I Became the Academy’s Genius Shikigami Summoner

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟒𝟗

𝙖𝕨ė̇𝔟𝐬𝘵𝙤𝙧𝚒𝐞𝚜.ċ̇𝙤ᴍ

“Those greenhorns who came looking for the village.”

“. . . . . . .”

“I was interested in your knowledge. If you don’t resist, I’ll let you live a painless death.”

The emotionless gaze that saw humans as nothing more than food was focused on me, but I was the same person who had stood my ground against that Hektel not too long ago. There was not an ounce of fear in me that would make me cower at this level of pressure.

Creak.

On the contrary, I took a step forward and calmly formed hand signs with my fingers.

“Fierce Wolf, Though Fox, Elder Water Ghost.”

Poof!

Roar!

Snap!

『Growl!』

『Screech!』

『Kehe.』

I quickly recreated two Fierce Wolves, a Though Fox, and an Elder Water Ghost. As I summoned them all, Sori-soe sent a gaze of interest in my direction.

Ignoring Sori-soe’s gaze, I asked Lee Jung-il in a small voice.

“What kind of techniques did your colleague specialize in?”

“He mostly used Rending Wave, Void Blade, and the binding technique, Void Slaughter.”

“. . . Was he perhaps a close-range combat specialist?”

“W-Well, yes.”

Void Blade is one of the intermediate-level attack techniques that exorcists who enjoy close-range combat often use. And, as I had a bad feeling about, it seemed that my premonition had hit the mark.

「𝙂𝙪𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙄’𝙡𝙡 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙫𝙞𝙨𝙚.」

If things turned out this way, the forced training I had undergone under Baek So-yul’s guidance would actually turn out to be a blessing in disguise.

Because after that, I had run countless simulations in my head against opponents who were physical fighters.

“Can you take care of the other one?”

“. . . Yes. I’ll try.”

“You don’t have to win by force, so you can just take a defensive stance.”

After finishing my sentence, I immediately ran in a circle and headed toward the direction where Kim Jun-sik’s body was.

Then, I threw a talisman without hesitation and attempted to attack first.

Clang!

“Rending Wave.”

A clear light radiated from the talisman, and Kim Jun-sik, who seemed to have been waiting for this, countered it with the same spell.

Whoosh.

“Rending Wave.”

Boooom!

A shockwave erupted along with a surge of spiritual power. It was definitely a technique infused with the power and experience of a 3rd-grade exorcist. In terms of pure destructive power, it could be said to be superior to mine.

I had hoped it wouldn’t be the case, but it seemed that the rumor about being able to cast spells by controlling the devoured bodies was true after all.

“Charge.”

Clang!

Thud!

Growl!

As Kim Jun-sik gestured, the monsters that had also been devoured by Sori-soe began to rush toward me at a rapid pace.

『Growl!』

『Roar!』

Caw!

Thud!

The two Fierce Wolves charged forward and confronted them, but it seemed that they wouldn’t be able to hold on for long because the monsters’ physical abilities had been strengthened by Sori-soe’s technique.

As an opening appeared, Kim Jun-sik also used a strengthening spell and charged straight at me.

Clang!

Whoosh,

“Void Blade.”

Kim Jun-sik’s right arm fluttered like a mirage.

The completion level of the technique was considerable. If I were to get hit head-on, there was a high chance that the match would end in one blow.

Of course, I had no intention of getting hit by it even once.

“Azure Serpent Binding.”

Rustle!

Bam!

A blue chain shot out from the talisman that I had thrown onto the tree earlier, and I grabbed it with my hand and pulled myself up onto a branch as if I were being flung.

At the same time, the Elder Water Ghost, which had been keeping a certain distance away following my instructions, unleashed a powerful curse at Kim Jun-sik, who was defenseless.

『Screech!』

Crackle!

Despite being hit head-on by the curse, causing his blood vessels to burst and his flesh to tear, Sori-soe, who had taken control of Kim Jun-sik’s body, simply stared up at me on the tree with a calm expression.

“You move much better than the exorcists I’ve devoured so far. Or should I say exorcists here?”

Caw!

And with just a single leap, Kim Jun-sik’s body reached the top of the tree I was standing on.

A level of physical ability that was absolutely impossible to achieve with the power of a 3rd-grade exorcist. It made sense that he would be so relaxed.

However, I had already predicted that this kind of attack would be possible.

Clang.

I immediately jumped backward off the tree and sent a signal to the Though Fox that was perched on my shoulder.

『Screech!』

A strong telepathic wave shot toward Kim Jun-sik, and Kim Jun-sik’s expression instantly hardened as he stopped moving.

「𝙅𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙖𝙨 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙚𝙙.」

The ability that the Though Fox possessed could be said to be in a similar category to Sori-soe’s, in a way.

Of course, Sori-soe was the superior one, but even so, the difference wasn’t extreme.

In addition, since Sori-soe was controlling and moving multiple entities at the same time, it required a higher level of concentration to maintain the technique.

In other words, it meant that if he were to be hit by the Though Fox’s telepathic wave, which was focused solely on the opponent in front of him, his technique would inevitably become unstable for a moment.

“Evolution!”