Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy

“…Isn’t Your Highness being a little too humble for royalty?”

With Professor Garcia’s help, Lee Han recovered his composure and decided to ask the questions he was curious about one by one.

“You know I’m of royal blood? I’ve been hiding it because I’m ashamed…”

“…”

That’s not true, though?

Lee Han nearly blurted out, You bragged about being royalty yourself, and your projection tormented me with that whole royalty thing, but held himself back.

What would the Skull Principal of the past know?

The young Skull Principal spoke with a benevolent air.

“It is true that I was once a prince. It is also true that I lived in a beautiful palace, received every courtesy, and gave orders to others. But that is all in the past. I made a vow to myself greater than inheriting a crown.”

“What kind of vow…?”

“I will rid the continent of suffering.”

“…”

“…”

Lee Han’s group, who had a rough idea of how that turned out, fell silent.

The young Skull Principal smiled, as though he were the one comforting them.

“Don’t worry. Of course, the me from your world may not have achieved that wish. But that does not mean I cannot achieve it, does it?”

“That’s… well… magically speaking, isn’t it too difficult? The possibility…”

At Lee Han’s question, the young Skull Principal looked at him with gentle, wise eyes.

“That may be true. But it doesn’t matter. I’m going to try anyway.”

“…”

Lee Han stepped back and whispered to the professors.

“I don’t think I can hold a conversation with him. He’s too unfamiliar. Could one of you please take over?”

“Absolutely not, Student Lee Han! You’re Lee Han, so you’re handling this better than I am. I’m honestly suffering too!”

Professor Garcia found this just as unfamiliar and painful.

Facing the young, kind, gentle Skull Principal was far more terrible than expected.

At this point, the arrogant tyrant with no flesh on his head was easier to deal with.

As the two of them suffered in silence, Professor Voladi Bagreg quietly spoke up.

“Then I’ll—”

“No. I’ll do it.”

Lee Han stopped him at once.

No matter how he thought about it, continuing the conversation himself was still better than letting Professor Voladi Bagreg handle it.

“Um. Lord Gonadaltes. May I ask you a few questions?”

“Of course.”

“Have you ever learned magic from dragons?”

“No. I have not. Did the future me learn magic from dragons?”

“Ah. Well…”

Lee Han hesitated, unsure whether he should reveal that much, but the young Skull Principal smiled.

“There are divination mages who hate hearing about the future, but I don’t mind. If I fail simply because I heard about the future and became bound by it, then that is as far as I go.”

“…Lord Gonadaltes. Please come to Einroguard!”

“Student Lee Han. Don’t say nonsense…”

Even knowing it was impossible, the words burst out of Lee Han’s mouth before he could stop them.

This was not even another dimension, but a dimension like an echo of the past. Bringing someone out of it would be like trying to carry away a shadow.

Wait. If he hasn’t learned magic from dragons yet…

Lee Han quickly sorted through the timeline.

The Skull Principal’s history was long enough to deserve its own chronological table, but there were several monumental events even Lee Han knew about.

Royalty → learned magic from dragons → arrived in the Nine Mountains Eight Seas dimension → was deceived by demons → somehow attained enlightenment → an extremely long time passed → scammed a poor dragon → became principal of Einroguard.

Then this is still the early stage?

A young Skull Principal who had not yet learned magic from dragons.

Lee Han became curious about what the young Skull Principal was doing in this era.

Of course, the man himself had already said he was killing evil mages, but more specifically…

“It’s nothing complicated. I left my kingdom and formed a secret society with mages who share my ideals. Whenever our intentions and timing align, we gather to bring down the wicked and help the unfortunate.”

Even before learning magic from dragons, the young Skull Principal already possessed enough skill to be called an archmage.

He considered himself insignificant because he believed he had accomplished nothing yet, but anyone capable of hunting down powerful mage nobles of great kingdoms and escaping afterward could not possibly be weak.

Lee Han was listening and taking notes when he suddenly remembered something and asked.

“Do you happen to know a spell called <Gonadaltes’s Downfall>?”

“Ah. You know that spell too? It still needs a great deal of research…”

The young Skull Principal looked embarrassed when the guests mentioned the magic.

As Lee Han had heard from the insane projection, <Gonadaltes’s Downfall> was only a byproduct that had emerged during research, not the final goal of that research.

Originally, the spell was meant to capture and confine all downfall in the world.

“If you’d like, I can show it to you.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Since you’ve come from another dimension, you probably cannot remain here long, so I should show you at once… Ah.”

The young Skull Principal paused, looking deeply apologetic.

“Actually, there is something I must do right now. Could you wait just one day?”

“That much is fine, of course… But what are you planning to do?”

“This city has long suffered from tyranny and invasion. Because of that, its people struggle to obtain clean water. I intend to provide them with a permanent way to block outside contamination and secure clean water.”

“Ah. Do you have some connection to this city?”

“Not particularly.”

Behind the young Skull Principal, who was preparing a great spell for people of a city that had nothing to do with him, Lee Han could almost see a halo radiating outward.

Even Lee Han found himself missing the original fleshless Skull Principal.

Ugh. Too dazzling.

***

“First, I plan to mix mermaid tears and sapphire to create gates. Gates made that way will purify water and block outside contamination.”

The young Skull Principal spoke as they walked toward the harbor.

During the Three Kingdoms Era, all kinds of horrific magical plagues ran rampant.

It was only natural. Demons were summoned whenever anyone felt like it, and the kingdoms had no qualms about scattering plagues with magic.

The nobles did not care. They lived in safe places and were protected by magic. Ordinary people, however, could die from the slightest misfortune.

The young Skull Principal planned to engrave massive purification magic onto the gates to prevent that.

“Aren’t mermaid tears difficult to obtain?”

Lee Han asked, puzzled.

Mermaid tears were certainly a rare material in the current Empire.

Perhaps they were easier to obtain during the Three Kingdoms Era?

“They are difficult to obtain. But I still must obtain them. Here.”

The young Skull Principal borrowed a small ferry and took the oars himself.

Lee Han looked confused.

“I’ll row.”

“No. How could I make guests from outside—especially those who call themselves my disciples—do such work?”

The young Skull Principal looked at Lee Han’s group with affectionate eyes.

His determination not to let even a drop of water touch his disciples was painfully clear.

Behind him, Lee Han saw Professor Garcia bite her lip hard.

It was that surreal.

Whoosh!

Of course, the young Skull Principal was not rowing purely by hand. Once he cast magic, the oars began moving on their own, and the wind started pushing the ferry forward.

The boat instantly gained speed and rose over the distant waves.

“Ah, right. I’ll cast protective magic on you. Sirens appear around here.”

“Ah. I’m fine. I’m actually friends with sirens.”

“?”

At Lee Han’s words, Professor Garcia tilted her head.

Huh…?

According to the complaints from the sirens on the Einroguard estate, the two sides were definitely not friends.

Parthenope the siren in particular had been furious, constantly protesting, How can such an unreasonable human exist?

Could he mean other sirens?

“I see… To think someone like you is my disciple. It is an honor.”

“Please don’t say things like that.”

Lee Han seriously considered asking him, Please treat me badly instead.

That was how unaccustomed—and tormented—he felt.

He could listen to a siren’s song for a year and be fine, but the kind Skull Principal was another matter entirely.

-♪♩♩♩♪…

“!”

The moment the sirens’ song began, Lee Han’s group tensed slightly.

They were prepared, but against beings like sirens, lowering one’s guard was forbidden.

-!

However, the song stopped almost immediately.

The sirens recognized the young Skull Principal’s face, closed their mouths, and quietly bowed their heads.

“Thank you all for your consideration.”

The young Skull Principal greeted the sirens politely.

The sirens guarded the surrounding waters and helped until the ferry passed safely through their territory.

“…Uh, what kind of magic was that?”

Lee Han, unable to fully grasp what had just happened, asked in bewilderment.

Had the young Skull Principal subdued the sirens with magic?

“Magic?”

“The sirens… stopped singing… and, you know!”

“Ah. That. The sirens here sometimes show me kindness.”

“Ah. Have you perhaps saved these sirens before?”

“No. I’ve never done anything like that.”

“…”

Lee Han needed a moment to recover from the shock.

So, right now…?

The sirens showed him goodwill purely because of his aura?

It was utterly unbelievable.

The sirens at Einroguard had never done anything like that.

They had only barely become somewhat cooperative after long and complicated negotiations.

Could the Einroguard sirens have turned evil because too much time passed?

The moment that thought crossed his mind, a huge sailing ship sank in the distance.

The sirens, whose territory had been invaded, were attacking it ferociously.

“…Professor Garcia. I didn’t know sirens could help people like this.”

“I’m just as amazed, Lee Han. It’s hard to accept, but… perhaps ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) it’s similar to your brother Arsil.”

“At least my brother was only popular with spirits.”

After that, the young Skull Principal continued onward while receiving goodwill from all kinds of sea creatures.

Seeing not only sirens, but also large fish and whales surface to greet him, Lee Han began doubting whether they had come to the wrong past after all.

It was far too surreal.

“There! A mermaid!”

Lee Han shouted urgently when he spotted a mermaid’s tail fin.

The young Skull Principal praised him warmly.

“Excellent! To think you were the first to find one.”

“…How are you going to obtain the tears?”

Lee Han ignored the embarrassing praise by pretending not to hear it and asked another question.

Mermaid tears were precious materials.

Even if they tried to negotiate, the mermaid would likely not give them up easily. Treasures that seemed priceless to humans would not necessarily mean much to a mermaid.

But capturing or threatening one would be difficult as well, given a mermaid’s considerable power.

A mermaid roaming the sea possessed mobility comparable to a unicorn. At the slightest hint of suspicious intent, it would twist space and vanish into the deep ocean.

“I’ll ask first.”

“…Is that all?”

“Asking is more important than you might think.”

The young Skull Principal spoke to the mermaid with a humble attitude.

The mermaid listened politely and respectfully, then briefly disappeared beneath the sea. Soon, the mermaid returned with a sparkling jewel and presented it to the young Skull Principal.

It was a mermaid’s tear.

“I am grateful for your grace. I will never use this for personal gain.”

After receiving the young Skull Principal’s thanks, the mermaid disappeared gracefully.

And Lee Han felt as though nothing could surprise him anymore.