Academy’S Gumiho Is A Magical Genius [EN]: Chapter 280

Academy Gumiho is a Magical Genius – Episode 280

Academy Gumiho is a Magical Genius 280

Bait (5)

“Shall we define our relationship before moving on?”

“Sounds good. I also think it’s a good idea to solidify our relationship along the way.”

The man walked ahead of Seungwoo.

Seungwoo didn’t know where the man was leading him.

He followed without complaint.

‘Come to think of it, others would see this as a truly bizarre pairing.’

A middle-aged man in his 50s and a young man in his 20s.

So far, nothing seemed particularly strange.

Given the age gap, they could easily be seen as father and son.

But things would look different if they both had long fox tails near their waists. Moreover, it wasn’t just one tail each.

The middle-aged man had eight tails, and the young man had six.

The fox ears on their heads were just an added detail.

─Honestly, watching you two from behind makes me feel a bit uncomfortable.

‘Two men with fox tails and fox ears?’

─Yeah, it’s quite awkward.

‘But you have them on your head and waist too.’

─……Ah.

Fox fur of various colors.

Although one of them was a ghost, it seemed that all possible fox fur colors were present here.

The Elder had white fur, Seungwoo had black, and Tamamo had brown.

Even the number of tails varied, making it visually interesting.

Eight, six, and nine tails respectively. It’s quite a diverse collection.

─Oh, I almost forgot. Come to think of it, I was a Gumiho [a nine-tailed fox spirit from Korean folklore].

‘How can you forget your own identity?’

─Identity? If you think about it, there are three foxes here who share the same lineage as me. Three of us share the same characteristics, so how is this *my* identity?

‘Then what *is* your identity?’

─Knowledge.

Tock, tock.

Tamamo tapped her head with her finger.

The knowledge contained in that small head was a repository of information that even Seungwoo, who had read countless books, couldn’t fathom.

Of course, before, when Nam Hwayeon read books, she devoured dozens at once, making him realize that the true repository of knowledge was her.

Before discussing Nam Hwayeon, Seungwoo’s knowledge was clearly immature compared to Tamamo.

Indeed, knowledge was her defining trait.

─Why that expression?

‘Just thinking you’re amazing.’

─Oh my, are you jealous? There’s no need to be. Having a lot of knowledge doesn’t necessarily mean you’re wise.

Tamamo whispered in Seungwoo’s ear.

─Being old means you’ve lived a long time, and you’ve read or experienced a lot. Some old people may have less knowledge than young people, but most don’t.

Even if their knowledge of written words is lacking.

There was no way to match the elderly’s knowledge of life.

So, are they wise?

It was such an easy question, and the answer was right in front of him.

‘Of course not.’

─Why are you so sure?

‘Does that old man look wise to you?’

─……Not at all.

‘Then there’s your answer. Being old and having a lot of knowledge doesn’t make you wise.’

Fifth Elder, Baek Seokho.

It was only now that he remembered the middle-aged man’s title and name.

Unlike his title of Elder, he was not a wise man.

Rather, his massive muscles had seemingly invaded his brain.

If a problem arises, use force.

Brains? That’s a weak organ used by people who lack strength.

If you have truly strong power, you can overcome any problem with your fists.

Baek Seokho was a man who had established such a mindset.

─Where did you find that out?

‘Diary. All sorts of knowledge are written in my mindscape.’

He heard that he was the one who built the Nine Tails Guild to its current position, so Seungwoo expected a high-level political battle.

Baek Seokho, as Seungwoo had seen him, was not unintelligent, even if his personality was bad. He certainly expected a tough fight.

‘I never thought he would belong to the muscle-brain type.’

A so-called muscle brain, referring to someone who prioritizes physical solutions over intellectual ones.

In other words, it meant the same as a blockhead, but Baek Seokho wasn’t really that bad. He was smart, but he just didn’t think much because he prioritized action over his brain.

─So, you’re saying his brain is made of muscle.

‘……Still, that guy is smart. He just doesn’t think.’

You can see it just by looking at this incident.

If Baek Seokho, the Guild Master, had intervened in advance, the flow of the situation might not have changed as desired.

But he left it alone.

There were many unsettling aspects to saying he did it on purpose.

It felt like he hadn’t taken any action at all.

─If you have a good brain but don’t use it, isn’t that stupid? How about refuting it logically?

‘……Actually, it is stupid.’

Again, Baek Seokho is someone who doesn’t *need* to use his brain.

He had a strong body and powerful strength.

This power soon instilled in him the belief that if he threw a punch instead of worrying, the problem would be solved.

In a way, Baek Seokho can be seen as an acquired idiot.

‘You said it. Having a lot of knowledge and being old doesn’t make you wise.’

─I certainly said that.

‘That’s right. Baek Seokho is old. I’m not sure if he’s in his 40s or 50s, but he’s lived much longer than me. He must have accumulated a lot of knowledge while serving as an Elder and Guild Master.’

Nevertheless, Baek Seokho is not wise.

As emphasized, he is foolish.

An old man who has lived a long life may have a lot of knowledge, but you can’t guarantee he’s wise. Baek Seokho is like that too.

Suddenly, Baek Seokho’s appearance caught Seungwoo’s eye.

Despite his considerable age, Baek Seokho’s youthful appearance seemed to highlight the fact that he was an awkward person who had not gained maturity despite his age.

At least, that’s how Seungwoo saw it.

‘By the way, how far are we walking?’

He kept walking while chatting with Tamamo.

He didn’t know where the destination was, so he kept taking steps.

It’s getting boring.

“So, how should we define the relationship we were talking about earlier? Family head and Elder? Guild Master and Team Leader? Hmm, the two relationships are completely opposite in terms of hierarchy, so it’s hard to choose. It’s hard for me to choose, so I’d like to hear your opinion.”

“…….”

Occasionally, Baek Seokho would throw out such questions, but Seungwoo didn’t feel the need to answer most of them, so he ignored them.

Being focused on communicating with Tamamo also played a part.

Of course, Baek Seokho was feeling the wrinkles on his forehead deepen in real-time due to the lack of response. Such disrespect. It was contempt he had never received even in his childhood.

Baek Seokho harbored resentment for this treatment.

‘I’ll make sure to trample you this time.’

He wasn’t using a common metaphor; he was really planning to trample him.

He would crush his clever head with his shoe.

The place he was heading to now was a place where he could make these thoughts a reality.

“We’ve arrived.”

“It took much longer than I thought. But your tone has changed.”

“There’s no one here to listen to our conversation, and no sound will leak out.”

“Ah, so you’re saying we can have a conversation full of slander?”

Like swearing.

It was certainly a suitable place for secret conversations.

A huge circular dome.

The interior space was very large, but in the end, it was a closed space.

There were no CCTVs, and the walls were made of soundproof material.

‘This was made with a specific purpose in mind.’

He roughly knew what kind of place it was.

This place.

“It’s a place to dispose of people.”

“……Can you sense that?”

“I don’t need to see it to feel it. The stench of blood hidden in the strong smell of bleach. The despair and resentment of dying people.”

“……You speak unpleasant words.”

It was a place to dispose of dissidents who rebelled against the group.

It wasn’t a particularly strange place. He heard that every S-class guild had one of these places.

But usually, it’s common to dispose of them in dungeons.

The process of disposing of bodies in the eyes of society is quite difficult.

But here, it was made completely like an arena.

“You have a very sharp mind. You’ve been like that since you were young. That’s why I hated you.”

Baek Seokho glared.

At the same time, the atmosphere changed.

Soaring killing intent.

Intense fighting spirit.

None of them were a force that an old man would casually unleash on a young man.

“Respect for the elderly is good, but you still look energetic, so I’ll break your wings and put you in a nursing home, okay?”

“You’re all talk.”

“Really? Do you really think so?”

“…….”

Baek Seokho couldn’t answer easily to Seungwoo’s words.

Because right now.

He was also feeling the energy.

The energy emanating from Baek Seungwoo was not killing intent or fighting spirit.

It was a purer energy, closer to enlightenment.

Whoosh─!

At that moment, something black soared from near Seungwoo’s waist.

It was surrounded by dark shadows, but it wasn’t a shadow.

It was just a tail with a color darker than pitch black.

Seven tails.

Seven-Tailed Fox.

A realm that less than 100 people have reached throughout the family’s history.

Seungwoo was reaching that realm in real-time.

‘Actually, it’s not real-time.’

Seungwoo’s body needed a long digestion time to reach the complete realm.

With this, the primary digestion of the nutrients obtained from swallowing the Black Gumiho was completed.

The nine-tailed monster encountered in the mindscape was huge and powerful.

As such, there were many nutrients to be obtained.

So much so that the power obtained from swallowing him had to be absorbed in primary and secondary stages.

‘What’s needed in the primary digestion is time.’

The Gumiho that appeared in the mindscape was a huge mass of spiritual energy.

It took at least a month to absorb it and process it into a form suitable for him. It was a relatively short time to ascend to a higher realm.

‘It wasn’t the speed I liked.’

If only he could buy time with money like in modern times.

Unless he could shorten the time with knowledge and talent.

It didn’t suit Seungwoo’s temperament to simply and ignorantly wait for time to pass to gain something.

For him, time was a resource more precious than anything else.

The density of Seungwoo’s time was different from others.

In fact, he became a Great Magician in less than a year and developed a medicine that would be remembered in history.

As such, Seungwoo wanted to use time as efficiently and effectively as possible. But the damn digestion process only required time.

Because of that, the rise in realm was temporarily stalled.

“Now it’s okay.”

The second digestion process.

The product that can be obtained at the end, the eighth tail.

The process to obtain it is relatively simple.

It doesn’t require a long time like when he obtained the seventh tail.

If the conditions are met, it could be finished in a day. No, even in an hour.

“Come at me quickly.”

“You don’t seem flustered by the sudden situation.”

“I was sure that you would deal with the problem by beating me up rather than solving it with intellect.”

In fact, that thought came true.

“Enough with the nonsense. With your eight tails, I hope you provide me with an impressive experience. That way, I’ll have something to learn.”

“To dare mock me……!”

“I just sincerely want to learn.”

“Your attitude is what I call mocking the other person.”

“Is that so?”

Then.

“Show me the value that I won’t mock.”

Show me something.

That way, I can quickly sprout my eighth tail through your brilliant inspiration.

Surely you can do that much?

“Can’t you?”