I Became A Flashing Genius At The Magic Academy-Chapter 451

A week had passed since Baek Yoosul returned to Stella Academy.

From the very day he returned, he had been relentlessly busy, his schedule completely packed.

After abruptly canceling his prior commitments to embark on a long journey to find Scarlett, he now had to make up for lost time.

Now, Baek Yoosul held a certain social position within the magic community. His prolonged absence without notice had caused quite a stir, especially within the magic world.

Fortunately, Altman had intervened to handle the influx of magicians visiting Stella, but there were still plenty of institutions furious about his unauthorized disappearance.

Of course, when he explained that he had spent a month searching for a missing student, most people apologized, claiming they hadn’t realized. However, those who valued their own interests over the disappearance of a mere student weren’t swayed by such an excuse.

“Well, it’s not like I need to work with those kinds of people anyway, so no big deal.”

The institutions that had invited Baek Yoosul purely to pursue profit had been completely cut off. In hindsight, it might have been for the best.

Still, his responsibilities at Stella couldn’t be ignored either. With the next final exams approaching, there was plenty of work to do on campus.

“Phew...”

During a rare moment of respite, Baek Yoosul made his way to the self-study room.

The final exams of the second semester of the second year were looming.

In the original game, this period was packed with incidents.

One possible route involved Flame finally surpassing Mayuseong, whose abilities were previously unmatched. This often led to Mayuseong either succumbing to ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) darkness after his defeat or turning dark for some other reason.

“I’ll have to keep an eye on Mayuseong during this phase...”

Thud!

Baek Yoosul placed three hefty textbooks onto the desk in the self-study room with a resounding thump.

“Good grief, these are heavy. How do these kids lug such massive books around and still focus on studying?”

He removed his glasses and stared at the textbooks. It wasn’t as if he was planning to suddenly catch up to the geniuses of Stella through diligent study.

Rather, he wanted to test his own knowledge and abilities.

“Up until now, I couldn’t do anything without the help of my glasses.”

Lately, however, Baek Yoosul found that he could understand magic and recall future events from the story without even wearing the glasses.

He had been pondering the reason for this for a while now.

It all began with the strange incident at the Gray Temple.

The chilling, vivid memory of himself dying dozens of times just to hunt down a single boss monster had left a deep impression on him.

“If every death I experienced in the game was actually a real death of Baek Yoosul...”

Then perhaps the vast amount of data stored in his magical glasses wasn’t just information—it was a cumulative record of all the knowledge the real Baek Yoosul had gathered through his countless experiences.

To confirm this theory, Baek Yoosul decided he needed to be able to perfectly understand these textbooks without relying on the glasses.

The magical glasses contained almost all the knowledge of this world’s magic. If his theory was correct, interpreting a textbook meant for Stella’s students—many of whom were only teenagers—should be effortless.

With that thought, he quietly sat and stared at a textbook for about ten minutes. Soon, beads of sweat began to form on his forehead.

“...I don’t understand a thing.”

It was as if the book was written in a completely foreign language. He couldn’t make sense of it at all.

If the knowledge stored in his glasses truly belonged to him, this should have been a breeze.

“Hmm...”

Or was there some kind of condition that needed to be met?

Perhaps there was a specific method required to access the vast knowledge stored in the glasses—something he hadn’t discovered yet.

After all, it wouldn’t make sense to selectively extract only the information needed for a specific situation without recalling everything else.

“But that could be dangerous...”

The "other Baek Yoosuls" from alternate worlds must have experienced countless deaths, numbering in the thousands or tens of thousands. If the current Baek Yoosul were to receive all those memories, it was doubtful he could endure it. Not even the mental protection granted by Yeonhongchunsamwol would be enough to withstand the burden of so many deaths.

This realization led Baek Yoosul to conclude that training was necessary.

Training to selectively recall only the knowledge he needed when he needed it.

Some might argue that he could just keep using the glasses, but there was a vast difference between reading guidance messages from the glasses and naturally understanding the information in his own mind.

“Well, I guess my training regimen just got heavier.”

Having neglected his physical and mental conditioning for some time, Baek Yoosul sighed at the thought of adding yet another layer to his already packed schedule.

As he pondered, his mind drifted to his swordsmanship training.

“Now that I think about it... I was told to stop developing my swordsmanship any further.”

During his journey through the spatial distortion maze in the Gray Temple, Baek Yoosul had instinctively felt he could cut through space itself.

When he successfully slashed through the very fabric of space, the overwhelming side effects had left him collapsed.

Another version of Baek Yoosul had warned him not to recklessly use such power due to his lack of narrative strength.

But...

“There’s still so much I don’t know to simply follow that advice.”

To have the ability to cut through space yet be told not to use it seemed absurd.

This power would undoubtedly prove useful when facing future threats like Hoi Gong Si Wol.

Though he was eager to test it, collapsing from the backlash again would throw his already chaotic schedule into further disarray.

“In that case...”

Baek Yoosul decided it might be wise to seek advice from Scarlett, who had once fought against the greatest swordsmen of her era.

With that thought, he immediately set out to find her.

It was past six in the evening, a time when most students were heading back to their dormitories. Given the exam season, the self-study rooms were bustling, but Scarlett wasn’t exactly the type to sit and study diligently.

She was most likely back at her dorm.

Baek Yoosul headed first to the first-year girls’ dormitory.

Naturally, being caught sneaking into the dorm would land him in serious trouble, but he was far too skilled for that now. Using the expertise he’d gained through countless field experiences to stealthily infiltrate a girls’ dormitory was a bit embarrassing, but it worked flawlessly.

“She’s not here?”

“Scarlett? Oh, she always goes to the campus store around this time.”

“The store, huh...”

Does she even have money?

The thought crossed his mind briefly before he remembered that Scarlett had once roamed society using her avatar and had even built an entire magical tower.

As Baek Yoosul unnecessarily contemplated Scarlett’s financial situation, a first-year girl who had been answering his questions spoke cautiously.

“Um... Is it true, by the way?”

“What’s true?”

Baek Yoosul, whose name was frequently tied to various rumors, barely paid attention to gossip these days.

“Well... that you’re dating Scarlett from Class S?”

“...Huh?”

For a moment, he wondered how such a rumor had even started. Then it dawned on him—it must have stemmed from his prolonged absence while searching for Scarlett.

“So even something like that turns into a rumor. Teenagers really are fascinating.”

Oblivious to the fact that the root of the problem was his own actions, Baek Yoosul muttered dismissively.

“No, it’s nothing like that. We’re just...”

He was about to say they were "close friends" when he quickly corrected himself.

“She’s like a younger sister to me.”

Given Scarlett’s canonical age of seventeen, the statement wasn’t inaccurate.

“Hmm... Really?”

But the previously shy first-years now squinted at him, their expressions dripping with skepticism.

The way they stared, as if to say, We know you’re lying, there’s no need to pretend, left Baek Yoosul speechless.

“It’s the truth!”

“Sure, sure. But I heard you said the same thing about dating other seniors...”

“What?! No, that’s not true!”

Having lived as a lifelong single, the idea of him dating anyone was utterly absurd to Baek Yoosul. The only time he’d pretended to date was with Flame, and even that was for appearances.

“Well, since you’re looking for Scarlett, we’ll leave you to it!”

“Yeah, we’ve taken up enough of your time. Go on, go on!”

The first-years scurried off after throwing those parting words, leaving Baek Yoosul scratching the back of his head as he made his way to the campus store.

At this point, he wasn’t even bothered by such rumors. They were more exhausting than anything else.

“The world’s end is near, yet people are obsessed with love rumors. How truly foolish.”

If only they were as wise as Eisel or Scarlett, who paid no mind to such trivialities.

***

“It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

Finding Scarlett was easy.

Near the campus store, there was a small park where students often gathered at tables to enjoy the snacks they’d purchased. Scarlett was sitting there with her friends, munching on bread.

Yet, for some reason, the way she said “it’s been a while” sent a chill down Baek Yoosul’s spine.

“A while...? Really?”

They hadn’t seen each other often since he brought her back to Stella a week ago, but he wasn’t sure if that really qualified as “a while.”

“It has been a while.”

“Oh, yeah. Sure.”

But as Scarlett’s voice suddenly turned icy, Baek Yoosul quickly agreed without hesitation.

“So, what do you want?”

He had originally come to ask about Ha Taeryeong’s swordsmanship, but he couldn’t bring himself to bring it up.

Something about that topic felt like it would set her off, and Baek Yoosul’s finely tuned intuition was sending him a strong warning.

The fact that this ability—melded with nature itself and capable of discerning the subtle workings of the world—was now being used to gauge a woman’s mood was comical. But then again, the woman in question was the Witch Queen, so perhaps it was practical after all.

“There is something, but...”

He decided to postpone the topic of Ha Taeryeong for now.

What else could he bring up?

Honestly, he had nothing.

It felt like one of those situations in the military when a superior suddenly says, “Hey, newbie, tell us something interesting,” and your mind blanks.

Usually, he could pull out interesting stories with ease, but when put on the spot, his thoughts froze.

To buy himself time, Baek Yoosul avoided Scarlett’s gaze. Instead, his eyes met those of the students sitting with her. They seemed to catch on and hurriedly got up.

“Oh! We’re so bad at reading the room!”

“Let’s give you two some space.”

“Quick, let’s go!”

“Wait, hold on!”

That wasn’t what he had meant, but the students hastily relocated to another table anyway.

Now, he really had to say something. So, he brought up the first thing that came to mind.

“You’ve heard the rumors, right?”

“Hmm? Not really, no~”

“...The rumors, you know.”

“Oh! You mean the one about red scarves being trendy this fall?”

“Ugh.”

Baek Yoosul had seen this tactic before—in his previous life.

Some women, especially in their twenties, would sometimes deliberately feign ignorance and steer the conversation away from where the man wanted it to go.

Bringing up the topic first was a guaranteed way to put yourself on the defensive.

And Baek Yoosul decided he would be on the defensive today.

“There’s a rumor going around that you and I are... dating.”

“Oh, that? Yeah, I heard about it. So what?”

“Well, I was worried it might make things awkward for you...”

“Baek Yoosul.”

The moment he started mumbling his excuses, Scarlett cut him off sharply.

But her voice wasn’t cold.

If anything, it was the opposite.

“Those kinds of rumors don’t bother me. You know I couldn’t care less.”

“I know, but...”

“Is that why you haven’t shown your face all this time? Because of the rumor?”

“Well... yeah, I guess so?”

That wasn’t exactly true, but it felt like the conversation was turning in his favor, so Baek Yoosul quickly agreed.

Scarlett placed a hand on her forehead, then turned her head slightly to the side.

“Huh?”

Baek Yoosul felt a familiar trace of mana—like the crackling of flames.

He instinctively began to turn his head to look, but Scarlett was faster. She grabbed his cheek to stop him.

“Where do you think you’re looking?”

“Nowhere, nowhere...”

“I really don’t care about the rumor. Not at all.”

“Really?”

“In fact, it feels kind of nice. Dating rumors, I mean. I’ve never experienced anything like that before.”

“In a thousand years?”

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“Think about it. I’ve been a queen among witches since the day I was born. Who would dare try to date me? This whole situation, living the life of a teenager and dealing with these kinds of rumors, it’s entertaining for me. So feel free to act boldly. I’m enjoying every moment of it.”

The Witch Queen, with a millennium of life experience, was enjoying this. Hearing her say that, Baek Yoosul felt like he had gained some profound insight.

He was the one who brought her to Stella and essentially trapped her here.

Leaving her alone without offering her anything to do would be cruel.

If these absurd rumors brought her even a little joy, then maybe they weren’t so bad after all.

“...Alright, then. I’ll do as you say.”

When Baek Yoosul agreed, Scarlett smiled brightly and said:

“Then it’s settled. Make sure to show up more often from now on, okay?”

“Uh, yeah... sure.”

“Anyway, I’ve got to finish chatting with my friends. See you later~!”

With a cheerful expression, Scarlett skipped back to the table where her friends had fled. Baek Yoosul watched her retreating figure with a strange look on his face.

‘If Scarlett’s happy, then...’

As that thought crossed his mind, he suddenly felt a scorching gaze from somewhere. He quickly turned his head to see where it was coming from.

“What the...?”

Standing there was a girl, staring at him intensely, with a look so heated he wondered how he hadn’t noticed it before.