I Became the Academy’s Genius Shikigami Summoner – Chapter 184

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟖𝟒

“Have you finished everything I commanded?”

The administrative district of the Cheong family, and within that, the residence of Cheong So-ha in Cheongdam-dong.

There, Cheong So-ha was on her knees serving tea, while an old man took on the attitude of her superior.

“Yes. My Ancestor. He will never see the light of day again until he dies of old age. But why, necessarily. . . . . . .”

“Every human being has a place that befits their station in life.”

Cheong So-ha gazed at the elderly Taoist who spoke without hesitation, her eyes glazed over as if possessed.

“. . . You are correct.”

“There is no need to waste your strength on such a trifling jester. We have created an appropriate resting place for him, so do not concern yourself further.”

“Yes. I shall do as you say.”

Of course, that was not the real reason that the old man, Jin-myeong, had sent Han Kang-yoon to Yangcheolgung.

「𝙄𝙩 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙗𝙚 𝙜𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙮 𝙛𝙪𝙧𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙘𝙩 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙢𝙖𝙣.」

Somehow or other, Han Kang-yoon knew something about Jin-myeong.

It would be easy enough to kill him, but there was no guarantee that he would not make a last desperate struggle in the process.

「𝙅𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙘𝙖𝙨𝙚, 𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙗𝙚 𝙪𝙣𝙬𝙞𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙥𝙤𝙞𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙬.」

That was why he had gone to such lengths to dispose of Han Kang-yoon without even meeting him face to face.

He had thought it would be a troublesome hindrance, but as luck would have it, the heavens favored Jin-myeong.

「𝙒𝙝𝙤 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙣 𝙪𝙥𝙤𝙣 𝙨𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙖 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙩 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚?」

An existence that originated from Han Kang-yoon, like an avatar of Han Kang-yoon himself.

There was no clearly established case, but if one were to give it a name, it would be something like a human shadow curse, would it not?

Although Jin-myeong had been unable to intervene in the mortal realm until now because he had been imprisoned, he had not been remiss in gathering information, and so he was able to recognize its true nature at a glance.

「𝙀𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙘𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙫𝙤𝙤𝙙𝙤𝙤 𝙨𝙚𝙚𝙙 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙙𝙪𝙘𝙚 𝙨𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙖 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙪𝙡𝙩. 」

It was an outcome that even Jin-myeong had never intended.

After all, the voodoo seed incident had been a separate event that had nothing to do with Jin-myeong in the first place.

However, in any case, it was Jin-myeong who had discovered it first, and in the end, Han Kang-yoon had fallen into the trap without being able to prepare any countermeasures and was now imprisoned in an impregnable fortress.

There was nothing left to hold him back.

“From now on, I will unite all the forces of the family.”

“. . . Yes. Everything is ready.”

“There will be some sacrifices, but it cannot be helped for the sake of the greater good.”

Jin-myeong gazed with satisfaction at Cheong So-ha, his puppet who did not suspect a thing.

Honestly, he had not expected to be so successful, and it had been nothing short of providence that he had planted the suggestion in Cheong So-ha’s mind when she was a child.

「𝙎𝙝𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙩𝙖𝙡𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙙. 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙣𝙤 𝙚𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙨𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙥𝙤𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙖𝙡.」

He hated to admit it, but she was more talented than he was. Jin-myeong was also an extraordinary existence compared to the exorcists of the present age, but if they were to fight head-on in their current states, he could not guarantee victory.

「𝙄𝙛 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙖𝙣 𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙢𝙮, 𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙙𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙨.」

If he had not gotten his hands on Cheong So-ha, all the plans he had made until now might have been ruined because of her alone.

But in the end, Jin-myeong was the final victor.

The suggestion that had been deeply embedded in Cheong So-ha still held her perfectly in its grip, and deep down, she could not disobey Jin-myeong’s orders.

That was why he could give such orders without hesitation.

“There is no one within the family who can rival you now.”

“. . . . . . .”

“So, begin the war.”

In the end, he would be able to embrace everything he had sought without lifting a finger.

Jin-myeong let out a wicked laugh as he watched Cheong So-ha bow her head and accept his orders.

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

Do Ji-hwan, the protagonist of the fifth installment of the exorcism series, is trapped in Yangcheolgung in the story, just like I am now, having fallen into the enemy’s conspiracy.

However, he had a reason for needing to get out, and in the end, he succeeded in escaping, an impossible feat that surprised everyone.

「𝙃𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧. . . . . . .」

At that time, Do Ji-hwan was a genuine special-grade exorcist.

Furthermore, he was able to do what he did because he possessed a special ability of his own, like Yoo Ha-on’s Anti-Demon trait, which makes my current situation quite different.

「𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙩’𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙙𝙞𝙡𝙚𝙢𝙢𝙖.」

Earlier, I felt a tremendous surge of spiritual power from the top floor of the prison and became certain.

The current warden of this Yangcheolgung is definitely Hae Ga-ram.

And she was a special-grade exorcist who was ranked among the top five in present-day South Korea and was considered to be one of the greatest protectors of Yangcheolgung in its history.

「𝙎𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙥𝙤𝙥𝙪𝙡𝙖𝙧 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙚𝙧, 𝙨𝙤 𝙄 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙬𝙚𝙡𝙡.」

She appears several times in the 2nd and 3rd installments of the exorcism series as an ally of the protagonist’s party.

So I can be sure of this. My current abilities are absolutely no match for hers.

「𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙣𝙤 𝙜𝙪𝙖𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙄 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙥𝙖𝙨𝙨 𝙝𝙚𝙧.」

She is, in fact, a character with the highest potential in the entire series.

Even if I grow to my full potential, I honestly doubt that I will be able to attain the same level of strength as her.

“The more I think about it, the more difficult it seems.”

I sighed at the tangled thread that I could not unravel and sat down on the wall of my solitary cell.

This is a really difficult situation.

A few gambits come to mind, but honestly, there is no method among them that I can put into practice.

「𝙇𝙚𝙩’𝙨 𝙤𝙧𝙜𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙯𝙚 𝙞𝙩 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩.」

I can say this for sure: there is no way to get out of here without evading everyone’s eyes.

In order to escape, I would have to eliminate the factors that are holding me back one by one.

「𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙤𝙗𝙫𝙞𝙤𝙪𝙨 𝙤𝙗𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙘𝙡𝙚 𝙞𝙨, 𝙤𝙛 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚, 𝙃𝙖𝙚 𝙂𝙖-𝙧𝙖𝙢, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝙔𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙤𝙡𝙜𝙪𝙣𝙜.」

Hae Ga-ram would also have inherited the method of handling the barrier formation that is spread here from her predecessors before becoming the warden according to the family’s customs.

And as long as that barrier formation exists, escape is virtually impossible.

In other words, I have to find a way to temporarily disable the operation of the barrier.

That was the first prerequisite.

「𝘿𝙤 𝙅𝙞-𝙝𝙬𝙖𝙣 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙗𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙚𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙜𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙥𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙝𝙞𝙢 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙖𝙗𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙚𝙨. . . . . . .」

Honestly, the warden at the time of Do Ji-hwan was not that great of an existence. He was just about what you would call a quasi-special-grade exorcist.

However, even he boasted unparalleled power within this Yangcheolgung.

What about Hae Ga-ram, who is said to be one of the best among the special-grades?

Of course, I had to find a different way to disable the barrier.

「𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙝𝙤𝙬?」

With no way to solve the most important condition, it was only natural that no brilliant idea would come to mind.

Three days passed in solitary confinement as I thought about it.

I had to return to Room 7 on the designated second floor and face the prisoners again.

“. . . You’re here.”

Of course, in this place where might makes right, the person’s background or age means nothing.

That was why they openly treated me as a superior when I returned.

“Who has the highest rank in this room?”

A 2nd-grade fugitive named Choi Man-cheol raised his hand in response to my question.

“. . . Me. However, I have no intention of opposing you.”

“I will leave the management of the room to you as it has been until now. And I have a few questions.”

No matter how much I know about this Yangcheolgung, it is still knowledge that I have acquired through the media.

Of course, I needed to gather information about the actual situation on the ground.

As I talked with Choi Man-cheol for a while, I was able to recall various pieces of information and knowledge that I had forgotten for a moment.

“The arena?”

“Yes. It is a place where duels between prisoners are held once every three weeks.”

Come to think of it, there was such a setting.

Since it is a prison that gathers people who are ferocious in nature and cannot control their strength, it is necessary to some extent to relieve their desires in order to manage them efficiently.

That is why they deliberately created an area in the innermost part that is not affected by the power of the barrier formation and hold matches there where the prisoners can compete against each other for various rewards.

「𝙊𝙛 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚, 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙙𝙤𝙚𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙖 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙥𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙚.」

Since they created a separate area in the center and added strict surveillance, there is no problem that would arise.

「𝙃𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧, 𝙞𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙝 𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙯𝙞𝙣𝙜.」

I kept that fact in the back of my mind and continued my conversation with Choi Man-cheol.

“As you may know, there are three areas in this Yangcheolgung. If it were you, you might be able to compete with the prisoners on the third floor.”

In fact, it seemed that most of the rewards in the arena had gone to them for a long time.

“Among them, the ones who stand out in particular are the Pulverizer Gregory, the unnamed man known as Blood Fist, and Mine Cha Sol-bi.”

All three are names I have never heard of.

Well, in the original work, Yangcheolgung was not emphasized at this point, so it was only natural in a way.

「𝙁𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙄 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧, 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙨𝙚𝙚𝙢 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙖𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙡 𝙤𝙛 𝙦𝙪𝙖𝙨𝙞-1𝙨𝙩-𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙙𝙚.」

In other words, it also meant that they possessed the power to be ranked among the top in this Yangcheolgung, excluding Hae Ga-ram.

「𝙉𝙤, 𝙄 𝙘𝙖𝙣’𝙩 𝙗𝙚 𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩.」

I turned my gaze to the floor for a moment and stared at the depths below.

In fact, there is a fourth area of Yangcheolgung that is not officially known.

Right below the second floor, hidden by the power of a powerful barrier formation, there is a special area that cannot be perceived by the senses of ordinary people.

「𝙎𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙞𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 1𝙨𝙩 𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩, 𝙞𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙞𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙚𝙢𝙥𝙩𝙮 𝙤𝙧 𝙞𝙛 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚. . . . . . .」

However, if there is someone occupying that place, they would be the worst prisoners with the strongest power here.

「𝙄𝙣 𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙢𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙣𝙪𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙧𝙨, 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙗𝙚 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙤𝙥 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 1𝙨𝙩-𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙙𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡-𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙙𝙚.」

And only those who have betrayed their loyalty and committed a taboo are allowed to enter there.

Damian of Crimson Thread, the special-grade criminal that the forces in question wanted to liberate in the kidnapping case of Laura, the princess of Spain.

In fact, all of those imprisoned in the secret level had a similar level of danger.

“. . . It sounds interesting. Are you thinking of participating in the arena?”

“I’m thinking about it.”

“Especially since the top prize winner this time will be granted a favor within reason by the master of this prison. You have nothing to lose by trying.”

It is a duel between ferocious prisoners, so no matter how much it is a competition, it cannot be without danger.

Choi Man-cheol, who is subtly trying to raise my expectations, is also just coveting the spoils that will fall if I do well.

「𝙃𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧. . . . . . .」

After thinking about it several times, I still need to face Hae Ga-ram at least once.

Furthermore, I felt like I wanted to experience firsthand the part where the influence of the barrier formation disappears in the space of the arena.

So, after a moment of contemplation, I nodded and said.

“I will participate in this arena.”

There, I must find some way to escape.

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