Academy’S Gumiho Is A Magical Genius [EN]: Chapter 368

Academy Gumiho is a Magical Genius – Episode 368

Clue (3)

While the students were gathering information both inside and outside the city,

I established a firm connection within the city.

“What are you planning to do?”

“What do you mean?”

“You said this place is just a stopover.”

Yes, my plan was to elevate you to a high position here, then return to my original world, fully prepared, and re-enter that insane world.

‘That’s what I originally intended.’

An unexpected variable occurred.

My students. I never imagined they would be here.

So, I secretly recorded the area where the kids were talking and replayed it in my ear like a voice recording. The children’s voices echoed in my ears, allowing me to understand their purpose for coming to this world.

‘I never imagined they would come here because of me.’

They received a message that a clue about their missing teacher was here and came looking.

That was the principle behind their actions that I realized while eavesdropping on their conversations for days. There’s no homeroom teacher for the second semester, and everyone will be split up according to their chosen major.

The only person those kids commonly refer to as “teacher” is me.

─How admirable of them. Coming all the way to a place like this to find their teacher.

‘That’s not what’s important right now.’

─It is important. Those young children stepped into this gloomy city to find you. How can it not be important?

‘You keep changing the subject these days; stop doing that.’

I cut off Tamamo.

What’s important now isn’t that.

‘The problem is, who gave those kids the information?’

Information that a clue to finding me could be obtained in this world.

Where did that information come from?

The first person that came to mind was Baek Hyeon-ah.

As a doppelganger [a being that perfectly imitates another] created based on my memories, she accurately grasped my skills and the relationships I’ve built so far.

If she sent those students to find my whereabouts because I couldn’t come out for a long time, and she couldn’t come to take care of the children herself, it wouldn’t be an unreasonable assumption, but…

─Then how would Baek Hyeon-ah know you’re here? You didn’t enter this world through the key, but arbitrarily passed through here. How could she figure that out like a ghost and send the students here?

‘……Because she’s a doppelganger?’

─Do you think a doppelganger is some kind of GPS?

I was just saying.

Then the remaining two possibilities are.

‘What about Teacher Nam Hwa-yeon?’

─Unlike Baek Hyeon-ah, that person hasn’t even heard that you left for another world to catch a boss, right? So, that person is obviously not involved… or maybe she is. You never know with that woman.

The originator of sorcery. Even she, who first created the concept of sorcery, was amazed by Nam Hwa-yeon’s achievements.

The achievements she has publicly announced are impressive enough, but the reason Tamamo was amazed was that Nam Hwa-yeon had downplayed her achievements and presented them to the academy.

─She initiated more academic disciplines than I did and proved countless theories, yet she ridiculously underestimated her achievements. I once read her paper registered in the academy under your name, and it achieved surprisingly mysterious results.

‘She has many papers like that.’

So much so that there is even a department officially recognized by the Magic Academy called “Research on the Demon King’s Papers.” It’s not even small in scale. It’s a well-known department that takes up a whopping 10% of the academy’s annual budget.

─Anyway, while reading one of those papers, I clearly found an empty space. If that part were properly written, her paper wouldn’t just achieve mysterious results but would be so overwhelming that it would advance the ‘history of magic’ another step. But that part was empty.

Could it be that she didn’t know that content herself and didn’t write it down?

‘No way. At least not for that magic fanatic.’

I called her “teacher” and had some respect for her, but I had no hesitation in calling Nam Hwa-yeon a magic fanatic.

Because she is crazy.

─I can be sure. That woman deliberately reduced the content of her paper to prevent the history of magic from being advanced too much.

‘She might do that, given her personality.’

And most likely, if she runs out of money due to research, she’ll write the rest of that paper and make a big score.

Magicians are always a hungry bunch.

─Anyway, that woman is definitely a possibility.

‘But there’s not enough circumstantial evidence.’

─That’s right. Searching for you and sending the kids is a separate matter from her abilities being outstanding.

‘And if that person was really trying to find me, she would have made a hole [created a portal] as soon as she discovered this world.’

According to what we’ve talked about so far, it’s not Nam Hwa-yeon either.

Then what’s left is the third option.

In fact, I think the third option is the most credible.

‘The last one is that guy you and I both know.’

But a guy who is credible and therefore unbelievable.

─The System.

‘That main guy is trying to kill me. I don’t know why that guy made the kids come here.’

Perhaps the System gave the students a quest.

It probably lured them here by offering clues about me as a reward. But the students wouldn’t have easily believed it. Most of them are young but have experienced harsh pasts.

They must have come here after doubting and doubting again.

Then what to consider now is.

‘How on earth did he win the students over?’

That’s the problem.

How the System persuaded and won over those suspicious kids is a mystery. No matter how much the concept of the System is believed by everyone in this world, students like Isabel and Lee Ji have developed a habit of tapping and crossing [being overly cautious and skeptical] even what others take for granted while going through difficult experiences.

‘I really don’t know. What did that snake-like guy say to make the students set foot in such a dangerous place?’

─Can’t think of anything?

‘Honestly, it’s a bit complicated.’

─Then how about thinking the other way around?

‘The other way around?’

─Yeah, try thinking about everything in reverse.

Let’s make the way of thinking a little more flexible.

Think of the cause and effect in reverse order, and trace everything backward.

Tamamo gave me time to think differently.

It wasn’t because she noticed anything in particular, but just a word she said because my head seemed too complicated.

I paused for a moment after hearing those words.

I didn’t stop thinking to make my head soft [clear my head].

In the process, ridiculous inferences that didn’t make sense came to mind, and inferences that were so credible that even I was startled came to mind.

Even though such a credible inference came to mind, my head keeps working hard. To make the thinking flexible. After closing my eyes and thinking.

“……Eve.”

There was an answer.

“You said you can’t intervene anymore, what are you up to?”

I stared blankly at the sky.

Is it because the sky in this world is an exceptionally deep gray?

It was gloomy beyond compare.

It was like my heart.

* * *

I immediately patrolled the city.

My body was broken, and my magic circuits were damaged, but that didn’t hurt my head.

I searched for a place where I could freely utilize the knowledge in my head.

In the process, I found out that the force that controls this city is a magical group called the Magic Tower, and I contacted its lowest members.

“Th, thank you for saving me!”

“It’s nothing. I just did what I had to do.”

It was expressed as contact, but it wasn’t a big deal.

It was just that I saved a Magic Tower researcher who was about to become a monster’s dinner and formed a minor connection.

A naive researcher who regards me as a benefactor.

Stimulating his goodwill and sense of debt, I asked him to tell me how to enter the Magic Tower.

In the process, I added flesh with hopeful stories like dreams and promises, and the researcher immediately took me to his senior.

“Hello.”

“Are you the guy who helped our youngest?”

“Yes, I am.”

“I heard you want to take the Magic Tower entrance exam. The next entrance exam is scheduled for 5 years from now, but my reputation would be tarnished if my junior died foolishly in that position. Good. I’ll let you take the exam once.”

A large, burly researcher who I couldn’t tell if he was a fighter or a researcher greeted me.

It seems that even in this desolate city that seems to have been destroyed, there is face and honor. The senior researcher handed me a piece of paper.

Flutter.

As soon as I received the paper, I read all the formulas and problems inside.

They were formulas and problems that even I was seeing for the first time.

It seemed to be a unique formula that only exists in this world.

Solving the problems presented according to this formula would be the Magic Tower’s entrance exam.

I was wondering if it would be a test that required strength because there are many monsters in and out of the city, but this is better.

I took the paper and pencil and immediately started writing formulas on the paper.

Since it was the first time I saw the formula, I started with the proof of this formula to fully understand it. In the process, I realized that one piece of paper was not enough.

“Can I have another piece of paper?”

“Okay. But the time limit is 3 hours.”

“……Ah.”

There was a time limit too.

I had experience in creating exams while working as a teacher, but I had never taken them myself, so the time limit was a bit awkward.

“Yes, I understand.”

3 hours is more than enough.

About 30 minutes after the start of the exam.

I finished proving the given formula.

What I was able to find out as a result of the proof was that this formula was more interesting than I thought, and I was confident that I could perfectly solve the given problem.

Swish, swish.

As a result of moving the pencil non-stop for 2 hours, I finally finished the problem.

I submitted 50 sheets of paper to the senior researcher.

No review was necessary.

Even if he brought the answer sheet, it couldn’t be more perfect than the correct answer I wrote now, so I left, saying that I would come to work tomorrow.

The next morning.

I arrived at the Magic Tower entrance as if it were natural, opened the door, and went inside.

And immediately scanned the laboratory.

At the very end of the laboratory.

New Researcher, Soo.

My name was proudly written there.

As time slowly passed.

2 weeks. Rumors about the students were occasionally heard.

During the time the students settled in this city.

“This is truly an amazing research achievement!”

“To think that someone who has only been here for 2 weeks has achieved such results……! What’s even more amazing is that it’s not that the time invested in the research is 2 weeks, but that it’s only been 2 weeks since you joined the company.”

“A new talent has appeared to enlighten the city and enlighten the people. You! Where on earth was a talent like you hiding in this city?! Ah, I’m not trying to find fault.”

“It’s as the old man said. We’re just frustrated that we didn’t recognize a gem like you, who has gone beyond the stage of a rough stone that needs to be processed, in this narrow city.”

I became the real power of this Magic Tower.