Magic Academy's Genius Blinker Chapter 532: The Dark Mage King (1)

One week had flown by since Baek Yu-Seol's return to Stella.

Starting from the moment he got back, he plunged into relentless busyness, not catching a single break as his calendar overflowed completely.

After suddenly scrapping his earlier obligations for an extended trip to locate Scarlet, he now faced the task of recovering all that wasted time.

Baek Yu-Seol, having built some reputation in the magic world, understood well that vanishing without word for so long had sparked major turmoil among mages.

Luckily, Elthman intervened to soothe the wizards flocking to Stella. Still, numerous organizations remained outraged by his unapproved leave.

Naturally, once Baek Yu-Seol clarified he'd devoted a full month to hunting a lost pupil, most folks offered apologies, admitting ignorance of the full story.

Yet some cared more about their own gains than one missing kid's plight, dismissing his reasons entirely.

'Frankly, I have no desire to collaborate with such folks anyhow, so who cares.'

This mess actually gave Baek Yu-Seol a chance to cut loose from groups that only sought him for selfish benefits. Ultimately, it could prove a blessing in disguise.

Sure, outside issues weren't his sole worry—Stella piled on its own duties. The upcoming finals loomed large, after all.

"Haa..."

In a scarce breather, Baek Yu-Seol made for the study hall to squeeze value from his brief spare moments.

The second-years' second-semester exams.

Within the game, this phase brimmed with countless dramatic events.

Take, for instance, the arc where Flame, boasting stats teetering on godlike power, overtook Ma Yu-Seong. One path saw Ma Yu-Seong fall to Flame and plunge into shadows; another had him spiral into obscurity for separate causes.

Thud!

Baek Yu-Seol slammed three hefty tomes onto a desk in the study hall.

These things weigh a ton. How on earth do these youngsters lug them about while cramming?

He removed his glasses and eyed the volumes. No illusions of rivaling Stella's prodigies through last-minute cramming—he knew it was way past that point.

All he aimed to do was gauge his own grasp and skills.

Lately, though, he'd noticed grasping spells and dredging up tales or coming events sans the specs.

Baek Yu-Seol had mulled deeply over why this shift occurred.

That eerie episode inside the Gray Temple—

The bone-chilling, crystal-clear flashbacks of perishing scores of times merely to topple one boss beast had etched profoundly into his psyche.

Should that hold true, the enormous data hoard in the Sentient Spec might transcend mere outside intel. Rather, it could embody the collective wisdom and trials of every prior Baek Yu-Seol.

To validate this hypothesis, flawless mastery of the books sans glasses proved essential.

Given the Sentient Spec housed nearly all global arcane lore, even a prodigy like him ought to breeze through texts meant for Stella's teenage learners.

Thus resolved, Baek Yu-Seol settled in silence, fixating on the textbook for roughly ten minutes straight.

Perspiration started forming on his brow.

"I don’t... get a single bit of this."

The pages might as well be scrawled in an alien tongue—total gibberish.

Were the Sentient Spec's lore truly his own, devouring it should come naturally.

"Hmm."

Maybe a trigger existed?

He figured a precise technique must unlock the specs' lore—those innumerous other Baek Yu-Seols' recollections.

Otherwise, pinpointing just vital data for specific scenarios defied logic.

Had the recollections fully resurfaced, they'd have surged back in a torrent.

Those 'alternate Baek Yu-Seols' across dimensions surely endured thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, of demises. If the real Baek Yu-Seol absorbed them, endurance remained doubtful.

Not one demise alone, but multitudes upon multitudes—even shielded by Pink Spring Moon's mental boon, it'd overwhelm utterly.

Put differently, targeted practice seemed vital. Practice in summoning and wielding the right lore on demand.

One could argue just leaning on the Sentient Spec for cues, yet a chasm yawned between parsing its prompts and lore blooming instinctively within, grasped on pure instinct.

Having skipped training for some time, he had to restart his rigorous physical workouts and mental exercises. Now, an extra training regimen was piled on top.

Suddenly, Baek Yu-Seol started doubting his swordsmanship practice.

During his journey through the spatial distortion maze at the Church, Baek Yu-Seol had a gut feeling that he could sever space itself.

He managed to slice through space successfully, yet the fallout was brutal—a massive side effect unlike any before knocked him out cold.

The other Baek Yu-Seol witnessed the results and warned him against using that skill carelessly, stating his narrative power wasn't enough.

But...

Though he acquired the power to cleave space, he was now instructed to hold back on it.

That ability would surely prove immensely valuable against Fawn Prevernal Moon down the line.

He itched to try it out personally, yet collapsing once more would throw his already messy timetable into even greater disarray. He couldn't risk it.

"In that case..."

Consulting Scarlet, who had clashed and sparred with legendary swordsmen from ancient times, seemed like a smart move.

That idea sparked Baek Yu-Seol into immediate motion.

With the clock past 6 p.m. and students mostly heading back home, locating Scarlet was no big challenge.

Even during finals week when study areas overflowed, Scarlet wasn't one for hitting the books. She'd probably headed to the dorms.

Baek Yu-Seol aimed straight for the first-year girls’ dormitory.

Sure, the warden would unleash a furious lecture if spotted, but Baek Yu-Seol was far too adept by now to fall for those traps.

Drawing on his battle-hardened stealth skills to slip into the girls’ dormitory unseen by the warden felt a tad humiliating, yet entry was a breeze regardless.

"She’s not here?"

A first-year student hesitantly answered, "Uh, no! Scarlet heads to the snack shop at this hour every time."

"The snack shop, huh... Does she even have money?"

That question popped into his mind first, but soon he recalled Scarlet's history roaming society in her avatar body, even founding a huge mage tower.

"Ah, right..."

While Baek Yu-Seol uselessly mulled over Scarlet’s money matters, the first-year girls who'd responded before timidly piped up once more.

"By the way... is that rumor true?"

"What rumor?"

With endless rumors swirling around him, Baek Yu-Seol had lately taken to ignoring them completely.

Too swamped with tasks, he was clueless about the latest gossip on him.

"That you’re dating Scarlet from Class S..."

"...What?"

Baek Yu-Seol briefly puzzled over the rumor's origin. Then it dawned—he'd vanished for days recently, all for retrieving Scarlet.

Naturally, the issue lay not with the teens but Baek Yu-Seol's behavior itself, oblivious as he was to it.

"It’s not like that. It’s just..."

Baek Yu-Seol nearly called her a close older sister figure before switching it up.

"A close younger sister, that’s all."

Officially seventeen, Scarlet fit the bill as a younger sibling perfectly.

"Hmm... is that really true?"

Yet the once-timid girls abruptly eyed him with doubt upon his denial. Their looks screamed, "We see through you, no use denying it."

Those expressions left Baek Yu-Seol utterly frustrated.

"It’s seriously not true."

"Is that so? I guess it could be. Then again, I heard you denied it just as firmly when you were dating other seniors..."

"What nonsense is this?"

From the day he joined Stella, Baek Yu-Seol hadn't dated anyone. He faked a romance with Flame once, but lifelong singledom made this mix-up laughable to him.

"Anyway, since you’re here to meet Scarlet, we’ll get out of your way!"

"Oh, right! We’ve been holding you up for too long. Go on, hurry!"

The underclassmen swiftly vacated, as Baek Yu-Seol rubbed his head in bewilderment en route to the snack shop.

At this point, the rumors wearied him more than surprising him; he lacked the energy to clarify further.

Wise folks like Eisel or Scarlet would dismiss such chatter outright.

***

"Long time no see!"

Tracking down Scarlet proved simple.

A cozy park by the snack shop drew students to munch on their buys. There sat Scarlet, as expected, with her pals at a table, savoring bread.

Why did 'long time' emerging from Scarlet's lips carry such a sinister vibe?

"A long time... really?"

True, he'd barely crossed paths with her since rescuing her a week back, yet could that possibly count as ages?

"It has been a while."

"Y-yeah, I guess so."

Scarlet's tone abruptly chilled, prompting Baek Yu-Seol to nod hastily, realizing agreement was wiser.

"So, what do you want to say?"

Actually, he'd arrived intending to inquire about Ha Tae-Ryeong’s swordsmanship, yet the words stuck in his throat.

His sharp instincts, harmonized with the world's rhythms, warned fiercely that voicing such a minor matter could provoke her ire.

Hilarious, wasn't it? That gift for blending into nature and grasping its core, now deployed to read a lady's temperament. Yet, given she was the Witch Queen, this counted as smart usage.

"I do have something to talk about..."

Perhaps delaying Ha Tae-Ryeong's topic would be smarter.

Then, what topic to raise right now?

Honestly, nothing worthwhile sprang to mind.

Picture a military senior barking, "Hey, rookie, spill a hilarious tale." You're normally joke-packed, but suddenly, your brain freezes solid.

Precisely Baek Yu-Seol's current plight.

Brain blank, he dodged Scarlet’s stare, his gaze drifting to the students who'd been conversing with her.

Eyes locked, they caught his hint instantly, scrambling from their chairs.

"Oh! Didn't mean to intrude!"

"We'll give you some space real quick."

"Hurry up, let's move!"

"Wait, hey, hold on a second!"

That wasn't his aim at all, yet the students dashed elsewhere, forcing him to speak up now.

In a pinch, Baek Yu-Seol grasped at the earlier overheard subject.

"You’ve heard about that, haven’t you?"

"Hm? Not sure... what exactly?"

"...The rumor. You know, that rumor."

"Ohhh, that one. They say red scarves are trending for fall outfits, right?"

"Urgh."

A wave of déjà vu washed over Baek Yu-Seol in this exchange.

It evoked memories from his past existence.

Certain twenty-something women, chatting with guys, feigned ignorance on purpose, deftly diverting from the hinted subject.

Should he bite and state it outright, he'd flip straight into defense mode.

With reluctance, Baek Yu-Seol assumed the defensive stance.

"There’s this rumor going around about you and me dating..."

"Oh, I know about that. What about it?"

"I mean, I was just worried it might be making things difficult for you..."

"Baek Yu-Seol."

Cutting short his fumbling excuse, Scarlet interrupted sharply, detecting his unease with predatory precision.

Yet her tone lacked frost.

Quite the contrary.

"I don’t care about those kinds of rumors. You know that, right?"

"I do, but still..."

"So, is that why you haven’t been showing your face around lately? Because of those rumors?"

"Uh... yeah, I guess?"

Not fully accurate, but with the talk swinging his way, Baek Yu-Seol bobbed his head fast.

With a sigh, Scarlet rubbed her brow, then discreetly shifted her gaze aside.

Baek Yu-Seol picked up the subtle, recognizable mana flicker nearby, reminiscent of snapping flames.

As he attempted to glance over, Scarlet pinched his cheek firmly, halting him.

"Where do you think you’re looking?"

"No, it’s nothing..."

"I told you, I don’t care. About the rumor, I mean."

"Really?"

"If anything, it feels nice. Dating, huh? I’ve never done that before."

"Not even once? Even though you’ve lived for a thousand years?"

"Think about it. I’ve been the Witch Queen ever since I was born. Who would dare try to date me? So, living a teenage life now and having rumors like this is... well, a kind of amusement for me. So you can act however you want. I’m enjoying all of it."

The millennium-old Witch Queen was relishing the moment.

Her statement struck Baek Yu-Seol with deep insight.

After all, he'd revived Scarlet and thrust her into Stella's world.

Leaving her isolated like this—wouldn't that be heartless?

Should she glean even slight pleasure from this mess, those absurd rumors might hold real worth.

"...Alright, I’ll go along with it."

Baek Yu-Seol's consent lit Scarlet's face with a radiant smile as she declared, "So it’s settled then? Make sure to show up more often, okay?"

"Uh, yeah, got it..."

"Great! I’ve got some things to talk about with my friends, so I’ll be off now!"

Scarlet, wearing a bright smile, headed toward the students who had rushed to a different table.

Baek Yu-Seol observed her leaving silhouette with a tangled look on his face.

As he drifted into his thoughts, a blazing stare suddenly hit him from an unknown spot. Shocked, he snapped his head toward its origin.

A girl stood there, glaring at him with a ferocity that felt nearly physical.

He wondered in amazement why he hadn’t sensed her nearby before this instant.