Academy's Gumiho is a Magic Genius

The unexpected words left me bewildered.

Giving a student the right to ask questions? And now, throwing a question at me?

Without any prior discussion?

My mind was a mess, but in a way, it was a good thing.

It was a clear opportunity to ask about the doubts and flashes of inspiration that arose while listening to her lecture. I sprang up from my seat.

"Regarding what you just mentioned about [Flowing Constellations], once their form is complete, do they never change?"

At my question, most of the students began whispering.

"Who's that teaching assistant?"

"He's ridiculously good-looking."

"So what if he's good-looking? His question is so basic."

"God is fair, after all. He gave me knowledge and gave that guy looks."

"You're just mediocre, and that TA is genuinely handsome. But shouldn't a TA be good at studying? Why is he asking about something the professor just explained?"

Their reactions were natural.

Earlier in the lecture, Nam Hwa-yeon said that once the form of [Flowing Constellations] is complete, it doesn't change. Asking a question when the answer had already been given was something only someone who hadn't been paying attention would do.

Most of the students mocked my question, while the rest showed no interest. Only Nam Hwa-yeon on the podium took my question seriously.

"Hmm, well, in the face of vast magical power or distortion fields, even [Flowing Constellations] would lose their form. The same goes for when the spell ages over time. But our TA didn't mean it that way, did he?"

Hoho, she laughed and waved her slender fingers, conjuring several magic circles in the air.

Rotation and revolution. The [Flowing Constellations], which maintain their form through the forces of attraction between them, reappeared.

A magical spell so beautiful that the students couldn't help but marvel.

Seeing it again, I became even more certain.

"What if we change the units?"

"Change the units?"

"Yes, exactly."

What I proposed was to modify the structural units that make up the spell.

At my suggestion, Nam Hwa-yeon's face suddenly lit up with interest. She manipulated the spheres floating in the air, shrinking them to a size that could fit in my hand, and brought them over to me.

Her gesture seemed to say, "If you can do it, go ahead."

I wasn't sure how to handle them, but I had a vague idea.

I used the「Double Helix」I had gained today.

Whoooosh────!!

As I reached out my hand, the stars that had been shining blue turned a deep red. The brilliant magical energy was replaced by my own, dyeing the spheres.

At that moment, I felt the units that formed the structure of the magic transforming into a double helix.

Soon, as the blue star was completely dyed a deep red, the sphere in the centre greedily swallowed the others.

Just as the students were gasping in surprise, the sphere that had devoured all the others began to emit a bright light.

───Shine!

The sphere shone like the sun.

But perhaps that was its limit, as the magical energy burst and scattered in all directions.

"Ah...."

I swallowed my disappointment.

So close. If I had pushed just a little further, it might have worked as I had envisioned.

Some of the students also seemed disappointed, but most took my failure as a given.

I looked up at Nam Hwa-yeon.

I wanted to see her reaction.

But for a failure, she looked quite satisfied.

"Well, now that the questions are done, let's end today's lecture here."

And so, the lecture concluded successfully.

Many students remained in their seats, continuing to take notes, but Nam Hwa-yeon left without looking back. As her TA, I followed her.

As we stepped out the front door, I saw people in suits.

Bang Seok-hoon was standing among them, so they were clearly TAs. They bowed to the professor and then turned to bow to me as well.

What's going on? Why are they doing this?

"We heard that Bang Seok-hoon TA behaved inappropriately. We sincerely apologize."

"We will ensure such incidents do not happen again."

The TAs kept bowing and addressing me with honorifics.

Wondering what was going on, I turned to Nam Hwa-yeon, but she took a step back, smiling.

She had no intention of intervening.

Confused, I looked back at the suited TAs.

I could see Bang Seok-hoon's shoulders trembling. It seemed he wasn't happy with the situation.

Of course, the other TAs didn't look too comfortable either.

Though they didn't show it on their faces, they seemed quite uneasy.

At that moment, Bang Seok-hoon stood up.

"Seniors! Why should we apologize to him?!"

His words were valid.

A senior apologizing to a junior? That doesn't usually happen.

But the other TAs' gazes turned cold.

"Hey, just stay quiet."

"I told you before, there's one newbie you shouldn't mess with..."

They sighed and smacked the back of Bang Seok-hoon's head, forcing him to bow.

It seemed they were seniors above Bang Seok-hoon. Maybe head TAs or something.

But why were they apologizing and using honorifics with me?

As I pondered this, Nam Hwa-yeon, who had been quietly observing, stepped in.

She pointed behind me and said,

"That tail, there's no way people in this country wouldn't know about it."

"Tail?"

Following her finger, I saw a fluffy black fox tail swaying into view.

It seemed oblivious to the tension.

The tail wagged happily, as if pleased.

"Does this really have that much value..."

"Wait, you're from that family and you don't even realize it? I can't tell if you're acting dumb because it's so real or if you're actually dumb."

I knew this tail symbolized Baek Seung-woo's family.

I also knew his family was influential in South Korea, but was it enough to affect Chilseong Academy?

Or was there something wrong with Baek Seung-woo himself?

As I thought about it, an old conversation came to mind.

─Hey, Seung-woo. How about this setting?

─What setting?

─You being the rogue head of a prestigious family. With all sorts of scandals trailing behind you.

─Even if I said no, you wouldn't change it.

─Of course not.

Originally, Baek Seung-woo's initial setting was as the head of a noble family.

Famous for being a rogue, but also called a promising figure, Baek Seung-woo is thoroughly beaten down by the protagonist.

That's my purpose—to create that satisfying moment.

To induce that satisfaction, all sorts of rumours swirl around me.

Their origins are unclear, but there are stories about me being a fox who seeks out livers, or that I verbally and physically abused my fiancée, leading her to break off the engagement.

Armed with various infamies and a solid background.

...Now I understand how those people felt.

"..."

"..."

"..."

As the atmosphere grew even more awkward, Nam Hwa-yeon clapped her hands to get our attention.

We all turned to look at her.

"It's about time for other classrooms to finish their lectures. Let's wrap up for today and sort out the rights and wrongs tomorrow."

At the professor's announcement, the TAs nodded in agreement.

Bang Seok-hoon mumbled, seemingly chewing over what he wanted to say, but in the end, they all reluctantly left.

I tried to follow Nam Hwa-yeon, but she told me I could head back to the dorm now, leaving me alone in the hallway.

"...Where am I?"

I had gotten lost in the research lab, and now I wandered around the lecture building for about an hour. Fortunately, a kind security guard taught me how to use the academy's internal map on my phone, so I managed to find my way out.

After borrowing a few books from the library, I finally made it back to the dorm.

But was the dorm always this big?

"..."

Staring blankly at the dorm building, I unconsciously furrowed my brows.

Even for a novel, this is a bit much.

Since when does a TA dorm look like a penthouse?

***

Back in Research Lab 1, Nam Hwa-yeon flicked her finger.

All the dust in the room flew into the trash bin. The coffee pot boiled water on its own and served her a hot cup of coffee.

Sip.

The freshly brewed coffee was hot, but the fragrant aroma rose beautifully. Nam Hwa-yeon savoured the scent as she picked up a document from her desk with her other hand.

"...How strange."

The paper was no different from the other documents on her desk, but the back was densely covered with various writings and symbols.

While the writing was readable, the symbols on the back were hard to decipher.

She could decode them if she wanted, but it wasn't worth the effort.

Yet the man who had written this had acquired a skill right before her eyes. Solely through the insights he had organized while writing this.

"New, but the content is simple. Yet it has its own depth. Quite contradictory."

With his level of knowledge, he shouldn't have been able to acquire a skill, let alone sit in the TA's seat.

But the man had definitely acquired a skill. Perhaps his low level of knowledge allowed him to analyze the lecture script from a different perspective.

"...Whatever it is, it's interesting."

Curious about this, Nam Hwa-yeon took the new TA to her lecture. Normally, she would have brought a head TA or a senior TA, but she wanted to see how he would react.

And the result was a success.

Seung-woo had focused on her lecture like a student.

From his demeanour, Nam Hwa-yeon could roughly gauge his level. [Flowing Constellations] wasn't part of the regular curriculum, but it was something second or third-year students might study.

The fact that he didn't know this suggested Seung-woo's knowledge level was on par with a student's. Maybe even lower.

But he had talent.

"To intuitively grasp the principles of magic and create a skill purely from inspiration..."

It's a rare talent.

On par with the world's great mages or the genius mages praised since their student days. Maybe even beyond.

The perfect specimen to satisfy a mage's curiosity.

It seemed like her research progress would slow down for a while, reducing her stress. Having him around would certainly keep things interesting.

"After all, even a rotten thousand-year-old fox's bloodline is still a fox's. Or should I say, the family head?"

Just a few years ago, there was a great family that wielded immense influence in South Korea.

Born with a fox's tail and ears, they wielded unparalleled financial and political power, backed by their unique spiritual abilities and medical knowledge.

But five years ago, the family head and his wife died in an accident, and the great family, the Cheonho Baek Family, stagnated.

I had heard rumors that after the family head and his wife died, their young son inherited the family. After that, there were intense conflicts with the elders and other siblings.

I never thought he'd be exiled here.

When I first saw Seung-woo, even I, who rarely show emotional fluctuations, was startled.

"Even in decline, that bloodline doesn't fade."

Or maybe he was hiding it while acting like a fox.

Whatever the case, it's interesting.

Nam Hwa-yeon chuckled and took a sip of her coffee.