Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy

Right. Let me ask why this is here first.

After organizing his thoughts, Lee Han asked.

“Why is this here?”

Huh?

Jowurin tilted her head, not understanding what Lee Han meant.

“...It’s not exactly common for manor houses to have dungeon entrances, is it?”

...Really?!

Jowurin was genuinely surprised by her contractor’s words.

Looking at other dragons’ dwellings, it was common for one or two dungeons like this to be connected to them.

“...”

Lee Han realized there were still many things he did not know about dragons.

I didn’t know. I thought it was natural...

“How surprising.”

Shouldn’t Master be the one who isn’t surprised?

The baby basilisk wagged its tail and thought to itself.

Its master’s manor was also full of strange things like demons and golems, so why was he surprised that a dragon’s manor had a dungeon entrance?

All the other dragons work hard to cultivate their dungeons!

Jowurin began explaining excitedly.

These dungeons, whether formed naturally or artificially, had always been objects of both fear and excitement for the Empire’s adventurers.

There was the fear of not knowing what dangers might emerge from a strange environment different from the outside world.

And there was the excitement of not knowing what rewards might be obtained after overcoming those dangers and descending deeper.

...But that was only the story for mortals. Dragons approached it a little more coldly and calculatedly.

They managed dungeons the way one would tend a manor garden or courtyard.

Add some mana to increase the air density, cast some magic to circulate the inside, put in rare monster eggs, add weapons...

Just as one would lay water plants, stones, and soil before putting fish into an aquarium, after making various preparations and letting it mature over time, a fairly decent dungeon would be completed.

After that, they could simply have their minions collect the necessary items or reagents.

If rare monsters were put inside, they could later bring out monsters that had multiplied in number. If weapons were placed inside, they could retrieve weapons that had absorbed the dungeon’s mana and become strengthened.

In other words...

It’s like a dragon’s vegetable garden!

Just like Einroguard students secretly tended vegetable gardens somewhere on the school grounds for self-sufficiency, dragons were doing something similar.

The scale was on a completely different dimension, but the fundamental principle was the same.

Jowurin had worked hard to cultivate it in secret from Gonadaltes. Other dragons helped whenever they visited...

This sounds even more ominous.

Secret from the Skull Principal, with help from other dragons.

Both points sounded ominous. Lee Han asked cautiously.

“Have you ever gone down to see it yourself?”

I saved it so we could go together when Lee Han and his friends came!

Jowurin seemed like she was taking out a treasured snack she had saved to treat her friends.

Of course, Lee Han did not find that snack very appetizing. He already felt quite full.

Hmm. Come to think of it, the other dragons wouldn’t have made it that dangerous.

It was still somewhat unsettling that it had been made in secret from the Skull Principal, but dragons were fundamentally masters of this kind of dungeon gardening.

They would not have filled it with dangerous things when the curious Jowurin might enter at any time.

When he glanced to the side, he saw Eandurde’s eyes shining brightly. Lee Han did not think he had ever seen such sparkling eyes on him before.

“A dungeon...!”

“...”

Lee Han felt that the tide had already turned. Two out of the four wanted to go in.

But this is exactly when I need to stay alert.

As the leader of the Scale Adventure Group here, Lee Han had to stay alert so that no one would get hurt.

“What’s inside the dungeon?”

I didn’t ask about that!

“Any warnings? Like that it’s dangerous, or that you shouldn’t go in?”

Jowurin shook her head vigorously.

Hmm. Is it really okay...

Lee Han continued asking questions to assess the situation and gained some confidence.

If none of the dragons had warned Jowurin or discouraged her, the possibility of danger was greatly reduced.

Jowurin also said she had not put in anything strange, only infused some mana...

“Then, Your Majesty. Let me ask one last thing.”

Yes! Feel free to ask.

“But why is this my gift?”

Uh... because Lee Han likes danger?

Jowurin tilted her head and recited exactly what she had heard from the Skull Principal.

To be precise, it had been something like “dying to get killed” or something along those lines, but she had forgotten that part because it seemed a bit rude.

“I see.”

Lee Han could guess who the culprit was without needing to ask.

The next time he faced the Emperor, a vicious revenge letter would reveal itself!

***

“I hope there are ghouls or Frost Giants.”

“...Don’t say such creepy things, Eandurde.”

Lee Han, who had descended to the dungeon entrance, said this to Eandurde in horror. Jowurin, who had gone down first, had caught them gently.

Meeting Frost Giants, beings from another dimension, was not a good omen.

Especially since strange rumors such as “a mage recognized by the king” were spreading among the Frost Giants about Lee Han.

-That’s not a false rumor, is it?

“Isn’t it time for you to sleep? Go to sleep quickly. You won’t grow if you don’t sleep.”

-...

The baby basilisk felt very wronged.

It was just asking!

“Let there be light.”

Lee Han cast the spell.

Since it was a dungeon cultivated by dragons, the passage was wide enough for Jowurin to roll around left and right, but the lighting was dim.

It was probably for the flora and fauna growing inside the dungeon, but just in case Jowurin might trip over a stone, Lee Han greatly amplified the intensity of the light.

“?”

Eandurde looked puzzled at the enormous sphere of light floating in the air.

No matter how he looked at it, the scale and power were different from the <Light Creation> magic that he and his friends used.

This was not a level that could be achieved simply by casting ordinary magic more powerfully.

“How is this...?”

“Ah. I modified this magic. You don’t need to copy it. It’s not really a useful method anyway.”

Lee Han was applying what he had realized while trying to cut the chains before entering the dungeon to other magic as well.

If he had to give it a name, it would be <Wardanaz’s Light Creation>.

“...”

Eandurde stared at his senior, who had casually mentioned modifying and creating new magic.

His eyes held shock and admiration in equal measure.

“Isn’t this strange?”

When he asked Jowurin, who was crawling along behind them, the gold dragon asked back as if wondering what was strange about it.

Lee Han was always like this, wasn’t he?

“R-right.”

Eandurde felt very sorry that he was the only mage present here.

If there had been another mage, that person would have shared this shock with him!

“Wait.”

Thanks to the strengthened beam of light, visibility was secured all the way into the distance. Lee Han’s expression turned serious as he looked ahead.

“This is strange.”

“!”

Eandurde realized why his senior had stopped walking and become cautious. A strange sense of unease could be felt from the distant passage.

Part of the passage ahead was a natural, rough cave, but the passage connected behind it was clearly a well-carved and polished granite passage.

The sight of such passages alternating with each other was undeniably bizarre. Eandurde spoke in an excited voice.

“A monster might have destroyed it.”

Indeed!

Jowurin also joined in excitedly.

If a monster had appeared and destroyed it, such jagged passages would make sense.

Is there such a monster?

Lee Han wondered inwardly.

Wandering around Einroguard naturally made one knowledgeable about monsters.

Especially someone like Lee Han, who was destined to get entangled with monsters, had to know even more in order to survive.

Among all the monsters he knew, he could not think of one that would destroy passages so precisely, as if measured with a ruler, and then leave.

“Everyone stay here. I’ll go check and come back.”

Lee Han cast combat divination magic and even performed crystal-top fortune-telling as he moved.

No matter how he looked at it, there did not seem to be any danger nearby, but he had to be thorough just in case.

“!”

Lee Han, who had been exploring the passage ahead, widened his eyes when he saw letters carved on the wall.

Could this be a clue about the identity of this strange passage?

The passage was paved by Wuman. Since Sister might come down in the future and could trip, don’t keep saying nonsensical things and tearing up the floor. Paving the passage won’t pollute the dungeon’s environment!

-Wuman

I removed the paving from Aunina’s section again. The dungeon’s environment aside, a dungeon should be natural! Sister would be more disappointed if it were paved anyway, right?

-Aunina

“...”

Lee Han staggered slightly. He was disappointed in himself for having taken this seriously.

What the...

Judging from the text, there had apparently been a conflict between two dragons over how to decorate this passage.

Wuman, a dragon Lee Han knew, was pro-paving, while Aunina, a dragon unknown to him, was anti-paving...

Look there! Lee Han must have figured out its identity!

From behind, he could hear Jowurin whispering excitedly to the other Scale Adventure Group companions.

They seemed very eager to know what kind of monster had appeared.

“...I’ve discovered its identity.”

Lee Han quickly covered the letters on the wall with magic before speaking.

“It’s a monster called Donaniga. It occasionally appears and completely messes up passages.”

As expected!

“I’ve never heard of it!”

“It’s a very rare monster. You’d hardly ever see one. Now. Let’s not let our guard down and keep moving.”

Lee Han lied while avoiding their gazes.

He could not bring himself to tell the truth to the two of them when they were so eagerly looking forward to the threats of the dungeon.

There! Look there, Lee Han!

Jowurin grabbed Lee Han tightly with her front paws and shook him. It was enough force to knock down an ordinary person, but Lee Han, already used to Jowurin, was naturally prepared.

He did not budge, as if roots had grown from his feet into the ground.

“That is...?”

A side path branched off from the passage.

In the round clearing at its end, a single sword was embedded in a rock.

Jowurin and Eandurde were already filled with anticipation and excitement, but Lee Han remained calm.

No... this is a dungeon made by dragons.

If this were another dungeon, it might really be an ancient relic, but since this was a dungeon made by dragons, the story was different.

Could they have built it on top of an existing dungeon?

“Wait. Let me go check it out.”

Lee Han approached cautiously. As he did, he checked whether there were any letters like the ones he had seen earlier around the area.

This Kinnara sword was personally obtained by Wuman and planted here. It still needs to absorb more of the dungeon’s magic, so don’t touch it.

-Wuman

“...”

Why? Why?

“The trap here is too dangerous for us to approach at our current level.”

!!!

Jowurin’s eyes widened.

To think such a dangerous trap had appeared!

The... the dungeon seems much more dangerous than I thought...!

“Ah. Then shall we go back?”

Lee Han was delighted.

Actually, after coming this far, Lee Han was realizing it too.

This place was not exactly a dungeon, but rather...

It’s a treasure storage for Jowurin!

It was essentially a vegetable garden that the other dragons had cultivated in preparation for when Jowurin would be active later.

The treasure sword Lee Han had just discovered was written about that way as well... so there would be nothing good about Lee Han’s group taking it out first. It still needed more time to mature.

However, Jowurin shook her head.

Jowurin trusts Lee Han. And Eandurde too.

“...!”

Eandurde quickly turned his head. Though his face was not visible, anyone could tell he was moved.

-...What about me?

Of, of course I trust Basil too!

Flustered, Jowurin hastily added. Fortunately, the baby basilisk giggled and was easily fooled.

“...I understand. Then let’s go deeper.”

Lee Han! There’s a treasure chest over there!

“Oh my. From what I can see, that’s a trap that kills instantly if touched.”

?!

There’s such a thing?!