Chapter 45
Chapter 45
Academy’s Gumiho is a Magic Genius – Chapter 45
The group members, including Ji, often ran into each other because of overlapping classes.
However, with that subtle distance where they knew each other's faces but weren't close, they were always torn about whether to say hi or not.
So before heading to courage training, they gathered just among themselves for a meetup.
"Okay, yours was the iced Americano, mine's the vanilla latte, and that one's the caramel macchiato..."
Ji came back with both hands full of coffee.
He'd ordered ahead at the spot they'd agreed to meet and waited.
But why were two of them missing?
He'd even asked what they wanted to drink.
"Huh? Ye-rin and Yeon-hwa haven't shown up?"
"You haven't checked the chat? They said their schedules don't line up, so they can't make it."
"...Oh, right."
[Seo Ye-rinOutdoor lecture, can't make it in time... Talk without me. 4:11 PM]
[Seong Yeon-hwaSorry, but my schedule doesn't work today either! Can't come! 4:15 PM]
Just because they were in the same year didn't mean everyone took the same classes.
Classes were arranged a bit differently depending on the section.
If he'd known this would happen, they should've messaged ahead.
What a waste of money.
At least Seo Ye-rin had asked for the relatively cheap hot chocolate, but Seong Yeon-hwa wanted something called an iced strawberry banana double-shot smoothiesome ridiculously long-named expensive thing.
Why was the name so damn long?
"This is such a waste. Wonder if I can get a refund."
"Refund? You not gonna drink it?"
"Obviously. The vanilla latte's plenty for me."
"Then gimme."
As Isis reached out, Ji hesitated for a second before handing over the one with the long name. It didn't seem refundable anyway, but if someone else would drink it, that was fine.
"You already got a caramel macchiato, isn't that too much?"
"This much is nothing. Not sure about the calories, but the sugar's plenty."
"Plenty? More like lethally excessive, right?"
He said that, but the drink was already in her hands.
Ji gave up thinking as he watched her suck on the straw like her life depended on it, afraid someone might snatch it away.
Fine, get diabetes or whatever, your funeral.
Turning away from Isis, who was holding two sugary drinks, Ji looked straight ahead at No Yu-ra and Isabelle, each sipping their drinks.
They looked like they belonged in a photoshoot just drinking coffee.
That's when he noticed something off in the air between them.
Like that time with the teacher and Isabelle.
"So, what is it you wanna say to me?"
"Oh my, you'd think I'd dragged you here on purpose. We're just friends hanging out."
No Yu-ra sidled up sweetly to Isabelle's stiff words.
But somehow, that sweetness felt ominous.
"Friends? After picking a fight with me in chat yesterday?"
"Pick a fight? You won't find a single word like that anywhere in the group chat."
"Not the group chat, our private one. Telling me to stay away from that guy. Why do you get to decide that?"
"Ah, you're talking about the TA."
Ji felt a chill from their conversation.
No blades anywhere, but their smiles felt like sharpened steel.
Ugh, no way I'm jumping into that.
"Yeah, why do you keep shoving me with that guy?"
"...That guy?"
No Yu-ra suddenly glared coldly at Isabelle.
She quickly covered her mouth with her sleeve and chuckled.
"Oh dear, you've been calling the TA 'that guy' this whole time. Does Sirius not teach his kid any manners?"
"What did you say?"
"Just a thought. Still hung up on the TA? Is that why you're so prickly? Hoping he'll look your way?"
"C-crazy?! Why would I still be hung up on that guy...!"
The atmosphere overheated.
Startled, Ji opened his mouth to calm them down.
"H-hey, let's cool it a bit. You're bothering other people..."
"Stay out of it."
"I'm talking to her right now."
"...Sorry."
Ji shut his mouth without getting a full word out.
One person he missed popped into his head.
'I miss Teacher...'
Caught between the two girls' staredown, Ji blankly stared at the sky.
No blue sky or twinkling stars in the cafe, just the ceiling.
At first, being surrounded by girls was great, but now he hated it.
Meanwhile, there was one more person silently watching the whole thing.
"Oh..."
Om nom nomIsis, slurping her iced strawberry banana double-shot smoothie, let out an absentminded gasp.
"This is good."
The group tension wasn't her concern.
She was lost in the complex, tangy mix of fresh strawberry, smooth banana, and a bitter edge, sucking hard on the straw.
A tough spot for Ji, though.
He just wanted Baek Seung-woo to show up already.
With the teacher here, things wouldn't have gotten this bad.
Wonder what he's up to right now.
The thought crossed his mind.
* * *
The night he'd resolved to secretly uncover the truth behind the ghost story.
No time to read the magic tome tonight, so he was carving up his shift into minute-by-minute blocks.
Let's see.
'Finish the report in 12 minutes, read pages 87-102 in the remaining 8, print the report, then take it to the professor's lab...'
He reviewed his rough schedule and hammered the keyboard.
Skimming files, he compiled the organized data neatly.
By the time his fingers ached, the report was done.
He transferred the finished report to a USB and started printing.
Whirrthe printer spat out the report onto A4 paper with a loud mechanical whine.
With more than a couple pages to print, he pulled out his phone to read the magic tome he'd photographed in advance.
No room in the faculty office to lug around bulky books.
"How did my life end up like this..."
He sighed in lament.
Even as he did, his eyes scanned the gallery-stored magic tome.
Lament all he wanted, but no wasting reading time.
Maybe it was that razor-sharp time management mindset no normal person could have.
Before he knew it, he looked like an exhausted grad student.
Nam Hwa-yeon had praised even that for its decadent charm.
If she was into his current state, she had to be a sexual deviant with some fetish.
'At this rate, won't the kids think I'm a ghost when they see me?'
The thought hit him mid-read, so he switched to the camera app to check himself out.
Pale white skin, ruby-red eyes, black hair.
Plus, on the verge of emaciationit had a weird aesthetic, but could easily be mistaken for a ghost.
No helping it.
Grab a meal before meeting the students, nap for 30 minutes, then see them.
Planning his extra schedule, he rapidly scanned the tome to finish on time.
Beep beep!
Right as he hit the target page, printing finished.
Now just deliver this to the professor.
He pocketed his phone and grabbed the stack of papers.
"This is heavier than I thought...!"
Maybe because it was hundreds of pages.
The stack was way heavier than expected.
His legs were tinglinghe might actually trip
Thud!
"...Huh?"
Did I just fall?
Why couldn't I keep my balance?
No matter how tired or heavy, he wasn't that weak.
"A-are you okay...?!"
"Haha, I'm fine. Just a clumsy slip."
"But you fell pretty hard..."
Tripping big in the faculty office, some TAs couldn't hold back snickers at his state.
The rest wanted to laugh but desperately held it in, not wanting to catch his eye.
Only the woman in front of him looked worried.
Ah, the colleague from before.
He remembered her.
The one who'd asked for help with work a few days ago.
Hadn't crossed paths since she got chewed out by the senior.
Figured we'd meet like this.
As he started to thank her sincere concern
Urk!
Something foreign in his throat.
He dry-heaved involuntarily, but couldn't puke here.
At least make it to the bathroom...!
"Urgh! Ugh!"
He bolted desperately for the bathroom.
But his legs gave out, making his run sloppy.
He collapsed on the floor and retched up whatever was stuck in his throat.
What the hell? I skipped breakfast for sure.
Hadn't had a proper meal in days with all the work and training.
Yet something came up from his throat and stomach.
Tears streaming, breathing ragged, choking
That's when he spotted something weird.
"U-urgh... W-what is this."
No food scraps on the floor.
Just stinging stomach acid and dark red blood like charred coal.
He panted heavily, then steadied himself as oxygen deprivation hit.
"..."
More blood than he'd thought.
Regular hemoptysis?
No, too murky for that.
No organ bits or fragments, so not internal damage.
Then why spit up blood this black and red?
Questions twisted in his mind.
'Dark red like half-burnt charcoal...'
Swipehe brushed the blood on the floor with his hand.
A burning sensation hit his palm.
In that instant, he understood.
"...A ticking time bomb, huh."
My blood is filled with yang energy from the Solar Vein Blockage.
In return, I gained insane affinity for fire magic.
My body was basically a massive log. Only natural.
As a side effect, his blood struggled more than others to carry oxygen, and he couldn't boost physical stats.
Or so he'd thought until now.
But he was wrong.
"It wasn't stagnation of physical abilities."
[Owner of the incurable disease Solar Vein Blockage (), where overwhelming yang energy doesn't just block but twists and ruins the meridians. All physical growth is restricted, unable to reach certain stat thresholds. If left untreated, it will endanger your life.]
*The fine meridians are gradually clogging! If they fully block, the trapped yang energy will explode from within.
'If left untreated, life endangered. Explode from within...? Holy shit, for real.'
A terrifying line had appeared that wasn't there before.
Physical limits were minor compared to that.
This was bad.
"Gotta figure out how to cure this body somehow."
Even the elixir that cures all ills couldn't touch the Solar Vein Blockage.
No other methods either.
All that came to mind was a simplistic idea: if yang overload caused meridian blockage, neutralize with yin energy.
Yin foods or inner pills were buyable with enough cash. But incurables weren't incurable for nothing.
Intense yin might patch it temporarily.
But curing the disease itself? Impossible.
"...Still, gotta find a way."
Otherwise, he'd get stabbed by the protagonist and die.
Or croak from illness before reaching mid-boss or final boss.