𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟓𝟏
After acquiring the Emergency Evasion trait, I had quickly honed my skills to obtain the C+ rank Hawk Eye trait.
Individually, these effects were not particularly remarkable, but they were meant to enhance the Emergency Evasion trait.
「𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙬𝙤 𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙨𝙡𝙤𝙩𝙨 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙧𝙚𝙦𝙪𝙞𝙧𝙚 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣.」
I had not yet decided on a specific combination, and there were too many traits that I could not immediately obtain because I did not meet the requirements.
For the time being, I decided to focus on other pressing matters.
「𝙏𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙧𝙪𝙣𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙪𝙩.」
Acquiring traits was not as easy as it seemed.
Although it was practically a specialized field, I had managed to acquire them at an astonishing pace, but even so, more than three weeks had passed.
Today was April 26th, and the month of June that I had promised to Shin No-eul was fast approaching.
「. . .𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙨𝙤 𝙢𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙤.」
I had several tasks to complete before June, and after the Myudusa incident, the second summer vacation would arrive, when the game’s main story would officially begin.
If I were to slack off, the entire flow of events could be disrupted and become irreversible.
「𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙪𝙧𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙖𝙨𝙠 𝙖𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙖𝙨. . . . . . .」
Finding the azure dragon’s Yeouiju.
No matter how I thought about it, that was the priority.
Fortunately, my persistent exploration through club activities and other means had narrowed down the list of potential locations.
If I focused on a specific target for a short period, I was confident that I could locate the remaining locations.
As soon as class ended, I sought out Cheong Juhwa and immediately informed her of my plan.
Cheong Juhwa nodded in agreement, and as expected, the azure dragon also seemed pleased.
Of course, it would be delighted that I was searching for the promised item that it had been waiting for for so long.
“But how did you find it so quickly? I thought it would take a few more months.”
“I made more progress than I expected. The number of potential locations was greatly reduced in the meantime.”
While exploring potential locations with my club, I was able to eliminate areas that I deemed less likely based on my experience.
As a result, there were now only three promising locations.
I could not be 100% certain, but if my guess was correct, the answer would likely be among those three.
「𝘼𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙚𝙚 𝙢𝙚𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙖 𝙄 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙙.」
As I mentioned earlier, the azure dragon also met a tragic end in the original story, so the exact location of the Yeouiju was never revealed.
However, it was possible to infer its location from various hints hidden throughout the exorcism series.
Some of these were deductions made by the players, while others were clues that I had discovered through my own analysis.
First, Imoogi Gang Cheol-i.
This creature, which appeared in the 2nd installment of exorcism, consistently moved northwest from its first appearance in Ulsan.
The reason for this was not revealed in the game, but since it was a being that had failed to become a dragon and had thus fallen, it was widely believed that it was responding to the Yeouiju, which was akin to a symbol of dragons.
「𝙄𝙣 𝙛𝙖𝙘𝙩, 𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙘𝙧𝙞𝙗𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙨 𝙞𝙛 𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙙, 𝙢𝙤𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙣𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙝𝙬𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙢𝙥𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙪𝙧𝙣 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙣 𝙞𝙩𝙨 𝙥𝙖𝙩𝙝.」
This eliminated more than half of the areas on the map of South Korea.
From the remaining areas, I further narrowed down the candidates to three regions: Seoul, Gyeonggi-do, and Gangwon-do.
I had already checked the area near Chungcheongbuk-do when I visited Ondalsanseong Fortress, and although there were other possible locations, these three regions had the highest probability.
「𝘼𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙚𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙖 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮.」
In several instances throughout the series, yokai that had made brief appearances had rapidly grown in power and threatened the main characters.
In a way, Ggong-sam-yi from the original story was a similar type. Unlike her initial B-rank assessment, she had become an A+ rank monster within a few months and confronted Yoo Ha-on and her companions.
And among such cases, there were some that had inexplicably achieved their power-ups in an extremely short period of time.
At the time, it was criticized as a forced balance adjustment for the sake of gameplay, but if the existence of the Yeouiju was behind it, it would make perfect sense.
「𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙡𝙤𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙠𝙖𝙞 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙗𝙪𝙩𝙚𝙨 𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙔𝙚𝙤𝙪𝙞𝙟𝙪 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙙.」
Water, wind, and lightning.
If they wielded similar powers, they would have been more susceptible to the Yeouiju’s influence.
Those locations were specific areas in Seoul, Gyeonggi-do, and Gangwon-do.
「𝙔𝙤𝙣𝙜𝙢𝙖𝙨𝙖𝙣 𝙞𝙣 𝙎𝙚𝙤𝙪𝙡’𝙨 𝙅𝙪𝙣𝙜𝙣𝙖𝙣𝙜-𝙜𝙪, 𝙃𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙣 𝙍𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙞𝙣 𝙋𝙤𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙤𝙣, 𝙂𝙮𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙜𝙜𝙞-𝙙𝙤, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝘼𝙝𝙮𝙚𝙤𝙣 𝘽𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙝 𝙞𝙣 𝙎𝙤𝙠𝙘𝙝𝙤, 𝙂𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙬𝙤𝙣-𝙙𝙤.」
If my prediction was correct, there would be a hidden space near these three areas where the yokai that had experienced rapid growth had wreaked havoc.
Having made my judgment, I finally asked Cheong Juhwa and the azure dragon for their understanding.
This was because there was one more person who was essential to finding the Yeouiju.
“. . .This weekend? I think I can make time.”
That person was none other than Seo Ji-an.
Her Water God trait, which was close to S-rank, would undoubtedly be of great help in finding the Yeouiju.
Although it was a sensitive matter since the azure dragon, a divine beast of the Cheong family, was involved, Seo Ji-an was not likely to speak carelessly.
In the end, with the consent of Cheong Juhwa and the azure dragon, the three of us formed a team and headed to the promising locations we had identified over the weekend.
Our first target was Yongmasan in Seoul, the closest location.
It was a mountain with a gentle slope that was not particularly steep and was now used as a walking trail for nearby residents.
However, the eastern slope was quite steep and had an unusual rock waterfall formation that was rare in Korea.
It was a dangerous area that was off-limits to civilians, and there was a natural cave with two entrances halfway up.
If the Yeouiju was located here, the most likely place would be nearby.
“. . .Shall we go down here?”
Finally reaching the summit.
Seo Ji-an, who was looking at the cliff on the eastern slope, had an uncharacteristically flustered look in her eyes.
Despite her extensive combat experience, she was not used to such situations, as she had lived within a relatively fixed radius.
In front of her, Cheong Juhwa used techniques such as Azure Serpent Binding to demonstrate how to descend the cliff, but Seo Ji-an still looked troubled.
“You see, I’m not used to ordinary techniques. Moving like that. . . . . . .”
After all, there was no water source near the summit that Seo Ji-an could utilize.
Of course, with Seo Ji-an’s current level of skill, it was not impossible for her to draw water from below or create it herself, but there was no need to exert herself so early on.
So I summoned several Black Yins and Black Birds in succession and said to Seo Ji-an,
“Want to come with me?”
In the end, she had no choice but to obediently climb onto my back and join me as we descended the cliff, clinging to the creatures’ feet.
🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷
“. . .I don’t know. It doesn’t seem like there’s any special terrain.”
As I had expected from Seo Ji-an’s reaction, we found no significant clues near the cliff.
The only thing left was the natural cave halfway up the cliff, which was said to have formed naturally.
As we entered, the air instantly turned cooler, as if we had stepped into a different world.
Perhaps it was due to the nature of the cave, but for some reason, it felt as if my breath was being stifled.
“What do you think? Do you sense anything?”
“No, not yet.”
The cave was not particularly large, so it did not take long to search the entire area.
However, during the process, I, surprisingly, discovered something that Seo Ji-an did not.
「𝙒𝙝𝙮 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙡𝙤𝙬 𝙤𝙛 𝙨𝙥𝙞𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙡 𝙥𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨?」
It was a strange sensation that I had not felt near the cliff or at the entrance of the cave.
Even I would not have noticed it if not for the help of the Shadow Assimilation trait.
“Why? Is there something wrong?
“Just let me check something.”
I immediately sat down and deployed a detection technique, but I could not find any meaningful reactions.
In a situation that felt like a strange sense of deja vu, I summoned Sahwanjae from the shadows and had it investigate the space near the cave.
Swish.
Plop!
『Kyak. Keeeek.』
And as expected, Sahwanjae’s senses reacted.
It seemed that whatever was hidden in this cave was concealing itself in a similar manner to the Solitary Shade Cave last time.
We moved to the spot where Sahwanjae was pointing and, using various techniques, finally discovered a new space.
It was a secret passage of sorts that led even deeper underground from within the cave.
“I’ll go first.”
Taking the lead and positioning myself in front of my companions, I summoned several low-level shikigami and had them advance about a meter ahead of me. This was to check for any traps or special techniques that might be in place.
In the deepest part of the cave, which I had reached in this manner, a mysterious stalactite hung from the ceiling, emitting a considerable amount of energy.
「𝙎𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩.」
Tring!
【Navy Storm Stone】
▶A mysterious gemstone created by the accumulation of natural energy over a long period of time. It contains pure power.
It seemed that the object hidden in this cave was a treasure akin to a naturally occurring elixir.
「𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙗𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙞𝙣𝙛𝙡𝙪𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙙 𝙗𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙔𝙚𝙤𝙪𝙞𝙟𝙪 𝙞𝙨. . . . . . .」
Unfortunately, no. Although it was certainly a mysterious object, it had nothing to do with the azure dragon’s Yeouiju. The azure dragon itself had said that it felt no connection to it, so that was certain.
“So, this isn’t it after all.”
“I guess we have no choice but to move on to the next location.”
I had hoped to find the answer in one go, but reality was not so easy.
「. . .𝙎𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙡, 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙦𝙪𝙞𝙩𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜.」
Even if it was not something I knew from the game, there were countless treasures and opportunities in this world.
It felt like I was experiencing firsthand something that I had only speculated about until now.
「𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙣𝙤𝙬, 𝙄 𝙘𝙖𝙣’𝙩 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙤𝙛 𝙞𝙩 𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙜𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜.」
Although it was a new possibility for me, it was bad news in the current situation where I was searching for the azure dragon’s Yeouiju.
After all, there was a high probability that the other two candidate locations would also have similar artifacts instead of the Yeouiju.
“Where do we go next?”
“We have Gyeonggi-do and Gangwon-do left. It would probably be easier to stop by Gyeonggi-do and then check the last location.”
Since the Hantan River flowed through Pocheon, Gyeonggi-do, and all the way to Cheorwon, Gangwon-do, we could check the nearby areas and then head to the final destination.
However, the areas we were targeting were rugged and there were many military areas.
Although I had an exorcist license and could make excuses about tracking yokai, it would not be easy to investigate.
“I can take care of that. I know a lot of people in that area.”
Seo Ji-an spoke confidently, and if she was so certain, there would probably be no problem.
Cheong Juhwa and I exchanged surprised glances, realizing that she was one of the successors of Dae-jin Industries.
And so, we once again set out for Pocheon, Gyeonggi-do, in search of the Yeouiju.
Translator’s Blog
Blog
Advanced Chapters
✨KOFI-PATREON
🛖HOME
𝐀𝐖𝐄𝐁𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐒 𝐍𝐔 𝐃𝐈𝐑𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘
Translation-(COMPLETED) – I Became the Academy’s Genius Shikigami Summoner𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥《⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐》!!
Leave a Reply