Magic Academy’s Genius Blinker

Chapter 300

New Professor (2)

***

The Primordial Mountains, stretching in all directions from the First World Tree, the Heavenly Spirit Tree, were home to numerous fairies and divine beasts, living up to their name as the source of life.

There was even a joke that simply breathing here could extend one’s lifespan, but a century ago, this place became restricted, not allowing outsiders to enter freely.

“Tsk, those were precarious times.”

The Dwarf Emperor, Geumgangpaljeong.

Now 318 years old, he was no exaggeration to say that he had lived through the entire history of the current magical world.

In comparison, Eltemon Eltrine, who was only 200 years old, was significantly younger, but he did not use a respectful tone befitting an elder.

“Reminiscing about the old days? That makes you sound like an old man.”

“Don’t be cheeky, Eltemon. You owe me a great debt.”

“I’ve repaid it twice over. When will you repay my kindness?”

As Eltemon spoke with a grin, Geumgangpaljeong’s expression crumpled.

When he turned his head the other way, this time Flowerseorin greeted his annoyance with a bright smile.

“Calm your heart, Emperor.”

“Don’t smirk, Elf King. Just seeing the insincere smile of an elf makes me sick.”

“Yes….”

At the blunt remark, Flowerseorin looked dejected, and Geumgangpaljeong felt his conscience tearing apart.

“Argh! Damn it! Every one of them is displeasing. Duamri! Where is Duamri!”

“Your aide? You sent him back because it was dangerous.”

“Damn it.”

The emperor exhaled roughly and struck the ground with his heavy metal staff.

Dust rose and swirled, shaking Flowerseorin’s hair.

The depths of the Primordial Mountains.

The Land of the Dead Giant.

A hundred years ago, the last giant in this world met his death.

His corpse was so tall that it could pierce the clouds and reach the sky, and his body was large enough to build a country upon.

Many coveted his mystical body, made entirely of mana, but no one could take the giant’s corpse.

This was because the place where the giant died was none other than the place where Damgaltoiwol took his rest.

……Boom!!

Flinch!

At the vibration coming from afar, Geumgangpaljeong, Flowerseorin, and Eltemon all stopped and looked somewhere.

“…Where is the special analysis team?”

Geumgangpaljeong asked with a serious expression, and Eltemon also replied with a stiff face.

“You know. Mages can’t enter this place. Instead, the Mage Association mages have set up a forward camp at the entrance. The academy seems to have made a camp to analyze the ‘stirring,’ but I don’t know if it will be meaningful.”

“Analyze the stirring? What a futile act. How do you analyze a sleep talk?”

“Nothing is impossible with magic. We just haven’t done it yet.”

“Ridiculous. If everything is possible, why don’t you put that damned new moon to sleep?”

“That’s why we’re here.”

Eltemon looked back.

The parched land, as if a drought had come, was undulating like waves.

For an ordinary mage, even taking a single step would be difficult.

‘The terrain is erratic.’

A place that was flat just a moment ago was now a hill the size of a 60-story building, and a mountain that had been blocking the view was now a deep crater.

The terrain fluctuated with Damgaltoiwol’s mood swings, which was familiar but still not adaptable.

“Don’t be nervous.”

Perhaps having seen Eltemon’s stiff expression, Geumgangpaljeong patted his shoulder and passed by.

“We did this once a hundred years ago.”

“That’s…… true.”

This was not the first time Damgaltoiwol had stirred like this. Throughout a thousand years of history, he had mumbled in his sleep countless times, and each time, the fairies had joined forces to put him back to sleep with magic.

However, the stirring became increasingly severe, and a hundred years ago, it reached a point where a great disaster occurred, forcing three 9th-class mages who were in seclusion at the time to come together to stop it.

Eltemon raised his head and looked far away…….

He gazed at the towering ‘mountain peak.’

Originally, the Primordial Mountains were known to be divided into four branches, but a hundred years ago, another branch was added.

The corpse of the dead giant was so huge that it became a mountain range itself.

Now, with trees growing densely on it, it looked like a real mountain, but Geumgangpaljeong and Eltemon Eltrine, who had once faced the giant, could see the image of their old friend reflected there.

“Prepare yourselves.”

Geumgangpaljeong said this and then put his hand into a small backpack, pulling out a tombstone almost the size of a house.

Boom-!

This feat was possible due to a special backpack that incorporated space expansion magic. Eltemon went a step further, simply gesturing to summon three large tombstones in succession.

The tombstones they brought were all different in size and color, but they all had powerful ‘sealing marks’ engraved on them.

They had brought nine of these powerful sealing tombstones, each strong enough to seal a divine beast.

“Elf King. Begin.”

“……Yes.”

As Flowerseorin clasped her hands in prayer, branches of the World Tree sprouted from the ground and began to connect the tombstones.

The tombstones rose into the air, and the blue sky began to turn black. The immense wave of mana affected the laws of the world, momentarily blocking the sunlight.

Red, blue, yellow, green…….

Lights turned on one by one on the tombstones, and the parts connected by the branches of the World Tree began to burn.

“Ugh……!”

Flowerseorin groaned in pain, but unfortunately, there was no room to worry about that.

“Eltemon.”

“I know.”

At Geumgangpaljeong’s signal, Eltemon, who had flown into the sky, began to unfold the sealing ceremony. The nine tombstones spread out across the sky, covering the entire area with a gigantic magic circle.

Boom……!!

The vibrations intensified, but they couldn’t slow down. If they delayed any longer, the disaster of a hundred years ago would begin again.

But on the other hand, Geumgangpaljeong had a question.

Was this temporary sealing really the right way?

No matter how much they tried to seal and seal again with human power, Damgaltoiwol struggled with even greater power to awaken.

In the distant future, another hundred years from now…… would it be possible to subdue Damgaltoiwol in the same way?

The fundamental question lingered in his mind, but Eltemon just laughed it off.

‘There’s no need to worry about that, Emperor.’

Eltemon spoke as if everything would end once they put Damgaltoiwol to sleep right now.

‘When the time comes, everything will be resolved.’

Was he optimistic? Or did he have another way?

‘I don’t know.’

Geumgangpaljeong looked up at Eltemon, who was floating in the air, holding complex magic circles in both hands.

‘……He’s a suspicious one.’

A man whose thoughts he couldn’t read. His instincts were warning him.

He was even more dangerous than Damgaltoiwol, who was about to cause a disaster.

But for now, they had to cooperate. Eltemon Eltrine was a 9th-class mage who had built Stella Academy, the most influential institution in the magical world, over decades.

If Eltemon Eltrine wanted something, whatever it was, it would surely come to pass.

He had…… that much power and authority.

‘I hope it doesn’t come to that.’

***

As the second semester focused on practical training, the proportion of time spent in indoor classes significantly decreased.

Most of the classes were held in laboratories, practical rooms, training rooms, outdoors, and the Stella Dome, which was quite a hassle for Baek Yu-seol.

The theory classes, where he could quietly study at his desk, were the only times he could rest.

So, the occasional theory time was spent as efficiently as possible.

“Zzz……”

“……The student in the back. Are you sleeping right now?”

He spent it very, very efficiently.

By taking a sweet nap.

The professors’ glares were piercing, but what could he do? He didn’t understand anything in the class.

Besides, most of the major episodes of the first year’s second semester had passed, so he only needed to pay attention to the things that concerned him immediately, which made him slightly relax.

“Did you sleep in class again?”

“Uh……”

After class, Aiselle approached and asked. He hadn’t noticed because he had been napping the whole time, but she was apparently in the same class.

“I’m so tired these days.”

“You should manage your condition while being active. I don’t know what you’re doing these days, though.”

“Nothing much……”

There wasn’t much he was doing. Just repeating training over and over again.

“What are you going to do about the League of Spirit finals?”

Right now, team Flame had a big problem. They had gotten carried away with their pride, wanting to beat Gayurin, and ended up advancing to the finals.

Why was this a problem?

“Well…… Honestly, it’s a bother now.”

Team Flame had no intention of working hard enough to reach the finals in the League of Spirit. Flame, who had only started playing to avoid Jeremie’s attention, felt the same way.

Aiselle also thought that since she had enjoyed her hobby, it was time to focus more on her studies again, so practically no one wanted to advance to the finals.

“Then……”

“We’ll have to forfeit.”

Of course, they couldn’t forfeit without any penalty.

The moment they forfeited the finals, they would never be able to participate in the preliminary matches at Stella again, and even if they entered the professional scene, they would face a ban for several years.

But what did it matter?

They had no intention of playing the League of Spirit anymore anyway.

“Still…… it feels too bad.”

“What does?”

“For us, it might have been just a momentary enjoyment, but for others, it’s their passion.”

That was true.

There were many people on Earth who staked their lives on sports. This world was no different.

Although it was a world with magic warriors and monsters, which might lessen the gravity, they shouldn’t ignore the hearts of those who were genuinely committed to sports.

Moreover, according to the original story, the character ‘Flame’ was supposed to advance to the finals and win.

‘What happens if that doesn’t happen?’

This was also a main episode, so there was an underlying premise that ‘Flame must win.’ The fact that any other outcome didn’t even exist.

With the main episodes having changed so many times already, it seemed unlikely that just failing to win the League of Spirit once would make a big difference, but he was still a little worried.

‘Well…… how much could the future change from just this?’

With that thought, Baek Yu-seol and Aiselle moved to the next class location. The subject they were about to take was ‘Understanding and Countermeasures against Dark Magic,’ and it was one of the classes where a whopping 200 students crowded into a single session due to many professors quitting.

“Are you taking this class too?”

“Yes. It’s a required course for the second semester.”

“Is that so…… I don’t even know what’s required anymore.”

“You should pay attention to your classes. It will definitely help you.”

Baek Yu-seol yawned widely and entered the lecture hall.

The students were unusually noisy.

“Hey, did you see?”

“So small……”

“Seems younger than us?”

“Is that the new professor?”

“How can they be so young-looking? A 9th-class mage?”

“No way. Then they’d be on par with the principal.”

Something was strange.

The term ‘new professor’ itself was unfamiliar. There was no instance of a new professor joining at this time.

Anxiety crept up from his chest. Baek Yu-seol pushed through the other students and forced his way forward. To see the face of the person standing in the lecture hall, claiming to be a professor.

And.

Finally, he made eye contact with her.

“……No way.”

It was a face he had never seen before, but he recognized her instantly.

The oldest witch, the Witch King.

Scarlet.

She also seemed to have spotted Baek Yu-seol, smiling and waving her hand, as he broke out in a cold sweat.

He realized that the situation had taken a serious turn.

End of Chapter