Academy's Gumiho is a Magic Genius

"I don't know what nonsense you're spouting, but do you really think I'll just stand still?"

"Don't worry. You'll have no choice but to comply, whether you like it or not."

"No, before you even try anything, your eyes will pop out first. If you go blind, maybe you'll learn your place."

The guy was seriously aiming for my eyes.

Huh, his taste is quite unique.

It didn't seem like he was just trying to intimidate me. You could tell by looking into his eyes.

"But—"

Il-young's gaze shifted to the distant scenery.

He was staring intently at a boy in a school uniform holding a hand axe.

"—Before that, I'll have to kill all the witnesses."

Even if they weren't witnesses, he'd probably kill them anyway.

As I listened to his words, I grabbed the back of my neck.

This guy is worse than I thought.

There wasn't an ounce of falsehood in the assassin's words, filled with killing intent.

He was willing to kill innocent, young students just because they might interfere with his mission.

"For someone who's supposed to be a shadow of the Elder Council, you're quite low and petty, aren't you?"

In my lifetime, I've seen countless assassins, but this is the first time I've seen one who couldn't suppress his emotions.

An assassin must first kill their own humanity and morality to truly take the first step.

In that sense, the guy in front of me—

No, the three shadows dispatched here were utterly pathetic.

From the Elder Council's perspective, they were probably disposable.

"...."

"Why so quiet all of a sudden? Just a moment ago, you were targeting a kid, oozing killing intent. Oh, maybe—"

A sneer formed on my face.

I looked down at him with a gaze that seemed to pity something pitiful.

"Did you not know who your master is?"

"...."

At my words, the shadow dressed in black closed his mouth.

Doesn't he know that silence in this situation is tantamount to agreement?

It seems he hasn't received extensive assassin training.

If he had, he wouldn't be reacting like this.

He should at least pretend to stab my weak point with a dagger.

This is neither here nor there.

'Well, I'm feeling threatened by this neither-here-nor-there guy.'

My body hasn't fully recovered yet.

Thanks to the elixir, all my external wounds have healed, but my internal injuries still need time.

Especially my leg joints.

In other words, running away is completely out of the question.

Then I'll have to fight, but I'm not sure how much firepower I can muster with my already weak body now injured internally.

If I make a mistake and get injured again, there won't be any elixir this time.

'I'll buy as much time as I can with words and focus on long-range combat.'

I'm not sure how long I can fight in this state, with both my stamina and mana depleted.

Well, I'll just have to do my best.

"Hey, Il-young. Let's not be so petty as to target a kid."

"Petty?"

The man's eyes glinted with murderous intent.

Though Lee Ji hesitated under the intense pressure, I calmly continued.

"Yeah, petty. He's just a kid, not even twenty yet."

"...Then what about you?"

"I'm an adult. Same goes for you guys."

"You're talking nonsense."

Whoosh!

A dagger flew through the air, cutting through the wind.

It wasn't aimed at me but at where Lee Ji was standing.

I raised my hand and erected a wall of fire.

[Pyrokinesis]

Clang!

There was a loud metallic sound, as if the dagger had collided with the flames.

Especially since the dagger was so fast, the sound was loud.

He really threw that dagger with the intent to kill Lee Ji.

"Really petty."

"That's what being an adult is!"

"From where I stand, you're just a kid too."

Sizzle!

Il-young, holding two shadow daggers in his hands, swung his arms wide.

Observing his movements carefully, I scattered two sparks into the air.

The sparks quickly grew and ignited.

The flames obscured Il-young's vision and bound his hands.

If he has no countermeasure against flames, he won't be able to approach recklessly.

That's what I thought, but—

Whoosh!

Il-young's arm cut through the flames and reached me.

Burns or whatever, it seems he's targeting me first.

This guy is completely insane.

Clank!

The sound of metal clashing against metal.

But this time, the sound was heavier than before.

"A shield made of flames. And quite durable too."

"Right? It's a useful spell, even if I do say so myself."

"Yeah, a useful spell. Too bad the caster is so weak."

Crash!

A giant shadow rose from the ground like a hand.

The massive hand easily crushed the flame shield.

If I get caught by that hand, I won't even have bones left.

Of course, I don't have to worry about that.

The Elder Council, especially the 5th Elder, who oversees the family's military and the Nine-Tail Guild's guild master, hates troublesome situations.

'If I die now, the succession will be a complete mess.'

Even without real power, I'm still the family head.

If I die, the power struggle between my sisters and the elders will begin, leading to the family's collapse.

At least until the succession is clear, they won't dare kill me.

'Though I'm not sure how long that will last.'

I don't know much about the 5th Elder.

Eve never explained the elders of the Cheonho Family in detail.

From the perspective of the novel's protagonist, Kyle, the Cheonho Family is just a side story.

But one thing's for sure—he doesn't seem like the patient type.

If he gets annoyed, he won't hesitate to kill me, even if I'm the family head.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have sent such a nasty shadow.

Whoosh!

The shadow on the ground rippled.

Dozens of hands stretched out, writhing to grab my legs.

If I get caught by those hands, I'm done for.

[Demon Eye—Future Sight]

My eyes, tinged with purple, saw the future.

Though it was only a short glimpse into the future, it was enough to shake off those hands.

If anything's lacking, it's my mana.

After using various techniques, including [Heat Yang Finger], my body has reached its limit.

I'm in a state where I could collapse at any moment.

In that brief moment of opening—

Il-young didn't miss it.

Creating shadow daggers in both hands, he immediately closed the distance to me.

Caught off guard by the sudden approach, I instinctively used [Heat Yang Finger] with both hands to deflect him.

My hands stung.

"Ah, that really hurts...."

"Idiot! What can you do with those fingers?"

"...Yeah, my fingers got a little burned."

Il-young pointed at my hands.

Even at a glance, my hands were in bad shape.

From overusing [Heat Yang Finger], my fingers were severely burned.

It's not as bad as a third-degree burn, but I'll have scars for life.

No big deal.

But close combat is out of the question for now.

No choice.

I scooped up the liquid pooled on the ground into my palm.

Wait, can I even call this a liquid?

As I held the thick, viscous liquid, my gloves began to corrode.

I can't fight while holding this.

I'll have to lure him over.

I plan to use this as a substitute for my hands in close combat.

Just then—

The sensation in my palm made me laugh involuntarily.

This should work.

"Puhaha!"

"Are you laughing in this situation?"

"Well, it's just too funny."

Crash!

A massive pressure weighed down on my body.

Il-young knew the tide had turned in my favour.

Seeing me laugh in this situation must have made him feel uneasy.

I provoked him to distract him from my palm.

"Hey, if I don't laugh now, when will I? I didn't expect a shadow to be so bad at hiding their true intentions."

"True intentions?"

"Yeah, true intentions."

"What nonsense are you spouting? Are you delirious from the pain of the burns?"

"No, it's just too obvious. You never planned to save your comrades here, did you?"

Il-young flinched at my words.

Seems my guess was right.

Il-young's reaction was too honest.

At that moment, Il-young's shadow shot towards my back like a thorn.

I flicked my fingers and responded with a wall of fire.

But in that instant, he had already closed the distance to my face.

"I can tolerate you mocking me, but I can't stand you insulting my fallen comrades."

At a distance where the slightest movement could mean death—

He threatened me, exuding thick killing intent.

It was ridiculous.

"That's not possible."

"Then...."

"You couldn't even save your comrades. Aren't you putting on too much of a show?"

"You bastard!"

Il-young's killing intent grew even more intense.

He swung his arm wide, aiming for mine.

Following his hand, the shadow revealed a sharp blade, vibrating like a chainsaw.

But the shadow never reached me.

Because I had spread my mana like a sturdy, wide shield.

This time, I based it on [Double Helix], so it wouldn't break easily.

Hiding behind the shield, I smirked and said,

"Honestly, you don't care about your comrades at all. What you really want is not to be a shadow of the guild, but to be recognized by the guild master as a hunter. That's why you stood by while your comrades died and attacked me alone."

"...!!!"

The more we talked, the more Il-young's expression hardened.

In such a short conversation, I had completely seen through his true intentions.

Even his comrades, who had lived with him, didn't know his true feelings.

So how does this guy know?

I wondered.

"But hey, don't you see this around you?"

Splash!

I scattered the liquid in my hand.

As I threw the green liquid, it spread like a mist.

Il-young, momentarily panicked, used a shadow dagger to disperse the mist.

As he waved the dagger, his vision cleared slightly.

The first thing that entered his sight was a green swamp.

No, this isn't a swamp.

'...Internal organs? And fresh blood?'

It was clearly what the giant centipede had been dripping.

Il-young gagged, disgusted by the filth.

But something was off.

"Ugh, ughhh! What is this...?"

He was drooling something from his mouth.

At first, I thought it was just vomit, but when I saw the dark red drops falling to the ground, I changed my mind.

It was blood.

To be precise, blackened, dead blood.

Just then—

Fizzle!

The sound of something collapsing.

The sound of the sword that had dispersed the mist corroding.

'!!!'

Only then did he realize.

That green liquid was poison.

A deadly, potent poison.

Even as a trained assassin who had endured all sorts of assassination training, he had no way to resist this fatal poison.

His brief moment of anguish at being poisoned was interrupted.

It suddenly occurred to him that Baek Seung-woo was nowhere to be seen.

'Where is he? Did he hide in this mist...?'

"Looking for me? I'm right here."

I smirked as I spoke.

He was frantically looking around, so I figured he was searching for me.

That's why I announced my location with my mouth.

With both hands full of Gu Poison.

This time, it filled my palms.

"You, what's in your hands...!"

"Ah, this is better than I thought, right?"

The poison in my hands and the one I just sprayed were creations of Gu.

The dissolving liquid still dripping from the corpse.

Its true nature is a deadly poison concocted by mixing all the poisons in this dungeon within Gu's body.

A poison matured within Gu's intestines, mixed with his lingering resentment upon death.

This is Gu Poison.

"My skin melted a little, but it's not too bad, right?"

Splash!

As I sprayed the Gu Poison in my hands, it spread like fog.

The mist grew wider.

Seeing this, Il-young thought,

'This guy is insane.'

Spraying such deadly poison like it's water, even though he's within the range of poisoning himself.

There's definitely something wrong with him.

"You crazy bastard...!"

"This is hard-to-get poison, you know?"

"Stop it!!!"

"Why? You should enjoy it while you can."

I stomped my feet, spreading the poison wider.

With every movement, the mist thickened, enveloping both me and Il-young.

There's no escaping now.

After all, I spread it too wide.

"Now, it's not a fight anymore, but a battle of endurance, right?"

The corner of my mouth lifted at his reaction.

A really good idea had come to me.

"From your reaction earlier, it seems there's no Shim-young in this world, right?"

"What the hell is this Shim-young you keep talking about!!"

So that's what you're curious about. I should've explained earlier.

But no need to be too curious.

You'll find out what it means soon enough.

Now, it's a competition.

Let's see if the poison resistance training taught by the Nine-Tail Guild is superior.

Or if the [Ten Poisons Immunity] I obtained is better.

Let's bet my eyes and your manhood on this test.

As I swallowed my laughter and smirked at the sudden competition, Il-young's expression gradually filled with fear.

We haven't even started yet. To the one who's already scared, I spoke in a gentle tone.

"Don't worry too much."

You don't need to worry about a thing.

After all—

"Even if something goes wrong, I'll be your doctor."

You won't die.

Though it might be more painful than death.

***

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