I Became A Flashing Genius At The Magic Academy - Chapter 6

Arcanium, the magical city.

Suspended in the sky rather than anchored to the ground, the city gave the impression of a massive carousel gliding through the heavens.

A carousel illuminated by dazzling, multicolored lights.

This city, kept aloft by magic, was said to be roughly half the size of Seoul.

Baek Yu-Seol realized he was in another world as he watched the city float under the night sky; its radiance flipping away the dark veil that hung around them.

Arcanium was a grand city, home to five renowned academies, a famous mage tower, and the prestigious Order of Magic Knights. Among them, Stella Academy stood out, celebrated for its powerful mages and exceptional students.

Nobles and prodigies from around the globe gathered here, and Baek Yu-Seol couldn’t help but wonder what kind of talent he had to gain entry into this place, where even dragons roamed freely.

“Are you awake yet?”

“Yes.”

"We're almost there. You really do wake up at the most uncanny times."

He noticed that the wagon was now being driven by a different mage compared to the previous night. It seemed they had switched shifts during the journey.

He leaned back in his seat and summoned the system.

He was promised one of three rewards last night.

A downgraded item, a downgraded skill, and a small amount of EXP.

‘What should I choose?’

He already had plenty of items and skills. Though body-strengthening skills would be beneficial in the long run, he figured he could learn them separately later.

For now, he decided to pick his favorite item.

‘Is it possible to get my Reflecting Radiance or Flash of Tribute?’

[Search results indicate that the item's grade is too high. Downgrading in progress.]

‘Well. What about Hyper Flash?’

[As per the results of the search, it is impossible to acquire this skill because it is a higher-level sub-skill of Flash. However, you can use the reward by slightly enhancing the Flash.]

‘Do we really have to downgrade? Can we not do it?’

[Insufficient Narrative Power. Full materialization is impossible.]

'What’s that?'

[Narrative Power refers to the strength of your storytelling. When Baek Yu-Seol alters the storyline from its original direction, Narrative Power accumulates.]

'Oh, I see.'

‘Why not just say, “You’re a newbie, so no cool items for you” and call it a day?’

‘Now what should I choose…?’

Most of Baek Yu-Seol’s equipment was of high grade, and even if he reduced them by several grades, his options were still limited as a high-grade item did not imply a good item.

"Tch, it’s disappointing."

Despite his low rank, there were numerous items and skills that could result in high efficiency in his current situation.

Emergency Evasion allowed one to avoid or block one attack unconditionally, but it had a long cooldown, whereas High Frost allowed one to flee from any danger. For a limited time span, Spectral Shift made one nearly invincible and increased movement speed.

Why were they all escape skills? It was because he lacked the necessary attack and defense abilities. He wanted to live longer because he was a character with poor survival skills, so he only learned escape techniques.

While he rarely relied on these skills as a veteran, they could prove useful now that the game had become his reality.

However, the time wasn’t right for such choices. There was one item he needed more urgently for progressing the [Episode].

‘Sentient Spec.’

It acts like a Secret Folder. A word that was particularly familiar to men.

During his military service, he once got in trouble with his boss for a secret folder that mysteriously appeared on his computer.

‘Did you put porn in here? What’s the password? Give it to me now!’

‘It wasn't me.’

‘You trying to die? Want a disciplinary action?!’

‘I really don’t know.’

Those desperate cries were still fresh in his mind. He felt wronged and resentful because he had never created such a folder.

Eventually, it was discovered that the folder had been created by someone else and contained highly confidential information. After the truth came to light, the real culprit apologized to him.

Ever since that incident, Baek Yu-Seol appreciated the value of secret folders for storing important data, whether in real life or in games.

[...System review complete. The item is deemed viable.]

As soon as he saw the confirmation message, he clenched his fists tightly.

‘Great. Let’s go with that.’

[Item: Sentient Spectacles] 

[Phenomenon Analysis, Summary, Information Retrieval, Night Vision, Infrared Vision… etc. All functions will be deleted.]

Tuk!

A pair of round, black-framed spectacles dropped into his palm. Though he wasn’t one to care much about fashion, he appreciated their celebrity-inspired design.

All major functions were removed after the downgrade, but the most important function still remained.

[Sentient Spectacles]

[Grade:- ~]

[Description: Do you remember what you had for dinner yesterday? Did you immediately forget the account number you just heard? Don’t worry! These glasses will remember everything you have seen, heard, and read!]

[Special Features]

[Secret Folder]

[Seal]

[It is activated by consuming your mental power.]

In the game Aether World, it was impossible to recall monster information, learned knowledge, or quest details unless the player returned to the map to review them.

Where were certain materials located? Which NPCs did he interact with? What contributions had he made to the kingdom? None of this information was readily available.

So, players developed top-level systems like the Secret Folder to store information.

And there was only one reason he got those specs now.

Baek Yu-Seol had forgotten most of the game’s information.

The location of rare items, hunting grounds, or dungeon rewards—he couldn’t remember it all. Thankfully, the folder stored everything from his gameplay.

Moreover, this folder was the exact one he used during his time in the game, so it should contain all the critical information.

[View the Secret Folder.]

[Alchemy Ingredients]

[Hunting Ground]

[Dungeon]

[Monsters]

[Character]

[Magic]

[Other…]

The moment he put on the spectacles, a series of folders appeared before his eyes.

Although the storyline and character details weren’t fully recorded - since he hadn’t been too interested in the narrative - it was still a satisfying result.

‘For a reward, this is more than enough.’

‘Now I just need to figure out how to maximize its potential.’

The amount of information he had was enormous.

In his ten years of exploring the game, he had collected only the best items. To call him lucky would be an understatement.

‘Even if I can’t recover all of the skills of the character I’ve developed over the last ten years, I should be able to catch up to half that level in the near future.'

'Now that I think about it.'

'Among the effects of this spec is the ability to summarize and reveal characters’ information.'

'I mean, maybe I can figure out the identity of the gray-robed girl sleeping next to me.'

“We’ve arrived.”

However, as soon as the wagon arrived in Rezoica, the gray-robed girl quickly got off.

"That was fast..."

Baek Yu-Seol quickly parted ways and made his way to the airship dock after expressing his gratitude to the mages for their assistance.

“Do you have a ticket?”

The dock attendant’s tone suggested skepticism, likely because Baek Yu-Seol looked like a common villager.

“Of course.”

“Hmm…”

The man examined the ticket with care, as though expecting Baek Yu-Seol to try sneaking into Arcanium, the world’s premier magical city. After a moment of hesitation, he stepped aside, allowing Baek Yu-Seol to board. Baek Yu-Seol finally exhaled in relief.

“Wow…”

Even though Baek Yu-Seol had been on an airplane, this was an airship. Both the words and the atmosphere were miles apart.

The airship was almost in the shape of a cruise ship, and with how luxurious it was, this was merely an airship heading to Stella Academy and not Arcanium.

Most of the passengers were wealthy students on their way to Stella Academy, the world’s most prestigious institution.

As the ship’s engine roared to life, Baek Yu-Seol felt the chill breeze brushing against his cheeks and realized they had already left the mortal ground far below.

Unlike an airplane, where you could only see outside through small windows, the airship felt open and expansive. Perhaps that was why so many students gathered outside, more than he had expected.

“Look at that jerk gazing around.”

“First time on an airship?”

"Looks like a country bumpkin."

"Tsk, Stella is the world’s top academy, but I can’t understand why they allow commoners to enroll. It cheapens the prestige."

“Exactly.”

Baek Yu-Seol, with his sharp hearing, caught every scornful comment around him.

‘Ahhh, rich kids are the same whether on Earth or in a magic world.'

Teenage gossip was hardly worth getting worked up over. While a part of him felt like dragging them to the nearest bathroom and dunking their heads in a toilet, he decided against stooping to their level.

"Excuse me, those kids over there are smoking."

Instead, he handled the situation maturely.

"What?! Arcanium strictly forbids youth smoking!"

The crew member rushed to investigate the group he pointed out. Luckily, Baek Yu-Seol had seen them smoking before boarding. Even if they weren’t smoking now, the mere possession of cigarettes could get them into trouble.

“This… is a cigarette!”

As expected, the inspection uncovered the contraband. In such situations, students typically reacted in one of two ways:

If they were commoners, they’d deny ownership.

“Let it go! I am the heir of Baron Denington of the Kingdom of Adolevit!”

If they were nobles, they’d emphasize their status and try to intimidate others.

But on the Arcanium’s airship to Stella, neither status nor threats worked. From the moment you boarded, you were subject to the academy’s strict rules.

The crew member seemed ready to reprimand the noble, but suddenly froze. The students surrounding them fell silent, parting to create a path.

Suddenly, the Heir to Baron Dennington abruptly closed his mouth. 

The world almost stopped, and the commotion died down when a girl appeared.

Her silver hair flowed like silk in the wind, radiating an ethereal glow, and her crimson eyes, darker than blood, held an air of authority that could silence even the rowdiest of crowds. Her beauty was striking, making everyone around her fade into the background.

Others lived in a 480p world, while she lived in a 1080p full HD world.

With such a clear and vivid appearance, it was very easy to guess her identity.

Hong Bi-Yeon Adolevit.

Princess of the Kingdom of Adolevit.

Baek Yu-Seol’s first thought when he saw her was, ‘Wow, she’s a celebrity.’ But then he felt compassion for her.

Hong Bi-Yeon held the role of the ‘villainess’ in this world’s narrative. With that, she was doomed to a bad ending.

She was destined to meet her end in a variety of ways after a series of nerve-wracking battles with Flame.

She was brutally murdered in some endings, while she was bullied by the entire school and then expelled in others. She was even imprisoned in the countryside to be punished for eternity. In the worst cases, she was humiliated to the point of being unable to lift her head again.

The narrative seemed determined to give her the worst possible ending.

“P-Princess…”

The heir of the Denington family trembled at the sight of his kingdom’s princess. However, Hong Bi-Yeon took no action against him, which caused a commotion in the cabin.

She simply sent a disdainful glance at him and walked past him.

For a brief moment, Baek Yu-Seol’s gaze was glued to Hong Bi-Yeon’s back as her hair fluttered wildly. It was a far cry from her first appearance in the game.

Despite her villainous title, there was a reason she was popular with many male players.

It was definitely a little frightening.

She was lovely, but he was afraid if he talked to her, he would be reprimanded. He entered the cabin after seeing Hong Bi-Yeon leave.

It was lunchtime, and the cabin had convenience stores, so many students were eating snacks.

‘The prices here are insane.’

At that price, he could eat a full meal and drink coffee. When he heard students whispering next to him, Baek Yu-Seol slumped on a chair and stared blankly out the window, thinking it would be better to just starve now and eat later when he reached Arcanium.

“Hey, isn’t that Eisel over there?”

“Huh? I understand. Eisel, the eldest daughter of the traitor, Grand Duke Morph…”

“Shh. Don’t bring it up. What if she overhears?”

“That’s right.”

'Eisel? A familiar name.' 

Following their line of sight, Baek Yu-Seol spotted a solitary figure seated in a corner, engrossed in a book.

With sky-blue hair and an almost divine beauty, Eisel exuded an aura that kept others at a distance. Her features and demeanor felt vaguely familiar, but he couldn’t quite place her.

He hurriedly took out the specs and checked her information.

[Eisel Morph]

[Fake Female Protagonist.]

[Lightning and Ice Mage]

[Loves pizza and pickle soup.]

[Eldest daughter of Grand Duke Morph.]

[Father is dead and the family is in ruins.]

[Dies later on.]

‘What the heck. Was she that fake female protagonist?’

Eisel reminded him of the gray-robed girl he’d seen earlier. Though he couldn’t confirm it, he strongly suspected they were the same person.

'Man, they really boiled down only the essentials for these glasses.'

The information contained in the specs was a summary of information gathered by community members in their unique ways.

Of course, Baek Yu-Seol did not record much because he was not particularly interested in the game characters, to begin with, but the girl named Eisel was especially unfamiliar.

What concerned him the most was the ‘died later’ part. Community members rarely used the word ‘death’ to describe a character.

Since it was a simulation game, there were numerous routes and possibilities, so if she could be saved even once, the word ‘death’ would not appear.

However, despite the numerous efforts of countless players over the course of ten years, that girl Eisel appears to be an absolutely hopeless character.

In other words, no matter where or how she died, the girl’s death was unstoppable.

‘Her father was most likely murdered by the dark mages.’

Dark mages, those who possessed magic powers, had accepted the otherworld invasion, and swore loyalty to the demons, converting themselves to one of them.

The ability to freely transform their bodies and use magic were not only powerful but they were portrayed as evil and the players’ true enemies.

The dark mages continued to invade in order to encroach this magical world into the Underworld, such as by opening the Persona Gate or liberating the ancient dungeon. The Stella Academy was responsible for training magic warriors to combat it.

Eisel, originally the world’s main protagonist, had been created to combat such threats.

However…

Baek Yu-Seol did not want to die to get involved with the main character as well as the supporting characters.

The female protagonist had a very special ability to purify black magic, but she couldn't see past the treachery of humans, and treated everyone with innocence, which could potentially endanger the people close to her.

The main protagonist's actions did not matter much.

Because Baek Yu-Seol wanted to get to the ‘true ending.’

‘If they want to play, I won't mind teaching them a move or two.’