I Became A Flashing Genius At The Magic Academy-Chapter 328

When he opened his eyes, Baek Yuseol found himself standing in the middle of a hallway at Stella Academy.

"Huh?"

He slowly turned his head to look outside the window, where the dim light of a setting sun gently filtered through, illuminating the corridor.

"What... is going on?"

Trying to piece together his memories, Baek Yuseol recalled Tamgalto Yewol.

Yes, he had been observing Tamgalto Yewol, watching as he used the Sacred Relic of Green Forest April to bring himself to life for the first time. Baek had been swept up by a surge of overwhelming life energy, and then... he lost consciousness, only to come face-to-face with "himself."

It might have been his alter ego. Perhaps another version of Baek Yuseol.

He remembered chatting with that other self in a PC café within his consciousness, and then moving to a hill under a sky filled with stars, where he witnessed yet another version of himself fade away.

"But... why am I here now?"

Without thinking, he took a step forward, noticing that his entire body felt encased in something heavy.

"What is this...?"

His body was enveloped in a pale, silver armor that seemed to glow as if bathed in moonlight. At his waist hung a long sword, and though it was his first time seeing it in person, he instantly recognized its identity.

A mythical-grade armor.

"Return of Light."

An absurdly powerful item that would bring him back from the brink of death just once.

Its crafting requirements were notoriously demanding. Silver Eleventh Moon had to bless the armor personally, and a large quantity of Moonlight Stone, the rarest ore infused with moonlight, had to be acquired.

But that wasn’t what mattered now.

"Then... could this be...?"

He drew the sword, and a crystalline tone, pure and resonant, echoed down the hallway. Under the fading sunlight, the blade glimmered in a soft golden hue.

A mythical-grade sacred sword.

"Praise of Light."

An outrageous item that granted him near-light speed, allowing him to "inevitably" strike down his target. Even the world’s hardest substance would be effortlessly sliced through by Praise of Light.

"It’s real..."

He recalled the years of struggle it had taken to craft this sword. It was an ultra-rare item he possessed as the sole player in the entire game.

As he touched the blade, his hands trembled. He never thought he would see it in reality, but he quickly pulled himself together.

"Wait."

These items... they didn’t exist in the real world. He had crafted them within the game, *Aiter World Online.*

Which meant... they were items from the game.

"So why are they here...?"

Hastily, he removed his glove and examined his palm, only to realize that the sense of unfamiliarity wasn’t solely due to the equipment.

"This body doesn’t feel like my own."

It was as though he were wearing the body of someone else. It wasn’t that his senses were dulled; rather, they were sharper than ever, to the point of feeling foreign.

"...I need to figure out where I am."

He started running down the corridor, but no students were in sight. As he sprinted outside toward the First Main Tower, he noticed multiple discrepancies between the Stella Academy he knew and his surroundings.

"Wasn’t there supposed to be a garden here?"

Where the garden should have been stood a statue, and where there used to be a fountain, an unfamiliar structure had appeared. It wasn’t the only change.

"What is this...?"

The First Main Tower was now almost twice its original height. It used to be around 80 stories, tall but manageable to look up at. Now, craning his neck left him almost dizzy.

Two knights in armor stood guard at the entrance of the main tower. When Baek Yuseol approached them, they suddenly saluted him.

"At your service!"

"Wha- what?"

Startled by their sudden salute, Baek Yuseol hesitated, causing the knights to exchange uncertain glances.

"Did we make a mistake, sir?" one of them asked.

"No, not really... but why are you saluting me?"

The two knights looked at each other in confusion, as if he’d just said something bizarre.

"Because... you’re the Knight Commander."

"Who? Me?"

"Yes, sir."

"What about Knight Commander Araine?"

The knights’ expressions darkened.

"He passed away, sir. It’s been several years now."

"Why are you acting so differently today, sir?" one of the knights added. "Usually, you’re silent and barely say a word."

"Yes, we’re happy to hear you speak so much! We all respect you greatly, sir. After all, you saved the world... even if most of it fell, leaving only Stella intact."

"Why would you say that!" the other knight hissed.

"Oh! My apologies!"

This was too much.

Baek Yuseol felt dizzy, but now he was certain.

"This is... the game world?"

This wasn’t the world he’d played in as a high schooler. It was the world after he had defeated the final boss, the Black Night Thirteenth Moon.

The world he once considered just a game... had somehow become reality.

"And the headmaster... what about him?" he asked, his voice shaky.

The knights’ expressions darkened further.

"He passed away..."

"He sacrificed himself to protect Stella... The force was enough to take out an entire continent, but he used his life to contain it."

Baek Yuseol felt faint.

Nothing made sense.

Why was he here? And what was he supposed to be doing?

As he stood there, staring into space, a thought came to him suddenly.

"Flame... where’s Flame?"

"Sir?"

"Weren’t you searching for Flame? I remember... you were looking for her."

"Oh, you mean the Tower Lord of the Celestial Tower? We tried searching, but we couldn’t find her. The angels are in a complete panic as well. Would you like to meet them?"

"Yes... I should meet them."

Nodding absentmindedly, Baek Yuseol was suddenly interrupted by a voice in his ear.

"Don’t get distracted."

That voice...

"We don’t have much time."

"You’ll need to return soon."

"Find the clue to your survival."

"It’s your only hope."

It was unmistakably his own voice.

But it wasn’t just one voice; it was as if dozens of different versions of himself were speaking, each with its own distinct tone. The eerie sensation made him step back in alarm.

"Sir? Is everything alright?"

"No... forget the angels..."

Mumbling, Baek Yuseol dashed toward the west garden, where he was least likely to encounter anyone. Only the occasional chirping of birds broke the silence.

"There isn’t much time."

He wasn’t so foolish as to misunderstand the warning he’d just heard from the other versions of himself.

"The time I can stay in this world..."

Closing his eyes and focusing, he estimated.

"Only about 30 minutes."

The voices had urged him to find the hint to his revival.

Another Baek Yuseol had promised him a clue back in his subconscious.

"So... that’s what this is."

In the game, he had controlled his character’s "Natural Heavenly Body" with simple keyboard shortcuts. It was impossible for him to fully understand that sensation in reality. But if he could experience it here...

"Alright..."

He took a deep breath, closing his eyes.

This body was already fully developed, with an infinite life force acquired by overcoming Magic Leakage Disorder and mastering the Natural Heavenly Body technique, which allowed him to manipulate mana flowing into his body at will.

Unlike his real-world self, who could barely wield mana with the help of a magical sword, this body was on a whole different level.

In this form, he could wrap himself in a mana shield tougher than steel or summon an invisible magical blade to slice through diamonds.

"Remember this sensation."

Every time he inhaled and exhaled, he felt mana accumulating within him, though it was a strange, unfamiliar sensation.

Magic Leakage Disorder prevented his real body from holding much mana, making it vulnerable to the surrounding mana. Exposure to impure mana would corrupt him, while exposure to divine mana could instantly sanctify him, causing him to lose his physical form.

But this body was the opposite.

His flesh had a defined color and character.

It would absorb and dye any mana that entered it with his own essence.

Rather than blending into nature, he could turn nature itself into an extension of his being.

Even with his eyes closed, he could feel everything around him with startling clarity.

The petals drifting on the wind.

A butterfly flapping its wings in the distance.

An ant crawling, and a dog sleeping peacefully.

Everything appeared as vividly as if it were right before his eyes.

"This is it..."

His own color. His unique presence.

Only by expressing it forcefully could he truly become one with nature.

He’d misunderstood the Natural Heavenly Body technique. He’d thought he had to meld himself into nature, as if merging his body into the environment, like in martial arts novels.

"But it’s the opposite."

Moving naturally, he spread his presence outward.

In his original body, this would have been impossible, but in this form, it felt as easy as breathing.

This 𝓬ontent is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.

Gently, he raised his hand, beckoning toward a distant flower petal, which then floated into the air.

"Amazing..."

He hadn’t realized it back when he thought of it merely as a game, but his character had reached a truly extraordinary level.

"Could my real self ever achieve this?"

He didn’t know.

But he had to try.

He needed to survive.

"I have to live."

"Live... and

save everyone."

The voices drifted in the wind.

Baek Yuseol took in their impassioned words, expanding his senses gradually.

He wanted to savor this newfound awareness slowly, but time was desperately short. Thirty minutes was barely enough to grasp even a semblance of this immense power, so he could only attempt to mimic it imperfectly.

"I have to find it."

How could he replicate this remarkable body?

Even if it was just a shallow imitation, if he could maintain the Natural Heavenly Body for even a single second...

In that instant, Baek Yuseol opened his eyes and exhaled.

The unfamiliar, alien sensation pulsing from his heart startled him.

"What... is this?"

It felt as if he’d grown an extra limb, yet he could control it effortlessly.

"This must be it...!"

Within this world, Baek Yuseol’s heart held an immense, intense energy, waiting to be unleashed upon nature.

"This is it; I just need to remember this feeling!"

With his eyes tightly shut, he unleashed the power stored within his heart.

His senses began to fade as he felt himself being pulled back to reality.

"Just a bit longer..."

With the determination to color this entire world with his presence, he unleashed the energy locked within his heart in an explosive burst.

"Ah...!"

The last thing he saw was the sky, once painted in purple dusk, turning completely white.

"Remember this."

"The night of eternity, where the sun does not rise, is approaching."

His own voice faded into the distance.

"You..."

"We..."

"Must become... the light that ends the night."