I Became a Terminally Ill Magic Genius at the Academy

On the way to get the permit for going out.

Violet glanced sideways at Yohan.

“If you have any questions, feel free to ask.”

Yohan had been feeling slightly irritated by Violet’s constant glances.

Hearing Yohan’s words, Violet gave a sheepish smile.

“Oh, nothing much. I was just wondering if you were planning to go out as soon as you got the permit.”

“Yes, that’s the plan.”

The permit could only be used on weekends when there were no classes.

Isn’t it too much to restrict students from freely going out, and then only allow the permits to be used on weekends?

There was a deeper reasoning behind it.

‘It’s not like freshmen need the permit for no reason.’

While it served as a tool to spark competitiveness and highlight areas for improvement, the primary purpose was to prevent students from wandering outside the academy freely.

The closest city to the academy is ‘Sorren’.

It was a fairly large city with plenty of attractions and food to offer.

Naturally, it was also rife with pickpockets eager to empty pockets, and even had its share of shady alleys.

In short, it was dangerous.

Freshmen, who couldn’t control their magic, could easily fall victim to those lurking in the alleys. Conversely, they might accidentally harm a pickpocket—possibly even a child attempting theft—due to poor control of their powers.

Both endangering their own lives and threatening the lives of others were far too significant risks for freshmen to handle.

Thus, the system was designed to create an environment where outings were restricted until students had sufficient control over their magic.

For this reason, second-year students had comparatively more freedom to go out.

They didn’t require a permit and could submit an outing application a day in advance to leave whenever they wish.

“This is just a formal question, but what’s your purpose for going out? Shopping for things to keep in your room?”

“Yes. I’ll do some sightseeing and get things to furnish my room.”

Of course, buying items for the dorm room was necessary. However, Yohan’s focus for this outing lay elsewhere.

Furnishing the room with daily necessities was important, but for Yohan, something else took priority.

‘I’m still far too lacking.’

Reassessing the basics of mana control and magic skills was crucial.

For now, Yohan was relying on his innate magical talents, freely using magic as he pleased.

But eventually, he would hit a wall.

To delay that moment for as long as possible, he needed to prepare in advance.

However, for the immediate purpose of practicing magic, what he needed wasn’t about honing talent.

Currently, Yohan was a 3-star mage.

While he was at a higher level than the average freshman, it would be a stretch to call him a fully-fledged 3-star mage.

‘It can’t be helped.’

Due to the side effects that follow after using magic, Yohan couldn’t fully utilize his mana capacity.

At best, he could only use about half of it before worrying about the side effects, which prevented him from properly casting spells.

To cast magic freely, like a true 3-star mage, Yohan essentially needed to reach the level of a 4-star mage.

Since advancing in rank was no easy feat, even if he couldn’t become a 4-star mage, he had to increase the amount of mana he could use as much as possible.

This would reduce the side effects to a more manageable level.

The problem was.

‘It’s hard to find items that can increase mana capacity using normal methods.’

Simply buying such items with money was practically impossible.

‘Unless I head to the black market, perhaps.’

Of course, it wasn’t that there were no ways to achieve this. Yohan allowed himself a subtle smile.

Meanwhile, Violet stopped in front of the administrative office.

“This is where you handle it. Once you hand in the permit, they’ll take care of everything.”

With those words, she opened the door to the administrative office. Yohan stepped aside as he entered.

Whoosh!

An owl suddenly flew out from within.

Violet tilted her head slightly to avoid it, as if she had expected it.

She blinked when she noticed Yohan had already moved aside to avoid the owl.

“What’s going on?”

“I’m here to get an outing permit.”

Yohan held out his permit to the large owl.

The owl stared at the permit with its big eyes before turning around and heading deeper into the administrative office.

It soon returned with a small card in its beak.

Yohan reached out and took the card.

“This is your permit. Once you leave the school grounds, it will automatically disappear.”

The owl explained before retreating back into the office.

The door closed behind it.

Violet shrugged her shoulders and spoke.

“Simple, isn’t it?”

“Yes.”

Yohan nodded lightly. He recalled this scene from the original story.

Seeing Yohan’s calm demeanor, Violet let out a short laugh.

Yohan raised an eyebrow at her sudden laughter, unsure of the reason.

“What’s so funny?”

“You’re definitely a bit unusual.”

“Me?”

“During the entrance exam, you recognized me even though I was in disguise. And during the dormitory competition… You pulled off an unbelievable technique. I mean, how did you even think to analyze a magic circle that was being drawn in real time?”

“It seemed doable, so I gave it a try. And it worked.”

“Most people can’t analyze it, and they wouldn’t even consider that it might be possible in the first place.”

That was true. The very idea of it being possible was something only Yohan could have conceived.

To analyze a magic circle being drawn in real time, one needs more than just skill.

First, you must be able to see the magic circle being drawn in midair.

Most ordinary mages could only perceive faint ripples or afterimages. However, Yohan’s exceptional magical talent allowed him to clearly see the magic circle in vivid detail.

From there, Yohan approached the magic circle as if it were a literal drawing and analyzed it as such.

As the original creator of this system, Yohan perfectly understood the components and principles of the magic circle, making the analysis itself straightforward.

However, analyzing a magic circle being drawn in real time introduced countless variables.

There were only a handful of mages who could calculate and account for all those variables during analysis.

“Well… Thanks to that, we discovered something strange about Haverto. And we confirmed it was due to the illegal distribution of awakening drugs.”

“Did we?”

“The principle said those drugs were made by Crow. You’re the first freshman to encounter Crow’s substances, but also the first to defeat someone under their influence.”

Violet casually praised Yohan, but his expression instantly turned serious.

———-

After obtaining the outing permit through Violet, Yohan hurried away.

The mention of the name ‘Crow’ had unsettled him.

It was far earlier than he had expected to encounter them.

In the original storyline, Crow appeared during Yohan’s freshman year as well, but much later—around the end of the semester. Crow’s first major appearance coincided with the festival, where they began scheming.

‘Of course, the dormitory competition didn’t exist in the original story, so that was already a deviation.’

Yohan carefully considered his options.

If nothing else happened until Crow’s original introduction during the festival, the story’s flow might remain unchanged.

But if Crow began their activities in earnest before then?

‘That means I’m running out of time.’

He had to grow stronger—and fast.

Yohan clenched his fists and pressed onward. If he could go out immediately, he’d search for items to increase his mana reserves no matter what.

But right now, that wasn’t an option.

Instead, he needed to focus on what he could do within the academy.

‘Most of the things I need come from classes.’

The academy’s various lessons often provided opportunities, sometimes even triggering special events.

Cedric, the protagonist of the original story, had taken advantage of such opportunities to grow stronger, eventually challenging the Lord.

Of course, Cedric had little use for elixirs or potions, leaving behind items that others would have desperately sought after or generously giving them away to others as a favor.

Which meant…

‘I can use them without any problems.’

Elixirs and similar items wouldn’t significantly hinder Cedric’s growth, so Yohan could safely use them all for himself.

Even without relying on elixirs or potions, there were still other methods available.

As long as he could reduce the side effects, even slightly, it would allow him to cast magic more often.

If he wasn’t directly casting magic but using it indirectly, the side effects might lessen as well.

For example:

‘I could use magic through a spirit.’

Although the same amount of mana would be consumed, it was worth trying to see if the side effects were reduced.

Alternatively, he could seek a spirit’s blessing.

The spirit’s blessing was believed to prevent any further suffering from illness once bestowed. It was only granted to those the spirit felt a sincere fondness for.

What effect it would have on Yohan was unclear, but it would likely bring some overall benefit to his body.

Of course, such blessings might not always work as intended.

If so, in the end, it would come down to whether he could hold onto his resolve in the crucial moments, endure the aftereffects, and wield magic properly.

That would have a tremendous impact on the outcome.

It was necessary to help Yohan Hart fully understand and utilize his magical talent.

‘He’ll also need to get accustomed to pain.’

Fortunately, Arcana Academy had various facilities available for its students, including well-equipped training grounds.

New students were usually too busy adjusting to school life and studying to make much use of the training grounds, but the senior students used them quite often.

Boom!

A loud explosion echoed through the space, suggesting that someone was already using the training grounds.

Yohan walked with practiced ease and checked for an empty room.

The training grounds were structured in a square shape, with a large open space in the center surrounded by dozens of small training rooms.

Click.

With a faint sound, Yohan closed the door to one of the rooms.

The rectangular training room was simple, with a scarecrow for magical training set up at the far end.

“… Let’s get started.”

Muttering to himself, Yohan raised his magic pen.

Of course, he had no idea that someone was watching him through the small window on the door.