The Genius Tamer of the Academy

Chapter 98

Han Siha knew exactly what was going on.

It wasn’t that Kassan had any specific reason for acting this way.

It was simply because his class was exceptionally talented, even by Ardel Academy standards.

That uneasy feeling people get when they’re around someone who’s better than them—that’s probably what made Kassan so irritable.

It’s obvious; this guy isn’t a one-off villain for no reason.

“Did I hear that right?”

“…”

“Or have you finally lost your mind?”

Kassan was quick to ignite.

Wasn’t he getting worked up a little too fast?

Han Siha smirked and responded to Kassan’s question.

“I think you heard me just fine.”

“Hah.”

The third-years standing behind Kassan sighed in exasperation.

Adela, standing next to Han Siha, pinched the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes.

‘Why did it have to be a senior?’

Sure, Han Siha had never backed down from a fight with his peers, but he always played the part of the good student in front of the professors.

Why was he now picking a fight with the seniors?

Of course, there was a reason for this.

‘Professors are one thing, but a sixteen-year-old crossing the line?’

Yeah, they crossed that line and kept going straight to Andromeda.

Han Siha, who had lived through grad school twice, wasn’t about to let a middle schooler shake him down.

“You’re Han Siha, right?”

Kassan’s sharp gaze focused on Han Siha.

He’d heard plenty about this kid.

‘That gloomy first-year, right? The one who’s always on the verge of failing?’

Last year, Han Siha was a notorious bottom-ranker everyone avoided.

‘Did you hear? That second-year Han Siha beat Solia?’

But since the start of this semester, he’d emerged as an unexpected dark horse.

After spending all of last year crawling along the bottom, it seemed like he was getting cocky now that he’d clawed his way to the top.

But Kassan was also a standout talent among the third-years, recognized for his exceptional abilities.

‘I’m not about to get shown up by some wannabe tamer.’

If Han Siha was blessed with an abundance of magic power, Kassan excelled in controlling it.

He could channel magic more efficiently than most of his peers, which allowed him to grow rapidly.

Maybe he wouldn’t mind losing to someone like Lee Han or Adela, but there was no way he was going to let some upstart sophomore who’d just popped up and stolen the third-place spot beat him.

“What makes you think you can talk like this? Is it because of your family?”

“…”

“Oh, I heard. You were kicked out but recently got let back in.”

Kassan sneered as he spoke.

Han Siha chuckled.

It wasn’t hard to understand why Kassan emphasized the fact that he was kicked out.

That was Han Siha’s weak spot. His next words were meant as a threat.

“Cause any more trouble here, and your precious family might kick you out again.”

“Oh, really?”

“If you get it, how about you keep your head down and just focus on your studies?”

Kassan’s mocking words made the other third-years burst into laughter.

For a noble, Kassan had a particularly aggressive way of speaking.

The others seemed to find his remarks satisfying.

Han Siha scratched his head and responded to Kassan.

“But the thing is, I think you’re the loudest one here.”

“What?”

“I could hear you perfectly, even from the back. Your voice is so clear. Man, you’d make a great orator. Have you ever considered that instead of being a mage?”

“You, you…”

Han Siha shrugged and looked around.

He saw the second-year students standing there, visibly intimidated.

“The professors emphasized teamwork so much before the camping trip. But I’m not sure if this is teamwork or bullying. It’s hard to tell.”

“You little—!”

Kassan, unable to contain his anger, grabbed Han Siha by the collar.

A fight inside the academy might be a problem, but during the camping trip, it was something even most professors would turn a blind eye to.

In other words, a little roughhousing wouldn’t get him into any trouble.

Kassan channeled magic into his hand.

He was about to use it to choke Han Siha when—

“Aaaah!”

Kassan suddenly let out a scream.

Basilus had launched himself and body-slammed Kassan.

Kassan nearly tumbled to the ground but managed to stay on his feet, cursing as he regained his balance.

“You damn reptile!”

“Coo-ooo!”

Wham.

Basilus, who had grown large enough to reach Kassan’s knees, swung his tail and struck Kassan square in the face.

“Ugh!”

Kassan glared at Han Siha, gritting his teeth.

Freed from Kassan’s grip, Han Siha smiled and chuckled.

“What’s your deal? Are you messing with me?”

“No way. I didn’t do anything.”

“You expect me to believe that?”

As Kassan stepped forward to grab Han Siha again, Han Siha took a step back and muttered under his breath.

“By the way, does anyone else smell something burning?”

“What kind of nonsense—huh? Wait, what?”

“Oh, it’s really burning.”

Fwoosh.

Kassan’s eyes widened as he realized his clothes were on fire.

“Wahhh!”

The heat hit him right after.

It was definitely Basilus’ doing.

Basilus, eyes sparkling, quickly hid behind Han Siha.

When it comes to causing trouble, it’s best to do it quickly.

Kassan’s clothes were already burning brightly, with thick smoke rising around his face.

Frantically trying to pat out the flames with his hands, Kassan yelled,

“You damn lunatic! Put it out! Put out the fire!”

“Uh… should I help?”

“Yes! Don’t ask, just do it!”

Natalie, a water mage, blinked nervously and stepped forward.

“O-okay! Just a second!”

And then.

“I’m still not great at controlling it!”

“Ugh!”

Natalie ended up dumping a large amount of water right on Kassan’s head.

* * *

That night, Kassan sat shivering, soaked to the bone, glaring at Han Siha and his group from across the campfire.

“Those little brats planned this, didn’t they?”

The girl who had turned him into a drowned rat was now sitting next to Han Siha, laughing cheerfully.

“Damn, it’s freezing.”

Kassan trembled as he tried to dry off with a towel.

He didn’t have many spare clothes, and during the camping trip, you couldn’t use anything other than the gear provided.

So, he was going to have to spend the night in these wet, uncomfortable clothes?

“I’ll get them back. I swear.”

But before that, Kassan had something else prepared.

His eyes gleamed as he turned to Rbeni, his deputy class leader.

Kassan might be the class president, but Rbeni was the vice president.

“Hey, let’s get started. It’s time for the initiation.”

“Everything’s ready. It’s cold, so why don’t you warm up by the fire?”

“I’m counting on you, Rbeni.”

As always, the first night of the camping trip would start with a little ‘initiation.’

Kassan had been humiliated by those brats earlier in the day, but this time, he was determined to pay them back.

Rbeni shouted loudly to get everyone’s attention.

“Everyone, listen up!”

The atmosphere was tense after the earlier conflict.

The air felt strangely tense after the day’s earlier commotion.

Adela jabbed Lee Han in the side and spoke.

“Isn’t that it? The annual welcoming party.”

“Welcome party?”

“Yeah, it’s a long-standing tradition of the camp. You have to compete against the seniors. You have to answer the questions they ask. If you lose, then…”

“Are they going to drink that, by any chance?”

Ah.

Gurgle, gurgle.

Rbeni poured a copious amount of some beverage into a large bowl.

Judging by the pungent smell wafting all the way over here, it wasn’t just any ordinary drink.

From the look and smell of the liquid from afar, Lee Han recognized the drink.

“It’s champagne.”

Wow, those guys. They’re even pouring strong wine in there.

It’s a bomb drink, a bomb drink.

I don’t think they were doing things like this when I enrolled. These kids really have no hope, typical of a grim story.

Growing up like this, no wonder the dark mages run rampant.

Ardel Academy, where only the strong survive!

Lee Han clicked his tongue and muttered softly.

“Wow, look at how scary the kids are these days.”

“Huh?”

“Nothing, it’s just shocking.”

These young kids are playing rough.

“We’re starting the official game of the welcoming party now. Who likes solving questions?”

“…”

“Don’t you all like it? It’s fun, right?”

Is this the typical old-timer syndrome? Why is he forcing a drinking game on these young fifteen-year-olds?

The cheerleader, Natalie, forced out an excited cheer.

“Wow… wooow….”

“The response seems rather weak. Any volunteers?”

Rbeni grinned and turned his head.

Of course, there were no volunteers.

Normally, Lee Han would have been furious and stepped up after being mocked by Kassan, but today he remained quiet.

It was because Han Siha had taken the brunt of the insults instead.

“If there’s no one… I’ll just have to pick someone, then?”

As Rbeni stepped back with a spirited smile, Kassan, who had been trembling, stood up nervously.

“I’ll go first.”

Kassan threw the towel to the side, clenched his teeth, and pointed his finger at Han Siha.

“Hey, you, come out.”

“Ah, sure.”

Han Siha nodded and jumped up from his seat.

It was a provocation without any hesitation.

* * *

Bang.

Rbeni placed the bowl filled with champagne on the table.

The atmosphere was as tense as if it were a death match.

Well, in a sense, it was almost a death match.

The unwritten rule of the welcoming party.

The person who is chosen doesn’t last a week before they’re eliminated.

Of course.

If you drink yourself to the point where you can’t even stand on the first day, how can you endure a survival mission with barely any water or food for the rest of the week?

So, this is a strategy to bury them.

Well, there’s no reason to drink that just because they tell me to.

Han Siha looked Kassan straight in the eye and grinned.

“If you answer my question correctly, you pass. If not, you know what to do, right?”

Kassan nodded and pointed at the bowl with his eyes.

Well, that much is clear.

“But there’s a condition.”

“What?”

Kassan’s face instantly twisted.

His expression clearly said, “Who do you think you are, trying to make a deal with me?”

As expected, a vicious response followed.

“Are you fucking with me right now?”

“If I get the question you ask me right on the first try, please give me a chance to make a bet too.”

“Hah, you think I’ll agree to that….”

“If I don’t get it right, I’ll finish this in one go.”

At my words, Kassan hesitated for a moment.

He’s wondering if I would really down that entire bowl in one shot.

That’s the look he’s giving me.

Kassan hesitated and frowned.

“I don’t know what kind of foolishness this is, but… you’re gonna kill yourself that way.”

“Thank you for your concern.”

“You really are a piece of work.”

Normally, you would take a shot every time you get a question wrong, but saying you’ll do it all at once is tempting in its own way.

If he really wanted to mess with me, this wouldn’t be a bad chance.

“You’re asking for a chance to fight back?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Kassan smirked and nodded.

“Well, that’s not a bad deal. It’s not like you’ll get it right on the first try. Do you even know what kind of question I’ll ask? Do you have two lives or something?”

I know.

What Kassan is likely to ask. Because in the original story, he asked Lee Han the exact same question.

If things don’t go according to the original story….

Oh, well….

Then it’s over.

What’s there to life anyway?

Would drinking some alcohol kill me? No, right?

I’ve blacked out a few times before, haven’t I?

I asked back confidently.

“Doesn’t matter what question it is, right?”

“Of course. It can be an extremely personal question if you want. Because I’ll do that.”

“Please, start.”

Luckily, this time, fate was on my side.

Kassan spoke with a nasty smile.

“It’s a question that a guy like you, who doesn’t even know how to use mana, can never get right. What is the most recent magic I’ve awakened?”

Kassan’s ability is mana manipulation.

Thanks to this ability, he could easily catch his opponent’s traits.

Grasping the opponent’s attributes through the way they use mana.

Without delicate mana manipulation skills, it’s an impossible question to answer.

Especially for a multi-attribute mage like Kassan, guessing the attribute itself would be the first hurdle.

Kassan can handle both fire attribute magic and electric attribute magic.

“Difficult, isn’t it?”

Kassan straightened his back with a sneer.

“Why are you looking away? No one here knows, anyway. I awakened it last week.”

Of course, no one here knows.

Except for me.

Kassan was humming as if he was already confident that he had won the bet.

I delivered the answer right to his smug face.

A highly advanced magic that summons a meteor to engulf the enemy in flames.

Although it’s still only at the level of a small rock, in the future, Kassan will survive the final battle thanks to this ability, despite being a mere side character.

“Fire attribute, Meteor Blast.”

“…What?”

For a moment, Kassan’s eyes wavered.

“You heard me correctly, right?”

“Isn’t that the right answer?”

“How… how did you….”

Rbeni grabbed Kassan’s arm in disbelief.

“What the hell, is that for real?”

“How did he guess that? How could he have known?”

“I didn’t notice at all.”

The other mana manipulators shook their heads.

I gave a slight smile to the dumbfounded Kassan.

“Uh… uh, hold on!”

“But I’m right.”

“I mean… yes, but.”

“That’s all that matters.”

“Hey, hey! How did you know?”

Kassan’s voice sounded pretty desperate.

I adjusted my posture and asked Kassan.

“Is it my turn now?”

You’re done for, now.