I Became A Flashing Genius At The Magic Academy

Chapter 188: Everything Froze (2)

Night fell.

The evening on the Levian coast was chilly and endless, but Hong Bi-Yeon, who generally enjoyed cold weather, went for a night walk without putting on her coat.

Every time the sharp, blade-like wind brushed past her cheeks, stray thoughts faded away.

Standing on the outer edge of the sharply descending castle walls, she gazed into the distance where the sea sparkled in the moonlight.

It was a beautiful sight.

So beautiful that one might wonder if there could be a more beautiful scenery in the world.

Hong Bi-Yeon captured the sea's scenery in her ruby-colored eyes.

As she looked at it like that, the frozen sea appeared as if it could melt away.

*'Your role is very simple.’*

The words Queen Hong Se-ryu had told her came to mind.

'Assimilate the Hwarang Flower within your body and resonate with the Heart of Eternal Ice. That's the only thing you can do for this country.’

Easier said than done.

There was no need to elaborate.

She was simply telling her to go and sacrifice herself for the country's sake.

That was the duty of the royal family to protect the people.

It was truly ridiculous.

Knowing full well that her true intentions were clear, she still acted like that, believing that Hong Bi-Yeon would never refuse.

Whooosh...!

Her hair fluttered in the frosty wind.

The chilly temperature seemed to numb her ears and nose.

"Oh my, little sister~ What are you doing here at this hour~?"

Annoyingly, she 'coincidentally' ran into Hong Si-hwa who was passing by.

Hong Bi-Yeon silently gazed at her.

Something made her very cheerful. Even Hong Si-hwa's footsteps were as lively as a child's.

"Aren't you cold? What if you catch a cold~!"

The Adolveit Royal Family didn’t catch colds.

Not feeling the need to respond, Hong Bi-Yeon turned her gaze away, but Hong Si-hwa pushed her face in that direction.

"Even if big sis advises you like this~?"

"Enough. Let’s go inside."

"So cold~"

Feeling it would be bothersome to stay here any longer, Hong Bi-Yeon completely changed her direction.

Even her enjoyable walk was interrupted, so she thought it might be better to just sleep peacefully.

"Younger sister."

However, Hong Si-hwa's lowered voice stopped Hong Bi-Yeon in her tracks.

"........ What is it?"

"Why didn't you refuse~?"

"That's a strange question."

She was really going to die.

Everything she had desperately worked for in her life up until now… All would be gone in an instant.

Yes. If it had been the Hong Bi-Yeon before entering Stella, she might have refused.

She couldn't bear to let go of everything she’d enjoyed and could continue to enjoy.

But before that…

She was too afraid to die.

But not anymore.

Hong Bi-Yeon stared straight into her eyes.

"I'm different from you, sister."

Receiving that gaze which seemed to say it didn't matter what plans or thoughts she had, Hong Si-hwa tightly sealed her lips.

"It's cold. Let’s go now."

Even as she watched her sister walk away with slow but leisurely steps, Hong Si-hwa ultimately didn't stop her.

"Hmm... you've grown a lot, huh?"

Why did the thought of the late Hong Eulin suddenly come to her mind at that moment?

"Ugh! Useless thoughts again."

Hong Si-hwa shook her head vigorously and hurried her steps.

Regardless of what was to come, the choice had been made, and she couldn't prevent what was going to happen next.........

It was time to leave everything to fate.

If she died here then it was her destiny from the beginning.

Hong Bi-Yeon would die before turning twenty.

Just like her eldest sister did.

So even if she died now, it was just her fate being moved up by about three years.

Nothing would change.

* * *

Black Matale.

He was the descendant of the legendary pirate king who once ruled all the seas of the world, and he was now the lord ruling the Heavenly Ice Palace.

He swore allegiance to the Adolveit Royal Family, and had never once rebelled against the queen.

However, this time was different.

"Disaster will come."

Kneeling before the queen, Black Matale murmured quietly. His deep, resonant voice echoed widely in the grand hall.

"... Is that all you have to say?"

"Please believe me, Your Majesty. We must never provoke the Black Cross Fleet."

"Huh. Are you scared of ghosts sleeping on those pirate ships?"

At the insult to his ancestors, Matale shot a glare of anger but quickly suppressed it. Fortunately, his momentary bow hid his reaction.

"He... was once a man who ruled the seas. If the land was dominated by the Progenitor Mage and his twelve disciples, then there was the Pirate King Black Belize ruling the seas. Do not disturb his spirit."

"That's a tale from a thousand years ago. We've sent seven expeditions in the past century, and the ghost hasn't even blinked."

"He's just asleep for the moment. The ghost of the Pirate King is trapped in eternal damnation, he will never disappear!"

Thunk!

As Matale exclaimed, the queen stomped her foot forcefully.

Flames erupted into the air, shooting pillars of fire in all directions throughout the palace.

"How dare you shout in front of the queen."

"Do you not understand why I'm going to such lengths to stop you? The reason our family serves the Adolveit Royal Family is that they once made a vow to return the seas of Levian. This is... an act of violation against that pledge!"

"And?"

The queen spoke with a calm voice.

"Do you think anything will change by opposing my words?"

“..."

Swallowing his pride, Matale bowed his head.

She was right.

The queen was a mage of the Class 8, and her personal fleet was composed of mages ranging from the Class 6 to the Class 7.

Truly, it was a force that could be called a superpower.

In comparison, Black Matale, who lost the sea, had absolutely no power to rival the Adolveit Royal Family.

Now, even if she violated the pact... there was absolutely no way to stop it.

"Our ancestors... and the ghost of the Pirate King will be furious."

Even after saying this, the queen remained unmoved.

Black Matale closed his eyes and accepted the despair.

*'If his soul is angered, disaster will come.'*

In his childhood, his grandfather always told him this story.

“The soul of our ancestor, Black Belize, made a pact with the ice spirit.”

“A pact?”

“He vowed to freeze the entire world on the day he awakens again.”

"Why doesn't he do it now?"

"Well, I don't know about that. He might just be resting until the time comes, so remember this. No matter what happens, never disturb the ancestor's soul."

Legends are not all false.

Black Matale was painfully aware of this fact. It was all the more agonizing knowing that he would be unable to stop the queen's actions.

"Is that all you have to say?"

"... Yes."

"I don't understand why you're so sensitive about old legends. Legends are just legends, and modern magic has advanced considerably. Even if a dragon were to appear, we could hunt it down. What's there to fear?"

"Your Majesty... knows nothing."

"Well, fine. But you never know, do you? Adolveit’s Hwarang Flower might really be able to melt the sea."

The descendants of Black Belize were born with the blessing of the sea god, and they longed for the sea eternally.

But for over a thousand years, no one had been able to set foot on the sea because of a special curse on their bloodline.

*‘No one may board a ship or set foot on the sea until the Black Cross Fleet awakens.’*

Any ancestors who violated this rule were swept away by the sea's calamity, leaving no trace behind.

The pirates of the Black family could only live with the hope that the eternal frozen sea would one day melt away.

"You should leave now."

After the queen left the hall, it was a long time before Black Matale rose from his seat.

Then, he looked out the window at the sky... and shook his head weakly.

*‘... Disaster will occur.’*

The current queen was foolish and arbitrary.

She became queen not because she was fit to rule, but because of her strong bloodline and sheer luck.

*‘In the end, all the rules upheld by our ancestors are being broken in my generation.’*

He closed his eyes tightly and clenched his fists.

He had no intention of running away.

If it was meant to be like that...

*‘I'll watch everything unfold in the midst of disaster.’*

That was the only courtesy the last descendant of Black Belize could afford.

———

"This is...!"

Baek Yu-Seol trembled as he held the fork.

"Isn't the price higher than Stella's...?"

There was a city where tea was more expensive than Stella, and where the average food prices were high.

*‘Is this a city of nobles?’*

*‘Or is there a serious problem with the value of currency?’*

When playing Aether World Online, Baek Yu-Seol didn't pay attention to such trivial details because characters didn't necessarily need to eat, so he had no idea why this was happening.

"... How expensive is it to have such expensive food, kid?"

"It's 500 credits more expensive than Stella. Does that make sense?"

"Just 500 credits more... What's the big deal..."

The passing mercenary chuckled incredulously and disappeared.

Lisbond Port Branch, Mercenary Office.

A thousand years ago, Lisbond, which once served as the heart of the world's trade, had long lost its function.

But since the sea froze, unusual demons and dungeons began to appear, turning this place into a sanctuary for adventurers and mercenaries.

As a result, the Mercenary Office had developed considerably, and the buildings looked quite elegant.

The palace attendants were entitled to stay in a small palace attached to the Heavenly Ice Palace, but he had his own reasons for coming all the way here to eat.

While the royal family carried out their duties, Baek Yu-Seol had his own to fulfill.

The moment Hong Bi-Yeon assimilates the Hwarang Flower in her body, the commotion would reach all the way to the heart of the maelstrom, and the spirit of Black Belize, which had slumbered in legend, would awaken.

There was another absurd aspect to this.

If things progress smoothly here, players would suddenly face a [Bad Ending] while enjoying the summer vacation event at the academy.

It was a truly absurd turn of events.

In the past, Baek Yu-Seol’s relationship with Mayuseong and Haewonryang was starting to progress smoothly when the world was suddenly covered in ice.

It wasn't a common occurrence, and it didn't become a major incident because it only affected one out of tens of thousands of players...

And of course, he happened to be that one player out of tens of thousands.

*‘It was fun back then.’*

At that time, he really tried every means possible to solve this situation.

The endless summer vacation.

He infinitely tried to save a world where everyone was destined to die...

But in the end, thanks to Hong Bi-Yeon, he was able to prevent the world from freezing over.

Back then, he wasn't trying to save her but rather to protect his game data...

However, now it didn't matter.

Thanks to that, he knew a hidden piece that no one else knew about.

"Phew..."

But honestly, this was a bit scary.

One wrong move and he could really die.

There were two 'bad ending flags' in this episode.

Either the Hwarang Flower’s Flame Spirit goes berserk, engulfing the Adolveit Kingdom in flames, or the Ice Spirit slumbering on the pirate ship goes berserk, covering the world in ice.

It might seem hopeless, but as long as he stuck to the plan, everything would be fine.

"Sigh... Am I just going to die?"

It was a bit scary, but if it wasn’t him, no one else could do it.

So, it was something he must do.

With that determination, he could move forward without hesitation.

After finishing the meal, he stomped on the table and stood up.

"Huh? Who's that little kid?"

"Oh. It’s a Stella student, right?"

"First time seeing him."

After attracting the attention of the mercenaries, Baek Yu-Seol shouted.

"Hidden dungeon discovered in the Swirling Ice Valley! Recruiting the first 20 people! Mercenaries wanted! Those with good legs and healthy organs welcome!"

Of course, that didn't mean Baek Yu-Seol intended to solve everything on his own.

Sometimes, it was okay to deceive and take advantage of people to take the easy way out, right?

Sometimes in novels or comics, protagonists had a habit of trying to solve everything on their own...

*‘I'm not a protagonist, so I can't be bothered with that kind of trouble.’*",