episode_0027

I successfully entrusted Mi Yaeun with the equipment production.

It seems it will take some time to complete.

She said that since there are no related items or tools right now, she has to acquire them first.

‘Well, I came to commission her early on purpose. She’ll make it by the deadline, right?’

If it’s Mi Yaeun’s work, the quality is guaranteed.

She was famous for her craftsmanship in the original story, after all.

She will definitely create it with exactly the feeling I want.

‘I’ve made my insurance. All that’s left is to keep surviving in Cheonjihae.’

Attending lectures diligently is part of that.

First of all, I need to get good grades to become an intern.

“Ah, Doyoung-ah! Over here.”

As I went to attend the lecture, Yu Eunhye waved her hand.

Hmm, today I’m getting healed from the start of the lecture.

For your information, this lecture is being held outdoors.

It’s a lecture to learn , no less.

“You’re here early?”

“Yeah. It’s a lecture I’ve been looking forward to!”

Eunhye clenched her fist tightly and burned with enthusiasm.

“I’m confident in spiritism at least. I’m going to work hard so I don’t fall behind you or Jiyeon!”

In the original story, Yu Eunhye was also talented in spiritism.

That’s also related to Yu Eunhye’s secret…

Well, I don’t have to worry about that at this point.

‘Spiritism, huh… I think I need to delve into this area too.’

Spiritism is, as the name suggests, a technique to summon and control yokai, ghosts, urban legends, etc.

It’s the best for me, who doesn’t have the guts and ability to fight directly.

‘Well, that’s if I can learn it.’

As I waited, a man walked over.

The students who checked who the instructor was flinched and were surprised.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Lee Jaehak, in charge of spiritism education.”

The person who conducted the practical exam and the induction ceremony.

It’s because Lee Jaehak, who is said to have the most seniority after the chairman even in the current Cheonjihae, came to lecture himself.

“Wow… if it’s Lee Jaehak, isn’t he a top three exorcist in spiritism? Is such a person teaching directly?”

“No, isn’t it strange anyway? Why is such a person doing new recruit training?”

“The lecture is going to be really tough….”

From the students’ point of view, it was an appointment that was more than surprising, it was even embarrassing.

“Shut up. Chatting in my lecture? Do you want to be fired right away?”

Lee Jaehak suppressed such students with his gaze and a single word.

“…I didn’t want to be in charge of lectures or anything. I didn’t even plan on this originally.”

Lee Jaehak scratched his head with a bothersome expression.

“But the damn Chairman… superiors ordered me, so I couldn’t help it.”

That guy. Was he just about to call the chairman ‘Chairman bastard’?

He must really dislike the current situation.

“They say there are especially many dark horses in this class.”

Lee Jaehak glanced at me as he spoke.

No, why.

I haven’t done anything yet.

“Well, now that I’ve taken on the job, I have no intention of doing it half-heartedly. I’ll at least properly hammer into your heads what spiritism is.”

Did he think that the previous conversation (?) was enough for a self-introduction and explanation?

Lee Jaehak started the lecture right away without further ado.

“Spiritism is a technique to deal with urban legends. Spiritists use the urban legends they directly control to deal with other urban legends.”

Lee Jaehak lightly raised his hand.

Then his shadow popped out as if it were alive and waved its hand happily.

“……”

Lee Jaehak glared at such a shadow.

The shadow was startled and quickly went back inside and disappeared.

“…There are many who commonly believe that urban legends are evil and must be eradicated unconditionally. But if you look at the history of mankind, things like yokai have often helped humans more.”

Lee Jaehak slowly walked around and explained.

“You’ve probably heard a lot about stories of Cheonha Daejanggun, Jiha Yeojanggun, or young ghosts playing with children.”

“In fact, in Korea, goblins often mingled with people. There were many stories where they wrestled together and gave gifts to the winner, or gave gold and silver treasures in exchange for taking away warts.”

“The perception that these ghosts are scary mostly came from Japanese yokai. So, does anyone know why there were originally many kind ghosts in Korea?”

One student raised his hand and answered.

“Isn’t it because Koreans have deep affection?”

“You have a talent for spouting nonsense without a care.”

The student who raised his hand blushed and sat down.

“It’s because tigers killed more people than ghosts.”

…Suddenly it went from WWE to UFC.

“The actual tigers with spiritual powers overwhelm most yokai with their strength. Humans also worshipped them as ‘Mountain Gods’. Besides that, there’s no one who doesn’t know about the Ungnyeo legend, right?”

I wonder if he’s talking about what’s commonly called spiritual beings.

‘Well, no matter how many tails a yokai fox has, if it’s the same level, it can’t do anything to a tiger.’

If there are no tigers, the fox is king, but.

In other words, if there are tigers, foxes are chumps.

“The background explanation got long, but spiritism mainly controls urban legends that are friendly to humans. Of course, there are cases where that’s not the case… but that’s up to the individual practitioner, so I’ll skip it.”

Lee Jaehak said that much and looked around at the students.

“I’m saying this just in case. This is by no means invincible or a strong ability. Rather, it’s dangerous and inefficient.”

Lee Jaehak raised the corner of his mouth as if mocking.

“If the exorcist weakens, the shikigami can go berserk or, conversely, attack the practitioner. In that sense, it’s a double-edged sword.”

There are many other disadvantages, Lee Jaehak said, raising his finger.

“Among exorcism techniques, it’s especially expensive in terms of spiritual power consumption. Basically, shikigami consume a huge amount of spiritual power. Other professional exorcists can control their spiritual power on their own, but in the case of shikigami, the basic consumption is fixed, so this is impossible.”

Another finger was added, now there were three.

“And above all, there’s a big difference in talent. You can improve to a certain level in other fields if you work hard. On the other hand, with spiritism, you can’t even start if you don’t have the minimum aptitude.”

For this reason, there were very few exorcists who used spiritism.

Most of the new recruits at Cheonjihae will be experiencing spiritism for the first time.

‘I have no choice but to hope that I have talent in this.’

The faces of the students who were slowly realizing how difficult spiritism was clouded over.

“In this lecture, I’ll teach you the basics of spiritism and proceed with direct control. But I guarantee that less than 10% of you will be able to do it.”

This has nothing to do with effort or spiritual power.

It’s only a matter of whether you have an aptitude for spiritism.

Well, geniuses sometimes handle small shikigami even if it’s not their specialty.

Lee Jaehak, who finished the basic explanation, held up a talisman.

“This talisman has the power to strengthen the connection with spiritual beings. I’ll give one to each of you, so use it to test your ability to sense. Anyone who doesn’t feel anything by the end of the lecture time doesn’t have to come to the lecture anymore.”

****

After the explanation, the students started gathering.

Perhaps because they had just listened to Lee Jaehak’s spartan lecture, everyone was filled with tension.

But apart from that, there was also a strange sense of anticipation.

Lee Jaehak himself only mentioned the bad points…

He, who is one of the most famous exorcists in Korea, used spiritism right away.

‘It’s likely that it won’t work, but if it does, it’s a jackpot.’

That’s how much luck you need to be blessed with.

“Ugh! I wonder if it will work? After listening to the lecture, I suddenly started to get nervous.”

Yu Eunhye held the talisman and sighed.

Given her timid personality, the lecture seemed to have resonated even more with her.

“I don’t have that much spiritual power either. What if I fail to control it?”

“Let’s just try to sense it slowly for now. It doesn’t matter if you don’t have talent anyway.”

“U-uh! You’re right. Let’s try it!”

Honestly, I was more worried about myself than Yu Eunhye.

‘Yu Eunhye definitely has talent, but I don’t have that either.’

If I don’t feel anything, I have to just give up on spiritism.

At that time, I really have no choice but to go to martial arts and do hell training.

‘Oh, talisman. Please save this pathetic body.’

Was my earnest prayer heard by the heavens?

When I closed my eyes and focused, the talisman started to hum.

“Wow! Doyoung-ah. It’s sensing!”

“Ah, is this it?”

“Yeah! Once you can sense it, you can form a control relationship!”

…This is actually working?

I felt strange because the results were better than expected.

“I guess I have some talent.”

I was startled by the voice coming from behind and turned around.

Lee Jaehak, who had approached, was looking down at me with an interesting expression.

“At best, you’re just able to stand on the starting line. Don’t be arrogant because that doesn’t mean you’ve accomplished anything.”

“Ah, yes.”

Well, all I can confirm with this is that I can make a contract with a shikigami.

Which shikigami will I control?

Do I have enough spiritual power to handle it?

That all depends on the future.

“Don’t make a contract, even if you can. All that’s going to come to you at this point are petty ghosts.”

“I understand.”

“…Well, at least I’ll see you in the next lecture.”

Lee Jaehak chuckled and headed to the other side.

Does this mean that I have some talent in spiritism?

‘That’s a relief.’

I won’t be able to handle anything great with my shabby spiritual power.

If I do well, I might be able to prepare a means to fight.

“Y-yeah, as expected, Doyoung is amazing.”

Eunhye scratched her head and said.

“I was confident in spiritism too. You did it much faster than me?”

“Ah… it’s nothing.”

I answered, feeling embarrassed for no reason.

“The instructor also said that it’s just to check the possibility. We don’t know what will happen.”

“Is that so? But you’re good at everything, Doyoung, so I think you’ll be fine this time too.”

Somehow, Eunhye’s energy seems to be slightly down.

Did she feel discouraged because I was getting attention even in a field she was confident in?

‘Come to think of it, Eunhye herself is a talent.’

I need to cheer her up before she gets even more depressed.

“Eunhye, you can do better than me, I guarantee it, so give it a try.”

“U-uh! Then, where…!”

Eunhye smiled brightly and focused her mind.

Soon after, the same light as me flowed from the talisman.

‘As expected, Eunhye can do it too.’

Well, there’s no way someone with such ridiculous abilities can’t do this….

-Puhahaak!

At that moment, a black, sticky liquid burst out from the talisman.

The liquid splashed on Eunhye’s clothes and body, soaking her front.

‘Huh…?’

My eyes widened at the sight.

…This is an episode that should come out in the mid-story at least?

“Eunhye-ya! Eunhye-ya, snap out of it!”

I hurriedly grabbed Eunhye’s shoulder and shook her, but she didn’t react.

Rather, her pupils were completely dyed black, even the whites of her eyes.

Soon after, Eunhye’s lips, whether conscious or not, uttered words.

c̶̛̰̖̘̝̼̻̳͓͖͕̪̞͚̍̔͊̄͋̿̿̑͠ͅ

ư̷̢͚͉͇͓̘͚͙͓͔̖̋̓̆̒̽͂̇͑̽͘͜͠

l̶̨̹͉͕͓̟̰̯̙̙̤̽̎̄̈́̄͛͗̄͝͝͠͠ͅ

ẗ̸̢̢̢̯̰̲̜̲̯̺̳̟̖͓̰̗̜̤́͐̽̔̈́̋̎̎͆̅͛̕͝͝

u̶̡͉̟̲͓͈͓͇͇̼͚͎͙̩̜̖͖͊͋̈́́̒̒͌͌̓̈́͆͌̈́͌̒̋͝͝͝͠ͅ

s̷̩̹̼̩͚̥̯͕̰͙͉̖̦̩͕̗̟̍̀̎̏̀̀̒͛͛̈́̿̓̚͝͝

Yu Eunhye.

When she goes berserk, she is an exorcist who can contact beings from another dimension.