I Became a Terminally Ill Magic Genius at the Academy

Professor Leodvan continued his explanation.

“Our magic ultimately originates from imagination. And imagination stems from one’s experiences.”

In other words, the more experiences you have, the more you can imagine.

In the end, painting magic involved casting spells by expressing your imagination through drawings.

If one could remember and recall details vividly, he could cast magic more easily.

“Drawing events you’ve experienced in the past helps you remember them more clearly. Don’t feel pressured; just draw comfortably.”

At Professor Leodvan’s words, the students began to pick up their pencils one by one.

Yohan did the same.

Although the theme ‘The moment you first encountered magic’ was quite broad and, in fact, a bit abstract…

‘But from the professor’s standpoint, it’s a pretty good theme to understand the students.’

In the original work, Professor Leodvan also gave the same theme in the first class.

Cedric drew and submitted a picture of Serhen appearing amidst flames, which became an episode that allowed readers to learn more about Cedric’s past.

The reason Cedric frequently used fire-attribute magic afterward was because the memory he recalled most vividly included fire.

Yohan looked down at the blank drawing paper and pondered what to draw.

‘Feels like it’s been a long time since I had to think about something like this.’

When he was working as a webtoon artist, Kang Ji-hoon used to think every day about what to draw.

There were certainly concerns about how to develop the webtoon’s story, but he always started by drawing a simple sketch to keep his skills sharp before starting his work.

He always used to think about what to draw that day.

It was the first time he was having this thought since he had been reincarnated into this place.

After a brief contemplation, he lifted his pencil.

“Magic, huh.”

The magic being referred to here would literally mean the magic used at Arcana Academy.

Then, what Yohan should draw here would be the scene where he met his tutor Austin and watched him casting magic.

However, the scene that came to Yohan’s mind was not that.

The scene that flashed strongly in his mind was the moment when Kang Ji-hoon first entered university.

At that time, for the first time, Kang Ji-hoon felt that life was quite worth living.

Continuing his life in the orphanage, he had entered a technical high school to save money.

Even amidst that, he didn’t give up on drawing and worked tirelessly to get into an art college.

Moreover, he got into Hanguk University, which was always among the top three art colleges.

‘I remember I laughed like a madman.’

An orphanage kid who didn’t even come from an arts high school but from a technical high school got into Hanguk University’s art college.

It was truly a miracle, like magic itself.

Yohan smiled subtly and calmly moved his pencil.

The composition was the back view of Kang Ji-hoon entering the school’s main gate.

Of course, since he couldn’t draw Hanguk University, he changed the background to Arcana Academy.

It wasn’t a difficult thing to do.

Wasn’t Arcana Academy originally a place that Yohan had drawn himself?

Thanks to that, his pencil moved without hesitation.

Swish. Swish.

Scratch. Scratch.

As other students also began to draw, the classroom was filled only with the sound of pencils.

Yohan meticulously depicted the main gate of Arcana Academy.

Rather than trying to maximize a three-dimensional feel, he drew while recalling the moment he entered Hanguk University.

After all, wasn’t he depicting a ‘magical moment,’ not actual magic?

Yohan decided to comfortably draw whatever he wanted.

How much time had passed like that?

Yohan stopped his pencil.

The completed drawing was a combination of 2D and 3D styles.

He intentionally drew Arcana Academy in a flat, two-dimensional manner.

Even so, he didn’t neglect the details and captured them well. 

After all, Arcana Academy was a place that appeared in Yohan’s webtoon.

He drew it comfortably in a flat style rather than making it excessively three-dimensional.

Instead, he expressed himself—through his back view—with as much depth as possible.

This was an effort not to forget his former self.

‘Although I’ve enrolled in Arcana Academy and possessed the body of Yohan Hart…’

He was still Kang Ji-hoon.

As he quietly gazed at the drawing he had made, he set down his pencil with a gentle smile.

And then.

“Student Yohan Hart?”

“Yes, professor.”

“Could you explain your drawing a bit?”

Professor Leodvan gulped hard as he asked.

Yohan hesitated for a moment under the expectant gaze of Professor Leodvan and then opened his mouth.

“What kind of explanation would you like…?”

“To me, it looks like Arcana Academy.”

“Yes. It’s Arcana Academy.”

Since it was obviously Arcana Academy, Yohan nodded immediately.

“And this is yourself, Student Yohan Hart?”

“That’s correct.”

Strictly speaking, it was Kang Ji-hoon, but it would be odd to say otherwise here.

Besides, since he was both Kang Ji-hoon and Yohan Hart, it wasn’t wrong.

“But I’m curious why the drawing styles of the academy and yourself are different.”

At this point, Yohan pondered for a moment about how to answer.

And he decided to just answer honestly.

“Because they are beings from different worlds.”

He had drawn the academy in the style he used in his webtoon.

When drawing himself as Kang Ji-hoon, he tried to express that he was a being from another world.

Of course, there was no way Professor Leodvan could fully understand that.

“So, the academy and what’s outside are ultimately different?”

“Uh, yes. Well. That’s right.”

“Excellent.”

Professor Leodvan grasped Yohan’s hand.

——-

Leodvan Othello.

He was someone who genuinely loved art.

People of the current generation tended to excessively disregard art, but wasn’t art the very foundation of the painting magic that everyone used?

‘A foundation literally means that it forms the basis.’

But people failed to realize this and used drawings merely for casting magic.

Considering drawing as just one element was an insult to art itself.

‘Well, that much could be understandable, but still…’

The problem was that countless people considered ‘drawings other than used for magic’ as worthless.

It was a good thing that more people could use magic more conveniently through painting magic.

However, the fact that other drawings were losing their value because of it was a terrible thing.

Not only the older generations but also the freshmen thought similarly.

No matter how much he emphasized the importance of art, most students just went along and mechanically moved their pencils.

Since that was the kind of education they had received from a young age, even Professor Leodvan couldn’t completely change their way of thinking.

He just felt sorry for the students who wouldn’t take art classes as soon as they advanced to the second year.

‘Still, I should teach what I can to the best of my ability.’

Leodvan Othello walked around the classroom, observing the drawings the students were creating.

His steps stopped in front of Yohan Hart.

‘Hmm?’

As mentioned earlier, today’s mages didn’t consider art to be that important.

And that trait was especially prominent among noble mages.

It was unavoidable due to environmental factors.

Hungry commoners simply didn’t have the luxury to think about the importance of art.

‘But nobles are different.’

Most nobles were mages and wanted their children to become excellent mages.

Naturally, the unique education of nobles was imposed…

As a result, they focused more on becoming proficient at drawing magic circles rather than having the leisure to draw pictures.

The more privileged they were, the stronger this tendency became, and naturally, the four great families of the empire didn’t consider art to be that important.

‘The Hart family is the same.’

All the members of the Hart family that Leodvan Othello had seen so far were excellent mages, but it was difficult to call them great artists.

Leodvan Othello, a half-elf who had lived for over 150 years.

Three members of the Hart family had passed through his hands.

Including Yohan Hart now, that made four in total.

The previous three had submitted different magic circles for the theme ‘The moment you first encountered magic.’

In other words, they had drawn the magic circles they first came across.

But.

‘What is this?’

Yohan Hart was drawing something that could truly be called a picture.

And not just any picture; a truly excellent one.

In the background stood Arcana Academy.

Usually, when people drew Arcana Academy, they tended to emphasize its grandeur, but Yohan did the opposite.

‘Is he saying it’s just a picture?’

He could have increased the density to maximize a three-dimensional effect, but Yohan deliberately reduced the sense of depth, depicting Arcana Academy in a flat, two-dimensional style.

In other words, he depicted it to look like an actual drawing.

That doesn’t mean he merely captured its main features.

He meticulously illustrated all the detailed parts.

‘To capture this level of detail, you’d have to set up a canvas right in front of the academy’s main gate and draw.’

But to produce this level of work just by drawing from memory in the classroom?

Moreover, Yohan wasn’t someone who had frequented the academy’s main gate for years.

The only time Yohan Hart had faced the academy’s main gate was just once—when he enrolled.

“Huh.”

Does he have an exceptional memory, or is he highly observant…?

‘No. If you look closely, there are slight differences here and there.’

Some parts seemed older, and some elements that should be there were missing.

But regardless, what mattered was that Yohan had perfectly depicted Arcana Academy.

That wasn’t all.

‘That’s probably a drawing of himself from behind.’

But it wasn’t the figure of a student.

What Yohan Hart had drawn was the back of a fully grown adult man.

He must have drawn himself, so expressing himself as an adult must carry personal significance.

In the end, Professor Leodvan couldn’t help but ask Yohan a question.

“Student Yohan Hart?”

“Yes, professor.”

“If you don’t mind, could you explain your drawing?”

And upon hearing Yohan’s ensuing explanation, Professor Leodvan couldn’t help but be genuinely impressed.

Ultimately, he reached out and firmly grasped both of Yohan’s hands.

“I advise a club here at the academy…”

Professor Leodvan’s eyes sparkled more than ever as he encouraged Yohan to join the club.