The Academy is Doomed

Chapter 87

“This Amon is disappointed in you two.”

“……”

“Even as a dragon and even as my younger sibling, to think you’d both be so weak…”

Amon was on his way back to the academy, carrying the exhausted Ami and Rustianel.

However, there was a clear difference in their treatment.

Since Rustianel was still a “Dragon,” Amon carried her on his back, but Ami, who was merely family, was dragged along the dirt ground.

Yet, Ami seemed accustomed to such treatment, speaking her mind even as she lay sprawled and was dragged along.

“I told you over and over again, didn’t I? It’s you who’s the strange one, big brother.”

Rustianel chimed in.
“Humans… are scary.”

“No, it’s not humans who are scary. It’s that human who’s scary.”

“I want to go back to my lair…”

Seeing Rustianel whimper, Amon shook his head.

“That won’t do, Rustianel.”

“Why not?”

“Because I owe Caselag.”

“Ugh…”

If Rustianel returned now, saying she couldn’t do it anymore, Amon might have to cough up the gold bricks he received from Caselag.

That thought alone was enough to haunt Amon in his dreams.

‘Anyway, we’re almost at Amur. What have I gained from stepping out of the academy?’

Beyond the academy, Amon had come to a stark realization of how grim the future of the world seemed.

An empire in harmony with ogres!

An empire exploiting necromancers!

Even the Four Great Knights of the Empire, who were so idle they stole the work of honest citizens to fill their own bellies!

‘So, this is what they meant by the continent being in turmoil.’

As he suppressed a sigh, Ami, who was being dragged, suddenly spoke up.

“Big brother.”

“What is it, my lovely little sister?”

“Your lovely little sister is a dirt-covered mess.”

“That’s why you’re lovely.”

“Aha.”

“Anyway, what is it?”

Ami, still being dragged, subtly pointed at something.

“Aren’t those our academy people over there?”

“Huh? Oh, really?”

In a forest a little distance from Amur, just as Ami said, academy students and teachers had gathered in a crowd.

“What’s everyone doing here?”

“Oh? Amon’s back. How did your task go?”

At Sloth’s question, Amon gave a crooked smile.

“It’s all taken care of.”

“Is that so? Good to hear.”

“It’s not really good, though. I’ll explain it in detail later. But what’s everyone doing here?”

At that question, Chloe came running over.

For some reason, Chloe’s face was quite flushed with excitement.

“Teacher.”

“Yes, Chloe.”

“I’ve become a Sword Expert.”

“What? Not a Sword User?”

Chloe had skipped a rank and directly reached the level of Sword Expert!

That explained why Chloe’s face was flushed.

Even with just a few months of training in swordsmanship, Chloe had demonstrated extraordinary talent, overwhelming Raymond in competitions.

She had also secured a win against some guy named Oliver in the academy exchange battle. Most notably, even the renowned Reinbelt had called her a “genius.”

“After only practicing and sparring every day, experiencing real combat for the first time taught me a lot.”

“Oh, is that so?”

Amon looked at Chloe with genuine amazement and then broke into a wide smile.

“Congratulations, Chloe!”

“Thank you!”

Sloth, who had taught Chloe swordsmanship, looked pleased as well.

“This proves my teaching methods are right.”

With a bitter smile, Amon nodded.

“Of course.”

“You get it, huh?”

“Ha, ha, ha. Of course. But on such a joyous day, what are Kai and Raymond doing over there?”

As Amon observed, Raymond and Kai were standing at a distance.

Kai, with a gentle expression, was saying something, while Raymond, pouting, was absentmindedly nodding.

Sloth remarked with a tone of disdain.

“From what I overheard, Kai is probably saying something like, ‘Chloe figured things out and became a Sword Expert right away, so why haven’t you advanced to mid-level Sword Master yet, Raymond?’”

Like a tiger, Amon charged at Kai and smacked him hard on the back of the head.

Dragging the unconscious Kai along, Amon comforted Raymond.

“Raymond, don’t pay attention to what that guy says. You’re doing well.”

“Yes, Teacher!”

“That guy…always so unnecessarily passionate…”

Amon glanced at Kai, who was foaming at the mouth and convulsing, before suddenly looking around.

Come to think of it, wasn’t someone missing?

“By the way, where are Senior Marion and Boris?”

As soon as he asked, Sloth responded with an awkward expression.

“Ah, well, about that…”

One of the beginner dungeons managed by the Mage Guild: the Goblin Dungeon created by illusion magic.

Inside, Marion was consoling Boris with a somber expression.

“Hmm, Boris.”

“…Yes.”

“I’m sorry. It’s all because my teaching isn’t good enough.”

“…No, sir Marion. It’s not your fault.”

Seeing Boris mumble in a subdued voice made Marion’s heart ache.

‘Oh, how could this happen to someone who tries so hard?’

Magic is, after all, a field of study.

That’s why memorizing formulas and theories is crucial. Boris had shown great progress, thanks to Anar’el and Brestle’s “Spell of Remembering the Bad Things” and “Potion of Sleepless Nights.”

But there was one major problem.

‘Mana aptitude.’

As someone once said, magic is heavily influenced by innate talent and lineage.

It’s no exaggeration to say magic is a discipline reserved for the chosen.

Marion knew this all too well.

‘I was once called a genius as a child. Within weeks of learning magic, I reached the 1st Circle. Within months, I was at the 3rd Circle and could proudly call myself a mage.’

Now, as a proud 6th Circle magician of “Archmage-level,” Marion might soon reach the 7th Circle. In terms of talent, he was clearly in the “gifted” category.

But in Boris’s case…

“Boris, let’s call it a day and come back in a few days.”

“But, sir…”

“Overexerting yourself isn’t good. Besides, reaching the 1st Circle is the hardest part of magic. It’s normal for it to be difficult, so don’t feel rushed.”

“…Yes, sir.”

With his shoulders drooping, Boris eventually nodded.

‘Sigh, to see him so dejected… what should I do?’

Marion’s heart ached.

How painful must it have been for him to put away the bottle he always carried when watching Boris repeatedly fail at magic inside the dungeon?

‘The theory behind casting spells is perfect. His magic formulas are flawless. But his lack of mana aptitude prevents him from manifesting spells. This isn’t something I can help with.’

Marion paced back and forth in frustration.

Eventually, as he exited the dungeon deep in thought, he spotted an unexpected face.

“Oh? Amon, you’re back?”

“Yes. Senior, are you just coming out now?”

“Yeah. How did your task go?”

“Well… I’ll explain it later. It’s a long story.”

Smiling faintly, Amon looked at Boris.

“You worked hard, Boris.”

“Huh? Oh, it’s nothing.”

“Come on, let’s head back to the academy.”

As Amon urged a quick return to the academy, Marion hesitated.

“Amon, wait…”

“Yes?”

Marion lowered his voice.

“You heard from Sloth, didn’t you?”

“Yes. I came because I heard both of you were still here.”

“No, no… that’s not what I meant. Um…”

“What? Did something happen?”

Seeing Amon tilt his head in confusion, Marion frowned.

‘Does this guy not know what’s going on?’

Marion glanced at Boris, who was trudging ahead with his head down.

‘Should I tell him about Boris’ condition?’

However, the truth was that he felt reluctant to say anything.

Admitting that the student he had diligently taught lacked talent as a mage felt like giving up on Boris entirely.

Besides, didn’t he passionately refute Amon’s concerns about Boris during their dungeon practice?

‘That’s why I only told Sloth that Boris seemed to be struggling…’

Lost in these thoughts, Amon shrugged as if he were dealing with some lightweight drunkard.

“Let’s head back quickly. Oh, look, Boris is already that far ahead.”

“Ah, yes, let’s do that.”

In the end, Marion gave up on explaining the situation.

Boris lay on his bed, completely drained.

‘I don’t have any talent for magic.’

After all, magic was mostly a privilege of the nobility. While it was true that commoner mages existed, Boris realized that he wasn’t among the “few exceptions.”

‘Of course. That’s just how my life is.’

He had no hometown to return to and no family left.

He thought he had found a path as a “mage,” but the path turned out to be a cliff that snatched away his last glimmer of hope.

To make things worse, the stark contrast with others pursuing their own paths was a harsh reality he couldn’t bear to dream of overcoming.

Raymond, the same age as him, was already at the level of a Sword Master.

Chloe, who he considered close in age, was growing further apart from him, showing incredible progress compared to himself.

“Hahaha…”

Boris let out a bitter laugh, curling up into a ball.

‘Of course. What can someone like me possibly do?’

Boris sank deeper into his pit of self-deprecation, a darkness that had been lying dormant until now.

Then, there was a knock at the door.

-Knock, knock.

A familiar voice followed.

“Boris, are you inside?”

It was Amon’s voice.

“Ah, yes, teacher. I’m here.”

“Alright, Boris. May I come in?”

“Oh, sure.”

When Amon entered, he asked, “It’s dinner time. Why aren’t you eating?”

“Well…”

Boris shook his head.

“I just don’t have an appetite.”

“Hmm, I see.”

Amon, folding his arms, thought for a moment before saying, “Perfect timing. How about coming with me for a bit?”

“Pardon? Oh, alright.”

Boris followed behind Amon, confused about the situation.

Moments later, they arrived at Amon’s room, where Boris tilted his head in curiosity.

“Why are we in your room, teacher? Do you need me to tidy up?”

“Hmm?”

“I’m really good at cleaning. Leave it to me.”

“What?”

Amon’s face stiffened.

‘This is worse than I thought. It’s already progressed this far.’

Boris’s severe self-deprecation was obvious,
‘I’m useless, so just let me clean or do menial tasks!’

Reading the psyche behind Boris’s words, Amon let out a faint laugh and said, “The room is a bit messy, sure. But I’ll clean it later, so don’t worry about that.”

“Oh no! Then what can I possibly do?”

Amon sighed.

‘It’s getting worse by the second.’

Realizing he couldn’t delay any longer, Amon hurriedly pulled something out.

“Look at this, Boris!”

When Amon pulled a sack of potatoes from the closet, Boris instinctively started searching for a peeler.

“Of course! At least I can peel potatoes. Thank you for giving my life purpose, teacher!”

Unable to bear it any longer, Amon flicked Boris on the forehead.

“Snap out of it, you little rascal.”

“Ow…”

“Boris, do you know what kind of potatoes these are?”

“Um, just regular ones, right?”

“No. These are from my territory.”

“…!”

These were potatoes Amon had brought back during his leave, originally promised to Brestle. But since that arrangement had fallen through, the potatoes had been sitting untouched in Amon’s closet.

“If they’re from your territory, then…”

“That’s right. You know what that means?”

Boris nodded.

He had heard stories about Amon growing up strong and healthy by eating these very potatoes.

Pointing to the potatoes and then at Boris, Amon declared, “And now, these potatoes…”

“Yes?”

“Are all yours to eat.”

Boris froze in shock, his mouth agape.

If Brestle had known, she would have been outraged,
“Why are my potatoes going to Boris?!”

But Amon, relishing the shocked look on Boris’s face, simply said, “Oh, by the way.”

“…”

“There are two more sacks.”

Amon casually pulled out two more sacks, each as large as Boris himself.

Seeing the mountain of potatoes, Boris collapsed to the floor, realizing that his primary food source for the foreseeable future would be nothing but potatoes.