I Became the Academy’s Genius Shikigami Summoner – Chapter 143

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟒𝟑

“H-How could this be?”

When the first match of the 4th exam began, the supervisors had merely watched the arena with expectant eyes.

However, now that many had been eliminated and only two remained, the supervisors were genuinely taken aback.

This was because the battle between Han Kang-yoon and Sophia was far from ordinary.

“Both of them are amazing. . . . . . . Not only do they use powerful spells, but they also execute them perfectly.”

“Simply put, the battle itself has already reached maturity. How can both of them be at an age where they haven’t even experienced real combat yet. . . . . . .”

Following such compliments, the supervising supervisor, who had been carefully reviewing the records, added his testimony.

“Candidate Han Kang-yoon has a record of participating in the Defense Corps during the recent Red Oni incident. Unofficially, he is said to have defeated two B-rank yokai.”

“Hoh, by himself?”

In fact, this was not easy even for the exorcists present here.

It would be fine if it were a high-ranking exorcist like Gil Sam-bong or Lee Moon-soo, but the others would need at least one teammate to feel comfortable.

“He did have a partner. However, even that partner was a 3rd-grade exorcist, who was the youngest in the Defense Corps, and an academy student, so it is clear that he played a significant role in defeating the devil.”

“Heh heh, that’s amazing.”

The skill Han Kang-yoon was demonstrating right now was too great to dismiss such records as exaggerations or fabrications.

That’s why no one uttered a word of denial.

Instead, everyone was simply captivated by the battle between the two.

Whoooosh.

Bam!

Before anyone knew it, the battle between the two had become even more intense, and now, even the supervisors were occasionally witnessing spells and powerful advanced spells that they had never seen before.

2nd-grade exorcist Hwang Dae-gil, who was watching this, felt goosebumps on his spine and thought to himself.

「. . . 𝙄𝙛 𝙄 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙛𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢, 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙄 𝙗𝙚 𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙬𝙞𝙣? 」

At the very beginning of the battle, such a thought would never have crossed his mind.

However, it was different now.

Sophia and Han Kang-yoon’s battle naturally evoked such thoughts in his mind.

And, to be honest and objective.

「𝙄 𝙘𝙖𝙣’𝙩 𝙨𝙖𝙮 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚. 」

Not only in terms of specs, but you can tell just by looking at them. Those two are geniuses in combat.

No matter what spells they can use, no matter what their rank as exorcists, they are simply good at fighting.

Furthermore, perhaps because they are the new generation, their fighting style and flow are much more advanced than those of their generation.

Surely, facing those two would not be easy, even for Hwang Dae-gil, who came from a prestigious family and was a 2nd-grade exorcist.

「. . . 𝙏𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙄 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙨𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙖 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙚. 」

If his family members found out, they would surely laugh at him.

An exorcist of Hwang Dae-gil’s caliber was seriously feeling competitive in a qualifying exam full of fledglings?

However, it was inevitable.

Anyone who saw the scene before their eyes would have thought the same.

Sophia Charlotte and Han Kang-yoon, those two were the true leaders of the next generation and the harbingers of a generational shift.

Hwang Dae-gil was convinced.

Those who were at a higher level would also think the same when they saw them someday.

So, for now, all he had to do was watch and enjoy the duel between the two.

“. . . It seems like both sides are about to decide the outcome.”

The expressions of the two had definitely changed.

Sophia Charlotte began to cast an advanced spell with more spiritual power than ever before, and Han Kang-yoon responded by taking out a new shikigami.

And the shikigami that appeared was a doll in the form of a beautiful woman.

“T-This can’t be. . . . . . .”

Gil Sam-bong’s expression was one of disbelief as he watched the shikigami.

No wonder, because even Gil Sam-bong, who was known as a genius in shikigami techniques, could see various spells that he could not comprehend gathered together to form that shikigami.

「𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩. . . . . .? 」

It was simply amazing.

Most of the shikigami that Han Kang-yoon had shown so far were like that, but this one was even more so.

Because, no matter how you looked at it, that spell doll was a custom-made shikigami that someone had made with their own hands.

A custom-made shikigami with such powerful abilities was nothing short of a revolution in shikigami techniques.

Gil Sam-bong began to reach out as if possessed by something and approached the screen that was broadcasting the match.

And Gil Sam-bong, who was beside him, stopped him.

“Calm down a little. The exam is still ongoing.”

“. . . I apologize. This old man has lost his composure.”

However, even if they did not know as much as Gil Sam-bong, the exorcists present could tell that the shikigami Han Kang-yoon had taken out was amazing.

That’s why they simply watched with bated breath.

The final battle between the two that was about to begin.

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

The reason I had led Sophia into this situation was simple: the greater the spell, the greater the gaps that would appear.

「𝙎𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙄 𝙘𝙖𝙣’𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙖𝙩 𝙎𝙤𝙥𝙝𝙞𝙖 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙙-𝙤𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙮𝙬𝙖𝙮, 」

I had no choice but to create a new gap for her to exploit.

「𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙞𝙨 𝙏𝙖𝙚𝙨𝙖𝙣𝙢𝙪𝙣? 」

The advanced binding spell that Myung-yul had used against Shin Do-hoon before, its power was well known.

Honestly speaking, it was simply ridiculous that she could cast Taesanmun at her current level.

If this were not reality, I would have reported her through a bug report.

「. . . 𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙄 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙙 𝙡𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙡 53 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙜𝙖𝙢𝙚. 」

This meant that Sophia had a great amount of spiritual power and that her spellcasting level was high.

And I, who was the party concerned in the battle, had to find a way to break it somehow.

「𝙄𝙩 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙗𝙚 𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙣𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙖𝙡 𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙙𝙨. 」

Taesanmun was a powerful binding spell that even Shin Do-hoon, who had become completely petrified, could not break free from with force.

Of course, if I were to be hit by it at my current level, there would be no way for me to escape.

「𝙄 𝙘𝙖𝙣’𝙩 𝙗𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙠 𝙞𝙩 𝙚𝙞𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧. 」

To be exact, it was possible, but the probability of breaking it with any spell was so low that it was deemed impractical.

It was an option that was not worth using unless it was a last resort.

In that case, there were not many methods that came to mind. And the one I chose was a kind of trick.

「. . . 𝙄 𝙙𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙝𝙞𝙩. 」

Swish.

Poof!

『Creak.』

Taking out Dudooree, the stealthy counter-type shikigami from the shadows, I began to recite the incantation for the advanced spell in a low voice, just like Sophia.

Whoooosh.

“Reporting the source of power has shaken the world to its extreme danger. . .”

However, unusually, the target of the spell was not Sophia, but Dudooree.

What I was casting on it was a kind of curse. In fact, it is a spell that is used in a different way rather than being directly related to combat, but it can be used effectively in such cases.

“Original grudge and jealousy.”

Swish.

Flash.

Taesanmun is definitely a very powerful binding spell.

However, it is completely classified as an orthodox spell and is quite outdated.

And such spells generally had the disadvantage of not being very good at capturing the target of the spell.

「𝙊𝙛 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚, 𝙞𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙘𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙘𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙖𝙘𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙮, 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙣𝙤 𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙩𝙤 𝙚𝙨𝙘𝙖𝙥𝙚 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙞𝙩 𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙣𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙖𝙡 𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙙𝙨. 」

So I came up with an unconventional method.

As I said earlier, Original grudge and jealousy is a kind of curse.

Simply put, it has the ability to make the target of the curse unfortunate.

And, if you were to explain it in more detail.

「𝘼 𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙤 𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙩 𝙣𝙚𝙜𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙞𝙩𝙮. 」

Combined with the influence of my karma value, Dudooree had now become a walking bad luck totem.

This completed the preparation.

And the moment Sophia completed her spell, I completely concealed my spiritual power, which had been hovering around my body, using a concealment spell.

“Taesanmun.”

If someone had seen this scene in its entirety, they would have reprimanded me for taking such a gamble in an actual battle.

However, as a veteran of the exorcism series who calculated everything in terms of numbers, I was already confident.

「𝙄𝙩’𝙨 𝙚𝙣𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝. 」

Taesanmun’s target acquisition ability would never be able to target me as I was now.

Whoooosh.

Boooom!

My guess was not wrong, as Sophia’s Taesanmun spell was cast not on me, but on Dudooree, who was beside me.

『Creeaak!』

Dudooree writhed in pain, its flesh shuddering, and twisted its body as much as it could.

However, Taesanmun was also a binding spell, so it was not destroyed at once.

Perhaps the aura of the curse that had clung to its flesh was also helping to offset the damage.

And that, one could say, fit perfectly into my plan.

“Eve.”

“. . . Please give me your orders.”

“Subdue the enemy. I will send you detailed instructions through telepathy.”

“Understood.”

Boom!

Clank!

Eve, the voodoo doll with excellent physical abilities, rushed towards Sophia in an instant, and Sophia frowned and began to cast a new spell.

However, that was for a moment, as Sophia seemed to realize that she had fallen into a trap.

「𝙄𝙩’𝙨 𝙫𝙞𝙧𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙠. 」

Dudooree is a counter-type shikigami.

And right now, it is holding onto the damage it received from the Original grudge and jealousy I cast and Sophia’s Taesanmun spell.

It is currently unable to unleash its abilities because it is in a state of restraint, but what if the effects of the spell wear off?

At that moment, Sophia would also be subjected to a counterattack of an overwhelming level.

In other words, Sophia had to maintain the Taesanmun spell no matter what.

And in that state, she would probably not be able to use any more advanced spells.

“She’s in a bind.”

“. . . . . . .”

Of course, there was a way to ignore Dudooree and somehow block the curse it would cast, but it would be too much of a handful to do that while receiving attacks from my shikigami, including Eve, and the spells I cast.

It was clear that each of them did not have much significance, but before they knew it, they had gathered together and completely cornered Sophia.

“Ugh.”

Kaang!

Bam!

Whoooosh.

Boooom!

Sophia gritted her teeth and fought off Eve’s attacks while keeping her distance.

To think that she would be fighting like that against a physical-type shikigami that was over level 50, she really had no weaknesses.

If there was a truly fraudulent character in the exorcism game, wouldn’t it be someone like that?

However, since I had never taken out Eve before, she was not yet familiar with Eve’s unpredictable movements.

She simply continued to defend herself in a defensive posture.

「. . . 𝙄’𝙢 𝙜𝙡𝙖𝙙 𝙄 𝙨𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙀𝙫𝙚 𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙖𝙨𝙩 𝙢𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩. 𝙄𝙛 𝙄 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙜𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙎𝙤𝙥𝙝𝙞𝙖 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙖𝙙𝙖𝙥𝙩, 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙𝙣’𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙖𝙨 𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙮 𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙣𝙤𝙬. 」

Meanwhile, the other shikigami, who had turned around at some point, began to assist Eve in preventing Sophia from leaving the area.

And in such a situation, there was nothing Sophia could do.

No, to be exact, there was one thing left.

“. . . It seems that you are using a lot of shikigami, which must be consuming quite a bit of energy.”

“. . . . . . .”

“I am confident that I can hold out, so let’s see who wins.”

Simply put, she was making a bet of sorts.

Whether her endless amount of spiritual power and stamina would run out first in the midst of the relentless battle.

Or whether the durability of my shikigami would run out first.

However, there was something Sophia did not know.

「𝙄𝙩’𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙚 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙛𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙣𝙤𝙬. 」

My current Shadow Assimilation trait allowed me to efficiently handle even shikigami of this level under my complete control.

In the end, Sophia, who had continued to fight for a long time, let out a sigh of resignation and stopped moving.

“. . . Haa, Haa. What the heck. There really is a real monster out there.”

“Because that’s my job.”

“Ugh. You don’t even look tired. I guess there’s no point in continuing. I lost.”

Finally, the third match between me and her came to an end.

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