I Became the Academy’s Genius Shikigami Summoner – Chapter 187

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟖𝟕

The barrier formation passed down through generations to Yangcheolgung and the family of Iron has several traits.

One of them is that in order to efficiently manipulate the barrier, a medium that has been set in advance is absolutely necessary.

「𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙪𝙢 𝙙𝙤𝙚𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚 𝙩𝙤𝙜𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙝 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙔𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙤𝙡𝙜𝙪𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙬𝙣𝙚𝙧.」

Of course. That is the only way to reduce the risk of information leaks and to be able to take control of the barrier more certainly.

And just as I had expected, the medium set by Hae Ga-ram was none other than that demon mask.

Perhaps the mask itself is a cursed tool, and a rather high-level one at that.

「𝙄𝙛 𝙄 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙖𝙜𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙢𝙖𝙨𝙠 𝙖𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙃𝙖𝙚 𝙂𝙖-𝙧𝙖𝙢. . . . . . .」

I will be able to break through the barrier formation, the biggest obstacle to escape.

I don’t know if she sensed my gaze or not, but Hae Ga-ram spoke again, putting the mask back on her face.

“So, is this really enough? I’ll give you one chance to back out, so tell me now if there’s anything you want.”

It was quite a kind gesture, and just from that alone I could tell that she had taken quite a liking to me.

To that, I spoke again, meeting the eyes of Hae Ga-ram beneath the mask after a moment of contemplation.

“Please listen to what I have to say someday.”

“I’m not really drawn to postponing favors.”

“I’m not asking you to fulfill a request. I’d be satisfied if you would simply listen to my words and take them to heart.”

“Well, if that’s all.”

Hae Ga-ram looked at me with a strange expression, as if she found it odd that I would make such an insignificant request.

However, I had received my reward, and that was the end of the conversation.

Hae Ga-ram, who seemed to be trying to end our conversation quickly, so I said something quietly.

“I almost forgot. I have something to tell you.”

“What is it?”

“I keep feeling a strange energy coming from downstairs in the middle of the night lately,”

Hae Ga-ram would know better than anyone what I was trying to say.

“That’s. . . . . . .”

“It was quite a noisy flow of spiritual power, so it’s possible that someone is up to no good.”

Of course, there was no such memory. It was just a lie to test her reaction.

Hae Ga-ram showed no particular reaction, but I felt as if she was frowning beneath the mask.

After a moment of silence, she gave me an obvious eviction notice with a somewhat unpleasant expression.

“. . .That’s not something you need to worry about. Now get out.”

I nodded and left Hae Ga-ram’s office, returning to the second floor under the guard’s guidance.

In doing so, I gained confirmation of the second question I had wanted to know.

「𝙄𝙩 𝙨𝙚𝙚𝙢𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙖𝙛𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙡𝙡.」

There is someone in the hidden floor between the second and third floors, in the special detention facility there.

It was information that was just as important to me as the medium of the barrier formation.

「𝘼𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩 𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩, 𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙘𝙚𝙧𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙗𝙚 𝙖 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙙𝙚𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙚.」

With that, I had obtained all the information I needed. It was time to start seriously planning my escape.

「. . .𝙄’𝙢 𝙜𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙨𝙡𝙚𝙚𝙥 𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨.」

That night, I ended up having to willingly give myself over to a wave of thoughts.

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

「𝙄 𝙗𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙢𝙖𝙙𝙚 𝙞𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚.」

Three days had already passed since my meeting with Hae Ga-ram, and while performing my duties as a prisoner, I continued to plan in my head.

「𝙄’𝙢 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝙣𝙤𝙬.」

Right now, Jin-myeong’s plan was probably already causing chaos within the Cheong family.

I couldn’t delay any longer.

The plan wasn’t perfect, but I had to make it work somehow.

「𝙄’𝙢 𝙜𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙤 𝙞𝙩 𝙩𝙤𝙣𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩.」

There’s no time to hesitate. I made up my mind and spent the day recovering my stamina as much as possible, waiting for night to come.

And finally, it arrived.

A time when everything was quiet and shrouded in darkness, with only the guards occasionally patrolling.

「𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙪𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙜𝙪𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙡𝙮 𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙎𝙖𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙙𝙖𝙮 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜.」

It couldn’t be helped. They were people too, so they needed proper rest and compensation.

And on Friday nights and Saturday mornings, there was a gap as people left for vacation and returned.

This was information that was acknowledged in the original work through Do Ji-hwan’s case.

「𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙃𝙖𝙚 𝙂𝙖-𝙧𝙖𝙢 𝙞𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙖𝙩 100% 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣, 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙙 𝙖 𝙡𝙖𝙧𝙜𝙚-𝙨𝙘𝙖𝙡𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙜𝙪𝙡𝙖𝙧 𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙮𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙙𝙖𝙮.」

In other words, right now was the optimal time to attempt an escape.

Thanking my luck for the perfect timing, I quietly opened my eyes and got up from my seat.

「𝙎𝙖𝙝𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙟𝙖𝙚.」

As I called its name in my mind, it responded right away.

In the swaying shadows, I felt Sahwanjae carrying out my orders.

「𝙄’𝙢 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙜𝙡𝙖𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙝𝙞𝙢.」

Of course, Sahwanjae’s abilities were not enough to use his powers within this barrier formation.

His spatial magic was great, but to be honest, it was hard to see it as top-level.

「𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙙𝙚𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙨 𝙤𝙣 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙞𝙩’𝙨 𝙪𝙨𝙚𝙙.」

The underground training ground, where the barrier formation’s influence was less noticeable—that was the key.

I had Sahwanjae use his powers to leave a very small gap there.

Of course, if it were to be detected by the barrier formation, it would be the end, so it was a passageway that was as thin as a thread.

I couldn’t move through it myself, and it was too unstable to use as a passageway for shikigami.

However, it was large enough to use my Transfer spell, a derivative of the Shadow Assimilation trait.

「𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙙𝙤 𝙞𝙩.」

Whew.

Fwoosh.

Generally speaking, there are two ways to interfere with the casting of a spell.

Disrupting the arrangement of the spell, or nullifying the spiritual power needed to activate the spell in some way.

The methods derived from this have many different branches, but when you get down to it, they all stem from these two things.

Of these, the method used in this Yangcheolgung barrier formation was the former.

A powerful wavelength is generated within a certain area, and no matter what kind of spell is cast, its imprint is covered up and its arrangement is scattered.

That’s why it’s possible to control a wide range of spells, and on the other hand, the higher the level of the target, the weaker the effect.

「𝘽𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙥𝙞𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙡 𝙥𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙡 𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙡𝙡, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙚𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙛𝙡𝙪𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙩𝙝.」

And Do Ji-hwan, making full use of his unique genius, figured out a way to temporarily offset the wavelength of the Yangcheolgung barrier.

It was by using the intermediate spell, Wave Resonation, an application of the basic spell, Resonance.

「𝙄𝙩 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙚𝙧𝙧𝙤𝙧, 𝙗𝙪𝙩. . . . . . .」

Since the situation at the time was described in great detail, I would be able to do the same thing.

And if that succeeded, even Hae Ga-ram, who was in control of the barrier formation, wouldn’t be able to detect me using my spells.

Rather, she would be completely caught off guard because she was using the barrier formation’s senses.

「𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙗𝙡𝙚𝙢 𝙞𝙨, 𝙖𝙨 𝙄 𝙨𝙖𝙞𝙙 𝙗𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚, 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙖 𝙡𝙤𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙚𝙧𝙧𝙤𝙧.」

That’s why the passageway Sahwanjae connected to the depths of the training ground comes in handy.

Even if a slight wavelength is generated in a place where the barrier formation’s influence is already weak, no one will care.

Even if it was detected, it wouldn’t harm me.

I worked hard, using the Transfer spell to search for the right wavelength value without even the slightest trace leaking out.

Dozens of minutes passed like that, and with cold sweat all over my body, I was finally able to get the hang of it.

「. . .𝙄’𝙫𝙚 𝙘𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩 𝙝𝙪𝙧𝙙𝙡𝙚.」

With this, the next task is simple.

Use the completed Wave Resonation spell to leave this room without being detected and hide myself.

The real escape will probably come after that.

After hurriedly making a spell doll to act as my double, I escaped Room 7 as planned and slipped out of the second floor, deceiving the guards.

「𝙒𝙚𝙡𝙡, 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙗𝙡𝙚𝙢 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙨.」

Looking at it this way, it seems like I’ve done a lot, but the situation hasn’t really changed that much.

The barrier formation guarding Yangcheolgung is still there, and I’m at a severe disadvantage.

There are two ways to escape right now.

Either I somehow tamper with Hae Ga-ram’s demon mask and shake the barrier, or I find a completely different way and pioneer a new route.

「𝙄𝙛 𝙄 𝙘𝙝𝙤𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙚𝙧, 𝙄’𝙡𝙡 𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙩𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙮 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙘𝙩 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙃𝙖𝙚 𝙂𝙖-𝙧𝙖𝙢, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙛 𝙄 𝙘𝙝𝙤𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧, 𝙞𝙩’𝙨 𝙩𝙤𝙤 𝙪𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙧𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙣.」

I remember all the escape routes and methods that Do Ji-hwan used, but as I said before, that’s only meaningful if you neutralize the barrier formation first, like Do Ji-hwan did.

I had thought about it countless times, but no matter how much I thought about it, I didn’t have the strength to do all that.

That’s why I needed it. A very powerful variable to fill that void.

「. . .𝙄 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙣𝙤 𝙘𝙝𝙤𝙞𝙘𝙚.」

I’m going to go down to the floor below the second floor.

However, my destination is not the third floor. It’s the hidden floor where the special detainee is being held.

「𝙍𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙨 𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙖 𝙜𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙖, 𝙣𝙤 𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙩. . . . . . .」

But for now, I had to achieve my goal, even if it was a bit forced. If I can’t stop Jin-myeong’s plan, the future will definitely be twisted in a bad direction.

「𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙄’𝙢 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙤 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙤𝙣 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙡𝙮 𝙖 𝙨𝙞𝙣.」

But I had already made up my mind. I steeled my resolve and slowly took steps that wouldn’t make a sound.

And at the same time, a loud warning sound rang out throughout the floor.

Wheeeeee!

Weeeeeeee─!

A signal that an intruder or escapee had occurred.

I was very flustered when I heard it and looked around in a hurry.

「𝙄 𝙜𝙤𝙩 𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩? 𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙦𝙪𝙞𝙘𝙠𝙡𝙮?」

I can’t afford to be conspicuous now. I started kicking the ground with all my might, even using my body strengthening spell.

However, I soon felt a sense of discomfort and stopped with a frown after taking only three steps.

「𝙉𝙤, 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙘𝙖𝙣’𝙩 𝙗𝙚.」

My actions weren’t that sloppy. At least, it’s hard to imagine that I would be discovered by someone right away.

This wasn’t arrogance. It was a judgment I had made after carefully considering many possibilities and reasoning.

Only then was I able to recall one exception that I had forgotten.

「𝙒𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙞𝙩, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙥𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙖𝙡 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙚𝙨𝙘𝙖𝙥𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙣𝙤𝙬.」

And if I thought so, it meant that someone else could easily make that judgment as well.

「. . .𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙚𝙡𝙨𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙨 𝙢𝙚.」

Right now, I wasn’t the only one attempting to escape.

And as if to prove that, a moment later, the terrified cry of a guard came from the other side of the passageway.

“E-Escape! The special prisoner from the middle floor has disappeared!”

It was the moment when the situation began to take on a whole new aspect.

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