I Became an Academy Overpowered Growth Genius

I Became an Academy Overpowered Growth Genius – 9

EP.9 – Parasitic Growth (3)

The next day.

[Kang Seo-jun: I will wait in front of the house. Since we may encounter monsters, all members accompanying should be thoroughly prepared for battle.]

Jin Se-rin, seo Eun-ha, and Sungjin’s security team picked up Kang Seo-jun at the promised 9 o’clock.

“Let’s head to the portal customs office. The destination is Songnisan Mountain.”

The driver headed towards the destination guided by Kang Seo-jun.

Thus, the group arrived in front of Songnisan Mountain in less than two hours.

“Ugh…! Uwek…!”

Kang Seo-jun, getting off the car, vomited violently, looking terrifying.

Even with the willpower that had reached the level of a transcendent, he couldn’t resist the physiological reactions of the body.

Due to various debuff characteristics, he suffered from persistent motion sickness even in normal times, and now, on top of that, with the car sickness overlapping, he vomited uncontrollably.

– Splash! Splatter! –

The vinyl bag catching the vomit swelled with a fierce force.

“……”

As Kang Seo-jun kept missing the vinyl bag, seo Eun-ha, who was holding the bag instead, frowned as she looked down at Kang Seo-jun.

‘Even though it’s only been about an hour in the car, his body condition is like this…?’

“Ugh…!”

– Splatter! –

Seo Eun-ha’s expression became even more disgusted.

‘It’s clear that his body condition is not normal as it appears.’

Seo Eun-ha let out a small sigh.

Is it really okay to entrust a miss growth to someone like him?

He seems like he might collapse on the way.

The discomfort that had been continuing since yesterday added another layer.

“Phew…! Huuk…!”

After vomiting for a while, Kang Seo-jun struggled to breathe.

With every breath in and out, a harsh, wheezing sound could be heard, clearly indicating a serious pulmonary patient.

“Manager Go. Deal with this near the restroom.”

As Kang Seo-jun’s condition seemed to have somewhat calmed down, seo Eun-ha handed the vinyl bag filled with his vomit to Manager Go.

“Ye… yes…”

Manager Go reluctantly received the vinyl bag filled with vomit, wearing an expression of dislike.

“Is your condition okay?”

Seo Eun-ha, sitting on a bench, asked Kang Seo-jun, keeping her eye on him.

The person who should lead the way is a mess from the beginning, so Jin Se-rin and the other security team members looked at Kang Seo-jun with complicated expressions.

“No problem. Let’s depart as soon as he returns.”

Kang Seo-jun stood up from the bench.

However, his legs trembled severely, and he hesitatedly sat back on the bench.

“Ah….”

Seo Eun-ha couldn’t hide her sigh.

This won’t work.

If we start like this, he might die on the way.

“When I saw it, it seems tough for today. Your physical condition looks really bad.”

It’s better to send him back for now and suggest to young lady to find someone else.

What can he do with someone whose body is like that?

“Someone should carry me.”

But the man seemed to have no intention of going back at all.

“What? Are you going to continue?”

“Yes. Although it may not seem so, today is a day with exceptional condition. So, we must go today.”

Kang Seo-jun said, wiping away the drool on his pale lips with his sleeve.

He knew that if he went back like this, he would likely miss a rare opportunity.

It was somewhat expected that his body would turn like this when he got in the car.

“Ah….”

Seo Eun-ha looked at Jin Se-rin with a complicated expression.

Jin Se-rin also met Seo Eun-ha’s uneasy gaze.

In those eyes, a desperate look flickered for a moment.

“Tsk.”

Seo Eun-ha clicked her tongue and said.

“If that’s the case, understood. We’ll depart as soon as Manager Go arrives.”

From Seo Eun-ha’s perspective, she was not at all willing, but she couldn’t refuse task that Jin Se-rin had suggested before even started.

Soon after, Manager Go, who had gone to deal with the vomit, returned with a heavily wrinkled expression, and the group started to climb Songnisan Mountain.

Initially ascending a paved uphill path, following Kang Seo-jun’s instruction, the signs of civilization soon disappeared, and the surroundings turned into a pristine wilderness.

On the left, there was a steep slope, and on the right, a path with moss-covered rock cliffs extended forward.

“Team Leader….”

The group walked in silence for a while in a single file when Manager Go quietly spoke to Seo Eun-ha.

“Why?”

“Shh…!”

When Seo Eun-ha answered loudly, Manager Go quickly brought his index finger to his lips and gestured towards the back.

It was a gesture indicating to go back and talk quietly.

At that gesture, one of Seo Eun-ha’s eyebrows rose.

“Take a look at this.”

Manager Go played a video on his phone and handed it to Seo Eun-ha.

Seo Eun-ha glanced at Manager Go with a puzzled look and then watched the video she was handed.

In the video…

“Ugh.”

A toilet flushing out vomit was displayed.

“You bastard…”

‘Is this guy do something dirty in retaliation.’

Looking at Manager Go with such thoughts, she pointed at the video with a serious expression.

“Take a closer look…!”

Judging by Manager Go’s expression, it wasn’t a playful one.

Seo Eun-ha, curious, tilted her head and started to watch the video carefully.

“Huh…?”

But soon, something started to appear in the video.

At first, she thought they were bubbles, but upon closer inspection, several black dots were wriggling.

Seo Eun-ha’s expression quickly twisted.

“Ugh…!”

“You saw it…! Bugs! They came out of the vomit.”

Whispering like that, Manager Go took out a ziplock bag from his pocket.

Inside the ziplock bag were a couple of bugs from the video.

“Do you… have a strong stomach…?”

“If I hadn’t brought it, what would you have said…?”

“Fair enough.”

Seo Eun-ha received the ziplock bag from Manager Go and examined the bugs closely.

An appearance similar to centipedes.

However, upon closer inspection, their appearance is far from that of ordinary lifeforms on Earth.

“It’s a monster.”

A black, round head with no eyes and nose, only a sharp mouth.

“Why is something like this coming out of the body?”

“That’s why…! This time, he said he’s a student entering the academy with young lady, right? Shouldn’t we descend and report this now? Raising bugs in the body. This is illegal!”

The technique of cultivating and handling monster bugs in a Magician’s body.

It is called bug magic or insect magic.

The bug magic developed by Madu-seok, who was ranked 12th in the world hunter rankings.

Bug Magicians who manipulate bugs using pheromones raise at least two types of bugs in their bodies.

Once acclaimed as a prominent magical discipline in the hunter industry, it was later revealed that bug magicians engaged in horrific human experiments and various conspiracies, leading to their downfall.

Madu-seok was condemned as a villain, and his bug research lab was completely incinerated, but there were still bug magicians continuing research to carry on Madu-seok’s legacy in the shadows.

Seo Eun-ha looked at Kang Seo-jun, who was leading the group.

A red and slightly swaying nape of the neck was visible.

Seeing that all of that is a bug nest, seo Eun-ha couldn’t help but contort her expression.

“He was a bug magician…?”

Certainly, she thought he was hiding something, but she never expected him to openly practice the taboo bug magic.

Even the deteriorating state of his body seemed somewhat understandable if it was a side effect of bug magic.

‘Then, is the peculiar balance of his stats also influenced by bug magic…?’

Extraordinarily high willpower stat.

And despairingly low stats in other areas.

“Hmm…”

However, the peculiar stat balance didn’t seem directly related to bug magic.

‘Ugh… my head is getting complicated again….’

She had figured out one thing that the man was hiding, but instead of finding a clue, it felt like she was falling deeper into a maze.

There were too many unexplained things for bug magic to be everything he was hiding.

‘No, no, wait.’

Seo Eun-ha shook her head.

What’s important now is not what else he is hiding but that he is someone learning illegal Magic.

“I’ll borrow your cellphone for a moment.”

“Oh…!”

Seo Eun-ha took Manager Go’s smartphone and tapped Jin Se-rin’s back.

“Why?”

When Jin Se-rin turned around and asked, seo Eun-ha brought her index finger to her lips.

“Take a look at this.”

She then quietly whispered and played the video they had seen earlier.

“……

”

Jin Se-rin blinked her large eyes, looking at the video that Seo Eun-ha showed with a curious expression.

A colorful pizza floating above the toilet.

“Eww-!?”

“Shh…! Shh…!”

Jin Se-rin looked at Seo Eun-ha with a disgusted expression.

“Unni… Please don’t share weird hobbies….”

“No, that’s not it. Take a closer look.”

“……”

Jin Se-rin looked at Seo Eun-ha with a flowing gaze, but seeing her serious attitude, she shook her head and focused on the video again.

“Do you see something squirming?”

“Ugh… what is this?”

“This is it.”

Seo Eun-ha warned as she was about to hand over the ziplock bag with the bugs.

“Don’t scream that it’s gross.”

“Uh, okay….”

Jin Se-rin frowned at the repulsive appearance of the parasitic bugs.

“It came out of that person’s stomach. He’s learning bug magic.”

“What? Really…?”

“Yes. Manager Go personally confirmed it in the bathroom. It’s hard to believe someone learning illegal Magic. Let’s pretend we didn’t see anything and report it when we get down.”

Jin Se-rin looked at Kang Seo-jun, who was giving directions while being carried by a bodyguard at the front.

“No, let’s keep going.”

“Miss?”

“There’s no problem with trading what each other wants. And it seems like he had no intention of hiding it in the first place. Changing our stance over something like this is a bit much.”

“He might not have had a choice. Bug magic is notorious for human trafficking. We don’t even know exactly where we’re going right now. It might be too late once we find out.”

“If you keep suspecting everything, it’ll never end. And you know, now, you have to tolerate it to some extent, even if it’s creepy. The time to choose means and methods has passed.”

Seo Eun-ha couldn’t say anything in response to those words.

Although the situation still didn’t sit well with her, Jin Se-rin’s words were also valid in a way.

“Unni, you’re worrying too much. Think about it from the beginning. If he had malicious intentions, would he have told us to prepare for battle? Besides, I initiated the approach from the beginning. If we become more suspicious from this side, what will happen…?”

“That’s…”

She had no counterargument.

“I know you’re worried, Unni, but still, we’re not going down now. I’m actually feeling good right now. No one has come to a place like this before. It feels different.”

As Jin Se-rin’s eyes lit up with anticipation, seo Eun-ha sighed and made a complicated expression.

Meanwhile,

[Stealing host’s experience points, increasing health experience points!]

[Stealing host’s efforts, resulting in the growth of health! Health attribute +1!]

[Special effect of skill “Parasitic Growth” activated! Choose the attribute to steal or transfer to the host.]

‘Finally….’

Kang Seo-jun quietly smiled with a sense of relief.

If he had been a little later, he thought he might have really stopped breathing.

◆ Trait

[Terminal Cancer Lv. Lowest]

‘Finally, the release of terminal cancer.’

It was time to pass on the wretchedness of this body to Park Shin-hoo.

It was a miraculous moment when the rapidly deteriorating physical condition of Kang Seo-jun since yesterday showed signs of relief.