I Became the Academy’s Genius Shikigami Summoner

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟏𝟔

“. . . What’s wrong?”

Arietta, who had come to my dorm window, avoiding the gaze of the other students, spoke to me, slightly grimacing with her usual expressionless face.

“Junior, something is wrong with my condition.”

It could very well be that. Since Arietta’s unidentified trait has fully opened, her temperament must have changed as well.

“What exactly are your symptoms?”

“I-I feel suffocated, my eyes are turning red, and my teeth are sticking out.”

Certainly, Arietta’s appearance right now was the same as when she first awakened her trait.

In that case, the reason could be predicted without difficulty.

As if to prove that, Arietta continued in a crawling voice.

“. . . I’m incredibly thirsty.”

“. . . . . .”

To be honest, I had anticipated that this kind of situation might happen. However, it’s quite a bit faster than I thought.

「𝙄𝙨 𝙞𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙖𝙬𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙙?」

Anyway, it’s not good if this condition persists.

The other students might become suspicious because of the changes in her appearance, and if her symptoms worsen, she might attack someone, unable to hold back her impulses.

“How serious is it now?”

“. . . The only things I can see are Junior’s arm and neck.”

That was definitely severe. I first let Arietta into the dorm and handed her a cup of warm tea.

“. . . Thank you.”

Arietta gulped it down and pulled out a chair in front of the desk and sat down.

However, she still doesn’t look good.

Looking at Arietta’s eyes, which had been flickering since earlier, I had no choice but to roll up the sleeves of my shirt and hand her my finger.

“Let’s take care of the urgent matter first. If you walk around like that, you might get reported.”

“. . . I’m sorry.”

Arietta’s face was full of guilt, but she brought her mouth to my hand as if it was hard to hold back her impulses.

Whooong.

“Blood of Pacification.”

As I activated the spell that I had shown her once before, a drop of blood filled with spiritual power formed at the tip of my finger.

Chwiik.

Gulp.

The familiar sensation of her tongue and teeth.

Because it doesn’t bite directly, it doesn’t feel particularly disgusting or painful.

However, since I’ve been sucked several times in a short period of time, I feel a bit dizzy.

“How do you feel now?”

“Yeah. Much better.”

She must not be satisfied, but Arietta pulled away from me after sucking enough blood to return to her original form and suppressed her desire for blood.

It was definitely an appeasement of her impulses compared to before.

“. . . First, I’m thinking of getting some animal blood tomorrow. Do you think it’ll work?”

“I don’t think it’ll be completely ineffective.”

It would be far less effective than human blood, but I know that it’s an effective method. Arietta nodded at my words.

“Yeah. I’ll try that.”

“Even so, you’ll probably need to consume fresh human blood at regular intervals.”

“Is that so?”

“Unless it’s the blood of an exorcist who has trained to some extent, it won’t be easy to appease your desires.”

“. . . That might be difficult.”

Arietta seemed a bit discouraged by my words. Of course, it’s not easy to get the blood of someone like that.

If she uses the right methods, she could probably procure blood by paying for it under various pretexts, but the effect will also decrease if it’s not consumed right away.

In the end, it meant that she had no choice but to rely on someone close by.

“. . . . . .”

Even though there was a clear answer in front of her, Arietta seemed unable to ask for it. So I made her an offer first.

“If there comes a time when you can’t bear it with animal blood, you can always come to me.”

“. . . I appreciate the sentiment. But still, that’s.”

“I don’t really mind. It’s not like I lose that much blood if I use the spell from earlier.”

It was tiring for me in its own way, but at least it was better than anyone else. Arietta seemed to understand that as well and nodded slightly.

“But it’s not fair. Is there anything you want in return, Junior?”

I didn’t really care, but Arietta wouldn’t feel comfortable if I refused outright. I decided to simply make it a debt.

“It’s enough for you to lend me a hand when I need help.”

“Of course I’ll help if you need my strength. Anything else?”

“. . . I can’t think of anything right now. I’ll tell you separately if I think of something.”

It was a vague answer, but Arietta seemed to be satisfied with that and nodded.

After sorting things out like that, she left the dorm again through the window.

「𝙏𝙧𝙪𝙚 𝙉𝙤𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝘽𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙙. . . . . . .」

This too has become a different future than what I originally knew, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

The current Arietta is no longer an enemy in the story, but rather an ally.

「𝙃𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙡𝙮, 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙢𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙚𝙙, 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙢𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙗𝙚 𝙛𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙉𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙉𝙖𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚.」

True Noble Blood is a high-level trait with a lot of potential. Once you get used to it, you can not only strengthen your body through bloodsucking, but also gain various other abilities.

Moreover, I can help Arietta acquire those abilities by supporting her from the side.

「𝘼𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚, 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙗𝙚 𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙜𝙧𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙩 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙚’𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙞𝙣𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙤 𝙔𝙤𝙤 𝙃𝙖-𝙤𝙣’𝙨 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙮.」

Of course, right now Arietta is superior to them, but it’s true that there was some difference when comparing their growth limits.

That’s why she ended up losing to Yoo Ha-on’s party in the story.

「𝙒𝙚𝙡𝙡, 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙩𝙡𝙮 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙖𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨𝙣’𝙩 𝙖 𝙤𝙣𝙚-𝙤𝙣-𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙛𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙚. . . . . . .」

In any case, Arietta has gained the potential for even greater growth than in the original story.

Then all that’s left is to make good use of it.

I stared at her receding figure through the open window and formulated dozens of plans in my head.

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

『So the incident was handled without any problems. You won’t have to worry about anything more.』

“Yes, thank you. By any chance, has there been any movement from Jo Gae-hak?”

The day after the battle with Shin Do-hoon.

I contacted Myung-yul to get an update on the incident, and he gave me various pieces of information.

『There were no particular signs. Since the plan he was working on went down the drain, he’ll probably keep a low profile for a while so that he doesn’t get caught. However. . . . . . .』

“You’re saying that he might reach out again after some time has passed.”

『That’s right.』

Certainly, the incident had come to an end for now, but Shin Do-hoon’s failure and death did not directly affect Jo Gae-hak.

If he wanted to, he could easily target Myung-yul or Arietta again.

『I’m sorry that I keep burdening you, but please help that child. If she gets caught by someone else, there’s no telling when or how it might reach Jo Gae-hak’s ears.』

“Yes. I’ll do that.”

Earlier, when he heard about Arietta’s situation, Myung-yul offered to give her his own blood, but she refused because it didn’t feel right to ask an elderly like him to do something like that.

『From now on, I plan to focus on my training again. I don’t know how far I can go with this old body, but won’t there come a time when it’s needed?』

Myung-yul seemed to have been inwardly shocked that he had lost to Shin Do-hoon, whom he had considered inferior to him.

In addition, since he didn’t know when Jo Gae-hak’s clutches would reach him, it seemed like he was trying to regain his lost power through rehabilitation.

「𝙄𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩’𝙨 𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙗𝙡𝙚, 𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙗𝙚 𝙖 𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙥.」

No matter how old he is, Myung-yul is someone who was once called the hero of the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons.

If he can regain some of that power, he will surely be a key player in future events.

『If you ever need this old man’s strength, contact me anytime. I have some status and connections, so I’ll be of help.』

“Yes. Thank you. I’ll definitely do that.”

Click.

I ended the call and moved to my desk in the dorm and looked at the three objects on it.

「𝙎𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩.」

Tring!

【The Dagger of Usurpation】

▶A dagger inscribed with the spell of Usurpation. It can absorb part of the memories of the person whose neck it cuts.

【Nine Dragons Pill】

▶A top-grade elixir said to be made from nine supreme ingredients. It has an excellent ability-boosting effect.

【Yongcheon Talisman】

▶A talisman imbued with great power. The owner can continuously recover spiritual power by drawing on the power of nature. A special spell is inscribed inside the talisman.

One of them was a dagger-shaped cursed item that Shin Do-hoon had.

I had told Myung-yul to bring it to me after the battle, thinking that it might come in handy someday.

「𝘽𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙚𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙤𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙖 𝙝𝙪𝙜𝙚 𝙖𝙙𝙫𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙜𝙚.」

Of course, I couldn’t use it on an opponent that I couldn’t defeat, but that’s something I’ll think about when the time comes.

And the other two were gifts from Myung-yul, who wanted to repay me in many ways.

「𝙃𝙚 𝙢𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙛𝙚𝙡𝙩 𝙗𝙖𝙙.」

Even so, these are quite valuable items.

The Nine Dragons Pill alone was an elixir worth more than the Green Cloud Pill that I had obtained through Cheong So-ha in the past, and the Yongcheon Talisman was also a top-grade cursed item, although I wasn’t sure.

「𝙄𝙩 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙨 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙞𝙩 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙞𝙩𝙨 𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙘𝙧𝙞𝙗𝙚𝙙 𝙤𝙣 𝙞𝙩. . . . . . .」

Like Cheong So-ha’s Blue-White Sword, in such cases, you can use a special spell through the cursed item.

Of course, I’ll need to figure out the spell inscribed in it first.

「. . . 𝙄 𝙜𝙪𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙄’𝙡𝙡 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙘𝙠 𝙞𝙩 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙙𝙪𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮.」

I had asked Myung-yul about it as well, but he didn’t seem to know anything about the spell inscribed in the Yongcheon Talisman either.

However, that makes me even more curious. The fact that the person who made it is no ordinary person is clear, and if I can use it, it will be of great help someday.

「𝙀𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙮 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙, 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙨𝙚 𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙣’𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙞𝙡𝙮 𝙜𝙚𝙩.」

The fact that he handed it over so casually was, as expected from a former special-grade exorcist, very generous.

Even for me, who wasn’t expecting any material compensation, this could be considered an unexpected gain.

「𝘼𝙣𝙙.」

In some ways, there was news that was even more welcome than that.

【Han Kang-yoon】

▶Level: 40

My level had finally exceeded 30 and entered the 40s.

And what does that mean?

「𝙉𝙤𝙬 𝙄 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙞𝙩. 𝘼𝙙𝙫𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙙 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙨.」

If my spiritual power or spell rank was high, there were cases where I could use it even if my level was a bit lacking, but at least for me, it was impossible.

Therefore, until now, I couldn’t use it except when I borrowed the power of Shadow Assimilation’s 2nd phase.

However, now, I will gradually be able to use the simpler advanced spells.

I tried my best to hide my anticipation and headed to the training ground as soon as I finished all of my scheduled classes.

First, it was time to properly test it out.