I Became A Flashing Genius At The Magic Academy-Chapter 236: The Witch (4)

About two weeks had passed since the beginning of the academy term.

[You have completed Stage 13: The Other Side of the Tracks.]

[Agility attribute has significantly increased.]

In the meantime, Baek Yu-Seol had a pretty ordinary yet intense schedule.

He attended classes regularly, wrote club activity reports with Mayuseong and Eisel every few days, and continued training alone in the dormitory after the academy.

In the dungeon of the 500-year-old witch’s crystal orb, Baek Yu-Seol’s physical training progress had sped up considerably, and his stats steadily increased.

Not only was the growth evident, but it also influenced his understanding of the Tae-Ryung Breathing Technique and the intricacies of Mana Accumulation Retardation.

The delicate control over teleportation under extreme conditions also sharply improved his overall skill proficiency.

This might be the most peaceful period so far.

Though no significant episodes had started yet, incidents were gradually unfolding somewhere without his knowledge…

Baek Yu-Seol could have just kept training quietly until then.

That would have been enough.

But a problem arose.

Hallucinations.

Ever since he started using the witch’s crystal orb, he kept hearing a woman’s voice in his ear.

The problem was that he only encountered the witch’s items as mere growth tools in the game, so he was completely unaware of any side effects.

… He thought it was an overpowered growth item with no penalties.

When the witch’s crystal orb was at 498, its performance was too poor to have any such side effects.

But perhaps because he absorbed too much dark mana from the witch hunter last time, the thick witch’s scent embedded in the crystal orb seemed to have invaded him.

"Shut up already."

Even while training his back muscles alone in the physical training room, the woman’s voice kept ringing in his ears. It was more annoying than scary.

Baek Yu-Seol got somewhat used to it and considered it as normal, but it was still noisy.

He searched for information on the side effects by using the witch’s items with the Sentient Spec, but there were no records of gamers experiencing such hallucinations with playable characters.

Maybe it was because he overused this irregular item.

Eventually, he had no choice but to visit the library to resolve this, but unfortunately, very few records of witches remained in modern times.

Hearing voices was common for those enchanted by a witch, and in severe cases, it led to hallucinations, mental confusion, and even dissociative identity disorder.

Come to think of it, something was strange.

He was protected by the blessing of Yeonhong Chunsamweol, which granted complete immunity to mental magic.

He had previously nullified the illusion magic of Grace Steele, a true witch, so what could be the origin of these hallucinations?

'Is it not mental magic?'

For three days now, he had been searching the library for information on hallucinations and witches but found nothing.

He wished he could meet that witch hunter again.

Although he was like a pushover to Baek Yu-Seol last time, he was considered one of the most dangerous beings in the Aether World. Moreover, he was an intelligent mage, an expert in the field of witches.

But unless he came to find Baek Yu-Seol, it was nearly impossible for him to locate a witch hunter who could freely travel through space.

"Sigh. I don’t know."

He sighed deeply and put back a book titled [The History of Witches and the Origins of Witch Hunts] on the shelf.

As he was about to leave the library, the librarian spoke to him.

“Aren’t you borrowing any books today?”

“What?”

“You’ve been borrowing witch-related books for several days, so I thought you were interested. I prepared a few more for you.”

“... Really?”

Indeed, the librarian, who could search the location of all books, would be more efficient in gathering information than him wandering around.

“Then please show me a few.”

“Here you go.”

Thud!

The librarian smiled brightly and placed a few extremely thick books on the table.

They looked so heavy that he wondered how he carried them, but he spoke with a nonchalant expression.

“I’ve also become interested in witches recently. There’s a trend called the Witch’s Restaurant, you know? But you’re the only student who’s been looking for old documents for days.”

“Oh.”

The subject of witches was interesting, but it was only interesting in the beginning. Once you start investigating, it becomes one of the dullest topics.

After picking up a few books handed by the librarian, Baek Yu-Seol applied for a loan.

"Enjoy your reading. Legends and folklore about witches are quite fascinating to me as well."

"Yes."

‘I'm not really interested in that stuff.’

"Be careful, they're heavy."

The librarian handed him the books, but they weren't that heavy for Baek Yu-Seol. They were indeed quite heavy for an ordinary person to carry around, but it wasn't difficult for someone with his abilities.

The principles of Tae-Ryung Breathing Technique.

By absorbing the mana of nature and expelling it outside the body, one could unleash explosive power, and this principle had become applicable in everyday life.

"Baek Yu-Seol."

He was about to head back to the dormitory to read the witch literature as soon as possible when someone called out to him.

The man who looked serious enough to deter any ordinary student from approaching radiated a strong aura, indicating he was a high-level mage.

"... Hello?"

It was easy to identify his affiliation.

He was wearing the uniform of the Stella Knights.

But... Why would a mage from Stella be looking for Baek Yu-Seol?

"Captain Arien is summoning you. Can you come now? If you're busy, you can postpone it until tomorrow."

What’s going on?

Something serious must be happening.

Captain Arien, who commanded the Stella forces, was one of the most powerful and influential people in the world.

There was no reason for someone like him to personally summon him... No matter how hard Baek Yu-Seol thought about it.

Moreover, was Arien always such a considerate person?