Magic Academy’s Genius Blinker

Chapter 211

Old Story (7)

Zeliel could confidently declare.

This was far more difficult and grueling than when she personally led the expedition to explore ancient ruins.

And it was only natural.

This place, the ‘Forest of the Silent Labyrinth,’ to borrow Baek Yu-seol’s words, was a ‘high-level field.’

And so, because of that, it might actually be a more familiar place for Baek Yu-seol.

In low-level fields, one can overpower them with items and level, but in high-level fields, such methods are impossible.

There was only one way to easily break through such extreme fields…

Study, memorize, confront it directly, and repeat it countless times, over and over.

T hi s wa s c o pi ed f rom ki ng m t l .o rg
Continuously facing death.

You had no choice but to master it yourself.

A low-level mage wouldn’t even be able to hear a sound here, and even those who were somewhat competent would completely lose their sense of direction.

Exploring the Forest of the Silent Labyrinth made it clear that mental resilience was more important than physical stamina.

The fog that barely allowed any light to seep through made it difficult to secure visibility, and from within this hazy mist, powerful monsters would suddenly jump out.

They couldn’t afford to let their guard down even for a moment, as the slightest negligence would bring about disaster.

“This way.”

Fortunately, there was no need to wander aimlessly through the forest, as they had a clear guide.

Following Baek Yu-seol’s special compass, the expedition team advanced smoothly into the depths of the forest.

Even in sudden, unpredictable situations that startled the veteran mages, Baek Yu-seol remained composed and guided the expedition.

Of course, whenever monsters appeared, he subtly retreated to the back.

Honestly, with his current ability, he couldn’t even scratch the monsters here.

Screeeeech-!!

“What, what was that?”

“What’s that sound?”

As they passed through a ridge obscured by thick fog, they suddenly heard an ear-piercing shriek from somewhere, but Baek Yu-seol calmly explained.

“It’s a Mist Predator.”

“Mist… Predator? What’s that?”

“It’s not in the records.”

The Forest of the Labyrinth had never been properly explored, so even the records didn’t have accurate details. However, Baek Yu-seol’s mind was filled with information about this place.
T h i s wa s co p i e d fr o m k i n g m tl . o r g

T h i s w a s c o p i e d f r om k i n gmtl . o r g
“The fog surrounding the forest is caused by a giant monster called ‘Mistry’ that resides in the center of the forest. Every time it breathes out, it releases mist containing narcotic substances, and the creatures that feed on it are the Mist Predators. It’s a positive sign. When predators are nearby, your senses start to return to some extent.”

“Oh… I see.”
T h i s wa s c o p ie d fr o m k i n g m t l . or g

“Now that you mention it, it does seem like we can see ahead better than before.”

“Right. Just a moment ago, it was hard to even talk, but now we can hear each other clearly.”

“Let’s proceed quickly while we have the chance. The predators are fast eaters, so they’ll return soon.”

Just as he said, the Mist Predators disappeared quickly.

Everyone simultaneously wondered, ‘How does he know such things?’ but no one asked.

The expedition team moved deeper into the forest, and as the fog thickened to the point where they couldn’t see an inch ahead…

Whoooosh-!

Suddenly, the mist cleared.

…And the ruins appeared.

The Ruins of Ancient Carmenset.

“Oh…!”

“Finally…!”

Everyone let out a small gasp.

Though the time seemed short, the Forest of the Labyrinth was truly a terrible place. Feeling a breath of fresh air, the expedition team slowly walked toward the ruins.

But something felt off.

“Didn’t they say this place was relocated here just recently?”

The Ruins of Ancient Carmenset were known as a ‘shifting dungeon,’ changing location frequently, making it hard to discover.

But look at this.

“These traces… It’s as if they’ve been here for thousands of years, blended into the surroundings.”

Vines over hundreds of years old were wrapping around the ruins, and the moss and weathered marks on the ruins didn’t seem newly formed at all.

The mages were deeply intrigued by this mysterious phenomenon.

The answer came quickly enough.

Baek Yu-seol, who had been quietly staring at the ruins, spoke up.

“Yesterday, I mentioned that the ‘spiral time theory’ was wrong.”

“Huh? Oh, yes, you did. You said it appeared in a different location within two weeks.”

“I was wrong. The Doctor was correct. The Ruins of Ancient Carmenset did not just move through space; they transcended time as well.”

Th i s wa s co pie d f r o m k i n g m tl. org

“Perhaps it relocated to the Forest of the Labyrinth thousands of years ago. From that time until now, it has remained perfectly intact in this location.”

“No way…”

Spatial movement had become almost routine, nothing particularly surprising anymore… but ‘time travel’ was something that magic had neither conquered nor even approached.

The distant wall they felt.

Everyone fell silent, unable to utter a single word.

Haeseong Wol was no different.

Even for a 9th-class mage, time was an uncontrollable realm.

‘It’s astonishing.’

…In truth, Baek Yu-seol had known about this ‘setting’ from the beginning. There was no point in revealing it ahead of time, so he had feigned ignorance yesterday.

‘Time travel, huh.’

In Aether World, entities that could manipulate time were extremely rare. No, it was almost safe to say that Silver Age November was the only one. Still, as long as Silver Age November, as one of the Twelve Divine Moons, had the ‘blessing’ to interfere with time, it wasn’t impossible that there were others.

Carmenset, who lived in ancient times, was one such example.

Once blessed by Silver Age November, but had the ability stripped away, dooming him to wander forever.

However, despite losing the blessing, he had trained himself to manipulate time to its extreme.

And even without the blessing, he had eventually mastered the art of interfering with time.

“Let’s go inside. From now, I’ll be following behind. There are more expert explorers for the ruins.”

T hi s wa s c o p ie d f r om k ingm t l.o r g
“Ah, right… We’ll take the lead.”

Baek Yu-seol had led the expedition up to this point only because he didn’t want to get lost in the labyrinth, but he didn’t need to do the same in the ruins.

The ruins were filled with numerous magical traps, mechanisms, and puzzles.

One had to think quickly at every moment to proceed to the next stage, and a single mistake could have fatal consequences. But, as expected from veterans, not a single casualty occurred.

The result was completely different from Zeliel’s Starcloud Expedition, which had to proceed extremely slowly while suffering some injuries.

“…We’ve arrived.”

Haeseong Wol gazed at the massive door in front of them with a complex expression.

Beyond this door, the Spirit of Carmenset awaited.

“I’m… I’m not sure if this is really the right thing to do.”

Using Carmenset to seal the disaster caused by Carmenset… was that really the correct method?

He didn’t know.

But there was no other option, so there was no turning back now.

“I’ll go in alone.”

“I’ll play the chess…”

“No. I’ll go.”

Zeliel quickly reached out her hand, but Baek Yu-seol shook his head.

“You already defeated Carmenset once, right?”

“Yes, but…”

“Your pattern is already known. The opponent is the God of Chess.”

“No way…”

The reason Zeliel had won before was because she was familiar with Carmenset’s chess strategy.

She had simulated thousands of matches to prepare for it, so it was only natural for her to win.

But now, it was different.

The God of Chess had fully grasped her pattern.

Could she win against such an opponent?

Impossible.

“Then, are you saying you can win?”

In response, Baek Yu-seol chuckled and confidently opened the door to Carmenset.

“Have you already forgotten who taught you chess?”

“Oh…!”

Creak—Boom!

The massive iron door opened effortlessly, and two red lights appeared, floating in the air.

It was undoubtedly someone’s gaze.

The Spirit of Carmenset, radiating an eerie light, spoke in a chilling voice.

“-Heh, heh, a great and noble soul has come. What is the reason for waking me?”

“Shut up and set up the chessboard.”

The mages of the Tower of the Full Moon were left speechless, watching Baek Yu-seol casually spout such brash words in front of an ancient being. Even Carmenset seemed taken aback, as if it was the first time it had encountered such a situation.

-Foolish one. Such disrespectful behavior will not be to your benefit.

“What are you talking about? You’re terrible at chess. I don’t use formal speech with people worse than me.”

-…It seems this won’t go well.

Rumble—!!

The ground began to shake suddenly, causing the mages waiting at the entrance to step back.

The terrain under Baek Yu-seol’s feet quickly transformed into a massive chessboard, painted black and white.

Giant chess pieces, larger than people, clattered into place, except for one spot—the ‘King’s’ position remained empty.

-You will be the King and play Soul Chess with me. If you win, I will grant your wish. But if you lose, your soul will be mine.

“Yeah. I know.”

As Baek Yu-seol nodded, signaling the start of the game…

…Rumble—Rumble!!!

Suddenly, a deafening roar shook the entire ruins.

“Ah?!”

“W-What’s happening?!”

“Ugh…”

The ground quaked so violently that it was hard to keep their balance. The mages used magic to anchor themselves in place, and Baek Yu-seol quickly drew his sword to lower his stance.

‘What is this? What’s happening?’

He hadn’t expected such an unexpected situation, so he couldn’t help but be surprised.

-…This is bad. It seems Mistry has awakened.

Haeseong Wol frowned as he looked toward the exit of the ruins.

“M-Mistry?!”

“Yes.”

Mistry was said to awaken once every hundred years, and while it usually remained dormant, when it did wake up, it caused a commotion, shaking the entire landscape.

However, it happened so rarely that they didn’t even consider it, but now, of all times, Mistry had awakened.

“Baek Yu-seol. Retreat immediately.”
T h i s wa s c o p i e d f ro m k in g m t l . o r g

“…T-Tower Master!”

Haeseong Wol made a cold judgment.

“If you don’t evacuate, you could be caught in a catastrophe. While I can prevent the collapse of an ordinary terrain, you know very well what happens if you’re swept up in the collapse of a ‘spatial-type dungeon,’ don’t you?”

Of course, he knew.

If you got caught in the collapse of a dungeon, you could be wiped out on the spot.
T hi s w as c o pi ed fr o m k in g m t l . o rg

But… this situation was a bit different. As he mentioned earlier, the Ruins of Ancient Carmenset were not a spatial-type dungeon, but a unique ‘time-type dungeon.’

It was possible that even if they were swept up, they wouldn’t be destroyed.

“No. I’ll stay here and finish the chess match. Please lead the expedition team to safety.”

“…You’re insane.”

“There’s no choice. It’s already a miracle for a time-type dungeon to exist in the same era twice. If we lose the Ruins of Carmenset now, we might never find Chairman Melian again.”

After finishing his statement, Baek Yu-seol turned around and focused on Carmenset.

Rumble—Rumble—!!

Even as they calmly conversed, the dungeon continued to shake violently.

“T-Tower Master!”

“We must evacuate immediately!”

Haeseong Wol watched Baek Yu-seol’s back for a moment.

With his magic, he could have forcefully dragged Baek Yu-seol out to ensure a future, but he didn’t.

“Let’s go back.”

“Ah…!”

As soon as Haeseong Wol gave the order, the expedition team hurried to exit the dungeon. It might have seemed cold, but waiting for Baek Yu-seol was not an act of affection but a foolish one.

As the mages frantically escaped the dungeon, the Soul Chess match between Carmenset and Baek Yu-seol began.

And as they all turned their backs and left, Haeseong Wol leisurely walked away with his hands behind his back.

Or rather, he intended to do so.

“…Zeliel.”

If it weren’t for a certain girl who stayed behind, intending to watch Baek Yu-seol’s chess match until the end.

“Go back first. I will stay here and see through Baek Yu-seol’s chess match to the end.”

“No. You can’t.”

“This fight is to retrieve my father. I can’t just go back…”

Thud!

“Ugh!”
T h is w a s c o pi ed f r o m k i n g m t l .o r g

Before Zeliel could even finish her sentence, Haeseong Wol placed a hand on her forehead.

And with that, her strength gradually left her body, making it impossible for her to resist any further. Though she tried to move her trembling body, she couldn’t muster any strength at all.

She looked at Haeseong Wol with resentful eyes, but he remained unfazed.

“I’m sorry. Your father wouldn’t want you to die like this.”

From the start, she never had the right to make decisions. Haeseong Wol had never intended to let Zeliel take on such a perilous task.

As he magically led Zeliel, who was now completely drained of energy, out of the ruins, Haeseong Wol never looked back.

‘…This is bitter.’

A genius boy who had been impressive from the very first encounter. Despite his inability to use magic due to his physical condition, he might have become a great Archmage who would lead the world in the future.

‘It’s a pity to lose such a talent.’

Leading Zeliel, who was still struggling despite her weakened state, Haeseong Wol was the last to exit the ruins.

…Swoosh-!

At that moment.

The Ruins of Carmenset completely vanished, disappearing from the world.

“Ah…!”

Thud.

Witnessing that scene, Zeliel collapsed to the ground.

Her hollow eyes stared blankly at the remnants of the ruins for a long while… but there was already nothing left.
T h i s w as co p i e d fro m k i n gm t l . o r g

End of Chapter