I Became A Flashing Genius At The Magic Academy - Chapter 23
Group Project (1)For Stella Academy’s high school students, completing several hours of volunteer service was mandatory.
Typical options included daily assistance at the Magic Post Office or street cleaning, but many students despised such tasks.
This was largely because joining a ‘club’ was more comfortable and beneficial for their future careers.
As a result, clubs for nobles functioned primarily as social gatherings, while for commoners, they became a means of logging volunteer hours.
The Skalven Club, where the nobles of the Skalven Empire gathered, could be considered to be focused on social gatherings.
This club, often referred to as the ‘heaven’s social gathering,’ was one of Stella’s most prestigious organizations. Traditionally, it was led by the highest-ranking student, regardless of their age. Therefore, it was no surprise when Crown Prince Jeremy Skalven, though just a freshman, assumed leadership.
Verazen Aizel, a second-year student and former head of the club, stood respectfully before Crown Prince Jeremy, bowing deeply.
Behind her, fifty other students mirrored her posture.
In the center of the 3,500-square-foot hall, a boy lounged on an opulent sofa worth tens of millions of credits. At first glance, one might not believe this was merely a student club room.
Jeremy Skalven.
He gazed idly at the five-colored chandelier suspended from the ceiling.
Jeremy’s gentle smile was soothing, exuding an aura of tranquility with just a passing glance.
“It’s cheap.”
But the words that left his mouth carried no warmth.
"I apologize. I'll have it replaced immediately."
“Sure. Thank you. Please do.”
Jeremy’s smile made the girls’ cheeks flush red, but Verazen broke into a cold sweat.
'...This isn’t good.’
Verazen glanced at the boy kneeling and trembling in front of Jeremy.
The boy, Morso Dorden, was the heir to the prominent Dorden family. Yet here, he was nothing.
If anything, he was like dust gathering in the corner.
“Morso. Lift your head. Why are you so scared?”
At Jeremy’s words, Morso hesitantly lifted his head while Jeremy maintained his cheerful expression.
“Yes, yes…”
"Yeah. I want to hear your excuses straight from your mouth. Care to explain?"
In response, Verazen hurriedly said, “That’s actually—”
“Verazen?”
“Yes?”
“I don’t recall asking you to explain. You thought you could?”
“S-Sorry!”
Verazen gritted her teeth and stepped back.
‘Please don’t let that stupid Morso talk nonsense!’ she prayed.
Unaware of Verazen’s silent plea, the words that came from Morso’s mouth were incoherent.
The story was short—not much of a story—but it was enough to chill the hall.
'Honestly, I wasn't feeling well. If I try again, I can do it properly. I let my guard down.'
Excuses upon excuses upon excuses.
Smiling faintly with his chin resting on his hand, Jeremy spoke. “So, in conclusion, you lost a duel to a mage who can’t even use defensive magic? And to top it off, that student relies on a ‘sword’ as a shield?”
“It was not a duel. It was a mock duel…”
The moment another excuse escaped Morso’s lips, Verazen tightly shut her eyes.
Crack!
A sharp, cracking sound echoed through the club room.
‘Huh…?’
For a brief moment, Morso felt as though the world had turned into a blank, white canvas. It took him a while to grasp the situation. Soon, he realized everyone else appeared upside down.
'Did I fall down?'
Looking around in a daze, Morso saw Jeremy now standing right next to him, grinding his head against the floor.
“Why?” Jeremy asked, but Morso could not understand the meaning of those words.
Drrrrrrrrrrr!
The grinding sound rang in his ears. No, it wasn’t just ringing, it was painful. Agonizingly so.
‘Ahhhhhhhh!’
It was then that Morso realized his cheek was being ground against the wall.
“Why?”
Boom!
Jeremy grabbed Morso by the hair and smashed his head into an iron locker.
“Why?”
Once, twice… Three times, five times, ten times. The disturbing sounds echoed continuously for the next few moments. Fresh blood trickled down his head, but Morso did not faint.
“Why did you lose?”
Morso wanted to admit his mistake and apologize, but he wasn’t given the chance.
Jeremy yanked open the locker, shoved Morso’s head inside, and slammed the door shut.
“Why did you do that? Why do you embarrass me by using the name Skalven? Do you hate me?”
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Blood splattered across the room, and Morso’s swollen eyes struggled to stay open. Thanks to his mage constitution, he wouldn’t die from this ordeal.
“I’ve been so nice to you. You’re my loyal servant, right?”
“Ghg… Ugh…”
"Hmm? What did you say?"
As Morso tried to open his mouth, Jeremy leaned in closer.
“Sor… Sorr…”
“Yes. Keep talking.”
"P-please... spare... my life..."
“No. That’s not it.”
Jeremy gave him a look of incomprehension.
“You’re my loyal servant. A true servant should ask to repay their master’s shame with their own death, right? That’s what I was taught. So why aren’t you doing that?”
Suddenly, Jeremy stopped.
He ceased the brutal punishment, then knelt down and embraced Morso.
“Sorry. I was too harsh. It’s my fault.”
“Ah… Uh…”
“I’m sorry I hurt you. That wasn’t supposed to happen. I’m sorry. I’m really sorry.”
Morso’s tears, runny nose, and blood stained Jeremy’s clothes, but the Crown Prince didn’t seem to care. Instead, he patted Morso’s back gently.
"You weren't just a servant. You were my 'friend.' I shouldn't have done that to you."
At those words, Morso weakly shook his head despite the excruciating pain.
Friend.
It was a word that should never have come from Prince Jeremy’s mouth. Everyone present knew this, and the weight of it made Morso lower his gaze with a conflicted expression.
Not a loyal servant, but a friend.
This incident effectively expelled the Dorden family from Skalven politics.
‘Over something so trivial?’
Unfortunately, such questions were meaningless.
The Skalven royal family was notorious for their harshness, even exiling entire families of chefs into slavery simply because a breakfast menu didn’t suit their taste.
“Ah, ah, ah...!”
“It must hurt a lot. How about this? Verazen, you’re kind. Take good care of my friend. If anything goes wrong, my heart will ache.”
"... Yes. Understood."
“He’s all yours.”
Jeremy carefully laid Morso on the floor. His delicate movements, treating Morso as though he were a precious jewel, unsettled many in the room. However, no one dared show it.
Verazen supported Morso, helping him stand. With the aid of a skilled healing mage, his injuries would heal quickly, but…
‘The Dorden family is done for.’
That thought weighed heavily on her.
Verazen glanced at Prince Jeremy.
What could he be thinking right now?
Was he still angry at Morso? No, he’d likely already forgotten about him.
Instead, he was probably fixated on the commoner Baek Yu-Seol, who had drawn so much attention.
Verazen felt a pang of pity for that commoner. Despite the rumors of his extraordinary talent, it was clear that the life of any mage who caught Jeremy’s interest was doomed.
***
Two rumors spread throughout the academy after the demonstration of Baek Yu-Seol’s defense technique.
The first concerned Baek Yu-Seol’s chivalry.
“What kind of chivalry is he pursuing in a magic academy? Isn’t he just an attention seeker?”
“It’s not bad, is it? Oh, to be young.”
“You’re 17.”
"Honestly, at our age, aren't we already mature enough?"
“That’s true.”
“Anyway, he’s really unique.”
And the second was a rumor about Flame’s Light attribute.
“Did you hear? She uses the Light attribute that only the mages of the Holy Nation—or in other words, someone chosen by the angels—can use.”
"And she wasn’t taught it; she was born with it?"
“Then you’re saying she’s an angel?”
“I don’t know. She doesn’t have wings.”
Flame was born with attributes normal humans could not use, so she attracted much attention within the magic academy.
She neither relished nor disliked the attention, but the rumors about Baek Yu-Seol gnawed at her.
‘Oh, what the hell is he?’
He unsettled her, yet there was no way to discern who he truly was.
‘Anyway, I’m sure he’s someone who knows the original story.’
'If so, what's his purpose?'
“Come on, focus!”
Flame’s thoughts were interrupted as Professor Maizen Tyren clapped to regain the students’ attention.
“Alchemy originally evolved from attempts to create gold by combining elements. Of course, synthetic gold is now trivial, so no one bothers with it anymore.”
Flame had chosen classes that aligned with those of the main protagonists. Alchemy was primarily Eisel’s subject, and she wasn’t particularly interested in it.
However, she knew that Professor Maizen was destined to undergo a ‘Dark Magic Transformation.’ To prevent or mitigate it, she had no choice but to attend the class.
“The great inventions of alchemy are aishranium, the lightest and hardest element in the world, and similer elixir, the substance that heals any wounds. You must make one potion each in training class from today. That way, in the future, you’ll be able to make something like a similer elixir, right?”
Alchemy Techniques was infamous for its complexity. It required precise measurements down to the cubic centimeter, flawless timing to the second, and exact temperature control to the degree.
Though first-year exercises weren’t overly difficult, alchemy was unpopular due to its demanding nature.
“Well then, let’s start by making the ‘Tyren Fatigue Recovery Potion,’ which I developed. Begin by adding a spoonful of airel fairy honey to powdered green tea leaves…”
The much-awaited practicum began.
Flame didn’t find the process particularly challenging. She was adept at following instructions and possessed excellent dexterity and focus.
‘Ugh… This is so annoying.’
She frowned as she removed her protective goggles.
Her steady hands and sharp concentration allowed her to complete the Tyren Fatigue Recovery Potion quickly.
“Oh, impressive. Well done.”
“Thank you.”
At Maizen’s praise, Flame forced a smile on her face.
Alterisha, an assistant working under Maizen, leaned closer to Flame’s potion out of curiosity. However, Maizen’s sharp reprimand cut her off.
“Alterisha! What are you doing, endangering yourself like that! Can you even call yourself an alchemist acting like this?”
"I-I'm sorry!"
The scolding startled the class. One student, distracted by the commotion, overfilled their potion, causing it to overflow with steam.
‘I think it’s you who’s dangerous.’
Since she could not say it aloud, Flame swallowed her words and looked around.
‘By the way, what about Baek Yu-Seol?’
Baek Yu-Seol was an enigma. Eisel, the only protagonist in this class, had Flame’s attention. She’d been watching to see if he would approach her with ulterior motives, but he hadn’t.
“Ohoho.”
As if he had forgotten Eisel’s presence, he was completely engrossed in alchemy. Flame started suspecting he was a pervert after noticing how much he enjoyed it.
“Hehee."
'Is... is he a maniac...?'
Each time he added an herb or stirred, he let out a sinister laugh. Flame’s unease grew in proportion to his apparent delight.
‘Isn’t he just a pervert…?’
Flame turned her attention back to Eisel. She seemed fine, diligently following the instructions.
Then, a troubling thought struck.
'Normal?’
The potion Eisel was making was a Tyren Fatigue Recovery Potion similar to Flame’s own.
'That shouldn’t be possible...'
In the original storyline, Eisel accidentally obtained Maela’s Magic Engineering Lecture Notes at an old bookstore.
In the original story, Eisel had accidentally stumbled upon Maela’s Magic Engineering Lecture Notes at an old bookstore. The notes contained detailed alchemy formulas, and Eisel, following them unwittingly, had created an anti-fatigue potion far superior to Maizen’s.
Maizen’s reaction in the original story wasn’t positive.
Consumed by jealousy over Eisel’s talent, he harbored resentment against her. Knowing her family’s downfall, he tormented her, sabotaged her grades, and made her life miserable throughout the semester.
Eisel endured much suffering. Without the male protagonists supporting her, she might not have survived.
'But why? Why did she make a normal potion...?'
Although Flame felt relief that Eisel would no longer be subjected to bullying, she also knew there must be a reason behind this unusual turn of events.
Suddenly, a realization struck her, and she quickly shifted her gaze to Baek Yu-Seol’s workbench.
‘What…?’
The high-grade anti-fatigue agent that Eisel was supposed to have developed was sitting on his table.
And then, the exact situation she had read about in the novel unfolded.
“Baek Yu-Seol, it seems your Class S status has made you arrogant. Who said you could change the materials as you wish?”
“Huh? But doing it this way yields better results.”
“What does it have to do with good results? What if something goes wrong because you used the wrong materials? What would happen if there’s an explosion and the students get involved?!”
“There’s no explosive substance here. Professor, do you know how to make explosive substances with green tea leaves? That’s awesome.”
“You even dare to reply so flippantly! Outrageous! That’s why commoners are…! Tsk…”
As Flame remembered, the original last line was, ‘That’s why your family was wiped out.’
In the story, those words had struck Eisel like a dagger. Her trauma resurfaced, leaving her with emotional scars that lingered long after.
But now, in this timeline, that painful event had vanished completely.
'Could it be...?'
'Is it possible that Baek Yu-Seol knew what would happen and chose to take her place in the plot to prevent her trauma from resurfacing?'
‘That’s absurd. His school life will become unbearably difficult from now on.’
The consequences would be unbearably harsh. Professor Maizen wielded significant influence within Stella Academy, and her grudge would likely impact Baek Yu-Seol in other classes as well.
‘He must have known but did not care.’
‘What the hell is that guy?’
Flame bowed her head with a conflicted expression.
Memories of the Dungeon Practicum suddenly filled her mind, and highlighted among those memories was when she asked about his identity and he joked, “I want to help you.”
Now, as she stood there reflecting, she realized he might not have been joking after all.
Meanwhile…
‘Oh, I forgot.’
Baek Yu-Seol sighed inwardly.
"Why did you do it? Answer me!"
“I already did.”
“How dare you speak to me that way? I’ll call your parents right away!”
“I don’t have any parents.”
Baek Yu-Seol had been so absorbed in his alchemy experiment - enjoying it immensely - that he had entirely forgotten about this irritating aftermath.
Now lamenting his lapse in judgment, he let the professor’s scolding go in one ear and out the other as he continued reviewing the notes on his desk.
“You… You… If you keep that attitude…”
‘Oh, shall I make a Coca-Cola and Kimchi potion for lunch tomorrow?’
In fact, no matter what Maizen said, it had nothing to do with Baek Yu-Seol.