I Became the Academy’s Genius Shikigami Summoner – Chapter 168

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟔𝟖

In the original work, Baek So-yul was practically a walking bomb.

As I mentioned earlier, the more difficult the level, the more unpredictable her behavior became, which made her infamous among users.

That’s why, for the time being, I had no intention of getting involved with Baek So-yul or causing any friction.

「𝙃𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧. . . . . . .」

If it’s going to turn out like this, that’s a different story.

Baek So-yul has already developed a great interest in me, and in fact, she has just now gone through the trouble of cleverly framing me as the culprit of a murder case.

「𝙄𝙩 𝙨𝙚𝙚𝙢𝙨 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙚’𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙚 𝙥𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙚 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙤𝙣.」

However, she made one critical mistake in the process.

And that will be the key to Baek So-yul’s downfall.

“Oh my, what’s this? You want to have a private conversation with just the two of us.”

“. . . . . . .”

Baek So-yul, who maintains a truly shameless attitude even though we already have all the information about each other.

I had actually called Baek So-yul again after the situation had calmed down and brought her to her room on the third floor.

“By the way, that was great. To be able to resolve the situation like that when you were completely cornered. Honestly, I didn’t expect you to solve it all by yourself.”

“I didn’t expect you to be so brazen as to do something like this.”

“Does that mean you’re tempted? Too bad. I’ve already prepared everything for what comes next.”

A faint smile creeps across Baek So-yul’s face, and I sense a hint of madness in it.

Like the elders of the Three Great Houses, she is a person who will do anything to achieve her goals.

In fact, in this incident, she sacrificed her own family members just to gain me.

Even if we become allies, what guarantee do I have that she won’t do the same to me?

“I’m sorry, but I don’t think you’re the kind of person I can trust and follow on a personal level.”

“. . . . . . .”

A clear expression of rejection. Baek So-yul’s expression turned meaningful at that.

Then she slowly opened her mouth.

“Well, I didn’t think it would go smoothly from the start. There will be plenty of opportunities in the future, right?”

She seems to think that even though this attempt failed, I’m still in the palm of her hand.

However, I smile back at her and give her a firm answer.

“No. There will be no next time.”

“What?”

“Because I already have your lifeline in my hands.”

“What are you. . . . . . .”

Sensing something in my relaxed expression, Baek So-yul pretends to be clueless but assumes a defensive posture.

However, it was meaningless.

As I just said, her fate was already in my hands.

“Didn’t you use the soul-sharing spell to frame me as the culprit, Baek So-yul?”

Soul-sharing.

A high-level forbidden technique that takes away the spiritual power of the target and makes it one’s own.

My guess was not wrong, and Baek So-yul replied with a flinch on her face.

“. . .I’m surprised. I didn’t think you would know about such an ancient technique.”

“I’m more surprised that you learned it, Baek So-yul.”

“I happened to learn it by chance. I haven’t had a chance to use it until now.”

In fact, there are many other spells that steal the target’s life force or energy.

However, soul-sharing is a bit special.

It doesn’t simply absorb the opponent’s spiritual power, but rather lets it flow through its own body and gradually assimilates it.

In other words, through the performance of the spell, one can become closer to the opponent from whom the spiritual power was taken.

「𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙩’𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙮 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙙𝙚𝙘𝙚𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙦𝙪𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙚𝙣𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙘𝙚𝙧.」

At first, I was skeptical. However, as I solved this incident, I became convinced.

Baek So-yul stole my spiritual power and used it to kill the two victims.

“Even for you, it will be quite embarrassing if it becomes known that you directly attacked a member of the family.”

“. . .Are you trying to restrain my actions with that? There’s no evidence left anyway, and nothing will change.”

She seems to be under some kind of grandiose delusion.

I look at her and nod slowly.

I didn’t plan to tell anyone else about today’s events anyway.

“Do you know, Baek So-yul, what the original purpose of the soul-sharing technique was?”

“. . .Purpose?”

She probably doesn’t know.

Even if she had learned the technique by chance, the information she could have obtained would have been limited to that.

So, without hesitation, I revealed the answer.

“Soul-sharing is just a process to complete a higher-level forbidden technique.”

“. . . . . . .”

“If you use the technique on a person over a long period of time, at some point, the spiritual power of the two people will become so similar that there will be no difference. What do you think will happen next?”

“Don’t tell me you’re going to become that person?”

That was the correct answer.

Once the vessel is complete, it can use a higher-level forbidden technique to consume both the body and soul of the target.

It’s not simply taking away their power, but completely becoming that person.

“. . .I guess you’re not wrong. It was an inefficient technique to use for combat or other purposes, so there must have been some special use for it.”

And that’s where Baek So-yul made a critical mistake without even realizing it.

By taking and using my spiritual power, she had assimilated some of it into her own soul.

“Probably even now, Baek So-yul, you still have remnants of what you took from me. Of course, it will all disappear in a few hours.”

“I don’t understand the conclusion. Does it change anything?”

Baek So-yul seemed to be clueless for the time being.

Of course she would be. If someone other than me had been the target, there wouldn’t have been a problem.

However, Baek So-yul doesn’t know.

She doesn’t know about the enormous amount of karma value that has accumulated in my soul beyond its limits.

And the danger of having a spiritual connection to someone like me.

“You shouldn’t have approached me that way, Baek So-yul.”

Whoooosh.

I draw up my spiritual power and pour it all into the formation that I had already carved into my body before coming here.

“Soul Scorching Purgatory.”

The curse technique that Sophia used on me in the fourth gate of the previous exorcist qualification exam.

The target of this spell is bound by a heavier and heavier bondage for as many spiritual connections as they currently have.

It’s a minor technique that’s only used to snipe certain meta classes in PVP, but for Baek So-yul right now, it will have the power of divine judgment.

Pafuwak.

Kwadadaduk!

“Ugh. What the. . . . . . .”

Baek So-yul’s body was momentarily immobilized, as if she were being crushed by something invisible.

She tried to defend herself in that short moment, but I had prepared the formation in advance and reduced the casting time to the extreme. Of course, there was no way she could block it.

“You probably won’t be able to move a finger while the technique is activated.”

“. . .Is this a hidden card you prepared? I didn’t know you were willing to clash head-on like this.”

Even though she must be feeling an overwhelming sense of pressure, Baek So-yul doesn’t take her eyes off me, a mad smile on her face. It’s truly an unbelievable amount of mental strength.

However, for her, Soul Scorching Purgatory was unfortunately just the groundwork.

I chuckle and sit down on the bed, speaking to her.

“Don’t misunderstand. I have no intention of attacking.”

“. . .Whew, whew. You say that after using such a powerful binding technique?”

“It’s probably faster to understand this way what will happen next.”

I arranged the prepared talismans in the room according to the rules and slowly explained to Baek So-yul the situation she was now in.

At first, she seemed puzzled about what I was talking about, but as time went on, Baek So-yul’s face darkened.

She, too, has a wide range of knowledge, so she realized that what I was saying was true.

“To summarize, there is now a small channel connecting your soul and mine, Baek So-yul. Do you understand what that means?”

“. . .What are you planning to do?”

For once, Baek So-yul didn’t hide her displeasure.

In a nutshell, having our souls connected means that both sides are revealing their weaknesses to each other.

A skilled exorcist could find any number of ways to exploit that gap.

“But isn’t that too reckless? It won’t do you any good, Kang Yoon.”

That’s right.

Although I have a lot of my own, there is a clear difference in level between Baek So-yul and me.

If the conditions were equal, Baek So-yul would of course not be left behind.

「𝙒𝙚𝙡𝙡, 𝙞𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙚𝙦𝙪𝙖𝙡.」

I soon smiled slightly and spoke to her, who was discreetly trying to break down the binding technique.

“The spell I’m going to use from now on is the Amnesiac’s Vessel.”

“. . . . . . .”

For a moment, Baek So-yul’s eyes twitched.

She would know it well. In the original work, she was the one who first used this technique.

「𝙎𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙩 𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙙 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙞𝙚𝙨.」

In fact, Baek So-yul had tried to use this Amnesiac’s Vessel spell to turn Baek Man-seok, the first elder of the Baek family, into her puppet.

Considering that plan had almost succeeded, she probably still has most of the cornerstone in place.

“I don’t know how you know about it, but you probably can’t use it on me, right? There are a lot of complicated conditions for the technique to be activated. . . . . . .”

The corners of Baek So-yul’s mouth, who had been spitting out words, suddenly stiffened.

She must have realized it herself as she recalled the conditions.

The forbidden spell Soul-sharing that she used to steal my spiritual power.

Because of that, the conditions were met between her and me.

“. . .I see now. Was that friendly explanation you gave me earlier meant to tell me this?”

“Yes. Ironically, you completed those conditions yourself, Baek So-yul.”

The technique can be activated.

However, Baek So-yul did not waver despite that.

Rather, she seemed to regain her confidence.

“Then go ahead. Since you’re saying this, you must know all about the effects of the technique, right?”

Amnesiac’s Vessel is a kind of forced contract.

It forces an endless race of death, using the souls of the two people involved as collateral.

“Each of you will continue to receive curses, and the one who can’t endure it will give their soul to the other.”

The one who loses and gives up their soul will literally become the loyal servant of the other and will not be able to refuse any orders.

It is possible to erase their personality and make them a battle doll, and it is up to their master whether they live or die.

A forbidden technique that has irreversible consequences once activated.

However, without a moment’s hesitation, I raised my hand and began to form seals.

Cheoreok.

Whoooosh.

Soon, words of truth poured out of my mouth, which had gathered all my spiritual power, using even the Spirit Absorption trait.

“The historical evil path is true, the soul is the public number. . .”

Seeing this, Baek So-yul was taken aback. Her eyes showed that she couldn’t understand my actions at all.

“Are you out of your mind? You don’t think you can beat me in this kind of fight, do you?”

Baek So-yul responded as if it were ridiculous, but I didn’t even glance at her as I went through the rest of the process.

Whoooosh!

Sreuk.

Sreureureuk.

As the technique was formed, the spiritual power flowing out of my whole body began to envelop Baek So-yul and me, and soon it seeped into our bodies and disappeared without a trace.

Through that process, the spell was finally completed.

“Amnesiac’s Vessel.”

Pafuwak!

The dice had been cast.

And I already knew the outcome.

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