I Became the Academy’s Genius Shikigami Summoner – Chapter 220

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟐𝟎

“Well well I never would have expected to see such a desirable face in this place.”

Her manner was no better than empty words, but her spirit was as sharp as ever.

No, rather, it seemed that she had grown even more, having overcome the hardships of this place.

“I thought about it every day. If I were to leave this place and return to the present, I would find you first and repay my debt to you.”

Honestly, this is a bad situation.

Not only has she somehow managed to survive, but we’ve run into each other just as we’re about to embark on a full-scale labyrinth raid.

It’s hard to say what kind of negative impact this will have in the future.

“. . .Oh, yeah. Now I can see it a little better. Come to think of it, you acted like you knew more than the others even back then.”

Xiao Chen smiled and raised her fingertips to form a barrier, then opened her mouth again.

“You knew the truth about this labyrinth from the very beginning, didn’t you? That’s why you came back here. You still have something you need to gain.”

Her deduction was a bit off the mark, but in the end, it wasn’t wrong.

Now that she has fully grasped our goal, the situation has become even more difficult.

I glanced at Sophia, who had already entered a battle stance, and quietly opened my mouth.

“I understand your anger.”

“Ha, do you know what I’ve been through in this place? Just you wait. I’m a lot angrier than you think.”

“However, judging from the situation, you have been stuck here and unable to move forward, haven’t you?”

At those words, Xiao Chen’s movements suddenly stopped.

It seems I’ve hit a nerve, as the murderous glint in her eyes wavered slightly.

“It’s certainly surprising that you’ve managed to break through the labyrinth this far on your own, but I doubt you’ll be able to go any further. I’m sure you realize that from your experience so far.”

“. . .So what? If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have ended up in this damn place in the first place.”

“It’s fine to want to settle the score, but there’s no need to do it here,”

After all, killing me is meaningless if you’re just going to stay trapped here and never get out.

In other words, it’s in both of our best interests to put such grudges aside for now.

“Well, from the way you guys are reacting, it seems like you still have more allies. Who knows, maybe you’ll all team up to take me down?”

“As I said before, our goal is to conquer the labyrinth. In that case, the experience of Xiao Chen-nim, who was here before us, will be of great help. Besides, there’s no point in wasting our energy on useless battles before we even reach the core of the labyrinth, is there?”

Xiao Chen was understandably anxious, but my words certainly had some merit.

Xiao Chen frowned and began to ponder.

And at that moment, the others, who had sensed something amiss, began to show up one after another.

“Who is that?”

“It’s definitely the one we met in the Black Forest. . .”

In the end, due to poor timing, the situation became neither here nor there.

The final blow to Xiao Chen, whose expression was filled with frustration, was dealt by none other than Echinacea Lianqi, who was also from Yahwak.

“Long time no see. Everyone thought you were dead.”

“. . .Echinacea Lianqi? Why are you here?”

After hearing various stories from Echinacea Lianqi, Xiao Chen let out a deep sigh and scattered her spiritual power, effectively surrendering.

“It seems that the situation has become more complicated than I thought. Fine. I’ll cooperate for now, even though it’s annoying.”

With that, the immediate crisis was averted. I felt the tension ease and dusted off my hands, adjusting my posture.

For some reason, Xiao Chen spoke to me with an apologetic expression.

“. . .If you have any food or water to spare, could you give it to me?”

“I will.”

Even at a glance, it was obvious that she was in a sorry state, so it was no wonder that such a request was the first thing out of her mouth.

I had a feeling that this gate would be a tough fight, so we soon moved from the third floor.

First, we needed to hear the story from someone who had been there before.

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

After a brief exploration, we were able to find a study-like space where several of us could rest.

According to Xiao Chen, it seemed that it would be fine to use it.

And there, she began to tell her story in a monotonous voice.

“From what I hear, you’ve solved all the secrets of the upper floors. . .”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“I didn’t. I couldn’t find the answers, so I just used another method. That’s why I’m trapped here now.”

Xiao Chen is a master of barrier spells.

And when she was in the Black Forest, she had studied the witch’s great barrier formation with great interest.

“To put it simply, I just tampered with the fundamental parts of the labyrinth and forced my way through.”

Of course, that was not acceptable, and as a result, Xiao Chen was given a very serious penalty.

“I don’t know what was originally set up, but these things don’t react to me at all.”

Obviously, there must be some kind of obstacle that needs to be overcome in order to proceed to the next gate, but Xiao Chen was no longer qualified to do that.

In the end, she was stuck here, unable to go anywhere, and wasting her supplies and energy.

「𝘿𝙞𝙙𝙣’𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙥𝙖𝙨𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙂𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙎𝙪𝙣?」

In fact, up until then, there were plenty of traces that she had passed through the gate, but the fourth space was intact.

Perhaps at that point, she had given up on the orthodox method and aimed for a gap in the barrier.

Upon hearing this, Echinacea Lianqi tilted her head and uttered some cold words.

“It doesn’t seem like she’ll be of much help in the end, so wouldn’t it be better to just deal with her here?”

At those words, Xiao Chen, who had once been her comrade, looked at her in disbelief, and the others also observed the atmosphere, preparing for any eventuality.

But I quickly shook my head.

“No. Since she has such a high level of knowledge about these barriers, she is definitely worth having around. Moreover, it is quite possible that the penalty she has will actually help us in our conquest.”

According to Xiao Chen, the devices hidden in this mansion do not react to her at all.

It may be unlikely, but if we can make use of that, there is surely a way to exploit it.

“. . .Well, if that’s the case, then I guess we can’t help it.”

Echinacea Lianqi turned her head away as if she were a little disappointed. Perhaps she thought it would be cleaner to deal with Xiao Chen here, who had the potential to return to Luke.

In fact, it was natural for her to think that way, given her position as a traitor.

Xiao Chen must have noticed her feelings, because she sighed and continued speaking.

“You’re still as cold-hearted as ever. Don’t worry. I have no intention of returning to Luke at this point.”

That was a somewhat surprising statement.

Most of the members of Yahwak are those who share Luke’s ideals, so it is unlikely that they would abandon them so easily.

“Huh. I have my own way of doing things. Luke’s plans aren’t going as smoothly as he expected, and. . . there’s no need to cling to one place.”

After all, Xiao Chen was the first to retire after the raid on Yahwak’s headquarters, so her true intentions were never made clear.

As such, it was not entirely impossible for her to take a different path from Luke.

“Anyway, I’ll continue my story.”

In any case, now that our positions had been more or less sorted out, Xiao Chen began to tell us more about the mansion.

“When night falls, strange things start to wander around this mansion.”

“. . .Ghosts?”

“They’re similar in appearance. Of course, they ignored me as if I were invisible. . .”

We couldn’t tell how they would react to us. We all understood that meaning without her having to say it.

“I’ve looked around the mansion and found three places that feel suspicious.”

The banquet hall on the first floor, the large reception room on the second floor, and the locked door in the corner of the hallway on the third floor.

As a result, the places we needed to investigate thoroughly tomorrow morning had all been decided.

“For now, let’s just get through tonight.”

And so, we each made up our minds and rested.

From now on, a very long night would unfold.

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

「. . .𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙪𝙣𝙗𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙫𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚.」

With only a little time left until nightfall, Xiao Chen was walking down the hallway on the second floor, deep in thought.

Originally, Xiao Chen had planned to make Han Kang-yoon kneel down and take his supplies if he had no more companions, and then use him for the labyrinth raid.

However, the reason she had changed her mind was not only because of Echinacea Lianqi’s presence.

「𝙒𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙄 𝙢𝙚𝙩 𝙝𝙞𝙢 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙩, 𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡. . .」

Of course, even back then, Han Kang-yoon had shown a sense and skill that belied his age.

However, it was not enough to be effective against Xiao Chen.

「𝙄𝙣 𝙛𝙖𝙘𝙩, 𝙞𝙛 𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣’𝙩 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙙𝙖𝙢𝙣 𝙧𝙤𝙘𝙠, 𝙄 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙙 𝙝𝙞𝙢 𝙤𝙛𝙛 𝙗𝙮 𝙣𝙤𝙬.」

But the moment she met Han Kang-yoon again in this place, Xiao Chen couldn’t help but be taken aback.

「𝙃𝙚’𝙨 𝙤𝙣 𝙖 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙙𝙞𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙡𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙗𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚.」

It was hard to find any openings, and even if they fought, it didn’t seem like it would be over quickly.

Furthermore, what truly alarmed Xiao Chen was the conclusion that her own instincts had reached in that brief moment.

「𝙄 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙𝙣’𝙩 𝙗𝙚 𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙫𝙞𝙘𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮.」

Of course, it was just a small amount of concern, but Xiao Chen had definitely felt a glimmer of the possibility of defeat from Han Kang-yoon.

Considering that less than a year had passed since their duel in the Black Forest, this was an incredible rate of growth.

「. . . . . . .」

Xiao Chen had a goal. It was similar to the goal of Luke, the leader of Yahwak, but it was not entirely the same.

「𝙅𝙪𝙙𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙞𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣, 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙜𝙪𝙮 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙪𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙤𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙔𝙖𝙝𝙬𝙖𝙠.」

Unlike Luke, Xiao Chen’s goal was not something that would make sense even if she were to achieve it at the cost of her own life.

That’s why Xiao Chen felt a strange sense of foreboding there.

If she continued to oppose Han Kang-yoon on the side of Yahwak, she would not even be able to be sure of her own safety.

「𝙇𝙪𝙠𝙚, 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙜𝙪𝙮 𝙞𝙨 𝙖𝙡𝙨𝙤 𝙖 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙞𝙙𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧, 𝙗𝙪𝙩. . .」

Now he too would have to keep this in mind.

Just as Luke, who was once a child genius, had defeated the giants who ruled the world and risen to his current position, there was no reason why he himself would not end up in the same position.

“. . . . . . . . .”

And in Xiao Chen’s eyes, Han Kang-yoon was certainly capable of doing so.

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