Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy

Chapter 647

However, Alcicle didn't stop the magic.

Gainando quickly cut the flowers on the branch while being hit by snowballs.

'Ugh. Just you wait.'

Gainando vowed while shaking off the snowballs.

When he got a junior, he would definitely make them work like this too!

"Did you get everything?"

"Yes."

"Good. You cut it with a silver sickle, right?"

"Uh, I cut it with a bronze sickle."

"Don't you know that Red Moon Flowers lose their power unless cut with pure silver?"

"Yes."

Instead of explaining, Alcicle swung his staff. Then snowballs started flying again.

"Quickly climb up again. Are you not going to climb?"

"Ack. Aack!"

"This time, make sure to cut it with a silver sickle! Are you deliberately slacking off?"

"I'm not!"

***

Alcicle returned with Gainando, who had bruises around his eyes.

As they passed through the mansion's gate, Gainando ran to his friends while sobbing.

"What's wrong?"

"He's a completely crazy mage! He keeps getting angry and telling me to bring more materials!"

"Einroguard does that too, doesn't it?"

"...He got angry because I cut the Red Moon Flowers with a bronze sickle!"

"You didn't cut them with a silver sickle but a bronze one?"

"Wow. That's a bit too much."

When Yonaire, Ratford, and Nillia all looked at him with shocked expressions, Gainando shook his head.

It was a mistake to talk to these beings below Yi-Han.

"Yi-Han, Yi-Han! Outside..."

However, his friend was already talking with Alcicle.

Gainando glared at the back of Alcicle's fluffy head with eyes full of hatred.

He wanted to throw a bone at him!

"Wardanaz. I thought you'd be researching music magic, why are you doing something else?"

Alcicle asked curiously.

He had even taken on chores to help with music magic research, but now he was doing something else.

"Ah. I finished that earlier."

"...What?"

"I decoded and interpreted the score, then added new lyrics and played it. It seemed quite good, so I'm planning to research other music magics in this direction from now on. Thank you again." Ｒ

"I see. That's good... No. Wait a minute!"

Alcicle almost fell for it for a moment due to the very polite words, but he quickly came to his senses.

What did he mean he finished earlier?

And what did he mean it went well after adding new lyrics and playing it?!?!

"From the beginning! Explain from the beginning!"

"Huh? No, I don't think Mr. Pengerin would find it very interesting..."

"Quickly!!"

"Alright."

Because Alcicle's momentum was so fierce (and he still hadn't shaken off the snow from outside), Yi-Han quickly began explaining.

So, the old Pseudo-Kingdom era mages created instrument artifacts to cast music magic, chose just one piece and trained for decades, and used that to create resonance phenomena to fill in lacking power...

"I see! That's an interesting idea?"

"Right? So when I added lyrics and played it, it turned out quite good."

"...Don't skip over it and tell me the rest properly!"

"Why are you getting angry..."

Yi-Han explained the rest, though flustered.

Since music magic is greatly affected by the caster's emotions, it was difficult to use the Pseudo-Kingdom era lyrics as they were, so he made new ones with his friends...

And it worked well!

"...Is that all?"

"Yes. It worked well."

"..."

Alcicle lowered his head and despaired.

What kind of crazy talent was this!

While he was out gathering herbs, he had quickly finished a magic that had been lost in ancient times...

"Mr. Pengerin? Are you alright?"

"No, I'm not."

"Did you get a headache because of Gainando?"

Yi-Han asked with genuine concern.

Gainando could certainly cause headaches in people dealing with him for the first time.

"...It's not that. Anyway, let me hear it. Can you play it again?"

"Yes. It's not even difficult. Just a moment."

Yi-Han picked up the violin he had set aside. Then he called his friends.

"Can you help with the chorus?"

"Chorus?"

"When I practiced, I felt that the effect increased if others sang along."

"I see. Interesting."

Alcicle showed interest in the characteristics of the ancient magic that had been lost long ago.

It was certainly interesting because the system was different from current imperial magic.

'I've got something to talk about at the next magic society meeting.'

The mages at the society would probably find this story very interesting too.

Moreover, if the person in question was a second-year student at Einroguard, even more so.

This was good for Wardanaz too. Wouldn't his reputation spread among other mages of the empire?

Alcicle was about to take credit but stopped himself.

After all, it was dignified to do good deeds quietly and secretly.

Alcicle was a dignified noble of the Pengerin family.

"Shall we start?"

Yi-Han signaled to his friends and began playing. Only the violin sound rang out as it was the instrumental introduction without lyrics.

Alcicle was listening while thinking 'For someone from the Wardanaz family, he can do quite a lot of different things' when he paused.

The slow music sound contained mana.

And mana mixed with the dark element at that!

"???!"

As the surrounding area began to fill with dark element mana, just as described in the magic explanation from the score, Alcicle was truly surprised.

He had been interested in music magic but hadn't evaluated its value highly, so he didn't expect it to dominate an area so easily.

"Wardanaz. Wardanaz."

"Yes?"

Yi-Han stopped playing.

His friends looked at Alcicle with annoyed eyes. They had been properly preparing, but he suddenly stopped them.

"S-sorry. I suddenly became curious. Is the violin perhaps the artifact you mentioned earlier?"

"Aha. As expected of Mr. Pengerin. You're saying I should modify the violin into an artifact to enhance the magic's effect, right?"

"...No. I'm just asking because sound containing mana came out."

"Ah."

Yi-Han became embarrassed for barking up the wrong tree.

"In my opinion, it seems that for some songs that suit the caster, mana unconsciously imbues and is released. It was actually proven when investigating music magic cases in the vicinity."

"But that's very rare, and it's when dozens of people sing together in a trance."

"That's right."

"But now you haven't even started singing and are just playing the violin."

"Correct."

"So how did you imbue it with mana?"

"I'm not sure myself."

"...S-sorry. Please continue."

Alcicle realized he was questioning a mage who had only learned for a year at Einroguard and felt dejected.

If Wardanaz had immediately understood that, he would be a great mage...

'I carelessly probed too much.'

As they talked, he kept mistaking him for a peer mage rather than a junior mage far below him.

The performance started again. When the introduction ended, Yi-Han slowly uttered the lyrics. The mana concentration in the surroundings began to rise.

"Praise the sacrifice of the new students, oh mages..."

"??"

Alcicle doubted his ears.

The lyrics had changed too much.

He said he had corrected them, but Alcicle thought he had only fixed typos or grammatical errors...?!

"Wai... No. Sorry. Please continue."

Alcicle was about to stop them but stopped himself after receiving glares from the students.

Yi-Han continued to sing a song mourning the new students who had just entered Einroguard.

The melody was so heroic and sorrowful that Alcicle unconsciously felt solemn.

"What did your seniors see?

-They saw the demons of hell and those demons walking."

"What did your seniors see?

-The great mage lich commanding his army and attacking students..."

"No. Really, wait a moment!"

Alcicle made Yi-Han and his friends, who were exchanging choruses, stop.

The effect of the music magic had already spread to some extent in the surroundings. Due to the dark element imbued in it, despite the light pouring through the stained glass in broad daylight, it was as dim as twilight.

"Ah. It was just getting to the good part."

Nillia felt disappointed.

She was particularly attached to the next lyrics as she had come up with them herself.

Yi-Han asked with an expression that seemed to understand why Alcicle had made them stop.

"You're amazed that we can create a phenomenon of dominating an area with such a primitive method, right?"

"...That's amazing too! But not that. Aren't the lyrics strange?"

It was a song that would halve the number of Einroguard freshmen if performed anywhere.

***

After calming down, Alcicle advised not to sing this song in front of the skull principal.

Only then could he finally talk about music magic.

"It's really interesting, Wardanaz. I hope you'll research this magic in your second year too."

"I'll try if I have time."

Of course, Yi-Han didn't intend to delve that seriously into music magic.

He had just diligently learned because its effect was good.

The effect of temporarily dominating the surrounding area was an effect that Yi-Han's current magic couldn't achieve.

Compared to that, other music magics...

'The effects were a bit vague.'

The effects of the music magics he had collected while going around with the skull principal weren't that great.

He could use them if needed, but there was no need to cling to them.

'He seems reliable?'

However, Alcicle was pleased with Yi-Han's answer.

Seeing such a serious attitude, he might be able to invite him to the society at the end of his second year to give a presentation on music magic.

Alcicle took his staff and pushed away the dark element still remaining in the space, then brightened the surroundings.

Then he tilted his head at what Yi-Han had been doing before he came.

"What were you doing?"

"Ah. I was checking the artifacts I have."

Even artifacts close to semi-permanent weren't invincible.

Thorough checks and management tended to bring better performance.

Moreover, in Yi-Han's case, he had so many strange artifacts that he couldn't help but pay attention.

The bracelet of ten thousand demons, the morning star sword, the Behemoth necklace storing various magics, the staff imbued with a tree spirit...

Alcicle watched Yi-Han's maintenance with interest.

As expected of the skull principal's successor, he only had ominous and bizarre artifacts.

"What's that stone embedded in the staff? It looks really ominous."

"It's the King of Frost Giants' core stone."

"...How on earth did you..."

Alcicle, who was looking around for something normal, found a peculiarly shaped helmet.

"What's that helmet? It doesn't seem like an ordinary artifact."

"Ah. It's the Helmet of Wisdom."

Yi-Han said as if he had forgotten about it.

It was a useless and evil artifact he had picked up in the school's underground dungeon before, made by who knows who.

He had tried to sell it at a shop but was rejected, so he just kept it...

"It's not bad?"

"A professor modified it so it doesn't hide the truth anymore, but it's basically an evil artifact."

"That's not much of a problem."

Alcicle looked at him as if to say, what are you talking about?

If one avoided danger, they weren't a mage.

"You must have received a lot of help from this helmet at Einroguard?"

"Actually, I didn't use it except once during the flood. And even then, it wasn't much help."

"...Really, that's all?"

Alcicle removed the cloth wrapping the helmet and woke up the sleeping helmet.

-Finally! Has the time come to borrow my evil wisdom?-

"Nice to meet you, helmet."

-The owner has changed! Finally!! You've really made a good choice. The previous owner was an evil, cunning, meticulous idiot! Don't believe a word the previous owner said!-

"I'm right here next to you, helmet."

-…-

The helmet quietly turned off its light and tried to disappear.

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