Academy’S Gumiho Is A Magical Genius [EN]: Chapter 404

Academy Gumiho is a Magic Genius – Episode 404

Academy Gumiho is a Magic Genius Episode 404

Towards the End (4)

There was nothing more to figure out.

It wasn’t that there was no more information to gather, but that there was no need to.

Swish.

Because all I had to do was kill Adam right here.

With a light movement, I drew my sword and swung it.

“Oh, you’re quite impatient.”

The sword, which had been drawing a smooth trajectory, was blocked by Adam’s hand.

A skin thicker and harder than metal or a monster’s hide.

Indeed, he had the physical abilities of a disaster specialized in combat among the Seven Calamities.

I had no doubt that he would be slightly weakened due to the possession, but to think it only weakened him ‘slightly.’ What a monster.

“The sword that touched my hand. Aren’t you going to take it back? You can’t cut my skin just by having a little power struggle with me.”

“I thought you had quite a variety of strategies and tactics while spreading pseudo-religions in human society, but it seems you haven’t touched martial arts.”

“What?”

To think he wouldn’t even notice such a simple principle.

The sword, which had been sparking against Adam’s hand, suddenly and smoothly dug into his wrist.

Yielding (柔) [A martial arts principle emphasizing flexibility and redirection of force].

It was an unbelievably delicate and soft movement.

The sword, which had almost completely severed his wrist, barely cut halfway through the wrist bone before being deflected. I also moved backward following the movement of the sword.

“…What was that?”

“Softness Overcomes Strength (柔能制剛) [A principle in martial arts where yielding and flexibility can overcome brute force].”

Softness overcomes strength.

The principle I taught my students first when imparting various martial arts, including swordsmanship, was the principle of ‘yielding’.

Most martial artists learn the principle of strength first.

The principle of strength, which can be unfolded by fixing the lower body and waist and applying strong force to the wrist, has a very low entry barrier.

However, the principle of yielding is not like that.

It’s not something you can unfold just by reducing the strength in your wrist.

Softly, being able to unfold all of your strength softly.

The entry barrier may be somewhat high, but if you can properly master the principle of yielding, you can quickly grasp other principles as well.

Because being soft means being flexible.

And being flexible means being able to flow like water.

I recommended this order of acquisition.

‘Of course, even if you acquire the principles in that way and can unfold the principle of yielding.’

You still can’t do it like me.

Swoosh!

Suddenly, Adam’s left arm fell to the floor.

The left arm, which he swung to pull out the sword stuck in his right hand, was cut off.

A clean cut. It was a trace of being cut by a sword, no matter who looked at it.

“…How.”

“How is it? You didn’t even know you were cut, did you?”

I grinned and raised my sword.

When Adam roughly swung his left arm to pull out the sword stuck in his right arm, I wasn’t just taking it.

I gently condensed magic power in my left hand to create an invisible sword, and gently swung the invisible sword while countering Adam’s powerful wrist strength.

The invisible sword of counter-attack (後發制人) [A strategy of striking after the opponent has made their move] was as smooth as flowing water.

Thanks to that, Adam belatedly realized that he had been cut.

“Ha, you’re still the same.”

Adam admired my skills and hesitated to clap because he didn’t have his left arm.

“As expected, it’s inconvenient without an arm.”

The madman, whose tone changed frequently, placed his hand on the floor.

At the same time, the ground began to vibrate.

I was able to discern one fact from that sight.

‘The blessing of earth.’

Just as I have tremendous aptitude for fire, Adam was clearly born with talents for earth (土) [One of the five elements in Chinese philosophy, representing stability and grounding] and wood (木) [Another of the five elements, symbolizing growth and flexibility]. Seriously, how ridiculous.

‘When I saw him from afar, I confirmed that he had an aptitude for lightning.’

To think he would possess two more aptitudes, earth and wood.

Moreover, both were at the same level of aptitude as me.

A talent equal to my aptitude, which was so overwhelming that I could handle flames like my own limbs, to the point where I felt like the flames loved me.

‘Adam has three.’

Wow, I killed that guy before?

He has three aptitudes equal to mine, not just one?

‘I’m surprised again.’

I don’t know how obsessed I was with the sword back then.

The mental state is the same now as it was then.

The only differences are the body that can fully unfold swordsmanship.

The madness to kill him even in death. That’s all there was.

“As expected, it’s clean swordsmanship. Not a speck of dust has settled, and not a bit of rust has formed.”

A martial artist who has reached the state of divine sword union is like a single weapon in itself. In that sense, I was a single sword. Moreover, I was the best sword in the world.

No matter how famous a sword is, dust accumulates and rust forms if it is neglected.

In that case, even a famous sword can become an ordinary sword, or even worse depending on the management.

In that sense, I had managed myself well.

“Then I must also pay my respects.”

Thump!

Stems rose from the floor.

Huge trees grew, breaking the ground.

The forest of buildings, which was hard to believe was a medieval landscape, instantly turned into a flower garden full of apple trees.

“This apple. You remember it, right?”

Adam picked an apple from the tree.

He took a bite of the apple without even wiping it.

Crunch, crunch.

Every time Adam chewed the apple, the wounds he had sustained began to heal, and the magic power he had consumed began to replenish.

Adam’s apple tree.

The most difficult of his authorities.

In the end, that came out.

“If such a luscious apple tree has grown, there must also be a guardian to protect the tree.”

Slither.

A black snake crawling on the floor climbed onto Adam’s body.

A guardian. That black snake?

To me, who knows the original text of the myth, it was ridiculous.

Slither.

The snake that climbed onto his body was soon held in Adam’s hand.

Realizing what it was, I immediately kicked off the floor and moved backward.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

As Adam swung the snake, its length increased.

That snake is not a living snake. Like the apple tree, it is Adam’s authority.

Adam flicked the snake.

The whip, which lightly broke the sound barrier, wrapped around the sword.

“Tsk.”

Clicking my tongue, I dropped the sword from my hand.

Instantly, the weight contained in the sword increased sharply.

I was confident that I could handle any speed, but I reflexively let go of the sword. I have no idea how fast he swung the whip.

“Such a swordsman dropped his sword from his hand.”

Adam appeared behind me as soon as he spread his wings.

You shouldn’t drop your sword from your hand so carelessly.

Whoosh!

He raised the whip in his hand and struck down.

The tremendous elasticity contained in the black snake screamed and tore through the air.

Adam’s expression, which had been wearing a sly smile like a snake, suddenly hardened.

Rarely, his expression distorted.

Whoosh!

Flames blazed from my fingertips.

“Why. Did you think I couldn’t block it without a sword?”

I can make a sword myself.

The curse flames burning in purple.

With purple flames (紫焰) [Purple-colored flames, often associated with powerful or cursed magic] in both hands, I stretched out my left hand and created a spear of fire.

Swish!

While the surface of the spear was burning fiercely, the blue blade proudly revealed that what was in my hand was a spear in the shape of fire.

‘First, one on his shoulder.’

At the same time as blocking the whip, Adam’s body was pushed back slightly.

Not missing that gap, I swung my left hand greatly and stabbed the spear into his shoulder. The spear was deeply embedded in the joint.

At the same time, flames began to spew out from Adam’s shoulder.

Whirr!

The flames flowing out like lava from hell melted all of Adam’s clothes.

The flames, carried by the wind and spreading in all directions, quickly spread to the apple tree, which was like Adam’s sanctuary. The smell of burning rubber vibrated from all directions and entered my nose.

“With this, you won’t be able to do your trademark trickery.”

Adam’s trickery, which recovers wounds and magic power with fruit for himself and pours fruit bombs on his opponent, was blocked.

At those words, Adam spat fire.

“Do you think my apple tree will burn to ashes with just flames?!”

Adam raised his hand.

Green petals and magic power blooming from his grasp.

That was the source of the apple tree. Adam’s authority.

“I can quickly replace this level of burn with another tree!”

“I know.”

The apple tree’s domain is like a great mage’s sanctuary.

A domain that promotes its own laws and strengthens its authority.

The apple tree was not just a means of recovery.

It was a supporter that assisted Adam simply by its existence, and a sanctuary that elevated his authority to the next level.

“So I unfolded it too.”

Fire.

The whole world was filled with flames.

My own sanctuary created by the fire aptitude I possessed. Fire Hell.

「Gehenna」[A term for Hell, often associated with fire and torment].

In a world full of flames, even Adam’s authority could not bloom a tree. His tree burned as soon as it bloomed.

“It’s my first time unfolding it too. Be honored.”

The sanctuary, 「Gehenna」, suppressed the apple tree.

All the additional effects of establishing my own laws or strengthening my abilities were invested in suppressing the apple tree.

A sanctuary used solely to break through one authority.

There was no greater waste than this.

‘But when ending it with a short-term battle, there’s nothing like this.’

It prevents the apple tree’s recovery ability and the interference caused by the explosion in advance.

I don’t intend to drag it out for a long time.

“Let’s go quickly, quickly.”

I kicked off the floor and rushed at Adam.

A shock wave far more powerful than the shock wave that occurred when he swung his whip swept through the burning apple trees. The fire subsided in an instant.

Surprised, Adam crossed his arms and blocked above his head.

I don’t know how fast he swings his sword.

‘I don’t intend to just take it.’

A battle where they compete not with the durability and strength of their bodies, but with each other’s agility and judgment. It was the type of battle Adam preferred.

He was desperately trying to prevent the sword from cutting off both hands and was about to extend his foot to shake my insides, but I smiled at Adam just before reaching him.

“…Could it be!”

Adam, frowning at the smile, thought.

Maybe, just maybe, there’s nothing in the hands he raised above his head, right?

The fleeting thought immediately led to a judgment.

He extended one of the hands protecting his head forward while crossing them.

It was to react immediately if what he was holding in his hand was not a sword, but it was already too late to take a stance.

‘Damn it! Is the swordsman not using a sword with Ambidextrous Technique (雙手互搏) [A martial arts technique where the practitioner can use both hands equally well, often performing different techniques simultaneously]?’

Two hands approaching Adam’s vicinity.

Nothing was held in either hand.

However, the left hand was spreading a palm (掌) [A palm strike or technique], and the right hand was clenching a fist.

Ambidextrous Technique unfolding different martial arts in both hands.

It is difficult to learn, but it was a different story for a skilled martial artist to unfold different martial arts in both hands.

In order to properly unfold Ambidextrous Technique, the level of martial arts unfolded with both hands must be similar.

It’s hard enough to dig one well, but there’s no room to dig another well.

“So you put down your sword and rushed at me with your bare hands. I’ve been underestimated so much!”

Adam was furious.

Just as Seungwoo knew Adam well, Adam also knew Seungwoo well. He knew that he was well-versed in all kinds of martial arts.

He also knew that he had dug into the sword to the extreme and was called a Sword Saint.

“No matter how great your palm technique and fist technique are, they won’t be as good as a sword!”

The only reason why the battle between Adam and Seungwoo could be established was just one.

It was because Seungwoo was holding a sword.

He was a different person when he held a sword.

If it wasn’t for that level, there would be no one who could face Adam.

In the world before he died, that was the reason why Seungwoo alone confronted Adam.

Adam, who thought of Seungwoo as a worthy rival, could not hide his disappointment.

‘It’s a pity.’

He had a desire to take the life of the one who killed him as the starting point for the new horizon he would open.

‘To think he would put down his sword just to create a variable.’

Adam did nothing.

He was planning to receive all of his attacks and then kill Seungwoo, who had approached him, in one blow. His arms, legs, and neck would be somewhat damaged, but he was prepared to give up that much for victory.

Or so he thought.

“Do you think I wouldn’t know how many years I’ve swung a sword?”

I smiled slightly and wrapped my hands in flames.

Kicking off the floor, the magic that had been pre-chanted blazed in my hands.

“I never intended to use a sword from the beginning.”

“…!”

I am a magician now.

What’s a magician doing with a sword?

I have to push through with overwhelming firepower.

The moment my palm and fist touched Adam’s body, a huge flame of a scale I had never seen before erupted from his body.

─You swung it well for someone who said that.

Ahem.