I Became the Genius Mage of the Martial Academy

Chapter 79 : Wrapping Up the Vacation (1)

When I opened my eyes, a warm and soft something was felt beyond my abdomen. When I looked down, what was there was Dang Surin, who was lying on top of my chest and sleeping soundly.

The sunlight that seeped in through the half-open window frame shone on her disheveled hair and cheeks.

‘She’s surprisingly light.’

If I were an ordinary person, no matter how light a person was, it would have been difficult to breathe if they were on top of me like this.

But perhaps because my body was trained to a first-rate level, it wasn’t very uncomfortable.

‘So how long do I have to stay like this?’

And so, as I was thinking inwardly and looking at Dang Surin, I met a pair of somewhat dazed and sharp eyes.

Dang Surin was awake.

“You’re awake?”

As I asked, feeling guilty, Dang Surin, who had nodded her head faintly, parted her lips thinly.

“…Gaga, I’ll definitely make you immune to all poisons.”

And so, as she said that, Dang Surin buried her nose on top of my pectoral muscle.

In the faintly exhaled breath, a certain desire seemed to be felt.

‘…Anyway, it seems I got through last night safely.’

Although my clothes were disheveled, according to my delicate senses, there was no external contact on the inside of my skin in an intimate location.

If there was one problem, it was that Dang Surin was pressing it with her thigh.

“…Shouldn’t you get off soon?”

At those words, Dang Surin blinked her two eyes as if she didn’t know anything.

Even though there was no way she wouldn’t know.

‘It’s not a size that can be covered by your thigh.’

What about that thing that was sticking out beyond the flesh that was slightly buried? I’m talking about the Daoist Scholar’s Fan that was tied to my waist.

When I got up, Dang Surin, who had been stretching, fell onto the bed. She, who had taken a cat pose by chance, yawned slightly.

‘I don’t really get the point of her being shy.’

I retrieved the Daoist Scholar’s Fan, which had been warmed up, and put it in my bosom, yawning loudly.

‘For now, I’ll check the Daoist Scholar’s Fan later, in a place where no one is around…’

I had to be careful because I didn’t know what kind of effect it would have on the surroundings when the divine artifact was activated.

‘First, I’ll check the circle.’

I sat cross-legged and contemplated the circle that was located in my heart.

Jiiing-

A resonance that was different from before.

The three rings rotated in harmony with each other.

After looking inside, I slowly opened my eyes. I could feel that the circle as a whole had become more solid and stable.

‘The power itself has also become more delicate and powerful.’

I had only just reached the third circle, but the feeling was different. It was a feeling as if I had changed from a 2-cylinder engine for a scooter to a 4-cylinder engine for a small car.

‘It’s still at that level, but it’s coming soon.’

I was planning to go beyond the 6-cylinder and 8-cylinder sports car engines for medium and large cars and someday reach the level of a jet engine, no, a nuclear propulsion engine for an aircraft carrier.

‘To do that, the first thing I have to do is…’

Grumble-

It’s food first.

* * *

After finishing the meal, surprisingly, Dang Surin got up first.

She said she was heading to the poison room, and her determination was evident in her dark gaze.

‘It’ll be fine, right? Probably…’

I pushed aside the ominous premonition and moved my feet towards the family’s formation hall. The remaining schedule was tight.

And so, the place I arrived at was the inside of the underground facility owned by the Dark Martial Sect.

“…Have you crossed the wall again in the meantime?”

Zhuge Hyeonguk, who had started the class, muttered with an expression of disbelief.

A small shadow was wriggling on my palm.

“Yes, well, it just happened.”

I answered, giving the shadow various shapes.

‘It’s quite doable.’

Thanks to reaching the realm of the third circle, it was much easier to handle the shadow.

I threw the dagger made of shadow towards the log. When the tip of the blade touched the outer bark, the shadow that had shattered like an icicle scattered in the air.

Only a slightly indented mark was left on the piece of wood.

“Hmm…”

When I tried to increase the sharpness, the hardness was lacking, and when I tried to increase the size, the sustainability was short.

Overall, it was a disappointing result compared to the mana consumed.

Of course, even with the level I had just shown, Zhuge Hyeonguk’s eyes were wide as if they would pop out.

‘But I can still use it to create a variable in a real battle.’

If a dagger were to pop out from an empty hand, even a master would be momentarily flustered.

Since it was a skill with a wide range of versatility, I could expect a good use if I increased my proficiency.

And so, I increased my proficiency in the shadow through the real battles and theoretical lectures with Zhuge Hyeonguk.

Noon had passed. When even Zhuge Hyeonguk, who had been teaching under the pretext of a meal, had disappeared, I, who had been chewing and swallowing a grain pill, was left alone in the underground training ground and took out the Daoist Scholar’s Fan.

‘I think I’ve grasped the realm to this extent. Now, this is all that’s left.’

I unfolded the pure white folding fan and blew in my mana.

But no reaction came back.

‘Huh?’

Wondering if the divine artifact was broken, I blew in my mana again.

Then, this time too, there was not even a tremor.

“Look at this?”

I knew the hidden function of the Daoist Scholar’s Fan. It was a growth totem.

It consumes the user’s internal energy to increase their abilities. A divine artifact that grows the user itself. The reason why the Daoist Scholar’s Fan was so fraudulent was because of this point.

But such a Daoist Scholar’s Fan was not even reacting to my mana now.

‘Is this not enough?’

The fanning of a folding fan is an act of receiving the wind that one has created. In order to whip oneself, one had to swing with that much strong force.

And what was needed here was mana.

“Alright, let’s see who wins.”

As I made up my mind, my mana pulsated. The air on my skin trembled slightly, and a torrent of great power poured from my heart and arms towards the Daoist Scholar’s Fan.

The mana of the third circle, which was different in quality, quantity, and all its aspects from before, was highly compressed.

A vortex of mana swirled around the Daoist Scholar’s Fan.

‘It endlessly eats mana.’

As expected of a divine artifact, it had a tremendous mana storage capacity. I began to put all the mana in my circle into it at maximum firepower without a break.

With the feeling of just letting it explode, I squeezed out even a handful of my energy veins and pushed the mana to its limit.

Flinch.

Then, the Daoist Scholar’s Fan responded with a very faint tremor that was difficult to notice.

And soon, mana spewed out from the Daoist Scholar’s Fan.

‘This is?’

At the enormous mana that rushed in for a moment, I had no choice but to clench my teeth. Although the pattern and the output method had changed slightly, it was certain.

‘This is my mana, isn’t it?’

Don’t tell me, a power struggle with the mana I had poured out.

The Daoist Scholar’s Fan was storing the mana that had come in and was using it to push its owner back.

“Damn it.”

To have to endure that much power again after completely consuming all my mana.

It was a method of pushing to the limit of the limit.

‘So how can I not grow?’

I endured the pressure of the Daoist Scholar’s Fan, maintaining a high degree of concentration.

I blocked the infiltrating mana and proceeded with a power struggle and a defense at the same time, trying to take control of the mana.

Firepower, mana control, and response ability. I could grow all my abilities.

And on top of that…

‘The mana pattern changes in real time?’

The Daoist Scholar’s Fan, as a divine artifact, was learning and reinforcing the mana pressure and control that I was doing on its own and was returning it to me in a more tricky mana pattern.

“This is no joke.”

I muttered, after blocking all the mana that the Daoist Scholar’s Fan was spewing out.

The Daoist Scholar’s Fan. A divine artifact that meant a fan that learns and practices the Dao. I had vaguely guessed its effect, but it was beyond my imagination.

‘I needed to get used to the mana of the third circle anyway, so this is good.’

It seemed it would be a great help to the magic training that I had been self-studying alone until now.

When I came out, exhausted, the servants were standing there.

“What is it?”

“The family head of the main family has sent a congratulatory gift for the Day of Proof.”

They said, opening a black wooden box that was full of splendid silver ingots. Since it was around sunset, their brilliant appearance was revealed even more radiantly.

“How much is it?”

“50,000 nyang.”

An amount that an ordinary family could eat and play with for 20 years. As expected of one of the five great families, they were generous. The performance bonus was certain.

‘My pockets have become heavy.’

“Change only a part of it that I’ll use right away into silver, and change the rest into a bill and bring it.”

When I gave a specific amount, they bowed with respect and withdrew. Since they were kids who were there to do that kind of thing in the first place, it was convenient that the story was fast.

‘But where do I use this money…’

I had eaten as many elixirs as I could for now, and I had also acquired a divine artifact this time. As for the sword, I could just use the Martial Academy sword, which had a decent performance, until I replaced it.

‘Should I use it to establish a martial sect? Since I also said something to Zhuge Hyeonguk.’

Although I had bluffed, I still didn’t have any members or anything.

‘Come to think of it, I have to go back to the academy soon.’

Since I had decided to take the grade-skipping exam before the semester started, I had to prepare now. So that I could also match the department schedule.

Come to think of it, it was a vacation that had passed in a flash. The fight with the Blood Cult branch and the acquisition of the Blood River Art, the sudden appearance of a fiancée, the promotion to a first-class formation master and the appointment as the next head of the Dark Martial Sect, the Day of Proof, the acquisition of the shadow formation and the securing of various connections, including Zhuge Hyeonguk and Jo Wihye.

Was that all? I had also achieved the third circle in the process of breaking through the Unsolvable Formation left by the great formation master, Zhuge Goya, who was immune to ten poisons, and had even obtained the divine artifact, the Daoist Scholar’s Fan.

They were all achievements that were beyond my expectations.

Since there was nothing more to be desired, it didn’t matter if I went back.

‘But I wonder if Baek Hasin is doing well.’

Now that we had to compete with each other in the grade-skipping exam, I was curious about how much he had grown during the vacation.

‘I recommended a demonic art, helped him to raise his realm, and even created a situation where he could grow by removing the obstacles… I’ve done as much as I could.’

If I had my way, I would have liked to guide him one by one, but in reality, I, who was the weakest among the candidates for the grade-skipping exam, couldn’t be arrogant.

‘And most of all, there’s a limit to what I can interfere with.’

A martial artist is ultimately a being that completes itself. If the direction was set, it was right to leave it alone. Because I couldn’t take care of him by his side every time.

In the first place, the idea that I had to clear it with the protagonist was just one of the hypotheses. If it really didn’t work out, I could just step up by myself.

‘I had no intention of relying only on the protagonist from the beginning.’

No matter what happened, the most important thing was what choice I could make.

If there were other problems…

‘It’s how Dang Surin will come out.’

Considering the momentum she had shown so far, I couldn’t tell how she would come out.

‘Come to think of it, the medicinal herbs must be expensive too.’

I heard that she had put in the highest quality ingredients without sparing any, so it seemed I could use it to pay for the related costs this time.

Because it wasn’t my style to just take advantage of a favor one-sidedly.

‘And I had to suffer until I got the immunity to all poisons in the future.’

And so, as I was organizing the remaining plans and going to eat, I suddenly heard a gruff voice from behind.

“Who is this? The future head of the Dark Martial Sect, and the next special-class, I see.”

It was Jangyeo. He had come up behind me at some point and was holding my shoulder.

“I was really surprised last time. To think you were hiding such skills.”

“It wasn’t my intention.”

At those words, Jangyeo grinned with a fierce face and said.

“By the way, did you hear that? The number of people who witnessed the dragon’s ascent with the earthquake has increased. Everyone is talking a lot, saying it’s some kind of revelation.”

“Is that so.”

“That the prophecy that Zhuge Goya-nim had left in his later years had come true.”

“A prophecy, you say.”

Jangyeo nodded his head.

“When the earth lets out its cry and a dragon soars from the family, his true successor will appear, is what he said.”

I remembered reading a related record during my investigation. At that time, I had wondered if he had come down with senility in his later years…

As expected, Zhuge Goya knew everything.

“That’s just a story, isn’t it?”

“It depends on who said it. Yes, so everyone is talking among the middle-ranking officials about who it could be. Even the elders.”

I let out a hollow laugh. They were really people with nothing to do. Although old people in the back room were originally like that.

‘No, considering Zhuge Goya’s fame, it’s only natural.’

Because it was too strange to be dismissed as a natural phenomenon, and the words of an absolute being who could explain that strangeness had fit perfectly.

“But do you know who is being mentioned the most among them?”

“Wouldn’t it be the young family head?”

“You speak like a stranger. It’s you, you brat.”

“Yes?”

“It means that you are the new talent who is closest to a great formation master right now. Although there are many who are more outstanding than you, there is no one who has as much potential as you. Even if you look around this entire Zhuge family.”

A person who had become a first-class formation master before he had even reached the age of thirty, and who had received the recognition of the picky special-class formation master, Zhuge Hyeonguk.

And on top of that, a teenage youth who was the next head of the Dark Formation Martial Sect and a direct blood relative of the Zhuge family.

“Isn’t that enough to be on people’s lips?”

Since there was nothing I could say, I made an awkward expression.

‘It seems I’ve made a strong impression for sure.’

Jangyeo asked, still holding my shoulder.

“So when are you going back to the academy? The vacation should be entering its second half soon.”

“I’m planning to leave in a few days. Since the grade-skipping exam is also scheduled.”

“Then I’ll go too. Since I also had some business to attend to near the academy anyway.”

“That’s good for me.”

I was worried because of the rampage of the Blood Cult master last time, but if Jangyeo was with me, he was trustworthy.

“You’ve thought well. Since there was also the matter of the last attack, it would be better to go together. Although we swept them away once because of that, we couldn’t catch that female master. I’ll make sure the defense is solid. I can’t just watch the Blood Cult and the like run wild in Hubei Province.”

Jangyeo said with a fierce expression. If it were the opponent, their legs would have been trembling, but seeing it from the same side, there was nothing more reassuring than this.

“And on a side note, I also had to finish the business that I had been putting off for a while.”

“What is that business?”

When I asked about the business that he had been emphasizing since a while ago, Jangyeo glanced this way.

“It’s the matter of the Geummun Merchant Guild. After the last attack, they broke off the deal with our side, and now they’re calling again, what do you know? It seems they tried to do it by calling in an external person on their own and failed. Foolish guys.”

Jangyeo, who was shaking his head slightly, gripped my shoulder tightly.

“…But where are we going now?”

Since we had been entering an alley since a while ago, the presence of people was gradually disappearing. Jangyeo said, still holding my shoulder and turning his body into the alley.

“Because I just want to talk with the two of us.”

“I know a good pavilion to have a conversation in, so let’s go there.”

“No, because I like to walk.”

“Then how about going to the flower garden? A wide-open place would be nice.”

But no answer came back.

“Did I tell you that I was very impressed with your performance?”

A somewhat changed atmosphere. I faced a certain premonition that was slowly approaching. Against the backdrop of the dead end of the dark alley, Jangyeo’s eyes shone.

“But you know, I feel like I’ve seen a master like you somewhere.”

“…It is said that the world is wide and there are many masters.”

I retorted without blinking an eye. Then Jangyeo, who was silent without an answer. He gently took his hand off my shoulder.

‘Is it done?’

It was the moment I blinked once for the naturalness of the acting. The dead end had disappeared, and before I knew it, Jangyeo’s dark face was right up close.

“It was you, the one who robbed the Geummun Merchant Guild.”

At the voice that came in with a hook, a cold sweat ran down my back. It was a checkmate.

(End of Chapter)