Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy

“Look at that!”

“Is that a first-year? Even we wouldn’t have fallen for something that cheap back in our first year.”

The upperclassmen who hadn’t yet noticed the junior soaring through the sky on a dragon sneered dismissively.

At Einroguard, tricks like Behind you!Over there! or Gasp! It’s the Principal! were so ancient and overused that they only worked during the first semester of first year.

But gradually, more and more upperclassmen started glancing upward.

Eventually, even the holdouts gave in and raised their heads as well.

“…?!!”

“A d-dragon?!”

Of course, someone could reasonably ask why Einroguard students—who raised every manner of magical beast, including a few highly illegal ones—would react so strongly to a dragon.

But no matter how rare the Empire’s magical creatures were, they still existed several tiers below dragons.

And naturally, the significance of riding through the sky on one existed on an entirely different level.

From time to time, newspapers in the Empire published stories about people who had earned the recognition of griffins or unicorns. But tales of someone gaining a dragon’s acknowledgment and riding on its back belonged to fairy tales and legends.

“…Are we… watching history right now…?”

One of the upperclassmen muttered blankly.

Without anyone realizing it, the fighting had already stopped.

At Einroguard, that alone was practically a miracle.

Everyone was too captivated by the sight in front of them to think about fighting anymore. It was the kind of scene that demanded complete attention.

So it really is possible to earn a dragon’s recognition? I thought those stories were exaggerated…

Amazing! I need to add this to my thesis later. I’ll have to interview that junior too.

If he enters the jousting tournament like that, would it count as lese-majeste?

“Oh! That adventurer bastard’s trying to escape!”

“Catch him! Catch him!”

Meanwhile, one of the captured adventurers was discovered desperately crawling away.

The upperclassmen immediately started hurling curses and spells in every direction.

A legendary moment was unfolding before their eyes, and this tactless idiot was trying to interrupt it.

***

“Wait, Your Majesty.”

Lee Han had been forcibly hauled onto Jowrin’s back after she clamped down on him with an ahng, but the moment the rushing wind hit his face, his mind cleared again.

And then a question immediately surfaced.

“…Um, is it really okay for me to ride on your back like this without permission? Isn’t this the sort of thing that counts as lese-majeste or sacrilege?”

Jowrin snorted at the question.

What nonsense! When Adenart or that… that… that servant—

“What was the name again?”

“Gainando.”

Right. When Servant-nando carries Lee Han around, is that sacrilege?

“That’s completely different.”

See? Lee Han has been deceived by strange rumors!

Jowrin’s argument was surprisingly persuasive.

Besides, they weren’t outside the territory—they were inside it. The rules inside Einroguard’s domain were somewhat different.

Well… it’s not as if Imperial nobles are watching. Maybe there’s some room for interpretation.

Lee Han was almost convinced when another question suddenly occurred to him.

“I see. But, Your Majesty.”

Yes?

“When Adenart or Gainando carry me around, we’re all in human form. But right now you’re carrying me while you’re in dragon form.”

Yes.

“I was under the impression that when a dragon allowed someone onto its back, it usually meant strong recognition or support. Was I mistaken about that too?”

Dragons were extremely rare, but the legends surrounding them were countless.

Because of that, Lee Han knew quite a bit about the customs and folklore associated with dragons.

One of the most famous was how selective they were toward humans.

There were even idioms like chosen by a dragon or recognized by a dragon, proof that dragons were known for possessing exceptionally discerning judgment.

Even the Skull Principal proudly bragged about learning magic from dragons.

And the Skull Principal was not someone who behaved humbly anywhere.

Yet he did when it came to dragons.

Being acknowledged by dragons was that significant.

And if a dragon personally allowed someone to ride on its back…

Wasn’t that supposed to mean the dragon deeply acknowledged or supported that person? Did I misunderstand?

Dragon knights didn’t appear in legends for no reason.

How many knights worthy of a dragon’s acknowledgment could possibly exist?

But judging from Jowrin’s reaction, maybe the stories had been exaggerated, and dragons casually gave people rides whenever they felt bored.

Uh…

Jowrin suddenly trailed off.

A chill crawled down Lee Han’s spine.

What? Is it cold because we’re flying above the mountains?

“Your Majesty?”

Well… it’s not that those customs don’t exist…

Jowrin awkwardly mumbled after belatedly recalling the Emperor’s warning not to let just anyone ride on her back.

Now that she thought about it, carrying Lee Han in human form and carrying him in dragon form definitely conveyed different meanings.

The latter sounded much closer to an official political declaration…

“…Your Majesty. Please stop learning speech habits from Einroguard.”

Lee Han reprimanded sternly.

Ever since coming here, Jowrin seemed to be learning nothing but bad habits.

J-Jowrin doesn’t know what Lee Han means. And besides, even if those customs exist, nobody saw us!

“There were dozens of upperclassmen down there.”

Look! There’s an intruder over there!

“Your Majesty? Your Majesty?”

Pretending not to hear him, Jowrin abruptly folded her wings and dove downward.

Lee Han inwardly lamented how cunning she had become.

Maybe I shouldn’t have let her attend Einroguard…

A species already born overwhelmingly powerful learning Einroguard-style deception techniques was enough to make anyone fear for the future.

***

“…Fine. Then let’s all die together!”

The adventurers from 【Kangle’s Shadow】 had been pathetically overwhelmed by the students, but that didn’t mean they lacked hidden trump cards.

Among them, the craftsman had received several magic artifacts directly from Antagondals. Within the group, that alone earned considerable recognition.

A copper bell forged in hellfire rang three times before shattering alongside several gold coins.

Then a dimensional gate opened in midair.

“Come forth, Demon of Dosanjok!”

“Careful! He’s summoning something!”

The knights and swordsmen, including Professor Ingledel, immediately spread out after sensing the ominous aura.

Jagged infernal blades protruded from the dimensional rift.

A savage killing intent radiated outward indiscriminately, hostile to friend and foe alike.

Anyone could tell at a glance that this was a powerful demon, at least legion-commander class. Even knights couldn’t afford to lower their guard.

“Stop immediately. If you summon something of that level, you won’t escape unscathed either!”

“From the way you talk, I can tell you’re a knight. Then maybe you shouldn’t have cornered us in the first place.”

The remaining adventurers sneered at the knight’s rigid warning.

Trying to reason with adventurers willing to do anything to survive by telling them not to summon a demon.

This was exactly why talking to knights was so infuriating.

If death was waiting either way, then naturally people would gamble on the slightest chance of survival.

“You misunderstood me. Since you’ve summoned a corrupted monster into this place, I won’t allow you an easy death. I’ll capture you alive and carve you apart starting from your toes. If you still want a painless death, cancel the summoning now.”

Professor Ingledel’s acquaintances were, without exception, both powerful and eccentric.

The adventurers who had been mocking him moments earlier instantly froze beneath the overwhelming killing intent radiating from the knight of the 【White Birch Knights】.

“…Too late now. Look.”

—I smell delicious meat!

A monster made from tens of thousands of blades ripped through the dimensional gate and emerged with a triumphant roar.

After enduring a hellscape filled with nothing but iron and steel, it had finally reached a world overflowing with living flesh.

Even the adventurers who summoned it broke out into cold sweat.

They had called it forth intending to drag everyone into death with them, but seeing it in person filled them with terror.

“Don’t freeze up! Those Einroguard bastards will have to deal with the °• N 𝑜 v l i g h t •° monster anyway!”

“Ingledel, go after them! We’ll handle this thing!”

The intruders immediately turned and fled.

The knights split up, some pursuing while others prepared to engage the demon.

The monster became furious at the sight.

How dare these insignificant mortals attempt to use it—or worse, ignore it.

Both were unforgivable sins!

—How dare you! I am the Blade Judgm—

“Damn it. Die!”

A golden beam crashed down from the sky.

It was a breath attack radiating power like a miniature sun.

The moment Jowrin sensed that the opponent looked dangerous, she opened with breath immediately.

That was what Gonadaltes and the Emperor had taught her.

—What should you do when you encounter a strong enemy?

“Hmm… hit them with breath from far away first.”

—And then?

“Use breath again.”

—And after that?

“Hmm… keep using breath over and over…”

—Is Gonadaltes teasing Jowrin right now?

“No.”

Though the tone had been half joking, Gonadaltes had not lied.

The Emperor agreed as well.

Breath was one of the strongest weapons dragons possessed by birth. Against a powerful enemy, the correct strategy was obviously to bombard them from long range first.

A cheat-like absolute attack capable of overturning differences in experience and level with a single strike.

That was dragon breath.

KWA-AAAAAAANG!!

The earth trembled beneath the deafening impact.

The monster that had only just crawled out of Dosan Inferno let out a horrifying scream as the torrent of destructive power shook its very existence apart.

The ancient magic contained within dragon breath melted straight through even the demon’s formidable defenses.

—Ugh… UAAAAAAAGH!!

Huff… huff… can’t breathe…

“Your Majesty! Mana! Please take my mana!”

As expected, Jowrin—still immature—immediately suffered backlash after using her breath.

Seeing her gasping painfully, Lee Han hurriedly transferred mana into her.

Ordinarily, the idea of a human supplying mana to a dragon instead of the reverse would have been absurd.

But ordinary logic had long since stopped applying here.

The moment Jowrin absorbed Lee Han’s exceptionally pure, highly refined mana, her condition immediately recovered.

She opened her jaws wide once more and began gathering power capable of breaking the laws of the world.

————!!

The second breath detonated with such overwhelming force that ears already numbed by the first blast barely registered it.

Lee Han poured mana into her again.

After firing two breaths in succession without collapsing, Jowrin became convinced she had grown stronger and shouted triumphantly.

Monster! Jowrin will defeat you!

“Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Attack from a distance! Only use breath from a distance!!”

Lee Han panicked, but Jowrin, intoxicated by battle, was completely worked up.

She thrust her forelegs forward savagely and dove straight toward the battered demon, intending to tear it apart herself.

Lee Han knew all too well how resilient monsters from other dimensions could be.

He immediately raised his staff and began chanting.

Brutal elemental magic hammered into the demon from all sides.

Telekinesis and water orbs ripped through its body repeatedly, yet the thing still writhed stubbornly.

The pressure of needing to kill it before Jowrin physically collided with it pushed Lee Han’s concentration to its absolute limit.

Suddenly, the fingertips of his free hand transformed into lightning.

Crack!

The hand he had left free to direct his telekinetic magic became a bolt of lightning and pierced straight through the monster.

This lightning was fundamentally different from anything he had used before.

Already on the verge of death, the monster released a silent scream at the final strike before collapsing completely.

Perkuntra’s authority!

Lee Han hadn’t even realized it while concentrating on the battle.

The magic he had just unleashed carried Perkuntra’s authority manifested directly through spellcasting.

Jowrin’s strike!

Unaware the enemy was already dead, Jowrin gleefully slashed downward with her foreclaws.

The resulting shockwave scattered the demon’s remains into dust.

Jowrin has won!

“Your Majesty!”

Yes! Lee Han may praise Jowrin more!

“Have you completely lost your mind?!”

…Why?!