Magic Academy's Genius Blinker - Chapter 11

Chapter 11

The Dropout of Class S (3)

The entire Stella Academy was abuzz with a single topic.

“Did you hear? Two students resonated with mid-high grade staffs this year!”

“It’s insane. There were only five in history and now two more have been added?”

“They say those five later became archmages…”

The subjects of this conversation were none other than Ma Yuseong and Baek Yu-seol.

“But, have you heard about Baek Yu-seol?”

“They say the spell he used during the magic implementation test was Blink. Isn’t that a basic spell?”

“I didn’t learn Blink. My parents said it’s worse than not knowing any magic. They said the chances of dying from it are over 99.99%, making it a notoriously trashy spell.”

“Me neither. No professors teach it these days. Recently, any uncontrollable spells have been classified as forbidden magic.”
This w a s cop ied f ro m k i ng m t l. o r g

Flame overheard these rumors as she walked briskly down the corridor.

After school, the ‘Self-Study Hall’ building was bustling with students heading to the training grounds and study rooms, all talking about Ma Yuseong and Baek Yu-seol, which was starting to get on her nerves.

“Flame! Are you heading to self-study too?”

Hearing the familiar voice, Flame quickly adjusted her expression. Turning her head, she saw a few girls approaching with bright smiles.

She grinned mischievously.

“You little brats, do you think I’m addicted to studying?”

“Aren’t you? You always study because you have nothing else to do.”

“Unbelievable. These little brats dare to talk back to me.”

“Did we hit the mark?”

“Haha! But why do you always call us brats, Flame? We’re the same age.”

Ouch. That stung a bit, but Flame forced a nonchalant smile.

“Well, I guess it’s a habit from where I used to live. I acted like an older sister.”

Ever since she realized she had transmigrated into a novel from the ‘modern’ world, she couldn’t help but act maturely.

“So, are you studying alone today too?”

Asked a slightly taller girl.

Flame stared at her. She was a girl named ‘Jackie’ who she knew sporadically during middle school and had grown closer to rapidly after enrolling in Stella Academy due to their commoner status.

‘Hmm. But she oddly resembles me?’

Jackie, who used to have messy hair and wear glasses, had started mimicking Flame’s hairstyle, speech, and fashion after entering high school.

It bothered her a bit, but she brushed it off as teenage behavior.

“Well, they say there’s no end to studying. I’m not alone, though. I’m attending a ‘special makeup session.'”

“A m-makeup session? You’re working so hard…”

“Anyway, I’m off.”

“Okay. Let’s go to a cafe together next time!”

After sending the girls off, Flame quickly turned around to walk away but met someone’s eyes.

A boy with black hair tinged with red and purple eyes, Hae Wonryang.

The successor of the Tower of the Full Moon and a 9-Class master mage, a mage on par with Ma Yuseong.

As soon as he spotted Flame, he approached her.

“Going for self-study?”

“Yeah.”

“You don’t look too happy. Something wrong?”

He was one of the few people who genuinely cared about her.

“Not really.”

Flame nodded indifferently and, turning her head, accidentally made eye contact with a girl peeking at her from behind a wall.

It was Jackie.

‘Huh? Why is she still…’

Before Flame could call out to her, Jackie quickly disappeared. Flame retracted her hand and scratched the back of her head.

Left with no choice, she walked down the corridor with Hae Wonryang, chatting about trivial matters.

The corridor they walked through was jokingly called the ‘S-Class Domain’ by students, as it housed the S-Class’s exclusive self-study room and training ground.

“Are you heading to the training ground?”

“One must never neglect daily training.”

“You’re unnecessarily diligent. You’ll live a short life if you work so hard.”

“I have no intention of living long.”

“Is that so. Don’t invite me to your funeral, then.”

“…Why not?”
T hi s w as c o pi e d f r o m k i ng m t l .or g

“I don’t like spicy beef soup. Prepare beef soup instead.”

“…I’ll do that.”

After responding, Hae Wonryang disappeared into the training ground. The makeup session was for students with poor grades or those passionate about studying, so students training for practical combat didn’t attend.

Of course, Flame’s reason for attending the special makeup session wasn’t solely for studying.

‘According to the original romance novel, Princess Hong Bi-yeon and Aiselle are supposed to attend.’

She wanted to watch the inevitable confrontation between the heroine and the villainess, but there was another reason.

A new character, ‘Baek Yu-seol,’ who didn’t appear in the original novel, was also supposed to attend.

‘Baek Yu-seol…’

The boy who became a hot topic by resonating with the mid-high grade Terivon, a character that didn’t exist in the original novel.

‘Who is he, really?’

Having read the original novel three times, she was familiar with every detail.

But the name Baek Yu-seol never appeared in the novel.

‘Moreover, no one ever wielded Terivon in the original.’

Not only that, but he also easily solved the ‘Three Demonic Questions,’ which were notoriously difficult.

As if to show someone.

‘Maybe to show me.’

Why did he approach her during the Staff Inheritance Ceremony? What was he thinking behind that relaxed and confident expression?

With these thoughts, she arrived at the lecture hall for the makeup session, where over fifty students had already gathered.

She slowly observed the students.

The organizer of the session was a boy named Kyle, known for being the top student in theoretical studies.

Now a member of Class A, Kyle had organized the makeup session for classmates with poor grades, but the presence of several S-Class students made him visibly uneasy.

Sweat trickled down from behind his unique, sparklingly white glasses.

‘…Even Ma Yuseong is attending?’

Next to a bored-looking Baek Yu-seol, Ma Yuseong sat with glimmering eyes. Aiselle was seated in the far corner, while Princess Hong Bi-yeon sat in a dignified posture on the opposite side.

Hong Bi-yeon’s purpose was likely to learn about the Three Demonic Questions, while Aiselle seemed to be attending purely to study.

‘I didn’t expect Ma Yuseong to be here…’

If there was a male protagonist in this world, the fans would point to Ma Yuseong as being blessed by the world.

And Ma Yuseong was deeply interested in Baek Yu-seol.

‘This can’t be a coincidence.’

Baek Yu-seol was moving strategically. Very meticulously.

If he went so far as to show himself resonating with Terivon, he was definitely aware of her.

‘Besides, didn’t he say he didn’t touch any other questions except the Three Demonic Questions during the placement exam…?’

Did that mean he even knew he could get into S-Class by solving just those three questions?

‘Dangerous.’

Thinking that, Flame sat down.

Seeing this, Kyle adjusted his glasses slowly.

‘Damn, why are such monstrous kids attending a makeup session?’

Although Kyle was a commoner, he was highly ranked. He knew how to leverage his position, teaching struggling noble students from Classes F to D to gain influence.

But having five S-Class students attend was overwhelming.

‘…No, this isn’t bad. This is an opportunity.’

Among the five S-Class students, one stood out: the youthful Baek Yu-seol, who had reportedly scored the worst in the recent placement exam.

His performance was so poor that his presence in S-Class was baffling.

If he could prove he could teach even S-Class students here, the other students would have no choice but to acknowledge him.

Receiving such looks, Baek Yu-seol sighed. Beside him, Ma Yuseong suddenly started a friendly conversation in his gentle voice.

“Yu-seol, why did you come here?”

I didn’t want to.

“You don’t need this. There must be a reason?”
T his w a s c o p i e d f rom k i n g m t l . o r g

No, there isn’t.

He had been compelled to attend this study activity due to a ‘warning’ given to low-performing students in the placement exam.

Th i s w a s co p ied f r o m ki n gm t l .o r g
‘This is not the time for this…’

Although it was nice to have gained significant experience from the special way Episode 3 ‘Staff Inheritance Ceremony’ was completed, the unwanted attention was the worst part.

A quiet school life was out of the question. Even worse, the Terivon, which had drawn so much attention, was currently useless.

‘Why did you choose me?’

Since I had never seen Terivon wielded by anyone other than Flame, I had no idea what it meant.

“Alright. Enough chatter. Let’s start the makeup session.”

Kyle tapped the blackboard, making some commoner students sit up straight while the nobles pouted.

But since this session was supported by the professors, no one dared to challenge Kyle.

“Today, we’ll review the placement exam questions. As you know, the placement exam featured the notorious ‘Three Demonic Questions.’ I solved one of them.”

T h is w a s c opi e d f ro m kin g m t l .o r g
Hong Bi-yeon’s eyes sparkled at that. She was here for one reason only.

To learn how to solve those Three Demonic Questions.

With no one else to ask, she had come immediately upon hearing that a student who had solved one would explain it.

Other students were also quite interested, focusing on Kyle. Satisfied with the attention, he adjusted his glasses.
T h i s w a s c o p i e d fr o m k i n g m tl . o r g

“First, I’ll show you the solution. This question is practically a trap, designed to mislead you into choosing the wrong answer. First…”

Some students even took out their notebooks to jot down notes. Kyle’s explanation seemed plausible.

However, it was just plausible, not accurate. Ma Yuseong, noticing this, lightly nudged Baek Yu-seol with his elbow.

“What do you think? Does it seem right to you?”

But Baek Yu-seol, without his glasses, couldn’t tell if the solution was correct.
Thi s wa s c o p i e d fr om kin g mt l .o r g

‘Three Demonic Questions? What’s that?’

Th i s wa s c o p i e d f r o m k i n g m t l . o r g
I wasn’t here to study, so it was hard to keep up with the conversation.

So, I answered vaguely.

“I don’t know.”

I thought I spoke quietly, but in the otherwise silent room, most students heard me.

‘Who is he?’

‘That’s Baek Yu-seol.’

‘Oh… him?’

The strange student who got all other questions wrong but solved the Three Demonic Questions correctly.

For Baek Yu-seol to say, ‘I don’t know…’

‘So…’

‘Kyle’s solution is wrong?’

That’s what it meant.

Baek Yu-seol had solved all three questions, while Kyle, despite scoring full marks in theory, had only solved one of the Three Demonic Questions.

Snap!

Th i s w a s c op i e d f rom k i ng mtl . o r g
Kyle’s chalk broke. He had applied too much pressure.

Baek Yu-seol looked at Ma Yuseong with a complex expression. The one who had created this situation, Ma Yuseong, was smiling innocently, pretending to know nothing.

‘He did that on purpose, didn’t he?’

That was typical of Ma Yuseong. He just didn’t like Kyle taking the lead.

So, he intentionally created this situation.

“You think my solution is wrong? Baek Yu-seol, why don’t you explain it yourself?”

“Sigh…”

I knew this would happen. I shot a resentful glance at Ma Yuseong and put on my glasses.

The Three Demonic Questions.

Although they were called demonic, they were closer to nonsense riddles.

To simplify, it was like, ‘A mage cast a spell saying, “Earth, cry your tears!” and the earth doubled. Why?’

The solution was simple.

When dirt cries, it says ‘soil-soil,’ which sounds like ‘more soil.’

So the earth doubled.

…It’s absurd, but that’s the kind of question it was.

But Kyle had analyzed the question mathematically.

When the earth cries, soil scatters, melts, spirits get angry, volcanoes erupt, and eventually, the earth doubles…

That was his conclusion.

Sure, as long as you get the right answer, the method doesn’t matter.

Kyle’s method might be useful to solve one such problem, but if a similar ‘applied problem’ appeared next, it would be useless.

“I can’t show you the solution. I can only point out the errors.”

“…What?”

Using the Bulbul Glasses, I pinpointed the flaws in Kyle’s solution.

“The question used dirt, but what if it was water or wind? Would your formula still apply?”

“That would require a different formula.”

“That’s the problem. Why should similar questions need different formulas? Before you even think about applying different formulas, you’d have to completely overhaul your solution.”

“Your solution was sheer luck. Honestly, it didn’t match the intent of the question at all. No formula, equation, or rune was needed. But you forced your knowledge into it.”

I didn’t know much about magic, so I just pointed out the ‘key’ flaws highlighted by the Bulbul Glasses.

‘If you change this part, your solution falls apart. How will you explain that?’

Even if he got lucky this time, he wouldn’t be able to solve similar problems next time…

Just pointing out the flaws was enough.

“Now that you mention it…”

The smart students understood Baek Yu-seol’s points and began taking notes. Flame was also surprised but remained composed, observing Aiselle and Hong Bi-yeon.

‘…They’re not arguing?’

They were supposed to have a heated argument here. But they were too focused on the solution to the question, which neither of them had solved.

Should I see this as a positive development?

‘…Yes, let’s think positively.’

Kyle stood there, mouth agape in shock.

‘Was I wrong…?’

Realizing his error, Kyle hung his head, setting aside his pride.

He admitted honestly.

“You’re… right.”

“Is that so.”

Despite his solution being completely debunked, Kyle didn’t get angry but seemed overwhelmed with self-reproach.

“I solved it by luck…”

Soon after, the special makeup session ended, and Baek Yu-seol left the room quickly. Staying in that suffocating study room any longer was unbearable, and being around Ma Yuseong was uncomfortable.

“See you tomorrow!”

Ignoring Ma Yuseong’s cheerful farewell, Baek Yu-seol trudged down the corridor.

‘Gosh, getting involved with someone like Ma Yuseong…’

I didn’t know how things had turned out this way, holding a staff like Terivon.

As the crowd thinned, I felt relieved to head back to the dormitory. Turning a corner on the way to the boys’ dorm, someone was leaning against the wall.

…It was Princess Hong Bi-yeon Adolevit.

‘What’s this?’

Although I wanted to ignore her and walk past, she blocked my way.

“…What is it?”

“Why didn’t you explain the solution earlier?”

It’s not that I didn’t want to explain; I couldn’t. How could I logically explain a nonsense riddle? My solution couldn’t be applied to other problems either.

“I just didn’t have anything to say…”

“Is that so. I understand. You didn’t want to reveal your solution in such a setting?”

Huh. That’s not it. But Hong Bi-yeon seemed convinced and nodded.

“Alright. You want compensation?”

“What? Compensation?”

“Yes. Compensation.”

She tapped her head lightly.

“I’ll pay you fairly. Show me what’s in your head.”
T h i s w a s c opi e d f r om k i n g m t l. o r g

End of Chapter