Magic Academy's Genius Blinker - Chapter 279

Chapter 279

Field Training (8)

***

The castle walls surrounding the Poong Empire were constructed in three layers.

Two of these layers were fortified with magical defenses, making invasions by foreign powers, magical beasts, and monsters nearly impossible.

However, the last layer, built long ago, had lost its magical function and now served as a tourist attraction.

The area was so crowded that if one were to be separated from their group, finding them again would be extremely difficult.

“…And we’re supposed to find a shaman here?”

Anella sighed deeply.

The scenery was beautiful, and the view was nice, but the sheer number of people was enough to make her feel overwhelmed.

As a dark mage in hiding, she should have been avoiding crowds, and she wasn’t sure if wandering around a tourist spot was the right thing to do.

‘Maybe we’ll find her if we keep looking…’

According to the talisman-selling old man, the shaman girl didn’t appear every day.

She only showed up occasionally, as if taking a stroll, whenever she felt like it.

Among the many tourists, there were some who came every day hoping to meet her, but most of them failed.

Honestly, Anella didn’t have high hopes.

Many people had searched for days without success, so the chances of her encountering the shaman girl on her first try seemed slim.

Thump!

As she was absentmindedly walking and admiring the castle walls, someone approached her and bumped into her shoulder.

The impact was strong enough to push Anella back slightly.

It was strange.

If their shoulders collided, it meant the other person was as small as Anella.

However, as a physically adept dark mage, she possessed strength surpassing that of ordinary humans even without unleashing her dark magic.

Something was off.

More than feeling upset, Anella felt a chill run down her spine.

She tried to back away, but the person, whose face was hidden under a wide-brimmed hat, slowly lifted their head.

As the hat rose, a mask covering their eyes came into view.

A pure white cat mask.

Even without a detailed description, she could intuitively tell.

This was the mask the talisman-selling old man had mentioned.

‘The shaman girl.’

But why was fear, rather than joy, her dominant emotion?

“Oh my?”

A smile formed on the girl’s lips.

She approached Anella slowly and gracefully, like a cat.

Then, she gently grasped Anella’s chin and brought it closer to her own.

Anella’s gaze was forcibly fixed on the girl’s lips.

They were as red as fresh blood.

“Cute little dark mage. What brings you here? Did you come to see me?”

What should she say?

Anella tried to shake her head, but the girl’s smile only widened.

“Don’t lie〜 It’s written all over your face that you wanted to see me.”

“Why, why…”

“Why am I here, you ask?”

Anella managed to nod with difficulty.

The Witch’s King.

A being who could manipulate even a 9th-circle mage like the Yeonnok Tower Lord, the supreme ruler of all witches, considered the natural enemy of mages—why was she playing the role of a mere shaman in the Poong Empire?

“Why, you ask? Because it’s fun.”

It was unbelievable.

Anella knew that the Witch’s King’s physical body had been sealed long ago, making it difficult for her to move her true form.

This appearance was likely a clone as well.

Using a difficult-to-control clone just for fun?

That couldn’t be.

“Ahaha, right. I’m just kidding. Actually, ‘fate’ was being guided here. A very, very small fate that no one else noticed, but I was interested. A certain boy was destined to come here.”

“…A boy.”

“Yes. A boy I’ve been watching with great interest lately. A very special boy who has deviated from his fate. To ensure that he definitely headed here… a small variable was needed. Hmm, for example? A Persona Gate? That thing you all like so much.”

“Persona… Gate…?”

“Yes. It was harder to make than I thought.”

Anella stared at the girl with wide eyes.

The witch’s smile, still lingering, was infuriating.

‘She made a Persona Gate…?’

That was impossible.

Only special dark mages who had directly contracted with the otherworld could be called upon to conditionally open a Persona Gate.

Witches were treated similarly to dark mages, but they had no direct connection to the otherworld, so opening a Persona Gate should be impossible for them.

That’s how it should be… that’s normal.

“Nothing is impossible in this world. Just look at Eltemon Eltrine, who had a magical disability, becoming the principal of Stella. Ahaha, fate is so funny. Everyone struts around as if they’re something special, even though they’re just walking a predetermined path.”

Thwack!

Anella pushed away the witch’s hand and quickly stepped back, gathering dark magic in both hands.

Her heart pounded wildly.

She felt like if she took her eyes off her opponent, her head would roll, but she couldn’t help but look away.

‘What’s this…’

Where did all those bustling people disappear to?

The sky was pitch black, and the clouds seemed to be stuck, not moving at all.

“You have something interesting, don’t you?”

“Ah…!”

In the witch’s hand was an old, torn talisman.

Anella frantically searched her pockets, but there was nothing.

‘When did she…’

The witch examined the talisman from front to back, then stroked her chin and asked.

“Who gave this to you?”

“Actually… I think I know. I can smell a familiar scent of a soul I’ve never sensed before.”

Was there anything this witch didn’t know?

Anella felt as if she were completely exposed, naked, but she gritted her teeth and endured.

“Why are you carrying this around?”

“Why did that boy give this to you? Hmm, are you trying to evolve? Or is it a forbidden love between a mage and a dark mage? Oh my, how romantic.”

“Or… do you want to become human?”

Flinch.

Anella’s eyebrows twitched, and the witch burst into laughter.

“Ahaha! It’s so funny. Do you really think that’s possible?”

“…Baek Yu-seol said it was possible.”

“Oh? But what are you going to do? This talisman… it’s already lost all its power and is nothing more than a piece of trash. It must have been an excellent talisman not long ago. Even I couldn’t make one with such perfect craftsmanship. But not anymore. This is just garbage. And you’re just an idiot who relied on such a worthless thing. Do you understand?”

“That’s…”

Baek Yu-seol wouldn’t have given her trash.

Anella wanted to believe that, but could the witch’s words be a lie?

Who should she believe?

“From your expression, you really didn’t know. But it’s not impossible.”

The witch blew on the talisman.

A pure white light filled the talisman, and unknown characters slowly came to life.

“Now, prove your clumsy faith.”

Whoosh- The talisman flew past Anella’s cheek and soared away towards somewhere in the city.

“Ah, no…!”

Anella desperately reached out, but the talisman was already far away, disappearing from sight.

However, she couldn’t give up on the talisman.

Anella jumped off the castle wall, using her dark magic to chase after it at full speed.

Behind her, the witch watched, a smirk playing on her lips.

‘A dark mage becoming human…’

There had never been such a case before.

Dark mages were beings created when human souls were corrupted by the otherworld, and there was no known way to purify them.

But Baek Yu-seol was experimenting with Anella.

Experiment?

No, it was a certainty.

‘That’s… an ancient artifact.’

The fact that he entrusted such a precious item to Anella proved it.

Baek Yu-seol was certain that he could turn Anella back into a human, and he must have given her that item with that belief.

Dark mages cannot return to being human.

That too was a written fate.

But if Baek Yu-seol tried to defy it.

‘This will be interesting to watch.’

***

[Entering the Persona Gate, ‘Shadows Cast by the Wind’.]

[Confirmed as a Risk 3 Persona Gate.]

As soon as I entered the gate, the Bulbul Glasses quickly analyzed the internal situation and briefed me.

I carefully scanned my surroundings, making sure to capture every detail with the glasses to preserve any clues.

This Persona Gate was a place I had never visited even when playing the original game, so a thorough analysis through the glasses was necessary.

A Risk 3 Persona Gate wasn’t particularly dangerous.

Hong Bi-yeon and Bandiyun were 4th-circle mages, and I possessed abilities comparable to theirs.

However, one could never know what might happen, so caution was necessary.

“Everyone, stay alert and don’t let your guard down.”

Bandiyun advanced cautiously, pointing her long staff forward.

“…It’s ordinary?”

One of the students remarked.

And they were right, this place was quite ordinary for a gate interior.

The scenery we saw just before entering was 펼쳐져 exactly the same.

“The background is… the Poong Empire?”

The streets of the Poong Empire.

The buildings of the Poong Empire.

The roads of the Poong Empire.

The only differences were that the sky was pitch black, making everything dark and gloomy, and there wasn’t a single person in sight.

The fact that the once bustling streets were now empty felt quite desolate and chilling.

“You guys can analyze the phenomenon. We won’t interfere.”

This was a field training site for the first-year students.

As second-year students, Bandiyun and Rudelik were only there to provide minimal assistance.

The first-years had to handle the actual combat themselves.

“I’ll calculate the background boundary.”

“Alright. Then I’ll trace the route and figure out the story.”

Analyzing a Persona phenomenon was quite difficult for an individual, so cooperation was essential.

“P-Princess? What part will you take?”

“I’ll do it alone.”

…Of course, there were always exceptions.

“Hey. We came here as a team, so let’s work together.”

When I casually interjected, Hong Bi-yeon’s expression crumpled.

She seemed quite displeased at the suggestion of cooperating with others on something she could do alone.

“…Just this once.”

“Oh? Uh, okay.”

Surprisingly, she agreed quite readily.

‘Then I should also…’

With the performance of the Bulbul Glasses, I could probably find the location of the bathroom in this gate, let alone analyze the phenomenon.

But since it was a training exercise, I decided to go along with the other students.

Besides, I wasn’t the type to enjoy standing out.

As I quietly handled only the parts the other students asked for, working together to piece together the analysis, a small message popped up at the bottom of the Bulbul Glasses.

[The ‘Amulet of the Vengeful Spirit’ has been partially recharged.]

“…Huh?”

What was that all of a sudden?

“What’s wrong? Is there a problem?”

“No. Nothing. And that formula is backwards.”

“Oh? Thanks.”

I turned away the student who showed interest in my reaction and focused on the Bulbul Glasses.

‘What’s going on?’

The Amulet of the Vengeful Spirit had already lost its function, but it was an item with the potential for revival.

It was completely shattered while trying to save Flame, but it was still an artifact-level item.

I had split it in half and given one part to Anella.

Even though its power was depleted, its ability to accumulate ‘faith’ remained.

The power of faith was useless to me, and I thought it would be more helpful if it blossomed in Anella, who was destined to become human in the future.

‘But it suddenly recharged?’

It was much faster than expected.

No, I had only considered the Amulet of the Vengeful Spirit as a supplementary aid for humanization.

With current technology, I thought its restoration was impossible.

‘Why did it recharge?’

[The cause cannot be determined.]

More importantly, there was something else that had been bothering me.

This was inside the Persona Gate, completely isolated from the outside world.

Even the Bulbul Glasses shouldn’t be able to receive information from another world.

‘How did you know the talisman was recharged? Can you communicate between dimensions now?’

[Interdimensional communication is not possible.]

‘Then?’

[The presence of the Amulet of the Vengeful Spirit has been detected in this location.]

“…What? Here?”

I was stunned.

The talisman I gave to Anella was suddenly detected inside the Persona Gate, and it was even recharged.

‘What on earth is going on…?’

Somewhere, something I didn’t know about was happening.

End of Chapter