Chapter 39
Chapter 39
Academy’s Gumiho is a Magic Genius – Chapter 39
Youre going to teach me magic right away?
Yeah, remember last time when I said Id take you as my disciple? Why are you so surprised?
No, its just... Professor, you seem like such a strict person. I didnt expect you to teach me magic just like that.
Id figured shed have me run some errands first before teaching me any magic.
Given how she always piled on a little more work every time I handled her tasks, it seemed obvious shed do the same.
I never imagined shed teach me so straightforwardly.
It felt strangely awkward.
Should I give you a few errands first, then teach you?
Come on, Professor. You dont mean that. Ive always done everything youve asked perfectly.
Hm, Ill let it slide this time. But if you say something like that again, I wont go easy.
Her response sent a chill down my spine for some reason.
Paired with her vacant, unfocused eyes, it made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up without warning. I vowed never to poke at her nerves again.
One wrong move, and I might end up in real trouble.
Oh, before we start the lesson, theres something I need to tell you. Take a look at this.
While I turned my head and let out a sigh of relief, Nam Hwa-yeon walked over to the living room and handed me a sheet of paper.
It was covered in dense textclearly some kind of document.
Lets see here.
Field instruction training? A new curriculum?
More precisely, its just for first-years.
I get the picture.
A single thin sheet of paper.
But the content written on it was anything but thin.
Was there something like this in the original story?
Ah, I really shouldve read it through at least once.
I pored over every word on the document without missing a thing.
Then a sudden question popped into my head.
Professor, I understand that after-school hours will have designated instructors teaching students. But what about after-school clubs? The timings wont match up.
Club activities are on hold for now. Theyre planning to focus on practical training for the first semester.
The board of directors must be grinding their teeth over this.
Focusing on practical training was a declaration of sorts.
Chilseong Academy was an educational institution.
Though it carried the nature of an officer academy training players, its core was purely the pursuit of knowledge.
Facilities like the forbidden library werent there for nothing.
But the boards decision this time flipped the academys direction on its head.
To hone wisdom and combat skills during time meant for acquiring knowledge.
But why is she showing this to me?
The question hit me while reading the document.
The instruction training outlined here was to be handled by professors.
So why couldnt Nam Hwa-yeon just know about it herself?
Was she planning to dump it on me in exchange for teaching me magic?
Professor, youre not... No, right?
What?
Youre not saying youll teach me magic in return for shoving this onto me, are you?
Of course not. Im a professor, so I have to do it whether I like it or not.
Phew, what a relief.
At least she wasnt trying to saddle me with it
But I put your name down with mine.
Pardon?
Youre doing it with me. Were short on people.
This was a total mess.
Dumping a role on me without even asking for my consent.
Well, being an instruction instructor wasnt a bad position for interfering in future episodes.
At least for the first semester, itd put me right next to the students.
You wouldnt refuse the higher-ups educational policy as an educator, would you?
Im not a professorIm just a lowly TA.
No choice, is there? There arent nearly enough professors to teach the whole school.
What exactly do you see in me to entrust me with teaching?
6,000 students total.
With 2,000 per year, there werent enough professors to go around. Veteran TAs were joining in, sure.
But I wasnt a veteran.
I was a newbie whod only been here a month.
The board had no reason to designate me specifically as an instructor.
They found a trace at the site of the recent attack.
Her words made my body stiffen.
Not out of tension.
Something inexplicable gripped my ankle.
It forced me to listen to Nam Hwa-yeon without fail.
Seemingly satisfied that I was finally tuned in, she continued.
Scars.
Traces of battle werent left only on people.
They were deeply etched into the surrounding environment and terrain.
A true master could glimpse the combatants skill levels from those marks.
And Nam Hwa-yeon had both the skill and the eyes for it.
You dont need to hide your abilities so much, do you?
Im curious why someone of your caliber is hiding their strength and exiled to a place like this. But right now, bulking up the instructor roster is more important.
If youd heard the rumors about me, you wouldnt say that.
Rumors dont matter.
Nam Hwa-yeons hand shot out and grabbed my face.
Her right hand tilted my head down to meet her eyes.
Those eerie pupils, vast and serene as the sea, utterly devoid of life.
This curriculum is for the students. Incidents like the recent attack can happen anytime.
Wouldnt it be more reliable if you professors seriously guarded them instead of this training?
No, one must protect their own life with their own strength.
Chilseong was an educational institution, not a shelter or daycare.
Professors couldnt guard them forever.
So students needed to cultivate the power to defend themselves.
So, bear with it a little.
Well, if I have to, I have to
I wonder if Im piling too much on someone already swamped with work.
She probably knew that much.
I held far too many positions and titles unfitting for my station.
Academy newbie TA. Heavenly Fox Baek Family head. Heavenly Fox Group chairman. Hero who saved students from the attack. Trash wrapped in scandals. And now [Nine-Tail] team leader. Plus etceteras.
Roles none of which I could handle alone under normal circumstances.
But I had to manage them all.
Even if some were mere facades, I had to succeed for me and everyone else to survive.
Adding teacher to the list?
Not that hard.
I wasnt underestimating the job of a teacher.
I just had so many must-dos that this one seemed relatively easy.
Id probably have to cut into my already tight sleep schedule even more.
No slacking off in the future.
Still, I could endure this much.
If it meant Id survive.
If this world could end in a happy ending.
* * *
I unpacked the bundle in the living room.
All magic tomes Id read before.
Fortunately, Id borrowed them all from the library.
More than I expected. How many did you read per day on average?
Varies daily, but usually three to four.
You must be the type who reads fast.
Its not thatI just dont have enough time to read, so I have to speed through.
Speed reading isnt the best method.
It lets you cover more books quickly, but you cant savor the details. Thanks to my Magic Saint talent, I could read fast without missing a thing.
Still less efficient than deep reading.
Deep reading brings insights during the process. But I had to give that up and rush.
Magic tomes dont end with reading.
Comes enlightenment and organizing knowledge after.
Thats the crucial partand time-consuming.
Unlike secluded scholars who read all day, I handled TA duties daily and trained magic and skills in the practice room.
I worried about upcoming scenarios and suffered nightly pains lately.
My packed schedule came with insomnia as a bonus.
Ah, insomnia cuts sleep time, so... is it a good thing?
Either way, reading and mastering three to four magic tomes daily amid that grind was brag-worthy.
No sane person could pull it off.
How many hours have you slept recently?
Recently?
Let me rephrase. When was the last time you slept?
Nam Hwa-yeons sudden question.
She stared piercingly at my eyes.
I pondered her query.
When did I last sleep?
Yesterday, of course... the day before.
Huh.
This week... Im not sure?
Good grief. I wont nag you to sleep deeply, but take care of your body.
Yes, I know.
With a sigh, Nam Hwa-yeon reached into the bundle of tomes.
She skimmed the covers and contents lightly.
Curses and hexes, just the basics. Makes sensetheyre ancient fields.
She flipped through a few pages and set it aside.
No need to read more, apparently.
From that, she gauged exactly what and how far Id mastered.
Oh my, you even touched healing magic. Just one book, though.
A green-bound hardcover.
The one Id fought Seo Ye-rin over last time.
Basic stuff, she said, opening the next. Another genre.
She held it and smiled faintly.
Telekinesis is easy to get into anywayno tough books. And oh, you tried incantations too.
Incantations: magic that causes change through words.
Once popular across the continent alongside circle magic.
But it declined with modern advancements.
And the culprit stood before me now.
What? Something to say?
No. Nothing at all.
Nam Hwa-yeon earned her Demon King moniker through feats like that.
Most modern magic systems were her creations.
Simple, efficient.
Enough to bury circle and incantation magic overnight decades ago. Her achievements were monumental.
Perhaps on par with high-ranker Baek Seok-ho.
Though she was a scholar, and he a martial artist dubbed , so combat-wise, hed edge her out.
Why did she smile seeing the magic shed obsoleted?
I dont want to know.
I shook my head to clear stray thoughts.
No more dwelling.
In the mental void left behind, curiosity bubbled up.
Professor, mind if I ask something?
What?
Is there a way to get stronger faster with magic?
Shortcuts? Or the proper path?
Doesnt matter. As long as I get stronger.
Nam Hwa-yeon pondered my answer.
Why the rush?
She looked chased by something.
Not impatience for transcendence. Then just a thirst for power.
The battle scars shed glimpsed around the academy showed masterful combat skill.
Spear arts, unmistakably.
Even among Chilseong professors, few could wield a spear that well.
Alright. What magic or combat style do you mainly use?
Well, thats why I took this kid as my disciple.
Heavenly Fox Baek Family head. Innate magic talent. Hidden prowess.
All far from ordinary.
I didnt know what drove his haste.
But a good teacher offers solutions.
Nam Hwa-yeon cracked her neck and spoke.
Mostly fire magic. Sometimes mixed with telekinesis or curses.
Practicality takes a backseat to combat focus. Pure firepower specialization.
Yes, thats what interests me.
For fire magic, burn your memories or a body part as fuel
Yeah, you didnt ask for that nonsense.
When I shot her a cold look at the idea of fueling flames with my body or mind, she changed tack.
No matter the power, I wasnt sacrificing myself.
Not when this was all for that purpose.
Then show me your flames.
Just the flames?
You said youre into combat, right? Maximum power you can muster.
I thought it over at her demand.
My max-power flames.
Only one combo came to mind.
[Pyrokinesis]
Fox Fire
Whooshflames rose, infused with telekinetic force and mass.
Curses tangled atop it, twisting the blaze purple.
Nam Hwa-yeon stared at the eerie sparks replacing scorching heat.
Looks to me like youre ready to try an activation word.
Activation word?
Yeah. Lets make one for you.
Activation word ().
A derivative of incantationsless efficient, but boosts magic power and deployment immensely.
Simple example: cars have unique keys.
Designed for each one.
Find the car, start the engineimpossible with the wrong key.
Like that, an activation word is a mages perfect key for their magic.
Shorter is better. Mages I know use intuitive ones like Rise or Bloom.
You, Professor?
Me? Dont need em.
Demon King indeed.
To her, whod mastered magic, it was just one tool among many.
But not for me.
No time to master every spell.
I didnt know activation words, but if they sped up growth, Id learn. I listened closely.
The theory was simple.
Find the optimal word to unleash my flames.
Words hold power; activation words harness it fully.
Changes firepower, direction, range based on the word.
Burn. Or spread?
Fire magic? Incinerate, combust, or simply ignite.
Unlike the theory, practice was messy.
Not just picking the wordrework the entire magic and skill process from scratch for it.
Id expected difficulty from the Demon Kings teachings.
But it was way harder than anticipated.
Not a one-day job.
Id need dedicated time, steady research and training ahead.