I Became A Flashing Genius At The Magic Academy-Chapter 316

"Giants."

Once, they were the mightiest race to roam the earth.

Today, they exist only in history, flowing through stories and legends. Yet, there was a time when the entire continent trembled under their footsteps.

If they stretched their necks, they could nearly touch the clouds. With their palms, they could block the sun, and if they wished, they could split mountains and seas in half. There was no being capable of defying their physical prowess.

Fortunately, from the beginning, only a limited number—100 giants—existed in Aether World, and most of them were of a peaceful nature, not inclined toward fighting.

However, the issue was that "most" of them were peaceful; a select few were not.

The war between giants and humans started even before history could record it.

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A thousand years ago, as humans began to craft rudimentary weapons like ballistae, the giants tore mountains from their roots, hurling them at city walls and brushing off arrows as if they were mere pinpricks. It seemed as though there was no way to resist them.

"That is, until the appearance of the Progenitor Mage."

History divides itself into before and after his arrival.

Magic had existed in some form as shamanistic rituals, but no one had established it mathematically and spread it systematically across the world.

The Progenitor Mage raised flames and summoned meteors, pushing the giants back. Eventually, the war ended with humanity’s victory, and peace seemed within reach.

Until the Black Mage’s presence emerged.

*Kiiiiiing!*

The piercing wail echoed, nearly tearing through Baek Yuseol’s eardrums, making him grimace.

If he hadn’t put ghost earplugs in his ears to block the wailing in advance, his eardrums would have ruptured long ago.

[The item "Ghost Earplugs" blocks 71% of the wailing from the Wraith of the Dead Giant.]

Brushing away the floating message, Baek Yuseol focused on the scene ahead.

*Seeing it up close is nauseating.*

The figure resembled a human form cloaked in a dark mist, like a shadowy imitation. Its features were unsettling, with irregular, jittering limbs of uneven lengths, barely able to hold a definite shape—a signature trait of a wraith just before solidifying.

“Move back!”

An elven knight shouted to Baek Yuseol, launching a red orb forward. One of the giant wraiths disintegrated, but immediately after, an even larger wraith appeared, twice its size.

“Damn... they just keep coming.”

Ghosts actually exist in Aether World. While rare, jobs like shaman and ghost hunter exist because of them.

Most ghosts resemble humans or other races, but their strength can become overwhelming depending on the grudges they carry.

Especially...

What if that wraith was once a giant, one of the strongest beings to roam the earth?

Giants who had fallen cursing the Progenitor Mage still haunted the land, wandering as wraiths. Many had been sealed by mages, yet some were too powerful to contain.

With no other choice, the mages divided the wraiths into dozens or hundreds of fragments, sealing them within the cursed land of Damgaltwoil. Centuries have passed, but as Damgaltwoil stirs, the seals are weakening, and in the game, wraiths occasionally awaken.

These wraiths usually appear as high-level content under “sub-quests,” meant for end-game players due to their overwhelming power.

“Baek Yuseol, we can take down the weaker wraiths, but with the larger ones, it’d be more efficient to avoid them. Fighting every single one would make reaching the destination impossible.”

The wraiths came in various sizes—naturally, as each giant was divided into countless fragments. Still, it was horrifying to see the fragments writhing and moving like octopus tentacles.

"Let’s retreat for now.”

“What? But if we go back, we’ll face more wraiths.”

“We’ll need to change our route.”

No matter how useful his warbler glasses were, there were limits in such unpredictable territory.

Due to Damgaltwoil’s curse, the terrain in the Land of the Dead Giants constantly shifted, earning it the nickname "Maze Without Walls."

*But as long as there’s time for exploration, it’s no problem.*

Even though the warbler glasses weren’t displaying a route, Baek Yuseol decided to trust his intuition.

When he played the game, he had completed this quest numerous times to level up, memorizing every rule and detail.

If the glasses could map the surroundings onto the minimap, locating the target wouldn’t be difficult.

“Yes, let’s go with that.”

The elven knights nodded at Baek Yuseol’s unexpected suggestion without questioning it.

They didn’t follow a teenage boy’s words blindly; they trusted Baek Yuseol because Blossom, who they respected, trusted him.

*Blossom paired me with capable people, as expected.*

Unfortunately, Baek Yuseol was too weak at the moment to handle even one wraith alone. Defeating one wasn’t a problem, but if faced with dozens, it’d be a different story.

Thus, he found himself following the elven knights’ lead... but then he reconsidered.

*Do I really need to?*

Sure, these giant wraiths might still be beyond his current capabilities. But just fighting high-level monsters could grant him significant stat gains.

Besides, he wasn’t the same Baek Yuseol as before.

He had grown rapidly through numerous incidents, and his experience far surpassed that of a typical first-year student.

*What’s the worst that could happen? I’ll die?*

Baek Yuseol drew his Terripon Sword and blinked forward. He didn’t recklessly dive into the giants' midst but naturally joined the knights, supporting their formation.

*Shing!*

A blue light flashed from his sword, slicing a wraith’s neck in an instant.

“Oh...”

His brief moment of triumph faded as he noticed the stubborn wraith regenerating, reattaching itself by a thin thread of ghostly essence.

“Damn!”

Only after a second swing did he manage to completely destroy the small fragment.

Breaking into a slight sweat, Baek Yuseol held his sword tightly, confident he could support the elven knights in this fight.

“It’s dangerous; you should stay back.”

“It’s fine. I’ll catch a ride on this ‘bus.’”

“Huh? There’s no bus here.”

Although the knights didn’t fully understand his intent, they interpreted it as a sincere desire to help, however slight his aid might be.

*Remarkable. For a human his age, he's impressive...*

*Do humans always grow so quickly?*

Considering Baek Yuseol’s age, they marveled at his poise.

It wasn’t merely about strength. His courage to stand against a powerful enemy, his tact in avoiding actions that would disrupt the seasoned elven knights’ synergy, were astonishing.

“The destination is in sight!”

Hearing an elven knight’s shout, Baek Yuseol looked up from his fierce battle. In the distance, a rounded mountain peak slanted sideways, pressing down on the horizon.

But it wasn’t a mountain.

From afar, the shadow resembled a face, so massive that, up close, it might have seemed like a wide ravine.

The giant rock formation lay there like a face turned sideways; the mere sight of it was dizzying, its size overwhelming.

This was Damgaltwoil’s face.

And also... the only path leading into Damgaltwoil.

That day, the joint class between Starflower Tree and Stella continued as usual. Despite the passage of time, the distance between the elven and human students had not diminished.

The fourth and final week was upon them.

Starflower Tree’s professors grew uneasy. This event, meant to foster harmony between humans and elves, was instead worsening their relationship.

Flame was no different.

She wasn’t sure why she needed to get along with the elves, especially with the ever-annoying Blossom Trio.

But something else bothered her more.

Baek Yuseol had disappeared without a trace a few days ago, and no one seemed to know where he was.

When she asked the professor, they simply replied he was “handling a special matter,” without providing any further details.

However, the professors’ silence hinted at something beyond their control.

*Who has enough influence over the professors at Starflower Tree?*

If she had to guess, Jellyel came to mind, but she quickly dismissed it.

Jellyel, like her, had been frantically searching for Baek Yuseol over the past few days.

*Just where did he go?*

*Ding-dong~*

As the bell signaling the end of class rang, Flame snapped out of her thoughts and quickly exited the classroom, hoping to escape the Blossom Trio and head straight to her dorm.

Just then...

*Rumble!*

*Crash!*

“Aaah!”

“An earthquake!”

“Take cover on the ground!”

The violent tremor shattered windows, cracked walls, and fractured floors. Flame quickly cast a shield to protect her head, brandishing her wand.

With a flick, thick branches sprouted from all around, reinforcing the shaking corridor.

“Hah... I’m safe...”

Leaping over a male student who had collapsed on the floor, Flame looked out the window, her face pale.

“You’ve got to be kidding me...”

The tremors didn’t end there.

Only the distance made them less noticeable here.

A thick, black ink seemed to drip down from the sky. No, upon closer look, black ink also seeped up from the ground

.

*Wraiths!*

As a light user, Flame immediately recognized their identity, even from afar.

*How could wraiths reach the World Tree...?*

The World Tree was protected by divine power, making it nearly impossible for corrupt beings like wraiths to approach.

Yet, the sight of so many wraiths covering the World Tree was hard to believe.

-Attention, students!

-A Level 3 disaster has been declared. Please proceed to the underground shelter immediately!

-Once again, this is a Level 3 disaster...

The emergency announcement cut off with a spark.

“Level 3? Isn’t this an invasion?”

“I-I don’t know. I’ve never heard of this...”

Magic warriors were trained for both disasters and invasions, a natural thing for humans but not for elves.

Since the World Tree was generally safe from disasters, they hadn’t taught elves about such scenarios.

“Ugh, stop standing around! Head underground!”

When Flame shouted, some of the elven students, startled, finally rushed down the stairs.

-Activating defense magic.

-The “Blessing of the Divine Spirit” has been deployed within Starflower Tree Magic School.

-All students, proceed to the underground...

“Damn it.”

The “Blessing of the Divine Spirit” was Starflower Tree’s most powerful defense system, rarely activated.

The fact that even this was in use meant the situation was indeed dire.

Flame tried to head to the underground shelter, but it was impossible.

“The stairs have collapsed!”

“The entrance to the underground shelter is completely blocked!”

“Professor! Professor!”

Perhaps due to the earthquake, the entrance to the underground shelter had been entirely blocked. Debris piled up, propping up the ceiling, making it impossible to clear a path.

Yet, even then, the students had one thought.

*Wouldn’t Starflower Tree still be safe?*

With the strongest barrier and the best professors in place, they assumed they would be safer here than outside, even if strange black entities had appeared.

Until a drop of black liquid fell from the sky.