The Genius Tamer of the Academy

Chapter 59

“Isn’t that a familiar face? Right?”

“Huh.”

Adela’s eyes widened as she gasped. It was the same man they had met on the train to Seinen, the one who had shown them various magical tricks, dismissing them as simple illusions.

I lowered my voice, excitement bubbling within me. No matter how curious the coincidence, I never expected to meet him here. So, that’s why he seemed so interested in the research conference.

How did things turn out this way?

“That guy was a professor?”

“That’s what I’m saying. He looked so ordinary.”

“Do professors have ‘professor’ written on their foreheads? They’re all ordinary. But where did you see him?”

Lee Han laughed incredulously, wedging himself between me and Adela.

“We met him on the train. He didn’t teach us about herbs, though.”

“You were taught by him?”

“It just sort of happened…”

At that moment, Professor Bruce Miller tapped the lectern a few times and began speaking with a contented smile.

“Thank you all for attending my lecture. Are all the students here?”

“Yes, sir!”

The low, calming voice I remembered from the train was the same. Despite hearing so much about him as the absolute authority in herbology, his demeanor was much softer than I’d expected. Of course, I had no idea at the time that the peculiar man I met on the train was the very same professor. As expected, his lecture was unique.

“Magic isn’t just about harming your opponents. There’s magic that can save lives, too.”

It was an opening statement that most mages wouldn’t readily agree with.

“That’s the essence of herbology. How many of you have bought cheap potions from a shop before heading into battle?”

“Cheap potions…”

“Do you know how much those cost?”

The room buzzed with murmurs.

“Even those subpar potions start with herbology. They’re meant to save lives, although there are certainly potions with other purposes.”

Professor Bruce Miller calmly continued his explanation, covering the principles of herbology, the formulas for mixing ingredients, and ways to apply them.

Normally, it would take weeks to cover such extensive material. But as the valuable lecture continued at a rapid pace, even the novice mages who had initially struggled to pay attention began to hunch over their notebooks, scribbling furiously.

They instinctively knew this was valuable knowledge.

Herbology wasn’t commonly a primary focus for battle mages, but it never hurt to know a bit about it.

I, too, began taking notes.

‘He seems different.’

So, this is the power of the greatest herbologist.

On the train, his talk had seemed fanciful, but now I realized his magic was closely related to modern medicine.

Rather than focusing on ensuring death, his research was about ensuring life—an approach that seemed several centuries ahead of its time.

As Professor Bruce Miller continued to cram vast amounts of knowledge into the lecture, the flow of the lesson suddenly took an unexpected turn.

“On my way here today, I came across a fascinating student, and it turns out that student is here in this very room.”

“…!”

“They have an extraordinary talent, and I expect they’ll excel in herbology as well.”

Professor Bruce Miller’s gaze landed squarely on me.

“The student sitting at the very back?”

Me?

He’s calling me out, out of nowhere?

The student who never escapes a professor’s radar. The one who always ends up being called to the front of the class for demonstrations. The one who’s perpetually invited to join graduate school programs.

What sins did I commit in a past life to catch the eye of a professor even in a foreign land?

Blinking in disbelief, I stood up.

“You mean me?”

“My finger seems to be pointing right at you, doesn’t it?”

Professor Bruce Miller laughed heartily, beckoning me forward.

Mages from various schools turned their eyes toward me.

“…Oh.”

“Who’s that?”

“Ardel?”

“If Professor Miller’s pointing them out… are they a herbology genius or something?”

“Who is that guy?”

With all eyes on me, there was no choice but to walk to the front.

Professor Bruce welcomed me with a warm smile.

“It’s not a particularly difficult principle. I’m going to give you a problem, and I believe you can solve it.”

I’ve never studied herbology before. Can I really do this?

Swallowing nervously, I looked down at the cluttered table.

There were a few items laid out: Montene iceweed, a rope made from twisted arrowroot, and vines from a red baobab tree.

“What kind of potion do you think you can make with these ingredients?”

The lecture hall buzzed with murmurs at the unexpected question.

“That’s difficult.”

“I’ve never seen some of these before. Iceweed is only found in Montene, right?”

“Didn’t we learn this today?”

I closed my eyes tightly, thinking it over.

A minute or so passed. That should be enough time.

“I think I know what it is.”

I reached out without hesitation.

* * *

“May I try making it?”

At Han Siha’s question, Professor Bruce nodded readily.

Any student who had taken basic herbology should have encountered this potion at least once. For a second-year student, this should be familiar territory.

However, there was a reason why no one in the lecture hall was quick to step up.

While they knew the outcome, they didn’t fully understand the principles or the process.

With the ingredients swapped out, most of them were completely lost.

But Professor Bruce’s expression gave Han Siha a hint.

‘You already know this.’

The confidence in his gaze.

It was unlikely the problem was too convoluted. A bit of observation would be enough to solve it.

Han Siha quickly began piecing things together.

‘What was the professor emphasizing?’

Every test begins with understanding the examiner’s intent.

This wasn’t Han Siha’s first encounter with Professor Bruce.

Han Siha slowly recalled the lessons the professor had shared on the train.

None of it had explicitly mentioned herbology, but there must have been a crucial detail hidden in there.

‘Could it be…?’

Han Siha focused not on the ingredients but on the elements.

Montene iceweed—he had never heard of it, but its elemental properties were clear.

The red baobab vines—these were commonly used in various other potions.

Han Siha dipped the twisted arrowroot rope into hot water, then cut the vine stems and added them to the mixture.

The potion began to turn a deep shade of red.

Without a moment’s hesitation, a decisive action was taken.

Adela, who had been watching from the back, let out a gasp and nudged Lee Han in the side.

“What the? You said you’ve never studied herbalism.”

“Did you learn that already?”

“There wasn’t even time for that.”

Lee Han also pulled out a chair with a serious expression and sat down.

In the meantime, Han Siha had apparently finished his concoction and was now cooling the potion in a glass cup.

Professor Bruce, surprised by the unexpectedly fast pace, barely managed to hide his astonishment.

However, the other students didn’t.

“Is he even doing it right?”

“He’s probably just throwing things together randomly.”

Kail, who was sitting in the front row, sneered. But with both his eyes bruised and swollen, he looked utterly pitiful.

Professor Bruce internally shook his head at kail’s remark.

It was swift and precise.

Even though the ingredients had been changed, Han Siha’s confident gestures made it seem like he had made this potion before.

There was no hesitation in Han Siha’s actions.

Finally, Han Siha completed the potion and held it up in the air.

And then.

“Wait a second!”

Without a moment’s pause, he swallowed it.

The students began whispering among themselves again.

“Is he crazy?”

“Isn’t he going to die?”

“What kind of confidence is that? Does Ardel really have such a lunatic?”

Han Siha calmly took a sip and then turned to Professor Bruce.

“Could you please use a fire spell?”

Professor Bruce Miller couldn’t help but chuckle at Han Siha’s audacity.

Under normal circumstances, one would think he had recklessly drunk a potion without knowing what it was.

But the boy standing before him had hit the nail on the head.

That’s right.

This was a fire resistance potion, something found on the very first page of basic herbalism.

A basic potion that allowed one to withstand extreme heat.

“Fire resistance?”

“None of those ingredients should be in a fire resistance potion!”

“That’s impossible.”

Without hesitation, Professor Bruce Miller conjured a hot flame at the tip of his wand.

Whoosh.

Han Siha approached the blazing fire with a completely nonchalant expression and extended his hand.

For about three minutes, he would be completely resistant to the flames.

His face appeared as serene as if he were dipping his hand into warm water.

“What the…?”

“Did he really just stick his hand in there?”

“He’s not just enduring it, right?”

Kail, sitting in the front row, clenched his teeth in disbelief.

“That monster…”

The students from other schools, shocked, stuck out their tongues.

For a mere second-year student to solve a problem that even upperclassmen who had taken advanced herbalism couldn’t—some of them stood with their mouths agape, muttering softly.

“Is that the power of Ardel…?”

“Who said they were washed up?”

“A second-year, no less….”

“So, what’s that guy’s name?”

“Aren’t they going to win this competition?”

Murmurs filled the room.

As the atmosphere in the classroom shifted to one of admiration for Ardel, Kail, unable to accept it, rubbed his swollen eyelids and raised his hand high.

“I think I can do that too, though?”

It was a desperate bluff.

* * *

“Ugh… So, this is…”

kail felt like banging his head against the table.

He stood at the front of the classroom, looking utterly pathetic, but he was still one of the top three third-year students at Cardbel Academy.

The problem, however, was that this year’s third-year students at Cardbel were notoriously lacking in talent, and kail had earned his spot through various underhanded means.

In truth, he didn’t have the ability.

It was a simple fact from Han Siha’s perspective.

kail was such a minor character that he wasn’t even worthy of being called an extra villain.

When he thought about it, he wasn’t even sure if kail had appeared in the story or not.

If he had, he would have been described as a nameless, ill-tempered brute from Cardbel.

Han Siha smiled as he stood next to kail.

“Need help?”

He was all smiles now, despite having beaten him up earlier, which made the moment even more unsettling.

Kail felt his broad back shrinking as his hands trembled.

Yet, even in this situation, his pride wouldn’t let him back down.

“Don’t be ridiculous. It’s not even difficult.”

The problem before kail was a basic entrapment resistance potion found on page two of basic herbalism.

Although it wasn’t something he wouldn’t have learned, simply changing the ingredients was enough to throw the students into a collective panic.

They were missing the essence.

“I think that’s enough,” Professor Bruce, unable to bear it any longer, checked his watch and cut him off.

Kail glared furiously at Han Siha, who stood calmly beside him.

His reckless ambition had led him to take on the challenge, but he had achieved nothing and ended up blaming others—a predictable but all-too-common human trait that made Han Siha chuckle.

Professor Bruce turned to Han Siha and spoke.

“Finish it up, student.”

Han Siha quickly completed the potion that kail had abandoned.

“It wasn’t a particularly difficult problem.”

That single remark struck a heavy blow to kail’s pride.

“Stop bragging…”

Kail glared at Han Siha with bloodshot eyes.

It was at that moment when Professor Bruce turned his head. kail gritted his teeth and muttered under his breath.

“You’re a dead man. I swear…”

“You did well. Though it was a bit unfortunate.”

Han Siha patted kail’s shoulder with a smile.

Unlike the trembling kail, Han Siha seemed relaxed, even smiling.

“You bastard…”

“I think I’ll win against you. Want to make a bet?”

“….”

Han Siha lowered his voice and whispered softly.

“Let’s meet at the competition, you fool.”

—

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