I Became the Academy’s Genius Shikigami Summoner – Chapter 303

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟑𝟎𝟑

Han Kang-yoon’s party faced off against Byakuganwa and Yong-yeonshin, while Han Seo-ah was also carrying out her own mission.

“Are you. . . the Cheong-il?”

The man with raven black hair and unfathomably deep eyes slowly opened them and addressed Han Seo-ah.

“I’ve lived long enough to see many things. I never thought anyone would make it this far.”

“. . . . . .”

“Yes, I am the Cheong-il. What is your name?”

After accepting Han Kang-yoon’s request to enter the Eternal Labyrinth, Han Seo-ah had worked tirelessly and was on the verge of breaking through two previously uncharted dungeons.

And in the final labyrinth, the Labyrinth of Guilt, Han Seo-ah finally succeeded in awakening the Cheong-il, who had been trapped within a massive sealing formation.

“My name is Han Seo-ah. I have come here seeking your help.”

“A child of a prestigious family. . . Yet you have accomplished so much at such a young age. Truly remarkable. But what kind of help do you need?”

“There is chaos outside. The yokai of the past, once trapped in the Scapula Chamber, are running rampant, and the being at the end of it all, Polar Night, is too powerful for human hands to handle. The current state of Korea desperately needs the help of a hero like Cheong-il-nim.”

Upon hearing such shocking news, the Cheong-il remained silent for a long time, stroking his chin with his fingers. Then, he finally responded.

“Such a thing has. . . happened, you say. But it is a delicate matter.”

“What do you mean?”

“I cannot determine whether it is appropriate for me to intervene.”

Han Seo-ah tilted her head at his enigmatic words.

With everyone in the world, including the Cheong family to which he belonged, in danger, what reason could there be for hesitation?

“Do not look at me like that. It is not that I do not want to help. However. . . the cause and effect of this world are more complicated than you can imagine. And to be honest, I have a feeling that our meeting has deviated somewhat from that path.”

“Does that mean. . . Cheong-il-nim also possesses the power of prophecy?”

“It is different from that. This is closer to a personal talent. In any case, based on my life experiences, I have found that the further I deviate from the normal path of cause and effect, the more likely I am to encounter unfavorable consequences.”

Han Seo-ah found his words difficult to understand, but they seemed to be an important matter to the Cheong-il.

However, that did not mean she could back down. Han Kang-yoon had explicitly stated that he needed Cheong-il’s help, and Han Seo-ah trusted her brother’s words more than the Cheong-il standing before her.

“Even so, the fact remains that the outside world needs Cheong-il-nim’s help. I must fulfill my promise to my party and bring Cheong-il-nim back with me.”

“This is difficult. Even I cannot predict the consequences of my decision. I do not wish to speak ill, but are you prepared to bear the responsibility?”

“We can all work together to resolve the situation when the time comes. At the very least, we cannot turn away from the voices of all those who are asking for help, even if the future is uncertain. Isn’t that the mindset that an exorcist should have?”

Han Seo-ah expressed her own feelings almost as if she was questioning the Cheong-il. Although she realized that her words were somewhat disrespectful, the Cheong-il responded to Han Seo-ah with an air of satisfaction.

“Very well. If you are prepared to go that far, then it does not matter. My intuition is also far from perfect. I, Cheong-il, shall assist you in resolving the disturbance outside.”

“. . .Thank you!”

“Well, I may have made it sound impressive, but the truth is that neither of us could have broken through the final section of this labyrinth without the other. That is why I had to choose to seal myself away until those who were qualified gathered.”

Indeed, it was somewhat strange that someone of the Cheong-il’s caliber had been trapped and unable to pass through the labyrinth, but it seemed that this Labyrinth of Guilt was the kind of space that could not be cleared alone.

Han Seo-ah finally understood the situation and nodded to the Cheong-il.

“Then let us break through this wretched place. The two of us.”

“Yes. I will do my best.”

And so, Han Seo-ah succeeded in persuading the Cheong-il, and finally set out on the final battle to clear the labyrinth.

Thinking only of Han Kang-yoon and her other comrades who were fighting outside.

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

“Congratulations! You have accomplished something truly remarkable!”

As we returned to the boundary after meeting Hwang Ji-hak and the others outside the lake and defeating Yong-yeonshin, the exorcists who had heard about the situation praised us.

However, despite receiving such admiring glances, the expressions on most of our faces were grim.

This was because we could feel in our bones that an even greater crisis was approaching.

“. . .What do you think?”

“I have a bad feeling. I don’t think we have much time.”

We had defeated the great yokai, but the sinister aura that had been piercing our flesh remained.

We had all been exhausted from the fierce battle against Byakuganwa and Yong-yeonshin, and we needed to recover our strength quickly before the next battle.

“We will take care of the aftermath, so please rest as much as you can in the meantime.”

“Thank you.”

If it was Hwang Ji-hak, the new elder of the Hwang family, we could rest assured. We hurriedly entered the prepared lodgings and fell into a deep sleep, recovering our strength.

And then, just half a day later, we were faced with urgent news.

“Ugh. Is it starting already?”

“. . .Seoul and Busan. Two confirmed locations. What should we do?”

In terms of location, it would be better to leave Seoul to the rest of the party and head to Busan ourselves.

However, even against the Yong-yeonshin we had a hard time, so I wasn’t sure whether just the three of us could handle a greater yokai.

「. . .𝙄 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙣’𝙩 𝙛𝙪𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙢𝙮 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙩𝙝 𝙮𝙚𝙩.」

Although I had not noticed it during the battle, the ability of the new Shadow Assimilation trait was a power that consumed a great deal of energy.

We were not at our best.

Perhaps it would be better to join forces with the rest of the party.

As we were pondering this, an exorcist from the headquarters suddenly approached us and handed us a communicator connected to someone.

Click.

『Oppa, can you hear me?』

“Seo-ah? Are you back?”

『Yes. The communication is not very good, so I’ll keep it brief. I found Cheong-il-nim in the labyrinth. And we are now on our way to Busan.』

That was really good news.

To be honest, I thought it would take a little longer or that we might even fail, but it seemed that Seo-ah had successfully cleared the labyrinth and secured the cooperation of the Cheong-il.

“Then we should also go to Busan. . . . . . .”

『No, you should go to Seoul.』

A male voice that I had never heard before in reality, but I knew exactly who it was.

“. . .Are you the Cheong-il-nim?”

『Yes. You must be Han Kang-yoon. The one who appeared in Busan is manageable as long as we have enough time. However, the sky in the northwest is ominous, so it is likely that Seoul is facing a great threat.』

If it was the words of the Cheong-il, a hero of the past, we could trust them.

I quickly finished my thoughts and supported his opinion.

“Understood. Then we will head to Seoul first.”

『Good. I wish you all the best.』

The members of my party, who had been informed of the situation beforehand, nodded in agreement, while the exorcist from the headquarters  standing next to me tilted his head at the name Cheong-il and handed the communicator back to me.

In any case, our destination was as good as decided.

“Let’s hurry to Seoul.”

And so, we once again took to the skies with the help of the shikigami.

Hwang Ji-hak and Jung Han-sol remained here to guard the boundary, while three special-grade exorcists, including Cheong So-ha, headed to Busan in case of any unforeseen circumstances.

And as we arrived in Seoul, we were greeted by exorcists battling two yokai with the horns of a giant mountain goat.

「. . .𝘼𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘽𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙒𝙝𝙞𝙩𝙚 𝙏𝙬𝙞𝙣 𝙂𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙩𝙨?」

The two shared a single soul and were immortal great yokai.

I distinctly remember that they appeared in the original work after Yong-yeonshin.

The ones facing them were the elders of the prestigious families, the special-grade exorcist Yoon Hae-cheol from the headquarters, and Yoo Ha-on and her party, but surprisingly, it seemed that our side had the upper hand.

『Kyaaaah!』

“. . .I won’t let you escape.”

Whoosh!

Clang!

Yoo Ha-on and Arietta were holding back the two in the forefront.

Arietta in particular had managed to perfectly master the knowledge that Xue Laifu had passed on to her, and was completely suppressing her opponent by deploying his grand spell, Blood World Array.

“What’s the situation?”

“They suddenly appeared a few hours ago. We evacuated all the people, and we plan to defeat them here.”

To the naked eye, the situation did not seem bad, but the expressions on the faces of Yoo Ha-on and her party, who were facing the two, were not so bright.

“Isn’t something a little. . . strange?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, I don’t know if I should say this, but the enemies are weaker than I thought, or rather, they don’t seem to be using their full strength. . . . . . .”

As Cheong Juhwa said, the Black and White Twin Ghosts were unable to break through everyone’s combined attacks and were constantly being forced into a defensive position.

It was certainly a bit strange that they were unable to retaliate to this extent, so I hurriedly checked their information.

【White Ghost】

▶Level 85 (78)

【Black Ghost】

▶Level 85 (76)

Something was strange.

For some reason, they seemed to be significantly weakened and unable to exert their full power.

And it was only after checking their status that I realized that there was another being lurking around Seoul, the source of the ominous aura.

“They’re not the main ones. There’s another being out there.”

“. . .Ugh, I thought something was strange.”

However, that did not mean we could lower our guard. Even though they were weakened, the Black and White Twin Ghosts were still formidable opponents.

「𝙒𝙝𝙤 𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙩? 𝙊𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙭𝙩 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙖𝙛𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙂𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙆𝙞𝙣𝙜.」

The last great yokai of the Scapula Chamber besides Polar Night, a monster that boasted unrivaled power and tormented players all by itself.

However, the current situation was different from when I knew the two.

In particular, I had no idea what the existence of the weakened Black and White Twin Ghosts implied.

Amidst such doubts, it was the voice of a terrified exorcist that drew everyone’s attention.

“H-Hey. What is that. . . thing?”

It was a black fog.

No, that was an understatement, but at least it was a simple way to describe it.

And the Black and White Twin Ghosts, who were slowly beginning to appear around them, began to tremble in fear and try to leave their positions.

“. . .I told you I wouldn’t let you go.”

Whoosh!

As Arietta used the power of the Blood World Array to mark them, their movements instantly froze.

Although it was only a brief restraint, the ominously surging black fog reached them in the meantime.

And then.

『Kyaaaah!』

Thud!

Clang!

In an instant, the Black and White Twin Ghosts were swept into the fog, screaming in agony and disappearing without a trace.

“What the. . . . . . . .”

“C-Could it be that the fog is also. . . . . . . .”

A yokai in and of itself.

That was my judgment, and without hesitation, I used my sentiment ability to confirm its identity.

And then.

Ding!

【Darkness Eater】

▶Level –

▶Ability Scores

【Stamina: -】

【spiritual power : -】

【Spellcraft: -】

【Mental Strength: -】

▶Trait (0/10)

Unbelievable information greeted my shocked eyes.

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