Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy - Chapter 84

Yonaire quickly followed up on Yi-Han’s words.

The Treant Professor praised the students as if he was very proud of them.

“Excellent. To guard the plants on your own without even a professor present. That’s no easy feat.”

“Thank you.”

Sensing the atmosphere had improved a bit, Yi-Han asked about the other’s identity.

“Pardon me, but who might you be?”

“Ah, I see I’m unknown to the new students. I’m a professor who teaches plant studies at this academy. Call me Professor Treant.”

The name matched his literal appearance.

Seeing Professor Treant reminded Gainando of the talking oak trees they met in the mountains. He carefully raised his hand and asked.

“Are you perhaps related to those talking oak trees?”

“I’m a treant and they’re oak trees. Little troll.”

“Huh? I’m a human not a troll?”

“Yeah. Just as I’m not an oak tree.”

“……”

Yi-Han felt one should be careful with their words around Professor Treant. It seemed that  he disliked being lumped together with similar-looking trees.

Professor Treant slowly walked over and poked the collapsed bull with a flick of his branch.

Then, he carved deeper furrows and said,

“So this is Professor Uregor’s bull. What a sloppy dwarf.”

‘Crap. It really is his bull.’

Yi-Han cursed out the absent Professor Uregor.

If he was going to augment a monster with potions to make it stronger, he should manage it properly. Why would he let it run loose to cause this mess?

“Did you subdue this bull with the paralysis curses?”

Professor Treant looked at the students skeptically.

For 1st year students, it was quite an impressive feat. There was no way they could use such powerful paralysis curses. – He thought

“We used weakening potions first before the curses.”

“It’s still difficult considering that. Outstanding.”

Professor Treant waved his branches. Vines grew out of the ground, wrapping around the bull and caging it within a wooden cage.

“I’ll let Professor Uregor know about this one when he returns.”

“Were you… looking after the plants here?”

Siana carefully asked. Professor Treant slowly replied.

“Yes. My own garden is located elsewhere though. Professor Uregor asked me to look after this Tower just for today. He said he had to meet with an imperial official.  It’s troublesome for me but what can I do.”

“Huh? As far as I know, he went to the marketplace with Professor Bungaegor though?”

“……”

Professor Treant froze in place.

“…Is that really true?”

“Yes. You can confirm it if you ask Professor Bungaegor later.”

“……”

Although Professor Treant was silent, the leaves violently fluttering on his branches showed what kind of mood he was in.

“You’re from the Wardanaz family. Correct?”

“?!”

Yi-Han was a bit surprised by the professor suddenly guessing his name.

What’s this?

“Nothing to be surprised about. I simply heard about you from the other professors. Anyway, thanks for telling me.”

Professor Treant gently expressed his gratitude.

“Is there anything you need? If so, tell me.”

“…We wanted to practice alchemy. Is there a place where we can find usable ingredients or reagents?”

“Hmmm…”

Professor Treant pondered.

Sure, the vast grounds of the magic school were littered with ingredients and reagents, but most places were a bit dangerous for freshmen.

Yi-Han very closely observed Professor Treant’s expression.

Even if the one in front of him was a tree spirit or something similar, he could not escape Yi-Han’s sharp eyes as long as he was a professor.

‘Now!’

Yi-Han threw a risky gambit.

“Would it be possible to borrow from Professor Uregor’s lab… Ah no, that would be too rude.”

Yi-Han bowed his head as if embarrassed. But Professor Treant waved his branches as if it was a splendid idea.

“That’s a wonderful thought actually.”

“Really? But…”

“It’s fine. I’ll tell him when he returns that the bull broke in and stole some things. Pick out things you guys can take.”

Saying that, Professor Treant headed towards the stairs to the third floor.

Looking at Yi-Han, Siana said.

“I think it would be unwise for Mr. Yi-Han of the Wardanaz family to join any evil cults.”

***

The moment they set foot on the third floor, pitch-black darkness greeted them. Even light spells were useless.

“Be careful not to get lost. It’s quite a maze here.”

Professor Treant whipped his branch around. Something then started to approach from the darkness.

It was a door labeled ‘Lab 6’.

Clunk!

Professor Treant turned the doorknob and opened it. Lab 6 was filled with blue smoke that had frozen everything inside. Professor Treant swiftly shut the door.

“It’s best we permanently seal off this lab.”

Pushing Lab 6 away, Professor Treant summoned several more labs. Most were total wrecks. In Lab 17, spatial distortion made water pouring from the desk flow upwards to the ceiling. In Lab 29, an abyssal darkness was devouring everything inside, one by one.

Yi-Han took out some paper and thoroughly documented every action Professor Treant took. There was no telling when they might come to the third floor again.

‘I see…’

Yi-Han got a rough idea of the third floor’s layout.

The reason traps were not as plentiful on the first and second floors was that the very structure of the third floor was almost labyrinthine itself.

Without knowing what was in each lab and without knowing how to summon them, coming to the third floor was rather meaningless.

In such a jumbled space, trying to break magic with force was dangerous. Who knew what disaster could unfold?

The answer was to gain understanding bit by bit from the start methodically.

Just like how there were no shortcuts in learning, it was the same for thievery.

‘For Lab 6, whip left twice then number 6. For Lab 17, whip right four times, up once, then 17. Lab 29 is…’

“Found it.”

Professor Treant found a decent lab. Yi-Han quickly stuffed the paper into his coat.

The lab they were in this time really looked like an alchemist’s lab, plain and simple. It was packed with all kinds of alchemy tools and flasks.

The students came in looking a bit freaked out after seeing the other labs.

“Alright, catch.”

Professor Treant started sweeping all the alchemy tools and flasks off the shelves and throwing them one by one. Yi-Han deftly caught them and carefully placed them in the leather bag he had brought.

“Did I give too much?”

“No, not at all sir. We are grateful.”

As the leather bag filled, he immediately passed it to his friends and took out a new one.

His sleight of hand-switching bags was so fast that Professor Treant almost mistook it for an Artifact.

“This should be enough for you guys to practice with. I didn’t give anything too dangerous or any ingredients Professor Uregor cherishes too much.”

“Those are more than enough.”

Professor Treant shook his branch-like arms and tidied the lab as if thieves had been through it.

The scattered tools returned to their places, and the open drawers closed again.

Seeing the withering potted plants in the corner, Professor Treant scowled and summoned a watering can.

“Let me help.”

Yi-Han volunteered.

‘Gotta make a good impression.’

Professor Treant didn’t seem like the type to tattle to Professor Uregor, but you could never really tell with people. – He thought

Plus, there was no harm in impressing a professor. Who knows when he might end up taking Professor Treant’s class?

Oblivious to Yi-Han’s ulterior motives, his friends also rolled up their sleeves to help out. But Yi-Han shook his head.

“You guys go back.”

“Why? Wardanaz? We wanna…”

“We don’t know when Professor Uregor will be back. You guys take the bags and head back to the dorm.”

“!”

Yi-Han’s words left his friends in awe.

Indeed…!

Ratford said with an impressed look:

“Truly outstanding. I have nothing left to teach you.”

“Don’t praise me too much, Ratford. I still have a lot to learn from you.”

Yonaire felt something was off about this situation, but the mood seemed nice to her, so she did not butt in.

“Then Wardanaz, We’ll head out first.”

“See y’all at the dorm!”

The friends, grunting under the weight, took the bags and headed down. Seeing Yonaire still there, Yi-Han looked puzzled.

“What’s up?”

“Thought you could use an extra set of hands. One less person won’t make a difference with the bags.”

“Thanks.”

“No biggie.”

“Hey, do I have to give you some sil…”

“Don’t even finish that sentence.”

Yonaire held out a finger in warning. Yi-Han changed the subject.

“Well… much obliged, miss.”

“Southern dialect?”

As Yonaire spoke, she picked up the watering can.

In truth, Yonaire didn’t expect Yi-Han to be adept at caring for plants.

Tending to plants was more complex and challenging than it seemed. Even just watering them was tricky.

Some plants needed less water, while others needed more.

When the weather was good and hot, they needed more water. When it was bad and humid, they needed less.

It was somewhat easier if they were common plants, but rare and vulnerable plants made things even more difficult.

It required both knowledge and intuition.

Yonaire was confident since she had spent time at home reading alchemy codices and tending to plants, but Yi-Han…

“You’re pretty good at this.”

Professor Treant spoke in an astonished tone.

Yi-Han and Yonaire had more than a novice’s touch with plants.

Sensing Yonaire’s surprise, Yi-Han asked quizzically:

“What’s wrong?”

“Oh… nothing. You’re just really good with the watering.”

“I’ve done it a lot. Maybe that’s why?.”

Yonaire wasn’t the only one who had walked the path of caring for plants. Yi-Han was the same.

What began as a semi-forced chore due to professors turned into a hobby that was not easily abandoned.

He had tended the professors’ potted plants in his past life. In this life, he nurtured the gardens of the Wardanaz family in his spare time.

Yonaire gazed at Yi-Han with a mix of joy and excitement in her eyes.

People who shared relatively obscure hobbies tended to be extremely delighted upon meeting one another.

“So you too…! The servants must’ve asked why you bother doing that yourself right?”

‘They didn’t though.’

Yi-Han was slightly startled.

The Wardanaz family was so hands-off that they did not care much whether Yi-Han swung a sword around or tended to plants.

But Yi-Han did not want to disappoint Yonaire, who was going out of her way to help him.

“Of… course they did. But I didn’t mind. I thought it might come in handy for alchemy someday.”

“Yi-Han…”

Yonaire looked like she wanted to immediately pin a ‘Best Friend Award’ on Yi-Han.

And it was not just Yonaire who was touched. Professor Treant was moved as well.

“To think I’d meet students who care so much for plants… Follow me, you two.”

Professor Treant led the way downstairs. Yi-Han and Yonaire quickly wiped off the water and followed after him.

‘Is he going to give us something more?’

Hoping for something more due to the delight in the professor’s voice, Yi-Han secretly harbored some anticipation.

Wasn’t this why I had volunteered in the first place? – Thought Yi-Han.

Arriving at a corner of the second-floor greenhouse, Professor Treant halted his steps and pointed at the plants.

“Now, from here to here, water them all.”

“?”

Yi-Han’s face stiffened at the unexpected situation.

Could Professor Treant be one of those extremely rare professors who rewarded work with more work?

If that were the case, it would indeed be a terrifying turn of events.

–
Translator: Kaiser | Editor: Gleru