Becoming a Magic School Mage

Chapter 8

People tended to be unaware of the rumors and reputations of their houses. Prominent families like House Wardanaz had mansions bigger than most castles, with grounds rivaling the size of an average city, and obviously no one living or working there would openly speak ill of the Wardanaz family.

“Is there something wrong with House Wardanaz?” Ehan asked.

“Oh... No, not at all. Nothing wrong whatsoever,” Nilia responded, taking another step back.

“I don’t know what you’ve heard, but it’s not true,” he said, but she remained wary.

“Every noble family has its share of baseless rumors,” Yonehr consoled Ehan. “Don’t let it get to you.”

“Is that so?”

“Of course, the rumors about House Wardanaz are particularly bad...”

That didn’t exactly make him feel better.

In the meantime, Nilia had regained her composure, and her voice was much steadier than before when she said, “That’s right, I shouldn’t be afraid of you just because you’re from House Wardanaz.”

“What kind of rumors have you heard?” Ehan asked.

She hesitated, unsure of how tactful it would be to say what she’d heard to a member of House Wardanaz.

“The head of House Wardanaz is actually a dragon that flew over during the undead frenzy in the western region of the continent and burned all the undead to a crisp.”

“House Wardanaz made a contract with an ancient elemental that gives its descendants incredible magical ability in exchange for their human emotions.”

“The mages of House Wardanaz are heartless and ruthless. They razed an entire city to the ground when the imperial secessionists were rioting.”

And that was just the tip of the iceberg. House Wardanaz’s reputation was far more terrifying than Ehan had expected. In the eyes of the commoners, the members of House Wardanaz were merciless magical monsters who hid away until disaster struck, then arrived to unleash destruction before disappearing again.

“But isn’t it unavoidable for archmages to show up when there’s a major incident in the empire?” Ehan protested.

“Absolutely. Don’t let it bother you,” Yonehr reassured him.

At his reaction, Nilia thought, If nothing else, it seems like they definitely have feelings...?

* * *

“Wait.”

“What is it?”

“Something’s off. Take a look at this,” Nilia said, pointing to the ground. Although it was hard to see against the grassy hill, her dark elf senses and experience with the Shadow Patrol helped her spot the signs. “See that? Something pretty big passed through here.”

“Aren’t the footprints too shallow for that?” Ehan asked.

“Good eye. It’s smart for sure. It tried to walk softly to avoid leaving tracks, but it slipped up while eating these berries here.”

Yonehr didn’t seem to be paying much attention. To begin with, her interest was alchemy, not tracking techniques. She was much more focused on scanning her surroundings for signs of the herb they were after.

Hmph. Nilia felt a twinge of annoyance. Everyone was on the same page in the Shadow Patrol. Its members were all hunters and rangers, and most of the villagers had family members who were one or the other as well, so conversation always flowed easily.

“I almost got into serious trouble. Its pelt was so fine that I wanted to catch it by any means possible, but...”

“Hahaha! I can relate. When I was young...”

They could all easily while away an hour discussing the prey they’d spotted on the hunt. In contrast, there were far too many different types of people here at Einrogard.

“Um, so this is something that happened when I was in the mountains...”

“The mountains?”

“Yeah. I was hunt—”

“You were hunting?? Why?”

“Because I was a member of the Patrol—”

“Can’t you just buy meat at the market?”

“Listen here, you little sh*t—!”

“Eep!”

After several conversations like that, Nilia was starting to feel a bit irritated with reactions like Yonehr’s, but there was nothing she could do about it. Fine. Nobody else here is a hunter, so I’ll just have to get used to it.

“Wow, that’s fascinating. Do you notice anything else?” Ehan asked.

Nilia perked up. She hadn’t expected him to be so interested, but he was listening earnestly, looking riveted. “You think it’s interesting?” she asked, caught off guard.

“Was it not supposed to be?”

“No, it’s not that. I mean, I didn’t say it specifically to fascinate you or anything, but...”

This time, it was Ehan’s turn to be bewildered by her rambling. Is she drunk?

Realizing she was starting to speak nonsense, Nilia quickly got back on track. “Right! Well anyway, we should be cautious when we see signs of a large beast like this. Do you see how the grass was sliced here? That means whatever it is has pretty big claws.”

“I see.” Ehan was naturally curious by nature and loved to learn. If not for that, he wouldn’t have gone to grad school in the first place, no matter how hard his professors had worked to con him into it. And though the wisdom of hunters wasn’t magic, he found it just as intriguing. “Can you tell what it is as well?”

“No, there aren’t enough clues here,” Nilia replied, crossing her arms in disappointment.

It was a common misconception that experienced hunters could identify beasts from nothing but their tracks, but a hunter’s knack for identification usually grew out of their deep familiarity with local wildlife after having lived in an area for a long time. It was impossible to identify tracks right away if a hunter didn’t even know what species lived around there.

“Besides, I’ve heard all sorts of strange monsters live near magic schools,” she said.

“Oh, I’ve heard that too,” Yonehr agreed with a nod.

Einrogard was located in an area that was rich with magic energy, and that naturally drew in a lot of monsters. And on top of that...

“I’ve also heard that monsters created in experiments also roam around here, along with rare slimes spawned from discarded potions.”

Ehan couldn’t believe it. Don’t the mages here have any kind of experimental safety regulations?? Shouldn’t they be handling stuff like potions or magically created life forms more responsibly? It was no wonder there were problems if they were that careless about throwing things away. “We’d better be more careful, then,” he concluded.

“Exactly! We’ll follow these tracks. It’ll help us avoid being ambushed,” Nilia said.

“Can you teach me how to read tracks as well?” Ehan asked.

Nilia blinked. His request was another surprise.

Had that been a rude question? “If it’d be difficult for you, you can just ignore—”
“It’s not something you can pick up easily, you know? You’ll probably give up halfway through,” she warned.

“I’m up for the challenge if you’re willing to teach me,” he said.

“Hmph. Well, fine, you asked for it. Let’s see how you manage!” she decided.

“Why bother learning that?” Yonehr whispered so only Ehan could hear.

“Why not? It looks like fun.”

Yonehr was baffled.

* * *

“There it is— The filthweed.”

While Nilia and Ehan kept watch for potential dangers, Yonehr found the herb hidden in a thicket. How did she even spot that?

“There are only two here.”

A long silence followed.

“We just need to find one more— Why’s everyone so quiet?” she asked, turning her head.

The answer was immediately obvious: a massive pig was glaring menacingly at them.

“I detect magic energy coming from it,” Ehan observed coolly. “It probably ingested something magical.”

Perhaps it had gotten into a leaked reagent or potion, or it might’ve been the subject of some experiment.

“Save the analysis for later! Watch out!” Nilia whispered urgently.

Pigs weren’t to be underestimated. They were hefty and surprisingly agile, and the ones with tusks were especially dangerous. This one in particular was definitely more of a wild beast than a farm animal, and whatever magic energy it had acquired essentially made it a monster.

“Treat it like a wild boar! Don’t provoke it, and back away slowly!” Nilia instructed.

Yonehr steadied her trembling legs, and Ehan helped brace her as he took a cautious step back, but the pig just gave a loud snort and then started advancing toward them, visibly enraged and huffing out hot air.

“We can’t just retreat.” Ehan held out his staff and then paused, looking quite imposing as he stepped forward gripping it with both hands like a spear.

That’s right! He’s from House Wardanaz, Nilia recalled. Ehan came from a family of archmages, so he might have already learned some magic before arriving at Einrogard. He did say his role in our group would be to fend off wild beasts and monsters.

In a low voice, she asked, “Do you think you can handle this?”

“I don’t know,” he answered. “Maybe?”

“If you fail, put that redhead on your back and run! I’ll distract it!” Nilia said.

Of the three of them, she was the only one who could race through the mountains and hills. It wasn’t that she doubted Ehan’s magical abilities, but experienced hunters were always prepared for worst-case scenarios. Nilia intended to draw the pig’s attention and then run away if things went south.

Ehan and Yonehr looked a bit touched by her words.

“You’d risk so much just to keep us safe?”

“It’s not like that! I’m just the best suited for the job!” Nilia protested.

“In any case, it’s much appreciated. I’ll be counting on you if things go wrong,” Ehan said.
Then he fell silent, focusing as the pig drew closer. Three. Two. One, he silently counted, mentally calculating the distance between himself and the animal.

From behind him, Nilia watched, swallowing nervously. What sort of spell did he intend to use to face off against that pig?

Crack!

A sharp sound echoed from the pig’s head. Ehan’s chosen course of action was... swinging the staff at it.

* * *

“Swords may be the king of all weapons, but you won’t always have one with you. You must be prepared to handle other weapons like spears, clubs, daggers, even your fists,” Sir Alarlong had once told him.

“I see.”

“I don’t mean to be rude, but I’m surprised you’re not complaining.”

“Why would I?”

“N-never mind.”

Sir Alarlong didn’t give Ehan special treatment just because he was a member of House Wardanaz. His lessons for Ehan were as strict and demanding as the ones he had received himself, and Ehan was a model student. Other nobles might have whined about being made to do something so difficult, but not Ehan. People pay good money for workouts like these. It’s not so bad.

Back in grad school, Ehan hadn’t had time to exercise even though he’d wanted to, so of course he wasn’t going to complain now that Alarlong was giving him comprehensive training starting from the basics. Besides, whenever he was exhausted, servants were always at the ready with snacks, drinks, and potions.

“Lord Ehan, you must be wondering why I haven’t taught you how to manifest an aura blade like the other knights do.”

“It hadn’t crossed my mind. Can a novice like me even learn such complex magic?”

“Why did you ask to be taught swordsmanship in the first place if not for that...?” Alarlong asked, stopping mid-lesson to give Ehan a confused look.