Chapter 24
Chapter 24
Academy’s Gumiho is a Magic Genius – Chapter 24
Three days had passed since the incident.
The fact that one of the world's top five academies had been attacked was the hot topic across newspapers and broadcasts. Above all, the main buzz was that Chilseong Academy had let the attack happen.
[Chilseong Academy Allows Murderer's Assault. Does It Even Deserve the Title of Top Five Academy?]
[No Professors Injured in the Attack... What Happened?]
[Academy Insider Behind the Assault? Shocking Conclusions from CCTV Analysis with Crime Psychologists!]
[Terrorist's Identity Revealed: Mercenary in His Late 40s, Known as 'Yumo'...]
Click, click. I kept flipping through channels with the remote.
But nearly every news program and talk show was covering Chilseong Academy.
This had been going on for a full three days straight.
"What a load of bullshit."
I spat out a curse and tossed the remote aside.
There wasn't a single channel worth watching.
Just rehashing the same stuff I already knew.
Half the time, they were even recycling yesterday's stories.
It just showed how much global attention was focused on it.
"What did the students do to deserve this?"
With this massive domestic scandal, the broadcasters were in a fierce race for scoops. Reporters were hounding students, digging into their wounds for stories.
Interviewing friends of the dead students.
Classmates, club members.
Even Kyle, who was right there at the scene, was getting swarmed.
Since he'd killed the monster that murdered the students, the media and public were all over him. But one particular newspaper had painted him as trash who deliberately let his friends die.
I was starting to worry the protagonist might end up as the villain instead.
'At least my situation's a bit better.'
The media and public interest in me was even greater than with Kyle.
Of course, reporters were everywhere dying for an interview. But I dodged them by claiming intensive care.
Even calling them scum, no one would aggressively hound a badly injured hero student.
Especially one who'd gotten those wounds protecting other students.
A few gutsy ones tried forcing their way in, but Nam Hwa-yeon and the school nurse blocked them.
"I hope the attention dies down soon..."
In the current climate, there wasn't much professors or the chairman could do.
They were like prisoners on the guillotine.
Any wrong move would just pour oil on the fire.
Best to stay quiet and hope the spotlight on the academy faded.
Ding-dong.
I turned off the TV and sat at my desk.
Two thick notebooks lay open on it.
Filled cover to cover with fountain-pen notes enchanted with various spells.
From simple security magic to strict authentication that only I could open.
This notebook, inaccessible to anyone but me, contained...
[Efnel's Garden is a dungeon based on vast natural scenery, and its hidden piece is located there... The Hell of Flames requires fire resistance. You need to acquire the skill beforehand. There's a weakness with the duke-level demon Agarez. Exploiting that could create an opening for victory...]
It was packed with every opportunity and character trait I could remember.
While talking with Eve, I'd jotted down the knowledge, prioritized it, figured out who to deal with first and what to grab in what order for maximum efficiency.
"...I need to get stronger."
If I did, all this news drama...
The protagonist's struggles and everyone else's suffering would decrease.
And my own chances of dying would drop too.
Based on the memories in the notebook, I mapped out a plan.
The first step: Efnel's Flower Garden, a low-level dungeon no one's cleared yet.
Perfect for me while still recovering from injuries.
But the opportunity there was exactly what I needed right now.
Normally, the protagonist stumbles into it after brawling with villains. But since I'd decided to shoulder all his burdens, I'd claim the opportunity too.
'...You just sit tight and enjoy school life.'
I wouldn't give Kyle any more chances to mess with the scenario.
After finishing the notes, I turned the TV back on to check for any new news or incidents.
Why the hell was my face on screen?
I froze for a second, then remembered.
Oh, right. My identity got leaked.
[The TA Who Saved Students: What's Hiding Behind the Hero Mask?!]
[Shock! TA Revealed as Head of Heavenly Fox Baek Family... Impact on Cheonho Group's Stock?]
[All the Scandals Surrounding Baek Seung-wooAre They True?!]
[Was Killing Him Really Necessary? Human Rights Groups Furious Over CCTV 'Confirmation Kill' Footage...]
* * *
I sat at my desk, surrounded by a pile of books.
The Origin of Foxes and the Moon, Deeds of the Shang Dynasty's Moon Flag, The Nine-Tails Who Devours Livers, and so on.
All about foxes.
"What exactly is this cultivation that makes a fox's tails grow?"
A while back, I'd fought for my life and evolved from One-Tail Fox to Two-Tail Fox.
My mana control sharpened, and I could wield [Double Helix] at will.
Impressive gains for just one extra tail.
Lately, my focus was entirely on the tails.
My two black-furred tails swished behind my back.
Each moved independently, like they had their own minds, swaying in different directions.
It'd been a whole month since I got isekai'd into this world.
Yet these tails still felt alien.
Like they weren't part of my body.
An unknown part of myself.
That curiosity drove me to devour books on fox tails. No solid results yet, though.
"Every hundred years a tail grows, or you have to steal yang energy from men. Why is it all useless crap?"
Nothing practical in any of them.
Surviving a century was basically a myth, and impossible anyway.
Stealing yang from men made no sense. I was a guy, and my blood was already brimming with so much yang it wouldn't affect my life.
Frustrating as hell.
Not knowing my own body.
One thing I did learn for sure about my tails.
During that brutal fight, self-reflecting as my body shifted. A single word in the retinal message.
Gu-byeon-gu-bok. I'd never even heard of it before.
How was I supposed to know a word not in any dictionary?
"Gu-byeon-gu-bok () means nine changes and nine returns."
No matter how much I scoured the internet, that literal meaning was all I got.
Seemed tied to Taoist philosophy.
But as an atheist, I was clueless.
Wonder if the library has Taoism books.
Might be iffy since they're religious texts.
"Oh, right. Gotta look into that too."
Last time talking with No Yu-ra and Seo Ye-rin, a quest reward bumped my agility from D- to D.
Something [Solar Vein Blockage] should've made impossible.
I'd hoped for a way to raise my weak stats without curing it, but nothing in the library books.
Probably unique to the quest.
Disappointing, but I did glean one hint.
'Borrowing power from otherworldly objects might work.'
Thud. I closed the books and leaned back.
Nothing more I could do right now.
Idling like this, my wounds throbbed all over.
Elixir healed the body, but the pain lingered. Sometimes my hands shook like Parkinson's, dropping things.
The sharp pain across my body was as vivid as that day.
But that unfiltered agony kept the memories and lessons crystal clear.
Flesh pierced and burning past cooked. Cartilage and joints snapping made my body feel foreign.
I didn't show the pain.
Not pleasant, but I was used to it.
Enduring was easy.
Didn't mean I wanted it forever, though.
The damn pain ruined my reading focus.
But like a pearl in the mud.
Even in that hellish pain, I salvaged something.
Whoosh. I opened my hand, flames blooming above it.
The vivid red fire split into two strands, forming lines.
A double helix shape.
Spinning endlessly like a drill.
I could now control [Double Helix] freely.
Magic power and efficiency doubled.
A step forward as a mage.
I'd love to master more grimoires, but no time.
"Funeral's in 30 minutes, right? Time to head out."
The funeral for the dead students, TA, and guards.
Couldn't be late to the one in the academy corner.
I dressed in black and opened the door.
A dark, overcast sky greeted me first.
Like the heavens mirrored everyone's mood.
"...Getting all sentimental for no reason."
I shook my head and headed to the funeral site.
Along the way, I passed tons of students, TAs, and bereaved families.
Those I'd helped or their friends felt gratitude.
But they didn't show it.
Because of all the dirty looks aimed at me.
"Hey, you see the news yesterday? That's Baek Seung-woo."
"I've heard the rumors. Enjoys eating baby livers, right?"
"Wasn't it entrails? That's what I thought."
"Who cares? Point is, does he even qualify as a TA?"
Slander and glares directed my way.
Even after saving a few, most looks hadn't changed.
The rumors around me spread mouth to mouth, twisting further, truth irrelevant.
Annoying, but I showed nothing.
Just walked on like I heard nothing. I was used to being ostracized like this.
Not like I only had Eve as a friend for nothing.
Still, couldn't deny it stung a little.
I kept walking to the funeral site, where even more people, slander, and glares awaited.
Their eyes scanned my face and butt.
Especially my back.
Felt like twice as many stares as before.
Obviously. My seductive fox tail had already drawn eyes with just one.
Swish~ swish~
Now with two, the stares doubled.
My tails seemed to thrive on the attention, swaying happily like wind-tossed branches.
Drawing even more eyes each time.
Oblivious to it, I could only hurry my steps.