33. No Wonder It Felt Harder Than Usual (3)
From the start, this Aslan Seminar had been, for Baek Yuseol, a chance to catch his breath.
Partly because it was not a main episode, but also because it was an important day when the three heroines would begin receiving public attention in earnest.
There was one thing he had sworn to himself from the moment he entered Stella Academy.
‘Don’t stand out. Live quietly.’
That was because, compared to the countless geniuses of Stella, there was absurdly little he could do. His combat power was low, his knowledge lacking, and his specs poor to the point that he could not even use magic properly.
So how had things ended up like this?
“This is insane, truly insane!”
“The history of the magical world is about to be rewritten…”
“With parallel arrangement, we might even be able to revive that paper we hit a wall with three years ago and discarded…!”
“I need to go back at once. I have to report to the dean immediately…!”
After a brief silence, the uproar that exploded forth showed no sign of dying down.
Until just a moment ago, these people had at least been speaking in somewhat gentle tones, but now they were causing a complete uproar without paying the slightest attention to their surroundings.
Even so, once it passed the thirty-minute mark, Chairman Aryu Moon immediately mediated things by bringing down the gavel.
“Silence!”
The commotion died down in an instant, and all the magicians’ gazes gathered in one place.
His voice, reinforced with magic power, carried a force no one dared defy.
“Surely you all know that just because this paper has now been presented does not mean you may simply take it and use it yourselves, yes?”
Naturally, magic too possessed intellectual property rights.
If not, then once someone put in the effort to develop and present a spell, the old established magicians would all swoop in and steal it.
In other words, thanks to this incident, Baek Yuseol was now on the verge of becoming filthy rich.
Because there was not a magician anywhere who would reject ‘parallel arrangement.’
‘…I’ve already got enough money, though.’
Even now, as a co-developer in alchemical magitech, money was steadily piling up in his account.
It was good, of course—there was nothing bad about having more money.
But that was not the thing worrying him right now.
‘This won’t twist the future or anything… will it?’
Because of Alterisha, a character who had existed in the original story, and an item that had changed the balance of the game, he had inevitably ended up learning the Yeongongnansu Cross Formula.
But because he himself had never truly had any connection to magic, he honestly knew absolutely nothing about what parallel arrangement meant or when it was originally supposed to appear.
It was apparently a spell or law that someone in the future had been meant to develop, so he was worried that revealing it a few years early might cause something to go wrong.
He glanced sideways at Flame, but she only shook her head and let out a sigh, showing no particular reaction.
“That’s enough. The presenter may leave now.”
Baek Yuseol was unexpectedly glad to hear that instruction from Aryu Moon, and he hurriedly left the stage without even bothering to say goodbye.
The moment he did, the majority of the observers rushed out in a flood.
Some were probably trying to chase after Baek Yuseol and make contact on behalf of their own academic societies or magic towers.
Others were likely hurrying back to their own research institutes to intensify their magical research.
Because Mana Parallel Arrangement was something that could completely overturn even the framework of existing magic.
For that reason, the latter half of the Aslan Seminar could only end in a rather anticlimactic fashion.
It was truly unfortunate for the students who had waited eagerly for this day, but every magician who might have sat and watched their presentations had already run out, and after the impact of the earlier presentations, nothing anyone said would have been interesting anymore.
‘In many ways, today was quite entertaining…’
Aryu Moon smirked faintly as he thought of Baek Yuseol.
Even with his illness worsening, it now felt worth it that he had forced his body along and attended.
That said, it still could not be helped that he felt sorry for the other children.
The Aslan Seminar did indeed attract many prodigies who might someday become great archmages, but even then, the attendees ranged from teenagers to, at most, people in their twenties, so in a single presentation one did not ordinarily see a spell unveiled that could cause a worldwide phenomenon.
Of course, there had been rare occasions when a seminar so remarkable that the whole world paid attention had taken place.
Ten years ago, the first princess of Adolevit, Hong Si-hwa’s presentation, had been one such case.
She had developed a groundbreaking method that allowed flame-element magic to be controlled more naturally than ever before, and it became famous once it was discovered that it could be applied to all elemental magic.
That was not the sort of idea one could possibly expect from the mind of an ordinary teenager.
But though it had certainly been remarkable, it had not shaken the magical world itself.
It had simply become a bigger topic because it was a spell developed by someone in her teens.
That was the level of it.
But what about this year’s Aslan Seminar?
No fewer than four historic techniques, the likes of which might never appear again, had all been unveiled at once.
‘Eizel’s attribute-affinity magic circle.’
‘Hong Biyeon’s attribute amplification method.’
‘Flame’s definition of Radiance-type magic.’
And finally—
‘Baek Yuseol’s Mana Parallel Arrangement.’
Any one of them alone would have been enough to send a huge shock through academic circles.
And yet there were four of them,
all presented by students who were, at most, only seventeen years old.
The whole world was stirred up.
And moreover…
the ‘Mana Parallel Arrangement’ that Baek Yuseol had presented was, from the start, a proposition that was supposed to be impossible to establish.
People would sooner believe that ‘one plus one equals three’ than believe that such a thing made sense.
And yet Baek Yuseol had brought it up at the Aslan Seminar,
and had even proven it in reality.
[Stella Cadet Baek Yuseol Wins the Camelon Magic Advancement Award!]
[This is the first case ever of someone winning the Camelon Award in their teenage years…]
[Three Girl Magicians Win the Camelon Magic Color Award]
[A New Standard in Attribute Studies!]
Daily Magic, Magical Report, Magician Sunshine, and so on…
Across the most prestigious magic journals in the field, nearly the same faces were plastered across the front pages in giant print.
The four handsome and beautiful young students in Stella uniforms became a major sensation after this Aslan Seminar.
The fact that barely a day had passed, yet interviews and articles were already pouring out, made one keenly aware of just how fast news traveled in this day and age.
Among them, one boy stood out especially clearly:
Baek Yuseol.
The three girls who had advanced magic in relation to attributes were certainly incredible, but in the case of Baek Yuseol’s parallel arrangement, it was something that tore up the foundations of every magic that existed in this world from the root.
That was why he drew the greatest attention of all.
“My lady. Are you certain you do not wish to go see him?”
In the back seat of a luxury vehicle, Zeliel sat with her legs crossed, reading a newspaper, when Seong Taewon, who was driving, asked her that.
“Originally, I had intended to do so, but the crowds are too dense. It would have been difficult.”
After the Aslan Seminar ended, she had intended to have a brief meeting with Baek Yuseol.
But perhaps because his presentation had been so singularly outstanding, there was no shortage of people who wanted him, and among them were several magicians of considerable stature, so in the end she had no choice but to step back.
She had only barely managed to make enough time to come this far, and there was no time left to push through all those people and meet Baek Yuseol.
“It is a pity… but it can’t be helped.”
After all, no matter how many magicians flocked to him and courted him,
she was confident that Baek Yuseol would come to her in the end.
“Then let us depart.”
“Yes, my lady.”
Zeliel was able to return with ease.
The ruins of the Balkamik royal family.
Once, this had been the kingdom of a brilliant civilization founded by the descendants of Balkamik, one of the Twelve Disciples of the Founding Mage. But after it had been destroyed by a certain being, it had become a place no one visited anymore.
No, that should be corrected.
To say no one visited anymore was no longer accurate.
This place had now become a complete stronghold of the dark mages.
At the top of the ruined royal castle.
Seated upon a half-destroyed throne, the black knight Blackkingdon quietly looked over a newspaper.
Even though fierce winds were blowing, the newspaper did not move even slightly.
That was thanks to his delicate control over dark mana.
“Baek Yuseol, is it… He certainly stands out, this trash of Stella. So this sort of creature is attached to the side of the successor of the Dark Mage King?”
“That is correct.”
To Blackkingdon’s words, spoken from within his black armor, a wavering black haze answered.
“It appears that the bishop of the Moon Shadow Church and the master of the Crescent Moon Tower are keeping a close watch on that boy. We have also received word that, as a result of this incident, the master of the Full Moon Tower has begun examining him in detail as well.”
“He draws every kind of attention imaginable. Is he some piece of trash that doesn’t value his own life?”
If one lacked confidence in one’s own ability, drawing attention like that was no good.
Whether one had developed an invention of the century or made a miraculous discovery, being dragged into the spotlight would inevitably invite the gaze of those who coveted money and knowledge.
And among them would be forces belonging to the dark mages as well.
That trash called Baek Yuseol was certain to meet an early death.
“There is one interesting fact.”
“What is it?”
“It seems that boy realized long ago that attracting so much attention would be more poison than profit.”
“And what makes you think that?”
“Do you know of the ‘Yeongongnansu Cross Formula’ that was previously announced?”
“I do. Continue.”
“It seems that boy was listed as a co-author of that formula. And yet… for some reason, he deliberately concealed his own name. As though he wished to hide himself behind the scenes and put someone else in front instead.”
Of course, it had failed quite spectacularly.
In the end, the existence of Baek Yuseol had been revealed to the world.
But the very act of trying to hide himself still had meaning.
“…I remember my days as a human, so I understand their habits well.”
The black haze continued,
“Humans are beings utterly incapable of hiding their own achievements. Especially young and immature humans.”
Human beings were the kind of species that could barely stand not to show off once they had accomplished something impressive.
And yet Baek Yuseol had tried to hide it.
“So he had a reason strong enough to suppress his desire to show off.”
“That is correct.”
Blackkingdon thought it a little unusual.
But only that.
“It would be best to remove him.”
In the end, Baek Yuseol was still only a young magician of seventeen.
Because he belonged to Stella, killing him might be somewhat troublesome…
but if one truly wished to dispose of him, it could be done easily enough.
“Good. Then the time has come. Are preparations complete for infiltrating Stella?”
“Yes. I will bring her now.”
At Blackkingdon’s command, the black haze sank into the floor, only to emerge again a short while later with someone beside it.
Next to the shadow stood a girl with her hair tied into twin braids,
and her face was trembling as though she could not conceal her humiliation.
“Anella. I have falsified your identity properly. Unless Eltman Eltwin personally examines it, you will not be discovered.”
The dark mage girl called Anella lifted her head and barely managed to meet Blackkingdon’s eyes.
“…Yes. However.”
“Speak.”
“I am forty years old this year…”
“So?”
“Th-these twin braids and the school uniform are a little…”
Because Anella had become a dark mage at a young age, she had retained a youthful appearance.
Thanks to that, even now, after several decades, her appearance had not changed, which was why she had been chosen to infiltrate Stella during its summer vacation exchange-student period.
But she had never imagined she would actually have to wear a school uniform and imitate a student.
“You yourself agreed that, in order to infiltrate Stella perfectly, there was no choice but to imitate a student as well as possible, did you not?”
“E-even so, this is…”
“If you will not do it, then it cannot be helped. Leave your neck behind and go back.”
“Eek!”
How exactly was she supposed to go back if she left her neck behind?!
Anella threw herself flat onto the floor.
“I’m sorry! I’ll stake my life on it and definitely complete the mission!”
“That’s more like it.”
Blackkingdon clicked his tongue.
Sometimes, dark mages like that did exist.
Those who could not abandon their human habits and still vaguely retained emotions.
In such cases, the success rate of missions dropped drastically…
but at present, Anella was the most suitable person for infiltrating Stella, so they had no choice but to send her.
“Now that you understand, depart at once. Stella’s summer vacation will begin soon.”
“Understooood!”
Anella sprang to her feet and shouted energetically before dashing out of the royal castle without even looking back.
After she vanished, the wavering black shadow said to Blackkingdon,
“She may look like that, but at least that ‘specialty’ of hers is absolutely reliable, so there is no need for concern.”
“Yes. I know.”
He knew that.
And yet he could not help feeling anxious.
He had lost count of how many times he had thought it was such a waste that an ability like hers belonged to someone so foolish and naïve.
‘Still… once someone gets entangled with her, they’ll never be able to escape.’
Especially not with the power of a mere Stella first-year cadet.
