In tis like this, Baek Yu-Seol always found himself thinking, 'Why does it have to be ?'
Baek Yu-Seol climbed up onto the podium and took out his wand. The silver, gleaming material felt familiar in his grip.
Though this small handle was rely called a wand in this world, he had only ever used it to cut down enemies. Not once had magic been unleashed from it by his hand.
"Alright. Shall we get started?"
Co to think of it, it had been like this since the first sester.
For so strange reason, Baek Yu-Seol was always singled out by the professors and often called out for various practicals.
What he rembered the most was Professor Verayen's magic defense class. It was then that Baek Yu-Seol first learned how to deflect or even cut through magic.
This wasn't entirely unhelpful; rather, it beca a driving force that pushed him forward step by step.
Still, he couldn't shake the sa question each ti.
'Why . Seriously. Why?!'
With one eyebrow raised and a face full of complaints, Baek Yu-Seol aid his wand.
With her trademark bright smile, Scarlet swung her wand as if conducting.
'Co on. Is she trying to be Harry Potter?'
No mage waved a wand like that. And besides, witches didn't even use wands like those.
But there, from Scarlet's fingertips, a dark, ominous magic circle unfurled.
"Huh?"
"What is that...?"
"Is that... Dark magic?"
No one questioned why an ordinary mage could wield dark magic. When she introduced herself, she claid to be a master of illusion magic who had studied dark magic for a long ti, so everyone just believed she had her ways.
The simple-minded acceptance of the students was likely due to the witch's charm magic.
"One of the main characteristics of dark magic is 'corruption.' It taints our white magic instantly, making even shields useless."
Her shaless words made him feel nauseated, but Baek Yu-Seol kept his eyes fixed on the magic circle.
A single mont of carelessness, and real dark magic could very well pierce his heart.
He gulped nervously and stepped aside.
Taking that as her cue, Scarlet waved her wand.
"Piercing Spear!"
Whispering the incantation almost like a song, as if to taunt him, Scarlet activated her spell.
Baek Yu-Seol swung his Teripon Sword to deflect the incoming black spear, but when his magic sword started turning black, he panicked.
'Damn it! What is this?!'
Never before had he seen this happen when cutting through dark magic.
Startled, he canceled his mana just before the magic sword was completely corrupted, causing it to dissipate.
"Dark magic is like a disease. You never know when or where it'll latch on, or how it'll spread. It's terrifying, but it can be addictive; even the caster can end up corrupted, so... It's best to be cautious."
With a bright smile, Scarlet swung her wand again. This ti, dozens of magic circles, similar to the one from before, appeared in clusters.
"Baek Yu-Seol? That was improper defense. With your skills, you'll just end up consud by dark magic like just now... How do you plan to handle that?"
Baek Yu-Seol's face darkened and he twisted his body to the side.
One of the most powerful self-defense techniques he'd learned while living in this world.
'Full-speed escape!'
Putting all his strength into sprinting, he dodged the incoming black spears by running backward.
Crash! Boom! Bang!
A series of spears continued to rain down toward Baek Yu-Seol's back, but the remaining spears were not so simple. They adjusted their trajectories and ca flying toward him from the front.
"Hey... Isn't he really going to get hurt? That looks dangerous..."
"No way... It's just practice. The professor wouldn't actually let him get hurt, right?"
"Right?"
Even the watching students were starting to worry, but Baek Yu-Seol gritted his teeth and activated his Terripon sword.
A way to block it? There was indeed one. Though it required so focus, which he hadn't been able to muster right away.
In the middle of sprinting, Baek Yu-Seol squeezed his eyes shut and concentrated, calling out to Leafanel, who was recovering her strength at the distant Third World Tree.
"Hey. Give a hand."
No verbal response ca, but the effect was imdiate. His previously muddled mind beca clear, as if neatly organized, and his senses for mana activation sharpened rapidly.
An enormous amount of concentration was required to activate the breathing technique of the Tae-Ryeong's Godly Technique. Using it along with flash was nearly impossible. But with Leafanel's assistance, allowing him to share part of his consciousness... He could do multitasking.
He could now perform two actions simultaneously.
Flash!
When Baek Yu-Seol opened his eyes, a brilliant white light flickered and then vanished.
"Oh-ho...?"
Noticing this, Scarlet grinned with interest. Baek Yu-Seol's movent pattern had changed. Instead of running, he stopped and swung his sword as before.
But this ti, it was different.
[The derived skill 'Hyper Focus' from the Blessing of the Pink Spring Moon is activated.]
Slice!
The black spear was sliced in half by the tip of his sword and vanished, but unlike before, the blade wasn't tainted with dark mana.
He had found the exact gap within the magic circle and sliced through it precisely, preventing his sword from becoming corrupted.
"Ohhh..."
Even Scarlet found herself quite surprised. In her entire life, she had only ever seen one person wield a sword like that.
'And that breathing technique! It's just like his!'
Mages didn't require special breathing techniques. Though there might be abdominal breathing for preserving stamina or focusing, a breathing technique specifically for drawing in mana... In all of history, only one man had ever used it.
'The Magic Slayer, Ha Tae-Ryeong.'
With her eyes filled with excitent, Scarlet began firing even stronger spells, but Baek Yu-Seol didn't retreat, deflecting everything with his sword.
So spells shot at him faster than the speed of sound, creating shockwaves, while others were fired consecutively with tid intervals, aiming for any openings.
Yet, without taking a step back, he effortlessly cut through each spell with minimal movent.
He no longer needed flashy moves or steps. Just by slightly, precisely raising his sword, the magic clung to it like a magnet and shattered.
"What... What the hell is that?!"
"How can sothing like that even be possible...?"
The students were in shock watching Baek Yu-Seol fend off the magic attacks.
It was as if he already knew where every spell would land and he blocked them with ease, all without any significant movents.
Although it looked effortless, Baek Yu-Seol was actually pushing his concentration to its limits. He was unable to maintain both the Tae-Ryeong's Godly Technique and Hyper Focus for long.
'It really is him.'
Scarlet almost saw the shadow of Ha Tae-Ryeong standing behind Baek Yu-Seol.
Yes, she rembered. Though Ha Tae-Ryeong didn't use Flash magic like Baek Yu-Seol, he was the strongest swordsman in history, able to cut down even the flas of hell with a single mana-infused sword.
He was also a man whom Scarlet had once loved deeply... Though her heart had been shattered by his blade, leaving her to recuperate for hundreds of years.
"Show more. You're still not fully replicating his swordsmanship, are you? Hmm? Baek Yu-Seol?"
A twisted smile ford on Scarlet's face as her lips curled upwards. It was unsettling.
Around this ti, the students sensed sothing was wrong. The professor's magic was becoming more powerful and faster.
Though Baek Yu-Seol continued to fend off Scarlet's attacks, they couldn't imagine what would happen if he let even one spell slip by.
"Show more of his sword!"
As Scarlet yelled, she launched a massive black sphere.
"...Ugh!"
Baek Yu-Seol's concentration wavered and his steps faltered.
"Ah..."
Just as his balance was about to fail, an ice wall suddenly sprang up in front of him, blocking the dark magic.
Crash...!
With the shockwave, Baek Yu-Seol nearly stumbled backward, but he managed to land safely, regaining his footing.
The classroom fell silent.
Scarlet, who had been firing off spells nonstop, halted with her wand and stared blankly at the ice wall before turning her head.
"... Professor. That was going too far."
Standing there was a girl with blue hair. She held her wand firmly with a resolute expression.
"Oh—! Student Eisel...!"
Scarlet belatedly forced a smile and worked to control her expression.
"How comndable! Such camaraderie, risking derits to step in and protect your classmate! That loyal friendship! Wow—! And you even managed to perfectly block my spell!"
As Scarlet gestured with her wand, the students' attention shifted to the shattered ice fragnts. The ice hadn't absorbed any of the dark mana at all.
"Correct! Truly impressive! Of course, I wasn't going to let anyone get hurt... I'm sure you know that, right? Even if Eisel hadn't intervened, I would have stopped at a safe point."
"... Understood."
Though the situation could have escalated, Scarlet spoke with a calm confidence that reassured the students.
After all, Baek Yu-Seol was completely unhard, aside from his slightly heavier breathing.
"Both Baek Yu-Seol and Eisel did wonderfully. You both deserve bonus points. Now, let's move on to theory, and I'll give you all an assignnt. Find out how these students managed to block dark magic today. Class dismissed!"
Ding-dong.
Just as the class bell rang, Scarlet wrapped up her lecture with perfect timing and exited the room, leaving the students murmuring as they quickly dispersed.
Eisel hurriedly made her way to the front of the room to approach Baek Yu-Seol.
"Baek Yu-Seol, are you okay?"
"No."
"Oh no..."
She reached into her pocket, pulled out a handkerchief, and began to wipe the sweat from his face.
"It looked like a truly dangerous situation."
"It was. If you hadn't stepped in, I'd probably be looking at a minimum of 12 weeks of recovery."
"Was it really that bad?"
In reality, even as she was blocking the spell, Eisel doubted herself.
Could Baek Yu-Seol really not handle sothing like that?
But when she saw him stumble, she had instinctively activated her magic before she realized it.
He had warned her just ten minutes prior not to draw Scarlet's attention, and although she realized she had made a mistake, she had no regrets.
She would rather risk getting on the suspicious professor's bad side than let Baek Yu-Seol get hurt.
"That professor is suspicious. Why doesn't anyone question her?"
"Because that's her specialty."
Baek Yu-Seol took the handkerchief from Eisel to wipe his forehead. Though he was exhausted, pushing himself to his limits left him feeling sharply focused.
"Now you know, right? Be cautious around Professor Scarlet. She may only be here temporarily, but... She'll likely stay until the principal returns."
No one knew where Elthman Elwin was or what he was doing, but it was apparently so serious that he had vanished without a trace.
Baek Yu-Seol had a vague idea of the events happening around this ti in the 'sub-episode,' so he knew Eltman wouldn't be returning anyti soon.
'He's probably off dealing with the grumpy Dusk Soil Moon."
Baek Yu-Seol rembered how Dusk Soil Moon's night terrors could terrify all life around him.
And now, Baek Yu-Seol's next target happened to be Dusk Soil Moon himself.
But first, he had a question.
"Eisel."
"Yes?"
"How did you do that earlier? Blocking that dark magic."
The dark magic Scarlet had used was beyond what any first-year should be able to stop.
Among all first-year students, perhaps only Fla and Ma Yu-Seong could barely manage it—and that was mainly thanks to their innate attributes. They still hadn't fully mastered how to counter the essence of dark magic.
Yet Eisel had blocked it with ease.
"Well... I'm not really sure myself."
Eisel twisted a strand of her sky-blue hair around her finger, idly nudging an ice shard with her toe.
"It was actually the first ti I've ever cast a spell that fast. I didn't activate any incantations or magic circle; it was just... As soon as I thought I needed to do it, the ice appeared."
"I see. Alright."
Satisfied with her answer, Baek Yu-Seol nodded and left the classroom.
Eisel, however, felt a slight frustration. She sensed sothing new within herself but didn't fully understand it.
It appeared like she had reached a new level, yet she was clueless as to what it ant—while Baek Yu-Seol, who knew the future, had figured it out alone.
'Soday... He'll tell .'
Baek Yu-Seol wasn't one to reveal any details about the future for now, but Eisel, Hong Bi-Yeon, and Fla all knew.
Soday, if he ca to trust them, Baek Yu-Seol would speak those words himself and invite them to face all of destiny together.
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