The Conjurer of the Academy

Chapter 63

“How many days have passed already?”

‘Now I understand why people don’t bother hitting stones with eggs.’

Exhausted, Yomi and I lay sprawled on the ground as usual.

[So… so hungry. Anything will do, just give me something to eat…]

“…You don’t even need to eat to live.”

Spending time in this dark underground had made me lose all sense of time.

By my rough count, it had probably been about two weeks. I didn’t expect such an eventful vacation, but I also didn’t expect things to turn out like this.

‘Ugh, this is gross. I want to wash up…’

Another repetitive day.

Every day, we attacked the Fortune Pig until our spiritual energy was depleted. Once exhausted, we would collapse and sleep.

[Goblin, goblin!]

As for interaction, the baby goblin only came once a day to bring food and take away the empty bowls.

“I should have brought my smartphone.”

The problem was that I had left my smartphone above ground when I came down here. Even though the battery would have died quickly, having it would have made a world of difference.

‘Why doesn’t it budge?’

I raised my head slightly while lying flat on the ground.

“Oink, oink.”

The Fortune Pig stood there, snorting. It neither ate nor drank, just sat in the same spot for those two weeks.

Even manifesting Yomi, Baek Ah, or the Crystal Giant was useless. No matter what strategies or persuasive tactics we used, nothing seemed to affect it.

[Goblin, goblin.]

“What is it…?”

The small goblin tapped my cheek with its tiny hand. Glancing over, I saw it pointing its finger towards somewhere in the shrine.

‘What’s that?’

While it occasionally spoke to me while bringing food, this was the first time the baby goblin tried to actively communicate.

I got up and looked in the direction it was pointing. Thanks to my night vision, the dark interior of the cave was clearly visible.

“Is there something there?”

[Goblin!]

As I stood and followed the goblin, dizziness made me stagger. The goblin tried to support me with a worried expression, but I quickly regained my balance.

“It’s okay. Let’s go check it out.”

[Goblin…]

Following the goblin, I approached a corner near the shrine. While a few talismans had been replaced, there was nothing particularly unusual.

“What are you trying to show me—”

[Goblin!]

The goblin tugged at my pant leg, directing my gaze downward. What lay there wasn’t anything extraordinary.

“A piece of glass?”

I looked around to see if it was pointing to something else, but there was nothing else to find.

[Have you already forgotten about this?]

As I picked up the glass mirror and examined it, Yomi’s faint voice piped up from behind me.

“Forgotten about what?”

[You broke it yourself, don’t you remember?]

I broke it?

Come to think of it, when I made the contract with Yomi right here in front of the shrine…

“There’s no turning back now. You must have been fed up being bound by such cursed objects.”

A vivid memory resurfaced.

To make a contract with Yomi, I tore the talisman and completely shattered the mirror.

“I did break it.”

I thought starting with an S-rank yokai would be amazing, but it turned out to be just a fluffball. It was funny in a sad way, but it didn’t matter now.

“But why this?”

[You don’t get it even after seeing it?]

Yomi chuckled as if realizing something.

[Do you think your father would have given you an ordinary mirror to seal a great yokai like me?]

“Are you saying this mirror possesses special power, Yomi?”

[More than special.]

In an instant, Yomi appeared on my shoulder. She casually pointed at the glass mirror with her tail.

[That mirror projects hallucinations.]

“Just showing illusions doesn’t seem particularly special to me.”

Maybe my standards were too high, but there are various types of artifacts.

Artifacts that only project illusions rank at best around B-rank. They’re relatively less powerful compared to artifacts with more direct effects.

[That’s because it doesn’t show ordinary hallucinations.]

Yomi cleared her throat.

[You remember the procedure to maintain my seal, don’t you?]

“Yeah, I remember…”

1) Raise the mirror toward the shrine and recite the incantation.

2) Once the incantation is complete, walk around the shrine counterclockwise.

3) Shatter the mirror, attach the talisman to it, and bury it in the ground.

I had clear memories of watching Seol Baek-san perform this ritual since I was young. It’s one of those memories that you can’t forget.

“Did the process have any special significance?”

[Of course. The mirror shows hallucinations of ‘forgotten memories’ or ‘things you’re trying to forget’.]

“Like a trauma?”

[Trauma…? What’s that?]

“…Forget I said anything.”

Yomi cleared her throat again before continuing.

[In any case, it caused me to see hallucinations, and while I was distracted, Jin Dal-rae used talismans to bind my increasing spiritual energy, channeling it into the ground.]

In essence, according to Yomi, the mirror acted as a safeguard to prevent disruptions during the ritual. It was akin to a sedative for a person.

‘If it was enough to bind Yomi before she lost her spiritual power, then just how terrifying must the hallucinations be?’

Clearly, it wasn’t an item to be underestimated, as Yomi emphasized.

“But how does this relate to our current situation?”

I didn’t see the connection. I couldn’t possibly sit around staring at a mirror when I couldn’t even scratch the Fortune Pig.

[You dullard. The goblin is giving you a clue on how to overcome this situation.]

[Goblin, goblin!]

The goblin clapped its hands cheerfully as if affirming Yomi’s words.

[Yomi is right. Do you remember what Seol Baek-san said before you left?]

“That was…”

I recalled. It wasn’t a long time ago, so it wasn’t hard to remember.

“But unlike before, you are missing something very important.”

Seol Baek-san recognized that my determination and courage had improved compared to the past, but he left me with an enigmatic statement at the end.

‘Something the past Seol Ha-baek had and I do not now.’

Missing. It was something I had lost compared to my past self. But no matter how hard I thought, I couldn’t figure it out. After all, the past Seol Ha-baek was full of flaws.

“Yomi, do you know what that is?”

[Of course. The day you came to make a contract with me, you were like a completely different person.]

Yomi narrowed her eyes.

[As if your personality had changed.]

“…”

I couldn’t agree or disagree with her piercing observation. I scratched my cheek sheepishly.

“Stop with the weird talk and tell me, what did I lose after that day? According to you, it seems like that’s the only way I can defeat the Fortune Pig.”

Yomi snorted.

[I know, but I can’t tell you. This is something you have to realize on your own for it to have any meaning.]

Yomi then nudged the mirror with her nose.

[That’s why you need this mirror. It will guide you to whatever you’ve forgotten in the most unpleasant way.]

“…I understand.”

I nodded.

In simple terms, I needed to recall whatever Seol Baek-san had mentioned as ‘missing’ through the mirror. However, the mirror appeared to project powerful illusions capable of binding a great yokai during a ritual.

“How do I activate it?”

[Pfft, why are you asking me that? You should already know.]

True, she was right.

The method was embedded within the ritual procedures.

‘Raise the mirror toward the shrine and recite the incantation.’

I lifted the mirror so that it reflected my face. Despite being broken, I could feel its spiritual energy.

[One more thing, be careful. If you get too deeply absorbed in the hallucinations the mirror shows, you might end up wandering between life and death forever.]

“Don’t worry. I succeeded in lucid dreaming; this shouldn’t be too different.”

[Maybe, but that was someone else’s dream.]

Yomi shook her head with an awkward expression.

[No matter how pitiful someone else’s circumstances are, they weren’t your own. But what you’re about to face now isn’t someone else’s—it’s your own forgotten past and emotions. The depth of the experience is entirely different.]

There was a tension in Yomi’s voice. It didn’t seem like she was merely trying to scare me.

“I got it. I’ll be back.”

[Goblin, goblin!]

The goblin smiled broadly and waved. I closed my eyes tightly, taking in its final cheerful image.

“O holy and sacred spirits.”

Recalling the first words of the incantation, I began to recite. I felt the faint spiritual energy in the mirror gradually amplify.

“Under the names of the Earth Deity and the Heavenly Deity, I declare: reveal the past and show what has been lost.”

As I completed the incantation, rays of light burst forth from around the shrine. The broken mirror responded to the incantation, emitting spiritual energy.

[Goblin!]

With the goblin’s cry, a bright flash of light swept through the entire underground space.

* * *

My whole body felt like it was floating.

Yomi had said this would be different from the lucid dream, but the sensation of drifting in the subconscious felt very similar.

‘Where am I?’

Everything was an expanse of pure white like a blank canvas. I was just floating in it.

“Daddy.”

A voice came from somewhere.

As if paint was spreading on a canvas, colors began to fill the white space.

‘Seol Ha-baek?’

What I saw below was a young boy. He had tousled black hair and a somewhat gloomy demeanor. His round face made it clear to me that it was Seol Ha-baek.

“Daddy, Daddy.”

The young Seol Ha-baek was crouched, pointing at something in the garden bed.

“What is it?”

Soon, Seol Baek-san approached and bent down to look where Seol Ha-baek was pointing.

“I’ve been watching since earlier, but the ladybug isn’t moving.”

In the shade beneath a leaf lay a small ladybug turned on its back. Seol Baek-san gently placed his hand on his son’s shoulder.

“That means the bug has lived its life and returned to the heavens.”

“Like Mommy?”

Seol Baek-san hesitated for a moment. A brief look of surprise crossed his face, but then a gentle smile spread across his lips.

“Yes, like Mommy.”

The vision concluded with a reflection in Seol Baek-san’s eyes, dissolving into a black void. I found myself drifting aimlessly in the blank canvas-like space once more.

‘What is this feeling?’

These memories belonged to Seol Ha-baek, yet they also felt like my own. The poignant emotions embedded in the memory made me unwittingly clutch my chest.

“Daddy.”

Before I had time to process my feelings, a voice echoed again.

‘No…’

As the voice grew clearer, my sense of self began to blur. This wasn’t just observing the past; it was becoming immersed in it.

“I made friends!”

Once again, colors began to fill the canvas.