I Became the Genius Mage of the Martial Academy

‘Was there an insect master?’

Crunch! Crunch! Crunch! Crunch!

As if reacting to the strong light, the group of centipedes rushed towards me.

Even with the writhing carapaces rushing in like a wave, my gaze did not waver. On the contrary, I gathered the corners of my mouth as if I had been waiting.

“As expected of bugs, they gather well.”

I amplified the mana of the second circle and activated the flame magic.

The large fireballs that I had shot at Mo Yonghan formed around me and burned the giant centipedes that were rushing in from all directions.

“Kieeeek!”

Along with a hot heat, a burning smell rose, and the giant centipedes each struggled and writhed to escape the flames.

‘The effect is good.’

If I had tried to face them with a sword, I would have been swallowed by now without even being able to swing a few times.

Fwoosh!

I manipulated the fireballs and pushed the giant centipedes even further away.

Since this side was at a disadvantage, it would be a loss to go into a war of attrition. I quickly exploded the fireballs and broke through the point where the encirclement was weak.

Craaaack!

Along with the explosion, the giant centipedes scattered sporadically. I aimed for that gap and broke through, and then I ran in the opposite direction of the wind.

It was to avoid the pursuit of the giant centipedes, which had developed senses such as smell and vibration rather than eyesight.

‘I would have been in big trouble if I didn’t have the Spirit God Steps.’

Thanks to the advanced footwork that maximized stealth, I was able to hide in a crevice of a rock in a corner of a cave without being detected by the giant centipedes, which were sensitive to vibrations.

Of course, the fact that I had attracted their attention by using the time-lag magic that I had planted at the crossroads every time a fork in the road appeared was also a major factor.

Crunch! Crunch! Crunch!

Soon, I could hear the sound of the centipedes’ legs crossing beyond the crevice of the rock where I was hiding.

‘Damn it.’

I swallowed dryly at the chilling sensation and held my breath, and after a while, I could feel the enemies moving away.

It was only for a moment that I let out a sigh of relief. I couldn’t easily step out because of the presence of one or two giant centipedes that were placed at an ambiguous distance.

And even then, after the guys had settled on the rocks and had become motionless like a part of the terrain, their qi sense had become faint, making it difficult to grasp their location.

‘This is dangerous.’

The primitive stealth unique to a predator insect was difficult to completely see through at my current level. In other words, it was a situation where I didn’t know when I would be discovered by the enemies even if I went out after it had become quiet.

And most of all, the fact that the centipedes were placed sporadically in all directions was significant. Because to have formed an encirclement like this was a formation that was made under the judgment that I hadn’t gone far.

‘The opponent is strategically looking for me.’

They were already tricky enemies, but to think they had even learned tactics. It was to the point where a dry laugh would come out.

The reason why the bugs were moving so systematically was simple. It was because of the existence of an insect master.

Among the martial arts of the south, there is a type that dominates bugs or beasts.

It is a peculiar branch that is divided into soul arts or domination arts.

Since the conditions for acquiring it are quite difficult and it is passed down to only a very small number of people, it is not often seen, but I had run into it occasionally like this.

‘As far as I know, there is only one person in the academy who can handle a servant insect of this scale.’

The King of Insects, Go Dugyeong.

‘He’s not a person who should be appearing at this point in time.’

He was a strong person who had an inconsistency to appear in a junior student’s exam.

If he had made up his mind and had activated a coercive force such as a rampage on the giant centipedes in the encirclement just now, I wouldn’t even have been able to escape the offensive of the group of centipedes that would have rushed in, risking their lives.

Perhaps the opponent was also holding back to some extent.

‘Then what to do.’

I could still feel the presence of the giant centipedes beyond the rock. But it was also not easy to secretly create several stealth formations and escape the encirclement.

A formation is originally a harmony of exquisite terrain and the five elements, but in a space where the yin qi is so concentrated, it was rather difficult to create a small-scale stealth formation in the desired location.

And of course, it was easy to be discovered by the enemies in the process.

Having no choice, I decided to wait for now. Until other students like me fell into the trap.

Crunch! Crunch!

As per that thought, I could feel the movements of the giant centipedes scattering based on a certain point in time.

‘Now!’

I seized the opportunity and came out of the crevice of the rock.

When I spread my qi sense, it seemed there were giant centipedes remaining in the cracks of the canyon, but strangely, there was no movement from them.

‘Come to think of it, considering my level of stealth, it wouldn’t be strange if Go Dugyeong had already grasped my location. Did he really hold back? Or is he aiming for something else?’

If it was the King of Insects, it was possible to not only command bugs like giant centipedes but also to command bat-like creatures and scan the area with sound waves.

The appearance of Go Dugyeong and this exam were unusual in many ways. To think that the King of Insects, a valuable personnel, would personally step up and painstakingly adjust the difficulty of the exam.

It might have been better to put in an instructor or another insect master like in the original work.

‘I’ll find the luminous pearl first.’

I cleared my miscellaneous thoughts and moved first. Since the location of the luminous pearl was random, I had no choice but to sell my feet from here. If it were the original way, that is.

‘But I have magic.’

First, I further enhanced my eyesight and hearing, which had been lowered by [Dulled Senses].

Thanks to the structuring of mana that I had become able to implement by achieving the second circle, a more precise adjustment than before was possible.

As a result, I was able to secure a not-so-bad line of sight even in the dark.

‘With this, the basic preparations are complete.’

What was really important was something else.

I gathered my mana and created a shield in the air. When I increased the density inside the transparent shield made of mana, the appearance beyond it began to distort.

Unlike before, when it was just flat, I structured some to be concave and some to be convex to act as a lens.

‘If I project this onto the wall, it will become a kind of beam projector.’

When I tilted the lens to face the cave wall, the light sources that had only looked blurry from a distance were gathered in the middle of the canyon like a constellation.

Basically, to search for a luminous pearl, you needed excellent observation skills, stealth, and mobility.

And among them, what was especially needed was discernment. In this place, which was overflowing with luminous moss, it was difficult to distinguish it from a luminous pearl.

So there were countless cases of falling into a trap while trying to get closer, but I had resolved such a misfortune in advance.

‘I’m still not being discovered.’

Perhaps because the giant centipedes had degenerated eyesight, they were not attracted by this much light.

Perhaps it was because the other students had also arrived one after another, so they had less capacity to pay attention to this side.

Either way, it was a gain for me, so I began to investigate the light sources in the area by adjusting several shields.

If I just adjusted the angle well, I could save much more time than turning my head and looking for them one by one.

And moreover, the fact that I didn’t have to come out to the middle of the valley to secure my vision and could move stealthily was a bonus.

And so, after searching for a long time, I was finally able to discover a green color with a subtly different hue from the luminous moss.

The problem was that the luminous pearl was moving. It was attached to the back of a cylindrical body with stripes, as if it were an egg.

“Ha.”

I lifted my head and looked up at the eight legs attached to the ceiling on one side of the cave. What was there was a giant spider hanging from a spider web the width of a small lake.

What was peculiar was that it wasn’t just the giant spider that was there.

“Cheonwu?!”

“Great Hero!”

Lee Huimun and Gu Dong were standing on the floor on the opposite side. They were half-entangled in a spider web on the floor.

In that state, they would soon be restrained by the giant spider.

When you just look at them as competitors, it might be better to just leave them alone, but considering the aftermath of this exam, it wasn’t a bad idea to help.

“You guys owe me.”

I took out a talisman and manifested the flame magic.

The flames that immediately burned up burned the spider webs that were entangled in their legs.

At that sight, the giant spider let out a monstrous cry as if it were on guard.

“Kieeeek!”

The guy turned its rear towards this side and shot out a spider web. I additionally formed a fireball and burned the incoming attack as it was.

“Well, well. The compatibility is good.”

I amplified the mana in my circle, looking at the spider webs that had become ashes and were scattering before I knew it.

In an instant, a qi wave echoed, and the giant spider, which had a sensitive sensory organ, flinched and tried to climb up the spider web, but it was already too late.

“Burn.”

The two fireballs that had been completed before I knew it aimed for the vertical lines, which were the core of the spider web, and flew, and along with the collision, they created a flame.

Fwoosh!

The flames spread in all directions like a firework, riding the lines. The giant spider, which had lost its core foothold, fell to the floor ungracefully.

“Kieeeek!”

I hadn’t felt it because I had only been facing strong people until now, but I had become quite strong now. To the extent that it was difficult to even approach at an ordinary level.

I looked down at the giant spider struggling on the floor and cautiously took a step. I could see the bead with a brilliant appearance embedded in its back.

The luminous pearl was right in front of me. A very smooth situation.

Then, a symptom that had been acting up convulsively appeared again.

“This again…!”

The [Arrogant Young Master] debuff was wriggling again. It was like a sneeze. A trivial tickle that you don’t know when it will pop out.

Gu Dong and Lee Huimun, who had no way of knowing my circumstances, joined in right away.

“Thank you! I’ll join in.”

“Me too. Thanks.”

Just as I was maintaining my silence at that.

“Kiiiii!”

The giant spider stepped back and let out a monstrous cry. Then, I could feel something popping out from all over the canyon in my qi sense.

“The baby spiders are coming! I don’t know if I should call them babies, though.”

As per Gu Dong’s words, when I lifted my gaze, spiders the size of a wild dog were crawling out through the holes in the canyon cave.

Lee Huimun swung his sword and shook off the remaining lines, and then he clicked his tongue.

“It would have been better if it weren’t for the spider webs!”

As he said, the giant spiders that spewed out spider webs were the worst opponents for a martial artist who used a sword.

Because the blade was easy to damage, and the attacks that were continuously shot from a medium to long range were difficult to block even for a first-rate martial artist.

And on top of that, the unique hardness of the spider’s exoskeleton, unlike a human, was also tricky.

“Stop.”

I took a step forward towards the giant spiders pouring in from all directions and added.

“That’s mine.”

In an instant, the dark canyon bottom was dyed red. The karma fire that was fiercely burning around me burned the spiders that were rushing in from all directions.

The baby giant spiders, whose shells were thin, shriveled up and burned like a king crab, and the giant spider in the center tried to escape late, but in my hand, a flame shining in a reddish-yellow color was already compressed.

A radiant flame bullet.

“Kieeeek!”

At the end of the giant spider’s death throes, the radiant flame bullet incinerated everything in its line of sight along with the exploding mana.

“It’s the end.”

I muttered, looking at the giant spider that was collapsing with a hole in its body.

In the place where the corpse had collapsed, only the luminous pearl was left, lying there.

I picked it up and put it in my bosom and said.

“I’ll be taking this.”

(End of Chapter)