Chapter 44
Chapter 44
Academy’s Gumiho is a Magic Genius – Chapter 44
Chilseong's Seven Wonders.
Like ghost stories from other schools, these were tales passed down by word of mouth from seniors.
Things like the sound of a woman crying every night from the most remote bathroom on campus. Or monsters living deep in caves.
They were made up of the kind of rumors you could hear anywhere on the street.
But one mustn't forget.
This was Chilseong Academy.
An insane institution that had gorges, valleys, and deserts on its grounds under the pretext of education. And it even bought up uninhabited islands to remodel them for midterms.
Could there really not be a single monster lurking in the vast academy buildings?
Maybe they hadn't killed them all during the last raid.
Such suspicions and doubts came together to form Chilseong's Seven Wonders.
Naturally, like most kids their age, Lee Ji and the group were brimming with curiosity. The most excited among them was Seong Yeon-hwa, who had a sword at her waist.
"Is it really haunted? I'm so excited!"
Seong Yeon-hwa's speech was awkward.
The meaning came across, but there were still many shortcomings.
Lee Ji scratched his head and said,
"Who knows. Probably not. Where do ghosts even exist in this world?"
"But! There are tons of magical beasts we don't know about!"
"Those are magical beasts. Not ghosts."
The world was full of all sorts of magical beasts.
And there were many that people didn't know about yet.
To classify such beasts, there were various categories, including ones called "ghost-type magical beasts."
Prime examples were Wraiths and Specters.
A Wraith was a spirit, the translucent humanoid form people typically imagined. A Specter was a shadow, exuding a chilling vibe like something from a horror movie.
Both had features people commonly associated with ghosts.
It was clearly a mix-up between those ghost-type beasts and actual ghosts.
That's what Lee Ji thought.
'More than that, there's someone scarier than any ghost here. Ghosts seem tame by comparison.'
Lee Ji glanced sideways.
Isabel, still in a bad mood, radiating discomfort.
The teacher had left for work long ago, but her emotions showed no sign of easing.
No helping it. Time to change the mood here.
Feeling the current atmosphere was stifling, Lee Ji stood up. The scraping sound of the chair drew everyone's eyes to him.
"Going to the bathroom? It's to the right outside the library."
"No, not for the bathroom. I was thinking we haven't done proper introductions among ourselves."
"Huh? The TA left already, and now you want introductions out of the blue?"
No Yu-ra voiced her doubt at Lee Ji's words.
They already knew each other's names. Was there really a need for more?
Lee Ji shook his head at No Yu-ra's question.
"We know names, but not what each other likes. We're doing guts training in two days, but wouldn't it be good to do simple self-intros beforehand?"
"Not a bad idea. I'm No Yu-ra, position's ranger. Main weapons are guns, especially sniper rifles."
With No Yu-ra breaking the ice, everyone started introducing themselves in turn.
"Hi, I'm Lee Ji. Surname Lee, first name 'Ji'single syllable. I mainly use axes, hobby's gathering valuable stuff like magistones or plants in dungeons."
"...I'm Seo Ye-rin. Specialty is... spear arts and such."
"Ah, I'm Seong Yeon-hwa! I'm super good at swinging swords."
"Isis Walker. New to magic, but confident in ice and freezing spells."
At this point, even Isabel, whose mood had been sour, reluctantly spoke up.
Her bad mood was entirely because of Baek Seung-woo, not them.
"Nice to meet you all. I'm Isabel Sirius. Main specialty's light magic and using my brain."
"Alright, intros done. How about we ask each other questions we're curious about?"
"Curious things?"
"Ah, you don't get it. Like, anything you want to know about each other?"
"Yes! Lots... um, lots I want to know about each other."
Lee Ji scratched his head at Seong Yeon-hwa's words.
He knew she was foreign from her clumsy Korean, but she spoke so slowly.
Her speech was laid-back, and using unfamiliar words made it even slower. For a Korean who valued speed, it was unbearable.
Still, the conversation had to continue.
Lee Ji directed his first question to Seong Yeon-hwa.
"I'll start. You said your name's Seong Yeon-hwa, right? So 'Seong' is your family name?"
"Ah, Seong is the clan name!"
"Clan name?"
"Yes!"
Something grand had popped up.
Seong Yeon-hwa's family seemed far from ordinary.
Why were there so many nobles in this party?
The teacher alone was the Family Head of Heavenly Fox Baek Family, the top power in Korea.
The Sirius Family needed no introduction, as famous as Heavenly Fox Baek.
In a democratic era, who cared about nobles?
But they were on a different level from ordinary citizens.
For example, Heavenly Fox Baek was a living history that had grown with the country since the Goryeo era.
Their wealth, power, and fame were inevitable.
Of course, they were a fading star now.
"So, what exactly is your clan? There are different kinds of clans."
"Kinds? Is there such a thing?"
"Of course. Not all clans are nobles."
Those called "nobles" were only the Royal Blood inheriting blood from vampires or werewolves, or the Nine Heavenly Clans.
Other clans didn't qualify as nobles.
Humans no longer needed nobility.
"It's Jecheon Star Family!"
"...What?"
"Where's that? You know it?"
"...That's what I want to say. How could you not know Jecheon Star Family?"
Isabel reacted first to Seong Yeon-hwa's answer.
She'd shown little interest in their talk until "Jecheon Star Family" made her jump up.
Lee Ji tilted his head at her reaction.
Jecheon Star Familya name he'd never heard.
It rang a vague bell, but nothing clear.
Isabel, on the other hand, clearly knew it.
As expected of a noble, she knew more.
"It's a family in China."
"China has tons of families, right? I've heard of way more than 72."
"They're on a different level from those riffraff. Heard of the Nine Great Sects or Five Great Clans?"
Of course.
The founding families of Central Plains martial world.
Many had fallen, but some like Nangong thrived even nowdeep-rooted clans.
"Nine Great Sects and Five Great Clans fell long ago. In their place, the Nine Heavenly Clans spread worldwide. But Central Plains didn't sit idle."
[Murim Alliance], now a guild form, but rooted in a union of blood clans and a massive armed force.
"The martial world collapsed once. But it was reborn as the guild-form [Murim Alliance]. At its center, one lead family and eight pillars hold it up."
One of those pillars was Jecheon Star Family.
Only then did Lee Ji recall her origins.
Why didn't I think of that right away?
It was no small clan.
'I figured she was from somewhere big...!'
A Chinese family, not one of the Nine Heavenly Clans.
But no pushover either.
One of the eight families propping up China's largest guild, [Murim Alliance].
If she was the daughter famous for lightning-quick swords and overpowering strikes, her status matched Isabel's.
No, probably higher.
As far as Lee Ji knew, the current Jecheon Star Family Head had only one child.
So Seong Yeon-hwa was the legitimate heir.
One step ahead of Isabel, who had to compete with a younger brother.
'Why are there so many noble ladies in our group?!'
Isabel of Sirius, Seong Yeon-hwa of Jecheon Star.
Both backed by formidable powers.
To Lee Ji, raised in an ordinary home, they were stars in the sky.
Baek Seung-woo was extreme too, but at least the teacher image made it easier. Ah, I miss teacher.
"Question time over? Can I ask now?"
"Ah, yeah. So you're..."
"Isis Walker. Just call me Isis."
The girl with long, flowing white hair.
Isis looked at Lee Ji.
"You've been calling that TA 'teacher' since earlier. Any reason?"
"Ah, that?"
Her question lit up Lee Ji's eyes.
He wanted to spill the whole story: how he'd nearly called his gracious mentor "master," but was forbidden, so settled for "teacher."
But that might sour the mood, so he summarized.
"Got a chance to learn from him once, and he taught amazingly well."
"Hm, music to my ears."
"Ha, what nonsense."
Isabel cut in on Lee Ji's words.
She'd been polite just before, but turned prickly at mention of the teacher.
Hey, even if his personality's iffy, his teaching skills are top-notch.
...He wanted to retort, but was too scared, so just nodded vaguely.
Right then, one gaze quietly observed the scene.
"......"
That gaze slowly scanned Isabel.
Up and down, very deliberately.
* * *
The day of the ghost story expedition arrived.
We were to meet after dinner, so each of us tried finishing homework, assignments, or work beforehand.
In my case, even after work ended, I swallowed my pride and begged Nam Hwa-yeon for lessons.
I knelt at her doorstep.
Studying alone was fine, but learning from her was the fastest shortcutno denying it.
"For now, the incantation 'Ignite' suits you best."
"You picked it up faster than expected. At that level, you could take the rank test right away."
"...Just how much of my personal life do you know, Professor?"
"Secret."
Nam Hwa-yeon's lessons were quick, but mentally draining.
Talking to her somehow sapped my energy.
'How'd she know I need to take the rank test?'
Active players needed association-certified licenses and ranks.
Like an industry ID.
As [Nine-Tail Guild]'s team leader, I couldn't operate without one.
I'd already scheduled it soon.
How'd she know already?
I gave her a puzzled look, and she responded with an inscrutable smile.
Locking eyes with her deep navy-blue, unfocused gaze felt like she was stripping me bare.
Ugh, I never get used to those eyes.
"Oh, right. You're doing guts training the day after tomorrow."
"How'd you know that?"
"Who knows. Secret?"
How many secrets does she have?
I was dying to ask, but better keep quiet.
Battlefield-honed instincts screamed.
Don't ask. Don't pry.
The chill at my throat as I opened my mouth was pure death sense.
I value my life.
No intent to shorten it with careless words.
"Yes, that's the plan. Our group members don't get along well."
"If it's just to bond, a simple recreation would've been better."
"Guts training lets us bond and roughly gauge each other's movements."
I wouldn't choose something annoying like guts training just to bond.
Our destination was the epicenter of academy-famous wonders.
Training guts there would instill fear in everyone.
In tense fear, people react to others' moves. That experience would prevent interfering paths in real training.
'Of course, some might not scare easy, so I'll hype it up.'
Floating Fox Fire in the air.
Or telekinetically grabbing collars.
Good ideas, but Nam Hwa-yeon was smiling.
Like she'd seen something cute, she said,
"You're thinking too lightly of it."
"Pardon? What do you mean?"
"Do you think wonders are called wonders for nothing?"
"Then? Is there something hidden?"
"A wonder is a concept beyond human comprehension."
I knew the etymology well.
Ten thousand times nayuta, one ten-thousandth of countless eons. A Buddhist term for units beyond thought or understanding.
But so what?
Just hype for rumors, right?
"Even so, aren't they just fleshed-out ghost stories?"
"Different from SNS fiction. Have you forgotten what this place is?"
"Even Chilseong couldn't have real ghost stories...!"
Could it?
Did Chilseong really not have real ones?
Doubt suddenly sprouted.
That instant of doubt proved their existence.
Without knowing the truth, suspicion overflowed.
For some reason, I felt uneasy.