Academy’S Gumiho Is A Magical Genius [EN]: Chapter 208

Academy Gumiho is a Magic Genius – Episode 208

Masks to Hide Ugly Faces (3)

The sounds of laughter, ha-ha and ho-ho, echoed even in the underground.

With my pockets full of blue powder, those laughs grated on me. They say fortune favors the bold, but what if that laughter is built on the suffering of others?

Would fortune truly follow?

I doubted it.

“Let’s run an experiment.”

A good idea had sparked.

My shooting skills versus their so-called fortune.

A test to see which prevails.

For that, I needed a gun.

I didn’t have one on me, but I knew a place nearby where guns were plentiful: Choi Jin-cheol’s collection.

─Are you planning to steal?

“Steal? That’s a harsh word.”

I was simply repurposing the guns for their intended use.

Storing and displaying them felt…wrong.

“I’m just a hunter using tools for their intended purpose.”

─So, a hunter who steals.

“Can’t you call me a liberator? It sounds so much better.”

Using everything, including guns, to fulfill its purpose.

There’s no inherent wrong in that.

Of course, the owner would be furious, but I’d learned that a single bullet could change everything. Or so it seemed.

Click—!

I gripped the handle of the massive door.

While talking with Tamamo, I’d arrived at the display case.

The very place Choi Jin-cheol had proudly shown me.

It took longer than expected to get here from the underground.

Probably because the mansion was sprawling, and guards were stationed everywhere. The way they swarmed me like moths to a flame was irritating.

Because they were so eager.

I often struggled to hold back.

“You… what the hell are you doing…!”

“Oh, you’re still clinging to life. But you’ll die soon anyway; that bleeding won’t stop.”

“A murderer like you… your chances of escaping this place alive….”

The guard collapsed, coughing blood.

I used 「Telekinesis」 with force to silence him.

That invisible power slammed into the guard’s abdomen, and his organs ruptured under the impact.

I’d originally aimed to use the bones to distribute the force, causing pain without killing him.

‘I still can’t control it perfectly.’

Proof that my magical skills were still lacking.

The guard in front of me died because of my incompetence.

A rather anticlimactic end for him.

Not dying while fiercely defending his post, but having his organs burst from a single 「Telekinesis」 attack.

“It would have been nice if you’d said everything you wanted to say.”

“T-This, oh, this can’t be happening…!”

The guard next to the dead one survived.

But he was far from okay, also having been hit by 「Telekinesis」.

He feared death, and he feared me.

He was also worried about his master.

It was laughable.

Guards protecting a beasts’ banquet, displaying loyalty.

‘The masquerade isn’t a party to be enjoyed anonymously.’

Their masks are a way to hide their ugly faces.

It’s not that people are wearing the masks of beasts.

“It’s animals wearing human masks.”

And I am the hunter who hunts the animals behind those masks with a shotgun.

Until the last beast breathes its final breath, my work continues. The same goes for the loyal dogs trying to protect them.

Click!

I forced the display case open.

I took everything I needed from inside.

I armed myself and was about to grab the belt, but the security in this area was particularly tight. Several layers of magic focused on defense, even high-level magic, were layered on it.

I could break through it with the magic that burned down the entire dungeon, but a hunter never drops their guard until all prey is secured.

I’ll come back for the belt later.

First.

“Shall we gather the beasts in one place?”

Whoosh.

I lit a fire at my fingertip.

Then, I threw the pouch of powder into the flames.

The dust of angels, the powder that eats away at people, met the fire.

At that moment.

Bang──!

A deafening sound erupted, and a massive explosion ripped through the room.

The explosion’s force didn’t reach me, thanks to my fire resistance and a pre-emptive barrier. But what about the guards in the hallway and the guests in the ballroom?

The dust explosion was just a catalyst.

The real goal was to trap them.

“To hunt beasts without loose ends, you have to corner them all.”

I reject the trope where a cub missed during the hunt returns as a giant beast.

I strive for perfection in every hunt.

So that not a single one escapes.

─Do you realize the guards you didn’t kill were caught in that explosion and died?

“Of course, I do.”

─Then why did you do it? Weren’t you trying to avoid hunting wolves by mistake?

The explosion unleashed a terrifying storm and heatwave in the mansion’s hallway.

The mansion, built with vast wealth, only suffered slightly collapsed windows and walls, but the human body, made of flesh and blood, fared far worse. They died anticlimactically from the explosion’s aftermath.

“The Wolf and the Shepherd Boy. Do you know it?”

─It’s a fairy tale about the dangers of lying. I read it out of boredom when you were reading books before.

“What are your thoughts on that book?”

─It was a simple fable. Superficial. Do children even learn from such tales? The shepherd boy’s constant lies make him suspicious. It’s better to cleverly weave lies with truth.

“That’s not the point of the book, but satirical lessons are interpreted differently.”

As expected, Tamamo’s interpretation was cunning like a fox.

It was within expectations.

“That’s not what I meant.”

─Then what?

“Just driving them in.”

The explosion will be the shepherd’s lie, confusing the villagers. People used to lies stop believing them.

The moment people relax, thinking the ballroom is safe despite the explosions.

That’s when the wolf devours the sheep.

* * *

Bang────!!

Boom──!!!

The ballroom shook from the continuous explosions.

Dust rained from the ceiling.

Choi Ju-seok and his guests were disoriented by the unexpected events. Only the academy students and some experienced players remained calm.

But fear and madness had taken root, making everyone uneasy.

The problem was that there was no escape.

The explosions hadn’t reached the ballroom directly, but smoke seeped in through the cracks in the doors.

The thick smoke stung noses and blurred vision.

Even with rough coughs racking their chests, the smoke persisted. Even enhancing their eyes with magic and strengthening their bodies couldn’t stop it.

Then, a quick-witted magician realized.

The initial smoke might have been real.

But this smoke was fake, conjured with magic.

Distinguishing between real and fake with magic was absurd, but this wasn’t even fog.

‘I have to escape. If I’m exposed to this smoke for too long, I’ll lose my bearings completely.’

“You noticed quickly. It would have been nice if you’d shown that quickness earlier and not stood by while that child was attacked.”

‘Wait, how are you behind me…? How did you know what I was thinking…? Could it be…?!’

“Your mind is sharp, but your actions are slow. Luckily for me. I can deal with you before you act.”

Bang──!!

Another explosion echoed outside the ballroom.

The guests barely reacted to the familiar sound.

Some even drank alcohol while their vision was obscured.

I wonder if they realize the explosions are masking the sounds of death.

In this thick smoke, even the strongest superhuman’s vision is limited. Even if the students and A-class players tried to clear the smoke, it wouldn’t dissipate.

Only my steps were unhurried.

Because I knew where everyone was.

I wasn’t relying on sight.

‘Relying on hearing, not sight.’

Specifically, the sound of their hearts.

Ordinary sounds were drowned out by the explosions.

But people’s inner thoughts weren’t.

However, listening to the hearts of others is forbidden to humans.

Only a Shinbul [a Buddhist who has attained enlightenment] who has awakened supernatural powers can reach that realm.

I reached for the supernatural power beyond that.

I used the enlightenment I had awakened in advance for the first time.

The ear eavesdropped on the hearts that connect people.

[The that understands the inner thoughts of others has awakened.]

[Adjust the radius of the supernatural power. You can hear the hearts of 257 people in the area.]

─What’s happening! I’m not going to die here, am I?!’

─I can’t die yet, I haven’t even had a relationship! Maybe… the guy next to me…!

─Damn it! This artificial sensation is definitely from a person. If he wants a massacre… should I massacre everyone and pretend to be caught in the explosion?

The voices overlapped, but the supernatural power allowed me to classify them. All their inner thoughts were clear.

‘These people need to be eliminated.’

Even excluding personal murderous intent.

From a long-term perspective, it would be better to remove them for the greater good.

Having heard their hearts, I was even more convinced.

After dealing with several people, I reached Choi Jin-cheol.

I was going to kill him, but I changed my mind.

I knocked him unconscious.

I worried I wouldn’t be able to hold back if I heard his thoughts.

“I won’t kill you. Instead…”

Scribble.

I cut into Choi Jin-cheol’s flesh.

Normally, the flames would cauterize the wound as it was made, but this time, I only shaped the blade with 「Telekinesis」.

Because I had to curse the wound.

I couldn’t stop the bleeding yet.

“Take responsibility for your actions.”

I pressed all sorts of curses into him.

I inflicted the most vicious curses from the 「Shamanic Ritual of the Beginning」 that Tamamo taught me.

If he tried to use magic to undo the curse, its toxicity would increase, like trying to remove a thorn only to drive it deeper.

“You will live in pain for the rest of your life.”

There was no way to undo the curse.

Even if a magician could perfectly undo the 「Shamanic Ritual of the Beginning」, Choi Jin-cheol would die of shock from the curse worsening in the process.

Of course, I couldn’t do anything if Nam Hwa-yeon or Tamamo intervened.

But how likely was that?

‘Even if they did, helping him is another matter.’

Magicians are proud of their skills.

Skill and pride are proportional.

Most high-level magicians are obsessed with authority and act arrogantly.

Some say they’re like noblemen from the Middle Ages.

If high-level magicians are like that, how much more so are great magicians?

There’s no need to speculate.

‘Unless he becomes a great magician himself or gets lucky, he won’t escape the pain.’

Choi Jin-cheol wouldn’t find other escapes either.

Obtaining pleasure beyond pain with drugs?

Absolutely not.

The 「Shamanic Ritual of the Beginning」 created by the Gumiho [a nine-tailed fox, often depicted as a powerful and cunning spirit] is not easily overcome.

Her curse is meticulous and vicious.

Would she let him gain pleasure?

“Think of it as karma.”

This was the worst punishment a clumsy teacher could give a student who strayed.

It’s the only punishment I can give.

‘I’m not suited to be a teacher.’

I thought again.

I, accustomed to the pain and death of others, wasn’t qualified to guide someone correctly. This kind of punishment was easier.

Strangely, I wasn’t at ease.