I Became a Terminally Ill Magic Genius at the Academy

Seeing the massive golem, Yohan furrowed his brow. 

When drawing it, he hadn’t realized it would be so imposing. 

Moreover…

‘The entire body is made of steel.’

If he took even one punch from that thing, it wouldn’t end with just a broken bone. Especially with Yohan’s fragile physique.

“You made it well. Carving spells into the interior must not have been easy.”

“I made it so it wouldn’t be hard to beat you to a pulp.”

“…”

Yohan clamped his mouth shut and concentrated his mind on the tip of his magic pen, moving it carefully. 

When there’s leisure or practice time, drawing the magic circle on paper is the norm. 

But who had time to scribble on paper during a magic battle? 

Everyone drew magic circles in midair, using the air as their canvas.

‘Drawing in the air still feels awkward.’

Having always drawn on paper or a tablet, drawing something in midair was an unfamiliar task. Of course, being unfamiliar didn’t mean he couldn’t do it.

“Golem, take him down.”

Cecilia commanded her golem, pointing at Yohan just as he began moving his pen to cast a spell.

Hiss.

Thud. Thud.

The golem followed Cecilia’s order and strode heavily toward Yohan. It raised its enormous fist into the air and then brought it down with full force.

“Blood Shield.”

It appeared impossible to block that with a standard shield, so he used a more advanced magic right away.

Bang!

Fortunately, the strength of the Blood Shield was enough to stop the golem’s fist. 

Cecilia frowned in annoyance, but Yohan’s expression wasn’t bright either.

‘My heart…’

Even basic magic was a burden for his frail heart. And that wasn’t the only issue.

‘Two more hits, and that’s it.’

The golem’s punch was incredibly powerful. If it had been a regular shield, it would have been half-destroyed by that attack. 

The Blood Shield’s defensive power was superior, but not invincible. 

Even with the Blood Shield, if he took two more hits, it would shatter.

“Keep pounding it!”

Cecilia seemed to know the shield wouldn’t last much longer, so she commanded her golem to strike again. 

The golem raised its fist once more, and Yohan quickly assessed it.

‘Ignoring the golem and neutralizing Cecilia doesn’t seem feasible.’

Since the Diaz family was famous for magical engineering, battles involving golems were common. 

If he could deal with the summoner quickly, he wouldn’t have to face the golem. 

But now, ignoring the golem and attacking Cecilia directly wouldn’t be easy.

In the end, he had to deal with the golem first.

‘Destroy the core?’

The standard way to completely neutralize a golem was to destroy its core. 

As a masterpiece of magical engineering, a golem was a complex and intricate machine, and all machines required a power source. 

For golems, this source was a refined mana stone known as the core. Destroying this core barred the golem from functioning.

Bang!

Cecilia’s golem pounded on Yohan’s shield again.  

Creak. Crack.

An ominous sound accompanied by cracks appearing on the shield. Yohan glared at the golem’s chest, where the core was likely located, but thick steel armor protected it.

‘Then I’ll have to target a different spot.’

Thinking quickly, Yohan moved his magic pen. 

Fortunately, Cecilia hadn’t perfected her golem at this stage. There were weak points besides the core.

‘The remaining magic I can use is one 2nd-tier spell and one 1st-tier spell.’

Anything beyond that would strain his heart. 

Even though it was risky and required great precision, it was worth a try. 

Better to take on some risk than simply get hit and hand over his mana stone.

“This ends now. Attack again!” 

The golem swung its fist toward Yohan.  

Crack!

Yohan’s shield shattered. 

Simultaneously—

“Ignite.”

Yohan cast the 2nd-tier spell Ignite.

Whoosh!

Flames engulfed the golem’s face. 

Unable to see, the golem flailed its fists aimlessly in the air. 

Meanwhile, Yohan swiftly moved to the golem’s back.

“Golem, behind you…!” 

Cecilia cried out urgently, but it was too late.

Yohan leaped onto the golem’s back, clutching his magic pen in one hand.

‘The weakness of magical engineering is clear.’

The golem was the pinnacle of the Diaz family’s magical engineering.

When Yohan was creating the settings for magical engineering, he drew heavily from modern electronics and mechanical engineering. 

Now, you might ask, what does an artist know about electronics and mechanical engineering?

Surprisingly, Yohan had a decent amount of knowledge in that field.  

‘I learned it the hard way at a technical high school.’

He had wanted to attend an arts high school. 

Unfortunately, Yohan was an orphan from a children’s home with no one to rely on. 

Attending an arts high school, which required a lot of money, was out of the question. 

So, he had no choice but to opt for a vocational technical school.

‘Back then, I hated learning all that stuff, but it came in handy when I was creating settings.’

When designing the golems used by Cecilia, he incorporated what he had learned back then into the settings. 

Naturally, the golems were equipped with all sorts of advanced magical engineering components. 

And what does that mean?

‘It means they are weak to electricity.’

Whether or not one has studied engineering, it’s common knowledge that mechanical devices are sensitive to electricity. You don’t even need a large amount of current. 

‘One wrong soldering job, and the entire circuit board can be fried.’

Circuit boards in electronic devices can be more delicate than people think. 

Plus, the golem’s material was steel—a metal that conducts electricity exceptionally well.  

Whirr.

The flames dissipated, and the golem was now able to see again. It began to move to shake Yohan off its back. 

However, given its bulky frame, the golem couldn’t reach Yohan due to its joint structure. 

At that time, Yohan moved his magic pen. 

Throb.

Pain started to radiate from his heart, but he didn’t stop.  

‘This is do or die.’

He drew a circle for the formation and inscribed a single layer inside it—electricity.

He could add the strength layer to increase its power, but it wasn’t necessary now. 

All he needed was enough to disrupt a circuit.

Finally, Yohan completed the magic circle with a stroke.  

“Spark.”

A 1-star lightning spell, stripped of power.  

Crackle.

Electricity, about the size of his palm, sparked between his thumb and index finger.  

Yohan directed it toward the back of the golem’s neck. 

The golem’s bulky body abruptly halted.  

Then…  

Whirr—Thud! 

The golem wobbled and collapsed forward.

———

After jumping off the golem, Yohan let out a faint groan.  

“Ugh.”

He had anticipated that the golem would go on a rampage and had prepared accordingly, but that didn’t mean he could escape the ordeal unscathed. 

Yohan shook his head slightly and stood up.

“Snap out of it and attack again!”  

Cecilia commanded the golem, but it remained motionless. 

On the surface, it looked fine, and its core wasn’t damaged, but…  

“The golem can’t be controlled anymore.”  

Cecilia controlled the golem using mana. 

She had installed a mana recognition device with a magic circle on the back of its neck—essentially, an antenna. 

Yohan had just disabled it.

“How did you…?”  

“Well… Since your mana controls the golem, I figured there’d be a mana recognition device.”  

“But how did you know it was on the back of the neck?”  

“I guessed.”

In truth, it was knowledge that the main character, Cedric, would discover later in the original story while facing golems from the Diaz family.

“Annoying. If you didn’t want to tell me, just say so.”  

“I really just guessed.”  

Yohan shrugged as he responded to Cecilia’s irritated remark. 

She clicked her tongue in annoyance before speaking again.  

“You’re an annoying guy. Must be nice being a pretty boy.”

At her words, Yohan unconsciously touched his face. 

He knew he had drawn himself as good-looking, but did he really come off as that annoying? 

He pondered for a moment but quickly refocused on what was more important.

“Enough. Like I said before, I have no intention of taking your mana stone, and I don’t want to keep fighting. So, we should call it quits here.”

With Cecilia’s golem neutralized, it was fair to say that more than half of her combat strength was gone.  

The problem was…  

‘I can’t use magic anymore.’  

Yohan glanced at his right arm. His fingers were trembling slightly. 

While the symptoms had improved thanks to Bryan Hart’s magic pen, he hadn’t fully escaped the curse’s grip.

Just now, the aftereffects of casting the 1-star spell ‘Spark’ to deal a meaningful blow to the golem were setting in. 

If he continued the magical battle any further, the symptoms would worsen… Inevitably, Yohan would end up losing.

‘If Cecilia endures just a bit more than expected, I might lose.’  

Even though the golem was her primary weapon, Cecilia was still the daughter of the Diaz family, one of the four great families of the empire.

She probably had more spells up her sleeve than just the golem summoning spell.  

‘There’s no need to take that kind of risk.’  

After all, from Cecilia’s perspective, with the golem damaged, she’d have to accept his suggestion to call it quits.  

Sure enough…  

“……”  

Cecilia, who had been growling and snapping back at his every word, was now silent. She stared intently at Yohan.  

“What? Want to keep going? Think you can manage without your golem?”  

“… Just get lost.”  

“Fine.”

At her words, Yohan casually nodded and turned away. 

Still, he gripped his magic pen tightly. 

She could cast a spell the moment he turned his back.

“Hey.”  

As he cautiously moved away, Cecilia called out to him. 

Yohan turned to look back.  

Whoosh!  

Something flew toward him, and Yohan instinctively caught it.  

‘A mana stone?’  

What Cecilia threw at him was a small pouch. 

Blinking, he checked the contents and found a piece of paper and a stone inside. 

It was a mana stone, rich with mana, something everyone had since they were summoned to Aaron Island. 

And the piece of paper had the magic circle he had been looking for.  

He was about to leave, so why did she give him this? 

Yohan looked at Cecilia with a puzzled expression.  

“I lost today, but I won’t lose next time.”  

Clenching her fists, she spoke with determination. 

Yohan blinked.  

‘Huh. What’s this?’  

Apparently, she had misunderstood the situation. 

He had suggested a truce, thinking he might lose if things went wrong.  

“What are you staring at? Get lost already.”  

‘Hmm.’  

She was giving him a mana stone; there was no need to refuse it. 

With a composed expression, Yohan nodded and turned away. 

Cecilia watched until he completely disappeared from sight before approaching her golem.  

“I’ll fix you up soon.”  

Muttering to herself, she took out some tools from her belt.  

Of course, neither Yohan nor Cecilia noticed the small sparrow that had been watching them the entire time.