The Conjurer of the Academy

Chapter 70

With the ability to control objects made of metal within a certain range, it’s a cheat-level power depicted as fraudulent in any manga or novel.

“Baek-ah! Can’t you regain control?”

[Ugh, I’m dizzy!]

It was no use. The sword itself was moving dynamically, making it difficult for Baek-ah to get a grip.

‘Should I give up on the weapon?’

Without the Sain-gum, the abilities of the spirits stored in the Spirit Conjuration Space would be partially limited. Moreover, controlling spiritual energy would become a problem.

[There’s no use being obsessed with the sword!]

But there were no other viable options.

“Ugh!”

Once again, the Sain-gum plunged into the ground. Although I barely avoided it, the sand was slippery. If I fell, it would be over.

“Shall we speed things up a bit?”

The Sain-gum began moving erratically without any preparatory actions. To avoid being cut, I had to keep moving.

‘Yes, this is what I wanted.’

The blade grazed my nose.

Blood seeped from the split skin. Had I been slightly slower, a hole might have been punctured in my temple.

“Are you enjoying this situation…?”

Han Ga-young tilted her head in curiosity.

Only then did I realize I had a smile on my face.

“No.”

I regained my sense of death, which I had forgotten in the cave. The problem was that there were no direct stimulants to evoke that realization.

“Truthfully, I’m scared.”

The instinctive fear of possibly dying.

Just as humans feel gratitude for life and fear of death on the battlefield, my senses are now sharper than ever.

“How long do you think you can remain so relaxed?”

“Such provocations won’t work on me.”

Han Ga-young hadn’t moved a single step since the training began. It was her own form of a handicap, but I wasn’t pleased with it at all.

“Yomi, let’s go with that.”

I’ll shatter her composure.

I lowered my stance, and my body felt like it was burning. No, it was actually on fire.

[If your concentration wavers even for a moment, the assimilation will be broken.]

Foxfire ignited over my entire body and Yomi’s as well. My pupils sharpened like those of a beast, and my nails grew long enough to pierce flesh.

Fox Assimilation 同化

My hunched body, low like an animal’s, and the fangs protruding between my parted lips. A growl, unintended but primal, leaked from my lips.

“The atmosphere has changed, hasn’t it? Just like a wild beast…”

Just as Shin Seo-jun had merged with Shin Seo-ha, I succeeded in merging with Yomi. It consumed a ridiculously large amount of spiritual energy, but it was worth every bit.

“Shall we see what’s different?”

Han Ga-young, who had been standing with her arms crossed, flicked her fingers resting on her arm.

Swoosh-!

The sound of the blade whirling, slicing through grains of sand. The Sain-gum, embedded in the sand, was now aiming for the back of my head. Although I couldn’t keep up with the speed of the blade, forcing me to continuously swing,

Wham!

I twisted my body and caught the Sain-gum coming at my head.

“…!”

For a fleeting moment, the perpetual calm on Han Ga-young’s face wavered.

Buzzing-!

The Sain-gum struggled violently to free itself from my grip, but I suppressed it with sheer force.

“Then—”

Determined not to let go, I tightly grasped the Sain-gum and leaned my upper body forward.

“Here I come.”

With all my might, I kicked off the ground.

Right after my body launched forward, Han Ga-young lifted her head a beat too late.

恐 (Fear)

The Chinese character for “weakness” appeared on Han Ga-young’s right shoulder.

“I can see it.”

Han Ga-young couldn’t keep up with my speed. It wasn’t that she was slow; in terms of sheer speed, Han Ga-young still surpassed me by several degrees.

But she, too, was human. She hadn’t expected someone who had been sluggish so far to suddenly move at this speed. It was a momentary but very human lapse in vigilance.

‘There’s only one chance.’

If this attack fails, Han Ga-young will perfectly adapt to my speed from then on. This means this attack is my final opportunity.

Whoosh—!

I swung with all my might, cutting through the air. Han Ga-young responded with incredible reaction speed, deflecting the strike smoothly without any wasted motion. She then clenched her fist and said,

“Too bad.”

Just before Han Ga-young’s fist struck my jaw.

‘Gotcha.’

I threw my body forward as if collapsing.

Her fist grazed my cheek, and the tremendous sound of air being pierced rang in my eardrums.

恐

Using the momentum of my fall, I aimed the sword at the weak point. Of course, it wasn’t Han Ga-young’s weakness.

‘The flaw in the battlefield.’

The battlefield that Han Ga-young and Shin Seo-ha had dug up and hastily filled back had its own weaknesses. Markers of the weak points were scattered all over the sand. I plunged my sword into one of those spots.

Rumble—

The Sain-gum pierced through the sand, revealing a massive pit at its end. The sand grains from where Han Ga-young stood began to be sucked into the pit through the gap that had opened.

“Huh?”

For just a moment, the imbalance on the ground caused Han Ga-young to lose her footing.

‘Now!’

I reached out to Han Ga-young.

With her balance disrupted, now was the perfect moment—

[Be careful!]

Thunk!

Almost simultaneously with Yomi’s warning shout, something shot out from the sand and struck my temple.

‘What the…!’

Instead of reaching Han Ga-young, I toppled sideways without even realizing what hit me.

“I’ll be honest. You genuinely surprised me.”

Han Ga-young picked up what had fallen on the ground and placed it in her palm.

“Phew~ Phew~.”

As Han Ga-young blew the sand off, revealing the smooth surface of the object, I realized it was something I had seen before.

“An earring.”

“Correct.”

The object that had struck my temple at the critical moment was one of the earrings Han Ga-young had removed earlier.

‘Could she have planned to use it this way?’

I had thought she had simply taken them off because they were bothersome. But now, thinking back, it seemed suspiciously deliberate.

“I placed it there just in case. Honestly, I didn’t expect to have to use it.”

She had worn the earrings during her sparring with Shin Seo-ha, but took them off before sparring with me.

Despite expecting my training to involve less movement, she prepared for the unforeseen. It was truly a perfect bluff.

“You did well to push me this far. I’m sorry I underestimated you, Ha Baek.”

“No, this isn’t enough. Could we go again?”

The assimilation with Yomi ended, and belated fatigue and pain washed over me. Mimicking the movements of a monster had left my small muscles and joints aching.

I grabbed my trembling legs and stood up, but—

“Breakfast is ready~! Everyone, come in and eat before it gets cold~!”

Shin Woo-taek waved his hand from a distance. Han Ga-young waved back at her husband and then smiled gently at me.

“Let’s finish the morning training here. As I mentioned earlier, removing the earrings was my insurance. If I hadn’t taken them off, you would have won. With your level of strategy, determination, and judgment, you’ll surpass me as a hunter someday.”

“…Understood.”

I could only nod.

Interpreting my expression as one of frustration, Han Ga-young patted my shoulder.

“Pushing yourself too hard isn’t good. And after this much exertion, you should fill your stomach, right?”

Han Ga-young patted her stomach with a hearty thump.

The sight made me chuckle involuntarily.

“You look good when you smile. Auntie will head in with Seo-ha first, so make sure to come in and eat before the food gets cold, okay?”

“Thank you for your consideration.”

“No need for thanks~.”

Han Ga-young effortlessly lifted the passed-out Shin Seo-ha and headed toward the villa. This was Han Ga-young’s way of showing consideration, giving me some time alone to reflect in case I felt upset.

‘If this had been a real battle…’

Outside the training grounds, there was no shortage of metal objects, from the composite boards affixed to training dummies to various tools.

If Han Ga-young had intended it, all the metal objects in the area could have been turned into lethal weapons.

‘But still, I’ve got a feel for it.’

The new skills I obtained in the cave worked as I had envisioned.

‘What if I had done it that way earlier…?’

I pondered over possible strategies.

After all, there might have been a more effective way to corner Han Ga-young earlier.

“Enough of that. I’m hungry, so let’s eat.”

I always enjoyed strategizing.

I always enjoyed planning an attack while considering the opponent.

‘I’ll try that next time.’

The untested strategies were like lottery tickets, brimming with potential.

* * *

The same routine repeated all day long. Eat, rest, then train. The training didn’t extend into the evening, though.

“Mom and Dad are heading out, okay?”

“…Don’t even think about doing anything foolish to my daughter.”

“I won’t.”

As soon as dinner ended, Han Ga-young and Shin Woo-taek would unfailingly gear up and prepare for their outing. More accurately, it was a patrol.

“The real reason we decided to spend this summer at the villa is quite significant.”

“Wasn’t it just for vacation? You said you dragged me to the villa so I couldn’t run away.”

“Well, that’s part of it.”

Han Ga-young covered her mouth and laughed demurely.

Thinking back, it was strange. Hunters affiliated with the state or civil servants couldn’t easily take long vacations like this.

“Actually, we got a mission. Apparently, people have been disappearing in droves around here in the evenings. Mom and Dad came to investigate that.”

Han Ga-young and Shin Woo-taek’s presence here was entirely a part of their mission.

“Coincidentally, our family’s villa is nearby. We decided to stay here to save on security costs.”

“I thought we’d spend some cozy family time at the beach—”

“Honey!”

“Sorry…”

With just a word from Han Ga-young, Shin Woo-taek couldn’t even raise his head.

Anyway, they were now fully equipped with hunting gear—protectors and communication devices—for their patrol.

For the next two to three hours when they were out on patrol, it would just be Shin Seo-ha and me left at the villa.

‘Not that anything’s going to happen.’

Since the end of summer vacation, Shin Seo-ha hasn’t shown any odd behavior. I didn’t need to worry; those two would handle everything efficiently.

“Okay, Mom is heading out now. You two take care of the house.”

“Dad is heading out too.”

“…If you’re going, just go quickly.”

With that, the two of them left the villa, leaving Shin Seo-ha and me alone once again.

‘I’m exhausted.’

Even though I took breaks between training sessions, the fatigue had built up. Having been rolled around all summer, my body felt heavy by this time of night.

“I already took a shower earlier, so I’m going to bed.”

I casually informed Shin Seo-ha as I headed upstairs. Since I had showered earlier, I planned to fall asleep immediately.

“Yawn~.”

Yomi had already fallen asleep.

I entered my room without turning on the lights and collapsed onto the bed.

“…”

Usually, I toss and turn in my sleep, but tonight I slipped into unconsciousness instantly. I intended to sleep through until early morning.

Click.

I heard the door open, and a faint light seeped through the crack.

‘Is their patrol already over…?’

Sometimes, Han Ga-young would open the door to check on me while I was asleep. She usually closed the door quietly after verifying that I was sleeping, so I thought tonight would be no different. However—

Click.

“Oh, what is this?”

Suddenly, the light turned on, and I raised my arm to shield my eyes.

Han Ga-young wouldn’t have turned on the light knowing I was in here, so there was only one possibility.

“Wake up. What time is it for you to already be sleeping?”

“Shin Seo-ha?”

With just the two of us left, Shin Seo-ha had come into my room.