The Conjurer of the Academy

Chapter 93

“Father?”

“What are you doing here? Didn’t you say you were going to the restroom?”

I turned around at Seol Baek-san’s voice. For a moment, I wondered if it was another vision, but it was indeed the real Seol Baek-san.

“I just wanted to take a little walk.”

“Is that so?”

Seol Baek-san came over and stood beside me, facing the shrine. He remained silent for a while before glancing at me out of the corner of his eye.

“Are you really okay? You didn’t look well earlier.”

“I’m fine. There’s nothing to worry about.”

“Then why…”

Seol Baek-san raised his hand towards my face, gently stroking my cheek with the loose sleeve of his robe.

“Why are you crying so sorrowfully?”

“…”

When I touched around my eyes, I realized tears had indeed welled up.

‘Are these feelings from the world beyond?’

It wasn’t just memories I had glimpsed; I had also felt the emotions. Just as possessed shamans shed bloody tears, I empathized with the memories from the world beyond.

So the tears I was shedding now were fragments of the emotions Seol Ha-baek must have felt in the original story.

“Father.”

“What is it?”

Thanks to this, I had made up my mind.

‘No matter what the Rabbit is planning, I will stop it.’

With my contract with Yomi, the catastrophe that would have befallen Seoul was averted from the start. Similarly, I could prevent any misfortune that might come to Seol Baek-san.

“Under no circumstances should you ever break the barrier surrounding the house.”

“You’re seriously worrying over nothing. Don’t worry. That won’t happen.”

Seol Baek-san nodded.

The reason Seol Baek-san had been living in seclusion in the mountain’s thatched house was to take care of me while also deceiving the eyes of the great yokai. In other words, Seol Baek-san was aware that he had become a target for some yokai.

‘Is it just a needless worry?’

The Rabbit’s target was Seol Baek-san, and Seol Ha-baek was just a substitute. In the original storyline, the Rabbit manipulated Seol Ha-baek to find Seol Baek-san’s hideout.

Was the only mistake Seol Baek-san made trusting his son too much?

If I didn’t fall for the Rabbit’s tricks, Seol Baek-san would be safe…

‘Then why do I feel so uneasy?’

I couldn’t logically explain it, but I couldn’t shake off the nagging sense of unease.

“My son.”

Seol Baek-san quietly placed a hand on my shoulder.

“I know what you’re worried about. But there’s no need to worry. It would be disgraceful for a father if his child had to worry about him.”

When I met his gaze, Seol Baek-san nodded once.

“So don’t worry.”

“Understood.”

I couldn’t say anything more. As Seol Baek-san said, it wasn’t appropriate to worry my parents in front of them.

‘But…’

Nevertheless, the inexplicable sense of foreboding refused to disappear.

* * *

After Seol Ha-baek and Yomi returned to school,

“Hm.”

Seol Baek-san rummaged through a dusty storage room. When he opened the lid of a coffin carved from sandalwood, ancient weapons were revealed inside.

[Goblin Goblin!]

A small goblin, following Seol Baek-san, inspected the inside of the coffin as well.

[Goblin…?]

“What do you mean, antiques?!”

Seol Baek-san, seemingly understanding the goblin’s words, paused in examining the artifacts and shouted loudly.

“Divine artifacts imbued with spiritual energy become more powerful over time. Look here, aren’t they still as sharp as ever?”

Seol Baek-san picked up a spear adorned with red horsehair. Inside the coffin were various ancient relics, including a worn prayer bead set and other divine items used in local shamanic beliefs.

As Seol Baek-san said, their value couldn’t be measured in mere monetary terms, and even considering their age as antiques, they would fetch millions.

[Goblin, Goblin Goblin?]

Seol Baek-san snorted at the blinking goblin.

“You’re wondering why I’m taking these out now? It’s because I have a use for them.”

Swinging the spear once, a loud ‘clang!’ echoed as the dust that had settled around flew into the air. The little goblin pretended to cough in response.

“It seems it’s finally time to step out. I’ve tried to keep my temper in check. I’ve lived pretending not to see what’s been happening, but it seems these issues are creeping up on my son now.”

The once-gentle expression of Seol Baek-san twisted into something fierce. At the same time, an indescribably powerful spiritual energy erupted from him, causing the goblin to shrink back in fear.

[Goblin Goblin?]

“Yes, gather all the other shikigami.”

With the coffin strapped to his back, Seol Baek-san adjusted his disheveled clothing.

“It seems it’s time for a dance with swords.”

* * *

Having devoted several years of my life to playing various games, I realized that most games eventually resemble TCGs (Trading Card Games).

Just as you estimate your hand and your opponent’s hand in card games, the key was to increase my resources while depleting my opponent’s.

“The cards I have in my hand…”

On the way to the bus, I looked out the window, lost in thought. Yomi was snoring softly on my shoulder.

‘Yomi, along with various other spirits.’

There was also the contract with the Imugi and the unique skill of sensing spiritual flows, Spirit Sight. But those were just about skills.

Allies like Han Yu-seong, Seo Geum-bi, and Shin Seo-ha, whom I could rely on in critical moments, were invaluable. Thanks to intensive training and various quests, my overall stats were also quite impressive.

Though I had built up a reasonable hand, it wasn’t perfect, and I still had to estimate my opponent’s hand.

‘Heo Mang.’

Currently, he’s the person suspected of conspiring with the Rabbit to spread the C-virus.

Given the accelerating pace of the story, it was clear that the opponent also had a hand comparable to mine.

In such cases, winning the game requires two things: increasing my hand or rendering my opponent’s hand useless.

‘We will clash eventually.’

The most efficient way to nullify the opponent’s hand was to understand its value completely. I needed information about Heo Mang, the enigmatic figure. Additionally, I had just made a firm decision.

“Yomi.”

As I stroked Yomi’s back with my index finger, she stretched her jaws wide and yawned.

[What is it? I was sleeping well.]

“I’ve been thinking…”

I tapped the window beside my seat on the bus.

“The next time we meet the Rabbit, let’s completely uproot him.”

[What?]

Yomi’s tiny eyes widened with alertness, fully awake now.

[Do you even know what you’re saying?]

“Of course. I’m talking about fulfilling my contract with you.”

The initial contract I made when I conjured Yomi: if I failed to exterminate the Rabbit within three years, I would surrender my body.

Contrary to my expectation that Yomi would be pleased, her reaction wasn’t entirely warm.

[What I’m asking is whether you’re prepared for it. You know as well as I do that the Rabbit isn’t an easy opponent.]

Yomi’s concern was understandable.

The Moon Rabbit was originally a boss monster that could be spawned and hunted around the first semester of the third year, during the Great Invasion. Chronologically, it was too early.

“Our dear Yomi, are you worried about me? I’m touched.”

[Hehe, worry? No way. If you die at the hands of the Rabbit, I’ll lose the body I’m supposed to take over.]

“Yeah, yeah.”

I turned my gaze back to the window. To seize control completely, a daring bet was necessary.

‘The next time he shows up…’

I instinctively knew that a decisive bet that would change the course of the game was approaching.

* * *

Psshhht.

The shower room door opened, and dense steam spilled out through the narrow gap.

“Phew, I feel alive.”

I took a towel from the locker and wiped off the remaining moisture from my body. Thanks to the mirrors on both sides, my back muscles were clearly reflected in front of me.

I don’t indulge in self-praise, but even by my own assessment, my muscles were excellently developed. If I had to compare, my physique was more functionally fit as opposed to Han Yu-seong’s more bulky muscles.

‘If I had lived like this in my real life, it would have been the ultimate godly lifestyle.’

By now, I seemed to have established a routine while attending school.

On weekdays, after classes, I would engage in training routines with Han Yu-seong, and on weekends, unless something special came up, I repeated my visits to the courage test spots recommended by Jin So-yul.

“But…”

As I dried my hair, a sudden realization struck me. There was something fundamentally wrong with this routine.

“Clubs!”

The word slipped out of my lips before I knew it.

Yes, I had forgotten the obvious fact that students who joined clubs had to participate in after-school club activities.

Then I recalled that due to Jin So-yul’s supplementary lessons, the progress on the club quests had been stagnating for a while.

‘Has she made a decision?’

Additionally, there was one more challenge for Jin So-yul.

Would she continue living as her mother, Jin Dal-rae, wished, keeping the talisman intact, or would she defy that will, tear the talisman, and release her powers?

Jin So-yul possessed the ability to purify the grudge that became the source of the C-virus, but it was not something I could force her to use.

Considering Jin Dal-rae’s personality, it was likely she had prepared for the possibility that her daughter might need to break the talisman in an emergency.

“It’s time for a visit.”

Come to think of it, I never got around to properly thanking her for organizing those ghost spots for me.

I looked up at the clock on the wall. It was still far from 8 PM, so she was probably in the middle of a supplementary lesson.

‘They encourage competition to the fullest, but the students who fall behind can hardly breathe.’

This is one of the contradictions of Babel Academy. No matter how many excellent students they gather, there will inevitably be those who fall behind in a competitive structure.

It’s good to have supplementary lessons for those lagging behind, but Babel takes it to an extreme. Perhaps it’s to protect Babel’s reputation from tarnishing.

‘Of course, it’s also a significant factor that Jin So-yul stubbornly refuses to study.’

Most students manage to achieve passing marks quickly with rigorous extra lessons.

But Jin So-yul seems to absolutely detest studying, with her written scores scraping the bottom despite her high practical scores.

The only reason she wasn’t expelled was that the monster invasions started just in time.

“Maybe I should buy some food and visit her.”

I buttoned up my shirt and stepped outside. The night air was getting chilly, making me rub my arms unconsciously.

‘What should I buy? She’d probably eat anything, right?’

While pondering over what to bring, I noticed a familiar face in the distance.

“Ahhh! Help a high school girl!”

Running towards me at a terrifying speed was the self-proclaimed high school girl, Jin So-yul. Her powerful dash made me step back instinctively.

“Senior So-yul?”

“Ahhhh! Ha-baek, save me!”

And right behind Jin So-yul, the hulking figure of the student dean, who was also the second-year math teacher, was chasing her at an ungodly speed.

“Hold it right there! Did you think you could skip extra lessons and get away with it?!”

“Ahhhh, if you were me, would you stay?!”

I immediately turned and started sprinting in the opposite direction.

“Ha-baek, save meeee!”

No, please, save me instead.

At this rate, it was clear I would be caught as an accomplice.

“Senior, and for heaven’s sake—”

—just study!