Academy’S Gumiho Is A Magical Genius [EN]: Chapter 198

Academy Gumiho is a Magical Genius – Episode 198

Academy Gumiho is a Magical Genius 198

Combat (3)

A week had passed.

Although the five of us rotated organically in combat, Erszebet bore the brunt of the battles directly, thanks to my position as team leader.

She grew rapidly through those many battles.

However, Erszebet’s stamina had its limits.

No matter how much the authority of 「Blood Absorption」 granted her endless magic power and vitality, it didn’t fundamentally improve Erszebet’s physical strength.

She grew tired with repeated use of 「Blood Magic」.

Both physically and mentally.

The physical problem could be solved by sucking blood.

But mental fatigue was not so easily resolved.

From the start, Erszebet didn’t enter this dungeon for enjoyment.

I, as her guardian, brought her here.

She was merely helping out to save face.

Truly, her skills, personality, and various aspects were not befitting of a 15-year-old.

Well, the fact that she fought without complaint for a week in a place like this was already unusual for her age.

“……I’m tired now.”

“You’re growing well. Just a little more effort.”

“……What will you give me in return?”

She needed motivation.

Erszebet was now demanding compensation from me.

“Really? Then I’ll give you my surname.”

“L, Lord Head?!

The surname of the Cheonho Baekga [Thousand-Fox Baek Family], Baek (白).

The status that one character held in this country was immense.

And Korea was one of the leading powers in this world.

Naturally, the position of the Cheonho Baekga rose as a matter of course.

There was a reason why the Gucheon Se-ga [Nine Heavens Families], the nine families of different species quite different from humans, were always rated as the best.

And now.

I was about to attach the name of such a family to a child taken from the outside.

“If it’s the Lord Head’s word, it means you’re really going to bring that child into the family’s fold, but if you do, the elders won’t stand still.”

“Let them do as they please.”

“Based on the Lord Head’s example, they might incorporate external forces related to them!”

Incorporation of external forces.

That meant strengthening the power of the elders and creating several loaches [troublemakers] that would muddy the waters of the Cheonho Baekga.

“That’s exactly what I want.”

“……Pardon me?”

“If we’re going to monopolize everything anyway, the pie should be as big as possible, right?”

“……You might get a stomachache?”

The bigger the pie, the more there is to eat.

But there is also a high possibility of leaving some behind.

If you leave it wrong, someone else might take it.

Even if you eat it all, it’s a big problem if you get a stomachache. This is like choosing to walk a tightrope.

The dance must not stop.

The steps must not stop either.

I deliberately chose such a difficult path.

“……Then, are we becoming family?”

“Yes, my…… daughter? Sister? Or niece?”

Giving the surname and bringing her into the family was fine.

But what role should I give her?

An adopted daughter was out of the question.

Even I, as the current head, was receiving so much scrutiny, so if she were my adopted daughter, she would nominally become the young head of the family. There would be tremendous criticism and checks.

As for a sister, there was no way to bring her in at the point when the previous head couple died of illness.

Then, a niece was the most convenient.

My sisters were not only prickly and cold-hearted, but also foxes constantly eyeing my position. There was no way I could ask them to take in an adopted daughter.

‘Baek Eun-ho’s adopted daughter. That’s also somewhat subtle. Her appearance and etiquette management are not at all suitable for bringing her in as a young maid of the mansion.’

What role should I give her?

At that moment, as I was seriously contemplating.

“If it’s hard, you don’t have to give me the surname.”

“……You.”

Oh, she spoke without hesitation?

Erszebet always seemed to hesitate whether to say something or not before speaking. She was very cautious.

But she didn’t hesitate.

She immediately blurted out her thoughts.

What does this imply?

What else could it be?

‘It must mean that she needs a surname, a family role, that much.’

I realized anew how desperate she was for a home.

What Erszebet needed now was not a house to block the cold and heat, nor food to fill her stomach, nor fancy clothes.

A sense of belonging, of being affiliated somewhere.

She wanted to exist as a full-fledged person.

The girl, who was at an age where puberty wouldn’t be strange, revealed this without hiding it. Then, shouldn’t I also show something?

“Erszebet.”

“……Yes.”

“My daughter.”

“……!!”

Go and fight.

I also have to fight with the elders to adopt you as my daughter.

I didn’t say anything uncool like, ‘Work hard.’

Erszebet, no, Baek Erszebet, had already begun to show her response to my words with her actions.

「Blood Magic─Blood Flow Scatter (血流飛散)」

Blood scattered in all directions.

The red blood turned black as it touched the air.

The black blood became poison and fell to the ground.

The poison corroded the floor.

[Due to the skill, 「Blood Poisonous Terrain」, the poison accumulated in the blood exerts its influence.]

[All flora, fauna, and objects exposed to the blood rot.]

A combination of two skills.

To think that this was the utilization of a combination achieved in just one week.

Before discussing the superiority or inferiority of species, her innate talent and sense were tremendous. Erszebet was able to properly handle her body and abilities.

It was hard to believe that she was a girl who had been trapped in a cage just a week ago.

It must be thanks to the talent of my first disciple, 「Heavenly Star of Massacre」.

A talent born for slaughter. She knew instinctively how to move and act to kill more creatures.

Very sharp.

Extremely pointed.

Her relentless advance was not over yet.

「Black Mist」

Mushrooming, black clouds rose from the floor.

The clouds rising in all directions soon obscured the view.

Ordinary white or gray clouds were one thing.

But black clouds, because of their color, didn’t even show a glimpse of shadows. And it was the same on this side.

Unless you felt the presence.

It was impossible to see with the naked eye.

Of course, people like me with developed intuition or abilities like 「Yoma Eye」, could easily find it based on the subtle concentration of magic power. But Erszebet was not.

She had never learned any plausible eye techniques.

Nor did she have any skills or magic related to the eyes.

[The skill, 「Black Mist」’s dense fog, is thickly laid.]

[The dense fog confuses sight, presence, and magic power.]

So she deprived everyone of the opportunity to use their eyes.

Still, since it was only a C-grade skill, it couldn’t block the view of 「Yoma Eye」.

‘But the momentum is unusual?’

I could see it.

But it was too blurry.

It was impossible for a C-grade skill to surpass an A-grade skill, but I wondered if it was even possible to interfere this much.

I wondered how much she had improved her proficiency in just one week since entering the dungeon.

Even though I had been watching her from the side, I couldn’t grasp it.

Now that the sight, senses, and even the ability to sense magic power of many people were confused, Erszebet took out a trump card to blow away the fog at once.

Whoosh─!!

The sound of something pouring out.

And at the same time, blood pooled everywhere.

These were not dead, stagnant blood.

It was fresh blood that had just been drawn. It was warm enough that I could see faint steam, perhaps because it had come out into a cool place.

Where on earth did she get this much fresh blood?

Even though I hadn’t taken my eyes off Erszebet, I was surprised by the red blood soaking her hands.

Stealthy.

And very fast.

She had imbued 「Blood Magic」 on her weak hands and nails and swung them.

I could see that much. But after that, I couldn’t guess.

The strangely annoying fog was obscuring my vision.

If I used , I could naturally see through everything.

But it was already too late to observe that way.

「Blood Magic─Wash Blood with Blood (以血洗血)」

「Blood Magic─Blood Wind Blood Rain (血風血雨)」

“Double Casting!”

“Is that possible at that age?!

“Lord Head, it seems you’ve brought in a real prodigy.”

“……Indeed.”

A magic that unfolds with a quick attack.

Using the fresh blood on the floor, she unfolded two 「Blood Magic」 spells.

Wash blood with blood, and by this, the evil committed soon aroused the wind of blood and the rain of blood.

Erszebet’s 「Blood Wind Blood Rain」 was literally like an artificial rainmaking magic that made it rain. It was just that what was falling from the sky wasn’t rain.

The red rain poured down.

[Due to the skill, 「Blood Poisonous Terrain」, the poison accumulated in the blood exerts its influence.]

[All flora, fauna, and objects exposed to the blood rot.]

The blood had poison.

[Due to the skill, 「Blood Absorption」, the blood of the heteromorphic spreads.]

[Those pierced by 「Blood Magic」 suffer from ‘Abnormal Status: Hemophilia’, resulting in continuous bleeding.]

And there was also disease.

A magic that melted down everything she had.

As evidence of that, Erszebet was breathing heavily.

She was driven to the limit both physically and mentally.

Even in the midst of such exhaustion, there was not a single flaw in her magic.

Even the red rain didn’t touch us.

She was even controlling the range.

‘Ha, I can’t believe it.’

It was now terrifying.

This was just a B-grade skill?

Even if you only consider the destructive power, it was at least A-grade.

If you calculate its utility, it was no less impressive than an S-grade skill. For a moment, I doubted my eyes.

Was I seeing things wrong?

That was absolutely not the case.

Even if I closed and opened my eyes and shook my head vigorously, the corpses of the fallen monsters did not disappear. A mountain of corpses piled up.

“……Is this the difference in species?”

The skills that Erszebet had were only related to the vampire species. In other words, it could be seen as a vampire-only skill.

Human skills and vampire skills.

Perhaps this was due to the difference in abilities that the two species could handle.

This was just a guess.

‘But if this guess is correct.’

The skill I haven’t given her yet, 「Tyrant Lord」.

And the vampire’s S-grade skill that must be obtained in the restricted section of the academy library in the future. The abilities of these two will surely be unusual.

‘I’m willing to give 「Tyrant Lord」 to her if she gradually digests the rest of her abilities, but I have no intention of giving her the hidden piece stored in the restricted section.’

The hidden piece of the ancient library that I still can’t remember.

Even if I asked Baek Eun-ho, he wouldn’t know.

It was a secret that only I knew. Of course, even if I knew it, I only knew how to use it.

I still couldn’t grasp its identity.

Eve just said it was a very powerful ability.

I was going to keep that for myself.

‘It’s not that I didn’t think about giving it to her, but with her growth rate like this. I have no choice but to keep it.’

Ting!

I examined Erszebet’s stats with .

「Name: Baek Erszebet (白 エルジェベト)」

「Stamina: D+」 「Strength: E」

「Durability: D+」 「Agility: E」

「Magic Power: C+」 「Senses: C-」

Abilities that change every time I look.

She invested only a week in creating this body.

No matter how talented she was, this was a growth so rapid that it made me feel empty compared to myself. The biggest contributor to that growth was me.

But I couldn’t help but feel empty.

My heart was depressed.

“……With that last one, all the monsters in the vicinity are dead. From now on, it’s the center of the dungeon, right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Really? Then don’t touch anything from here on out.”

I need to relieve some stress.

Woo-oong──!

Magic power began to spin wildly. It heated up little by little, like warming up before doing vigorous exercise.