I Became a Disaster-Class Sorcery Genius

I Am a Good Person (1)

Ataki Sasaru was 37 years old.

In the sorcery world, this was not an age considered especially old, yet it was a bit ambiguous to say he had a wealth of experience.

That was because there were quite a few older sorcerers in their fifties or sixties in the sorcery industry.

Compared to them, he had a relatively short career, but nevertheless, Ataki Sasaru's pride in his knowledge of sorcery formations was real.

From an early age, he had never once given a wrong answer regarding sorcery formations.

Back in his twenties, during his active years as a sorcerer, he was known not by his real name, but even referred to as the "Breaker (破毁自)".

He had shown such genius in this field that he was called so, for he was exceedingly skilled in breaking down sorcery formations.

Because of this, he had pride.

He truly believed there was no sorcery array he could not analyze.

Maybe that was why—

"... This is... incredible...!"

Those were the words he let out after seeing the sorcery array that Kim Younghan handed over.

"... R-really?"

Sasaru glanced at Kim Younghan's face, whose eyes were brimming with expectations, then turned his gaze away.

Before him, there was a drawing that was so far from a typical sorcery array that it was embarrassing to even call it one.

In truth, it wasn't just Kim Younghan's eyes that saw it this way—Ataki Sasaru saw it that way too...!

So why had he pretended to know more when he was looking at a drawing he couldn't even properly identify?

There were two reasons. The first was that the person who drew this array was the disciple of Explosion God.

'Explosion God's sorcery formations have always been notorious for their messy lines. They're famous for their out-of-the-box composition, too.'

Indeed, Sasaru had seen a few himself and knew that Explosion God's arrays could at times seem like mere scribbles.

The second reason was his own pride, or more precisely, his status.

Though he did not appear so on the outside, Ataki Sasaru actually cared a great deal about maintaining his own reputation...!

To someone like him, failing to perceive the array drawn by Explosion God's disciple was, to any bystander, a definite strike to his dignity.

Of course, he could have simply stuck to his own conviction here.

Given that he couldn't understand the array, maybe it wasn't a real sorcery array at all but just a poorly drawn picture, unworthy even of minimal effect as an array...!

That would have preserved his immediate pride.

In fact, to be honest, the sorcery array before Ataki Sasaru was indeed drawn in such a way that one could only think so...!

But if—by any chance—he said so, and the disciple of Explosion God were to actually use this array?

Needless to say, his reputation at the Sorcery Institute would be shattered that very day, so after much hesitation, he had no choice but to say what he did.

"I'll make a separate copy of this sorcery array photo here. The composition is more intricate than expected, so I'd like to look into it some more."

Thus, Ataki Sasaru spoke words he didn't mean.

"If you get results, would you be able to let me know...?"

Startled, he looked at Kim Younghan, who asked the next question.

"Results... you mean?"

"Yes, I thought it might be good to know, just in case...."

"... Understood. I'll let you know the results as soon as I've 'perfectly' analyzed the sorcery array."

He regretted the words that slipped out so instinctively, driven by the thought of protecting his pride.

To begin with, he already believed that properly deciphering this so-called sorcery array was probably impossible.

Of course, Kim Younghan—knowing nothing of what Sasaru was thinking—

"Thank you...!"

beamed as if he had discovered an answer, pulled the array printout from the printer, and set it on Sasaru's desk.

"Then, see you next time!"

And without waiting for a reply, darted out at once.
Sasaru watched him leave, then glanced back at the photo left behind.

"..."

No matter how long he stared, it just didn't seem like a sorcery array at all.

Even Explosion God's arrays, notorious for their odd composition, hadn't looked this extreme, but the one drawn by his disciple seemed especially so.

'... No, it's not just extreme—maybe it really is just a picture, after all?'

That was the thought that flickered across his mind.

Looking again at the sorcery array with that thought, it truly resembled a random scrawl by a small child.

He soon shook his head.

'... There's no way a disciple of the legendary Explosion God would do something meaningless.'

Besides, hadn't his disciple already proved his skill twice before?

Although he hadn't witnessed those tests himself, Sasaru knew of those rumors well enough.

'A high-level sorcery array beyond my ability to read, huh.'

Putting all the information together, Sasaru thought there was a real possibility what Kim Dojun had drawn was a high-level sorcery array, difficult for even him to interpret.

"... Well, I suppose I'll have to try to break it down, at least."

With a peculiar expression, he picked up his pen.

####

Weekends at the Sorcery Institute were intense.

Of course, it wasn't that the Sorcery Institute called students to campus on weekends to study.

After all, weekends here weren't much different from any other school.

However, weekends at the Sorcery Institute were intense because of most of the students themselves.

Basically, only by rising above others could one be treated better here, and hard study was required to turn the open path to advancement into a golden ticket.

So, even though it was the weekend, most students studied tirelessly, hoping to surpass their peers even a little faster or to defend their own spots.

"Tsk."

Kim Dojun was drinking an Americano at a quiet cafe in the busy district near the Sorcery Institute.

'Disgustingly bitter. I should've just ordered a cafe latte...'

He set his Americano down with a dissatisfied expression, and began casually scanning the area.

'By now, they should be here.'

The reason Kim Dojun had come here.

It wasn't to enjoy an ill-fitting teatime, but because he knew that today, Han Soyeon would be bullied by a group of thugs here.

'This is when she needs a push of courage.'

To be honest, Kim Dojun wanted to consistently encourage Han Soyeon's spirit even without such 'events', but unfortunately, that was impossible.

He wasn't in the same class as her, nor was he in a position to focus solely on Han Soyeon.

That's why, just like on the first day of school, he was waiting in the cafe, determined to support her during this game event.

'How should I do this?'

At the same time, he was pondering one thing.

'Isn't there something I can say to push Han Soyeon even further?'

Honestly, what he had prepared was enough, but by nature, Kim Dojun wanted to give her a bolder dose of courage.

'... I've already been telling her to kill those bastards.'

The sooner Han Soyeon awakened, the faster Kim Dojun could deal with the first boss.

That meant Kim Dojun would escape from here all the sooner, so he was giving it some serious thought.

'... Come to think of it, didn't she also dislike the vice guild president? Should I just tell her to kill the vice guild president, too?'

Kim Dojun pondered, recalling her character settings one by one.

Just how long had he been deliberating?

"Hey, do you think you're hot stuff?"

"No, I just...."

Smack!

Before he knew it, Kim Dojun spotted Han Soyeon surrounded at the back of the quiet cafe by a group harassing her.

"Ugh, she's so annoying..."

"Why do we have to run into this loser on the weekend?"

"Did you come here to pick out your next target to cling to?"

The group taunted Han Soyeon, poked and prodded her, then grabbed her hair and publicly humiliated her.

But Kim Dojun, rather than caring about how she was being bullied, was only thinking about when the bullying would end and how to most effectively encourage her.

'Should I go with a subtle, needling approach?'

'Or should I just straightforwardly tell her to be brave...? But that might drag things out too long.'

'She's timid, so maybe I should just show her an example right at her side?'

An endless flow of possibilities passed through Kim Dojun's mind.

Yet, as none felt quite satisfactory, he kept contemplating for a while, until—

"!?"

In the next instant, a log window appeared before him, and he instinctively stopped daydreaming.

【The commander of the Sorcery Killing Technique, Yagrat of Ambition, is descending!】

A log window flashed in front of Kim Dojun's eyes, out of nowhere.

'Already showing up?'

He wore a momentarily dazed expression as distortions appeared before his eyes.

'This wasn't part of the plan.'

Honestly, Kim Dojun had never expected this to happen so soon.

After all, in the original Sorcery Killing Technique game, Han Soyeon had endured almost an entire year of ostracism.

That was why he had shown a flustered expression—but soon he straightened his face.

'This is actually better.'

Truthfully, Kim Dojun was still unprepared to confront the commander right now.

He hadn't secured a single spiritual power sphere to use against the boss yet.

Still, Kim Dojun was unconcerned.

'Even if Han Soyeon awakens now, I have a plan to handle it.'

Spiritual power spheres would only be needed once Han Soyeon had completed her transformation and become a vengeful spirit.

But if it was right before she transformed?

Just as in all media and in real life, in this world, the moment of transformation is always the weakest.

That's why Kim Dojun began planning to strike at that exact instant.

Soon, what had been swirling blackness before his eyes gradually started to take shape.

First, he saw flickering yellow spiritual power.

Next came yellow foxfire.

【Oh... oooooh...!】

Lastly, he heard a voice that, to anyone, would sound like an evil spirit.

【Such character... truly remarkable.... Truly amazing...!】

As the possessing foxfire, Yagrat of Ambition descended, it spoke while its body of fire trembled as if feeling something deeply.

【With a spirit like this, it's possible...! With this, I can rampage once again, like before!】

It exclaimed joyfully as it zipped around in circles as if in ecstasy.

Watching Yagrat, waiting to catch the moment it possessed Han Soyeon, Kim Dojun tensed his body with a grin, ready to jump in at any time.

【Now, let's make a contract together, Kim Dojun!】

"?"

At Yagrat's words, Kim Dojun couldn't help but stare blankly in surprise.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
Wahahahaha. So that's how he becomes a disaster-class sorcerer.
「৻( •̀ ᗜ •́ ৻)」