I Became A Flashing Genius At The Magic Academy-Chapter 435
Several days had passed since the Black Mages infiltrated Skyflower Cradle, only to be quietly and thoroughly repelled by Flowering.
During that time, the Black Mages had made eleven attempts to breach the First World Tree using a variety of methods. Yet each time, they were stopped by Flowering herself.
Whenever she struck down the intruders, she boldly appeared at the scene, observing their reactions before vanishing. Yet no matter how many times she repelled them, the Black Mages remained unresponsive.
To make matters worse, their attacks came at wildly varying times, preventing Flowering from resting.
Dawn. Early morning. Late evening.
They chose the moments when her duties as Elf King weighed most heavily on her, shaking her focus again and again.
But who was she?
As the proud contractor of Yeonhongchunsamwol, Flowering did not allow even a hint of fatigue to show.
In truth, thanks to the blessing of the World Tree, her body remained ever-pristine, brimming with pure energy. For her, this level of harassment was nothing.
And to the Black Mages—
“Her stamina is absurd. She’s like a monster.”
—it was a major problem.
“I heard she’s not officially the queen yet.”
“Right. They say she hasn’t chosen her gender yet. I hope she becomes male!”
“Tsk, aren’t you a man? What kind of taste...”
The Cradle of the Cheonryeong Tree, the kingdom of the elves, was a land that preached perfect pacifism, forbidding all invasion. To the world, the Fairy Kingdom appeared weak, as though its military strength was negligible.
But that was a grave misunderstanding.
What were elves, after all?
Aside from their other unique traits, they were a breathtakingly beautiful race.
A race so coveted by greedy humans would never have survived on peace alone.
The answer was simple: the elves wielded military power on par with humanity’s greatest superpowers.
Naturally superior to humans in physical abilities, elves displayed unique strategic prowess in magical warfare.
They darted through trees, sprinted across plains like the wind, and constructed massive magical circles in moments, shocking their opponents. Their historical exploits were legendary.
As for aerial battles, summoned spirits acted as deadly anti-air weapons, shooting down human aircraft with ease.
For the Black Mages, the elves were a terror in their own right.
“Still, why does the queen handle this personally instead of sending her subordinates?”
“Her guard has probably tightened after the last operation failed.”
“Tsk, those useless Dark Elves...”
“Watch your mouth.”
“Ah, right. You’re a Dark Elf, aren’t you?”
Their voices buzzed through a telepathic communication network, shared by dozens of Black Mages.
It was a magical marvel—multi-channel telepathic communication invented by the High Priest of the Dark Mage Sect.
This superior network allowed Black Mages to coordinate more efficiently than humans.
But for all its brilliance, the technology was wasted.
The Black Mages, true to their nature, were more interested in indulging their immediate desires than in any real progress.
“Quiet, all of you.”
No matter how chaotic and disorganized a group might be, power always determined the leader.
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The moment Catalun, an 8-Risk Black Mage, entered the telepathic network, silence fell across the hundreds of Black Mages.
“The probing ends here. Proceed with the operation as planned.”
Some might grumble about Black Mages using “strategies,” but none dared to challenge him.
An 8-Risk Black Mage was a powerhouse—one of the strongest beings in the world.
Moreover, this mission was directly supervised by the Dark Mage Sect Headquarters, a rare occurrence.
Their objective: the “recapture of the World Tree.”
The name sounded grand, but the true goal wasn’t the conquest of an entire nation.
They simply needed to reach the roots of the World Tree and access its core.
To execute the plan, however, a few conditions needed to be met.
The attention of certain key individuals had to be diverted.
Thus, the Black Mages triggered large-scale incidents simultaneously across the world.
One of those incidents was the Persona Gate Proliferation Crisis currently causing chaos in the Hawol Plains.
“I admit, I was surprised.”
Catalun still remembered his reaction when he first heard the plan.
Causing simultaneous events worldwide to divert the attention of Grand Mages? That made sense.
The unusually large-scale Persona Gate Proliferation Crisis was a logical diversion for the Mage Association.
But the real reason for triggering it?
The Dark Mage Sect claimed it wasn’t to distract the Mage Association.
No.
It was to divert the attention of one human.
A mere child, barely twenty years old.
“Why would they make such a ridiculous decision?”
Catalun couldn’t understand it.
Baek Yuseol.
Yes, him.
He was aware of Baek Yuseol’s recent feats, which bordered on terrifying.
But did that boy surpass even him?
The thought was laughable.
Sure, Baek Yuseol /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ had earned the nickname “Black Mage Slayer,” but no 8-Risk Black Mage had ever fallen to him.
At best, he picked off weaklings. That was all.
And yet, the Dark Mage Sect was so wary of him that they poured countless resources and lives into creating these diversions.
“Does he possess something I don’t know about...?”
This mission was being carried out in utmost secrecy. There was no way Baek Yuseol would hear of it.
Yet here they were, as if fearing that very possibility.
Catalun shook off his doubts.
“It doesn’t matter.”
As an 8-Risk Black Mage, he could maintain perfect composure. Charging blindly at an elven army would be suicide.
“The plan is perfect.”
The Dark Mage Sect had already mapped out Skyflower Cradle’s defenses, surveillance blind spots, and even Flowering’s movements.
“Success rate: 90%.”
Failure was impossible.
Many Black Mages would perish, but if they stained the roots black, the World Tree would once again belong to the Dark Elves.
“That will be the beginning of our world.”
Taking a deep breath, Catalun rose to his feet, his magic quietly flaring to life.
“All units, begin operati—”
“Oh my, so this is where you were?”
A chilling voice cut through the air.
Catalun’s instincts screamed.
He whirled around, his arm twisting instinctively into a shield—
—but it was already too late.
“...Too slow.”
The last thing he saw was a blinding pillar of white light filling his vision.
Kwaaaaaang!
The pillar of light obliterated everything in its vicinity, including Catalun, and then vanished without a trace.
For a moment, there was silence.
“What was that? What just happened?!”
“T-That sound... Could it be...?”
The Black Mages, slow to grasp the situation, quickly descended into chaos.
The location struck by the light was none other than where Catalun had been hiding.
“Catalun! Catalun!”
No matter how loudly they called, there was no answer. The other Black Mages in the area had also fallen silent, leaving no response.
And that silence could only mean one thing.
“...Catalun is dead?”
An 8-Risk Black Mage—
Catalun, a general of the Dark Mage Sect, renowned for his combat strength—
had been killed.
With a single strike.
Instantly.
By a spell so sudden and unseen that they couldn’t even identify its source.
That realization sent shockwaves of terror through the Black Mages.
“Oh my~ So this is where you were all whispering to each other, hmm~?”
And then, a stranger’s voice infiltrated their telepathic network, cheerful and teasing.
The Black Mages froze, panic overtaking them.
“W-Who are you?!”
“Oh my, location confirmed~!”
“Agh...!”
The weaker Black Mage who dared shout was abruptly cut off. A smaller, but equally destructive pillar of light had struck his position.
“Hehe, what a fascinating trick you’ve got here! It took me a while to find you~!”
“How did you infiltrate our telepathy? Who the hell are you?!”
“Oh, there too! Found you~!”
BOOM!
Another pillar of light descended, this time vaporizing another Black Mage.
“How did I get in? Oh, it’s simple~.”
The one who had asked was already dead, but there were still plenty of others left to hear the answer.
The culprit, Scarlett, smirked as she spoke.
“Dangerous technology, this telepathic link. Hmm, such a waste of potential~.”
Scarlett scoffed. If humans had access to this kind of magic, the results would be catastrophic.
“Luckily for you, you’re just foolish Black Mages.”
Her voice carried both condescension and amusement. She intended to traumatize them—so deeply that they’d never dare use this technique again.
“Did you think being in a telepathic link made you invisible?”
“W-What...?”
BOOM!
Another pillar of light struck without mercy.
“Haha~ I noticed this little trick because there were just soooo many of you connected at once. I couldn’t resist slipping in!”
The remaining Black Mages shivered.
Is that even possible?
No one dared to voice the question. They knew by now that speaking—no, even thinking—was a death sentence.
“Oh, someone disconnected from the network? I didn’t hear that!~”
BOOM!
“Aaaargh!”
“Oh, are you screaming in your mind? You too!”
BOOM!
It was at that point the Black Mages realized something horrifying.
Leaving the network meant death.
Thinking out loud in their minds meant death.
Even their silent thoughts had to be carefully controlled, or they would die.
Thump. Thump. Thump!
Their hearts pounded.
Cold sweat dripped down their faces.
Each of them stood frozen in place, terrified to even think, desperately trying to keep their minds blank.
For a trained mage, separating conscious thought from telepathic communication was easy.
But for these Black Mages?
It was impossible.
“Dugudugudugu~!”
Scarlett’s voice echoed loudly through the telepathic link as she laughed, deliberately making noise.
“I’ve been cooped up for so long. I’ve got so much stress to release! Let’s play a fun game of tag, shall we?”
To Scarlett, this was entertainment—an amusing distraction.
But to the Black Mages, it was sheer terror.
And so began a deadly game of tag, one that would haunt them forever.
