Academy’s Genius Swordmaster - Chapter 108
[ 108. Baeksuje (8) ]
#108
“I have to do Haeju. By all means.”
“…what happened? Your expression has been unusual since morning.”
“It’s nothing special, but I think we need to hurry up a bit.”
Ronan twitched his lips. The events of the previous night were making him impatient. The omega doppelgänger, who changes shape to the one he hates, is no one else but his former self.
Blood flowing like sweat A broken sword. The empty eyes that lost everything and the seven curses that were eating away at the body. The words of the doppelganger echoed in my head.
– Didn’t keep anything.
It was a pitiful complaint. The moment I heard those words, the sense of crisis that had been diluted in everyday life regained its original color.
I had to build up my strength so that something like this would never happen again. To do so, the curse that restricts growth must be removed from the body. Secret, who blinked quietly, opened her mouth.
“This is amazing.”
“What?”
“I succeeded in deciphering one of your curses only a few days ago.”
“yes?”
Ronan’s eyes widened. Secret suddenly got up from her seat and headed to the desk.
After rummaging through the piles of papers for a long time, he took out a notebook. It was impressive that it was thick enough to be used as a pillow.
“This is the 52nd volume. Even if I live another thousand years, I don’t think I will see a curse like this.”
Secret took a look at the notebook and put it on the bookshelf next to it. A bookshelf was filled with the same notebooks as before.
“It’s all written down an analysis of your curse. After all that fuss, I was able to design only one solution.”
“Tell me in detail. What can I do?”
“Do you remember the first time you did Haeju? That’s when I loosened the restraint that was entangled in my eyes.”
“of course.”
Ronan nodded. It was an experience I will never forget. A Haejubeop that directly enters the world of imagery and removes the source of the curse.
In a world of memories, he saw his old home and his father boiling in the form of a shadow of his mother he had no memory of. The feeling of cutting his father at the last moment was still vivid.
“okay. I will use that method this time too. There is just one problem.”
“what is that?”
“The curse I’m going to do this time is so strong that it can’t be compared to the first one. It takes a huge amount of mana and catalyst just to enter the mental world. As for the magical power, it seems that Jarodin has come to his senses, so it seems to work somehow…”
“The catalyst is the problem.”
Secret nodded heavily. Ronan shrugged his eyebrows.
“What do you need? Is it very expensive?”
“It’s not that it’s expensive…it’s because the quantity itself isn’t there. Have you ever heard of the name Dainhar?”
“If you do everything, it’s there. A demonic scene in the southwestern desert.”
It was a name I had heard in my previous life. Dyinhar. Among the rugged terrain scattered across the continent, it was one of the places called the Devil’s Land that could not be obtained unless it was a fairly damn good place.
The rough terrain surrounded by desert and the natives who didn’t know how to treat outsiders like fucking monsters have taken the lives of countless adventurers. Ronan, who was reflecting on information about Dainhar, opened his mouth.
“Ah, is it that dark stone that you need?”
“If you know, it would be quicker to explain. okay. I need magic stones from Dainhar. No matter how hard I try to find a replacement, there is no such catalyst.”
Secret sighed. He explained that among the materials used in the experiment so far, only magic stone from Dainhar was the only one that showed potential as a catalyst.
“Usually, about three chunks a year come up on the Imperial Auction House or High Lemien. And as soon as it goes up, it is sold at a price beyond imagination. Unfortunately, all I have is a shard that I purchased a long time ago as an experiment.”
“Can’t you do that?”
“yes. It must be at least the size of a thumb to be used as a catalyst.”
Ronan nodded. It was certainly not something that could be obtained with a lot of money. The magic stone from Dainhar, literally called the price, was the biggest culprit in making people crawl to that faraway hell and die.
It was a material that could not be replaced as it had a much richer mana than the top-notch mana stone, as well as a special character. one in ten thousand hits. Only a few adventurers with luck and skill were able to return alive holding the stone in the Devil’s Landing. Secret, downcast, continued.
“…Actually, this is why I didn’t contact you even after I found out about it. Could you possibly wait a little longer? I will definitely find another catalyst.”
“That’s Okay. I’ll just get you.”
“huh?”
Ronan said calmly. Secret, who was standing dumbfounded, narrowed her brows.
“Are you serious…?”
“yes. If you don’t know, thank you for continuing your research. Anyway, if you only have magic stones from Dainhar, you can do it right away, right? Anything else you need?”
“…For now, that is.”
“all right. I’ll try to do something, so don’t worry and wait.”
Ronan tapped Secret on the shoulder. Even confident gestures were felt. In a way, it was natural. In fact, Ronan had been to Dainhar once in his previous life.
‘I never thought I’d go to that fucking place again.’
Recalling the memory, Ronan frowned. It was not a very pleasant experience. Dainhar was a terrible place even for him, who was at the crossroads of life and death.
‘It’ll be better than last time.’
Still, the second one was much better than the first one. If there was one problem, it was the time it took, but due to Dyinhar’s location, club activities couldn’t handle it.
‘I’ll have to start as soon as summer vacation starts.’
Fortunately, summer vacation was not far away. After devising a plan for a while, Ronan nodded.
There were many things to prepare in many ways, but it seemed like it would work out somehow. After completing the business, Ronan shook hands goodbye.
“Thank you Secret. It’s a festival after all, so I go out and enjoy it.”
“Come to think of it, today was Baeksuje. A doppelganger is coming?”
“yes. If you have a chance, definitely go and see it. Because you caught it really, really hard.”
“Hmm? catch?”
“There is such a thing. See you next time.”
With those words, Ronan left Separaccio. Jarodine dozed off and saw him off.
Ronan, who simply trimmed his clothes, headed straight to the front gate of the Gallerion House. It was to keep the promise I made with someone yesterday morning.
****
The morning air was cool. A warm halo of light enveloped the campus. I couldn’t believe it was the place where such an uproar had taken place last night.
“It is unjustly peaceful.”
Ronan looked around and laughed. Originally, the streets that should have been quiet were full of students in school uniforms. All of them gave up sleeping in the morning to enjoy Baeksuje.
Before long, a familiar outline caught my eye. In front of the huge front door, a tall girl was waiting for someone in a tightly ironed school uniform. Ronan waved his arms wide and shouted.
“senior! I’m here.”
“Oh Ronan.”
Adeshan, who found Ronan, smiled softly. The contrast between her white skin and black hair was beautiful.
The two met and immediately moved to the Phileon plaza. It was to see the opening ceremony of the Baeksu Festival and the most famous event, the Great March of the Baeksu. Ronan, who was examining her complexion, opened his mouth.
“How are you feeling?”
“Yes. I’m totally better now thank you.”
“I am grateful. Thanks to that, the dirty fight was over in an instant. Hey, seniors should have seen that child’s expression when he was poisoned.”
Ronan giggled. In fact, in last night’s battle, Adeshan played an active role that could be trusted even if he was the protagonist of the victory. It was never something anyone could do to control a manticore and insert a poison needle in a state of confusion. It was in the middle of walking side by side on the boulevard.
“Hey… can I ask you something?”
“What is it?”
Ronan tilted his head. After hesitating for a moment, Adeshan struggled to open his mouth.
“You know that yesterday…wasn’t it heavy?”
“yes?”
“No, not when it is lifted. I…I’m taller than the men…”
“What were you doing up at that time?”
“hot…!”
Adeshan, who noticed the mistake belatedly, covered his mouth. Her white ears turned bright red. After a moment of silence, she stammered.
“I guess I was mistaken. Come to think of it, it can’t be. was I asleep? Keep going until you wake up this morning. huh. Maybe you confused it with another day.”
“Have I ever carried a senior on my back?”
“Wasn’t it? Then I must have confused it with a dream. huh. It often does.”
“Adeshan isn’t sick yet, is he?”
Ronan asked anxiously. The usual firearms were nowhere to be found in her gibberish appearance. Adeshan answered in a rather elevated tone.
“Well then…! I’m perfectly fine. don’t worry.”
“Hmm… I don’t think so. tell me if it still hurts I’ll take you to the infirmary.”
“Because it’s okay.”
Adeshan was unable to meet Ronan’s eyes. Even with a knife in his throat, he couldn’t speak. The fact that I was awake all the way from the moment I was lifted. Remembering what had happened last night, she bit her lip.
‘A idiot could have been caught yesterday…!’
My back was wide and warm, so it was a mistake to just stay still. She remembered the shape of the alpha doppelganger she met.
It was the tea that Adeshan was drooling in trepidation. Ronan, who had been staring at her quietly, shrugged.
“It’s fine as long as it’s okay.”
“Yes. I was really mistaken. don’t mind.”
Adeshan let out a sigh of relief. At that time, loud cheers erupted from the direction of the plaza. Ronan turned his head and suddenly grabbed her hand.
“Looks like it started early. Hurry up a little.”
“Ro Ronan? A hand…!”
“Why are you doing this all over again after holding it yesterday? I know the shortcut, so follow me.”
Ronan and Adeshan crossed the campus hand in hand. When the two arrived at the plaza, the grand procession was already in full swing. All sorts of sounds resounded above the sky in the plaza filled with people and animals.
“I brought you a crazy real manticore.”
“Kyaaah, there’s even a salamander over there!”
“Professor Baren is in the lead?”
ridge…! ridge…! A majestic drumbeat resounded at slow intervals. Under the blue sky, all the fantasy species and monsters displayed at Baeksu Festival were marching in a line.
Faculty members stood between the procession and the students, acting as security guards. Adeshan covered his mouth in admiration at the unusual scenery he had never seen before.
“Wow…that’s great. Much more than I saw in the tent.”
“It sounds awesome.”
Ronan shook his head as if agreeing. I felt that the hard work I had done last night was not in vain.
Baren, who served as the conductor, was beating a huge drum at the head of the procession. Since the race is a race, it seemed to be playing the role of almost a hundred humans at the same time. Right behind him, a manticore with a stinger in Aarondale walked proudly.
“Kheuuuuuong!”
“Waaaaaa!!”
When the manticore roared nicely, all the students burst into cheers. Ronan giggled, pointing at the Manticore.
“Why don’t you take control just one more time and make a Baeksuje that you will never forget? This time, I’m going to stab Baren in the butt once with a poison needle.”
“Yes? Is that so?”
“I’m sorry senior. Don’t do that.”
“I’m kidding.”
The two of them met eyes and giggled. Suddenly, Ronan’s gaze reached the instructor in the prayer room, who was in charge of the safety officer.
For some reason, the Werewolf, dressed in armor instead of a shabby shirt, looked pretty decent. Suddenly, Ronan snapped his fingers in the air.
“Where do you go on the weekend after the festival?”
“I don’t have anything…why?”
“Then, where are you going with me? I took all the other guys with me, but only the senior didn’t.”
“…huh?”
Adeshan tilted her head. Suddenly, Ronan, who was rummaging through his inner pocket, took out a shiny metal plaque.
The plaque made of platinum had the pattern of the Grancia family engraved on it. A bill of lading that could be used across the continent also became a pass to any place at the same time.
“I heard about the reconstruction quite a while ago… I’m looking forward to it.”
There were only about 15 days left until summer vacation. In order to go to Dainhar and use it, he had to put in a request now.
It’s time to go craft the second weapon.