I Became A Flashing Genius At The Magic Academy - Chapter 22

In truth, Verayen's request for a demonstration of defensive magic carried a touch of his own selfish motives.

Rather than troubling Baek Yu-Seol, his true goal was to highlight Morso of the Dorden Family, one of his supporters.

Morso, currently in Class B, held a much lower rank than Class A students. However, if he could demonstrate superior magic during a mock duel against a Class S student, his standing was certain to rise.

It might even lead to a promotion to Class A.

“Both of you, go up to the podium.”

“Yes, sir.”

Stella Academy encouraged student duels to provide practical experience. However, such activities were always conducted with safety equipment in place.

Baek Yu-Seol stood confidently at one end of the long, straight class podium.

Morso positioned himself at the opposite side.

"Morso! Crush him completely!" shouted a boy standing beside Yuslek. It was Aiden, whom Baek Yu-Seol had soundly defeated during the Dungeon Practicum.

‘How petty.’

Aiden gritted his teeth, clearly unable to accept his earlier defeat.

Morso glanced at Aiden then grinned as he gazed at Baek Yu-Seol triumphantly.

“Of course. Just you wait.”

Morso knew Baek Yu-Seol would be a formidable opponent. Not only had he outmaneuvered Aiden and his group in the Dungeon Practicum, but he had also emerged victorious in a duel against Hong Bi-Yeon.

However, Morso believed those victories were thanks to Flash. Since this duel alternated between attacker and defender roles, rendering Flash ineffective, he was confident of his victory.

‘I’ll make sure to humiliate him in front of everyone.’

The students gathered around the podium, chatting excitedly about the duel.

"Morso’s going to win, right? Even though it's a defensive demo, he’s learned some powerful earth-attribute attack magic."

"It’s going to be really hard to withstand Morso’s attacks…"

"Baek Yu-Seol doesn’t even use a magic shield. How’s he supposed to defend himself?"

As Verayen raised his hand, the students’ chatter stopped.

"Morso goes first. Ready?"

Morso and Baek Yu-Seol drew their staffs and aimed them at each other.

“Begin.”

At Verayen's command, Morso smiled wickedly, conjuring a brown magic circle in the air.

Several students widened their eyes in shock.

While it was customary to use low-level Class 1 magic for basic practice, Morso employed the Dorden family's Class 2 magic skill, known for its strong destructive power.

“Dorden Stone Pierce!”

A brown light erupted from Morso's staff as stones rose from the ground. The rocks, each the size of a human head, hovered briefly before shooting toward Baek Yu-Seol.

Although the practicum uniforms were equipped with Class 1 Magic Barriers, the sheer force of Morso’s magic posed a real danger to any student untrained in defensive techniques.

Intervention was expected if a duel grew too heated. However, Verayen showed no signs of stepping in.

Swish!

But in reality, it didn't matter if no one intervened.

Swish! 

Baek Yu-Seol moved his staff diagonally with a relaxed motion.

And then, as if nothing had happened, everything went silent.

Morso’s magic had vanished into thin air.

It disappeared completely.

"W-What?"

“What just happened?”

“His magic… disappeared?”

The students erupted in whispers, stunned by the sudden turn of events.

However, those with sharper senses - like Morso, some advanced students, and Verayen - realized what had occurred.

Morso’s magic skill was activated correctly. It was just that Baek Yu-Seol destroyed it.

But that was all they could grasp, and no one present could understand the principle behind it. 

It was the same with Professor Verayen.

‘What…? What just happened?’

The principle was simple.

Just as electrical devices rely on wiring, magic relies on mana threads. By precisely severing these threads, the magic collapses.

Executing this technique was challenging in games and even more so in real life.

Human reflexes typically couldn’t track magic in motion, let alone sever its mana flow with precision.

‘For now, I can only barely cut through Class 1 or 2 spells, maybe Class 3 at best……’

This level of mastery had taken days of intensive training, aided by a pitching machine.

“Ugh…”

Morso gritted his teeth and raised his staff again. 

Three stones appeared out of thin air.

The students and Professor Verayen watched as Baek Yu-Seol responded.

A white light emanated from his staff, forming a high-grade formless magic sword, a rare tool often possessed by the wealthy, though few understood its true capabilities.

‘Formless swords are known for their weak power, and this one seems especially feeble…?’

Professor Verayen, familiar with Formless Swords, had doubts but was soon forced to put them aside.

The moment the stones touched the magic sword, they all disappeared.

Baek Yu-Seol needed minimal movement to defend himself. With a slight tilt of his sword, he blocked an attack on his left shoulder. A flick of his wrist deflected a stone near his right thigh. Then, spinning lightly, he intercepted a stone aimed at his head.

These efficient movements had been honed through countless sessions with the Level 5 pitching machine.

‘This is not so bad, is it?’

For stronger magic, such a defense wouldn’t suffice, but against Class 2 spells, it was more than enough.

While Baek Yu-Seol was satisfied with his swordsmanship, Verayen broke out in a cold sweat and analyzed his defensive technique.

'If Morso loses here, it’s going to be a headache for me too...'

Desperate for a solution, Verayen conceived an idea.

‘Yeah, he's a little unique, but anyway, he has his weaknesses.’

He deliberately gave an exaggerated round of applause in the middle of a duel with its real aim being to draw attention. 

“Deflecting magic? As expected, you’re impressive,” he praised. “I acknowledge that your defense skills are quite good. But…”

He subtly signaled to Morso.

“In the end, that defensive technique is just about deflecting each attack one by one, so there’s a limit. What will you do if multiple attacks come at you?”

The hint was clear, Morso needed to exploit Baek Yu-Seol’s inability to counter simultaneous attacks.

Hearing Verayen’s suggestion, Morso raised his staff skyward. A brown, rhombus-shaped magic circle began spinning, layer upon layer of formulas adding to its complexity.

The stones rising from the ground gradually combined, forming eleven smaller stone pierces. By sacrificing power for quantity, the magic was not ideal for a single target but seemed perfectly suited to overwhelm Baek Yu-Seol.

“Wait, isn’t that too much?”

"That’s way too many..."

Morso had gone too far. 

Although the magic was an impressive feat for a high school freshman, it wasn’t appropriate for this level of duel. Even so, Professor Verayen deliberately chose to ignore the breach.

“Bollir Stone Pierce!”

At Morso’s command, the stone projectiles rained down from the sky.

Clang!

… But once again, they all disappeared.

Baek Yu-Seol defended his body by rotating the sword like a windmill.

“Wait, what?”

“How…?”

Snap!

Baek Yu-Seol steadied the formless magic sword again, his forehead glistening with sweat.

He recalled a martial arts technique he had once studied, which described twirling a sword to deflect a volley of flying arrows. While he hadn’t mastered the method, he had developed a similar technique through rigorous training with the pitching machine.

This method, known as Fanning, demanded immense stamina to maintain the magic sword’s form and required deep, controlled breaths. As a result, stamina would deplete rapidly after use. Additionally, this defense was inherently weaker than blocking a single spell. If Morso’s spell had been stronger, the magic sword might have shattered during the process.

“Oh…!”

“Wow, wow.”

“It almost looked like a Magic Shield…?”

Eventually, the students exclaimed.

It was an extraordinary technique, something entirely absent from textbooks. How many people in the world could manage such a feat using only a sword?

"That's insane..."

“I’ve never seen anything like that.”

"Is that some kind of Magical Defense Technique? Is he from some special family?"

“No, it’s just a sword in the first place.”

Amid the uproar, someone stepped out when Verayen still did not stop the fight.

“Professor.”

Amid the chaos, someone stepped forward to intervene when Verayen still made no move to stop the duel.

Crown Prince Jeremy Skalven. 

He, who had been quietly observing the situation from the back, had stood up.

The moment Verayen and Morso recognized the Crown Prince’s smile, their faces turned pale.

“Yes? Is there a problem?”

“Why didn’t you stop the duel?”

His words seemed to have several meanings.

Morso's magic skill was unsuitable for a first-year battle. If he had made a mistake, his opponent could have been seriously injured. 

Furthermore, it seemed that victory and defeat had already been decided.

Verayen glanced nervously at the gathered students.

Their eyes were cold and disapproving.

It was over. 

Verayen felt his career crumble in that instant. Having provoked Crown Prince Jeremy, he knew there was no escape.

His hands and feet trembled, and cold sweat dripped down his cheeks, but he parted his lips. "I... will switch the first turn."

That way, the initiative fell to Baek Yu-Seol.

“Magic shield... Argh!”

Despite being unable to use Flash, Baek Yu-Seol calmly closed the distance. With a single swing of his magic sword, he shattered Morso’s magic shield into pieces.

The duel ended with Baek Yu-Seol aiming his formless magic sword at his opponent's neck.

Verayen’s vision swam as rage and humiliation welled up inside him, leaving him speechless.

Crown Prince Jeremy’s piercing gaze weighed down on him, tightening the metaphorical chains binding his every move.

Finally, Verayen was forced to confront reality.

With a trembling voice, he uttered the words he had hoped never to say.

“Baek Yu-Seol… wins.”