Overconfident with Such Meager Power
Cheon Ji-hoo strolled through the academy grounds, attempting Detection, but he gleaned no information. The bizarre force enveloping the campus was rejecting it outright. It had twisted the flow of mana within the academy, so he preemptively assumed Lee Joo-hwan's ability wouldn't work either. With leisurely steps, he walked the academy corridors.
The rookie mages will probably wipe themselves out.
It was a place that disrupted mana flow. Without stability, apprentice mages who couldn't go against the current would have their spells backfire the moment they tried to cast, blowing off their limbs in explosions.
But that was none of Cheon Ji-hoo's concern. He had manifested magic even within the silence of the Demon King's authority. This level of distortion only blocked spells like Detection that scanned ambient mana.
"Having to hoof it is a pain..."
Anything beyond three steps required Space Transfer.
Cheon Ji-hoo snapped his fingers, summoning a crow from his shadow. Pointing down the corridor, the crow understood and shot off at high speed, scouting every inch of the academy.
In the meantime, he stood by a window, observing the layout while pondering where the enemies might be hiding.
The Hunter Academy was shaped like a donut, with the main arena in the open center and the evacuation shelter on the opposite side from where he'd entered. The shelter was underground, making it an ideal spot for the intruders to seize control. He eyeballed the prime positions.
...The hostages are on the fourth floor opposite?
He confirmed with the naked eye: hostages crammed into a single classroom, undead posted in front. The room itself was sealed by some force, a murky aura encircling even the windows.
"Then I'll start there and rescue the hostages..."
Once he found the enemies, that would be that.
Cheon Ji-hoo moved slowly. Organizing the internal intel from the crow in his mind, he snapped his fingers again. Without precise coordinates from Detection, Target Setting was impossible. Time to show off an archmage's finesse.
"Magic Bullet."
As he snapped, dozens of bluish orbs materialized above his fingertip. Using the crow's info, he mapped it out mentally. Turn at the alley ahead: six skeleton soldiers, four ghouls.
He crooked his index finger forward. The magic bullets streaked ahead, weaving directions before vanishing down the corridor. Just like in the rift earlier, the sound of skeleton skulls and ghoul heads shattering echoed back.
Strolling leisurely to the corner, he found the corridor filled with the corpses of the undead.
"Hm, a bit off?"
Without Detection, he'd aimed for dead center, but missed by about two centimeters. Still, the brains were obliterated—no chance of revival.
He methodically pulverized undead heads after that. One bullet per foe, sometimes two. Even the so-called elite death knights reduced to ash with a single spell.
Then he placed his hand on the classroom door. As expected, it was wrapped in that murky aura and wouldn't budge. Similar structure to the force blocking the academy from the outside. Narrowing his eyes, he examined the flow, pondering how to proceed.
He could brute-force it, but that might not leave the people inside unscathed.
What a hassle...
He just wanted to live peacefully—why was Earth like this?
Hand on the door, he analyzed the flow. It ran top to bottom, then bottom to top. A bizarre pattern, seemingly erratic with no rules. But no lock existed without a keyhole.
...This is it.
Cheon Ji-hoo finally discerned the pattern amid the chaos. Closing his eyes, he replicated it with his own mana, then racked his brain to solve it.
Unraveling this barrier-like energy was akin to picking a lock. Channel mana into the tumblers, test combinations one by one until it clicked. Even a numeric keypad lock would yield eventually—from 0000 to 9999.
Ordinary people wouldn't bother, but Cheon Ji-hoo could. It only took a few seconds to cycle through.
Ten seconds later, he opened his eyes and smirked faintly.
"There we go."
Injecting mana based on the solution, the aura enveloping the classroom faded, and the door swung open.
Inside, people lay collapsed on the floor, motionless. Likely some device sucking their vitality to prevent pointless resistance.
"What's this now?"
p>He, unaffected by such triviality, walked to the center and picked up the skull on the desk.
The emanating energy marked it as an artifact, but the craftsmanship was shoddy. It absorbed vitality in its area and seemed to double as a signal device. Examining the structure, it wasn't human bone—fangs too long, eye sockets too sharp.
...A goblin skull.
Probably crafted from a goblin head caught in a rift.
He crushed the artifact in his grip. No reason to keep it; shattering it dispersed the room's energy.
Over sixty people scattered on the floor began stirring one by one.
"Ugh... ugh..."
"Wh-where...?"
"What... happened...?"
Students and spectators roused, rising to stare at Cheon Ji-hoo.
Arms crossed, he met their gazes.
"Don't rush outside. Stay put here."
"Who... are you?"
"I'm here on HCU request to rescue hostages."
They recognized him as the guy who'd arrived on the divine deer. Linking him to HCU, their eyes widened—they realized he was an extraordinary powerhouse.
With that, Cheon Ji-hoo turned and left, no more to say. He cast Access Denied, a spell fixing the door like an immovable object with mana. Applied to windows and door alike—no ogre short of smashing through.
Now then.
Time to hunt. Find the culprits behind this mess and tear them apart.
"Crow, found them?"
He asked the crow he'd sent ahead. It had scoured the school and replied briefly.
-Caw.
Found them. Location data followed.
Cheon Ji-hoo looked up to the spot the crow indicated: a corner on the fifth floor. Farthest from the student shelter.
"Hm."
He ascended the stairs leisurely. Undead lunged immediately; he sidestepped, feeding them Magic Bullets to the skull. That sufficed.
Then he spotted the guards' corpses. They'd pinpointed and rushed the intruders' hideout but couldn't overcome the undead horde. Civilians had limits against hunters.
"I'll handle your revenge."
Thankfully, no sign of Lee Joo-hwan's body. Probably evacuating others or guarding as an A-rank hunter.
Stepping over the bodies, Cheon Ji-hoo proceeded. The corridor reeked of death; he sloshed through pooling blood. It splashed his sneakers, but black hid the stains. White ones would've earned a scolding from Cheon Ji-yoon.
"Here it is."
One classroom oozed gloomy energy. Unlike the hostage room, no seal.
He opened the door quietly and entered. Pitch blackness reigned, unnatural for daytime. Even drawn curtains wouldn't make it this dark.
Undeterred, he strode into the void. A voice echoed.
"No sacrifices? The hostages escaped? What the hell are you doing on guard duty?"
"What? We posted skeleton soldiers. They escaped?!"
Sacrifices and hostages. From their words, Cheon Ji-hoo realized the goblin skull artifact had signaled for "sacrifices" too.
Good thing I smashed it.
Now then.
"So this is where you were."
He revealed himself. Two pairs of eyes in the dark turned toward him.
One was a gaunt, skeletal man; the other looked like a child, maybe middle-school age. But appearances deceived—both wielded considerable power. Actual ages far older.
"Who the hell are you?"
"Like it matters for dead men walking."
"What did you do to my skeleton soldiers?!"
"As if those crude things could stop anyone..."
The guards had held well, but not against an archmage.
Cheon Ji-hoo drew a straight line with his finger. Magic Bullets formed and shot straight at them.
But they shattered against a transparent barrier with a sharp crack.
"...The Illusory Barrier broke?"
"So it's called an Illusory Barrier."
"To shatter my Illusory Barrier, you must've used some powerful skill."
"Yeah, my ultimate skill..."
He scoffed incredulously. As if expecting it, the man rose using his skull staff and bellowed.
"Then die! Dark Javelin!"
Cheon Ji-hoo watched impassively. The man swung his staff, chanted, and thrust. Black spears materialized in the air, hurtling toward him at speed.
Not child's play.
"Barrier."
A translucent wall deflected the spears. His Magic Bullets had pierced the Illusory Barrier, but their black spears couldn't breach his Barrier.
Cheon Ji-hoo remarked.
"Damn, forcing me to use my ultimate defense."
"Haha! That's more like it! Now die for real! Rise! Hands of the Abyss! Abyss Hand!"
Abyss Hand. Another new attack. Waiting, he felt something grab his pant leg. Looking down, black hands emerged from the floor, clutching ankles and dragging.
Cheon Ji-hoo kicked them off forcefully.
"Damn, making me use my ultimate kick."
"...?"
After three times, even the enemy sensed something off, face twisting subtly.
The girl beside him ground her teeth, clutching his hem.
"S-something's wrong. X, let's run."
"Run? We can't retreat until we find who killed our kin, W."
"X, this guy's weird. Nothing's working!"
"No, this time it'll—"
Called X, the man showed no quit. Cheon Ji-hoo watched arms crossed, eyes blank: Do your worst already.
"Take this! Feel the flames of the abyss forged from my mana! Abyss Flame!"
This seemed legit magic—a black fireball formed before him, surging forward and exploding massively.
"...That all?"
He brushed off the embers clinging to his clothes and emerged unscathed. Fixing his gaze, his eyes gleamed.
"Now it's my turn."