Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy

it in their minds better, which helped with their focus.

 

After creating an image of fire in their minds, they had to channel mana, chanting as they did so, wishing strongly for the fire to manifest.

 

Yi-han also tried to focus on the fire spell.
Learning through his experience with , he planned on going at his own pace without being tricked by his peers.

 

“Hold it right there.”

 

“?”

 

However, the professor stopped him.

 

“Yi-han, you're not allowed to practice ignition magic.”

 

“???”

 

Yi-han stared incredulously at the professor.

 

Unlike the others, there wasn't any candle in front of him.
Instead, there was a bowl made of copper, with water contained inside it.

 

“Why?”

 

“Because it's too dangerous.”

 

“…”

 

Yi-han finally caught on.

 

While he was practicing , he often failed to control it, resulting in an explosion.
Since it was just a ball of light, the explosion didn't cause any real damage, only making it difficult for him to open his eyes for a while.

 

But what if it was a ball of fire?

 

'Hmm, we might have casualties.'

 

He eventually nodded in understanding.
There wasn't much he could argue about.

 

“Wait until you're better at controlling your mana and more familiar with other elemental magic.”

 

“Understood.”

 

“Until then, try having a go at . Even if you fail, it won't be dangerous.”

TL/n: is also supposed to be , but I thought it was a mouthful, so I just wrote it down as .
To not confuse readers, I'll keep it as , but use for the others.

 

Water.
Just like fire, it was one of the basic elements.

 

Coming up with a clear image of various metals or lightning might be difficult, but few would have trouble imagining what water looks like.
In other words, it was an element that they were all familiar with, and unlike fire, it wasn't dangerous.

 

However…

 

'I'm not too sure about this.'

 

There was one downside to water spells.

 

It didn't look cool at all.

 

'No.
Well…
there's that, but the bigger issue is that it doesn't seem as useful.'

 

It was in an awkward position in terms of its usefulness.

 

For offense? Fire and lightning were stronger.

 

For defense? Earth and metal were sturdier.

 

The only benefit to learning water magic was that he wouldn't have to worry about running out of drinking water during travel…

 

'Even that is a bit…'

 

He was planning on becoming an imperial mage so that he could laze around without putting in any effort, so he had no real use for spells that were for survival.

 

But there wasn't anything he could do about it at the moment.
He might burn the whole place down if he practiced fire magic.

 

“Gush Forth!”

 

“Wardanaz, I'm so jealous of you.
The professor gave you special teaching.”

 

Asan, who was also practicing beside him, spoke to him in an envious tone.
Yi-han, however, begged to differ.

 

'Does this look like special teaching to you?'

 

He wished to be like his fellow students and practice fire magic.
Where would he find the need to use water magic anyway…

 

“Gush Forth!”

 

“Gush Forth!”

 

Chuaaaaaak!

 

It only took him three attempts before a ball of water appeared out of thin air.

 

“!?”

 

And it wasn't just a few droplets.
The ball of water was roughly the size of a fist!

 

Yi-han and Professor Garcia were both surprised by this.

 

Granted, he kind of got the hang of elemental magic while practicing , but three tries? Now that was a rare sight, especially since so much water was produced at once.
It would only be possible if he had a high affinity for water magic.

 

'Amazing!'

 

“Look over here, everyone! Yi-han has succeeded in casting water magic!”

 

“Woah…!”

 

“Way to go, Wardanaz!”

 

“As expected of Wardanaz!”

 

Those of the Blue Dragons were happy as they watched his magic.
Meanwhile, the members of the White Tigers were staring at it with jealousy.

 

Clap, clap, clap-

 

The professor applauded him.

 

“Excellent work, Yi-han.
Everyone should learn from his examples.
That said, no need to grow impatient.
We all have different affinities to magic, and once you discover yours, you'll become good at it in no time.
Students that grew up near volcanoes or smithies are often better at fire magic, students that grew up near rivers and oceans are often better at water magic, and students that grew up in locations with strong wind are often better at wind magic…The more familiar you are with the element, the easier it is for you to control it.”

 

The explanation made Yi-han even more baffled.

 

'I didn't grow up near a river or an ocean though?'

 

The only real connection he had to water was getting screwed over by his professors in his previous life.

TL/n: “물” is water in Korean, and there's this phrase “물먹다”, which means to get screwed over.

 

Did his personality just resemble that of flowing water?

 

It wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but…

 

'I would've been much happier if I had an affinity for one of those rare elements, like ice and thunder.'

 

It was good that he had an affinity for water, but he had mixed feelings about it.

 

For a split second, he felt someone's gaze, so he turned sideways.
As it turned out, the princess had been staring at him, and noticing his gaze, she quickly looked away.

 

'?'

 

Having lost focus, the ball of water couldn't maintain its shape and splashed to the ground.

 

Professor Garcia nodded.

 

“Yi-han, your next assignment will be to maintain its shape and hold it in place.”

 

“Understood, professor.”

 

Now that he knew how to bring forth water, maintaining its shape by remaining focused didn't sound too difficult, and he replied without putting much thought into it.

 

However, a certain question popped up in his mind.

 

“Professor, for how long do I have to maintain its shape and keep it in place?”

 

“Well, your mana will probably run out before long, so…
ah.
Hmmm…”

 

Normally, a student would run out of mana rather than lose focus, but the boy before him was the polar opposite.
He had so much mana that it couldn't possibly dry out.

 

The professor nodded to himself before readily replying to the question.

 

“Let's say until the end of class!”

 

“…???”

 

Yi-han questioned what he just heard.

 

'Uh…isn't this a punishment?'