Academy’S Gumiho Is A Magical Genius [EN]: Chapter 20

Academy Gumiho is a Magical Genius – Episode 20

The Mage Hunter (5)

What on earth happened while I was unconscious?

There was no time to dwell on it.

Despite the injuries all over my body, I rushed to the scene.

Soon, I saw an arm hanging like a fruit on a tree branch.

“…The rest?”

There was no way to identify the student.

Unless there was a fingerprint scanner. I had no way of identifying the person with just a dangling arm.

Right, an arm.

That was all.

The arm was thin and slender, but that alone wasn’t enough to guess it was a woman.

The skin had turned bluish, and blood had hardened on it. There was no way to guess the gender with this.

“A-Are there any survivors…?”

I definitely heard breathing nearby.

My ears weren’t deceiving me.

Fearing it might be a monster’s breath, I spread my magic wide, but there was no sign of a monster anywhere.

Step by step, I entered the forest.

The further I went in, the more blatant the corpses became.

The situation inside was dire.

An arm left hanging, or intestines caught on a tree, were nothing out of the ordinary. Corpses were split in half, heads rolled around like soccer balls, and corpses were intertwined, making it impossible to tell whose body was whose.

And beyond this hellish scene.

“…Ah, it was you?”

There was a student breathing heavily.

I froze on the spot.

The moment I saw the student’s face, I felt an indescribable sense of despair.

Why are you here?

“Kyle Iris…?”

“Ha, haha, thankfully you remember my name. Ah, since we’re acquainted, can I speak informally for a moment?”

“You were clearly told to escape to the shelter…”

“Ah, right, I was told that for sure.”

I roughly scanned Kyle’s body with my eyes.

The blood dripping down made it clear he had suffered external injuries. But other than that, there were no major noticeable wounds.

Is it because he’s the protagonist?

While I was blankly examining Kyle.

He got up from his spot. It seemed his body was heavy, as the process of getting up wasn’t smooth.

I unconsciously reached out my hand to help him as he struggled to get up.

Slap, Kyle brushed my hand away. He got up without my help and pointed behind him, opening his mouth.

“I killed that. How about it? Isn’t it amazing?”

I turned my head. There was no need to ask, ‘What am I supposed to look at?’

Because it was so huge that it was easily visible.

A huge monster.

If the Illusion Monkey deceived people with illusions of its size, this monster’s huge body was its true form.

The entire body was cut off.

The monster was cut as if it had been sliced with a sharp knife. I know the inside story.

‘…Why is Gale Wind here?’

「Gale Wind」.

One of the abilities Kyle learns upon awakening, a skill that dices everything in all directions. In terms of pure power alone, it’s on par with or even greater than my 「Foxfire」.

This ability requires a prerequisite.

That is when his trait, 「Late Bloomer」, is full and disappears.

「Late Bloomer」 being full is synonymous with entering a new realm.

In other words, Kyle has already awakened.

Even though I removed all the variables, he awakened as the protagonist.

What does this imply for me?

I quickly turned my head to the side.

Looking at the monster’s corpse, I could easily tell what it was.

A high-ranking monster of the 5th Circle. The same rank as the Illusion Monkey.

Thud.

At that moment, my body collapsed with a deep sense of despair.

I had been forcibly squeezing out my energy until now, but I was slowly reaching my limit.

I reached out my hand to Kyle as I fell. But he was too far away.

Reaching out was meaningless.

Nevertheless, I reached out my hand, extending my broken shoulder.

At the same time, I thought in my head.

‘Mage Hunter,’ was it?

Indeed, it was a hunter’s skill.

Although he was hunted by one of his prey, he managed to succeed in the hunt by using hunting dogs.

Even if he couldn’t catch all the prey, he hunted some and affected the entire group.

What this meant was clear.

‘…I lost.’

I won the battle.

I survived.

But I lost in the fight against myself and against this world.

Indeed, a novel is a novel.

Even if an extra villain like me struggles, nothing changes.

The quest log that came to my mind at that moment suddenly flashed through my head.

‘Main Quest: Responsibility,’ which I had received just a few hours ago.

Its success reward and failure reward were the same. At the time, I didn’t attach much significance to that fact.

I didn’t even pay much attention to the sentence emphasized with ‘*’ below it.

*No matter what choice you make, nothing will change!

Now I think I know what that means.

It was not a precaution or recommendation, but a decision with a predetermined outcome.

Haha, I felt like I was being played by others.

I captured Kyle in my blurring eyes.

He captured me in his empty eyes.

“I never thought I’d see your weak side. This is unexpected.”

Heh heh, Kyle, who gave a pointless laugh, left the spot.

The trembling legs and drooping shoulders represented his physical condition and feelings. I blankly chased after that figure and thought.

The episode wasn’t over yet.

I overlooked that fact.

But even if I had thought deeply, nothing might have changed.

Because a novel is originally at the author’s discretion.

It doesn’t work according to my will.

Because I’m not the protagonist or anything.

* * *

I was a child soldier.

It’s not that I didn’t have parents. It’s not that I didn’t have enough money.

It’s just that I couldn’t bear to watch the world perish.

Fortunately, I had power.

The power to change the course of the battlefield.

‘The youngest company commander, that’s amazing?!’

Many people paid attention to me.

The heroes who protected humanity from monsters on the front lines were interested in me, and the people who were losing hope in life had hope in me.

At first, I was happy about that fact.

I was just proud of myself.

Bearing the expectations of everyone was heavy and difficult, but it was worth it.

‘I’m sure you can do it.’

‘Please avenge my parents…’

‘Please help me…!’

The expectations became heavier and heavier.

The welcome attention and hope soon became trust and faith. And my life was no longer my own.

Was that why?

I started to fall into a virtual world at some point.

A small virtual world including novels and games. There were various stories, people, and beautiful endings.

I admired it.

Because it was better than the dirty and terrible reality.

“Oh, you’re awake.”

It was a familiar ceiling.

Well, it’s my room, so it’s natural.

It wasn’t the leather ceiling of the barracks where I had lived for half my life, or the luxurious ceiling of the mansion where I lived after retirement.

A simple and clean white ceiling.

After I entered this world, my own assigned dormitory room came into view.

“…Where did I start blacking out from?”

“Well, I don’t know, but the person who found you said they found you unconscious in the forest. Well, that sight was enough to make you faint.”

It was Nam Hwa-yeon’s voice, which I usually found annoying, but was now welcome. I tried to turn my head to greet her, but.

I can’t turn my head at all.

What on earth is on my neck?

Something like a collar was around my neck.

The collar hindered the movement of my neck. It wasn’t just the neck.

Something was covering my whole body.

“It’s a device that restrains and fixes your body, so stay still. Do you even know what condition your body is in right now?”

“Well, no.”

“Most of your bones are broken, and your blood vessels burst because they couldn’t handle the large amount of magic. In addition, you have hypothermia, dislocations, internal organ rupture, dehydration, hypovolemic shock, and even third-degree burns. You were on the verge of dying.”

She briefly explained my condition, so I could easily grasp the situation.

I must have collapsed there incompetently.

I couldn’t do anything there.

Neither collecting the bodies of the dead students nor comforting the protagonist who had awakened in despair.

I was just lying down.

I recalled that fact and struggled to speak.

“…But I’m still alive, aren’t I?”

“People like you are called the living dead? You were almost about to die.”

“A living dead is much better than a corpse.”

“…”

Even a body on the verge of death is better than the dead students.

Because there is still a chance.

When you die, everything is over.

The repetitive daily life, the headache-inducing studies, the trivial chats with friends.

Nam Hwa-yeon seemed to know the meaning of my words and stood there silently.

I was grateful for that.

I thought she was a bad professor who dumped a lot of work on the teaching assistant, but she’s surprisingly considerate.

I tried to force my restrained body to get up.

“So, how long do I have to live like this?”

“According to the diagnosis, it’s 18 months. Of course, that’s if there’s no support from your family.”

She handed me an envelope.

A luxurious white and gold package sealed with red wax. The fox shape on the back of the envelope revealed who sent it.

Cheonho Baekga (天狐白家) [The Thousand Fox White Family – a powerful clan].

The family that the body I possessed is the head of. A letter from Cheonho Baekga.

There’s no need to think deeply about who sent it.

It’ll be one of two types.

The sisters who are dissatisfied with Seung-woo being the incompetent head of the family. Or the elders who are trying to control the young head of the family.

“It’s not exactly a letter I want to open.”

“It seems like you’re quite harassed by your family?”

“Yes, well, that’s what a figurehead is all about.”

It’s not a position that can be expressed simply as a title like ‘president’.

But there is no more appropriate example than the expression ‘figurehead’. Because most of the real power is with the sisters and the elders.

All this body has is legitimacy and a position.

“A figurehead. That’s unexpected.”

“What is?”

“The lecture scripts you usually write are very meticulous and detailed.”

“…Isn’t that because the professor makes me work overtime?”

“Anyway, you’re doing well. Then there’s no reason to be a figurehead.”

I tried to scratch my head at her words.

But my arm doesn’t reach my head. How restrained am I?!

Seeing my actions, Nam Hwa-yeon started talking, saying it was okay to speak. Her eyes were still hard to read, but her expression was more serious and heavy than usual.

“Students died.”

She’s watching my reaction. There’s no need to do that.

After all, I’m the first discoverer.

“And the guards and teaching assistants also died.”

“…How many died?”

“Nine students.”

“Not the students.”

“21 guards, 6 teaching assistants. And about 200 other injured people?”

200 injured people. Compared to the total of 2,000 freshmen, it’s only 10%.

It’s a smaller number than I expected. Judging from the scene at the shelter, I thought about half of them were injured.

“And there’s one living dead. Fortunately, with the active support of Cheonho Pharmaceutical and Cheonho University Hospital, you’ll recover quickly.”

“Let’s stop talking about the living dead.”

She said with a smiling face.

But her insides wouldn’t be like that at all. Even though it was a dark dawn, the academy’s attack could have been prevented in advance.

If only the professors and 2nd and 3rd graders who happened to be away were there.

Especially if only the professors were there. If even a few of the professors, who are the actual pillars of Chilseong Academy, were there, the damage would have been significantly reduced.

At least there wouldn’t have been any deaths.

“Are you okay?”

“Me? I get a lot of criticism. But I’m used to hearing that I’m a monster.”

“…I see.”

Well, that’s true.

Nam Hwa-yeon is the undisputed number one in the current magical academic world. When it comes to magic, no one can match her in skill or knowledge.

A great mage who has mastered numerous academic societies and papers and has raised the modern magic system for decades.

Truly a king of wizards.

It’s a grand title that suits her well.

So the system bestowed upon her, called her the Demon King (魔王) [Ma Wang – Demon King/Lord].

Demon King, Nam Hwa-yeon.

She is one of the strongest in the current academy.

If only Nam Hwa-yeon had kept her place, there wouldn’t have been an attack, let alone an invasion. That’s why people criticize her.

Why did you leave your seat? The children are dying, what were you doing?

“But you’re getting good reviews. The news and newspapers are saying you’re a ‘true educator who risked your life to protect the students’.”

“I’m… not an educator, I’m a teaching assistant?”

“To outsiders, everyone is seen as an educator unless they’re a guard or a student. Don’t worry about such trivial things, just enjoy the fame?”

Nam Hwa-yeon patted my head, comforting me.

She’s stroking my head, and she seems to like my fox ears. She keeps touching only that part since a while ago.

It’s not a pleasant feeling, but it’s hard to say anything.

If I tell her not to do it in this situation, the atmosphere seems like it will become fierce. Whether she knows my heart or not.

Nam Hwa-yeon took her hand off my head and handed me a piece of paper.

I wondered what it was, but it was a letter again. The only difference from before is that the outside is pink?

Judging from the color, it’s not from Cheonho Baekga.

Rather than that…

“Ah, that seems to be a love letter.”

“…Yes?”

A love letter?

This?

I was surprised once by the fact that there are people who write love letters in this day and age. I was surprised twice by the fact that I received it.

Why did I receive this in the first place?

It’s been almost a month since I came to this world.

All I’ve done for the past month is make scripts and read magic books.

The only human relationships that have arisen in the process are Nam Hwa-yeon, the librarian, and Seo Ye-rin. And there seems to be one more person, who was it?

I thought about it and remembered one person.

‘Ah, there was Bang Seok-hoon too.’

The senior teaching assistant with bulging muscles.

I don’t want to receive a love letter from that person.

Nam Hwa-yeon saw my rotten expression and smiled as she got up from her seat.

“I’ll be going soon. I have things to do. Ah, by the way, if there’s anything interesting written in the letter, let me know.”

She left like that.

What a mean professor.

Anyway, a love letter.

I’ve never received one in my life, and I’m going to open it in this state in this world.

Tear, I tore the envelope with my hand.

And using my hand, I brought the letter to my eyes while lying down.

[To my older brother.

I heard the news that my incompetent older brother saved the students by burning his body. I didn’t think you’d actually burn your body and get third-degree burns.

So I administered an elixir to my older brother. It is a natural measure since the sacrifice has raised the name and status of Cheonho Baekga.

However, the value of the elixir cannot be exchanged for an incompetent head of the family. I will be going to receive a value worthy of it soon.

Ah, you can come to give the value yourself.

From Baek Seol-hee (拜上) [Baisang – a humble expression used when offering something to someone of higher status].]

What is this?

Is this a love letter?

I wondered what it was and checked the envelope, and it was a letter from the family.

I tore the wrong one.

But why is the content like this?

I unconsciously narrowed my brows.