The Genius Tamer of the Academy

Chapter 27

In a dimly lit professor’s office, where thick ivy blocked the sunlight from properly entering, the professor rested his chin on his hand, mumbling quietly. He slowly raised his head.

“Adela has returned. And Solia too!”

“Those second-year students who were kidnapped from the dormitory? They returned safely?”

From a large orb resting on the desk, the students’ conversations were continuously echoing.

There had been an uproar at the academy when the two top students were reported kidnapped from their dorm. The discovery that the black smog enveloping the dorm was black magic had caused chaos in the school.

Well, it turned out to be true.

But that wasn’t the part that interested the professor.

“Whirring”.

He reached out and rewound the scene a little. The excited voice of a female student reverberated with a short vibration.

“Han Siha…? Was it Han Siha who saved Adela?”

This was an intriguing fact.

Among the remarkable and outstanding students of Ardel Academy, it was Han Siha who had solved this incident that had turned the entire school upside down.

Finally, it felt like the scattered pieces of the puzzle were coming together.

“Interesting.”

Very interesting.

The professor slowly scanned the list with his hand.

Lee Han, Seymour, Solia. And other top-ranking students.

It was a list of students he had been keeping a close eye on.

The reason he was scrutinizing this list was simple.

The lair of the black magician.

He was looking for the audacious person who had raided the place and escaped.

He had scoured every corner for a month, but there was only circumstantial evidence and no suspect that fit perfectly.

The reason? The culprit hadn’t even been on his radar.

“Hmm, I see….”

A fire mage who even managed to escape with the test subject.

So, he had assumed it was Lee Han, who could handle multiple types of magic freely…

But this, he hadn’t anticipated.

The professor’s hand, which had been holding a sinister smile, eventually stopped at Han Siha’s photo.

“So it was you after all.”

Was that little brat’s dragon a fire attribute?

“I can’t wait to meet you properly.”

The professor’s thoughts paused there, and his eyes grew cold.

***

At the same time, at Ardel Academy’s back gate, a shout of joy echoed.

“Whooaaa!”

A magical ATM. I checked the amount in the bankbook and covered my mouth in disbelief.

I had saved enough money by selling luminous stones and the gems I had picked up from the swamp to sustain myself for a while, but the amount in the account was on a whole different level.

“Father, thank you so much!”

Though he wasn’t my real father, still.

Han Taesu’s wealth was astounding. The power of the family name… It’s truly incredible.

I offered a reverent bow at the magical ATM and withdrew the amount I needed.

Strike while the iron is hot. Now that it’s come to this, I’m going to buy it today.

The miraculous elixir that enhances the quality of magic!

A potion of astronomical value!

Around this time, it should be available at the auction house.

Since the quantity would be limited, I needed to act quickly. My steps felt light.

But then.

Tap, tap.

“Why are you following me?”

This has been making me uncomfortable for a while now.

Adela blinked her eyes and answered my question indifferently.

“Just because.”

“Oh, just because?”

“I’m curious.”

Curious about what, exactly?

I chuckled and stretched.

“Alright, then. I’m in a good mood. Let’s go get something to eat!”

“…Am I paying?”

Her expression turned sour.

This is the side effect of living too long under the guise of a pitiful youngest son abandoned by his family.

She thinks she has to pay for everything.

“No, I’m paying.”

“Huh?”

Adela looked at me in shock.

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

“Are you sick? Or is this a last meal?”

Hey, is this really such a surprising thing?

My bad, honestly.

“Come on, don’t be like that.”

With my hands in my pockets, I spoke with a feigned confidence.

“Just pick whatever you want to eat.”

—

We had something similar to pasta for lunch in this world.

It seemed a bit overpriced for what it was.

“With the same amount of money, how many bowls of hot and hearty soup could I get…”

Adela must have heard my mumbling because she asked,

“Soup? What’s that?”

“Ah, it’s nothing. Just eat up.”

While it wasn’t a meal that completely satisfied me, Adela seemed to enjoy it, so that was enough.

After finishing our meal, we headed to our original destination, the auction house.

The auction had already started, as I could hear the loud voice from a distance.

“Starting the bidding for the frame by Mostar at 2 gold!”

“2 gold, bidder 13!”

“Bidder 29!”

“Any more bids? This is a limited edition frame by Mostar. 3 gold! Yes, 3 gold going at once!”

Adela looked around the bustling auction house and asked me,

“Are you interested in art?”

It’s nothing new for nobles to come here and show off their wealth.

Adela must have thought I was here to bid on a piece of art that caught my eye.

But that wasn’t it.

The item I was interested in today was in the outskirts of the auction house, where the leftover goods that didn’t even make it to the auction were gathered.

Knock, knock. I tapped on the poorly made tent.

“Excuse me, I’m here to buy something.”

Creak.

With a creepy sound of shuffling shoes, a woman with a peculiar aura poked her head out.

“Hm.”

Her hair was sticking out in all directions. Her brows were furrowed as if something displeased her, and her eyes carried a subtle hint of madness.

It wasn’t called the Witch’s Potion for nothing.

To be honest, it’s a little intimidating.

A sharp voice cut through my thoughts.

“It’s expensive. You got money, kid?”

Instead of answering, I handed over my Ardel Academy student ID. That should be enough of a response.

The woman made a nasal sound as she asked,

“Hmph… What are you looking for?”

“I’m here for a recommendation. The best you’ve got.”

If I outright asked for a potion to enhance the quality of my magic, she’d be suspicious for sure. So I casually waited with my hands in my pockets.

“Kid, you’ve got an overflow of magic.”

Her fierce gaze scanned me from head to toe.

She must have noticed the flow of my magic already.

“Ah.”

“But it’s all empty bravado. What good is such sloppy magic, tsk.”

As expected.

The woman casually tossed a potion with a swirling purple hue in front of me.

“This here’s a potion that’ll change your shoddy magic from the ground up. Buy it or don’t, I don’t care.”

“Oh, okay.”

“Relax your shoulders. Yes, empty your mind and purify your magic.”

“Right.”

“Clear your blood and mind. Yes, like that.”

Even knowing what it was, this whole thing felt a bit like a scam.

“This potion will help with that. It’s a bit tricky to use, though.”

As she explained, I caught Adela’s gaze. She was staring with wide eyes.

She must have realized the value of this potion, which purifies the very essence of magic within the body.

But when I read her lips, I realized she had a very different thought.

‘This seems like a scam.’

Oh, she thought it was a scam.

‘Let’s get out of here.’

She urgently tapped my arm, probably thinking my gullible ears were about to fall for this potion seller’s spiel.

“Are you buying or not?”

“I’ll buy it.”

“W-What?”

Adela’s lips moved again, this time with a harsher tone.

‘You idiot!’

‘You fool!’

Hey, that’s my line, why are you taking it?

Regardless, I had already paid and was listening to the woman’s instructions.

“Don’t worry. I’ve thought this through.”

“But still… it’s obviously a scam…”

Ignoring Adela’s grumbling, I focused on the instructions.

This potion only works if you follow every condition meticulously. So I’d better do exactly as she says.

The woman lowered her voice as if passing on a secret technique.

“You need to fast.”

“Pardon?”

“Don’t eat a single bite for three days.”

I had been a bit worried about the conditions, but this might be doable, tricky as it was.

“Yes, I think I can manage that.”

I nodded confidently, but Adela was rubbing her chin thoughtfully with a serious expression.

“It seems to have an effect…”

“Huh?”

She finally seemed to recognize the potion’s value—or so I thought, until she said something completely unexpected.

“It’s a diet potion, isn’t it?”

…How did she arrive at that conclusion?

—

In the dormitory’s lounge, a crackling black-and-white TV was playing a documentary that had aired last week.

– There is a hyena prowling the foothills in search of prey.

“Hyena… Sounds tasty.”

– The hyena seizes the deer’s neck. The brutal law of the wild. The deer ultimately becomes the hyena’s meal.

“Deer… Sounds tasty too…”

I had been fasting for three whole days. At this point, I wasn’t exactly in my right mind.

In the 21st century, people pay to go on diets, so I thought going without food for three days to get stronger would be no big deal.

“I’m so hungry.”

I want to eat something. Anything.

I feel like I’m going to lose it.

Just then, I made eye contact with Basilus, who was munching on a piece of yellow cheese.

“Maybe… Dragon meat tastes good too?”

“Eep!”

He understood that.

Basilus, looking furious, spewed a breath of fire into the air.

Don’t make me roast you, human.

That was the look in his eyes.

The one who reacted most strongly wasn’t me, though, but Won.

“Hey! The bed sheets are going to burn!”

Won and I were getting along well as roommates. He was a good guy at heart, so we rarely had any conflicts.

Yeah, well, except for now.

I’ve been starving for three days, and here he is, slurping noodles right in front of me.

Slurp, slurp.

“They say this is a popular dish in the East.”

It was black bean noodles. They looked insanely delicious.

I wanted to chew up that entire plate.

“So good.”

“Hey, am I the only one without a mouth?”

*Chew, chew.*

Won, who was devouring the noodles, offered me a fork.

“Want a bite? What got you to go on a fast anyway? You’re usually the one always nagging to order food.”

Since inhabiting the body of a fifteen-year-old Han Siha, I’ve become a lot more food-driven.

Probably because I’m in a growth spurt, even a little hunger makes me crave food like crazy. And I’ve endured that for three whole days.

Do I feel like my magic is being purified?

Well, there’s a faint blue glow around my fingertips, so I guess it’s working.

Whether there’s a qualitative improvement is something I haven’t noticed yet.

But all that aside, this feels more like a test of endurance.

This eerie calm… If I endure this for a few more days, I might just achieve sainthood.

“Only three more hours to go.”

Today is the final day.

I glared at the clock, gritting my teeth. Once I finish this morning’s class, I can finally have a decent meal for lunch.

Just three hours….

Three more hours….

I was mumbling to myself, trying to find inner peace, when Won suddenly frowned and lifted his head.

“Oh, right. They changed the morning class to physical training today.”

Twice a month.

The special class is designed to build basic physical strength for mages.

I don’t care about the explanation.

What?

I’m starving to death here.

I don’t even have the strength to hold a twig, let alone a sword.

And you want me to run, roll around, and do all sorts of crazy exercises?

“Goddammit.”

My inner peace shattered instantly.

—

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