I Became A Flashing Genius At The Magic Academy-Chapter 472

One of Eisel's strengths was her ability to thoroughly research in advance. She had a habit of analyzing what her seniors had done in previous years, such as last year or the year before, to prepare for how to handle situations this year.

However, this year’s joint practical exam had changed so drastically that her prior research proved meaningless.

“Temples...”

Eisel, entering the magically conjured temple for the first time, glanced around with a slightly stiff expression.

A dangling chandelier, shards of shattered glass scattered across the floor, an uneven ground full of cracks, and walls pockmarked with holes, all gave the impression of a long-abandoned temple.

Yet, there was an undeniable sense that everything had been staged, like an elaborate façade designed to look ancient.

While the other 20 students moved forward, Eisel was the only one who paused to carefully observe her surroundings.

Hong Biyeon noticed her lingering and tapped her staff against the floor.

“You’ll fall behind.”

“I was examining the temple.”

“Is there any need for that?”

“It looks as if it was deliberately designed to appear like an ancient temple,” Eisel said, resting her chin on her hand, her expression serious enough to make it hard to dismiss her observation outright.

Hong Biyeon gave the temple a quick sideways glance. Nothing about it stood out to her, but she trusted Eisel enough to take her words seriously.

Still...

“Eisel,” Hong Biyeon addressed her by her formal title, catching herself hesitating for a moment but quickly continuing, “where do you think we are? This is an artificial temple—artificial. It’s not real.”

She was right. The temple had been crafted by high-ranking mages, and it was only natural that it wasn’t entirely authentic.

Normally, such a distinction would be nearly imperceptible to the average observer. However, Eisel’s keen observational skills allowed her to pick up on the subtle inconsistencies.

“Oh...”

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Realizing that her concerns were unfounded, Eisel nervously twisted a strand of her hair between her fingers.

“Now that you understand, let’s move,” Hong Biyeon said, turning her gaze to the boy leading the group at the front.

The boy’s name was Miles, a second-year student in Class A at Stella Academy and the appointed leader of their group.

“Sh-should we begin now?” Miles asked, seeking Hong Biyeon’s approval.

“You were chosen as the leader, so make the decision yourself,” she replied, folding her arms and tilting her chin slightly.

“Well, uh...”

Miles had indeed been chosen as the leader. However, this was only because the three most likely candidates—Mayuseong, Hong Biyeon, and Eisel—had all declined the position in turn.

As a result, the role naturally fell to Miles, who had the best grades in Class A. Unfortunately, leadership was not his strong suit, and he found himself constantly seeking approval from the more capable S-Class students.

Cautiously placing his hand on the door, Miles announced, “Stella Academy Expedition Team, moving in.”

The massive temple doors creaked open, revealing a dark interior.

Unlike the exterior, the interior was cloaked in deep shadow. To illuminate the space, they would need to ignite the floating lanterns scattered throughout with fire magic.

Fwoosh!

With a snap of her fingers, Hong Biyeon lit dozens of the floating lanterns simultaneously with blue flames.

Normally, the team would have to light each lantern individually as they progressed, but Hong Biyeon’s skill level far exceeded the standards of such exams.

Miles, as the leader, turned to the group and began a quick explanation.

“The temple consists of six floors. After clearing each floor, we’ll wait for the other schools to finish and record the clear times.”

If the criteria were the same as in previous exams, each floor would contain its own set of challenges, such as traps, monsters, mazes, and disaster scenarios.

“Every action we take will be scored: how efficiently we handle traps, how effectively we defeat monsters, how we navigate mazes, and how we respond to emergencies. So even if something dangerous happens, it’s best to stay calm and act as we usually would.”

Miles’ words echoed the thoughts of all the students present.

Even though the temple was a magical construct replicating a real dungeon, it was ultimately just an exam.

No matter how dangerous it appeared, it couldn’t be that dangerous.

They even believed it was better to take a few risks. Playing it too safe wouldn’t impress the high-ranking mages watching from above.

“That’s why I’m saying, Eisel...” Miles hesitated, glancing at the other students before clearing his throat. “I don’t think being overly cautious will help.”

With that, he dashed into the temple without waiting for a response.

Eisel let out a deep sigh.

“If they knew why I was being cautious, they wouldn’t be so bold.”

Dachelri Magic School, known for producing outstanding female mages, had a reputation for attracting talented young women. Over time, the number of female students began to far exceed their male counterparts.

In this joint exam alone, there were 17 female students and only 3 males from Dachelri, highlighting the skewed gender ratio.

The school had leaned into this image, marketing itself as the top choice for noblewomen. Naturally, most of their students came from aristocratic backgrounds, as the school believed admitting commoners would tarnish their prestige.

The pinnacle of noblewomen’s magic schools. Yet, their reputation often clashed with Stella Academy’s.

The Arcaneum’s Five Prestigious Schools were collectively referred to as Scaderize, a name derived from the first letters of each school, listed in order of rank.

At the top of the list stood Stella Academy.

The fact that Stella Academy, a school that even admitted commoners, outranked their own was something the other prestigious schools struggled to accept.

And for Dachelri Magic School, a school of noble pride filled with aristocratic daughters, this was especially intolerable.

“We need to show them. Show them what it means to be a true elite, born into nobility and trained in the finest schools,” declared Dana Lin, an S-Class mage from Dachelri, to her group of 19 members.

Despite being only 18 years old, Dana Lin possessed exceptional talent, capable of casting 4-Class magic. Raised under the watchful eye of her kingdom, she had always been convinced that she was the greatest prodigy of her generation.

But, unfortunately for her, she happened to be born in the same year as Princess Hong Biyeon and noble heiress Eisel, who both joined Stella Academy and quickly rose to prominence.

On top of that, an unheard-of commoner named Full Frame had gained fame for her unique Radiant Magic. For Dana Lin, this only fueled her impatience.

“I can do just as well as they can...”

By mastering 4-Class magic at 18, Dana Lin should have been a globally recognized prodigy. Yet her reputation was overshadowed by these other girls.

In her mind, the differences between her and Stella’s trio of exceptional girls weren’t significant. In fact, she even believed she surpassed them in some areas.

“Sure, they’ve faced real-world crises and proven themselves, but I’ve dealt with numerous projects under my family’s supervision. In terms of experience, there’s not much of a gap.”

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“This time, I’ll prove it.”

The moment Dana Lin entered the temple, she moved forward without hesitation. If this were a real-life battle, she would’ve needed to carefully scout the surroundings first, but this was a practice exam.

There were hardly any “unexpected variables.”

Traps functioned like traps, monsters appeared like monsters.

Everything followed a predictable pattern designed to test the students’ response skills.

The first challenge: a swarm of small monsters.

Dana Lin positioned herself strategically to maximize her performance. As a fire mage, her spells required some casting time but delivered powerful area-of-effect explosions.

Fwoosh! Boom!

The male students at the front formed shields to block the monsters’ attacks, buying time for Dana Lin to complete her cast. Her fire magic annihilated the entire swarm in one sweeping blow.

Her performance was so flawless that no other students needed to step in.

Though some of her teammates felt slight irritation at Dana Lin’s dominance, none voiced it aloud.

Her family’s status was far too high for anyone to criticize her openly. Besides, her magical skill was so exceptional for a second-year student that there wasn’t much room to argue.

As the group cleared the swarm, the next trial consisted of various magical traps within the dungeon.

For Dana Lin, this posed no significant challenge. Having explored numerous dungeons under the protection of her family’s escorts, she had experience dealing with traps. The traps on the first floor were easy enough for her to disarm effortlessly.

Even the maze and illusion-filled paths designed to confuse them were quickly navigated under Dana Lin’s leadership. Finally, they reached the first-floor boss, the "Mutated Sacrificial High Priest of the Uma Tribe." With her overwhelming firepower, Dana Lin defeated it without issue.

“You were amazing, Miss Dana Lin!”

“With this speed, we’re definitely going to rank at the top!”

After clearing the first floor, schools were required to wait in a designated waiting room for other teams to finish. Confident, Dana Lin strode into the waiting room behind the boss chamber.

But then—

“...What?”

There was another group already there.

“Stella...?”

The first face she saw was one she could never overlook, even if she tried. Princess Hong Biyeon.

Even though Hong Biyeon was wearing a plain school uniform, not an extravagant dress or expensive robe, she somehow looked more radiant than all the elaborately dressed Dachelri students.

“What’s this?” Dana Lin muttered.

“It seems other schools are beginning to clear the first floor, Princess,” one of Hong Biyeon’s teammates replied.

“Ah, I see,” Hong Biyeon said calmly, as though their presence was expected.

“It looks like we’re sharing the waiting room.”

Dana Lin clenched her fists tightly as she took a seat slightly away from Hong Biyeon. Her attention turned to the scoreboard displaying the schools’ clear times.

And there, on the board, she saw something she couldn’t believe.

[Stella Academy: N minutes 39 seconds]

[Dachelri Magic School: 29 minutes 28 seconds]

The difference was staggering—more than double.

Even though Dachelri had performed far better than the other schools, their time didn’t even come close to Stella’s.

“How is this possible...?”

Dana Lin thought she had given it her all. She had utilized every ounce of her skill and effort.

“I did everything I could... didn’t I?”

And yet, the gap was insurmountable.

“Is this the difference in ability...?”

Her eyes wavered, reflecting the helpless frustration she felt deep inside.