Magic Academy's Genius Blinker - Chapter 29

Chapter 29

The Returner (3)

S-Class students are entitled to use their dormitories alone. However, not all of them do.

Flame was one such student.

She stayed in a dormitory with three other students because she enjoyed being around her peers.

Flame, who was naturally sociable, was friendly with students from F-Class to A-Class, so her dorm always had students from other classes visiting.

In the cramped 20-pyeong space, seven kids were currently gathered, drinking coffee and eating desserts while chatting away.

“Flame, are you okay?”

While Flame had her head buried in her bed, someone approached her.

It was Jackie.

“Hey.”

“What’s wrong? Tell us about it.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“Got something on your mind?”

“It’s just cramps, so don’t worry about it.”

“Really?”

The other girls quickly stopped paying attention to Flame and resumed their chatter.

How could she tell them? This was a problem she couldn’t share with anyone,

one she had to bear alone.

‘Baek Yu-seol. He said he had forgotten his purpose…’

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It had to be true.

The side effect of returning, losing his most precious memories and purpose.

He was moving purely out of a sense of duty, having forgotten everything else.

And he said he wanted to live. That statement pierced Flame’s heart like a nail.

Wanting to live.

When others said that, it just meant they wanted to live. But Baek Yu-seol was different.

If he had indeed returned using the power of Silver Age November… once his mission was complete, he would disappear entirely from this world.

He would leave no trace in any record, memory, or even the smallest remnant.

Even the conversations they had today might be forgotten.
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She had thought,

that if he was a returner, he would have a brave sense of duty, unafraid of even his own erasure.

But no. Even though he had returned with a sense of duty to save the world, he still wanted to live.

Even knowing he would eventually die, he continued forward, afraid yet determined.

‘We agreed to only share half of our true feelings, didn’t we?’

She had made a promise she should never break, far too easily. From now on, she wouldn’t pry into any of his secrets.

And… if his purpose aligned with hers, she would try to work with him as much as possible.

Beep!
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An alert spell sounded from the dormitory’s door lock.

[Hae Wonryang: Calling Flame]

One of the students saw the automatically inscribed letters and exclaimed in shock.

“Fl-Flame? Hae Wonryang is here to see you?”

“…Press the ‘busy’ button.”

“But…”

“Hae Wonryang is here for you…”

But Flame had already pulled the blanket over her head, as if she couldn’t be bothered to respond.

Jackie watched her for a moment, then glanced at the other kids.

‘Could I… go out and see him?’

Her heart raced. She knew it was pointless, but she couldn’t resist the thought of seeing his face.

She had tried so hard to emulate Flame.

If Flame continued to ignore him like this, he might eventually turn his attention to someone else, right?

“Guys, I’ll be right back.”

Jackie slipped out of the dorm quietly and went down to the first floor.

In the distance, she saw Hae Wonryang staring blankly at the night sky. Even his indifferent and cold gaze was beautiful.

“Um…”

Jackie called out shyly, and Hae Wonryang turned to look at her. She tried to think positively. She was just here to relay the message that Flame was unavailable. And maybe, they could share a brief conversation…

However, reality was much harsher.

“Who are you?”

“…Pardon?”

Jackie stammered, genuinely taken aback.

She had accompanied Flame often enough that Hae Wonryang should have seen her face a few times. Even if they hadn’t formally introduced themselves, he should have at least seen her name tag.

“I’m, uh, Flame’s friend…”

“Oh, I see… Where is Flame?”

Even now, Hae Wonryang only sought Flame, which devastated Jackie, but she forced herself to ignore those thoughts.

“She’s not feeling well and is resting now…”

At her words, Hae Wonryang stared blankly into space.

‘Is he feeling down because he got rejected by a dropout…’

A deep sense of defeat settled in her.

‘What could she possibly see in that idiot?’

Being the heir of the Tower of the Full Moon meant nothing. He was a loser who couldn’t even beat Ma Yuseong, who learned magic as a hobby, and he couldn’t even express his feelings to the girl he liked.

While he was moping, Ma Yuseong would soar into the sky with his genius, and Baek Yu-seol would charm Flame with his silver tongue.

All he could do was… envy and resent them.

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t possess Ma Yuseong’s talent or win Flame’s heart over Baek Yu-seol.

At that moment.

Hae Wonryang felt an electric pain surge through his head.

‘Jealousy? Inferiority? Why am I feeling this way…’

It was strange.

The old him would never have had such thoughts.

Why were such negative, dirty thoughts swirling in his mind?

‘Get a grip. I can’t fall apart.’

He concluded it must be the stress and spoke to Jackie.

“I understand. I’ll be going back now. Give her my regards.”

“Okay…”

With that, Hae Wonryang walked off toward the boys’ dormitory.

Jackie watched him go, clenching her fists so hard that her nails dug into her palms.

‘Annoyed.’

She felt awful.

‘Annoyed, annoyed, annoyed, annoyed, annoyed, annoyed, annoyed.’

T h i s w a s c op i e d f r o m k i n g mtl . org
It had always been like this.

‘Why? Why only Flame? Why?’

Wherever, whenever, whoever.

Everyone always looked at Flame.

The person always in the spotlight was Flame, and the person always loved was Flame.

She had everything: a beautiful face like a celestial being, a friendly personality, and the unique talent to handle magic from different races.

She had it all.

Even the heart of the boy Jackie had her first crush on.

Jackie stared blankly at the night sky.

Endlessly, she stared.

* * *

Main Tower, 79th Floor.

Vice Principal’s Office.

Aki Haydn, the vice principal of Stella Academy and an 8th-class mage, spoke to Professor Maizen Tiren, who stood before him.

“I heard you were humiliated by a student this time, Professor Maizen.”

“…I have no excuse.”

“Yes, you should feel that way. How does it feel?”

At Aki Haydn’s question, Maizen bit his lip.

“…It feels vile.”

“Is that all?”

An almost obsessive question. But Maizen, as if entranced, replied.

“It feels vile, and I’m seething with anger. Why was such talent given to someone like that… I simply cannot understand.”

“Good. Very good. Haha.”

Aki Haydn stood up and patted Maizen on the shoulder, whispering quietly.

“With that mindset, keep moving forward. How’s the ‘Random Sequence Alchemy Technique’ research with the ‘Doctors’ going?”

For the first time, Professor Maizen smiled.

“Of course.”

Currently, she was conducting a very special research. The very special church group called the Moonshadow Church had many brilliant ‘Doctors,’ and they were now researching the ‘Random Sequence Alchemy Technique,’ which combined alchemy and magical engineering.

A nearly impossible research.

Combining alchemy, which deals with the essence of matter, and magical engineering, which imbues magic with attributes.

Many geniuses had tried and failed before.

But this time would be different.

“Is your mind awakening? The special ‘blessing’ I placed on you should be showing its effects by now.”

“Yes. Thanks to it, the research is progressing quickly.”

At those words, Aki Haydn grinned.

‘Foolish woman.’

She probably didn’t even know who was deceiving her. Or maybe she didn’t care.

She was a woman who would make a contract with the actual devil if it meant gaining power and fame.

‘A magic warrior meant to fight Dark Mages, researching for their benefit…’

How much would the world laugh when they found out later? Just thinking about it made him feel thrilled.

‘It’s almost time.’

Dark Mages had always had to hide, oppressed by the power of mages.

Now, only one method remained.

To cause chaos in society with technologies a step ahead of what mages had.

‘Once alchemy and magical engineering are perfected, it’s entirely possible…’

Soon, the time would come.

Until then, he would wait quietly.

* * *

Alterisha didn’t have her own lab. She was temporarily using a storage room attached to Professor Maizen Tiren’s lab.

When I visited to submit the group project report, Alterisha greeted me with a flustered face.

“Haha… I didn’t expect a student to visit on the weekend. I haven’t cleaned up. Is that the report? Just leave it here.”

I wanted to ask ‘where?’ but held back.

It was chaos itself.

Why were coffee cups hanging from the ceiling, and were those scattered papers some sort of artistic decoration for the background? And why was a fluorescent light lying on the floor?

“I’ll just leave it here.”

I cleared some space by pushing aside a thick book on the desk, causing a loud crash as something collapsed.

“…Was that my fault?”

“Hehe… I’ll clean it up soon, so don’t worry! You don’t have to worry!”

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“Oh, okay.”

Alterisha laughed awkwardly and hurriedly tidied up the lab. Honestly, she was often mistreated by Maizen, so even students looked down on her. She wasn’t even a Stella graduate but came from a street alchemist group.

She had managed to get in as an assistant by sheer luck, but unfortunately, she ended up under Maizen and had suffered ever since.

“This is heavy…”

“Let me help.”

When I lifted a box, Alterisha looked surprised. Why was she so shocked? Made me want to show off my muscles.

Anyway, clearing the boxes revealed a blackboard.
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“That’s…”

A magic pen. A pen that would be developed in the future and used by all mages worldwide. To think she had already developed a beta version.

“Oh, that? It’s a formula Professor Maizen is researching with the ‘Doctors.'”

A formula? I hadn’t paid attention to formulas, being interested in the magic pen, but Alterisha seemed knowledgeable and explained.

“They call it the Random Sequence Alchemy Technique… I wanted to look at it, but the professor strictly forbade it, so I gave up. Probably because I’m not skilled enough? I wish I could research such formulas someday. The professor always calls me a fool, though…”

“I see.”

But that formula.

It looked familiar.

‘What was it?’

A fleeting sense of discord in my memory. Like a faint breath, it seemed within reach but just out of grasp.

“May I take a look at this?”

“You can look… but if the professor catches you, we’re both in trouble. We’ll be hated even more…”

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She mumbled something, but my mind was already filled with possibilities.
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‘A flower of hope blooming on a barren patch of sand.’

That was the phrase often used to describe Alterisha.

After the episode where Professor Maizen turned dark, Stella Academy would be greatly shaken.
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The disgrace of having a Dark Mage emerge within the school, combined with the massive material and human losses caused by the rampaging Dark Mage.

Moreover, the Dark Mages, led by Professor Maizen Tiren, would complete the first formula of ‘alchemy magical engineering,’ the ‘Random Sequence Alchemy Technique,’ and their advanced technology would drive them mad.

That’s right.
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Alchemy magical engineering.

I had always waited aimlessly. For the day Alterisha would acquire the technology of alchemy magical engineering and develop inventions.

But come to think of it, alchemy magical engineering wasn’t Alterisha’s technology.

It was the technology of the Dark Mages.

‘How did I not realize this when I was so frustrated by the exclusive items from hunting Dark Mages in the game?’

The countless items that made the already strong Dark Mages even more powerful and annoying.

How long did it take for that technology to fall into the hands of mages?

By then, the technological gap was so vast that it was deemed impossible to surpass the Dark Mages’ technology.

But Alterisha.

With her genius mind, brilliant ideas, unique thoughts, and novel concepts, she would mass-produce countless items that the Dark Mages couldn’t even dream of.

If, by any chance.

If, by some miracle… Alterisha acquired this technology before the Dark Mages?

“…Assistant Alterisha?”

“Hmm? Do you want some coffee?”

“No, it’s not that…”

I looked into Alterisha’s eyes. Although she appeared like a childish girl now, given even a sliver of ‘possibility,’ she would spread her wings and soar high.

From now on, I would give her that slight chance.

“Aren’t you annoyed by Professor Maizen’s harassment?”

“Hmm? Why do you ask…”

“If there was a way to get revenge on him, what would you do?”

“Hehe, I’m just an assistant. What would revenge accomplish? If I get fired, I’ll end up on the streets! Although street life has its own charm…”

“Then how about this? You become a better alchemist than Professor Maizen Tiren, no, better than all the alchemists in the world. So skilled that no one could look down on you.”

At my words, Alterisha stared at me blankly and then laughed foolishly.

“Yeah, that would be… really nice.”

With that, I knew for certain.

Alterisha was already exhausted.

From the life where she was constantly mistreated by Maizen.

From the reality where she had to work in a dusty storage room, taking care of the professor.

From the resentment and frustration of watching her untapped talent rot away.

She must have once dreamed too. To become an alchemist who could invent to her heart’s content… to be such a scientist.

Although she had temporarily put that dream on hold due to her disillusionment with reality.

‘That dream, I will make it come true soon.’

End of Chapter