I Became a Genius Black Mage at the Holy Academy

Roan had barely fallen asleep after returning to the dormitory when his eyes flew open again. It was already time for the sun to rise. He looked out the window, feeling a fresh sense of emotion overcome him.

‘It’s already been a few days since I’ve learned I’m a dark mage.’

From the moment he awakened his dark magic and enrolled in Akerandir, until now, everything had been a chaotic rush without much time to set any proper plans.

─ …!!! 

─ …?? …!!

The commotion outside his private room no longer bothered Roan even in the slightest.

‘Looks like Demona is picking a fight with Hector again.’

It turned out to be an ordinary morning.

‘First, I need to organize what I have to do.’

In truth, having entered the Holy Academy with a dark magic talent score of 100, there was one dark magic spell he absolutely had to use to take care of himself.

‘I need to create a Life Vessel.’

It was the ultimate dark magic and the eternal dream of dark mages who sought immortality. However, strictly speaking, a Life Vessel was closer to the opposite of immortality.

‘Turning myself into an undead? No way I’d do something like that.’

A Life Vessel would absorb all of the caster’s remaining life force and permanently trap it, turning the caster into a lich. However, Roan had no intention of wandering around Akerandir as a bony skeleton. Besides, he used to possess one, and becoming such a wretched figure again was definitely out of the question.

*T/N: A Lich is a type of undead creature. They are usually mages who gave up their soul to try to be immortal.

‘… If it’s False Divinity, I might be able to make myself look like a holy skeleton.’

But what would that accomplish? The fact of being undead wouldn’t change a thing.

In any case, Roan immediately gave up on creating a typical Life Vessel. Instead, he focused on an ancient dark magic, the “Ashen Life Cycle.”

It was similar to the Life Vessel, but without needing to become undead. It froze the caster’s life force at the time of creation, and when the caster died, they would return to that body with their magical power intact. Additionally, the fact that it could only be destroyed by the divine power of a specialized level made it one of the most powerful spells.

However, once created, the vessel would be fixed to the place most closely tied to the caster’s fate at that moment, and regeneration or transfer of the vessel would be impossible. 

This was on an entirely different level from the basic dark magic he’d been using so far, so his first priority was to find the grimoire that detailed the precise magic circle and ingredients required.

‘Above all, I need to acquire the power of the ‘Forbidden Archive Keeper’ to get that grimoire…’

The fact that he had to use a prerequisite power made it a bit daunting.

‘I have to get it no matter what, especially since I can gain other dark magic through it.’

But Roan had no other options. 

The Forbidden Archive, in other words, was a place full of the dark magic knowledge Roan needed! 

Just like False Divinity, the power didn’t discriminate based on the type of magic, making it the perfect place for self-study. 

Since he couldn’t use holy magic, he had to delve into dark magic. There was no way he could go to Professor Belek and ask him to teach dark magic!

Fortunately, this power was summoned by gathering the required ingredients, not found in some distant place. And Akerandir had all the necessary materials.

‘I’ve already secured the hardest-to-get ingredient.’

Roan pulled out a small glass vial hidden in his desk drawer. Inside was a single drop of shimmering silver liquid.

The Tear of Harden.

He remembered the spot where Harden had cried from laughing so hard and had collected it on his way back.

‘It was such a hassle to collect it directly because I was afraid of getting caught using holy magic!’

Given Harden’s behavior, it was possible he might have just said, “Tears? Here, take them, you creep,” but Roan couldn’t bring himself to be that shameless. He wasn’t Demona, after all.

“I’ll gather the rest of the ingredients slowly… but for now, I need to go check outside.”

Even though it was early morning, the commotion outside was getting out of control. It was far too heated to be just a regular fight between Hector and Demona.

“Hand over that egg right now! I’ll roast it and eat it! How dare you insult our club!”

“Uh-huh~ You can’t even touch it~ Try to take it if you can~”

“You…!!”

Hector, his face red with fury, hesitated as he approached the egg. He was clearly too scared to touch it. 

Meanwhile, Demona taunted him, holding the egg just out of his reach.

“You heretic!”

“Huh? Isn’t it heresy not to have a common beast egg?”

Snap─

Something snapped. Hector was unable to suppress his anger and let out a wild roar like a bear.

“Where’s my axe?! Where’s my axe?!”

“Guys, stop it! We need to get ready for class!”

Caught in the middle, Beanin waved his hands around helplessly, unsure of how to intervene.

Watching the scene, Roan thought calmly.

‘Hmm. Forget the Forbidden Archive Keeper. For now, I just want to go home.’

If he ever made it back to Earth, the first thing he’d do was beat those two up thoroughly!

***

Saint Percival Hall.

This was one of the largest buildings in Akerandir, built like a stadium for lessons related to holy wars. After all, 4,000 years ago, Percival himself earned sainthood solely through records of his participation in holy wars, making him a legendary warrior of faith.

The new students, who gathered in the grand arena of Percival Hall, were abuzz with excitement.

─ Are we getting our spirit beast eggs now? 

─ What kind of egg will we get? 

─ If we’re lucky, we might even get a divine beast egg!

True to their noble Imperial heritage, they were obsessed with holy wars, the students were far more interested in obtaining eggs that would allow them to participate in battles than in the actual lessons.

At that moment, Roan, Hector, and Demona appeared in the arena. Normally, Roan would have attracted the most attention, but this time was different.

“Hahaha! Hahahaha!”

Demona entered first, laughing loudly. He proudly held the egg of the King of Manic Rabbits high above his head.

‘Who would be envious, anyway? The others will get their eggs next week.’ 

Roan looked at Demona with a pitiful expression, certain that few would recognize the King of Manic Rabbits’ egg.

─ Look at that! It’s the egg of the King of Manic Rabbits! 

─ What? The Swift One? 

─ Did Wickron use his family’s influence to get that?

To Roan’s surprise, the students immediately recognized the egg Demona was carrying. 

‘Why did these people even enroll in Akerandir?’

They would have been better off joining a holy battle club’s youth team! 

Anyone would be frustrated to see these students, who struggled with basic healing magic, instantly recognize a rare spirit beast egg.

“Hmph, a rabbit that uses dark magic wouldn’t even be allowed in the holy battles league.”

“Oh, Hector.”

Roan was somewhat impressed by Hector’s comment. He thought it was at least a normal reaction. 

Though he was likely just as obsessed with holy battles as the others. 

Compared to them…

“I bet it’s using dark magic. No, it must be.”

‘He’s more jealous than anyone.’

Roan’s brief hopes were dashed as he sighed in disappointment, realizing he had set his expectations too high.

At that moment, Hector looked at Roan and said, “Roan, I’m going to get an egg today too, right? It’ll be way better than that of the King of Manic Rabbits’.”

Roan shook his head.

“Sorry. But it’s not happening today.”

“???”

Hector gave him a puzzled look as if to ask what he meant. 

However, just as Roan predicted, the challenges and contracts the students were looking forward to would be pushed to the second week. 

This just so happened to be the procedure.

Boom──!

Suddenly, a large, whitish figure leaped from the stands and landed with a heavy thud in the arena.

─ What’s going on? What is that?

The students murmured as the dust settled, revealing the hybrid beast-man, Professor Vulcan Brazdok, who was part thunder bear, a mid-tier mythical being. 

Though smaller than a true thunder bear, he stood well over 2 meters tall, and his body was packed with muscle and covered in yellow-tinted white fur, giving him an overwhelming presence.

“Greetings. I am Professor Vulcan Brazdok.”

Most students reacted with, ‘Huh? He’s a professor?’

“Wow! Is he the professor who actually fought in the holy battles?”

Demona’s reaction, however, went far beyond the norm, and the other students looked at him with faces that clearly said, “That’s not it.” 

Roan had the same thought as well.

‘This isn’t even a holy battles class – it’s a class about divine and spirit beasts.’ 

Roan wondered if these people even knew the correct name of the class.

“Well, I did apply for the holy battles, but they told me it wasn’t possible.”

Roan already knew this, but it was quite a shock for the other students to hear this.

─ Well, I guess that makes sense. 

─ Still, does anyone really think about joining the holy battles themselves?

Ignoring the murmurs of the students, Vulcan used sacred magic to create a platform and stepped onto it. His eyes sparkled with interest as he looked at the egg held by Demona.

“Is that the egg of the King of Manic Rabbits?”

“Yes!”

“I’ll give you 500 Dalants right now. Sell it to me.”

“…?”

The students were stunned, and even Demona looked up at Vulcan with a confused expression. 

Offering Dalants to buy a spirit beast egg was one thing, but was that something a professor should say?

‘If a professor who’s part mythical being acts like this, isn’t it basically trafficking?’ 

Roan couldn’t help but think.

“No thanks!”

After a moment of hesitation, Demona shook his head. 

It seemed like he wasn’t refusing because he had grown attached to the egg, but rather because he didn’t want to lose his best way of teasing Hector. 

Hector, who realized this, aggressively gritted his teeth.

“If you had sold it, I would have fined you 500 Dalants.”

“???”

Vulcan grinned in satisfaction and nodded his head. 

Demona let out a sigh of relief and whispered to Roan, “Phew. If it had been 1,000 Dalants, I might have considered it. I did well, didn’t I, Roan?”

With an awkward expression, Roan nodded in agreement. 

Well, it was fortunate.

“Everyone loves holy battles, right?”

─ Yes! 

─ Of course!

The students shouted in response to Vulcan’s question, their enthusiasm louder than ever.

“I’d give my life for it, Professor!”

‘… What is the likelihood this guy is an inquisitor?’

Roan was speechless as he watched Hector, who was by far the most excited. 

At this rate, wasn’t it 100% certain that he’d become a pro-holy warrior?

In any case, Vulcan, who nodded vigorously, asked the next question.

“And I’m sure you all believe in taking good care of your divine and mythical beings with love, right?”

─ Yes! 

─ They’re like family!

“Shut up! Forget all that nonsense!”

─ “…”

The students, who had been enthusiastically cheering, instantly fell silent. They felt that if they failed to read the room, that terrifying thunder bear-man might rip them apart with his massive paws.

“Love without cost and shallow care is hypocrisy! Did you plan to enter the holy battles with such weak thoughts?”

‘This isn’t even a holy battle class…’

Roan corrected his thoughts. 

It wasn’t just the students — even the professor didn’t seem to know the proper name of the class. 

But this was to be expected. 

Vulcan’s class on divine and spirit beasts had been one of the first reasons Roan grew tired of the idea of holy battles.

“Divine and spirit beasts are not some pampered royalty to whom you can offer your liver and gallbladder! Always give clear orders and demand a proper price!”

Every time Vulcan shouted, sparks of lightning crackled around his mouth.

“Otherwise, your precious companions will only become weak! What’s the point of raising them with care only for them to return from the holy battles battered and crying? Is that the outcome you want?”

Vulcan’s passionate speech began to deeply resonate with the students.

─ No! 

─ We can’t accept that!

“What is it that you desire?”

─ Victory! 

─ Only victory!

Each student raised a hand in the air as they shouted at the top of their lungs.

‘Crazy professor and crazy students. Nothing’s changed.’

Roan shook his head in utter disbelief at the sight.

“…”

At that moment, Roan’s eyes met Sion’s, who had also quietly moved to the back. 

Even though the two had drifted apart since enrolling, they now shared a strong sense of camaraderie.

Nod!

Roan and Sion nodded at each other as if they had made a silent agreement.

‘These people are definitely insane!’ 

‘This class is definitely insane!’

Sion, who was not from the Empire, was also unaccustomed to the Empire’s extreme love for holy battles, just like Roan. 

While the people in the kingdoms surrounding the Empire liked holy battles, they at least had some sense of proportion.

‘It seems Sion is the only sane person here.’

Roan felt a renewed affection for the character he had nurtured.

“Good! That’s the right attitude! Now, let me show you the basics of spirit beast training!”

Meanwhile, Vulcan swung his massive paw, summoning sacred magic. 

One of the arena gates opened, and a medium-sized spirit beast entered the field. It was a Sacred Light Boar, shining with light as it ran.

‘It looks even crazier in real life.’

The boar drooled from its mouth, pounding the ground with its front hooves as if ready to charge at any given moment.

Vulcan spread his arms wide toward the Sacred Light Boar, then let out a battle cry.

“Come on, charge at me —!”

Or at least, he tried to. 

Before he could finish his shout, the Sacred Light Boar dashed toward Vulcan at full speed.

‘It’s using its Crashing Charge.’

Roan nodded his head. While it just seemed like an incredibly fast charge, Roan could tell from the faint light on its fur and the small cracks forming along its path that this was the beast’s signature move, Crashing Charge.

‘Is it really okay to use such a move on its owner?’

As Roan pondered, the giant lightning bolt of a boar slammed into Vulcan’s chest.

Boom!

However, Vulcan’s massive body didn’t budge an inch.

“Still too light!”

The Sacred Light Boar’s eyes trembled slightly as if it already knew what was about to happen next.

Vulcan halted the boar’s charge and countered with a shoulder slam.

Squeeeal!

The boar flew through the air with a loud cry. But after landing skillfully, it immediately charged at Vulcan again with another Crashing Charge.

Boom!

This time, Vulcan was forced to take a half-step back from the impact.

“Yes, that’s it! Strike me harder with your rage!”

While some might find this display bold, most of the students were thinking:

─ Is that really okay? 

─ Isn’t that animal abuse? 

─ Well, it’s between animals, so…

The students, who had been eagerly awaiting the class, could only murmur to themselves as they witnessed this spectacle.

Squeeeal!

The Sacred Light Boar was sent flying again, but this time it hit the ground harder and was unable to get up, lying there panting.

Huff— Huff—

With a cold expression, Vulcan strode toward the fallen boar.

─ Hey, someone get another professor! 

─ But even if we do, who could stop him? He’s a thunder bear!

The students witnessed how Vulcan treated the Sacred Light Boar and visibly panicked.

Clunk—

However, when Vulcan reached the boar, he knelt down on one knee. Using high-level healing sacred magic, he tended to the boar’s wounds and even pulled out a snack from his pocket, feeding it to the animal.

“Pudong, let’s give it a bit more effort next time.”

“Whee…”

Vulcan even petted the boar’s fur with his rough hand.

‘Pudong… for a beast that’s bigger than Vulcan?’

Roan was dumbfounded to hear the enormous Sacred Light Boar’s name.

Vulcan then addressed the students in a loud voice.

“Did you see that? This is how you train spirit beasts!”

One student raised a hand and asked a question.

─ Professor! Didn’t you say earlier that love and care would make spirit beasts weak?

“Who said that?! Was it you?!”

With lightning in his eyes, Vulcan charged toward the student who had raised their hand. The student, who hadn’t even had time to lower their hand, was quickly apprehended.

─ B-but, professor, you said…

“Do you know nothing of a warrior’s pride?! How could this be kindness without cost?!”

Roan nodded to himself.

‘Well, priests might not usually understand a warrior’s pride, but that’s kind of the point, I guess.’

Vulcan wasn’t done yet and continued to shout, “You heartless fool! What are you? An evil dark mage?! Even a dark mage wouldn’t say something so cruel!”

─ Huh, what?

The student, who had suddenly become worse than a dark mage, was on the verge of tears.

“If training is the solid bones, then balanced nutrition and proper recovery are the muscles that support those bones! Got it, you bag of bones?!”

Meanwhile, other students were shedding tears of admiration.

─ P-Professor…!

─ Ah, I have underestimated the pride of a warrior…

The student spoke as if they had suddenly grasped Vulcan’s deeper wisdom. Of course, Roan and Sion, who didn’t believe for a second that what Vulcan had done was some sacred duel, were baffled.

Roan clenched his fists in frustration and thought to himself, ‘What do dark mages ever do to deserve this reputation everywhere…?’

Had dark mages ever captured spirit beasts to cruelly experiment on them? Had they ever launched a terrorist attack on the holy war league?

‘Oh, right… They had done that before.’

While it wasn’t completely unheard of, most dark mages lived their entire lives peacefully in the mountains, getting along just fine with divine and spirit beasts.

Meanwhile, after ordering the student who asked the rude question to pet Pudong for 10 minutes, Vulcan began explaining the day’s lesson.

“Today, each of you will take charge of a trained spirit beast and spend time teaching it. Afterward, we’ll form small groups for a mock individual battle.”

─ Ohh!!

Even though they wouldn’t be receiving their eggs today, the students cheered at the mention of a mock holy battle.

“Holy battle! Holy battle!”

Hector, too, was brimming with excitement. He snorted in anticipation.

“Aren’t you disappointed you won’t be getting an egg?” 

“Something like that can wait! We get to participate in a holy battle!” 

Roan clicked his tongue.

‘Hypocrites!’ 

Outwardly, they claimed the spirit beasts were like family, but all they truly cared about was the holy battle!

Roan even mused that if the Empire didn’t have a law banning gambling, they could make a fortune betting on the holy battle league.

‘… I’m a dark mage, so it wouldn’t be too bad, right?’

… It seemed like a surprisingly serious idea worth exploring.

Anyway, as Vulcan opened the gates to let the spirit beasts enter, he pointed at Demona and said, “You should rest today since the egg you’ve bonded with might get jealous.”

Demona responded with a bright smile.

“But can’t I still participate in the holy battle with my egg? It’s really good at electric attacks!”

Vulcan growled, his expression filled with genuine disgust, which was quite a feat for a bear’s face.

“I said. REST.”

Judging by his tone and expression, it was clear that if Demona didn’t rest, Vulcan would make sure he rested permanently.

“Yes, sir.”

Demona immediately nodded, and clutching his egg tightly, he headed toward the stands.