The Conjurer of the Academy

Chapter 14

In a world where the academy is the backdrop, the protagonist must inevitably go through certain processes.

Here we are in the academy’s armory.

Glass display cases, each with eight compartments, lined both walls and filled with a variety of weapons.

“Today, before starting the official classes, you will choose the weapon you will use from now on.”

Choi Tae-min yawned as if explaining was a chore.

New students are required to choose the weapon they’ll use for a year. Prohibiting personal weapons and enforcing weapon selection was all about ensuring fair competition.

“Some rich kids bring extravagant weapons. Anyway, you’ll choose one weapon from this armory and use it for the next three years.”

Even though it was for fair competition, the weapons in Babel’s armory were masterpieces each costing millions of won. It’s a privilege only Babel’s students could have.

“Once you make your choice, there’s no going back, so choose carefully.”

Choi Tae-min finished speaking and shifted his attention to his smartphone.

The time limit was one hour.

Students quickly spread out to choose their weapons. Most had probably decided on their weapon type since middle school, but I was different.

‘This is problematic.’

I was the only one standing idly, unable to decide on a weapon.

‘What should I choose?’

I slowly walked along the wall.

Starting with swords like longswords and rapiers, there were even unarmed weapons like tonfas, gauntlets, and knuckles, as well as ranged weapons like bows and crossbows—nothing was missing.

Or rather, to be precise, the specific items I was looking for were nowhere to be found.

“Where’s the rosary or the cross? At least a bone necklace or something…”

I can’t see them. They’re not here. I can’t find them.

All the weapons here were designed to refine the user’s mana to increase their destructive power.

Even the masterfully crafted weapons would be mere chunks of metal when paired with my zero-magic power stats.

For that reason, I had been determined to choose some sort of sacred object, like a rosary or a cross.

There might be the power to refine spiritual energy within religious artifacts.

‘Do they not even consider those to be weapons?’

Of course, who would hang up a rosary or a cross in an armory?

[Seeing you so desperate makes me think you’re in quite a bit of trouble.]

Yomi, perched as usual on my shoulder, started with an “ahem” of pretense.

[Looking for a weapon to contain your spiritual energy, right?]

“You know it well. Then why doesn’t the great yokai help me out?”

I said it without much expectation, but Yomi, seemingly in a good mood, wiggled with excitement.

[Heh heh, since it’s you, I’ll show you some mercy.]

Yomi, with its fur, puffed up, pointed its tail somewhere. It was on the top shelf of the display case in the far right corner.

‘Don’t blame me if it’s nothing special.’

I walked up to the display case and picked up the weapon Yomi had indicated.

“…What is this?”

It was too short to be a longsword, yet too long to be a dagger.

The scabbard and the end of the hilt were adorned with a Buddhist swastika (卍) symbol. The cross-guard was also extremely narrow, making it completely impractical.

What stood out most was that while all the other weapons looked new, this sword bore signs of age. The blade was rusty, and the handle was stained from frequent use.

Despite having explored countless weapons in various games, I had never seen a sword like this.

Or wait, maybe I’d seen something like this in historical dramas?

[Heh heh.]

Yomi shouted proudly as if discovering a treasure.

[This is the Sain-gum (四寅劍)!]

“Sain-gum?”

The Sain-gum (四寅劍).

A weapon used during the Joseon Dynasty for shamanic purposes, known widely as a sword to ward off calamities.

Designed more as a ritualistic tool rather than a weapon, its practicality as a weapon was extremely low.

The cross-guard was narrow, the handle was blunt, and the blade wasn’t sharp enough to cut through bone effectively.

‘So this is the Sain-gum.’

Even though Seol Ha-baek’s knowledge included the Sain-gum, I hadn’t recognized it immediately because it was my first time seeing one in person.

I held the sword and gave it a few swings. Although I hadn’t swung many swords, the grip didn’t feel quite right.

“Why is this one so old, though?”

[That’s because the Sain-gum is made only once every 12 years. And the older a ritual tool is, the more powerful it tends to be.]

[That’s amazing, Lord Yomi!]

[Such knowledge is common sense for someone like me!]

Yomi shrugged confidently. How does this fluffball even know such things?

‘I still don’t see what’s different.’

Though I swung the Sain-gum and focused my mind, I couldn’t infuse it with spiritual energy. Specifically, my body wasn’t yet accustomed to the sensation of channeling spiritual energy into objects.

[Hmph, you’re just a rookie. How did I ever end up contracting with someone like you?]

While Yomi complained, it still clung to the back of my neck.

[I’ll help you out this time. The human body is made of yin and yang. Imagine these two forces swirling around your navel.]

There’s nothing to lose.

Following Yomi’s instructions, I closed my eyes and visualized the image.

Two fish, one black and one white, swimming in the lake. The fish chased each other’s tails in circles, creating large, round ripples on the calm lake surface.

“Ugh…!”

Starting from my navel, I felt a burning sensation at every joint. I didn’t need to open my eyes to know that blue spiritual energy was flickering at my fingertips.

[Good, you’re doing well. Now, push that condensed spiritual energy from your fingertips into the hilt of the sword.]

Following Yomi’s words, I visualized the energy transfer. I saw streams of blue baby spiders moving from my fingertips to the sword hilt.

As the burning pain subsided,

Vrrrrrr

The Sain-gum, now faintly wrapped in blue spiritual energy, began to vibrate slightly.

[The Sain-gum reacts to your spiritual energy.]

With a change, the system message is updated. Immediately, spiritual energy emanated from the sword hilt and wrapped around my wrist.

The energy, which had wrapped around me, seeped into my skin and disappeared.

Main Quest No.2 Clear!

– Chosen by the Sain-gum! : Sain-gum (?)

※ This artifact’s rank is adjusted to match ‘Spirit Conjuration (B)’.

Simultaneously, a list of sub-skills and abilities of the Sain-gum appeared. The one that stood out the most was:

[Spirit Conjuration Space]

– The rank limit of spirits that can be conjured increases.

– Conjured spirits can be stored within the Sain-gum.

Skills are usually like this.

They are difficult to master, but once learned, activation poses little challenge.

This is an intrinsic privilege for those who are immersed in the game. It was the moment when the benefits, seen only in novels and manga, applied to me.

“Baek-Ah.”

[Yes?]

The moment I ran my palm along the blade of the Sain-gum—

Ssshhh

Baek-Ah’s body disassembled into blue spiritual energy and was absorbed into the Sain-gum.

[Spirit Conjuration Space]

– S-rank: (0/0)

– A-rank: (0/1)

– B-rank: (1/3)

– C-rank: (1/10)

– D-rank: (0/30)

The limit on the number of spirits that could be conjured had increased.

It had created a four-dimensional inventory to store an unknown number of spirits.

[Wow, it’s so spacious here! And it feels comfortable too!]

Focusing on the Sain-gum allowed me to hear Baek-Ah’s voice from within. Satisfied with the result, I turned to Yomi with a smile.

“Don’t worry, Yomi. Your place will always be on my shoulder.”

Yomi pouted as if annoyed by the new complication.

[What a show-off you are.]

* * *

“Alright, line up and present your chosen weapons one by one.”

Choi Tae-min, who had been glued to his smartphone the whole time, let out a long yawn. The scanner-like device in his hand was a type of magical tool used to register weapon information.

Once registered with that device, the weapon is recorded in the student’s personal information, and changing weapons is prohibited for some time.

‘Everyone’s picking standard choices.’

Most students chose conventional weapons.

After all, the majority of weapons were designed to extract the user’s mana efficiently. Finding an inefficient weapon here would be more challenging…

“Are you sure about this?”

Choi Tae-min paused his hand holding the scanner and asked. Thankfully, he wasn’t talking to me but to Cheon Tae-seong, who was standing in front of me.

“I don’t need one.”

All eyes turned to Cheon Tae-seong.

He wasn’t holding anything in his hands.

“A weapon would just get in my way. It doesn’t violate school rules either.”

Choosing no weapon at all.

That was the conclusion Cheon Tae-seong arrived at after touring the armory for an hour.

“Is that so?”

No, you’re not supposed to ask that.

Choi Tae-min put the scanner back in his pocket and looked at the smartphone held in his other hand. Given his nodding as he scrolled, he seemed to be reviewing Cheon Tae-seong’s middle school records.

“Alright, it shouldn’t be a problem.”

Choi Tae-min nodded.

Realizing Cheon Tae-seong’s abilities, Choi Tae-min must have understood why he didn’t need a weapon.

Soon, it was my turn.

“Hm?”

I thought it would go smoothly.

Choi Tae-min pointed the scanner at the Sain-gum, his brows furrowing.

“Isn’t this the weapon that was far in the corner?”

“Yes, it is.”

“Wow.”

Choi Tae-min exclaimed though it didn’t seem to be in a complimentary manner.

“Never expected anyone to pick this.”

He took the Sain-gum and examined it closely.

He ran his fingers along the blade, gripped the handle in reverse, and gave it a light swing. Finally, he channeled his mana into the sword and gave a brief review.

“As a weapon, it’s the worst. You’d be better off fighting barehanded.”

The blunt blade and awkward handle. When mana is channeled into it, it disperses immediately.

In the eyes of the instructor, Choi Tae-min, this weapon scored less than the lowest possible score.

“You can still switch to another weapon.”

“I’m fine with this.”

I declined politely. After all, this weapon wasn’t meant to hold mana.

Any other weapon would be a mere decoration to me if it weren’t the Sain-gum.

“If that’s your decision, then. Now, listen closely to the instructions. When you channel mana into your weapon, the embedded chip will track your location…”

Choi Tae-min recited the safety instructions from the manual. Most of the provisions were to prevent the misuse of weapons, but they were far from perfect.

After all, monsters capable of killing without weapons roamed freely.

“……”

Cheon Tae-seong remained as expressionless as ever.

For other students, the weapon selection was a matter of life and death, but for Cheon Tae-seong, it was just boring.

“Yomi.”

I whispered softly to the fluffball on my shoulder.

“How long will it take for me to become as strong as him?”

Yomi didn’t know about Cheon Tae-seong’s abilities. It could only see the numerous grudges clinging to him and the fierce spirits blazing around him, ready to devour everything.

[Let’s see.]

Yomi snorted softly at my question.

[It will take a very long time.]

“That’s a problem.”

The answer wasn’t satisfying.

Even if he seemed like an insurmountable mountain now, Cheon Tae-seong was just another hurdle I’d have to overcome someday. At the very least, I needed to become stronger to fend off the encroaching monsters.

[Hmph, you should hear the yokai out until the end.]

Yomi added with a snicker.

[That’s if you’re alone.]

With that satisfying response, I couldn’t help but respond in kind.

“Then, it’s worth a try.”

As a gamer, my senses were tingling with excitement I hadn’t felt in a long time.

* * *

During lunch break, the gymnasium was empty after all the students had left. There was still plenty of time until the next class, leaving me alone in the gym.
The training room only opened in the evening, so the gym was the only suitable place. Earlier, there had been too many eyes around to test the weapon’s performance freely…

“Yomi.”

[What is it?]

Yomi caught on to my intention quickly and snickered.

[You’ve got quite an instinct for improvisation.]

A flash of blue light ignited as Yomi summoned a fierce Foxfire.

However, this time the flames didn’t ignite the air.

『Sain-gum – Yomi: Foxfire』

Fwoosh

Blue flames burned on the blade, precisely as I had envisioned, manifesting atop the Sain-gum.

“This will do.”

For the first time, I felt like I was taking a proper step forward.

–
Won – the official currency of South Korea.