Einroguard was holding something.
What was it?
"...You! What are you holding?!"
-!-
The baby barghest, startled by the shout, jumped down. Yi-Han looked at Professor Bentozol as if dumbfounded.
"Why are you shouting? You scared the barghest."
"How did you tame it already?! We haven't even fed it the potions yet!"
"...!"
Only then did Yi-Han belatedly realize.
Come to think of it, was Jijel trying to point out that he was already hugging the baby barghest rather than picking a fight?
"Why don't you speak clearly and make people misunderstand?"
Yi-Han immediately scolded Jijel.
People should speak accurately and specifically, not use such vague body language.
"......"
Jijel, who got scolded for no reason after staying quiet, looked at her friend as if he were crazy.
'Is this bastard for real?'
Though she wanted to explode with anger, Professor Bentozol moved first.
When he approached to check the baby barghest that had just jumped down, the monster made a low growling sound. It was an obvious threat.
"Damn it, it's scared!"
"Because of you, Professor."
"I know! Can't be helped. Here."
Professor Bentozol took out a thick horsewhip and held it out to his disciple.
Yi-Han looked at the professor with an expression saying 'what am I supposed to do with this?'
"Why are you giving me this?"
"Take it and hit me!"
"What??"
At the sudden words, Yi-Han wondered if his inner thoughts had been exposed.
Could this be an entrapment investigation?
However, Professor Bentozol was serious. When his disciple spoke nonsense, he shouted again with a voice full of irritation.
"Won't it feel safe to come out again after seeing you, whom it likes, subdue me!"
"Ah."
Finally understanding, Yi-Han took the whip. Then he swung it lightly.
"Hya."
"...Do you take the barghest for a fool like you? Think it would fall for that? Hit properly!"
"But Professor, you'll get hurt..."
"I said hit properly! I'm enduring with magic anyway!"
"Hya. Alright."
Professor Bentozol had forgotten that his opponent was a monster who could physically overwhelm even White Tiger Tower students in swordsmanship and wouldn't be outmatched even if thrown into a knight order.
When Yi-Han infused mana, the whip vibrated even without being swung.
Crack!
"Kuk!"
Though Professor Bentozol had prepared by toughening his skin and making his muscles elastic against impact, he unconsciously screamed at the strike that penetrated to his bones.
Yi-Han didn't stop swinging the horsewhip. When he swung the whip it made sounds like a blunt weapon hitting.
"Urk, kuk, kak, kuk!"
'The Professor's acting is quite something.'
Yi-Han admired Professor Bentozol rolling around.
Perhaps his deep affection for monsters breathed life into his acting?
The frightened baby barghest that had been hiding cautiously came out again and crawled into Yi-Han's arms.
"Professor! Look! It came out again feeling safe!"
"Th-that's good."
Professor Bentozol staggered to his feet. His whole body felt creaky.
Though he wanted to shout 'You crazy bastard with disgustingly strong power!' at his disciple, there was a dragon watching beside them.
When the professor's eyes met Uman's, he forced a smile. It was to show that the lecture was progressing perfectly.
'Hmm. Though Professor Bentozol is an outstanding mage, he seems quite eccentric too. Must keep distance when dealing with him.'
Uman thought inwardly.
Though he knew Einroguard had no normal teaching methods, wasn't this too eccentric!
While the dragon had thoughts that would have made the professor wail if he heard them, Yi-Han asked again.
"Is this one special?"
No sooner had he finished speaking than another baby barghest escaped its cage and clung to Yi-Han.
Professor Bentozol's lips twitched with burning jealousy.
"Professor Bentozol. May Uman say something?"
Uman carefully asked permission.
It wouldn't be good for an outsider to speak much while a professor was teaching. Even for an eccentric, courtesy must be maintained.
"By all means! What would you like to say?"
"In Uman's opinion, perhaps these baby barghests are approaching like this because they're overwhelmed by pure mana."
As a dragon, Uman knew well about certain monsters submitting or obeying.
Pure mana often inspired awe.
"Indeed... that's highly likely."
-Wh-why are you looking at me?-
The baby basilisk asked when it felt Yi-Han looking at it in his sleeve.
Surely it and Yi-Han had a close parent-child relationship regardless of mana?
"If Professor Bentozol brought baby barghests to teach that, it's very delicate. Adult barghests would have tried rebellion instead of submission."
"Th-thank you!"
Professor Bentozol almost burst into tears.
To think the lecture he thought ruined would be revived like this.
"Then Professor Bentozol. Will you now show the students taming baby barghests with potions and magic?"
"...Yes! Yes!"
The professor looked around at the gathered students. Now that it had come to this, he was determined to succeed.
"Now, you wret..."
Professor Bentozol, about to threaten to beat them all if they didn't succeed, paused.
Come to think of it, if this dragon heard such words, he might dislike him.
"You... excellent... disciples... urgh. Wardanaz!"
Professor Bentozol finally called Yi-Han.
It was because he couldn't think of any appropriate words to encourage the students.
*
Fortunately, the lecture concluded successfully.
It was thanks to Professor Bentozol's secret method and one student's efforts running here and there throughout the lecture.
Though Uman deducted points in some areas (the professor's eccentric personality and overworking one disciple), he still greatly praised the professor before leaving.
"...Come here."
When the dragon left, Professor Bentozol called Yi-Han.
Yi-Han, who had been playing with friends while hugging the baby barghest, openly showed an expression of dislike.
"Pretend you didn't hear, Wardanaz."
"Pretend to chat with us. That guy's trying to get revenge now that the inspector's gone."
"Hey, Wardanaz. Didn't you hit too hard earlier? I heard something like bones breaking."
Some White Tiger Tower students expressed doubt about Yi-Han's strike earlier.
No matter how they thought about it, it was too destructive for a practice match.
"But the Professor told me to do it that way?"
"Still, the sound was too..."
"Don't talk about things you don't know. The Professor was defending with magic too. There would have been no impact at all."
"Is that so?"
Though his friends tilted their heads, they accepted it for now.
After all, Wardanaz had far more accurate insight in magical fields.
'Well, the person who actually hit would know better.'
"Hey! I said come here!"
Professor Bentozol finally walked over himself, fuming. Yi-Han answered pretending to be startled.
"Professor! I'm sorry. I didn't hear at all."
"Do you take me for an idiot like Professor Verduus? Here, take this."
The professor forcibly pressed a rolled paper into Yi-Han's hand.
Yi-Han didn't open it right away but sent a gaze full of wariness.
"What is it? For reference, curse scrolls won't work on me even if I open them."
"......"
Professor Bentozol suppressed his desire to hit him once with the horsewhip and took back the paper.
Then he opened it himself and handed it over. Surprisingly, inside was written a request.
"It's a request sent to me from the Horn Constellation Ranch."
Though Einroguard students considered Professor Bentozol a half-mad wild man (which was somewhat true), outside he was treated as an expert on all kinds of animals and monsters.
Of course, he didn't care at all about such treatment and ignored most requests that came.
If it was a request to save injured and sick wild monsters he would run without taking a single coin, but how many such requests were there?
Most requests were imperial beast tamers saying things like 'I'd like advice on what I'm raising.' And with Professor Bentozol's personality, he wouldn't look kindly on others raising animals.
"This request... even your seniors coveted it. Go and complete it in my place."
The Horn Constellation Ranch was famous in the Empire, enough that even student C from White Tiger Tower had coveted this request.
Even if not directly working with mounts, just visiting and facing the animals there would provide much to learn.
'Kuk. Now that I'm actually handing it over it feels quite unsatisfactory.'
Professor Bentozol felt slightly regretful.
Though he originally had no intention of going himself, entrusting it to a student was a different matter.
Even if that student was outstanding, how could he give away the chance to meet all kinds of rare animals in the Empire?
He absolutely couldn't do it even if his stomach hurt.
That had been Professor Bentozol's usual attitude, yet to change like this.
And to the student he was most jealous of...
"Wow. Thank you, Professor."
"...Is that all?"
Professor Bentozol was taken aback by the other's lukewarm response.
Though he hadn't expected tears or emotion like some close master-disciple relationship, he had thought there would be more surprise.
"Actually, I have something to say too."
"What is it?"
"Since I've received many requests now, I don't think I can guarantee I'll complete this request..."
"...Get out of my sight!!!"
*
'Was that something to get so angry about?'
Yi-Han shook his head at Professor Bentozol's rude attitude witnessed in the lecture just now as he walked.
What could he do about having received many requests already? That wasn't Yi-Han's fault.
'Maybe that's why dragons don't like him.'
Having such cruel thoughts sharp as daggers, Yi-Han arrived at the lecture room.
It was Professor Boladi's lecture room on the first basement floor, which he could reach with his eyes closed by now.
"?"
Opening the door and entering, Yi-Han wondered.
Usually this lecture room was always transformed in various ways to torment, no, train Yi-Han.
But today the lecture room was very...
'Normal?'
It looked like an ordinary lecture room made up of desks and chairs.
Yi-Han heightened his senses wondering if there might be an ambush or trap, or if Professor Boladi had raised mimics in desk form.
"Sit down."
Professor Boladi gestured to his disciple. Yi-Han slowly sat without lowering his gaze full of suspicion, wariness, and doubt.
'Perhaps it's a trap that activates when sitting?'
"I heard you received several requests this semester. It must be hard to match the times."
"Ah, yes."
Basically, not all requests could be completed quickly and briefly. Especially in Yi-Han's case, having received many invitations made it even more so.
Someone with some flexibility in their lecture schedule could handle things well by adjusting their spare time, but Yi-Han was a student whose schedule gaps were fewer than the blank spaces in his usual answer sheets.
"I was planning to catch up on missed lectures separately later like last semester."
Professor Boladi nodded. Then he said.
"For <Understanding and Application of Intermediate Combat Magic>, we'll proceed bit by bit without setting separate times."
"...Professor!"
Yi-Han was startled.
He never thought Professor Boladi would show such thoughtful consideration.
"Wait. Did someone order you to do this?"
"Professor Garcia asked me."
"Ah."
Learning the truth, Yi-Han immediately understood. Though reduced, it was still quite moving.
To think that Professor Boladi would give up his own lecture time...
'Wait. Does this mean I have to listen to lectures while out on requests?'
