I Became the Academy’s Genius Shikigami Summoner – Chapter 172

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟕𝟐

「𝙎𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩.」

Ting!

【Geusdae】

▶Level 60

▶Ability Scores

【Stamina: A】

【Power: S-】

【Spellcraft: A】

【Mental Strength: B】

▶Traits (7/10)

【Ki Absorption (S)】

【Emotion Absorption (S)】

【怨鬼 (B+)】

【Impact Absorption (B+)】

【Output Enhancement (B-)】

【Superhuman Strength (C+)】

【Steel Body (C-)】

・・・・・・

【Horned Ogre】

▶Level 51

▶Ability Scores

【Stamina: B+】

【Power: A】

【Spellcraft: A-】

【Mental Strength: B】

▶Traits (7/10)

【Cleansing Fire (S-)】

【Ghost Fire (A+)】

【Blazing Flames (A-)】

【Challenger (B+)】

【Berserk (B)】

【Superhuman Strength (C+)】

【Steel Body (C-)】

Thanks to the power Ggong-sam-yi had taken from Geusdae, he’s level had dropped to 60, four levels lower than before.

「. . . 𝙒𝙚𝙡𝙡, 𝙞𝙩’𝙨 𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙜, 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝.」

In addition, Ggong-sam-yi had grown considerably after participating in numerous battles and gaining power from this ritual.

Her level had increased by nine whole levels since the beginning, her ability score ranks had increased, and she had gained new traits.

At this point, she was almost worthy of the A-rank.

「𝙄𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙙𝙚𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙙𝙚𝙘𝙞𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙪𝙗𝙟𝙪𝙜𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙧, 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙞𝙛 𝙞𝙩 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙜𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙤𝙪𝙩.」

Her traits made her versatile in combat, and she still had room to grow.

I nodded my head in satisfaction, dismissed all the status windows, and fell into thought.

「𝙒𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨, 𝙄 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙗𝙚 𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙡𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙮 𝙮𝙤𝙠𝙖𝙞.」

Even without Ggong-sam-yi, the other shikigami had all made significant progress.

My current forces were not to be underestimated by anyone. I had increased my firepower and had enough tricks up my sleeve to handle most situations.

And tomorrow, the second Night Parade of a Hundred Demons would finally begin, marking the start of the second summer vacation.

Yoo Ha-on and Han Seo-ah, along with Baek Eun-seo, would be interning at the Defense Corps as I had done before, and they would encounter the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons there.

「𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙦𝙪𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙞𝙨, 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙄 𝙙𝙤 𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙥𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙩?」

I could stick with Yoo Ha-on and company as a supporter, or I could make my own plans to resolve the situation.

「. . . . . . .」

It was still a concern, but I had already decided on the answer.

「𝙄 𝙜𝙪𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙄’𝙡𝙡 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙣𝙤𝙬.」

Even in the second Night Parade of a Hundred Demons, there wouldn’t be any particularly powerful yokai appearing in the very beginning.

It would just be a constant stream of yokai that were stronger than usual. So, joining Yoo Ha-on and company from the start wouldn’t be very efficient.

「𝙄𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙘𝙖𝙨𝙚, 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙣𝙤𝙬, 𝙞𝙩’𝙨 𝙜𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙥 𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙚𝙨.」

Once the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons was officially announced, the Exorcism Headquarters would declare a top-level emergency and summon all exorcists with official qualifications to form subjugation units in each region.

I was likely to be included in that group and sent to the front lines.

「𝙁𝙤𝙧 𝙣𝙤𝙬, 𝙄’𝙡𝙡 𝙢𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙮, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙄’𝙡𝙡 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙛𝙡𝙚𝙭𝙞𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙙𝙚𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙞𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣.」

Arietta, the Red Unit, Baek So-yul, and others.

I had plenty of cards up my sleeve that I could use appropriately depending on the situation.

I finished organizing my thoughts, lay down on the bed, and closed my eyes.

And so, the vacation finally began.

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

“Yes, to the 2nd Defense Corps in Dongjak-gu.”

Having checked in advance where Yoo Ha-on and company would be interning, I left the academy and went to find Arietta.

And as usual, I handed over some blood and left her with some final instructions.

“Be prepared. I’ll contact you as soon as I need your help.”

“. . . Sure, no problem. Be careful, junior.”

Three days passed like that.

By now, Yoo Ha-on and company would be quite familiar with the Defense Corps’ work, and the academy students would have dispersed all over the country.

And the next morning, the incident finally began.

Wee-ooo!

Wee-ooo─!

『This is an emergency announcement! All citizens, please evacuate to shelters, leave the streets, and go to your homes or shelters!』

The loud, urgent broadcast blared out along with the deafening sound of sirens.

At the urgent sound, the citizens who had been out on the streets began to realize the situation and quickly started to leave.

And I was standing in front of a game center in Sadang-dong to capture a yokai that would cause a lot of trouble in this second Night Parade of a Hundred Demons.

「. . . 𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙙 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙨𝙤 𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙡𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙖𝙧, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙡𝙮 𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙮 𝙩𝙤 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙙.」

In the original story, it was mentioned that this yokai, which loved noise and bright lights, killed civilians in a game center in Sadang-dong after its first appearance.

And when I checked it out in person, there was only one game center in Sadang-dong that met the criteria.

Wee-ooo─!

The sirens were still blaring, but there were still civilians inside the center who had not evacuated.

They had become complacent, believing that the exorcists from the Defense Corps would take care of the situation since it had become a fairly common occurrence.

「𝙒𝙚𝙡𝙡, 𝙞𝙩’𝙨 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙗𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙮 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙞𝙩’𝙨 𝙨𝙤 𝙣𝙤𝙞𝙨𝙮 𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮’𝙧𝙚 𝙨𝙡𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙤 𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙚.」

After a few minutes, as expected, I sensed the presence of a yokai with considerable power nearby.

「. . . 𝙄𝙩’𝙨 𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙪𝙞𝙡𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜. 𝘿𝙞𝙙 𝙞𝙩 𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙤𝙢 𝙬𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙤𝙬?」

Since I was already waiting nearby, I went inside to check the situation.

“Damn it!”

“Get out of the way!”

The yokai had occupied the passageway leading to the entrance, and the civilians were huddled together in a corner, holding on to each other.

I sighed at the sight and deliberately used a close-range binding technique to restrain it.

Thud!

“Kyuwak?”

It was strong, but it was only B-rank at best.

However, this single yokai would paralyze all communications in Seoul and nearby cities, causing massive chaos.

Considering the urgency of the situation, it was obvious that it would cause a lot of damage.

「𝙏𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙦𝙪𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙨𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙖 𝙥𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙘 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨.」

I already knew about it, but it was still a bit of a shock to see it in person.

I used Rending Slash to cut its throat and spoke to the stunned civilians.

“Let’s go, I’ll take you to safety.”

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

Oh Taek-min, a college student who usually spent his time at game centers, felt his heart pounding in his chest several times today as he hurriedly followed behind Han Kang-yoon.

He had simply ignored it, thinking it was just another problem that would be solved quickly, but when he went outside, he realized that this was no ordinary situation.

「𝙋𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙨𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚. . . . . . .」

It was evidence that many yokai had appeared and that the citizens were in chaos.

In fact, Oh Taek-min himself might have already been killed by a yokai if it hadn’t been for the exorcist Han Kang-yoon leading the group.

“W-We still have over 500 meters to go to the shelter, is this okay?”

“I-I’ll just go home. I think that would be better.”

“No, you can’t. Leaving my side now would be suicidal. And from the looks of it, I don’t think an ordinary house will be safe.”

The civilians who were with them were anxious and didn’t know what to do, but Han Kang-yoon, who was leading them, was calm and determined.

Oh Taek-min knew that Han Kang-yoon’s judgment was correct, even though he himself didn’t.

「. . . 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘿𝙚𝙛𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙚 𝘾𝙤𝙧𝙥𝙨 𝙚𝙭𝙤𝙧𝙘𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙨 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙚 𝙜𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙞𝙜𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙛𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙮𝙬𝙖𝙮.」

However, even he, who knew this, was feeling anxious and uneasy, but Han Kang-yoon, who looked to be the same age as Taek-min or even younger, was unfazed.

Even in his confused state, Taek-min was impressed by Han Kang-yoon.

However, it seemed that not everyone shared Taek-min’s opinion, as one of the group members spoke up, spitting out insults.

“Hey, who are you to tell us what to do? Are you even a qualified exorcist in the first place? You don’t look old enough. Sorry, but I don’t trust a newbie with no experience.”

Han Kang-yoon certainly looked too young to be an experienced exorcist.

Once someone expressed their opinion, several others in the group agreed and began to move away.

“. . . To be honest, that’s true. How do we know if you’re capable of protecting us?”

“L-Last time I saw a guy who had just gotten his license and went out on duty, he got taken down by a yokai and left the civilians behind!”

The civilians’ anxiety was understandable. Screams and cries could be heard all around them, and there was no guarantee that they wouldn’t be the next target.

And as if to confirm their fears, another yokai appeared before them.

One in front, one on the roof of the building next door, and another one smashing cars down the alley.

“Oh, no, why are you yelling! Stop yelling!”

Now that the situation had come to this, the civilians visibly cowered and called out to Han Kang-yoon in hushed voices.

“H-Hey, exorcist dude, are you okay?”

“. . . Requesting backup! D-Do you have a radio or something?”

Amid the citizens who had completely panicked, Han Kang-yoon sighed heavily and uttered a single word.

“Don’t worry. They’re not that strong, judging by their energy.”

As soon as he said that, Han Kang-yoon’s shadow suddenly twitched like a living creature and spat out something.

Swish.

Puff!

Poof!

What emerged from it were several creatures that looked like shikigami.

“Take care of them all.”

That was all it took.

At Han Kang-yoon’s command, the yokai that had been eyeing the civilians were mercilessly torn apart and killed.

Only then did the civilians, relieved, wipe away their cold sweat and cough awkwardly.

“W-Well, I guess he wasn’t so bad after all.”

“. . . I guess it’s not a good idea to leave now. I’ll just go to the shelter with this guy.”

No longer intimidated by the visible threat, the civilians stopped complaining and began to follow Han Kang-yoon’s instructions.

And Oh Taek-min, who had witnessed everything, stared at Han Kang-yoon’s back with wide eyes.

「. . . 𝙉𝙤, 𝙤𝙛 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚 𝙣𝙤𝙩.」

He had once studied jujutsu and aspired to be an exorcist, so he knew this. There was no such thing as a weak yokai. Even the lowest-level yokai had the power to kill ordinary people mercilessly.

Besides, in Oh Taek-min’s opinion, the yokai that Han Kang-yoon had just dealt with were not that low-level.

「𝙏-𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙜𝙪𝙮 𝙞𝙨 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩, 𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙛𝙮𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙡𝙮 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙜.」

He had never heard of such an outlandish technique as summoning shikigami through his shadow.

「. . . 𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙙𝙚𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙖 𝙣𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙖𝙡 𝙨𝙞𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣.」

The current flood of yokai reminded him of the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons that had occurred in the past.

He quickly checked his messenger and saw that his acquaintances all over the country seemed to be experiencing the same thing.

In that case, as Han Kang-yoon had said, nowhere in Korea was safe right now.

And in such a situation, there was only one clear way to save his life.

「𝙄 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙛𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙜𝙪𝙮, 𝙣𝙤 𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩.」

By the side of a truly powerful person.

That was the only place where he could feel safe and at ease.

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