Magic Academy’s Genius Blinker

“Ahh!”

Crack, crackle!

A prison of pure white bones rose from the ground.

An almost cheat magic that was cast in just 0.5 seconds and traps the target.

The only way to deal with it was to react as quickly as possible and get out.

[Flash]

Baek Yu-Seol barely managed to evade behind a rock, only to face a spinning, sharp bone spear coming at him.

Crack!

The bone spear went through the rock like a drill, fortunately missing Baek Yu-Seol’s head.

“Huff, huff…”

He breathed heavily.

He had almost died.

No, he felt like he might die soon.

But his opponent was equally exhausted.

He had scattered most of his mana on the land while expanding his territory, lost a skeleton general connected to his neural network, and suffered internal injuries while trying to summon it.

[Flash]

Crack!

As proof, Sa Bae-Hyuk’s bone shield, which shouldn’t have even scratched under Baek Yu-Seol’s weak Teripon Sword, was now dangerously fragile.

Of course, part of this was due to Baek Yu-Seol’s efforts.

‘It’s because I brought a lot of potions prepared only to deal with the necromancer.’

The Calcium Melting Potion had the effect of halving the power of bone magic and melting the protective layer.

‘This pesky rat…’

Fast. Too fast. A mage who used Flash. It was an enemy he had never faced before.

Whenever Sa Bae-Hyuk tried to grab him with bone claws, Baek Yu-Seol would have already moved elsewhere. Even if he dropped bone walls to trap him, he would soar high into the air and attack from above.

The moment he let his guard down, Baek Yu-Seol would exploit his blind spots, and no matter how much he expanded his shield, Baek Yu-Seol would find the slightest gap to attack.

‘If only I were at full strength…!’

‘In that case, no matter how fast he is, I would have been able to catch him right away. The current situation is the worst.’

He was resentful, but at the moment, he had to use all that was available.

“Bone Pierce!” Sa Bae-Hyuk conjured dozens of bone arrows in the air, aiming them at Baek Yu-Seol.

Thwip! Thwip! Thwip! 

Dozens of arrows flew in an instant, but Baek Yu-Seol used Flash to evade.

‘As expected!’

After using Flash once, the minimum delay between using the next Flash was 1.5 seconds! 

It was the delay caused by the preparation to calculate the distance and for canceling Flash.

‘Now!’

Bae-Hyuk fired an arrow that he had intentionally spared in his arsenal.

Baek Yu-Seol, reacting late, managed to deflect it with his Teripon Sword, but only barely changed its trajectory.

Thunk!

“Ouch!”

It grazed his shoulder causing blood to trickle out.

No matter how weak and tired the necromancer was, in the end, he was a Class 5 mage.

‘At the same time, even though he’s a Class 5 mage, he’s only so-so.’

Baek Yu-Seol gritted his teeth and scattered flame potions from his waist pocket. The flames, only at a Class 1 level, didn’t harm Sa Bae-Hyuk much.

However, the rising smoke was very effective in obstructing the view and distracting him.

Baek Yu-Seol pulled out a dagger coated with oil, threw it at Sa Bae-Hyuk, and flashed behind him.

Bae-Hyuk threw a potion at the dagger, and a small explosion occurred.

“Damn it!”

Sa Bae-Hyuk hurriedly raised a bone shield, but in that brief moment, Baek Yu-Seol closed the distance and plunged his sword into Sa Bae-Hyuk’s side.

Thud!

“Kuhhh…!”

He missed the vital spot he aimed for, hitting the side instead of the waist. Baek Yu-Seol tried to retreat immediately but realized too late that his teleportation was on cooldown.

‘Oh shit!’

The result of giving up that brief gap came back immediately.

A bone spike shot up beneath Sa Bae-Hyuk’s foot, piercing Baek Yu-Seol’s thigh. Clenching his teeth, Baek Yu-Seol forcefully leaped backward, landing on one knee.

‘Ugh…!’

In his life, he had never sustained such an injury. The intense pain felt like his leg was on fire. Despite his mental strength keeping him conscious, moving was excruciatingly difficult.

Baek Yu-Seol, sweating profusely, gripped his Teripon Sword. However, he couldn’t use Flash.

To use Flash, he needed to perform a Flash motion cancel, but the pain made it impossible to concentrate.

It wouldn’t work.

Most of his mental strength was being used to endure the pain, leaving his senses dulled. His head throbbed intensely.

‘Damn it…’

Desperately trying to think of a solution, he realized that Sa Bae-Hyuk was also in bad shape. Having continuously used magic and suffering internal injuries, if Baek Yu-Seol could find a single opening, he could definitely kill him.

‘But, how?’

He couldn’t think of a way to create an opening. He had used up all his potions and throwing items. Running was out of the question, so his usual distraction tactics wouldn’t work.

Crrrack!

Sa Bae-Hyuk, summoning a bone spear in his right hand, clutched his bleeding side and staggered toward Baek Yu-Seol. He was full of openings himself. If Baek Yu-Seol could successfully use Flash just once, he could decapitate him in an instant.

‘If only I could use Flash once. Only once…’

‘Ah.’

An idea suddenly struck him.

‘If I can’t cancel Flash…’

Gritting his teeth, he forced himself upright, rolling and crawling backward faster than Sa Bae-Hyuk’s approach.

“Are you planning on running away again? You can’t use Flash, can you? You have no idea how pathetic you look!”

Ignoring Sa Bae-Hyuk’s taunts, Baek Yu-Seol kept rolling and crawling.

Covered in dirt and with his wounds bleeding profusely, he didn’t stop.

And finally.

Finally, he reached his desired spot and turned to face Sa Bae-Hyuk.

The distance between Sa Bae-Hyuk and Baek Yu-Seol was exactly 13 meters.

So, there was no need for Flash cancellation.

He held his sword upright in front of him.

“Uhh…?”

Realizing something, Sa Bae-Hyuk hurriedly tried to defend his chest with his arms.

But he was too late.

[Flash]

In a mere 0.1 seconds, Baek Yu-Seol closed the 12-meter gap and plunged his sword into Sa Bae-Hyuk’s chest.

Thud!

‘Shallow.’

The weakened mana output of the Teripon Sword couldn’t penetrate Sa Bae-Hyuk’s shield, but retreating now was not an option.

“Arghhhh!!”

Slightly retracting his sword, he thrust it again with all his strength.

Thunk!

This time, the sword pierced the heart.

Whoosh! Boom!

When Hong Bi-Yeon’s flame exploded, the group members delivered the finishing blow, killing one elite skeleton. They killed the three elite skeletons assigned to them, but there were still two more elite skeletons left.

She bit her lip and checked on the members of her group.

‘This isn’t good…’

Everyone was exhausted. Due to the sudden increase in enemy power, the situation had become serious.

‘We’re barely holding on.’

Ideally, they should have already taken out the guard units and joined Baek Yu-Seol’s team, but nothing ever goes as planned.

“Princess! Big news! The situation is no better over there. The necromancer and Baek Yu-Seol are fighting a one-on-one duel!”

“What?!”

They also said that things didn’t go according to plan, and for some reason, Baek Yu-Seol ended up being in charge of the necromancer alone.

By now, the Stella students scattered all over the place were supposed to be taking care of the necromancer’s forces. Indeed, was there anyone who could help him?

“Can Baek Yu-Seol survive alone until we can assist?”

“…”

Officially, Baek Yu-Seol was a Class 1 mage. However, the opponent was a necromancer at a whopping Class 5.

The difference in level was so serious that it could be considered a fight between a child with a toy and an adult with a knife.

However, there was no way to stop it now.

They also had to deal with dozens of skeletons in addition to two elite skeletons.

She was in a situation where her feet were tied.

“Princess…” 

“I have no time to pay attention to that! Concentrate on the enemy in front of you!”

The group members raised their trembling hands at Hong Bi-Yeon’s remarks. However, they could see how much mana she had left, and their hands trembled less. It was their first time in real combat, but it was good that they had endured this far.

The other team wasn’t doing well either.

Flame hugged Jecky, who had a wound in her abdomen, and stepped back, gritting her teeth tightly.

Boom! Crash!

Three skeletons were smashed by Hae Won-Ryang’s staff, but five skeletons filled their spot the next moment.

‘This isn’t working…’

It was impossible to deal with a necromancer with only thirteen students.

‘There’s no way… No hope.’

Thwack!

“Ugh!”

A skeleton struck him with a stick.

As soon as Flame saw Hae Won-Ryang fall backward due to the impact, she approached him and spread a protective shield.

Boom, bang!!

“Ugh…!”

When the group of skeletons started knocking on the light shield, which was too cramped for only three people, it quickly began to crack and shatter.

They were in a situation where they did not have a shred of mana to perform a counterattack. Flame hugged Jecky and Hae Won-Ryang, who were younger than her, and bowed her head.

“Please, someone please…”

‘Help me’.

Those were the words she wanted to say.

Suddenly, all the noises stopped, and for a few seconds, there was no sound.

“Uh…?”

Sensing something strange, she slowly raised her head.

“What is this…?” The numerous skeleton soldiers surrounding her all stood still.

As if time has stopped.

Soon.

Like dolls with a broken thread, all the skeletons crumbled to the floor with a crash. 

“This… can’t be…!”

Rising from the ground first, she supported Hae Won-Ryang and Jecky to their feet, then moved quickly by supporting her body with her staff.

Hong Bi-Yeon and her group members: Eisel, Deok Cheol-Gwang, and Ban Di-Yeon were staggering toward her. She wasn’t the only one who noticed that the situation had changed.

They finally reached the center.

Right then.

They saw an unbelievable sight.

A sword shining with a colorless halo was inserted into Sa Bae-Hyuk’s chest. A sword gripped by Baek Yu-Seol.

The scene signified only one thing.

‘Baek Yu-Seol defeated the necromancer.’

After confirming that fact, they heard someone slump down on the ground, and like dominoes in a chain, a series of sounds were heard crashing to the ground.

“We lived. I lived…”

“Huh…”

How the hell did a freshman in his first year defeat the necromancer?

Those questions didn’t matter at that moment.

They survived. That fact alone touched their heart.

“Woohoo!!!”

Some shouted triumphantly, some wept, while others embraced each other and rejoiced.

Now, they could finally let their guard down and celebrate.