Magic Academy's Genius Blinker - Chapter 149

Chapter 149

Magic Survival (1)

Even after Baek Yu-seol left, Zeliel remained seated for a long time, as if rooted to the spot, unable to move.

Her cynical gaze made it hard to fully grasp the current situation.

However, time continued to pass.

‘…I need to prepare for the next event.’

She forced herself to stand on trembling legs. Although her normally composed heart had a huge hole in it, she knew she couldn’t afford to sit down and do nothing if she wanted to move forward.

‘I should have listened to my father…’

A magic oath was absolute.

But it was also something that should never be taken lightly.

Before becoming a mage, one was typically first educated by their parents.

-Consider a magic oath as staking your life.

For this reason, casually presenting a magic oath to someone in the magical society was considered disrespectful unless the other party was a notorious criminal.

‘Was this matter really worth staking my life on?’

…To answer, it was.

She’d rather bite her tongue than let her father hear about her disgraceful failure.

But what was the result?

She was now bound by the magic oath, and for at least three years… she wouldn’t be able to see her father.

For Zeliel, this was the most horrifying form of torture.

Every day would feel like a nightmare.

She had to find a way to cure her father’s ‘incurable disease’ as soon as possible, but she couldn’t even see him.

‘Ah…’

She stumbled, her legs giving out, and she reached for the table.

A heavy and rough sensation passed through her palm. When she checked, she found a stone-like object on the table.

It was the item Baek Yu-seol had left, calling it a gift.

The item from Baek Yu-seol, whom she wanted to rip apart. She had no intention of taking it with her, but she had no choice. She was currently in a position where she had to listen to him.

Stuffing the stone piece into her pocket, Zeliel staggered back to her waiting room.

Her back looked quite pitiful, but… there was nothing in the world that could comfort her.

* * *

The interior of the Stella Dome was composed of various systematic structures, so complex that first-time visitors would often lose their way even with a map.

Fortunately, the Dark Mage named ‘Kavaren’ didn’t seem to have such problems.

Anella followed him deep into the labyrinthine Stella Dome.

“Haha! It’s a bit complicated, isn’t it? Stella is always like this, so just follow me. Oh, don’t worry, don’t worry! I have all the paths memorized!”

“By the way, what status did you enter with? The management area is not just for anyone, but you’re wearing a school uniform. Don’t tell me you got in through some menial job like an intern? Puhaha! No way! With such a status, the missions you can take would be very limited. Right? Right, right?”

“Shut up.”

He had an unusually talkative nature, as if he couldn’t keep his thoughts to himself.

To Anella, he was an unpleasant character. Even if he weren’t a Dark Mage, he would still be someone she didn’t want to associate with.

Kavaren kept chattering while leading Anella somewhere.

The reason she could enter the Stella Dome management area was thanks to Baek Yu-seol’s help.

She had entered as a ‘friend of a participant,’ which limited her range of activities, but Kavaren roamed freely, swiping the name tag on his necklace at sensors.

‘Is Stella’s security really this lax…?’

It made her realize anew how formidable and dangerous the dark mana restriction technique developed by the Moonshadow Church’s leader was.

This meant that Dark Mages like him were infiltrating the magic world in various places.

If this continues, she thought, Dark Mages might actually take over the world, but she shook her head to dispel the thought.

‘I will become human again.’

T h is w a s co p i ed f r o m k i n g mtl . org
Dark Mages ruling the world?

The moment those impulsive, selfish creatures living drunk on power rule the world, it would be the end.

She too was currently a Dark Mage, but she didn’t want such a world.
Thi s w a s co p i e d f r om ki n g m t l. or g

Even if a world ruled by power arrived… with her weak power, she would just be prey.

“Here we are!”

After a long walk, Kavaren entered an area of the Stella Dome with high access restrictions.

“This place is…”

At the end of the hallway was a large room.

This circular space was filled with magic circles on all sides, and numerous researchers busily moved around, controlling them.

“You haven’t been here before, right? This is the ‘System Control Room’ that handles all functions of the Stella Dome. It seems there are about six more such rooms within the Stella Dome, but that’s not the important part.”

Indeed.

Th i s w a s co p i e d fr o m k i ng m t l. o r g
The important fact was… that a Dark Mage had reached the core area controlling the Stella Dome, a symbol of Stella Academy.

‘How…?’

Anella took a step back.

No matter how she thought about it, there was no way they could have entered so easily.

This must be a trap.

It wouldn’t make sense otherwise.

Was Stella’s security really this lax?

It felt like they had been deliberately let in…

‘For what reason?’

She tried to recall who had infiltrated Stella Academy and who held the upper positions, but as a subordinate, Anella didn’t have much information.

A gap in information.

The unbelievable phenomenon creeping in through the gap of ignorance brought an unknown fear to Anella.

Quietly, slowly, surely.

As if it would swallow her whole.

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“Whoa, no need to be so scared.”

Kavaren chuckled as if understanding her reaction and walked forward.

“Wait.”

“This area is restricted.”

Researchers in white lab coats and mages in black robes tried to stop him, but Kavaren confidently showed his name tag and imitated a normal person.

“Didn’t you get the message? I came at the request of the Vice Principal. There’s a need for some system adjustments in the control room’s magic circles. Here, it’s a signed access permit.”

“Ah… I see.”

Seeing the access permit, whether real or forged, the mages nodded and allowed entry.

“What about the student behind you…?”

“He’s a student I’ve been mentoring. He wanted to see the Stella Dome’s magic.”

“Hmm, please ensure the student doesn’t touch the magic circles.”

“Of course.”

Even though it was the Stella Dome, tampering with a few magic circles wouldn’t suddenly bring the system down, so if it was at the request of the Vice Principal, allowing one student wasn’t a problem.

…And so, Kavaren entered the system control room without issue and looked back at Anella.

“See? For us Moonshadow Church members, something like this is a piece of cake.”

Only then did Anella realize why he had brought her here.

To show off his power and influence.

She knew that there were subtle conflicts among Dark Mages, but as a subordinate, she had never experienced it directly.

Given the situation, she was mistaken for a high-ranking Dark Mage, and the other party had come to show off.

‘We can do this. What can you do?’

Once she realized his intentions, Anella felt quite dirty, but unfortunately, there was nothing she could show in return.

“Oh, but this isn’t what I wanted to show you.”
Th is w a s c o p i e d f ro m k i n g m t l .o r g

“…What?”

“You know? The Stella Dome is half an imaginary space. In other words, it’s very similar to the Other World.”

So what?

Kavaren raised a corner of his mouth and approached a nearby magic circle.

“These magic circles… are very precisely operated, so a little tampering won’t change much. As expected of the Principal’s magic. Truly amazing.”

However.

“For us Dark Mages… it’s possible to find ‘bugs’ in the system and cause some ‘minor glitches.'”

Normally, finding a gap in the magic of a 9-class mage was nearly impossible.

But the situation was unique.

The Other World was the domain of Dark Mages.

Even Eltemon Eltrine, known as the authority in spatial magic, couldn’t fully conquer the Other World.

Thus, a highly skilled Dark Mage could cause ‘slight interference’ with Eltemon Eltrine’s perfect magic.

Just like how the ‘real Persona Gate’ appeared during the first-years’ Persona Gate practical…

“What minor prank should we play this time? Drum roll~”

Kavaren joked and winked at Anella.

“Actually, I’ve already done it.”

“…What?”

“In the Magic Survival held at the Stella Dome… participants can’t actually harm each other, right? Correct?”
Thi s w as c o p ie d fr o m k in g m tl. org

So, participants could attack each other with full force without fear of getting hurt.

But what if…

“If one of them! If one of them is a Dark Mage who can really kill others… how do you think it would go?”

“…What?”

“Hmm? Wouldn’t it make the survival more thrilling? Doesn’t it excite you? Huh? Doesn’t your heart race? Ah, I’m so excited I could die. Ahhh…”

‘Damn it!’

Leaving the ecstatic Kavaren, who was clapping and stamping his feet in excitement, Anella quickly exited the control room.

She had to inform Baek Yu-seol of this immediately.

Then, a thought crossed her mind.

‘Wait, in the Magic Survival…’

Baek Yu-seol is participating too, isn’t he?

* * *

-Participants, please move to your designated positions.

T hi s w a s c op ied fro m k i n g m t l. or g
At a woman’s voice echoing in the air, I stepped onto the platform.

On both sides, elite students from each school stood in line.

Truly looking like geniuses, their unique outfits made me realize once again that this world was originally a game.

‘Hmm…’

Activating the telescope function on my Bulbul Glasses, I looked at a distant place.

I spotted Zeliel staring blankly into the air with a half-dead expression.

‘Will she be alright…?’

Knowing that the fundamental reason behind her villainy was her father, Melian, I had no choice but to take such extreme measures. Due to the magic oath, Zeliel couldn’t retaliate against me.

If she gave up her feelings for her father, it would be great… but it wouldn’t be easy.

‘I hope she meets a good person and falls in love.’

I doubt it, though.

In the original game, Zeliel either walked the path of ruin focused only on her father or ruined the protagonist, and those were the only two choices.

-We will soon move to the ground.
T h is w a s co p i e d f r o m k i ng m t l. o rg

At the voice indicating the start of the game, participants began to warm up.

I also stretched lightly when a commotion arose from behind.

‘Wait, I have something to tell…!’

‘Student! Step back! The game is about to start…’

‘Please! Just let me say one thing…’

What’s going on?

I squinted and maximized the zoom function on my Bulbul Glasses, faintly capturing Anella’s face.
Th i s w a s c o p ie d f r o m k i ngm t l . o r g

However, the distance was too great, and her voice was blocked by the barrier, so I couldn’t hear clearly.

‘Isn’t she supposed to stay unnoticed?’

Why is she causing such a fuss?

At that moment.

A warning message floated in the air.

Ding.

[A variable has occurred in the sub-episode ‘School Competition.’]

[‘School Competition’ has been promoted to the main episode.]

‘What…?’

I was taken aback by the completely unexpected message.

‘Why suddenly?’

I hurriedly searched my Bulbul Glasses to figure out what was going on.

[Sometimes, that happens.]

[An event gets disrupted by Dark Mages, causing chaos.]

[Why does it happen if it’s not a main episode? I don’t know. Go ask the game developers.]

[I died once during Ma Yuseong’s date event because a meteor fell from the sky. It’s annoying.]

Then I remembered that such cases did very rarely occur in the original game. It had never happened to me, but occasionally, user community posts would mention it.

[Why does this happen?]

[Maybe because you were too messy with the story? You should have followed the strategy guide.]

[If it happened, that’s unfortunate.]

[What can you do? If you don’t want to delete your character, you have to fix it.]

Usually, events were meant to be peaceful, a brief respite.

However, very rarely… an event would escalate into an episode.

A probability as rare as lightning striking a pear tree consecutively.

A situation created by the complex interplay of numerous choices.

[Episode.09]

[A shadow cast over the School Competition]

Such a rare episode had befallen me.

[In my case, the ‘School Competition’ event turned into some mafia murder game.]

[But don’t worry.]

[Just follow the strategy guide.]
T hi s w as c o p ie d f r o m k i n g m tl.o r g

[Now… let’s piece together this shattered event.]

As the strategy guide lined up before my eyes, a strange sensation enveloped my body.

Feeling an odd sensation of being transported somewhere, the world flipped upside down.

-The game has begun.

End of Chapter