Chapter 99
Chapter 99
Academy’s Gumiho is a Magic Genius – Chapter 99
Wall slam.
It was an action I'd only heard about in words.
What can I sayit felt like witnessing a folktale passed down mouth-to-mouth come to life. And the one doing it was her, of all people.
'...Not exactly a great feeling.'
The atmosphere and surroundings weren't exactly the romantic backdrop a wall slam called for.
To begin with, Nam Hwa-yeon and I weren't close enough for something like this.
My tail had drooped straight down in shock from the suddenness.
Of course, I couldn't see my own tail dangling behind me.
Tamamo was the only one who spotted it and giggled to herself.
My attention was solely on Nam Hwa-yeon's right armthe one she'd used for the slam.
Why? Because there was a hole punched in the wall next to it.
'Good lord.'
Who the hell slams a wall while casting [Physical Enhancement]?
And with this much power, no less.
If a weakling like me got hit wrong, a few joints would pop out of place.
Her raw strength exceeded my expectations.
Partly thanks to her exceptional handling of magic and mana.
'Simpler than my [Physical Enhancement].'
To be honest, purely in terms of the incantation, mine was superior.
I analyzed the mana waves enveloping her arm, muscles, and bones.
A truly mage-like move, ignoring the situation entirely.
Luckily, it didn't take long to decipher.
It was too straightforward, and a field I was all too familiar with.
Typical enhancement spells just boost muscle strength or speed in a basic way.
But Nam Hwa-yeon, true to her moniker [Devil King], fine-tuned down to blood flow and muscle density.
That was probably the peak of what a mage could achieve.
Still, it fell short of mine.
My enhancement doesn't focus on the body's current state. While Nam Hwa-yeon's [Physical Enhancement] systematically strengthens muscles through blood flow and mana distribution...
Mine uses mana to forcibly transcend the user's natural limitsa mad technique.
My master once explained it with some pretty arcane terms. What was it again?
'When essence, energy, and spirit harmonize, leading with the will to grow stronger propels the quintessence and vital force to a higher realman unparalleled divine art.'
Sounds fancy, right?
But break it down, and it's simple.
When essence, energy, spirit, quintessence, vital force, and body unite in harmony...
If you lead with the will to grow stronger, physical and mana elements follow, elevating to a superior state.
With this power alone, a peak martial artist can reach super-peak mastery, and a mage versed in upper-tier spells can wield magic rivaling an archmage in their specialty.
But like all principles in the world...
Such an absurd ability demands a fitting price.
'The backlash pain is no joke.'
The human heart is always fickle.
It's not just women's hearts that sway like reeds.
Men do toono, that's just what human hearts are.
No wonder unmoving mind is one of Buddhism's highest realms.
Maintaining that "I'm getting stronger" mindset alone drains massive mental energy.
Anyway, Professor.
"I'll teach you the incantation, so could you move your hand? Please?"
I'm scared.
* * *
Namgung Seong-jin and his assistants were cleaning up the arena, which looked like a storm had torn through it. The floor was cratered, and the lingering heat and lightning had left it in ruins.
Cleanup wasn't easy, so the chairman suggested calling in pros.
But Namgung Seong-jin flatly refused.
This was his approved event, so he'd handle the mess.
He started repairing the arena, hauling tons of rocks and materials by hand.
His assistants swallowed bitter tears and pitched inno choice.
How could they sit idle while the boss slaved away? Who knew what payback they'd get.
The silent repair crew began glaring at their senior TA, Mu-gung.
If he hadn't objected over Baek Seung-woo, they wouldn't be doing this grunt work.
Just yesterday, Mu-gung was their skilled, confident boss they admired.
But from this moment on...
He was the enemy.
"Dude has no skills, so why cause trouble?"
"If he'd won, fine. But he got wrecked."
"Baek Seung-woo mimicked Senior TA's technique so easily. If that punk can do it, maybe I can too?"
"Get real. No way we can channel heavenly energy into a spear like Mu-gung. It's all that fox kid's talent."
"Hate to admit it, but Baek Seung-woo's impressive. His feats so far prove it. Personality's trash, but skill's legit."
"Unlike some people..."
His image tanked in an instant.
The respected senior was gone.
Only an incompetent loser remained.
"...Damn it."
Bam!
Mu-gung chucked his materials to the ground and stormed off.
His junior TAs and Namgung Seong-jin watched blankly.
No one stopped his outburst, and the assistants gossiped even more.
Namgung Seong-jin silently took it all in.
There was no special reason Mu-gung became his senior TA.
He'd just been the longest-serving assistant. Six whole years.
Time spent at Namgung Seong-jin's side, learning and absorbing his swordsmanship into his own. A year's proof of growth, now denied in a flash.
What could he say in that situation?
"He's a genius, nothing you can do"? "Blame your own talent"?
No good ideas came.
Namgung Seong-jin's way with words wasn't great, and time slipped by.
Still, he couldn't just stand there, so he followed Mu-gung's path.
"Huh? Not this way?"
No sign of him.
Beyond was a gorge managed by Professor Tiger Grills, the hunting studies expert.
No matter how upset, Mu-gung wouldn't head into that hellscape. Namgung Seong-jin scratched his head and returned to the arena.
But against his assumptions, Mu-gung was deep in the gorge's harshest terrain.
Crunch, crunch.
He trudged silently across it.
Then stopped at one spot.
A place choked with rocks, uneven ground impossible to navigate. Right there, something bubbled on the floor.
The black something was shadow.
Mu-gung clutched his bandaged arm and settled near it.
"...This hurts like hell."
He nursed his injured arm.
Wrapped in bandages, veins bulging grotesquely, hypersensitive to touch.
Maybe because he'd sliced it off before the shadow armor fully released and reattached it. One arm still clung to near-berserk state, tough to adjust.
Bubble, bubble.
The shadow bubbled fiercer the closer he got.
Like boiling water. Finally realizing he'd connected to the 'shadow,' Mu-gung complained outright.
"You said you'd give me power! You promised!!"
Bubble, bubble.
The shadow kept boiling.
No different from before.
Furious at being ignored, Mu-gung pressed on.
"I paid the price! I planted your creation in my gut! So as queen..."
His words cut off.
The mere word "queen" irked 'it,' which descended personally.
"Silence."
Before distinguishing male or female.
Even whether it was human speech was questionableeerie voice.
"I watched the match. A pathetic defeat."
'It' was something formed of shadow.
Mu-gung had confronted the 'shadow,' but it seemed uninterested.
It just spouted its piece.
"You unleashed Heavenly Spear with a sword. Hilarious, trying to express vast heavens with a limited tool."
Ha ha ha. Mechanical laughter, then more.
"Even that got mimicked by a mage in an instant, no longer yours alone."
"Th-that's... because that guy's talent is insane! Copying after one look? Ridiculous!!"
"It worked, so you lost. Isn't it?"
Mu-gung shut up, confirmation kill.
The 'shadow' continued.
"Then you donned my armor. Pathetic wretch who can't handle its madness. Exposing me before all those spectatorsthe chairman's sniffing around now."
Not just him.
The witch without king's qualification had started seeking the 'shadow' too.
More precisely, she'd noticed it.
If she truly hunted, it'd be sniffed out in half a day.
The 'shadow,' hidden from the world, hated Mu-gung for giving away its trail. Dripping rage in its tone.
Yet to the 'shadow'...
"And still, you lost."
A single phrase overwhelming the foe.
"I'll grant you one last chance."
True imperial dignity.
Unlike her, who chose seclusion despite king's qualification.
"Investigate Baek Seung-woo thoroughly."
Demeanor reducing even superior Namgung Seong-jin to 'trash.'
Overawed, Mu-gung stared at the ground.
Lifting his head to defy meant death.
Instinct screamed it.
But he had to ask.
"Wh-why not do it yourself? You're the 'shadow'investigation should be easier for you?!"
True, as Mu-gung said, the 'shadow' spied from shadows, info-gathering virtuoso.
Why dump its specialty on him?
Mu-gung couldn't fathom it.
A displeased rumble echoed through the gorge.
"No information."
"...What?"
"I tried. But its senses are hyper-acute; couldn't approach within 5 meters. Spying from 5 meters outthat's my limit."
"For real...? You're serious?"
Mu-gung knew best the 'shadow' wasn't joking.
Still askedcouldn't comprehend.
Someone detecting the 'shadow' without being top-tier brute force? Unbelievable.
More like, he didn't want to believe.
The guy who'd crushed him standing shoulder-to-shoulder with such beings?
That thought sparked 'I lost because of that' rationalizationmade him hate it more.
But he had to admit.
Baek Seung-woo's talentthat devilish knack for copying a lifetime's martial art in one glanceleft no denial.
The kid was... abnormal, good or bad.
And the 'shadow' thought the same.
"One week."
The 'shadow' had watched Baek Seung-woo daily, relying on lamplight to read.
Muttering to thin air now and thenseemed unhinged.
At first, odd.
But a week spying from shadows revealed it.
He had to be out of his mind.
"Days without food or sleep."
"!!!"
Possible?
Mu-gung recalled facing Seung-woo, that monstrous casting speed.
Talent's fruit? Effort's?
Even superhumans couldn't live like that, right?
Hearing the 'shadow,' Mu-gung reeled in confusion.