I Became A Flashing Genius At The Magic Academy

Chapter 324 - Inner Self (3)

[Aether World Online]  

[Login: ]  

[Password: ]  

A familiar login window popped up on the monitor.  

Without much thought, Baek Yu-Seol entered his old ID and password but immediately regretted it.

Back when he used to visit PC rooms, he hadn’t played this game much, so he hadn’t expected to have an account.

[Login successful]  

[Loading...]  

To his surprise, the login succeeded, and the screen transitioned immediately. Baek Yu-Seol’s heart raced with excitement as he anticipated the next scene.

The game always began in the same location: the ‘Stella Academy Dormitory.’

In the dormitory bed lay the characters raised by the players.  

Although there had been recurring complaints about Class S Cadets having single dormitories, the background suited the character selection screen so perfectly that it had remained unchanged for over a decade.

“... There it is.”  

At the exact center of the dormitory stood a single bed. Sitting on that bed was ‘Character Baek Yu-Seol,’ staring back at him.  

Unlike the academy-themed genre, the character was dressed in a starry armor set, a longsword leaning against the bed. It seemed odd, given the story progression, that he hadn’t graduated from the academy yet. But since it wasn’t the most pressing issue, Baek Yu-Seol brushed it aside.  

When he double-clicked on ‘Character Baek Yu-Seol’ with his mouse, a message appeared:  

[Enter Secondary Password]

Panic instantly set in.

‘What... What was it again?’  

It had been so long since he last logged in that he couldn’t remember the password. He hastily typed in his resident registration number, but the screen only displayed an error message along with a warning:  

[Two incorrect attempts remain before automatic logout.]

“Damn it...”  

After hesitating for a moment, his mother’s registration number suddenly came to mind. He quickly entered it.  

[Access Granted]

Finally, the character was successfully logged in. Sending a brief, silent thank-you to his mother, he waited.  

The screen displayed the back view of ‘Character Baek Yu-Seol,’ standing aimlessly in the corridor of Stella Academy. Above him, numerous notification pages appeared in rapid succession.  

Most were community and event notices, so he quickly selected ‘Do not show for today’ and closed them all.

“... No, wait.” 

Why had he even logged into the game in the first place?

The answer was simple: to find a way for his real self to survive.  

‘I need to check the community forums…’

After navigating through the homepage a few times, he logged into his secure account to access the free board. Thousands of notifications instantly flooded the screen.

“What?”

These alerts typically appeared when someone commented on or highly recommended one of his posts (with more than 10 likes).

“Woah.”

When Baek Yu-seol clicked on the notifications, he was overwhelmed by the thousands—no, tens of thousands—of comments that appeared.  

“What is this?”

Had he really posted something that could attract this much attention? As he hurried to check, a title that made his face burn with embarrassment immediately caught his eye.  

[Black Dragon Solo Play. Proof.jpg]

He remembered now. This was the last post he made right before being transported into Aether World.

Looking back with a more mature perspective, the title itself felt unbearably cringeworthy. But what truly surprised him was the sheer number of upvotes and the tens of thousands of comments it had garnered.

Most comments were questions about how he had done it or whether his account had been deleted. Some accused the post of being fake, but experts had stepped in to refute those claims.

‘Could it be... did everyone else’s accounts really get wiped after that day?’

That theory seemed to align with his suspicions. The forums were practically deserted now, with almost no new posts being made. At the very top of the page was a prominent notice announcing the game’s official termination.

"Then how am I even logged in?"

No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t find an answer.  

Though tempted to read the reactions to his post, he held back… those carefree, frivolous days were long behind him. That kind of behavior had been left behind on Earth.

He quickly navigated back and clicked on the ‘Tips and Tricks’ board. Somewhere in there, there had to be a way to survive this predicament of being exposed to life force.

Click!

He activated the post search function and meticulously scrolled through the old posts.  

Most of the content felt familiar. It made sense; back when he actively played the game, he would always keep the Tips and Tricks board open for reference. Naturally, everything felt like old knowledge.  

...No, was there ever even a case of ‘life force exposure’ to begin with?

He began typing into the search bar:  

[Search: Life Force Exposure]

[Search: Soft Green Spring Moon]

[Search: Root of Life]

Despite trying countless keywords, Baek Yu-Seol still couldn’t find any useful information.

The only thing he stumbled upon while searching with the keyword [Life] was an old post he had written himself:  

[The Next Stage of a body with Mana Leakage Disorder: Nature’s Heavenly Energy Body…]

Thousands of likes.

Thousands of comments.  

At the time, the post had completely dominated the hot board and even made its way into game news. It was a groundbreaking discovery.

Who would have thought that Baek Yu-Seol’s ‘Mana Leakage Disorder,’ once considered a useless trait, would one day evolve into the strongest trait of all time, the Nature’s Heavenly Energy Body  

“Wait a second…”

Thinking back, wasn’t the Nature’s Heavenly Energy Body also tied to life force? Its defining trait was that while mana naturally leaked from the body, it could channel nature’s life force, resulting in infinite energy.

 "Could it be...?"

Baek Yu-Seol quickly clicked on the post and began reading through it with intense focus.  

Then, he slammed the desk with frustration.  

“Damn it! This is useless!”

The content was simple.  

If Mana Leakage Disorder was trained to its absolute limits, a mysterious message would eventually appear, similar to a class advancement quest:

[Transcend life and unite with nature]

And the issue?

[Press the F button to commune with nature.]

That line was the issue.

In the post, Baek Yu-Seol had written: ‘Once you press the button, the character will automatically regulate its life force and evolve into the Nature’s Heavenly Energy Body.’

But real life didn’t work like that. There was no magical button to press. Everything the game did automatically had to be achieved manually in this world through relentless effort and training.

Feeling utterly hopeless, Baek Yu-Seol buried his face into the keyboard.

A smug voice echoed in his mind.  

— Hmm~ About 4 seconds left? You still have some time, so why not think it through slowly? Ah! You died. This is a tough game for first-timers.

At those teasing words, Baek Yu-Seol slowly raised his head.  

"...First time?"

— Yup. But it’s fun, isn’t it?

His inner self was engrossed in playing an FPS battle royale game, something Baek Yu-Seol himself had often enjoyed back in high school.  

"Why are you calling this your first time..."

At this point, he didn’t even feel like arguing. After blankly closing the community window, Baek Yu-Seol shifted his focus back to the game screen.  

He aimlessly tapped the keyboard, guiding his character out of the school building. Outside, a crimson sky stretched above him, catching his eye.

"Ah..."

Now that he thought about it, the fact that he had posted about soloing the Black Dragon meant the game’s storyline had already reached the final episode.

If he climbed to the rooftop of Stella’s First Main Tower, the entire continent would come into view.  

“What a mess.”

While Stella Academy itself appeared relatively unscathed, the rest of the continent lay in utter ruin.

— ... Heh. Is that your world?

"Huh? Well, yeah."

— Impressive. The Black Demon Dragon was summoned in your world too. It seems even you couldn't avoid the worst-case scenario. And yet... you managed to protect Stella?

"If you were me, wouldn’t you already know that?"

— Oh, wait. Looking closely... It’s not just Stella. There are other places that are still intact, aren’t there?

His inner self leaned forward, studying Baek Yu-Seol’s screen with an intense gaze.

— The Far East and the South haven't been touched by the Black Demon Dragon at all...

"Well, of course. I killed the Black Demon Dragon before it could reach those places. Still, the continent is half-destroyed. It’s practically beyond saving."

— That’s not true.

The sudden change in tone, cold and serious, made Baek Yu-Seol flinch.

— You’re right. Most of the continent has been destroyed, and countless civilizations have been lost.

 His inner self murmured, staring blankly at Baek Yu-Seol’s monitor.  

— And yet...

Its expression reflected an almost desperate longing, making it impossible to interrupt.  

— Even though the Black Demon Dragon appeared, life still remains.The heart of magic, Stella Academy, is intact, so the will of magic can be passed to future generations. There are still people alive in the Far East. One day, in the distant future, humans will rule this continent again.

At last, the figure looked Baek Yu-Seol directly in the eyes, his gaze shimmering with an unusual brilliance.

— You... you did it. Unlike me.

"What are you talking about...?"  

— I’ve changed my mind. I’ll help you. I’ll show you how you can survive. This isn’t supposed to happen, but... Who cares, right? The price will only be the destruction of my soul. And I’ve got nothing left to lose anyway.

A chilling sensation spread through Baek Yu-Seol’s chest. It was impossible not to notice now.

"You... you’re not me, are you?"

At this, his ‘inner self’ smiled.  

It was a smile so unlike his own that it sent shivers down his spine.  

When Baek Yu-Seol regained his senses, the noisy bustle of the PC room had completely vanished. Looking around, he found himself standing alone on a hill bathed in starlight.

— You’re right. I’m not you. Even if I’ve been sleeping inside you all this time, that doesn’t make me the same person, does it?

"... I really don’t understand."

— You don’t need to. Honestly, I don’t fully understand it either.

And that was fine. Understanding didn’t matter. If this other version of himself was offering help, all Baek Yu-Seol needed to do was accept and use it.

— Look at the sky. What do you see?

"The sky?"

Baek Yu-Seol tilted his head back.

Above him stretched a vast expanse of constellations.

The dazzling Milky Way stretched endlessly beyond the horizon, so brilliant that it almost hurt to look at.  

"What do I see... constellations, obviously."

The other Baek Yu-Seol smiled, a smile that was completely different from his own.  

— Those stars represent the lives you’ve saved... And the ones you will save.

"The lives I’ve saved...?"

— Yes. But...

A bitter smile flickered across the figure’s face, casting a shadow so heavy it felt suffocating.

In those pitch-black eyes, as though they had endured countless waves of death and despair, Baek Yu-Seol saw his own reflection.

— I... I don’t see anything in that sky.

Chills ran down his spine.  

He opened his mouth to respond, trying to grasp the meaning behind those haunting words, but the figure was already fading.

— Take care of it—my world.

As he spoke, he waved his hand.  

Even though he was too far away to make out the expression on his face, it seemed as if he were crying.

— And your world, too.

As the light engulfed Baek Yu-Seol’s world, everything dissolved into a brilliant, pristine white.

--------

Hello everyone!

I’m beyond excited (and a little emotional) to share that we’ve reached an incredible milestone: 300 chapters of Flashing Genius! When I first started translating this novel, it was just me, my laptop, and a passion for this story. Back then, I never imagined that this book would receive so much attention. Now, here we are—thanks to your support and love!

Translating these chapters has been quite a journey. When I first picked up this project, I was still a full-time student juggling classwork, late-night study sessions, and translation all in one go. Many of times, I found myself hunched over my laptop, half-asleep, debating whether to finish my homework first or translate just one more chapter. 

Now, I’ve graduated (yay!) and can devote more time and energy. Along the way, your support through comments, encouragement, and even constructive criticism helped me refine the book. 

To celebrate this milestone, I’m setting a Kofi goal for 20 bonus chapters of Flashing Genius. Once we reach our target, I’ll release these bonus chapters. Every tip, pledge, or share makes a difference.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you for reading, supporting, and coming along for all 300 /zenith677/goal?g=0

Your Beloved Translator

Zenith