Academy’S Gumiho Is A Magical Genius [EN]: Chapter 366

Academy Gumiho is a Magic Genius – Episode 366

Academy Gumiho is a Magic Genius 366

Clue (1)

Just what happened while I was gone?

“How did these kids grow so much?”

Even as their teacher for the past six months, I couldn’t quite grasp their rapid improvement.

They seemed capable of challenging not only their peers but even active professional mages, especially when working as a five-person team. And if they truly managed to master even the intermediate stages of the Secret Arts I gave them…

“They might even take down ranked players [top players in the academy or a specific game/competition].”

With luck and good synergy, they might be able to match the rankers.

But I shouldn’t get the wrong idea.

They could only match the rankers when working as a five-person team. Their individual skills hadn’t reached that level yet.

—But what if they did?

‘……Suddenly?’

—It’s just a hypothetical. If those students were skilled enough to hold their own against rankers individually, how far could they go? Aren’t you curious?

‘Well, they seem to fluctuate between the upper A-grade and S-grade player levels now. If we assume they can hold their own against rankers…’

Roughly.

All five of them would be in the upper echelons of S-grade.

And they would move as harmoniously as if they were one being.

‘The lower-ranked active players probably wouldn’t stand a chance.’

—Are you talking about the integrated ranking? Or the contribution ranking?

‘It doesn’t matter whether it’s the integrated ranking, the contribution ranking, or the combat ranking. There are very few active rankers among the hundreds who could withstand those kids’ teamwork head-on. Maybe about 200 above and below.’

Currently, the system recognizes about 400 players as rankers.

If Tamamo’s hypothesis were correct, even in the slightest chance, the evaluation of 200 above and below would be different. The students could handle the bottom 200, but the top 200 would still be out of their reach.

It might seem weak, but…

The very idea of students being able to beat rankers is strange. How could people who aren’t even adults think about taking down rankers?

‘Of course, it’s a meaningless assumption.’

—You sound very skeptical. You know those kids’ talents and levels better than anyone, right? Why are you being so cold?

‘I’m saying it because I know them well. Their growth, the martial arts they use, and their principles. Who do you think was in charge of all that?’

—I don’t know about the second semester, but you were in charge of the first semester.

‘Yes, I taught them in the first semester.’

Like a crash course.

‘Originally, first-year students don’t choose a major.’

Academy first-year students. Just seventeen years old.

‘In the first year, they only choose whether to focus on physical or magical abilities. Very few students choose a specific major.’

—Huh? Didn’t you say before that there are students who have been practicing shield techniques for years, and many who learn powerful swordsmanship before even entering the academy?

‘They tend to change quite often when they go to the second grade.’

—……You definitely didn’t say that before.

Tamamo remembered it clearly.

Students entering the Seven Stars Academy are all elites, so they usually receive early education, and even those who don’t understand their talents and aptitudes can receive fast and effective education.

‘I looked into it later. Half of that is true, and half is false.’

—What?

Half true, half false?

‘It’s true that they maintain a major that utilizes their talents and aptitudes until graduation, but to be more precise, it would be more accurate to say that they change their major to a minor.’

—So, if a student was practicing swordsmanship before entering the academy, by the time they graduate, they will often use swordsmanship as a supplementary means, while using magic as their primary means of attack?

‘That’s right.’

To enter the Seven Stars Academy, you must prove your talent and skill.

They desperately wielded swords and chanted magic to get in, but once they started learning in earnest, they often opened their eyes to other fields and found them interesting.

Many students change their major in the process.

Of course, whether the field they honed to enter the academy was swordsmanship or magic, they worked hard, so they hold on to it in the form of a minor because they don’t want to give up the sweat they’ve shed so far.

Many students wander in the process.

‘But at least I made it so that my students don’t have to wander.’

The Secret Arts I left for each student.

The Secret Arts included martial arts tailored to each talent, as well as minors that students would be interested in studying in the future.

It was thanks to reading the novel.

I knew what my students would be interested in and what they would like, so I was able to drastically reduce the time they would wander. I judged that they would be able to become stronger much faster than others based on this shortened time.

‘But that speed is…’

Wasn’t it almost half my growth rate?

—It’s probably even faster than that.

‘I guess so. They’re not the kind of kids who would use all their cards against a mere 5th Circle wolf pack [a group of monsters]. They must be hiding something.’

—I wonder how much stronger they’ve become.

Looking forward to it?

I don’t think so.

—Why? They’re the kids you raised. Doesn’t something like a teacher’s love come out of your head?

‘Do you think that’s paternal love?’

—Then is there any special reason?

No, just think about it.

‘It’s not even the final exam. Why would students be teaming up to enter a dungeon, an Otherworld? Because they want to get stronger? That’s certainly possible.’

However, if they wanted to get stronger through fighting, the hordes of monsters pouring out of an S-grade dungeon would be much more effective.

The reason why the mortality rate in the Otherworld is so high and the clearing rate is low is not because the monsters that appear are of a high level, but because you have to suspect and fight other people in a ruined world.

The sense of crisis that you never know when a knife will be stuck in your back.

If you spend a day or two in it, a person’s mind is softer and more fragile than you think, so it tends to break down quickly.

—Is it possible that they came here to strengthen their minds?

‘Don’t ask if you already know the answer. Unless you have an immovable heart, it’s impossible to strengthen your mind in this ruined world.’

—Then why do you think those kids came?

‘There’s only one possibility.’

Probably those students.

‘They came to find me.’

They must have come to find me based on some clue.

However, that clue is bothering me.

It makes me hesitant to move recklessly.

* * *

Isabel and her group hunted countless monsters.

They somehow managed to wipe out most of the monsters that appeared inside the city, but they couldn’t dare to face the monsters outside the city.

“How is it? Did you kill them all?”

“We killed all the 4th and 5th Circle monsters that appeared inside the city. We’ve also wiped out most of the low-level 6th, 7th, and 8th Circle monsters.”

“I just checked. The magical energy fluctuations inside the city are so unstable that you never know when a monster will be born inside the city.”

“Besides, low-level monsters are mostly about quantity rather than quality, so it was impossible to catch and kill them all. I tried to freeze them all with ice, but there were monsters everywhere outside my range.”

Isabel’s group members answered her.

Her initial order was to annihilate the nearby monsters, but the monsters in this world were close to a phenomenon that was naturally born when the magical power in the air exceeded a certain level.

High-level monsters required an abnormally high amount of magical power to be born, so once they were killed, they did not easily reappear, but low-level monsters were not like that.

In fact, annihilation was impossible.

“……Ha, I guess cleaning is impossible after all.”

She tried to clean up all the monsters to reduce the variables before making things bigger, but now that things have turned out this way, there was no reason to do the meaningless task of exterminating monsters.

“Everyone is prohibited from hunting monsters. Let’s rest and conserve our strength.”

Following Isabel’s new order, the group members sat down.

There hadn’t been a day they hadn’t fought since they first entered this world.

Their physical condition was fine, but the constant fighting and the mental pressure of making allies, finding out the truth of the destruction that occurred in this world, and somehow solving it was something they couldn’t bear.

Rest was essential.

However, everyone was having a hard time, so it was difficult for anyone to say that they should take a break first.

But when the rest order was given like this.

“I’m going to sleep first.”

Thump!

Leezy fell to the floor.

He immediately fell asleep.

As he was holding a shield and had the most physical fights on the front lines, Leezy, who had suffered the most mental exhaustion, was natural.

“Did only the floor break?”

“I took a quick look. Fortunately, there are no external injuries or concussions. His head is much harder than the concrete floor, so he seems to be okay.”

“He’s really become a blockhead.”

“He used to try to use his head a little by mixing tricks into Isabel’s tactics. Now he just charges head-on.”

Leezy hit the floor with his head first.

Fortunately, there were no injuries or shocks.

Rather, the floor broke.

Leezy, who had greatly increased his ‘stamina’ and ‘durability’ to fulfill his role as a guardian protecting his teammates from monsters, was not injured by such a thing.

“I want to rest too. Then who will be on night watch?”

“It’s not difficult if you mix my magic and Isabel’s magic.”

“Then we can all rest together for the first time in a while.”

The group members except Leezy talked.

Who will rest first?

Everyone was tired, so I thought they would talk for a long time, but the answer came out faster than I thought. Isabel raised her hand.

“I used the least amount of magic because I was directing. I’ll keep watch and stand guard.”

At that, Isis opened her mouth.

“You may have used the least amount of magic, but we’ve all had a tough fight. And you know what? You’re the most mentally exhausted. We all know that.”

Considering that she was directly involved in the battle, Isabel was in the safest position, but the group members knew how hard she had worked.

If Leezy had the hardest time among the group members,

Isabel is definitely the second hardest.

“The monster hunting front was so wide that you overworked your mental strength by giving different orders here and there.”

“But I still have plenty of magic left.”

“We have magic left too. Go to sleep. If you’re worried, I’ll keep watch.”

Isabel, who rejected the offer, moved her steps.

She planned to patrol the area.

“……You shouldn’t just ignore their concern.”

Isis thought, looking at her.

The current Isabel is too hasty and impatient.

She is maintaining her composure on the outside, but even in a situation where she needs rest the most, she does not sleep and says that she will stand guard for the group members instead. There is no one else who is so restless.

“I can’t help it.”

Isabel was the most changed person among the group members since the teacher disappeared. After obtaining information about this place where she could find out the whereabouts of the teacher, her mind was not calmed down.

“We all came here with the thought of finding the teacher.”

Isis briefly recalled the near past.

About three weeks after the teacher, Seungwoo, disappeared.

A common message appeared in their field of vision.

It was a suspicious message, but everyone arrived here without hesitation, not knowing what dangers might be lurking. All for clues to find the teacher’s whereabouts.