Chapter 26: The Great Academy Temptation Operation (3) Fin
“Huh. A plot where he enrolls in the Academy.
To think my workplace would appear as the setting in a novel.
This feels incredibly strange.”
As could be seen from the way Eric looked around his professor’s office and the Academy buildings outside, as if he found it fascinating,
Volume 2 of [The Genius Mage of the Slums], which Eric had waited for with such anticipation,
surprisingly began with the protagonist, Tian, enrolling in the Academy—Eric’s own workplace.
—Tian. It’s about time you went to the Academy.
Rather than learning only under me forever, it would be better for you to experience the wider world as well.—
Two years had passed between Volume 1 and Volume 2, and during that time, Tian had completed the 5th Circle.
So his master, Gray, had sent him to the Academy without hesitation.
The meaning was that he should go to the Academy, socialize, gain experience in society,
and now that Gray could no longer teach him one-sidedly, learn from an institution where there were mages of a higher level.
“Hmm, our Academy isn’t quite that impressive...”
And as a professor employed at the Academy, Eric, who knew the truth of the Academy,
felt an embarrassment at this part, as if he had become a model filming an exaggerated advertisement.
In the story, the Academy was described as a place with an educational standard high enough to be compared to a Magic Tower.
“In reality, it’s a bit ambiguous.”
For starters, Eric himself, who taught basic magic, was only at the late stage of the 5th Circle.
At least the headmaster, personally appointed by the royal family, was a 7th Circle mage, but excluding him, there wasn’t a single professor above the 7th Circle.
Of course, even 5th to 6th Circle professors were more than enough for a public educational institution.
But since the novel praised it so highly, he couldn’t help feeling embarrassed.
“Ahem. Still, it doesn’t feel all that bad.”
But apart from the embarrassment, Eric did feel secretly proud.
After all, someone was praising the workplace he belonged to. How could any person not feel pleased by that?
“If there were someone who didn’t, they must truly hate their job with a passion.”
However, Eric did not particularly dislike his position as an Academy professor. In fact, he even took pride in it.
And in a situation where, lately, people were reluctant to come to the Academy, even if it was only fiction, hearing that a genius like Tian had enrolled filled him with vicarious satisfaction.
And that vicarious satisfaction continued afterward as well.
—What?! A new student shattered the mana measuring orb?!
That’s absurd! That thing can withstand even the mana of a 7th Circle mage!—
—It must be some kind of error or malfunction!
Unless you’re telling me a 7th Circle archmage came here to take the Academy entrance exam?!—
Starting from the scene where, from the very first day of enrollment, Tian shattered the mana measuring crystal ball with his uniquely overwhelming mana capacity that transcended his Circle,
stunning the professors in charge.
—He cleared the 5th stage entrance exam in the shortest time ever?!
Then does that mean the measuring orb breaking wasn’t merely a coincidence...?—
—This year’s top entrant is Tian from the Department of Magic!
The top entrant has the privilege of choosing one of my treasures as headmaster, so follow me later.—
He cleared the highest level of the entrance exam in the shortest time and was selected as the top entrant!
He received one of the headmaster’s mysterious treasures as a prize.
Then he entered the special class where only top-ranking prodigies gathered, and even there, he astonished everyone by displaying a genius that overwhelmed the other students.
“A mana measuring orb? The Academy doesn’t really have a process like this.
The entrance exam isn’t this harsh or practical either.
And just because someone enters at the top, I don’t think the headmaster personally gives them a gift.
...Author Wei doesn’t actually think the Academy is this kind of place, does he?”
Of course, none of these things actually happened at the Academy.
But Eric had already given up on nitpicking these small details since Volume 1.
And if he imagined these things really happening at the Academy,
it seemed like it would be incredibly fun and thrilling.
“If school life were like this, the Academy might have been far more popular than it is now.”
Not an ordinary, boring academic life where one simply studied repeatedly like a hamster on a wheel,
but the kind of special and exciting school life overflowing with dopamine, just like what Tian was experiencing right now.
—Uuugh! Did you steal first place from me again, Tian?!
Beautiful me, destined to shine like the sun, is in second place again, again, again?!—
—Ah, the young lady of the Duke Chepelli family.
Um... it just sort of turned out that way.
Still, second place is good too, so please don’t be too disheartened.—
—Gnununu! Someday I’ll crush that gaze of yours from above!
And I’ve told you again and again, call me Noah casually!
At the Academy, everyone is equal!
Especially if it’s a talent I’ve acknowledged, like you!—
—All right, Noah.
I look forward to being with you from now on too.—
—...Huh? Ah! You mean the competition for first place?
O-of course! I knew that!
I-I look forward to being with you from now on tooooo...—
He became the object of obsession for a duke’s daughter who had been full of pride in her own abilities, only to be knocked down to second place by the monster called Tian.
—Tian...? Who is that woman glued to your side...?—
—Sister Elise? It’s been two years, so why are you glaring at me like that...?—
Because she had entered the Academy first, Elise reunited with him after two years and grew jealous upon seeing that sight.
—Why is a knight who accepted a duel challenge running his mouth so much? Don’t tell me you’re scared?—
—Scared? Hahaha! Fine! I’ll cut out that tongue of yours and make sure you can never chant again!—
He punished an unjust upperclassman through a duel.
—Is this the rumored hidden secret room?—
—I can’t believe it! It really existed?!
Tian! We just solved one of the Academy’s Seven Wonders!—
—Noah. I get it, so calm down and stop clinging to me, will you? Sister Elise’s glare is terrifying...—
At last, he uncovered the existence of a hidden secret room that had been dismissed as legend.
—I-impossible...! Me, on the verge of the 7th Circle!
To think I would be held back and defeated not by another 6th Circle mage, but by brats like these!!—
And he even dealt with a black mage who had been hiding in the secret room, scheming to overthrow the Academy and offer its students as sacrifices!
Was this not the special, passionate, and exciting school life anyone would wish for?
There likely wouldn’t even be a moment to feel bored.
As the finale, Tian was acknowledged by the headmaster
and chosen as the headmaster’s disciple as well as a member of a secret society that opposed the black mage organization. With that, Volume 2 of [The Genius Mage of the Slums] came to an end.
“Phew—”
Eric closed the book and let out a satisfied breath, but he could not help wearing a complicated expression.
That was only natural.
As someone connected to the Academy, from the perspective of someone who knew the actual Academy well,
there was a lot of absurd content in Volume 2 of [The Genius Mage of the Slums].
However.
“But it’s fun!
It’s completely different from the Academy I know, so it’s even more fun!”
There were also parts that felt more entertaining precisely because he knew the truth.
Should he call it the thrill of breaking down and transforming dull, uninteresting school life?
“Though for something set in the Academy, it doesn’t seem to have much about the actual curriculum...”
Well, hadn’t Volume 1 been the same?
Because such processes were omitted, this gripping and exciting plot could come out.
In any case, it was entertaining enough, so Eric did not particularly feel dissatisfied that the historical accuracy was wrong.
Instead, one worry gradually began to surface.
“Hmm... What if people believe this content as it is?”
It was about the truth of Volume 2 of [The Genius Mage of the Slums].
As an Academy professor, he knew very well that this content was not true.
But people who did not know might misunderstand and think the Academy was really this kind of place.
“If they just dismiss it as something inside a novel, it won’t matter at all...”
But what if they truly thought the Academy was such a wonderful and exciting place and tried to enroll?
He worried they might be greatly disappointed once they learned the truth.
“Ah! Wait, don’t tell me?!”
And at that moment,
the mysterious official notice he had received earlier flashed through Eric’s mind.
The notice about remodeling the Academy,
and the part that said the details should be referenced from Volume 2 of [The Genius Mage of the Slums].
In the current situation, if they were going to use this content as reference for remodeling...
“Don’t tell me they’re really planning to remodel this Royal Academy to resemble the fictional Academy from the book?!”
That was insane.
Remodeling an entire Academy operated by the royal family in order to imitate a novel?
Logically speaking, it was the kind of nonsense only a lunatic would say.
“But what if it’s true?”
Then it meant Author Wei was once again planning something that would shake up this kingdom.
And this time, even with the royal family involved!
Even though he knew how absurd that thought was,
for some reason, Eric’s heart gradually began to race.
And that phenomenon was happening not only to Eric, but to people outside the Academy as well.
“Chief! Another application for enrollment has come in!”
“Why?! Who is it this time? Did another ducal heir enroll or something?”
“No. This time it’s... holy shit?! It’s the Saintess!”
“What?”
“The Church’s Saintess sent in an application for enrollment!”
“I-it’s real?! What on earth is this?!
What is happening to this Academy?!”
“Uh... and.
There are also floods of inquiries from the Magic Tower and the Knight Order, asking if there are any professor positions open...”
“...Seriously, what the hell is going on...?”
First of all, the Academy’s admissions department began to burst at the seams.