I Became A Flashing Genius At The Magic Academy-Chapter 382
Contrary to Baek Yuseol’s concerns, traversing the Ice Crystal Mine was surprisingly easy. There were hardly any monsters left inside the abandoned mine.
“It must be because of those white haze creatures.”
Should he feel relieved about this or not?
Creatures classified as 7-Risk disasters weren’t like leaves falling on a street—they weren’t supposed to show up so frequently.
These creatures were categorized as minor catastrophes, and for humanity to persist, their numbers had to remain exceedingly low.
When one appeared, it could be dismissed as a rare occurrence.
But two of the same 7-Risk creature appearing at the same time? That wasn’t something that could be taken lightly.
“What on earth is happening here?”
Even his extensive knowledge from the original game was proving useless now.
Not even the usually reliable Sparrow Glasses could analyze these creatures.
It was as if they didn’t belong to this world.
“This is the exit.”
Baek Yuseol forced himself to maintain a bright expression, though he couldn’t completely hide his seriousness. But Flower Serin already knew.
Something about the situation here was undeniably wrong.
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“It’ll be cold outside, so let’s put our robes back on,” he suggested.
“Yes...”
Regardless of what was happening, their immediate goal was to reach the Baekryeong Plateau Fortress and meet with Grand Duke Seolparam.
After pulling their robes over their heads, Baek Yuseol stepped toward the exit of the Ice Crystal Mine, bracing himself for the biting cold he knew awaited them.
[Persona Gate: Entered ‘The Blooming Life of Baekryeong Plateau.’]
Instead of frigid winds, warm sunlight poured down, and a gentle breeze caressed their faces.
“Huh?”
Baek Yuseol couldn’t hide his shock, and Flower Serin, who followed close behind, was just as astonished.
“What... what is this?”
The Baekcheong Mountain Range, known for its extreme, life-unfriendly environment of perpetual snowstorms, was now unrecognizable.
Before them lay a field of blooming flowers.
Pinks, greens, and a kaleidoscope of vibrant colors stretched out in every direction. Towering trees grew lush and full, and the distant forest and meadows glowed under the warm sunlight. Near a flowing stream, wild animals peacefully grazed.
Butterflies fluttered through the flowerbeds, and radiant birds soared across the sky.
As Baek Yuseol took a step forward, Flower Serin quickly grabbed his arm.
“This place... it’s fake.”
“...I figured as much.”
Baek Yuseol glanced up at the Persona Gate hovering in the air.
They hadn’t actively entered a Persona Gate, yet at some point, the Other World had overtaken them.
“This is a first...”
A Persona Gate that could forcibly trap specific individuals? He’d never encountered such a phenomenon, but it wasn’t entirely impossible.
After all, the Scarlet Witch Queen had been known to manipulate Persona Gates in a similar manner.
“Let’s move. We won’t get answers by standing still.”
“...Wait.”
Flower Serin released her grip on Baek Yuseol’s arm and knelt, pressing her hand against the ground. Closing her eyes, she muttered a short incantation.
To Baek Yuseol’s astonishment, the flowers around them grew tenfold in size, scattering clouds of pollen in every direction.
“What the...”
This place was undoubtedly a Persona Gate. Therefore, all these flowers had to be fake.
So why did they respond to Flower Serin’s ability? Her power only worked on real, living plants.
“How did you do that? Did you make fake flowers bloom?”
“No... these flowers are real.”
“What?”
She looked at the vibrant scenery surrounding them.
“Every living thing here is genuine. None of it is fake.”
That couldn’t be true.
This was the Baekcheong Mountain Range, a frozen wasteland where life couldn’t possibly survive.
Therefore, everything conjured by the Persona Gate had to be false.
“Let’s keep moving.”
Without fully understanding what was happening, they decided to continue toward the Baekryeong Plateau Fortress. The path was filled with herbivorous animals instead of hostile monsters, making their journey peaceful yet unsettling.
“Is this really a Persona Gate?”
Persona Gates always presented some kind of trial or challenge that needed to be overcome to escape. Yet everything here seemed... too serene.
With suspicion clouding his mind, Baek Yuseol began poking at everything he encountered.
His experience with Korean RPGs taught him that excessive peace often hinted at something sinister beneath the surface.
“There’s a village over there.”
“...I see it.”
But there shouldn’t be a village here.
No villages existed within several kilometers of the Baekryeong Plateau Fortress.
So what was this settlement doing here?
“A-ha-ha-ha!”
“Ho-ho-ho!”
“Hee-hee-hee!”
The village was populated by humans.
They laughed and danced as if nothing in the world could disturb their joy, completely ignoring Baek Yuseol and Flower Serin as they passed by.
“This place is a madhouse.”
To Baek Yuseol, the villagers looked like nothing more than lunatics. But why would ordinary madmen exist in a Persona Gate?
The answer was obvious.
These lunatics had to be the key to solving this Persona Gate’s challenge.
He quickly pulled out the Sparrow Glasses and analyzed them.
[Error Detected!]
[Error Code: ???]
[Unable to analyze dimensional code.]
The result shocked him.
“This...”
He’d seen this exact message before.
Several days ago, when he faced the 7-Risk creature in the city of Tkalanta, the same error message had appeared.
In disbelief, Baek Yuseol scanned every villager in sight.
[Error Detected!]
[Error Detected!]
[Error Detected!]
The glasses shrieked in protest, but no matter how many times he tried, he couldn’t learn anything about them.
“Does this mean...”
Could every person in this village actually be one of those white haze creatures?
Here, they took human form due to the Persona Gate. But the moment they returned to reality, they would all revert to those monstrous forms.
“Are you okay? Did you find something?” Flower Serin asked, her voice filled with concern.
Baek Yuseol couldn’t bring himself to respond.
There were hundreds of these “humans” here.
And who was to say this was the only village?
What if thousands, or even tens of thousands of these haze creatures had spread across the Baekcheong Mountain Range?
A cold sweat trickled down his back.
If he cleared this Persona Gate and returned to Stella, all those haze creatures would be unleashed upon reality.
But if he didn’t...
“I’ll be trapped here forever.”
He was at a crossroads.
Neither choice seemed to offer hope.
Baek Yuseol slowly turned to look at Flower Serin. Her worried expression made it even harder to explain their predicament.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Um, Flower Serin...”
“Yes?”
He opened his mouth to speak, then hesitated. The words wouldn’t come out.
After a long pause, he finally let out a weak joke.
“What if we just stayed here forever?”
“...What?”
“I’m kidding.”
Her visibly flustered reaction made it clear the joke had fallen flat.
This day truly couldn’t get any worse.
“I need to think of a way out.”
Closing his eyes, Baek Yuseol racked his brain.
“I can’t live here forever.”
He had a mission.
To prevent the world’s destruction.
Being trapped here wasn’t an option.
“I need to find a way to escape with minimal damage.”
His hand instinctively moved toward the Terryphon Sword at his waist.
“What if I just... cut them all down?”
Each of these creatures might be as dangerous as a 7-Risk. But that didn’t mean they’d be equally dangerous here.
As if sensing his thoughts, Flower Serin grabbed his hand from behind.
“Don’t.”
When he turned, she was shaking her head with sad eyes.
“I haven’t done anything yet.”
“You were thinking about cutting them down.”
“...Yes.”
“Please don’t.”
“They’re extremely dangerous.”
“I know they are.”
Even so, she refused to let him act.
Though she didn’t explain her reasons, Baek Yuseol couldn’t ignore her plea.
How could any man say no to such an earnest look?
“...All right.”
Reluctantly, he released his grip on the Terryphon Sword and left the village with Flower Serin, empty-handed.
The eerie laughter followed them as they climbed further into the Baekcheong Mountain Range.
Along the way, they passed no fewer than seven identical villages, each populated by hundreds of “humans.”
Could they even be called “alive”?
Finally, they reached the Baekryeong Plateau Fortress.
But like everything else, it was no longer a fortress.
There wasn’t a single scratch on its walls to suggest it had ever seen battle. Flowers bloomed everywhere, and the gates stood wide open, as if there were no need for vigilance.
Yet no one came or went.
As **
Baek Yuseol** and Flower Serin cautiously approached the gates, they entered a beautiful city within. The streets bustled with people, all wearing bright smiles.
Unlike the previous villages, the people here talked and moved with purpose.
“Ha-ha! Isn’t it a lovely day?”
“Excuse me,” Baek Yuseol called out to a man passing nearby.
“Yes? How can I help you?”
“This is the Baekryeong Plateau Fortress, correct?”
“Fortress? If you mean Baekryeong Cheongseong, then yes! It’s a place as beautiful as its name suggests!”
“Then... who are those people over there?”
Baek Yuseol gestured toward a man who was laughing hysterically at nothing. His convulsions were so intense that veins bulged in his neck, threatening to burst.
“Oh, that man has received the Blessing of Happiness! Isn’t it enviable? To laugh and be happy until the day you die! I feel sad sometimes, but he’ll never have to! I hope you receive a blessing someday too!”
“...Thank you.”
“Have a happy day!”
The man left, and Baek Yuseol immediately turned to Flower Serin.
“We need to find Grand Duke Seolparam, the lord of this fortress.”
“Do you think he’ll be here?”
“Yes.”
Thanks to the villager’s strange comments, Baek Yuseol was starting to piece together this Persona Gate’s nature.
He had a vague idea of how to resolve it.
[Persona Gate Analysis Complete.]
[The residents of this world wish to live happily ever after. A paradise where laughter never ends!]
[They can live and die in happiness.]
[Will you truly destroy their happiness?]
A bitter laugh escaped his lips.
Out of all the Persona Gates he had encountered, this was the first time its guide seemed to scold him.
[If you wish to shatter our happiness, be warned.]
[We can destroy your happiness too.]
Even with such a threatening message, Baek Yuseol wasn’t afraid.
There was something far more terrifying on his mind.
