Academy's Gumiho is a Magic Genius

"Ahhh! My, my eyes! My eyes!!"

"Why? Do you want me to spray more into your eyes?"

"Stop! Stop it! I said stop!"

"No."

Il-young, who had been hit in the eyes by Gu Poison, cried out in pain.

Black blood flowed from his eyes, as if he had gone blind.

But just in case, I sprayed more poison onto the pool on the ground.

And then, he seemed to really enjoy it.

"Kyaaaah!! What are you doing to my body!"

He seemed to enjoy it so much that he kept moaning.

If I uploaded this scene to social media, it would definitely be rated R.

'But, Gu Poisonis indeed powerful.'

I turned my back on Il-young, who was screaming, and swept my hands through the pool of Gu Poison.

My blood vessels bulged, and my flesh peeled off as if I had been burned.

Even though I had acquired [Ten Poisons Immunity], which prevents ten types of poison from invading my body, I was still slowly being poisoned by Gu poison.

It seems that my resistance to poison is insufficient.

I need to cultivate more resistance.

I ignored Il-young, who was struggling in pain from being poisoned by Gu poison. It was clear that he would die on his own.

"My, my arms have no feeling! None!!"

Il-young groped his arms instead of his invisible eyes.

He felt nothing there.

There was no way to know if he was poisoned by neurotoxin or paralyzing poison, or if his fingertips had corroded.

His legs were the same.

He collapsed to the ground, not knowing if the nerves in his legs were paralyzed or melted.

His flailing looked just like a frog.

'He'll die soon.'

Il-young couldn't see, but he was flailing towards the swamp of poison. It was clear that he would drown with a body that couldn't even swim.

But he couldn't die yet.

Even if he were to die, he had to change his name from Il-young to Shim-young first.

"No...! I, I will survive and become a key member of the guild...."

With those last words.

Il-young completely fell into the pool of Gu poison.

Bubbles rose from the water, and I quickly pulled him out. Fortunately, he wasn't dead yet and was still faintly conscious.

Good timing.

Bubble bubble─

While Il-young was foaming at the mouth, I wrapped [Fox Fire] around my hand and struck down.

─Sssk!

The neatly cut front of his pants rolled away and soon fell into the pool, slowly corroding and losing its shape.

That's the end of the surgery.

Thanks to wrapping [Fox Fire] around my hand and cutting, there was no bleeding. With this, Il-young was reborn with the cool name Shim-young (Deep Shadow).

I wish his dirty nature could be reborn along with his name.

"Haa... Haa... How dare you cut my, my thing. Even though I've been defeated now...."

He still hasn't come to his senses.

Thud─!

I kicked his chest with my foot.

No matter how hard I kicked with my weak body, it was insufficient to damage the body of a trained assassin.

But Shim-young's body, soaked in Gu poison, was as soft as if it had undergone tenderization, and he coughed up blood repeatedly.

I looked at him and placed my foot on his chest.

"There won't be a next time for you. Just shut up."

"Kuuuu...!! Just kill me!!"

"Me? Why should I? I won't kill you."

I smiled and said.

Shim-young, soaked in poison and gasping for breath under my foot, had no choice but to listen quietly.

"I'm going to save you. You can't go back to the guild after failing, so you'll definitely come back to me."

Just accept it when I save you.

Thud─!

Without hesitation, I kicked Shim-young again and stirred the pool with my hand.

Then, the front of his pants, which hadn't completely melted, splashed out.

Fortunately, all the flesh had corroded, so there was no eye terror.

"Now I have to absorb it, but it's just making me feel uncomfortable."

Ah, disgusting. I rolled up my sleeves and cursed Shim-young's flesh.

The pool of Gu poison overflowing from the corpse of the dead Gu.

The depth was similar to that of a swamp or mud, as much as it had flowed from the creature that had devoured everything in the dungeon.

The boiling pool of poison.

I reached into the pool without hesitation.

At the same time, I activated a skill.

[Energy Absorption]

I felt as if there was a centipede hiding in the pool.

This was the lingering resentment hidden in Gu poison.

I absorbed the resentment along with the pool.

[Absorbing the energy contained in 'Gu Poison'.]

[Your organs are being poisoned by a large amount of Gu Poison!]

[Urgent treatment is required!]

As the pool of Gu Poison decreased, my hand gradually turned black.

The blood vessels bulged red and blue as if they were necrotizing from the poison.

Despite the tremendous pain, I still hadn't absorbed all the resentment hidden deep in the pool.

I absorbed the entire pool.

I didn't give the resentment any place to hide.

I sucked it all in, leaving no resentment or energy behind.

[Toxicity has reached its threshold.]

[Adapting to Gu Poison and gaining resistance to poison!]

[The skill 'Ten Poisons Immunity' has been integrated into the skill 'Weak Body Resistance'.]

When a living being adapts to a certain stimulus.

It must be given a stimulus beyond its threshold.

And I, in terms of poison, have surpassed that threshold.

[Congratulations! The skill 'Weak Body Resistance (F+) has levelled up.]

[Weak Body Resistance: F+ → E+]

[Weak Body Resistance]

[Grade: E+]

[Description: A trace of a new organ created by a Gu soaked in hundreds of poisons to produce antibodies in real-time. It is not a specific internal organ or a concept belonging to a group of animals. It can adapt to all living beings and evolves each time it receives a stimulus beyond its threshold.]

[Adaptability]

[When a weak body receives a stimulus beyond a certain level, it adapts based on that 'threshold'.]

[Hundred Poisons Immunity]

[Immunity to a hundred poisons. If it's a certain level of poison, it can develop antibodies and immunity in a short time. As a special feature, it also has immunity to Gu poison, which would normally be unbearable.]

The skill has grown, and [Ten Poisons Immunity] has been integrated into Hundred Poisons Immunity.

The number of skills has decreased by one, but this is better than having a messy list.

'From immunity to ten poisons to immunity to a hundred poisons.'

At this level, most poisons won't work on me.

As evidence, the blackened flesh and blood colour began to return to normal.

"...Finally, it's all over."

I collapsed to the ground.

My stamina and mana were completely drained.

I had no strength left to get up, and I didn't want to.

But─

"─Ah, right. That's still left."

There were still two things I had to do.

One was to cook the fish that had bitten the bait deliciously.

The other was to save the guy who was dying from the resistance to Gu poison with my blood.

Swish!

Forming a thin blade of mana at my fingertips, I cut my wrist and brought it to Shim-young's mouth.

"Now, open your mouth."

I don't know how much of my blood you need to drink to gain resistance to Gu Poison.

Should I fill both your lungs first?

Shim-young looked up at me with trembling eyes.

Soaked in Gu poison, his limbs, jaw, and tongue were all poisoned, leaving him with nothing to do but tremble.

So I interpreted Shim-young's will arbitrarily based on his trembling.

"Oh my, are you worried about me? Don't worry."

I can fill the lack of blood with mana.

The blood flowing in my body now is an extremely acidic liquid containing the energy of [Solar Severed Meridians] and a hundred poisons.

So don't hesitate to drink it.

Probably... you won't die.

Right?

***

Outside the dungeon, 'Efnell's Garden'.

Several reporters had gathered there.

Because they had received a tip.

─[Hello. This is Hunter Broadcasting.]

─[Ah, I'd like to report something related to a dungeon.]

─[We don't take dungeon reports.]

─[I filmed Baek Seung-woo entering a dungeon.]

─[Where is it?]

Baek Seung-woo was the hottest topic these days.

A hero who saved students from the academy terror attack.

But scandals are inversely proportional to that.

Regardless of the truth of the scandals, reporters could write sensational articles using Baek Seung-woo.

His position as the head of the Cheonho Baek family also had a significant influence.

A high-ranking noble who would normally be hard to approach.

To be able to write sensational articles about such a noble.

Moreover, since the Cheonho Baek family didn't impose any sanctions on the press, the articles became increasingly sensational.

And now, there was a chance to write a follow-up article about Baek Seung-woo?

It was an opportunity that no reporter could miss.

"Senior, isn't that the crew from Gwichul Broadcasting over there?"

"Let me see. Ah, you're right. They've caught the scent too."

"Ah, damn. At this rate, we won't even get a scoop, let alone a breaking news."

Clearly, they were the ones who received the tip.

But sensing a scoop, reporters from various prestigious newspapers and media outlets had been dispatched.

This was not an uncommon occurrence in modern society.

Originally, tips weren't delivered to just one newspaper or media outlet.

They were reported simultaneously.

In such a situation, speed was life.

Given the nature of players entering dungeons, there was no choice but to wait endlessly, not knowing when they would come out.

Meanwhile, other reporters kept arriving, making it even harder to catch a scoop.

"But at least we arrived first and secured a good spot."

"True, our cameras have monopolized the front row. But it's still such a pity."

"That's just how this market is. Waiting is an art."

"That sounds... similar to what my father, who loves fishing, says."

Life is originally about waiting.

In that sense, journalism and fishing had similar aspects.

You need to be quick to catch a scoop, but you also need to wait patiently when waiting in a dungeon.

"Of course, journalism and fishing are completely unrelated activities."

"Why? I think they're similar."

"That's because you go fishing every weekend, senior."

The senior reporter shook his head at the junior's naive remark.

"Surprisingly, they are similar. Fishing is about waiting to catch a big fish, and we're waiting to catch a scoop. Even the location is good."

"Efnell's Garden... I thought no more players would enter it."

One of Korea's three major unclaimed dungeons.

The most famous for its low difficulty, 'Efnell's Garden'.

Many guilds had attempted to conquer it, but none succeeded.

Even the Nine-Tails Guild, one of the few S-rank guilds in Korea, had its tail between its legs.

Needless to say, other guilds and players didn't fare any better.

"He couldn't have gone in to clear it, right?"

"Of course not. An unclaimed dungeon isn't unclaimed for no reason. He probably got caught trying to divert attention from the media."

"But he got caught by us."

Among the reporters standing here, not a single one thought Baek Seung-woo had cleared the dungeon.

That was only natural.

Even though he caught the mastermind behind the attack, his skills weren't the focus of public attention.

The public opinion and interest in Baek Seung-woo were largely divided into two categories.

First, seeing him as a hero who saved students.

Second, concerning the types of scandals surrounding him or how vicious his actions were.

Of course, people were more interested in the latter than the former.

Sensational rumours are more interesting than boring hero worship.

And as they dug into his scandals one by one, they couldn't possibly think that Baek Seung-woo had cleared Efnell's Garden.

Just as everyone was thinking negatively about the dungeon clear.

The faces of the reporters filming the entrance stiffened.

"Hey, hey, what's that?"

"A distortion in the dungeon. Is it a dungeon break?!"

"Hey, idiot. Before a dungeon break happens, the entrance turns red! That just means the dungeon has been cleared."

"Efnell's Garden has been cleared...?"

"A scoop... a scoop!"

"Turn on all the cameras!"

The reporters waiting at the entrance all grabbed their cameras.

If they didn't have cameras, they used their phones.

As everyone held their breath and waited.

A foot stepped out from beyond the space.

Click click!

The sound of shutters clicking echoed everywhere.

But the sound didn't last long.

Because the person captured by the cameras wasn't the one the reporters wanted.

He was too short and stocky to be Baek Seung-woo.

"Who is that...?"

"That uniform! It's the uniform of Seven Stars Academy!"

"Look at the embroidery on the chest. That's definitely the colour for first-year students, right?"

"But why is an academy student coming out of the dungeon?"

"Don't you get it? Since Baek Seung-woo is an assistant instructor, he must have coaxed a student to come with him."

The reporters convinced themselves.

In contrast, Lee Ji's mind went blank.

Dozens of cameras and gazes directed at him. If you included phones, it was easily over a hundred.

Wondering what was going on, he turned his head and realized the reason.

'Teacher cleared the dungeon!'

The impregnable 'Efnell's Garden'.

Clearing an unclaimed dungeon, which was considered a disgrace to Korea, a powerhouse of players.

Such an achievement made this spotlight understandable.

But suddenly, a question arose.

'Teacher wouldn't have called the reporters. Why are there so many reporters here?'

The public opinion about Baek Seung-woo isn't very good right now.

That day, Lee Ji, who watched Baek Seung-woo running around the academy from a distance, didn't pay attention to such rumours.

The person he saw with his own eyes had his own beliefs, skills, and wisdom.

He was truly deserving of the title 'Teacher'.

But the public's view is different.

Baek Seung-woo, who knows this well, wouldn't have called the reporters.

Then the culprit is clear.

'It must be the people who were hunting and gathering in the dungeon.'

Seeing the Gu that had grown as large as Mount Tai, countless players fled.

It was highly likely that they were the ones who reported it.

"You! You're a student of Seven Stars Academy, right?"

"Did you enter the dungeon with Baek Seung-woo? If so, why did you enter together?"

"If you saw how one of Korea's three major unclaimed dungeons, Efnell's Garden, was cleared, what method was used?"

Listening to the reporters' questions, Lee Ji turned his head, not intending to answer.

The image of reporters rudely questioning students who were mentally scarred by the attack was still fresh in Lee Ji's mind.

"I'll decline to answer the questions...."

Suddenly, a thought crossed his mind.

Lee Ji looked at the hundreds of cameras and thought.

'If I handle this well, I can cover up Teacher's scandals.'

It was a good opportunity.

Such a concentrated spotlight doesn't happen often.

If handled well, it's a perfect chance to cover up the rumours and scandals surrounding Teacher with his achievements.

"Do you really want to know how the dungeon was cleared?"

At those words, the reporters leaned forward.

Cameras flashed as they filmed Lee Ji.

"Do you know how Efnell's Garden was cleared?!"

"There was a report that Baek Seung-woo, the head of the Cheonho Baek family, entered the dungeon. Is it certain that he cleared it?!"

"What did the boss monster look like? Was it the plant-type demon that most players expected?!"

Lee Ji answered the excited reporters' questions one by one.

His answers were enough to be a scoop.

But the occasional praise of Baek Seung-woo was a bit jarring.

Nevertheless, Lee Ji's words were worth reporting as breaking news, so the report spread quickly.

***

Meanwhile, there was a presence coming out of the dungeon.

Seung-woo looked at the reporters and Lee Ji, tilting his head.

His tail also tilted along with his head.

"What are they doing?"

Unaware that he was being interviewed.

He hailed a taxi and headed downtown.

Coincidentally, he met the elderly person who had given him a ride before and boasted about clearing the dungeon. Meanwhile, Shim-young held his crotch and slipped away through the shadows.

He had to take measures before the wound worsened.

Of course, doing so wouldn't bring back what was lost.

***

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