Chapter 13
Chapter 13
Academy’s Gumiho is a Magic Genius – Chapter 13
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Hell had arrived.
The vibrant academy was nowhere to be seen. The scene resembled a battlefield.
Seung-ho! Seung-ho! Save meee!
Stay right there! Ill come get you!!
Get out of the way, you crazy bastards!! People who can survive should!!!
Kuh, kuaaaaah!!! W-wheres my leg?!
Screams echoed from all directions.
Pleas for help and groans filled with agony filled the academy.
It was hard to believe that just an hour ago, this place had been brimming with laughter.
Ha, this really sucks.
Guilt weighed on him. But he didnt rationalize it away.
He already knew.
Hed stood by under the pretext that the protagonist needed to awaken.
The desire to survive had blinded him.
And this catastrophe was the result.
He felt a sense of responsibility to silently witness this without a word. No matter how painful, he couldnt look away.
This was the scene he had chosen, and no matter how hard it was for him, it couldnt compare to theirs.
He silently gazed down from atop a tall building.
The rooftop offered a clear view of everything below.
A chilling night breeze carried the thick stench of blood.
Contact the professors right now! Tell them to come back!!
Those guys are abroad right now! Better to call nearby guilds!
The closest A-rank guild is sending support! Just hold out for 20 minutes!!
Ha, fuck. Didnt even get to confess and now Im gonna die.
Save the kids first! Abandon me and take care of them
As he overlooked the chaos, a thought crossed his mind.
In the original story, ten students died. All of them were on the outskirts, traveling with the protagonist.
What about the guards and TAs? Did they all die, or did a few survive?
Well, judging by the scene before his eyes, they were probably all dead.
Everyones in a panic.
From the rooftop, he could see all sorts of students.
Those prioritizing their own lives, those trying to save friends, those fighting back with weapons.
By far, the largest group was those prioritizing their own survival.
Students were fleeing toward the shelters to save their skins.
In their blind panic, many tripped or collided. Fractures and bruises were the least of it; in the worst cases, they shoved classmates or blacked out from falls.
A ragtag mob.
He understood their actions.
Survival was humanitys most primal instinct. But if you wanted to live, you had to think rationally and act accordingly.
Right now, to maximize survival odds, fighting back was better than running.
Yet they couldnt even make that simple judgment. Hed subconsciously expected more from Chilseong Academys elite, and this was a huge letdown.
First real combat, maybe. Well, Ive been there myself.
Watching quietly made his chest tighten.
Pondering why, he realized it was because they reminded him of his own childhood. He was a former child soldier, after all.
Old memories flashed by like a montage. The fleeing kids looked just like him back then.
As his thoughts deepened, his gaze drifted lower.
Staring blankly below, he suddenly sensed a presence.
With the sunset stretching long shadows, something clung to one. Impressive stealth, but not enough to fool S-rank senses.
The shadow began creeping toward him.
As it unfurled massive fangs and wings to pounce
Whooshflames spiked from the ground, piercing the monsters wings. The intense heat scorched along them, blackening its gray hide.
Weaker than expected.
But the consequences were unforeseen.
Thud!!!
A massive monster plummeted from the rooftop.
The impact boomed, cratering the ground and billowing dust. All eyes turned instantly.
Shit.
Everyone stared at the fallen monster.
Then looked up.
Naturally, there he was at the top.
How did it come to this?
Hed meant to kill it quietly at first.
Just snap its neck and leave it on the roof. But hed gone overboard without realizing.
Scratching his head in frustration, he extended his right hand.
Vast mana surged, forming a massive fireball in his palm.
Seeing the students shock at his sudden appearance, he thought.
He hadnt planned to intervene.
But with all eyes on him now, he had no choice but to fight.
Cant get dragged to a class trial for standing by.
So this was unavoidable.
Definitely not his own will.
Reaffirming that, he leaped from the rooftop.
I want to live.
As much as he wanted to live.
The dying kids probably wanted to live too.
Which made this unavoidable.
Someones jumping down!
Isnt that TA Baek Seung-woo? The legend from our lab.
Who gives a shit about legends right now?! Catch him!
The ground grew chaotic.
TAs and guards busy fighting monsters.
He landed as far from them as possible to avoid interfering.
A height that couldve paralyzed his lower body, but telekinesis magic offset the damage.
Still, his ankles took a beating.
Never doing that again.
Scanning his surroundings immediately after landing.
Aiming for distance from people had dropped him right in the middle of the monster horde.
Ugh, the stench was worse than wild beasts.
That disgusting smellmind closing your mouths?
As soon as he spoke, dozens of monsters charged him. What, they understood Korean?
Facing the horde, he stomped the ground.
Boom!
Mana spread wide, unleashing a massive shockwave.
Flames erupted from the earth, binding the monsters movements before spiking into huge thorns that impaled them mercilessly.
Dozens in the flames range collapsed helplessly.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Larger ones that avoided gut-stabs or had tough hides barely endured, but dozens died before his eyes in seconds.
The monsters slowly retreated.
People swallowed hard at the sight.
Terrifying prowess.
Felling dozens with one stompin this chaotic frontline, that was no small feat.
The perpetrator himself felt nothing special.
Ah, it hurts like hell.
Others might be awed, but he was just in pain.
That stunt had his leg joints and bones screaming. Shouldve known better.
His body was fragiletoo fragile.
How was he supposed to overcome this ordeal like this? No more stomping.
One more could actually break his legs.
Glaring at the horde, he pondered.
Most here were low-rank with weak durability.
Students AoE spells could handle them. But a few interspersed ones were variables.
Deal with those, and the rest could manage without him. Then a good idea struck.
Kill those, and the rabble would scatterperfect excuse to leave.
Decision made, he acted.
Suddenly, head-sized fireballs floated in the air, blinding monsters and scorching flesh as they darted wildly. Meanwhile, he poured mana into the ground.
The chain reaction from the lingering embers in the training room last time.
But on a massive scale.
Hoo, he exhaled deeply.
Drawing vast mana made his blood race.
Blood pressure spiked, oxygen lagged. Skin paled slightly, but he ignored it and completed the spell in his mind.
Growlthe monsters sensed something amiss and cried out.
Then the massive explosion flipped the earth.
Balance lost, secondary blasts ripped through them.
KABOOM!!
Huge blasts and smoke billowed.
Most monsters were in range.
Not all would die, but hed focused firepower under the strong onesthey were probably toast.
No more variables. Time to go.
Ugh, guess I can leave this to them now.
He started walking forward without hesitation.
Running was impossible.
Low stamina plus spell backlash meant dizziness. Luckily, few monsters on his path.
Just one or twoskewered easily with spikes.
Somethings off.
Hed only killed about a hundred.
Decent number, but the original had nearly a thousand intruders. Less than a tenth.
Maybe other TAs or guards handled some? Or the few third-years left?
He didnt entertain such naive thoughts.
No way.
The academy grounds were vast.
Even a thousand would seem sparse relatively. Worst case, nearly nine hundred left.
The thought of handling them all made him dizzy. He could do one more round, but not nine hundred.
Let the guards, TAs, and remaining third-years deal with the rest.
Mid-thought, he sensed a human presence far off.
Hastening, he spotted a fallen female student and a monster. Not a beauty and the beast shoot.
He extended his hand without hesitation.
Flames ignited midair, forming a massive hand.
The blazing grip effortlessly lifted the monster. It flailed briefly at the sudden lift, then crushed under intense heat, flesh cooking like fish.
Tossing the pulp aside, he checked the student.
Leg injured, but conscious. Quick first aid, then on his way.
Why are you
If only it werent Seo Ye-rin.
We keep running into each other like bad luck.
Never expected this.
She looked like she had a lot to say, but he hurriedly applied first aid, wrapping her wound in mana like a plaster cast.
That should prevent worsening.
Hey, Seo Ye-rin. Can you get away on your own?
Yes.
Then go. No monsters on the way to the first-year dormsdont worry, just move.
She stared, as if surprised he knew that.
Fair enoughhis image was always a mess around her. But not important now.
He tried ushering her to the shelter.
Then she grabbed his pant leg hard.
Hey, pants are gonna fall off.
And where are you going?
Who knows.
He didnt even know.
Hed jumped in unavoidably and just kept charging forward. No destination.
She tugged harder with her small hand.
Is she really gonna report me for public indecency?
Silly thought, but her expression was dead serious.
Swallowing leg pain, she said.
Th-then help me. My fr-friends over there.
Where?
Near the third-year dorms.
!
Thats definitely where the protagonist was.
In the original, his awakening half-destroyed the nearby third-year dorms with wind pressure.
Huh?
Why do I know that?
The sudden knowledge puzzled him, but.
It didnt matter.
Something more urgent came first.
Seo Ye-rins friend was probably a sacrifice.
Doomed to die for the protagonists awakening.
No reply from him, and she clung to his leg like a cicada on a tree.
Please help Help her. Shes the f-first friend Ive ever m-made
First time hearing polite speech from her.
And her longest sentence yet.
She begged him.
The guy whod barged into her training, snatched her book, accidentally dragged her into an explosion.
What could he even say to this girl?
That her friend had to die for a happy ending?
He couldnt voice such nonsense.
Grinding his teeth till they ached, he stroked Seo Ye-rins head.
Okay.
Long, pretty hair.
Dusty and frizzy from rolling and heatnot pleasant to touch. But stroking it brought warmth.
Ill handle it. You go to the shelter.
Hed planned to spectate as it was just a novel.
But no more standing by.
Not just to avoid trial.
A girl with red-rimmed eyes begged to save her friend.
How was this a novel world?
Please
I got itgo already.
Hurrying her off, he ran toward the third-year dorms.
Low stamina and agility dragged him down, but mana-boosted leg strength pushed his speed.
Ankles deteriorating as payback, but.
Hed promisedno being late.
Ignoring the pain, he crossed the vast academy.
* * *
Meanwhile, near the third-year dorms.
R-run!!
No place to run! Defend! Defend!
Kyaa, kyaAAAAH!
Yu-ra!
Kids screamed.
One girl tripped on her ankle while fleeing. The watching monster lumbered forward gleefully.
In its path lay the fallen Yu-ra.
Hey, No Yu-ra! Get up!
M-my ankles sprained!
Damn it!
Yu-ra tried rising but couldnt from the sprain.
Friends rushed to help, but.
U-ugh
Hey, whats wrong? You okay?
P-pressure, its my legs are shaking
One friend paled and backed away.
Breathing ragged, he pointed accusingly.
At the massive monster. It grinned with an indiscernible mouth.
Th-that thing used ambient mana to pr-pressure me!
What?
Unbelievable.
A monster pressuring with ambient mana.
Only one meaning.
Fear?
Fearhigh-rank monsters signature, oppressing foes with mana alone.
Only a rare few could use it. This one surely had the intelligence too.
Enough to toy with prey.
Heh, the monster smirked hugely.
Simultaneously, all students felt their legs buckle.
Cant fight it. No way.
R-run! Hurry!
But Yu-ra!
So what?! Die together? I wanna live!
Are you even a friend?! Fuck off!
The overwhelming presence fractured the group.
The monster, delighted, approached slowly without interfering.
Until a chilling gust targeted it.
Slash!
Kyle gripped his trembling legs and swung his weapon.
A slim portable sword.
Infused with slashing wind, he aimed to bisect it.
But the monster just seemed annoyed.
The blade couldnt even scratch its hide. Not a drop of blood.
Weaker than A4 paper.
Bang!!
Irritated, it swiped a forepaw.
Casual strike shattered the sword; Kyle slammed into the wall. Bones felt crushed.
Barely conscious, but bleeding too muchmind foggy.
Not missing that, the monster looked inspired.
Its sluggish pace quickened.
Half-step, one step, two.
Stride widened, speed built.
Students scrambling to flee. The monster unleashed Fear to halt them.
Terror-bound, they screamed curses.
Fallen Yu-ra squeezed eyes shut, but tears and snot flowed at approaching footsteps.
Wall-pinned Kyle could only watch.
Move. Move!!
Rage boiled inside Kyle.
Disgust at his frail, incompetent self.
Why was he so weak?
Admitted as 1,999th of 2,000 freshmen? Abandoned by birth parents? No talent unlike siblings?
All true.
Self-loathing surged. Revolting.
First academy friends facing doom before his eyes.
Yet his limbs wouldnt move.
Please! Move!!
Just then, the monster reached Yu-ra.
It raised a massive forepaw.
Then brought it down.
To crush her.
She crawled to evade, but it dwarfed an elephantsno escape.
Then its eyes turned to Kyle.
!!!
He finally grasped its intent.
Mocking him. Kill Yu-ra before his eyes, then the restfor sport.
Something writhed in Kyles chest.
Indistinguishable from rage, unrealized yet. Only after all friends died would he know.
The novels first episode neared fruition.
All die, Kyle alone survives.
Saving the world, happy ending.
Excluding these kids.
Pyrokinesis
Could he just watch?
A man entered the fray.
Simultaneously, the burning urge faded; something else ignited. Clear and hot as the flames before him.
A kind of self-loathing: Why am I so weak?
Whew, almost late.
A man approached, fox tail swishing behind.
A face Kyle didnt want to see.
Seeing it recalled something ancient. That guy had smiled then too.
In that instant, something inside Kyle twisted.
Negatively.
Grind.
Kyle gnashed his teeth to breaking.
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