I Became a Terminally Ill Magic Genius at the Academy

There wasn’t much of a significant schedule after dinner. 

Thanks to that, Yohan was able to return to his room and relax, and his proper academy life would begin the next day. 

What is the definition of an academy? 

It could be a leading and authoritative organization in the fields of scholarship or art. 

It could also refer to an institution like a university or research center. 

In short, it was a place of learning.

On the first day of the semester, the students busily ran around following their respective timetables.  

‘It’s been years since I graduated from school.’  

But what could he do? 

Since he was now in another world, Yohan had to spend a hectic day attending academy classes as a student. 

Most classes ended simply with a basic orientation, but there were naturally some that didn’t. 

The professor of Basic Alchemy, Norman Ford, who wore a black suit, continued to speak with a stern expression.  

“What was the origin of alchemy? In fact, ancient alchemy began when poor mages tried to turn stones into gold to cover their research costs.”  

As Professor Norman Ford spoke, he moved his magic pen to write on the blackboard. 

The magic pen clearly moved in mid-air, yet the writing appeared on the blackboard. 

Watching this, Yohan once again realized that he was really in the Arcana Academy.  

“Turning stones into gold. It’s something you’ve all heard countless times when talking about alchemy. It sounds absurd and ridiculous, right?”  

Here, calling it ‘absurd and ridiculous’ didn’t mean it was impossible to turn stones into gold. 

In modern alchemy, most things were possible. However, turning stones into gold required very special conditions.  

“To transform one object into another, the rearrangement of mana must occur. If you calculate this rearrangement with precision and are able to remove specific properties of mana while adding new ones, you can indeed turn a stone into gold.”  

Though the explanation was complicated, it simply meant breaking down an object into tiny, invisible units and completely altering its properties.  

“Then why don’t alchemists of this era turn stones into gold? Does anyone know?”  

Professor Norman Ford asked as he looked around. As everyone held their breath, Cecilia quietly raised her hand.  

“Cecilia, please speak.”  

“Because turning stones into gold is inefficient.”  

“Correct.”  

As Professor Norman Ford declared her answer correct, Cecilia Diaz curved her lips into a smile and turned her gaze toward Yohan.  

‘What’s up with her?’

Yohan couldn’t understand why Cecilia was so conscious of him. 

He gave a slight nod and refocused on Norman Ford’s lecture.  

“The basic principle of alchemy is not creating something from nothing but altering properties. And that alteration is always inefficient.”  

The cost of turning stone into gold was dozens or even hundreds of times more than the value of the gold obtained. 

The cost wasn’t just the problem; it also meant that materials more valuable than gold needed to be used. 

The idea of creating gold from something more precious than gold itself? 

Naturally, it was inefficient.  

“That’s why modern alchemy focuses more on creating items that directly benefit mages rather than changing the properties of metals.”  

For example, potions.  

Of course, making potions was also inefficient when you break it down into simple structures. 

For instance, let’s take a look at the most basic recovery potion, which was the first thing that appeared in the ‘Basic Alchemy’ textbook.  

One of the key ingredients needed to make a recovery potion was ‘troll’s blood.’  

Trolls had extraordinary regenerative abilities. Unless their head was completely severed or their heart destroyed, most wounds healed quickly. 

The secret to that regeneration lay in their blood. 

But even if one used troll’s blood to make a recovery potion…  

‘A human can never experience the same level of regeneration as a troll.’  

If a troll’s arm was cut off, simply holding it against the wound would soon restore full movement. 

But for a human? 

If a human’s arm was severed, pouring a recovery potion over it won’t make it reattach easily.  

However, the key point here was, ‘It won’t reattach easily.’

The recovery potion still had healing properties. No matter how inefficient, if a potion could transfer even a fraction of a troll’s healing power to a human, then the concept of efficiency became irrelevant.  

That’s why mages came to develop items that could directly benefit them. 

After all, when it comes to something that can save your life, efficiency is not a concern. 

This was how modern alchemy evolved, and what was once a rare recovery potion has now become common.  

“Today, we’ll be making recovery potions so you can directly experience the basics of alchemy.”  

Even new students at Arcana Academy were now capable of making them from their very first lesson.  

“You can either follow the basic recipe for a low-grade recovery potion or create your own. Naturally, if you create your own recipe and the result is successful, you’ll receive bonus points.”  

Professor Norman Ford scanned the room sharply with his eyes before continuing.  

“Now then, pair up in groups of two and get started.”  

With that, the students immediately began glancing around to see who they would partner with. 

Yohan, however, got up right away and walked confidently. 

He didn’t need to think twice about who he’d partner with.  

“Kyle, let’s work together.”

Why worry when you have an excellent potion maker at hand?

———

What is the most essential element for getting a good grade in a group project?  

Smooth communication with your teammates?  

Proper division of tasks?  

Accurate and concise research?  

Flawless execution and presentation?  

No, none of those.  

‘What you need the most is, of course, an excellent team member.’  

What do we learn while doing group projects?  

Ultimately, you can’t really trust anyone. 

However, it means that if you have just one reliable person, you can successfully prepare the project.  

“Me? With me?”  

Kyle asked in surprise. 

Since Yohan had rushed over right after Professor Norman Ford’s words without a moment’s hesitation, it must have been quite sudden for Kyle.  

Kyle glanced around nervously before eventually nodding.  

“Alright. Let’s do it together.”  

“You’ve made potions before, right?”  

“Well, my hobbies are cooking and making potions. But I’ve never made a recovery potion before….”  

“Oh. That doesn’t matter.”  

Never made a recovery potion before?  

That’s fine.  

He’d do great anyway.  

After all, Kyle was born to make potions.  

When Yohan spoke as if it didn’t matter at all, Kyle blinked in surprise. 

At that moment, a mocking laugh came from nearby.  

“What are you planning to do, teaming up with a commoner who has never even made a recovery potion?”  

Yohan didn’t need to turn around to know who it was.  

Haveryo.  

Of course, it was him.

And sure enough, when Yohan turned his head, there stood the guy with dark skin and blond hair. He smirked confidently as he stared at him. 

Seeing the self-assured look on Haverto’s face was enough to put Yohan in a bad mood.  

“The most important thing in potion-making is experience. You need to instinctively know what texture should come out when mixing certain ingredients in specific ratios….”  

“Oh yeah. Sure, you’re amazing. Keep working hard on your potion.”  

‘Why is this guy so obsessed with me?’

Cecilia was also quite conscious of Yohan, but at least that was understandable. 

After all, Cecilia Diaz and Yohan Hart had a bit of history from their childhood, a few disputes here and there. 

So it was natural for her to have a sense of rivalry and pay attention to Yohan.  

But with Haverto, Yohan had no idea why he was acting like this.  

Annoyed at the thought of dealing with him, Yohan just lazily waved his hand.  

What mattered now was Kyle.  

Yohan needed a potion that could at least reduce the side effects that came after casting magic. 

Even if it wasn’t possible right now, eventually, Kyle would be capable of making such potions. He was a true talent.  

‘Of course, Kyle is far more important than some Golden Lion coming over to pick a fight.’  

While Yohan was thinking this, Haverto gritted his teeth, spun around, and walked away.

After confirming that Haverto had gone off to find another partner, Kyle gulped nervously and cautiously spoke to Yohan.  

“Um…”  

“Hm?”  

“Will it be alright?”  

“Oh. Don’t pay any attention to him. Whether it’s alchemy or magic, we’re all just freshmen; we’re pretty much on the same level. And it’s not like you haven’t made any potions before, right? Just not recovery potions?”  

“Yeah. That’s true, but… I meant Haverto.”  

Yohan’s face showed some confusion at Kyle’s words. 

What’s wrong with Haverto?  

“What about him?”  

When Yohan asked, Kyle glanced over at Haverto before continuing.  

“Well, Haverto is one of the most promising talents among the central nobles, after all.”  

“So?”  

“Well, you’ll probably end up facing him later, and it feels like you two have been at odds.”  

“He’s the one picking a fight. And besides, I just need to win, right?”  

So he was supposedly the most promising talent among the central nobles? 

At the end of the day, wasn’t he just a freshman? 

Unless he was on the level of Cedric, Yohan couldn’t imagine losing to another freshman.  

“Yeah. But…”  

“Stop overthinking it. Let’s just focus on making the potion first.”  

As long as Yohan did his best during the dormitory competition later, that would be enough. 

Right now, what mattered most was confirming Kyle’s potion-making skills firsthand.  

Yohan urged Kyle to start making the potion quickly, and eventually, Kyle nodded and tried not to pay attention to Haverto as he opened the textbook.  

“First, we need to create mana water, which serves as the base for all potions.”  

By mixing purified water with ground mana stones, mana water could be prepared. 

The key here was that the higher the quality of the mana stone, the better the chance of preparing proper mana water.  

“Let’s use this one.”  

Yohan picked out a mana stone without hesitation and handed it to Kyle. 

The criteria for a high-quality mana stone depended on its mana purity. 

For Yohan, selecting a mana stone with pure mana was no difficult task.  

‘Because I can feel it.’  

The overwhelming magical talent that existed as part of his character’s background was proving to be useful even in something as simple as choosing a mana stone.  

“We need to grind the mana stone finely and mix it with water. Meanwhile, we also need to prepare troll’s blood and red snail extract.”  

“I’ll handle grinding the mana stone, so you take care of the other preparations.”  

“Got it.”  

Troll’s blood and red snail extract, huh?

Just leave that to Kyle. 

Yohan diligently grinded the mana stone into a fine powder. 

It wasn’t a particularly difficult task. You just needed to slowly turn the mana stone against a grater until it was finely grinded.  

‘Looks like what he’s doing is a bit more complicated.’  

Beside him, Kyle was searching through the various materials filling the alchemy classroom’s shelves and eventually found some troll’s blood. 

That part wasn’t hard, but afterward, he picked up a red snail and was now painstakingly scraping out the extract from its body.  

It was definitely not something Yohan would ever want to do.  

“So, I’ve prepared all the ingredients for the basic recipe. Should we add anything else, or just stick to the basic recipe?”  

Kyle looked at Yohan as if seeking his opinion. 

Yohan grinned widely.  

“Of course, we need to add more.”  

How could he be satisfied with a lowest-grade potion made from a basic recipe?

——-

Translator’s Note; Thank you for the patience and continued support! The regular release (3-5 chapters/week) will begin henceforth. Please don’t forget to leave a review on NovelUpdates.

Happy reading!