I Became A Flashing Genius At The Magic Academy - Chapter 24

Time flew by, and several weeks passed.

“Baek Yu-Seol, what did I tell you? Stop using materials you’re not authorized to,” Professor Maizen scolded, pointing at the detoxifier on Baek Yu-Seol’s workstation.

Bubble! Bubble!

“I just tweaked the formula a bit, Professor, and it turned out even better,” Baek Yu-Seol replied confidently.

“What?”

“Look. By using tomato ketchup instead of red iod juice, the detoxification effect is nearly doubled.”

“You’re…”

Maizen inspected the detoxifier, biting her lip as if searching for a comeback.

“Why do you come to the academy if you’re just going to do whatever you want?”

She wasn’t entirely wrong, but Baek Yu-Seol had no intention of changing his approach. His goal was to provoke Professor Maizen.

That was because the boss of [Episode 8 Dark Magic Corruption], which would occur later, was none other than the professor.

The fourth episode hadn’t even begun yet, but he needed to prepare beforehand. After all, she was an exceedingly powerful and dangerous boss.

[Maizen Tyren]

[Progression of Dark Magic Corruption: 21%]

[(Inferiority, Jealousy) Dark Magic Contractor]

[Professor of Alchemy]

[Episode 8 Boss]

[Dark Magic Transformation Confirmed]

Maizen was a villain who succumbed to her negative emotions and became a dark mage. When Dark Magic Corruption progressed beyond 90%, she would completely transform. Until it reached 50%, however, it remained magically undetectable.

Baek Yu-Seol, thanks to his Sentient Specs, could see her corruption level. Yet, he couldn’t report it to the Dark Mage Extermination Squad, as there was no proof. Instead, he deliberately provoked her, aiming to accelerate her corruption. His plan was to push her corruption level to 50%, making it noticeable but not immediately dangerous, so the Squad could intervene.

‘If it were a typical dark mage corruption, there’d be a way to reverse it before the full transformation...’

Corruption below 70% could typically be undone through magic, drugs, or voluntary awakening. But Maizen had made a pact with the dark mages, willingly binding herself to the darkness.

The seeds of dark magic had already taken root in her body, making recovery impossible. Eventually, she would not only become a dark mage but also a boss whose abilities endangered Stella by corrupting students into dark mages.

To minimize collateral damage, Baek Yu-Seol aimed to keep her focused on him.

Of course, the odds were slim.

During that episode, many characters suffered severe injuries. At worst, the scenario could lead to an immediate bad ending, so he was determined to give it his all to prevent that outcome.

“... Your attitude hasn’t changed. Expect to get low grades in alchemy.”

It was unsurprising for Professor Maizen to bring up grades. What else could she do when dealing with a disobedient student?

But Baek Yu-Seol wasn’t concerned. His grades were excellent in other subjects, and his goal was simply to graduate without academic warnings. A poor grade in alchemy wasn’t a big deal.

‘Come to think of it, if I’m going to fail anyway, why bother doing alchemy assignments? Wouldn’t my time be better spent building muscles?’

Unfortunately, his plans didn’t pan out.

“There will be a practical exam next week. You will make a D Vitality Potion. It’s possible to prepare it quickly if you combine everything you’ve learned. However, the ingredients are many and the process is complex. Therefore, this practical exam will be done in groups of four. Find friends you want to work with and form groups now.”

Baek Yu-Seol couldn’t help but be perplexed by Professor Maizen’s words.

Group projects… one of the worst punishments a professor could assign. But there was another reason for his dismay.

‘A group project...? Was there anything like this in the game?’

As far as he could recall, it wasn’t. The game prioritized quick progression, so trivial events like group projects weren’t included.

‘Is this in the original novel?’

Baek Yu-Seol secretly glanced at Flame, but her dissatisfied expression made her thoughts completely unreadable.

'Ugh, a group project…?'

Looking around, he noticed the other students avoiding his gaze.

“Heh. Do you think he’ll end up working alone?”

"No way. Even if he has no friends, that’s too much."

He overheard snide comments from Jeremy’s faction. After Baek Yu-Seol bested Morso in practice, their ridicule had intensified. Even Professor Maizen seemed to bully him through her connections.

None of the students dared approach him, fearing both the professor and the crown prince’s group.

While the other students busied themselves forming groups, Baek Yu-Seol remained stranded.

About ten minutes later, Professor Maizen said, “The groups are almost complete.”

Four students, including Baek Yu-Seol, were left ungrouped.

"The students who couldn’t form teams, gather together."

‘Phew.’

As he slowly moved to the desk located at the back, the students without friends like Baek Yu-Seol gathered.

The remaining students were Kasahun, a freckled boy with brown hair; Maliwan, a boy with chubby cheeks; Eisel; and Baek Yu-Seol himself. To his surprise, Eisel didn’t have any friends either.

The death of Eisel’s father, Grand Duke Isaac Morph, was not widely known. A sinister rumor claimed that Isaac, a descendant of the heroic Great Morph, had betrayed the magical world and become a dark mage. Though the rumor was false, the truth remained hidden, leaving Eisel branded as the traitor’s child.

It was no wonder she was isolated.

‘The other two… it’s probably just their personalities.’

Baek Yu-Seol didn’t recognize Kasahun. His noble demeanor might have led to bullying at Stella. Maliwan, however, was a character he knew. Though not significant to the story, he remembered Maliwan becoming skilled at alchemy later on.

Baek Yu-Seol greeted as brightly as possible, “Nice to meet you. I’m Baek Yu-Seol.”

The two boys’ expressions grew gloomier. They had just realized they were stuck with the infamous troublemaker.

No matter how hard they tried, the group’s grade would suffer because of him. Their efforts felt futile.

‘How am I supposed to handle this…?’

The awkward atmosphere thickened, but Eisel unexpectedly broke the tension.

"Are we going to sit here awkwardly? Why don’t you introduce yourselves? You all know my name, right?"

The two boys nodded hesitantly.

"Ugh, seriously. Are you really acting so pathetic over grades? If you just do your part well, your grades will be fine. Stop whining," Eisel said sharply.

“What do you know? This group is doomed already. We might as well work individually.”

Kasahun bluntly refuted, but Eisel only snorted. “Giving up before even trying? How did you get into Stella? You’re hopeless.”

"What did you say?"

“I get it, having this guy in the group is annoying, right?”

'I’m sorry about that.'

“But it doesn’t matter. At least three alchemists from the Alchemy Castle will be evaluating the practical test. Professor Maizen won’t be able to arbitrarily ruin our grades.”

“Oh…”

Baek Yu-Seol was surprised to learn this, as were the other boys. Eisel flicked her light blue hair back proudly, clearly enjoying their reactions.

Baek Yu-Seol recalled hearing somewhere that Eisel, who had lost everything, valued information above all else.

As Kasahun became silent, the quiet boy named Maliwan slowly opened his mouth. “Well then, are we gonna give it our best?”

“Do I have to say it twice?”

“I’m glad. Let’s do this.”

“I’m glad you’re motivated.”

And then she looked at Baek Yu-Seol for no reason. 

‘What? Does staying quiet mean I’m unmotivated? I’ve been watching you guys carefully, as a responsible older brother would.’

“Hmm, then how are we going to gather the ingredients?”

“Of course, each of us has to get some.”

Alchemy materials were notoriously tricky to source, and processing them was no small task. Dividing the workload was the only reasonable solution.

“Then… What ingredients do we need?”

Baek Yu-Seol considered bluffing but instead used his Sentient Specs to search for the list of ingredients for the D Vitality Potion. Before he could speak, Eisel answered.

“Twenty severed tails of a fire-attribute lizard, 300ml of iod solution, seven grams of pure silver, ten grams of fairy grass, pine needles…”

She rattled off the list effortlessly. Unlike Baek Yu-Seol, who had to look it up, Eisel had everything memorized.

Indeed, one of Eisel’s defining traits was [Versatility]. Whether it was magic, alchemy, politics, or even stocks, she excelled at everything. In some ways, she was more impressive than Ma Yu-Seong or Hae Won-Ryang.

“Honestly, these are ingredients that aren’t difficult to find in Arcanium’s market. You’ll all be able to get them, right?”

The boys nodded warily, clearly nervous about what they might be tasked with collecting. Some of the materials, while available in Arcanium, were still quite challenging to acquire.

“First of all, who’s going to get the fire-attribute lizard’s tails?”

This ingredient fell under the ‘monster corpse’ category. Even with textbook knowledge, identifying quality materials from actual monster corpses was a daunting task. Since the quality of the potion depended heavily on these ingredients, no one was eager to take responsibility.

Baek Yu-Seol raised his hand without hesitation.

“I’ll get it.”

Eisel narrowed her eyes and questioned his confidence.

“You know that monster corpses are the most important thing in alchemy, right?”

“Of course.”

“To be so confident means something. Can I trust you?”

“It’s no problem.”

Eisel nodded her head reluctantly.

'Wow, this girl really doesn’t trust anyone.'

It was true that selecting materials was difficult. If it wasn’t for the analysis function of the Sentient Specs, Baek Yu-Seol wouldn’t be able to pick them out easily.

In truth, he didn’t plan to use the Sentient Spec.

‘It’s just a fire-attribute lizard. I’ll just have to catch it myself.’

He was already thinking about getting them fresh from the source.

***

Meanwhile, Professor Maizen Tyren had gone to see a certain student.

“Herick. Will you send this note to the first-year alchemy students?”

Maizen Tyren handed the note to a student named Herick. The content of the note was nothing special.

[Notice: The practical exam task has been changed from 'D Vitality Potion' to 'Tyren Point Potion.' Please take note of this change.]

A very simple statement about changing the subject of this test. The new assignment, the Tyren Point Potion, was a vitality supplement developed by Professor Maizen Tyren. The concocting method could be easily practiced by students with available materials.

“... Except for Group 12.”

“Huh?”

Herick looked momentarily puzzled before smiling knowingly. He quickly realized that Baek Yu-Seol and Eisel were part of Group 12.

“Hehe, of course.”

Herick was a student of the Jeremy faction, so he quickly recognized Maizen’s intentions.

'So, she plans to completely sabotage them during the exam.'

The practical test would be overseen by professional alchemists from the Alchemy Castle. This was a significant opportunity for students to showcase their skills, opening doors for future transfers or employment.

But failure in front of these professionals could tarnish a student’s reputation, potentially derailing their career in alchemy.

‘Yes, your alchemy is amazing. But in the end, a student ought to behave like a student.’

No matter how brilliant Baek Yu-Seol might be, he was still just a student, and Maizen intended to make sure he understood that.