Chapter 103
Chapter 103
Academy’s Gumiho is a Magic Genius – Chapter 103
While teachings focused more on survival than techniques passed by, a week slipped by unnoticed.
During that time, I ran around without distinguishing day from night.
By day, I taught the students survival knowledge, and at night, I dropped by Guya-ja's forge to check on equipment progress and whipped him along with money.
In the late hours before dawn, I studied spells and pored over magic tomes to build up my knowledge.
Finally, all preparations were complete.
Got everything?
I know you've only been saying that since earlier? You've packed the weapons and gear in the ring, and last night you even sent the students the supply list.
Still, I can't help but worry.
This scenario was on a completely different track from the previous ones.
It wasn't just the lives of a few students at stake.
By my estimates, at minimum, millions.
Depending on the circumstances, it could be tens of millions of casualties. No matter what, failure was not an option.
I have to deal with that egg somehow.
The core of this scenario was an egg belonging to some creature.
Only by dealing with that egg could we avert the predetermined damage.
As if affirming my resolve...
Ding.
A newly updated quest appeared.
[Main Quest: Egg of the Apocalypse]
[Description: The apocalypse scheduled for the future. At its center lies the egg that births doom. In the Reverse World shrouded in eternal winter, seek out the egg in its depths and avert the fated apocalypse and massacre.]
[Clear Conditions: 1. Destroy the Egg of the Apocalypse, 2. Conquer Temil Village by 51% or more.]
[Success: Highest-grade magic stone of the 3rd Hierarchy, Trace of the Apocalypse, +20 Points (P)]
[Failure: Minimum 30,185,076 deaths in 5 years]
Shorter explanation than usual, and even simpler contents.
Ha... now it's openly trying to scare me.
The success rewards were nothing special.
But the penalty for failure was abnormally huge.
Whoever sent this quest, I might need to study alchemy first.
Success and failure should balance like equivalent exchange in alchemy.
This was too much.
Quest again? Is that like a dungeon too?
Think of it as a mission. As you can see, it's a mission with no choice involved.
Hmm~ I kinda get it. But if you refuse or fail, do people really die on that scale?
What else did she want to ask?
I looked at her, full of doubt, and spoke.
So what is it you want to say?
Well, I'm already a dead soul, so I'll just watch from afar munching on popcorn... no, I'll pray you succeed as much as possible, but doesn't something feel off?
You mean the death toll is so specific it feels unrealistic.
That's part of it, but... why do you seem to follow what's written there without a shred of doubt?
...!
Tamamo's question pierced right through my guard.
Yeah, from her perspective, it was natural to have those doubts.
What credibility did a few lines in the system and quest have? Trust that failing would kill tens of millions?
Any normal person would ignore it or question a number that massive, but I'd accepted it calmly in front of her.
Without a hint of doubt.
As if I already knew.
...This is checkmate.
I had no room to make excuses to her.
If I lied, it'd widen the distance between Tamamo and me. If I spilled the truth, the suspicious nine-tailed fox might pull some sorcery stunt.
Even mixing in a bit of ambiguity with the truth, she'd sniff out the lies in my words easily.
Oh my, aren't those eyes on me a bit too passionate? What am I to do with this embarrassment?
Tamamo brushed it off with a casual laugh.
She seemed to plan on asking about it later or looking into it herself.
Damn, what a clingy weirdo ghost.
I can't let my guard down around her for even a second.
I'd never slacked off even once normally, but I needed to steel my mindset.
And in that sense, nothing beat new clothes.
It's still dawn, so there's time until the exam... You're getting dressed already?
Just checking it out.
I pulled out the wooden box from the corner of the room.
Larger and heavier than expected, it was intricately carved from fine wood, showcasing the artisan's superb craftsmanship at a glance.
Clunk.
Opening the box revealed several outfits neatly arranged, forming a single set.
The first to catch my eye was a simple-designed suit.
It wasn't much different from the white dress shirt and black pants I was currently wearing.
But flipping the lining told a different story.
The lining was filled with runes etched in blue dye and my blood.
Good, the enchant worked properly.
Enchant (Enchant) or imbue magic ().
A type of non-mainstream magic branch that grants objects magic or special effects. I'd gone back and forth to Guya-ja's forge every night just for thishow much hardship had that been?
Seeing the finished product now filled me with fresh emotions.
What an intriguing fabric. High magic resistance, and the talismans I taught you are imprinted almost perfectly intact.
That's the hallmark of gear made from Arachne's Thread.
I get the gist. Using the thread's magic resistance to maximize the efficiency of the talismans imprinted on the fabric? Must've been tricky due to the repulsion. Heh heh... you must've suffered terribly.
Yeah, Arachne's Thread has that unique magic resistance, making enchants tough. You just watched, so you didn't feel it, but I went through hell for a week thanks to it.
Hammering here, sewing there.
Guya-ja had run around plenty too, but I'd done a ton of labor inscribing magic and talismans on every piece of fabric and weapon.
I'd even fainted occasionally, but as long as the items turned out good, it was fine.
I eagerly pulled out the suit first and examined it.
Arachne's Black Formal Suit
Rank: S
Description: A suit crafted by artisan Guya-ja from Arachne's Thread. He reinforced it with the hide of a pitch-black lion that no knife can pierce, creating a suit with comfort and durability on another level from ordinary ones.
The lining bears magic and talismans inscribed separately by Baek Seung-woo on the upper and lower halves.
*My Own Small and Precious Treasure
Defends once against any fatal attack, no matter where it lands. Inspired by common tales of necklaces, coins, rings, or books in one's chest pocket saving lives from bullets, this fuses ancestral talismansspecifically those related to protection and defensewith magic to birth a new spell formula. The formula recharges once per day.
*Pure White Clothes and Fresh Blood
Activates with the Vampire Heir title and other skills related to Race: Vampire. During Bloodsucking, it cleans foreign substances from the pure white dress shirt. At the same time, it purifies impurities in the blood, allowing the user to absorb only pristine fresh blood, not tainted.
!!!
I couldn't hold back my shock at the suit.
No matter that it was made from Arachne's Thread, it was clothing, not armor.
And a suit at thatthere were bound to be clear limits.
Be it durability or defense, it had to be vulnerable in some way.
The value of expensive Arachne's Thread lay more in its rarity and luxury than its magic resistance.
It wasn't material meant for combat to begin with, so I hadn't expected much.
Honestly, getting decent gear was secondary; supplying good materials to Guya-ja was mostly to build an ideal partnership.
But Guya-ja had compensated for those flaws by maximizing the defensive functions I'd imprinted on the lining.
It wouldn't even scratch from average blows, and the power to block even a fatal strike once was nothing short of a masterpiece.
It was a moment to rediscover anew.
Instead of just standing there gawking, shouldn't you try it on to see if it fits you?
...You're right.
As Tamamo said, I took off the clothes I was wearing.
Design-wise, the ones coming off and going on weren't much different.
But the moment I put it on, I could tell the fit against my body was worlds apart.
Not just perfectly tailored to me.
Compared to a normal suit, movement felt far lighter.
An utterly superb piece.
It was hard to believe this was just part of the various gear in the boxthe quality was unreal.
Why not try that outfit underneath too?
Beneath the suit sat a bulky coat.
The longcoat, reaching below the knees when worn, was a monotonous black overall, but that very simplicity exuded a unique luxury.
And notably, beast fur was wrapped around the neck area.
Arachne's Night Eclipse Overcoat
Rank: S+
Description: A coat crafted by artisan Guya-ja from Arachne's Thread. Inspired by solar and lunar eclipses, it has light-blocking properties, and the fur at the nape is made from Firelight Beast pelt, granting resistance to heat and flames.
*Seeping New Moon
Like the sun hiding behind the moon, it cloaks the body in darkness to conceal itself. Conversely, by forgoing concealment and wielding the darkness instead, it can be manipulated. Concealment covers appearance, sound, and heat, but is detectable by mana sensing. The more it's used, the more the magic imprinted in the lining adapts to the user's mana circuits, reducing mana consumption.
*Wavering Flames
A ability of the 7th Hierarchy magic beast, the Firelight Beast, warped by ancestral talismans into this new power. The Firelight Beast's fur, which doesn't burn and turns snow-white when dirtied if thrown into fire, now darkens like flickering shadows in flamesthe more it burns, the blacker it grows, dyeing the surroundings in lacquer black.
An exceedingly luxurious-looking coat.
I slipped it on right away, and Tamamo, watching, blushed as she spoke.
It... suits you well.
Short, but intensely so.
For her, who'd been teasing me nonstop, to stutter like that.
Wondering if it really looked that good, I checked in the mirrorand yeah, it did.
The rack was great, but the clothes were no slouch either.
With a glad heart, I pulled out the remaining pieces from the box.
His works didn't end with those two.
With the money I'd poured in, it'd be disappointing if it stopped there.
I removed the gloves on my hands and slipped on new ones.
The simple black gloves felt less like leather or cloth padding and more like moving bare hands.
[You have equipped Arachne's Black Hand Gauntlets.]
[The flame resistance () and poison resistance () magic inscribed in the gauntlets activates.]
For manifesting flame magic with hands or contact with poison, magics preventing melting or burning emitted blue light from within the gloves as they activated.
I pulled the next piece from the box.
Arm guards to protect the body, especially joints like wrists, elbows, and shoulders.
Closer to elastic black cloth than true armor.
[You have equipped Arachne's Magic Arm Guards.]
[The strengthening () and elasticity () talismans inscribed in the guards activate.]
The moment I layered them over my dress shirt, I realized.
These guards had such superior elasticity they could easily repel average swords.
Even better, channeling mana made the guards assist bones and muscles, enhancing strength.
The three connected guardsat wrist, elbow, shoulderminimized bodily strain from strength boosts, properly distributed damage, and reduced pain.
Given my frail body, they couldn't eliminate pain and damage entirely, but minimizing it to the limit? Nothing beat these guards.
[You have equipped Arachne's Magic Leg Boots.]
[The blink () magic and swiftness () talismans inscribed in the boots activate.]
Next came the shoes.
They felt pretty unique once on.
Somewhere between dress shoes and sneakers in every way.
Appearance matched the name as formal boots, but comfort and function leaned toward sneakers.
Even running long distances wouldn't hurt my feet.
Well, for me, stamina would hit the limit before foot pain anyway.
Magic and talismans inscribed up to here, I guess.
With shoes on, all that remained in the box were a pair of layered belts and a black necktie.
Accessories made by padding the leftover Arachne's Thread with leather.
They had magic resistance and simple style, but no special abilities.
Belts and tie could've held pricey artifacts for the cost, but the reason I wore these specifically was...
[You have equipped the Arachne's Magic Gear set.]
[Set effect: The power and efficiency of all embedded mystics in the gear rises one rank!]
To enjoy this set effect.
Even artisans of note struggled to craft gear with set effects, which relied on resonance and synergy between pieces.
Masterpieces hard to birth from normal work.
A+ to S+ on average, but with set effects, they might rival epic or legend-grade.
That waist belt is pretty unique, huh. The crossed pair for style?
Shaped like two layered belts crossed.
Pretty novel design to Tamamo, but awfully familiar to me.
Device to hang a sword on each hip. Nostalgic, so I commissioned it just in case.
Can't wield a sword now, but up to five years ago, I wore belts like this daily.
And right there in the room's corner hung a sword.
A katana temporarily on the wall.
Atop it, a coiled small thread-snake curse glared at me.
[The lingering spirit, Yamata no Orochi, glares at you.]