The Genius Tamer of the Academy

Chapter 25

Blink.

I thought I might have imagined it, so I closed my eyes again.

But when I opened them, the result was the same.

Solia Arkenent, with her sparkling golden eyes, was staring at me with an unreadable expression.

Even in my groggy state, I managed to speak.

“What are you… staring at so intently?”

“Uh…”

Solia’s eyes widened in surprise, and she quickly averted her gaze.

If I had to pick my favorite character from Smart Academy, it would be Solia Arkenent.

So, I knew a lot about her. She was an endlessly kind and pure character.

Unlike Adela, Solia was quite shy.

If someone like her was hesitating and sneaking glances at me like that, it was probably because of what happened yesterday.

Maybe she wanted to thank me for saving her life.

Solia swallowed nervously and stammered.

“It’s nothing really… um, it’s just that… suddenly, I remembered something from the past…”

Seeing her flustered like that, I couldn’t help but want to tease her a little.

I flashed a grin and threw out a blunt question.

“Do you think I’m that good-looking?”

“W-What are you talking about?”

Honestly, with this face, it wouldn’t be too shameless to say something like that.

I stretched and gave her a playful smile.

“I’ll wear myself out at this rate. Seriously, the popularity I have…”

Crack.

The usual gentle smile on Solia’s face froze into something cold.

“That’s not what I meant!”

It was rare to see Solia raise her voice like this.

For someone who usually maintained such overwhelming composure, seeing her lose her cool made me want to tease her even more.

I raised my hands in mock surrender.

“Relax, it’s always like this. Look, I’m not the only one.”

“…?”

“Those girls over there are staring too.”

“Kyaaaah!”

The moment I waved, I got an immediate reaction.

Solia blushed as she glanced at the group of girls sitting further away.

“You’re embarrassing me… seriously…”

She mumbled, lowering her head onto her desk.

“Solia! Solia!”

“….”

“Okay, okay, I’ll stop teasing. Sorry, sorry.”

I apologized cautiously.

She was definitely upset.

I might have read all about Solia in text form, but I knew she had disliked Han Siha.

If I were her, I’d want to punch someone I didn’t like if they were acting all narcissistic about their looks.

Even with her gentle personality, I didn’t know what kind of consequences might arise if I upset the main character.

I poked Solia, who was now completely red-faced and lying on her desk.

“Come on, get up.”

“…I don’t want to!”

Yep, she was definitely pissed.

It was a mistake brought on by a sense of familiarity that only I felt.

I was trying to keep Adela’s mouth in check, but here I was, picking a fight with Solia.

No wonder the prophecy said I was twisting the world with my actions.

It’s already a mess since the prophecy was made, but still.

I’m really worried now.

And at that moment—

Bang!

Before I could clean up the mess I’d made, the noisy classroom suddenly went silent.

Step, step.

A man with kind eyes, wearing round, thin glasses perched on the tip of his nose, walked up to the podium, holding a staff.

“Good morning, everyone.”

“Good morning, Professor!”

It was Professor Ernst, the instructor for Monster Anatomy.

He was quite famous at Ardel Academy for being particularly attentive to his students.

* * *

“Understanding the habits of monsters is crucial. It’s what allows you to turn an unwinnable fight into a possible one by knowing how to respond in a crisis.”

Professor Ernst surveyed the students with a warm smile.

His clear diction and passionate lecture had some of the model students sitting up straight, fully engaged in the class.

Most of the others, however, were nodding off one by one to his soothing voice.

“The way monsters attack their vulnerable environments… A good mage knows how to exploit every minor weakness to deal damage. A straightforward fight isn’t always the answer.”

Having finished his brief introduction, Professor Ernst got straight to the point.

“The subject you’ll be studying this semester is Monster Anatomy, the study of identifying the most effective points to target for maximum damage.”

“Yes, Professor!”

“While this isn’t a course that teaches you direct combat techniques, it will be very helpful in the field. It’s the foundation of all other subjects.”

Swish. Swish.

As Professor Ernst sketched an image of a Hellhound on the blackboard, he played with the leather gloves in his hands and asked the students a question.

“Have you all heard of a core?”

“Yes, Professor!”

The core was the magical nucleus of a monster.

Not every student in the magic department was aiming to become a mage. Some, lacking either the money or the talent, might choose to become adventurers.

In fact, Monster Anatomy was an essential subject for adventurers.

The core of a rare monster, which condensed magic, could be sold for a hefty price.

For adventurers, this was an important source of income, so I’d heard that they even learned specialized techniques for dismantling cores.

Mages, too, studied cores as a prerequisite for understanding the basics of mana circuits.

“The core is the concentration of a monster’s magic. Finding it and striking it is important because it’s usually the weak point. And…”

Professor Ernst, in the middle of his explanation, seemed to notice that nearly half of the students were dozing off. He stopped writing on the board and asked,

“Isn’t it boring just listening to theory?”

“…Excuse me?”

“Shall we move straight to practical work?”

What? Practical work on the first day?

The students began to murmur among themselves, but Professor Ernst just kept smiling serenely.

As expected…

“Dissecting a Hellhound core is easy enough. Come on, everyone should be able to do it, right?”

Professors are always like this—asking if you can do something even though they haven’t taught you anything.

The classroom fell into an uncomfortable silence, broken only by the occasional sighs.

Professor Ernst chuckled softly and added something even scarier.

“Ha ha, I’m worried you’ll all find it too easy and get it right on the first try.”

No way, that’s impossible.

Just look at the students’ faces.

“Since it’s your first time, it might be tough to do it alone. So, how about we pair up in groups of two? What do you think?”

“Professor, does this count towards our evaluation?”

A clear, confident voice asked, and Professor Ernst smiled in satisfaction as he answered.

“Of course it does.”

But you haven’t taught us anything!

Not a single thing!

Two-person teams… and it counts toward our grades.

My spine tingled with dread from the very first day. Professor Ernst, oblivious to the students’ grim expressions, continued speaking.

“Ha ha, I’ve already assigned the pairs, so check your assignments and we’ll dive right into it next class.”

Zap!

Ardel Academy’s advanced system activated.

As Professor Ernst fiddled with the lectern, a holographic display appeared, showing the pairs.

After checking who my partner was, I frowned and quickly turned my head.

Solia, who had been slumped over her desk, rubbed her eyes and sat up.

At the same time, our eyes met.

“Huh…?”

“15. Solia – Han Siha”

Why did it have to be you and me?

* * *

Of all people, it had to be Han Siha.

Solia held the knife with a troubled expression. In front of her lay a Hellhound, its eyes closed as if it had just died.

This wasn’t her first time dissecting a core. She had seen it done over someone’s shoulder when she was younger.

Solia had explored numerous dungeons since childhood.

So, even with Professor Ernst’s sudden practical evaluation, she was confident.

The problem was her partner, Han Siha.

A guy who probably had never even set foot in a proper dungeon.

‘He definitely won’t be able to do it.’

Someone who had grown up sheltered like him would never have tried something like this.

And besides…

‘Do you think I’m that good-looking?’

If he was the kind of narcissist who would say something like that, all the more reason.

Her first impression of him hadn’t been great, and her second impression wasn’t any better.

He hadn’t changed a bit from when they were kids.

Solia bit her lower lip and shook her head.

‘Stop thinking about that. I need to focus on the evaluation right now.’

Professor Ernst had a unique evaluation method. This practical wasn’t something both people could do at the same time.

“Ha ha, you’ll need to work well with your partner.”

Each person had 15 minutes to work in turns.

While one was working, the other could only give advice—they couldn’t do anything else. So, ideally, you should finish your part during your turn.

“You want to go first?”

“Yeah.”

“Go ahead, good luck!”

Fortunately, Han Siha seemed to know his limits and willingly let her take the first turn, the most crucial one.

Solia looked down at the Hellhound with a determined expression.

“Alright, then let’s begin!”

Ding.

The cheerful sound of the bell signaled the start of the practical.

At once, Solia quickly grabbed hold of the Hellhound’s neck.

Though its hide was thick, she figured she could make a good start within the first 15 minutes if she made a few cuts.

Having estimated her approach, Solia set to work.

She gripped the knife and began to slice into the Hellhound’s abdomen.

But then—

What was that?

“Ah, that’s not how you do it…”

She kept hearing something annoying.

And it was right in her ear.

“Oh, come on. You’re supposed to use a blade, not that blunt knife… Do you think you can cut anything with that?”

Muttering.

“If you stab it like that, you’ll wreck the core, not just the rest.”

“You’re holding the blade wrong. Who are you trying to kill?”

Solia whipped her head around to glare at Han Siha.

“No, no, that’s fine.”

Finally, Han Siha, who had been muttering nonstop, waved his hands apologetically and clapped with a smile.

“You’re doing great. Keep going, good luck!”

That… that guy….

Solia was a Light Mage and a master of purification.

She was known for her remarkable composure compared to her peers.

Even during the dorm kidnapping incident, she hadn’t lost her calm in the face of danger.

So why was she starting to lose it now?

“Oh, wow… That’s not… Oof! You almost cut out one of the organs.”

“….”

“Phew… This is too intense. It’s just a dissection, not surgery. Why does it feel like you’re killing the dog twice?”

“Back in my day, if you did it like that, you’d be held back a year.”

I can’t concentrate.

Solia looked at Han Siha with a newfound intensity.

“Be quiet.”

“Okay.”

By now, the Hellhound’s ribs were exposed.

The core should be underneath, so all she had to do was remove the ribs safely.

The process wasn’t going perfectly, just as Han Siha had criticized, but this was still faster than most other teams.

Most of them were still struggling with the initial steps.

It seems like Han Siha’s nagging…

Might have helped a little.

‘It’s probably just my imagination.’

Solia convinced herself it was just a coincidence.

Still, since he seemed to know a little bit about it with the way he was running his mouth, maybe she could trust him with the next part.

Solia took a deep breath and steadied her hand.

‘But seriously, he’s so annoying!’

Standing there with his arms crossed, giving advice from the sidelines.

Well, it was true that the practical rules didn’t allow him to do anything else while it wasn’t his turn.

“If it were me, I wouldn’t have done it that way.”

“Yeah, I definitely wouldn’t have done it that way.”

This is really getting on my nerves.

Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to throw away a bit of her usual composure.

Han Siha, noticing Solia’s growing irritation, leaned in with a frown.

“Surely… you’re not planning to break those ribs with your hands, are you?”

“I am.”

Fwoosh.

Blue mana flared up at Solia’s fingertips.

Han Siha panicked and urgently tried to stop her.

“Hey, you’ll hurt yourself! Who tries to break bones with their hands? Do you really think that’s gonna—wait, what? You’re actually doing it?”

Crack.

Crack.

Crack.

“…Should I just break them all?”

As Solia began to shatter the Hellhound’s ribs one by one, feeling the urge to crush Han Siha’s spine instead, his face grew paler and paler.

Crack.

Crack.

“Is this… actually working?”

Ding.

Just then, the bell signaling the end of the 15 minutes rang.

Solia bit her lower lip and glared at Han Siha.

Trembling.

She tried to force a peaceful smile, but it wasn’t happening.

She had so much she wanted to say.

“Let’s see how well you do.”

A rather ominous statement, especially coming from Solia.

She turned to Han Siha, who was standing there, looking dazed.

“If you mess up, you’re dead. Seriously.”

TL Note – From here I will use Professor Ernst for Professor Ernest and Dean Ernest for Principal Ernest

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