I Became A Flashing Genius At The Magic Academy

Since Pung had vast land as its advantage, the culture of building tall structures only started taking off relatively recently.

Moreover, there were regulations that prevented the construction of buildings above a certain height within an 18 km radius of the royal palace, making tall buildings rare.

However, the wealthy were always eager to flaunt their status, and began introducing foreign-style high-rises, leading to the construction of what they claimed to be seven-star hotels.

Those places became ideal rest spots for distinguished guests.

Naturally, as an ordinary citizen, it should have been a completely separate world for Baek Yu-Seol.

However, this time, there was a rare exception, allowing him to visit the ‘Hotel Cheongpadan,’ a 120-floor building known as a sanctuary for nobles in Taeyusan.

Normally, due to his collaborations with Alterisha on item technology, he was treated as a VIP, but he usually avoided such hassle.

However, the person sitting across from him was of a different mindset.

“This is quite an expensive place.”

Jeliel. The daughter of the president of the Starcloud Trading Company.

If one imagined an elf, they typically pictured someone living in the forest, perhaps nibbling on leaves, but Jeliel appeared to be a high elf steeped in capitalism.

Just by the way she elegantly sliced into her steak, it was obvious she was no stranger to meat.

“Anyway, I’m glad. I was lucky to have bumped into you there.”

Meeting Jeliel by chance right after leaving the Persona Gate had indeed been fortunate.

Thanks to her, he was able to immediately reserve a VIP room at Pungryeong University Hospital under the Starcloud name.

If, by chance, any traces of dark mage energy were detected in Anella’s body, Jeliel was someone capable of keeping that quiet.

Moreover, she was the only person who could protect Anella’s safety until her enrollment in Stella.

In terms of technology, Alterisha was my most reliable ally, but in terms of power, Jeliel was one of the most trustworthy figures.

Even compared to Hong Bi-Yeon, who still hadn’t fully mastered her own authority, Jeliel had been in a position to perfectly wield both money and power from the start.

“Right...”

When he mentioned how lucky it was to meet her by chance, Jeliel seemed momentarily flustered. Just then, a faint mocking laugh could be heard from the side.

It was Princess Hong Bi-Yeon. She exuded an aura that was even more aristocratic and dignified than Jeliel’s.

She calmly put a forkful of salad into her mouth and gently swept her hair behind her neck, whispering quietly.

"By chance... Human connections really are mysterious, aren't they? How strange it is for a commoner to bump into someone from Waning Moon Plains right at the entrance of the Persona Gate."

Hong Bi-Yeon’s tone sounded slightly mocking.

‘Though it was genuinely a coincidence, wasn’t it?’

‘Jeliel wouldn’t have gone out of her way to find me for no reason, after all.’

"Isn't that what chance encounters are? Pretty amazing how that happens.”

Baek Yu-Seol casually replied while stabbing at his steak with his fork.

Jeliel let out a faint sigh of relief, while Hong Bi-Yeon irritably stabbed at her salad with her fork.

He couldn’t help but think those two were really incompatible.

One was a woman filled with bottled-up anger, while the other was a cold-headed, completely insane girl.

He had the feeling that if they were left together, something terrible might happen, but since they were already eating together, there was no helping it.

A little tension between them didn’t matter. As long as the food was good, right?

As her usual stoic expression returned to Jeliel, she finally spoke.

"I was wondering how you’ve been."

"Huh? I’ve been doing fine. We only just started the semester, after all."

"... Make sure to keep in touch sometimes."

She said it nonchalantly, as if it was no big deal, like someone from Busan might say.

"That’s why I gave you my personal line. Not just anyone can have that."

Baek Yu-Seol thought it was true. While her official number might be widely known, her personal number must indeed be quite rare.

It was the only private line to contact Jeliel directly.

Yeah. He knew how valuable that was... But still, reaching out to her for no reason felt a bit awkward, especially considering Jeliel was probably the busiest among his peers.

"Uh... Sure. I’ll text you when I’m bored."

Jeliel nodded slightly. She appeared satisfied with his half-hearted reply, and silently resumed slicing her steak.

Watching her quietly, he then turned to look out the window.

One entire wall of the restaurant was made of glass, offering a panoramic view of Pung’s Taeyusan.

It reminded him of the time he went up Seoul’s Namsan Tower. That familiar, nostalgic feeling washed over him, making it all feel strangely surreal.

Come to think of it, Aether World bore many resemblances to Earth.

The Pung Empire, the fairies, and many other nations had three-syllable Korean-style names, and the overall culture felt like a blend of medieval or modern elements with a touch of the present-day.

‘To be precise... It felt like everything was just a mix of different things.’

Some nations combined modern and medieval eras, while others were a fusion of Chinese and Korean influences, as if time periods and countries had been haphazardly jumbled together.

He glanced at Jeliel. Even the way she ate steak was, if you think about it, one of the most famous dining habits on Earth. Her white lace shirt and black office skirt seemed far too modern to him, though the pointed ears disrupted that sense of reality.

‘… No. That’s not quite right.’

In reality, he hadn’t even spent a full year here, yet this world already felt more real to him.

It was an oddly familiar sensation.

And why was that? He realized that his life on Earth had been terribly bleak and dry.

Study, home, games. Study, home, games.

After becoming an adult, it turned into work, commute, games—a never-ending cycle.

And yes, at the center of his life was ‘Aether World Online.’

The character Baek Yu-Seol and the countless other figures in Aether.

Even though they were virtual, silent characters, and he skipped through the story just to focus on PvP all day, he had been completely absorbed in the game.

He had spent about half of his life on it. Compared to the dull, colorless reality he lived, the sensations of living in this world felt all the more vivid.

He couldn’t say that his life here was fun.

Who knows what might happen tomorrow?

Every day, he was caught in dangerous situations, constantly risking his life.

But... There was color in this life. In some way, he might even be satisfied with it.

Looking at Jeliel with fresh eyes, he couldn't help but reflect.

The character he had always considered a villain, someone he found nothing but distasteful in the game, was now sitting here with him, sharing a meal at a fancy restaurant.

The whole experience was oddly surreal.

The strange and precious feeling brought about his drifting thoughts now hung in the air between them.

As he continued to look at her, he noticed that Jeliel’s gaze remained fixed on her plate. She appeared uneasy and unable to lift her head.

“Commoner.”

“Huh?”

“Staring at someone while they’re eating isn’t exactly polite.”

Hong Bi-Yeon’s belated remark made Baek Yu-Seol realize his mistake.

"… Is staring at someone’s face while they eat part of human etiquette?"

“Oh, sorry.”

“It’s fine…”

Though she said it was fine, something still seemed off.

Jeliel wasn’t raising her head, and she kept fidgeting with her steak.

‘Was she that uncomfortable?’

Jeliel must be used to being the center of attention. As the daughter of the Starcloud Trading Company, she would always be in the spotlight, and with her striking beauty, she would undoubtedly draw everyone’s gaze wherever she went.

But maybe, with fewer people around, the attention felt more burdensome?

That didn’t seem quite right either.

Normally, Jeliel would be the one staring people down with an intensity that could kill.

Seeing her looking so flustered and quietly mumbling to herself made Baek Yu-Seol feel a little guilty.

“You…”

After spending a while poking at her half-eaten steak with her knife, Jeliel finally lifted her head and looked between him and Princess Hong Bi-Yeon.

“Do you two often go on missions together?”

It was a question meant for Hong Bi-yeon, but Baek Yu-Seol moved to answer first.

"Not really. It’s not like-"

“We do it quite often.”

Hong Bi-Yeon cut him off and answered, so Baek Yu-Seol had no choice but to stay silent.

“I see.”

Jeliel nodded. Then, after a brief silence, she spoke casually.

“When you’re deployed on missions, you should visit the southern plains more often. I can provide support.”

“Is that really necessary? This commoner can handle things just fine without your help.”

“You never know. Something troublesome could come up for Baek Yu-Seol like today, right?”

"Uh... Yeah, I guess that's true."

In the end, it was thanks to Jeliel that they were able to treat Anella and ensure her safety.

"See, I was right?"

Jeliel said with a smile, to which Hong Bi-Yeon nodded in agreement with a blank expression.

The rest of the meal was an odd back-and-forth of subtle tension between them.

Baek Yu-Seol couldn’t help but wonder if there was some sort of long-standing feud between the Adolevit family and the Starcloud Trading Company.

Both were globally influential, so clashes were inevitable, but their barely suppressed hostility seemed extreme.

‘Does the Starcloud Guild have any past conflict with Adolevit?’

[There has been no major conflict between the Starcloud Trading Company and the Adolevit royal family in the past 50 years.]

"Seriously?"

[Actually, three years ago, the Adolevit family played a key role in forming the 'World Merchants Grand Union,' which improved their relationship considerably.]

'So what’s with this tension then?'

He felt like a shrimp caught in a battle between dragons and tigers.

Their quiet but fierce exchanges persisted like an impending storm, and he barely managed to finish his meal in the increasingly suffocating atmosphere.

‘Man, having a meal with those two was exhausting.’

Afterward, he used the excuse of grabbing a coffee to escape. The rich aroma of high-quality coffee filled the air, but somehow, he wasn’t in the mood for caffeine.

'They won’t actually end up fighting, right?'

As he quietly sipped his coffee, he heard the slow sound of footsteps behind him.

He turned his head slightly to see a familiar figure standing there.

“Ah! Professor Raiden.”

Raiden, who was a professor of Lunar Studies at Stella Academy and a prominent Dark Mage, stood beside him.

He gazed out of the window with an aura of calm intelligence. His hair was neatly styled and a pair of glasses added to his scholarly look.

"Have you informed them about the transfer?"

"Yes, well. Thanks to you."

In fact, Anella’s transfer wasn’t handled by just anyone—it was made possible with the help of a Dark Mage who had infiltrated Stella Academy.

Wasn’t it ridiculous?

To protect Anella from the Dark Mages, he had to borrow the hands of one.

If it had been someone like Vice Principal Archie Hayden or another figure, he would have outright refused. He might have even tried to persuade Principal Elthman Elwin in some way.

But with Raiden... Things might be a little different.

"This means you owe me a debt."

"Yes. I’ll make sure to repay it, one way or another."

He ended up owing Professor Raiden for Anella's transfer, a debt that would undoubtedly come back to haunt him someday. He’d collect it from him in some way or another, and that’s what he was waiting for.

He wouldn’t demand repayment in any ordinary way. After all, he was very aware of Baek Yu-Seol’s existence.

"Shall we call it a mana oath?"

"No need. I know well enough that such a thing wouldn’t work on you."

"Too bad. I guess a legal agreement will have to do."

"Fine. As a mage, I’m sure you understand the consequences of breaking such an agreement."

A legal contract wouldn’t siphon mana if broken, but as a mage, breaking such an agreement would bring severe social repercussions.

"Don't worry. As a man of my word, I’ve only broken a promise three times."

"Three times, huh?"

"Well, what can you do when nature calls just before an important appointment?"

"Enough with the useless jokes."

Professor Raiden’s expression darkened slightly before he turned around and vanished.

Baek Yu-Seol still didn’t know what brought him here, but something must have drawn the Dark Mages to the Pung Empire, as if there was something irresistible here for them.

He hadn’t recorded all the events in the Dark Mage society through the Sentient Spec, so figuring it all out wouldn’t be easy.

But if Raiden came here personally, it meant that someone with immense presence or a significant event must have taken place in the Pung Empire.

'How could I not know about something like that?'

Baek Yu-Seol tilted his head for a moment, but he still couldn't figure it out.

He might be able to find out later if he asked Anella slowly. After all, she came here as a Dark Mage.

‘For now, though…’

He quietly turned his gaze back to the restaurant he had slipped away from.

Hong Bi-Yeon and Jeliel were still locked in a tense staring contest as if they were about to shoot lasers from their eyes. They were locked in a silent battle of wills.

"Sigh…"

Forget the Dark Mages. Right now, the priority was calming those two women down.

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/FlashGenius