I Became A Flashing Genius At The Magic Academy

The fortress surrounding the Pung Empire consisted of three layers, two of which were reinforced with magical barriers, making it nearly impossible for foreign forces, or monsters to penetrate.

However, the outermost layer was built long ago. It had lost its magical functionality and now served as a tourist attraction.

The crowds were so dense that if one were to get separated from their group, it would be almost impossible to find them again.

"... How am I supposed to find the shaman here?"

Anella sighed deeply.

The scenery was beautiful, but the overwhelming number of people made her feel uneasy.

As a dark mage infiltrating this place, it was already difficult enough to avoid detection by sticking to quiet, isolated areas—wandering through tourist sites hardly seemed like the right move.

‘Maybe I’ll find her if I keep looking…’

According to the talisman seller, the young shaman girl didn’t appear regularly. She showed up only occasionally, like taking a stroll when she felt like it.

Some people reportedly roamed these areas daily just to catch a glimpse of her, but most failed.

Honestly, Anella didn’t have high hopes either.

Many people had searched for days and never encountered the shaman girl.

The chances of her running into the shaman girl on her first try seemed slim to none.

Thunk!

As Anella absentmindedly admired the fortress path, someone bumped into her shoulder. The force of the impact made her stumble slightly, which was strange.

For her to be pushed back like that, the other person must’ve been as small as she was.

Yet, even without unleashing her dark magic, Anella was physically stronger than an ordinary human due to her dark mage abilities.

‘Something’s not right.’

Rather than feeling irritated, Anella was suddenly filled with a chilling unease.

She froze, and as she took a step back, the person who had bumped into her slowly lifted their head, revealing a wide-brimmed straw hat covering their face.

As the hat was lifted, a mask hiding the person’s eyes became visible—a pure white cat mask.

Even without knowing the detailed description, her instincts told her this was the one. The shaman girl mentioned by the talisman seller.

‘The young shaman.’

But why was she more afraid than relieved?

"Oh my?"

The girl’s revealed lips curled into a smile. Slowly, gracefully, like a cat, she approached Anella. Then, with a delicate hand, she lifted Anella’s chin, forcing her to meet her gaze.

Anella’s eyes were now locked on the girl’s lips—bright red, like freshly spilled blood.

“A cute little dark mage... What brings you here? Did you come to see me?”

What could she possibly say in response?

Anella shook her head weakly, but the girl’s smile only deepened.

“Lying isn’t good, you know. It’s written all over your face—you wanted to see me.”

“Wh-why...?”

“Why am I here, you mean?”

Anella nodded with difficulty.

The ‘Witch King’—the one known to be the nemesis of all mages. She was capable of manipulating even the mighty class 9 mage of the Green Tower—was standing here in the form of this young shaman.

How could such a powerful being, revered and feared as the Witch King, be playing the role of a mere sorcerer in the Pung Empire?

“Why, you ask? Because it’s fun.”

Unbelievable.

As far as Anella knew, the Witch King’s true body had been sealed long ago, and it was difficult for them to move directly.

This girl must also be a mere fragment or clone of that original body.

But using a clone for something as trivial as fun?

That couldn’t be the truth.

“Haha, you’re right. That was a lie.” The girl laughed softly. “In reality, I was drawn here by ‘fate.’ A very small, insignificant fate, so small that no one else would have paid attention to it. But I was interested. You see, a certain boy was destined to come here.”

“A boy?”

“Yes, a boy I’ve been very interested in lately. He’s someone who has escaped fate, a truly special boy. To ensure that he came here... A little variable was needed. Like, say... A Persona Gate? You dark mages like that sort of thing, don’t you?”

“Persona... Gate?”

“Yep. It was harder to create than I thought.”

Anella’s eyes widened as she stared at the girl.

The witch’s smile remained, taunting her.

‘She... created a Persona Gate?’

That was impossible.

The Persona Gate could only be unlocked by a special dark mage who had made a direct pact with the otherworld.

Even though witches were treated similarly to dark mages, they had no direct connection to the otherworld, making it impossible for them to open a Persona Gate.

At least, that’s how things should be.

"There’s nothing in this world that’s truly impossible, you know? Look at Elthman Elwin, who had a magical handicap yet still became the headmaster of Stella. Haha! Fate is so funny. People walk along paths that are already decided and yet act as if they’ve achieved something on their own."

Smack!

Anella slapped the witch’s hand away and quickly stepped back, summoning dark magic into her hands.

Her heart pounded fiercely. She couldn’t tear her eyes away from the witch, for fear that if she did, her life would be over in an instant. Yet something else demanded her attention.

‘What’s happening...?’

The once-crowded street was now eerily empty. The sky had turned pitch black, and the clouds lay motionless as if they had frozen.

"You’ve got something interesting there."

"Wha...!"

In the witch’s hand was the old, torn talisman. Anella frantically patted her chest, but it was gone.

‘When did she take it…?’

The witch waved the talisman around, inspecting it from both sides, then stroked her chin as she asked.

"Who gave this to you?"

"Actually... I think I know. It has the scent of a soul I haven’t encountered before."

‘Is there anything this witch doesn’t know?’

Anella felt as if her very soul had been laid bare before her. Despite feeling utterly exposed, she gritted her teeth and held her ground.

"Why are you carrying something like this? Why do you think that boy gave it to you? Hm? Do you want to evolve or something? Or maybe it’s one of those forbidden romances between a mage and a dark mage? Oh, how romantic."

"Or maybe... Do you wish to become human?"

Twitch.

Anella’s eyebrow flinched, and the witch burst into a fit of laughter.

"Haha! That’s hilarious. Do you really think something like that is possible?"

"... Baek Yu-Seol said it’s possible."

"Did he? But what should I do with this? This talisman... It’s completely drained of power. It’s nothing more than a piece of trash now. I’m sure it was once a magnificent talisman, with craftsmanship I couldn’t even replicate. But now? It’s garbage. And you’re just a fool clinging to this worthless item. Do you understand?"

"That’s... Not..."

Anella didn’t want to believe that Baek Yu-Seol had given her trash.

But was there any reason to doubt the witch’s words?

Who could she trust?

"Judging by your face, you really didn’t know, huh? But there’s still a way."

The witch blew a soft breath toward the talisman, and suddenly, a bright white light enveloped it, causing strange characters to slowly come to life on its surface.

"Now, prove your foolish belief."

The talisman fluttered through the air and brushed against Anella’s cheek before flying off into the city.

"No. Wait...!"

Anella stretched out her hand in vain, but the talisman had already flown far away, disappearing from sight.

Still, unwilling to give up, she leapt from the fortress, using her dark magic to sprint after it with all her strength. Behind her, the witch watched, her lips curling into a smile.

‘The humanization of a dark mage…’

Such a thing had never happened before. Dark mages were beings created when a human soul was corrupted by the otherworld, and there was no known method of purifying that corruption.

Yet Baek Yu-Seol was attempting this through Anella.

Experimenting?

No, he was convinced.

‘That talisman… It's an ancient relic.’

The fact that Baek Yu-Seol had entrusted such a valuable item to Anella made it clear. He was confident that he could return her to human form, and the talisman was key to that process.

Dark mages were never supposed to be able to return to humanity—it was their destined fate. But Baek Yu-Seol intended to defy that fate.

‘This will be interesting to watch.’

———

[Entering Persona: Shadow Cast by the Wind.]

[This Persona Gate has been identified as a Danger Level 3.]

The moment Baek Yu-Seol entered the gate, his sentient spec quickly assessed the situation and provided a briefing.

He carefully observed the surroundings, capturing every detail in specs to preserve clues.

Since this was a domain he hadn’t encountered in the original game, it was crucial to thoroughly analyze it.

Although a Danger Level’s gate wasn’t particularly dangerous, Hong Bi-Yeon and Ban Di-Yeon were both class 4 mages, and Baek Yu-Seol had stats that matched theirs. However, they needed to remain cautious—anything could happen.

“Stay alert and don’t let your guard down.”

Ban Di-Yeon aimed her long staff ahead as they advanced cautiously.

"... This seems pretty normal."

One of the students made the comment, and indeed, it appeared like a perfectly ordinary area.

The scene before them was exactly the same as what they had seen before entering.

"The setting… Is this the Pung Empire?"

The streets of the Pung Empire.

The buildings of the Pung Empire.

The roads of the Pung Empire.

The only difference now was that the sky had turned pitch black, and the surroundings were enveloped in darkness.

There wasn’t a single person in sight.

The once-bustling streets were now eerily quiet and empty.

"We’ll let you handle the analysis on your own. We won’t interfere.”

This was a training ground for first-year students.

Ban Di-Yeon and Lu Deric were both second-years. They were only there to offer minimal assistance, while the first-years had to handle the mission themselves.

"I’ll calculate the boundary limit for the background.”

"Good. Then I’ll track the route and figure out the story.”

Persona Gate analysis was difficult to accomplish alone, so cooperation was essential.

"Uh, Princess? What are you going to do?"

"I’ll handle it alone.”

… Of course, there was always an exception.

"Hey. We’re supposed to work as a team here, so let’s do it together.”

Baek Yu-Seol suggested, slipping into the conversation.

Hong Bi-Yeon’s face scrunched up in annoyance. It appeared she didn’t like the idea of cooperating with what she saw as less capable teammates when she felt she could do it on her own.

"... Just this once."

"Oh? Uh, okay."

He was a bit surprised by her quick acceptance.

I guess I’ll join in, too...

With his Sentient Spec, Baek Yu-Seol could easily map out everything in the gate, but since this was a practical session, he decided to work alongside the others.

He wasn’t the type to stand out or act solo anyway.

Quietly, he helped out wherever the others asked and pooled their efforts to squeeze out some analysis results.

Just then, a small message appeared at the bottom of his spec’s display:

[The item ‘Soulbound Talisman of the Dead’ has partially recharged.]

"... Huh?"

What was that supposed to mean?

"What’s wrong? Is there a problem?"

"No, it’s nothing. Also, that formula is upside down."

"Oh, whoops! Thanks."

After deflecting the curious student’s attention, he focused back on his spec.

‘What’s going on?’

The Soulbound Talisman of the Dead had already lost its functionality, but it had the potential for revival.

Even though it had been completely shattered while saving Flame, it was still an artifact-tier item.

He had split it in two and given a piece to Anella.

While the talisman had lost its main power, it still retained the ability to store 'belief.'

That power of belief was useless to him, but Baek Yu-Seol figured it could be of great help to Anella, who was meant to become human in the future.

So he gave it to her as a gift...

‘And now it’s suddenly recharging?’

Much faster than expected.

No. He had only considered the talisman to be a small auxiliary in the process of her becoming human.

Given the current level of technology, he thought it was impossible to restore its original function.

‘Why is it recharging?’

[Unable to determine the cause.]

There was something else that had been bothering him for a while.

They were inside a Persona Gate, completely cut off from the outside world.

No matter how advanced his Sentient Spec were, they shouldn’t have been able to receive information from another realm.

‘How did it detect the talisman's recharge? Are you telling me you can communicate across dimensions now?’

[Cross-dimensional communication is not possible.]

’Then how...?’

[The presence of the Soulbound Talisman of the Dead has been detected in this location.]

’... What? Here?’

Baek Yu-Seol stared blankly at the message. The talisman he had given to Anella had suddenly been detected inside the Persona Gate, and it was even recharging.

’What in the world is going on...?’

Something was happening somewhere, and he had no idea what it was.