Magic Academy’s Genius Blinker

Chapter 36

Club Activities (2)

“Wow, that’s generous.”

Returning to the dormitory, I opened the envelope attached to the commendation certificate and my jaw dropped. I never expected to receive a check for a hefty 5,000,000 credits as a reward.

“Is it time to have some beef?”

For wealthy individuals like Hong Bi-yeon and Hae Wonryang, it might not mean much, but for lower-class individuals like me and Aiselle, it was a significant reward.

‘How many chickens can I buy with this?’

On top of that, the rewards from this incident weren’t over yet.

‘The necromancer’s Force Vessel.’

Every necromancer creates a Force Vessel. Also known as a second heart.

Only mages who specialize in manipulating astral bodies can create it, and in recent times, when necromancers have become rare, it is a highly valuable item. With all the mana drained from it, I was assigned the Force Vessel.
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In fact, if they hadn’t given it to me, I was planning to demand it. But it turned out that the twelve other students who participated in the battle were willing to give me the majority of the rewards.

Of course, that wasn’t necessary, so I told them to divide the necromancer’s equipment among themselves.

‘This is enough for me.’

In this world, the most important thing is how you carry your items. I plan to equip many items in the future, but since I prioritize speed, I can’t afford to carry heavy loads.

So, I plan to use this Force Vessel to create a ‘Hyperspace.’ Although I currently lack the materials and technology… in the near future, with Alterisha’s abilities, I should be able to make it. Of course, to achieve that, I need to solve the ‘unresolved problem.’

‘Let’s put that aside for now.’

Next, I received a reward from the system.

[Episode 4 ‘The Necromancer’s Attack’ has been completed.]
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[A large amount of experience points has been acquired!]

[For unfolding the story in a unique way, an additional reward is promised from the ‘Constellatio Project.’]

In the game, Ma Yuseong single-handedly destroyed all of the necromancer’s skeleton soldiers and even defeated the main body alone.

I couldn’t do that. Instead, I succeeded in repelling the necromancer with the help of the other students present, without much damage.

Even I thought it was quite an achievement. It wasn’t surprising that the Constellatio Project promised me an additional reward.

[Reward List]

[1. A downgraded version of an item used in the game]

[2. A downgraded version of a skill acquired in the game]

[3. Experience points]

“Here we go again.”

Not that I dislike it. I’ve been feeling the lack of my own power, so these rewards are desperately needed.

‘What should I choose?’

Even if I received a downgraded version of an item or a skill, if I cleared many episodes and accumulated enough narrative power, the items and skills would eventually restore to their original abilities. But that would take too long.

Most importantly, I just realized how weak I am now. Getting stronger later is too late. I need to be strong now.

One thing I realized while fighting the necromancer.

‘I am too weak.’

The necromancer had exhausted himself by forcibly summoning six elite skeletons. If it had been Hong Bi-yeon or Aiselle, they would have quickly taken care of him. What about Ma Yuseong? He might have taken him down in a single blow.

But not me. Even against a weakened enemy, I struggled all day.
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‘I can’t just work hard like everyone else. I need to get ahead with the knowledge I have.’

It’s not the right time to choose an item. What I need to prioritize right now are the Mana Leakage Syndrome and Blink.

Enhancing the Mana Leakage Syndrome would improve my base stats and attack power, and extend my limited lifespan beyond graduation.

But I have a few ideas on how to enhance the Mana Leakage Syndrome, so I’ll pass on that for now.

Then, what’s left is…

“Give me skill experience points for Blink.”

[Reward granted.]

[Skill ‘Blink’ experience points have been fulfilled, rank has increased.]

[Blink]
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Class: 2

Maximum Range: 12m

Maximum Charges: 3

Cooldown: 3 seconds

Finally, the maximum number of Blink charges increased to three. The range remained the same, but that wasn’t a big issue right now.

‘I can use Blink more freely now.’

Just as the difference between having one Blink and two Blinks is significant, having three Blinks can create tremendous synergy.
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I was worried whether my skill rank would go up as a reward, but luckily, the experience points for Blink were almost full, so it worked out.

‘This should be enough.’

With this leeway, I turned my attention to the next issue.

‘Aiselle’s condition wasn’t good.’

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Aiselle, who usually grows through various hardships and adversities, seemed to have taken quite a hit during the necromancer incident.

I didn’t remember much from the original story, so I wasn’t sure how Aiselle overcame it. …No, if my memory serves, it was worse than this and didn’t get any better.

But I had no intention of leaving Aiselle as she was.

‘Now that I have three charges of Blink, I can do what I planned.’

The method to help Aiselle regain her confidence was surprisingly simple.

Just a little push to help her bloom the great and brilliant talent of the winter she herself wasn’t aware of.

And that moment would come sooner than expected.

* * *

Early morning.

Aiselle was wandering in a deep meditative state.

It felt like she was swimming, or perhaps floating in the air.
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It wasn’t a bad feeling. A cold breeze blew and brushed her cheeks. As she tried to grasp the end of the gentle breeze with her fingertips, it intertwined like a thread.

‘Something feels stifling.’

A suffocating sensation. Unconsciously, Aiselle tried to expel it. Where to? She didn’t know. She just spat it out.

-…Aiselle.

Hearing a voice in her head, she opened her eyes sharply.

Looking around hastily, she saw students sitting cross-legged, meditating just like her. At the center was Professor Feitel of the ‘Meditation to the Abyss’ class, staring at her.

‘Oh… Did I fall asleep?’

Having meditation class early in the morning sometimes made her doze off. Meditation was supposed to be anything but sleeping.

A translucent butterfly fluttered around Aiselle’s ear, conveying Professor Feitel’s voice.

-Aiselle. Why are you using magic in the middle of meditation?

-…What?’

Looking up, she saw an icicle she had created floating in the air.

She had cast magic unconsciously.

‘When… did this happen?’

It was the first time something like this happened. The strange part was that no one noticed her casting the magic.
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‘What is this…?’

Professor Feitel scolded Aiselle through her familiar.

-If I hadn’t opened my eyes midway and noticed, it could have been dangerous. Cancel the magic now.

Hastily, Aiselle canceled the magic. Then, she found a point of curiosity in the professor’s words.

‘The professor didn’t notice me casting magic either…?’

Mages are sensitive to even the slightest mana fluctuations. And typically, the process of creating a magic circle is very noisy.

She felt chills all over her body.

No other mage had ever experienced this phenomenon.

‘Could this be a result of meditation?’

Meditation. The class Baek Yu-seol recommended to her out of curiosity. She had been skeptical, but surprisingly, the effects were not just excellent, but incredible.

While other students seemed distracted or dozing off, every time she emptied her mind and meditated, her focus increased dramatically. And when she cast magic with that concentration, she could finish casting at an astonishing speed.

Moreover, what happened today? She simply imagined the magic without calculating the formulas or circles, and it was completed?

Of course, it was possible because she perfectly understood the magic and it was only a simple 1-class spell, but…

‘Amazing.’

No, it was revolutionary. Sitting at a desk all day studying to calculate formulas quickly couldn’t compare to the rapid progress she made in magic.

Would she have achieved this level of success through conventional studying? No, absolutely not. There are limits to growth through studying alone.

She suddenly thought of Baek Yu-seol, who had recommended this class.

Did he know this and recommend meditation? But didn’t he have a belief of ‘not using magic’ himself?

-…I don’t know.’

Her mind became so confused that she couldn’t focus on meditation anymore.

Ding-dong-dang!

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As the class ended, students grouped up and swarmed out. Aiselle was alone.

“What are you having for lunch? I heard there’s a new menu today.”

“Oh, the ‘Hellishly Cheesy Rice Cake Pasta’? I’m getting that too.”

“Let’s go!”

Lunch time.

Aiselle didn’t head to the cafeteria. The menu there wasn’t cost-effective. …It’s not because she lacked money.

But the school store was cheap and affordable. Her favorite food was a small cup of ramen, which cost only 990 credits.

Sometimes, when she felt down or happy, she would treat herself to a 1,200-credit red bean bread.

Today was an especially good day. She touched her packed wallet, her cheeks blushing.

5,000,000 credits. To some students at this school, it might only be enough for one meal, but to her, it was a precious and substantial amount.

5 million credits. Thinking back to the days when she tore corn stalks and went hungry for days to cover the entrance fee, she didn’t have to worry about meal expenses now.

For that reason, today’s menu was very special.

Wandering around the convenience store’s frozen food section for a while, Aiselle finally found what she wanted.

Red bean cream bread. It was an expensive menu item, costing 1,500 credits.

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Trembling.

Holding it, she tried to place it on the counter, but her hands shook. She held her trembling hand with the other and forced herself to pay, then hurriedly went to an outdoor table and tore open the packaging.

When was the last time she indulged in such a luxury? Swallowing her watering mouth, she tried to take a big bite, but someone came to mind.

Everything—from being able to progress through meditation, to surviving the encounter with the necromancer, to achieving the accomplishment of defeating Dark Mages as a first-year student, and receiving a 5 million credit reward.

It was all thanks to Baek Yu-seol.

Thinking that far, she took a big bite of the bread.

In an instant, all her worries disappeared.

‘So sweet…!’

Mixing the already sweet cream with sweet red bean paste doubled the happiness.

‘I must keep up the effort in the afternoon!’

Finishing the red bean cream bread with gusto, she stood up and stretched. Just then, a voice called out.

“Hi, Aiselle?”

“Wh-what, who is it?!”

Startled, she stopped mid-yawn and jumped back, only to see Jeremie Scalven smiling at her.

His sparkling eye smile was more pure and cute than manly, making her heart flutter.

‘Prince Jeremie…?’

He stepped closer.

“Aiselle. Are you part of any clubs?”

“…No, I’m not.”

“Really? That’s great.”

Great? What was? Too flustered to think straight, Aiselle just stood there, bewildered, as Jeremie flashed a bright smile and said,

“Then, would you like to join our club?”

And that was.

A very, no, immensely attractive proposal for Aiselle.

End of Chapter