Magic Academy's Genius Blinker - Chapter 76

Chapter 76

Absurdity (4)

Professor Jerild took Baek Yu-seol’s exam paper and went straight to find Vice Principal Aki Haydn.

Teaching a student who wrote an outstanding thesis not only raised Stella’s reputation but also his own honor and achievements, so Jerild was genuinely pleased as if it were his own success.

“…Are you recommending that Baek Yu-seol attend the Aslan Seminar?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

Of course, whether it would happen was uncertain.

The Aslan Seminar gathered numerous prodigies from around the world, so competing with them would not be easy.

However, Baek Yu-seol’s thesis was of a level comparable to that of a seasoned scholar, so he believed there was a good chance.

But Aki Haydn slowly took off his glasses and furrowed his brow.

“That will be difficult, Professor Jerild.”

“…Excuse me?”

“Currently, there are many candidates beside that student at Stella. Especially this year, the freshmen are all strong contenders who would not be out of place anywhere.”

“That may be true, but…”

“The maximum number of participants a school can send to the Aslan Seminar, excluding those with fixed participation rights from prestigious families, is two.”

In reality, it was rare to fill even this maximum of two participants. It was not easy for a single school to produce two students outstanding enough to attend the Aslan Seminar.

T h i s w as co p ied fr om ki n g mt l . o rg
But since it was Stella, there were indeed quite a few students capable of attending the Aslan Seminar.

“So… you’re recommending Baek Yu-seol for that position?”

From Jerild’s perspective, it was quite reasonable. Although Baek Yu-seol was a commoner, he was proving his capability as a mage with his abilities.

“No. It’s not right. A mage warrior who doesn’t use magic? That insults not just Stella but every magical institution, school, and mage worldwide. Don’t you think so?”
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“…Yes.”

Thi s was c o p i e d f ro m k ingm t l .o r g
It was the vice principal’s words. They couldn’t be denied. But… Baek Yu-seol’s admission was directly approved by Principal Eltemon Eltrine. He had no idea the vice principal harbored such dissatisfaction.

“If you understand, leave. Baek Yu-seol’s attendance at the Aslan Seminar will never be approved.”

“…Understood.”

A brilliant student being denied the opportunity to spread his wings due to the obstinance of a narrow-minded senior mage.

It was truly unfortunate and infuriating, but what could be done?

Jerild left the vice principal’s office with slumped shoulders, and Aki Haydn clicked his tongue, tearing up and burning the copy of Baek Yu-seol’s exam paper.

T h i s w a s copi e d fr o m k i ng mt l. or g
“Trying to squeeze such a worthless bug into the Aslan…”

From one to ten, he found nothing likable among Stella’s mages.

* * *

After the second exams, students were trained in ‘Mages’ Real Combat.’

In reality, mage warriors do not specialize in real combat against people.

Personal combat is the specialty of magic knights, while mage warriors specialize in fighting Dark Mages.

However, that doesn’t mean mage warriors never fight people, and magic knights also learn basic tactics against Dark Mages. Thus, personal combat was also an essential subject for mage warriors.

The point I want to make is this.

I haven’t properly learned personal combat yet.

‘Seriously, how can they push someone who hasn’t even learned it yet like this?’

To be honest, I can’t win.

So far, I’ve managed to resolve incidents with the help of the protagonists.

During the necromancer attack, the protagonists held off the main force, and during the monster conspiracy, Aiselle handled it almost entirely by herself.

The Persona Gate was also resolved by the three female protagonists, yet most of the credit somehow came to me.

So, I’ve been strangely overestimated…

Honestly, when alone, I’m just a fast-moving scarecrow. Although I can imbue my sword with some mana, I lack decisive destructive power.

If the duel were 2v2 or 3v3, I might have had a chance to win.

That’s how I’ve fought so far, and my position is actually closer to a ‘melee dealer’ than a ‘tank.’
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I attack the enemy’s weakness by quickly closing in and retreating after striking.

But 1v1 is a bit tough.

I may have more experience or theoretical knowledge than a 2nd-year, but my attack power isn’t enough to decide a match.

Well… if I poured every piece of my know-how and focused intensely to accumulate damage over time, I might win. Experience differences shouldn’t be ignored.

But is it necessary to go through such pointless hardship?

Honestly, I don’t want to win by struggling that much.

Rather… practicing the use of ‘items’ might be worthwhile.

That sounds good.

Standing in the middle of the dueling field set in a vast plain, I gazed into the distance.

The dueling arena, altered by Stella Dome’s spatial transformation, created fields ranging from barren deserts, forests, icy terrains, and rocky cliffs. The size was roughly that of a soccer stadium.

Outside the duel arena, tiered seating like a concert hall stretched out.

The Special Junior Training Squad allowed seniors and peers to watch from there.

It signaled, ‘If you make a mistake, you’ll be educated like this, so behave.’

It was an age-old vicious practice passed down in Stella, many parts of which had vanished but some still remained.

Why did such a thing persist in a prestigious academy?

In the 21st century democratic Korean military, where everyone is equal, absurdities worse than this happen just because someone enlisted a few months earlier. It’s almost surprising that only this much remains in an academy where nobles and commoners coexist.

But, that aside…

‘Why are there so many people gathered?’

The Special Junior Training Squad wasn’t a separate episode in the original game. I searched for it using Bulbul Glasses, but it was an extra story level event that gathered only a dozen or so people at most.

But look here.

The number of people exceeded a hundred easily.

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The student council president, vice president, noble lords, and 2nd and 3rd-year seniors were gathered, and even Edmund Atalek, who was the main reason for this commotion, was watching from a distance with his faction.

Hong Bi-yeon, sitting right next to Edmund, looked uncomfortable.

“Hey, brave junior! I don’t know much, but do your best!”

Dokcheolgwang shouted at me, having come with Bandiyun. It’s nice to be enthusiastic, but wasn’t I the one getting beaten by the senior…? To cheer for a junior in such a situation.

Some seniors glared at Dokcheolgwang, but seeing his bulging muscles, they quickly looked away.

Bandiyun was silently watching me, her thoughts unknown.

Besides them, quite a few familiar classmates had gathered. Whether they liked me or not.

“Pfft, that punk’s finally getting his act together.”

“Ugh. I couldn’t stand that commoner punk showing off, finally some real education.”

“He’s done for when the seniors mark him.”

Those who disliked me were eagerly expecting me to be thoroughly humiliated in public.

Thump.

T h is w a s c o p i ed f r o m k in g m t l .o rg
Someone stepped into the arena from the opposite entrance. A senior slightly taller than me, wielding a gray staff longer than his arm.

What was his name again?

[2-C Calivan Kadallum]

Ah, Calivan.

Despite how it looked, his rank was in the 300s. And my rank was in the 1st-year 400s. Though I’m in S-Class, there’s no difference from C-Class.

Even this rank was achieved by cheating with perfect written scores, and my pure combat power would still be at the lower end.

Bulbul Glasses didn’t record any information about him. Naturally, players couldn’t verify characters that barely appeared in the original game.
T h i s w a s c o p i ed f r o m ki ng mt l . or g

However, the name ‘Kadallum’ was recorded.

Aether World was filled with numerous settings, enough to call it a sea of settings, and ‘family succession magic’ was one of them.

Each mage family was said to handle unique magic, and knowing the family name allowed one to infer the type of magic they mainly dealt with.

Adolevit dealt with flames, Morf with ice.

[Viscount Kadallum]

[A barely known family ranked 77th.]

[You might barely see it after attending numerous local noble banquets or ‘Be my friend!’ events within Stella, but there’s no magic to learn from them, so it’s recommended to pass… (omitted)]

[Main Attribute: Earth Element]

[No Bloodline Magic, No Inherited Magic]

As expected of veteran players of a 10-year-old game, even barely known families were documented.

Reading the setting might make it seem bleak, but this was average or even above average in Stella.

Bloodline, Inherited, or Secret Magic were extremely rare.

Even so, maintaining upper-middle ranks was quite impressive.

“Hey, junior. Are you ready?”

…The problem was that he was my opponent now.

But that’s okay.

I had faced countless mages during my gaming days, gaining invaluable experience.

Without Bloodline or Inherited Magic, there were no variables to worry about.

All 3rd-class earth element magic was stored in my head, without needing Bulbul Glasses.

“Yes, I think so.”

“…You’re cocky till the end.”

I touched the hip bag attached to my lower back.

It looked like a travel bag but was called ‘Alchemic Bag,’ containing various alchemical reagents and magical tools.

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
In duels, using external items including alchemical ones was generally prohibited.

But there were exceptions.

Mages who cast magic directly through spellbooks instead of wands or staffs, or those who mainly used talismans or magical tools, were allowed to use special tools.

Also, alchemy majors were allowed to use tools, provided they were self-developed, as they couldn’t demonstrate their abilities without them.

Officially a magic major, I had alchemy as a minor, allowing me to use some alchemy tools.

And this bag was filled with new items designed by me and manufactured by Alterisha.

I had no intention of defeating the senior or fighting properly.

‘I might as well practice using disposable items and shoot a PPL video.’

I needed a promotional video for sponsors anyway, so this was perfect timing.

“I’ll explain the rules now.”

The duel supervisor assistant professor spoke.

“The minimum duel time is 15 minutes. The duel continues until one side is incapacitated. If it’s deemed life-threatening, Stella Dome’s spatial control magic will stop the duel. Also, after 15 minutes, you can declare ‘forfeit,’ and the duel will end immediately. Are both sides ready?”

We both nodded.

“The duel will start immediately.”

With the assistant professor stepping back to clear the space between us, the duel began.

“I’ll make you come to your senses today! Stone Field Making… huh?”

[Blink]

[Blink]

[Blink]

I immediately blinked towards the back, fleeing with all my might.

“What, what the hell! Get back here, you bastard!”

I heard Calivan shouting from behind, but I didn’t look back and kept running.

‘As if I’ll go back.’

I’m a gamer.

Thus, I understood the fundamental truth of competition.

‘The goal of a game is not to win.’

‘It’s to annoy the opponent.’

That’s right.

I might not win today.

But I planned to use items to thoroughly annoy my senior.

End of Chapter
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