Academy's Genius Extra Chapter 26

“Heave ho. Heave ho.”

Yoo Eunha and I hoisted King David onto our backs and left the church.

The exhibition hall was completely empty, so we made a simple escape through a window.

[Lucy will help carry it too! …Did you think that is what I would say?]

[Lucy actually has no intention of helping!]

“Hey shut up… heave ho. Heave ho.”

After that, we transferred buses twice and returned to the Superhuman Academy.

The looks from the passengers were no joke.

“Heave ho. Heave ho.”

And so.

King David traveled a long, long road and finally arrived at the Necromancy Workshop.

I opened the front gate of the Necromancy Workshop and welcomed Yoo Eunha inside.

“Hehe, Yoo Eunha. This is your first time at the Necromancy Workshop, right? I manage this place.”

“Yeah. First time here. So this is the Necromancy Department’s warehouse?”

“Well, that is not exactly….”

It is the main building though.

Guess it looks pretty shabby.

“Whew. We finally moved it all.”

We set King David upright in the reception room.

Before Yoo Eunha could even ask what this thing was.

[The owner of the treasure has changed.]

[The true value of the treasure is revealed.]

Flash!

A golden light burst forth, enough to cover the entire reception room.

When I opened my eyes again, the KFC grandpa had become a golden KFC grandpa.

He was shining brilliantly.

“Wooooah!”

“Wooooah!”

“Is that gold?”

“It is gold!”

Yoo Eunha quickly bit into the golden statue.

Snap! With a terribly painful sound, Yoo Eunha clutched her jaw and rolled on the floor.

“Hm…. Guess not….”

Leaving the fallen Yoo Eunha alone, I examined the golden statue.

<Statue of King David>

[Attribute : Old Testament / Divine Object]

[Description : Spoils obtained from Hope and Grace Church. Priest John was unaware of this treasure’s existence. The age of the Old Testament. An age when humans and gods communicated. An age when even divine love, and even divine wrath, were taken for granted. There was a shepherd chosen by God.]

[Unique Traits]

• Reflection of the Era ▶ Conceals its true identity. Disguises itself in a form and material suited to the era.

(Current form : Plastic mannequin)

• Golden Age of the Shepherd ▶ A statue of a man loved by God. Promises prosperity to its owner. If managing an organization of fewer than one thousand people, good fortune will follow.

• Whereabouts of the Ark ▶ While possessing this statue, you can track King David’s treasure, <The Ark of the Covenant>.

So there really was a reason the snake tailed nun could not move when I took King David hostage.

If there had been something hidden inside a plastic model, there would have been no need to be that careful.

There was nothing inside it.

The box itself was the treasure. A reverse way of thinking. The shabby looking model itself was the treasure.

But it was a disguise. If you look at its real performance….

“Promises prosperity to the owner….”

According to records.

The era of the shepherd king David was truly a golden age.

In other words, as long as this statue remains in the Necromancy Workshop, a golden age will come to the Necromancy Department.

“Luck and wealth coming in like an annuity…!”

It might even come in regularly every month.

[Lucy also brings a golden age!]

[Every place Lucy’s feet touched always ended up dirt poor! This is so fascinating!]

Hey. That is not a golden age.

That should be called a stone age.

“Still, the snake tailed nun really was trying to score big.”

There are quite a few treasures in the world that bring good fortune.

But what sets this statue apart from other treasures is this.

“Tracking the Ark of the Covenant, huh.”

The final trait, <Whereabouts of the Ark>, immediately stands out.

The Ark of the Covenant.

A box created under God’s instructions. To put it simply, the Ark was the Old Testament era’s money cheat code.

The fortune it brought was enough to keep a nation’s finances running.

And when the ownership of the Ark changed, the entire nation would stagger.

A country that ran solely on the Ark.

“It feels like a sports team being hard carried by one star player….”

Whether you can really call that a country is debatable.

But for me, this is great news. This Statue of King David must have inherited at least some of the Ark’s power.

“Ugh!”

At that moment, Yoo Eunha got up.

Her cheek was swollen like a balloon.

“Oh, you are awake?”

“Ow… I think my molar is busted….”

“Your molar sure is having a hard time after meeting a bad owner. Hey Yoo Eunha. You worked today, so take your day’s pay.”

Of course, this treasure has another use.

I helped Yoo Eunha up and had her place her hand on King David. I placed my hand on it as well.

“Yoo Eunha. This is a divine object. A treasure with immense historical value. Do you know what kind of trait treasures like this have?”

“No!”

“You are surprisingly confident. They provide clues for superhumans like us to grow. Now, place your hand on it and feel the years contained within this statue.”

Hmm.

Yoo Eunha furrowed her brow.

I activated my own spiritual energy as well.

“By the way, I do not believe in Jesus.”

“That does not matter. This statue is way older than Jesus anyway….”

Honestly, I do not know if this will work.

Yoo Eunha’s aura surged. It was an aura imbued with her unique ability <Yin Yang>.

Cold yet hot.

Soft yet firm.

I also activated my spiritual energy, trying to accept the thousands of years embedded in the statue.

How much time passed.

[You have experienced an ancient mystery.]

[The ancient mystery awakens you.]

[Your spiritual energy is filled.]

That is how it works.

An object that has endured an immense amount of time is mysterious in and of itself.

And this is not just any object, but the statue of King David.

[You are ready to gain enlightenment.]

Got it.

I gained inspiration. This is called the <Enlightenment> state. In this state, you can awaken new abilities based on what you desire and what you have experienced.

[Lucy also just gained enlightenment!]

[Lucy is hungry! Her arms are totally scrawny….]

I opened my eyes at Lucy’s growling stomach.

Yoo Eunha was tightening her shoelaces with an excited expression.

“Where are you going?”

“Yeah. I feel like I am just about to get enlightened.”

“I see. But why are you tightening your shoelaces?”

“I think if I run about 200 kilometers, I will get enlightened. It is okay if I go, right?”

Yoo Eunha briskly left the Necromancy Workshop.

No.

She was about to leave, then turned back.

“Kim Pirate. Thanks for everything today. It feels wrong to just walk away like this.”

“!! Nice! Want me to give you my account number?”

“Eek! Money…? I only have about thirty thousand won in spare cash….”

“On second thought, it is fine….”

Thirty thousand won.

It was too realistic to accept.

“Then instead, come visit my place sometime later. We have seagull meat, and I also have homemade pickles….”

“Is it all food?”

“If there is food at home, that is enough. What more do you need?”

Lucy nodded enthusiastically.

You two are on the same wavelength, huh.

“Oh, and we have Ring Fit at home.”

“No thanks…. Why are you training even at home? See you tomorrow.”

After seeing Yoo Eunha off, I began thinking about how to use the <Enlightenment> state.

A rare opportunity to gain enlightenment had come.

But.

The enlightenment gained by Cadet Kim Seungtae and the genius Yoo Eunha would be different in density.

Yoo Eunha would probably gain an amazing trait.

I was more likely to gain something inferior.

Well, it cannot be helped. That is the difference between a genius and an ordinary person….

“Waaah! This is unfair! I cannot sleep like this!”

I could not accept it.

I headed toward the past life simulation room.

This <Enlightenment> thing depends on how you use it. It creates something new based on my experiences.

“Past lives are my experience too, that is what I am saying.”

I sat down on a comfortable sofa.

Enlightenments that Kim Seungtae could hardly obtain.

Enlightenments that Kim Seungtae could never reach.

For Han Taepyeong, they are easy.

[Lucy will sigh too.]

[Lucy is ZzZzZz…. Snore! Mmm…. Chomp chomp…. Cough! Brrr…. Ugh! Hnghh….]

“That is ridiculously loud!”

I closed my eyes.

Following Han Taepyeong of Precision, Run No.13.

It was time to realize a new past life.

My eyelids shut immediately.

***

The Hope and Grace Church was attacked.

And two cadets protected the church.

The award ceremony praising that valor.

The grand athletic field, the venue of the ceremony, was packed with people.

Countless cameras and reporters.

And spectators.

Yet the presenter who was supposed to hand out the awards had not arrived.

I was sitting in the middle rows of the field, and in the seat beside me, unbelievably.

By pure coincidence, the treasured jewel of a prestigious family, Marie Caulfield, was seated there.

“They are late….”

“They are.”

For once, we agreed.

“Hah. Hurry it up already. I came to see them hand out awards while kicking out rank 1111.”

“So you did not just happen to sit next to me…?”

It was for a planned public roasting.

“Miss Caulfield. There is just one thing I want you to know. Kim Seungtae was not kicked out. It was a smart exchange that benefited him….”

“Ah, be quiet. There he comes. Early, too.”

From far away, a man in an expensive suit hurried toward us.

A man who perfectly embodied the refined air of a middle aged gentleman.

Lee Cheon, the founder of the multinational monster research company <Archive>.

Unlike the original story, Lee Cheon’s daughter, Lee Ryeong, had almost been taken as the seventh hostage.

You could call that a connection, so the Academy invited him like this.

In the end, Lee Cheon promised a massive investment into tracking the Heavenly Church, so things worked out well.

“Welcome.”

Wrangler, who was in charge of opening and closing the ceremony, toothe podium.

During that brief moment, Lee Cheon exchanged a firm handshake with him, suggesting they knew each other.

A great scholar, but also someone skilled in that kind of maneuvering.

A clever piece of trash.

Lee Cheon hurried up to the podium and cleared his throat.

“Yes, without further ado, I will begin. I am very sorry for being late…. Until thirty minutes ago, I was in Antarctica…. Haha. It was a test extracting microorganisms living in the stomach of the monster Smilodon….”

Lee Cheon.

<Archive>, the company he founded, became a leader in biotechnology research in just twenty years.

Its main field of research was, of course, monsters.

Some dismiss Lee Cheon as a lucky man born in the right era, but that is ignorance.

Lee Cheon’s mental stat exceeds 7.0.

He is a genius on the level of fusing Einstein and Da Vinci together.

His daughter has similar potential as well.

“Uh, um. First of all, I am endlessly delighted to have the honor of presenting these awards…. The Hope and Grace Church incident holds great meaning for me. My daughter, Lee Ryeong, was also there…. In truth, my daughter was very fortunate. Because outstanding cadets were present.”

Lee Cheon firmly closed his mouth once.

“However, there are countless people in this world who were not as fortunate as my daughter and I. Neither I nor you must ever forget the tears of the victims of the Heavenly Church….”

Lee Cheon calmly exposed the atrocities committed by the Heavenly Church over the years.

Lee Cheon’s younger brother, the fearsome Colonel Lee Baek, is a difficult man, but Lee Cheon is an ally who only becomes more valuable the closer you keep him.

He will be a great help in an all out war against the Heavenly Church, and he will surely support Han Taepyeong and Yoo Eunha as well.

“Good thing I concentrated the experience gains on them.”

[Lucy also prefers concentrating gains!]

[Lucy can even concentrate to eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner!]

That is not concentrating.

That is just eating a lot in big portions.

[Lucy suddenly wants to eat something….]

[Lucy’s stomach is rumbling really badly….]

Recently, Lucy had been getting hungry more often.

“Maybe… because you talk too much?”

Even so.

I should find something for her to eat as soon as possible.

The awards continued.

“Then we will proceed with the awards. Please come forward. Cadet Han Taepyeong. Cadet Yoo Eunha. And. Huh?”

While reading the script, Lee Cheon turned the page.

“……?”

As if what he was looking for was not on the back page, he flipped back to the front.

“???”

He flipped back again.

He even took out his glasses from his pocket and spoke with the secretary beside him.

Wrangler, who had been smiling broadly, began to look slightly uneasy.

Coincidentally, so did I.

Something.

Something is happening.

I suddenly remembered an urgent appointment and stood up.

But.

Grab.

Marie Caulfield grabbed my collar with a sly smile.

“Let go. I have to go. I have somewhere to be. Somewhere I need to go….”

“Hah. Where do you think you are going. This is the award ceremony you were waiting for. Have some manners.”

“I, uh, that. I need to change my engine oil. And after that I have to emcee a wedding.”

“Really? Then throw away the car and cancel the wedding.”

“……!”

This brat was vicious enough to make me wonder if she was part of the Heavenly Church….

Marie Caulfield dragged me back into my seat.

I could not properly resist and had no choice but to sit down again.

The difference in stats was overwhelming.

Lee Cheon fluttered the script containing the ceremony lines.

“…Excuse me, but this award script. Something seems off.”

He then looked at Wrangler standing beside him.

“I was told there were three people who saved my daughter…. Did my daughter misunderstand something?”

Wow.

The atmosphere of the ceremony.

Ice bucket challenge.