Chapter 31
Chapter 31
Academy’s Gumiho is a Magic Genius – Chapter 31
Gu Poison ().
It was the name for a certain kind of poison.
Gu poison was made by trapping venomous creatures like snakes, centipedes, toads, hornets, and softshell turtles in a large jar. The jar contained no food, no water, no light.
Just an enormous vessel filled with pitch-black darkness.
The imprisoned creatures devoured each other to survive. The strong preyed on the weak, only for the strong to perish pathetically from the weak's venom.
This brutal survival of the fittest continued until only one remained.
That final survivor was called a gu.
And the cursed poison extracted by killing that last guafter utterly crushing any hope of lifewas named gu poison.
'Gotta raise this gu quick.'
The way to clear Epnel's Flower Garden was to exploit gu poison.
Or more precisely, not using gu poison itself, but applying its principle to this ecosystem.
"Teacher, isn't it too dark in here? If only we could light a fire or something."
"No way. Creatures that live in caves freak out at the sight of light."
The deeper they ventured into the dark cave, the dimmer the light grew.
The darkness enveloped them faster than their eyes could adjust. Lee Ji had to grope along the damp walls just to move.
"You're fit as a fiddledon't get scared for no reason and hurry up."
"No way! Common sense says how am I supposed to hurry in this pitch black?!"
"Quit yapping and stick behind me."
Darkness stirred humanity's primal fears.
Just like as a kid, lying alone in bed, terrified of what might lurk underneath.
And the older you got, the more experiences taught you how dangerous the dark truly was. You could trip over unseen obstacles on the ground or get stabbed by a blade coming out of nowhere.
For all those reasons and more, humans came to fear the dark.
But every now and then, there were creatures that thrived only in such darkness.
To catch them, you had to adapt to their world.
"T-Teacher, how much farther do we have to go?"
"Almost there."
"You've been saying that forever! Just how deep do we have to go?!"
I ignored Lee Ji and scanned the surroundings.
Thick darkness shrouded my vision, but my amethyst-glowing magic eyes illuminated the cave. A monochrome world revealed itself, blue mana flows visible to the naked eye.
I focused every nerve on my sight, sweeping over every inch above and below.
A world of pure light and shadow, devoid of color.
Which made the blue stand out all the more.
Rocks littered throughout the cave.
Faint mana pooled within them.
Traces of living creatures. So tiny I nearly missed them.
"Found it."
"For real? Let me see."
"Too darkyou won't see a thing."
"Oh, right."
I reached out and rummaged through the rock crevices.
Packed full of big and small stoneshard to imagine anything living inside.
Squelch. A sensation like gripping raw meat jelly.
An unnatural feel for something wedged in rocks, tingling at my fingertips.
I lifted it with my fingers, and it let out a mighty screech.
This little guy was the gu.
Squeeeeeeeeeek!
A horrific wail like nails on a chalkboard.
The sound echoed massively in the cave, amplifying the effect.
"Aaaah! What the hell is making that noise?!"
"...This might be a bit much."
Lee Ji clamped her hands over her ears.
I was holding the thing, so I shaped mana into earplugs.
Even then, its cry pierced through vividly.
Squeeeeeeeeeeek!!!
Louder than before.
Like it was protesting to be put down quickbut no can do.
"Do something about it already! I'll go deaf at this rate!"
"Run for the entrance. That's our only option."
"Wait, so I have to listen to this the whole way?!"
"Quit talking and sprint. You could've taken ten steps by now."
Lee Ji and I bolted at full speed.
The cave was dark, but retracing our steps meant no getting lost.
Still, we'd gone so deep it took time to climb back up.
In the meantime, as the screeching gu wailed on, I pondered.
What to feed it first.
'Start with some grass?'
My gaze shifted to the ceiling and floor.
Shadows sprawling across the dark cave caught my eye.
My violet magic eyes pierced right through them.
Three adult men, huh.
Yeah, ease it in with herbivores first.
Too soon to awaken its taste for blood and flesh.
* * *
Squeeeeeeeeeek!
The gu shrieked as we emerged from the pitch-black cave.
The blinding sunlight must've been agony.
I set it down in the shade and said,
"Hey, you. Get some sunlight in your life. You're not a vampirewhy dodge it like that?"
"Kinda like a mole, right?"
"Does that look like a mole to you?"
"Nah, couldn't be."
Settled in the shaded grass, the gu took interest in the blades beneath it.
It dove right in, inhaling the grass like a vacuum.
In seconds, it ballooned from palm-sized to small-dog territory.
A grotesque trait no normal creature could match.
It resembled a centipede in form.
Pure magical beast behavior.
'And she thinks it looks like a mole.'
If she seriously compared them, I'd have to drag her to an eye doctor.
Meanwhile, having devoured all the nearby grass, the gu switched to flowers. Guess it developed a taste for plants after the grass.
All poison weeds around here, though.
The gu gobbled flowers indiscriminately.
Thorned poison blooms, pricey moon dew flowers, flame petalsall down the hatch.
"Hey! Do you have any idea how expensive that is?!"
"Don't talk nonsense to the goldmine. Just sit tight."
"Teacher! We could've gotten 20 million won cash just selling that one!"
"Think of it as an investment. It'll pay back manifold soon enough."
A little patience, and 20 million would seem like chump change.
Right on cue, the guwhich had been scarfing grass and flowers wildlyfroze.
It groaned in agony, something hurting inside.
The flame petal's fire venom synergizing with the moon dew flower.
Any normal creature would've suffered massive organ damage from eating both. Liver and innards pickled in poison.
Without resistance, it'd kill in moments.
Varicose veins bulged livid across the gu's skin.
Poison necrosis setting in.
"That thing's gonna die any second..."
"Just watch."
Lee Ji panicked at the dying gu.
No pity for a magic beast poisoning itself to death. But what was the point of the cave dive then?
That's what she was thinking.
But not for long.
The seemingly dead gu sprang right back up.
Crunch crunch, it wolfed down the remaining flowers.
As if forgetting its prior collapse, it devoured every plant in sight. Before long, it matched human size.
"...It's still growing?"
"Not even half yet."
Now the gu wasn't limiting itself to plants.
It swallowed small magic beasts in view.
It glanced at me and Lee Ji during the process.
What're you looking at.
Fwoosh, flames ignited in my right hand, and it tucked tail, head swiveling elsewhere. Toward the forest depths.
Home to high-hierarchy beasts with intelligence.
The human-sized gu lumbered off.
Its fleshy form, stained green from devoured plants.
Perfect camouflage matching the surroundings.
Even the local orcs didn't spot it.
"Gruk, more humans in the garden."
"Avoid. Mess up, and we die!"
"Die!"
The orcs conversed in their crude tongue.
Spotting players with baskets gathering flowers and herbs below, they spread the word.
Primitive language, but sufficient for passing knowledge and dividing tasks.
The orcs scattered in different directions, alerting comrades of the human dungeon breach.
Oblivious to the greater threat approaching.
Rumble...
The ground trembled faintly.
Too subtle for most orcs to notice.
That the camouflaged magic beast was closing in from behind.
Boom boom boom.
The earth quaked, surface flipping up.
Epicenter: smack in the orc camp's center.
Kaboom!
The ground heaved with a vibrating centipede-thing.
Or whatever it wasimpossible to tell as it gaped wide and swallowed two orcs whole.
Five meters long, at least.
As it engulfed its kin with its massive bulk, the magic beasts gawked up in shock. Me and Lee Ji, hidden amid nearby trees, stared too.
It'd been adult-male-sized just moments ago.
But before heading to the orc village, it'd vacuumed every small beast, insect, and plant in sight.
Now this monstrous size.
And still growing.
"M-Monster!"
"Run! We'll hold it!"
The orcs armed themselves with weapons carved from beast bones or stone.
Lacking sharpness, but paired with their brute muscle, they rivaled blunt weapons in power.
They charged the gu.
Couldn't let something invade their village and eat their own live. But their attacks bounced off.
Rib-bone weapons snapped uselessly; stone blades couldn't scratch that mountain of flesh.
One orc's hurled torch got a reaction, but
Boom boom boom!
That only riled it up, the colossal body thrashing like a living weapon.
Orcs scattered like autumn leaves.
Guts ruptured, bones shattereddead.
Not content with corpses, the gu inhaled surrounding trees and soil too.
Its bulk now neared ten meters.
Damn, it's getting huge.
"Teacher, are we really just gonna let it rampage like that...?"
"Why not."
"Why not?! If it keeps eating and bulking up, it might turn into a high-rank beast!"
"That's what I'm waiting for."
"What?"
Lee Ji shot me an incredulous look.
"I told you. We're here to clear this dungeon."
This was how you cleared it from the start.
As if to prove my words, messages popped up.
[Hidden boss monster 'Gu' has devoured 50% of the dungeon.]
[High progress rate grants information on 'Gu Poison ()'.]
[Acquired method to clear dungeon 'Epnel's Flower Garden'!]
[Sub Quest: Gu Hunt]
[Description: The gu () is the final survivor of this ecosystem. As long as it lives, the 'Flower Garden' regenerates endlessly. To kill it, however, you must lure it into devastating the ecosystem itself.]
You've realized this truth. If you desire the garden's end, guide the gu to consume the entire ecosystem, then hunt it.
[Success: 1. Skill 'Ten Poisons Immunity ()', 2. Knowledge of Gu Poison, +3 Points]
See? Right on the money.
I pointed triumphantly at empty air.
But Lee Ji's reaction wasn't what I expected.
"...What are you doing?"
She looked at me like she saw nothing.
I almost asked if she couldn't see the message, then it hit me.
I was the one who'd made the gu devour the dungeon solo.
No wonder she couldn't see it.
I'd been doing all the work alone.