I Became a Disaster-Class Sorcery Genius

Boss, Don't You Want To? (1)

In truth, when he first got the book from the library, he didn't have high expectations.

After all, what Kim Dojun obtained was just a book.

He'd kept his distance from studying for so long that, even if it was helpful, he doubted it would be dramatically so.

But then—

'I can sense spiritual power...?'

Amazingly, after reading 'Sorcery Theory', he was able to sense spiritual power.

'... No way, this is broken.'

Kim Dojun stared at the book with an incredulous expression.

The book he held was filled without a single blank page—every solution and explanation was written out in detail.

'Sure, it was easy to understand...'

There were more passages he could comprehend just by reading than usual, but Kim Dojun hadn't expected effects of this scale, so he was dumbfounded.

'Not bad at all.'

A smile crept onto his lips.

Of course, the step Kim Dojun had taken was a very small one.

He wasn't using sorcery yet—he had simply managed to sense spiritual power.

But as they say, well begun is half done.

'Let's give it a try.'

Kim Dojun, starting to truly enjoy learning sorcery, eagerly opened the book again.

Three hours later—

"There's no 'let's give it a try' about it. Damn it."

Kim Dojun once again realized that his intelligence seemed lacking.

####

Recently, the evaluation of Kim Dojun within the Sorcery Institute was as follows:
Sorcery genius.

Most of the students at the Sorcery Institute thought so.

Part of it was the dazzling performance Kim Dojun had shown when he first entered the school, but more than anything, the reason his reputation persisted was his attitude in class.

Kim Dojun's classroom behavior, fundamentally, was not proper by any student's standards.

To what extent?

At the very least, students in his class judged it as the worst.

He would nonchalantly do other things during class as if it were no big deal.

On top of that, whether the instructor was watching or not, he sometimes just buried his head on the desk and slept.

Yet, oddly enough, this only maintained Kim Dojun's reputation.

No, it went beyond maintaining—it only grew higher.

Everyone came to regard Kim Dojun as a genius who didn't need to study.

Of course, if he'd been admitted as an ordinary student, nobody would have cared whether he slept or not.

Some students at the Sorcery Institute are content simply to have made it into the school, throwing themselves into practicals in the second semester and giving up on studying.

He would have just been counted among those.

But Kim Dojun's status as a 'sorcery genius' had been established from the start.

Because of this, people naturally gazed upon Kim Dojun with awe.

But the instructors did not take kindly to Kim Dojun.

Quite naturally.

The instructors of the Sorcery Institute all had pride of their own.

The rumor among students—'Kim Dojun is so much of a genius that he doesn't need to attend class'—was an affront to that pride.

Which is to say, it was not much different from saying Kim Dojun considered the instructors' classes to be 'beneath his level.'

If he ever heard this, he would protest, 'Huh? Me? Why?' and genuinely feel wronged.

The real reason he did not pay attention in class was that he simply could not keep up with the high-level material the instructors were presenting.

But regardless of Kim Dojun's true intent, the instructors took issue with this.

That included Shim Yongseok, the instructor in charge of the Possessed Entities Studies course.

"... Stand up right now and explain the Grade 7 possessed entity, the Phantom Beast Spirit. Kim Dojun."

He singled out Kim Dojun, who looked as though he were slacking off, and told him to explain the very topic he was about to cover.

All the students' attention naturally converged on him.

Screech.

With a lazy movement, Kim Dojun picked up his textbook and stood up.

"A Grade 7 possessed entity, phantom beast spirit, refers to an evil spirit possessing the corpse of an animal, and the shape varies depending on the form of the animal. The area with the highest incidence of Phantom Beast Spirit is Gangwon Province in Korea, Yokohama in Japan, and Shandong in China."

Without a hint of hesitation, he answered fluently.

"...."

Shim Yongseok was about to tell him, albeit with a displeased expression, to sit down.

He had complaints, but Kim Dojun's answer was so perfect it might as well have been lifted from the textbook.

But then—

"Also, as Phantom Beast Spirit is the product of an evil spirit possessing an animal, the form varies widely, but generally, the head—where the evil spirit likes to coil—tends to be the weak point. If the corpse lacks a head, the heart or abdomen can serve as weak points."

"... Hm."

At Kim Dojun's follow-up, Shim Yongseok looked slightly surprised.

There exist a wide variety of possessed and spiritual entities in this world.

Even with advance study, students can only cover the basics.

However—

"And while Phantom Beast Spirit is generally considered a seventh rank, depending on the class of the evil spirit possessing it, it can rise as high as fifth rank, or drop as low as eighth. There are incidents where another evil spirit possesses a Phantom Beast Spirit simultaneously—in such cases—"

Shim Yongseok stared blankly for a moment—he'd never seen a student answer with this level of detail about a single entity.

"That concludes my answer."

After explaining for over a minute, Kim Dojun wrapped up.

"... Excellent."

At some point, an admiring smile appeared on Shim Yongseok's face, despite himself.

'It helps at times like this.'

Kim Dojun smiled, glancing at one of the Sorcerer King's books.

####

That evening, after all classes ended.

Kim Dojun was walking along a path that existed only as a walkway, in a part of the Sorcery Institute with no buildings, just a road cut through the grounds.

'I think it should be around here.'

—He was searching for someone.

'Time to make a move on the third one soon.'

What he was looking for was the person who would be the fifth boss of the Sorcery Killing Technique.

'Well, by order it should actually be the third, but...'

Kim Dojun had no intention of dealing with the bosses of Sorcery Killing Technique in strict sequence.

'In the end, I just have to take down all the bosses to escape... And the third boss isn't even at the Sorcery Institute during this period.'

So, he decided to first approach the bosses he could encounter nearby.

According to the setting he knew, this fifth boss had never met the player directly during the Sorcery Institute arc, but had definitely attended the school at the same time.

'He'd be walking these desolate paths, away from people.'

With that reasoning, Kim Dojun strolled through the walkway.

And after some time—

'Found him.'

He spotted a man.

A man radiating an aura of solitude, cloaked in cool indifference.

The blue nametag with just the character 'Dan' indicated he was a second-year, a year ahead of Kim Dojun.

A face that bore the burden of the world, as though carrying all its weight alone.

Kim Dojun smiled as he saw the man, Dan, walking from the opposite direction.

He was the man who, a few years later, would slaughter all the sorcerers under his command in Guangzhou, China, earning the title 'Demon King Tamer'—the fifth boss of the Sorcery Killing Technique.

That's why Kim Dojun immediately approached Dan.

"Need a hand?"

With that, he spoke.

####

In second year of Sorcery Killing Technique, 'Dan' was known among his peers as 'Mad Dog'.

The reason: the boundless cruelty he showed in real combat.

Even in practice or sparring, he displayed mercilessness, sparing no fellow students.

In short, Dan had an utterly ruthless personality.

"...."

His habit of walking alone on deserted paths almost every day wasn't because he liked walks.

[Eat? Eat? Eat! Eat?]

But because of his familiar—a shikigami.

[Hic- Hic- Hic- Hic-]

The Grade 3 shikigami 'Tam (貪)', which supposedly even A-class sorcerers can barely control.

If fully utilized through a sorcerer's techniques, it could grow to Grade 1 and even special grade—this was the Tam he managed.

But Dan disliked his shikigami.

No, not just disliked—it was hatred.

Tam hadn't been chosen by Dan. It was forced on him by his family.

At first glance, that might not seem reason enough for such hatred.

After all, his strength as a sorcerer came from the shikigami.

Even so, Dan resent Tam because being forced to handle a shikigami too powerful for him caused severe mental trauma.

[Eat? Eat? Eat! Eat?]

The noise endlessly echoed in his head.

As a result, Dan had become sensitive and irritable since being tied to Tam.

When alone, tan's voice was somewhat quieter, so Dan—who lived in a triple dorm—naturally spent time walking alone, except for when he slept.

And so, walking quietly as usual—

"Need a hand?"

He heard that from a student he'd never seen before.

A guy with an expression utterly carefree—unlike Dan.

He glanced at the name tag and saw it was a Sorcery Institute freshman. Dan frowned and spat out a reply.

"Buzz off."

Just one line.

Even the instructors and his own family's sorcerers couldn't help him—so Dan coldly brushed past Kim Dojun.

"Idiot."

"...?"

For a moment, Dan was speechless at the voice he heard.

"What did you say?"

"I said idiot. You can't even handle your own shikigami."

"... Hah. Are you picking a fight?"

"Who was the one who told someone offering help to buzz off? That's rich."

Kim Dojun responded with a broad, playful grin.

Dan instinctively sensed it.

For some reason, this first-year had purposely sought him out to pick a fight.

And—

"... Do you think I'll just let it slide because we're inside the Sorcery Institute?"

Dan wasn't the type to let such provocation pass, so he immediately began to summon his shikigami.

[Hic-hic-hic-hic-hic-hic-hic────]
[Eat eat eat───────]

Tam (貪) crawled out of his shadow with a bizarre noise.

And mimicking Dan's mood, it began to grow long, sharp fangs.

"I'll make you pay."

Dan summoned Tam with the intent to teach Kim Dojun a lesson, not kill him.

[Looks delicious! Looks delicious! Looks delicious!!─────────!!]

With that, tan began swelling in size.

Watching, Kim Dojun—

Lifted his foot.

"Be quiet—"

And as his foot struck down again—

"—Please!!!"

[Screeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!]

"???"

The body of the Grade 3 shikigami Tam (貪), which had been growing in size, exploded in all directions.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
That's the rank 1 hunter for you.
【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】