Academy’S Gumiho Is A Magical Genius [EN]: Chapter 17

Academy Gumiho is a Magical Genius – Episode 17

Academy Gumiho is a Magical Genius Episode 17

Wizard Hunter (2)

Ja-Yeom conjured a sea of fire.

The existing red flames that covered all sides were nowhere to be found. They had long been devoured by the purple “Foxfire.”

“How is it? I was scared to handle it, so it’s a skill I’ve been putting off training with.”

The skills I had immediately after possessing this body were four:

「Yoma Eye」, 「Foxfire」, 「Essence Absorption」, and 「Charm」.

「Yoma Eye」 had just finished its first practical use, and 「Essence Absorption」 couldn’t be practiced because it required a prerequisite.

And 「Charm」 seemed a bit unsettling, so I didn’t use it.

However, unlike the three skills above.

「Foxfire」 was a skill I hadn’t used purely out of fear.

The only offensive skill I possessed, 「Foxfire」.

This was quite an abnormal skill.

「Foxfire」

Rank: A

Description: One of the powers of a yokai [supernatural creature] derived from legends throughout the Orient. The fox’s fire burns even spiritual concepts like souls, and it is a flame that honors the spirits of the dead.

However, honoring the spirits of the dead also means embracing their grudges, so special care must be taken when using it.

*Ghoul Glare(鬼燐) [Kirin: ghostly fire]

A flame that burns using souls as fuel. Because it is a flame that harbors grudges, it does not distinguish between friend and foe, and scatters all kinds of curses in all directions.

*Ghoul Soul Light(鬼魂燈火) [Konton Tomoshibi: soul lantern]

The fox handles lanterns that illuminate the funerals of the dead. The lanterns that burn based on souls are divided into nine branches.

Burning using souls as fuel, or scattering curses by harboring grudges.

It’s a rather eerie explanation, but thanks to it, I can roughly grasp the strength of 「Foxfire」.

In fact, this is why I borrowed magical books related to curses and hexes, along with telekinetic magical books, from the library.

If I strengthen the curses contained in 「Foxfire」 or increase their types, it will become stronger. I only realized it later, but it was a clear miscalculation.

“…Crazy, that’s crazy. Is it some kind of S-class skill?”

“No, it’s A-class.”

“I didn’t expect you to have such a hidden card…”

The curse was eating away at Yuren’s body.

Of course, the same was true for me.

「Foxfire」 is a skill that doesn’t move according to my control.

What’s the point of being strong? It’s trying to devour its own owner.

That’s why it was a skill I didn’t want to use if possible.

“I’m completely done for. I can’t move my body.”

“Then won’t you just die quietly?”

“But I have a potion prepared for times like this.”

“…Damn it.”

Is that coat some kind of four-dimensional pocket?

He keeps pulling out timely items.

He opens a red glass bottle and gulps it down.

I immediately launched 「Foxfire」, but he didn’t fall for it twice.

Yuren dodged with all his might.

I watched the quickly moving guy and thought.

Then the only way is to deal with him in an unconventional way.

I ignited the cursed 「Foxfire」 again. The fire divided into nine branches, following the lights.

Whirr, the nine branches of fire chased after him.

Meanwhile, Yuren used his Ten Mile Eyes to evade along the optimal path.

He’s been just dodging since a while ago, it seems like he’s waiting for my mana to drop.

Ha, does he think A+ grade mana is common?

I can light this many lamps all day long.

Of course, my weak stamina is holding me back, but I’ll endure this much with willpower.

Kwa Kwang, the nine branches of lamps intertwined wherever Yuren dodged.

The purple flames boast the power to break walls if there are any in the path and dig into the ground if there is a floor.

They cleverly weave a net, trying to strangle him. Yuren looked up to see how he could get rid of these.

“Oops…!”

While looking elsewhere, 「Foxfire」 aimed for his legs.

Judging that he couldn’t avoid it, Yuren took out an item from his pocket.

An item that nullifies status conditions. But it’s a disposable item.

Of course, there is a limit to the quantity.

‘If this goes on, it’ll be a battle of stamina…’

He suddenly turned his gaze towards the starting point of the fire.

The nine branches of lamps emanated from near Seungwoo’s waist.

They spread out from where the tail was.

The flames looked like nine tails.

It was like a Gumiho [nine-tailed fox] from legends or folktales.

Fighting against such a guy. It’s clear that it will be a difficult fight.

“A close combat seems like I have to risk my life. Is there no other way than to coax him.”

Yuren’s gaze turned to Seungwoo.

Especially towards those purple eyes. No emotion was revealed in his pupils that had fully opened 「Yoma Eye」.

But the veteran mercenary, Yuren, could see it.

The fact that he was gradually getting tired. And all he was doing was compensating for his lack of stamina with willpower.

A memory flashed through his mind.

Hadn’t he blown himself away with just one punch?

If he used that point, he might be able to coax him.

Action was taken at the same time as judgment. Yuren raised his hand and shouted.

“Surrendeeeeeer!”

He stopped running away and stood still in his place.

Then the eerie flames stopped chasing him.

Instead, they began to hover around as if they would pierce him if he showed any movement. Yuren immediately said the words he had prepared.

“Why don’t you become a demon, too?”

“…What?”

It was hard to remain silent at the sudden words.

Become a demon, too?

Does that mean he’s not far from becoming a demon?

I racked my brain as much as possible, but the information was too lacking.

I had no choice but to withdraw 「Foxfire」.

Yuren smiled with satisfaction at the sight.

He seemed to know that I was interested in what he had just said.

“You know about demons, right?”

“Of course. A vermin that has given up being human, no, a scum that has thrown away even the minimum of humanity, isn’t it?”

“No, well. That’s not wrong, but…”

Yuren scratched his head as if embarrassed by the aggressive tone.

It seems like this isn’t the atmosphere he wants.

In the first place, there’s no way I’d want to become a demon.

“I have no intention of becoming a criminal, nor do I have any desire to become someone’s servant or slave.”

“Well, demons have a particularly strict system. They’re the guys who maintain the Five Ranks(五等爵) [Gotou Shakui: a feudal ranking system] system in the 21st century.”

However, if there are disadvantages, there are corresponding advantages.

Yuren started talking and continued.

“But instead, there are clear benefits.”

His right hand folded.

Then he unfolded his index finger.

“First, you can get demonic energy. A wizard can’t help but be tempted.”

Demonic energy(魔氣) [Maki: dark magical energy] is a more powerful energy than mana.

It also has the power to increase the power and speed of magic.

There’s a reason why the ‘demon(魔)’ in magic(魔法) is ‘demon demon(魔鬼魔)’.

Yuren unfolded his middle finger.

“Second, if you become a demon, you can escape the influence of the damn system. Ah, is this only an advantage for me?”

He shook his head and immediately unfolded his ring finger.

Ahem, Yuren cleared his throat and said.

“Third, demonic energy is above all, a suitable energy for an Ajin [demi-human]. You’re a Gumiho bloodline, right?”

His finger pointed to my tail.

Soon, he pointed to the fox ears above my head.

“By nature, Ajin are drawn to evil(魔) rather than justice(正). Especially if you’re a Gumiho bloodline. If you do well, you can take a leap to a higher level.”

Yuren unfolded his little finger.

But he didn’t say anything and just stood there awkwardly.

Only after my face showed unpleasant emotions did he barely open his mouth.

“…Actually. Since I unfolded my fingers, I wanted to list five advantages, but I couldn’t think of anything after the fourth.”

“…That’s enough bullshit.”

It’s ridiculous nonsense.

Even if there are five advantages, I won’t become a demon.

Why am I blocking the protagonist’s awakening and standing in this place?

Listening to Yuren’s words is simply to resolve doubts.

In addition, it is also to catch my breath for a while.

“Hey, you’ll think a little differently after hearing the fourth advantage.”

“Stop talking nonsense and just say it. I don’t want to talk to a crazy guy like you anymore.”

“If you become a demon, you can also heal your body.”

“…”

A puddle of blood was forming on the floor. It was the fresh blood I had just shed.

Yuren dipped his finger there and licked it with his tongue.

A very disgusting and unpleasant scene.

Unlike me, who frowned, he savored my blood.

He looked at me with an expectant expression.

“Your blood is full of yang energy. You probably have a severed meridian [energy pathway]. Thanks to that, you’re good at fire magic, but as time goes by, you’ll suffer from pain and lifespan.”

“…So, what’s the point.”

“Your severed meridian, you can heal it if you become a demon. Or, to be exact, it would be right to say that it never happened.”

If you become a demon, you will be abandoned by the system.

The system only bestows the grace of a status window to humans.

This is intertwined with the second advantage presented by Yuren.

“If the status window disappears, the 「Status Abnormality」 item will also disappear. Then you can show off your skills to your heart’s content.”

His gaze turned to my right arm.

The right arm that was broken by the blow I had just dealt to Yuren.

It burst from the inside out just by using one technique.

Yuren dug into that part.

“If you eat a lot of knives in the industry [have a lot of experience], you can see things. You were quite a high-ranking martial artist, right?”

“…”

“Well, it seems like you’ve switched to a magic dealer now. If you’re good enough to blow me away in one shot, you must have trained quite hard.”

That wasn’t wrong.

Until I possessed this world, I was a martial artist.

Rather than magic, cold weapons are familiar to my hands.

Yuren made another suggestion to me, who didn’t affirm or deny it.

“If you become a demon, you can change that weak constitution. And I came to this place to become a demon in the first place.”

“…What?”

“If I successfully complete this request, they said they would make me a demon as a reward. However, there was no limit to the number of rewards. I’ll talk to them well and help you become a demon too.”

I was deep in thought at Yuren’s words.

As he said, if I become a demon, advantages that outweigh the disadvantages await.

Above all, I was interested in the fact that I could cure 「Solar Meridian Severance」.

So you can cure it that way.

That was all.

I don’t have the slightest thought of becoming a demon.

Rather, I feel a deep sense of disgust towards Yuren, who made the offer.

The demons are always ugly.

They are evil that should disappear, and trash that is worse than garbage.

Vermin that are hard to find even one good thing about them.

“So, what are you going to do? If you just hold my hand, you definitely won’t regret it…”

“…Off.”

“Um?”

I raised my middle finger.

It was a clear expression of refusal.

“Get lost. Can’t you see this?”

“…”

“Ha, I thought it was a great offer. I just wasted my time.”

I feel the gaze staring at me.

The offer I had made became nonsense that only wasted time.

It was a word that stimulated Yuren’s Achilles heel, who had been carrying out the requests of horned things to become a demon.

While Yuren was emitting intense murderous intent.

I had a feeling through my conversation with him.

‘Ajin are drawn to evil(魔) rather than justice(正). That’s right.’

If you go back to the roots of Ajin, there are races such as vampires and elves above them.

They are beings that are different from humans.

Their composition itself is extremely close to demons.

Then am I also putting my body in evil?

That’s disgusting.

I have lived my whole life to kill things related to evil.

That’s why I lived without dying.

It’s close to a declaration of war to urge me to become a demon.

I was deep in thought at his words.

I closed my eyes to block my vision.

I contemplated myself.

It was an opportunity.

A type of training to look at and understand oneself objectively again.

Continuous doubt collapsed the composition of one’s own existence and rose again. As if an empty glass was filling up.

[Training has reached a realm!]

[Due to Nine Transformations and Nine Recoveries(九變九復) [Kyuhen Kyufuku: a cyclical process of change and restoration], the moonlight rises twice and wanes twice again.]

Crackle, along with the sound of something cracking, the skin cracked.

The skin falls off like shedding a shell. Then the flesh fills up.

I repeated the process once more.

The regenerated skin cracks again.

Soon, the lacking flesh quickly fills up.

Thus, it has changed twice and stepped twice, so it will be Two Transformations and Two Recoveries(二變二復) [Nihen Nifuku].

[Shedding the first shell.]

[Creating the second tail!]

The fox is a race born with the yin energy of the moon.

They transform nine times with Nine Transformations(九變) [Kyuhen] and return nine times with Nine Recoveries(九復) [Kyufuku]. Thus, they engrave the attributes of the moon on their bodies and are reborn as more complete beings.

I am now walking along that path.

[Evolution is complete.]

[Became a Two-Tailed Fox(二尾狐) [Nibi Kitsune]!]

Two black tails flickered like shadows.

At the same time, nine branches of lamps blazed.

Seven of them were like tails near the waist, and two were held in my hands. It feels like I’ve become a Gumiho from legends.

I reached out with the feeling that it would be possible now.

The two branches of fire held in my hand intersected.

The flames amplified as they crossed in a double helix. Soon, they refined their shape and became a long spear.

“…”

I am perfectly controlling the double helix.

I even felt a slight refreshment at that fact.

I don’t know if this is temporary or permanent.

Whoong, I swung the spear according to the movements my body remembers.

At that moment, a stream of blood splattered into the air.

The blood evaporated in the heat of the atmosphere.

“…I’ve been thinking about it, but you definitely have to die in this place.”

I don’t want to die.

But he’s trying to kill me.

Then I just have to kill him before he kills me.

Why couldn’t I get this simple realization?

Whoo-oong!

Swordsmanship that cuts through the sea of fire.

Yuren’s figure collapsed from the unexpected intense blow.

* * *

Hmm, Yuren’s forehead furrowed.

The persuasion didn’t work properly, and now the only remaining method is a life-threatening fight. But in the middle of fighting, the opponent started to metamorphose like a pupa.

‘No, that’s closer to ‘shedding skin’ than metamorphosis.’

I heard that there are some races of Ajin(亜人種) [demi-human races] that evolve in that way.

Of course, I only heard it. Not to mention thousands of years ago, there are less than 1,000 Ajin in the current era.

Even Yuren, who had experienced all kinds of incidents during his decades of mercenary life, was witnessing the evolution of an Ajin for the first time.

The skin cracked.

As the fair and pretty skin cracked, new skin filled the gap.

He repeated that act once more.

As the skin cracked, waste products were naturally discharged.

It looked clean on the outside, but in reality, he was suffering from considerable overwork. The cracked skin shell was dyed black.

Whirr, the fallen skin burned in the cursed flames.

The same was true for other waste products. The strange thing was that the flames only burned waste products.

Yuren carefully observed the scene. He swung the sword in his left hand around to test the waters.

‘Can I stab him now…?’

I couldn’t guess what kind of behavior Seungwoo would show during the evolution.

If it were a normal creature, now would be a good time to kill it.

I couldn’t be sure about the Gumiho bloodline. If I made a mistake, I could become the target of the purple flames.

He enjoys life-threatening fights.

But he couldn’t die yet. There was still something he had to do for his daughter.

He risked his life, but he had no intention of being defeated.

Yuren opened his eyes and raised his gun. The gun was pointed at Seungwoo’s heart.

I should shoot one shot and think about it.

Click, after loading, he put his hand on the trigger.

At that very moment. 「Ten Mile Eyes」 sent a warning.

“…!”

He was horrified to see the future a little later.

He saw a future where all his limbs were cut off or his head was blown off. Most of the futures were like that.

Yuren chose the future with the least damage.

He dodged to the left. As a result, he saved his life, but not his right arm. The gun fell to the ground.

More precisely, it fell with the hand holding the gun.

Whirr, the Foxfire moving at high speed cut off his right arm.

There was no bleeding. Because the affected area was burned at the same time as the amputation.

“Haha…”

Yuren let out a hollow laugh as he looked at his empty right arm.

In his 24 years of mercenary life, had he ever suffered such great damage?

He went up with terrible nightmare-like memories, but there were no cases at all.

There are few people who can inflict meaningful damage on Yuren with 「Ten Mile Eyes」. Moreover, to be so helpless.

I couldn’t believe that this was the future with the least damage.

“Is it your knife now?”

It’s definitely different from his eyes.

I know for sure now.

The opponent doesn’t have the ability to peek into the future like him.

Instead, there was something else.

「Ten Mile Eyes」 peeks into the future and chooses, but the opponent’s experience makes an immediate judgment.

Of course, the former has no choice but to be superior, but his experience was surpassing Yuren’s eyes.

What kind of life has he lived?

Yuren was curious about that fact, but he saved his words.

“It will be difficult to peek into the future and move anymore.”

He didn’t assume a retreat.

Even if he didn’t use 「Ten Mile Eyes」, he could see that there was no retreat.

The only remaining options were to die or kill.

It was very extreme, but Yuren liked it.

A thrilling pleasure ran up his spine and reached his brain.

“Come on, you fox monster. I’ll cut your fur and make a coat and scarf to give to my daughter.”

Yuren comes out aggressively.

He made up his mind.

For my life. And for the safety of my daughter.

He must kill that guy in this place.