I Became A Flashing Genius At The Magic Academy - Chapter 19

“I wasn’t hiding…”

Flame’s gaze alternated between Baek Yu-Seol and Hong Bi-Yeon. Having witnessed the entire fight, her doubts only deepened.

”How’d you do that?”

“What?”

“The point stick... How… did you break the magic shield with it?”

Baek Yu-Seol hesitated briefly, deliberating. In the game, tens of thousands of players had stumbled upon this trick while experimenting. However, it didn’t seem to exist in the novel’s setting.

He had no choice but to offer a vague explanation.

“It’s very sturdy.”

“No matter how sturdy the teaching materials are, how can you break the magic shield with a simple swing? If it were that simple, why don’t you recall and explain to me why ordinary knights vanished from this world?”

She had a point. No matter how rigorously knights trained their bodies, their swords couldn’t pierce the magic shields of mages.

‘I’d like to explain that this magic weapon is close to a bug item and it worked because Hong Bi-Yeon was very inexperienced with the magic shield…’

If he said that, Hong Bi-Yeon might really try to kill him afterward. He quickly put the scary thought out of his mind.

Flame’s suspicions grew as his explanation failed to satisfy her.

She kept her mouth shut for a long time and then suddenly asked, “Who... what are you?”

‘It’s really happening, huh?’

Less than a month after Baek Yu-Seol decided not to be high-profile, it all came down to this.

‘Should I reveal who I am?’ 

He pondered for a moment.

'I’m also a modern person like you, and in fact, I know that this world is based on a game setting, not a romance fantasy novel.'

However, that was a hasty conclusion. Baek Yu-Seol had not formed an opinion of her yet.

There appeared to be no other option. He had no choice but to remain motionless.

"...I'm not a bad person. I'm not someone who would harm you either."

“What? What does that mean?”

"I mean it literally. I know you find me suspicious, but I'm telling you there's no need. I actually want to help you."

"Help me...?"

Flame’s expression was tinged with confusion. 

This was the moment. It was best to slip away when someone was overthinking.

“I’d like to tell you more, but there’s not much time left. Ciao.”

Baek Yu-Seol turned around and bade his farewell.  

Everything would be fine as long as he disappeared without a hitch.

Thwack!

Out of nowhere, something hit the back of his head. A sharp pain nearly brought tears to his eyes.

Thud!

Four point sticks hit the floor with a delay.

“Huh…?”

He turned to find Hong Bi-Yeon, the culprit who had thrown the sticks, staring at him with a perplexed expression.

“I thought you’d catch them. You avoided all the offensive magic and traps coming from blind spots but you couldn’t catch them?”

It was inevitable. 

Mana leakage delay’s ‘Sixth Sense’ had its limitations.

The point stick also had magic power, so it could have been avoided under normal circumstances, but since the duration of Sixth Sense was determined by his mental strength, it was currently disabled.

Right after entering the dungeon, he activated Sixth Sense slightly, and immediately after meeting with Yuslek and the others, he had maxed it out. As a result, he had a very severe headache.

If the attack had been considered life-threatening, Sixth Sense would’ve activated regardless. But since it wasn’t, none of his senses had reacted.

‘Damn, that ruined my cool exit.’

He rubbed the back of his head while whimpering. “Why did you throw them?”

“I lost, so they’re yours now.”

Perhaps it was due to her pride. 

Scores mattered, but walking away quietly after losing to a commoner wasn’t something she could stomach.

However, she was destined to rank third.

‘If I take them, my ranking would be too high.’

Baek Yu-Seol had no use for the third-place prize, a piece of equipment that boosted magical output. Since it was provided by the academy, he couldn’t sell it.

“All right. I’ll take one. You can keep the other three.”

Baek Yu-Seol picked up only one point stick and quickly left.

He was curious how Hong Bi-Yeon and Flame were reacting to him from behind, but looking back now would only ruin his exit further.

‘Men are coolest when they don’t look back.’

“Is he an idiot?”

“I don’t know if it’s because he’s a commoner.”

***

Stella Dome.

High above the sky.

Twelve professors and instructors, including Lee Han-Wol, stood around watching a hologram map hovering in the air.

The map had 141 red dots representing the students currently in training.

They were from Classes A to S.

Every year, at least one remarkable student entered the academy, but this year was exceptional.

There were more than a few students worth keeping an eye on.

“Hmm.”

Lee Han-Wol nodded, pleased with the students’ coordinated movements. This year’s freshmen were outperforming any prior batch so far.

Students who formed teams quickly gathered point sticks through sheer numbers, while lone participants challenged the lucky ones to steal theirs.

“By the way, why is the hologram so unstable?”

"Oh, that's because a lot of professors without lectures have gathered in the control room to monitor this practice session. Additionally, many people from the magic tower have gathered as well."

“Not monitoring; they’re just here to watch.”

“Well, the professors must’ve been curious too.”

As soon as he finished those words, a voice rang in Lee Han-Wol’s ear.

— Haha, I’m sorry about the hologram server, Professor Lee Han-Wol.

Lee Han-Wol’s brows furrowed. The voice was familiar but didn’t belong to a professor.

"What brings an elder of the Magic Council here?"

— Watch your tongue, Professor. How dare you speak like that to Elder Telrix?

This was another person. Zarina Eyon, a member of the Blue Tower Council and a powerful wizard who rarely moved from her seat.

“I can’t believe it.”

— Haha, if you want to scout talent, you have to move early.

— Well. It’s rather fun to watch. When I was young, I was more amazing.

— Hey, you old coot. I still remember you wetting yourself in your first dungeon!

— Senile nonsense! I was only thirteen back then!

Lee Han-Wol chuckled at the chorus of elder mages’ voices ringing in his ears.

This was the freshmen’s first dungeon practicum, but such a large crowd had come just to spectate?

‘Well, that’s not surprising.’

In magical institutions like the magic towers, guilds, and corporations, it wasn’t uncommon for students to be scouted as long as Stella granted permission.

In the past, there were cases of major organizations reaching out to sponsor promising students, and this arrangement benefitted both the academies and the students.

This year, however, the competition was particularly fierce. The major talent-screening events, such as the Stella Survival Test and the Stella Dual Tournament, hadn’t even taken place yet.

Despite this, outstanding talents had already emerged, forcing the elders to act. They didn’t want to risk losing these prospects to their competitors.

“Instructor Lee Han-Wol. What should I do with the monitor?”

“What should you do? Let’s focus on Class S. Those old people will be interested in it too.”

***

After a while, the 41 members of Class S were broadcast on the screen.

First of all, Pung Harang from Class S.

He was a mage who specialized in wind-attribute magic and a fighter with proficient close combat skills.

The mages murmured in awe as his silhouette danced in the wind, effortlessly neutralizing monsters and his classmates alike.

Shin Hwaran of Class S.

She had the lightning attribute, an inherited magic that allowed her to manipulate electricity and wind simultaneously. The appearance of lime-colored lightning swirling like a storm was more beautiful than violent. Her magic attribute was called Strike Thunder.

Every Class S student demonstrated unique talents and unorthodox magic, but the one who stood out most was Flame.

Humans who could manipulate the natural attribute of elves, the matter attribute of dwarves, and the light attribute of angels were countless. One could find quite a lot of them even in Stella right now.

But a human capable of controlling all three attributes?

It could be said that this was a truly unprecedented case in history.

“Ah, Hae Won-Ryang and Ma Yu-Seong have met.”

At the words of the supervisor, the screen naturally focused there.

“Well…”

Two of the best talents had already come into contact not long after the training began.

“It looks like they’re having a conversation.”

After a short time, the duel began.

Tung! 

On-screen, Ma Yu-Seong used mana to propel himself forward with consecutive Power Jumps.

"Power Jump!”

Not just once, but consecutively.

“Oh, to activate a third-class power jump consecutively…!”

“Can he really do that at 17?”

Normally, a mage entered Class 3 in his mid to late 20s or early 30s.

Ma Yu-Seong, on the other hand, was freely using Class 3 magic at the age of 17.

As he raised his staff, the ground under Hae Won-Ryang trembled, erupting into pillars of earth. Lightning struck the rising columns, and walls of flame surged from all sides.

However, Hae Won-Ryang did not stay still either. He let his body fall back using the shock wave of the impact and then stretched his palm forward.

An ice sheet spread on the ground, and dozens of sharp icicles rose up.

The temperature around Ma Yu-Seong instantly plunged down, and he used flames to melt the ice while avoiding it.

In response, Hae Won-Ryang summoned a more powerful ice pillar.

“Both of them are using three attributes…!”

“It’s unbelievable.”

A normal mage could only use one attribute, and with repeated training, it was possible to manipulate two attributes.

While a skilled mage might master one attribute and, with rigorous training, a second, using three required extraordinary innate talent.

Boom! Boom!

The elements collided with each other, creating a colorful mayhem.

This was an exciting, tension-filled duel between students as young as 17.

Yet, the match was not easily decided.

Hae Won-Ryang had already set up his magic circles, prepared everything, and lured Ma Yu-seong into the trap, but his opponent could not be easily defeated since they were equally matched.

However, the victory began to lean more and more toward Hae Won-Ryang. In the first place, he had prepared to thoroughly push Ma Yu-Seong, even if it meant giving up some points!

The battle was about to end with Ma Yu-Seong’s defeat.

Suddenly, a massive bird monster broke through the sky.

“That’s…”

It was a kind of hidden boss, an event prepared by professors as a joke.

Though it offered no rewards, the enormous bird screeched and swooped between the combatants, only to crash and die moments later.

A girl appeared on the corpse of the strange bird whose wings were frozen, sparks flying all over her body.

— Eisel Morph…

Hidden bosses couldn’t be found by luck alone; their discovery required keen insight, sharp judgment, and reasoning. Even after locating one, defeating it solo was a daunting task.

Yet Eisel had succeeded.

“Oh, were you guys fighting? Sorry for the interruption!”

Eisel recovered a blue feather from the demon's body, hopped down, and disappeared.

Meanwhile, Ma Yu-Seong also disappeared and with the dungeon’s constantly changing topography, it was impossible for Hae Won-Ryang to follow him.

— Hmm, the daughter of the traitor Grand Duke Morph…

— Indeed, her bloodline is undeniable.

— It’s a pity. If her father hadn’t fallen into disgrace, her talents could have flourished even more.

The mages murmured briefly before falling silent. The disgrace of Grand Duke Morph was a sensitive topic.

Fortunately, another intense battle soon broke out, drawing attention.

Lee Han-Wol was also quite interested. He wanted to monitor it.

— It’s the princess of the Adolevit royal family.

— Who’s her opponent? I don’t recognize him…

— This looks boring. Hey, Lee Han-Wol, change the channel.

“Please wait a minute.”

— Tsk tsk. So many people get scared with just a word from us, but where did that guy get the guts to act so boldly?

While complaining, the old people focused on the screen.

— That magic skill… Flash…?

They were witnessing a very unusual student.

“That student’s name is Baek Yu-Seol, a very unique student who uses flash as a specialty.”

On the screen, Hong Bi-Yeon swung the staff and scattered her unique explosive flames everywhere.

Although there was no technique or discernible control, the output and destructive power were too overwhelming for a 17-year-old to display, catching the mages’ attention.

However…

Not a single flame managed to hit Baek Yu-Seol.

He continuously used Flash to dodge and used the constantly changing terrain to his advantage.

He was unbelievably fast. His speed, his direction, his distance control.

The boy dominated the battlefield with precision.

When the flaming arrows were deflected by the Point Stick he held, astonished murmurs filled the air.

— No, is it even possible to track an arrow with your eyes and strike it…?

Of course, most trained mages would be able to repel that level of magic arrows easily.

Mages typically carried mana on their skin, which instinctively reacted to incoming magic, sometimes serving as an automatic defensive mechanism.

In such situations, the key elements of defense were one’s ability to circulate and control mana effectively.

But to actually see and strike the arrow?

That was unheard of.

Even more so if the distance was so short.

The grand mages and higher-ranked mages who had been openly expressing their admiration during the battle between Hae Won-Ryang and Ma Yu-Seong had now gone silent.

A situation was unfolding before them that they could not comprehend even with the knowledge and values they had acquired throughout their lives.

Flash had an infinite number of possibilities, but it was uncontrollable magic.

For centuries, countless scholars had sought to master this basic magic, yet all had failed. Many met tragic ends, either losing their lives or their sanity.

In the midst of this uncertainty, a student appeared, controlling Flash as if he were controlling his own limbs.

— This…

Everyone was silent.

It was a different issue compared to those with overwhelming talents such as Ma Yu-Seong, Hae Won-Ryang, and Eisel.

It carried immense weight. Because of the sheer value of this magic with infinite possibilities.

— By the way… Why isn’t he using any other magic skill and just playing around?

— If he had used other magic skills, the duel would have ended sooner.

— I don’t understand.

As confusion spread and murmurs grew louder, an authoritative voice interrupted.

— No. That’s a serious fight.

Lee Han-Wol felt his heart skip a beat. The voice was both familiar and awe-inspiring.

It belonged to none other than the principal of Stella Academy, renowned as the greatest magical institution in the world.

A great sage of Class 9, Elthman Elwin.

— It was sincere from the beginning. Can’t you see it with your eyes?

At his words, the old mages of the council, the board of directors of the Mage Tower, and the mages of the Great Tower fell into silence.

— Interesting. I read a fairy tale a few days ago, and the way that student is fighting… It reminds me of the chivalry that existed in the old days.

Eltman mumbled as if speaking to himself. 

The mages were, however, dumbfounded by those words.

In this age of magic, the chivalry which had disappeared along with cold weapons?

But how could they refute that? The opponent was a great sage—one of only ten in the continent.

The mages remained silent even after Elthman Elwin vanished without a word. The word ‘chivalry,’ as mentioned by the Class 9 great sage, kept echoing in their minds.