I Became A Flashing Genius At The Magic Academy - Chapter 27

Magic encompassed a variety of attributes. Some mages specialized in fire, while others excelled in water.

However, because a fire mage couldn’t possibly teach a water mage, the academy had separate classes for attributes.

Professors with the fire attribute instructed students who used fire, and professors with the water attribute taught the students who used water.

However, this was Stella Academy. 

On rare occasions, mages with multiple attributes, like Hae Won-Ryang and Eisel, or those who wielded unique attributes such as Flame, were assigned to professors specializing in multi-attribute magic.

Professor Eliman, renowned for mastering all five attributes, was responsible for extraordinary students like Flame.

Flash!

As the tip of Flame’s staff gleamed, vines sprouted beneath the swiftly moving scarecrow, ensnaring its feet. The vines then transformed into metal via matter magic, immobilizing the target. Moments later, a beam of light shot from the staff, piercing the scarecrow’s forehead and obliterating it entirely.

"Well done. Your speed in targeting has improved significantly. However, your control over the matter attribute still seems quite clumsy. The transition between attributes is slow."

“I’ll keep practicing.”

“Yes, but don’t overdo it. Oh, by the way, I know a dwarf mage skilled in plant-based magic. Would you like me to introduce him to you?”

“Yes! That would be amazing!”

This was Stella Academy. The level of teaching was exceptional. There was a qualitative increase in growth rate compared to being self-taught at home. Furthermore, some professors, the majority of whom were commoners, were quite friendly to Flame.

"Sigh, I'm exhausted."

As Flame groaned in pain and collapsed into a chair, a distant roar was heard.

It was the sound of fire-attribute students training.

Boom!

While sitting and quietly listening to the explosions, she noticed a group of female students rushing out from behind her.

One of them was crying while the other students comforted her.

“It’s okay, Arshuang. You did well too.”

"Yeah, you're still better than most."

‘Arshuang?’ 

At the somewhat familiar name, Flame’s ears perked up.

“But I can’t compare to the princess,” Arshuang said, her voice tinged with sorrow. That’s when Flame remembered.

'Isn’t that the name of the prodigy flame-attribute mage?'

Her talent was so remarkable it was almost unprecedented. When she enrolled at Stella, everyone had their eyes on her. However, when she encountered Hong Bi-Yeon, a once-in-a-century genius, her confidence wavered.

Hong Bi-Yeon wielded flame magic with great ferocity but often lost control, causing unintended destruction.

Arshuang’s specialty, zero-point incineration, allowed her to burn precise targets, completely compensating for Hong Bi-Yeon’s flaws. The constant comparisons placed immense pressure on the freshman, Hong Bi-Yeon.

‘Her mother probably played a significant role in that, but in the end, she became reckless and ultimately turned into a villainess who was defeated by Eisel.’

“Soon, the princess may even surpass my control.”

‘…What?’

A peculiar change had occurred.

“Did you see her astonishing growth rate? She’s already mastering all of my skills! I’ve spent years practicing them.”

Flame’s expression hardened. Hong Bi-Yeon’s ability to control would undoubtedly begin to grow when she entered her second year.

‘But why now?’

Something, or someone, had changed the course of events. Someone had awakened her sense of creativity.

At that moment, she thought of a certain someone.

‘Baek Yu-Seol.’

There was no doubt in her mind that Baek Yu-Seol had accelerated Hong Bi-Yeon’s growth.

“What are you thinking about?”

“Huh?”

Hae Won-Ryang had appeared and slumped into the chair next to Flame.

“Are you thinking about that guy again?”

“Him? Baek Yu-Seol? How did you know? Are you a mind reader now?”

"Of course. You’re always thinking about him."

"Sigh. Don’t even talk about it. Your older sister here has so many worries these days."

“You are the same age as me, so don’t call yourself ‘older sister.’”

“Haha, I was born three months earlier. Do you know how big the difference is?”

“I don’t think so.”

“When you were in your mom’s stomach sucking your fingers, I was already slicing steak.”

"Did you start cutting steak at three months old?"

Hae Won-Ryang chuckled in disbelief. Talking with Flame was always enjoyable, no matter how trivial the topic.

He pondered for a moment, then asked, “Are you curious about that guy named Baek Yu-Seol?”

“Yeah.”

"There's a lot of buzz about him these days."

“Right? It was kind of strange.”

In magical society, alchemists were considered somewhat eccentric.

For one, alchemy shared similarities with dwarven matter magic, making it difficult to learn. It was often deemed impractical in combat, discouraging many magic warrior cadets from pursuing it.

As a result, alchemy remained a niche subject, and alchemists formed a close-knit, insular community.

This perception persisted even at Stella, where alchemy was viewed as an obscure subject enjoyed only by its enthusiasts.

Then, out of nowhere, a freshman developed a groundbreaking potion during an experiment and humiliated Professor Maizen Tyren, a known advocate of favoritism.

‘What the hell is that guy?’

She recalled the original story with mixed feelings, particularly the friction between Eisel and Professor Maizen Tyren. This incident had happened in the original.

But in the original version, Eisel could not complete the Tyren Point Potion Type B and failed regretfully.

Despite her brilliant ingenuity in combining the knowledge of Kasahun and Maliwan, she lacked sufficient time to decipher the crucial formula and ultimately failed.

But this time, things were different.

Baek Yu-Seol knew exactly what to do and was able to finish the potion effortlessly.

At that moment, a question surfaced in her mind.

In the original story, Professor Maizen had taken Eisel's failed potion to her laboratory, finished it herself, and presented it as her own accomplishment.

The full recipe for Tyren Point Potion Type B was never detailed in the original work.

Of course, in a romance fantasy, intricate chemical formulas wouldn’t be included.

‘So how did Baek Yu-Seol know how to make it?’

It was odd. He behaved as if he knew something yet remained oblivious at the same time.

Wasn’t that the case with this episode? 

Anyone familiar with the original storyline where Eisel first suffered defeat would know what happened. Yet Baek Yu-Seol had reacted as though he was genuinely unaware.

‘There’s no way he’s acting. He has no reason to pretend now.’

His behavior had always been peculiar, but pretending not to know now? That only added to the strangeness.

‘...He knows about the future but not the original story?’

Then, a thought popped into her head.

Why had she confined her thinking to such a narrow perspective? Why had she assumed he was like her, a transmigrator?

Wasn’t there another explanation?

‘Regressor.’

That could explain why he seemed aware of future events without knowing the original story. If he were a regressor, he might not recall every minor detail of Eisel’s experiences.

‘It’s not completely ridiculous.’

At the end of the novel, the character Ma Yu-Seong got the chance to regress.

The Twelve Divine Moons, Silver Autumn Moon(the divine moon representing the month of November.)

The only entity in the world with the power to manipulate time. Flame had been so moved by the scene in which it appeared that she memorized the lines verbatim.

‘Only once, you can turn back time.’

‘But in return, you will lose most of your memories. Maybe you will forget the one you love, and maybe you will lose all your important memories and be left with a sense of a mission to save the world.’

‘And after completing that mission, you will vanish without a trace…’

The cost of regressing was the erasure of one’s existence from both memory and reality. No one would remember them, and they would not recall anyone either.

Thus, their identity would disappear from the world completely.

‘No one will remember that you saved the world, and even those you loved will forget you exist.’

‘Despite that, will you turn back time and tread this path again?’

Ma Yu-Seong decided to accept that fate.

Even if he could not be with his loved ones after completing all his missions, he would accept the mission if it was to create a world where his loved ones could live happily.

However, Eisel stopped him.

‘I’d rather face destruction while remembering you than live in a world without you.'

Ma Yu-Seong, moved by her plea, ultimately gave up on regressing. The world was destroyed, but the epilogue ended with a poignant and blooming romance.

As a fan, she had once thought it was a beautiful, tragic ending. But now that this was her reality, it was unacceptable.

‘If Baek Yu-Seol is really a regressor…’

Blood trickled from Flame’s lips as she bit them. She closed her eyes, trying to steady her thoughts.

‘It’s just a guess.’

‘That’s right.’ 

‘It’s just a conjecture.’ 

Speculation that connected the scattered pieces of information she had collected.

‘I need to think more calmly. I’m not sure.’

Yet, the notion that Baek Yu-Seol might be a regressor wouldn’t leave her mind. Flame struggled to come to terms with the idea.

If he really were a regressor, imagining the weight of the fate he carried was unbearable.

“I can’t take this anymore.”

“What can’t you take?”

“I feel like I’m going to burst from curiosity because it’s not my personality to suffer like this. I’m just going to go and tell him what’s in my heart.”

With that, Flame leapt up and stormed out of the room, leaving behind Hae Won-Ryang, whose eyes widened in shock.

‘You want to go tell him what’s in your heart?’ 

Her seemingly trivial words struck him deeply, making his chest ache.