The Genius Tamer of the Academy

Chapter 21

Won.

The most reliable ally of the protagonist, Lee Han.

Though he had a carefree and lighthearted personality, he was a versatile and highly capable individual.

With his quick thinking and strong social skills, Won was well-connected within Ardel Academy, keeping Lee Han constantly informed with the latest updates.

On top of that, Won had a naturally good heart, making him a trustworthy person to befriend. He might be the most dependable character in Smart Academy.

Realizing this, I felt my guard lower a bit.

After all, this place is crawling with main characters who would love nothing more than to see me dead.

“Is this your first time living in the dorms?” Won asked.

“Yeah. My grades weren’t good enough last year,” I replied.

Using Han Siha’s history of nearly failing as an excuse, I followed Won outside.

This wasn’t just about learning from the brief snippets in the Smart Academy book—it was a chance to gather more information about Ardel Academy and get familiar with the dorm layout.

“This is the cafeteria. Oh, tomorrow’s special meal is… Fire Boar Leg Salad? Who came up with this crazy menu?”

“…”

“I just hope they stop experimenting on us students. Honestly, it’s better to give up on dorm food; the nutritionist here loves trying new things.”

“No way.”

“Why not?”

Because I’m broke and can’t afford anything else.

The only free meals I have access to are from the dorm cafeteria.

Am I really going to have to survive on meals that look even less appetizing than a bland chicken salad, like Fire Boar Leg Salad?

“Damn it.”

Have I really been disowned by my family?

They should’ve started slipping some money into my pocket by now.

Grumbling to myself, I followed Won to the back of the dorm. The outdoor magic practice field I’d glimpsed on the way in came into view.

“This is where we practice magic shots. Be careful not to walk by when someone is practicing—you could get hit and end up in the infirmary.”

“That sounds pretty dangerous.”

“And there’s more to see…”

The dorm’s expansive layout meant there were plenty of places to explore.

We spent about thirty minutes touring the dorm’s facilities while Won explained everything.

Eventually, Won gestured for us to head back inside.

“We’ve seen enough. Let’s go back.”

Just as we started heading back toward the building…

Whoosh.

A dark shadow began to descend over us.

“Huh? Is it going to rain?” Won looked up, puzzled.

The dark mass in the sky resembled storm clouds, but it was thicker and smokier.

The color of the smog-like cloud grew darker as it drifted through the air above us.

“…!”

Finally, the black smog completely covered the area around the dorm.

The ominous sight was enough to send chills down my spine.

“What the…”

Plop.

Black rain began to fall through the smog.

A rain that instinctively triggered a sense of dread.

Won frowned in confusion.

In all his time at Ardel Academy, he had never seen anything like this.

“What’s going on?”

Won took a step toward the door, intending to check the situation outside.

But before he could, I grabbed his arm.

His legs wobbled as he nearly stepped outside but managed to regain his balance.

“That’s dangerous.”

It all came back to me.

The eerie atmosphere, the black rain soaking the grass—it was all too familiar.

It was just a single line, but I remembered the passage from Smart Academy vividly.

“Damn it.”

[A thick smog engulfed the area, and two students disappeared.]

This was the beginning of the second major episode.

The dorm kidnapping incident.

* * *

Of course, this was no ordinary rain.

As if to prove that, students who hadn’t made it to safety collapsed, screaming in pain as the rain touched their skin.

It was toxic.

That’s why I’d stopped Won from stepping outside.

“Aaaagh!”

Some students limped desperately toward the building’s overhang, while others, paralyzed with fear, simply slumped to the ground outside.

Even though Ardel Academy was known for its exceptional students, most of them couldn’t handle such a situation properly.

A few who managed to keep their wits about them extended helping hands.

“Everyone, get inside!”

“Evacuate, this way!”

“Kyah!”

The dorm had turned into a chaotic mess.

The sight of students shoving each other in a frantic attempt to survive was far from pleasant.

Had we not already been standing under the building’s cover, we likely would have been caught up in that madness.

“What the hell is going on?”

“A curse spell? Could it be?”

“A curse spell?”

But the real problem wasn’t the mysterious smog.

That would dissipate in about five minutes.

Just as I expected, the black smoke that had ominously covered the dormitory was beginning to thin out.

The students suffering from the toxic rain would soon recover in the infirmary.

After all, the smog was just a cover.

As I surveyed the dormitory, where the smog was fading, I swallowed hard.

I knew what was coming next.

Just as I thought, a sharp voice echoed through the dorm.

“Students are missing!”

“What?”

“What do you mean, missing?”

“Who?”

This was the real issue.

Adela from the Magic Department and Solia Arkenent.

Two top students had vanished without a trace.

* * *

“Damn it.”

Adela groaned and cursed under her breath.

Under normal circumstances, she would have cursed even more vehemently, but Solia Arkenent, who valued “proper manners” as much as Selene did, was beside her, so Adela held back.

Instead, she frowned and spoke gruffly.

“Ugh, what are we going to do?”

The two of them were tightly bound by some monstrous tree roots.

These cursed vines…

Adela sighed, remembering the unpleasant memories from the slime dungeon.

As bad as that situation had been, this was worse.

At least back then, she’d had her arms free. Now, there was nothing she could do.

What would Han Siha say if he were here?

Adela frowned as his face suddenly popped into her mind and shook her head.

Why am I thinking about that lazy guy lounging around in the dorms when we’re stuck in this mess?

Adela took a deep breath and faced the reality of their situation.

Before them was a massive, dark baobab tree, eerie enough to send chills down her spine, holding them captive as it slumbered.

Though it hadn’t killed them yet, it didn’t seem likely to let them go anytime soon.

What’s going to happen next?

Would someone come to finish them off?

And if so, for what purpose?

I’m not ready to die yet.

Adela thought bitterly.

She hadn’t lived long enough to accumulate enemies who wanted her dead, nor was she valuable enough for someone to target her. She was just an ordinary student at Ardel, a commoner with no powerful family backing her.

With a bitter smile, Adela took stock of her situation and turned her head toward Solia.

“So, what are we going to do?”

Solia, who had been calmly hanging from the tree as if she belonged there, blinked her golden eyes.

A calm response came from her lips.

“What’s with the calm act? Give up on life or something?”

Adela snapped irritably.

Instead of trying to muster up the strength to escape, all she heard was that disheartening talk.

In her heart, she wanted to pick up the sword lying on the ground and split that giant tree in half.

…Though it was out of reach for now.

“…”

An awkward silence stretched on for several minutes.

Then, Solia, who had been silent, spoke up in a calm voice.

“That tree, it’s weak to light.”

“What?”

Solia slowly looked up at the sky shrouded in darkness.

When they were kidnapped from the dormitory without any explanation, the last thing they had seen was the black smog.

It wasn’t raining the painful drops like it had back then, but there was still a thick fog that obscured their vision. The twisted tree branches, blocking out the sky, only made it worse.

If the sunlight had been able to reach them, it wouldn’t have blocked out the light so completely.

That’s when she had reached her conclusion.

Adela swallowed hard as she realized the odd sense of discomfort she had been feeling.

She had been harsh, thinking Solia was too laid-back, but she had to admit it.

It was a sound analysis.

Adela muttered quietly.

“…You’re right.”

“So, let me handle it.”

The toxic rain that attacked the students, the pain it caused fueling the kidnapping spell.

The method of drawing on the life force of others was clearly black magic.

And the best counter to black magic was…

Light magic.

Specifically, the skill that Solia possessed.

Adela’s eyes lit up with hope at Solia’s confident words.

Yes, with Solia’s purification ability, they could definitely escape this gloomy swamp.

Even though her ability was still at a 2nd-class level, it might work in such a small area.

Solia took a deep breath, clenching her weak fists.

Soon, she began to chant the spell that could cleanse this place, steeped in darkness and evil.

“For the peace of the earth.”

“…”

“For the well-being and blessing of the earth.”

“I command…”

It was at that moment.

Before she could fully activate the spell, thick smog obscured her vision.

[Don’t bother with useless tricks.]

Simultaneously, a voice whispered right next to her ear, reverberating in her mind.

It wasn’t an actual whisper. The black smoke had carried the words on the wind.

A chilling sensation crept down her spine.

The voice, filled with barely contained malice, continued.

[Did you really think it would work? From mere second-year students…]

“Hah…”

The tree branches began to constrict her waist, making it hard to breathe.

The yellow-eyed tree twisted its features into a grotesque grin.

“Gah!”

Solia gagged and gasped for air.

Whatever the cursed tree was thinking, it might just kill them if things didn’t go its way.

The fear of death was clear in her eyes.

[Why not give up instead of playing these cheap tricks?]

“What are you talking about…”

Before Solia could finish her sentence, her head suddenly spun.

“…!”

It felt like someone was manipulating her thoughts.

The menacing voice, now more insidious, whispered again, hiding its true intentions.

The terrifying atmosphere remained unchanged, but…

Solia felt her mind slipping away.

[I’ll make you an offer sweeter than death.]

She couldn’t let herself be swayed.

Solia squeezed her eyes shut, desperately trying not to look, but the illusion had already taken hold.

[I’ll restore your family.]

A family that had crumbled overnight.

Solia had been thrown into Ardel Academy, having lost everything in an instant. She had to survive here if she wanted to reclaim her family.

The kind of money she could never accumulate in a lifetime of living ordinarily.

To achieve that, Solia had tenaciously endured life at Ardel Academy.

But now.

So easily.

Could she really save her family?

[It’s a tempting offer, isn’t it?]

A mental magic designed to precisely reflect desires and ensnare its target.

In a high-level spell that might have already brainwashed another student, Solia’s eyes became glazed.

Realizing this, Adela screamed desperately.

“Are you crazy? Hey, snap out of it!”

“…”

“Does that thing think it’s the only one who’s had a hard life? I… I…!”

Ha.

With Solia, their only hope, now collapsing, Adela’s mouth went dry.

Just as Adela struggled and shouted, the eerie voice echoed from the tree trunk once again.

[I have a proposal for you too…]

“Shut up, you damn tree! If you’re going to make an offer, try coming as a cute little bird next time! I don’t want to hear anything from a filthy, dark tree bark!”

[…]

Maybe if it was a cute dragon like Basilus, that would be different.

No, why was she even thinking of Basilus right now?

Adela bit down on her lower lip hard enough to draw blood.

Maybe it’s because she was on the brink of death, but tears seemed ready to spill over.

If only she could see Basilus one more time before she died…

Then it happened.

“Weak to light, huh?”

An all-too-familiar voice snapped Adela out of her thoughts.

At the sudden sound, the tree turned its head with a cold gaze.

A male student wearing the Ardel Academy uniform.

He hadn’t bothered to kidnap someone who looked so pathetic.

Before the tree’s branches could slash through the air…

Wh-… What?

Aaargh!

A blinding flash of light pierced through the tree’s eye.

It happened in an instant.

What… What is this?! I’ll kill… I’ll kill you all!

As the tree thrashed in agony, Adela’s body was flung into the mud.

Dozens of branches twisted and thrashed wildly in the air.

A perfect attack, striking at the exact moment of vulnerability.

“…That was effective.”

Han Siha chuckled, holding up a large magnifying glass.

The same kind of magnifying glass he used as a child to burn paper.

It wasn’t even a particularly strong light.

He had simply gathered as much sunlight as he could in this dimly lit space.

Where are you! Where did you go?!

This was their last chance.

“Ah… Aah!”

As she struggled to free herself from the branches pinning her down, Adela suddenly felt her body drop from the air.

Slice.

Taking advantage of the confusion, Han Siha had slashed the branches with his sword and gestured at her with a grin.

“All set?”

“Huh… What?”

Thud.

Finally freed, Adela stumbled to her feet in a daze.

Han Siha flashed a smile and whispered.

“Go fight.”

“…!”

Without hesitation, Adela drew her sword.