PhD: Phantasy Degree () is a manhwa series created by Son Hee-joon. The series is published by in English by Tokyopop. There are currently 10 volumes published, and the series' original publisher, Daiwon C.I. lists it as ongoing, but no new volumes have been published since 2005. A one-volume prequel to the series entitled Magic Academy Zeus (매직 아카데미 제우스, Maejig Akademi Jeusu) was published in South Korea in 1998. The story follows a young girl named Sang who is searching for the Demon School Hades.
Story A young, spunky, fearless girl named Sang is searching for the Demon School Hades. She runs into a group of misfit monsters who are all ditching classes from the same school. Sang convinces them to take her to the school ... and, since only monsters are allowed in, she 'monsterizes' herself by letting one of the misfits – a vampire – bite her. After the destruction of the Demon School Hades at the hands of the Madosa Guild in volume 3, she moves on to search for more of "Satan's Rings". She meets Chun-Lang, a young swordsman, who also has a Ring, and like Sang, can change genders. During a confrontation against Alcan, one of the Madosa Guild, Sang loses her memory. She is nicknamed Limbo by everyone now surrounding her.
Characters Sang A human girl searching for something at the Demon school Hades—ultimately to find a mysterious ring. She has amazing leaping abilities, and she is a master of escape. Later we learn that Sang already has a few rings on her fingers, but instead of giving her power they seem to act like limiters for her and each time she takes one off, she ends up with a different personality and different abilities and skills. She has four different personalities, her first personality is the one she uses most often. She seems to have a few magical abilities and a strange personality. Her second personality is an older woman who seems to be more powerful, the third is a half crazy man with a lot of fire power. The last is a subtle man who seems to use more quiet magics like telekinetic powers and tiny marble like energy spheres. They are all wizards and are fully aware of each other. Despite being turned into a vampire by Mordicus in Volume 1, she appears human in later volumes. She even loses her fangs.
Chun-Lang A very hungry swordmaster that Sang meets in the woods. She possesses The Ring of Life which is what allows her to maintain her feminine form – her true form is a younger male, though for the most part she remains as a female. Chun-Lang is one of the stronger characters in PhD, especially after taking the Final Exam at the Master Tower and being able to revert to her original form as a man. In a mental world the female Chun-Lang told the original that their gender did not determine their strength, merely how each of them used it as the original – male – Chun-Lang was bested by the "weaker" female Chun-Lang when in a duel. Chun-Lang also has a deep hatred for the Madosa Guild, rivaled perhaps only by that of Noel's.
Dev A teenage demon out for revenge on the one who killed his brother – Henduh. He has a thing for Norta but she is engaged to a Demon even more powerful than his brother, Fatalis. After taking the Final Exam Dev becomes stronger, though never gets the chance to show his skills. He seems to trust Sang the most out of all the characters, as her actions has saved all of their lives despite appearances. He defends her when she is attacked by Chun-Lang.
Notra A Succubus of royalty. (They refer to her as Lady Notra.) Notra seems attracted to Dev, but she also enjoys tormenting him. Despite her feelings for Dev, she is engaged to a white winged demon that Noel and her mother summons.
Katana A powerful demon, head of the demon bullies. Katana's whereabouts remain unknown after Norta, Dev and him left the demon school, Hades, but was seen as a guard for Lord Gandara at the end of book 10
Professor Shimuro The leader of Elftown and the father of Oedipus and Iris. During the attack on Elftown by Henduh, Shimuro confronts him and allows the other to escape. At first he seems to have the upper hand but he is eventually overwhelmed by Henduh's strength and is killed by him.
Hexion A peace-keeping elf known for making rash decisions. Hexion's hearing is exceptional, even by elf standards. Unknown to many, Hexion lived life as a male, but was revealed to be a girl by Henduh during the invasion of the elf village. During this time she declared she would rather die then allow others to know her secret. She shows her affections for Oedipus by kissing him before she has the survivors leave her for what could be her death match with Henduh. Hexion later returns in the same way Dev's friends did due to drinking Sang's blood. (Hexion sucks Sang's snakebite believed to be poisonous.) Her weapon of choice are arrows, which are made from her hair. She is defeated by Stonia but saved in the end by Iris. Her unconscious body is dragged away from the battle by a crying Iris who are both saved by Chan Chun.
Oedipus A young elf with little battle training, but a ready mind and a steady heart. It was implied that he may have a crush on Sang, whom he knew as Limbo at the time, however, Hexion kissing him puts that into question. He dies protecting his younger sister, Iris.
Iris Younger sister of Oedipus. Friends with a troll named Bob. She is stubborn and hates being treated so lightly. She is one of the rare elves that can form arrows from magic energy. During her brother's death, she begs him not to die promising to address him by "Big Brother." She survives along with Hexion and is eventually saved by Chan Chun.
Yong-Ha A swordmaster who was a student at the Athena Academy. She along with her fellow students were captured by ogres and imprisoned. They eventually escaped and were instructed to enter the master tower after the Madosa Guild had attacked the Athena Academy. She along with her friends entered and were able to unlock their true potential by undergoing the test inside the tower. She and Gyo-Hwe are able to defeat Stonia and she later fights Dustis only to be stabbed though the chest with her own sword. She appeared in one of the visions of the future that Chang Chun experienced along with Gyo-Hwe.
Gyo-Hwe A fighter who was a student at the Athena Academy. She was among the students that were captured by the ogres and later takes the test at the master tower. She and Yong-Ha are able to defeat Stonia together but she later is killed by Cider along with her friends. She and Yong-Ha appeared in one of the visions that Chang Chun saw.
Eun-Kyul A thief who was a student at the Athena Academy. She along and her friends were captured by ogres before the attack on Athena Academy by the Madosa Guild. After taking the test with her friends she gains new powers. At first she states that she is a thief but after the test it is revealed that she is actually a tamer who is able to draw out the latent powers of animals. She fights Madosa Guild member Dagger with Carbuncle and is later killed by him.
Carbuncle Carbuncle is small creature who has a small jewel on his forehead. He is left behind after the Athena students were captured by ogres. His true name isn't Carbuncle but Eun-Kyul named him that and it eventually sticks. He is later renamed Cappa by Sang and she becomes agitated whenever somebody calls him anything else. He enters the master tower along with the Athena Students and changes form into a wolf like creature afterwards. It is revealed that he is actually of a legendary species who possesses supernatural powers. He is able to access these powers when his master, Eun-Kyul, orders him to fight. He then takes on the appearance of a beastly man. Despite his new powers, he is killed by Dagger along with the rest of the Athena students. He later appears at the end of volume 10 in the vision that Chang Chun saw.
Noel A bumbling magician who was a student at the Athena Academy. She and her friends are captured by ogres and imprisoned before the invasion at the academy. She is the only one of the Athena students who did not leave the tower to face the Madosa Guild and thus is the only one of them to survive. She constantly makes mistakes when casting spells, destroying the floor beneath her when she attempts to attack and summoning a salamander when she originally intended a fireball spell. It is later revealed that her mother was killed by the Madosa Guild, because of this she wants to avenge her mother's death much like Chun-Lang and Dev. Before her mother died she makes a contract with the white winged demon to protect her daughter. Noel is unable to summon the demon until she learns of her friends deaths. She is so enraged that she calls out the demon. The demon helps her and Notra escape from the Madosa Guild making her the only survivor among the Athena students.
Bomi A greedy priestess who was a student at the Athena Academy. She and her friends were captured by ogres and imprisoned before that attack at Athena. Her teacher instructs her and the other students to go to the master tower and undertake the test. After taking the test she gains much more powers and is able to heal even fatal wounds. She often charges people money for information or to help them in fights, even in life or death situations. After witnessing all of her friends die she is forced by the Madosa Guild to break open the doors of the master tower. The task takes a major toll on her body. She is fatally injured and is left with very little time left to live. Before she dies she is confronted by Chang Chun and he questions her about what happened. Before her death he states that there is still something that she can do, although it is never revealed what that was.
Doe Sangun A teacher at the Athena Academy who takes the Ring of Life from Chun Lang. He is apparently male but has only been shown as a woman so far. Although a man shown in a flashback in volume ten had similar weapons to him. He is first seen watching Sang and Hexion enter the ogre's fortress and later helps the students escape. When returning to the school he orders the students to head towards the master tower and take the final test. He then goes on to fight Stonia but is later killed by her.
Cho-Hyun A teacher at the now destroyed Zeus Academy who had the Ring of Life before Chun Lang. He is now training one of the survivors of the Zeus Magic Academy named Noru. He is a Martial Arts Master who lost his arm to Stonia at the destruction of Zeus.
Noru He is a Martial Artist and one of the four student survivors of Zeus along with Sitan, Gong-Ji and Ryushi.
Gong-Ji He is the Healer of the group and knows only elementary magic skills. He also seems to be a monk of some kind. He is quiet and shy.
Sitan He is a fighter who wields a saber. Among the four, group, he seems to be closest to Sang, whom they also known as Limbo.
Ryushi He is the mage of the group and fights using Magic Missiles. He is serious and gathers information during their quests.
Pannus Tyrannus A mummy who went to school at Hades and was friends with Dev, Mordicus, and Lukan. In Volume 1, Sang pointed out that he was not very frightening. In Volume 2, he became more powerful because he consumed Sang's blood, and it was indicated that he was once a pharaoh. While his death was not shown clearly in Volume 2, his shoes can be seen lying on the floor in front of Lance on page 126 of volume 2, but because Dev is shown at his grave in Volume 3, it makes it more clear.
Mordicus