I Became A Flashing Genius At The Magic Academy

A dense yellow sand mist hung heavily in the air, making it painful even to breathe. The mages coughed while trudging through the sandstorm, desperately searching for something.

“Cough...!”

“I found it, Commander!”

“Where is it?”

At the shout from one of the mages, the one called Commander conjured a gust of wind.

As the wind cleared some of the view, a massive broken fragment of a stone seal was revealed on the ground.

“This... This can’t be…”

The ‘Heavenly Ninefold Barrier’, a magic circle created using nine of the most powerful sealing stones capable of binding any being under the heavens. It was crafted by a great Class 9 Grand Mage himself. 

Not only that, but both the Elf King and Dwarf King had assisted in constructing it, making the seal almost godlike in its perfection. It was supposed to guarantee that Dusk Soil Moon would remain in slumber for the next hundred years.

“And now, the sealing stones have all been shattered…!”

One by one, the mages fell to their knees, faces filled with shock. 

The calamities that Dusk Soil Moon could unleash were beyond what any life on earth could withstand, so putting it to slumber preemptively had been the safest course. But their efforts had failed, thwarted by an unwelcome visitor.

A man with gray hair.

At first, they had thought he was just a mysterious mage, but now they all knew.

He was one of the Twelve Divine Moon —specifically, the space-wielding Master, Fawn Prevernal Moon.

“Commander... Why is one of the Twelve Divine Moons interfering with us?”

The Twelve Divine Moons, by principle, did not interfere with one another. This was a longstanding rule passed down from the Progenitor Mage himself.

But today, that rule had been broken, right in front of countless mages.

“... I don’t know.”

In reality, the commander didn’t even want to think about such questions. 

Maybe he was simply too overwhelmed to process it. 

Was that just the natural reaction for a human in the face of such an impossible situation?

“Commander! We’ve located the Grand Mage!”

The commander, who had been standing in a daze, quickly ran in the direction pointed by his subordinate. He waved his arm to clear the sand, but the mist was so thick and heavy across the entire area that it was difficult to see through.

After running for a while, he spotted a young boy with silver hair, staggering to his feet near the collapsed sealing stones.

Although he looked no older than a middle or high school student, he was in fact a venerable Grand Mage who had lived well over 200 years, nearing 300 years in age.

With an utterly exhausted expression, he lifted his head just as an intense tremor reverberated through the area.

Rumble!

Elthman chuckled bitterly and muttered to himself.

“This... This is bad…”

The sealing stones had crumbled, and Dusk Soil Moon was stirring awake.

And all he could muster was this weary response.

“Grand Mage… What do we do now…?”

Elthman covered his face with one hand, speechless for a long moment. 

Seeing Elthman Elwin, who had always held absolute authority, in such a state left the mages deeply shaken.

“For now, I can temporarily put it back to slumber, but in a few months, the ‘awakening’ will definitely begin again.”

“Then... What should we do?”

Elthman shook his head, unable to answer that question.

“I’ll handle it.”

At that moment, a clear, gentle voice reached the mages. Instinctively, they clutched their chests to calm their anxious hearts and looked toward the source. 

The commander, who had been struggling to create even a small pocket of space amidst the swirling sandstorm, was in awe of the effect she had created.

In the middle of the harsh yellow dust, she alone appeared to be walking through an enchanting forest. 

Soft pink cherry blossom petals swirled around her, and colorful flowers bloomed beneath her feet with every step.

“The Elf King...”

Florin, who brought life to the barren land with her presence, looked at the shattered seal stones with a sorrowful gaze.

“If you’ll give me just a little time... I will try speaking with Dusk Soil Moon.”

Though her face was veiled, hiding her expression, Elthman knew that Florin was holding back her exhaustion with considerable effort.

“How?”

“... It is said in the records that our ancestor, the first Elf King, was able to speak to the slumbering Dusk Soil Moon and soothe him. I will attempt it as well.”

“It’s very dangerous. Are you sure you’ll be okay?”

Florin looked up with sad eyes. Miraculously, the sandstorm subsided, and within moments, the clear view of the ancient mountain range appeared.

“This place is... The homeland of all fairies. Without the ancient World Tree, the fairies cannot survive. I have to protect it, no matter what.”

“... Yes. That’s right.”

If Dusk Soil Moon’s disaster began, it could even lead to the destruction of the World Tree. That would endanger the entire continent since the World Tree was the very root that supported Aether’s central continent.

“Do you have a plan?”

Florin shook her head.

“I don’t know.”

There was no record of how the first Elf King communicated with Dusk Soil Moon. After that event, the ancestor had vanished.

The absence of disaster could only be credited to the first Elf King.

Even though it led to her becoming the Elf King at a young age and facing many struggles, Florin did not resent her ancestor. Thanks to them, the fairies could still survive to this day.

“I don’t know exactly how…”

“We have to try, don’t we?”

As Elthman spoke for her, Florin nodded with a gentle smile.

“Yes... This is my destiny.”

——-

The Understanding Dark Magic and How to Counter It class became explosively popular, with the lecture hall packed for every session.

As an instructor, such enthusiasm was an immense reward. However, it wasn’t necessarily fulfilling for Scarlet.

After all, she hadn’t come to Stella to genuinely teach anyone.

But recently, Baek Yu-Seol had begun to see things a little differently.

“So, everyone, do you fully understand?”

“Yes!!”

The students’ loud response echoed throughout the room.

Scarlet possessed an incredible talent for teaching, and her classes were immensely beneficial to Stella’s students.

Even Baek Yu-Seol, who knew nothing of magic, was beginning to gain insight thanks to her lessons.

“Student Baek Yu-Seol? How was today’s class? Did you learn a lot?”

After the lecture ended, Scarlet called Baek Yu-Seol over for a brief conversation, and a few students passed by, casting jealous glances in his direction. 

Scarlet was incredibly popular, largely due to her youthful appearance.

Baek Yu-Seol always made it obvious that he found it somewhat burdensome whenever Scarlet singled him out, but she didn’t seem to mind in the slightest.

“Yes. It was incredibly helpful.”

It wasn’t just a polite answer.

Both this lesson and the previous ones had brought significant growth to Baek Yu-Seol.

As a flash mage and the last remaining swordsman in the world, he stood out. But, thanks to a unique ability, he only seemed like a prodigy; in reality, his natural talent was sorely lacking. 

Considering that he’d lived his entire life in the modern world, he hadn’t exactly mastered the art of swordsmanship. While he was a seasoned veteran when it came to handling monsters, navigating Persona Gates, or strategizing against mages, he was still far from skilled in actual swordplay.

Ha Tae-Ryeong had left behind no swordsmanship manual. Aside from breathing techniques, there were no teachings, so Baek Yu-Seol had been forced to train his swordsmanship with his limited skill. 

And yet... Scarlet was filling in the gaps left by his lack of talent—not gradually, but quite rapidly.

Through Scarlet’s teachings, Baek Yu-Seol had realized something profound.

He’d survived all this time using only half of his swordsmanship.

It was like fighting with one hand tied behind his back, using only his right hand. How foolish and limited he had been.

Until now, he had thought his right hand was all he needed to survive, and he’d managed to box pretty well with it. But suddenly, Scarlet had shown him how to use his left hand.

The synergy was beyond imagination, accelerating Baek Yu-Seol’s growth tremendously.

“Last week, you seemed to struggle with ‘Cloud of Dawn,’ but this week you handled ‘Martialta’s Death’ just fine. You’re amazing! I might just fall for you~!” 

“That’s a bit...”

“Kidding~”

With a wink, Scarlet vanished from the lecture hall like the wind. She likely used some form of teleportation magic to avoid the students waiting outside.

As a result, only Baek Yu-Seol remained to bear the weight of the students’ envious stares.

He ignored their piercing gazes coolly and headed straight to the training grounds, where Hae Won-Ryang was already meditating.

“You’re here again.”

“I’m seeing you often these days.”

“Seems that way.”

Usually, Baek Yu-Seol didn’t come to the training grounds and preferred private training rooms. He focused more on increasing his mana sensitivity through meditation and improving his breathing and concentration techniques rather than physical sword practice.

However, now that Scarlet had shown him a new path in his swordsmanship, he decided to combine sword training as well.

“Care for a spar?”

After throwing off his coat and standing in just his dress shirt, Baek Yu-Seol asked the question.

In response, Hae Won-Ryang, who was dressed in simple training clothes, frowned.

“Aren't you going to wear any protective gear?”

“I’m confident I won’t get hit.”

At Baek Yu-Seol’s taunt, Hae Won-Ryang immediately grabbed his staff and stood up.

“I’ll go easy on you—enough so you won’t die.”

Without warning, Hae Won-Ryang stomped hard, shaking the ground.

Even for Baek Yu-Seol, who was skilled in swordsmanship, it would be difficult to cut through the jagged rocks jutting up randomly from the ground. But he didn’t feel the need to use his sword at all.

Thud!

“What?!”

With a light step, as if walking on flat ground, he pressed down, and Hae Won-Ryang’s rock spikes crumbled into dust before they could fully emerge.

Whoosh!

Using the recoil, Baek Yu-Seol leapt high into the air, slicing through the dangerous spikes with swift sword strikes while using them as footholds to advance.

Crash!!

Not waiting to be overpowered, Hae Won-Ryang summoned two massive stone hands from the ground, which clapped together as he cast his spell.

Typically, this attack would be effective since changing direction midair is difficult. But for Baek Yu-Seol, a flash mage, it was pointless.

[Flash]n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

With a simple teleport, he evaded the clapping hands. However, they didn’t stop there; they balled into fists and pursued him.

“Gah!”

Slash!

This spell usually involved the hands opening and clapping together, so Baek Yu-Seol was surprised by this variation and quickly swung his sword.

With what looked like a casual swing, he cleaved the massive stone hand, which was about three meters wide, in two.

‘Unbelievable... The application level of a class 4 mage is already at that level?’

Hae Won-Ryang’s ability to get the maximum efficiency from even a single spell was impressive, yet he couldn’t catch Baek Yu-Seol.

Crackle!! Crackle!!

Hae Won-Ryang tried everything he could, applying various elemental spells in his most creative ways to take down Baek Yu-Seol, but every attempt was met with failure as Baek Yu-Seol cut through them all.

After ten minutes, with his mana nearly depleted, Hae Won-Ryang finally raised both hands.

“I forfeit.”

“Huff, huff…”

While Baek Yu-Seol was breathless from dashing around and cutting down spells, Hae Won-Ryang, who had conserved his mana for spell applications, appeared relatively unscathed.

“I won, but it doesn’t feel like a victory…”

“If we had continued, I would’ve lost. You’ve changed a lot.”

“... Have I?”

“Yes. I knew you could cut through spells and dodge control magic, so I prepared countermeasures in advance. But they all failed. Right now… You seem like someone without any weaknesses.”

“That’s high praise. It feels good… But no one is truly without weaknesses.”

If Baek Yu-Seol had a weakness, it would be that allowing even a single hit could be fatal for him. 

No matter how much he grew, without being able to enchant his body with mana, his physique was only slightly sturdier than an average person’s.

“It’s been a while since I’ve felt this way. Even against Ma Yu-Seong, I could faintly see a breakthrough. But when you came at me, I couldn’t think of a single way through. Thanks. I’ll have to push myself harder. If I can understand this approach, I think I can progress too.”

As expected, Hae Won-Ryang, who still had plenty of stamina left, headed straight to his personal training room.

In contrast, Baek Yu-Seol, having exhausted all his strength, lay sprawled on the ground, taking slow, deep breaths.

He felt satisfied.

There had never been a moment until now when he was this content with himself.

Baek Yu-Seol had always been the one struggling to keep up, constantly behind others.

Did Hae Won-Ryang realize?

That only recently had he been stronger than Baek Yu-Seol, but today, the tables had finally turned.

Because of the image Baek Yu-Seol had carefully built, Hae Won-Ryang probably just assumed he was always stronger. But that wasn’t the case.

Compared to the episode’s progression, Baek Yu-Seol was absurdly weak, while Hae Won-Ryang’s growth had been astonishingly rapid. He hadn’t been a class 5 mage for long, yet he was already demonstrating class 5-level control.

‘... Soon, I’ll be in my second year.’

As a first-year, the only major episode left to go through was the ‘Exchange Student’ episode. 

Once that was over, he would soon become a second-year, and the protagonists would quickly reach the Class 5 and soar even higher.

Until now, that fact had been unsettling.

His growth rate had limits, while they appeared able to fly anywhere with no bounds.

But now, he no longer felt that way.

He felt confident.

Confident that wherever they went, he could follow.

With a satisfied smile, Baek Yu-Seol gripped his Teripon sword tightly.

--------

Goal: 20 Bonus Chapters to Celebrate 300 Chapters of Flashing Genius!

I’m beyond excited to share that we’ve reached an incredible milestone: 300 chapters of Flashing Genius! When I first started translating this novel, it was just me, my laptop, and a passion for this story. Back then, I never imagined that this book would receive so much attention.