Magic Academy's Genius Blinker - Chapter 27

Chapter 27

The Returner (1)

Magic has countless attributes. Some mages use fire, while others use water.

However, a mage who uses fire cannot teach a mage who uses water, so magic schools have a separate ‘Attribute Lecture’ time.

Students who use fire are assigned to a professor who teaches fire, and students who use water are assigned to a professor who teaches water.

However, this is Stella Academy. Occasionally, there are students like Flame who can handle special attributes or multi-attribute magic users like Hae Wonryang or Aiselle, and for these students, there are multi-attribute professors.

One such professor was the famous ‘Professor Eltemon,’ known for handling five different attributes, and he was in charge of special students like Flame.

Flash!

As the tip of Flame’s staff glowed, a tree trunk quickly grew from below a moving scarecrow and bound its feet. The trunk then transformed into metal due to material magic, making the scarecrow immobile, and finally, a beam of light pierced its forehead, completely destroying it.

“Well done. Your reflexes in pinpointing coordinates have improved significantly. However, you still seem quite inexperienced with material attributes. The transformation is slow.”

“I’ll work harder.”

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“Yes. Take it easy. Oh, by the way, I know a Dwarf mage who’s proficient in plant-based material transformation. Would you like me to introduce you?”

“Yes! That would be great!”

Indeed, Stella Academy’s teaching standard is exceptional. The growth rate is incomparable to when she self-studied attribute magic at home. Moreover, some professors were quite kind to Flame, mostly because they were of commoner origin.

“Sigh, I’m exhausted.”

Flame groaned as she collapsed onto a resting chair at the back. Then, a loud rumbling noise echoed from afar.

It was the sound of fire attribute students training.

Boom! Kwoong!!

Sitting there blankly, listening to the explosions, a few female students rushed to the back.

Among them, one was on the verge of tears, and the other students were comforting her.

“It’s okay, Arshuane. You did well too.”

“Exactly. You’re still better at it.”

Arshuane? Flame pricked up her ears at the familiar name.

“…But I’m still lacking in everything compared to the princess.”
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Arshuane said in a tearful voice. It was then that Flame remembered who she was.

‘…Wasn’t she called the fire attribute prodigy?’

Her talent was so exceptional that it was rarely seen even in history, and she garnered attention when she entered Stella. Unfortunately, she encountered Hong Bi-yeon, a once-in-a-generation genius, and got disheartened…

Hong Bi-yeon handled the fire attribute more explosively, but her problem was poor control, often burning unintended places.

Arshuane, on the other hand, was excellent at controlling her fire, specializing in pinpoint incineration, a skill that contrasted sharply with Hong Bi-yeon’s. This comparison caused the first-year Hong Bi-yeon immense stress.

The main cause was her ‘mother,’ but eventually, Hong Bi-yeon started behaving recklessly, ultimately becoming a villainess who met her end at the hands of Aiselle.

“Soon… the princess might surpass even my control.”

…What?

Flame heard something surprising.

“Did you see her terrifying growth rate? She’s already mimicking all my techniques! I practiced for years.”

Flame’s expression hardened. Hong Bi-yeon’s control was supposed to improve only in her second year.

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‘But why already?’

Something must have happened to change the future. Someone had sparked her ‘creativity.’

At that moment, a suspect came to mind.

‘Baek Yu-seol.’

It had to be him. Baek Yu-seol had accelerated Hong Bi-yeon’s growth.

“…What are you thinking so deeply about?”

“Huh?”

Hae Wonryang sat down next to her and asked.

“Thinking about that guy again?”

“That guy? Baek Yu-seol? How did you know? You’ve become a ghost after hanging out with me.”

“…That’s just like you. Always been that way.”

“Sigh. Don’t even mention it. I’ve got so many worries these days.”

“You’re not older than me; we’re the same age.”

“Ahaha, I was born three months earlier! Do you know how big that difference is?”

“No idea.”

“You little… While you were sucking your thumb in your mom’s belly, I was cutting T-bone steak.”

“…Were you cutting steak when you were three months old?”

Hae Wonryang chuckled in disbelief. Even the smallest conversations with her were enjoyable.

After a moment of contemplation, Hae Wonryang asked.

“Are you that curious about Baek Yu-seol?”

“There’s a lot of buzz about him lately.”

“Right? It’s quite fascinating.”

Alchemists were often considered eccentric in the magical society.

Dwarven material magic, akin to alchemy, was challenging to learn and often not directly useful in combat, leading many combat mage cadets to avoid it.

Alchemy was a field mostly studied by alchemists or magical scholars.

As such, alchemy itself was a minor field, and the alchemist society was quite closed.

It wasn’t much different within Stella, as alchemy was considered a subject that only interested students took.

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In the midst of this, the fact that a freshman invented a new potion during an experiment and struck back at Professor Maizen Tiren, who was notorious for favoritism, quickly spread across the school. This proved that Baek Yu-seol’s actions were far from ordinary.

‘Just what is that guy?’

With a complicated feeling, she recalled the ‘original romance fantasy.’

The conflict between Aiselle and Professor Maizen Tiren. This event certainly existed in the original.

But… in the original, Aiselle failed to complete the Tiren Point Potion B-Type.

Despite combining the knowledge of Kasahun and Malivan and showing remarkable ingenuity, they lacked time and failed to find the decisive mixing method.

However, this time it was different.

Baek Yu-seol. He knew the exact mixing method and completed the potion with ease.
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This raises questions.

The ‘completed mixing method’ for Tiren Point Potion B-Type was in the original story, where Maizen Tiren quickly completed and published it as his own after taking Aiselle’s failed result to his lab.

However, nowhere in the original did it detail the mixing method recipe.
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Of course. Why would a romance fantasy include chemical engineering formulas?

‘But how did Baek Yu-seol know that?’

Something was off. He acted as though he knew something, yet moved as if he knew nothing.

Wasn’t this episode the same? Anyone who read the original would know about Aiselle’s first ordeal, but Baek Yu-seol seemed completely unfazed.

‘Could it be an act?… No. There’s no reason to hide and act now.’

After showing his suspicious behavior all this time, why act clueless now? That would be strange.

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‘…He knows future knowledge but doesn’t know the original story?’

Suddenly, she had a thought.

Why did she think of him as a possessor like herself?

There was another possibility.

‘A returner.’

If he were a returner, it would explain why he knew ‘future knowledge’ but not ‘original story’ events. A returner couldn’t remember every small incident that happened to Aiselle.

‘It’s not entirely a ridiculous idea.’

At the end of the original story, Ma Yuseong, a character, did get a ‘chance to return’ once.
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Twelve Divine Moons.

Silver Age November.

The only being in this world with the power of time. Flame remembered every line from that scene vividly.

‘Once, you can turn back time.’

‘But in return, you will lose most of your memories and recollections in the time you go back. You might forget your loved ones, and you might be left only with the mission to save the world.’

‘Also, after completing your mission, your existence will vanish without leaving a trace…’
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The price for turning back time was memories. I would not remember them, and they would not remember me.

‘No one will remember that you saved the world, and even those you loved will forget your existence.’

‘Still, do you wish to turn back time and walk again?’

At that time, Ma Yuseong decided to accept that fate.

Even if he couldn’t be with his loved one after completing his mission, he could accept such a mission if it meant creating a world where his loved one could live happily.

But Aiselle stopped him.

‘I’d rather accept destruction while remembering you than live in a world without you.’

Persuaded by her, Ma Yuseong gave up returning, and the world ended, but they had a beautiful romance, leading to a bittersweet epilogue.

She once thought this ‘sad ending’ was romantic as a fan, but now that it has become a reality, it’s an unacceptable ending.

‘If Baek Yu-seol is really a returner…?’

Flame bit her lip hard. She closed her eyes and thought calmly.

‘It’s conjecture.’

Yes. It’s conjecture. She’s fitting her known information into fragmented details.

‘…I need to think more calmly. It’s not certain yet.’

However, the thought that Baek Yu-seol might be a returner kept lingering in her mind. But Flame tried hard to deny it.

If he were really a returner, imagining the heavy burden of fate he would bear was unbearable.

“I can’t stand it.”

“…What can’t you stand?”

“This curiosity is driving me crazy. It’s not my style to agonize over things. I just need to go and talk it out.”

With that, Flame stood up abruptly and left the classroom, causing Hae Wonryang’s eyes to widen in surprise.

‘Talk it out…’

That one insignificant sentence made his chest feel heavy.

End of Chapter