I Became a Terminally Ill Magic Genius at the Academy

– This is an announcement. Our airship has arrived at its destination, Arcana Academy…

Yohan, who had been lying in bed resting, sat up abruptly at the sound of the announcement. 

At the same time, there was a knock at the door. 

It was probably Ariel.

“I’m coming out.”

He gathered his belongings and stepped outside. 

Everyone was filing out of their rooms and heading toward the exit. 

They all appeared to be excited by the announcement.

“Shall we go, Young Master?”  

“Yeah.”

Finally, it was Arcana Academy. 

Yohan could feel his heart racing with excitement.

“Identification check, please.”

The crew member announced just before disembarking. 

But this wasn’t just a simple ID check—this was the moment when the results of the entrance exam would be revealed. 

Students were being sorted and the ones who passed would move on to the dormitory assignment tests.

“Welcome. Please proceed to the right.”

Yohan followed Ariel and moved down the designated right-hand path. 

As soon as they stepped out of the enclosed corridor, they were greeted by bright sunlight.

“…”

Yohan paused for a moment, taking in the sight of Arcana Academy before him. 

It was a feeling beyond words. 

While he had been impressed by the Hart family estate and the airship, this was on a completely different level.

‘This is overwhelming.’  

There were no better words to describe it.

“Young Master, are you alright?”  

“Yeah. It’s just… The buildings are amazing.”

Ariel’s voice snapped him out of his reverie, and he continued walking forward. 

He could now see the students who had disembarked before him, along with their attendants. 

He glanced to his left and saw twice as many people gathered there.

‘Are they the ones who didn’t pass?’ 

He had expected about half of the students to pass, but it seemed that few from the northern region, where he had come from, had made the cut.

“Welcome. From this moment forward, you are officially freshmen of Arcana Academy.”

A man, who appeared to be from the academy’s admissions team, said as he clapped his hands.

After a brief moment of silence, a wave of excited murmurs and cheers spread through the crowd.  

“Wait. Really?”  

“Does this mean we’ve been accepted?”

Many of the students still appeared confused, unsure if they had truly passed. 

Since the specifics of the exam hadn’t been explained, their reactions were understandable.

“The entrance exam began the moment you boarded the airship, and the attack during the journey was also part of the exam.”

The man explained calmly since students looked both thrilled and shocked.

“Wow! They went that far just for the exam.”  

“That was the entrance exam?”

Ignoring the murmurs, the man continued.

“You will now proceed to the entrance ceremony and dormitory assignment test…”

Just as he was speaking, the rejected students on the left side began raising their voices, having realized the situation.

“If this is a Magic Academy, we should be tested on magic! Does this even make sense?”

All heads turned to the left. 

It was a familiar face—one of the students from the airship who had annoyed Ariel by asking if Yohan Hart was also there for the entrance exam.

It seemed that causing a commotion after failing was a common occurrence each year, as the official from Arcana Academy didn’t even flinch. 

Instead, Violet stepped forward and spoke.

“The founding principle of Arcana Academy is to train mages to fight against ‘The Lord.’”

Since the academy itself was established as a facility to train mages to oppose The Lord, Violet’s statement wasn’t wrong.

“Anyone who is too afraid to act against even the likes of Crow has no place here.”

“Hah. Really?”

However, the student who had been eliminated clearly didn’t agree.

“Let’s see if you can say that after getting hit by my magic.”

Unwilling to accept the results, the student raised his magic pen and began drawing a magic circle in the air. 

Just as he was about to cast a spell, Yohan noticed Violet lift her magic pen and clicked his tongue.

‘They should’ve just walked away quietly.’

One thing was for sure.

Violet wouldn’t stand by if there was even the slightest threat to the reputation of the student council.

Sure enough, a snake made of water appeared right in front of the student’s magic circle. 

Violet swiftly controlled the water snake with her pen.

“What the—?”

Before the eliminated student could even complete their spell, they were devoured by the water snake.

SPLASH!

Completely drenched, the student collapsed onto the floor.

“What are you doing?!”

“It is strictly forbidden to use magic without permission at Arcana Academy.”

“But to go this far—drenching me like this…”

“You were about to cast an offensive spell, and the student council responded appropriately.”

Violet had neatly subdued the situation, and no one else dared to make a scene after that.

“She’s scarier than I thought.”

Yohan nodded in agreement.

As soon as the commotion died down, the academy official resumed speaking.

“Please proceed to the main hall. Only students are allowed to enter the main hall….”

Ariel was the first to react to the announcement.

“It seems this is where we part ways.”

“Thanks for sticking with me.”

“It was nothing, Young Master.”

“I’ll see you during the break.”

Ariel nodded, then opened her mouth to speak again.

“Young Master.”

“Yeah?”

“Congratulations on getting into the academy.”

“Oh, thanks. And congratulations to you too.”

“Pardon?”

“You won’t have to see my face for a while, right?”

Ariel let out a small chuckle but didn’t say anything else. 

With that, Yohan headed toward the main hall.

———

The entrance ceremony at Arcana Academy wasn’t anything particularly grand. 

It was merely an occasion for people from all over the empire to gather in one place, listen to a few words from the academy’s principal, and that was it.

There wasn’t much to look forward to, but still…

‘How old am I to be feeling excited about an entrance ceremony?’

Since Yohan didn’t have great memories of school, this feeling of excitement was new to him. 

While it was nice to know he’d be attending the academy, what really thrilled him was spotting a man standing in a corner of the main hall.

“Cedric.”

The protagonist of Arcana Academy.

His blonde hair was covered in dust, and though his signature blue eyes were still bright, his appearance was noticeably scruffy compared to the other nobles or children from wealthy families around him.

But still…

‘You can tell at a glance he’s something special.’

Maybe it was because Yohan was the one who created him, but Cedric had an undeniable aura of a main character.

The urge to walk over and talk to him surged within Yohan, but he held back. 

If he approached now, he’d unintentionally become one of the key supporting characters in the early episodes.

“I’ll just be satisfied with watching from a distance.”

Yohan mumbled to himself and scanned the rest of the hall. 

Several people caught his eye.

They were all characters he had carefully drawn by hand.

‘There are also a lot of unfamiliar faces.’

Of course, he couldn’t remember every background character he’d ever drawn.

Even though Yohan was the creator, most of his knowledge revolved around the main character Cedric and his journey.

He calmly took in the sight of the main characters, keeping a safe distance from them. 

Since they were spread out across the hall, avoiding them led Yohan to a spot near the wall.

‘Maybe I’ll just stay here for now.’

Just as Yohan was about to lean against the wall, he made eye contact with someone.

A woman with short, light brown hair and matching brown eyes. Her outfit looked more like a mechanic’s work clothes with a leather belt full of tools.

He recognized her.

Not as Kang Ji-hoon, the webtoon artist, but as Yohan himself. 

Naturally, she recognized Yohan as well.

“Well, well, look who it is.”

“… Cecilia Diaz.”

Cecilia, the second daughter of the Diaz family, one of the empire’s Four Great Houses. They were renowned for their unparalleled expertise in magical engineering.

‘In the original story, she didn’t get much spotlight because she was overshadowed by her older sister….’

Still, her talents were significant, befitting the heir of one of the empire’s top families. 

The problem was that Cecilia and Yohan were practically sworn enemies. 

Their bad blood began the year Yohan’s mother passed away, and though they hadn’t crossed paths many times since…

‘Every time we did, it was all growling and hostility.’

This encounter was no different. 

Cecilia frowned and spoke sharply toward Yohan.

“What are you doing here?”

“Probably the same thing you are.”

Yohan answered calmly. 

With the personality that came with his body, responding like this wasn’t difficult.

“You’re entering the academy? No, wait… You passed the entrance exam?”

“Looks that way.”

Yohan shrugged nonchalantly. 

Cecilia scoffed, a bitter laugh escaping her.

“Was it luck, or did you pull another one of your tricks?”

Her words left Yohan momentarily speechless.

‘Now that I think about it, the original Yohan also entered the academy this year.’

Considering his lack of talent and his cursed personality, could it really be possible that Yohan passed the entrance exam? 

The original story never delved into Yohan’s entrance, so even as the creator, Yohan didn’t know for sure.

Had the original Yohan somehow schemed his way in?

‘Even though the Hart family is influential, meddling with Arcana Academy’s admissions would be nearly impossible.’

Even the Imperial family had little sway over Arcana Academy. 

No matter how influential the Four Great Houses of the Empire were, they couldn’t simply force an admission.

‘Or maybe… It’s because of his personality that he passed.’

After all, Yohan was a notorious troublemaker. 

Perhaps his reckless behavior with the Crow incident had somehow worked in his favor.

As Yohan pondered the possible reasons the original Yohan could have been accepted into Arcana Academy, Cecilia opened her mouth to say something. 

But at that moment…

— Attention. Can you all hear me?”

A voice echoed throughout the grand hall. 

Cecilia clicked her tongue in annoyance and turned her head toward the stage. 

Yohan followed her gaze.

A small child was hovering above the podium. 

Yes. Hovering.

— Welcome to Arcana Academy, freshmen. I’m the principal, Serhen.”

Arcana Academy was a magic academy in a world where fantasy and steampunk elements coexisted. 

That meant it wasn’t strange for the academy’s principal to be anything but human.

Serhen, who looked like a young child, had two horns protruding from her head.

— Ah! And these? Don’t worry about them, okay? Not all demons eat people.

In other words, the principal of Arcana Academy was a demon.