Ch. 55 - Persona Gate Training (2)
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.
Another one will be released soon.
This chapter is broken. Please report this on discord.
Here’s the new chapter. Happy reading.
Another one will be released soon.
Chapter 55: Persona Gate Training (2)
Ninth Star Tower, Starcloud Cafe Terrace.
According to the academy's regulations, it was a space that could be used by any Stella student.
However, due to the expensive dessert prices and the influence of nobles, this place was mostly frequented by the aristocracy.
The terrace, in particular, was favored by nobles and their factions for gatherings.
Despite having a club room, the reason for choosing this place was likely to show off their power.
Hong Bi-Yeon was no exception. If she didn't periodically showcase her abilities, she would appear insignificant to other riffraff, so she must never leave any room for vulnerability.
‘It’s tasteless.’
She forced herself to drink the tea that didn't suit her palate and listened to the girls' conversation.
"Oh, really?"
"That's right? Baron Coden’s son gave me a bouquet..."
"How romantic!"
"Is that so? I found it burdensome."
"As a woman, I envy it so much. I wonder if there's any man like that for me."
It was a typical conversation among ordinary noble girls. The topics of conversation were also similar every day.
What clothes are in fashion these days? What jewelry is in fashion? What food is popular?
Who’s dating whom?
Who caused what scandal?
Who confessed and got rejected?
It was a tedious and nutritionally empty exchange of banal conversations. Hong Bi-Yeon didn't particularly enjoy the atmosphere of this place, but she maintained her composure.
Each person gathered here was a child of powerful figures who wielded considerable authority. There was a reason for bringing them all together in one place.
"Princess, you've been reading the familiar dictionary since earlier, haven't you?"
"Oh, come to think of it, after the second exam, there was a formal Familiar Contract Ceremony, right?"
"Ah! You're already preparing ahead of time. Impressive. I can't even understand the familiar dictionary."
"That's right. The princess is indeed different from others, right?"
The topic suddenly shifted, turning into flattery towards the princess, but it wasn't bad. It happened quite often.
However, it was still boring, so Hong Bi-Yeon gave a vague response.
Naturally, the topic among the girls shifted again.
"Oh, by the way, have you heard about this? My father told me to keep it a secret..."
"What is it?"
"Recently, there was a commotion because a Stella assistant unraveled the Alchemical Engineering Cross Technique. But you all know there's a co-author, right?"
"Of course."
"Actually, that co-author... is said to be one of the students."
"What? Is that really true?"
Hong Bi-Yeon, who was idly playing with her tea, abruptly stopped her hand movement. It was the first time an interesting conversation topic had come up in a while.
"Well, even so, it's a problem spanning more than 300 years. Could a student be a co-author?"
"But Father was certain."
"Ah... Since Rachel's father is the head of the Information Bureau, it must be certain."
"But who could it be? Someone who can solve unresolved mysteries with a student's status. It's likely someone from the Alchemy Castle, right?"
Exactly.
Whether it was the head of the Information Bureau or others, it seemed that those who hadn’t delved deep didn’t grasp the concept of this 'co-author.'
However, Hong Bi-Yeon happened to uncover the truth while investigating someone else.
Baek Yu-Seol.
He was the co-author of Alchemical Engineering Cross Technique.
"But why keep his identity confidential?"
“Exactly. Maybe they just put the name there but he didn’t actually help?”
"Oh my. That could be the case. If it were me, I would feel embarrassed and sorry, so I would keep my identity confidential."
"Hohoho."
The girls' curiosity mirrored Hong Bi-yeon's own.
Why? What was the purpose? What could be the reason for doing such a thing?
"Princess? Why do you look so worried?"
Suddenly, one of the girls took an interest in Hong Bi-Yeon, allowing her to regain her composure. "Oh, it's nothing."
"Oh, is it because of the upcoming persona gate training?"
"That's right. Princess, you'll be participating again this time, won't you?"
Upon hearing their words, Hong Bi-Yeo nodded slightly.
‘Persona gate training…’
The persona gate was a space completely detached from common sense in reality.
Unlike simple dungeons where clearing was achieved by defeating a boss or destroying a core, persona gates required extensive preparation and study because one could only clear them by understanding and overcoming their patterns and mechanisms".
Starting from analyzing the concentration of the persona gate, mathematical knowledge such as spatial deformation, topology, soul isolation, and understanding and memorization of thousands of patterns and possibilities were immensely necessary.
However...
The most important thing was undoubtedly combat prowess.
Without the ability to fight properly, no matter how smart one was, they couldn’t successfully clear a persona gate.
In fact, since the purpose of nurturing magical warriors was to hinder the persona gates created by the dark mages, it could be considered the most crucial subject.
The upcoming persona gate training would be conducted in groups of 4 to 18, and the key was how they cooperated and strategized together.
Even for Stella's first-year students, who had an average level of Class 2, it was not easy to tackle a persona gate that was expected to be at a difficulty level of 3, especially since it was their first real combat experience.
Most of them would likely fail.
However, the scoring was based on whether they understood the mechanics of the persona gate, how they cooperated and synchronized with their team members, and how they responded to enemy attacks or similar situations.
So it was not necessary to succeed in the strategy.
Of course, in the persona gate training, where most would inevitably fail, Hong Bi-Yeon was determined to succeed.
That way, she could prove her superiority.
That way she could gain recognition from her mother.
‘I hope I’m matched with capable people…’
After the gathering at the cafe.
On the way back to the dormitory.
As Hong Bi-Yeon was heading towards the dormitory alone, someone called out to her.
"Bi-Yeon!"
She stiffened up.
A voice that felt all too familiar pierced into her ears like a knife.
But it was also the voice she feared and despised the most in this world.
Slowly, she turned her head.
There stood a woman with bright red hair tied tightly behind her head. She looked nothing like her and wore a relaxed smile on her face.
“Princess Hong Si-Hwa."
"Oh my, I told you to call me Sister.”
Her half-sister, Hong Si-Hwa Adolevit, with whom she could only be forced into an antagonistic relationship due to their fates of being a legitimate child and a bastard.
She had come all the way here.
"What brings you here?"
"Oh well, I just came to see my little sister. Do I need a reason for that? Besides, some interesting things have happened recently."
It was a lie.
She never made a move without a reason.
"Don't give me that look. Well, yes, there is another reason. Recently, there's been a very interesting commoner at this school... And guess what? That commoner is carrying out the knight's chivalry that has vanished from this world."
How did she know?
Such questions were meaningless.
Hong Si-Hwa knew everything.
So when Hong Bi-Yeon hardened her expression, Hong Si-Hwa covered her mouth with her hand and imitated a polite young lady as she smiled.
"Oh my, even my little sister seems to be interested in that knight? It's only natural. A knight who dedicates their all to their priest... Truly, isn't that every princess' romantic fantasy?"
Princesses' romantic fantasy.
At first glance, it might seem like they hadn’t lost their childhood innocence, but it was definitely a maneuver to lay the groundwork.
Anyway, both Hong Si-Hwa and Hong Bi-Yeon were princesses, and to become the queen, they needed to identify an outstanding talent like Baek Yu-Seol.
Moreover, if a commoner without a country, hometown, family, or affiliation possessed such overwhelming talent...
There was no reason to hesitate.
"Anyway, I have a tiny, really tiny bit of interest in that commoner. Can you introduce me?"
"If you want to see him, go and find him yourself."
"Ah, I heard that all the top-notch tower officials went to see him and came back empty-handed. That person seems completely disinterested."
"..."
As she said, something was off about Baek Yu-Seol.
She recalled the incident with the necromancer from before.
Many towers and organizations had sent him love calls. But strangely, he had rejected all of them.
At that time, she didn't think much of it.
But now, it seemed familiar.
In any case, it would be so easy for the path to open wide if he just revealed his name.
Why would he reject such an opportunity?
Baek Yu-Seol was undoubtedly a commoner.
It was suspicious how he desperately tried to seize all the wealth he could but made every effort to keep his name hidden from the public eye.
However, the problem was that no matter how much investigation was done, nothing could be found about him.
His past was veiled as if he was trying to completely erase his existence from the world.
"So many people went and came back empty-handed. It's truly scary. Do you happen to know anything?" Hong Si-Hwa asked.
"..."
When Hong Bi-Yeon turned her head without answering, Hong Si-Hwa walked briskly and suddenly extended her finger in the direction where Hong Bi-Yeon’s gaze was directed.
"So you want me to introduce myself to that person, right? Since you’re classmates, you must be close, right?"
“No, sorry. Figure it out yourself.”
"My little sister is so mean!"
She playfully threw a tantrum, but Bi-Yeon didn't even pretend to listen.
Then, Hong Si-Hwa spoke in a subtly mocking tone.
“You’re nothing more than a concubine’s daughter. Why are you so difficult?”
At that moment, Bi-Yeon’s expression crumpled.
“I’m not merely the daughter of a concubine. I’m a princess with legitimate claim to the throne.”
"That’s only because your older sister died!”
Hong Bi-Yeon’s eyes reddened at Hong Si-Hwa's obvious provocation but she quickly regained composure.
It was familiar.
The psychopathic girl with no emotions, tears, or empathy, who used even the death of her kind and beautiful older sister as material for provocation.
‘Stay calm. It will be resolved when I become the queen.’
With that resolve, she turned to leave, and Hong Si-Hwa did not follow. She just stood there, smiling brightly from a distance like a cheerful but slightly lacking child.
After walking for a while and completely distancing herself from Hong Si-Hwa, Hong Bi-Yeon plopped down on a nearby bench, exhausted.
"Phew..."
"Princess, are you alright?"
"Rin."
Yeterin, dressed in a stiff suit, approached and handed her a cold drink.
Finally, Hong Bi-Yeon could relax.
Rin was the only person besides Teacher Hameryl in whom Hong Bi-Yeon could confide.
They had been together since they were young.
"I was a little annoyed, but I'm okay. After all, you don't engage with crazy people."
"I apologize for not being able to be of help."
"It's fine. I don't expect you to be of any help."
As Hong Bi-Yeon was about to get up, Yeterin seemed to remember something and took an envelope out of her pocket.
"By the way, while investigating the commoner you mentioned before, I happened to come across this."
Yeterin handed her the envelope with Baek Yu-Seol’s name written on it.
"It's a submission of Baek Yu-Seol’s student work for a certain subject. It contains information about his past. Unfortunately, it's a copy as I couldn't retrieve the original since it’s an assignment."
"Oh, really?"
There were assignments that required writing such content.
She felt a bit hopeful. No matter how much they investigated and dug, Baek Yu-Seol remained a perfect blank slate with no information whatsoever.
What was his past like? Curiosity filled her as she tore open the envelope.