The Genius Tamer of the Academy

Chapter 87

A narrow corridor stretched ahead, barely wide enough for a single person to squeeze through.

Han Siha moved quietly, keeping his footsteps as silent as possible.

“Light.”

A small flame flickered to life at the tip of his staff, casting a dim glow in the darkness, providing some visibility.

It was remarkable that he had even found this place.

Seymour, mouth agape, glanced around in awe.

“The servants don’t know about this place. No one but my father ever comes here.”

“That much is clear.”

Given the importance of the items stored here, it was unlikely that Han Taesu would have shared this with anyone outside the family.

And so, it was now in the hands of an insider, not an outsider.

Han Siha, seeming pleased, nodded and quickened his pace.

The corridor wasn’t as long as they had anticipated.

Soon, a firmly shut iron door came into view.

“But seriously, don’t you feel guilty about this?”

Han Siha stared at Seymour.

Of all people, hearing the word “conscience” from someone who had done far worse was unexpected.

Seymour, clearly feeling a bit guilty himself, coughed awkwardly and averted his gaze.

“It’s mine anyway.”

“It’s… yours?”

Seymour asked in surprise, and Han Siha answered confidently.

“In about 30 years, it’ll be mine.”

“…”

Seymour had nothing to say. While it was an audacious statement, it was technically true, and Seymour scratched his head, unsure how to respond.

“I’m just worried we’ll get caught. They’ll notice if something goes missing.”

“You wouldn’t say that if you’d seen inside.”

What is that supposed to mean…

Creaaak.

The door opened.

“Huh?”

Seymour couldn’t believe his eyes.

“What… What is this?”

Ancient scrolls and magical tomes, so rare that no amount of gold could buy them, were stacked like ordinary books in a library. Behind them were mountains of not just gold but also jewels.

Seymour clamped a hand over his mouth, completely astounded.

“Is it really this much? This is insane.”

“They probably haven’t even counted it. There’s just too much.”

The fact that this place was maintained under Han Taesu’s supervision was a stroke of luck.

Despite his strict and meticulous exterior, Han Taesu wasn’t particularly interested in managing his wealth.

With his fortune growing on its own, he wasn’t the type to bother counting and managing everything here one by one.

“Let’s take just enough.”

They didn’t need much. After all, most of the items here were illegal and couldn’t be sold outside.

Han Siha picked up a gold bar and tossed it to Seymour.

“Your dorm fees.”

“Gah!”

Seymour looked up at Han Siha with eyes full of gratitude.

This was getting uncomfortable.

Avoiding his gaze, Han Siha turned his attention to a pile of jewels in the corner.

A blue gemstone caught his eye. It was a summoning stone created from a water-elemental monster.

It would be perfect for Ptera, who had yet to be born.

Han Siha figured it wouldn’t be a bad idea to develop it in this direction to complement Basilus’ weaknesses.

Just three. Han Siha pocketed them and prepared to leave.

If they were caught leaving the room unattended, they wouldn’t have any excuse. They needed to get out quickly.

“Let’s go.”

But at that moment—

“…!”

Footsteps.

Footsteps they shouldn’t be hearing were approaching from the other side.

“Why does this door keep creaking? Maybe I should replace it.”

It was definitely Han Taesu.

Of all the times to come, why now?

This is insane.

Seymour, who had been holding a gold bar with both hands, widened his eyes in panic.

“Are you serious? You said he wouldn’t come.”

“I-I know… Why is he coming now…?”

“Is this really the time to be standing there like that?”

She was right.

Han Siha gritted his teeth and quickly hid behind a wooden crate.

Although the vault was narrow from the hallway, this section had a bit more space to move around.

He urgently grabbed the still-fidgeting Seymour.

“Mmm.”

Han Taesu entered, humming to himself as he rummaged through the gold bars.

Han Siha held his breath, crouching as low as he could. If Han Taesu noticed something was off and used a detection spell, they were done for.

‘I just need to hold out.’

Honestly, who would suspect a thief here?

In the original story, the moment Han Taesu’s vault was revealed was after Han Siha had died, when Lee Han came to steal the scrolls he needed for revenge.

“What’s this?”

Han Taesu’s sudden words nearly stopped Han Siha’s heart.

Seymour bit his lower lip hard, trying desperately not to make a sound.

‘Why am I going through this?’

Wouldn’t it be better for his sanity to just wander the streets instead?

Han Taesu lingered in front of the gold bars, deep in thought. Whatever he was thinking, it didn’t bode well for them.

But then—

“…There’s more here than I thought.”

You’ve got to be kidding.

He was just admiring his own wealth.

“Ten horses should be enough for this.”

Han Taesu took out a few gold bars and hummed as he turned to leave.

Seeing the slightly ajar iron door, he muttered to himself.

“I need to replace this door. It keeps opening on its own.”

“…”

It was only ten minutes after Han Taesu had returned to the mansion that Han Siha finally dared to move.

“Phew… Phew…”

“We almost died. You know that, right?”

“I wouldn’t have died. Only you would.”

“…You bastard.”

He had held his breath so intensely that he almost passed out.

Seymour, still shaky, handed the gold bar back to Han Siha.

“Hey, you keep it.”

“Why? It’s for your dorm fees.”

“I don’t think paying dorm fees is worth risking my neck.”

“Are you serious?”

“…I’ll collect it later.”

Han Siha chuckled and slid the gold bar into his pocket as well.

He had wanted to grab a few more, but…

“I could just ask for money if I need it.”

There was no longer any need to be concerned about money.

Having achieved their goal, Han Siha and Seymour swiftly exited the vault.

* * *

Ptera’s Egg (Grade A)

– Guarantees a 100% chance of hatching a Ptera.

Hatch Rate: 99/100 percent.

The next morning.

Bang, bang, bang.

Han Siha was focused on the status window while vigorously grinding the jewel.

“Ugh, this isn’t easy.”

If Adela had been there, she could have crushed it in an instant, but Han Siha wasn’t as familiar with that kind of magic.

So, he chose to break it into smaller pieces using magic and then manually grind the pieces.

Surprisingly, it wasn’t as hard as he thought. It quickly turned into powder, which was a good sign.

“As long as it’s consumed within two weeks of hatching, it’ll be fine.”

He pushed the finely ground jewel powder aside, and Basilus, eyes blinking curiously, approached.

Sniff, sniff.

“This isn’t for you.”

“koo…”

The issue now was the hatching. It was about time for the egg to finally hatch.

He had set up the temperature, humidity, and surrounding environment perfectly for the egg, so it should hatch within the next few hours.

There was a reason why Ptera’s eggs were considered Grade A.

Although it’s combat power was relatively weak compared to Basilus, the Red Dragon, Ptera was incredibly useful as a mode of transportation. Once tamed, its loyalty was unmatched by any other monster.

However, taming one was even more difficult than taming a dragon.

Han Siha quickly skimmed through the Taming Department’s textbook, preparing for the hatching.

There was more to consider than he had initially thought.

“A newly hatched Ptera might take one to two weeks to tame.”

Does it really take that long?

“An untamed Ptera can have rather destructive tendencies. This isn’t going to be easy.”

“koo!”

Closing the book, Han Siha looked down at the egg.

It was slightly cracked, and compared to last week, the egg had turned much more yellow.

It was clear that the hatching was imminent.

Bang, bang, bang.

He decided to finish grinding the jewel.

As he pounded the jewel into fine powder, Han Siha suddenly noticed something unusual.

Rattle.

“Hmm?”

‘That wasn’t me shaking it, was it?’

Rattle, rattle.

The entire desk shook.

Han Siha quickly raised his head.

What the…

At that moment—

Crack!

The eggshell shattered with a clear sound.

* * *

At the same time, on the first floor.

Han Taesu was enjoying a meal with his usual public smile on his face.

Five counts were gathered at Han Taesu’s mansion.

It had been a long time since they last met.

“So, how is Ardel Academy these days?”

“I hear the second-years are doing well.”

“My son is in his third year, and I’ve heard good things. Haha.”

“Ardel’s future looks bright.”

Each of them had different statuses.

Some were former professors from smaller academies, not Ardel Academy, while others lived a life of luxury in inherited lands, and some held positions in the Magic Department.

In any case, most of them were prominent nobles from Ardel.

Han Taesu neatly unfolded his handkerchief and wiped his mouth.

Count Caron, with a sly smile, subtly inquired.

“How is Han Siha doing these days?”

As always, Caron seemed to harbor a peculiar sense of jealousy.

With his family’s smaller size and lesser wealth compared to Han Taesu’s, the only thing he had to boast about was his child, who had recently entered the Magic Department.

Perhaps that’s why he seemed particularly interested in Han Siha.

When Han Siha was on the verge of failing, Caron pretended to sympathize while subtly enjoying it. Han Taesu could easily sense the schadenfreude behind his words.

Another count shot Caron a disapproving look.

“Come on, why bring that up here?”

“I guess since there’s no bad news, he’s still doing well in school?”

“And Si-hyuk is doing great in the Magic Department, I hear.”

“There hasn’t been a prophet like him in this era.”

“If only my younger brother had half of his talent.”

In the past, Han Taesu would have avoided answering such questions.

But now, there was no reason to.

With a slight smile on his face, Han Taesu began to speak.

“Well, lately, it seems like he’s finally growing up.”

“What?”

“…That boy?”

Han Taesu continued smoothly.

“Just recently, I heard he won some event in the Magic Department. Though it wasn’t an important competition, he’ll have to work even harder now.”

“An event in the Magic Department…?”

Count Caron’s expression turned cold.

Though he knew his son was involved in the Magic Department, he was aware that such events weren’t open to just anyone.

‘Why didn’t my son tell me about this?’

In this case, Ardel Academy only allowed three students from each grade to participate in the event.

Clatter.

Count Caron unknowingly dropped the fork he was holding.

“Was Siha one of them?”

“Haha, he said he placed third. Apparently, he did even better in the finals.”

“Third…?”

“In the second year?”

The second year, infamously known as the “death year,” was where students like Lee Han, Adela, and Solia dominated the top ranks.

For someone to have placed third among them meant that he could easily have been first in any other year.

“That brat did?”

Some of the counts, forgetting to gauge Han Taesu’s reaction, muttered in disbelief.

It was shocking news.

Han Taesu’s smile stretched from ear to ear.

“I didn’t realize it, but it seems that lately, many students experience a sudden improvement. Especially Siha, who has always had a natural affinity for magic. It must have been because he was being forced to do things that didn’t suit him…”

At that moment—

Bang.

“Hmm?”

Han Taesu paused his proud speech.

The other counts also looked up at the ceiling with wide eyes.

Crash.

“Ahhhh!”

The sound of a second-floor window shattering.

Han Taesu’s smile froze, turning icy once more.

“…What kind of nonsense is going on up there?”

Bonus Chapter for Every Review on Novel Updates.