Magic Academy's Genius Blinker Chapter 539: Green Core (4)

As the seven sons of the Dark Mage King spread out across the underworld under his orders, Stella Academy plunged into its second-semester finals.

That said, the second-year second-semester finals at Stella Academy featured a rather unique extra test.

Truthfully, this additional exam wasn’t exclusive to Stella Academy, since the second-year finals doubled as a grand showdown among elite magic schools.

The contest aimed to measure just how talented and capable the students each academy had cultivated were.

But why zero in on second-years specifically?

At first, the event targeted third-year students during their second semester. Yet, by their final year, most pupils were swamped with outside pursuits, leaving no room for such competitions.

Obviously, not every second-year joined the fray. With more than a thousand second-years just at Stella Academy, merging with other schools would balloon the event into chaos.

Rather, only elite participants entered—those irked by poor final exam marks and chasing bonus points, or itching to display their magical prowess and carve out fame.

True to expectations, all the hero-tier students signed up, and Baek Yu-Seol stood among them.

Still, no timetable unfolds without hitches.

"To prepare for the competition among the five prestigious magic schools of Arcanium, the academy has created five identical dungeons and five enormous holographic monsters for the event..."

As instructors briefed the assembled second-years in the auditorium, Baek Yu-Seol had quietly vanished to converse with Scarlet in a hidden nook.

"The Green Core was stolen?"

"Yeah! Because of that, the Green Tower’s plan to restore the Mullen Highlands to nature has suffered a huge blow."

"Did something happen to the Mullen Highlands?"

"Oh, you haven’t heard? Well, you’ve been tied up lately, so that tracks. The dark mages deliberately planted a Persona Gate there and blew it up massively, wrecking the entire highlands."

Baek Yu-Seol furrowed his brow and shook his head at Scarlet’s words.

"They never stop causing trouble."

"Right?"

"The Green Tower... they’re already swamped restoring the petrified Saryun Desert."

"Oh, you know quite a bit about the secretive Green Tower!"

"I’ve heard bits and pieces."

The Green Tower, famed as the Pillar of Rasselon, stood out as an eccentric magic tower.

It flunked almost every benchmark for a standard magic tower: chronic understaffing, paltry annual research yields, zero standout magical feats, repeated law violations, and routine withdrawal from the wider magical world.

Even so, the Green Tower clung to its magic tower rank for two vital factors:

First, its leader was Class 9 Grand Mage Toa Legron.

Second, though profits were slim, they pitched in globally to mend disaster zones, like cleansing Persona Gate ruins.

"Anyway, Toa Legron sent an official plea for you to recover the Green Core. What’s your take?" Eyes gleaming, Scarlet fished a spell-sealed envelope from her bag.

This pickle clearly tickled her fancy, likely since Toa Legron had once been her student.

"If you’re game, Toa Legron offered to come to Stella in person."

"No, thanks. A guy swamped enough to dump this on me won’t squeeze in a visit here."

"Exactly! He must’ve figured you’d graciously take it on. How thrilling!"

"What’s so thrilling about it...?"

Scarlet’s glee aside, the Green Core heist was no small potatoes. Baek Yu-Seol stepping in to fix it could prove wise.

Baek Yu-Seol anticipated the showdown among Arcanium’s top five schools, Stella included, yet now wasn’t the moment to chase fun over duty.

"Oh, and by the way, I nabbed a bird lurking near your dorm this morning."

"A bird?"

"Yep! Wanna see it?"

Baek Yu-Seol nodded, and Scarlet flicked her fingers through the air.

A bird, wings and legs tied, abruptly dropped to the ground.

A golden magical crest gleamed on its forehead, screaming messenger bird to all.

"...Why show me this now?"

"Why do you think? Whoever dispatched this bird looks shady. I fretted they might ambush you or worse!"

"That’s overprotective. I can deal with that myself."

Baek Yu-Seol stretched his hand toward the bird. Words then poured from its beak, shaping into a message. Spotting the sender's name made his eyes bulge in shock.

None other than Rudrick Hallow sent it—the Tower Master of the Shadowy Tower of New Moon and once the teacher of Elthman Elwin, famed spatial magic genius.

Rudrick outdid Elthman in spatial magic through total devotion to the art. He sealed a pact with the Hallow Connection, forsaking all other magics to pour every ounce of power into spatial magic alone.

This left Rudrick utterly helpless in other magic fields, unable even to cast a basic light spell. To counter his shortcomings and widen his domain, he built the New Moon Tower.

Baek Yu-Seol's face grew faintly somber as he pored over the letter bit by bit.

Curiously, Rudrick Hallow's demand to fetch the Green Core hit at the exact same moment as Toa Legron’s plea.

Yet Rudrick’s message held a strange twist:

[Mage Baek Yu-Seol, I do not know if you have noticed, but Toa Legron’s recent behavior has been suspicious.]

[He has likely asked you to retrieve the Green Core.]

[However, the Green Core is a core technology of the Green Tower. Why would he entrust such a critical task to an outsider?]

[I suspect it is because he is no longer capable of handling the Green Core himself.]

The Green Core stood as an extraordinary relic, boosting nearby natural life's vitality based on infused magic. Not purely human-made, it stemmed from the sacred Soft Green Spring Moon among the Twelve Divine Moons, refined by mortal ingenuity.

Due to its holy essence, the Green Core rejected handlers with impure souls, instantly corrupting any who dared touch it.

Why hand over fetching and carrying the Green Core to a stranger? For such a vital item, wouldn't Toa Legron handle it himself, no matter his schedule?

Even so, Baek Yu-Seol held doubts about both parties.

In his view, Toa Legron wasn't fully trustworthy, and Rudrick Hallow proved no different.

Within the game, Rudrick’s New Moon Tower stayed neutral overall. But one misstep in choices could flip them into instant foes.

Any move clashing with their goals would have them drawing weapons against Baek Yu-Seol without hesitation.

[Therefore, I ask that you retrieve the Green Core and return it directly to Toa Legron.]

"...What?"

"Huh? What’s wrong? What does it say?"

Baek Yu-Seol figured Rudrick wanted the Green Core swiped for the New Moon Tower. This twist left him staring in utter disbelief.

His shock deepened with the next lines.

[If he has truly fallen to corruption, the Green Core will become tainted and disintegrate.]

[If that is confirmed... I will personally sever Toa Legron’s head.]

[He is a Class 9 mage.]

[Should he succumb to dark corruption, he would become as dangerous an enemy as the Dark Mage King himself.]

Rudrick planned to wield the holy Green Core as a litmus test for Toa Legron’s corruption.

The New Moon Tower neared completion on tech to unmask dark mages posing as humans. Still, its reliability against a Class 9 mage like Toa Legron remained in question.

Hence, Rudrick Hallow embraced extreme steps to probe Toa Legron’s status.

A corrupted powerhouse like Toa Legron would spell catastrophe for all humanity.

Slaying him if truly fallen would hugely favor Rudrick...

But the relic brimmed with boundless promise. Squandering it just to check for dark taint—after dark mages already soiled it—seemed downright wasteful.

Rudrick's choice made sense, given no better way existed to test a Class 9 mage's corruption.

Nothing revolutionary about it.

He could simply confront Toa Legron face-to-face and verify it himself... using his Sentient Spec.

Baek Yu-Seol shot a look at Scarlet.

Her eyes gleamed brightly, wordlessly pleading, ’You’ll take my student’s request, won’t you?’

Toa Legron.

She clung to faith in him.

For he was the disciple she nurtured herself.

"...I’ll accept."

"Oh! As expected! I can already see how happy my student will be!"

"Plus, the spot where the Green Core was stolen lies near the Arcanium magic schools’ second-year competition venue. If I wrap up the mission swiftly, I can still drop by the event."

"Really? Bring me along, and we can finish it even quicker!"

"No."

Baek Yu-Seol shook his head resolutely, his face growing grave.

"There’s an extra condition. It concerns the Green Core."

"An extra request...?"

"It comes from Rudrick Hallow. He demands I keep it secret from everyone and tackle it solo."

"What?! You’ll actually believe that shady old coot?"

It was unavoidable.

Rudrick Hallow, utterly devoted to purging dark mages, wasn’t entirely off-base in his deeds.

In the game, he’d spare no effort to annihilate dark mages, resorting to ruthless tactics that occasionally clashed with the player. Still, his core purpose remained humanity’s rebirth, establishing him as a pivotal and honorable presence.

"Hehe. You’ll put my student’s task first, won’t you? He’s buzzing with excitement over it, especially since he sent the request to you personally!"

"It hinges on the circumstances."

Baek Yu-Seol sidestepped a clear promise.

If events spiraled that way and Toa Legron had fully fallen to dark corruption, he’d likely team up with Rudrick Hallow to take him out.

Should that moment arrive...

What would become of Scarlet?

Would she shatter seeing Baek Yu-Seol strike down her sole mentor?

Would disappointment seize her? Or would she turn on him?

He couldn’t bear watching Scarlet’s radiant, gleaming face and joyful grin twist into grief.

Yet for humanity’s tomorrow and the supreme cause, even if it plunged Scarlet into agony and sobs, Baek Yu-Seol stood unyielding in his resolve. He’d never waver from that path.