Becoming a Magic School Mage

Chapter 1

I’m never going to grad school again. I’m going to start living for myself now!

As he completed his grueling graduate program, the Korean Ehan resolved that he’d never set foot anywhere with “school” in its name ever again. But little did he know, life had other plans.

It wasn’t long before Ehan died in an unfortunate accident and, as fate would have it, was reborn into House Wardanaz, a family of mages in another world.

Fifteen years after that, today was Ehan’s first day at Einrogard, the best school of magic in the empire.

* * *

When Ehan was reborn into House Wardanaz, his emotions quickly progressed from shock to amazement, and finally to acceptance. Fortunately, House Wardanaz held a great deal of power within the empire. Ehan’s father, the head of House Wardanaz, was a man important enough to be acquainted with the emperor, and the Wardanaz manor was the very picture of luxury.

At this point, Ehan couldn’t help but wonder, Is this repayment for going through grad school in my past life? Here he’d be able to live a cushy life without having to lift a finger!

Or so he thought. It turned out that being a Wardanaz wasn’t as easy as it seemed.

“Ehan Wardanaz.”

“Yes, my lord.”

“What is your goal in life?”

Ehan silently considered his response. Can I say, “I want to laze around doing nothing my whole life”? It didn’t seem like a very good answer.

“Perhaps it was an unnecessary question. I suppose the answer is obvious.”

“Pardon?”

“I am sure you must be aware of your talents.”

“Excuse me?”

“You must know the rules of House Wardanaz. The firstborn inherits everything of the house.”

“What???”

Those last words in particular were a bit of a huge shock. The firstborn inherited everything? Did that mean the rest would get nothing?

“My lord. Then does that mean I won’t be getting anything?”

“That is not the case, Ehan Wardanaz.”

Thank goodness.

“Our house will give you every opportunity to succeed. If you wish to become a knight, it will find the most accomplished knight there is to train you, and if you wish to become a government official, it will offer you the chance to learn from the chancellor of this empire. Or say you want to become a merchant. We will grant you the opportunity to work for the owner of the greatest trading company in the empire. While you remain a member of this house, we will provide you with every opportunity you could possibly wish for!”

Can’t you just give me all that in cash?! The monetary value of just the examples he’d mentioned alone was sure to be astronomical. The rules of this house were completely unreasonable.

Damn it. If only I’d been born first, I could’ve had everything handed to me on a silver platter. Ehan regretted his laziness in being born third.

The firstborn would inherit everything, but everyone after would have to fend for themselves. Thanks to that, Ehan had needed to think long and hard from an early age about what he should be to scratch out a good living for himself: government official, merchant, knight, adventurer...

On the bright side, even though no children besides the firstborn could inherit, the family did support the rest of them in other ways. They could learn whatever they wished, and every door was open to them.

In the end, Ehan’s career choice was “mage.”

Ehan’s father, Lord Wardanaz, had been very pleased. “I knew that would be the case. You must have noticed your potential as well.”

What? I only picked mage because it’s the most stable profession. It was indeed a very secure career: the profession was respected by all in the empire, and considered respectable even for a noble. As long as a mage was skilled, they’d always be in demand, as knightages, adventurers’ guilds, and even imperial officials all required a constant supply of them.

“Go to Einrogard. Come into your own among countless other aspiring mages. Your experiences there will complete you.”

Einrogard was the greatest of all the empire’s magical academies, the most influential, and the richest in history. The school’s name alone held a great deal of sway, meaning that simply graduating from Einrogard guaranteed one a certain level of prestige.

But of course, that was hardly enough for most. Students strove to rack up impressive achievements, catch the attention of professors for recommendation letters, and forge connections with peers, as being the empire’s top magic school meant that Einrogard was also its greatest networking site. Even Ehan, who’d bitterly vowed never to set foot anywhere like grad school ever again, had no choice but to go without a fuss.

“Yes, my lord. I will.”

Fine. I’ll just grit my teeth and graduate... I’ll think of it as an investment in my future.

* * *

The old knight Alarlong gave Ehan a respectful salute. “Lord Ehan Wardanaz.”

“Thanks for escorting me here.”

“It was nothing.”

Alarlong was a knight of House Wardanaz. Though he wouldn’t normally need to take part in an assignment as rudimentary as taking Ehan to school, he’d volunteered to escort him from the capital all the way to Einrogard due to his close relationship with Ehan.

“I never expected you to come all this way just because you were the one who taught me swordsmanship.”

“That is not the reason, Lord Ehan. I merely stepped forward to ensure none can disrespect the name of House Wardanaz.”

“Sure. Either way, I appreciate it.” Ehan smiled in the face of Alarlong’s sternness. He knew what the old knight was really like. As strict and serious as he was, he was also thoughtful and considerate. He must’ve volunteered to accompany Ehan out of worry for him.

Alarlong coughed sheepishly when he noticed Ehan's smile. “Ahem. To tell you the truth, I was happy when you asked me to teach you the sword, Lord Ehan.”

House Wardanaz was a family of mages, so not many of its members went out of their way to learn swordsmanship. Ehan had bucked the trend for two reasons: First, he reasoned that any skill he learned would probably become useful one day. Swordsmanship in particular would be handy for defending himself. And the second reason was... He was bored to tears.

Surprisingly, House Wardanaz didn’t teach its children a lick of magic.

“You cannot learn magic until you turn fifteen. It is far too dangerous!”

In this world, fifteen was around the time you were considered an adult. Magic was the most difficult and dangerous field of study there was, so it was understandable for it to be off-limits until adulthood. Of course, Ehan, who was mentally much older than that, found this very unfair.

“Do you see, my lord? The other students from noble families have also traveled here escorted by guards to keep up appearances.”

“That... seems a bit overboard, though?”

Ehan was baffled by the parade of carriages filling up the main road. It seemed to him that arriving with ten carriages and dozens of cavalrymen was a bit much. The nobility were always trying to one-up each other by flaunting their wealth, and even a short trip somewhere called for all levels of extravagance, but Ehan hadn’t thought they’d go all out like this just to send a kid off to school. And most importantly...

“I thought students weren’t allowed to bring guards, attendants, servants, or slaves with them into the school?”

“That is correct,” Alarlong confirmed.

Einrogard was an old school with deep-rooted traditions, one of which was its dedication to equality. From princes to slaves, all were welcome to attend—provided they came alone. Even if a student arrived with a whole entourage in tow, they would have to leave them behind and enter the gates alone.

“Some will likely continue to wait in a village nearby.”

“That seems a bit extreme,” Ehan said in disbelief.

It had been fifteen years since he had been reborn into this world, but so much about the mindset of the nobles remained incomprehensible to him. How could it possibly make sense for them to wait in a nearby town when the students were unlikely to leave Einrogard’s large campus more than once a month?

“I asked around just now, and apparently they’ve already bought several buildings in the area. There are even some in the surrounding villages that have been sold from generation to generation for that purpose.”

“I don’t need any of that, Sir Alarlong,” Ehan said.

“But we’ve already bought a small mansion ourselves...?”

Ehan said nothing, but cursed inwardly. If they had the money for that, they could just save it and give it to him later! Why was it okay to splurge on useless luxuries, but not to give it to him?? House Wardanaz’s rules were so illogical.

“This place is far from the capital, Young Master Ehan. Nobles must be prepared for emergencies,” Alarlong explained.

“I see. How reliable.” Ehan mounted his horse. Some of the students were entering in carriages, but he thought going through the gates on horseback would be less of a hassle. I’ll be here all day if I have to wait for all the carriages to pass first. “Well, then. Thanks again for escorting me, Sir Alarlong.”

“Think nothing of it, Lord Ehan. It was an honor to serve you.” Alarlong was sincere. Out of all the members of House Wardanaz, it was Ehan, who was both serious and humble, that Alarlong liked most. “You should know that Lord Wardanaz has praised your talent as well.”

“You don’t have to make things up just to give me a boost, but thanks all the same,” Ehan said.

“No, it’s the truth...”

* * *

Einrogard was located far from the capital, where the imperial palace was located. It was said that its site had been chosen due to the high concentration of magical energy in the land there, and the rich natural landscape around the school seemed to bear that out.

A vast mountain range stretched out behind the school, while a large winding river flowed next to it. When Ehan closed his eyes, it was like he could feel nature’s boundless mana in the air.

“This... This is wrong.”

Ehan shot a quizzical look at the boy next to him who’d just spoken. In this world, it was easy to judge a person’s social rank by their clothes. This boy’s jacket was richly adorned with silk and gold embroidery, and his hands and face were smooth. It was clear that he was from a noble family. Should I call for someone to help him? He was deathly pale and trembling, so clearly there was something wrong. Could it be a magic-related problem?

“What is it? Are you all right?” he asked.

“I... I...” the boy stammered.

“Yes, what’s the matter?” Ehan pressed.

“I can’t... fall asleep without my servants...”

Ehan had to stop himself from taking a swing at him. You little...

It was such a trivial problem that Ehan regretted wasting any energy whatsoever worrying about him, but it seemed it was a big deal to the boy.

“I can’t believe they told us not to bring our servants. Those servants are my hands and feet! Isn’t this like asking me to cut my hands and feet off?!”

“I see. How logical.” Ehan wasn’t really paying attention, but the boy took his halfhearted agreement as encouragement.

“Right? I’d better go raise a complaint.”

“About what...?”

“I’ll insist they let the servants in! I swear on my family’s honor, this is an injustice!” the boy exclaimed.

“All right. Good luck with that,” Ehan said. He doubted Einrogard would break a tradition that was thousands of years old for a single boy, but he decided not to try disabusing the boy of his delusion. After all, it wasn’t like Ehan was the one doing the complaining. Besides, he was curious. How would the mages of Einrogard handle this?

The boy scurried off, then returned soon after with a dazed expression on his face. Hm?

“I repent, I repent, I repent.”

Ehan was shocked. Mental manipulation magic! Given the boy’s trance-like mumbling, it was clear that he’d been hit with some sort of enthrallment or control spell. The magic itself didn’t surprise him, as he’d heard of its existence—he was just stunned that the school’s mages had used it without hesitation on a noble child.

He was starting to be wary of the other rumors he’d heard before arriving. Surely it can’t be true that they just bury anyone who dies in the mountains behind the school?

“Welcome to Einrogard.”

A voice rang out, seeming to be speaking directly into everyone’s minds rather than out loud, and the doors to the school swung open with a bang.

“Enter, metalheads!”

The new students all scrunched up their faces—not because they were insulted by what the voice had just called them, but because their magical potential allowed them to sense the overwhelming pressure of the magic energy radiating off the spellwork cast on Einrogard.

Was this what it felt like to stare directly at the sun?

Was this what it felt like to fight a giant unarmed?

Ehan heard a horse whinny. It appeared one of the students who’d come all this way by carriage was attempting to ride it into school grounds.

“You were told to arrive unaccompanied.”

Suddenly, the carriage vanished into thin air, the noble girl inside tumbling to the ground with a yell. A dozen carriages had disappeared at once, the cries of the boys and girls dumped into the dirt echoing through the air.

“Don’t worry, metalheads! Even if you try to skirt the rules, this school will make you obey them.”

A few as quick on the uptake as Ehan stiffened, realizing how well-deserved the school’s fearsome reputation really was.

“Get a move on! Enter! Enter! Enter!”

The students were dumbstruck.

* * *

Ehan had always been in the habit of observing the world around him, a habit that had only worsened after being sent to a different world. When everything he saw was novel and exciting, of course it made observation fun. And right now, there were easily more than a hundred new students gathered here in all different styles of dress: princes and princesses, nobles, knights, priests, merchants, adventurers, and paupers, all already starting to break off into small groups. After all, connections were crucial for the long school years that lay ahead.

“Ehan of House Wardanaz?”

“That’s right. I’m surprised you recognized me even without my family’s coat of arms,” Ehan said.

As part of the school’s tradition of promoting equality, it was prohibited for anyone to wear clothes displaying their family crest. Not to say there weren’t still ways to identify others—Ehan himself had already spotted some royals and nobles he’d seen before.

Before him was a girl with vibrantly red shoulder-length waves, her eyes curved into a gentle smile. “I’m Yonehr. Yonehr Maykin.”

House Maykin was another mage family that was pretty well-known within the empire. The only difference between their families was that House Maykin was a bit more actively involved in politics, while House Wardanaz was more reclusive, its head often ignoring summons from the emperor himself to hole up at home for his research.

“Nice to meet you, Yonehr. Did you need something?” Ehan asked.

“His Highness wants to see you,” the Maykin girl said, pointing behind her to where the most elaborately dressed boy of everyone here was standing, waving to Ehan.