I Became A Flashing Genius At The Magic Academy-Chapter 430

Upon arriving at Stella via the airship, Baek Yuseol widened his eyes at the commotion before him.

“Hurry! It’s already been 37 minutes since the incident started!”

“Move faster, everyone!”

“This is unacceptable! We should’ve been at the scene earlier. Deploy immediately!”

“I can see the destination! Move quicker!”

What’s going on?

Knights of Stella were boarding high-speed airships in a rush, heading out in response to an emergency.

For the knights of Stella to be moving with such urgency, it was clear that something significant had occurred.

“What now?”

Major incidents were a dime a dozen here, and Baek Yuseol had no intention of getting involved. Stella’s forces would handle it on their own, and other mage towers might even dispatch reinforcements if necessary.

However, curiosity is a stubborn thing.

After filing his return report at the faculty office, Baek Yuseol approached Instructor Ihanwol with a question.

“I saw the knights deploying earlier. Did something happen?”

“Well... Normally, it’s not appropriate for a student to meddle in the affairs of the knight order.”

Ihanwol smirked at him.

“But I suppose that doesn’t apply to you. About an hour ago, a Persona Gate opened in the Hawol Plains.”

“Was it a large one?”

“Large, indeed. Seven gates opened simultaneously.”

“Seven...?”

“Yes. And now the number has increased to twenty. While the situation is dangerous, the main reason for the deployment is a lack of manpower.”

“I see.”

As Baek Yuseol made his way back to the dormitory, he rubbed his chin in thought.

This sort of thing happened in the game, too.

Players had called it a “free EXP jackpot event.”

Persona Gates would appear in clusters ranging from as few as seven to as many as fifty. Black Mages were usually involved, and defeating them would yield a flood of equipment and experience points.

Additionally, clearing each gate granted substantial rewards, making it an ideal event for boosting stats and skill levels. The downside was that it couldn’t be done cooperatively with other players online, as it occurred randomly during specific story branches.

Whenever this event triggered, it drew envy from other players.

Baek Yuseol had participated in it a few times in the past and knew not only how to maximize the rewards but also how to resolve it efficiently.

Find the core gate and destroy it.

At first glance, the overwhelming number of gates might seem impossible to handle. However, the core gate supplied energy to the others, and destroying it would cause all the remaining gates to vanish.

Modern mages might not know this, but with the amount of manpower Stella was deploying, they could potentially brute-force their way through all the gates.

Still...

What a waste.

With his status window, Baek Yuseol could use these Persona Gates to farm an incredible amount of experience points. Letting such a rare event slip by felt like a missed opportunity.

Moreover, Baek Yuseol was currently at a turning point.

Having mastered the harmonious use of the Twelve Moons’ energies and gaining new insights from his training with Scarlett, he was ready to test his abilities in real combat.

No matter how much one trained and studied, growth was fastest through real battles.

Since he had no pressing commitments or important classes, and missions were treated as valid substitutes for attendance, there was no reason not to get involved.

After a quick shower in the dormitory, he hastily packed his belongings and headed straight to the administrative office.

When he handed in his mission and leave application, the staff gave him a tired look. After all, Baek Yuseol’s frequent comings and goings had made him a familiar face.

“Off again as soon as you’ve returned?” one of the clerks asked.

Baek Yuseol shrugged. “To the Hawol Plains.”

“Figures. A few other cadets have submitted applications to go there, too. Still, isn’t it a bit dangerous for students?”

“Is it really that dangerous?”

“Well, it’s rare for Persona Gates to open in such numbers all at once. That makes me worried.”

“Hm... It’ll probably be fine.”

After quickly filling out the paperwork and leaving the administrative office, Baek Yuseol headed for the airship port, aiming to board just before the scheduled departure time.

“...Baek Yuseol, wait.”

He might have succeeded, had Scarlett, the Witch Queen, not appeared.

She stood still amidst the reddish glow of the setting sun, gazing at him with a displeased expression.

“You’re heading to the Hawol Plains, aren’t you?”

“Oh? How’d you guess?”

“Your actions are always predictable.”

Scarlett frowned, seemingly lost in thought, as though uncertain about something.

“If I tell you not to go, will you stay?”

“Well, that depends. Do you have a reason?”

“Not particularly. Just a Witch Queen’s intuition. I’ve lived a long time, you know.”

“If that’s your reason, I can’t agree. My intuition’s pretty sharp, too.”

“Hah, forget it. I’ll just go myself.”

“Wouldn’t it be hard for a first-year to get permission for something like this?”

Her words carried the weight of experience.

“...Do I really look like a seventeen-year-old first-year to you?”

“Oh, right.”

Baek Yuseol nodded, suddenly remembering Scarlett’s true identity.

“Not sure what’s making you so uneasy, but if something goes wrong, I’m counting on you.”

“Uh, sure...”

“You’re the Witch Queen. You can handle anything, right?”

“Of course.”

“Alright, see you later.”

This wasn’t how it was supposed to go.

Scarlett had planned to persuade Baek Yuseol with her eloquence, ensuring he stayed at the academy. But before she knew it, she’d been swept along by his pace.

“...Huh?”

It was instinctive.

She found herself responding to his words without thinking, as if she’d been tamed somehow.

Feeling both irritated and uneasy, Scarlett ran her hands through her snowy white hair, messing it up.

“Ugh, so frustrating.”

Her irritation wasn’t solely due to Baek Yuseol. A strange sensation had been gnawing at her, something that unsettled her deeply.

The Witch Queen’s senses extended across the world, allowing her to perceive events without being physically present.

The Hawol Plains were significant, but her intuition told her something worse was stirring elsewhere.

Normally, she would have simply observed.

The Witch Queen no longer involved herself in worldly affairs.

But Baek Yuseol had casually handed her the responsibility and disappeared.

What if a major incident occurred while she stayed idle?

...It’d feel like it was my fault.

Perhaps that’s why she felt so uneasy.

“Ugh, why am I even bothering with this nonsense at my age?”

Grumbling, Scarlett walked toward a wall. Her body turned translucent as she effortlessly passed through it.

If anyone else had made such a request, she would have ignored or enslaved them outright.

“How did it end up like this?”

Shaking her head in resignation, Scarlett took to the skies.

***

The Elven Kingdom, at the Root of the First World Tree, Cheonryeong Tree.

At the peak of Skyflower Cradle, the capital of the Elven Kingdom, stood a castle that shone more brilliantly than the stars in the night sky.

The castle, often referred to jokingly as a "star" rather than a palace, belonged to the Elf King. It was constructed entirely from the sacred Baekryun Tree, a material of astronomical value. While its properties weren’t particularly extraordinary, it did help circulate the energy of nature more cleanly and efficiently.

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Yet, oddly enough, countless legends surrounded the Baekryun Tree—stories of the sick rising from their beds after drinking tea brewed from its leaves, or the blind suddenly regaining their sight. Despite these claims, the mysteries behind such phenomena remained unexplained by magic.

And yet, despite living amidst these sacred trees, why did Flowerserein still suffer from her persistent headaches?

Was it her grueling lifestyle of barely sleeping seven hours a week?

Or was it the endless stream of incidents and accidents that constantly cluttered her mind?

Skyflower Cradle was no longer what it once had been.

With the rise in exchanges between different races, the Elf King could no longer remain a simple figure communing with the World Tree.

Now, like a ruler in human society, the Elf King had to govern, enforce laws, establish regulations, and protect and advance the nation.

This made Flowerserein perhaps the busiest Elf King in history. Unless it was for matters of diplomacy, outsiders rarely ever gained an audience with her.

“Your Majesty, a group claiming to be Dark Elves has arrived and requested an audience.”

“Dark Elves, you say?”

Had it not been for such an unexpected development, Flowerserein might have carried on with her usual duties.

“Dark Elves...?”

“When I told them to leave, thinking it was a joke, they presented evidence, so I’ve come to seek your opinion.”

The attendant showed her a pendant engraved with a leaf-like pattern.

Flowerserein took it and examined it closely.

This pattern...!

Dark Elves. A race passed down only through myths and legends.

Countless tales surrounded them:

Some said all elves originally had dark skin, but those with white skin gradually increased in number, causing the dark-skinned elves to hide away.

Others claimed they were rare mutations that occasionally appeared.

Still others believed that elves who fell to corruption had their skin darkened and became Dark Elves.

However, no definitive truths about them had ever been confirmed.

Such stories had been lost centuries ago, which made sense given their age.

While some elves had indeed succumbed to corruption and become Black Mages, no one referred to them as Dark Elves. A Black Mage was simply a Black Mage, regardless of their original race.

“This... I can’t say for certain whether it’s genuine. But this pattern isn’t something just anyone could know about.”

“I’ve never seen this pattern before.”

That was to be expected.

Records concerning Dark Elves had been handed down exclusively to a select few High Elves and the Elf King across generations.

Her headache worsened, but Flowerserein forced herself to rise. Ignoring such evidence would be irresponsible.

But if these visitors were indeed Dark Elves... [N O V E L I G H T] what then?

That was the question that unsettled her.

While the legends of Dark Elves varied greatly, they all shared certain commonalities.

“The Dark Elves were the first fairies to protect the World Tree.”

“But they fell to corruption, betrayed the World Tree, and now harbor hatred for it.”

“They left, carrying an eternal flame of resentment in their hearts...”

This story filled Flowerserein with unease.