Chapter 15
Chapter 15
Academy’s Gumiho is a Magic Genius – Chapter 15
The man who had stormed the academy scratched his head after smashing the guard post.
He had no further plans beyond that.
"Plans are meant to be made on the spot, after all..."
He was a mercenary who took on any job without discrimination.
Over decades in the mercenary life, he had learned one truth: no matter how brilliant a plan you devise, it means nothing.
Life doesn't flow the way you want.
So preemptive preparations are just as pointless.
You have no choice but to adapt to whatever reality comes at you.
"...But this place is way too vast."
If it were simply large, it wouldn't be an issue.
He had handled requests in even bigger territories before.
But the academy wasn't just vast in landmassthe 'environment' itself was expansive.
Scouting around the guard post, he spotted a massive waterfall and rugged hills.
Further on, a sprawling plain had greeted him.
Then came a parched desert and a dank swamp, forcing him to tense up naturally.
As expected of one of the world's top five academies.
No telling what variables this land might hold.
There could be massive landmines buried in the ground, or carpet bombings raining from the roadside.
Or maybe an encounter with some unforeseen powerhouse.
"Haha, this is getting interesting."
The man felt a thrilling rush alongside his heightened tension.
Yeah, Chilseong Academy ought to have hurdles like this.
He had just been thinking it felt too easy.
This kind of urgency made it all worthwhile.
Brimming with anticipation, he drew a horn flute from his bosom.
A black flute adorned with jagged protrusions like horns. This wasn't some mass-produced factory knockoff.
It was an artifact crafted from the vocal cords of a special magic beast.
The horn flute he had borrowed from his client, the mage.
The power sealed within controlled magic beasts. Word was it had been made using a noble's powera rare itembut he didn't care about that; it was damn useful.
Pwooooooo!
As he blew the horn flute, the magic beasts scattered throughout began their charge.
The command issued by the flute was slaughter. The beasts would now kill every living thing in their sights.
"Alright, time for me to hunt down the students' hiding spots."
His client's request was the total annihilation of the students.
The ones wandering the streets? The beasts would handle them. He just needed to take out the ones in hiding.
Killing kids left a sour taste, but it couldn't be helped for the payout.
Die for my sake, won't you?
The man darted between buildings, searching for shelters.
Probably for emergencies, their locations weren't even listed online in the academy. No choice but to leg it manually.
His eyes flickered as he prowled, until he arrived at a spot thick with tangled mana.
Hmm, what's this?
"...Doesn't feel like a shelter or hideout."
His eyes widened with curiosity.
His gaze was locked on the ground.
Which slowed his reaction to the flames gunning for his back.
The massive blaze would explode, shearing off his head and incinerating his corpse.
Thus, the man dies.
He foresaw that future.
"...Sneaky and potent attack."
The man leaped back at once.
Fleeing full tilt for about a kilometer. Glancing back, his former spot was now an inferno.
Hm, at that firepower, yeahhis rock-hard skull flying off with no body left makes sense.
He gave thanks once more to the 'eye' that had saved him, and savored the thrill of brushing death.
Contradictory feelings.
But the man was shattered enough to embrace both at once.
"Alright, my turn to come at you."
Having pinpointed the opponent's position, he charged straight in.
Sword drawn from his waist, dozens of flame arrows came flying at him.
* * *
Arrow-based attacks are dull.
Arcing shots have clear limits, no matter what.
Just shield every direction with armor or a barrier.
But what if those arrows are magic with unpredictable trajectories?
And not metal, but pure flame?
The man hurled himself forward now, seeking answers to those questions.
"Hahaha, sly arrows, huh? You've got real finesse with mana!"
The dozens of arrows didn't strike simultaneously.
They came in sequence, dictating his every move.
Then, like a fish snared in netting, they'd seal his escapes and choke him out.
Mana control on another level.
Without his 'eye,' he might've lost an arm to that cunning play.
"But parlor tricks don't faze me...!"
The man swung his sword.
A massive sword gust roared out, warping the arrows' paths. Magic arrows, thoughthey curved back like homing warheads.
But the fish had already slipped free.
Right after evading the arrow web.
Roaring flames the size of a man's head hurtled infierce power and speed, but manageable.
He moved to parry it with his sword. For an instant, his eyes glazed over.
Parrying unleashed a colossal blast.
Dodging yielded the same. Best to see those flames as timed explosives.
His 'eye' pierced the world with that warning.
A slick follow-up to the flame arrows. Plenty to hook a regular foe.
Not him, though.
His eyes and instincts were beyond mortal. Cheap ploys like this wouldn't cut it.
Whooshas he assumed a thrust stance, his blade gleamed with edge.
Mana-forged sharpness tore the flames apart mercilessly. Extinguished them before they could even detonate.
Alright, my move now.
The man set his stance. After those fine strikes, time for his ace.
But Seung-woo offered no such grace.
The flames flickered wild, then erupted from the ground.
Spikes sharp and vicious like thorns. Flame spears lancing up two meters, denying any foothold.
Airborne, he dodged once morebut overlooked a key variable.
Twisting by what his eyes showed.
Clanga metallic ring unbelievable for flame on steel. Seung-woo, cloaked in fire, had lunged.
The man fell back, wary of the flames' unnatural form and solidity.
Eerie standoff.
He scrambled just to defend. Zero chances to strike back.
Flawless or not, his eyes hadn't landed a single hit.
A breed of foe he'd never tangoed with.
Tense, yet relishing it deep down. Victory seemed impossible to lose.
In his line of work, they called him the Mage Hunter.
Not for reverse-engineering spells or blocking them all. His traits simply hard-countered the mage breed.
Unless a split-second martial master.
Calculation-and-range-dependent mages stood no chance.
No fear of defeat, he quipped with amusement.
"Oh, you're quite the looker."
Stars and moon veiled by clouds. Vision barely clinging, now facing a pyromancer who could blaze the world.
Battle dragging on, flames sprawling, baring the foe's build plain as day.
The type girls swoon over.
Petite head, slender elongated limbs. Face pristine, no flaws.
Stuff him and gift to the daughterwould she like it?
Seriously pondering, better than some doll. Then a familiar whiff teased his nose, eyes narrowing.
A scent he knew.
Even amid choking smoke, it asserted itself boldlya memory scent for sure.
Man lost in thought.
Seung-woo seized the lapse, unleashing a flame deluge.
Boom-boom-boom, relentless barragethe man, dodging not fleeing, fished out something from his chest. A green talisman fluttered in his grip. Emerald barrier cloaked him.
"...Tch."
Seung-woo tsked at the sight.
Every spell bounced off the shield.
High-grade durability. Normal hits wouldn't scratch, let alone breach.
As Seung-woo paused to breathe and regroup.
Sheltered in the barrier, the man mulled. That scent from memory.
An unforgettable intensity needling his nerves.
"...Ah! That?!"
It clicked.
Pleasure dens he frequented for gigs.
Like the perfume those courtesans spritzed.
Nopungenter.
Stirring raw instincts. What was the term?
"...What was it? Ah, pheromones."
Right, pheromones.
This cloying, hazy aroma was pure pheromones.
But why the scent?
Looks the courtesan type.
Actual courtesan?
Then a buried memory resurfaced.
No cherished recollection.
Nearer a curse.
The day he lost his wife, daughter wasting away.
That day reeked of it too.
As the man drowned in recall. Regrouped Seung-woo flung flames wide.
Strands twisting into a vortex.
Kaboom!
Barrage on the barrier anew.
Impact? None, naturally.
Man still ashen within, lost in battle no less.
Pure lunatic move.
He upped the ante.
"I can never forgive fox courtesans like you!"
Spouting nonsense.
Some courtesan grudge?
Not Seung-woo's business.
To him, the Mage Hunter defied logic.
Mad dog worked fine.
Beast mode engaged.
That instant.
Crackthe green barrier splintered, man exploding out.
Thrashing feral, like a man stripped of all.
What's really eating him?
"...Urk."
Mind questioning, body racing to counter the savage frenzy.
Wild-animal swift, primal raw.
Every twitch probed for openings.
Flame walls or shields met them.
Man reddened, his edge dulled.
Fine, force the breach. Sword raised, strain be damned.
His eyes would cut losses.
Now, tank hits for that one solid blow.
Ditched all guards, pure offense. Gaping flaw begging a strike. Yet.
"Hm?"
Something's wrong.
Defense forsaken, but Seung-woo ignored the wide-open mark. Defense frantic, offense lax.
What, theater?
Not striking a shirtless foe head-on?
Sword mid-swing, it dawned.
Time deepened the suspicion into certainty.
Twisted mind, sharp as ever at reading cues.
Mercenary-honed instinct.
Haha, that's the play.
To nail the hunch, he spoke.
"You... know my ability, don't you?"
That's the caution.
Conviction or hunch, all self-derived.
But past the stoic mask. Pupil's tiny quivernailed it.
Bingo. Spot on.