I Became the Academy’s Genius Shikigami Summoner – Chapter 32.2

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━𝐚𝕨𝙚𝘣s𝐭𝔬𝚛𝕚𝘦𝐬.𝕔𝐨𝔪━

After parting ways with Baek Tae-gang and his group, we approached the Defense Corps when Cheong Ji-yeon spoke up.

“Why don’t you go in first? I have something to talk to you about privately.”

“. . .Okay.”

She was referring to Cheong Juhwa. Cheong Juhwa tilted her head for a moment before turning and heading towards the Defense Corps.

That left Cheong Ji-yeon and me alone.

Cheong Ji-yeon smiled and spoke to me.

“Shall we take a walk?”

“. . . . . .”

Just like that, I followed Cheong Ji-yeon to a certain place. We arrived at an empty lot with no one around.

“A bet is a bet. I have to give you what I promised.”

Fwoosh!

Thud.

“. . .Are you sure you want to give it to me? To be honest, I was half-joking.”

“I don’t lie about things like this.”

I had a gut feeling that if I took this any further, it would lead to trouble down the road.

As expected, Cheong Ji-yeon continued speaking with a serious face.

“People like me can usually tell what kind of person someone is.”

Her gaze eventually fell on the alley where Cheong Juhwa had disappeared.

“That girl definitely has the potential to become strong.”

“Is that so?”

“I knew it the first time I saw her. She’ll probably reach the special grade someday.”

That was a very accurate assessment.

It’s amazing that she could tell that much just by seeing her for a short while.

However, before I could even express my admiration, Cheong Ji-yeon continued with a somewhat overbearing smile.

“And you. . . . . .”

Boom.

At that moment, a massive amount of spiritual power erupted from Cheong Ji-yeon.

“You’re definitely dangerous. Very dangerous.”

What I felt immediately after that was a chilling sense of pressure and murderous intent.

“I don’t really like Cheong So-ha. She’s from an enemy faction, even though we’ve cut ties.”

“. . . . . .”

She even knew that I was connected to Cheong So-ha. Somehow, I started to get a bad feeling about this.

“Tell me, why did you come here, even borrowing her power?”

“Are you saying that I’m scheming something?”

To be honest, it wasn’t entirely wrong, but it was my personal goal, far from any kind of conspiracy. However, Cheong Ji-yeon seemed to have doubts after looking into my background.

“. . .Well, if you lose an arm or a leg, you’ll talk even if you don’t want to.”

Screech.

In an instant, the surrounding area was enveloped in an invisible barrier. It happened so quickly that there was no time to interfere.

「It seems like she’s serious about this.」

This was dangerous. 

To be honest, I never thought I would end up in a hostile relationship with someone like Cheong Ji-yeon.

Whoosh.

“Rending Wave.”

Crackle!

The barrier was incredibly strong. At least, it couldn’t be broken with an ordinary intermediate spell.

「𝙄 𝙜𝙪𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙄 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙖𝙩 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙩 𝙖𝙣 𝙖𝙙𝙫𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙙 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙤𝙧 𝙝𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙖 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚.」

I looked at Cheong Ji-yeon, who was smiling faintly with a hardened expression.

“Looks like you’ve given up on escaping?”

“. . .I have no intention of fighting.”

“I have plenty.”

Crash!

As soon as she finished speaking, she scattered blue beads into the air.

And holding up a red talisman, she formed a hand sign.

Rustle.

“Crimson Bloom.”

Whoosh.

Rumble.

Thud.

Then, the beads that had turned red sank into the ground and began to emit spiritual power.

“. . . . . .”

I know what kind of spell Cheong Ji-yeon is casting. It’s the preparatory stage for a large-scale binding spell.

And it was one of the more powerful binding spells out there.

“Do you really have to go this far?”

“I can’t stand people who get on my nerves.”

She showed no sign of backing down. In the end, I had to somehow overcome this crisis with my own strength.

“Elder Water Ghost, Thought Fox.”

Boom.

『Kyeeek!』

『King!』

As I called out their names, my shadow rippled and spat out two familiar shikigami.

Swish!

Whoosh!

Thought Fox somersaulted in the air and landed on my shoulder, while Elder Water Ghost glared at the opponent and exhaled a chilling aura.

“Oh, for a student, you seem to have some pretty strong shikigami.”

“Didn’t you already investigate everything?”

“I haven’t heard of those two.”

Of course not. Aside from Seo Ji-an and Sophia, I couldn’t think of anyone who had seen Thought Fox and Elder Water Ghost in person.

“Are you not going to bring out the rest?”

“These are the only ones left. The rest were all expelled.”

“That’s unfortunate.”

She said that, but she didn’t seem to be disappointed at all. Cheong Ji-yeon didn’t wait any longer and began to chant the incantation for the advanced spell she had been preparing.

Azure Path, Nurturing Land of Flowers.

Void Accordance of the Empty Forest.

“Art of Crimson Bloom.”

Boom.

Rustle.

From all over the ground where the beads had been buried, flower stems made of spiritual power began to sprout.

The stems were covered in sharp thorns, and they were quite large.

There’s no doubt that if I were to get caught by those, I wouldn’t be able to escape unharmed.

“Elder Water Ghost.”

『Kehick?』

At my calm voice, Elder Water Ghost nodded. It already knew that this was an attack that couldn’t be stopped with its own curse.

“Go ahead and shoot it.”

『Kyeeek. . . . . .』

Whoosh!

Elder Water Ghost reluctantly shot its curse at the ground, and the stems that were lunging towards me momentarily recoiled.

At that moment, I focused my mind and observed the spiritual power blooming everywhere.

And finally, I found what I was looking for.

「𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙩 𝙞𝙨.」

Grab.

Whoosh.

I took out one of the black talismans that I had specially made with Cheong Juhwa’s help from my waistband and grabbed it. And without hesitation, I poured spiritual power into it.

“Barrier-Eating Void.”

Boom!

Crash!

It was the same spell I had used to break Sophia’s barrier before.

The intermediate spell, filled with curses, struck the ground directly.

Immediately after, I heard the sound of something shattering.

Crack!

“. . .How did you know?”

The crimson blooms faded away, their grandeur disappearing.

Cheong Ji-yeon, who had been watching the situation, asked me as if she was interested.

“I could tell by looking.”

“You’re a cheeky one.”

Originally, the Crimson Bloom spell required one central medium. I knew that from the game’s lore.

So what could it be? That meant that all but one of those many beads were decoys.

“. . .Even so, it’s not a spell that can be broken so easily.”

All I can say is that the compatibility in that part was good.

The medium for casting the Crimson Bloom spell is a spirit orb created by gathering pure spiritual power.

It is relatively vulnerable to curses and black magic spells.

Therefore, my curse, which had received a full boost from my black magic stat, was able to deal significant damage.

“I’m starting to get really excited now.”

Cheong Ji-yeon smiled happily and immediately prepared her next attack.

In an instant, spiritual power gathered and each of them took on a role to form a spell.

「𝙎𝙥𝙞𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙡 𝙥𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 3 𝙤’𝙘𝙡𝙤𝙘𝙠 𝙙𝙞𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣, 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙖 𝙨𝙡𝙖𝙨𝙝.」

I analyzed it with all my mental faculties. I had to figure everything out in less than a second.

The technique I was about to use required impeccable timing to succeed.

「𝙄𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙢𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙡𝙡, 𝙎𝙥𝙞𝙧𝙞𝙩 𝘽𝙪𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙩.」

The analysis was complete. The spell she was constructing was an upper-level intermediate attack spell.

It was a spell that fired a curse at the opponent’s soul by offering spiritual power as a sacrifice and asking a deity for a wish.

「𝙄𝙩’𝙨 𝙖 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙮 𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙤𝙧 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙡𝙡, 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙞𝙣 𝙑𝙤𝙡𝙪𝙢𝙚 1.」

But it was enough. I had seen Spirit Bullet a few times in PVP. I slowly timed it and held the talisman in my hand.

And the moment Cheong Ji-yeon cast her spell, I also chanted the incantation.

“Spirit Bullet!”

“Rending Wave!”

My Rending Wave was a lower-grade attack spell, and Spirit Bullet was an upper-level intermediate attack spell.

Considering the difference in our levels, the outcome seemed clear.

However.

Boom!

Zoooom─!

“What the. . . . . . .”

My weakly fired spell completely shattered Cheong Ji-yeon’s Spirit Bullet without a trace.

Severance.

One of the so-called secret techniques on their side had finally revealed itself to the world.

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