Chapter 15
Chapter 15
“E-Emvan! No, Master! Please wait! Just let me have a chance to witness the truth…!”
Aileen, the professor, was chasing after him down the corridor with her heels on the verge of snapping.
The cold, ruthless beauty Aileen was now begging to meet the infamous scoundrel Evan.
The professors and students passing by could only stare in disbelief.
Evan was even more bewildered than anyone else.
He had no choice.
He had to play along and escape.
He spun around in panic.
“Stop!! Stop right there! Don’t come any closer!”
“Master! The next phase sequence of that formula just now…!”
What kind of behavior was that from a so-called “slave”?
She looked like she was about to devour him.
“Professor Aileen, no, Aileen… I am not some genius mage. Absolutely not. That’s an order! You said I was your number one master, right? As your master’s command, do not follow me!”
Aileen stopped abruptly.
Her eyes trembled like a discarded puppy.
Relief washed over him.
It worked.
But he didn’t know how long it would last.
He quickly turned and ran.
If she kept following him, things would spiral completely out of control.
In truth, he wasn’t a genius mage at all.
Compared to Aileen, he was nothing more than a firefly under the sun.
That formula she reacted to earlier—she must have solved it herself without realizing it.
It was better to just go their separate ways.
“Impossible, Master! That level of problem cannot be solved by luck alone! Your humility is beyond divine!”
Her voice echoed from far behind.
She was way too persistent.
For a brief moment, Evan even considered ordering her to “kiss him” just to make her back off.
But he quickly shook that thought away.
That was way too dangerous.
Then—
An academy staff member came running toward him in a hurry.
“Huff… huff… Lord Evan!”
“…What is it?”
A neatly dressed administrative employee bowed slightly.
“P-please accept this!”
“Huh?”
“This is a reward from the academy for solving the 300-year-old mathematical problem of the mage world! On behalf of the academy, we sincerely thank you!”
A reward?
Well, money was good.
He accepted the heavy leather pouch.
After the staff left, he checked inside.
300 gold coins.
A massive reward.
He immediately checked tomorrow’s schedule.
And then—
His face froze.
[Mandatory Course: Practical Magic Combat]
[Instructor: Baltazar]
Just the name already screamed “strict old man with no mercy.”
And the assignment description made his stomach drop.
He grabbed the departing staff member again.
“Excuse me… does Professor Baltazar have any assignment for tomorrow’s class?”
“Yes, just a moment!”
The staff member flipped through documents.
“Yes, here it is. All students are required to demonstrate their primary elemental magic—regardless of status.”
Water, fire, earth, wind.
Most mages specialized in only one.
And the deadline…
Tomorrow.
“So it’s basically tomorrow?!”
Academy pacing was insane.
This wasn’t a school.
This was battlefield training.
“Is there… any beginner magic book I can buy?”
The staff looked confused.
“A beginner book… for you, Lord Evan? That would be far too basic.”
“Just answer the question.”
“Yes… there is, but it’s for absolute beginners.”
Perfect.
That was exactly what he needed.
He bought four books:
The Breath of Water, The Breath of Fire, The Breath of Earth, The Breath of Wind.
Each cost 30 gold coins.
120 gold total.
His eyes nearly popped out.
Magic books were absurdly expensive.
Back at the mansion, his maid Ria rushed out the moment he entered.
“Master!! Masteeeer!!”
“What now…”
Her eyes were shaking.
“A public notice just arrived from the capital! It says Evan von Valderk solved the 300-year magic theory problem!”
Evan sighed.
“It wasn’t me…”
But no one would listen anyway.
He dismissed it casually.
“It was a boring problem anyway. I don’t get why it took 300 years.”
“…Pardon?”
“Ria, did you forget? I’m an alchemist. A genius immortal alchemist. I didn’t even bother learning magic because it was too dull.”
“Of course, Master is amazing!”
Good.
At least one believer remained.
But tomorrow’s exam was the real problem.
He stared at the elemental magic books.
“Damn it…”
Tomorrow was the evaluation.
Demonstrate elemental magic.
If he failed—
F grade.
Expulsion.
And humiliation.
He clenched his head.
He had no magic knowledge.
No instincts.
No system assistance.
What kind of possession was this?!
He opened the fire magic book randomly.
“Fire… yeah. Real men use fire.”
He chose fire purely out of ego.
Then—
A translucent window appeared.
[Basic Magic: ‘Breath of Fire’ can be learned.]
“Wait…”
He blinked.
“Is this… a gacha system?”
He checked the other books.
[Learn ‘Breath of Water’?]
[Learn ‘Breath of Earth’?]
[Learn ‘Breath of Wind’?]
All of them.
“Seriously… everything is gacha?”
Then another prompt appeared.
[To learn ‘Breath of Fire’, please spin the gacha.]
“…You’re kidding me.”
He sighed deeply.
This world was truly insane.
And once again—
He needed coins.