I Became A Flashing Genius At The Magic Academy-Chapter 453

"Studying... what is it, really?"

Ma Yoosung had recently found himself pondering this question. His peers were consumed by it, their daily lives revolving around the act of studying.

Quizzes demanded studying, finals preparation required studying, certifications called for studying, and even mock exams for elite magic towers required relentless studying.

Watching his peers engage in a seemingly endless cycle of study left Ma Yoosung, who had no need for it, at a loss for what to do.

Seated on a bench in the park with his arms crossed, he gazed up at the sky. A butterfly fluttered into view, circling him before quickly vanishing.

“Senior, don’t you have anything to do?”

Ma Yoosung was popular, particularly with the female students. Whenever they spotted him relaxing, they couldn’t help but approach.

As a second-year student, Ma Yoosung wasn’t often seen by the first-years, making his presence an opportunity they were reluctant to miss.

"Hmm... not really," he replied.

"You’re amazing, senior," one of the girls said, her voice filled with admiration. "You’re always ranked first in the second year, and yet you seem so relaxed."

Ma Yoosung smiled gently. "Thank you."

"It’s not even a compliment—it’s just the truth! Senior, when do you find time to study? Is there some secret to how you excel with such ease?"

Faced with their eager questions, Ma Yoosung hesitated.

"Well... I just listen during class."

A moment of stunned silence followed his answer.

The girls exchanged incredulous looks before bursting into laughter, convinced he was joking.

"Oh, come on, senior! That sounded so convincing!"

"I’ve never heard you joke before. This is a first!"

"Me neither."

But it wasn’t a joke.

Realizing they had dismissed his answer as humor, Ma Yoosung decided to speak candidly.

"Honestly, studying... isn’t really necessary for me. Magic comes easily."

"Wow, senior’s arrogance is next level..."

"Ugh, it’s annoying, but I can’t argue because it’s true."

Even as he laughed along, Ma Yoosung’s thoughts churned.

He couldn’t understand it.

Why did people study?

For him, simply reading a book once was enough to fully grasp its contents. Even without formal lessons, he could comprehend magic instinctively. His innate talent rendered effort unnecessary.

Yet the same peers who could only achieve middling results despite hours of effort were hailed as “geniuses of Stella.”

"Is this the limit of humanity?"

No, that wasn’t it.

This barrier of talent wasn’t exclusive to humans—it applied in the world of the Black Demonic Tribe as well.

When Ma Yoosung was nine years old, his father had given him his first task:

"Defeat your older brother."

At the time, Ma Yoosung knew nothing of magic. He’d never fought before.

Despite this, his father ordered him to participate in the brutal, primal combat favored by the Black Demonic Tribe. The other tribesmen and his siblings jeered, anticipating an easy victory.

The children of the Black Demon King were all exceptionally skilled in battle. Even if Ma Yoosung’s opponent was only three years older, the experience gap should have been insurmountable.

Yet, contrary to everyone’s expectations—

No, exactly as the Black Demon King had predicted—

Ma Yoosung defeated his older brother.

It was purely a matter of talent.

Even among the Black Demonic Tribe, the wall of innate ability was insurmountable.

“Come to think of it, senior, your name’s famous everywhere—from sports to chess and more!”

"Wow, senior really is good at everything."

"It’s like you were born perfect!"

The girls’ praise made Ma Yoosung smile awkwardly.

"Were you really born perfect, senior?"

The sudden voice of a boy interrupted their chatter. All eyes turned to the speaker.

Standing there was a small, wiry boy with ashen hair and dark skin, his name tag identifying him as Taserron.

The girls exchanged puzzled glances.

"Who’s that?"

"No idea..."

"Oh, I’ve seen him before. He’s in Class F."

"Class F?"

Though they didn’t openly scorn him, the girls’ subtle condescension was evident. In their eyes, Class F was for those who barely scraped into Stella, lacking any remarkable talent.

Ma Yoosung’s expression hardened slightly as he regarded the boy.

"Taserron..."

"Senior, you look scary."

"Don’t you remember how you insulted my father last time?"

Ma Yoosung’s calm words made the girls gasp.

"I-insulted your father?"

"How could he..."

"What a terrible person!"

The girls’ indignation was palpable, but Ma Yoosung raised a hand to silence them.

"Ladies, I’m sorry, but I’d like to speak with him alone. Could you give us a moment?"

"Of course, senior!"

"You’re so understanding, senior. I’d have lost my temper by now."

"You’re amazing... truly amazing."

The girls left, still fawning over Ma Yoosung. Taserron smirked as he watched them go.

"Senior, why are you so worked up?"

"Who wouldn’t be, when their father is insulted?"

"Ah, I see. But, senior... do you really think I don’t know how much you despise your father?"

Taserron’s knowing smile was infuriating.

"Everyone knows you loathe him. So when I insulted him, it wasn’t out of ignorance. Your anger wasn’t for your father—it was just you venting, wasn’t it?"

He wasn’t wrong.

Back in Arcanium, Taserron had intentionally provoked Ma Yoosung, insulting his father on purpose. He’d done so knowing Ma Yoosung wouldn’t kill him outright.

Ma Yoosung hadn’t expressed any rage or admonished Taserron for his disrespect.

Instead, he’d beaten him to within an inch of his life.

If not for Baek Yoosul’s timely intervention, Taserron might not have survived.

"Honestly, the memory still gives me chills," Taserron said. "Who would’ve thought someone like me could end up as your punching bag?"

"Regardless of my feelings toward my father, your actions were inexcusable."

"Oh, of course. But I must say, it’s fascinating to see someone who hates his father that much."

Ma Yoosung’s patience was wearing thin. His brow furrowed as he stepped closer.

"Are you planning to fight me here?" Taserron taunted. "Even you, senior, can’t get away with that at Stella. Think the dean’s protection will help? Guess again."

Ma Yoosung stopped, glaring.

"State your business."

"Oh, nothing much."

"You didn’t join Stella for no reason. Spit it out."

"If you must know, I came here for fun... like teasing you."

"...Is that so."

Taserron’s grin widened as Ma Yoosung’s fists clenched. For now, however, the senior didn’t retaliate.

In response to those words, Mayuseong’s anger subsided instead.

He had now clearly grasped Taseron’s role.

A presence deliberately sent by the Black Magic Cult to provoke Mayuseong’s emotions.

“Oh my, you’re not getting angry anymore?”

“I just don’t find it worth my time.”

“Then should I insult your father a bit more? Baek Yuseol-sunbae got really angry last time, though~ He used some rather incomprehensible words that caught me off guard. Something about being beaten with a paddle for being unfilial if this were a Confucian state. He’s quite peculiar, isn’t he?”

So now he’s trying to drag Baek Yuseol into this? By this point, it was clear that Taseron was resorting to clumsy tactics to provoke Mayuseong’s anger. That clarity allowed him to remain calm and composed.

‘He must know about my abilities.’

Previously, Taseron had taunted Mayuseong by making disparaging comments about his talent.

The source of all of Mayuseong’s abilities stemmed from his control over his emotions.

Straddling the line between mage and black magician, he could harness the powers of both. His capabilities were so extraordinary that calling him one of the most gifted individuals in the world would hardly be an exaggeration.

But what would happen if he lost his composure?

One of those abilities might slip away.

A select few black magicians were aware of this vulnerability.

The Black Magic King and a handful of his closest confidants.

The astute Baek Yuseol, Full Frame, and...

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‘The Black Magic Cult Leader.’

At the time of Mayuseong’s birth, the cult leader, Heiran, was essentially the Black Magic King’s right-hand man.

For reasons unknown, however, the moment Mayuseong was born, Heiran broke away completely and founded the peculiar organization known as the Black Magic Cult.

Still, no matter how cunning the cult leader might be, he wasn’t the type to go around recklessly exposing Mayuseong’s weakness.

Doing so would only provide an excuse for the Black Magic King to take action.

The Black Magic King, bound by a past agreement, was currently in a neutral position, unable to act freely.

A wise leader like Heiran wouldn’t dare provoke such a dangerous spark.

‘But for that first-year student to know about it...’

This likely meant Taseron was an important figure directly dispatched by the cult leader.

‘Why is he trying to provoke my emotions?’

What possible benefit could there be? If Mayuseong’s emotions were provoked to the point of losing control, he might lose his magical abilities, but even the Black Magic Cult wouldn’t gain anything from that, would they?

“Oh my, are you leaving already, sunbae?”

When Mayuseong didn’t respond and turned to leave silently, Taseron clicked his tongue as if disappointed and said, “Well, thanks to you, I’ve learned something important. You don’t even realize what kind of seed is growing inside you, do you?”

“...What?”

Mayuseong spun around in shock, but Taseron was already gone.

“What... is he talking about?”

Something unknown to even Mayuseong himself was moving swiftly in the shadows.

‘Are the black magicians making their move?’

What on earth was happening?

Despite his hatred for the Black Magic King, as the king’s child, Mayuseong couldn’t escape the massive storm brewing around him.

Sooner or later, he would be swept up in it.

‘I need to go see my father.’

But before that, he had to prepare.

***

“Caw—Caw—!”

At the edge of a crimson-stained cliff, dozens of massive crows, each the size of a house, took flight in unison.

Amid the raging black storm, a dark fortress stood out prominently, its silhouette commanding attention.

Boom.

There, a massive dragon lay defeated.

Its entire body oozed thick, earthen-colored blood as its jaws spewed out its own entrails.

Standing before the fallen dragon, arms crossed and without a single scratch on him, ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) was a man.

The Black Magic King.

Indeed, the predictions of the Black Magic Cult Leader, Heiran, had been wrong. The plan was for the dragon to trigger a massive spatial distortion upon its death, causing a self-destruction that would deal a fatal blow to the Black Magic King. But even that plan had failed.

At the moment of the dragon’s death, the Black Magic King had sensed the spatial distortion and crushed it with his bare hands.

“Ha... Black Magic Cult Leader. What a disappointing effort.”

Through the eyes of a crow observing the scene, an elderly black magician touched the four pairs of horns protruding from his head and spoke.

“Despite breaking apart the Black Magic Alliance to set the stage for this....”

Heiran closed his eyes, his face rigid.

The old man, Rantal, chairman of the Black Magic Alliance and one of the Nine Risks, wasn’t wrong.

Rantal was the one who had united the black magicians, mediating their petty disputes and presenting a façade of peace. However, that didn’t mean he wasn’t tempted by the throne of the Black Magic King.

Thus, Heiran had deliberately lured Rantal in, promising him a fatal strike against the Black Magic King and offering the final blow—and the throne itself—to Rantal.

But from the start, the plan had gone completely awry.

Who could have expected that even the elaborate traps painstakingly prepared by Heiran would be effortlessly avoided by the Black Magic King?

“Well... it doesn’t matter. It seems he wasn’t entirely unharmed.”

“What do you mean? The dragon didn’t even graze the Black Magic King.”

“Ha. Chairman, can’t you feel it? The instability in the Black Magic King’s mana.”

“Wha...”

Focusing once more on the crow’s projection, Rantal scrutinized the Black Magic King.

“I see... So the rumor that the wound inflicted by Elteman fifty years ago still hasn’t healed is true.”

“Indeed. Even though he remains the strongest, as befitting his title, it must place a tremendous burden on him whenever he uses his powers.”

“Ah, yes. Elteman Eltewin must have feared the Black Magic King’s authority from the beginning and cursed him, targeting that very power....”

“Exactly. It’s not an external injury, but rather an internal curse that severely restricts his ability to wield mana.”

Rantal grinned.

“In that case...!”

With the Black Magic King exhausted from fighting the dragon while carrying such a fatal injury, this was Rantal’s golden opportunity to seize the throne.

“Go now, take the crown, and become the king of all black magicians, Rantal!”

“Of course!”

In an instant, Rantal swapped his crow projection with his true body, revealing himself before the Black Magic King.

Simultaneously, tens of thousands of crows transformed into the forms of black magicians, surrounding the Black Magic King’s dark fortress.

“This is the day! A new era shall be written!!”

Thus, a massive war erupted between Rantal, leader of the Black Magic Alliance, and the Black Magic King.

...And within less than 30 minutes, Rantal and his entire force had been annihilated.

There was no need for the Black Magic King’s army to intervene.

Only one person was required.

The Black Magic King.

Alone, he slaughtered tens of thousands of black magicians, leaving not a single survivor.