The freshman at the Imperial Academy.
Karen Raven did not like Professor Riyan.
It’s not because he was a commoner that she was discriminating against him.
It was because he was the one being discriminatory.
‘That cotton-picking black brat. How dare they apply to our academy without knowing their place?’
This comment, overheard beyond the door as she was about to leave the academy after her interview, had made her seriously consider canceling her application.
Her best friend was Asian.
She had long felt disgust, and even hatred, toward people who called perfectly decent individuals “yellow monkeys” and mocked them by slanting their eyes.
Those who judged others based on skin color or social status—none of them were decent human beings.
Naturally, that professor was no exception; he was clearly the kind of scum beyond any hope of redemption.
So, the best approach was to avoid any interaction with him and steer clear as much as possible.
‘I was sure that’s what I had decided.’
However, it was Professor Riyan’s actions during the entrance ceremony that were now confusing Karen.
He was surely an extreme bigot, yet when a black girl had been trembling in front of a monster, he had thrown himself in harm’s way to save her without hesitation.
His behavior was so contradictory that it was hard to believe he was the same person.
‘Could I have misunderstood something?’ But then, what about the comment about the cotton picker? Is Professor Riyan a bad person, or is he a good one?
These were questions she couldn’t find an answer to.
As she ruffled her bright yellow hair in frustration, Karen came to a conclusion.
‘I have no choice but to find out for myself.’
If it really was a misunderstanding, then it would mean Karen had judged him based on her own prejudice, and she would owe him a sincere apology.
‘And a perfect opportunity has just come up.’
Course registration had already ended.
Normally, aside from the elective courses she had chosen and the mandatory ones assigned by the professors of her class, there wouldn’t be any other options.
But once again, the Founding Dragon had been fickle.
It had completely disregarded the academic schedule and accepted the late course opening request from the new professor, Riyan.
‘The competition will be stiff, but it’s definitely worth a shot.’
For some reason, Riyan had explicitly barred A-class students from taking his course, which meant she wouldn’t have to fight for a spot against the royals.
With her noble family’s influence and her connections, the chances of securing a spot were more than enough.
…A fierce battle ensued.
In some ways, it was even more grueling than the attack during the entrance ceremony, but in the end, she emerged victorious.
She had won the right to learn from the rising star, the genius professor who was on the ascent.
‘Now, I’ll finally get some answers.’
The days flew by in a blur.
Before she knew it, the day of the first class had arrived.
Despite being envied by students who had just barely missed out on registration, and with her heart pounding with anticipation, Karen attended Professor Riyan’s lecture.
Now, here she was…
Unexpectedly, climbing a mountain.
This mountain is definitely cursed.
Karen came to that conclusion after hours of hiking.
And for good reason—people who seemed perfectly fine would turn into liars as soon as they set foot on the mountain.
“Why are you young students so out of energy? Come on, just a little more and you’ll reach the top!”
An unknown middle-aged man, whom they met while climbing, said with a warm, friendly smile.
But none of the kids believed him.
“How much farther? We’ve passed the halfway point, don’t worry.”
“This is the last uphill stretch. After that, it’s all flat.”
“Really, we’re almost there. Just hang in there for 30 more minutes, trust me.”
They had already been deceived by other liars before.
Karen felt like grabbing the collar of the man from the mountain entrance who had said even beginners could climb it easily.
What on earth was supposed to be easy about this?
Her legs were trembling.
Her clothes were already drenched with sweat, and every step felt sticky and uncomfortable.
As a noble lady, she had always learned to behave with dignity.
But now, she had thrown all decorum to the wind and was panting like a dog, her tongue practically hanging out.
‘If only I could use magic, I wouldn’t have to go through this.’
Professor Riyan was watching them intently from behind.
For reasons he wouldn’t explain, he had strictly forbidden the use of magic during the hike.
Since Riyan was a mage, it made sense that all the students taking this class were also magic majors.
There wasn’t a single one with muscles.
All of them had soft, weak bodies, so moans of pain were coming from every direction.
“H-how much longer do we have to go…?”
For them, just walking on a well-paved path was already a daunting challenge.
But that merciless professor wouldn’t even allow them that luxury.
They had to follow a brutal course, veering off the path, climbing rocky hills, with no clear end in sight.
Since many of the students at the Imperial Academy were nobles who had never gotten their hands dirty, it wasn’t surprising that a few of them were starting to tear up from frustration.
‘Why am I even doing this…?’
To be honest, Karen was among them.
But thanks to her sweat-drenched face, it probably wasn’t that obvious.
At least, that’s what she chose to believe.
***
They climbed steep hills and scaled cliffs.
Overcoming one hardship only led to another.
Everyone wanted to give up, but none of them had easily secured a spot in this class.
Sunk costs.
After fierce battles and intellectual sparring, they had barely managed to claim their place. How could they give it up so easily?
Each one of them fought desperately to avoid falling behind.
For what felt like an eternity, they forced their trembling legs to keep moving.
But nothing lasts forever.
“We, we made it!!!”
The student at the front screamed.
The kids, who had been on the verge of collapse, perked up instantly and dashed ahead like dogs rushing toward their food bowls.
What they found was an old, dilapidated temple.
It was no coincidence that they had arrived here.
This was surely the destination Professor Riyan had predetermined.
Everyone turned their attention to Riyan, expecting an explanation.
But for some reason, his reaction seemed odd.
“What on earth is he waiting for?”
He tilted his head, looking genuinely puzzled.
“Now that we’ve made it here, shouldn’t we begin the class? When exactly does the actual lesson start?”
“…You must be joking. Did you not even read the course title?”
A perfectly reasonable question was met with an answer that seemed to be pulled out of thin air.
“The course is called ‘Autonomous Reflection and Understanding of Magic.’ The goal is for you to train yourselves without relying on others. If I explain everything, that defeats the purpose.”
Vague words.
But the students gathered there were all sharp, and it didn’t take them long to figure out the real meaning behind his statement.
In short… they were supposed to self-study.
They had climbed all the way up here, only to be told to conduct their own research without any formal lesson.
“T-then why did we even climb up here?!”
Naturally, this outburst of frustration followed.
But Riyan shamelessly declared without even changing his expression, “Why? Well, there isn’t much of a reason. I just thought it’d be nicer to study somewhere with fresh air.”
There’s a saying that young people should embrace hardship while they’re still young.
Enduring challenges helps them grow, so stop whining and be grateful to me instead.
Leaving those words behind, Riyan calmly walked away.
Everyone’s faces were filled with shock.
He hadn’t even gone far before curses started flying from every direction.
Normally, Karen would have stopped them, no matter how much she disliked the person.
But this time, things were very different.
She clenched her fists, trembling in silent rage.
‘What kind of person does something like this?!’
Tears of frustration blurred her vision.
She had never been so blatantly insulted in her life.
She couldn’t contain the rage welling up inside her.
She swore to use all the power of the Raven family to have this incompetent professor fired.
Even that wasn’t enough to calm her down, so she took out her anger on a nearby tree.
Her specialty was ice magic.
She began firing ice spears recklessly at the tree.
But… something was off.
The size of the ice spear was abnormal.
The massive spear flew at the speed of light, piercing through the large tree, which finally collapsed under the pressure.
With a deafening crash, the tree hit the ground.
Karen stared blankly at the scene.
There could only be one conclusion from this situation.
…This wasn’t just some abandoned temple.
It was the Great Spirit Vein.
The place where all the magic flowing through the land converged.