Magic Academy's Genius Blinker - Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Admission (2)

In the game, scene transitions were very simple.

[After escaping from the pursuers, I arrived at the magical city ‘Arcaneum.’]

It was like that.

But reality isn’t so simple. There are no scene transitions; I have to go there myself.

Fortunately, the world is closer to modern times than medieval, so there’s no need to suffer on horseback.

Trains run to cities deemed safe from monster threats, and airships and specific cities have ‘Warp Halls’ for long-distance travel without issues.

‘At least there are no more pursuers.’

I know who those pursuers were. The media might report that ‘bandits’ rampaged and attacked nearby villages, but later on, it would be revealed that the ‘Dark Mages’ were behind it, seeking sacrifices.

But once I exit that cliff, I’m entirely in the domain of mages.

The Dark Mages can no longer chase me, and since they treated me as mere prey, they don’t know who I am, so there’s no need to worry about future trouble.

Thanks to that, I could feel at ease for now.

Clunk clunk!

With the help of the mage squad, I boarded an automacar, which is slightly shakier compared to modern cars, and we began our journey.

“Huh, is it your first time in the city?”

“Then where did you learn such magic?”

I don’t know either. So I just smiled. There’s an unspoken rule among mages: if you smile when asked about your magic, it implies that you have a hidden master, telling others not to ask further.

“Hmm, I see.”

“Well, it’s fortunate that our destinations are similar. We’re heading to Rezoica, one of the twelve satellite cities of the magical city Arcaneum.”

The magic school Stella Academy is located in Arcaneum. I was really glad I didn’t have to find my way there separately.

During the journey, I asked about various aspects of this world, from detailed intricacies to trivial cultural matters.

I even asked about the currency units, eliciting remarks like ‘tsk tsk, what a country bumpkin,’ but it didn’t bother me.

Better to be treated as a bumpkin briefly than to suffer later from ignorance.

“Anyway, you should get some sleep. The airship to Arcaneum leaves at 8 AM tomorrow, but we’ll arrive at Rezoica before then.”

“Oh, I can’t rest knowing I’m a burden.”

“Look, she’s sleeping well.”

Following the mage’s gesture, I turned my head and saw the girl in the grey robe, who had also boarded as a passenger, curled up and sleeping soundly in a corner.

“Haha… I’ll just take a short rest then.”

“Sure. You’re going to be someone big, so we’re treating you well. Don’t forget us, alright?”

“Of course. I won’t forget.”

Thanks to the mage squad’s consideration, I lay down in the back seat, staring into space before falling asleep.

Up until now, I had been busy progressing through episodes and gathering information, but I needed to check my body’s condition first.

‘…These muscles are no joke.’

T h i s w a s c o pi e d f r o m k ing m t l.o r g
My body had de-aged by about 10 years to match the world’s setting, giving me a considerably youthful appearance.

Not only that, but I also had a very sturdy body, quite different from my original one. In reality, I was lacking in exercise.

So I was quite pleased with the solid chest muscles and the clearly defined abs.

Though still young, and far from my original height of 180cm, I could grow taller if I ate well.

Next, I checked the ‘Skill Window.’

[Mana Leakage Syndrome Lv.1]

* Strength: 03% Enhancement
T h is w a s c op i ed f r om k i n gm t l . o r g

T h i s w as c o p i ed f r o m k i n g m t l .or g
* Agility: 05% Enhancement

* Sensory: 10% Enhancement

* Intuition: Consumes the user’s ‘Mental Power’ to activate, faintly sensing mana phenomena within a 12m radius. ‘Cognitive Acceleration’ is also activated.

Automatically triggers when the user is deemed in danger.

This was Baek Yu-seol’s second identity, the culprit behind making me a magic cripple.

Ironically, it’s thanks to Mana Leakage Syndrome that I’m alive right now.

‘Intuition and Cognitive Acceleration. Without those, I would have been dead already.’

Intuition allowed me to sense attacks without seeing them, and Cognitive Acceleration slowed time when faced with threats beyond human cognitive speed.

These were all passive effects tied to Mana Leakage Syndrome.

But it seemed I couldn’t use Intuition for long.

Maybe because of mental power consumption, a severe headache hit me after battles.

‘Still… it’s fortunate that Mana Leakage Syndrome boosts the character’s overall stats.’

Next, I checked my overall stats.

* Stats

[Strength: 1-Star 59%] [Sensory: 1-Star 97%]

[Agility: 1-Star 81%] [Stamina: 1-Star 51%]

[Toughness: 0-Star 97%] [Mental Power: 1-Star 43%]

[Magic: -]

* Remaining Experience Points: 10

* Skills

[Blink Lv.0]

* Traits

[Mana Leakage Syndrome Lv.1]

One unique aspect of Aether World is that there’s no character level system; instead, stats and skills have levels.

Skills are measured by ‘Level (Lv),’ and stats by star levels.

Theoretically, stats can be maxed at 9 stars in the game system, but such characters are almost non-existent in Aether World history.
Th i s w a s co p i ed f r o m k i ng mt l.o rg

Even after playing the game for over 10 years, my highest stats were 8-star Strength and 8-star Sensory.

9-star is a realm only those blessed by the heavens can reach.

‘But my starting stats are quite good, aren’t they?’

Consider that the average adult male’s Strength is around [1-Star 0%].

At [1-Star 20%], you’d be told you have some muscle, and at [1-Star 40%], you’d have a muscular body that gets compliments everywhere.

Conversely, [0-Star] level implies weakness.

Most mages start with [0-Star] Strength and Flexibility, whereas Baek Yu-seol’s character starts around [1-Star 10%], higher than average. But my current stats are much higher than that starting point.

‘It seems like I inherited a small portion of the stats from the character I previously played…’

T h i s w a s c op i e d f r o m k i n g mt l .o r g
Just looking at the high Sensory stat proves that. The original Baek Yu-seol had very low Sensory, and raising it over 10 years had drained me of sweat and tears.

The inheritance effect of the stats didn’t seem significant, but it was better than the original start.

After pondering stat distribution, I invested all my experience points into ‘Sensory.’

As a stat that enhances Intuition and reaction speed, it was essential in-game as it determined how quickly a character responded when I pressed buttons. In reality, it directly translated to ‘reaction speed,’ emphasizing its importance even more.
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[Sensory: 2-Star 07%]

There were many ways to increase Strength and Flexibility, but Sensory couldn’t be raised without experience points, so there was no need to save them.

Staring at the Status and Mana Leakage Syndrome alternately, I let out a deep sigh.

If I followed the typical progression, my ultimate goal would be to defeat the final boss ‘Black Dragon’ and save the world. Achieving the ‘True Ending’ would be the icing on the cake.

What happens after that, whether I return to Earth or face a happy ending, doesn’t matter.

Can I grind using the ‘game’ system in this alternate ‘reality’? That’s the key issue.

In the game, numerous grinds (hunting, crafting, etc.) allowed me to farm experience and items, obtain items by intentionally ruining relationships, gain stat-boosting potions only after dying dozens of times, and clear 0.01% survival rate dungeons by retrying hundreds of times.

Such feats were possible only in the game, not in reality.

So restoring my original strength is impossible.

Even if I could restore all my game character’s stats, there are many stronger than me in this world.

The future looks bleak.

‘What hidden pieces can I farm from now on?’

Many came to mind, but unfortunately, I couldn’t remember many others.

I wasn’t smart, and after 10 years, my memory had its limits.
T h is wa s c o p i ed fro m kin g mt l . o r g

Giving up and living a peaceful life in the countryside, marrying a nice woman, farming potatoes, and dying of old age… thoughts like that were impossible.

Mana Leakage Syndrome is akin to an incurable disease, and without proper training, I wouldn’t live long.

I must upgrade it to ‘Natural Celestial Body’ as soon as possible to survive.

And all the methods and hints to strengthen Mana Leakage Syndrome exist in Stella Academy.

To prevent world destruction and cure my incurable disease, heading to Stella Academy was my destined path.

“Hoo… what am I going to do from now on.”

Mumbling in despair, a message suddenly appeared before me.
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[Constellatio Project offers you a special reward.]

[1. A downgraded version of an item used in the game.]

[2. A downgraded version of a skill obtained in the game.]

[3. Experience Points.]

“…Wow.”
Thi s w a s c o p ie d f r o m k i n g mt l . o r g

Even those who abruptly dragged me here have some sense of fairness.

Thi s w a s c o p i e d f r om k in g m t l . o rg
[Would you like to choose your reward now?]

After some consideration, I realized it was late while checking my status. It’s better to sleep now.

‘I’ll decide tomorrow.’

My first day in this unfamiliar world.

Maybe because it was so exhausting and difficult, I had a much sweeter sleep than expected.

End of Chapter