I Became A Flashing Genius At The Magic Academy - Chapter 39

[Episode 5]

[Mock Monster Battle]

The mock monster battle had started. Baek Yu-Seol felt slightly nervous about facing a medium-size monster, but he had no other choice.

Knowing it was just an illusion, he did his best to suppress the fear bubbling inside him.

Eisel followed him hesitantly. Her steps seemed unusually heavy, but choosing their destination was more important at the moment. Baek Yu-Seol said, "First, we need to decide which monster to target. I'll make the call, alright?"

She nodded in response.

When Eisel agreed, Baek Yu-Seol continued, "I'm non-attribute, and you use ice and lightning, so it would be best to pick a monster that suits your strengths, but..."

Typically, a Class 1 mage could handle a level 1 risk monster solo.

If three Class 1 mages joined forces, they could take down a level 1 risk ‘Persona Gate,’ and with five Class 1 mages, dealing with a level 1 risk medium-size monster was manageable.

However, that was in normal cases.

When factoring in compatibility, experience, and environmental conditions, it was possible to defeat monsters much stronger than themselves.

In fact, the Dark Mage Extermination Squad boasted the strongest one-on-one combatant in the Aether World, dealing with a level 7 risk dark mage alone with only Class 3 abilities.

This was due to differences in compatibility, experience, and environmental factors.

Given Eisel's attributes, the swamp was the most suitable location. Although she could wield lightning, her primary expertise was in ice.

“Then are we going to the swamp…?” she asked in a very reluctant voice.

Obviously, it would be very easy to kill a level 3 medium-size monster with two people if they chose the right one.

However, Eisel aimed for bonus points. She could earn extra credit by defeating a monster she was naturally disadvantaged against.

"Well, I think you’ll like whatever I choose.”

“…?”

Eisel didn't seem to understand, but it didn't matter.

In the first place, he teamed up with her not for himself, but to help her score high.

What had happened in the original story?

Because of Hong Bi-Yeon and her faction’s constant bullying, Eisel couldn’t train properly or form a team.

Mock Monster Battle was one of the most important subjects.

Eisel failed her performance test and, unable to secure a scholarship, had to work part-time jobs to cover her expenses, enduring humiliation and scorn along the way.

The experience severely damaged her mental state, and instead of honing her magic, it led to a disaster.

In the original novel, she was eventually saved by the secondary male lead. But due to Flame’s involvement in the game, Eisel was pushed to her limits without anyone’s support.

Despite these challenges, she always had someone who lent her a hand.

But with Flame and Baek Yu-Seol’s intervention, everything changed.

Hae Won-Ryang showed strong interest in Flame, and Ma Yu-Seong seemed to want to get closer to Baek Yu-Seol.

Although Ma Yu-Seong and Hae Won-Ryang had twisted personalities, their hearts were warm toward their loved ones.

Without their help, Eisel would eventually walk the path of ruin.

She would be left all alone.

And on a cold winter night, she would freeze forever like her own magic.

That was why Baek Yu-Seol reached out to her. He didn’t want her to end up that way.

Eisel possessed the raw talent to become the Empress of Ice. If she could harness that power against the dark mages, it would bring them closer to a happy ending.

Baek Yu-Seol was sure of that.

‘I never intended to intervene this far, but...'

Somehow, they had become close enough that he didn’t feel awkward helping her.

“...”

The atmosphere grew heavy as Eisel silently trudged through the valley of flames, braving the scorching winds.

Suddenly, she broke the silence. "Hey," she said hesitantly.

Baek Yu-Seol turned to look at her. "What’s wrong? Having a hard time keeping up?"

Eisel glanced around, watching smoke swirl and distant explosions light up the sky with sparks.

The canyon’s structure, whether designed to test stamina or to be intentionally difficult, was challenging for her.

"No, I just... have a little question," she said.

Baek Yu-Seol raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"

Eisel hesitated for a moment, then closed her eyes tightly and blurted out, "Why did you choose me as a team member?"

“Huh”

“You could have… accepted someone else as your team member, right…?”

“Hmm…”

Baek Yu-Seol went silent. The longer he remained quiet, the more anxious Eisel became. 

‘Why the hell did he choose me?’ 

She had been haunted by the question since Hong Bi-Yeon’s earlier taunts. Many mages were more talented than her, so why her?

"There are many great mages out there," Baek Yu-Seol said, breaking the silence. 

“No mage can rival Hong Bi-Yeon in terms of firepower, and Flame excels in utility and control,” he added calmly, causing Eisel’s expression to darken.

“Ma Yu-Seong, the strongest first-year, speaks for himself. Shin Hwaran, who specializes in single-target attacks, or Adalyn, who wields curses, would also complement me well.”

“Then why…”

Eisel was about to ask why Baek Yu-Seol had chosen to team up with her, but he interrupted her.

"But," he continued, without even looking at Eisel’s face, "I drew up an estimate, and it seems like working with you will be better than working with them."

Eisel was taken aback by his words. "Huh?"

"I just thought it would be better to work with you. There's no big reason for it," Baek Yu-Seol said nonchalantly.

Eisel couldn't help but wonder what he meant. 

‘What the heck? What does that mean? Does he think that working with me is better than working with other geniuses?’

‘Was it just a casual remark?’

‘It must be. With Baek Yu-Seol’s skill, he can easily hunt monsters with anyone in his team.’

‘But what kind of monster are we hunting?’

In a typical simulation, a team of six students would face a medium-size monster. Most students would aim for that level, but elite-level students would go after special monsters.

Eisel’s eyes sparkled with excitement as she asked, “Are we hunting a special medium-size monster?”

But Baek Yu-Seol wasn’t an elite-level student in that sense. He approached challenges differently, like a strategist.

"No, we'll hunt medium-size monsters."

"I see." 

Eisel’s defeated look didn't go unnoticed by Baek Yu-Seol, who chuckled mischievously.

"But we'll hunt five medium-sizes at once."

"... What?"

Eisel stopped in her tracks and stared at him in disbelief. He wasn’t joking, and she realized it immediately.

"W-What do you mean...?"

"Well, I want to get a high score. This way, it's guaranteed."

"Do you even know the saying, ‘haste makes waste?' If you challenge five medium-sizes for the sake of getting a high score and can't even hunt one in the end, you'll end up with nothing."

"Then we just have to take down all five, right?"

"That's easier said than done!"

Eisel, who had been sulking just moments earlier, suddenly exploded in frustration. But Baek Yu-Seol only chuckled.

"It's actually easy."

"Ugh..."

Eisel let out a deep sigh, but Baek Yu-Seol seemed confident. For him, hunting five medium-size monsters wasn’t that challenging.

In the Aether World gaming community, there were players who thrived on unique challenges and others who struggled even with basic quests.

One day, seeking to stand out, some players attempted to defeat two medium-size monsters simultaneously.

However, since this was at the start of the episode, their characters’ stats and gear weren’t strong enough to make the strategy work.

Even when using characters with powerful skills and magic like Flame or Ma Yu-Seong, defeating two medium-size monsters with Class 3 abilities was deemed impossible.

That changed when a veteran player observed the challenge and succeeded using a highly unique strategy.

Once this strategy was revealed, experienced players refined and adapted it, eventually managing to defeat as many as nine medium-size monsters at once.

Baek Yu-Seol had saved this strategy in his archive folder. While defeating nine monsters was feasible for him, the preparation was tedious and required teaming up with specialized students. Instead, he settled for tackling five monsters.

In other words, defeating five monsters felt easy compared to taking down nine.

"Five monsters... Five monsters..."

Eisel, who had no idea about this, could only groan in agony. 

"Well then, let's choose the first monster."

***

Meanwhile, Hong Bi-Yeon was wading through the icy sea with Ma Yu-Seong.

"That won't work. The monster is ice-attribute."

In this area, there were two types of medium-size monsters: ice-attribute and water-attribute.

Ice-attribute monsters were weak to fire, while water-attribute monsters resisted fire.

Despite the difficulty, Hong Bi-Yeon insisted on facing a counter-attribute monster.

"Do we really have to?"

"Yes, we do. Baek Yu-Seol will definitely do the same. I can't afford to lose."

She carefully considered which monsters Baek Yu-Seol and Eisel might target.

Baek Yu-Seol was a non-attribute mage. If she had to categorize him, he would be a physical type that handled blades.

The best counter she could think of for him was a hard-shelled monster that resisted physical attacks. For Eisel, whose ice attribute was weak against fire, inferno golems seemed like an obvious challenge.

"Still, I doubt Baek Yu-Seol would do something so conventional," Ma Yu-Seong remarked.

"Hmph, you don't know him, do you? By the way, what's your main attribute? You claim to handle three attributes, but you probably don't even have a main one."

"Hmm..."

Ma Yu-Seong, who wielded earth, lightning, and fire attributes, did have a main one but kept it a secret. The others were just supplementary skills.

Ma Yu-Seong couldn't reveal this fact, so he talked about the attribute he was most confident in.

"I’d say my main is earth," he said evasively.

"You’d say? You don't even know your main attribute?"

"Sorry," he apologized.

"It’s fine. If you're an earth-attribute, you’ll struggle in aerial battles. But it seems lightning won’t earn you any extra points in those situations either."

She rolled her eyes as if annoyed.

"Seriously, why did you learn so many useless attributes?"

"I learned them as a hobby..."

‘What kind of crazy mage learns three attributes as a hobby? To be fair, Ma Yu-Seong has never been normal.’

Afterward, the two spent ages trying to select the right monster, often spending more time searching than training.

While searching, they coincidentally witnessed other students screaming and running away in terror.

"Wow, why is that thing here?"

"I-I got scared even though I knew it was fake..."

"Ugh, let's turn back."  

However, Hong Bi-Yeon, feeling curious, slowly approached the source of their fear.

"Oh, that's..."

Surprisingly, Ma Yu-Seong’s eyes flickered with interest. 

The creature before them was covered in a slick, hard shell, with a slimy layer coating its surface. It floated midair with fin-like wings, its carp-like head and humanoid limbs making it look bizarre.

Hong Bi-Yeon immediately recognized it from her monster encyclopedia.

Once a highly intelligent species that dominated the seas with a massive population, these creatures had been cursed centuries ago, losing their intelligence and devolving into mere monsters.

Now, they had become nothing more than mere monsters.

"The monster, water king fish.”

It was an aquatic-type monster, yet it could fly in the air.

Thanks to its water attribute, it was completely immune to lightning attacks, which was considered a weakness of flying monsters. 

It had a perfect counter with all of Ma Yu-Seong's attributes. 

Hong Bi-Yeon quietly turned to him. 

As he nodded silently, a sly smile spread across her face. 

This monster’s inherent difficulty, combined with its incompatibility, made it an incredibly tough but rewarding challenge.

"You are not going to back down, are you? I don't intend to lose to that commoner."

"Me neither."

Despite their differences, in that moment, they shared a common goal: to crush their mutual rival.