Mage Academy 6: A LitRPG Magic Academy Light Novel (Imperial Summoner), page 1
Mage Academy 6
An Academy Light Novel
Kal Griffith
Fantasy Unlimited Publishing Group
Copyright © [2025] by [Kal Griffith]
All rights reserved.
No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher or author, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law.
Contents
Important Links
The LitRPG Group
Patreon & Discord
1. Going One Way
2. Clean Out
3. The Journey
4. Clearing The Fortress
5. Who Asked
6. The First Students
7. Lessons
8. Explorer's Warning
9. Dark Mana
10. In Depths
11. Unexpected Arrivals
12. The Secret Library
13. A Search
14. Old Friend
15. Building For Winter
16. Into The Mountains
17. Stone Dungeon
18. Mana Cage
19. Secret Clubhouse
20. Something of It
21. The Last Survivors
22. The Corps Arrives
23. Conflict
24. Secrets in a Notebook
25. Training Dungeon
26. Hidden
27. Left of Of It
28. Lessons In Bounderies
29. Student
30. Struggling Flame
31. The Emperor's Eyes
32. Laboratory
33. The Turning Tide
34. The March North
35. Northern Fortress
36. War Council
37. The Ice Breaks
38. Into the Abyss
39. Wraith in the Depths
40. Mystery Arrival
Important Links
If you want to keep up with my work, associated work, or in general want to get better in touch, join me or my peers in basically any of the following places online.
LitRPG Books on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/LitRPG.books
LitRPG Society on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/LitRPGsociety
LitRPG Releases on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/LitRPGReleases
LitRPG subreddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/litrpg/
6. Webpage – https://fantasyunlimited.org/
The LitRPG Group
"To learn more about LitRPG, talk to authors including myself, and just have an awesome time, please join the LitRPG Group ."
Patreon & Discord
+==============================================================================+
| />======================[ SUPPORT & READ EARLY ]==========================< |
| || || |
| || Patreon: patreon.com/DrewKelly || |
| || Discord: discord.gg/w5uG2hRrtr || |
| || || |
| >=====================< early chapters | polls | extras >=================/ |
+==============================================================================+
Going One Way
"Ascended Mage Daniel Youngblood, present yourself!"
Danny sighed and slowly folded his hands in front of himself. His long, elegant robes of purple and black flowed about him, and he turned to face the immense doors of the Headmaster's Office of the Imperial Academy. His stomach flipped, but he forced down the feeling and slowly strode forward.
As he reached the doors, he placed his palms against the wood, paused once more, and then pushed them open.
A deep, rich air that smelled of smoke and books filtered out, and he slowly walked inside to find himself looking upon a broad desk, behind which sat the Headmaster. The man slowly rose, his black and orange robes seeming to flash dangerously in the low lighting. Outside, through the immense windows of the office, the pale sky was slowly fading to night as the sun sank below the horizon.
Inside, a few small torches flickered softly, casting their dim light on the rows of bookshelves that lined the wall.
"Please, enter." The Headmaster nodded to him.
Danny sighed and slowly walked into the room, glancing at the others in the room. Master Barrydew stood just to the right of the desk, his face downcast. As always, his portly figure stood out among the usually-sallow individuals who filled the halls of the Academy.
To the left stood Lot Silver, tall and proud, his medals for service in the Dungeon War glowing softly. His hair was perfectly arranged, his sharp eyes gazing upon Danny with a harsh indifference. His uniform marked him as belonging to the upper echelons of the Imperial Corps, a noble of truly magnificent status.
"Master Barrydew." Danny bowed his head slightly to his old friend, who flinched slightly. He turned, then bowed with less gusto to Lot. "Lord Silver."
Finally, he turned to the Headmaster, and sighed deeply.
"Father."
Ascended Mage Zechariah Youngblood looked down at his son with the sort of look that only a father could have. His eyes were hard, and yet filled with a sorrow over what was about to happen.
"Headmaster." Zechariah corrected his son. "I'm sorry that it has to come to this."
"Come to what?" Danny crossed his arms.
"You know exactly why we're here." Zechariah motioned for Danny to sit down, and the other three individuals slowly took their seats. Danny didn't move for a moment, then he slowly walked forward and sat down as well.
"You've deliberately ignored Academy regulations, and you've defied my own orders a dozen times over. You had to know that discipline was coming, particularly after last week's incident."
"That was an accident." Danny balled his hands into fists.
"An accident that we warned you would be coming!" Zechariah stood up slightly, then sighed and sat back once more. When he continued, his voice was calmed. "We warned you that you were playing with fire. We told you that it was dangerous, that people would get hurt, and that you needed to desist at once."
"You ignored that order and continued to offer your lessons, and—"
"I am a professor here." Danny shrugged.
"Then why were you holding your classes in the basement?" Zechariah snapped. "If you thought that you were above reproach, you would have been in the courtyard, where you were supposed to be. You knew that you were going behind our backs, you knew that what you were doing was wrong, and yet you continued, and now, three students are in the infirmary and a dozen others were treated for injuries."
"This is war!" Danny snapped.
"We can't—"
"The war is over!" Zechariah roared.
He now climbed to his feet, his face turning red. Flames flickered around his fingertips, and Danny flinched. His father seemed to notice what he was doing, and with a sigh, the flames went out.
He continued again once more, in a calmer voice. "The war is over, Danny. Order has been restored. The Empire is growing stronger. The last thing that we need is upsetting that balance."
"I'm sorry." Danny shrugged and looked down at the ground.
"No, you're not." Zechariah snapped. "And that's the point here. You're not sorry for any of it."
He paused, then slowly reached down and placed his fingers upon his desk. "Tell me, Danny, my son, if you walk out that door, will you do anything differently?"
Danny met his father's gaze, and his mind slowly turned back, over the previous weeks.
The previous years, really.
Would he, truly?
One week earlier.
Danny swept down the hall as fast as he could, making his way through the rebuilt walls of the Academy. Margot slipped up next to him, her own black and orange robes billowing in the air.
"Do you really want to tell everyone here that you're sneaking around behind your father's back?" She raised an eyebrow.
"Slow down."
Danny sighed and slowed, and she chuckled and elbowed him in the side.
"I'm just giving you a hard time. You're doing the right thing."
"I know." Danny grimaced as they started down the stairs toward the old tunnels and dungeons that ran underneath the Academy. None of them functioned as dungeons anymore, not since Danny had destroyed the Dungeon Core in the mega dungeon under the Imperial Capital, but they were still useful. "I just wish that he could see it."
Margot grimaced, and he sighed as they swept down into the depths.
"How are you holding up, by the way?" She asked, glancing over at him. "Since, you know, it's the one-year anniversary of Tracy's death, isn't it?"
Danny grimaced. "Yeah, it is. I don't know, I'm managing."
He paused, and for a moment, his mind turned back over the years. It had been ten years since he had destroyed the dungeon core, ten years since he had become the foremost mage in the nation. He had quickly been granted the title of Ascended Mage and been entered as a Professor at the Academy.
In that time, he had met a commoner named Tracy, and, well, one thing had led to another, and they had been blessed with three children.
Now, she was gone.
"Well, if you need anything, you know I'm here for you." Margot clasped him on the shoulder and gave it a squeeze, then trotted off ahead of him. "Now come on! Let's go get this party started."
Danny chuckled and came along after her,
and they quickly made their way down into the dungeons. Soon, they came to a larger cave that Danny had marked for his classes. A few students were already there, and as he took his place, a few more came quickly along.
Soon, he had ten students standing there, down in the depths, and he smiled.
"Thank you all for coming." Danny slowly began to pace back and forth in front of them. "I'm glad that you're all dedicated to the protection of the realm. Know that, if anything does happen down here, if we get caught, I'll take the blame. None of you need worry about facing the consequences."
They looked back at him. All were adults in their own right, legally at least, and had made the decision to come down.
"As you know, live-summon training has been formally banned in the Academy." Danny continued. "I applaud the teaching of magic theory, combat theory, dungeon theory, and more. I also understand that there are far fewer active dungeons than there once were, and that we no longer need a standing army of soldiers and mages capable of standing against an invasion force."
"That said, I also believe it necessary to continue to train against the beasts, or we risk falling to them the next time that a problem does emerge. Know that these battles, this training that you're undertaking, it isn't just for fun, and it isn't just to make you stronger. This is for the protection of the realm, if not now, then in a hundred years, or a thousand years."
"Whenever it becomes necessary."
All the students nodded. One of them, a budding storm mage named Henry, stepped forward.
"We're ready, Master Youngblood."
"Good." Danny nodded, then slowly walked back to stand against the wall.
"Then let's begin."
He raised his hands, and snapped his fingers.
"Summon three Enraged Rats."
[Monster Summoned: Enraged Rat]
[Quantity: 3]
[Mana Cost per unit: 3]
[Remaining Mana: 10,854/10,863]
With a flash, three enraged rats appeared on the floor. They hissed and sniffed, spinning around. Danny motioned for Henry to come forward.
"These were the very first monsters that I fought, when I was just a student. You shouldn't have any problems with them."
Danny smiled, and he twitched his fingers, making the rats hiss and jump. He was in total control of the beasts, even as the other students drew back in fear. Suddenly, two of the rats darted forward, and Henry drew his sword.
Storm magic blazed down the length of the weapon, causing lightning bolts to leap about, flickering and snapping brilliantly. He slashed the sword through the first rat, knocking it to the side, then spun and stabbed the second one. The third rat shrieked and leapt at him, and Henry raised a hand, firing a concussive blast of magic into the thing's chest.
It was knocked backward across the area, landing with a thud, hissing slightly as smoke drifted up from its fur.
"Not bad." Danny nodded with a smile. "Now, let's increase the difficulty, shall we?"
He snapped his fingers, and a cave goblin appeared. It hissed and leapt at the student, and Henry managed to bat its sword away. They engaged in battle for a few moments, and then he struck it down.
"Good, good! Now, let's do a bit of a team activity." Danny glanced across the group.
"Five of you, shall we say?"
Henry turned and waved at some of his friends, and they slowly came forward. Logan Copper, James Lorick, and some newcomers that he didn't recognize. With that, Danny summoned in a stone golem, which roared loudly as it looked at its opponents.
"See what you can do with that!"
The five students charged at it, and Danny crossed his arms, making the golem move slowly and with precision. The students knew how to fight together well, if they were a little slow and a bit more sloppy than he would have liked. He made the golem spin to knock Henry in the legs, and Henry yelped as he narrowly spun out of the way.
"Good, good!" Danny called out. "Now, try attacking in turns! You need to focus your attacks, you need to—"
He paused as the ground began to rumble, though it stopped after a moment. The golem snarled and spun, whacking one of the students in the chest and tossing him across the floor. The student, James, hit the ground hard, though only enough to stun him.
He sat up and gritted his teeth.
Then, with a loud crack, a stone came tumbling down from the ceiling and landed on James's legs. He screamed, and a second stone came crashing down and obliterated the golem.
"It's a collapse!" Margot screamed.
"Everyone out, now!"
Danny nodded and snapped his fingers, summoning a much larger golem that rose up, bracing itself against the ceiling. By now, though, cracks were exploding through the ceiling. Danny ran over and pulled the rock off James's leg, and Henry came to his side and helped.
James groaned as he climbed to his feet, and they started running off, though with another crash, a great deal more stone came down. Dust filled their vision, and Henry screamed in pain.
Something hit Danny in the back, and he stumbled and fell.
"I would do nothing different." Danny answered his father after a moment, lifting his eyes. "I'm sorry, Father, but I don't think I caused that collapse."
"Then what did?" Zechariah laughed. "You're telling me that it just happened to collapse while you were down there?"
"Or someone else caused it to collapse." Danny pressed.
"So someone tried to kill you?"
"Or wanted to frame us." Danny shrugged.
"To frame you would imply that there was no fault." Zechariah snapped. He leaned forward. "The fact of the matter, Danny, is that you've become a liability to this Academy. Were this the first time, I could forgive it, and even now, the Emperor is strongly advising me against your expulsion, but this is it."
"I have to set an example, or else there will be professors rising up left and right across the Academy, all furthering their own agendas."
"You're really going to do this?" Danny murmured.
"I am." Zechariah nodded. "You retain the title of Ascended Mage, but you are no longer a professor at this Academy. You will have access to Academy grounds for one week to clean out your office, but then, you will be required to leave."
Danny looked at his father for a long moment, then sighed and nodded.
"I'm sorry, Headmaster. I'll be gone within a few days."
As he turned away, Master Barrydew spoke up.
"What will you do?"
"I don't know." Danny shrugged and glanced back at his old friend. He flashed a weary smile, then sighed and slowly walked out.
"I guess it's time to find out."
Auto save - [Savefile: Information]
Health: 100%
Mana: 100%
Quest: Figure out what to do next
Location: Headmaster's Office
Inventory: Ascended Mage Robes, Crystal Sword, Writing tools
Skills: Monster Summoner (Lv. 100), Flame Combat (Lv. 25), Wind Combat (Lv. 25), Ice Combat (Lv. 10)
Relationships: Complicated Bond with Headmaster Zechariah, Complicated with Master Barrydew, Antagonistic with Lord Silver
Time of Day: 9:28 p.m.
Clean Out
The next several days were chaotic ones for Danny. Cleaning out his office didn't take him all that long, as he had never been much of a pack rat. There were plenty of old books that he rather liked, and a few trinkets from his travels and battles, including a massive green scale that had been taken from the body of the dragon down in the dungeon beneath the city.
Otherwise, most of it was little more than papers and inks and blotting paper and that sort of thing. All of it was packed into wagons and taken back to his mansion.
Through it all, a great deal of correspondence went back and forth between himself and just about everyone else in the city. Military commanders wanted to know how it would affect the safety of the city, old professors expressed their regret, and even the Emperor had a good bit to say about the matter.
A week after his expulsion, Danny found himself standing in a small cemetery on the edge of town, tucked amidst the towering homes and buildings, just behind a grand Cathedral. He knelt down, and ran his fingers along the name of Tracy Youngblood.
