I Became A Flashing Genius At The Magic Academy - Chapter 59

"I will prepare the dress and shoes for you."

Upon hearing the butler’s words directed at her, Hong Bi-Yeon narrowed her eyes.

'What is this?'

The unfolding situation was completely unexpected.

After stepping through the persona gate, she had never anticipated encountering a ballroom.

While it was said that each world possessed countless unique traits, a ballroom appearing inside a Persona Gate was exceptionally rare… enough to leave her momentarily unsettled.

But only for a moment.

Hong Bi-Yeon skillfully arranged the runic language in the air, weaving symbols to analyze this world.

The persona gate itself was a vast enigma, as though it beckoned mages to unravel its mysteries.

When mages fully analyzed the phenomena of the gate’s world, they would be deemed worthy of solving its puzzles. A guideline message would then appear, revealing the way forward.

‘Do this and challenge that. Then you will be able to clear this world.’

Poof!

Magic circle visible only to her distorted in the air, and keywords appeared.

[Duchess Aeron… the protagonist of the ballroom, dance of temptation…]

It was natural for a Risk level 3 persona gate to be difficult for ordinary first-year students to interpret. Yet, Hong Bi-Yeon had long since mastered Class 3 magic. This should not have been difficult for her.

... Or so she thought.

‘What’s this? Something feels off.’

This place was clearly a virtual creation… a persona gate. Yet the mana here felt unnervingly dense and heavy.

Moreover, since this was meant to be a training exercise, it should have been designed with simpler challenges suitable for first-year students.

And yet, this place felt far too complex - too tangled - even for someone of Hong Bi-Yeon’s caliber.

Her thoughts came to an abrupt stop, as if something had severed them.

The runic language she had cast shattered midair, scattering into fragments. No guideline message appeared.

With a bewildered expression, Hong Bi-Yeon trembled.

'This is... a formula I haven't learned.'

She hadn't learned it?

Just that fact alone was enough to shatter Hong Bi-Yeon’s composure. She was still severely lacking in the ability to handle the unknown.

That was why it was even more strange.

How did something they hadn’t been taught show up in a first-year training?

Even though she had studied up to the university level, she was struggling, so how would other students fare?

‘This feels like...’

She quietly mulled it over.

"Miss, it's almost time for the banquet. How would you like to dress for dinner?"

"... What?"

"Is there a problem?"

"How can you say that? Is that part of a script?"

"Hehe. It seems I overstepped. My apologies. I will wait until your thoughts are sorted."

"No, it's not that..."

Hong Bi-Yeon parted her lips but let out only a faint breath.

This place was an illusion… a creation meant to mimic a persona gate.

In real persona gates, NPCs often acted and thought like real people. However, those created by mages in artificial persona gates were nothing more than imitations.

And yet, the butler before her smiled, spoke fluidly, and even displayed subtle expressions. He seemed human.

‘Could it be...?’

An unthinkable possibility crossed her mind.

The possibility that this place was real.

‘No, it can't be.’

This was Stella Academy. A real persona gate would never appear here.

It must have been a result of Stella’s advancements in magic technology.

"What's wrong?"

"No, it's nothing. I would like a wraparound dress made of Berchestic silk. I don't like sleeves. The hem should rise above the knees with a wave pattern. Put an amethyst brooch on the chest and red shoes. There will be accessories, of course, right?"

"Of course."

"Prepare a silver bracelet without patterns and a ruby gothic chain."

Assisted by four maids in the dressing room, Hong Bi-Yeon changed quickly while continuing to observe her surroundings.

Naturally, her evaluation of the dress was no exception.

Slap!

Hong Bi-Yeon slapped the maid's cheek with her palm and spoke in a cold tone.

"Trash bringing over trash. Did you bring this for me to wear? Bring another one."

"I-I'm sorry!"

"This is too short. Did you even check the measurements properly?"

"I-I thought this size would be... I apologize!"

After rejecting a staggering twelve dresses, they finally managed to present one that satisfied her refined taste. Even then, she barely accepted it, as there was little time left before the ball.

"This will do, I suppose."

The two-tone dress, starting with a pure white milk hue and gradually turning red towards the waist, perfectly suited Hong Bi-Yeon with her silver hair and red eyes.

"This dress is undoubtedly made for you, Miss..."

Even the maids, who were still flustered after enduring several slaps, couldn’t help but marvel at her beauty.

"Bring me the shoes."

With red shoes and a ruby necklace accentuating her look, Hong Bi-Yeon strode into the banquet hall like a princess.

The room buzzed with chatter.

Long, straight tables were set up, and Stella's students, adorned in dresses and suits, awkwardly glanced at each other with hesitant eyes.

She instinctively searched for Baek Yu-Seol. Dressed in a plain black tuxedo, he looked surprisingly sharp despite his youthful features and shorter stature.

‘He dresses pretty well.’

As she gazed at him, memories of the past story she had read about him the night before came to mind. His personal story began with longing for his mother.

Guilt lingered from having peeked into his past without permission, but now that she knew, she couldn’t help but feel a flicker of curiosity and concern.

Somehow, he seemed a bit different. From that sorrowful past, he had risen to walk a chivalrous path at Stella.

Squeak~!

With Hong Bi-Yeon as the last to arrive, all sixteen students were gathered when the front door creaked open, and a woman entered.

However, the woman was not wearing a dress but instead wore a mask.

"Everyone is here. Are you ready to infiltrate the Aeron estate?"

The students looked bewildered at first but soon nodded in agreement.

Within each persona gate, a certain concept was established, and the story progressed according to that concept.

Guideline messages were supposed to outline the concept and set the narrative.

However...

None of the students in the room could make sense of the persona gate. Its concept and story remained a complete mystery.

"Listen carefully. You must now attend the masquerade ball hosted by Duchess Aeron. Without a doubt, something is happening there."

The students listened attentively to the woman's words.

"If you take one of the four passages, you’ll reach underground. However, it’s filled with mazes and traps, and the moment you get lost, the mansion's knights will start moving. So you have to rely on your own insight and intuition. Can you do it?"

Amidst the lack of understanding, Baek Yu-Seol was the only one who answered. "Yes."

Since no one else responded, he felt slightly awkward and touched the back of his head.

Of course, it was natural.

The presence before them was just an NPC, programmed to follow a script.

This wasn’t a real persona gate. Who in their right mind would respond to an NPC inside a fabricated gate?

However...

"Yeah, you. It's nice to see such confidence."

“Wh-What?"

"Did it... respond?"

The confusion in the students' eyes deepened as the NPC responded to Baek Yu-Seol’s words. They had already sensed something unusual, but now their suspicions grew stronger.

"Before infiltrating, everyone must wear these masks."

The woman distributed white masks that covered their faces.

"You must remember this. The mask must never be taken off once you enter that passage. Understood? Don’t forget."

After saying that, the woman disappeared. The students held their masks and exchanged uneasy glances.

"Hmm..."

"We should probably go, right…?"

Since this persona gate training was part of their assessment, the professors were undoubtedly watching and grading their performance.

Unfortunately, none of them had succeeded in interpreting the gate.

But here, it wasn't easy to openly ask, ‘I didn't interpret it correctly. Can someone help me?’

Had they been a bit sharper, they might have realized the difficulty level was abnormally high. But instead, they waited for someone else to act first, too afraid to reveal their ignorance.

‘Hmm…’

Among the group, Flame hesitated before stepping forward.

None of the students realized the true nature of this persona gate.

‘In the original story, it was said to be extremely dangerous because they didn't even share the most minimal information they discovered with each other…’

Flame had to convince them that this persona gate was dangerous and real.

"Hey, guys. Isn't this training a bit strange? It's difficult to interpret, and the NPCs are acting so real."

"That's true."

"Yeah."

Encouraged by their murmurs of agreement, Flame seized the moment and made a bold declaration.

"To be honest, I can't interpret this persona gate at all."

"What? H-How…?"

The students were taken aback, knowing that the professors were watching.

What was she thinking?

Sensing the students' confusion, Flame quickly continued, "From what I can see, I'm not the only one. None of you could interpret it either, right?"

"Well..."

"I'm sure of it. This is definitely not an intended situation. Does it make sense for a first-year training to be so difficult?"

"Yeah, I thought it was strange too."

"Yeah, actually... I couldn't interpret it either."

"And the NPCs earlier seemed so real..."

As the students started to agree, Flame’s expression brightened. She decided to let them know that this place was real.

"Flame, so what are you trying to say?" Out of the blue, Jecky interjected. She raised one corner of her mouth and sarcastically said, "You're not trying to spout nonsense like this place might be real, right? Ah, you're someone who likes jokes, but surely not that."

"What...?"

With each word hitting the mark, Flame became flustered and hesitated to speak, and Jecky laughed even more mischievously like a wicked woman that she is.

"Ahaha, so you really meant that?? Wow, unbelievable. Be grateful that I stopped you. It would have been such an unfunny joke, and the atmosphere would have turned cold."

"No, I meant..."

Before Flame could defend herself, Jecky dismissed her with a wave and turned to the others.

"Hey, guys. From what I can see, this is a situation intended by the professors."

Wearing a confident smile, Jecky looked back at the still-confused students.

"They’re testing us. What if we encounter a persona gate we can’t interpret? They’re preparing us for that situation."

"Ah!"

The students suddenly realized something and their eyes widened.

Jecky’s explanation made sense.

What if they encountered a Persona Gate they couldn’t interpret?

If the professors staged this scenario to assess their ability to handle it, wouldn’t that make sense?

"That makes sense..."

"Well, then..."

Realizing that the other students seemed convinced by Jecky, Flame bit her lip.

‘This is not good…’

Jecky’s logic was flawless, making the situation even more complicated.

No matter how much she argued that this place was real, there was no substantial evidence to support it.

Even the strange behavior of the NPCs and the gate’s complexity could be dismissed as part of the test.

If everything were attributed to the professors' intentions, it would make sense instantly.

Who would believe the absurd claim that a real persona gate appeared in the middle of the Stella Dome?

"Jecky... What exactly are you trying to do?"

"What do you mean? I’m just keeping everyone grounded. Or were you planning to fool them and grab extra points for yourself?"

"Don't talk nonsense! I'm just saying we need to be careful—"

"No, you're the one talking nonsense. This is Stella! It's the academy that trains the best magical warriors and houses the top magical knights. Their Persona Gate detection technology is the best in the world. Do you really think they'd miss a Gate opening inside the school?"

Yes, that statement was undoubtedly true. But what could she do if her own words were not truly factual?

"I really..."

Letting out a frustrated sigh, Flame shifted her gaze toward Jecky, who was already donning her mask.

[Episode 6 ‘Jecky’s Dark Mage Transformation.’ Route]

Baek Yu-Seol touched his mask and pondered.

'So, we’re heading down this branch after all.'

From Flame’s perspective, it had to be an extremely bewildering situation.

In the novel, there was no character named Jecky, so she couldn't have anticipated things turning out this way.

However, Jecky’s interference, preventing Flame from speaking up, was one of the many branches in the original game. 

In any case, one of the three students had to fall victim to the dark magic. He wished no one had to succumb, but it seemed fate couldn’t be changed.

Perhaps even if he tried to say something to help Flame, the outcome would remain the same.

In the end, the protagonists had their roles to play.

All he could do now was wait and see how the story unfolded.