If You Stab With a Pen, They Die. (3)
'The effect is definite.'
Kim Dojun smiled as he looked at the pen he was holding, Haram's pen, and the evil spirits that crumbled in an instant.
'At first, I wondered how I was supposed to get through this.'
Having played Sorcery Killing Technique, he knew that the types of enemies that appeared in the Rampaging Spirit Incident were not possessed entities, which were susceptible to physical attacks, but purely spiritual entities that could only be harmed by spiritual power.
Because he could not yet properly use sorcery, he had seriously worried for some time about how to deal with evil spirits that could not be affected by physical attacks, and in the end, he found one solution.
'So, Haram's pen really was the answer.'
As seen in the log window, Haram's pen originally had the effect of being able to discover the answers to ten questions per month, within the scope of honors student Haram's knowledge.
However, what Kim Dojun focused on was not the pen's ability, but rather the fact that this pen could be equipped as a weapon in the game.
'I remembered that it increased sorcery attack power by 1. Thank goodness.'
It was because he remembered this gag gimmick set by the developers.
"Impressive."
As expected, Haram's pen held by Kim Dojun was proving to be a truly splendid weapon.
Pa-pa-pa-pa-pat—!
He was eliminating every single evil spirit that had invaded the school, not missing a single one.
Meanwhile,
Kim Younghan, who was watching the path Kim Dojun was carving out, thought—
'... Huh.'
He looked at him with a mixed expression of admiration and shock.
The reason was the almost invisible speed Kim Dojun was displaying.
'I did suspect it would be something, but is that Thunder God Sorcery(雷神術)...!?'
Thunder God Sorcery(雷神術).
Simply put, it was a sorcery that drastically accelerated physical abilities.
But in reality, among sorcerers, those who could properly use Thunder God Sorcery were few and far between.
Sorcerers skilled enough to use Thunder God Sorcery usually also had their own unique sorceries and preferred to use those over Thunder God Sorcery.
But more fundamentally, the reason was that Thunder God Sorcery was incredibly difficult to use.
'To begin with, Thunder God Sorcery requires inscribing twelve sorcery formations on one's own body as a medium, and all those sorcery formations must be operated simultaneously to employ this high-level spell...!'
Obviously, if a human body exceeds its inherent speed limits, it breaks down.
When Thunder God Sorcery is used, the augmented body cannot withstand the acceleration and is destroyed, so twelve sorcery formations are drawn to protect it.
The first needed is a sorcery formation for physical reinforcement to keep the accelerated body from collapsing.
Next, a thought-acceleration sorcery formation is needed to enable proper control of the over-accelerated body.
Beyond that, several other formations for protection and control must all be drawn and managed simultaneously.
In short, it's a technique with an almost hellish level of difficulty.
But as Kim Younghan continued to watch Kim Dojun in combat, he soon realized his initial assumption was wrong.
'Thunder God Sorcery...that's not it?'
What Kim Dojun was displaying now resembled Thunder God Sorcery.
However, what Kim Dojun was using was fundamentally different.
Currently, Kim Dojun showed not even a hint of the energy typical of Thunder God Sorcery. Nor was there the inevitable scattering or instability of spiritual power that comes with it.
Coming to the conclusion that what Kim Dojun was wielding wasn't Thunder God Sorcery, he thought:
'Rather, he's using a sorcery that's clearly above Thunder God Sorcery, or perhaps... a unique sorcery?'
With that thought,
'Is this... a sorcery genius?'
Genuinely awed, he watched Kim Dojun massacre the evil spirits.
And Kim Dojun's display was not only impressing Kim Younghan.
"Crazy—"
"That has to be Thunder God Sorcery, right...?"
"Isn't it amazing that anyone our age can actually use it?"
"I did suspect something since he already showed it during entrance... now it makes sense why he always spaces out and naps in class..."
"At this rate, he really doesn't need to bother with classes."
The students following behind him were also in awe, though they hadn't reached Kim Younghan's deduction.
And among those students, Shin Se-yeon, who was watching Kim Dojun, thought:
'... I didn't realize he was this good....'
She wore a genuinely shocked expression.
'Of course, I knew he was a genius....'
She had witnessed with her own eyes Kim Dojun taking down the boss of the spirit zone with a single blow, so she knew he was strong.
Watching him, she had thought it was impressive, but she also felt a kind of competitive spirit.
She'd believed, with more effort, she too could reach his level.
But now—
'... Is that possible?'
She was forced to realize, to a staggering degree, the gap between herself and Kim Dojun.
... Of course, the guesses of Kim Younghan, the students, and Shin Se-yeon were all wrong.
Because Kim Dojun was simply using his pure physical abilities alone.
Yet, nobody had realized this.
"W-We're here!"
"Everyone, run!"
Thus, thanks to Kim Dojun's feats, class 1-C was able to reach the auditorium.
"Instructor Kim Younghan! Are the students okay!?"
"Instructor Shim Yongseok! The students are safe!"
Soon, class 1-C was able to reunite with other students and instructors who had evacuated to the auditorium before them.
"What's the current situation?"
"As you can see. The defensive sorcery formations on the Sorcery Institute building are working, so the evil spirits can't phase through the walls, and we're holding them back... but as you see, there are just too many."
"Who on earth would do such a thing...?"
Shaking his head at Kim Younghan's question, instructor Shim Yongseok replied with a trouble-burdened expression.
"That's not the biggest issue right now. The problem is, of all the instructors, the ones here either need objects to use their unique sorceries or are specialized for fighting single entities. We're barely holding out."
He looked around the auditorium.
Some instructors were casting sorcery to block the evil spirits trying to break in through the windows. Others were drawing sorcery formations to try to delay the spirits' advance.
Surrounding them, the students were assisting the instructors.
While Kim Younghan was taking in the situation, time passed.
"... But, you managed to get all the students down here even though you hadn't prepared a sorcery formation."
Shim Yongseok asked.
He knew Kim Younghan's unique sorcery was related to sorcery formations.
Kim Younghan bowed his head, slightly embarrassed, and replied.
"I had help from Kim Dojun."
"Kim Dojun?"
"Yes."
Kim Younghan looked around for Kim Dojun, who should have been among the students of Class 1-C.
"?"
He soon showed a look of confusion.
Kim Dojun, who should have been among the students, was nowhere to be seen.
But then—
"Oh, ohh!"
"Is that guy insane!?"
Kim Younghan turned towards the noise, toward the windows of the auditorium.
"Hey, hey! Don't go out! You're gonna die!"
Soon, Kim Younghan and Shim Yongseok spotted Kim Dojun trying to go outside through the auditorium window.
####
'I can't waste any more time like this.'
Answering the shouts of students and instructors trying to stop him, Kim Dojun slipped outside the building, now swarming with evil spirits.
'The vicious spirit appears when the number of evil spirits in the school drops below half.'
Kim Dojun's true target was the boss of the "Rampaging Spirit Incident" — the vicious spirit.
He had come outside to deal with the evil spirits as fast as possible and trigger its appearance.
"Huup—!"
He began to slaughter the evil spirits clinging to the auditorium exterior.
A spirit, madly scratching at the window and making eerie noises, suddenly had a hole appear in its head.
Another, reaching for a student through a breached protective array, had a hole appear in its body.
Still others, pushing their bodies in desperate attempts to enter the auditorium, all sprouted small holes—
Paaaah—!
And exploded.
Once again, evil spirits vanished in an instant like a spectacular firework.
How long did Kim Dojun circle the auditorium, cleaning up evil spirits this way?
Bang!
[Screeeeeeeeeeeeech──────!!!]
The deafening noise made Kim Dojun grimace.
'Finally.'
He smiled at the sight of a colossal hand beginning to form at the center of the shattered courtyard. In contrast, however,
"...!"
Shim Yongseok, looking out the auditorium window, could only widen his eyes in shock.
For amongst the evil spirits, the identity of that enormous hand was—
"The vicious spirit...!"
—an upper-level evil spirit, created as thousands of lesser evil spirits merged chaotically together.
[Screeeeeeeech—!]
Shim Yongseok looked with a hopeless expression at the monstrous body taking shape with eerie wails.
The vicious spirit, composed of thousands of ninth-level evil spirits, was classified as a first-level spirit.
With only the unprepared instructors here, there was no way to subdue a first-level vicious spirit without taking casualties.
Despairing as the creature slowly completed its form, Shim Yongseok then noticed—
"...?"
—Kim Dojun, calmly walking toward the developing monster.
Steadily, without a shred of fear, Kim Dojun approached.
Shim Yongseok had seen Kim Dojun's skill moments earlier.
Skill that defied his age.
However, even with his abilities, facing a vicious spirit was suicidal. So he tried to stop him—
Then, at that instant,
"...!"
Shim Yongseok saw.
Kim Dojun's figure disappeared before his very eyes.
Simultaneously—
[Scre—]
The vicious spirit, still forming, froze.
Its gaping mouth, which had only moments before been constantly shrieking, fell silent.
The gigantic arms, which had been smashing in wild arcs, hung frozen in mid-air.
As if time itself had stopped, the vicious spirit was utterly motionless.
In the next moment, Shim Yongseok saw it.
Something had appeared on the arm of the enormous vicious spirit.
Upon close inspection—though barely visible at a glance—he soon confirmed what he was seeing.
"A...hole?"
A hole.
A small hole suddenly appeared on the spirit's gigantic arm, which had otherwise looked undamaged.
At that instant—
"...!!!"
Everyone watching—Shim Yongseok, all students, and instructors—witnessed it.
The stopped vicious spirit's body began to be riddled with myriad holes.
And as fissures spread through the forming body, which had been assembling the creature's massive form, and it began to collapse—
Clack.
"If it's transforming—"
Kim Dojun reappeared, saying,
"—just kill it before it finishes."
With his mischievous voice—
Kugugugugugugugug—Kagagagak!!!!
—the massive body of the vicious spirit being created began to shatter, breaking to pieces.
-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
Easy for you to say....
【(⩌_⩌ )】