Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy

This place is…

Lee Han mentally checked the two spells stored inside <Low-Grade Magic Storage> while spreading a barrier around himself with <Wardanaz’s Telekinetic Force>.

Once the most urgent preparations were complete, he immediately moved on to enhancement magic.

Starting with foresight, he rapidly reinforced his body and lowered his stance. One hand gripped his staff, while the other caught the collar of his protective cloak.

“…”

After carrying out the entire sequence flawlessly without wasting even a second, Lee Han suddenly felt a deep sense of absurdity.

…Why have I gotten this good at it?

People said repetition built skill, but this was excessive.

Even he found it ridiculous.

Forget it. Focus.

Lee Han carefully straightened and surveyed his surroundings.

Contrary to his fears, there were no endless bottomless pits or ambushing spirits waiting to attack him.

Instead, an endless horizon and boundless waterline stretched before him.

Einroguard’s mountain ranges were enormous by ordinary standards, but compared to the colossal peaks visible far below in the distance, they looked like mere hills.

The sea beyond them was equally surreal.

It moved slowly and silently like a vast dark-blue living creature, so deep and immense that simply looking at it made him dizzy.

Beyond the mountains lay the sea. Beyond the sea, another mountain range.

And beyond that, more sea again.

Overwhelmed by the scale of it all, Lee Han finally looked upward.

Stars and planets he had never seen before drifted silently through the sky.

Only then did he realize that the place where he stood was also part of a mountain range.

It was simply so enormous that he couldn’t even perceive the slope beneath his feet.

Any mage needed at least a basic understanding of dimensions, and Lee Han — who attended lectures from every school — naturally knew more than most.

Even so, the scene before him was genuinely shocking.

Of all the dimensions he had studied or visited so far, none possessed such transcendent scale.

What kind of dimension is this?

While he was thinking, the black book flew out from behind him.

Apparently it had followed him through the dimensional gate.

Lee Han greeted it warmly.

“Die!”

Like the magical combat specialist he was, Lee Han immediately made use of his obsidian staff.

The opponent was clearly a magical entity, so naturally he targeted its weakness.

But the black book was no easy opponent. As though it had anticipated the attack, it instantly fluttered backward to widen the distance before immediately casting magic.

The black book split into dozens of copies, scattering sheets of paper through the air like snow.

These weren’t simple illusions meant to conceal the original body. Every single page contained powerful binding magic that restricted Lee Han’s movements the moment it touched him.

As the flying pages wrapped around him like mummy bandages, Lee Han immediately swung Valdororn’s Mana Hammer and blasted them apart before channeling power into the obsidian section of his staff.

Pop!

Unlike the close-range strike of the Mana Hammer, the obsidian interfered remotely [N O V E L I G H T] with any magic it touched. Dozens of pages scattered apart instantly.

The black book fluttered irritably, seemingly appalled that a mage would wield such a vicious weapon.

Realizing it couldn’t restrain Lee Han this way, the pages began transforming into an army.

The moment he saw the familiar knights used by the Skull Principal, Lee Han ground his teeth.

“You shove me through a dimensional gate and then shamelessly summon an army afterward?!”

—…

The black book felt genuinely wronged.

True, it hadn’t prevented the Gate of Nine Mountains and Eight Seas from approaching.

But that was never something it could have stopped in the first place. Only beings qualified from the beginning could even approach that dimension.

And it definitely hadn’t pushed him through!

“Hmph. Fine. Then I’ll show you the power of a dragon.”

—!?

At Lee Han’s ominous declaration, the black book became visibly alarmed.

Just what exactly had this human been doing lately to start talking about the power of dragons?

“An outsider.”

“…!”

At the rough voice that came from behind him, Lee Han sincerely blamed the black book.

Because of this bastard, he hadn’t even noticed someone approaching.

“This is all your fault!”

—…

The black book fluttered again in protest.

The figure standing behind him looked vaguely familiar.

A massive physique that rivaled a giant’s, along with a fierce face reminiscent of a demon.

It was a yacha — one of the race Lee Han had once seen at Einroguard.

The difference was that the yacha at Einroguard had been old and plainly dressed, while the one before him now was young and clad in dignified attire.

Lee Han’s tone immediately became respectful.

“Are you perhaps a yacha… sir?”

“I am and I am not. Humans are rare here, so I wasn’t certain.”

“That’s correct.”

“I see. Then call me Yachaowang. Humans understand the concept of ‘king’ easily enough, yes?”

“You’re a king?!”

Lee Han instantly became even more respectful.

He had already experienced several times just how dangerous royalty from external dimensions could be.

“Hm. Are you perhaps Osyu’s disciple?”

“…”

At the question, Lee Han pondered seriously for about a second.

Putting aside the emotional resistance involved in acknowledging the Skull Principal as his master, would admitting it actually help him here?

First, I heard the Skeleton Principal visited this dimension when he was younger. Which means he probably didn’t cause too much trouble here. Surely he didn’t go around picking fights with everyone…

Beside him, the black book fluttered insistently as though telling him to admit it already.

Lee Han glared at it once before answering.

“You could say that… although at the same time, it’s difficult to say that’s completely true… and technically speaking, the definition of a disciple is…”

“What a peculiar human. Is speaking this way a custom in the kingdom where you were raised?”

Yachaowang analyzed Lee Han’s answer with calm dignity.

Embarrassed, Lee Han gave up.

“…I’m his disciple.”

“Really? Then that evasive way of speaking earlier came from your reluctance to acknowledge Osyu as your master? Disciples reject their masters for many reasons, but in your case, I suspect…”

“…”

***

Yachaowang proceeded to give Lee Han psychological counseling for roughly thirty minutes before finally rising from his seat.

At one point, he even offered analyses such as, “Perhaps you became twisted because your master cared for you too much.”

Lee Han endured the ordeal with superhuman patience.

Thud!

Yachaowang removed the massive red-gold armor and helmet he wore and placed them directly onto Lee Han.

Startled, Lee Han asked:

“What is this?”

“This dimension is vast. I know mages possess methods for wandering dimensions, but even so, this place is enormous. You may become lost or encounter enemies, so I’m lending you my helmet.”

“…Thank you.”

“Come to think of it, mages enjoy knowledge, don’t they? Then let me tell you something interesting. According to the records, unless it’s an extremely rare exception, every mage who reaches this dimension arrives by accident.”

“And?”

“They all die within three days.”

“How considerate of you.”

Lee Han answered flatly.

What kind of host told a guest something like that?

I really need to stop associating with the Skeleton Principal’s acquaintances.

“I’m not being considerate. I’m helping you because you’re Osyu’s disciple. If I were truly kind, would I have left those other mages to die?”

“Were you close with my master?”

At the question, Yachaowang pointed toward his own blazing golden eyes.

The eyes radiated overwhelming magical power.

“Did my master give those to you?”

“Osyu stole my original eyes and remade them.”

“…Actually, as I mentioned before, my relationship with my master isn’t very good.”

Ignoring Lee Han’s reaction, Yachaowang casually tapped the scabbard hanging at his waist.

“I see. You assume that because ordinary humans often inherit their masters’ grudges, I might vent that resentment on you. But I have no interest in such things.”

Lee Han did not answer immediately.

After dealing with Princess Yukbeltire recently, he had learned firsthand that statements like I have no interest in such things could easily be lies.

“Osyu took my eyes as part of a test. I became curious.”

“How well he could steal people’s eyes?”

“Was that a joke? Humor seems difficult when regional customs differ so greatly.”

“Haha. What a shame. That was my best one.”

Without changing expression in the slightest, Yachaowang continued speaking.

This dimension was vast, endless, infinite — a realm that only qualified beings could enter even among the countless dimensions that existed.

Yachaowang himself had ruled over the yachas and several other races there since an age beyond memory.

Then one day, a young human mage had appeared in the dimension.

Not by accident.

Not by mistake.

But through proper qualification.

Normally Yachaowang would have ignored such a visitor.

But this human fascinated him.

“The good karma that human had accumulated was beyond anything I had ever seen.”

“…Good karma? Not bad karma?”

“Hm. Is your homeland perhaps afflicted with severe noise pollution?”

Lee Han firmly resolved never to speak carelessly in front of this yacha king again.

“…That may be the case.”

“I’ll remember that. In any case, I became curious about how powerful he was, so I challenged him to a duel.”

“And you lost an eye.”

“In truth, I suffered injuries far worse than that.”

“…”

Lee Han quietly wondered whether he should start running away now.

For someone who claimed not to care about grudges, Yachaowang remembered the details awfully well.

“But why did Master come here?”

“You don’t know?”

“No.”

“Hm. Strange. Normally, if a master sends a disciple somewhere this dangerous, they would provide extensive warnings and explanations beforehand. The most likely possibility seems to be…”

Yachaowang narrowed his eyes.

“…that you secretly stole your master’s techniques and learned how to enter this place yourself.”

“Absolutely not.”

Lee Han answered with complete seriousness.

“Really? Then how did you arrive here?”

“There’s a very tragic and evil story behind it.”

Suppressing his indignation, Lee Han explained everything that had happened.

The Skeleton Principal gave him the book, he learned magic from it, and then that bastard—

The black book fluttered indignantly beside him, seemingly offended that after all its hard work, it was being blamed simply for failing to block one dimensional gate.

After listening, Yachaowang tilted his head in disbelief.

“Amazing. I can hardly believe it.”

“Right?! I can’t believe it either.”

“Ah. It seems we are speaking about different things. You meant that your master’s behavior was absurd, yes? I meant Osyu himself. By human standards, Osyu belonged to the affectionate and warmhearted sort. Yet he treated his disciple this way.”

Lee Han stared at Yachaowang the same way he stared at Gainando.

“You’ve been deceived.”

“Hm. Time may change a person.”

“No, seriously. You’ve been completely deceived.”

“Even so, it is surprising. To think that a mage who accumulated such extraordinary good karma could change so drastically.”

“…Is there any chance you simply can’t hear my voice?”

“I can hear you. But your statements are filled with emotional resentment toward your master, so they lack credibility.”

Wow. He really does have the qualifications to become an Einroguard professor.

His ability to infuriate people was extraordinary.

He would definitely excel at tormenting students.

“In any case, I don’t know why Osyu came here either. Look over there.”

Yachaowang raised a finger and pointed upward.

Past the drifting stars and planets.

Past the bizarre overlapping spaces above them.

At the summit of the mountain where they stood, there was a single point of light.

Though no larger than a speck, it shone clearly enough to be seen from this distance.

“What is that?”

“Everything.”

“…Pardon?”

“Literally. They say that anyone who reaches that place can obtain everything they desire.”

“I see. That’s impressive.”

Lee Han answered without much interest.

Yachaowang looked intrigued.

“Hm. Human mages are normally incapable of remaining calm after hearing such a thing. Did you perhaps suffer severe soul damage in an accident?”