Academy’S Gumiho Is A Magical Genius [EN]: Chapter 64

Academy Gumiho is a Magic Genius – Episode 64

Academy Gumiho is a Magic Genius 64

Rank Test (4)

“Next.”

A low voice echoed around.

No one was surprised or shocked by the voice anymore.

Rather, the sight before them was more shocking.

“…The monster’s body folded like paper?”

“T, that’s not important right now. Does ‘next’ mean the S-rank test?”

“Um… it’s impossible to conduct the S-rank test. In the first place, even the A-rank test is a clear abuse of power…”

The staff members were flustered and spouted various words.

However, the gist of what they were saying was simple.

You cannot take the S-rank test.

In fact, even the A-rank was an overreach, so please be satisfied here.

But Seungwoo had no reason to listen to that.

He was thirsty for a fight after a long time.

His body was tired, but Seungwoo’s condition was like pouring a drop of water on drought-stricken land. It was far from enough to quench his thirst.

“No, I’m taking the next test here too. Right now.”

─T, that’s not allowed!

─Anything more is really not allowed! Someone, please get the director to say something!

The association staff desperately tried to stop him.

If he took any more tests, the association’s fairness would be compromised.

All tests must be fair. That was the association’s attitude of maintaining neutrality.

However, that was only the association’s opinion.

So.

“Why would I care about that?”

His coldly smiling expression, as if he had already caught something, made the staff realize that it was irreversible.

Seungwoo’s confident attitude only made the association staff’s hearts burn black.

“Someone, drag him out of there!”

“Don’t you know how scary Baek Seungwoo is? That guy is a madman who has buried many people for ignoring his opinions!”

“D, Director, what should we do in this situation…?”

Originally, it was a request that was not even worth reconsidering.

But the opponent was the head of the Ten Thousand White Clan [a powerful and influential family].

The influence they had on their homeland, South Korea, was absolute.

As a mere low-level employee of the association, there was no way to deal with him.

And that was the same for the director.

‘…Damn it!’

He was an ordinary employee with no talent.

The reason why a man who was like a hyena, always siding with whoever was helpful, was able to sit in the director’s seat was thanks to his backing.

It was thanks to the Nine Tails Guild [a powerful organization].

More precisely, it was thanks to the influence of the top executive of Nine Tails, the among the ‘Nine Tails,’ and other executives.

And now.

Their tacit superior, Baek Seungwoo, who was famous as a crazy madman, was badgering him. In terms of the Ten Thousand White Clan, the pro-Elder faction director should not help Seungwoo.

So, he had allowed the A-rank test in the hopes that he would fail.

But Seungwoo confidently passed the test, and then boldly demanded the next stage, the S-rank test.

He was screwed.

Nine Tails and Baek Seungwoo.

No matter which one he chose, his future would not be smooth.

If he chose the former, he would be held responsible for ignoring the regulations twice as the director, and would have to write a report.

Furthermore, if he accepted his words, it would be a clear abuse of power, and the higher-ups would conduct an active inspection, so his connection with the Nine Tails Guild would be exposed, and dismissal and prosecution were not impossible.

If you’re going to stop, do it now.

You must stop it now.

But.

“…”

The gaze that quietly looked at him.

Burning red pupils. Within them was something as black and empty as his hair.

That was calling for the director’s death.

He didn’t know if that was the bloodlust he had only heard about.

He simply cursed being alive at this moment, facing that gaze. It wasn’t just scary or chilling.

The director instinctively sensed that his life was at stake in this fleeting judgment.

It was an intuition he had honed over 10 years of living by his wits in this terrible job.

Dismissal or death.

Torn between the two, the director closed his eyes tightly.

Thud!

He pressed the facility that implemented the illusion of an S-rank monster inside the space.

Then, the magic power inside the test room spun at an abnormal speed, creating a creature with a huge presence. Only then did Seungwoo’s eyes leave the director.

He let out a sigh of relief and knelt down because his legs were weak.

A question arose in Seungwoo’s mind as he watched the creature’s birth.

‘…How am I supposed to deal with that?’

The B-rank test was passed with magic alone, and the A-rank test was passed with a little bit of incantation. Then what should I do for the S-rank test?

There was no time to think deeply.

It aimed for his neck in an instant, in a way that was incomparable to before.

Kuwahhhhh!

An alligator-type monster that was actively courting him, opening its mouth as if it wanted to devour Seungwoo right in front of him.

He had vaguely thought that S-rank and A-rank were similar, but it was much more dangerous than he thought.

Damn it, if he had known this would happen, he wouldn’t have been so cocky and insisted on taking the next test right away.

‘I have about 50% of my magic power left, but my stamina is running out.’

The A+ magic power was running smoothly, but his weak body could not fully accept the magic power that was running like a sports car.

He would probably only be able to use large-scale magic two or three more times.

If he was prepared for injuries, he could use it ten more times, and if he was prepared for hospitalization, he could use it thirty more times.

‘But that would be pathetic.’

It was a path he had chosen himself, and no one else.

Seungwoo entered battle mode without saying a word.

─Kugugugung!

The ground shook as the giant alligator’s body moved.

A 4th Circle monster [a powerful classification of monster], capable of turning a village or city into a wasteland depending on its abilities.

Serpent Dragon Alligator.

With that size, it looked more like a dragon than an alligator.

There is a theory that the origin of dragons comes from alligators. Is that why the word dragon was attached to its species name?

“…Fortunately, it can’t shoot breath.”

The alligator was only opening its mouth and approaching.

It didn’t spew out powerful magic or poison from its mouth.

Yeah, it’s not a real dragon or wyvern [a two-legged dragon], so how could it use breath? If it could, it wouldn’t be a 4th Circle monster, but one level higher.

However, the bad breath coming from its mouth was so severe that his nose and head hurt.

To this extent, it should be recognized as a type of breath.

He couldn’t block the intense stench that penetrated his nasal cavity by just covering his nose.

Whirr, a red flame blazed greatly, strongly scorching the alligator’s skin and the area around its mouth.

The skin was burning, and the delicious smell that should not come from a living creature began to emanate as the flesh cooked. However, compared to the Serpent Dragon Alligator’s huge body, the damage was only minimal.

What’s with the size?

The Serpent Dragon Alligator was even bigger than the office-tel turtle he had easily defeated earlier.

It was certainly good that there were more areas to attack, but if it was this big, it would be difficult to inflict meaningful damage to the bones and internal organs, no matter how much he scorched it with fire magic.

He could somehow manage if he poured in fiercely burning flames to completely burn the skin from the outside, or if he adjusted the flames to cook it evenly from the inside like a steamer.

‘But that should be as easy as it sounds.’

Burn the skin completely?

In a situation where the fire magic was not fully effective due to the unique solid outer shell of a 4th Circle monster and the magic power flowing from the Serpent Dragon Alligator’s heart, it was difficult to burn the skin whole.

If his stamina was just a little higher, he could have done something by adjusting the power and range of the fire magic.

It was impossible with his current condition.

Cook it evenly from the inside like putting it in a steamer?

If he did that wrong, he could end up being steamed along with the Serpent Dragon Alligator.

Damn it, why is this so complicated?

“Burn.”

Along with the incantation, a flame of unprecedented efficiency scorched the monster’s skin. However, it was only efficient.

The not-so-powerful flame was only a tingling static electricity to the monster.

Waaaaah!

It opened its mouth and flew its heavy body towards him.

At the same time, it twisted its body greatly, as if it was about to spin.

Baek Seungwoo realized what the monster was about to do.

Death roll, a vortex of death that is achieved by fixing the opponent’s limbs with a powerful bite force and then rotating the body several times with all its might.

If you are caught in the combination of the alligator species’ terrifying bite force and merciless rotation, your limbs will not only be torn to shreds.

Moreover, if it is a high-ranking monster like the Serpent Dragon Alligator, it is even more so.

Swish, he quickly pulled his arm back.

The end of his clothes caught on the monster’s sharp teeth.

The monster, which had no intention of letting go, bounced its body greatly and began to rotate at high speed.

Kwagwagwagwagwa!

A huge rotation that shook not only the ground in the area, but also the association building beyond the test room. The association staff swallowed their groans at the attack that would have left ordinary players unable to even collect their bones.

Everyone, surely he’s not dead, right?

At that moment, when they were thinking of negative situations in their heads.

[‘Foxfire’ is rising.]

[A curse is surging like a fog in the area!]

Whirrrrrrrrrrr───!!

Fire ignited on the monster’s body, which was rotating at high speed.

The cursedly flickering purple flames spread greatly, using the monster as firewood.

Following that, a low, sunken voice echoed.

“Burn.”

The same incantation as usual.

However, there was something different from usual.

「Foxfire」

[‘Pyrokinesis’ is imbued with ‘Foxfire’.]

[From now on, you can give shape to the cursed flames.]

「Double Helix」

[The arrangement of magic power changes into a spiral shape.]

[Two spirals intersect, amplifying the efficiency and power of magic power by two times.]

The purple flames burning in the air intertwined like twisting a rope.

What was born was a flame spear with two ends split.

It was the maximum blow that could be inflicted right now, without harming Baek Seungwoo’s body.

“Fall.”

An incomplete incantation uttered on the spot.

Thanks to that, his throat was completely hoarse.

The spear of helix that floated in the air covered the area with a huge flame and plunged down on the Serpent Dragon Alligator. It looked like he was stabbing food with a fork.

The dignity of the 4th Circle was no longer anywhere to be found.

Baek Seungwoo controlled all the flames and heat in the area and killed the alligator.

He had to prevent the damage from spreading outside, so he succeeded in spending all of his A+ vast magic power for the first time since coming here.

Soon after, Baek Seungwoo, who had exhausted all of his magic power, collapsed to the floor and stared blankly at the ceiling.

He was too tired.

He closed his eyes to catch his breath for a moment and subjectively evaluated his martial prowess.

‘…S is more difficult than I thought.’

He passed the B and A-rank tests without difficulty, so he took it too lightly.

The highest grade that a human can give to another, just before reaching the exalted realm of Ranker and High Ranker [elite individuals with exceptional abilities].

Baek Seungwoo was on the verge of that S-rank.

If he added a few strands of martial arts to his current skills, he could easily surpass the S-rank.

But purely in terms of magic, A-rank or higher, S-rank or lower is an appropriate evaluation.

It was a considerable achievement considering that he had only entered magic a month ago, but that was only in terms of force.

The depth and achievement of magic were separate matters.

“…The gap between S-rank and Ranker, High Ranker is bigger than I thought.”

Ranker is the best in each field designated by the system.

It could be a swordsman who has honed swordsmanship to the extreme, a magician specializing in fire magic, or a doctor who has treated hundreds of thousands of people on the battlefield.

Whatever the case, if a person who has become the best in their respective field is called a Ranker.

High Ranker are geniuses of the century who are outstanding even among Rankers and can never be replaced by anyone.

It is different from the S-rank license, which can be obtained simply by having a certain level of force.

Beyond their own fields.

Selected seats that can only be occupied by 100 people who are overwhelmingly superior compared to others in all fields.

‘It’s getting harder and harder. I can’t see the end.’

Recently, he has been learning incantations under Nam Hwayeon, but there is still a long way to go to reach them, who exist in a distant position.

Well, it’s only been a month, so it’s natural.

As he had the opportunity to objectively grasp his condition by taking these tests, he felt even more impatient.

‘I want to get stronger faster.’

He can’t change anything as it is now.

Even if he couldn’t change the scenario to his liking, he wanted the power to at least twist it.

As an aside, the license ended up being A-rank.

The moment the director tried to issue an S-rank license, the association president, who sensed something was wrong, issued an order from above.

The arrested director trembled and confessed what had happened and what he had done. It was quite funny to see him confess his actions so willingly, as if a whim had blown.

After learning what had happened here, the higher-ups bowed their heads to me and handed me an A-rank license.

There are only a few S-ranks in the whole world.

They apologized, saying that they had no choice but to manage them strictly, and took the director away.

All of this was settled within 15 minutes.

“…My five hours.”

Compared to the waiting time, the work was done too quickly.

At this rate, I can play at least five games that I usually don’t have time for.

I watched the people leaving leisurely in luxury cars and thought.

‘My five games…….’

It’s almost time to go to the auction house.