Academy’s Genius Mage

“Ophelia, are you saying you cannot accept this?”

Professor Frost asked calmly. Ophelia, unable to contain her anger, raised her voice.

“Yes! How could someone from such a lowly family produce such an impressive report? And there’s even a filthy commoner involved, someone you wouldn’t want to breathe the same air as. But an A grade? How many people would accept this?”

It was the typical perspective of a noble.

Her words gave a glimpse into just how authoritative the Drias Marquis family was.

Of course, her words were not entirely wrong.

The lesser the family, and the lower the status, the more often abilities are adjusted to fit that status.

In reality, Edel had never formally learned ancient languages.

There were countless other commoners who couldn’t even read the continental common language, let alone ancient languages.

It’s a case where one’s background often reflects one’s abilities.

Many people believed in this tendency. Ninety-nine out of a hundred times—no, 99.9 times—it proved accurate.

‘But you made a mistake. You should have at least read our report before making such claims.’

Unfortunately, Ian and Edel were exceptions to these prejudices.

‘If they had no talent or passion for magic, why would they be suffering through the Department of Magic instead of going to the Department of Natural Sciences?’

Ian and Edel trusted their own abilities.

However, Ophelia was too arrogant and jealous to assess the situation objectively.

“It’s unfortunate, Ophelia. At the Academy, grades aren’t assigned based on status. They are given based on achievements, potential, and possibilities. I know the exams aren’t entirely objective. But they are not unreasonable either.”

“Isn’t it obvious they’re inferior students? Otherwise, why would they have taken so long to enroll?”

She mocked Ian for his belated enrollment. She didn’t hesitate to speak ill of Edel as well.

“And another one got in through special admission, gaining entry thanks to their parents’ influence, not their own ability. Can you really say they have competence?”

“Your words have some truth. There’s room for misunderstanding. But this case is different. I assessed the grades based on the reports you submitted. I did not consider family or background.”

“Then, why can’t we get at least a B+ and not them?”

As her logic began to waver, Ophelia crossed a line.

With those words, Professor Frost’s expression completely changed.

His face lost all traces of a smile.

“Are you suggesting that my evaluation was incorrect, Ophelia?”

“Claiming it’s unacceptable is tantamount to saying it’s wrong, isn’t it?”

It felt like cold water had been splashed on them.

This expression reminded Ian of something he had read in a book once.

He had thought it cliché, but at that moment, it seemed different. Ian realized how vivid an expression it truly was.

‘She should have held back that last remark. What a reckless act.’

His peers were already in shock.

At the Royal Academy, the authority of professors was sacred.

As a student charged with loyalty and service to the country, her actions were unacceptable.

Anyone who challenged a professor’s authority faced severe punishment.

A disciplinary committee would convene to discuss the student’s fate.

Even as the child of a high-ranking official, receiving leniency would be difficult in this case.

“Ophelia! What are you doing? I apologize, Professor. Ophelia has been emotionally unstable lately. She hasn’t been sleeping well. I sincerely apologize on her behalf.”

Sebastian attempted to mediate belatedly, but Ophelia was already out of control.

‘Is she in a panic?’

Compared to warriors, mages often suffer from mental disorders such as neurosis, compulsion, and panic attacks due to the immense mental strength they must expend.

It’s not rare for mages to lose their sanity while researching high-level magic.

While Ophelia’s hysteria wasn’t at that level, it was still dangerous.

‘If this continues, she might go berserk.’

If she did, it wouldn’t just end with breaking a circle.

She might lose the ability to use magic forever, or worse, she could lose her life.

“Ophelia. Sit down now!”

“Let go! I said let goooo!”

Ophelia shook off Sebastian’s hand.

At that moment.

Whoooosh!

Magical energy began to surge.

Simultaneously, Ian’s eyes started to perceive something.

‘That strange shimmer from before?’

A shimmer, reminiscent of the blue depths of the sea, began to radiate from her shoulder.

Eventually, the mirage became clearer, observable across the entire body.

‘I’m sorry to Ophelia, but this is my chance!’

Ian swiftly took off his glasses.

Surprisingly, the mirage that had been visible disappeared completely.

He put the glasses back on again.

Then, he could see the strange flickering blue light once more.

“It was indeed the new ability of these glasses!”

A thrill surged through him.

However, the thrill didn’t last long.

If he could decipher what the power shown through the glasses meant, he would be able to enjoy an even more exhilarating feeling.

“It seems to change drastically according to Ophelia’s emotional state… what on earth could it be?”

The mirage moved in fragmented waves, as if conveying a specific meaning.

If it were ordinary magic and the glasses allowed him to see the flow of magic, it should have been a continuous wave.

But the mirage seemed to create an artificial segmentation, attempting to convey something to Ian.

As if sending a distress signal.

“I must decode this.”

Ian heightened his concentration to its peak.

First, he closed his eyes.

When something couldn’t be understood visually, sensing it through aura was also a good approach.

Ian shut off his sight to hear the voice of the mirage.

When deeply focused, time flows slowly.

It was such a moment.

Furthermore, Ian tweaked his approach slightly.

The aura was something that could only be seen through the glasses.

“In that case, I should rely on the glasses more.”

This method proved effective.

『……. ……. …….』
『…….』
『……. ……. ……. …….』

Someone’s thoughts were felt.

“Who is it?”

It could have been Ophelia’s voice, or perhaps Professor Frost who was reprimanding her.

But Ian listened more intently to that voice.

『……. ……. …….』

“Who are you?”

『……. …….』

“I can’t understand. Who are you? Where do you come from?”

Ian sent out his own thought.

However, the presence of the other’s thoughts gradually faded and eventually disappeared altogether.

Just then.

“Ophelia, withdraw your mana.”

Professor Frost’s voice came, filled with pure mana.

It was then that Ophelia snapped out of it. Ian opened his eyes simultaneously.

“Ah!”

As if by magic, the blue Mist that enveloped her vanished instantly.

Thanks to this, Ian lost the mirage once again.

But he wasn’t overly troubled.

‘Ophelia is a Spirit Summoner.’

He arrived at a conclusion.

The thoughts he had felt were not human. He was certain they were signals sent by a highly advanced mental entity.

He didn’t understand their meaning but definitely grasped their nature.

It was a thought of negation.

“But if that’s a spirit’s power, why is it emanating a negative thought?”

It was an unfathomable matter.

Spirits move as one with their summoner.

When the summoner becomes stronger, they grow stronger too; when weaker, they weaken alike.

Emotions are also shared. They feel joy when joyous, and sadness when sad.

Ophelia was angry at that moment. However, the flickering thoughts she had seemed more sorrowful than enraged.

‘There’s not enough information.’

Ian Oracle could not perceive spirits, so he did not know much about spirit magic.

‘But this is a chance for me.’

He wondered what it would be like to understand spirit magic during this opportunity and, further, to Master its power.

Once more, a blossoming dream filled Ian’s heart.

“Oh…”

Meanwhile, Ophelia was flustered and blushing.

When she looked around, everyone was staring at her with shocked expressions.

A wave of shame and despair washed over her.

What made her feel even more unbearable was the cold gaze of Professor Frost.

“You can disagree with my perspective. That’s the freedom of a student. However, I cannot tolerate you summoning mana against me. You have committed an insult. Summoning aggressive magic towards someone is akin to saying you’re going to harm them. This is not a class of the Major in Healing Magic, is it?”

“I… I’m sorry. Please forgive me…”

Ophelia bit her lip and apologized.

This was different from the salon incident.

Disputes among students were common, and if they were not severe, the academy generally did not intervene.

However, a student raising mana against a professor was intolerable.

“For now, it seems like I need to provide you with a convincing answer. It seems you’re not the only student holding questions.”

Professor Frost waved the report jointly prepared by Ian, Milo Vinettia, and Edel.

“The most impressive part of this report was the extraction of the monster’s blood. They were planning to compare the blood toxicity levels of monsters residing in educational dungeons to those in regular dungeons. These data will reveal more facts about monsters to us. Additionally, it would allow us to develop more sophisticated educational dungeons. It’s a topic that Natural Sciences faculty will appreciate.”

Some students filled with doubt gulped.

It was an unexpected approach.

Not only magic, but understanding other disciplines was necessary for it to be possible.

“Comparing monster toxicity was also a research project being pursued by the team that developed the educational dungeons. Thanks to Ian’s group collecting samples, their workload was reduced.”

“Wow!”

“That’s amazing!”

Cheers erupted everywhere.

More than just grades, it meant that they had attracted the attention of high-ranking officials.

“Hmph. This is just basic!”

Milo reveled in the envious glances from his peers, shrugging his shoulders.

“That’s the background to how they received an A. Any more questions? If you want, I’ll show you the report.”

“No, it’s okay…”

Ophelia was utterly out of spirit, her shoulders sagged.

Now, it no longer mattered what grade Ian’s group received. She was more curious about how her own situation would be resolved.

“Ophelia.”

“Y-yes? I’m sorry… I’m sorry…”

“Take your seat.”

Ophelia sat down weakly. Then, Professor Frost looked at Sebastian.

“Sebastian. You can testify about today’s events, can’t you?”

“I can.”

“Good.”

It seemed Professor Frost was not planning to let this incident slide.

“We will soon convene a disciplinary committee. You should attend as a witness.”

“Understood.”

Sebastian shared the same resignation in his acceptance.

“Let’s continue with the evaluations then. The next group received the highest evaluation in this practice. Zickhardt, Darkweaver, and Celestine.”

It was time to find out what kind of magic Zickhardt used.

The atmosphere, briefly disturbed by commotion, quickly rebounded.

This evaluation was akin to another lesson. It was a great opportunity to broaden one’s knowledge.

That was why all the students focused on what Professor Frost was going to say next.

“This group exceeded all expectations of the researchers. Honestly, I want to tell you that even I didn’t know if it was possible. Zickhardt’s group subdued a golem. But their approach was quite progressive and innovative.”

A question mark appeared in Ian’s mind.

He thought using crystals to neutralize it was the norm.

But being called innovative meant the golem was defeated using a completely different method.

“Taming. Zickhardt’s group made the golem their minion and simply neutralized it.”

Everyone’s mouths dropped open in shock.

Ian was no exception.