The Genius Tamer of the Academy

Chapter 179

Three eyes or not, progress is progress.

“Turn back to normal!”

“Kuuuu?”

“Quickly!”

Basilus’ transformation was rejected purely for aesthetic reasons.

Regardless, the results were clear enough, so we decided to continue the repetitive training.

Hopefully, advanced polymorph magic would prove to be more useful.

I mean, it’s not like he’d grow a fourth eye, right?

In the end, Natalie’s idea of developing abilities based on their nature was definitely effective.

So now, I could only hope this method would work for me too.

“Han Siha! Is this really the right way?”

We were in a clearing on the outskirts of Ardel Academy.

Specifically, a sunny, south-facing spot.

I stood on the warm ground, bathed in sunlight.

“Do we really… have to do this?”

Adela asked anxiously.

She had agreed to do it, but now she wore a doubtful expression, as if she wasn’t sure if this was the right thing. Not that I was feeling much different.

Is this really okay…?

“What do you think?”

Adela was the one carrying it out, but just in case, I turned to Lee Han, who had come to help.

“If we mess around and have to do it multiple times, it’ll be a hassle. It’s best to bury you properly the first time.”

Lee Han was discussing the details of the experiment with Adela.

“If it’s too half-hearted, you won’t feel any urgency. Don’t warn him; just bury him immediately.”

“Just immediately?”

“When you bury someone, you don’t warn them beforehand, do you?”

“Hmm, that’s true.”

Their conversation sounded unnervingly ominous.

“If we’re pushing this to the extreme, pulling him out right away would be awkward. How about leaving him buried for a few minutes?”

“Isn’t that dangerous…?”

“Nah, people don’t die that easily.”

Lee Han’s argument was that someone who could shatter trees with mana wouldn’t die just from being buried in dirt.

Unnecessarily sharp and, annoyingly, correct….

“Should we do three minutes?”

“Is that enough? How about five?”

I knew I shouldn’t have brought the protagonist!

Even in a situation like this, his enthusiasm was overwhelming.

Really, overwhelmingly so.

Lee Han was even advising Adela on the optimal angle to bury me.

Ah, this is making me dizzy.

Damn it.

I did ask for this, but…

This feels… weird.

I feel like a debtor being dragged off by loan sharks to be buried alive.

And the pit behind me only makes it feel more real.

Feeling awkward, I looked at Adela and tried to make an excuse.

“Look, I had student loans, but… I never took out private loans.”

“Huh? What are you talking about?”

Adela, not understanding my words, took it as some sort of signal.

“…Should I start?”

“Wait, hang on. Let me at least prepare myself mentally.”

Strictly speaking, this would be my second time being buried alive.

No, counting my past life, it would be the third, but it always takes courage.

Especially when you’re buried while still alive….

I swallowed hard and looked up at Adela.

“When I count to three, bury me then.”

“Okay!”

One, two….

Before I could say three—

Thud.

Lee Han pushed me from behind.

“Huh?”

Oh, right.

They said they wouldn’t warn me.

“Ahhhh! You crazy bastard!”

At the same time, the dirt swallowed me whole.

* * *

Thud thud thud.

Dirt fell off my uniform sleeves.

Adela used telekinesis to lift me out of the ground.

Thud.

I stumbled and collapsed onto the ground.

They really did it….

They pulled me out just as I was on the brink of suffocation!

Looking at the two who so faithfully carried out my insane request, tears almost welled up.

Damn it… I’m so grateful.

You guys… You’re the only ones who would do this for me….

Cough.

Whether it was dirt in my nose or something else, I coughed and raised my head. My limbs were still shaking.

“Hah… hah….”

“Han Siha! Han Siha! Are you okay?”

I looked up at Adela, gasping for breath.

Her face was full of concern. Lee Han, of course, was worried about something completely different.

Lee Han, with a serious expression, rubbed his chin and spoke.

“What do we do? It doesn’t seem to have worked.”

That bastard.

But he was right.

“Hah… ha.”

If I had awakened a new ability or experienced any growth, I would have been the first to notice.

A message window would have appeared before me. But right now, there was no sign of that happening.

[…]

The message window was silent.

It was clear that we had failed.

“What went wrong?”

I had thought that the survival instinct might be the trigger for my ability, but maybe not.

Perhaps we had been going about this the wrong way from the start.

That was what I thought, but Lee Han seemed to have a different idea. He nodded as if understanding something and spoke.

“Maybe you haven’t felt the brink of death yet.”

“What?”

“…Should we bury you one more time?”

How did it come to this?

Adela hesitated at Lee Han’s words, then looked back at me.

“Han Siha, what do you think?”

“I think once more I should do it. Right?”

No, it won’t!

“This time, let’s bury him a little deeper. It was too shallow just now.”

Damn it, just because it’s not his own problem!

I was dizzy from Lee Han’s cruel suggestions, but I couldn’t even blame him.

I knew the kind of guy he was; he’d bury himself a hundred times over if it meant awakening his powers.

Maybe that’s why he won the war as the protagonist.

As infuriating as it was, everything he said made sense.

Doing as he suggested… might be the best option.

“Hmm. I doubt one more time will be enough. How about two more?”

“Fuck.”

I couldn’t help but curse as I watched Lee Han, who was seriously pondering this as if it were his own issue.

“Han Siha, you can do it, right?”

Being in the same boat with someone like him… Well, what can I say?

Ha.

“Reliable bastard.”

“…?”

Of course, it wasn’t a compliment.

* * *

Almost three hours had passed.

When we first arrived at the clearing, the sun was high in the sky, but now it was starting to dip. The sky was darkening, and despite all our efforts, we had no significant results.

Lying on the ground, I exhaled the breath I had been holding. Moments ago, my vision had gone completely yellow. My mouth was dry, and I could taste dirt.

“Haah… Huff.”

Damn it.

Now, even I was getting stubborn about this.

Continuing despite knowing it was madness made me think that maybe I wasn’t so different from Lee Han.

Feeling fed up, I cursed under my breath.

“What the hell are we doing?”

“Let’s stop. This really isn’t it.”

Adela shook her head, looking like she thought this was impossible from the start.

“There’s no guarantee this will work even if we keep doing it. We don’t even know exactly what kind of situation triggers an awakening.”

I had hoped to focus on elevating my healing skills.

After all, this seemed much more effective than the stupid self-electrocution.

But I don’t know.

There’s no noticeable change!

“…I’m going to die.”

As Adela said, this was indeed reckless.

Even though she had carefully timed when to pull me out, there were moments where I truly almost died.

Lee Han had already left, unable to watch this pitiful scene any longer.

With the sun setting, only Adela and I remained in the clearing.

I looked up at the sky, painted in the colors of twilight.

Adela’s brown hair shimmered in the sunset light.

Her eyes were full of concern, glimmering with worry.

Looking up at Adela, I finally spoke.

“Just one more time, please.”

“No. I don’t want to do it anymore. It’s too dangerous.”

Adela tried to stop me, saying I could die. I understood her point, but there was no one else I could ask.

If not Adela, where could I go to ask someone to bury me?

Anyone else would just think I was insane and drag me off to a hospital.

Taking a deep breath, I raised my index finger.

“Just once more. Please. I know you can do it.”

Adela’s face went pale.

Though she had complied with my request a few times, this time she resolutely shook her head.

“I don’t want to see you like this anymore.”

The clothes I wore out here had been clean, but now they were stained with dirt, making me look like a beggar.

Yeah.

I guess it’s hard to watch….

I gave a wry smile and dusted off my clothes.

“I do look like a mess, don’t I?”

“That’s not what I meant!”

Adela shouted, shaking her head violently.

I looked at her and gave a bitter smile.

I had felt it painfully at the engagement party.

I’d grown stronger than the days when I couldn’t even take down a slime properly, but I was still weak.

I nearly lost Solia, and I was nearly helpless against those guys.

If Adela hadn’t blocked with her Wave Sword, I could have lost her too.

That’s why I made up my mind.

“This is the last time.”

As I felt Adela’s touch pull away, I threw myself into the pit.

This wasn’t a joke; I was genuinely desperate.

I wasn’t afraid of losing the cube.

I wasn’t afraid of losing this war.

What scared me was losing the people who believed in me—those who would stand by me.

Knowing the predetermined outcome only made it more terrifying.

When Solia lies dying, when Adela is rendered powerless.

When Yoon Haul has to destroy herself just to see the future.

If I can do nothing in those moments, there’s nothing more miserable.

Even if I recover the cube and stop the war.

If I lose everyone in the process, what meaning would it have?

I don’t want to achieve anything at the cost of someone else’s sacrifice.

That’s why I’m sacrificing myself now.

“Guh….”

The time spent buried felt like an eternity.

Even if this was all part of the plan, the urgency wasn’t fake.

“Huff… huff.”

My mind was going hazy.

The dirt pressing on my chest was now choking my throat.

I couldn’t breathe.

My body, driven to its limits, was desperately craving oxygen.

I had no idea how much time had passed.

I knew clearly that I didn’t have much time left.

I had reached my limit.

I was on the verge of losing consciousness while buried alive.

“Kyaaah!”

Adela’s scream rang out, followed by the sound of something sniffing around right above me.

The noise was enough to snap me out of my daze.

“What the hell!”

As I lifted my head, I saw Adela, holding her staff, aimed at something.

She had been trying to pull me out when she discovered the unexpected guests.

“Sniff?”

Three kobolds were standing there, looking dumbfounded.

Adela, disgusted, asked.

“Where did they come from?”

Sniff sniff—

With their heads buried in the ground, they had been searching for something. They looked startled when they saw me.

Their confused eyes met mine briefly before darting away.

“Hah….”

Even while gasping for breath, I knew this situation wasn’t normal.

Kobolds are supposed to be wary of humans, attacking whenever one gets too close. So why were they digging around in the spot where I was buried?

Adela, alarmed, raised her staff.

Thud thud thud.

The moment the kobolds spotted Adela’s staff, they scattered in all directions, fleeing in panic.

I watched the retreating creatures and turned to Adela.

“What the hell was that?”

I had hoped to advance my healing skills.

But instead, I ended up witnessing some bizarre, unexplainable phenomenon.

“Uh, Han Siha.”

Adela, lost for words, stared at me with her mouth agape before speaking.

“This might sound completely insane, but… please don’t get mad, okay?”

“Sure.”

“Were they… trying to save you?”

Honestly, it sounded completely crazy.

But based on the circumstances….

I furrowed my brow and responded to Adela.

Um…

“Yeah, it seems like it.”