The Genius Tamer of the Academy

Chapter 49

“So, you’ve got a death wish. I didn’t expect you to come all the way here on your own.”

The voice was familiar.

It belonged to the man in the robe, the same one I had encountered in the Black Mage’s lair.

His cold words sent a chill through the air.

I instinctively took a step back, my face tense with caution.

In their hideout, I had managed to escape thanks to the maze-like structure. But now, the situation is completely different.

We were trapped in a narrow underground corridor, with no way to escape.

We had no choice but to fight.

The disparity in power was painfully obvious.

Lee Han, the protagonist, was only in his second year, and I had only recently begun to fully develop my abilities.

There was no way the two of us could defeat a seasoned Black Mage who had survived countless battles.

Sensing victory, a sinister smile curled on the robed man’s lips.

Vrrrr-

With a low rumble, one of the straw dolls that had been lying on the floor creaked to life.

It was far larger than the ones we had encountered in the corridor earlier.

It towered over us, far bigger than any average person, with a terrifying purple glow in its eyes.

Its limbs were studded with thick nails, and its two mouths twisted into grotesque smiles.

‘Let’s hope I never see this in my dreams.’

And the man controlling the monstrosity from behind was a puppeteer.

A Black Mage who manipulated cursed dolls to attack his enemies at will.

Curses are among the most efficient ways to subdue an opponent, which is why they are a forbidden form of black magic.

“Run!”

I shouted as I quickly rolled to the side.

But that didn’t mean I could avoid the cursed doll with its glowing purple eyes.

The curse took hold.

“Ahh…!”

My body felt like it had hit a wall; my movements slowed dramatically. And that wasn’t all. A wave of pain crashed over me, clouding my thoughts.

I nearly collapsed forward, but sheer willpower kept me standing.

For an ordinary mage, this would have been a devastating attack, enough to completely demoralize them.

I had no experience with curse removal magic or curse resistance, skills typically learned in higher grades, so I had no choice but to endure.

Yet my eyes still gleamed with determination.

“This place will be your grave.”

The robed puppeteer frowned, clearly displeased.

“What makes mere children so confident…?”

Whoosh.

He raised his right hand to strike at me.

But I spoke calmly, a smirk playing on my lips.

“Tying up a Tamer’s hands doesn’t mean they can’t attack.”

“…”

“You made the wrong choice. You should’ve restrained these two instead of me.”

“What?”

“I’m the weakest one here, you idiot.”

Before I even finished speaking, a sharp wind sliced through the air.

“What… What!”

A Red Dragon, breathing fire, was charging straight at him.

The puppeteer instinctively raised his arm toward Basilus.

Thud.

At that moment, his connection with the cursed doll momentarily faltered.

That was what I had been aiming for.

The tricky thing about cursed dolls is that they make close-range attacks nearly impossible.

The black aura surrounding the doll causes excruciating pain just by touching it, and its defensive barrier is so strong that it’s difficult to break through.

But in the end, it’s just a puppet. If the puppeteer’s connection is severed, it becomes nothing more than a scarecrow.

“Nice timing.”

Lee Han seized the opportunity and swiftly lunged at the doll.

A mere straw doll.

Slash.

Lee Han’s sword sliced cleanly through the doll’s neck.

Thud.

The once formidable defensive barrier shattered in an instant, and the doll began to collapse like a pile of straw.

One more strike.

Lee Han drove his sword into the doll’s heart.

“No…!”

The puppeteer’s eyes widened as he realized what had happened.

He had assumed Lee Han’s attack was meant to distract him, but he hadn’t expected to lose his cursed doll because he’d been distracted by a mere dragon.

And it happened so easily.

The puppeteer desperately tried to summon another cursed doll.

Cough.

The robed man coughed up blood as he barely managed to summon the doll.

He was nearly out of magic, and he was badly injured.

“How dare you, you little brats…”

Even so, he didn’t believe he would lose this battle.

He had just been caught off guard. The sheer amount of magic he could wield was on a completely different level from these kids.

Staggering, the newly awakened cursed doll targeted Lee Han.

Boom.

The curse hit, causing Lee Han’s movements to falter. The doll didn’t miss the opportunity to launch its attack.

In perfect condition, Lee Han might have been able to hold his ground, but his stamina was depleted, and the curse made it hard to breathe.

The second blow sent Lee Han flying.

He crashed into the wall and collapsed forward, his trembling hand grasping his staff.

“Gah…”

In the future, Lee Han would face many such monsters.

But for now, he lacked experience.

Unlike the monsters described in the bestiary, this cursed doll, created by the puppeteer, moved unpredictably according to the puppeteer’s will.

“Hmm…”

I gathered my magic to form a magical arrow.

The puppeteer noticed that my arrow was aimed at the cursed doll.

It was admirable that I managed to get back on my feet after shaking off the curse, but there was no way I could take down that thing.

No ordinary barrier could be pierced…

“What?”

Wait, what was that?

It wasn’t an arrow—it was a dagger.

Whoosh-

The dagger I threw arced through the air, heading straight for the staggering cursed doll’s head.

I had gathered all my remaining magic for this final attack.

“What… What!”

The dagger pierced through the barrier and lodged itself in the doll’s head.

No one had expected such a brute force attack.

But it was more than strong enough.

Thud.

The cursed doll collapsed to the ground, powerless.

“This… this can’t be happening…”

The robed man couldn’t believe it.

The brat who only knew how to run away before, the one who barely escaped with his life on the back of a dragon, had just destroyed two of his creations.

Each of those cursed dolls required an immense amount of magic to control. The puppeteer didn’t have the energy to create another one here, so he hastily prepared to flee.

Vrrr-

A blue magic circle materialized in the air, and Han Siha quickly shouted.

“Don’t let him escape!”

“Hah… Hah!”

But this time, the Black Mage was faster.

Grabbing only his staff, he managed to throw himself into the magic circle just in time.

His robe fluttered as he vanished into thin air.

Lee Han stared in frustration at the spot where the magic circle had disappeared.

“We needed to catch him.”

“…”

“Damn it! We could have caught him!”

“It’s okay.”

Han Siha spoke calmly, directing his gaze downward.

Even if they had caught him, they wouldn’t have been able to do much with their current strength.

Now was the time to savor the victory.

Han Siha smirked, picking up a crumpled piece of paper that had fallen to the ground.

“He left something useful behind.”

Lee Han, still seething with anger, snatched the paper from Han Siha’s hands, frowning.

“And what’s this?”

“Take a guess.”

Han Siha didn’t need to see the details to know it was likely a map to the location of the first Cube.

In the original story, Lee Han had come across it in a similar way, purely by chance.

The objective of the first main episode wasn’t to defeat the Black Mage but to obtain this map.

Without Han Siha saying a word, Lee Han would sense something off about the map, just as expected.

Lee Han’s expression grew colder.

“What is this, exactly?”

As expected, he had caught on quickly.

He might not know the specifics, but he could tell it was a map pointing to something significant.

Lee Han, gripping the map tightly, began speaking rapidly to Han Siha.

Unlike his usual composed manner, there was an urgency in his words.

“This could be the guy who kidnapped Adela and Solia. There’s something seriously wrong here. We need to find out what this map points to. It could be their hideout.”

“Yeah, right. It could be.”

Han Siha nodded and gestured toward Usher, who was still tied up nearby.

“How long are we going to stand here? He’s about to pass out.”

“Ugh…”

Usher squirmed, clearly pleading for help.

Noticing him at last, Lee Han’s expression softened with guilt.

“Oh no, I’m sorry! Hold on, I’ll get you out!”

“Mmmph…”

Crash, thud.

Watching Lee Han rush over, it was clear he truly was the kind-hearted protagonist of *Smart Academy*.

Han Siha chuckled and followed behind him.

Ding-

[Main Episode 1: Find Usher Cleared]

[You have received a Random Box Reward (C~A rank). Would you like to claim it?]

* * *

“Usher, Usher! Are you okay?”

Adela rushed over, her face filled with concern.

Aside from not having had food or water for a few hours, Usher was in surprisingly good condition.

He nodded slowly, still pale.

Han Siha spoke calmly.

“Tell us what you saw.”

“That map.”

Usher pointed at the map in Han Siha’s hand.

“They said they took it from somewhere. I think they stole it.”

“What’s the map for?”

Adela asked with a frown.

Usher hesitated for a moment, but Han Siha nodded reassuringly.

After all, Adela was someone who would help them.

“They said there’s a Cube buried there. I don’t know what it is, though.”

“A Cube…”

Adela bit her lower lip, deep in thought.

She, too, had sensed that something strange was happening at Ardel Academy recently.

The Demon Tree incident, Professor Grunui’s issue, Usher’s kidnapping… Everything pointed to something ominous.

“It’s definitely a Puppeteer, right?”

“Yes.”

“What kind of people would do something so terrible…”

Adela sighed as she spoke.

But then she noticed something odd.

Han Siha was standing with his hands clasped together in a reverent pose.

He was focusing all his energy on opening the random box he had received the day before.

“Please, please, come on…”

“Han Siha, what are you doing?”

“I’ve never won the lottery in my life, but maybe this time will be different. I’m praying… Praying…”

Adela tilted her head, confused.

What could possibly have him looking so desperate?

Did he find some kind of clue from the Puppeteer he and Lee Han had captured?

‘What’s going on?’

As Adela continued to speculate.

Ding-

[Ptera’s Egg (A rank)]

– Guarantees the hatching of the legendary creature, Ptera, with a 100% success rate.

“Another reptile? Aaaah!”

Han Siha screamed in a mix of joy and despair as he collapsed to the ground.