Academy’S Gumiho Is A Magical Genius [EN]: Chapter 139

Academy Gumiho is a Magical Genius – Episode 139

Those Who Sacrifice Tomorrow for Today (4)

The muscles throughout my body were tearing.

The intense pain threatened to push the threshold of 「Weakness Resistance Delay」 past a certain point, but I immediately stopped tearing my muscles.

‘I hope I don’t get any weird skills.’

The skill, 「Weakness Resistance Delay」, is a growth-type skill that reacts to stimuli beyond a certain threshold, creating resistance related to it and increasing its rank by one level.

Therefore, it doesn’t unconditionally create resistance to all stimuli.

The current rank is E+.

Since growth-type skills can grow up to S+, there are only five more opportunities to create resistance.

It might seem like a lot.

But it was too little for me.

I couldn’t afford to create strange resistances in the meantime.

For example, resistance related to self-harm.

I would be sad if the rank grew with something like that.

So, I turned my attention away from my body and focused elsewhere.

“Hey, are you dead?”

“……”

I stomped on Andrealphaus’s head, which was lying on the floor.

The long, trailing intestines and blood were noticeable, but it wasn’t my concern.

“Hey.”

“……”

“Get up before I start crushing your internal organs one by one? Do you think I haven’t killed your kind a few times?”

“!!!”

Having personally cut down tens of thousands of Majin [demonic beings] with my own sword, there was nothing I didn’t know about their physiology and condition.

I even studied biology to efficiently massacre them in large numbers and dissected them myself several times.

Right now, Andrealphaus, the so-called Marquis of Beauty, was intentionally in a state of suspended animation.

It seemed like she was trying to deceive me somehow.

“Unfortunately, I’ve been through this a few times. I’m not easily fooled by such shallow tricks.”

I knew she wasn’t dead.

‘Still, it’s good that she’s healthy enough to pull off such a sly trick.’

There were still so many things I hadn’t done for her.

I even let her meet the dead in her dreams.

I need to give her a reward that suits that.

The method of reward I chose was torture.

The thought of showing Andrealphaus the aesthetics of my torture made me smile brightly, and I looked at her fingers and toes.

They were clean and neat, giving the impression that she had never done a hard day’s work and was thoroughly cared for.

But if you looked closely, you could see traces of hardship.

Her previous skin and flesh had crumbled as she transformed into a Majin, but the shape of her limbs clearly showed signs of labor.

Perhaps she was just an ordinary village girl before she fell into becoming a Majin.

“…Most of the nobles of the Lost Paradise are old monsters who have lived since the Middle Ages.”

Middle Ages.

Then I should torture her in a way that suits that era.

The Middle Ages were like a renaissance of torture, with a wide variety of methods.

As I fumbled around and flicked my fingers, I suddenly felt the muscles in my face smiling.

I could change the mask on the outside with a simple hand gesture, like turning off a light bulb with a switch.

The intangible mask I put on my mind was what I called 「The Madman’s Mask」.

For a crazy clown, the line is always just a standard to be crossed.

Therefore, there is no hesitation in torture.

And because I clearly understand my subject and boundaries, I boast accuracy without an inch of error.

“If you don’t get up… you know what will happen, right?”

“I, I’m up! I’m up!!”

“Good, well done. You know what?”

“W, what…? Kkeu, kkeuaaaak!! It hurts, it, it hurts!!!”

“Why did you get up so violently? Your movements have made the Majin smell even worse in this already poorly ventilated space.”

Swish─!

I wielded magic like a blade and tore off one of her fingers.

In the process, I chuckled.

I don’t know what was so fun and funny.

I just kept smiling because this mask had no other settings than smiling.

But Andrealphaus, who had no way of knowing that, was horrified by the madness of the random laughter.

‘You crazy bastard! You told me to get up first!’

She wanted to argue, but she didn’t have the courage to do so.

Even she, who had given up being human and became a Majin, couldn’t understand the height of incomprehensibility.

That was Baek Seung-woo, so she couldn’t do anything but be terrified.

The pain was secondary.

Whether he knew her pain or not.

I, immersed in the madman, didn’t even look at her and just said what I wanted to say.

“Just before you master advanced magic, around the time you become an advanced mage, you find out what magic you are suited for and talented in. But you know what’s amazing?”

“N, no…?”

She was scared because she couldn’t communicate at all.

“Then I’ll tell you.”

Surprisingly, I had two aptitudes and talents.

Thanks to the trait, 「Magical Prodigy」, I learned various magic from various fields and factions by learning many magic books in a short time.

「Elemental Magic」 led by fire.

「Telekinesis」 that forces objects and creatures to move.

「The Ancestor’s Sorcery」, which is now obsolete but is gradually being passed down to distant descendants, etc.

Numerous mysteries are floating above the knowledge in my head.

Among them, the field that suits this body well is 「Fire Magic」, one of the elements.

That’s what I thought until a few days ago.

The original owner of this unsightly body had an aptitude and talent for ‘heat,’ including fire and light, not just [Fire Magic].

This is a fact I realized relatively recently.

With my limited knowledge, I judged that the fire energy of 「Solar Meridian」 and the energy of Yanggang only corresponded to fire.

So I’ve been focusing on [Fire Magic].

But the reality is that it was a talent and aptitude for a more comprehensive concept than fire, and another aptitude was not from the original owner of this body.

“And the talent my soul has is this. It’s a good opportunity, so I’ll show it to you specially.”

It was only mine.

This is my true talent.

「Pyrokinesis─Limb Severance」.

A whip made of flames popped out in the air and tightly bound Andrealphaus’s neck and limbs.

The whip, which gradually began to exert force, slowly tightened her body, tormenting her with blackening burn marks.

But this was not a punishment to judge her.

That’s why it’s not 「Limb Severance Punishment」 but 「Limb Severance」.

“No!! Stop it!! It hurts, I was wrong!!!”

“Really?”

“Yes!! I’ll apologize! I’ll apologize for everything!! I’ll go under you, Dongjigo Nabalgo [beg for mercy in any way possible], so please save me!!!”

“Really? Then prove it.”

Whether you are worth saving.

Well, there is no possibility that a guy who betrayed humanity and became a Majin will be reformed by coming under me.

Still, opportunities should be given fairly.

That’s what my teacher said.

“Endure it.”

Thump!!

A coffin fell from the empty air.

The coffin, filled with thorns of all lengths, was an iron maiden made of fire.

Iron Maiden.

I had shown it once during the player license test.

But the number and length of the thorns were different from then.

The magic power and quality of the coffin were also on a different level.

「Pyrokinesis─Iron Maiden」.

Andrealphaus was sucked into the fiery furnace woman.

Her neck and limbs will still be tormented by limb severance, and she will become the living firewood to fuel the fire of the Iron Maiden.

However, she will not die.

If this end is a futile death, it is contrary to my aptitude.

“I won’t kill you with this technique. You won’t die from this either.”

“S, stop!!! Stop it!!!”

“But this is my aptitude?”

Torture.

My aptitude and talent were the concept of 「torture」 itself.

There is no set form for the method and structure of unfolding it.

Only the subject, screams, and despair will make my magic stronger and more cruel. The end is not death, but more pain.

It was a continuous cycle.

This aptitude was as if my life had melted into it.

The magic I personally refined with my heart, giving it my thoughts and assembling it, had such a perverted power.

“In a way, it’s a truly me-like aptitude.”

There is no answer.

Only terrible screams filled the sewer.

The first torture ended while I was talking one-sidedly.

Squeak.

The burning Iron Maiden opened, and the contents poured out from within.

But you know what?

No matter how carefully I selected the torture, Andrealphaus’s eyes died on the first try.

Ah, I can’t use this anymore.

“I have to put this away for now.”

─What are you going to do?

“Storage.”

I shoved her corpse into the space in the ring as if stuffing it in.

Without considering or worrying about broken bones or joints, I put it in the gaps in the space like a puzzle and closed the space.

In reality, her body is still breathing, and the name 「Andrealphaus」 she received is still functioning. If she wanted to, she could easily tear apart the subspace in the ring.

But I defined her as a dead body.

─Why don’t you tie up her limbs?

“There’s no need to worry. I’m going to fix it soon.”

─Fix it. What are you going to do?

What am I going to do?

“Should I extract the memories from the brain, or make it a puppet that answers well to the questions I ask?”

─……What?

As if asking something obvious.

Tamao felt her eyes twitch at the bewildered look.

This is not a multiple personality.

How can a person change so drastically?

“Hmm……. What should I do now?”

My expression, which had shown such extreme violence that Tamamo was surprised, hardened.

The calmness that was not felt by the madman just now.

Various thoughts crossed over the hardened expression.

‘This mask is enough. Should I go outside and join the fight now? But is there any need to do that? Or should I just finish the work I’ve been putting off here, where I don’t have to be conscious of anyone?’

I asked myself the question several times.

In the process, I organized my thoughts and set priorities and actions.

‘First of all, I don’t go out.’

There is no point in me going out right now.

The corpses of the revolutionary army and the dead blood scattered in this sewer were slowly flowing and soaking the land of the manor.

This is a huge magical ritual on a city scale.

Since it cannot be stopped by ordinary methods, I chose to reorganize instead.

And the method of reorganization is.

‘Remodel my body into a more useful state.’

It was crazy.

The beginning of the idea was the martial arts realm of Ogijo-won (五氣朝元) [Five Energies Toward the Origin].

Can this be transplanted into a magical realm? It started with a simple question.

I had deep knowledge of martial arts from the beginning, so the conclusion was easily drawn.

‘You can do it if you want to die.’

The martial arts realms such as Samhwachwijeong [Three Flowers Gather on the Crown] and Ogijo-won are more related to the profound principles of Naedanxue [Internal Alchemy] than physical meaning, so various interpretations and views can be derived depending on the master.

Ogi creates Yangshin [Spirit Body], and Samyang achieves Jowon [Returning to the Origin] toward Naewon [Inner Source], etc.

There are many words and it is complicated, but it can be defined as one in the end.

Divide the dantian [energy center] into three stages, upper, middle, and lower, to reach a higher dimension of power.

In Taoism, it was seen as part of the asceticism toward becoming a god, but I simply judged it as a process in which magical power harmoniously intertwined and became stronger.

‘Resonance and harmony of magic power. What if this is widened to the whole body to suit a magician, not a dantian like a martial artist?’

What’s wrong with that?

If you try it 10 times, you will die 9 times.

This alone is a suicidal idea, but I went even further with that idea.

‘If that’s possible, can the principles of the old circle be applied there?’

The martial arts realms such as first-class, apex, Hwagyung [Transcendent Realm], and Ogijo-won have been passed down since ancient times. Magicians also have standards for dividing them into lower, middle, and upper levels, but these standards were established relatively recently compared to martial arts.

However, there were old terms that referred to the realm of magic like martial arts.

‘The oldest realm and class of magic.’

Circle.

The extremely simple standard of meaning a circle divided the realm of magicians according to the number of circular rings intersecting the heart and dantian.

Magicians with one to three rings are beginners.

Four to five are experts.

Six refers to a magician who has acquired [Domain] based on modern standards.

Seven is a great magician.

Eight is a great magician who built [Sanctuary].

Nine existed conceptually, and even when compared to modern magicians, there is no comparison except for the Demon King.

In that way, I used a very intuitive classification method.

And if I incorporate that into my idea.

…….

Ten out of ten will die.

─That’s a crazy idea. You know that your thoughts and feelings partially flow into me, right?

“……Weren’t you so scared of me saying I was going to make you into a doll that you shut your mouth? I thought you wouldn’t talk for at least a week.”

─Me? Hehe… Don’t you see me as too innocent a virgin? Even though I used to live under the name of Daji, who was once a Porakji-hyung (炮烙之刑) [burning punishment] and Gyeonggukjisaek (傾國之色) [beauty that can ruin a nation]?”

“……Isn’t that too shameless an age to be called a virgin? How many thousands of years ago was the Yin Dynasty when Daji was active?”

Let’s see.

Approximately when King Zhou lived…….

─If you do that one more time, you’re dead?

“……Isn’t that too much for the only contractor?”

─Hehe…… Even if you cross the line, you’d better not think about crossing it in relation to me, at least.

“……I’ll keep that in mind.”

So don’t smile and turn your face black.

Even with a half-crazy mind, I had no choice but to be careful, thinking that I could get into big trouble if I touched her with age.

Women are scary.

Oh, my.

I couldn’t help but think that it was too much for people who could only talk to each other with their hearts open.