Academy’S Gumiho Is A Magical Genius [EN]: Chapter 286

Academy Gumiho is a Magical Genius – Episode 286

Academy Gumiho is a Magical Genius 286

Pride (1)

Pride exists.

It’s a form of dignity that warriors often value more than ordinary people—self-esteem derived from one’s own abilities.

That is pride.

However, not all warriors value pride.

And it’s not unusual for an ordinary person, someone who isn’t a warrior, to possess pride.

“Pride is a tricky thing. It’s an emotion that’s generally difficult to truly feel. It’s rare to feel genuine pride based solely on one’s own strength.”

Innate genius.

From what I’ve observed, individuals like Eve and Nam Hwa-yeon are justified in having pride in their abilities. However, acquiring this qualification through one’s own strength alone isn’t easy.

Usually, affiliation with an organization and its backing are necessary.

It’s not just about believing in oneself.

It’s about trusting the sense of security that comes from the organization one belongs to and the power one has learned from that group.

So, as I said before.

It’s easier for warriors to feel pride than it is for ordinary people.

They share martial arts with common roots, and they have sects and history to which they belong.

So, most warriors live with pride in their hearts, but…

“Every warrior I’ve ever met possessed pride. Even the young students. But you’re the first.”

A warrior without pride.

Except for me.

Baek Seok-ho was the first.

‘It’s not that I didn’t have pride, but it eventually dulled and crumbled.’

In my case, it’s not that I never had pride to begin with.

My pride was completely shattered by the experiences I went through, and I abandoned my self-esteem due to the mental shock.

But Baek Seok-ho was different.

The way he handled his spear was unlike anyone else.

A spear technique that focuses all energy into a single, powerful stab. A technique that seemingly disregards the spear’s durability.

No, perhaps he paid *more* attention to the spear’s durability than any other spear wielder.

Because Baek Seok-ho’s spear technique used the spear to its absolute limit, as if expecting it to break with each strike.

‘To a warrior, a weapon is like a limb, but with Baek Seok-ho, I couldn’t sense anything beyond the value of a consumable item.’

It’s not necessarily wrong to conclude that his method is flawed.

After all, weapons *are* consumables.

If they can be repaired and reused, they are. If they need to be replaced, they are. However, a warrior who has overcome countless hardships and reached a high level should cherish their weapon as much as possible.

‘This isn’t just my subjective opinion.’

It’s a fact I know because every warrior I’ve ever encountered has done so. They all cherished their weapons.

Maybe it’s because they were short on supplies and tried to conserve as much as possible.

I could sense conviction and pride in their attitude toward their weapons.

I could even see the confidence that they could overcome any hardship with their weapons.

And the moment I grasped the pure white sword.

I understood their feelings.

I felt confident that I could overcome any hardship and adversity with this sword.

But it seemed that Baek Seok-ho had never felt that way before.

Unlike the tremendous power he had displayed just moments ago, he now looked like a withered corn stalk lying on the ground.

Astrape [a being transformed into a demon].

The moment he became a demon, he discarded his spear.

It’s not that Baek Seok-ho was confident in grappling, but that fighting with his body, now augmented with brute demonic force, was far more powerful than wielding a spear.

Seeing that, I was convinced.

Baek Seok-ho had no pride at all.

Victory?

Yes, that’s important too.

However, the pinnacle of spear technique that had flowed from Baek Seok-ho’s fingertips countless times was a testament to how long he had practiced with the spear.

The moment he put down the spear, it was like discarding his pride.

It was like admitting that a body twisted by demonic transformation was far stronger and greater than decades of training.

“You have fallen into a beast that has no qualification or value to respect.”

Degradation. I don’t know when that word has ever been so fitting.

It’s not uncommon for noble or great people to fall from grace, or for those in positions of power to descend to the bottom.

People in high places have various means to protect themselves.

Of course, basic advantages like force, money, and power.

There are also intangible assets such as connections.

“Even though you had everything, you wanted more, and you tried to grasp something beyond your capacity, and eventually you spilled everything.”

Surprisingly, the beast before me.

He was once a person who possessed all of those things.

He is no longer human, but he was a person who had everything, including force, money, power, and connections, as mentioned earlier.

The things within Baek Seok-ho’s grasp were by no means excessive.

They were all products of his talent and the result of his efforts.

But he wasn’t satisfied with that.

He couldn’t be satisfied.

Quenching his thirst could not stop the old fox’s desires.

Thirst, that strange sensation, continued to fuel Baek Seok-ho’s desires, making him impatient and clouding his judgment.

The result was this.

“Answer me. Did you want to become the head of the family that much?”

“Hah… Why do I look like this?”

“Did you want it so much that you were willing to give up everything? The hat I wore. The throne I sit on?”

“Of course! Elder, Head, Chief. Those were areas that I could grasp with my efforts. But the head of the family was not. If it weren’t for the bloodline, that damn bloodline, I would have been the one sitting in that position!”

Baek Seok-ho, who was still stroking his face and tail with a dazed expression, suddenly became enraged. His pupils were bloodshot.

I could feel madness in his eyes.

Not subtle madness.

It was madness so clear and distinct that I could immediately understand Baek Seok-ho’s psychological state. He’s seriously crazy.

It seems that the fact that his body hair turned black was that shocking.

“It’s not a secret that when you become a demon, part of your body turns pitch black; it’s a publicly known fact. How can the head of the family be worthy of a guy who acts like he didn’t even know there would be such side effects?”

“Shut up! If I had the bloodline, I wouldn’t have had to resort to such a thing!”

“…Interesting.”

Watching Baek Seok-ho’s broken state was more enjoyable than I thought.

He was an enemy I had to face, but he was also an enemy in the highest position. Therefore, a lot of preparation was needed to bring Baek Seok-ho down.

“Do you know how much preliminary work I did to get you to this point?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Hasn’t your money supply been drying up lately?”

“…You!”

The income of the Ninetails Guild is largely divided into two categories.

By-product sales and sponsorship.

Sponsorship is like any other organization.

If you are big and famous, it comes in naturally, but by-product sales are a bit more complicated. By-products sold by the guild are mostly monster carcasses and magic stones.

Magic stones are energy resources and objects with endless development potential, so governments and companies bring money to them.

But the carcasses of monsters…

Except for highly preferred parts such as leather, bones, teeth, and claws, there are many that are difficult to sell.

For example, if you hunt a monster the size of a building, it is not easy to dismantle it, so people are hired to transport the whole thing.

In some cases, it is cut into hundreds of pieces and transported, but parts such as bones lose their commercial value if they are cut into pieces. If you ask if bones are not in demand and should be given up, that is not the case.

How much demand is there for bones?

Weapons, armor, accessories, etc. Demand is so high that we can’t sell them because we don’t have them.

We cannot lower the commercial value of such bones.

So, if you bring the whole thing, the remaining by-products become a headache.

Eyeballs and brains are in demand, but most of the other organs have to be disposed of. Parts such as muscles and flesh also belong to the minority.

Occasionally, there are rich people or crazy people who want to eat monster meat, but most monster meat is very tough and contaminated with magic, so it is essential to remove toxins.

Because of that, it is not easy to dispose of.

It’s obvious.

The Ninetails, which is considered the best guild in the world, was also experiencing similar problems.

But recently, it has become difficult to dispose of monster by-products.

“You reported our business! No, you took it away!”

“Why don’t you stop doing illegal things?”

“Damn it! Do you even know how much loss we suffered because we were entangled in politics because of you?”

“Is that my problem?”

So, the Ninetails Guild has been disposing of unsaleable parts of monsters.

Flesh, muscles, and organs have been disposed of in illegal ways.

Muscles were ground into fertilizer for all kinds of illegal herbs, organs were secretly sold to scientists studying artificial organs, and flesh was crushed and put into processed foods for sale.

In the case of processed foods, meat mixed with toxins was used, but only a small amount was added, so even if you consumed a lot, it was adjusted to only cause stomach upset.

If someone died after eating the processed food they supplied, they pretended not to know, citing the person’s underlying disease or health condition.

Even though they knew that they had died from being infected with toxins due to a small amount of magic due to their sensitive constitution.

The Ninetails Guild moved and acted calmly.

‘I reported those facts.’

Government?

Media?

It was clear that Ninetails’ size would be reduced if it got into the ears of such annoying guys, so I leaked information to the elders and sisters. As a result, Ninetails’ money supply naturally began to shrink.

The guys who bought organs from Ninetails and secretly researched artificial organs stopped buying organs due to the medicine I created.

I’d rather get my medicine with that money and analyze it thoroughly.

“I thought it was strange! It was all because of you! Because of you, the money supply dried up. I didn’t have enough money to invest in the business I had already started, so I had no choice but to receive support from the demons! If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have received the elixir, and I wouldn’t have become such an ugly figure!!!”

“Is that so?”

I see. The butterfly effect played out like this.

I didn’t expect it at all.

My goal was to shrink Ninetails, but as a result, I also contributed to turning him into a demon.

I don’t know whether to see this as good or bad.

“But that’s all your fault. Earning money through illegal means, recklessly starting a business and running out of cash, receiving support from demons, and choosing to fall into a demon.”

Without exception, it is self-inflicted and self-defeating.

It’s just that he tripped over his own tricks and got into trouble because of his words and actions.

Do you want to become the head of the family while doing this?

“Do you want to become the head of the family that much?”

“…Why are you asking again? I’ve done this much and come this far. It’s no longer a question of whether I want to do it. I *have* to do it.”

This was the last question and answer between us.

Baek Seok-ho’s eyes, which were shaking wildly, found peace.

He couldn’t help but feel disgusted by his appearance, but he seemed to have managed his mind in his own way.

Then he will attack soon.

Wait a minute before that.

I haven’t fully recovered all the magic power I’ve consumed yet.

So I opened my mouth to Baek Seok-ho.

“Okay.”

I roughly understood the principle of action on that side.

But.

Do you know that?

Your thirst for the position of head of the family.

“Then I will hand over the position of head of the family to you.”

If you become the head of the family, will you stop?

“If you want it that much, there’s no reason not to give it to you. To be honest, I don’t have much attachment to the position of head of the family.”

I took something out of my pocket and threw it on the floor.

Thud.

Something cylindrical that fell on the floor rolled around.

The moment it touched Baek Seok-ho’s feet, his eyes began to shake wildly.

His pupils were shaking more violently than when he turned into a demon and his body hair turned black.

Convinced by the sight, I said.

“Why don’t you pick it up? Aren’t you going to pick up the head of the family’s seal?”

The seal. It was a seal and a symbol of the head of the family.

There was no vermilion ink that formed a pair, but that alone was one of the means to prove that he was the head of the family.

An object that the successive heads of the family never let go of, no matter what happened.

It is on a different level from the seals commonly used in the family.

The seal, which consists of thousands of divine powers and spells, can never be forged, and the principle was that the head of the family never let it go from his body, even if he was exiled.

So.

If Baek Seok-ho became the head of the family, the first thing he would want to have was this seal. And that seal was right at his feet now.

All you have to do is pick it up.

But…….

“…Huh?”

I couldn’t pick up the seal.

I don’t dare to pick it up.

‘If I get this so easily, what have I been doing so far?’

Baek Seok-ho thought.

Was there a reason I turned into a demon?

For a moment, I began to feel a sense of futility in my life.