Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy

Chapter 661

Yi-Han protested, but Professor Boladi ignored him.

He thought his disciple was just expressing modesty.

"Yi-Han. But you were practicing time magic."

"Hey. Be quiet."

"Ah, no... I was just saying..."

Gainando felt very wronged when he received a murderous gaze after speaking up, thinking Yi-Han might have forgotten.

'What did I do wrong!'

Professor Boladi moved to treat the students to a meal.

After walking a few blocks, they saw a large two-story red brick building. The sign was elegantly scrawled with 'The Three Magpies Restaurant Run by Dwarf Brothers'.

Excited, Gainando explained the restaurant to his friends.

"This place is good. They sell the second-best chicken pie and third-best porterhouse steak in Flaher City!"

"Gainando. Thanks for the explanation, but the owner is glaring at you from the side."

Yi-Han thought Gainando's steak might contain dwarf saliva.

"But Professor. Do you come here often? It doesn't seem like a place you'd frequent..."

"Yi-Yi-Han. No matter what, the professor wouldn't be so poor that he can't afford the food here."

Gainando whispered with a frightened expression.

No matter how he thought about it, his friend was saying something too crazy.

"...I was talking about the menu items. Ratford. Could you switch seats with Gainando here?"

"No! No!"

Gainando resisted but was forcibly made to change seats by his friends.

"I don't want to sit next to Yonaire!"

"I don't want to sit next to you either, so do you want to go down to the floor over there?"

Ignoring his chattering friends, Yi-Han looked around.

Just looking at the food other customers were enjoying showed it was a restaurant specializing in meat dishes. It wasn't a place Professor Boladi, who enjoyed vegetarian food, would likely come to.

"I come here when treating mercenaries or adventurers to meals. The reviews are good."

"!"

Yi-Han shuddered as he realized that Professor Boladi was regularly employing mercenaries or adventurers.

What on earth was he trying to do?

"Surely you're not... preparing for this year's lecture?"

Professor Boladi showed the cultivation of not losing his composure even at his disciple's stupid question.

"No. I finished preparing for this year's lecture last year."

"..."

Yi-Han felt a chill down his spine.

It was the most chilling answer this winter.

"Now. Eandurde. You have to wait until the bread basket comes. You don't need to cut the meat yourself. Don't stab with the knife. Understand?"

"Can't we switch seats?"

"No. And Yi-Han is suffering enough because of the professor, so don't you torment him too."

Yonaire admonished the junior. Seeing this, Professor Boladi said,

"It's fine to eat comfortably. As I said, mercenaries and adventurers come too."

When Eandurde tried to throw away the utensils and just grab the knife at those words, Yonaire glared at her sternly.

"No."

"But..."

"No. Pick them up again."

"Nng..."

Eandurde thought to herself.

Yi-Han's friends here were all strict, but that professor over there seemed like a more lenient person.

When she entered Einroguard, she would have to learn various things...

Perhaps taking that professor's lenient lecture wouldn't be so bad.

Moreover, didn't Eandurde have to get revenge on that professor?

'I'll steal his secrets and take revenge!'

As Eandurde pounded the table with her fist, thinking of the day she would someday slam the professor to the ground, Yonaire admonished her sternly again.

"Don't pound the table like an instrument."

"...I want to change seats..."

Yi-Han took a bite of freshly baked bread with butter to shake off his fear.

With something in his empty stomach, he felt the terror of the frightening classes to come this year diminish a little.

"Then why did you hire them?"

"Hmm."

Instead of answering, Professor Boladi looked at Yi-Han with a slightly contemplative gaze.

That gaze suddenly made Yi-Han uneasy.

'Why do I feel like I made a mistake?'

"It should be fine to tell you."

"Wait. If it's some dangerous secret, it's okay."

If Professor Boladi had hired people to assassinate someone, Yi-Han didn't want to hear it.

Later, when an imperial investigator came and asked 'What do you know!', he would have to make excuses like 'I don't know anything. I'm just a disciple!'

"It's not like that. I was just worried you might be too interested."

"?"

Something Yi-Han would be too interested in.

'Did he raid an imperial gold coin mint?'

"I'll explain one by one. First, there are times I hire them for missions."

"Ah."

Yi-Han finally realized that Professor Boladi was a mage as well as a professor.

Well, it wasn't strange for a mage to call adventurers or mercenaries to take on requests.

From ruin exploration to material gathering, there were many things a mage could assign.

It was strange for a mage to do this directly.

"Did you have materials you were looking for?"

Professor Boladi slowly shook his head.

"I don't assign missions."

"..."

Surprisingly, Professor Boladi was not the one assigning missions, but the one solving them.

Since there were now missions too dangerous for Professor Boladi to solve alone, he hired adventurers or mercenaries to solve them together...

'Is he hunting dragons or something??'

Yi-Han couldn't even imagine what kind of mission it would be for Professor Boladi to feel it was dangerous.

Shouldn't missions of that level just be banned by imperial law?

"Wait. So when you said you were worried I might be too interested, did you mean you were worried I'd be interested in these kinds of missions?"

"To some extent, yes."

"That's too much worry. Unlike you, Professor, I have no interest in dangerous missions at all."

"..."

"..."

His friends all stopped their chatter at once and stared at Yi-Han.

They wanted to take their friend's side as much as possible, but this was really too much nonsense.

"King of Ghouls..."

"Sea Serpent..."

"Frost Giant..."

"Honestly, Mr. Wardanaz, you seem addicted to danger. You're sitting next to the professor even now."

Despite his friends' scathing criticism, Yi-Han was sincerely proud.

Unlike Professor Boladi, who would charge in even if danger was gaping its maw wide open, he had always coolly and calmly analyzed the risk level of missions.

"That's good then. I was worried about your rashness."

"I've felt this before, but Professor, you seem to be misunderstanding me a bit. Haha."

Professor Boladi ignored him again, just as he had ignored him earlier.

People usually couldn't objectively see their own flaws.

Yi-Han was an outstanding disciple, but due to his innate talent, he had the flaw of being rash, and this was something professors needed to pay attention to.

"But are there other reasons you need to hire people besides companions needed for missions?"

The professor nodded.

"Flaher City recently got a duel club."

"By duel club, you mean..."

When talking about duels, it was easy to imagine two people fighting to the death in a bloody battle, but most of this type of duel was banned in the empire. Such duels could only be found in places like underground arenas.

Duels permitted in the empire were usually a moderate method where both parties swore to act honorably, had observers, allowed spectators, and the outcome was decided when anyone shed even a drop of blood.

Of course, even these duels usually occurred when someone insulted another's honor, but...

...as always, there were exceptions.

People addicted to the thrill and danger of fierce exchanges of blades and magic, and the glorious ecstasy of victory.

And people who wanted to see such fierce fights in person.

Finally, people who wanted to make money using such people.

The imperial duel clubs were places where such people mainly gathered.

A place cultured people mocked as the high society's legal arena (which wasn't far from the truth)!

"Oh, do you go there?"

Yi-Han finally thought Professor Boladi had gone mad for blood.

Was he unsatisfied with just attacking students and wanted to attack other poor victims in the empire?

"Yes."

"Is there a reason for that? Perhaps to hone your magic combat skills?"

"No. Most duel clubs aren't at that level. It's for the rewards."

Professor Boladi explained carefully.

When entering a duel club and engaging in mutually agreed duels, not only could outsiders bet, but the participants themselves could also make wagers.

A simple rule where the winner takes the stakes the loser put up.

When Professor Boladi needed funds, he would either gather mercenaries or adventurers to take on dangerous missions, or tour the empire's duel clubs.

And the latter was much easier to gain financial benefits.

Greenhorns with all sorts of treasures were strutting around with just one sword...

Unlike missions, the reason for hiring mercenaries or adventurers when entering duel clubs was due to personnel restrictions.

There were many who engaged in group duels as well as one-on-one duels.

Since there was no problem in crushing the opponent no matter how many there were, he just needed to match the numbers on his side.

'My goodness!'

Yi-Han was shocked.

He had been mistaken by his appearance of not wanting to haggle at the toy store earlier, but Professor Boladi was not a person ignorant of worldly affairs.

'He's copying gold coins!'

Yi-Han would have toured duel clubs too if he were Professor Boladi.

Why bother with troublesome missions and teaching students? Wealth would increase instantly just by touring duel clubs.

"Professor. Let's sweep all the duel clubs across the empire!"

"I can't do that because of entry bans."

"Pardon?"

"If you win too much, the clubs ban entry."

"..."

Yi-Han recalled what Professor Boladi had said earlier.

-Flaher City 'recently' got a duel club.-

Recently.

He had just passed over it earlier, but that meant...

'This person, has he been banned from most duel clubs across the empire?!'

That's why he came to Flaher City where a duel club had recently opened.

To quickly scrape up before rumors spread and he got banned!

The mage cards sold at the toy store earlier were clearly spoils obtained from duel clubs.

Yi-Han reflected.

'I was nothing.'

He thought he had been diligently accumulating wealth, but professors were indeed the sky above the sky.

"I'm impressed, Professor. I'd like to visit a duel club someday too."

"I thought you would."

He had strongly denied being interested in dangerous missions earlier, but he couldn't deny interest in duel clubs.

In fact, Yi-Han was now contemplating how to increase his wealth through duel clubs.

Later, when his skills reached a certain level, he would visit duel clubs and...

'I won't act as blatantly as the professor. I'll lose once for every 3 wins... Hmm, I'll find the highest win rate and aim for slightly below that. It wouldn't be bad to hire adventurers to increase the number of losses.'

While he was having such sinister thoughts that duel club organizers would immediately chase him out if they heard, Professor Boladi finished his green tea and wiped his mouth with a handkerchief.

"I'm done eating."

"Thank you for the meal, Professor!"

The students thanked Professor Boladi gratefully.

Professor Boladi nodded as if it was nothing. Then he said to Yi-Han,

"Follow me. I'll introduce you to the club."

"..."

Yi-Han was very flustered by the visit that was about ten years earlier than his own plans.

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