I Became A Flashing Genius At The Magic Academy-Chapter 359

As soon as the entrance exam began, the scenery within the Stella Dome transformed in an instant.

Some terrains turned into towering mountain slopes, others into dense jungles, icy glaciers, molten lava fields, swampy wetlands, or vast grasslands.

The five thousand students were scattered randomly across these terrains. While cooperation with other students they encountered was allowed, doing so would split their points in half. This rule seemed to be a consideration for support-type students who might struggle to act alone.

Additionally, attacking other students was strictly forbidden. Using magic with the intent to harm a fellow participant could result in penalties or even disqualification. The competition had to remain purely skill-based.

"Oh... so this is how it feels."

Scarlett gazed at the transforming Stella Dome with sparkling eyes.

To ordinary magicians, it might have seemed as if natural landscapes were appearing out of nowhere, but Scarlett could see the underlying magic system at work.

She could tell how many layers of magic Eltrun had combined to create this space, which left her both impressed and intrigued.

However.

"Why did he design that part like this? Wouldn't tweaking that formula improve it? It feels so outdated."

As a magician on par with Eltrun, she couldn’t help but notice areas that could be improved.

"Well, whatever. Let’s get going."

Scarlett strode forward confidently.

Her designated terrain was the jungle.

For a physically weak student, being assigned such a terrain would mean quick elimination, as the humidity and uneven ground made it extremely challenging. For Scarlett, however, it was of little concern. Her only worry was whether her pristine white dress might get stained as she moved.

"What exactly am I supposed to do?"

If Baek Yuseol had given her any hints, she might have had some direction. However, all he had said was to "tone it down," leaving her unsure how to proceed.

Even gauging the right "tone down" was an issue.

"How much magic would match the level of these kids?"

It was impossible for an adult to imagine the strength of a newborn baby. However, mimicking the movements of a baby straining its muscles was easy enough. Scarlett was confident she could replicate that level of power—so long as she didn’t accidentally overdo it.

-Crrrrr...

"Huh?"

As she wandered through the jungle absentmindedly, she locked eyes with a monster.

"Oh?"

It had been so long since something like this had happened that Scarlett was momentarily taken aback.

In the real world, most creatures would have fled from her overwhelming presence. Only in Eltrun's artificial space could such an unlikely encounter occur.

"Well... I guess the goal here is to hunt monsters?"

If Scarlett had spared even 0.001% of her usual mental capacity to consider the situation, she might have realized there was more to this test. However, she saw no reason to overthink in an exam meant for children.

She lazily raised her hand to dispatch the monster when she suddenly sensed movement behind her.

"Wait, you can’t handle that thing alone."

"Huh?"

She turned to see three boys walking toward her, each exuding an air of refinement.

"Nice to meet you, Scarlett, right? This is the first time we’ve met, but your name has been the talk of the Dome."

"Yeah, sure. What do you want?"

"Haha! You sound just like my grandmother. Look, that monster over there—it’s a Red-Clawed Swamp Crocodile. It’s a Class 3 Risk monster. Do you really think you can take it on alone?"

"Uh..."

Scarlett didn’t respond right away.

"See? You know it’s too much for you, don’t you?"

"Oh! Uh, right! I can’t handle it!"

She genuinely found it hard to gauge whether such a "toy-level" monster was something she could manage or not.

"What? Are kids these days this weak?"

Recalling Baek Yuseol defeating dark mages, Scarlett shook her head. Then again, Baek Yuseol was an exceptional case, far from the average.

"Why don’t we team up? That monster won’t attack unless we get too close to the swamp. If we work together, we can take it down."

"Do we really need to team up for this?"

"Of course! We’re seventeen-year-old prodigy magicians, but we’re only Second Class. There’s no way we can handle a Class 3 Risk monster on our own."

Even reaching the Second Class at seventeen was an impressive feat. However, Stella had deliberately released monsters a step above the students’ abilities, making cooperation essential. Any student who managed to perform solo would undoubtedly secure a spot in the S-Class.

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"I think there’s a deeper part to this test, but I won’t tell you unless you agree to cooperate."

"Fine. Let’s team up."

Scarlett saw no harm in using this opportunity to gauge the "average" level of baby magicians.

The boys' faces lit up with excitement at her agreement.

"Alright, let me show you what I can do first."

The boy with brown hair stepped forward. His nametag read "Hae Sunwoo."

Hae Sunwoo was no ordinary student. He was another disciple of the Tower Master of the Full Moon, Hae Sungwol. Though overshadowed by Haewonryang’s brilliance, Sunwoo was a prodigy in his own right. By the age of twelve, he had mastered two attributes, and at seventeen, he had reached the Third Class.

With a brief chant, he froze the swamp, immobilizing the crocodile, and then unleashed razor-sharp wind blades to swiftly finish it off.

"How was that?"

"Impressive," Scarlett said with a thumbs-up.

Her reaction made Sunwoo grin widely. For once, he felt validated in his abilities, often overshadowed by others like Haewonryang.

But before they could celebrate, a larger crocodile appeared.

"Ugh! There’s another one!"

The average-looking boy used magic that was equally average, so Scarlett naturally assumed that was the standard for "children."

"Phew, how was that?"

"Hmm, well done!"

When Scarlett gave him a thumbs-up, Hae Sunwoo broke into a wide grin.

There’s no happier moment for a man than showing off his strength to a pretty girl, is there? Though he had always lived in the shadow of Haewonryang as the second-best, today he genuinely felt proud of having pursued magic.

-Karruk!

"Ugh?! There's another monster!"

Their joy was short-lived as a larger swamp crocodile appeared from behind them. Hae Sunwoo and his companions immediately readied themselves for battle.

However, Scarlett, who had already "perfectly" grasped the average level of these student candidates, saw no reason to hold back anymore.

Boom!

With a mere flick of her finger, the very air itself exploded, crushing the crocodile entirely.

She blew on her finger like it was the barrel of a gun, smiling brightly at Hae Sunwoo as she asked, "How’s that? About the same as you?"

The boys couldn’t respond. What Scarlett had just done wasn’t something they could call "similar" by any stretch of the imagination.

---

In the middle of the dense forest.

Walking along the riverbank, Annella sighed as she moistened her dry lips. Two hours had passed since the entrance exam began, and she was starting to worry as she hadn’t made any significant progress.

Her stamina, weakened compared to her days as a dark mage, made things even harder.

Not that she missed those days. If anything, the fatigue she now felt after only a short walk reminded her of her humanity, which made her oddly happy.

"The goal of the exam... isn’t hunting monsters."

While hunting monsters would undoubtedly increase her score, Class 3 Risk monsters were not something ordinary students could easily defeat.

"The real objective is probably the monster summoner. That has to be it!"

Monster summoners were known to summon powerful creatures from other realms, but their bodies were extremely vulnerable.

In other words, even an average Second Class student could deal with them.

If this were a real-life scenario, the summoner would likely be protected by their most powerful monster. But no matter how strict Stella Academy was, they wouldn’t make the entrance exam impossibly difficult.

"I need to find the summoner’s location."

Hints were scattered throughout the area.

She just hadn’t discovered them yet.

And here lay the problem.

Despite the tremendous growth Annella had achieved over the past six months, she was still inexperienced in real combat.

Having only studied from textbooks, she struggled to apply what she’d learned when unexpected situations arose.

Relying on her experience as a dark mage wasn’t an option either—she had never encountered a monster summoner in that life.

Rustle!

Annella jumped at the sound of something breaking through the forest and pointed her staff toward the noise.

"Oh my, Annella!"

"Lady Mirinae?"

Thankfully, the figure emerging from the bushes was none other than Lady Mirinae. Seeing her familiar face, Annella's expression blossomed into a bright smile.

"So, you were here after all. I followed traces of that unique magic you used during your last battle."

"Oh... you heard that fight?"

About thirty minutes earlier, Annella had subdued a monster. She thought she’d done so quietly, but apparently, the sound had carried farther than she expected.

"Did my fight really make that much noise?"

She had used a Class 3 binding spell to immobilize the monster before burying it, thinking it was a low-key approach. She hadn’t realized the mana waves from her spell would ripple so far.

"Still, what luck! I can’t believe we ended up in the same jungle."

Annella glanced down at Lady Mirinae's pants. No one in their right mind would wear a dress to an exam, so Mirinae had opted for practical battle attire. However, her pants and shoes were slightly scorched.

"Is that... lava?"

Annella dismissed the thought. The lava field was about an hour’s distance from this area, so there was no reason for Mirinae to have traveled so far just to find her.

Annella trusted Mirinae.

"Meeting like this is such a stroke of luck. Why don’t we stick together from now on?"

Mirinae smiled gently at Annella, who trusted her so openly.

"Of course. That’s why I came looking for you."

Then, she added, "We’re friends, after all."

With that, Annella and Lady Mirinae began moving together.

---

About 45 minutes away from their location.

Scarlett, walking alongside a rather dejected Hae Sunwoo, wrinkled her nose.

"What’s that smell?"

Sniffing the air, Scarlett narrowed her focus and expanded her senses to scan the entire Stella Dome.

"There it is..."

She quickly located the source of the unpleasant smell.

"A sickening yellow stench..."

Two girls were walking along the riverbank, surrounded by tall grass. Scarlett immediately recognized one of them—a small, frail former dark mage she had once trapped in a Persona Gate.

"Oh...?"

But something was off.

Annella no longer exuded the aura of a dark mage. Instead, her presence felt fresher, purer, and more human than anyone Scarlett had ever seen. The change was enough to surprise even her.

"Is this Baek Yuseol’s magic?"

Scarlett's attention lingered on Annella, but the girl walking beside her was even more intriguing.

"This one... oh, how interesting."

Scarlett smirked, having discovered something fascinating.

"Scarlett? Why are you smiling all of a sudden? Oh, not that your smile isn’t beautiful—it’s absolutely stunning."

"It’s nothing. I just found something amusing. So, how about we head that way?" She pointed in the direction of Annella and Lady Mirinae.

Not because she planned to help.

Not because she intended to interfere.

But simply because watching something interesting unfold was of great importance to someone who had lived for centuries.

"This should be fun."

Baek Yuseol’s two protégés.

Yet, why did such a foreboding air surround them?

Scarlett couldn't wait to find out.