I Became the Academy’s Genius Shikigami Summoner – Chapter 255

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟓𝟓

After a moment of stunned silence, the Taoist priests of Daehwa-rym, seeing that the situation had been taken care of, hesitantly began to approach me.

“A-Are you saying it’s dead?”

“Yes. I have definitively exorcised it.”

“Just who are you? That was clearly no ordinary yokai. . . . . . .”

Jang Ri-gyeong, the leader of the group, asked me, his voice somewhat timid, as if he still could not believe what he had seen.

He had clearly been taken aback by my display of power, as his demeanor had changed markedly.

“I have no particular identity. I simply wander and exorcise yokai.”

“. . . First, our thanks for saving our lives. Without you, we would have all been trapped in the city and become nothing more than a meal for that yokai.”

Jang Ri-gyeong bowed deeply, then continued.

“I do not know how you have reached such a level at your young age. Or perhaps that is also an illusion created through sorcery?”

I felt no need to correct his misunderstanding, so I answered with silence.

Jang Ri-gyeong let out a gasp of admiration, then, after a brief pause, spoke to me in a hushed tone.

“If it is not too presumptuous, might I ask you to visit our Daehwa-rym in the future? We could properly repay your kindness, and I am certain that even our Patriarch would welcome a Taoist of your caliber.”

As there seemed to be no ulterior motive in his words, I gave a slight nod.

We then gathered the townspeople who had been freed from the city’s enchantment and checked their conditions closely.

“Is this everyone?”

“It appears so. They are all very weak, but none seem to be in immediate danger.”

The reason for this was not difficult to guess.

Those who had been drained of their vitality to the point that they could no longer recover had likely been directly consumed by the yokai.

While everyone refrained from mentioning that fact, Jang Ri-gyeong spoke with a grim expression.

“Even so, this is troubling. They are in no condition to walk, much less receive treatment. How are we to return to Cheongra with them. . . . . . .”

Indeed.

Considering the significant distance to Cheongra, transporting them would clearly be no easy task.

“We could use shikigami to move them, but we would have to stop repeatedly for rest and recovery. It does not seem feasible.”

I found myself smiling slightly at his genuinely troubled expression.

After all, that would be common sense for someone who normally used shikigami.

It felt strange to be reminded of such an obvious fact.

“Do not worry. I will transport them.”

“W-What? Are you sure?”

“Yes. I do not need to summon particularly powerful shikigami for mere transportation.”

I swiftly summoned several shikigami and had them carry the victims and their belongings, drawing exclamations of admiration from the Daehwa-rym priests.

In that manner, we were able to arrive back in Cheongra just as the sun was setting.

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

“My gratitude knows no bounds, and as I promised, I shall do all I can to honor your request.”

The merchants expressed their utmost gratitude to me, their comrades having been safely rescued and returned.

In particular, Heo Chun-gyeong, the representative, seemed to regard me as some kind of deity, perhaps having heard something from Jang Ri-gyeong.

“Without you, we would not have dared to attempt a solution. I apologize for my previous rudeness.”

“Not at all. I would have done the same if my comrades’ lives were at stake.”

After receiving their thanks for some time, I was finally able to convey my original business to them.

“A message?”

“Yes. If you encounter any Taoists who match the characteristics I have described, please relay this message to them.”

A single sentence: Come to Jinyeon Mountain.

Perhaps that alone would suffice to convey my destination, and it might prevent any potential misunderstandings.

“Understood. I shall inform not only our own merchants but also others with whom we are acquainted.”

“I would be most grateful if you could do so.”

Heo Chun-gyeong and his party were quite renowned among the merchants, so their assistance might prove somewhat fruitful.

After parting ways with the merchants, I returned to the lodgings I had secured in advance and calmly sorted out the situation.

「𝙁𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙄 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙣𝙤 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙧𝙮 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙛𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙨.」

Thanks to the goodwill of the merchants and the Taoists of Daehwa-rym, I had accumulated quite a sum of money.

I was unlikely to run out of funds during my future travels, at least.

『Do you intend to head to the northern town, as rumored?』

“I am considering it.”

There were rumors of a northern town, four days’ journey away, where Taoists were being hired and gathered in large numbers.

With luck, I might encounter my party, and even if I did not, it certainly seemed like an interesting development.

『After all, you must travel somewhere.』

That was true.

Whatever the case, I could not gain anything by remaining idle in one place.

Now was the time to keep moving, without pause.

Having thus prepared to depart, I met So-yul one last time.

As I had vaguely guessed the last time, she had managed to find work and secure a place to stay.

“Yes. I should be fine for a while. Are you leaving, Oppa?”

“Yes.”

“. . . Thank you for everything.”

With a smile, So-yul turned and headed back into the shop to help with the restaurant work.

I watched her for a moment, then quietly turned and walked toward the city gate.

There, waiting as if they had been expecting me, were Jang Ri-gyeong and his party, who were similarly equipped to travel and were purchasing supplies from the merchants.

“It seems you also intend to head north. Would you care to accompany us?”

“Are you also going because of the rumors?”

“Indeed. Apparently, the Pyeong Clan, who currently govern the area, are spending a great deal of money to hire Taoists. With your skills, you would likely earn a handsome sum.”

Daehwa-rym was essentially a group of Taoists who pursued profit, so it made sense that they would have no reason not to go.

“Do you have any idea about their circumstances?”

“That, we do not know. Perhaps a troublesome yokai has taken up residence near the city, or perhaps they have some other business.”

However, judging by the scale of their operation, it was unlikely to be anything trivial.

As it certainly seemed to align with my own goals in several ways, I nodded and accepted Jang Ri-gyeong’s proposal. And so, I set off with them.

“I heard you are looking for several people. What is your relationship with them?”

Cheol-woong approached me with a gentle manner, speaking in a soft voice.

He too seemed to have changed his attitude completely since the previous incident, perhaps having realized something.

In fact, his gaze was so earnest that it made me feel somewhat uncomfortable.

“They are my comrades. Due to certain circumstances, we were separated and lost contact, and we are searching for each other.”

“Oh, are they also Taoists as strong as you?”

“We are roughly equal in skill.”

“That’s amazing.”

Cheol-woong shook his head as if he were tired, then continued speaking.

“You don’t seem particularly interested in money, but what is your goal?”

“. . . It is difficult to summarize in a single sentence. In short, I seek to fight powerful yokai to increase my strength and find some kind of answer.”

“To grow stronger there? Are you trying to defeat the legendary demon lord?”

“What is that?”

At my question, Cheol-woong tilted his head and asked me instead.

“It’s a monster from an old, fictional story. They say it might still be alive somewhere in the world.”

Only then did I realize what yokai Cheol-woong was referring to.

It was none other than Polar Night, the king of all yokai.

「𝙎𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩’𝙨 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙞𝙩 𝙞𝙨.」

I did not know exactly when, but if Ho-chung was alive, Polar Night would certainly be alive and well in this era as well.

No doubt it was nursing the wounds it had received when one of my predecessors, who shared the same destiny as Ho-chung, sacrificed themselves to defeat it.

In the original story, Yoo Ha-on and her party returned after a brief period of training, so they had no chance to encounter it, but this time, things were different.

「𝙄𝙛 𝙄 𝙨𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙘𝙝 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙞𝙩, 𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙩 𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙄 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙞𝙩 𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙥𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚?」

Of course, there was no particular benefit to doing so.

Anyway, this is a secret world, a space separate from reality.

Moreover, I doubted that even the technique of Sancheon could perfectly recreate Polar Night, who had been called the king of all yokai in the original story.

「𝙀𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙨𝙤. . . . . . .」

It was a somewhat intriguing prospect.

Whatever the case, it was an opportunity to catch a glimpse of the nemesis I would eventually face.

“Do you happen to know of any yokai who have made a name for themselves in recent decades?”

“Hmm? Well, as a member of Daehwa-rym, I know a fair amount. But I think you might know more than I do.”

“I have not been in the world for very long, so unlike my comrades, I am rather ignorant.”

“Oh, I see. You’ve been in closed-door training?”

Perhaps not wishing to delve too deeply into the matter, Cheol-woong pondered for a moment, then began to recite the names he could recall.

“First, there is Gyeonggang, who is said to live somewhere on a mountain peak that reaches into the clouds. There is also Guimei, who wields sorcery greater than any renowned Taoist. And the leaders of the yokai group Satou-pai are also quite powerful.”

“Is that so?”

“There are many others, but . . . . . . That’s all I can think of for now.”

That alone was quite a bit of information. Most importantly, I had learned that Satou-pai was active in this era.

「𝙄𝙩 𝙨𝙚𝙚𝙢𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙙𝙞𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮. . . . . . .」

In fact, I had been feeling a strange sense of discomfort ever since I began traveling.

Now that I thought about it, it seemed that the era of martial arts that Yoo Ha-on and her party had traveled to was a different time period altogether.

「𝙄 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙛𝙤𝙘𝙪𝙨 𝙤𝙣 𝙜𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙣𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙖𝙨 𝙬𝙚𝙡𝙡.」

And so, during the four-day journey, I was able to acquire a great deal of common knowledge and information from the Taoists of Daehwa-rym.

To be honest, it had been an impulsive decision to join them, but it had turned out to be far more helpful than I had expected.

「𝙋𝙚𝙧𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙨 𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙗𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙝𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙫𝙞𝙨𝙞𝙩 𝘿𝙖𝙚𝙝𝙬𝙖-𝙧𝙮𝙢 𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙨𝙪𝙜𝙜𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙙. . . . . . .」

From what I had heard, Daehwa-rym had several Taoists who were even more skilled than Jang Ri-gyeong’s party, and I might be able to obtain a great deal of information from them.

Promising myself that I would visit them if the opportunity arose, I finally set foot in Hubaek, the city across the river from Cheongra, together with Jang Ri-gyeong and his party.

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