Chapter 143
Academy’s Gumiho is a Magic Genius – Chapter 143
[ Quest, ' Conditional Sword' accepted.]
[Trait acquired: Conditional Sword Saint!]
The moment I accepted the quest, my eyes narrowed at the words popping into view.
Sword Saint? Fine, whatever.
But what the hell was "conditional" supposed to mean?
Conditional Sword Saint
Classification:
Description: Grants the karma of a . This trait is a form of 'possession' that requires complex conditions to accept an external entity. Once the conditions are met, you can temporarily wield the power of a Sword Saint, but all damage and penalties incurred in the process will be imposed on you.
Holy shit.
"What kind of convoluted trait is this?"
A trait made just for me.
But in inverse proportion to its rarity, the description was anything but pleasant.
First off, 'possession.' That word stuck out like a sore thumb.
Possession was a ritual to summon a god into one's body.
Ancient magic systems, including shamanism, had records of it.
Back in the day, when local deities and all sorts of faiths flourished worldwide, it must've been common. Nowadays, hardly anyone knew about itmost mages had never even heard the term.
'My true selfor rather, the body outside this novelisn't exactly godlike. So why phrase it that way?'
Actually, it might fit in a sense.
Sure, right now I'm a total mess.
But my real body, out there beyond this world, had long been perfected, worthy of the title "lord of the warlord state."
'Maybe I'm overthinking this. I can mull it over later.'
What mattered now wasn't that.
It was what came after.
'Fulfill the conditions to borrow the power temporarily, but shoulder all the damage myself. Talk about an unfair contract.'
Ha.
It was phrasing that made me feel utterly underestimated.
No matter how much it boosted my physical stats, this battered body of mine couldn't handle my prime self's full output.
Essentially, I'd gotten a defective product.
And if anything went wrong, all the blame and fallout landed squarely on me.
'Eve and the systemwhoever's behind this, it's no laughing matter.'
A flicker of anger rose within me.
Not just anger at being underestimated, but rage bubbling up behind my mask.
'Fine. You want to test me? Bring it on.'
If they thought so little of me, I'd show them.
Show them what havoc I could wreak with just a fraction of my prime power.
But first.
"Hey, Tamamo."
Why'd you call?
I needed to vent this frustration.
So I decided to stir up the biggest variable I could right nowsomething the old me would never have done.
It hadn't been long since I'd shed the madman's guise, so all I could do was hope for her reaction.
"Aren't you curious where I'm from?"
Of course I am. I want to see the battlefield you fought on, learn what your warlord state is like.
"Alright, I'll tell you everything. But first, my origins."
I wonder what'll happen when I say it.
And how the one behind the status window will react.
"I came from outside this world."
Outside the world? Like a dungeon or something?
"No, something bigger. Far wider."
Not a world on the same horizontal plane, like dungeons or the reverse side.
I'd fallen into this one from a higher dimension above it.
"To me, this world is a novel."
A novel...?
A whirlwind of information.
At the same time, pings from the status window filled one corner of my retina, but I didn't hesitate.
Before she could even process it, I unleashed a torrent of words.
"A universe of letters and onomatopoeia. That's how I observed this world. And being a novel, it comes with predetermined dangers and disasters."
It wasn't against any cosmic law.
With the madman's aftereffects lingering, I spilled the truth without a second thought.
To the current 'me,' half-mad with insanity overriding reason, this trivial secret that the world was a novel mattered less than seeing Tamamo's face twist in response.
Ah, the thrill.
What expression would she make?
What would she say first? My curiosity peaked
So what? I don't really care about that stuff.
Totally unexpected.
It was smaller than the bomb I'd just dropped.
But plenty enough to shatter my expectations.
In the end, I'd have to take this anger out elsewhere.
* * *
Conveniently, a perfect punching bag waited at the sewer exit.
"Were you waiting for me? We came in together, but when I woke up, you were gone."
Ah, including that worthless demon, it made two.
But since I'd already wrecked it.
Calling it one wasn't wrong.
"...I wasn't waiting for you."
"Back to that stuck-up tone, huh."
"...To me, your speech sounds stranger. Are you pretending to be some arrogant noble?"
"I'm not in the best mood, so if you wanna bicker, go cause a scene in the city over there instead of with me."
"...My mission is to guard this place."
Shing.
Termiya drew her sword from its scabbard at her waist, pointing the sharp tip at me.
"Take one more step, and guest of the viscount or not, I'll cut you down."
"...Sigh. You and that thingneither lives up to my expectations. Life's so damn boring without any spice."
Not that it had any before.
I shoved my hands in my pockets and quipped, prompting her response.
"If you're gonna react so dully, come out already. Something fun's definitely going down in the city."
"My mission is to guard this place. I can't allow it."
"Why?"
"Because that's the order I was given. If you insist on going, wait until half a day passes."
"By then, everyone in the city will be dead."
"!!!!"
No matter how I prodded her, I couldn't get that old impact from Termiya. Every time I mentioned the village or citizens, her body trembled.
She seemed to feel something like guilt.
But that was it.
This woman had steeled her resolve.
To get past the sewers, I'd have to overpower her by force.
However.
Even after shortening my lifespan with that procedure.
This body couldn't do it.
'...Conditional Sword Saint.'
No choice but to use it.
I needed this power to break Termiya.
And rightly so.
"You've taken in an ogre's power?"
"What the hell are you on about...?"
"Oh dear, you're not even aware. That makes it even more serious."
A mongrel born of spirits and all sorts of alien bloodlines.
Trace that blood upward, and at its pinnacle sat the ogre race.
If dragons ruled magic and wisdom, ogres were the incarnations of brute force and destruction.
No race could match them in raw strength.
Unless it was an exceptionally strong individual.
No creature, dragons included, surpassed ogres in any metric tied to power.
'Blood of such an absurd race.'
Compared to a pureblood ogre, her stamina and strength were quite low.
Though diluted by time, other racial traits amplified the ogre blood.
Her wavering mind between lord and knight must've triggered a protective mechanism.
Awakening latent traits to shield her psyche.
Even atavism couldn't explain that.
"Before the fight, better max out everything I can."
I equipped every stat-boosting item up to the limit.
Rings on all ten fingers, earrings, necklace, bracelets, you name it.
The boosts had clear caps, but it got me to average student level.
And then.
Rustle rustle.
I rummaged in my coat's inner pocket.
Inside were one-use consumables, prepped for emergencies.
But even among those nasty ones, one stood out.
"Dried grass...? Planning to throw drugs in my face?"
"Crude talk. Do I look like the type to use something as weak as drugs? This is poison grassseveral times more dangerous."
I pulled out dried toxic herbs preserved for long storage.
About a month's worth.
The most vicious onestoo potent to ingest fresh, or ones that grew deadlier when dried.
A month's supply in quantity, but considering the toxicity, two months wouldn't exhaust it.
Munch.
I dumped the whole lot into my mouth, ignoring lethal doses.
"Bon apptit."
[B-Grade Lethal Poison, 'Hunger Ghost Grass,' consumed.]
[A-Grade Lethal Poison, 'Dried Fire Lantern,' consumed.]
[A-Grade Lethal Poison, 'Four-Blind Grass,' consumed.]
[S-Grade Lethal Poison, 'Dead Fungus Appetizer'......]
[C-Grade Lethal Poison......]
...
The texture was rough, no moisture at all.
Chewing released a thickening saliva, sticky and burning my throat. My face darkened, breaths grew erratic, oxygen to my brain unsteady.
'Screw up, and I might choke before the poison even hits.'
Do it right, though, and I'd survive.
Poison resistance from the skill Drug-Resistant Body.
Hundred Poison Body forcibly raised my tolerance threshold.
Some poisons ravaged the body or caused sepsis, but as resistance climbed.
[Poisoned!]
[Skill Drug-Resistant Body's embedded Hundred Poison Body neutralizes poison via resistance.]
[New poison detected!]
[Time to detoxify increasing.]
[Remaining time: 2 hours 44 minutes.]
[Remaining time: 3 hours 16 minutes.]
The ingested poisons combined or neutralized, spawning myriad toxins.
Some even countered others.
Poison as medicine, huh.
Never thought it'd work like this.
The result?
[Antibodies against single poisons and combinations increased by 427.]
[Poison-related antibodies exceeded 1,000.]
[Hundred Poison Body evolves to Thousand Poison Body!]
Immunity to a thousand poisons.
One step from absolute poison immunitya formidable realm.
My stomach burned like it was ripping apart, though.
Now with this.
"I won't be affected by the poison in that field anymore."
"!!!"
"Control your face like that? On such a fine day, with flowers blooming so openlyhow could you miss it?"
Flower-growing weather.
Yet the sewer exit brimmed with flowers.
Not the weather that tipped me off.
This place once had only roses; now, they were gone, replaced by toxic blooms masquerading as ordinary flowers.
I remembered because it was a rose garden.
White or red.
My favorite flowers.
Impossible to forget.
"...Sharp eyes."
"Doesn't mean much coming from you, but thanks. I appreciate the compliment."
"Not a complimentacknowledgment. The viscount must've placed me here specifically to stop you."
Termiya slammed her shield's base into the ground.
Flowery grass would've made it soft for anchoring.
Or so I thought
Bam!!
She hammered it down like a mallet, cracking the earth as a third sank in.
Ogre blood, huh.
What strength.
"If you've got that much power to spare, use it to help people."
"Shut up! I'm the viscount's sword, the knight commanderTermiya!!"
"Not his dog? Wait, that's an insult to dogs worldwide. Correction: you're less than a beast, without a knight's virtues."
"You bastard!!!"
Boom!!
A thunderclap-short roar.
Who'd believe that came from kicking off the ground? Terrifying leg power.
She yanked the embedded shield, sword in hand, closing the distance in a blink.
What followed shouldve been a one-sided assault.
But.
Whoosh.
Pyrokinesis
The floating flames roared high.
Then took solid forma massive shield.
It blocked her overwhelming charge.
But she had ogre blood.
Greater than leg strength: raw muscle power.
"This much...!!"
Flame or form, didn't matter.
Tear it apart with both hands.
"Barbaric."
"Not barbaricsuperior!!"
"Solving everything with brute force is barbarism. And you're lacking in knowledge too, it seems."
"What business is it of yours!!"
Veins bulging on her forehead, she tore into the flame shield.
I hurriedly repaired the rips with mana, hiding the magic corebut.
"Here!"
Bam!!
One swing like a club shattered the flames.
I'd deliberately made and concealed a core, but her 'strength' rendered it useless.
Observation to discern real from fake in an instant.
Focus to analyze weaknesses amid a flame wave.
All her powers were overwhelmingly superior.
This was beyond unfairdownright enviable.
But still.
"I won't lose to a beast."
"You to the end!!"
Pyrokinesis
Psychokinetic flames rose again.
Same technique, same mana array.
Feeling insulted, her head swelled with ogre-like muscle as she reached out.
Vmmm!!
A whistling punch tore through the air.
No need to club with the sword.
Ogres sat at physical might's apex.
Weapons were shackles to such a being's descendants.
Instinctively deeming sword and shield unnecessary, she shed her armor next.
Clang!!
The armor shattered.
Not by choice.
Shing!
Something had sliced it.
It severed the joints in a flash, revealing itself amid scattering flames.
"A rune-etched armor for massive defensehow...?"
"Magic-reinforced or not, pierce it and it's done."
Pierce
Meaning: penetration.
A simple sword technique, no tricks or flourishes.
But when I wielded it, different story.
"Next, shall I aim for the heart?"
Let's see if this ogre-mixed ribcage holds.
My heart stirred at the sword aura after two months.
In the end, come damage or penalty, I accepted Conditional Sword Saint.
Power surged through my body.
Instinctively, I gripped and swung the sword at my waist.
This time, as I swung for her chest
Who said you could swing that sword?
A tiny thread-snake clung to the blade's tip.
Yet its gaze, far grander, gleamed.