I Became A Flashing Genius At The Magic Academy-Chapter 491
Baek Yu-Seol’s dilemma was simple yet fundamental.
What was he supposed to do with the Fragment of the Otherworld he had recently obtained by sheer luck?
He had snatched it away to avoid letting Hoe-Gong Si-Wol extort it from him, but now that it was in his possession, he had no idea how to utilize it or even where to start.
After all, Baek Yu-Seol was not a magic researcher. Even those who were experts in magic found it nearly impossible to unravel the mysteries of the Otherworld.
If there was anyone capable of such a feat, they would have long since become a black mage.
Thus, Baek Yu-Seol had to take a slightly, or perhaps drastically, different approach to analyze it.
Instead of harnessing the Otherworld’s power as the black mages did, he aimed to distill it into pure energy.
“That seems... excessively crude, don’t you think?”
Eun-Se Shi-Il-Wol voiced her concern.
“This is a fragment of another world. It holds infinite possibilities.”
“And infinite energy too. Think of it as... a backup battery.”
“...?”
Eun-Se Shi-Il-Wol didn’t fully grasp what he meant but could tell Baek Yu-Seol had no intention of using the fragment in the way she had hoped.
“We wanted you to uncover the truths of another world through it.”
“I have no interest in other worlds. Right now, our world is on the brink of destruction. I need power to stop that.”
“That... is uncertain. Didn’t you witness Toa Legrohn? He transcended the ‘limits’ of this world, albeit slightly, thanks to his understanding of the Otherworld.”
“That’s true.”
“But the path you’re taking will grant you power quickly by cutting corners. In doing so, you might eventually hit a ceiling, just like the Witch Queen and the Lord of Sakwol Tower. Are you okay with that?”
Eun-Se Shi-Il-Wol’s argument wasn’t wrong.
As Cheong-Dong Shi-Wol had once explained, Baek Yu-Seol’s body was already operating outside the boundaries set by this world.
However, whether or not he could grow as powerful as the Founding Magicians was another matter entirely.
The world had a limit—Class 9.
Not everyone reached Class 9, even among the most talented mages. In fact, only a handful throughout history had ever achieved it.
For Baek Yu-Seol, the possibility was there.
The possibility of reaching the heights of the Founding Magicians.
But possibility didn’t guarantee achievement. What if he lacked the talent to reach that pinnacle, even with the possibility open to him?
“That’s exactly where my suggestion comes in,” Eun-Se Shi-Il-Wol interjected.
“You could acquire the ability to break through those limits. Instead of merely using the Otherworld’s power as energy, if you understand and accept it... the results would be far greater.”
Baek Yu-Seol couldn’t entirely dismiss her reasoning.
“Understand and accept it...”
Scratching his chin, he stared blankly at the fragment of the Otherworld, sealed in its containment sphere.
Suddenly, a woman’s voice thundered in his mind.
“BAEK YU-SEEEEOOOL! BAEK YU-SEOL!! HELP MEEE!”
The voice was so loud it nearly gave him a headache. There was only one person who could produce such a piercing cry.
“Cheon-Hwang-Jeong Pal-Wol...”
“That’s right! It’s me! I have something urgent to tell you!”
“And?”
Her voice abruptly paused. The other Divine Moons, who had been eavesdropping, pricked up their ears in curiosity about what she would say next.
“...Can you step outside for a moment? I can’t go in there myself...”
The other Divine Moons chuckled in disbelief. Unlike them, who could partially materialize their spiritual forms to travel across the continent, Cheon-Hwang-Jeong Pal-Wol lacked such an ability and had to physically traverse the land.
Still, the idea of a Divine Moon being unable to bypass an academy gate and having to plead with a student was absurd.
“Wait there. I’ll come out.”
“R-Really? That pathetic tone of mine didn’t...?”
“I didn’t think that at all.”
“Sniff... but Elteman is scary...”
“...Where are you now?”
“Uh? At the school gate.”
Baek Yu-Seol sighed and rubbed his face.
If she was at the school gate, it meant Elteman, along with the academy board and committee, had likely been alerted by now that a Divine Moon was present.
The school was probably in a state of emergency.
Imagining her standing cluelessly at the gate, hoping to sneak in without notice...
“She’s unexpectedly... cute?”
Rather than being annoyed, he found her antics amusing. It was like a small, silly distraction in his otherwise exhausting life.
“Oh, by the way...”
“Yes?”
“I brought someone with me.”
“...What?”
Baek Yu-Seol didn’t catch on immediately, but the other Divine Moons’ expressions subtly shifted as if they had realized something.
“Not ‘what,’ but... a person.”
“...Don’t tell me.”
Realizing the implications, Baek Yu-Seol shot to his feet as Cheon-Hwang-Jeong Pal-Wol sheepishly continued.
“Uh-huh. I brought Ja-Ryeok Il-Wol. I thought meeting you might help...”
“Stay right there! I’ll be ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) there in a moment!”
“Oh? Okay.”
Baek Yu-Seol dashed out of the dormitory, heading straight for the office at the First Main Tower.
Having not one, but two Divine Moons show up at the academy wasn’t just an emergency—it likely had the entire Knight Order scrambling into action.
The thought of Commander Arain sweating nervously while deploying troops made his head throb.
This unnecessary chaos had to be stopped immediately.
***
Eventually, after a 30-minute explanation to the Knight Commander and Elteman Eltewin in the First Main Tower, Baek Yu-Seol managed to halt the deployment of the knightly forces.
Though he hadn’t entirely convinced the academy’s board of directors, Elteman promised to handle the rest, which was enough for Baek Yu-Seol to entrust the matter to him.
"...Next time, try to be more careful. Even someone like me has no choice but to prepare for war when two such beings show up—especially in times like these."
Those were Elteman’s parting words to the apologetic Baek Yu-Seol. Hearing them only made Baek Yu-Seol feel more guilty, leaving him at a loss for words.
It was one of those moments when he wished he could crawl into a hole.
The scene shifted to a quiet café in Rezoica, a satellite city outside Arcanium.
The café was famous for its picturesque view of the vast lake beneath Arcanium, making it a favorite among women. However, since it was a weekday afternoon, there were no students around, leaving the café empty.
Baek Yu-Seol sat there, accompanied by Cheon-Hwang-Jeong Pal-Wol and Ja-Ryeok Il-Wol, who appeared in the form of a young girl with violet hair.
Of course, Ja-Ryeok Il-Wol’s presence was invisible to the café staff. From their perspective, only Baek Yu-Seol and Cheon-Hwang-Jeong Pal-Wol were there.
"Oh my, what a beauty."
"Are they on a date?"
"That guy looks familiar... Wait, I think I saw him in the papers."
As the staff whispered among themselves, Cheon-Hwang-Jeong Pal-Wol clutched her head in frustration.
Meanwhile, Baek Yu-Seol, seated across from two Divine Moons, remained silent, distracted by the bureaucratic paperwork piling up from the commotion earlier.
Feeling guilty about their involvement in causing the chaos, neither woman dared to speak.
Finally, Baek Yu-Seol sighed and set his pen down.
“So, what is it you wanted to talk about?”
Cheon-Hwang-Jeong Pal-Wol glanced at Ja-Ryeok Il-Wol, whose expression was unusually gloomy. It struck Baek Yu-Seol that even a Divine Moon could look this despondent.
“Is it related to Hoe-Gong Si-Wol?”
Ja-Ryeok Il-Wol nodded.
“Yes.”
“Weren’t you cooperating with him? I’m curious why you’ve come to see me now.”
“...I never wanted to cooperate with him. All I wanted was to live quietly in the forest, playing pranks now and then.”
From that, Baek Yu-Seol began to piece together her circumstances, including why she had come to him secretly with Cheon-Hwang-Jeong Pal-Wol.
“So... he’s holding something over you?”
Ja-Ryeok Il-Wol’s expression crumpled, and she nodded, on the verge of tears.
A weakness.
Divine Moons, being detached from the world, weren’t the type to have obvious vulnerabilities. The idea seemed inconceivable at first.
What could possibly be used as leverage against beings without family ties? The only thing that came to mind was something like pets or rare plants they cared for.
“And you’ve come to me because you want me to retrieve whatever it is Hoe-Gong Si-Wol is using against you?”
Ja-Ryeok Il-Wol hesitated, embarrassed, before speaking quietly.
“I... have a younger sister.”
“A younger sister?”
“Well, she’s not related by blood! I found her in the forest and took her in...”
Baek Yu-Seol imagined Ja-Ryeok Il-Wol raising a small, cute girl in the forest.
“That was... 200 years ago, I think.”
Baek Yu-Seol immediately revised his mental image.
“Two hundred years?”
“Yes. But she’s afflicted by a rare curse... or something like that.”
“A curse?”
“Yes. She’s been asleep for a very long time. While she sleeps, she barely grows, so she still looks like a child.”
Baek Yu-Seol again imagined a small, adorable girl. Since Ja-Ryeok Il-Wol herself resembled a child, the image was oddly fitting yet difficult to process.
“And this curse?”
“Hoe-Gong Si-Wol said he could lift it. He also told me that if it’s not broken soon, she’ll die. So... I had no choice but to cooperate with him.”
Scratching his chin, Baek Yu-Seol pondered.
A Sleeping Beauty-style curse... how peculiar.
A memory stirred in his mind. There had been a quest like this in the game.
He quickly donned his Hummingbird Glasses and searched for it. Soon, an old entry titled “Sleeping Elf in the Forest” appeared.
“Is the girl under the curse... an elf, by chance?”
Ja-Ryeok Il-Wol’s eyes widened in surprise.
“How did you know?”
Ignoring her astonishment, Baek Yu-Seol skimmed through the quest details, his lips curling into a small smirk.
This might just be the leverage he needed to solidify Ja-Ryeok Il-Wol’s allegiance.
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However, the quest’s difficulty and required items posed a bit of a challenge...
“Looks like I’ll need some help with this.”
Fortunately, he had a network of capable allies, any of whom would be willing to lend a hand.
The Alchemy God, Adolevit’s princess, the Elf King, the Witch Queen, and even the wealthiest person in the world...
It’s probably just coincidence that they’re all women.
“Alright. I don’t think it’s impossible. I’ll help you.”
“R-Really?!”
“On one condition. Once I help you, you’ll leave Hoe-Gong Si-Wol’s side and grant me your blessing.”
“Of course! If not for my sister, I wouldn’t have stayed with that bastard in the first place!”
Her answer was satisfactory. Promises from the Divine Moons carried weight, and they couldn’t be broken lightly.
“Then let’s get started.”
