Chapter 149
Academy’s Gumiho is a Magic Genius – Chapter 149
Rumble.
The mansion's ceiling collapsed.
The spot where I stood was swept away by a wave of building materials, burying the dead knights on the spot.
"To think there are still so many parts left to cut away."
I'd killed hundreds of knights and brought down the mansion's ceiling.
Yet the mansion still stood strong.
That was because what I'd collapsed was only the annex.
'No matter how much I slice away, it never ends.'
I cut down people and severed malice.
I pierced through the mansion and prayed for the souls of those buried beneath it.
Even after repeating the process countless times, the North's sole noble house refused to crumble easily.
'I was dismantling it just in case, but now I have no choice but to tear the mansion down for real.'
The violet Demon Eye gleamed in every color.
The divine power that arrogantly overlooked all beneath the heavens.
It only hinted that the viscount was somewhere in this mansion.
But it couldn't pinpoint exactly where.
'Even if I bury him, it should be fine.'
To me, the viscount was an enemy who had to die.
Whether killing him was the way to conquer this world, I didn't know.
But I'd find out by swinging my sword wide.
Clack!
I gripped the demon sword Heavenly Omens Sword with both hands.
For some reason, it suddenly occurred to me that this Japanese-made swordand Japanese spirits in generalkept getting tangled up with me.
"Let's just slice the main building clean in half."
With that, I slammed the two-handed demon sword down onto the ground.
Boom!
The floor shook violently.
!!!!!
The ground quaked as if an earthquake had struck.
In the corner of my vision, as I watched the vibrations with a nonchalant expression, I saw the mansion's main building split perfectly in half and collapse.
Oh, nice clean cut.
What terrifying sword energy, young master.
"If you're referring to energy controlled through intent rather than metaphor, then I haven't even drawn my sword energy yet."
I couldn't make sense of Orochi's bizarre remark. The little snake tilted her head and asked.
If it's not sword energy, then how do you explain that perfectly sliced cutting edge?
"Nothing special. I just pushed the blade's inherent sharpness to its absolute limit."
That's no small feat.
Pushing the blade's sharpness to its limit.
I took pride in the fact that since it was a sword made from my own tail, it was sharper and tougher than any sword forged from the world's minerals.
But that pride only extended to the limits of what a 'sword' as a weapon could achieve.
You think that makes sense? Sure, a sword can cut walls or floors, but to bisect a mansion this size, you'd normally need a technique on a matching scale, right?
Heh heh, you're so dumb. That's why you couldn't escape the limits of your snake species and died.
Huh?! It's you, Dalgi! What brings you here? Looks like you died and became Master's servant too?
I'm not a servantI'm an equal contractor. Heh heh, you really think I'm on your level?
Oh, baby fox. It's been over a thousand years since we last met, and that's the first thing you say?
The conversation between the little snake and the fox woman.
It was hard to believe these two had once been giants who dominated an island chaintheir banter was that childish. Watching these grandmas over a thousand years old bicker like this... well, it made me think less that I needed to intervene and more that they weren't acting their age.
'I'll just focus on what I need to do.'
A single strike that maximized the blade's sharpness with mana.
The mansion sliced by that sword collapsed, and most of the servants working there died. They were all minions who followed the viscount's orders anyway.
There was no hesitation in swinging my sword at them.
'Around a hundred left alive. Even after killing this many, the viscount hasn't died yet.'
Underground.
Deeper and sturdier than I'd imagined.
Who'd have thought a medieval world had an air raid shelter?
"Guess I'll have to walk a bit."
Depending on the shelter's structure, my sword might not work.
The moment I damage the shelter, they might self-destruct for revenge.
Especially the latterI'd experienced it firsthand, so I was extra cautious.
If it were just me here, I could've handled it somehow with Swift Step.
But with students' presences in the city below the hill, there were too many variables for reckless moves.
Shing!
I sheathed my sword lightly to walk.
No need to wipe off the flesh or blood before sheathing.
Legendary blades stayed unstained by blood due to their extreme sharpness.
And the instant pristine white sword energy enveloped Heavenly Omens Sword, it wouldn't tolerate any foreign matter on the blade.
Now, while I walk.
'Let's finalize the contract.'
I intended to wrap up the contract with the system.
I recited it in the way it had described.
[What you want is the loss of Conditional Sword Saint.]
The trait Conditional Sword Saint could be the ultimate joker depending on how it was used.
No matter what scheme the system had, it could generate any variable.
In exchange, it gave me Heart Sword Mastery.
A quick skim showed it was undoubtedly a great trait.
Probably one of the top ten swordsmanship traits even among this world's geniuses.
But it was still inferior to Conditional Sword Saint, that much was true.
[To bridge that gap, what I want is points to match.]
Ding!
A mechanical chime and its reply arrived.
[Understood. Then I'll give you 1,000 points.]
Quick response.
Even a guy a week into dating, waiting anxiously for his girlfriend's text back, wouldn't reply that fast.
[Now, let's finalize the contract...]
[I wasn't done talking. You didn't think 1,000 points would shut me up, did you?]
[!!!]
Scanning the point shop.
1,000 points could buy a lot.
But Conditional Sword Saint was worth more than that.
Could its value really be pegged at just 1,000 points?
I was confident I'd shake my head no, over and over.
[Throw in my rosario too. Actually, mine and Teacher's rosarios.]
[...You mean the Radiant Glory?]
[Yeah, something grandiose like that.]
[Fine. Then in exchange for 1,000 points and the Radiant Glory rosario...!]
[Oh, and modify Heart Sword Mastery for me too?]
The system showed signs of disbelief at my repeated demands.
Not through facial expressions or tone.
The atmosphere itself conveyed pure exasperation.
[Are you testing me right now?]
[No, I just think this much is needed to break even.]
[...I'll be going now. Do whatever you want.]
[How will I know if the deal's fair if you leave?]
[Leave it to the subjectivity of causality. It's not even really subjective, but it maintains balance hilariously well.]
Click.
With that sound, the connection to the system cut off.
Too annoyed to continue?
It must've known I wouldn't back down from bargaining anyway.
It seemed in a hurry, somehow.
Either way, it gave permission to handle it as I saw fit.
I could haggle and raise the terms bit by bit later.
The contract could end here for now.
But I could feel my strength and stamina draining more with each passing moment.
'Time to mix in some magic.'
If I kept this up, I'd run out of stamina before even breaking the egg.
Magic didn't consume stamina, mental power, or focus like that.
And it wasn't as risky as a sick man swinging a sword.
So I reached for flames in my hand.
Young master, what are you doing right now?
"An application."
Application of what, exactly?
Stupid snake. Can't you tell from the heart's abnormal contractions? It's routing the mana that forms spellsmagicthrough the heart to refine it once more.
Who asked like they didn't know? Dalgi, why don't you shut up for once? How dare a fox wag its tail and shed fur around here.
The two women making a racket in my ears.
As Tamamo said, what I was attempting was like forging sword energy through intent.
Using intent to ignite magic.
The base was simple enough.
Pyrokinesis would suffice.
It was the magic I knew best.
Roar.
Fierce flames blazed.
But perfectly controlled by my power, the flames grew sharper and keener, like sword energy, as I infused them with intent bit by bit, as if feeding them oxygen.
Probably because my intent had evolved to optimally manifest swordplay.
It felt just like igniting flames with sword energy.
Roarrrrrr!!!!!
Thus, flames forged into sword energyagainst my original intent.
There was a technique called Sword Flame among countless sword arts.
But the Sword Flame that set the mansion ablaze was a colossal inferno I'd never seen in my lifetime.
...Good thing I tested it on the mansion first.
This was a natural disaster far beyond what I could control.
* * *
Hot.
Damn winter vanished, and summer arrived.
Truly felt the impact of global warming.
Sword energy-fueled flames averaging over 200 degrees. Hmm... the people inside probably felt around 200 to 250 degrees hotter.
'The dead will naturally cremated, the living will depart silently.'
I'm a mage who mastered mid-level [Flame Magic] and could aim higher anytime. Plus, Solar Vein Blockage gives me superior fire resistance.
Even so, my body has limits.
And these people lack even half my resistance.
Normally, I would've tried to save those burning to deatheven if they served the viscount who caused this mess.
I swore by law and canon to save people.
As long as they hadn't abandoned their humanity, if they entered my sight or arms, I'd have saved them without hesitation.
Cold-blooded, young master.
"What? They're already dead anyway. A priest who embraces souls might differ, but I have no room to embrace the deceased."
Even if 80 billion worldwide mostly lost their humanity and became forgotten beasts.
If just 1% were truly human, that's over 80 millionfar more than my arms could hold.
Expecting me to embrace the dead too...
Was too much.
Oh? Then me and the little fox aren't people? Young master, I thought you were just a pervert, but you're a bad man who says hurtful things without hesitation!
Bad man, huh.
Yeah, better than treating them like adults.
My ascetic path and good deeds left no middle ground.
Kill or save. For someone who divided the world in black and white, the title of Sword Saint shouldn't fit.
But still.
"...Not much left now."
Progress bar in the corner of my retina.
[-Class Hidden World Conquest Progress: 49.99%]
Just one step from the minimum goal of 50%.
If a little more could save tens of millions of lives, I'd wear any hat they threw at me.