Magic Academy's Genius Blinker - Chapter 41

Chapter 41

Mock Monster Battle (4)

T hi s w a s c op i e d fr o m k i n g m t l. o rg
“…What did you just say?”

Lee Han-wol mumbled, scratching his ear with a pen, and Baek Yu-seol repeated himself.

“Five monsters. I’ll now list them.”

“Is he finally crazy? No, I knew he was crazy, but still, this is…”

“When did I ever go crazy?”

“Think about it with your foot on your chest.”

“My foot?”

As Baek Yu-seol pondered how to place his foot on his chest, Aiselle listed the five monsters first.

“Summon Heimer Radun, Sandmane Black Ox, Boxer Mantis, Flash Fishes, and Kaiden, please.”

Her words carried weight, so Lee Han-wol nodded immediately and instructed the Stella Dome setting control room.

As the five medium-sized monsters were summoned, the monster scholars observing the performance evaluation were astonished.

“That combination is… hmm?”

They, who knew the hidden characteristics and traits of the monsters, were already visualizing the combination in their minds.

However, understanding such a combination required specialized knowledge or extensive practical experience like Lee Han-wol’s. Most people present were clueless.

Even the magic professors couldn’t comprehend it, so ordinary students had no chance of catching on.

“Hey, Ma Yuseong. Do you get it?”

“I don’t know…”

That included Hong Bi-yeon and Ma Yuseong, and even Flame, watching quietly from behind, couldn’t figure out any hints from the complex combination.

“Summoning complete. Ready?”

“Yes.”

Aiselle and Baek Yu-seol uniquely positioned themselves at the very center of the platform. The five medium-sized monsters surrounded them.

Aiselle tried to calm her rapidly beating heart, but it wasn’t easy. It was her first time using this ‘method’ in real combat, so she couldn’t help but feel anxious.

“Hey, you got this?”

“…Of course.”

“Just trust me completely.”

“I’m tired of hearing that.”

“Sorry. It was a catchphrase in my hometown.”

“Somehow, it feels like an outdated catchphrase. You speak like an old man.”

“…How did you know?”

“Obvious.”

As Aiselle turned her head and touched her staff, she realized she was relaxing.

Baek Yu-seol’s meaningless chatter had eased her nerves.

“Hoo…”

Seeing Aiselle fully relaxed and composed, Baek Yu-seol surveyed the placement of the five medium-sized monsters.

The method to take down five medium-sized monsters with just two people.

It’s simple.

In Aether World, players attempted various challenges to defeat more than two medium-sized monsters.

With hundreds of possible monsters, they could create numerous combinations. During that time, a player discovered specific monsters reacted to the traits of others.

Once they knew that? The rest was simple.

They delved deeper into these traits to create a situation where ‘monsters antagonized each other.’

The so-called, borrow-the-knife strategy.

Using someone else’s weapon to defeat an enemy without exerting your own power.

“…Let me ask one last thing. Who decided on this monster placement?”

“I did.”

“Well. As a knight, you can score even in extreme situations. But for a bishop, this strategy might be too harsh.”

At Lee Han-wol’s sharp question, Baek Yu-seol confidently replied.

“No. This strategy is entirely for the bishop.”

People murmured at his words, but Lee Han-wol believed Baek Yu-seol a bit and nodded.

“Then, let’s begin.”

At his command, the monsters regained their senses and turned their gaze to Baek Yu-seol and Aiselle in the center.

The distance wasn’t far. They could reach them in an instant.

As the monsters regained their senses and began searching for prey,

Aiselle’s body began to change.

She let go of her staff and floated slightly in the air.

As the resonating sound of mana hummed, the professors stood up in shock.

“Wait! That’s… Supernatural Resonance!”

“Impossible. Supernatural Resonance occurs only when a 6-class or higher mage fully enters the unconscious world…”

With her chest out and arms hanging down, Aiselle closed her eyes, her staff still spinning and gathering mana in front of her.

A deep blue, icy mana.

“But… Supernatural Resonance can only be performed when one’s safety is completely assured.”

“Even if it’s an illusion, if a monster touches her, she’ll suffer mana backlash and become a mana cripple…”

“Hey, Instructor! Stop the evaluation immediately! It’s too dangerous!”

The professors clamored, but Lee Han-wol didn’t listen. He planned to intervene if Aiselle was truly in danger but didn’t think it would come to that.

‘It’s started.’

Baek Yu-seol admired her silently. Truly a monster in concentration. To perform Supernatural Resonance at just 3-class, Aiselle was the only genius he knew capable of it.

‘Now, it’s my turn.’

Since she began her work, it was time for Baek Yu-seol to move.

[Blink]

He quickly moved to Heimer Radun, one of the medium-sized monsters, and stabbed its abdomen with the Terivon Sword.

Roar…!

‘Heimer Radun,’ emits a red light from its forehead when in pain.

Flash! Heimer Radun, resembling a toad, emitted a red light from its forehead, causing another monster approaching Aiselle to react.

‘Sandmane Black Ox,’ enraged by red light, charges at the target while kicking up sand.

Growl, roar-!!

The massive muscular ox charged at Heimer Radun.

‘Damn.’

With Aiselle directly in the Black Ox’s path, Baek Yu-seol used Blink again to move to the ox’s side.

He then rammed it with all his might, diverting its charge just enough to miss Aiselle.

“W-what…”

The mages gaped, not at Baek Yu-seol’s antics but at Aiselle’s concentration.

Despite hearing the ox’s roar and feeling its wind pressure as it charged, she didn’t lose focus.

“Unbelievable… concentration.”

“Or maybe she trusts the knight to protect her perfectly.”

Boom!!

As the two medium-sized monsters collided, the ox’s body sprayed a massive amount of sand everywhere.

‘Flash Fishes,’ terrified of sand touching their skin, generate and release a massive amount of water.

Sensing danger, Flash Fishes stopped and spewed water. The platform, being enclosed, began to fill with water.

‘Kaiden,’ sensing moisture, emits a scream over 7 octaves.

Screech-!!!

‘Boxer Mantis,’ sensitive to sound, can’t contain their anger and lashes out at anything over 7 octaves.

Whack!

One by one, the five medium-sized monsters began to entangle with each other. The observing mages finally realized the strategy.

Aiselle’s team had thoroughly analyzed the traits and attributes of the monsters to create this chain reaction.

“My goodness. Do they know all the monster’s traits?”

“Even as a monster scholar, I never thought of this…”

“Too reckless and foolish.”

“But…”

Boom, rumble!!

The monsters, completely ignoring Aiselle in the center, were too busy fighting each other.

Sand flew, water accumulated on the ground, and the red light glowed even brighter.

Amidst this, Baek Yu-seol perfectly performed the role of a ‘knight.’

Knight position.

Literally, protecting the bishop and blocking the enemy until their spellcasting was complete.

T h i s w a s c o p i ed f ro m k i n g m t l. o r g
When a blinded monster charged at Aiselle, Baek Yu-seol swiftly moved and slashed its ankle with his sword.

Before the monster could get angry at Baek Yu-seol, it was hit by another monster and couldn’t regain its senses.

When another monster charged, Baek Yu-seol blocked it with his body, or Blinked to another position to intercept any incoming threats.

“Unbelievable. It’s dazzling.”

He moved freely.

Thanks to the Terivon Sword’s light beam, his Blink left a trail of light in the air.

One by one, the lights carved into the air slowly mesmerized the onlookers.

Here, there, everywhere.

It wasn’t just visually dazzling. His movements were perfectly efficient, covering all the bishop’s blind spots alone.

He was… the ideal ‘knight.’

A knight that protected his charge flawlessly.

The battle grew more intense, and as the monsters began to tire and sustain injuries,

Flash!

Aiselle finally opened her eyes, shining with a blue light, and gripped her staff.

Instantly, the shallow lake accumulating on the ground froze, and a massive flower grew high into the sky.

A single ice flower, emitting a refreshing blue light from its petals.

“Crystal Flower.”

The brilliantly sparkling pale blue flower was beautiful enough to make one give up their soul.

“So beautiful…”

“Wow…”

Even the most intricately carved artwork couldn’t compare to it.

The professors stopped evaluating ‘a student’s magic.’ They simply admired the magic of ‘a mage.’

Th i s w a s c op ie d f r o m k i n g m t l . o r g
Her magic was too sophisticated for a student. No mage could display such beautiful magic.

Th i s w as c o pie d f r o m k i n g m tl . o rg
Roar….

Growl…!

The medium-sized monsters, now ankle-deep in frozen water, struggled to move due to their severe injuries and exhaustion.

But given time, they would eventually break free and charge at Aiselle.

Before that could happen,

“Shatter.”

The once radiant and beautiful flower shattered into sharp weapons, raining down in all directions.

Thud, thud! Crack!

Roar!!

Growl!!

Hiss! Hiss!

Dozens, hundreds of ice spears, like giant lances, struck the medium-sized monsters’ bodies.

Their skin tore and froze, causing necrosis. When they tried to move, their wounds split open, preventing them from even screaming.

But they weren’t completely finished.

Hissss…!

At that moment, steam began to emerge from Kaiden’s body. One of its hidden traits was releasing immense heat when exposed to excessive moisture and cold.

As a result, the frozen lake began to thaw.

“Ah…”

“In the end, they couldn’t finish it.”

“The strategy was perfect, the battle was beautiful, but they didn’t consider that hidden trait.”

“It’s unfortunate. But for students, this performance deserves high marks.”

Just as they decided the strategy ultimately failed,

Aiselle stretched her other hand into the air.

Until then, no one had noticed.

The blue light that had formed the petals of the Crystal Flower… hadn’t disappeared.

Everyone had thought it was part of the ice flower. It had bloomed with the ice, becoming its leaves.

But that was a misconception.

Th i s w a s c op i e d f r o m k i n g mt l .o rg
Her specialty was handling both ice and lightning.

Crackle, crackle!

Seeing the sparks in the air, the mages gasped.

Ice, being an insulator, doesn’t conduct electricity effectively. So, everyone assumed Aiselle had given up one of her specialties, lightning, to cast Crystal Flower.

But they were wrong.

Though she was born with the blessing of ice, she loved lightning just as much and couldn’t abandon it.

So, Baek Yu-seol devised a special plan.

‘After freezing them with ice, then melt it?’

Due to the heat from Kaiden, the water rose above the ice. And water is an excellent conductor of electricity.

“Oh…”

“Could it be…?”

As they finally realized what was about to happen,

“Strike.”

A blue lightning bolt struck the ground.

…Crackle!

Hearing was lost.

The world turned blue, as a flower bloomed.

This time, it wasn’t a flower of ice or crystal.

It was a flower of blue lightning.

A flower brighter and more radiant than anything in the world.

The pure beauty created by magic—could it not be considered art?

If it could touch human emotions, it might be called a work of aesthetic creation.
Th is w a s c o p i ed f r o m ki n gm t l . o r g

Her magic was close to art. A destructive and annihilating art. Unless the attack was directed at oneself, anyone would be mesmerized.

“Haa…”

Aiselle stared blankly at the scene she created.

‘This… is my magic…’

She couldn’t believe it.

Even the renowned Hong Bi-yeon couldn’t display such magic.

Magic that only she could perform.

T h i s w a s cop i e d f r o m k i n g m t l . o r g
‘What’s this plan you mentioned? It’s perfect, right?’

‘Of course. About 1% perfect.’

‘…What?’

T h i s wa s co p i e d f ro m kin g m t l . o rg
When Baek Yu-seol first told her, she was utterly dumbfounded.

‘You have to fill the remaining 99%. If you don’t, my plan is worthless.’

‘What…’

T h i s w a s c opi ed fr o m k i n gmt l. o rg
Unbelievable.

Entrusting such a grand plan of defeating five medium-sized monsters to someone like her.

‘You can do it.’

‘That’s…’

‘No, you must. My score depends on you.’

She thought he was insane.

If he had done this to boost her confidence, he had failed miserably.

No matter what plan he devised, trusting her meant failure.

But he confidently smiled, believing in her more than she believed in herself.

‘I believe in you.’

‘That’s…’

‘So, believe in me who believes in you. You can do it.’

That time, he was serious.

Though he smiled, the seriousness in his expression and tone couldn’t be dismissed as a joke.

It felt like carrying a heavy burden on her chest. But… it wasn’t a bad feeling.

‘Can you do it?’

Reluctantly, Aiselle nodded.

Yeah.
Th i s wa s c op i e d f rom ki ng mt l .o rg

Somehow, she trusted him. Was it his foolish words that convinced her? She didn’t know.

If someone wasn’t moved by his sincere appeal, they had no heart.

So… she could do something so dangerous during a practical exam.

By trusting Baek Yu-seol.

“Ah…”

And.

“It’s beautiful…”

She hadn’t realized she could achieve such perfection.

As she gazed at the blue flower illuminating the world, Aiselle slowly closed her eyes.

For all her life, she lived with a sliver of hope.

As that small hope was about to fade,

Baek Yu-seol made her realize.

‘I can do this…’

It felt like drifting in an endless ocean.

No matter how hard she paddled, she often doubted, ‘Am I going the right way?’

Not anymore.

Far ahead, Baek Yu-seol had left a light in the middle of the ocean. It looked like a star in the night sky, or a lighthouse.

The light was telling her.

How far she needed to go.

How much more effort to exert.

So, follow that light.

Then, she wouldn’t wander anymore.

End of Chapter