I Became A Flashing Genius At The Magic Academy - Chapter 383
The Magic School’s Blink Genius 385
65. Bing Baek Mountain (9)
Originally, Baek Yu-seol’s plan was to threaten Cheon Hwang Jeongpal to extract the secrets of the Persona Gate.
She wouldn’t have appeared here without reason, so Baek Yu-seol believed that this situation was clearly caused by the original fortress of Baek Ryeong-go.
However, the plan started to unravel from the beginning.
“Ugh… so that b*stard Maran Kalts did this and ran away…”
“Ah, yes.”
Cheon Hwang Jeongpal confessed everything without having to threaten him with a weapon.
Tears and snot were pouring out.
‘Even Twelve Moons can cry like that…’
Having always been with the dignified and noble Twelve Moons, this foolish-looking Twelve Moons felt entirely new.
It could be that it felt unfamiliar since it was a Twelve Moons he had never encountered in the original game.
“Hah, anyway. You can’t do anything, can you?”
“That’s right… what should I do…”
Indeed.
The Persona Gate was not actually created by Cheon Hwang Jeongpal; it was a reckless act of the 9-class Black Wizard Maran Kalts, who acted on her orders.
Furthermore, Maran Kalts had unexpectedly vanished, and Cheon Hwang Jeongpal could not interfere with the Persona Gate, truly a double whammy.
‘Maran Kalts…
In the original game, he was a character mentioned but never appeared in person.
He was one of the most absurdly exited final bosses, with players who progressed to the very end finding this phrase waiting for them.
［Maran Kalts’s Corpse］
It seems to have died naturally from old age.
Promising to be the Black Mage Church Leader’s left hand and heightening players’ anticipation, he died of old age.
Several players protested this absurd ending to the game company, but of course, no response came.
‘That Maran Kalts did something so random and vanished entirely?’
At least in the original game, his corpse remained. The fact that he vanished without leaving even a corpse was indeed puzzling.
“Well… that’s that.”
Cheon Hwang Jeongpal’s disheveled appearance caused Baek Yu-seol to lose some of his resolve, but still, the anger he felt toward her did not dissipate.
“First, let me ask you one thing.”
“Uh… 9”
“Previously, you controlled two trolls to attack Hong Bi-yeon, right? Why did you do such a thing?”
Baek Yu-seol’s eyes widened, and upon hearing this, Cheon Hwang Jeongpal flinched and shrank back, exclaiming “N-No!”
“I know everything.”
“Ugh, um… I-I did do that…”
Seeing her expression turn grim, Cheon Hwang Jeongpal mumbled in a flustered manner.
“Because Hoi Gong Siwol threatened to k*ll me if I didn’t…”
“So it means you did lead the attack, didn’t you?”
“But! I had no intention of killing her! You know that! That girl is a precious talent! I planned to keep her safely after separating her from you! I swear!”
Baek Yu-seol glared at her. Unfortunately, the ability to read emotions, one of Yeon Hong Chun Samwol’s powers, did not activate, but Cheon Hwang Jeongpal’s feelings were honest enough that it was unnecessary.
“Sigh… it’s fine.”
Though he had no intention of forgiving her, Baek Yu-seol chose to let it pass silently for now, as Hong Bi-yeon was safe, and he needed Cheon Hwang Jeongpal’s powers at this moment.
“But, that woman next to you…”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Flower Lin, the Elf King.”
As Flower Lin, standing at a safe distance behind Baek Yu-seol, smiled and extended her hand, Cheon Hwang Jeongpal attempted to shake hands with her right hand, which had just wiped away tears.
Baek Yu-seol quickly grabbed Flower Lin’s hand to stop her from grabbing Cheon Hwang Jeongpal’s dirty hand.
“Stop.”
“What?”
“You’re being too much…”
“Anyway, Jeongpal.”
“Uh, Jeongpal?! My name is Cheon Hwang Jeongpal!”
“Yes, Cheon Hwang Jeongpal. It seems like you want to dismantle the Persona Gate, but is there a valid reason for it? Looking at it, it seems you charmed Duke Seolparam; can’t you just let it go and run away?”
“Gasp! How did you know I charmed Seolparam?!”
“You really surpass the level of stupidity; you’re a complete idiot.”
“Wh-What did you say?! How dare you call me an idiot in front of Twelve Moons?!”
“Fine. If you don’t need our help, then just leave.”
“N-No! Wait a moment!”
As Baek Yu-seol turned to leave coldly, Cheon Hwang Jeongpal grabbed him, hesitating to speak.
“Uh, about… that…”
“Uh, yes.”
“It’s true that I manipulated Seolparam and used him…”
“Exactly.”
“Maybe it’s because I raised him since he was little… um, like, a child to me; I can’t just abandon him, you know….”
It would be easier to believe the phrase “a rock laid an egg” than that.
Yet the truly absurd part for Baek Yu-seol was how plausible it seemed. No matter how he thought about it, it was true.
Though Cheon Hwang Jeongpal had poured all her energy into captivating Duke Seolparam, what would be lost if she gave up?
If one waited a few hundred years, her powers would definitely return, and since the world was already heading towards destruction due to Hoi Gong Siwol, what importance could Duke Seolparam possibly have?
“Honestly, among what I’ve heard…”
“I-I’m sorry! Even you think that this is not like Twelve Moons and that it’s pathetic and foolish, right? Well, still, I…”
“No. I didn’t think that at all.”
“Huh?”
Baek Yu-seol embraced Flower Lin and jumped down from the spire.
“Honestly, that was the only reason that I liked you the most.”
As he disappeared below, Cheon Hwang Jeongpal was left with a stunned expression.
“L-Liked… me…?”
Having lived a life of disregard and contempt, Cheon Hwang Jeongpal had received her first compliment without enchanting anyone or using Twelve Moons’ grace.
“Liked… me…”
Sitting there blankly and repeating those words, she couldn’t help but stop when Baek Yu-seol shouted from below.
“Are you not coming?!”
“I-I’ll be right there!”
The expression on Cheon Hwang Jeongpal’s face as she hurriedly jumped down from the spire certainly showed signs of crying, but something was different from before. Just looking at the corners of her mouth slightly rising indicated that there was a change.
Baek Yu-seol led Cheon Hwang Jeongpal and Flower Lin out of the fortress of Baek Ryeong-go. In response to Cheon Hwang Jeongpal’s question of whether they wouldn’t meet Duke Seolparam, Baek Yu-seol answered that they already had.
“She wasn’t in her right mind.”
“W-What do you mean?”
“Hmm… should I tell you?”
Seeing the troubled expression on Baek Yu-seol’s face, Cheon Hwang Jeongpal shook her head, not wanting to know about Seolparam’s broken state.
“It’s fine… everything will return to normal, right…?”
She said this to strengthen her resolve, but Baek Yu-seol added fuel to the fire.
“When did I say I would return everything to normal?”
“Uh…?”
“If we just return everything to normal, all the cities around Bing Baek Mountain will be completely destroyed. Don’t you know that?”
“Ah, I do know. Isn’t there some kind of way?”
“Indeed. The way is to not dismantle the Persona Gate. Your help is slightly needed here.”
“My name is Cheon Hwang Jeongpal…”
“It’s too long to say.”
Watching their conversation, Flower Lin quietly said to Baek Yu-seol with a worried look.
“Isn’t it a bit too rude to treat someone who is still Twelve Moons like this…?”
“She deserves it.”
For now, they would travel together, but the grudge against Cheon Hwang Jeongpal for tormenting Hong Bi-yeon had not vanished.
Baek Yu-seol was secretly a man with a grudge.
“So what should we do…?”
“Do you see that?”
“Ah…”
She looked where Baek Yu-seol was pointing. A place covered with a gentle purple veil. The other side was not visible, but unlike this vibrant, flower-filled place, there would be a snowstorm over there.
“This place is different from other Persona Gates. Instead of creating a new space, it has overlaid a different reality onto the existing space.”
“Uh, um… right!”
“…You understand, right?”
“Of course! I already knew!”
“Anyway, unlike the existing Persona Gates, breaking down that boundary might be another solution.”
“Got it! Let’s break it down!”
“…How do you plan to break the dimensional veil set up by a 9-class Black Wizard?”
“Uh…”
Cheon Hwang Jeongpal, blinking with her big eyes, smiled brightly.
“Oh right?”
Baek Yu-seol, incredulous, suddenly felt self-doubt about whether he could trust this foolish woman who seemed to have nothing in her head.
“Ahem, then what do you want to do?”
Baek Yu-seol had pondered this problem for a while. What would happen if they broke the veil that delineated the Persona Gate and reality?
Perhaps…
‘Transformed people and environments won’t return to how they were originally.’
That couldn’t happen. If Duke Seolparam was left as he is, not long into the future, northern monsters would discover another infiltration route and push further into the Central Continent.
A way to revert Duke Seolparam while simultaneously not returning the white mirage creatures.
“I will expand this boundary of the Persona Gate… like a balloon.”
“What, what did you say?!”
“Y-Yes…?”
Both Cheon Hwang Jeongpal and Flower Lin widened their eyes in surprise.
“Make this Persona Gate a part of reality itself.”
“Is that possible…?”
“The dimension boundary swell up to its limit will never burst. A 9-class wizard commanded it to be inscribed that way.”
“Right… this Persona Gate was created using ancient runes by Maran Kalts.”
“Unless another 9-class magic interferes, it may swell up but will never break.”
A stark, cold reality versus a world bursting with dreams, laughter, and life.
What would happen if the boundaries of those two became ambiguous?
“…Honestly, I don’t know.”
“What?! That can’t be!”
Baek Yu-seol scratched his head while frowning.
“Something like this should have been attempted before. I estimate that intelligent beings will regain their sanity. Since the weakening of the boundary leads to the distortion of spatial dominance, human minds are not easily trapped.”
“Then, what about the white mirage…?”
“Mirages and low-intelligence monsters will not return to their original forms.”
“…Will not? Isn’t that uncertain?”
“Yes, well. About 71% sure?”
“Quite high?”
“No. Maybe 17%?”
“Too low!”
“Anyway, we have to try. There’s no other way, is there?”
“Well… that’s true.”
As Cheon Hwang Jeongpal’s expression darkened, Baek Yu-seol firmly grabbed her shoulders.
Then he smiled at a distance close enough for their breaths to touch.
“Well then, it’s finally your turn, Cheon Hwang Jeongpal.”
“For the first time, you called my name in full…”
“You still have the powers of Twelve Moons left, right? Let’s pour all that power into expanding the boundary.”
“All of it? I really don’t have much strength left… plus…”
As she reached for her waist, Baek Yu-seol clicked his tongue.
“What? Would it d*e if you were turned gray?”
“We will d*e!”
“I’ll paint you back to yellow. Is that fine?”
“Stop joking! It’s such a simple… no…”
As Cheon Hwang Jeongpal attempted to rebut what she thought was a joke, she had to stop because his expression was unexpectedly grave.
It wasn’t that she was suddenly scared of his attitude. She still maintained the playful expression, but for some reason, she felt like his playful words weren’t just a joke.
An incomprehensible weight.
Feeling it clearly, Cheon Hwang Jeongpal clenched her trembling fist and nodded her head.
“…Got it. I’ll try.”
This was no different from Cheon Hwang Jeongpal choosing to rebel against another Twelve Moons, specifically the most powerful Hoi Gong Siwol.
It could be said that it was natural for her expression to grow serious in such a moment.