Academy’S Gumiho Is A Magical Genius [EN]: Chapter 87

Academy Gumiho is a Magical Genius – Episode 87

Academy Gumiho is a Magical Genius Episode 87

Preparing for the Performance Evaluation (2)

Appearance.

It is the most significant visual element that determines first impressions and captures people’s attention and hearts.

The more handsome or beautiful someone is, the more people are drawn to them. But what if there were an ability to artificially amplify that attraction?

And what if someone already blessed with good looks were to gain such an ability?

The resulting synergistic effect would be amplified many times over, almost beyond imagination. But I can make a reasonable guess.

Because it’s my ability.

「Charm」

Rank: S

Description: This is one of the yokai [supernatural monster] powers derived from legends throughout the Orient. Bewitching others is the essence of the fox spirit, its very foundation, capable of captivating everything in the world, regardless of gender, age, or even microorganisms. It is a passive skill that is always active, and its intensity can be adjusted according to the caster’s will. It is impossible to completely block its activation.

*Allure (蠱惑) [Captivation]

Even without conscious effort, ‘Charm’ is imbued in every gesture. Depending on the intensity, gestures alone can naturally induce confusion in the target’s mind.

*Bewitching Voice (魔聲)

It emits a beautiful voice that feels like it will melt your brain the moment you hear it. Once anything is captivated by the bewitching power intertwined within the beautiful voice, it will be difficult to maintain composure.

*Intoxication (陶醉)

It naturally draws all eyes to the master. It does not specifically distinguish targets, and if the target succumbs to the charm, it captures their heart.

The only S-rank skill I possess, 「Charm」, was a skill divided into three stages.

Allure, Bewitching Voice, Intoxication.

Passing through each stage, it bewitches regardless of gender, age, and in some cases, even inanimate objects, turning them into followers.

Loyal followers who would never betray and would die if told to.

It was indeed an ability worthy of an S-rank skill.

Compared to the relatively straightforward 「Foxfire」 or 「Triple Helix」, there was a significant difference in the number of uses and purposes.

Although frightening, if 「Charm」 is used well, I could lead all negotiations advantageously, starting with a legion that disregards their lives for me. I could also draw the attention and interest of the enemy on the battlefield or in combat, inducing carelessness.

In addition to these, dozens of other methods came to mind.

But I have been reluctant to use 「Charm」.

I have never properly used 「Charm」 in daily life or in combat.

Partly because I didn’t want to seduce others, but the biggest reason I couldn’t use this skill was.

“I have no idea how to handle this.”

─Are you perhaps talking about the 「Charm」 you possess?

“Yeah, I can’t understand the underlying principles of the skill at all.”

Not knowing how to handle my own skill.

This was a huge flaw.

Skills do not always unfold in a way that benefits the caster. 「Foxfire」 is a prime example of this.

When I first used it in the battle with Yuren, I had no knowledge or understanding of curses, so I suffered the damage of the curse even though it was a skill I had cast.

Like this, if a skill is used without properly understanding its principles and theories, it is an unstable ability that can become a double-edged sword aimed at one’s own neck.

“I can’t tell whether the ability to charm a target is made up of pheromones, whether magical elements are involved, or whether it purely enhances one’s own attractiveness. It’s hard to check because there aren’t any suitable subjects to experiment on.”

─Perhaps it’s a principle where all three work simultaneously.

“That’s right, and─”

In some cases.

“─it might be imprinting the concept of ‘Charm’ itself like a brand.”

I was especially suspicious of the fact that it charms both living and non-living things.

If the target is a living thing, increasing the attractive elements of pheromones and appearance would be helpful, but if the target is an object, the story is different.

Hands or water cups don’t have eyes, so how can they judge my appearance and be charmed?

Considering these points, I lack the knowledge to handle 「Charm」 yet. But as the skill description says, it is a passive skill that is always active, so I am suppressing it as much as possible with magic power usually.

Who knows what will happen if it activates at maximum output without me even knowing.

─A brand, huh. That expression seems valid to me. Capturing and bewitching the hearts of others is not an easy task. Therefore, the act of capturing hearts is similar to the act of branding with a hot iron.

“You think so too?”

─But I don’t know if adjusting the output of the ability that is naturally emitted is of great significance.

Tamamo pointed to the ‘Traits’ and ‘Equipment’ sections of the status window with her finger.

─You don’t just have abilities related to appearance or fascination, do you? It seems to me that even if you suppress 「Charm」, the three abilities create a synergistic effect.

Trait, 「Peerless Beauty」.

Skill, 「Charm」.

「White-Faced Golden Fur」 embedded in the jade ring.

Three abilities that captivate regardless of gender, whether they have reason or not, living and non-living things, synergize to create a synergistic effect, stealing the attention of the students.

Tamamo was right.

Since these three coexist in one body at the same time, minimizing the output has become meaningless.

Wow, people passing by occasionally called me a gigolo [male prostitute].

I can’t deny it anymore, can I?

─By the way, it’s amazing. A synergistic effect through combination, a power I couldn’t have imagined when I was alive.

“Combination, or synergistic effect?”

─Both.

I felt like I knew what she was talking about.

“Status window and system. You said they didn’t exist in that era.”

─Of course, isn’t it obvious? Status window, that lousy blue window, that everyone in the world is born with. It’s too artificial. At least when I ruled, there was nothing like that.

An artificial blue window.

To think that there would be someone else in this world besides me who thinks that way about the status window.

The people of this world are born with a status window and are connected to the system.

That is extremely natural and, at the same time, obvious.

Just like humans have limbs and have higher-dimensional thinking abilities compared to other creatures. It was an extremely natural thing.

Maybe if I was born in this world instead of outside the novel, I would have thought so too.

─To classify human abilities into six categories and train them. Humans are not simple creatures that can be classified into just six categories?

“Traits that grant talent or aptitude just by possessing them, and skills that handle abilities that you wouldn’t normally be able to handle, are the same.”

Stats, Traits, Skills.

That’s not all that’s possible with the status window.

Achievement and ranking system based on power.

High rankers and rankers whose grades are determined by ranking.

Even the ranking of official guilds registered with the association.

There were plenty of elements that made it hard to tell if this was reality or a game.

Moreover, I especially went one step further.

‘Quests, rewards and penalties depending on success or failure. And even a point shop just for me.’

Things that I can’t understand or judge with my common sense.

Those were the elements that constantly reminded me that this world was in a novel.

What exactly are those things?

There are several things that I can guess, but there are too many to mention. There is a lack of clues to turn speculation into certainty.

All I can do now is to make the most of the status window and the system. Fortunately, I could do that much with my eyes.

[ peeks at ‘Tamamo-no-Mae’s status window.]

[The target did not resist!]

[Warning! The target does not have a status window. It is determined to be a vengeful spirit who died before the system took hold, so an arbitrary status window is temporarily implemented according to regulations!]

……

「Name: Tamamo, Wakamo, Posa, Daji, ??, ????, ……」

「Age: ??? years old」

「Race: Nine-Tailed Fox (九尾狐)」

「Title: ???」

「Grade: ???」

「Abnormal Condition: Deceased」

「Progenitor of Shamanism」, 「Peerless Beauty (傾國之色)」, 「?」

「HP: ?」 「Strength: ?」

「Durability: ?」 「Agility: ?」

「Mana: ?」 「Sense: ?」

「???」

*This is a vengeful spirit who has been dead for a long time and has not received the protection of the system and status window. Therefore, this information is not an actual status window that has undergone a formal licensing process!

*This person is not connected to the system, so most of the information, including and , is listed as blank.

Tamamo’s status window, where most of the information does not exist.

Like this, I was able to peek at other people’s status windows using . In return, I paid the price of concentration to the point where I broke out in a cold sweat and staggered for a moment.

It was worth more than that.

I felt a sudden pain in my eyes, which were gradually filled with various abilities, and felt quite sore.

I wondered if it was a side effect, but before I knew it, the pain disappeared like a mirage.

At that moment, I wondered if I had even felt a hallucination.

“Um, excuse me, teacher.”

“Oh. What brings you here? Your class shouldn’t be having a first-period lecture around here.”

Seo Yerin belongs to Class F of the first grade.

As far as I know, every Monday, Class F learns hunting by playing in the natural environment spread out in the middle of the academy from the first period.

But why is she here?

As I wondered, Seo Yerin said in a small voice.

“Um, I’m actually here because of the, performance evaluation…”

“Performance evaluation?”

“Yes… There’s a performance evaluation, and I was hoping you could help me a little…”

The mid-term exam episode is about to break out.

In other words, it was also the time when performance evaluations for each subject would pile up in droves. So much so that there were students who came to school early in the morning to complete their performance evaluations. The standards for the Seven Stars’ performance evaluations were extremely strict.

The guys who come to school early in the morning are all like that.

So I heard that there are students who ask the teaching assistant for help.

Helping them is not illegal or difficult.

But I never imagined it would be Seo Yerin.

I couldn’t have imagined it.

But you know.

“Why are you asking me for help with that?”

“Yes? Wh, what do you mean…?”

I said calmly to Seo Yerin, who was trembling.

“I’m the teaching assistant for Professor Nam Hwayeon, who is in charge of first-year magicology. Should I help you prepare for your performance evaluation? It’s against fairness.”

“B, but! What I want to ask you for is martial arts…”

“Martial arts?”

Five common subjects for the first grade.

Martial Arts, Magicology, Hunting, Guardianship, Healing.

Among them, Martial Arts, along with Magicology, was the number one subject that had to be taken.

As it is such a martial art, I understand the desire to take care of it by asking the teaching assistant.

Then it makes even less sense.

“I’m a magicology teaching assistant?”

Why are you asking me about martial arts?

“…Perhaps, can’t you teach it?”

“No.”

“Th, then why…?”

Teaching is not a problem.

However, I don’t understand why you’re asking me.

I don’t even know what the first-year martial arts performance evaluation is yet.

But as it is a study of learning martial arts (武道) [way of the warrior], there was nothing I couldn’t teach. It was purely that I couldn’t understand why she wanted me to teach her.

“Unless it’s pure training or practice. It would be much more efficient to ask the 2nd and 3rd graders who have the *jokbo* [past exam solutions] for the performance evaluation.”

Efficiency. The reason I don’t grant Seo Yerin’s request is because it’s inefficient.

Not mine, but her time and effort.

Usually, most performance evaluations have a set goal or evaluate the proficiency by learning a specific skill.

Such performance evaluations are bound to find tricks or shortcuts as the years go by.

‘Of course, it will be difficult to get a high score with tricks or shortcuts.’

At least a grade of 4 or 5 is a sure thing.

If you do well, you can aim for a grade of 2 or 3.

I don’t know why you’re asking me for such a performance evaluation.

I’m a new teaching assistant who just came in this year, so I don’t have the *jokbo*. Before that, I had no experience attending school, so I learned about the *jokbo* on the internet this time.

What do you want from me?

“Someone like you should be loved by the teaching assistants under Professor Nam Gungseongjin. Don’t you want to learn from them?”

“Yes? Yes, well, the teaching assistants there… No offense, but they are excellent, but I thought they were a little… lacking to ask for guidance.”

“…Oh, I see.”

It’s not something a first-year student who has just shed their freshman status should say, but Seo Yerin, who has reached the pinnacle, had more than enough qualifications to say such a thing.

Yes, in your eyes, the martial arts teaching assistant may seem like nothing.

“Um… If it’s too difficult…”

“Okay, I understand.”

“Re, really…?!”

If that’s the case, there’s nothing I can do.

I’m not Seo Yerin’s master or professor.

I was a guidance teacher and a teacher.

“Th, thank you!”

“Instead──.”

“Yes…?”

“I will teach you more than a perfect score on the performance evaluation, and I will demand more than that.”

The role of the teacher is to lead from the front.

If this teaching leads her, I should lead her properly.

“I will demand at least twice the existing goal. Up to three times.”

If it’s Seo Yerin, who is destined to become a new star in the distant future.

If it’s you, who has already embodied my teachings once.

This much should be easy.

“Are you ready? Quit if you don’t like it.”

I brought my face close to her to understand her true intentions and sincerity. The distance difference just before we could feel each other’s breath.

As I spoke with a distance of about the size of a fist, Seo Yerin didn’t know where to put her eyes.

Hey, we’re talking, you have to look me straight in the eye.

At that moment.

“…Yes.”

Her face flushed red like a persimmon, and she fidgeted with her fingers and said shyly.

“…”

It was a youthful and lovely appearance befitting a girl of that age.

But why did that love letter come to my mind the moment I saw that smile?

I couldn’t understand it at all.