I Became the Academy’s Genius Shikigami Summoner – Chapter 171

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟕𝟏

After a long silence, Cheong Jin-soo asked me in a somewhat calmer tone.

“. . . It’s amazing that it’s even possible, but wouldn’t the problem lie in what happens afterward?”

“Yes, that’s right. We’ll need to control the revived Geusdae and put it to work.”

But there was no problem.

I had been thinking about a way to do it for a long time.

If I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have bothered asking Cheong So-ha to extract Bi-hyeong’s heart.

“I have all the necessary ingredients and rituals prepared. This has been in the works for a long time.”

Cheong Jin-soo shook his head, looking utterly bewildered by my words.

“If you say so, I won’t try to stop you. But for something like this, wouldn’t it be better for you to go with the Elder herself rather than me . . . . . ?”

A hint of resentment mixed with a bit of a tantrum.

Well, if things go wrong and an S-rank yokai is released on this island, Cheong Jin-soo’s power would be insufficient to deal with it.

But it couldn’t be helped. Meeting Cheong So-ha in person right now would be more dangerous for me than reviving Geusdae.

「𝙎𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙗𝙚 𝙨𝙪𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙗𝙮 𝙣𝙤𝙬.」

For a while, I had been able to get by using the hints dropped by Jin-myeong that Cheong So-ha had been implanted with, but time had passed.

Cheong So-ha still hadn’t been able to see 「𝙝𝙞𝙢」 in person and was only receiving his will through me. Even if she didn’t show it, it must have been getting on her nerves.

「. . .𝙄 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙖𝙘𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝘾𝙝𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙅𝙞𝙣-𝙨𝙤𝙤 𝙙𝙞𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙡𝙮.」

Cheong Jin-soo was the second-in-command of Cheong So-ha’s faction, despite his appearance. He wasn’t someone who would normally be sent to run errands for someone like me.

He was acting friendly now, but after he went back, Cheong Jin-soo would definitely report everything I did in detail to Cheong So-ha.

「𝙄𝙩 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙨 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙄 𝙬𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙗𝙚 𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝘾𝙝𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙎𝙤-𝙝𝙖 𝙖𝙣𝙮 𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧.」

However, it didn’t matter. As I had expected, I would probably become a complete enemy of Cheong So-ha during this second Night Parade of a Hundred Demons.

「𝙅𝙞𝙣-𝙢𝙮𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙜, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙖𝙮 𝙄 𝙛𝙖𝙘𝙚 𝙝𝙞𝙢 𝙞𝙨 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙨𝙤𝙤𝙣.」

Jin-myeong was one of the most annoying of those who appeared during the second Night Parade of a Hundred Demons in the original story.

Not only was he powerful, but he was originally human, which meant he had a great deal of intelligence and cunning.

The fact that he had laid the groundwork through the young Cheong So-ha before he even revealed himself was clear proof of this.

「𝙃𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙨𝙤𝙤𝙣 𝙙𝙚𝙫𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘾𝙝𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙮 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙪𝙢𝙖𝙣 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙.」

If he wasn’t stopped properly, Korea would definitely be divided and eventually end up as his plaything.

I’m sorry, but I can’t stand to see that happen as long as I’m here.

I steeled my resolve once again and signaled to Cheong Jin-soo, who was standing next to me, to step back.

“I’ll start the ritual soon. It probably won’t take long.”

I had already drawn the magic circle while I was talking to Cheong Jin-soo.

I placed Bi-hyeong’s heart and the soul stone containing Hektel’s soul in the center of the magic circle and began to chant a mantra while pouring spiritual power into it.

Whooooosh.

Ziiiiiing!

The magic circle glowed brightly with the massive amount of spiritual power, and the light gathered in the center and seeped into the heart and soul stone that had been offered as sacrifices.

After about ten minutes, vibrations echoed through the area, and a hemispherical mound of dirt suddenly rose up from the ground.

It looked like a grave, or maybe the entrance to an underground cave. It was the exact location where Geusdae had been sealed just before.

Cheong Jin-soo, who had been watching, asked nervously as the ominous demonic energy began to leak out.

“W-Well, is it going well?”

“The real part hasn’t even started yet.”

This was the important part.

First of all, the revival ritual I had chosen was a very common equivalent exchange-type spell.

It was a method of summoning the target of the revival by offering a sacrifice of approximately equal value and using that energy.

「𝙄𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙞𝙩, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝘽𝙞-𝙝𝙮𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙚𝙙 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙖𝙡𝙨𝙤 𝙖 𝙩𝙮𝙥𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙨𝙤𝙧𝙘𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙜𝙤𝙧𝙮.」

The only difference was that Bi-hyeong had tried to use the yokai he had captured and released and the members of the academy as sacrifices, while I had offered Bi-hyeong, who had the blood of a demon, and Hektel’s soul, who had accumulated a huge amount of karma on his own.

「𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙦𝙪𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙢𝙖𝙡𝙡, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙦𝙪𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙞𝙨 𝙛𝙖𝙧 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙤𝙧.」

The ritual would be successful. That was already a foregone conclusion.

And I had mixed two arrangements into that kind of revival ritual.

“Ggong-sam-yi.”

Swish.

Pop!

“. . .Burn it.”

First, I had Ggong-sam-yi, who was of the same demon race, participate in the ritual to absorb part of the power of Geusdae, who would be revived.

In the process, Geusdae would be somewhat weakened, but that power would only be added to Ggong-sam-yi, and it would also become much easier for me to handle her.

「𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙙.」

In some ways, this part could be said to be the most important part of the ritual.

I created a kind of link between Ggong-sam-yi, Geusdae, and myself, who had become part of the magic circle, and completed the revival ritual while simultaneously making a shikigami contract.

「𝙄𝙩’𝙨 𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙤 𝙞𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙄 𝙖𝙡𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚.」

There are many different types of shikigami contracts, or contracts of servitude.

The one I used the most was a contract of subordination that used the power of karma value, a method of completely subordinating the other party and binding their soul.

However, Geusdae’s power was too strong. Even with the current adjustment of my karma value, I couldn’t completely suppress his soul.

So this time, I would take a different approach and form a mutually complementary relationship where we would treat each other as equals and fulfill conditions.

Whooooosh.

Swish.

The condition I offered Geusdae was kinship.

I used Ggong-sam-yi, who had received part of the demon’s blood from Bi-hyeong’s heart and his power, to make them recognize each other as the same race and cooperate.

In other words, if the ritual was successful, Geusdae would see me as someone he cared about and would help me of his own volition.

「𝙄𝙣 𝙧𝙚𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙣, 𝙄’𝙡𝙡 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙥 𝙂𝙚𝙪𝙨𝙙𝙖𝙚. . . . . . .」

It didn’t make any difference to me anyway. When a battle broke out, I would naturally have to support and protect Geusdae, my shikigami, as much as possible.

In short, it was a contract that I would only benefit from, even though I had taken a roundabout approach.

Whooooosh.

「. . .𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙡 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙨𝙤𝙤𝙣.」

So I had to finish this contract by then.

I poured all my energy into connecting with Geusdae, sweating profusely.

And at the very last moment, I was able to successfully complete the contract.

Whooooosh!

Bang!

Finally, the ritual was complete, and just like a year ago, a giant Horned Ogre covered in shadows emerged from the dirt tomb.

It was definitely Geusdae, the same as the one I knew and had seen before.

「𝙉𝙤, 𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙩 𝙖 𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙡𝙚 𝙙𝙞𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙩?」

That was probably because, unlike last time, he had regained his complete form through a successful revival ritual.

Cheong Jin-soo gasped at the ominous demonic energy that made your body tingle, and I approached Geusdae, who was also trembling slightly, and spoke.

“So, how does it feel to be out in the open again after so long?”

Geusdae was silent. Then, he looked at me and Ggong-sam-yi, who had participated in the ritual, and focused his gaze.

After staring at us for about a minute, Geusdae finally looked away and lifted Ggong-sam-yi, who had been looking at him curiously from the side, onto his shoulder.

“. . .Burn it?”

It was a bit unexpected, but it seemed that the contract had proceeded normally.

Cheong Jin-soo, who had noticed this, changed his expression and approached me.

“Amazing. Did you really succeed?”

“Yes. It was easier than I thought.”

“To see such a sight while I’m still alive. . . . . . .”

It was no wonder he was surprised.

An S-rank yokai that could cause a national disaster was mingling with humans as if it were a friendly neighborhood uncle.

And probably, those who would become Geusdae’s enemies in the future would feel the same way as Cheong Jin-soo did now.

「𝙄’𝙫𝙚 𝙙𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙄 𝙘𝙖𝙣.」

Now, all I had to do was face the oncoming storm.

After testing Geusdae in various ways, I summoned him as a shadow and left the island.

I took in the view of the island, which had once been Han Kang-yoon’s grave and which I would now never visit again.

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

「. . .𝙄𝙩’𝙨 𝙖𝙢𝙖𝙯𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙞𝙩 𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣.」

Cheong Jin-soo, a member of the Three Great Houses, the Cheong family, and the second-in-command of Cheong So-ha’s faction, one of its elders.

After returning to his quarters after finishing his task, he quietly marveled as he recalled what had happened today.

「𝙄𝙩’𝙨 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙙𝙤𝙚𝙨𝙣’𝙩 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙚 𝙡𝙤𝙜𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮.」

At the time, he had let it go because he didn’t know any better, but the more he thought about it, the stranger it seemed, so he had just now carefully searched through the records.

The results were surprising.

No matter how much he searched through the Cheong family’s old documents and other sources, there was no record of an exorcist who had done something like Han Kang-yoon.

Of course, there were others who had accomplished similar feats.

The ancestor of the Cheong family, who had defeated the powerful azure dragon and made it a member of the family, and Cheong-il, the hero of the Cheong family, who was known as the exorcist of exorcists, were examples.

However, if that were the case, it would be a different story.

「𝘿𝙤𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙃𝙖𝙣 𝙆𝙖𝙣𝙜-𝙮𝙤𝙤𝙣 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙡𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙡 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙖𝙡𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙬𝙤?」

Of course, he might not be at that level yet, but there was no doubt that he was an incredibly talented individual.

It made sense that Cheong So-ha, his master, would be so interested in him.

After roughly summarizing what he had investigated, Cheong Jin-soo rushed to the main building where Cheong So-ha was staying and reported to her about Han Kang-yoon.

“. . .That is all I have to report about what I saw and heard while I was with him today.”

“Good work. It seems he has easily taken control of a yokai of that level.”

Han Kang-yoon was also closely associated with the faction, so it should have been good news, but Cheong So-ha’s expression was strangely subtle.

Cheong So-ha thought for a moment, then quietly muttered to herself, her sharp aura apparent.

“Strange.”

“. . .What do you mean?”

“He called himself his proxy, and for a while after he made contact with me, he acted accordingly.”

However.

“As time goes on, is it just my imagination that my doubts about him are growing?”

Cheong So-ha thought that Han Kang-yoon’s recent actions had been strange.

It felt like he was acting on his own rather than as her proxy.

Furthermore, he still hadn’t revealed his location to her directly, and even though she had had him watched several times, he hadn’t shown any signs of receiving orders or reporting back.

“It’s clear that he knows something about the Ancestor, but now his intentions are unclear.”

Cheong So-ha’s eyes gradually filled with a very small amount of hostility toward Han Kang-yoon.

It was too early to tell for sure, but if he had deceived her and dared to disgrace the name of the Ancestor.

“. . .I won’t let him die easily.”

Cheong Jin-soo, who was standing next to her, trembled at her murderous aura and thought to himself.

Her eyes, which were definitely looking at him, seemed to be staring at Han Kang-yoon, who was standing somewhere on this land right now.

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