Magic Academy's Genius Blinker - Chapter 168

Chapter 168

Ghost Story (4)

Hedrick Siriven was an ordinary boy attending the first-year E class in the Stella Magic Department.

Getting into Stella was already extraordinary, but within Stella, he was merely an average student lingering in the lower ranks.

There were just too many exceptional students above him.

But that was okay.

Th i s w as co p i ed f r o m ki n g mtl. o r g
Not all students had to constantly look upwards with their heads bent back.

Hedrick was satisfied with his rank and class.

Being the first student from the Baron Siriven family, a mere border barony, to attend Stella was a significant honor. Thanks to this, his family was flourishing tremendously.

The Siriven Barony, once an unnoticed rural backwater, was now socializing with city nobles because Hedrick had entered Stella.

“I have to go now.”

“Heading to your next class?”

“Yeah. My schedule is too tight.”

“Even during summer vacation, you’re working hard. Can’t you relax a bit?”

“Right? You’re the one with the worst grades among us.”

“Let’s go play soccer.”

Given the many geniuses at Stella, Hedrick had to keep working and working.

He didn’t aspire to catch up with them. Just staying close behind and graduating would be enough.

“…No, thanks. I need to go.”

Unlike him, students from D and C class seemed quite relaxed, as they hardly attended classes during summer vacation and spent their time playing.

‘This summer… I’ll surpass them.’

Friends? They were just rivals.

While they were playing, he would grow.

Hedrick thought so as he walked down the corridor.

His next class was on unusual botany.

The botany laboratory was located in the 3rd main tower, so Hedrick walked quickly. The distance from the 6th main tower to there was quite far.

Fortunately, Stella had internal transportation systems like small warp holes, allowing students to travel long distances comfortably.

As usual, Hedrick walked towards the gate. Then, he noticed a girl walking ahead, looking suspicious.

‘A white uniform?’

Stella’s uniforms had been black for over fifty years.

But the girl was wearing a white uniform with gold trim, clearly an old uniform.

Suspicious.

With recent incidents occurring at Stella, his instructor had advised never to ignore anything suspicious and to report it immediately.

‘I need to catch and question her.’

As a cadet of the Magic Warrior program, he had some pride and saw this as an opportunity to earn recognition. Without hesitation, Hedrick started walking towards the girl.

However, no matter how much he walked, the distance didn’t close. Despite his strides being longer.

Th i s w a s c o pied fr om k i n gm t l.o r g
Thunk!

As his walking speed increased, Hedrick eventually broke into a run. But no matter how hard he ran, the gap didn’t close.

It was like a mirage.

“Huff… Huff, huff…!”

Breathless, Hedrick suddenly realized he had passed through the gate.

This warp hole gate, designed like a regular corridor door, was always used by numerous students.

But.

Something felt off.

“U… What is this?”

An eerie silence.

This should have been a corridor leading to the 3rd main tower, so the gate should have led there. Yet, there was no one around.

The 3rd main tower, crowded with laboratories, was typically bustling with students from the research faculty.

Unnatural silence induces fear.

“What… No, get a grip.”

Gulp.

Swallowing hard, Hedrick took a step forward.

This was Stella Academy.

Nothing incomprehensible would happen here. Firmly believing so, he walked slowly, but still saw no one.

Not researchers, professors, instructors, nor students.

No one.

At that moment, he realized something was very wrong and hurriedly turned around.

He intended to go back through the gate.

“Ah…?”

But the gate was gone.

Only an ordinary corridor remained.

“This… can’t be.”

Hedrick ran to the spot but nothing happened. Turning back and forth where the gate should have been, he felt no sensation of passing through.

Th i s w a s co p i e d f r om k i n g m tl . or g
“How…”

Staring blankly at the empty spot where the gate should be, he noticed something.

[7th Main Tower]

The nonexistent seventh tower at Stella. The writing was vividly engraved in Hedrick’s eyes.

Why now?

Why did he think of the ghost story told in jest among students?

Unfortunately… Hedrick didn’t know much about the ghost story. He thought studying was more practical than getting caught up in such silly rumors.

Therefore, he had no idea what to do here.

“…”

Backing away slowly, Hedrick turned his head, seeing a large full-length mirror in the central corridor. Though it was a regular mirror found in other corridors, today it felt eerie.

Unconsciously, he gazed into the mirror, locking eyes with his reflection.

It was smiling.

The reflection of himself.

Even though he wasn’t smiling.

– Hahaha!

The reflection waved at him, its grin distorting grotesquely as it approached him.

“Ah…”

It stared at Hedrick for a long time, then stretched its mouth downward and said.

-You are not it.

That was his last memory.

* * *

Buzz, buzz.

The first-year class bulletin board was unusually noisy. It was due to a recent notice.

Aiselle, who was about to pass by, noticed an eye-catching sentence and stopped.

[Recently, a student collapsed on campus.]

[Currently, the Stella Magic Knights and staff are conducting a search, so please focus on your studies without worry.]

T h is w a s co p ie d fr o m k i n g m tl. o r g
The content was simple. One student collapsing wasn’t a big deal. Sometimes, students fainted from overstudying.

But this case was too peculiar.

“Did you hear? When Hedrick was found, the hallway…”

“Yeah. Someone who saw it told me all the windows were open, and ‘You are not it’ was written on the wall.”

“That’s just like the ghost story, isn’t it?”

“Is it still there?”

“The professors erased it.”

The unsettling mood spread quickly among the students like a contagion.

It wasn’t just a normal collapse. The incident matching the details of the popular ghost story made students uneasy.

Recognizing their anxiety, the school dismissed it as a prank, but no one believed it.

“Could something really happen…”

Though it was a casual comment from one student, the thought that it could be true left everyone speechless.

“Hmm…”

Aiselle stared at the notice, lost in thought.

T h is wa s c o pi ed fr o m k in g m t l . o r g
The recent incident could be dismissed as a coincidence. But she couldn’t shake off the conversation she had overheard between Professor Laydin and Checyrin.

‘Is there a connection to the 7th main tower ghost story?’

She was well aware of the ghost story. Her best friend Marillen was very sociable and kept up with trends and rumors, chatting incessantly during meals. Thanks to her, Aiselle became knowledgeable about the ghost story too.

Moreover, the location where Hedrick disappeared was the path from the 6th main tower to the 3rd main tower, exactly matching the ghost story.

It’s just a ghost story…

Something felt off.

However, her friends were too delicate and needed protection, making it hard to share such thoughts with them.

Someone trustworthy… If Baek Yu-seol were at school, she would’ve immediately gone to him. But unfortunately, he was currently away.

‘What should I do…’

Even as she hesitated, time passed, and students dispersed to their respective places.

Having no other choice, Aiselle decided to leave but then spotted someone ahead.

A girl with short black hair, Flame.

She was walking slowly, reading something with another girl who had twin tails and was about the same height.

Suddenly, Aiselle remembered.

Even if it wasn’t Baek Yu-seol, Flame, who shared many secrets and truths with her, could be trustworthy.

Someone she could confide in, one of the few people in the world she could rely on.

‘The incident has already happened.’

Even if it was all a misunderstanding, that would be fine.

She would just be relieved.

But if her knowledge could help solve this mysterious incident, it was worth trying.

Though she lived being hated by the world, she didn’t want to hate the world in return.

T h i s w a s co p i e d fr o m kin g m t l . o r g
The thought of her friends getting hurt was… horrifying beyond imagination.

Having experienced such a thing, she couldn’t ignore this incident.

That was the extent of her deliberation.

Aiselle promptly approached Flame and grabbed her.

“…Excuse me, may I have a moment?”

“Uh? What is it, Aiselle?”

“Yes.”

Flame, who rarely initiated conversation, opened her eyes wide.

Although she looked like an adorable little sister, Aiselle knew she had a steadfast heart.

So, Aiselle didn’t hesitate to share what she had learned with her.

“I have something to tell you.”

After leaving the Cradle of the Heavenly Spirit Tree, I didn’t immediately return to Stella.

Summer vacation was very important to me. The events inside Stella alone weren’t enough for me to grow stronger. I had to engage in external side events and dungeons to grow.

Growth through training?

I was indeed making significant progress.

I had become proficient in controlling Blink through Taeryeong Divine Art and breathing techniques, and now felt confident enough to face a 3-class mage without losing.

But it wasn’t enough.

My essence was as a player, and the most certain and fastest way to grow was to gain experience.

The protagonists were already surpassing 4-class and looking ahead, but my growth was too slow.

To keep up, protect them, and preemptively prevent crises looming over the world, I had to be at least equal in strength.

While searching for the sacred item for Flowerseorin and preparing for the upcoming Dark Mana Erosion, I caught a decent event from the Bulbul Glasses.

[Welcome to Malentires, the city full of romance and dreams.]

At the city entrance.

A large billboard greeted me.

The billboard was so old that some letters didn’t even light up, making it hard to read.

A city full of romance and dreams?

The words sounded grand, but Malentires was essentially a gigantic slum.

The city’s atmosphere was dead.

The streets were lifeless, and people didn’t even talk, each going their own way. Looking malnourished, the residents wore rags, living in misery.

I walked through them.

I changed out of my Stella uniform into relatively plain clothes.

Wearing the noble-like Stella uniform in the slum would only make me a target of fear and hatred.

But even in plain clothes, the fact that my appearance had become quite polished from living in Stella drew people’s gazes like daggers.

‘They’re really glaring at me…’

There were almost no magic warriors or mercenaries on these streets. There was no game to hunt.

It wasn’t a place with notable local products or advantageous for trade. Even magic warriors rarely visited, so the city was dying.

But a great jewel was hidden here.

The ‘Petal of the Gentle Heart’ that Red Spring March had hidden long ago.

It was in the vicinity of this city.

And… one of the most popular events in the game, [No One Was There], was set to take place here.

The completion experience was substantial, and players crowded the event. But seeing the desolate and eerie city in person felt quite surreal.

‘I wonder how Flame is doing…’

Though the original content had changed a lot, I still trusted Flame. Despite being a protagonist who often made wrong choices and got herself killed, she always overcame every situation, truly an ideal protagonist.

By now, she was probably investigating the Dark Mana Erosion with all her passion. By the time I finished this event and returned, the episode would likely be in full swing, so I had to hurry back.

For now…
T h is w a s c o p ie d f rom k i ng m tl . o r g

I glanced around and walked down a dark alley.

Then, a shabby group began gathering around me. An old woman and a beggar blocked my path, while a crazed-looking woman with disheveled hair staggered towards me.

Ignoring them, I tried to pass, but the crazed woman suddenly grabbed my shoulders and screamed.

“Why!!! You looked at me but ignored me!!”

Deafening.

I stared at her without any change in expression.

Thanks to the blessing of Red Spring March, I wasn’t startled or frightened by such things. Even without it, I wouldn’t have been scared.

“Why, why! Whyyyyyyy!!”

She kept screaming, but as I showed no reaction, she slowly backed off.

Again, she was ‘acting crazy.’

She was pretending to look insane to scare common people.

“…Why, why are you staring like that?”

Seeing my indifferent expression, the woman seemed scared, released my shoulders, and backed away.

“That’s enough.”

After a moment, a man in a trench coat with a fedora appeared in the alley. He pushed aside the beggar and passersby and approached me, pulling the crazed woman back.

“Student, please understand. The people here are half out of their minds due to recent bad events.”

“I know. The ghosts keep appearing, right?”

“…You came knowing that? No airships come here anymore, and the trains stopped, so there are few visitors.”

“It took a while to get here.”

“I see. You must be interested in the rumors.”

He drew out a pipe and lit it.

The beggar and passerby retreated, and the woman, after glancing at me, hurriedly disappeared into the alley.

After a few puffs, he spoke to me without looking.

“Then tell me, are you a person or a ghost?”

T h i s w a s c o p i ed f r o m k i n g m tl.o r g
“What if I say I’m a ghost?”

“I’ll exorcise you.”

Not just exorcise, but destroy.

He must really hate ghosts.

I knew this man well.
T h i s w a s co p i e d f r om k i n g mt l . o r g

One of the few ghost hunters in Aether World, ‘Feng Hwarang.’

“But… since no ghost would claim to be one, it doesn’t matter if you’re human or ghost.”

“Thank you.”

I intended to help him.

Not only because Feng Hwarang was the protagonist of this side event…

But also because he possessed an item that would be extremely helpful for the upcoming Dark Mana Erosion.

Honestly, though I told Flame to prepare for the Dark Mana Erosion episode, no amount of preparation would produce a proper solution.

If the original game events unfolded as usual, Flame would go through numerous hardships and suffer while many casualties occurred within Stella.

So, even though it seemed right to rush back to Stella immediately, it wouldn’t help.

There was no way someone like me could solve it.

But, the solution was outside.

Feng Hwarang held the artifact, ‘Amulet of the Vengeful Spirit.’
T h i s w a s c op i e d f r om k i ng mt l . o r g

If I could bring that back, the difficulty of the Dark Mana Erosion episode would drop exponentially.

Though I felt sorry for Flame, who was likely struggling right now…

‘Just hang in there a bit longer.’

I’ll return soon with a game-breaking item to solve everything in one go.

End of Chapter