Ch. 92 - Maizen Tyren (1)
I Became A Flashing Genius At The Magic AcademyThis chapter is broken. Please report this on discord.
Notes
Here’s the new chapter. Happy reading.
This chapter is broken. Please report this on discord.
Here’s the new chapter. Happy reading.
Chapter 92: Maizen Tyren (1)
If the first layer had a green theme, the second layer had a yellow theme, and the third layer had a purple theme, then the highly anticipated forbidden fourth layer had a pink theme.
Baek Yu-Seol took a moment to appreciate the scenery of the fourth layer.
Of course, it wasn't an emotional appreciation of the landscape but rather an alignment of the map and terrain through his spectacles.
"I have a general idea of the path, but..."
Squeak!
As headache struck, he took off his glasses and pressed his temple.
Wearing glasses for two days straight had drained his mental strength to the point of severe headaches.
Even his senses weren’t functioning properly. While other mages solved everything by expending mana, all he had left was mental strength, and that was currently at rock bottom.
Depletion of magic would lead to severe headaches, and severe headaches would limit the control of spells to the point of restricting sensory activation.
'Should I take a short break?'
The divine beasts on the third layer had mostly reacted favorably to him, but he wondered if that would hold true on the fourth layer.
He would be grateful if they didn't blindly initiate attacks.
After finding a comfortable location, he sat down, closed his eyes, and regulated his breath.
Like mages who could meditate, he too could experience some degree of fatigue recovery or increased mana circulation through meditation.
In this case, he aimed to restore his mental strength.
"Phew."
After resting for about an hour, the headache eased. The time was ample, so there was no need to rush, but since the fourth layer could be somewhat dangerous, it was better to quickly acquire a heart and escape.
There was no sense of direction in the fourth layer.
He suspected the unfinished space was intentional, but an ordinary person would likely get lost and wander around there.
Therefore, he took out the hanbarum flower he had asked Flame to create in advance.
Thanks to its unique trait of providing an absolute sense of direction, this flower had been used as a substitute for a compass in various places from ancient times.
Unlike a compass that malfunctioned in areas with strong electromagnetic fields, the hanbarum flower always faced east no matter where.
Activating the Teripon sword, he proceeded cautiously.
Various familiars caught his eye along the way. Some looked like giant tortoise shells, others were massive whales swimming through the air, and there was even a deer with sparkling eyes that glared at him before disappearing.
Unlike the translucent divine beasts below 5-star, those above had distinct forms.
Woohhh!
A sound resembling the distant rumbling of a ship resounded through the sky.
It was eerie, but there was a mysterious atmosphere that even evoked a sense of reverence.
While moving with heightened sensitivity, his senses responded to something.
Tingle!
"... "
Coincidentally, it was the direction he was headed.
As Baek Yu-Seol slowly approached that place, the dense forest parted, and a woman appeared sitting on a rock, humming a tune.
In an instant, it seemed like cherry blossoms fluttered in all directions.
The whole world was dyed pink, and he felt a dizzying sense of lightness as if he were flying in the azure sky.
There was a floating castle in the sky, surrounded by cherry blossoms, enveloped in a deep shade of red.
In the midst of it all, the woman was seated. She wore a white robe, had white hair, and even had pointed fox ears attached to her head.
Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes tightly.
'Not human... Not a mythical creature either. That’s the first target I've been searching for. A Divine Moon, Pink Spring Moon.’
It wasn't exactly her true form but one of the nine avatars she possessed.
Focusing his mind, the world returned to normal. She approached him as if nothing had happened and said, "Hmm? A human, huh? Did you come here for some business?"
With a light step, the woman walked towards him barefoot as if she were dancing. Her smiling face closely resembled the ideal figure in his mind, almost making his heart race, but he managed to regain control.
The figure in front of him was not human.
He could not be captivated.
He had prepared for this moment.
'Shoop...!'
Baek Yu-Seol closed his eyes and took a deep breath. The mana in the air penetrated deep into his body, igniting the enchanting power within him.
As a human who had mana leakage, he could push out all the mana within him in one go.
Zzzt!
Baek Yu-Seol’s senses flashed, and the woman's form momentarily transformed into that of a fox.
"Oh-ho?"
Of course, he couldn't completely resist her influence with his own mental strength, and she quickly returned to being a woman, but at least he could avoid being enchanted.
Mental magic activated by dispersing the opponent's mana did not affect someone like him who had mana leakage.
Even though it was an enchantment magic of the highest level, he could momentarily glimpse her true nature through his senses.
She looked at Baek Yu-Seol then deliberately averted her gaze and smiled softly.
"Hmm, you seem quite different from an ordinary young human. If you were an ordinary human male, you would have rushed at me a long time ago."
"Thank you for the compliment. May I inquire about your identity?"
She was a divine moon, one of the beings with the greatest power in the game Aether World.
Even legendary dragons were said to be no match for them, so he couldn’t let his guard down.
"Me? As you can see, I am a yokai. And also a familiar, a divine general, a divine spirit, and a divine god. Is that explanation sufficient?"
"I see. I understand."
"Hehe, so tell me. What’s your purpose for coming here?"
"That is..."
"If you don't speak honestly, I'll devour you."
When she playfully opened her red eyes wide, his senses sent him a strong warning.
One wrong move and he would truly die.
"I came to retrieve a heart."
"Oh, really? Whose heart?"
"The heart of a divine beast."
"Oh? Are you planning to kill a divine beast and take its heart?"
"No, I do not have the power to kill one. I was planning to retrieve a heart that has been lost by its owner from the Tomb of the Familiars, which exists deep within."
As soon as the words ‘Tomb of the Familiars’ were mentioned, the fox's expression sank.
"There’s no heart there."
“Nevertheless, I must find it."
"Why?"
Baek Yu-Seol pondered for a moment. This woman had the ability to distinguish lies. If he were to speak of taking it for his own gain, his life would be forfeit in an instant.
He needed something that could serve as a reasonable excuse.
"There’s one. The reason I came all the way here to retrieve the heart was primarily for Leafanel’s sake.”
Didn't she give him a damaged wooden pendant as a token of friendship?
He quickly took it out of his backpack and showed it to the incarnation of the Pink Spring Moon.
"I’m doing this to save my friend."
"That is...!"
Pink Spring's eyes widened. A divine beast never gave their token of friendship to just anyone.
Although she didn't have a particularly close relationship with Leafanel, he got the token because he was the only human who could save her.
"I see... So that's how it came to be... Well, that's interesting. If a human has such a relationship with a divine beast, it must mean that you're not an ordinary human."
Among the twelve divine moons, Pink Spring had a particularly deep affection for divine beings.
For that reason, she used her ability of enchantment to lure numerous divine beasts to this place to ensure their safety.
The fourth layer.
This strange space was entirely a part of Pink Spring. She created her own realm at the roots of the world tree, tempting only divine beasts and forming a small kingdom.
From a human's perspective, it might seem oppressive or like a zoo, but her judgment was ultimately correct.
Countless familiars were able to escape the clutches of the dark mages.
However, as the price for creating this space, Pink Spring lost the ability to venture outside forever.
Although she could partially distribute her power and bestow blessings, even that did not yield positive results.
One of the victims of this unfortunate consequence was Elf King Florin. Bound by the overpowering force of the blessing, Florin couldn't even engage in external activities, unaware of the reason why she became that way.
"Well, fine. If it's for that reason, I can give you a heart. After all, you're a friend of divine beasts. Moreover, I can faintly smell the scent of divine beasts emanating from your aura. It seems you have quite an intimate relationship. Hehehe."
She covered her mouth with her hand and smirked ominously as if suggesting something.
‘All I did were breathing exercises beside Leafanel…’
"However."
Suddenly, she relaxed her expression, let out a sigh, and shook her head.
"To be honest, I'm tired of it now."
"Excuse me?"
"I can no longer trust humans."
"No, wait a moment. Why are you sudde—"
"Throughout history, there have been many humans like you. Heroes who fought for divine beasts, fairies, and us... the Divine Moons."
She spoke with a nostalgic look in her eyes as if gazing into the distance.
"Our fates were tragic. In the end, they too betrayed us and turned against us. We’ve had deep relationships with many humans so far. And we were betrayed every time."
"I… I..."
"Why? Do you want to say that you won't be like them? I've heard that story dozens… hundreds of times already. I'm tired of it. The human race."
"Hmm..."
He expected her to put up a wall like this.
Even in the original game, Pink Spring was a difficult target.
The method to inherit her abilities was simple yet challenging. It was to match the required ability conditions.
In the case of Pink Spring Moon, it was increasing affinity with divine beasts and enhancing mental power, but his current ability fell far short of those conditions.
However, his current goal was just to show himself to Pink Spring Moon and let her know of his existence. It was still too early to conquer her.
However, he thought it would be possible to just take the heart of a divine beast. But she was being so stubborn and unwilling to help.
"My friend is dying... Please save her."
"You humans have a short lifespan. Even if divine beasts lose their memories, they are eternal. That child will remain asleep even after you die. I will go and save her at that time."
"Wait, then can't you just come with me now?"
“That's impossible. I've expended a lot of power creating this space, so I can't move right now."
‘Ugh, this frustrating woman. How can she refuse to budge even when she can't due to her lack of trust in humans?’
He didn’t remember the story, so he didn’t know how Pink Spring Moon was betrayed by humans and what they did to her.
"You may be friends with a divine beast, but that doesn’t prove that you can sacrifice your life for their sake. But..."
"..."
‘Well, that’s true.’
No matter what, his life was precious to him.
"I don't want divine beasts to give their hearts to humans. They’ll eventually be hurt."
"Yes..."
Baek Yu-Seol didn't expect himself to be blocked like this.
‘Maybe I shouldn't have come to find Pink Spring Moon.’
‘No, that’s not it.’
It was important to keep showing his face consistently to gain Pink Spring Moon's favor. Even though she was not friendly toward him right now, someday his efforts would bear fruit.
‘... Perhaps I need to find another way to obtain the heart.’
‘What should I do?’
While pondering quietly, his whole body suddenly shivered.
[A variable has occurred in the episode.]
[Episode 7 ‘Arshuang's Dark Corruption Route’ is in progress.]
Such a message appeared.
‘So even Arshuang's route is progressing.’
He expected this much. It was probably a variable caused by his existence.
However, there was no need to worry.
Arshuang's corruption would be resolved by Hong Bi-Yeon one way or another, even if he didn’t pay much attention to it.
If it seemed too dangerous, he could just go back immediately.
[The variable has been resolved.]
As expected, Arshuang's dark corruption route was resolved not long after. So he withdrew his attention and wanted to have a few more words with Pink Spring Moon, but...
[Warning! Your storyline interference has caused a significant butterfly effect.]
[Episode 8 ‘Dark Magic Corruption’ is being merged with the current ongoing episode!]
[The difficulty level of the episode has increased significantly!]
"What...?"
[Episode 7-8]
[Familiar Contract Ceremony and the Dark Mage Corruption]
Baek Yu-Seol stood frozen, his mouth agape, and took a step back.
Episode 8.
It meant that Professor Maizen would be completely corrupted by dark magic and go on a rampage.
Why was it happening so soon?
He quickly put on his specs to confirm, and he saw that Professor Maizen’s corruption rate had surpassed 50% and was now at 80%.
‘What is this? Why all of a sudden...?’
Episodes were supposed to occur only when they were related to the protagonists, so it wasn’t supposed to happen in a place unknown to him.
Professor Maizen had become corrupted somewhere near the roots of the heavenly spirit tree, where all the protagonists had gathered.
‘Darn it, she's becoming a dark mage here.’
So far, there had been many unexpected variables, but they never had such a direct impact on the episode itself.
But now, the episode was occurring ahead of schedule.
There was no way to know or prepare for this. He didn't know when or how it would happen.
‘This... is because of me.’
He had made efforts to accelerate Professor Maizen’s corruption into a dark mage. However, he never expected it to happen in a place like this.
It was still impossible for the protagonists to defeat him by themselves.
In the original game, the allies would weaken Maizen through their attacks, creating an opportunity for the player to strategize.
However, there was not a single ally here because the location of the episode had changed.
Therefore, it meant that he had to find other allies here.
But who else was here? There was no one else to help the protagonists in this place except him.
"What is this...?"
Pink Spring Moon also seemed to have sensed the dark magic and was looking somewhere with a bewildered expression.
"Oh, it's not time... Dark magic shouldn't intrude yet..."
Her space was still unfinished, so she must have set up a strong barrier to ward off dark magic.
But a dark mage infiltration was enough to leave her greatly surprised. The current Pink Spring Moon had lost most of her original power and was unable to act.
Flustered, he quickly shouted at her, covering her cheeks with both hands.
"Where is it?"
"What’re you—"
"I mean, tell me where the dark magic is detected! I’ll go and stop it!"
"No, it's not possible. You can't stop it at your level. I need to summon my child, Florin, right away."
"We don't have time for that! Quickly tell me the location!"
Baek Yu-Seol, who had been speaking politely, was rather surprised.
The current Pink Spring Moon, who had most of her memories sealed, seemed unable to maintain composure.
It was truly an ironic situation.
One of the twelve divine moons, Pink Spring Moon.
One of the strongest weapons she possessed was her unwavering mental strength, yet she seemed flustered just because a single dark mage had intruded.
It pained him to see her weakened state, but he couldn't afford to focus on that now.
"There... It's over there. The dark magic is corrupting my children from that place."
That was enough information. Holding the artifact, the vengeance branch, in his right hand, he rushed without hesitation in the direction she pointed.