I Became the Academy’s Genius Shikigami Summoner – Chapter 240

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟒𝟎

The Night Parade of a Hundred Demons had begun two weeks ago.

The faces of the citizens no longer held any vitality, and the exorcists were either wounded or emaciated from repeated battles.

However, in the meantime, people somehow endured and continued their lives.

「𝙄 𝙙𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙙.」

To be sure, the 3rd Night Parade of a Hundred Demons was a small, elite force.

It wasn’t like before, where a multitude of yokai would pour out, but the appearance of each one was that of a high-ranking yokai boasting formidable strength.

That was the main difficulty of the 3rd Night Parade of a Hundred Demons.

「𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙣𝙤𝙬. . . . . . .」

Although the average level had gone up, the situation was proceeding in a similar manner to the previous Night Parades of a Hundred Demons.

In fact, the yokai I knew from the original work hadn’t even shown their faces.

Of course, I couldn’t help but feel that something was amiss.

「𝙎𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙩𝙬𝙤 𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙠𝙨 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙥𝙖𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙙, 𝙄 𝙘𝙖𝙣’𝙩 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙨 𝙞𝙩 𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙨𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚.」

Something has changed. That much is certain.

And I needed to predict and prepare for it.

“Did you hear the news?”

“What news?”

“It seems that another S-rank yokai has appeared in Incheon. It’s said to be a vicious creature with a neck over 4 cheok long that continuously regenerates.”

I was taken aback for a moment after hearing the middle-aged man’s words, but it wasn’t a yokai I knew either.

However, this was already the 6th, surpassing the number of S-ranks that appeared in the 2nd Night Parade of a Hundred Demons.

「𝙄𝙩’𝙨 𝙙𝙚𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙚.」

Although their levels were lower than the yokai of the 3rd Night Parade of a Hundred Demons that I knew, they were still overwhelmingly more numerous than the 2nd Night Parade of a Hundred Demons.

It was only thanks to the active efforts of the Three Great Families that things hadn’t already gone to hell.

And in the midst of such a situation, I felt an ominous hunch.

「𝙄 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙄 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙡𝙮 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙩 𝙞𝙨.」

It’s a problem that won’t be solved even if I brood over it. That’s why I focused on the original game and the Hell difficulty to examine the possibilities.

For example, if I had participated in the development of Hell difficulty, how would I have guided the situation?

And when I looked at the situation from that perspective, I was able to come up with a surprisingly plausible hypothesis.

「𝙄𝙣 𝙖 𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙣𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙖𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙞𝙩’𝙨 𝙖 𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙜𝙧𝙤𝙬𝙩𝙝 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙤𝙙.」

The difficulties of the 3rd Night Parade of a Hundred Demons that I knew would definitely come. However, the timing had simply been delayed.

Accordingly, Yoo Ha-on and her party would naturally grow even more as they fought endless battles with the yokai.

And the reason why such a period was given was simple.

If the balance wasn’t adjusted in that way, enemies that were impossible to handle would appear before Yoo Ha-on and her party.

「𝙄𝙩’𝙨 𝙖 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙘𝙡𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙗𝙖𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙤𝙣 𝙜𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙡𝙤𝙜𝙞𝙘, 𝙗𝙪𝙩. . . . . . .」

I had a strong conviction that it was the correct answer. That’s why I was even more perplexed.

Just how much of a grudge did I have that I would resort to such thorough procrastination?

I didn’t know, but it was clear that a crisis beyond my common sense would come.

「𝙀𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙖𝙛𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙬𝙤 𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙠𝙨, 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚’𝙨 𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙣𝙤 𝙨𝙞𝙜𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝙞𝙩 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙬𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙩𝙨 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙡𝙤𝙧𝙨. . . . . . .」

In that case, the current situation could continue for about a month, or even longer.

In my opinion, this is a period intentionally set aside for growth.

In that case, it would be the worst of the worst to wallow in worry.

「𝙄𝙛 𝙄’𝙫𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙜𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚, 𝙄 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙞𝙩, 𝙤𝙛 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚.」

So I changed my approach and once again took action.

Thinking and worrying endlessly about how to make the most of this last moment of consideration.

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

“Flying Mountain Hammer.”

At the girl’s cry, a stream of powerful spiritual power gathered, taking shape and striking the opponent before her.

With that, the lizard yokai, Jade-snatching Beast, which had already suffered extensive damage, finally exhausted its strength and died.

Thud.

Groooowl!

“Ugh, gasp, this persistent bastard!”

“I expected it to be annoying, but it took longer than I thought.”

Baek Eun-seo repeatedly kicked the yokai’s corpse, and Johan, who was next to her, shook his head.

And several exorcists approached Yoo Ha-on, who was standing behind them, and greeted her.

“Thank you. We’ve been helped by you again.”

“No. It was something I should do.”

“That’s true, but it’s amazing. . . . . . . At such a young age, you already have this level of skill. What kind of spell did you use this time?”

“I’m sorry. I learned this one by promising to keep it a secret. . . . . . .”

“Haha, it’s fine. I was just surprised and asked.”

Although he said that, Shin Bong-gil, an old exorcist who was almost sixty years old, was honestly bewildered.

Her skills were far too outstanding for an eighteen-year-old girl, and most of the spells she used were strange techniques that Shin Bong-gil had neither seen nor heard of.

「𝙄 𝙙𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙩 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙗𝙚 𝙖 𝙥𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙛𝙪𝙡 𝙚𝙭𝙤𝙧𝙘𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙩𝙤𝙤.」

Normally, Shin Bong-gil would have shouted and scolded the children for not letting them participate in the battle. However, he couldn’t do that to Yoo Ha-on and her companions.

Their skills, unfortunately, already far surpassed those of most active exorcists.

“Heroes are said to be born in troubled times. . . . . . .”

“Yes?”

“Haha, it was just a soliloquy, so don’t worry about it.”

In Shin Bong-gil’s eyes, Yoo Ha-on and her party definitely had the qualities to be heroes.

Soon, in the midst of this chaotic era, they would all become lights for everyone.

「𝙎𝙤 𝙬𝙚 𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝙛𝙤𝙡𝙠𝙨 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙥𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢.」

Shin Bong-gil knows. That even those with the qualities of a hero will die when they die.

However, Shin Bong-gil was determined that such a thing would never happen before his very eyes.

“Captain! It’s a big deal!”

“Hmm? What is it now?”

“A high-ranking, another high-ranking yokai has appeared!”

“Sigh. . . . . . .”

Everyone was exhausted from the fierce battle they had just fought, but there was nothing they could do about it.

Shin Bong-gil frowned and pondered, and behind him, several footsteps with firm determination could be felt.

“We’ll go.”

“However. . . . . . .”

“It’s okay. We can do it.”

Seeing their eyes that showed no sign of exhaustion, Shin Bong-gil couldn’t bring himself to stop them.

At the same time, Shin Bong-gil thought with a sense of emptiness.

「. . .𝙄 𝙢𝙖𝙙𝙚 𝙖 𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙟𝙪𝙙𝙜𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩.」

Perhaps Yoo Ha-on and her companions had already surpassed the level where they needed his protection and had reached a higher realm.

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

“. . .So, junior, what do you say now?”

Arietta asked me again, as if she didn’t understand what I was saying.

However, I calmly repeated the same words as before.

“Bury me here and guard it for a day.”

The place I pointed to with my finger was a deep hole that Geusdae had dug.

Arietta looked at me as I spoke resolutely and showed a rare reaction of bewilderment.

“Junior, did you hit your head?”

“That’s not it. Didn’t I tell you it was something I needed to do?”

“. . .I’ll bury you if you ask me to, but something feels strange.”

However, Arietta ended up burying me neatly as she said that.

And of course, there was a reason why I did such an absurd thing.

「𝙄 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙩𝙥𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙞𝙩 𝙖 𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙡𝙚 𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧, 𝙗𝙪𝙩. . . . . . .」

Since the opportunity had presented itself, it felt like the perfect timing.

What I was about to do was the replacement of traits, the first stage of trait extraction.

「𝙏𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙝𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙩, 𝙄’𝙢 𝙣𝙤𝙩 100% 𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙛 𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠 𝙞𝙣 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮. . . . . . .」

The recipe for trait extraction definitely exists in my head through the Mental Spellbook trait.

In that case, it meant that there was nothing to lose by at least trying.

“Phew.”

Whoooosh.

I stretched out my whole body, relaxed my strength, and slowly became one with the surrounding earth.

And in that state, I began to chant the prepared recipe one by one.

「. . . . . . .」

This was a kind of system that existed in the game, a ritual to return the traits engraved on the body and soul to nature and create a void in their place.

There were various directions in the game, but the one that I could reproduce most easily was this method of using the earth, which was why I had made such a request to Arietta.

「. . .𝙄’𝙢 𝙜𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙥𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙚.」

As I said before, to be honest, I wasn’t sure. However, since everything that was possible in the original work was not impossible in this world, I decided to give it a try.

And fortunately, it seemed that choice was the correct one.

「𝙇𝙚𝙩’𝙨 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚.」

The strange sensation flowing through my body, in the game, it was something that could be done with just a few clicks of a button, but when I tried to do it myself, it was no easy task.

「𝙄𝙨 𝙞𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙤𝙣𝙚?」

The ten auras engraved here and there on my body and soul, I concentrate my thoughts on finding the small and insignificant ones.

There are four traits that need to be extracted.

Revived Person and Emergency Evasion, which are B-rank, and Tough Skin and Hawk Eye, which are C-rank.

Honestly, it was a perfect setting in terms of cost-effectiveness, so I felt sorry to let them go, but I knew anyway.

That those traits would be of no help whatsoever against the yokai that would be blocking my way beyond this point.

「𝙎𝙤 𝙄’𝙡𝙡 𝙘𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢 𝙤𝙛𝙛 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙮 𝙧𝙚𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙩𝙨.」

I found the four traits with the smallest size among the auras I possessed and began to release them through the medium of the vast earth.

A strange pain as if something attached to my body was being torn off, and a throbbing headache.

Fortunately, however, my mind, which had grown after overcoming the ordeal of the Blue-White Soul Mirror, was able to maintain its concentration and carry out the task completely even in such a situation.

「𝘿𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙥𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙘, 𝙨𝙡𝙤𝙬𝙡𝙮. . . . . . .」

I didn’t know how much time had passed as I immersed myself in my inner world, but I opened my closed eyes as I released the last remaining strand of aura.

And I could feel it. That four of the ten traits engraved on me had disappeared without a trace.

「𝙎𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩.」

Tring!

【Han Kang-yoon】

▶Level 59

▶Ability Scores

【Stamina: B+】

【Spiritual power: A-】

【Spellcraft: B-】

【Mental Strength: A】

▶Traits (6/10)

【Shadow Assimilation(S)】

【Witch’s Echo(A+)】

【Dragon’s Body(A+)】

【Spirit Absorption(A)】

【Challenger(B+)】

【Mental Spellbook(B)】

「𝙄 𝙨𝙪𝙘𝙘𝙚𝙚𝙙𝙚𝙙.」

Relaxing my tension, I clenched my fist slightly and let out a long sigh.

And I signaled to Arietta through the Black Yin that was outside.

Thud.

Thud thud thud.

Bang!

“. . .Junior, I thought you had become a corpse.”

“How much time has passed?”

“About ten hours.”

However, she didn’t seem to be particularly worried about what she was saying. She yawned slightly and rubbed her eyes as if she had just taken a nap.

Still, it didn’t feel bad to know that she trusted me that much.

“What were you trying to do?”

“I finished it safely.”

“. . .So what are you going to do now?”

At her words, I let out a small laugh.

Because what I had to do from now on was so clearly defined.

“I’m going to go and fill in the missing parts.”

I don’t know how much time is left. So the faster I act, the better.

I sorted the acquisition conditions for the thousands of traits that came to mind and quietly headed for my next destination.

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