Academy’S Gumiho Is A Magical Genius [EN]: Chapter 179

Academy Gumiho is a Magic Genius – Episode 179

Academy Gumiho is a Magic Genius 179

No fingers are less painful when biting ten fingers (4) [A Korean proverb meaning all things are precious, and it’s hard to choose one over the others.]

A gift for me.

Usually, one would think of objects, but it reminded me of lovers saying that they are each other’s gifts.

It felt like spouting nonsense.

It doesn’t feel good to receive a man as a gift, but if this is a gift, what can I do?

I have no choice but to accept it.

“So, you were my gift.”

“G-Gift, you mean…?”

“Eve said there would be a gift for me if I came here.”

“!!!!”

His body flinched greatly at the mention of Eve’s name.

He must be from outside this world like me.

In this world, if you mention Eve’s name, people often ask if it’s Christmas Eve, a girlfriend’s name, or a nickname.

Honestly, there were moments I didn’t understand.

In the world I lived in, Eve is like a proper noun.

A name that refers to only one person.

For me, the immediate reaction, like the man in front of me, was the correct response.

“Eve… Are you referring to the Great Magician, the Magic Star? How dare you utter her name. Perhaps I misheard Christmas Eve?”

“That’s right.”

“Ha, haha… I see. I wasn’t the protagonist…”

“Hmm?”

Why is he suddenly like this?

The protagonist of this world is neither you nor me.

Kyle Iris.

I’m not even paying attention to him now, but if I check later, he will definitely be noticeably stronger. That boy is the protagonist of this world.

Whether this world is a comedy or a tragedy, it revolves around him.

It’s absurd for people like us to become protagonists.

What on earth was he thinking when he said that?

Perhaps, like everyone else in the world,

He wanted to be the protagonist.

“What did you mean just now…?”

“Well, with someone as great as you, or rather, like Your Excellency, there’s no reason for someone like me to come here alone.”

“…Okay, don’t tell me if you don’t want to.”

“By the way, I’m late with my greetings. Please, I’ll bow my head like this, so please forgive me. H-How dare someone insignificant like me…”

The man suddenly bowed his head.

He soon knelt on the floor and kowtowed [a deep bow touching the head to the ground, showing respect].

A very neat and polite posture.

It felt like the spirit of a man trying to get permission from his father-in-law to marry his girlfriend. It must have been an act of courage.

“…I pay my respects to the great hero.”

“That greeting, a salute would have been enough.”

“No. I’ll do it properly.”

The servants passing by were astonished at the man’s resolute appearance.

They whispered that the head of the family, who used to be abusive, was being treated like a hero for some reason, but people don’t change after all.

Tamamoe, who was watching all this from behind, realized.

That man is also strange somewhere, like her contractor.

Full of discrepancies.

Twisted reverence.

A distorted sense of fear.

It was not an emotion directed towards a monarch, but an unconditional faith towards a savior who saved a world.

* * *

A moment that caused astonishment to those who watched passed.

While everyone was astonished, only Seungwoo received his greetings with a familiar look.

Seungwoo, noticing the uncomfortable gazes of others, moved to his room.

The man followed him.

After only two men and one ghost were left in the room,

The purple eyes sparkled.

[ peeks at ‘Baek Eunho’s’ status window.]

[There is a thick sense of distance in the target’s mental barrier!]

[‘Baek Eunho,’ who instinctively recognized your actions, readily reveals his true colors.]

「Name: Baek Eunho」

「Age: 19 years old」

「Race: Imiho [Lesser Fox Spirit]」

「Title: Cowering, Cowardly Fox」

「Grade: ──」

「Abnormal Condition: None」

「Weakness Detection」

「HP: A+」 「Strength: B-」

「Durability: C+」 「Agility: C」

「Mana: B+」 「Sense: C+」

「Iron Wall (S)」, 「Orbit of the Evil Dragon (A)」, 「Fountain of Healing (A)」, 「Sensory Assistance (A)」, 「Posture (A)」, 「Spirit Studies (B)」, 「Multiple Incantation (B)」

I wanted to check Baek Eunho’s skills with my own eyes since earlier.

It’s more than I expected in many ways.

His mana and senses are lower than mine, but the sum of his stats is higher than mine.

Although he only has one S-class skill.

The number of skills is also small.

Instead, the average grade of the skills is generally high.

But still.

‘I can win without much difficulty if we fight.’

There’s no need to think long.

Even if the grade is high, most of the abilities he has are sub-abilities of what I have, or I can handle them sufficiently with my skills.

For example, the effects of 「Fountain of Healing」 are suppressed by curses, and 「Sensory Assistance」 is nothing more than a lower compatibility version of my intuition and sense of ki [life force energy].

The only ability that could create a variable for me is

「Orbit of the Evil Dragon」

That seems to be the only one.

That skill particularly stood out.

If you ask why it stood out in particular, it simply evoked interest from the name itself.

‘Gwedok’ [궤짝], a word that commonly refers to a ‘gwe’ [궤], usually meaning a box made of wood.

But the modifier ‘evil dragon’ attached to the front was annoying.

‘If easily interpreted, is it the evil dragon’s box?’

It’s difficult to know what kind of ability it is just from the name.

‘Dragons generally have a lot of greed and a greedy image, so it might be an ability that signifies things that can satisfy that.’

I desperately wanted to know more details.

Unfortunately, the limitations of were up to this point.

It allows you to see what you cannot see, like the sky looking down on all things, and even read the personal information of others that you cannot peek at.

But it was difficult to capture the depths that the eyes alone could not reach.

‘What you can see through the window is not just your body condition.’

If you ask what a special window that comes into view is, most people will talk about the status window. But in this world, the status window is just one of the many pieces of information that can be seen through the window.

Starting with the status window that can be used as an ID card, you can check the rankings of rankers and high rankers and the scores according to their achievements, and you can also know the details about your abilities or status.

In addition to this, if you delve into it in more detail, it is a window that is too deeply and intricately intertwined.

It is not easy to examine this window entirely with just your eyes.

Even if that eye is a divine power.

‘Of course, it’s because I lack training. If I cultivate the Tao [a philosophical concept], and awaken more diverse divine powers, I’ll be able to read more details.’

It’s impossible for me now.

That’s why I chose to ask obediently.

Because he doesn’t seem like the type to not answer if I ask him.

“What does the evil dragon mean among the abilities you have? It can’t be the authority of the dragon I know.”

“Ah, if it’s the evil dragon… Could it be that you confirmed with your own eyes that there is an 「Evil Dragon’s Coffin」?!”

His reaction is strange for some reason.

The moment I tried to peek at Baek Eunho’s status, I felt like I was blocked by some kind of barrier. And the system stated that the person who removed that barrier was Baek Eunho.

Could it be that he wasn’t aware?

Then I have to ask directly.

“I just peeked at your status window with my eyes.”

“S-Status window… I didn’t notice at all.”

“Is that skill a big secret? Or is it the kind that only reveals its effectiveness when hidden?”

“Ah, no! It was a hidden card to hide from others, but I never thought of hiding it from the great one!”

“Then can you explain it to me?”

“Yes, yes! Of course!!”

He nodded with a voice filled with emotion, as if it were an honor to his family.

The skill, 「Orbit of the Evil Dragon」, was an element that could cause variables as I thought. However, it was a skill that only revealed its true value after increasing the skill’s grade by one level through a specific object in a specific situation.

“So… you’re saying that the ‘gwedok’ [wooden box] has to become a ‘gwejak’ [old, worn-out wooden box].”

“Yes, that’s right. The A-grade skill, 「Orbit of the Evil Dragon」, can only be properly handled after becoming the S-grade skill, 「Evil Dragon’s Coffin」.”

“You could just call it ‘gwe’ [box], but you insist on calling it ‘gwejak’ [old box]. I don’t know what kind of ability it will have when it becomes S-grade, but it doesn’t seem like it will be good.”

According to Baek Eunho, it was a skill that didn’t need to be worried about yet.

It was meaningless to even ask.

However, starting with that question, the conversation started to flow.

I asked him various questions.

For example, his position within the family.

“I am the second son of the third son of the Eighth Elder!”

“…Completely collateral.”

“It’s the most collateral of the collateral lines. It’s a position with no chance of becoming an Elder.”

“But if you build up your strength, you can prove your qualifications, right? As I recall, the seat of the Elder is important for tradition, but also values ​​military power as it is one of the nine pillars supporting the family.”

I also learned that he was in a position far from the power structure of the family.

The third son of the Elder’s third son.

Even this alone is unlikely, but he is the second son of such a third son.

Unless he has the will to jump in himself, it seems like he will never be close to the political world in his life.

“If you have the strength, I think it would be better to join . Do you know how severe the localism is here?”

“Well… they dare to show their teeth to the head of the family.”

“That’s right. By the way, is that all you have to ask, Your Excellency?”

“Well, maybe it’s because I met someone from my hometown, but I still have more to ask.”

“Can I know what that is?”

“Your ability. How did you get it? As I recall, it’s not an ability you had from ‘outside’, but an ability you got here.”

Baek Eunho, who put his hand in his pocket as if asking how I knew.

What he took out of his pocket was a small pebble and a piece of wood that looked like a leftover ice cream stick.

They were things that couldn’t even be treated as junk.

Baek Eunho, who proudly took them out of his pocket, put them back in his pocket and said.

“I just got the power that was stored in these.”

“Are you saying that those messy things that didn’t even feel like a fragment of mana are the source of the power you got here?”

“That’s right.”

“It’s in the same category as skill books.”

I also learned about the existence of hidden pieces and opportunities that I had never known before. While acquiring the other person’s information like that.

Something caught in my chest.

“─So, I have refrained from external activities as much as possible until now, and I went out on weekend mornings when no one would suspect me and collected all of these.”

“Sorry to interrupt your answer for a moment.”

“Ah, no. Why would you be sorry to me?!”

“There’s a question that suddenly came to mind.”

The strangeness I felt while naturally talking while asking questions.

What is this strangeness?

It felt like the conversation was subtly misaligned because we were looking at the same object, but actually looking at different sides.

It seems like Baek Eunho hasn’t noticed yet.

I asked a question to resolve that question.

“You must have seen Eve’s novel too, right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“How far did you read?”

“Actually… I couldn’t read ‘Academy Player’ to the end. I almost finished it, but I don’t like unfinished works. Still, I enjoyed reading it so much that I still remember the details.”

“…Academy Player?”

Uh oh.

Why is the title different from what I read?

Feeling something was wrong, Baek Eunho and I talked about the novel we both knew.

As a result,

Too many things were different, starting with the protagonist.

It was as if he and I had read different novels from the beginning.

Our conversation ran parallel for the first time without being able to grasp the direction.