I Became A Flashing Genius At The Magic Academy-Chapter 462

No matter how explosively Baek Yuseol had been growing, defeating Black Kingdom, a 9-Risk Black Mage, at this point was utterly impossible.

In Aither World Online, even the most hardcore veteran players, those who performed speedruns by creating multiple characters and rushing through the storyline, couldn’t defeat Black Kingdom until they had at least graduated from Stella Academy.

Sure, Baek Yuseol's current growth outpaced any player from the original game, but some things simply weren’t feasible.

‘But escaping? That’s definitely possible.’

Baek Yuseol’s greatest strength was his exceptional mobility. His successive use of Blink was so fast that even the Black Magic King wouldn’t be able to catch him.

In other words, as long as Baek Yuseol decided to flee, no matter who he was facing, he could always guarantee his survival.

While subtly calculating his escape route, a chilling voice escaped Black Kingdom’s mouth.

“Baek Yuseol.”

Baek Yuseol flinched slightly in surprise. He hadn’t expected Black Kingdom to call him by name.

“What...”

“I’ve wanted to see your face at least once, but I never imagined we’d meet like this, in a place like this.”

‘What?’

The tone was strange. Contrary to his expectations of seething hatred or an immediate attack, there was an oddly subdued and restrained atmosphere.

‘What’s going on here?’

Baek Yuseol decided to test the waters a bit, just in case.

“Well, I actually like this time and place. I’ve been wanting to see your face too.”

Maybe his response wasn’t to Black Kingdom’s liking. The black-armored figure paused for a moment before landing heavily on the ground with a thud!

The corpse of a Black Mage in his grasp was crushed and fell to the ground with a dull thump, while the few surviving remnants of Black Mages fled without looking back.

Now, the collapsed fortress held only Baek Yuseol and Black Kingdom.

Looking around deliberately, Black Kingdom snapped his fingers. A burst of dark magic erupted, swiftly eradicating the remaining Black Mages.

Snap!

Thud!

“Ack!”

“Gah!”

Opaque black magic spikes shot up from the ground, skewering every last one of them. Any who managed to escape initially were hunted down and pierced through.

It was as though Black Kingdom was ensuring no witnesses would remain.

By this point, Baek Yuseol’s sharp instincts kicked in.

‘...This bastard doesn’t want anyone to know about this situation, does he?’

Black Kingdom was a Black Mage, and the residents of this fortress were also Black Mages.

While Baek Yuseol didn’t initially think much of Black Mages attacking each other, on deeper reflection, it was undeniably suspicious.

Why was he massacring his own kind?

“Speak,” Black Kingdom demanded, releasing a faint but menacing aura as if to pressure Baek Yuseol. “How did you know I would be here?”

That confirmed it.

‘He’s feeling guilty about this mess.’

In other words, if Baek Yuseol went around shouting, "Hey, everyone! Black Kingdom’s been killing his own kind!" it would be a major headache for him.

‘This is an unexpected jackpot.’

Suppressing the urge to grin, Baek Yuseol spoke calmly.

“Why should I answer you?”

“...Are you suggesting a human-style deal?”

“Exactly. No human can guarantee a secret will stay hidden 100%. Not even my mouth, you see. Who knows when I might accidentally spill your little secret.”

His smirk deepened as he nudged the conversation in a direction favorable to himself.

“What if... I don’t want to make a deal the human way?”

He expected that response.

“Are you confident? Confident that you can completely kill me here and now?”

No Black Mage had ever managed to kill Baek Yuseol before. While Black Kingdom was a 9-Risk and among the most powerful of his kind, Baek Yuseol had become someone impossible to ignore.

‘The mage who uses Blink.’

The first in the world to perfect space-folding magic for instantaneous movement—Baek Yuseol.

Frankly, even Black Kingdom wasn’t worried about losing a direct fight with Baek Yuseol. However, he had no idea what tricks Baek Yuseol might pull to escape.

That uncertainty prevented him from attacking recklessly.

If he hadn’t been concerned, he would’ve already charged in to kill Baek Yuseol instead of wasting time talking.

Understanding all this, Baek Yuseol decided it was time to act boldly.

“Actually, I already know what I want as compensation from you.”

“And what is that?”

“I’m curious about the next challenger to the Black Magic King’s throne.”

Black Kingdom hesitated briefly before opening his mouth.

“You mean the Black Magic Cult Leader, Hyeryun?”

“Don’t even think about bringing her up.”

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Baek Yuseol’s calm remark caused Black Kingdom to fall silent.

The quiet stretched on.

As the prolonged silence grew frustrating, Baek Yuseol began tapping his arm impatiently, his curiosity turning into annoyance.

‘Why’s he thinking for so long?’

Finally, Black Kingdom raised his head and met Baek Yuseol’s gaze. Through the dark helmet, glowing red eyes radiated a menacing aura.

“What exactly do you know?”

“Nothing.”

Nothing at all.

And that was the truth.

However, it seemed that Black Kingdom interpreted Baek Yuseol’s words a bit differently.

‘He knows most of it already and just wants me to admit it myself.’

This misconception was born from Baek Yuseol’s history of making unpredictable, storm-like moves, which made it plausible to think he could have pieced everything together. Black Kingdom, unable to dismiss the possibility, eventually decided to reveal a secret himself.

“The next challenger to the Black Magic King’s throne... That person is closer to the truth of the world than anyone else.”

“The truth of the world? How am I supposed to believe that?”

“That’s because...”

A three-second pause followed, then the answer:

“They are blessed by the legendary Twelfth Moon, Hui Gong Siwol, believed to be a fragment of the First Mage himself.”

“Huh?”

Baek Yuseol nearly let out a verbal question in his shock.

‘A fragment of the First Mage?’

This was the first time he had heard such a claim.

Hui Gong Siwol, a fragment of the First Mage?

‘What kind of nonsense is this?’

Considering everything Hui Gong Siwol had done so far, this idea seemed completely absurd.

Hui Gong Siwol was closer to a force aiming to destroy this world.

The First Mage, on the other hand, was a revered figure who spread magic and brought prosperity to Aither World. Why would he do something so destructive?

‘Is this some sort of misunderstanding?’

Yet, it was Black Kingdom—the right-hand of the Black Magic King—who claimed this, not some random nobody. His words carried enough weight to make it difficult to dismiss outright.

‘And he referred to Huiyeon as that person?’

This was especially curious.

Black Kingdom, who served the Black Magic King, should find the current challenger troubling. Referring to Huiyeon with such respect was unusual.

‘Which means... could it be...’

Baek Yuseol finally pieced together what Black Kingdom might be misunderstanding.

‘He thinks I already know about his allegiance to the Black Magic Cult Leader?’

In truth, he had no idea.

Until now, Baek Yuseol believed Black Kingdom was firmly the Black Magic King’s right-hand man.

“Does this answer suffice?”

Black Kingdom broke the silence with a question, and Baek Yuseol shook his head, adding another.

“No. I’m curious about something else.”

“Ask.”

“At the end of this war... whose side will you stand on?”

In other words, he was directly asking, who are you planning {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} to betray?

This wasn’t a question Black Kingdom could comfortably answer. He met Baek Yuseol’s gaze calmly and replied,

“I will stand with whoever creates a better world for Black Mages.”

“Ambiguously phrased, aren’t you?”

It seemed clear that Baek Yuseol wouldn’t get a straightforward answer.

Still, hearing about Hui Gong Siwol was enough for now. It seemed even Black Kingdom hadn’t fully made up his mind.

“I’m satisfied with your answer. I promise, everything I’ve seen here—none of it happened. I’ll even take responsibility for this fortress’s destruction. If I tell people Baek Yuseol did it, they’ll believe me.”

“And what guarantee do I have that you won’t reveal this secret once you’re out there?”

There was no guarantee.

There wasn’t exactly a contract infused with Black Magic to bind them.

So Baek Yuseol simply thumped his chest confidently and said,

“Trust me. Even if it’s my enemy’s secret, I always keep my promises. I guarantee I’ll take this secret to my grave.”

Black Kingdom locked eyes with him for a moment, then nodded reluctantly.

He must have realized that, even if he couldn’t trust Baek Yuseol, there wasn’t much else he could do.

“I will trust your honor.”

With that, Black Kingdom shot into the sky like a rocket, vanishing from sight.

Watching his retreating figure, Baek Yuseol could barely contain himself.

‘What do I do?’

He wanted to spread this gossip to everyone.

Seeing how desperate Black Kingdom was to keep it a secret only made him want to shout it from the rooftops.

“Hey, neighbors! Guess what? Black Kingdom’s up to—!”

Of course, if he did that, Black Kingdom might lose it and go on a rampage, wreaking havoc across Stella. It was better to keep quiet, but this overwhelming urge was hard to suppress.

‘Oh, right. I should’ve asked about the Green Core...’

Too late now.

In hindsight, he realized he could have pressed further and uncovered more.

But, no use crying over spilled milk.

Nearby, his attention was drawn to a map.

It marked a hidden city, presumably home to tens of thousands of Black Mages. Baek Yuseol now had a clear destination for his next move.

‘Well then, back to work.’