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Chapter 75: Absurdity (4)
Professor Gerald took Baek Yu-Seol’s exam paper and immediately went to find Vice Principal Hayden.
Teaching a student who had written an excellent paper was not only a matter of raising Stella's reputation, but also a matter of his honor and achievement, so Gerald was pleased as if it were his own work.
"You're recommending that Baek Yu-Seol attend the Aslan Seminar?"
"Yes."
Of course, whether or not it would be possible was uncertain.
The Aslan Seminar gathered numerous prodigies from around the world, so breaking through their fierce competition would not be easy.
However, considering that Baek Yu-Seol’s paper was of a decent doctoral level, Gerald believed it was sufficiently competent.
But Archie Hayden slowly lowered his gaze and furrowed his brow.
"That's troublesome, Professor Gerald."
"Why?"
"Currently, Stella has many candidates for attendance besides that student. Especially the freshmen this year. There are promising candidates who would stand out no matter where they go."
"That's true, but..."
"In one academy, the maximum number of students who can attend Aslan, excluding prestigious individuals with fixed attendance rights, is two."
In truth, it was rare for both slots to be filled. It was not an easy task for an academy to produce two outstanding students who could attend.
However, because it was Stella, there were a lot of exceptional students who could attend the Aslan Seminar.
"And yet… you recommend Baek Yu-Seol?"
From Gerald's perspective, it was quite reasonable.
Although Baek Yu-Seol was a commoner, he was proving his abilities as a mage with his skills.
"No, it's not right. A magic warrior who doesn't use magic? That is an act that insults Stella, as well as all magic institutions, magic academies, and all mages around the world. Don't you think so?"
"Yes."
He couldn't deny the vice principal’s words.
However... Elthman Elwin, the principal, had personally approved Baek Yu-Seol’s admission in the first place.
Gerald had no idea that the vice principal would have objections to it.
"You wouldn’t have come if you thought about it. I absolutely cannot permit Baek Yu-Seol’s attendance at Aslan."
"I understand."
It was truly regrettable that a talented student couldn't even have the opportunity to spread his wings under the harassment of a narrow-minded old mage.
But what could be done? This was the reality.
Gerald slouched his shoulders and left the office with a weary expression, while Archie Hayden clicked his tongue and tore apart the copy of Baek Yu-Seol’s exam paper, burning it.
"To think they’re trying to insert such a worthless worm into Aslan..."
He couldn't stand any of Stella's mages.
After the second round of exams, they would undergo proper training in the ‘mage duel.’
In fact, magic warriors didn't specialize in duels. Dueling was the specialty of magic knights, while dealing with dark mages was the specialty of magic warriors.
However, that didn’t mean that magic warriors never engaged in combat with humans.
However, magic warriors still needed to learn basic dueling skills, just as magic knights learned basic tactics for fighting dark mages.
Baek Yu-Seol hadn’t received proper training in dueling yet.
“Seriously, is it fair to push me so hard when I haven’t even learned it yet?”
He couldn’t win.
So far, he had managed to handle situations well by borrowing the power of the protagonists.
During the necromancer attack, the main characters handled the enemy’s primary power, the skeletons. During the mock battle with the monsters, Eisel basically handled everything.
The same went for the persona gate, where the three female protagonists took care of it themselves, but for some reason, most of the credit went to him.
That was why he seemed to be strangely overestimated.
When he was alone, he was just a scarecrow that moved quickly.
He could infuse some magic power into his sword, but he lacked decisive destructive power.
If the duel was 2v2 or 3v3, he could perhaps win.
That was how he had been fighting so far.
‘My position is closer to a melee dealer than a tank.’
He seized the enemy's openings, swiftly struck and exploited their weaknesses, and then retreated.
But 1v1 was a bit difficult.
In terms of experience and theory, he might be much better than a second-year student, but his offensive power, which could determine the outcome, was low.
If he used all the knowledge and concentrated as much as possible to deliver precise and effective damage, he might be able to win somehow.
The difference in experience shouldn't be ignored.
But was it really necessary to go that far? He didn't want to go through unnecessary hardships just to win.
It would be better to practice using items instead.
‘Yeah, that sounds good.’
Standing in the middle of the dueling field, which was a vast plain, Baek Yu-Seol gazed into the empty space.
Due to the spatial transformation of Stella Dome, the dueling field consisted of fields such as a dry desert, a forest, a cold icy land, and cliffs filled with rocks. The width was roughly equivalent to a soccer field.
Outside the boundaries of the dueling field were not concert halls or amphitheaters but rather, tiered seats arranged in a staircase fashion.
Both seniors and fellow students could observe from there during the special training for underclassmen. It was like saying, "If you make a mistake, you'll receive this kind of training, so behave yourselves."
It used to be a breeding ground for corruption that came down through the generations. Many things had disappeared, but this was one of the few remaining.
In the 21st-century democratic South Korean military, which was supposedly equal, the bullying was far worse than this, so it was rather surprising that only this much remained in an academy where nobles and commoners coexisted.
Putting that aside...
'Why are there so many people gathered?'
The special training for underclassmen wasn't a separate episode in the original game.
He searched a bit with his spec, but there were about twelve people at most.
‘But look at this. It easily exceeds a hundred people.’
In attendance were not only the student council president, vice president, and various noble students, but also seniors from the second and third years.
Edmon Atalek, who originally intended to take a break, was also looking at him from a distance with his faction members.
Hong Bi-Yeon, who was sitting right next to Edmon, looked uncomfortable for some reason.
"Hey, brave junior! I don't know much, but do your best!" Deok Cheol-Gwang who came along with Ban Di-Yeon shouted at Baek Yu-Seol.
‘It's good to be enthusiastic, but am I not in a bad position?’
Some seniors gave Deok Cheol-Gwang a stern look, but seeing his muscular physique, they averted their gaze again.
Ban Di-Yeon silently watched Baek Yu-Seol. He couldn't tell what she was thinking. In addition, there were quite a few unrelated students gathered.
"Huff, that brat is finally gonna get beaten into his senses."
"Ugh, I couldn't stand that commoner guy's attitude all this time, but finally, some proper education."
"If you're caught by the seniors, that's the end of it."
Those who disliked him were whispering among themselves, hoping to see him embarrassed in a public place.
Thump!
Someone entered through the entrance on the opposite side of the dueling field.
It was a second-year senior slightly taller than Baek Yu-Seol, with a bulky body and a gray staff longer than his forearm.
What was his name again?
[Kalivan Kadarum from Class 2-C]
Class C.
It seemed funny, but in terms of rankings, he was in the top 300.
Baek Yu-Seol’s ranking was in the top 500 of the first-year students.
Although he was in Class S, there was no difference from Class C if they only considered pure combat power.
Even his result was thanks to using a perfect score cheat in the written test. There was no information about that in his glasses.
Of course, players couldn’t confirm the existence of characters who hardly appeared in the original game.
However, there was a record of a family with the name ‘Kadarum.’
Aether World had countless settings, including the concept of family legacy magic.
Each mage family was said to manipulate unique magic, so if one knew the family name, they could guess what kind of attribute they primarily dealt with.
For example, Adolevit was fire, and Morph was ice.
[Viscount Kadarum family]
[A virtually unknown family ranked 77th.]
[A name you might barely see after conducting extensive 'you, be my friend!' events at local noble gatherings or within Stella. No notable magic to learn from them. It’s recommended to skip… (continued)]
[Primary attribute: Earth]
[No bloodline magic, no legacy magic]
As a seasoned veteran of a ten-year-old game, even his mediocre family lineage was documented.
While he seemed middling judging by the settings, in reality, he was at or above average in Stella.
Families that possessed bloodline, inherited, or visionary magic were extremely rare. With that, he could proudly say that he maintained a high ranking in the middle to upper range.
"Hey, junior. Are you ready?"
The problem was that he was Baek Yu-Seol’s opponent, but it was okay.
During his time playing the game, he had faced countless mages, so he had that experience.
If the opponent didn’t have any bloodline or inherited magic, there were no variables to worry about.
As a third-class earth magic user, all the spells were stored in his head without even needing to glance at the textbook.
"Well, yeah. I think I'm ready."
“You're arrogant to the end."
Baek Yu-Seol adjusted the bag hanging on his lower back.
The bag that looked like a travel bag was called an alchemical bag. It contained various alchemical potions and tools.
Originally, the use of alchemical items and external objects in duels was prohibited.
But there were exceptions.
Magic users who directly manifested magic through spellbooks rather than wands or staffs, as well as those who mainly handled talismans or magical tools were allowed to use special tools.
Additionally, alchemy majors were allowed to use tools under the assumption that they developed them themselves, as they couldn’t demonstrate their abilities without them.
Officially, he belonged to the Department of Magic, but alchemy was his minor, which allowed him to use some alchemical tools.
And inside this bag, there were brand-new items that he designed and Alterisha crafted.
Baek Yu-Seol had no intention of defeating his senior or fighting seriously.
'I’ll just use consumable items for promotion.'
He needed a promotional video for his sponsors anyway, so this was perfect.
"Now I’ll explain the rules." The duel supervisor, an assistant professor, spoke. "The minimum duel time is 15 minutes. The duel will continue until one side is knocked out, and if it is deemed life-threatening, the spatial control magic of the Stella Dome will automatically stop the duel. In addition, either side can forfeit after 15 minutes, and the duel will immediately be halted. Are both sides ready?"
They nodded their heads.
"We will begin the duel right away."
With that, Professor Jo, who was standing between them, took a step back and signaled the start of the duel.
"Today, I'll make you come to your senses! Earth Field... Huh?"
[Flash]
[Flash]
[Flash]
Immediately, Baek Yu-Seol flashed consecutively toward the back.
"What is this?! Why are you running?! Come back!"
He heard Kalivan shouting from behind, but he didn't look back and kept running.
"Who would come back just because you told them to?" Baek Yu-Seol was a gamer. That was why he understood the essence of winning.
'The purpose of the game is not to win. It's to drive the opponent crazy.'
Indeed. He might not win today, but he planned to use items to infuriate his senior.