Magic Academy's Genius Blinker - Chapter 295
Chapter 295
League of Spirit (8)
***
Slightly curly, short hair with light freckles, droopy eyes, and black pupils.
A small stature and an overall ordinary impression.
Jo Yerin, a sophomore in Class D at Stella Academy, was one of those girls you could find anywhere.
Of course, having enrolled in Stella, Jo Yerin was the most noticeable and brilliant student in her hometown school.
But here, she was just Student A, neither particularly bad nor good at her studies.
Her personality wasn’t abrasive, and perhaps because the very idea of using offensive magic on others terrified her, the path of a magic warrior didn’t quite suit her.
However, she couldn’t just give up, not with her parents, teachers, and friends back home having high hopes for her.
That’s when she turned her attention to the ‘League of Spirit’.
A sport where you could attack others without anyone getting hurt.
Jo Yerin was drawn to it and joined the League of Spirit club, but even there, she didn’t stand out and was often pushed around.
She just hoped to be on a team someday and practiced alone.
One day.
‘Cadet Jo Yerin? You’re on our team.’
She was placed on a team called ‘Marun White’ with unfamiliar students she had never met.
They consisted of two boys and two girls, who claimed they had transferred through the technical subjects track rather than being cadets of Stella’s Magic Warrior Department.
“Is she the sophomore cadet?”
“She seems a bit clumsy for a magic warrior hopeful, doesn’t she?”
“Leave her be. As long as she’s good at fighting, it’s fine.”
The four of them seemed to know each other, and they openly ostracized Jo Yerin.
But she was used to it and didn’t pay much attention, thinking she just needed to do well herself.
However, they seemed to be bothered by Jo Yerin.
“Hey, you moron! Are you even a magic warrior cadet? We lost because of you!”
“Be quicker with the backup! Don’t you know you’re supposed to reinforce the top lane?”
“Ugh, what a frustrating idiot.”
The insults flew constantly.
‘It was your fault. It was on the minimap, you should have noticed and avoided it.’
Jo Yerin didn’t think she had done anything wrong, but she was too timid to say anything.
Months passed, and their bullying didn’t change.
[Defeat! Marun White Team]
Even now, after losing the school preliminaries, the arrows of blame were aimed at Jo Yerin.
“You dimwit. Can’t you even block that properly? I told you to rush in quickly and provide backup!”
“But the enemy team’s knight was forming a defensive line in front of me. You should have seen my situation and moved in…”
“Are you saying it’s my fault now? You crazy bitch! You know if I report this to the professor in charge, you’re done for, right?”
“Th-that’s…”
“Ugh, damn it. If only that guy had transferred in, we would have had five members and wouldn’t have to use this moron.”
“Hey, hey. Stop talking about that.”
When the topic of the transfer student came up, another team member quickly stopped him.
It seemed to be a sensitive issue, but Jo Yerin, whose mind was already in tatters, didn’t care.
‘Already two consecutive losses…’
It was already too late to participate in the preliminaries.
They needed to win all their remaining matches to even have a chance at placing in the top three, which seemed impossible for this team with no teamwork.
If her dream of participating in the preliminaries was crushed again this year, Jo Yerin would have no choice but to give up on League of Spirit altogether.
[Players who have finished their matches, please wait in the lounge.]
Hearing the announcement, Jo Yerin trudged out of the arena with her head hung low.
When a shadow fell over her, she slowly lifted her head.
Her bangs almost covered her eyes, so she couldn’t see clearly at first.
But she soon realized who it was and her eyes widened.
‘Baek Yu-seol?’
He was much taller than she expected, and his face had matured since she last saw him.
His name tag read ‘1st Year, Class S, Baek Yu-seol’.
Jo Yerin swallowed hard.
What was this student, the talk of the school, doing here?
“Hello, Senior.”
“Oh, oh? Me?”
“Yes. Senior Jo Yerin. But why are you using formal language?”
“Ah, ah! S-sorry…”
“There’s nothing to be sorry about.”
You idiot! Jo Yerin scolded herself internally.
She was a senior, and yet she was showing such a foolish side to her junior.
“Um, is this the second time we’ve met…?”
She cautiously tried to lead the conversation as a senior, but Baek Yu-seol tilted his head.
“Isn’t it the first time?”
“Ah, no. We met in the first semester. In the cafeteria, I dropped my tray, and you appeared with Blink and caught it…”
“Ah.”
How could he remember that? Baek Yu-seol swallowed those words and smiled.
“Yes. Then we are acquainted.”
“Right. But… what brings you here?”
“Actually, I came to talk to you, Senior. Senior Jo Yerin, you’ve lost two consecutive matches in the preliminaries, right?”
At his words, she hung her head and looked dejected.
Baek Yu-seol glanced around and then leaned closer to Jo Yerin.
Ah…
Before she could even pull her head back in surprise, Baek Yu-seol whispered in a small voice.
“Senior. Don’t you want to win?”
“Huh, huh?”
“I see a lot of potential in you. You have good judgment, and your combat skills are decent, but you’re being held back by your team and can’t shine.”
“I’m not sure…”
“No. I’m certain. Senior, don’t you know me? I’m Baek Yu-seol. I’m incredibly good at using my head.”
“Ah! Right! The greatest genius who even blasphemes God!”
“…Where did you hear that nickname?”
“Huh? Just from the newspaper.”
“Anyway, that’s not important. I’ll teach you a quick way to win by leveraging your strengths.”
Jo Yerin hesitated and glanced behind her.
There, the four members of the Marun White team were gathered, snickering.
“Are those the friends from the Marun region?”
“Yeah… I’m just a tag-along. It seems they put me in because a student who was supposed to transfer couldn’t make it.”
“Ah, right. That friend must be running on the eternal wheel of reincarnation by now.”
“Wheel?”
“No. It’s nothing. Then let’s do this. You know your next match is against the Patrice team, right?”
“I’ll give you a detailed strategy, so try acting independently. Just rush in alone.”
“Wh-what? If I do that…!”
“If you do that, they won’t leave you alone? What does it matter? Weren’t you planning to leave the team if you lost here anyway?”
“Ah…!”
Jo Yerin’s eyes widened, surprised that Baek Yu-seol had accurately read her mind.
“And if you keep fighting like this, you’ll lose the next match anyway. If you’re going to lose, wouldn’t it be better to trust me and take a gamble?”
Jo Yerin hesitated, glancing around, and spoke cautiously.
“Even if I act independently… will they follow me?”
“They will. After all, you’re still part of the team, and they know how big of an impact one person’s absence can have. They’re probably more desperate to win than you are right now.”
“Really…?”
Jo Yerin couldn’t understand it, but Baek Yu-seol was certain.
If they didn’t make it to the finals here, who knows what those Dark Mages would do.
“Me, going in first…”
She seemed a bit nervous.
A team fight initiated by her? That had probably never happened before.
It would likely be unfamiliar to both her team and herself.
But they would definitely win.
‘Senior Jo Yerin wasn’t meant to be on this team in the first place.’
In the original game, she was part of a better team, leading them as a natural strategist.
But because the original story had been twisted, she ended up filling the empty spot of a Dark Mage and couldn’t perform to her full potential.
If she could just get her act together, there was more than enough reason for the team to win.
“Then from here…”
Baek Yu-seol began to explain, one by one, the detailed analysis of the teams Jo Yerin would face according to the bracket.
It took quite some time, but Jo Yerin understood all of Baek Yu-seol’s thoughts.
And she quickly realized how valuable a gift he had given her.
“But, is it okay for you to do this for me…? We’re all competitors, after all.”
Now that she thought about it, it was strange.
Why would he suddenly appear and help a competitor?
But giving a serious excuse here would only make him more suspicious.
“Just, you know, helping each other out. Anyway, fighting! Make sure you make it to the finals.”
Baek Yu-seol said that and quickly disappeared.
Jo Yerin carefully wrote down the strategy he had analyzed on a piece of paper and clutched it tightly.
‘I’m going to win, too!’
She was tired of always losing.
Now that she was at Stella, something had to change.
“Aja!”
She quietly pumped herself up, but quickly became self-conscious, wondering if anyone had seen her.
She hunched her shoulders and scurried away.
It seemed her personality wouldn’t change that easily.
“So. You went to help another team?”
Aiselle asked incredulously, and Baek Yu-seol answered while eating bread.
“I had my reasons.”
“Hmm… I know you always have your reasons, but to skip out on our team’s meeting, which is essentially our dinner time, to help another team…”
“It doesn’t matter anyway. Our team won’t meet that team in the bracket.”
It was probably for the best.
If they had to face the Marun White team, Baek Yu-seol might have persuaded Flame to manipulate the game and intentionally lose.
But he soon realized that simply losing once wouldn’t be enough.
The Marun White team’s performance was seriously poor.
Fortunately, as if by divine intervention, a promising future player named Jo Yerin was on that team.
Just by giving her a little nudge, the Marun White team would start winning from now on.
‘If that happens…’
Baek Yu-seol would have completely fulfilled Professor Laydin’s request.
Now, he would have to grant Baek Yu-seol’s request, ‘Anella’s transfer’, no matter what.
“It’s fine. We’ve already earned a lot of points. We can afford to relax a bit.”
Flame said, stretching.
The next match was more important, as they would face Gayurin’s ‘Emerald Stella’ team.
In the original romance novel, Aiselle and Gayurin would clash, with Aiselle ultimately winning and overcoming her emotional struggles.
In the original game…
Flame would just crush everyone.
The concept of the League of Spirit part was more focused on the protagonist’s action scenes rather than the emotional development with the male lead.
“Oh, the next match has started.”
At Aiselle’s words, Flame and Baek Yu-seol looked up.
[Emerald Stella VS Today Members]
Both were well-known teams, and it wouldn’t be surprising if either of them made it to the finals.
But Flame and Baek Yu-seol could easily predict the outcome.
“Gayurin’s side will lose.”
“Really? I thought the Emerald team was stronger…”
“They are. But they’ll lose.”
He couldn’t say why.
However, it was fate that Gayurin’s mistake would lead to the team’s defeat, and they would meet Flame’s team when their points were on the line.
[Victory! Today Members Team]
[Defeat! Emerald Stella Team]
As expected, the Emerald Stella team lost due to Gayurin’s solo play in the late game, resulting in a ridiculous defeat.
If they lost one more time, their hope of reaching the finals would be shattered.
And the ‘protagonist’s role’ was to completely crush that hope.
In truth, this part was only important to Flame, and Baek Yu-seol didn’t really care how it turned out.
He was more focused on…
[Marun White VS Black Circus]
Jo Yerin, nervously gripping her staff and trembling, and the four Dark Mages with grim expressions, knowing that another loss meant the end.
Their opponents also looked tense, aware that a loss here meant the end for them too.
‘They’ll win.’
As the match started, and Jo Yerin began to move aggressively, Baek Yu-seol was filled with certainty.
***
Haoya Plains, Lotus Inn.
“Here. This is last year’s exam. And this is a collection of this year’s mock exams. This is a spell-writing manual and solution book, and this is a thesis on multiple perspectives on multi-magic design theory, which is said to be this year’s essay topic, so make sure to study it.”
Thump! Thump! Thud!
Thick books piled up one after another.
Anella, with a dazed expression, stopped studying and stared at them.
“Alright, that should be enough, right? I have to run errands for the young miss, so I’ll be going now.”
“Wait a moment!”
She hurriedly grabbed the maid who was about to leave, and the maid tilted her head.
“Hmm? What is it? Would you like some orange juice? Or candy?”
“I’m not a child…”
She was annoyed by the treatment.
It was nice that she could stay at Zeliel’s Starcloud Trading Company thanks to Baek Yu-seol’s request, and it was nice that she could study.
But the pace of her studies was fast.
Too fast!
“You said your goal was to transfer this year, right? Young Miss Zeliel is the type to wholeheartedly fulfill Mr. Baek Yu-seol’s requests, so she set a tight schedule. Oh, a tutor from Stella will be coming soon. They’re still young and busy with research, but she managed to bribe them by offering a lab.”
“Oops, this is a secret.” The maid said slyly and quickly ran away. Anella slammed her face onto the desk in despair.
“I hate studying…”
Why did she think that becoming human would be a happy life?
She felt foolish for imagining herself frolicking in the blue sky with butterflies, squirrels, and cats.
Humans were a species that had to study and work until death to survive.
“Ughhhhh…”
Anella felt like her soul was leaving her body.
But then, an illusion of Zeliel appeared from somewhere, grabbing her soul by the scruff and shoving it back into her mouth.
She would stop at nothing to get Anella into Stella.
“Save me…”
Today, too, a certain girl’s cries could be heard somewhere in the Lotus Inn.
But because Young Miss Zeliel hid her so well, no one knew her identity.
It was a pity.
End of Chapter
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RayanArcadia
You stopped being a Dark Mage but now you will learn the true despair of cramming years worth of magic knowledge for the entrance exams. Kahahaha, MWAHAAHAHAAH!