I Became a Terminally Ill Magic Genius at the Academy

Looking over the bustling classroom, Professor Norman Ford leaned back in his chair. 

Letting the students freely form their groups and make recovery potions was something he had always done in his classes. 

Generally, since most freshmen were making potions for the first time, they wouldn’t be able to make them properly. 

Norman Ford knew this well and typically refrained from stepping in to correct their mistakes.  

‘It’s better to learn by making mistakes at first.’  

He intentionally let them fumble around and make errors. That way, they would be better prepared for the next class. 

And what if someone managed to make a perfect potion without any mistakes? 

Naturally, they’d excel in future lessons as well. 

Moreover, since recovery potions weren’t dangerous even when mishandled, and the process allowed him to observe the students’ personalities and capabilities, it made for a perfect first-day exercise.  

Professor Norman Ford picked up his pen and observed the students who were finally forming pairs and starting to make potions.  

‘Yohan Hart…’  

There had been some concern before starting the class. 

Why?  

‘Because I saw Yohan and Cecilia fighting firsthand.’  

During the dormitory assignment exam on the Aaron Island, Norman had witnessed a full-blown battle between Yohan Hart and Cecilia Diaz through a scrying crystal. 

The two had been quite sharp toward each other, and the fight ended with Yohan Hart neutralizing Cecilia Diaz’s golem. 

‘Neutralizing’ was just a word; in reality, he destroyed it. 

The Diaz family valued their golems as much as their magic pens. 

Since the golem was wrecked, there was no telling how Cecilia might react, so Norman had been keeping an eye on them from the beginning of the class.  

“They don’t seem to be as fierce of rivals as I thought.”  

It didn’t look like a battle would suddenly break out in the classroom. 

In fact, it appeared that Haverto Vaion was more keen on opposing Yohan than Cecilia was.  

‘So the Vaion Count’s family is aiming for a spot among the Empire’s top five families, huh?’  

Perhaps a rivalry was brewing between the heirs. 

Norman Ford watched the two carefully. 

Fighting wasn’t a problem as long as it didn’t disrupt the class. 

Fortunately, Yohan seemed to dismiss Haverto with disinterest, and while Haverto grumbled in annoyance, he didn’t escalate the matter.  

However, it seemed like Haverto had made up his mind about something. Since he began staring intently at the potion-making station with a determined look in his eyes and started gathering various materials.  

‘Looks like he’s planning to use some high-grade ingredients.’  

Alchemy was an exercise in inefficiency, after all. 

But no matter how inefficient it was, there were plenty of people in the world who didn’t mind, as long as the potion’s effects are exceptional. 

Even as Norman Ford saw Haverto pulling out rare ingredients, he didn’t bother stopping him.

‘Let’s see what the delinquent heir of the Marquis Hart family is really like.’ 

Surprisingly, he paired up with a commoner freshman. He even approached and proposed it first, and without any trouble, he was preparing to make a potion. 

At first, when they were just preparing the basic ingredients, it appeared like they were going to stick to the basic recipe for a lowest-grade potion. 

But then—  

“Hm?”  

Yohan quickly stood up to find additional ingredients. 

While it wasn’t unusual for most mages to experiment with their own recipes in alchemy and add extra ingredients,  

‘Goblin’s herb?’  

That was an ingredient that induced mild hallucinations when grinded into a powder and ingested.

Naturally, it had nothing to do with recovery potions.  

On top of that, Yohan immediately took out more ingredients.  

“A red rabbit-foot flower and blue coral sand….”  

The red rabbit-foot flower was one of the ingredients often used by Norman Ford.  

‘That’s the main ingredient used to make torture potions.’  

When sprayed on a wound, a potion made with the red rabbit-foot flower greatly intensified pain. 

And he was planning to add that to a recovery potion?  

‘Is he insane?’  

Applying a recovery potion directly to a wound did help it close quickly, but it also caused pain. 

That was inevitable. 

After all, it didn’t make sense for wounds to heal instantly without any discomfort.  

But if he used the red rabbit-foot flower, which intensified pain, in a recovery potion?  

‘Is he trying to make a potion for torture, not healing?’  

A potion that amplified pain while still having a healing effect?  

“Then you could inflict another wound, and apply the potion again….”  

Good heavens.  

While it was uncertain how strong the recovery effect would be, theoretically, you could extend the torture for up to twice as long.  

Norman Ford quietly watched Yohan Hart. He was curious whether Yohan was grabbing the ingredients thoughtlessly or if he was meticulously selecting them based on careful calculations.  

And then—  

When he saw the final ingredient Yohan picked, Norman Ford was shocked.  

“Blue coral sand?”  

This was a material that could be obtained from the eastern sea of the Empire, and it was more of a poison than a medicine. 

If one was exposed to blue coral sand for a long period, it accelerated aging. It means you age quickly and die young.  

“What in the world is he planning to make?”  

Norman Ford unintentionally muttered to himself.

——-

“What is this…?”  

Kyle looked at the ingredients brought by Yohan with a bewildered look in his eyes. 

Of course.

As soon as Kyle made eye contact with Yohan, he quickly averted his gaze, but he still couldn’t hide his bewilderment.  

“Now, time to draw the magic circle, right?”  

Modern alchemy wasn’t just about mixing ingredients well. Naturally, magic was involved. 

The type of magic used varied depending on each ingredient, but generally, there were three steps: extraction, concentration, and imbuement. 

To do that, Yohan was about to draw a magic circle when Kyle stopped him and raised his hand to block Yohan’s magic pen.  

“Wait a moment.”  

“Hm?”  

“I mean, I’ve never made a recovery potion before, but I have made a lot of other potions,” Kyle said in a trembling voice. 

It appeared that just saying this to Yohan wasn’t easy for him. 

Yohan quietly looked at him.  

“So what?”  

“I’ve never heard of using these kinds of ingredients for making a recovery potion. What exactly are you trying to make?”  

“Kyle, you said your hobby was alchemy, right?”  

Kyle obediently nodded to Yohan’s question. 

As the son of a wealthy merchant, Kyle’s two main interests were magic and cooking.  

“Why are you interested in it?”  

When Yohan asked, Kyle gave the answer he expected.  

“Because it’s similar to cooking.”  

With a slight smile, Yohan nodded and asked another question.  

“In what way?”  

“Well, when you prepare a variety of ingredients in your own way, you can create all sorts of dishes. And sometimes, the results can be totally different from what you expected.”  

“That’s exactly right.”  

“Huh?”  

“When you mix various things together, sometimes the outcome is completely different from what you imagined.”  

Alchemy was exactly like that. 

That’s why, while there were basic recipes. students are also encouraged to freely create their own recipes. 

Because you never know what results might emerge.  

“Well, that’s how cooking works at least.”  

“You know what piperine is, right?”  

“It’s a spice that gives a spicy flavor.”  

“But until just a few hundred years ago, people thought it was poisonous.”  

“……”  

Kyle appeared to not quite understand what Yohan was getting at. 

Eventually, Yohan shrugged and continued.  

“Ingredients once thought to be poisonous might actually be medicinal, and ingredients that don’t seem to go together might actually pair perfectly.”  

“How do you plan to turn poison into medicine and make incompatible ingredients work together?”  

Yohan gave a light smile.  

“The basic ingredients don’t really need an explanation, right?”  

“Yeah.”  

“First, let’s talk about the goblin’s herb. If you boil it and use extraction magic, then apply weakening magic, the hallucinogenic effect of the goblin’s herb will lessen.”  

Yohan lifted the goblin’s herb he had brought while explaining. 

He placed the herb beside him and began drawing magic circles on paper. 

The magic circles for ‘extraction’ and ‘weakening’ were completed one after another.  

“Right?”

“The most prominent effect—the hallucination—gets weakened, but the other effects stay the same.”  

“… So basically, you can achieve the effect of reducing pain. But in that case, the recovery effect might be diminished… No, wait. If you then grind the red rabbit-foot flower into a powder and mix it in, the pain will be strong, but the recovery effect will be greatly enhanced.”  

Once Yohan explained it to him, there was no need to go into much further detail. 

Kyle was already deeply interested in alchemy, and he was a talented student destined to become the protagonist’s personal potion-maker in the original story.  

Yohan drew the necessary magic circles by his side as Kyle muttered to himself and prepared the materials with a clear understanding of their uses. 

Kyle was lost in his own world for quite some time. He finally found the optimal recipe. 

While the ingredients and refining methods were important, the ratios also played a significant role in the quality of the potion. 

Although Yohan knew the ingredients, he didn’t remember the exact proportions. 

That’s why he needed Kyle.  

‘This potion recipe would eventually be the one that Kyle himself creates later.’  

With that thought in mind, Yohan finished preparing the magic circles and looked over at Kyle. 

Suddenly, Kyle looked up and turned his gaze to Yohan.  

“Wow! Yohan, how did you come up with a recipe like this?”  

“… I have my ways.”  

Yohan replied simply, then quickly shifted the topic.  

“I’ve drawn the magic circles, so let’s proceed in order.”  

At his words, Kyle, who was already eager to start, quickly placed each ingredient on the prepared magic circles.  

First, they used extraction, concentration, and imbuement magic on the troll’s blood to mix it with the mana water. 

Then, they added the goblin’s herb, red rabbit-foot flower, and blue coral sand.  

“Finally, if we add the extract of the red snail… It’s complete.”  

Kyle skillfully mixed in the red snail’s extract.  

Looking at the potion, glowing with a radiant crimson hue, Yohan was sure of one thing: Kyle was a true talent. 

To handle the aftereffects of the curse, Yohan knew he absolutely needed to befriend Kyle, if no one else.  

‘You, be my ally.’  

Well, honestly, a talent like this is worth sharing, right?  

Yohan thought to himself with a satisfied smile.