Academy’S Gumiho Is A Magical Genius [EN]: Chapter 140

Academy Gumiho is a Magic Genius – Episode 140

Those Who Sacrifice Tomorrow for Today (5)

—Can’t you do something about that personality?

“I don’t care about throwing away a mask or two. There’s something I can only do now.”

—Are you really going to go through with that idea? Your heart will explode if you do.

As she said, what I’m about to do is an outrage that demands my heart as the price. In the worst case, my body will explode along with my heart.

Even in the best case, my heart will explode.

Instead, I’ll fill the void with a new organ.

That was the best-case scenario of the crazy짓거리 [crazy짓거리 (jjitgeori) is a Korean slang term for a crazy or foolish act] I was planning.

“If I’m already screwed before even making a choice, wouldn’t it be less unfair to choose to be screwed myself?”

—What crazy talk are you spouting?

“Just kidding.”

—……Please, do something about that personality.

I don’t think this personality is too bad.

She seems to think differently.

I think I can change it later, but since we are bound by a contract, I should grant her simple conveniences.

“Then I’ll do what I need to do quickly and then change it.”

—Hahaha……. So you’re going to do it after all. Fine, do as you please. But you know that if you die, my soul bound to the ring will die with you, right?

“Yeah.”

—Huhu, well, sometimes enjoying an adventure in a crisis might not be so bad.

In the end, Tamamo, resigned, raised my hand.

Upon hearing those words, I immediately raised my right hand over my heart.

콰득──!!

I seized the heart in my chest with magic.

The heart, which had been beating well, gradually slowed down due to the sudden intangible pressure.

쿵쾅, As the heart, the source of life, slowed down, the vitality disappeared from my face, and my brain’s rotation slowed down rapidly.

Evidence that oxygen supply to the whole body is not smooth.

Now was the right time to perform surgery on my body.

꾸우우욱.

As I pressed down on my chest where my heart was with my right hand.

A large handprint was imprinted, and the stronger the intensity, the more strain was placed on the ribs.

우둑! 우두둑──!!

The sound of something hard breaking and snapping.

My ribs, at the center of that sound, eventually collapsed in turn.
The ribs turned into powder due to the magic power injected into the heart area through my right hand.

The moment I felt the absence of the bone protecting the organs.

A warning bell rang in my head.

‘If I don’t finish it in 3 minutes, I might become disabled, even if I don’t die.’

Blood does not only supply oxygen to the whole body.

It also carries magic power.

But in my case, it carries not only magic power but also the energy of Yanggang [Yanggang refers to a potent internal energy], which is the cause of 「Solar Meridian Severance」. Moreover, the amount of magic power is not small.

There are only a few people in the world who have more magic power than me.

Because of that, my blood vessels are twice as narrow as others.

In the meantime, when the blood flow stops, screams are heard from all over the body.

If this goes on, one part of my body will necrose.

I have no choice.

It’s dangerous, but since it’s already dangerous, I have no choice but to speed up.

쿠궁!

I concentrated magic power on the spot where I broke my ribs.

So much was gathered that the flow of magic power, which should not be visible unless 「Yoma Eye」 is opened, was visible to the naked eye.

The magic power, clumped and condensed, had a mass larger and heavier than the heart.

‘I’ll make it little by little from here.’

Like sculpting clay little by little.

I took about 10% from the large mass of magic power and immediately created a loop that circulates between the heart and the dantian [dantian refers to an energy center in the body, often located below the navel] below the navel.

‘First, I made a pipeline.’

The heart is the most important to a magician who uses circles.

The dantian is the most important to a martial artist who accumulates internal energy below the navel.

I created a loop connecting the two.

With this, the first stage was successful.

‘Now, it’s time to transplant the circle, which was the legacy of the old magicians, into my body.’

A formless ring made of magic power.

This ring rotates in a circle, closely exchanging magic power between the two organs. I let a little magic power flow along the flow.

우우웅.

Then the heart reacts little by little.

The magic power flowing along the circular ring began to draw a circle as if riding the current.

I repeated the same operation several times.

Before I knew it, the ring of magic power connecting the heart and the dantian began to circulate based on one huge concentric circle.

Tamamo, who was watching the scene from the closest place, couldn’t help but admire it.

─Indeed… I heard you were a Sword Star, so you were that Sword Star. You seem to have a deeper understanding of constellations and celestial bodies than I thought.

Like a beautiful landscape hanging in the night sky.

The concentric circles of sparkling magic power were so beautiful, using the body as a canvas. After that, based on the huge concentric circle, five small magic powers were compressed and rotated in a circle.

‘If the concentric circle is the concept of a circle, then the circular 항성 [Hangseong refers to fixed stars or celestial bodies] orbiting around it are the five elements(五氣) [Five Elements (五氣) refers to the five fundamental elements in traditional Chinese philosophy: wood, fire, earth, metal, and water].’

With this, the procedure was over.

The large amount of magic power, condensed to replace the ribs, created the ribs and soon assisted the dying heart due to being held tightly.

The extremely crazy idea of 접목ing [Grafting] nothingness to magic.

The result was as crazy as the idea.

“Unification of the heart and dantian(一元化) [Unification of the heart and dantian (一元化) refers to merging the two energy centers into one]. Replacement of the heart’s creation.”

Since the heart and dantian have become one in a concentric circle.

From now on, every time I increase the number of concentric circles, just like the circles increase and the realm rises, the magical realm will deepen.

And internal energy will accumulate in the five 항성 that replaced the dantian to assist the body.

……It’s all done.

“You managed to succeed.”

Immediately after finishing the procedure.

I muttered as if nothing was wrong.

Something filled my chest.

It was neither the sense of accomplishment of successfully completing the procedure nor the sense of relief that I had somehow managed to do it.

In fact, I had no thoughts about the procedure itself.

That’s because what I just did was only an area full of theories and speculations.

However, there was no reason to prove the theory to you wearing a crazy mask.

I take anything that is useful.

Even if at the cost of that.

“I’ll die a few days earlier.”

Even if it shortens my already short lifespan even faster.

“Did my lifespan shorten by about half?”

Ugh, I vomited blood that filled my chest.

I spat out blood without feeling a sense of accomplishment and diagnosed my body.

Certainly, my body is stronger than before.

But the internal construction was quite serious.

What good is a good engine?

The foundation is collapsing.

“Maybe it’s shorter than I thought.”

The limitations of this wretched body were clear.

Death was already near.

Despite that, I hadn’t eaten for over a month, and my total sleep time didn’t even exceed 24 hours.

As a result of overworking my already dying body.

The Yanggang in the blood vessels was stimulated, causing the 「Solar Meridian Severance」 to cause the body to collapse.

And I just put the finishing touches on such crazy짓 [crazy짓 (jjit) is a Korean slang term for a crazy or foolish act].

─Haa……. Do you know how much time is left?

“About 4 months, I guess.”

─To be exact, you have about 115 days left. Your soul’s 격 [Gyeok refers to the level or quality of one’s soul] is high, but your body is so wretched……. Hmph, you should have rested better.

A lifespan of only 115 days.

Even if it is a limited time, it is a very short moment for a young man in his early 20s to accept.

“That’s not bad, is it?”

It didn’t give the madman much emotion.

Because life has clear limitations.

Whether you live long or short, if you are destined to die in the end, what is the big deal about 115 days?

Isn’t a person’s life such that they might die before that because they don’t know the future?

That was the madman’s thought.

* * *

The Middle Ages were the age of knights.

As such, the existence of knights was deeply ingrained in people’s lives.

Those who are in charge of public order, uphold and protect the owner of this land, and uphold the ideals of chivalry.

They were respected by people because they believed in courage, love, tolerance, predestination, and honor.

The knights repaid their respect with the value of labor.

Thanks to the knights who worked harder than anyone else.

The cold northern land could forget the cold.

Even if the cold of the body could be somewhat prevented by the development of magic, the cold of the heart was warmed by their burning passion.

It must have been like that.

“Mom, what about our house……?”

“……Don’t worry. Surely the knight will appear 멋지게 [meotjige, meaning ‘coolly’ or ‘impressively’] and save us. So you can take care of your younger sibling until then, right?”

“Yeah…….”

And the remaining child held the smaller child.

The woman who watched the scene with a smile shed tears at the same time as the smile and ran towards the burning downtown.

Even if she ran barefoot on the rough stone floor and her flesh was torn, she had to bring her husband.

However, as with all lives in this world.

Tragedy was bound to come equally to everyone.

끼기긱─!

The pillars of houses made of sturdy trees that had survived the harsh northern winter.

As the things that supported the wooden pillars disappeared in the fire that swept through the downtown.

The burning tree was above the head of the woman who was running mindlessly.

쿵─!!!

Fell.

Dust rose everywhere from the huge impact.

The sight of blood flowing on the floor was not a pleasant scene.

But if tragedy is equal to everyone, then hopeful comedy is also equal to everyone.

“You! You, the lady in the black skirt!”

Right under where the huge wooden pillar fell.

The voice of a young boy was heard there.

The woman, who momentarily mistook it for her son’s voice, startled and looked up.

A huge wooden pillar had fallen on top of the fallen woman.

She probably would have been crushed to death if someone hadn’t been in the middle.

Yes, if it hadn’t been for the boy in front of her.

“Who are you……?”

“No time for questions!!”

The boy, Iji, blocked the falling wooden pillar with his shield.

However, the impact was transmitted directly to Iji’s entire body through both arms.

Iji felt blood dripping from his body from the impact just now and shouted at the woman behind him.

“Don’t owe anyone anything!! Whether it’s money or life, try to earn it with your own hands!!!”

“……Huh?”

Quite a unique remark for someone who almost died.

Whether she did or not, Iji raised his shield and let the wooden pillar flow to the side.

쿵──!!!

Even though it wasn’t dropped from a high place.

The sound was considerable just by dropping it to the side because of how heavy it was.

The woman realized what kind of help she had received from the huge sound and tried to give her thanks.

Iji had already thrown himself into the middle of the downtown area where the fire had spread.

“……He looks only two years older than my son.”

She was newly immersed in emotion and suddenly realized who she had left behind to find her husband.

My babies.

My treasures that I gave birth to in pain.

She ran in the opposite direction she had been walking, to the fact that she had left her young son and daughter in such a place to find her husband, who may be alive or dead.

At the end of the woman’s gaze, where her feet were torn and burst.

Tilted.

A fragment of wood that was slowly lowering its head and trying to cover the children’s backs came into view. In the woman’s head, suddenly.

‘Ah, I wish that boy would suddenly appear and help me again.’

She thought it would be nice, but at the same time, a word came to mind.

─Don’t owe anyone anything!! Whether it’s money or life, try to earn it with your own hands!!!

……Yeah.

They are my children.

Our children, whom my husband and I gave birth to and raised with love.

Rather than running to the opposite side and clinging to salvation that will not come.

I will earn it with my own hands.

쿵─!!

A huge piece of wood swept over the children’s backs.

Distracted by the burning fire and house, the terrified older brother and younger sister hugged each other, busy calming their surprised hearts with each other’s warmth.

That’s why they couldn’t react to the threat lurking behind them.

But fortunately or unfortunately.

“Oh, Mom……?”

“Thank God…… my babies…….”

The woman’s body collapsed.

Numerous pieces of wood were embedded behind her.

However, the face of the fallen woman was bright with a smile.

The driving force behind that smile.

It was the joy and sense of accomplishment of protecting and earning something precious with her own hands. That’s why she was able to close her eyes with a smile.

The same phenomenon occurred frequently in various parts of the city.

There are people who live in the moment.

Those who do not save for the future but earn and live day by day to keep their children from going hungry.

They will mortgage their energy for tomorrow to endure today.

And the next day, they will endure like that again.

In the distant future, they will get sick, suffer, and leave.

Even if such a future is confirmed.

There are those who sacrifice tomorrow for today.

We call such people parents.