Magic Academy's Genius Blinker - Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Dungeon Practice (3)

From the high school division onwards, the magic school begins serious practical training.

Among the various practices, the one students look forward to the most is undoubtedly the actual combat training.

Especially the dungeons, where all kinds of anomalies occur, and monsters abound, but they are also filled with treasures and fortuitous encounters, making them a dream destination for any explorer.

Early morning.

Flame observed the students of Class A and Class S gathered in the ‘Stella Dome.’
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‘Total, 141 students…

Class A-1 and Class A-2 each have 50 students, and Class S has 41 students.

But if it were according to the original story, Class S should have 39 students. I expected it to be 40 including myself, but I didn’t expect one more to be added.

Where did Baek Yu-seol come from?’

In the original story, the total number of first-year students was 1,140, and with her addition, it became 1,141.

This means that Baek Yu-seol’s existence was already present in the ‘original novel’ within this school…

The problem was that she had never heard of that name even once.

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‘I’ll figure it out slowly. I can find out.’

She was the only person in this world who knew the original story.

Flame stopped observing the students for a moment and looked around at the surroundings. This space felt genuinely real.

The field of grass swaying in the breeze. The vast expanse of the meadow stretched so far that the horizon was visible, clearing even the stuffy chest.

But this space, the Stella Dome, was not reality.

The Stella Dome was a type of subspace-like area installed deep within the Stella Academy grounds. Within this space, it was possible to manipulate and expand the area or change structures at will.

So, various sports, events, as well as dungeon, gate, and monster combat training were conducted here.

Most of what you saw and felt were fake, simulated things.

“Lord Jeremie, have you finished your class registration?”

“Yes, of course.”

“We also registered for the Soft Magic Source Exploration class.”

“Really? Let’s do our best together.”

At the voice coming from next to her, Flame subtly turned her head.

Jeremie Scalven. In the original story, he was an antagonist who became obsessed with Aiselle and was ultimately abandoned without receiving love.

‘…He’s handsome.’

He was an ideally attractive man. Tall and with a gentle personality, always with a smile on his face.

He was capable, kind, pure, mannerly, witty, and his talent was not significantly inferior to Ma Yuseong’s. Moreover, he was the crown prince of the Scalven Empire.

His pure eyes stimulated the protective instincts of many women, and his occasional clumsiness was one of his charming points.

But all of those actions were meticulously calculated to maintain his image.

‘Don’t be fooled by his pretense.’

Knowing it was a facade, Flame found Jeremie to be genuinely perfect to the point of making her heart flutter, but she never intended to get close to him, as she understood his inner nature.

As she stared at him, Jeremie turned his head and made eye contact with Flame.

“Oh.”

Showing a slightly surprised expression, Jeremie smiled brightly and waved at Flame.

Ugh!

He was annoyingly handsome. She quickly averted her gaze, but the lingering impression from that brief eye contact did not fade easily.

Getting swayed by him would ruin her life. She must never waver.

‘I understand why those girls around Jeremie wag their tails at him…’

It was absurd, but there were cliques, or factions, even in this school.

Even if their abilities were similar, the people who would rise to higher positions were already determined. Though it seemed equal within the school, after graduation, the difference in status would become evident.

Students from prestigious families felt this intensely from their first year and were already busily networking to secure their positions.

Among these factions, the one that stood out the most was, of course, Jeremie’s faction.

Surrounded by students of high status and exceptional abilities, he attracted attention wherever he went.

Both boys and girls were drawn to Jeremie’s charm and status, almost like moths to a flame.

Flame herself was not part of any faction but was trying to build as many connections as possible.

After all, she had reincarnated into this world and would live her new life here until she died, so she had to prepare for the future.

‘Then, Baek Yu-seol…’

She subtly observed him. With black hair and black eyes, a warm and radiant skin tone, and a face that was more cute than handsome, he carried an inexplicably relaxed smile.

From an outsider’s perspective, he was quite likable, and many students seemed to have approached him to form a ‘Baek Yu-seol faction,’ but he had turned them all away.
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As a result, there was no one around him.

‘Why is he choosing to be alone?’

While Flame was absentmindedly observing Baek Yu-seol, someone approached her.

“Flame, are you going solo for this practice?”

It was Jackie. Recently, they had been hanging out among commoners and frequently meeting in the same group, but it still felt somewhat awkward and distant to be alone together.

“Sorry. I’m planning to go solo for this practice.”

“Oh, I see. Since you have to divide the points among team members, you have no choice, right?”

“That’s… right?”

Jackie was stating the obvious, but for some reason, it felt like she was implying, ‘We’re a burden, so you’re going solo.’

‘What am I thinking.’

Flame dismissed it as her overthinking and patted Jackie’s shoulder.

“Let’s definitely do it together next time.”

In response to Flame’s words, Jackie led her friends and headed elsewhere. Flame watched her for a while. Seeing Jackie lead her friends with a smile, she felt a strange sense of familiarity, as if she resembled herself.

‘Sigh. It’s just adolescence. They want to follow their peers.’

She tried to shake off the thought.

“Attention.”

Thud! The noisy chatter suddenly stopped.

With just one word from Class S Instructor Lee Han-wol, the area fell silent. Standing beside him were the instructors and professors of Class A, as well as teaching assistants, but Lee Han-wol’s presence was the most commanding.

“Before we start the actual class, you’ll undergo a brief training. It’s a sort of test. We need to know how lacking you are to properly educate you. Isn’t that right?”

“Yes, sir!”

“I don’t like the sound of your voices. It seems the rumor about promising students was just that, a rumor.”

Some of the noble students pouted their lips. No matter how famous Lee Han-wol was, he was still of commoner origin. However, the students of Class S didn’t react much, so no one spoke up.

“The training will be conducted at my discretion. If any student is dissatisfied.”

He glanced around the room and spoke with a stern face.

“Keep it to yourself. I have no intention of listening to your complaints.”

Of course, it wasn’t easy to voice complaints to the professors either.

Each student was given a ‘total score’ every semester, and professors had the authority to arbitrarily assign or deduct points.

If a student’s score fell below a certain level, they would be expelled. Being expelled from Stella Academy would be a source of embarrassment, no matter how prestigious their family was, leaving no time for complaints.

‘Aiselle used that point to drive Hong Bi-yeon into ruin…’

After scanning the students once, Lee Han-wol quickly spoke.

“Now, I’ll briefly explain the training.”

In fact, Flame was already familiar with what kind of training they would undergo.

It’s a ‘Dungeon Practice,’ where anomalies, traps, and monsters that occur in actual dungeons are materialized to provide students with challenges.

Defeating a Rank 1 Risk monster earns 4 points.

Defeating a Rank 2 Risk monster earns 8 points.

And obtaining a ‘Point Stick’ grants 20 points.

“The top five students with the highest points will receive rewards from the store, while students who score zero or get eliminated will receive point deductions.”

Reward. Hearing that, the students’ eyes changed. Stella Academy frequently offered rewards, and they were usually excellent magical artifacts.

“If you’re afraid of elimination or not confident in working alone, you may form a ‘team.’ However, remember that forming a team means dividing the points.”

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As soon as he finished speaking, Lee Han-wol and the instructors’ figures began to blur. That wasn’t all.

Rumble!

“Oh, oh?”

“What’s happening? What’s going on?”

The ground started to rise.

Flame quickly understood what was happening.

‘Jack and the Beanstalk.’

The dungeon for this practice resembled a giant beanstalk.

The ground rose to a height that seemed to touch the clouds, taking on the form of a beanstalk, with green branches and leaves everywhere.

However, the swamp, river, soil, and rocks remained in the terrain, making it look like an ordinary piece of land.

The beanstalk field wasn’t an open area but a vertically expansive terrain, making it more advantageous for students who had learned long-range straight-line magic rather than wide-area magic.

But the advantages and disadvantages didn’t matter. You couldn’t always fight in favorable terrain, so you had to overcome even unfavorable conditions.
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Finally, the beanstalk stopped growing, and Lee Han-wol’s voice echoed from the void.

“By the way, if you eliminate another student, you will take all of their points. That’s it, good luck.”

In this dungeon practice, forming a team was advantageous in many ways. If you encountered a team while wandering alone, it would be a big problem.

So, most students quickly formed teams with those nearby.

Flame, being a bishop position mage, would find it difficult to go solo, but she had such a variety of spells that this dungeon practice wasn’t much of a problem for her.

The monsters encountered along the way weren’t a big deal.

The monsters, simulated through illusion magic, had much lower intelligence than real ones and could only perform predefined actions.

Flying monsters were easily shot down with light spheres, and ground monsters were bound by nature magic and defeated effortlessly.

Being proficient in binding, destruction, defense, and healing, Flame didn’t find this practice particularly challenging.

Besides, she had been drilled in dungeon combat guides since her middle school academy days.

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“Phew. I’m exhausted.”

About an hour had passed, and she had racked up 18 points by defeating numerous small and medium-sized monsters.

But this score could be easily covered by a single Point Stick. Searching for Point Sticks was risky, but if she happened to find one, it would be best to grab it quickly.

“Uwaaah!”
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A scream was heard from afar. It was a common occurrence.

Even in elite Class A, unexpected traps in actual combat often caught students off guard.

Traps like sudden ground collapses, flying tree whips aiming to snatch people, falling lightning, or flying thorns from all directions…

Crude traps, yet perfectly suited for freshmen.

Most traps were useless against Flame. Her agility allowed her to deploy a light curtain in time to block them.

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‘Hmm?’

As she walked slowly, Flame sensed something. At first, she thought it was a monster, but it was the presence of a person.

‘A student hiding their presence like this?’

It was quite unusual, but Flame was also hiding her presence. Thanks to her nature-loving trait [Oneness with Nature], it was easy to move stealthily and conceal her presence in these woods.

So, if the opponent was alone, ambushing them to steal their points was fine.

As she cut through the grass and approached, a silhouette emerged.

A boy with black hair and black eyes.
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‘…Baek Yu-seol? Why is he here?’

He had his hand in his robe pocket while tapping his shoulder with the other. The stick he was holding looked familiar.

‘Point Stick? He already got one?’

The ’20’ floating above his head clearly surpassed the 18 points Flame had worked hard to earn for an hour.

He still seemed unaware of her presence, leisurely searching for something as he walked.

‘Perfect. Let’s test this guy.’

She needed to find out what his true identity was. What magic he used. Even a small clue would be helpful.

Moreover, if she could steal his Point Stick, it would be a double win.

‘Light Cluster.’

A glowing yellow magic circle formed at the end of Flame’s staff. It was a ‘Radiance’ type magic used by celestial angels.

She used that magic in an aggressively human way.

‘Light Bullet!’

A 2nd-class light bullet was fired. The distance was about 15 meters. It was a distance where he couldn’t deploy defensive magic in time, so he would take significant damage and be eliminated.

But.

The moment the magic was cast, Baek Yu-seol suddenly turned his head and made eye contact with Flame.

“Huh, huh…?”

Before she could even finish saying ‘how,’ his figure disappeared like a mirage.

Thud!

The Light Bullet hit a poor tree and vanished, while Flame, looking as if she had seen a ghost, collapsed to the ground.

Whooosh…!

There wasn’t a single trace left where Baek Yu-seol had been standing.

End of Chapter
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