I Became A Flashing Genius At The Magic Academy - Chapter 110

In the early days of his admission, Baek Yu-Seol used to get weekend leave passes and roam the hunting grounds frequently.

It was the only method he knew to grow stronger.

But things had changed.

He had learned a classic way to do it without having to go far, while also enhancing his physical aspects by researching items.

Thanks to this, Baek Yu-Seol now enjoyed occasional moments of leisure on weekends during less hectic times.

Typically, he spent those moments with Eisel and Ma Yu-Seong. However, this week, he found himself wandering around Rodeo Street all day, pretending to be on a date with Flame.

It was a kind of relaxation in its own way.

Compared to the grueling daily training and life-threatening battles, watching movies, drinking, and playing whack-a-mole was enjoyable and stress-relieving.

Baek Yu-Seol intended to pretend like he was on a date, but halfway through, it almost felt like he was genuinely having fun.

‘I'm pushing thirty, and I don't even know what I’m doing here.’

Still, having successfully played the part of a date, Baek Yu-Seol made his way straight to Alchemy Castle.

He visited Alterisha quite frequently.

The recent days had been chaotic, but he couldn’t afford to let his tasks fall behind.

"Student Yu-Seol! You're here!"

As he stepped inside, Baek Yu-Seol spotted Alterisha clad in a white robe blotched with reagent stains. She stood amidst a group of alchemists, clearly absorbed in an experiment.

He placed a box of energy drinks he brought on the table and asked, "How have you been lately?"

Her smile looked tired, yet it carried a spark of excitemen

She was planning to hold a presentation. It was a presentation targeting giants, so she had been rather nervous.

"You'll do well."

"Yeah, I hope so."

Items held the potential to create anything, and nothing seemed beyond their reach.

However, showing too much too quickly could lead to unease rather than wonder.

Accessories and consumable items, in particular, might not be readily accepted by ordinary people. So, the plan was to showcase only what could be easily understood.

It didn’t mean the common people were ignorant.

But if they unveiled something completely unfamiliar, people were more likely to feel overwhelmed than amazed.

So Alterisha decided to display familiar items first.

The simplest way to highlight the brilliance of alchemy was to liken it to things everyone recognized.

Objects most familiar to mages, universally adopted and used by everyone—the mage robe and staff.

Mage robes and staffs were crafted merely through magical engineering.

But now, with the emergence of alchemical engineering, they stood on the brink of a revolutionary transformation.

To explain it in a way that a 21st-century person would understand, imagine an ancient mobile phone.

It could make calls, but if the antenna weren’t extended, the signal wouldn’t be strong.

It didn’t work in rural areas, and its internet capability was limited to playing music at best.

Then, one day, the world was introduced to smartphones.

Suddenly, people could track their real-time locations, chat with others anytime, and access cameras and the internet all in one device.

Items would spark that same kind of revolution.

Even improving the functions of existing tools would be enough to astonish people with their potential.

"Have you been busy lately? I heard the news. It seems you’re attending the Aslan seminar."

"It just happened."

"Impressive... You not only solved the Alchemical Engineering Cross Technique but also wrote another thesis and will attend the Aslan Seminar..."

"It was just luck."

Baek Yu-Seol took off his Stella coat and hung, then put on a new white gown.

The gown was another prototype, sturdy enough to withstand even substantial explosions. It was a testament to its defense capabilities.

"Presenting alone is good, but are you preparing for the investors briefing properly?"

"Yeah. Want to check?"

The briefing was exclusively for President Melian of Starcloud Corporation.

As part of their efforts to raise the profile of alchemical items, they were preparing something more ambitious than the usual demonstrations.

"Show it to me right now."

Even though he couldn't perform alchemy himself due to the lack of mana in his body, he could at least observe and offer insights into the process.

The alchemists of the Alterisha’s institute quite liked his insights.

His suggestions had proven so helpful that they always welcomed his input.

"Wow..."

He was starting to grow tired of being amazed every time he visited, yet once again, the progress stunned him.

The speed at which their technology advanced was nothing short of breathtaking.

"This is the item in the process of being luxurified. It's still incomplete, but what do you think? Do you want to give it a try?"

"Yes."

Upon saying that, two alchemists who had been waiting behind Baek Yu-Seol approached and handed him a box.

Within the box was a bracelet and a choker, but even though they seemed like that at first glance, they were actually a staff and robe.

They were just shrunk down in size.

He had already received a bracelet capable of covering his entire forearm when activated, and Alterisha had further refined and enhanced it.

While its base stats were slightly lower than those of items in the same grade, it excelled at enhancing mobility.

When the thin bracelet was activated, mana particles flowed out and solidified into a form, transforming in an instant into the shape of a long staff.

"Oh..."

The weight was light, and the stats were decent.

If they were willing to sacrifice mobility, they could have gotten much better stats, but just like Earth, the mages of Aether World wanted portability even if it meant slightly reduced performance.

An accessory that could summon robes and staff from anywhere, anytime.

How appealing was that?

It came with a staggering price tag.

Shrinking particles and materials to such a minuscule size required technology far beyond modern Earth’s nanotechnology.

On top of that, it required unique and costly materials, making it unavoidably expensive.

Perhaps in the distant future, when subspace technology became commonplace, they could focus on boosting performance instead.

For now, the foundational research for vessel manufacturing was still a long way off.

Next, he tried on the choker.

As soon as he pressed the gem hanging around his neck, a robe grew from the choker in an instant, covering his entire body.

"Oh… Not bad."

"It has an automatic Level 2 shield activation feature."

Level 2 meant Class 2.

A Level 2 shield that covered the whole body on a choker with enhanced mobility.

The world had truly improved.

“We still haven’t developed the technology to add intricate designs. For now, it’s purely functional.”

"Is that so?"

“Yeah. Even adding something as simple as sleeves or pockets is still a challenge.”

After a moment's consideration, Baek Yu-Seol asked for a magic pen.

The alchemists scrambled to bring him one, their curiosity piqued.

Originally, he didn't want to fuss about these details, but there was no choice.

This item was meant to be presented to Melian as a luxury item, so leaving it bland without even a design wouldn't do.

"Here, how about drawing a boundary on the particle reduction line and adding shape-memory fusion? Right now, it merely folds and unfolds, but by adding fusion, we can record a rough form. Just drawing a boundary line on the particles might be enough to create sleeves or pockets."

"Huh!"

An alchemist who had been listening to his words let out a sigh.

Alterisha’s reaction wasn't much different.

"That's... Well, it's fine, I guess..."

With the current technology, to implement something like that, dozens of alchemists would need to be involved in creating a single item.

However, since what was important during the presentation was the finished product, the process and effort put into it didn’t matter much.

They only needed to show evidence that they would eventually be able to mass-produce the item, so the extensive process could be greatly reduced during the actual development and commercialization phase.

But before that, it could serve as a high-end sample that could be shown to Melian in advance.

“Well then, let’s keep up the good work,” Baek Yu-Seol said before stepping out of the room.

There was no farewell.

The alchemists who could have bid him farewell were all focused on the magic lines he had drawn.

Although his alchemy work was done, he didn't immediately return to Stella.

He wanted to visit the orchard of the third world tree.

***

Spirit Garden.

When he visited, he would always wander around in the late dawn hours.

Climbing the sparsely used path felt rather suspicious, so he avoided it.

It wasn't quite late dawn but a fresh evening, so he headed straight to Leafanel’s garden.

— Hello!

As expected, Leafanel was already awake and flitting about the garden with boundless energy.

He had received a faint mental signal indicating her awakening not long ago. Yet, unsure of its exact meaning, he had delayed his visit.

“Hey. You look well,” he greeted.

— Yeah! I'm perfectly healthy!

Though she said so with enthusiasm, Baek Yu-Seol couldn’t shake a twinge of sadness.

Leafanel’s physique had become much smaller than before.

Originally, she had the appearance of an ordinary woman, but now she was about the size of a person's palm.

Divine beings, after living through countless ages, often adopted forms resembling humans. Yet, Leafanel had grown so weak that she could no longer sustain her human-like appearance.

— It's okay! I'll recover soon!

"How long will it take?"

— Um... About a thousand years?

"Uh. That's really soon."

She had lost most of her strength, but the fact that she was alive and moving around while breathing was a good thing in itself.

Despite her frailty, Leafanel didn’t rest. She flitted through the garden with cheerful determination, tending to the plants and flowers with tireless energy.

Seeing her so content brought Baek Yu-Seol a sense of relief.

— I might recover even sooner! 

Perhaps noticing his expression, Leafanel smiled brightly.

"How?"

— A divine contract!

Translated into the language of mages, it meant a familiar contract.

— Yeah. I used to be really weak before. But after forming a contract with Ha Tae-Ryeong, I became so much stronger.

"Ha Tae-Ryeong, you say..."

The person who had researched mana leakage delay and created Tae-Ryeong's Godly Technique.

Yet something about it felt off.

"You got stronger by forming a contract with someone who doesn't have mana? What’s the principle behind this?"

The reason why mages and familiars desired each other was that there were mutual benefits.

For mages, their bond with a familiar amplified the effectiveness of their magic, strengthening their soul connection. In return, familiars drew mana from their mage partners, using it to enhance their own powers.

However, Ha Tae-Ryeong had mana leakage delay.

A body without any mana.

What possible benefit could a familiar gain by forming a contract with such a person?

— Um... I don't know.

"You don't know?"

— Yeah. I just did it. And I became stronger.

"Well, that's a simple answer."

Though he didn’t understand the reason and cause, at the end of the day, it seemed the outcome was positive. 

— So how about forming a contract with me? What do you say?

"It's not a bad idea..."

Baek Yu-Seol’s affinity with divine beasts was remarkably high, yet he hadn’t formed a single contract.

Ultimately, the fact that his body lacked mana significantly reduced his attractiveness as a contract partner.

It felt a bit like being someone who wanted to date but didn’t want to get married.

"So you really got stronger like that?"

Though she had lost all her strength now, Leafanel was once a great familiar who had even reached the become a spirit.

Contracting with her would be a loss for him in no way.

On the other hand, those with great knowledge would know that it would be a significant loss for Leafanel.

"Do you really want to do this?" he asked with a guilty expression, but Leafanel vigorously nodded her head.

— Just trust me!

"Yeah... You won't change your mind later?"

— Yep, yep.

As he extended his hand towards her, Leafanel flew onto his palm and lightly kissed him.

Then, a cluster of light resembling constellations enveloped his body, and a brilliant light extended to the high sky.

[Contract established with Leafanel.]