The Genius Tamer of the Academy

Chapter 60

It was the day before the tournament.

A chilling wind seeped through the window.

It wasn’t that I was particularly nervous.

The professor’s lecture, as well as the various events prepared by the Magic Department, were enjoyable enough.

Then, it happened.

Knock, knock.

The sound of something tapping on the window was enough to set all my senses on edge.

“What the…?”

It was the early hours of dawn, a time when I was drifting in and out of sleep, but the unfamiliar noise jolted me awake. I noticed a shadow flickering beyond the curtains.

“Who’s there?”

I was assured of a certain level of safety at Ardel Academy.

The security was so tight that the chances of someone directly harming me were almost non-existent.

But it was a different story in foreign lands.

This was Seinen, and it was a place where dark mages targeting me could easily appear.

I had even been sleeping in armor, just in case.

“Grrr…”

I didn’t expect someone to come so openly like this.

Even Basilus, sensing something was off, was on high alert. We were ready to retreat into the corridor at any moment.

While clenching my teeth and preparing for the worst, I heard a voice.

“It’s me, Han Siha.”

Hmm?

I quickly opened my eyes wide at the familiar voice.

It was cool, yet calm—one that I knew well.

If this wasn’t some trick of an auditory illusion spell, then it was definitely Lee Han.

“It’s really me, so could you open the window?”

Bang, bang, bang.

I slightly pulled back the curtain and saw Lee Han clinging to the windowsill, struggling.

Why is this guy coming in through here?

Of course, he’d do something like this. Typical protagonist behavior.

Can’t he just come in through the normal way? I almost had a heart attack!

“You’re insane. You really refuse to be ordinary, don’t you?”

I flung the window open, and Lee Han tumbled inside, panting heavily.

Clicking my tongue, I remarked, “What a unique approach.”

“Sorry. I was going to contact you normally, but there was someone in the hallway.”

“In the hallway?”

I had heard footsteps earlier. It was a hallway where people lived, so I didn’t think much of it. But seeing Lee Han’s serious expression, something must have happened.

After catching his breath, Lee Han asked me, “You brought the map, right?”

I cast a detection spell toward him.

Shwip.

A white light enveloped Lee Han.

He frowned in disbelief.

“It’s really you.”

“What are you doing?”

“Just be cautious. You never know—it could’ve been someone else, and then it’d be a fight to the death.”

If the person coming through the window hadn’t been Lee Han, a battle might have ensued.

Breathing a sigh of relief, I nodded.

“Yeah, I brought it.”

“Casper is outside.”

“Casper?”

“Casper the scout. Not actually a ghost, just a human.”

“I know. What kind of people they are.”

They don’t look like ghosts, but they’re scouts who wear special cloaks and move around.

Ordinary people wouldn’t do something like that.

They must be up to something, or they wouldn’t be wandering around just our floor.

Lee Han sat down on the bed with a grim expression.

“It’s the last day. We need to go find it tomorrow. The thing in that map…”

“The Cube.”

“How did you know?”

Lee Han already knew what the Cube was. That’s why his face had hardened the moment he saw the map.

His parents had successfully sealed the dark mages’ power by taking the Cube, but they lost their lives in the process.

At the time, no one knew how to use the Cube.

It was merely considered a source of power, nothing more.

But Lee Han was different.

He had calculated, predicted, and feared its consequences.

So when he saw the map for the first time, he had an inkling of the dark mages’ intentions.

Finally, we found it.

Finally, it was time to stop them.

Finally, the main episode had begun.

Knowing all of this, I pretended not to know, and casually shook my head.

“It was written on the map. I don’t know exactly what it is, but it must be something important, right?”

“…Yeah.”

“Then take me with you. I’m not giving you the map.”

At this point in the story, Lee Han should’ve had the map in his hands, but not this time.

I wasn’t planning on handing it over to him.

Because…

“You don’t trust me, do you?”

Lee Han sighed and hung his head low.

“I guess that’s understandable. I don’t completely trust you either.”

It wasn’t just a trivial reason.

If I left it to him entirely…

The first Cube would be stolen, without a doubt.

As a reader who had painfully sympathized with how much Lee Han regretted that moment in the text, I couldn’t just stand by.

If we lost the Cube here, the story’s difficulty would skyrocket. So this time, I planned to handle it my way.

I spoke calmly.

“I won’t get in your way.”

“I know that much. You were impressive, even during the duel.”

“I’ll be even better than that. So trust me. It’ll be worth it.”

“…Alright.”

Since we were now in the same boat, it was necessary to improve my relationship with him.

At times selfish, sharp, and cold, but still, the protagonist.

The protagonist is the protagonist for a reason.

Lee Han spoke calmly, though his words felt a bit out of place.

“We will win the tournament tomorrow.”

Suddenly, a tournament?

—

My head feels like it’s about to explode.

Even though Dean Ernest had pushed me into this, I didn’t really intend to take it seriously. I had no real intention of winning.

There was no chance of victory, to begin with.

I hadn’t studied herbalism at all, and even those who had learned it only had a rudimentary understanding from their first year.

How were we supposed to beat the upperclassmen?

“You did well in herbalism, though.”

“No, that was just….”

That was just me recalling what Professor Bruce had mentioned on the train.

At the time, I was simply amazed that the fire didn’t feel as hot as it should, but after thinking about it, it was clearly because of the fire resistance.

It wasn’t that the fire wasn’t hot; it was that it wasn’t affecting me. Naturally, the latter is far easier to achieve.

There was no need to explain all of this in detail. Instead, I frowned and asked Lee Han, “Why do we need to come in first place?”

A voice filled with certainty flowed from his lips.

“Because it’ll make it easier to get close.”

Lee Han pointed at the map.

Although I hadn’t deciphered it fully, I understood that the first Cube was near Seinen’s Magic Department.

And combined with my memories of *Smart Academy,* I had a rough idea of where it might be.

Of course, it was just a “rough” guess.

The vault in the Magic Department.

The first Cube would be found inside there.

*Smart Academy* wasn’t exactly a kind novel.

If it were, things would have been much easier. Naturally, it didn’t reveal the exact location. Maybe I just couldn’t remember it.

In any case, Lee Han explained it more clearly than the novel did.

“The third basement floor of the Magic Department. You didn’t plan on sneaking in alone, did you?”

Ah.

“The difficulty level just shot up all of a sudden.”

Lee Han nodded, his eyes glinting.

“I heard that the tournament winners not only receive prize money but also get a chance to tour the Magic Department. We’ll be allowed to stay one extra day. They won’t show us the basement, of course, but we can sneak in.”

“…”

“The security will be tight. It won’t be easy. The vault in the basement of the Magic Department is where they handle some very dangerous items. The fourth basement floor is probably heavily guarded, but the third floor might not be.”

Since I was familiar with this, I nodded while looking down at the map.

As I slowly deciphered it, I started to grasp its meaning.

The others were likely trying to find this as well, and I could only hope we weren’t too late.

Turning to Lee Han, I cautiously spoke up.

“I have a suggestion.”

“What is it?”

“Take Adela with us.”

The two of us wouldn’t stand a chance alone.

—

Finally, the morning of the tournament arrived. Students from the second and third years of all the schools gathered in front of the Seinen Forest.

“We have to gather the herbs ourselves, right?”

“That’s what I heard.”

“What was last year’s theme?”

“It’s been a free theme every year. A lot of them probably already have ideas in mind.”

“They might not be able to find the ingredients.”

“They’ll just steal them if they have to.”

The students were buzzing with excitement.

Professor Bruce Miller slowly approached through the noise.

He walked with the grace expected of a professor from the Magic Department.

As he neared, everyone fell silent and focused on him.

“Now, you will have three hours. You may gather any materials from the forest.”

It was a practical test where we had to gather our own materials.

The students’ enthusiasm began to burn.

Professor Bruce Miller then reminded them of important points.

Although it was unlikely, this was an academy where all sorts of strange things happened.

At times, you’d wonder if it was truly a place only for geniuses.

“I’ve heard some unpleasant rumors, but sometimes the process is more important than the results.”

The biggest concern was Cardbel Academy, which never failed to stir up trouble.

Last year, they even went as far as stealing and hiding the materials the other team had gathered.

“I firmly believe that this year will see fair competition.”

Yeah, right.

Seeing the fierce gleam in everyone’s eyes, I couldn’t help but feel worried.

The students at the back weren’t reacting any differently.

“What’s he talking about?”

“He’s really romanticizing it.”

“Hey, we just need to win.”

Adela, who was about to scoff at those pitiful comments, suddenly stopped.

A thought that had been swirling in her mind struck her again.

“Ah.”

We have to win first place.

The words Lee Han had said early that morning were quite shocking.

Starting with the explanation of the mysterious Cube, and the revelation that dark mages were behind her kidnapping and Professor Divert’s incident, as well as their attempts to regain their lost power.

She had suspected it, but hearing the full story made it feel completely different.

Adela hated dark magic.

Her reason was somewhat different from that of others.

There was someone she absolutely had to kill.

And there was an organization she had to destroy.

“They’re coming back…”

She knew.

She wouldn’t be able to refuse Lee Han’s request, especially since it involved dark mages.

‘Adela.’

‘Adela, you must avoid them! Don’t even look back, just run!’

“Ow.”

Adela winced as a splitting headache tore through her.

A cold shiver ran down her spine.

Whenever she thought of those wretched beings, a visceral revulsion welled up inside her.

Just like when she helped Han Siha take down Professor Divert Grunui, or when she desperately fought to escape the grasp of the demonic tree.

“Damn bastards.”

She and Lee Han could only share the same feelings.

They both had family taken from them.

“…!”

Han Siha turned to look at Adela, his eyes wide with surprise.

Only then did Adela realize that she had cursed out loud.

“Ahem.”

Adela glanced at Han Siha, trying to gauge his reaction.

‘Did he hear that too?’

Judging by the serious expression on his face, it seemed Lee Han had filled him in.

His mind must be racing with thoughts.

But one thing was clear.

If it was the Han Siha she had judged him to be, he would willingly jump into this situation….

“…I wonder what’s for lunch today?”

That’s what he was worried about?

Thwack.

“Ow!”

Before she knew it, Adela had smacked Han Siha on the head.

—

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