I Became a Terminally Ill Magic Genius at the Academy

In just a few days, a new rumor spread among the servants of the Hart Family.  

“Guess what? The young master has finally lost his mind.”  

“Could he really get any crazier than he already was? Are you serious?”  

“It’s already been three days since he woke up, and he hasn’t left his room once. Doesn’t that prove he’s gone mad?”  

“… Well, before this, he would’ve already been up and causing chaos by now.”  

While such rumors circulated among the maids, the person in question—Yohan Hart, or rather, webtoon artist Kang Ji-hoon—was gradually coming to terms with the reality of his new identity.  

“Damn it! If I stay like this, I’m going to die.”  

In reality, it was Yohan’s terminal condition that forced him to accept the harsh reality.  

But in any case, he decided to start moving.  

And Yohan, who had come to accept this absurd situation, took the first action and called for the family doctor.

“There’s nothing particularly wrong with your body, Young Master.”  

Hearing this from the elderly physician, Yohan barely swallowed his frustration.  

‘So, there’s nothing wrong with his body, but he’s still terminally ill?’

‘What kind of nonsense is that, you quack?’

“The curse?”  

“… I’m sorry. A curse isn’t something I can diagnose since it’s not a disease.”  

“…”  

Yohan unconsciously clenched his fist.  

Which idiot had come up with this cursed backstory?  

But it was too late to regret his own creations now.  

“If you’re still feeling unwell, I can prescribe more recovery potions. It’s made from the finest ingredients, including Atlantis red coral and crushed crimson pearls.”  

The doctor watched Yohan carefully and offered him a recovery potion.  

“Leave it and go.”  

“Yes, Young Master.”  

The old doctor quickly left the room, leaving Yohan Hart alone. He picked up the potion left by the doctor.  

“Not medicine, but a potion? This really is a fantasy world.”  

Yohan shook the bottle, watching the swirling red liquid.

A potion infused with Atlantis red coral and crimson pearls radiated a spectrum of colors.

Seeing the top-tier potion he had designed in front of him as a physical object felt somewhat nostalgic.  

“Just one of these could feed a commoner family of four for a month.”  

The fact that he could drink something like this just because he felt a little unwell made him realize—maybe this whole transmigration thing wasn’t so bad after all.  

As Yohan was admiring the potion, his expression suddenly twisted.  

“This is driving me crazy, seriously.”  

What good was it to be rich and drink expensive potions like water?  

He was going to die in a few years anyway.  

Even if he stayed out of the protagonist’s way in Arcana Academy and lived quietly, he’d still die peacefully at best.  

“But dying is inevitable. No matter what.”  

He casually tossed the top-tier potion onto the table.  

No matter how expensive the potion was, it wouldn’t help extend Yohan’s lifespan.  

“It might work as a painkiller if I take it when my body feels off, but that’s about it.”  

That was all it could do.  

Since the curse couldn’t be fundamentally lifted, it was just a temporary fix.  

“Still, I can’t just sit around and die.”  

Back when he was Kang Ji-hoon, he was the type to accomplish whatever he set his mind to.  

Even when his parents gave up on him, he refused to give up on himself, and he ultimately succeeded.  

This time, too, he would succeed and survive.  

“First, I need to assess the situation properly.”  

Yohan Hart sat at the desk in the corner of the room and picked up a pen.  

[1. I have become Yohan Hart.]

This was something he had denied for days, but he finally accepted it.  

[2. I am terminally ill.]

As much as he hated it, he had to acknowledge this too.  

Hundreds of years ago, ‘The Lord,’ who gathered dark mages and tried to conquer the land, cursed the Hart Family when they stopped him.  

That curse had been passed down through generations.  

“Normally, it just makes magic a bit harder to use, and at worst, there are occasional side effects.”  

However, Yohan Hart’s case was different. 

Since the curse manifested so strongly, it had a direct impact on Yohan’s lifespan, dooming him to die before turning twenty.  

So, what’s the most hopeful part of all this?  

[3. Yohan is a genius.]

This was at least somewhat positive.  

According to the character settings, Yohan Hart possessed immense talent.  

The problem was that he was lazy and his terrible personality kept him from properly training in magic…  

“But at least his talent is real.”  

He was a tragic genius who showed exceptional abilities at a young age, but after his mother passed away and he was diagnosed with a terminal illness, he became corrupt.  

In the webtoon, he ended up opposing the protagonist, Cedric, and unintentionally helped Cedric grow through their conflict.  

“But I don’t have to follow the original story exactly.”  

Who in their right mind would follow a path that they knew would lead to their death?  

Of course, he had to try to change Yohan Hart’s fate.  

So, what did he need to do to change Yohan Hart’s destiny?  

[4. Eliminate the source of the curse.]

The Hart Family had long put in great efforts to break the curse.  

But the conclusion was always the same.  

It was impossible.  

Modern magic couldn’t break the curse.  

However, now Yohan knew how to permanently get rid of the curse that plagued his body.  

“If I kill the source of the curse, the Lord, the curse will disappear.”  

Everyone in the empire believed the ‘Lord’ was already dead, but in reality, he had only sealed himself away. He was not dead.  

For now, Yohan was the only one who knew this, but within a year, Cedric and his group would also discover that the Lord was still alive.  

“Should I team up with Cedric?”  

This part was something Yohan had to seriously consider.  

Why?  

“Because Cedric can’t kill the Lord.”  

Though he hadn’t finished drawing the webtoon, he had already planned out most of the storyboard.  

Cedric ultimately fails to kill the Lord, and the story ends with the Lord being sealed away instead. 

Peace would return to the world, but the Lord’s sealing meant nothing to Yohan.  

Only the Lord’s death could lift the curse and allow him to survive.  

“For now, it seems wise to keep my distance from Cedric.”  

If he stayed close to Cedric and offered direct help, there was no telling how the original story might change.  

The best-case scenario would be Cedric growing stronger and being able to kill the Lord.  

But what if the Lord awakened from his seal earlier than expected?  

“In that case, this world would be doomed even with or without curse.”  

It would be better to stay away from Cedric for now.  

Besides, in order to survive in this world, Yohan Hart himself also needed to grow stronger.  

For the time being, he should keep his distance, focus on his own development, and then, when the time is right, team up with Cedric to defeat the Lord.  

“And to do that…”  

[5. First, I need to enroll in Arcana Academy.]

“… The Academy.”  

The webtoon he had drawn, Arcana Academy, was, as the title suggested, centered around the academy itself.  

This meant that the academy was the place where he could make the best use of his knowledge as the original creator.  

It was also the place that offered the greatest chance of saving Yohan Hart.  

His gaze quickly shifted to the neatly arranged documents on the desk.  

[Arcana Academy Enrollment Papers]

At this point in time, Yohan Hart hadn’t yet enrolled in Arcana Academy. 

This meant that Kang Ji-hoon, now Yohan, already knew everything that was about to happen.  

His future course of action was decided.  

Now, there was only one thing left to confirm.  

“I need to see with my own eyes just how great Yohan Hart’s magical talent really is.”  

Fortunately, that wouldn’t be difficult to figure out.  

Yohan turned around and rang the bell to summon a servant.  

———

A large gravel path covered in a layer of freshly fallen snow.  

Through the early morning mist, a brown carriage moved forward, and inside, seated on a black sofa, was a man. 

Despite his origins from a fallen baron family, Austin Herbert was a private tutor renowned for his exceptional teaching skills.

“Life…”  

He had a pale face. It gave off the illusion as if he might faint at any moment.

He nervously shook his legs.  

Thanks to Austin’s sharp intellect, his family’s situation had improved somewhat, but they still couldn’t afford even a car.  

With the academy enrollment season approaching, the money stream would soon dry up.  

The uncomfortable jolting of the carriage seat added to his discomfort.  

There were many things causing him pain.  

But right now, what made Austin the most anxious was something else entirely.  

“Dear God, please do something about that damned Yohan Hart.”  

Yohan Hart, the notorious scoundrel of the Hart Family.  

The mere fact that he would soon have to teach him made Austin’s throat tighten in fear.  

In fact, before becoming the Hart Family’s private tutor, Austin had plenty of opportunities to learn about Yohan.  

The rumors about him were infamous, so it would’ve been strange not to know what kind of person Yohan Hart was.  

“They say he tied up a tutor and hung him upside down from the top of the mansion just for upsetting him.”  

“And didn’t he just fire his newly hired tutor for being ‘too low-class’ and exiled him from the empire?”  

When Austin heard these gruesome rumors from a fellow tutor, he was outraged, wondering how such cruel things could happen and swore he would never become the Hart Family’s tutor.  

So when the Hart Family’s head butler came to him with a job offer, Austin was ready to reject it on the spot. 

But then…  

“I will offer you one hundred gold per lesson.”  

An outrageous amount. It was enough for him to live comfortably for three months without working.  

The one hundred gold per lesson was shocking enough, but the butler then made an even more irresistible offer.  

If Austin stayed on as Yohan Hart’s tutor until the day he enrolled in the academy, they would pay him the entire sum once again.  

“Damn that money!”  

It was too much to turn down.  

Blinded by the absurd amount, Austin accepted the Hart Family’s proposal without a second thought.  

Even though he had heard stories about the previous tutor losing both arms—essential to a mage’s life—Austin clung to the hope that the rumors might be exaggerated.  

But he soon painfully realized the truth.  

There’s no smoke without fire.

From the very first lesson, Yohan Hart sneered at him like this. ‘Is this the best you can teach me? I had some expectations since they said you were a skilled tutor, but this is the worst.’

After that, Yohan barely showed up for most of the lessons, and on the rare days he did appear, it appeared like his sole purpose was to torment Austin.  

On Yohan’s worst days, Austin was occasionally hit with tea spilled by Yohan or even his spit.  

Austin rubbed his face dry, trying to shake off the growing frustration.  

“Anyway, today is the last lesson. Stay focused and get through this.”  

He opened his eyes wide and gave his cheeks a couple of firm slaps.  

The carriage had finally come to a halt, signaling they had arrived at the Hart estate.  

Stepping out of the carriage, Austin greeted the head butler with a polite nod.  

The elderly butler returned the gesture with a kind smile.  

“Young Master is in the greenhouse garden.”  

Following the butler, Austin’s mind swirled with all kinds of worries.  

He prayed he would get through the lesson in one piece. Or better yet, that Yohan Hart wouldn’t show up at all, whether it was the last lesson or not.  

Feeling as if he were sticking his head into a monster’s jaws, he squeezed his eyes shut.  

He wished they would never reach their destination, but before long, they arrived at the door to the indoor garden.  

Standing side by side with the butler, Austin paused.  

Through the opened glass door, the greenhouse stretched out before him, oblivious to the changing seasons outside.  

Austin immediately spotted Yohan Hart sitting there and his expression hardened.  

“Even on the last day, that guy’s going to give me hell.”  

But something about Yohan’s posture was different from usual.  

Normally, Yohan would have his feet propped up on the table, adopting his usual mocking attitude.  

Today, though he had one leg crossed, he sat relatively upright. A posture far more composed than usual.  

That wasn’t the only oddity.  

Yohan Hart was staring directly at him.  

The only time Yohan ever looked at him was when he intended to berate him; otherwise, Yohan spent his lessons either turning away or sleeping.  

In the almost year Austin had spent teaching him, the only moments Yohan had truly looked at him were to ridicule him.  

So, Austin could only come to one conclusion. 

‘He’s really gearing up to give me hell for this final lesson!’

Austin recalled the rumors surrounding Yohan Hart.  

This was the guy who had hung someone upside down from the top of the mansion.  

What would happen if he was fully prepared to torment someone?  

‘Should I just run away now?’

Sure. A big payout was waiting for him if he finished this lesson, but wasn’t his life more valuable?  

Yes. He should run.  

Just as he was about to choose life over money, weighing both in his mind—  

“You have arrived, teacher?”  

A question mark flickered in Austin’s mind. 

Translator’s Note: If you like the novel, please don’t forget to leave a review or comment.

Happy reading!