Magic Academy's Genius Blinker - Chapter 40

Chapter 40

Mock Monster Battle (3)

Time flew by, and the four-day preparation period quickly came to an end. While some teams couldn’t even decide on a monster to target, others practiced diligently from the start.

Flame belonged to the latter group.

This episode wasn’t well-recorded in the original romance novel, so she had to browse through the monster bestiary herself to pre-select potential targets, allowing her to start practicing right from the first day.

Special monsters received enhanced attribute effects, offering greater opportunities for ‘opposite attribute’ bonus points. However, as someone who handled the attribute-less Radiance, Flame had to forgo those bonus points.

No one had succeeded in hunting large-sized special monsters in the original story, so she decided to leave that challenge behind.

Instead, she aimed to tackle medium-sized monsters alone, just like Ma Yuseong did in the original romance novel.

As a result, she didn’t need to worry about opposite attributes or anything like that. She would receive the highest score regardless, so the minor details didn’t matter.

“Four days might have been short or long, but you must remember that this was ample time I gave you. You could choose your desired monster and practice,” said Instructor Lee Han-wol as he began the performance evaluation with 100 students from Class A and 41 from Class S.

Stella Dome was filled with spectators, with plenty of seats prepared for them. Higher seats were reserved for professors, and there were also seats for classmates and upperclassmen.

‘Hmm, I hope Aiselle does well…’

Aiselle usually fell into despair because of Hong Bi-yeon. Initially, Flame had wanted to recruit her onto her team.

But to her surprise, Aiselle was teaming up with Baek Yu-seol.

‘Well, if it’s Baek Yu-seol… he’ll handle things well.’

If Aiselle scored high in the Mock Monster Battle, her bleak future would change significantly.

“Now, let’s begin the performance evaluation. Group 1, come forward and prepare.”

As Lee Han-wol called out, Group 1 took their positions. They positioned a knight in front and three bishops in a triangular formation behind.

The knight was to draw the monster’s attention, one bishop to immobilize it, and the other two to deliver explosive attacks.

As Group 1 got into position, a monster the size of an excavator was summoned before them, bathed in a halo of light.

“Oh… it’s a ‘Mugreika’?”

“Yes.”

Mugreika was a turtle-like monster with a hard shell but weak to fire attributes, making it relatively easy for mages to handle.

T h i s w a s co p i e d f ro m k i ng m tl .o r g
Since the students lacked experience, they seemed to have chosen a less threatening monster with straightforward hunting methods.

Whoosh! Boom!

Group 1 effectively disrupted Mugreika’s most dangerous attack, the ‘spinning charge,’ and coordinated their attacks, successfully defeating it cleanly.

“Great!”

“Whew…”

Even if they didn’t kill the monster, they could still earn points. The process and individual roles were important.

However, succeeding in hunting the monster meant a higher achievement score, so Group 1 came down from the platform with joyful expressions.
Th i s w as c o pi e d fr o m ki n gmt l . o r g

Next was Group 2’s evaluation.

It seemed they hadn’t prepared properly; they struggled to form positions and, when the monster appeared, hastily engaged it.

Without a knight, two bishops should have formed a defensive line, but they didn’t trust each other and set up personal barriers, which quickly broke like autumn leaves. They failed to deal significant damage and were ultimately wiped out.

Though they were from Class A and had strong individual skills, internal discord seemed to have been an issue.

“What are they doing?”

“Haha, they said all the promising students are in first-year, but they’re just clowns.”

Some second and third-year students mocked them, and their plight was indeed laughable.

“…Next, Group 3.”

Quickly, the evaluations continued, and it was finally Flame’s turn.

“Group 17, come forward.”

“Hoo…”

Flame took a deep breath, touched her neatly rolled-back hair, and moved to the center platform.

Th is w as c o p ied fr o m k in gm t l . o r g
‘Huh?’

Along the way, she tripped on something, causing her to almost fall forward.

‘Oh no?!’

Just as she was about to hit the ground, someone grabbed her by the nape of her neck, preventing her fall.
T h i s was cop i ed f r o m k i ng mt l . o r g

“Cough.”

Flame, who was so small she seemed to dangle from someone’s hand, drew laughter from the onlookers.

“What’s up with her? She’s so cute.”

“Is she from the middle school division? She looks shorter than my middle school sibling.”

T h i s w a s c o p i e d f r o m k i n gm t l . o rg
“The person who caught her looks about the same age.”

She slowly turned her head and saw Baek Yu-seol holding her by the nape. She broke out in a sweat and said,

“…Let go.”
T h i s w a s c o p ied f r om ki ng m t l . o r g

“Oh, sorry.”

“No, thank you.”

After regaining her balance and taking a sigh of relief, Baek Yu-seol pointed down and said,

“Tie your shoelaces again.”

“…Huh?”

She then noticed that one of her shoelaces was completely untied. It had been fine when Jackie tied them for her earlier.

If she had gone into battle with them like this, it would have been a disaster.

“Shall I tie them for you?”

“No, it’s fine.”

Flame quickly tied her shoelaces and climbed onto the platform.

And then, another question arose.

“…Is she alone?”

T h i s w as c op ie d f rom k in g m t l. o r g
“Seems like it.”

“Is she really doing this alone?”

“There were kids like that last year too. Those who couldn’t form a team because they had no friends.”

“Oh… right, that did happen.”

The second-year students whispered and nodded.

“There are always kids like that. They act all high and mighty because of their looks and end up as outcasts.”

“In the magic society, relationships are crucial.”

Ignoring their misunderstandings, Flame’s individual evaluation began.

The monster she faced was a ‘Mack Giant,’ a large and ordinary medium-sized monster. It had no special attributes and wasn’t particularly popular in evaluations since it didn’t provide any attribute advantage.

“Hoo…”

Flame tightly gripped her staff, which was longer than her upper body, with both hands.

“Begin.”

At Lee Han-wol’s command, the mock battle began. The Mack Giant, regaining its senses, immediately charged at Flame.

While standing still, Flame stomped her staff on the ground.

‘Whisper of the petals carried by the wind.’

Whoosh…

A blue leaf swayed from somewhere, and thorny vines sprouted from the Mack Giant’s body.

Roar!!

Crack, snap!

The vines initially seemed unable to withstand the giant’s strength and began tearing, but they soon hardened, making it impossible.
T h i s w a s cop i e d f r o m ki n g m t l . or g

‘Material Mutation.’

Creak, crack!!

The vines’ hardness increased, becoming rock-like, slowing the Mack Giant’s movements. Flame then summoned three orbs of light above her head.

The small, diamond-shaped orbs grew larger and aimed lasers at a single point in the air.

Ziiing…

The increasing brightness of the orbs grew until, at the moment the Mack Giant broke free from the vines,

Boom!

A massive beam of light shot out, piercing the Mack Giant’s abdomen.

Roar!!

“What…?”

“What just happened…?”

It all happened in an instant.

She only used three spells in combination, yet inflicted a fatal wound on the medium-sized monster.

‘Weak.’

But it was only a fatal wound, not death. As the Mack Giant roared and charged, Flame extended thick wooden vines in all directions and launched herself along them.

Though she couldn’t use power jumps like the knight class, she maintained her physical training and practiced controlling the vines. A monster like the Mack Giant, with no long-range attack capabilities, couldn’t catch her.

‘Waving Vines.’

Moving on the swaying vines, Flame fired beams. Some vines were forcefully torn by the Mack Giant, and she almost fell several times, creating tense moments.

Ultimately, the fatally wounded Mack Giant couldn’t hold out and fell to Flame’s final blow.

Bang!!

A thin beam pierced the Mack Giant’s neck!

“W-whoa. That’s amazing.”

“A first-year… unbelievable.”

“Is that even possible…?”

Everyone was astonished, their mouths agape. Some external magic scholars even took off and put on their glasses repeatedly, while the second-year students who had mocked Flame were left speechless.

“…Perfect execution. Well done.”

Even as Lee Han-wol praised her, he realized his words were somewhat amusing. But he spoke the truth.

Flame had single-handedly handled tanking, holding, and dealing, perfectly executing all roles.

“Thank you.”

When Flame stepped down, the first-year students were in shock.

“C-crazy… We struggled to handle one medium-sized monster with five people, and she… did it alone?”

“Who is she…?”

First-year students from F to B classes were also observing, and they recalled their failures, feeling self-deprecating.

“Next, come forward.”

Following Flame, the next group approached the platform, their confidence shaken. Though they succeeded in their strategy, they didn’t perform impressively.

Flame had left too strong an impression.

As several groups passed,

“Group 31, come forward.”

It was finally Hong Bi-yeon’s turn.

‘Huh?’

Flame, resting in her seat, raised an eyebrow. Originally, Hong Bi-yeon should have conducted the evaluation with six members of her faction, but unexpectedly, she came up with Ma Yuseong.

‘What’s with this combination?’

Even in the original romance novel, these two had no particular connection, making Flame even more curious as the monster appeared before Hong Bi-yeon.

Gasps erupted from the spectators.

“A Sea Reptilia…?”

“Oh my, a large-sized special monster.”

“They went out of their way to find and hunt that…”

“Wait, isn’t that ‘opposite attribute’?”

“Are they insane?”

Some professors and mages quickly pulled out magic charts to search for Hong Bi-yeon and Ma Yuseong’s attributes.

Many teams had tried to challenge large-sized special monsters and failed, even targeting advantageous attributes.

But to completely neglect attribute advantages…

That was a blatant attempt to score points.

“But they can only earn those points if they succeed, right?”

As doubts arose, Lee Han-wol gave the start command.

Screeeech!

At that moment, the Sea Reptilia roared and soared into the sky.

With a hard shell and water manipulation abilities, it could even fly, making it an extremely difficult boss!

Though it was only 3-risk due to its vulnerability to ice spells, without ice magic, it was at least 4 or 5-risk level.

“Begin.”

As Hong Bi-yeon raised her staff and spoke, Ma Yuseong spun his wand, shorter than his forearm, and stepped back.

“The knight is stepping back from the bishop?”

“What are they doing?”

T h i s w a s co p ie d fr om ki ng m t l . o r g
Thump!

As the mages watched with wide eyes, Ma Yuseong power-jumped diagonally into the air.

“Oh… quite an impressive power jump for a first-year.”

“But it won’t reach the Sea Reptilia. Power jumps can’t be used mid-air.”

“What is he planning?”

As if to quickly resolve their questions, Ma Yuseong summoned a square stone platform beneath his feet.

Then, synced with his jump timing, Hong Bi-yeon’s fireball exploded at a precise point, propelling Ma Yuseong forward again.

Moving like a rocket with tremendous speed!

“Ah…”

“He planned to reach it in two consecutive jumps from maximum range!”

As they predicted, Ma Yuseong reached the Sea Reptilia’s height and summoned a massive stone fist in the air.

‘Fist of the Giant.’

Boom!!

The powerful physical impact cracked the Sea Reptilia’s shell, sending its bulky body crashing to the ground. Ma Yuseong didn’t miss the opportunity to bind it with stone shackles.

Though not a holding-type mage, his spell quickly broke, but he had bought enough time.

Whoosh!!

Hong Bi-yeon, arguably the strongest fire mage in the first year, completed her spell!

A massive fireball, reminiscent of a small sun, struck the Sea Reptilia, and the tremendous explosion echoed through the arena.

“Oh my goodness…”

“That’s a 3-class spell?”

“Incredible…”

The Sea Reptilia’s mucus, designed to withstand fire spells, was ineffective against overwhelming firepower.

As the mucus melted and its skin burned, the Sea Reptilia screamed in agony.

With its protective mucus gone, unable to fly anymore, and its shell shattered by Ma Yuseong’s physical power, it was no longer a threatening monster.

Bang!!

Hong Bi-yeon’s fireball exploded inside its shell, finishing the Sea Reptilia.

A moment of silence.

Then, cheers erupted.

“Wow, woooo!!”

“Crazy, this year’s freshmen are truly insane!”

“Killing a medium-sized monster alone was incredible, but they’re amazing too!”

“That’s on par with the performance of the senior from last year’s third-year S class!”

“Wow, they really are geniuses.”

The performance evaluation vividly showcased what happens when overwhelmingly talented individuals combine it with a spirit of challenge.

After the evaluation, Hong Bi-yeon glanced somewhere. It was where Aiselle and Baek Yu-seol were seated.

He was standing up, possibly for his turn next, and their eyes almost met, but Hong Bi-yeon quickly turned her head.

T h i s w a s co p i e d f r o m k i ng m t l .o r g
‘Hmph, they won’t be able to top this, right?’

Feeling a surge of confidence, Hong Bi-yeon proudly returned to her seat.

The excitement hadn’t even faded when Baek Yu-seol and Aiselle stepped onto the platform, but no one paid attention.

Hong Bi-yeon felt quite satisfied with the situation. Perfect victory. No matter which monster Baek Yu-seol chose, he wouldn’t be able to outperform her.

Or so she thought.

“Please summon five monsters.”

Silence.

Baek Yu-seol’s unexpected words left the entire arena in a hushed state.

End of Chapter