Academy’S Gumiho Is A Magical Genius [EN]: Chapter 176

Academy Gumiho is a Magic Genius – Episode 176

Academy Gumiho is a Magic Genius 176

No fingers are more painful than others when you bite all ten.

Night passes, and day rises.

While a man was screaming in the hospital room, clutching his left arm.

In the deep grounds of the Seven Stars Academy, an assistant instructor wielding a sword was wildly swinging it, befriending the shadows.

Clean movements.

The sharp force was truly the image of a master.

But he, the person in question, knows.

That there are too many monsters and geniuses in the world to be satisfied with this level.

And that the opponent he wants to give a taste of is one of those kinds of people, born with demonic talent.

So today, he silently hones his sword.

Swoosh!

A shadow rose from the floor and murmured.

“He has come.”

“…….”

The man stopped swinging his sword at those words.

“He woke up in the hospital this morning and came straight here, it seems.”

Yes, he finally came.

The man had been waiting for him to come.

He had been preparing to die for almost a month.

“……The time has come. Baek Seung-woo, be prepared.”

The man holding the sword, Mugung, sheathed his sword and moved towards where the shadow was pointing.

Beyond that was a young man.

The fluttering sleeve near his left arm.

There, according to the article, was a left arm that should never have existed on him.

Whether it was a prosthetic or not, the left arm wrapped in black bandages was not very important to him.

What was important to Mugung was only repaying the humiliation he had received that day.

Perhaps because of that.

“…….”

No one knew that Baek Seung-woo’s heavy, unfocused pupils felt more ominous than his eyes burning with revenge.

* * *

Baek Seung-woo came to the academy.

The rumor spread far and wide within 2 minutes of my arrival.

A week-long break.

Thanks to that, there were fewer students inside the grounds than expected.

Everyone was enjoying the week with friends or family or had left to train in harsh environments. But strangely enough, my surroundings were full of people.

Students, assistant instructors, and security guards were all crowded around.

But.

“……?”

Everyone came close, but there was a sense of distance.

I realized that fact when there were many people around, but no one approached within a 2m radius of me.

In a situation that was strange to anyone, I wondered if I was unknowingly emitting threat or murderous intent.

Wriggle.

Something moved.

Only then did I realize what was happening.

It was true that threat and murderous intent were being emitted.

However, it wasn’t me, but someone else who was doing it.

After that, I was calmly enjoying a walk.

The walk wasn’t for health or rehabilitation.

“……It seems to be around here.”

The place I’m heading to is a deserted place.

That canyon that was once the origin of the mystery.

Arriving at the center of the canyon, I immediately reached out to the floor.

My shadow stretched out along the sunlight.

I quickly realized.

This is not ‘my’ shadow.

I grabbed the neck of the shadow and lifted it up.

Then, something heavy was lifted into my grasp.

“You hid in a strange place. Are you perhaps a voyeur?”

Crack, I assisted my lacking grip with the spells of 「In」 [likely a concealment spell] and 「Cheok」 [likely a binding spell].

From now on, the nape of his neck and my hand are like the N and S poles of a magnet.

Unless I release the spell, he cannot escape from my grasp.

Well, it would be released if he cut my neck─.

─Swae ae ae ae!

A dagger flew towards my neck.

It jumped out of the shadow, and because I couldn’t grasp the direction or speed of its flight, it would be enough to be called a fatal blow to an ordinary target.

「Yoma Eye」[Demon Eye – A skill that enhances perception].

Unfortunately, my eyes couldn’t be deceived.

I dodged the dagger with ease, then kicked him in the solar plexus.

Then, he, whose neck was caught in my grasp, let out a dry cough.

Even if I kicked him with my body, the vital point was still a vital point.

I kicked his solar plexus once again, then subdued him to the floor, unable to come to his senses. This time, I grabbed his head instead of the nape of his neck.

So that I could break his neck right away if things went wrong.

“I don’t recommend messing with my nerves. How about having a constructive conversation rather than using force? We had a fistfight a month ago.”

Isn’t that right? Mugung.

The shadow that was trembling at my words was peeled off.

Revealed from within was the face of the man I knew well.

“How on earth……?!”

“That’s what I want to say.”

Crack!

I reached out and made a wound on his body.

A very small wound.

But like a mosquito digging into bare skin and sucking blood.

「Blood Absorption」

My palm became the proboscis of a mosquito, stimulating the blood vessels in that small gap of the wound. It began to suck blood.

Thanks to the title, 「Heir of the Vampire」, I gained the indiscriminate ability to suck blood.

The significance of this blood-sucking act was not a concept of eating or gourmet like a normal vampire, but a gluttonous consumption.

“Ma… Magic power and vitality are gradually scattering?! What on earth are you doing to my body!”

“Be quiet for a moment, I can’t find the dantian [energy center] because my ears hurt.”

“!!!”

My 「Blood Absorption」 absorbs magic power and vitality.

Among them, vitality (元氣) [vital energy] is the fundamental essence of all things, and the energy that is determined at birth. It is deeply related to the innate true energy (先天眞氣) [pre-natal chi] or true origin true energy (眞元眞氣) [true source chi].

Innate true energy is the true energy that you have from birth, and its amount and limit are clear.

It is life force itself, so it is not a concept that can be replenished if it is lost.

Therefore, if 「Blood Absorption」 can reach the innate true energy that is the essence of vitality, I will be able to use a conditional limited instant death skill.

‘Of course, the limits of that condition are clear, though.’

If used well, I could put shackles on the opponent.

Like now.

“Dantian? What on earth are you talking about!?”

“Be quiet. I’m almost… Ah, I found it.”

“……Ha, I think I know what you’re trying to do.”

Mugung, who was flustered and waving his arms and legs, seemed to realize what I was trying to do.

Of course, he would know.

He had suffered a similar thing just a few days ago, so there was no way he wouldn’t know.

He raised his arm with a somewhat resigned heart.

It was his right arm that I had lightly cut off last time.

“If you want to hold my lifeline, why don’t you just cut off my arm? You cut it off so casually last time.”

“Are you serious? Okay, good. Then what…….”

“!!!”

“I’m not in a good mood right now, so that’s good.”

Mugung was startled by my attitude of agreeing so casually.

He had expected that if the confrontation continued, I might cut off his arm like last time, but he never imagined that I would nod without any hesitation.

He had never imagined that the head of the Cheonho Baekga family [Thousand-Eyed Baek Family, a prominent clan] would go this far.

Mugung, who was momentarily flustered, tried to take back his words, but the blade of fire vibrating at high speed had already been launched.

Crack, a refreshing sound like biting into a fruit echoed through the canyon.

But what was torn off was not a full pulp, but hard bones and flesh.

Mugung blankly watched his arm fly away.

Is it because he has reason this time, unlike before?

He couldn’t help but be shocked at the sight of his arm flying away.

“My, my arm……!!”

He couldn’t finish his words, seeing his severed arm.

Perhaps because it wasn’t cut off neatly, but torn off with the momentum to completely crush it, the unevenly cut arm fell to the floor.

That sight alone was shocking enough.

Whoosh──!!

A small spark caught on the tip of my finger.

It began to burn, using flesh and muscle as a fuse.

Soon, the fire spread to the entire severed arm.

It started to burn, not just browning, but turning completely black.

And that sight resembled Mugung’s inner thoughts.

“No, no!!!”

The muscles and right arm that he had built up by wielding his sword and constantly training until now.

Everything he had built up as a right-handed person was collapsing in vain like a sandcastle on the beach at this moment.

Mugung screamed, unable to accept the sight.

It was a natural thing for him to do.

But not for me.

From my point of view, the scream was more annoying than his tragedy.

My ears are killing me.

“It’s noisy.”

“Would you be able to stay still if you were me!!!”

“If you keep yelling like that, I might cut off your other arm and burn it too?”

“…….”

A threat in a calm tone.

Moreover, it was said by someone who had experience of having his arm cut off and burned.

If an ordinary person had said that, he would have ignored it in nine out of ten cases, but the other person was a madman who had a record of cutting off one’s arm.

A sincere threat.

Mugung then realized why Baek Seung-woo was called a thug.

How could he regard that insane man, who thought nothing of cutting off other people’s arms, as the same as other people?

“Was that your true self? You’re indeed worthy of being called a thug.”

“It’s nothing new.”

True self, huh.

I chuckled at the unexpected word.

Come to think of it, there was a guy who said something similar to me in the past.

From my mouth, which suddenly reminded me of the old days, came an unexpected word that surpassed all the answers Mugung had expected.

“I’m not a thug.”

“Ha…….”

“If I had to classify, I’m closer to a crazy murderer than a thug.”

“……What?”

What on earth are you talking about?

Isn’t the latter worse than the former?

Before Mugung could have such normal thoughts, I reached out first.

I stroked the area near his severed shoulder and said.

“I’ve killed countless creatures so far. Of course, there were many bastards who gave up their humanity and turned to demons. Thanks to that experience, I’m also familiar with the physical structure of people and creatures, so I was able to learn torture.”

Biology that I studied to kill demons or evil beings as quickly and accurately as possible, regardless of distinction. That knowledge aroused my aptitude for torture and slaughter.

There is one thing I learned from killing and dissecting all kinds of creatures.

Even people who are usually resistant to poison don’t have this much poison coming out of their blood vessels like Mugung.

In addition, I also felt that something was uncomfortable near his internal organs.

“There’s one thing I want to ask.”

“What a load of crap. Are you now afraid of the aftermath after making me like this?”

“No, I’m not really interested in that. No matter what you do, it’s not difficult to create my alibi. Rather, I’m more interested in this guy.”

I pointed at Mugung’s stomach, tapping it with my finger.

“Why are you carrying a bug in your stomach?”

“!!!”

Mugung was startled by my words. His eyes widened.

What, what’s wrong.

Is it that surprising that I found this out?