Chapter 68
Chapter 68
Academy’s Gumiho is a Magic Genius – Chapter 68
There was a shadow.
Something black and formless lurking within it.
Stretching long under the moonlight floating above the night sky, it limped along.
The name of that pitiful creature with the sore-looking crotch was Il-yeong.
No, Shim Young.
A few weeks ago, he had been the "shadow of the Fifth Elder," who lost everything to two brothers in the Ephnel Flower Garden, one of Korea's three greatest unsolved dungeons.
"...Ha, Baek Seung-woo."
That was then.
Past tense, plain and simple.
Shim Young now was neither the Fifth Elder's subordinate nor an unofficial assassin for the Nine-Tail Guild. He was a defeated man who had lost all his comrades, his very identity, and come back from the brink of death.
"I will... I will have my revenge... no matter what."
He had lost his dreams and hopes.
To Baek Seung-woo, of all peoplethe one he'd subconsciously looked down on as an idiot and inferior all this time.
So I'll pay you back in kind.
"If I can't be the shadow of Nine-Tail, I'll become the shadow of Chilseong and stalk you from behind, waiting for my chance!"
A silent canyon devoid of any souls.
Not even the cries of wild beasts or the buzzing of insects could be heard in this vast expanse, one corner of Chilseong's territory.
Among students, it was known as one of Chilseong's Seven Mysteries.
That very place.
Rustle, rustle.
The sound of bushes stirring.
A normal person might dismiss it as the wind or a small animal and keep walking, but perhaps because his own crotch felt empty...
Feeling an inexplicable chill, Shim Young tore through the underbrush.
Having lost his way, he planned to hole up at the bottom of this canyon for the time being.
Until he could plant a dagger in Baek Seung-woo's back.
His stay here would last until then.
For a comfortable life, Shim Young figured he'd have to kill off all the noisy wild animals wandering and crying about.
Rustle, rustle.
Look at that.
Even now, it was wriggling around, making noise.
He hated these tiny sounds.
Having lived his life as an assassin, his trained hearing was several times sharper than a normal person's. Missing even the slightest noise was a habit he'd broken long agowild animals were a nuisance to him.
Shim Young shaped his shadow into a dagger.
Stab!
The moment he plunged it into the hidden beast...
"Huh?"
The sensation of piercing flesh felt mushy?
He sensed something off, but it was already too late.
Something burst from the bushes.
"It" stood up with the dagger still embedded in it.
So massive it blocked the moonlight overhead and blotted out the night sky.
Before the overwhelmed Shim Young could react...
It emitted a sound like nails scraping a chalkboard.
"Can't... speak... bad."
A grotesque attempt at mimicking human speech.
He thought he needed to run, but it was too late.
Shim Young's body sank into the deep shadows.
By the time "it"the thing blocking the moonlightvanished, not a trace remained that a person had ever been in the canyon.
"Can't... speak... bad... must... punish."
Only that eerie voice echoed softly through the empty canyon.
* * *
Auction fever was commonplace.
Auctions were ultimately just extravagant spending, after all.
But this item was different. The price skyrocketed without end150 billion, 200 billion, 300 billion, 350 billion... hurtling toward sums no ordinary person could dream of affording, even if they poured their entire life into it.
"Number 52, 49.2 billion won!"
"Number 82, 49.7 billion won!"
"Haha, you weaklings can't even bump it up by 10 billion and you talk big... Number 3, 62 billion won. No, 72 billion won!"
"Th-this madman...!"
Customers were jumping to their feet and shouting bids directly, bypassing the auctioneerthe frenzy was intensifying.
"Number 66, 72.1 billion won."
"You damn brats...! Do you even know why I dragged myself down to this cramped underground...!"
"Number 18, 72.2 billion won."
"Listen when I talk, you worthless scum...!!"
But once it surpassed 70 billion, things quieted down bit by bit.
No matter how rich you were, there was always a limit to how much you could spend at once.
It just happened to be so vast that it rarely came into play.
"Tch, seventy...! Number 3 at 74 billion...!!"
"Number 18, 74.1 billion won."
"Number 66, 74.2 billion won."
"You bastards...! If you're gonna raise it, raise it big...!! Why nickel-and-dime it by a billion? Number 3, 80 billion...!!"
The auction fire burned brighter without end.
By the late stages, even I had to bow outI couldn't keep up anymore.
Sorry, Black Card.
I know you deserve to be answered with faith,
but your balance is starting to look shaky.
"By the way, who's that Number 3 grandpa, throwing money around like that?"
"You don't know, TA? That's the head of the Choi family."
"Choi family? First time hearing that name."
"Professor, do you know Choi Jin-cheol among the first-years?"
"Ah, that promising kid? Never met him personally, but I've heard of him."
Choi Jin-cheol, rank 4 in the first-year entrance exams.
He was an extra Eve had never even mentioned to me.
Generously, I could call him "Academy Extra A: The Studious One," but still just an extra.
An extra among extras, never once brought up by Eve, the world's creator.
Anyway, so he's the head of the Choi family that raised that guy.
Just some upstart nouveau riche clan, probably.
I wasn't particularly impressed.
If anything, learning he was Extra No. 1's grandpa gave me a sliver of hope. At least I had more money than an extra's grandfather, right?
That kind of hope.
"Let's check the balance."
I pulled out my phone from my back pocket.
Opened the app and checked the Black Card account right away.
I'm counting on you.
[Doge Bank - Account of Baek Seung-woo]
Balance: 257.55 billion 89 million won.
I nodded upon checking the balance.
Hmm, this should be enough.
'...Not overflowing, but it'll do.'
Excluding the 100 billion already spent, it was plenty for a decisive blow.
I raised my hand immediately. At my re-entry after holding back for minutes, Numbers 66 and 3's eyes went wide.
"Number 18, 100 billion won."
Their eyes ballooned like dead fish for a moment.
They couldn't believe the amount coming from my mouth.
"Money! Get more money...! We need over 100 billion...!"
"Ch-Chairman, we're short on operable funds."
"Then pull from the company...! Sell every last scrap if you have to...!"
"If we touch company funds in billion-won chunks without permission, higher-ups might notice. And if word gets out that the money went into an illegal auction without a single won in taxes, the family is done for that day!"
"Urgh..."
At his suited secretary's words, veins bulged on the old man at Number 3's forehead.
The old man fumed, but his eyes were gradually calming. No way to cover the cash.
He glared at me, the one who'd fronted 100 billion like cannon fodder.
The killing intent gleaming in his eyes was especially sticky and viscous.
Man, and he's so oldobsessed much?
'The Life-Slaying Stone will be mine anyway.'
No need to drag it out.
Number 3 just glared without signaling another bid. Same for 66.
Their ammo must've been under 100 billionthey could only shoot looks.
One hundred billion won! A sum that far surpasses the all-time auction record! It's unlikely to go higher. Ten seconds have passed, so after three calls with no further bids, it goes to the esteemed guest at Number 18.
The auctioneer, eyes rolled back at a total rivaling all today's items combined, composed himself and continued.
Number 18, 100 billion won.
I turned to glance at Number 66.
They looked completely defeated, no more funds.
Surprising.
I figured thieves from Chilseong would steal it if bids fell short. Not even a hint of that.
Number 18, 100 billion won.
This time, I looked up at Number 3, peering down from the highest seat.
He was on the phone, scrambling to scrape together cash.
But too late to pile crumbs into a 100-billion mountain.
Number 18, 100 billion won. No further bids after three calls, so the highlight of this auction, the 'Life-Slaying Stone,' goes to the esteemed guest at Number 18! Congratulations!
In the end, I was the victor.
Sure, I'd poured 200 billion across all auctions, but no regrets. If anything, I felt proud snagging these at bargain prices.
And with that, this auction concludes. Ah, Number 18 guest. You've bought so many items, especially our auction house's record-breaker, so we'll escort you to the stage.
Perks for big spenders, huh.
No reason to refuseI accepted lightly.
"Before that, can I inspect the Life-Slaying Stone?"
Of course, absolutely. We'll escort you right there.
No sooner had the auctioneer finished than four attendants surrounded me like bodyguards. All eyes turned my way.
The four were ragtag weaklings compared to me, but being escorted felt thrilling. Damn, rich folks don't waste money for nothing.
The stares from the crowd.
Jealousy, envy, shockall aimed at me.
I'd gotten used to such gazes over lifetimes, but this felt freshnot just my imagination.
Realizing this was the view of the wealthy, I stepped onto the central stage. Couldn't get too close to the item lest I damage it.
I just circled it once, giving the Life-Slaying Stone a once-over.
Hmm, no doubt about itgenuine.
"Uh, Number 18 customer. Any preferred method for receiving the items?"
"Could you give examples?"
"Well, since our auction house operates illegally, we don't keep ledgers to avoid evidence. Most guests take their purchases right there. Though sometimes for oversized items, we deliver."
"Hmm..."
No good options came to mind.
Too many items bought, and the Life-Slaying Stone was a massive nine-tailed fox statue.
Impossible to carry myself.
Delivery was the only way left.
But my whereabouts posed a problem for delivery.
The Heavenly Fox Baek estate wasn't fully my domainsending it there would invite endless excuses to seize it all.
Dorm delivery? No proper storage for the stone. Just use Old Man Guya's workshop as the address?
Most were materials for gear requests anyway.
If I tossed in extras, maybe he'd bite with a "free gear" offer.
As my head spun, something fishy caught my eye.
Cryptic runes etched in the corner of the Life-Slaying Stone.
"Explosion rune?"
Runes, the ancient language of magic.
With interpretations and origins varying wildly, their full decoding remained a mysteryand one was inscribed on the Life-Slaying Stone.
Most wouldn't recognize them as runes, let alone read them, but I knew.
From rune interpretations in magic tomes I'd read at the library.
This one triggered a grenade-level blast.
Why etch that on a stone?
I didn't entertain such obvious thoughts.
Ssssssss!
A sound like meat searing on a hot grill.
Having handled weapons on battlefields, I knew instantly.
Not grilling meat.
A fuse igniting.
The source: the rune on the Life-Slaying Stone itself.
Shit.
"Everyone, get down!!"
For a split second, my roar shook the auction house, startling everyone.
But "get down" rang hollowthe explosion hit immediately.
BOOOOOOM!!!
The massive blast rocked the underground auction house.
Yet nothing collapsed.
The odd part? A group with horns on their heads had appeared.
For a 100-billion-won item's explosion, the impact was underwhelming.