Chapter 91
Chapter 91
Academy’s Gumiho is a Magic Genius – Chapter 91
One-on-one lessons, not group classes after school.
Even after all the daily classes ended, she was still taking lessons from Seung-woo.
This went beyond any normal teacher-student relationship.
A regular person might think of one-on-one apprenticeships or direct disciples, but the minds of adolescent girls didn't work that simply.
"Oh my, oh my, what kind of relationship do you two have?"
"Yeon-hwa, where did you learn that?"
"From a Korean drama a few days ago. Why, Ji? Is it something I shouldn't say?"
"No... I was just wondering where you picked it up from."
The girls, right on the cusp of their first loves, had their heads filled with pink fantasies, and no one dared to break the silence.
Seong Yeon-hwa was the first to light the fuse.
With her characteristic halting Korean, she boldly asked what was going on between Seung-woo and Seo Ye-rin. Her tone brimmed with confidence, as if she was absolutely sure something was there.
"It was just... she asked me to teach her a bit...?"
"Exactly, and that's the problem."
"...Huh?"
Seo Ye-rin, who didn't get it at all, and the rest of the girls.
Lee Ji desperately tried to change the subject.
"Isn't it just because the teacher asked to help her out? Ye-rin absorbs the lessons like a sponge anyway."
Lee Ji's words were spot-on.
But not a single girl paid attention to him.
To them, lost in their wild imaginings, his words were just empty noise.
* * *
Meanwhile, as the students chattered away.
Their teacher, Seung-woo, had finished writing Nam Hwa-yeon's script, wrapped up his other tasks, and stepped out of the faculty office for a moment.
He was basking in the gentle breeze and sunlight.
"The sun's getting nice and warm now."
The end of April was already approaching.
No trace remained that winter had ever come; the spring flowers were falling, heralding the long season of heat.
Well, summer's coming, so of course it is.
Tamamo, pointing out the obvious.
As she said, summer was on its way.
Of course, midterms would come first. It felt oddly novel somehow.
"...No, it's just that it feels like the first summer in ages."
You make it sound like you lived in a country without summers. This land gets one every year.
"True, but still... just..."
Realizing summer was coming felt like it had been years.
Hmm? What was that mutter?
"...Nothing."
How bland. If you've got worries, spill them. I'll give you a very funer, kindanswer.
She caught herself on the last part and puffed out her cheeks.
He wanted to call her childish, but it suited her too well to say anything.
Her personality was awful, but her face was stunningly pretty.
The thought slipped out unconsciously.
To keep her from noticing, Seung-woo changed the subject.
It was something sure to grab her interest.
"Hey, Tamamo."
What? Got something to ask me?
"What do you think of my mentor?"
Mentor or professor.
Only one person he called that.
Mentor? You mean that witch?
Witch.
Harsh name for his mentor.
But not wrong.
Demon King or witch. Just one character apart in the end.
"Yeah, Professor Nam Hwa-yeon. Calling her a witch? She's my magic teacher, you know."
She's in the same position as you, teaching me spells.
Aren't you being too harsh?
He laced his words with that nuance.
Tamamo, looking displeased, spoke up.
I'm on a different level from that monster, in power or beauty. Sure, she's stronger than me right now. She seems equal to that 5th Elder you mentioned. But that's only while I'm trapped in this ring. The more tails you grow through our spiritual link, the closer I get to my prime. So, contractor, get stronger quick. Hehe, then I can teach you even more.
Tamamo's words ended in self-praise.
Normally, he'd brush it off, but something crucial slipped in midway.
Hold on. Seung-woo paused her, eyes signaling he'd caught something baffling.
He needed a moment to process.
"...That much?"
An old fox would be the 1st or 5th Elder.
With the "black-hearted" descriptor, probably the 5th.
Nam Hwa-yeon on par with the 5th Elder?
"You sure you didn't see wrong? Mentor's accomplished a lot, but she's just a Ranker. The 5th Elder's a top High Ranker, personality aside."
Hmm~ I've been curious about this.
"About what?"
Can you explain the real difference between Rankers and High Rankers?
High Ranker and Ranker.
Just one word: "High."
But a vast gulf between ranks.
Nothing like the F-to-S grades divided by letters.
Comparing them was an insult.
S-grade followed the Association's manual, but Rankers and High Rankers were judged individually by the System's internal rules.
For example
"Between a soldier fighting on the battlefield and a doctor treating the wounded in the rear, who do you think is stronger?"
The soldier, obviously.
"Right. Now, whose achievements do you think are greater?"
Ah... I see.
Tamamo was stumped.
Yeah, that's where doubts start with Ranker vs. High Ranker criteria. Killers vs. healers.
Whose feats are nobler?
"Tricky, right?"
The standards are vague. No clear metrics, and fuzzy stuff like human rights muddies it. Can't say for sure.
"Tricky, but simplify it: it's about influencing more lives."
Soldiers rack up feats by taking out enemy generals or weapons. Doctors by saving allied heroes or masses. Separate from raw power.
That's the gap between regular players and Rankers.
High Rankers are Rankers who've claimed both skill and featsthe double prize.
"So, Professormy mentorpushed magic history forward by about a century in achievements, but her combat prowess is debated. No one's seen her fight."
Even if she birthed countless spells.
Mages differ from martial artists.
Unlike grandmasters founding sects, arts, and techniques, mages are scholars at heart.
Scholars research, not embody results.
So, inventing a spell doesn't make you its master. Just the pioneer.
Hehe, you really believe that?
"Why?"
Reach a high realm, and your perspective shifts. Same view, different insights by level... Heh, the her I see and the her you see are worlds apart.
Tamamo.
Progenitor of sorcery.
A bygone era's reigning scholar and mystery incarnate.
A famed sorcerer, perhaps beyond my sight's [Sanctuary], spoke to me.
Sorcerersthis era's mages. Even as research-mad scholars, calling them weak? Absurd.
Nam Hwa-yeon advanced all magic history.
Including combat spells.
Her feats are theory and papers only, but if she honed attack magic to test and prove them?
The 5th Elder, you said. She matches that old man.
Even without honing.
Researching, publishing combat or lethal magic, gaining any insightshe'd have top-Ranker might.
Top 100, a High Ranker seat. No surprise.
Surprising she doesn't have it.
"Ha, but no one's seen her skill, so it's hard to claim."
What if it's not unseen, but the witnesses are dead?
"...What?"
Not unseen. All who saw... died.
"...!!"
Baseless speculation, but possible.
Maybe no need to show power.
Over a month under Nam Hwa-yeon, she'd hated hassle. To avoid extra eyes, she hid her strength.
But then.
"The System's Ranker and High Ranker criteria"
Could she refuse it at will?
No memory surfaced. Never deeply discussed High Rankers with Eve.
Instead, another chat surfaced.
What do you think of Nam Hwa-yeon?
Nothing much.
Come on, too stiff. Being wartime formal? War's endless; chat with me.
Eve approached my war-hardened stiffness as always. She could've been cooler on the battlefield.
She was always like this.
She'd pester for days, so I planned a short reply and a shift to another front.
Sigh... Fine. One thing, then west support. Nam Hwa-yeon... your novel's mage, right?
Yeah. King of Mages, Demon King.
Demon King sounds villainous.
Seung-woo, prejudice. Demon King isn't always evil. Anyway, need to set her death scene.
Eve's words didn't fit.
Demon King of demons or mages.
A king should be strong, right?
Why set a strong king's death? Protagonist kills her?
I spoke.
Her death by protagonist?
Ugh, prejudice again. Demon Kings aren't always evil, no guarantee protagonist kills her.
Fine, who kills her?
Need to know to play along.
Swallowing words that'd make Eve explode about ignoring her, I asked.
Eve grinned.
Anyone. Hero, villainwhoever can kill her.
And so.
Nam Hwa-yeon isn't strong.
She can't be.
Nam Hwa-yeon dies pathetically to a demon mid-story.
That was her fate.