I Became a Terminally Ill Magic Genius at the Academy

Having a demon as the principal of an academy where over 90% of the students were human might seem absurd, but Serhen had earned the approval of the Emperor of the Noxister Empire. 

Since the academy’s founding, many emperors had come and gone, but the principal had never changed.

— As for the academy’s rules… Well, explaining them is a hassle, so should I skip it?

Serhen asked as if it didn’t really matter. 

Someone in the front row shook their head.

— Oh, no skipping? Then you should’ve been the principal.

Shrugging, Serhen casually skipped over the rule explanations and continued.

— Anyway, there are a lot of rules, but if you break them, expect some terrifying punishments. Look forward to it.

It might sound outrageous that students would face punishment without properly understanding the rules, but that was something they’d have to get used to. 

Serhen was the absolute authority here.

— But really, that’s not important. You’ve all already been admitted. Is the entrance ceremony that big of a deal? What’s actually important is… Your dormitory assignment.

Indeed, the dormitory assignment was the highlight of the ceremony. 

It wasn’t just about getting a place to stay; it was a matter of pride and competition between the dorms.

— Want to be in the same dorm as your friend sitting next to you? Too bad, students don’t get to decide. Instead, Aaron Island does.

With a snap of her fingers, a large floating island appeared in the air above the grand hall.

It was an illusion spell, something most would struggle to conjure by drawing intricate magic circles, but Serhen did it with a flick of her fingers.

— That there is Aaron Island. The place where you’ll all be heading shortly.

The students murmured quietly, taking in the sight of the island floating in the air.

— The dorm assignment test is simple. Use any method you want, but you just have to escape Aaron Island.

Most of the students knew about the dorm assignment test, so the word escape didn’t cause much of a stir.

— Once you escape the island, you’ll wake up in the dorm you’ve been assigned to. The top five will get single rooms, while others will share double or triple rooms.

Yohan quietly watched Serhen, waiting for what came next.

— Oh, but just escaping would be too boring, wouldn’t it? Each of you will be given a mana stone.”

But there was more to it than just escaping.

Why would they be given mana stones?

— The more mana stones you have when you escape, the higher your score will be. Sounds fun, right?

Serhen laughed brightly.

Yohan couldn’t help but shiver at that smile.

‘That’s chilling.’

It was, without a doubt, the smile of a demon. 

When Yohan had drawn that expression in his webtoon, it hadn’t struck him as anything special. 

But seeing it in person? 

It made his skin crawl. 

However, there wasn’t much time to dwell on that eerie grin. 

The entire floor of the auditorium began to glow. 

— Alright then. Good luck everyone!”

With those words from Serhen, the scene suddenly shifted. 

The dormitory assignment test had begun. 

——-

As soon as the students were transported to Aaron Island for the dorm assignment test, Serhen quickly made her way to where the other professors were waiting. 

They would be monitoring the students through live-feed projection devices and reviewing the earlier entrance exam to ensure everything had gone smoothly. 

Click. 

As soon as she closed the door to the room, Serhen clapped her hands together. 

“Alright. Let’s see who among this batch of new students stands out the most! Let’s start with the eastern region!” 

The dorm assignment test had just begun, and the students would likely be too busy getting their bearings to do anything else for a while. 

This was the perfect time to identify the most promising students. 

Plus, given that students had been recruited from the empire’s east, west, north, and south, it was only natural to compare them. 

“The most outstanding student from the East is the young lady from the Orfen family. As expected of her lineage, she already handles elemental magic with remarkable skill.” 

“In the West, it’s Cecilia Diaz. She defeated the student posing as a member of Crow using a golem she made herself.” 

Professors responsible for the eastern and western regions were quick to respond. 

Both Orfen and Diaz were among the empire’s four great families. 

This year’s class also included another member of the prestigious four families. 

“As expected of the scions of the four great families. How about the North? Didn’t that infamous member of the Hart family take the entrance exam this time?” 

“You mean that troublemaker…?” 

The professors turned their attention to the northern exam proctor. 

Unperturbed by their stares, the northern professor calmly nodded. 

“Yes. Yohan Hart of the Hart family participated in this year’s entrance exam.” 

“Oh my, you must’ve had a hard time.” 

The professors assumed Yohan had caused chaos during the exam and offered their sympathies. 

Yohan Hart was infamous for many reasons. 

While being the sole heir of the Hart family’s third generation certainly added to his notoriety, it was the endless rumors surrounding him that truly defined his reputation. 

Recently, there had even been a rumor that he tried to burn down his family’s greenhouse—along with his tutor.

It was hard to verify the legitimacy. However, the very fact that such rumors were spreading revealed just how notorious Yohan Hart was as a troublemaker. 

However, contrary to the other professors’ concerns, the professor in charge of the north immediately shook their head. 

“No. Yohan Hart didn’t exhibit any behavior during the airship ride that could be considered troubling.”

“Is that so? Well, no matter how much of a troublemaker he may be, he wouldn’t cause a scene on the Arcana Academy’s airship.”

“Well, it’s more like…”

“Why do you say that? Was there some kind of issue?”

“It would be better for you to see it yourself.”

Eventually, the north professor pulled something from their pocket.

“It’s the recording device from inside the airship.”

To document the entrance exam, recording devices were installed throughout the airship. 

As the professor manipulated the mana, the crystal ball began to project a video. 

The video contained all of Yohan’s actions. 

– No, we’ll head to the engine room.

– Light.

– Hello, Senior.

It showed everything from the moment right before the student council disguised as Crow appeared, Yohan’s retreat to the engine room, and the ensuing battle. 

The professors watching the video were speechless. They stared at the crystal ball in disbelief. 

“This is… intriguing.”

“The only magic he displayed was a light spell, though. It was his servant who actually subdued Violet, wasn’t it?”

“He seems quite capable, but compared to the Orfen heiress or Cecilia, he’s not as impressive…”

“The focus should be on his situational judgment and his ability to guide the scenario as he intended.”

The north professor rewound the footage, showing Yohan heading to the engine room with his servant. 

“With just a small amount of information, he deduced that the Crow attack was part of the exam and chose to head to the engine room instead of the evacuation shelter.”

It was easy to infer that Yohan anticipated the student council, who were disguised as Crow, would be unable to use dangerous magic in the engine room.

“He selected a battlefield where the power gap between him and the examiners would be narrowed?”

“That’s the only logical interpretation.”

The footage continued, showing Yohan instructing Ariel on their strategy. 

“And the ensuing battle… Was executed exactly as he had calculated.”

“I can’t believe Violet was subdued that easily. It’s unbelievable.”

Violet Heinz. 

She was the student council president. 

Her skills were naturally superior, and she was known as an exceptional student who didn’t make mistakes in situations like these. 

Yet, Yohan had subdued her without breaking a sweat. 

“Violet didn’t make any mistakes in her decisions.”

“In a one-on-one scenario, with one of the opponents being an assassin skilled at concealing their presence, that was her best option.”

“Wow! Bringing an assassin disguised as a servant to an entrance exam. What on earth was the Hart family thinking?”

Various opinions were shared, but in the end, everyone agreed on one thing.

Yohan Hart had shown remarkable skill.

“So, was Yohan Hart the most outstanding student in the North?”

“Yohan Hart certainly surprised us, but if I had to choose the top student, I would pick someone else.”

“Who?”

“A student named Leila fought against two examiners on her own. And she did it purely with her own abilities.”

“… If she weren’t up against students from major families, she might have even taken the top spot.”

The students disguised as Crow were selected from the academy’s top performers to minimize mistakes.

For a new student to take on two of them was impressive in itself, making her a contender for the top rank in the entrance exam.

However, one of the professors shook their head and spoke up.

“That’s uncertain. After all, there’s a special student in this year’s class.”

This student was personally brought in by Principal Serhen and admitted through a special process with a separate entrance exam. 

While Serhen had occasionally chosen students before, it was rare for her to bring them in personally and even rarer for them to take a separate exam. 

Naturally, this piqued everyone’s curiosity.

“Serhen, how was that student?”

The professors looked at her with curious eyes, but Serhen didn’t immediately respond. Her gaze still lingered on Yohan in the recording.

“Serhen?”

“Oh. What were we talking about again?”

“We were discussing the student you brought in.”

“Oh, Cedric? If he had taken the entrance exam, I’m sure he would’ve been the top scorer.”

“He’s that exceptional?”

“Of course. Who do you think brought him in?”

Serhen answered confidently. 

The professors were intrigued, but since Serhen didn’t seem eager to provide more details, they shifted their focus to another topic.

“So who do you think will be the top scorer among the new students?”

Though the question was indirect, the meaning was clear.

So, who would win in a fight?

Since the academy was established to train mages capable of battling the ‘Lord’ and Crow, it was no surprise that the professors had a combative mindset.

“Wouldn’t the heir of the Orfen family be the top candidate?”

“It’s definitely Cecilia Diaz.”

“You can’t ignore Leila either.”

Various opinions were expressed. 

It wasn’t a typical situation. 

Even with exceptional mages, it was rare for students to stand out during the entrance exam. 

If one or two students per year did, it was considered fortunate. 

However, this particular group of first-year students had an unusually high number of exceptions.

The professors couldn’t reach a consensus, so they came to a conclusion.

“Let’s just see for ourselves.”

Since the students were currently undergoing the dormitory assignment exam, it was highly likely that battles would break out between them. 

The professors decided to observe the new students in real-time, and if battles occurred, they could assess and discuss the results afterward.

They turned on the live video feed from Aaron Island to monitor the current situation.

“Looks like two students have crossed paths.”

“Isn’t that Yohan and Cecilia?”

“Hm. The outcome is pretty clear.”

“Of course, Cecilia will win.”

None of the professors bet on Yohan’s victory. 

It was only natural. 

Yohan was infamous for being a troublemaker, and judging by his performance in the entrance exam, it wasn’t hard to predict the outcome. 

While Cecilia had directly taken down a Crow imposter, Yohan had only managed to succeed with the help of his servant.

However, the professor in charge of the Northern region had a different perspective.

“You never know. Yohan might come up with something clever again.”

“Hmm. But with the obvious gap in their abilities, is that even possible?”

“We’ll see soon enough.”

All the professors focused intently on the video feed. 

Because of this, they failed to notice something important.

Principal Serhen discreetly grabbed Yohan’s entrance exam video and hid it in her robe.