I Became the Academy’s Genius Shikigami Summoner

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟓𝟏

𝕒ẇ̇𝔢𝚋ṡ̇ṫ̇ᴏ𝕣𝘪𝙚𝔰.𝙘𝕠𝕞

After making an appointment with Seo Ji-an, I headed to the training grounds intending to kill time until evening.

It wasn’t that I didn’t want to rest, but I didn’t have time to waste like that with Act 2 of the main story just around the corner.

「𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙫𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙤𝙛 ⟪𝙃𝙚𝙡𝙡⟫ 𝙙𝙞𝙛𝙛𝙞𝙘𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙮 𝙞𝙨 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙚𝙙.」

If I had missed and failed to capture Sori-soe at this point, it would have definitely affected the future story, directly or indirectly.

I keenly realized that I had no future if I couldn’t foster the strength to respond to that change.

Chwichichwi,

“Come out.”

Puhwak!

As I formed a hand seal and chanted an incantation, a creature with a mottled yellow fur sprang out of my shadow.

It was Sori-soe, who had possessed the body of a leopard cat and formed a shikigami contract with me.

『What is it. Human.』

“. . . That’s why you’re the perfect pet.”

『Are you saying that to me right now?』

Honestly, I didn’t expect things to turn out like this.

When I asked him once before, it seemed that he couldn’t escape from this body because his soul was already bound by the contract.

Sori-soe was definitely a capable yokai, but it was questionable how much of that power he could exert in this state.

awebstories/com – TL: By the way, there’s no classification for this ‘Sori-soe’ character.

『Heh. Don’t worry in vain. I won’t be weakened just because of a difference in hosts.』

He said that, but to be honest, it didn’t reach me. In the first place, according to the setting, Sori-soe’s abilities were determined by the level of his host.

“. . . Can’t be helped.”

After all, even if he devoured a human and made him his shikigami, it would be difficult if he were related to the bereaved family.

I gave up and began testing Sori-soe’s abilities one by one in the training ground.

“Let’s fight once.”

First, I summoned a single Fierce Wolf and had it face off against Sori-soe, who had taken over the leopard cat’s body.

Thud.

Kwadduk!

『Nothing special. It’s a trivial opponent.』

The result was an easy victory for Sori-soe.

No matter how much he lacked traits for direct combat, the power gap from the basic level difference couldn’t be ignored.

So, in order to measure more accurately, I summoned Ggong-sam-yi, who was skilled in direct combat.

The result was disastrous.

Sori-soe was completely overpowered by Ggong-sam-yi in less than a minute after the battle began.

“As expected, he can’t display his full strength.”

『. . . . . . .』

In fact, that was only natural.

▶Traits(6/10)

【Existence Predator(A+)】

【Assimilation(A-)】

【Mimicry(B)】

【Dictator(B-)】

【Precision Manipulation(C+)】

【Researcher(C)】

He was a yokai whose strength lay in utilizing spells in the first place, so how could he do well if he was forced to fight head-on?

I tested him a little more, but his direct combat ability was only slightly above that of a low-ranking shikigami.

Sori-soe, whose pride seemed to be hurt, flicked his tail and conveyed his intention to me.

『Hand over your spiritual power.』

Upon hearing that, I sent him spiritual power through the link of the contract, and Sori-soe tested something for a long time before finally starting to activate his spell with a confident face.

『It seems possible. Watch closely.』

Whoosh.

Rustle.

My shadow flowed into Sori-soe as if it was seeping into the ground, and soon it wrapped around his body and grew in size.

What was created like that was Sori-soe, who had transformed into the size of a real leopard.

「. . . 𝙄𝙨 𝙞𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘼𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙤𝙧 𝙈𝙞𝙢𝙞𝙘𝙧𝙮 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙩?」

This was definitely an ability that was not mentioned in the original work. As I looked at him with an intrigued gaze, Sori-soe continued speaking with a satisfied face.

『I hate to admit it, but it seems like your ability and mine have good synergy.』

Listening to the explanation, it seemed that my Shadow Assimilation trait and Sori-soe’s ability had combined and harmonized.

Anyway, if this was possible, it seemed like it could be utilized in various ways depending on how it was used.

Satisfied, I sent Sori-soe back into the shadow.

As I was testing my own spells for a moment, someone appeared in the training ground. It was Hwang Ji-hak, the sophomore runner-up.

“Han Kang-yoon, you’re diligent.”

“Long time no see.”

I had settled in a rather outdated facility since I didn’t need excellent equipment right away, and it seemed that Hwang Ji-hak also used this place.

“Don’t mind me. I just came out to clear my head for a bit.”

We had seen each other’s faces a few times in the Advanced Class of Comprehensive Combat Training, but it was still awkward. However, Hwang Ji-hak stared at me without caring.

“. . . Why?”

“As I thought, it’s not my imagination. Your spiritual power has grown denser than before the vacation.”

Well, someone like Hwang Ji-hak would have noticed at a glance that I had grown by leaps and bounds.

Since I had intended to check the growth of the main characters after the vacation anyway, I also checked Hwang Ji-hak’s information.