Prologue Story

No, how could two siblings both end up becoming teachers?

In-ha and I shared the shock we felt yesterday with everyone.

When we compared them again, they resembled each other more than we had thought.

It was strange why I hadn’t immediately thought of Teacher Joon-hwi when I saw her face.

Setting aside the way they spoke, their faces, and even their personalities were similar.

Calm yet sharp gazes, composed movements—all of it was alike.

Even their hair was the same brown color.

The only real difference might be their eye color.

Teacher Joon-hwi’s eyes were brown, while hers were crimson.

Moreover, they had similar tastes.

Of course, there were differences, but the similarities stood out first.

Both of them loved sweets and especially enjoyed pairing them with tea.

It felt like such a refined taste.

When our friends heard the story, they were astonished.

It was almost as surprising as the time Hyun-ho shared news about Teacher Min.

“But isn’t it a good thing, anyway?”

While the others were still caught up in confusion, Min-hee clapped her hands and smiled brightly.

“Either way, it means we’ll get to see both Teacher Joon-hwi and Teacher Min more often!”

“Well, that’s true…”

“Right?”

Everyone’s faces brightened.

Min-hee looked at me and asked, “I heard Teacher Min visits their house often, right?”

“Then Eun-ha, you’ll get to see both of them a lot. Speaking of which, where exactly does Teacher Joon-hwi live?”

“Ugh… I’ve never heard, so I don’t know.”

“Well, in any case, it means you’ll see both of them often. That’s nice.”

At Han-soo’s comment, Hyun-ho shook his head, saying he wasn’t sure.

Then, Min-hee concluded the conversation.

We all nodded in agreement, happy with her words.

After that, we began one-on-one magic training with our personal teachers in earnest.

That day, when it was revealed that Teacher Jung Joon-hwi and Teacher Jung Min-ah were siblings, we had already been warned to be prepared, but the training that began surpassed all expectations.

I lost count of how many times I stumbled and fell during practice.

Luckily, it was all done within the virtual system, so there were no lasting injuries.

True to her word, Teacher Jung Min-ah trained me through sparring and combat-focused exercises.

I had no real interest in martial arts, but thanks to my adaptability, I could grasp and use techniques well once I mastered them.

Even so, I wasn’t particularly skilled, but when combined with magic, I managed to reach a passable level.

Though, of course, that was considering I was just an elementary student.

I had multiple virtual sparring sessions in the simulated space.

The first time I tried a battle simulation, all I could do was barely dodge and defend.

The only reason I wasn’t hurt was thanks to my Barrier Magic.

At first, I was so flustered that I could only endure attacks, but once I realized the barrier could protect me, I managed to track my opponent using sensory abilities and defeat them with magic.

After that, my combat style solidified.

I used Barrier Magic and Written Magic to conceal and protect myself.

Then, when I spotted an opening, I attacked with Elemental Magic, Spell Magic, or Illusion Magic.

She didn’t interfere with my combat approach.

At some point, I realized that combat training was an excellent way to improve my magic.

Practice and training were just that—practice and training.

I learned best in real-life situations, and combat was exactly that.

I stopped avoiding combat training.

While real battles were still terrifying, I could handle virtual ones since I knew they were “fake.”

I even experimented with various ideas during virtual battles, sometimes treating them like hallucinations.

I no longer disliked combat training.

Even though it was painful and exhausting, there were moments when it became enjoyable.

Every time I used magic to avoid injury, I gained a deeper understanding of my abilities.

After each session, I always thought about how to use my magic effectively in battle.

This habit, combined with real-combat-style training, became a driving force for my rapid growth.

It was smart to devise a barrier to surround my body.

During battles, I’ll always keep it on me.

That way, even if I’m injured, it’ll only leave shallow wounds.

When drawing letters, I should use not just my fingers but a specialized illusion pen with effective options built in.

And if I write letters with illusions or quickly draw them with magic, I should definitely use light.

Since I’ve practiced before, it should work in combat too.

Spoken spells…

I paused my thoughts at the idea of spoken spells and stopped writing, lifting my head.

What about using my voice?

Although she devoted much time to combat training, she didn’t neglect individual magic training.

Still, it was clear that my unique magic was advancing quickly through her real-combat training methods.

Even after training with her, I practiced basic evasion and attack drills with In-ha at home.

Maybe this was why In-ha liked combat training so much.

Watching my magic grow stronger was truly enjoyable.

And so, I decided to evolve my magic.

“Using Written Magic with your voice?”

“Yes.”

Until now, I had mostly written characters by hand.

But that was too slow to use effectively in combat.

While using light magic could speed it up, I still needed faster alternatives.

That’s when I thought of “voice.”

My Written Magic was similar to Spoken Magic.

And Spoken Magic relied on voice.

So I figured it would work.

“Not a bad idea… but it’ll take a lot of practice.”

“Yes!”

After getting the green light, I dedicated myself to practicing Written Magic through voice.

The magic that showed the most noticeable growth was my main magic, Illusion Magic.

Now, I could influence the brain with about a fifty percent success rate.

Plus, I could enter not just my friends’ dreams but also those of complete strangers.

I also discovered a place I called the “dream crossroads.”

It was hard to explain, but maybe it could be described as a path where everyone’s dreams and memories converged.

Along this path were countless sceneries, houses, and doors.

Each door represented someone’s dream or subconscious.

Some doors were locked, while others weren’t.

Some opened when knocked on, while others remained shut even when the doorbell was rung.

It was an incredibly mysterious place.

However, it was also chaotic and confusing.

A single breeze could disorient me, and I’d often find myself in strange places.

Luckily, I could always return to my dream world, so there wasn’t much danger.

I also succeeded with mental illusion magic.

With my friends’ permission, I experimented on them, leading to this progress.

Still, I wasn’t skilled enough, and using it required a lot of magic power.

Currently, I could show people desired scenes or directly enter their mental spaces.

My friends had also made significant progress.

In-ha learned not only how to make light shine but also how to hide magic within it.

Hyun-ho showed advances in his study of sub-magic.

“Honestly, I have so many things I want to do.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. When I use magic, I play with water like it’s a toy.

So, I thought Toy Magic might be cool.

It’s like summoning toys and controlling them.

But I want them to talk, too.

Toy Magic alone doesn’t seem enough for that.

Also, I want to turn water into wind and make it explode…

I just have so many ideas.

But when I said that, the teacher suggested Spoken Magic.”

“Spoken Magic?”

I blinked.

Spoken Magic and Hyun-ho—it seemed like an unusual pairing.

“Yeah. To do what I want, I’d need to create or learn a lot of magic.

But apparently, making too many spells isn’t great for my age.

Most would end up as sub-magic.

Since I’m working on sub-magic anyway, the teacher said Spoken Magic might let me do a bit of everything.

And when I thought of you, Eun-ha, I figured it might actually work.

Speaking of which, I have a question!”

“What is it?”

“Can you create wind with Written Magic?”

“Of course, I can.”

“What about explosions?”

“I can do that.”

“And dolls?”

“Hmm… Are you talking about the kind that move and talk?”

“Yeah.”

“Dolls… would be hard with just Spoken Magic.

At least for me right now.

If it were me, I’d probably create dolls with illusions, embed a magic stone as the core, and use Written Magic to program their personalities.”

“Hmm… is that so…?”

Hyun-ho made a contemplative expression as if it didn’t fully resonate with him.

I patted his shoulder lightly.

“Sub-magic isn’t something simple to achieve. Think it through a bit more.”

“Yeah… you’re right.”

It was clear that Hyun-ho had grasped some sort of lead.

Han-soo was deeply engrossed in creating his sub-magic, and Min-hee had already created a magic spell.

It didn’t seem like she had decided on it as sub-magic, but it was a spell she thought she needed most for herself.

That spell was… ‘Perception Magic.’

The Perception Magic Min-hee created felt like a magical version of my sensory abilities.

Min-hee, who had chosen Shooting Magic as her main magic, needed a way to perceive her surroundings clearly during battles.

So, she created Perception Magic, which allows her to recognize her surroundings and have all that information flow directly into her mind.

At this stage, an ordinary person would get overwhelmed by such information, but Min-hee showed no such issues.

It was all thanks to her exceptional memory.

Even though Min-hee had created a spell, she still seemed to be mulling over something.

“Shooting Magic… it’s good, and it’s fine. I like weapons, so that’s why I created it. There’s so much I can do with magic bullets… so why does it feel like it’s lacking when I look at them…?”

She would sometimes mutter like that.

Everyone encounters moments of growth.

Moments when they break through invisible walls and ascend to new heights.

By worrying, struggling, and reflecting, we confront and grow.

Moments of growth visit us many times, but this was the first time we broke through a wall.

It was the true first step of growth as magicians.

Having a mentor was a blessing in many ways.

That was the moment when I solidified how I addressed Teacher Jung Min-ah in my heart.

I decided to call her “Master” in my thoughts.

That title felt perfect to me.

She was, in the truest sense, my first master.

For me, there was a clear difference between a master and a teacher.

Maybe it was because I had read too many comics and novels.

‘A master’—doesn’t it have a certain romance to it?

While the others were developing their sub-magic, I was evolving mine.

Barrier and Illusion Magic were constantly evolving, with no clear end in sight.

But Written Magic had a definite limitation—its premise of “writing.”

This meant I found one of its limits more quickly.

Right now, I was faster with my voice than with my hands.

Using both hands and voice together might be a good approach.

Evolving unique magic required thought, imagination, and above all, effort and practice.

I recalled the feeling of using Written Magic and opened my mouth to speak.

If I write single words and shout sentences, it might become easier to use.

With that thought in mind, I started with the simplest forms.

I visualized the shape of the magic I wanted to cast and shouted the words.

“Darkness!”

“Light!”

“Rise!”

“Move!”

While I was used to expressing through writing, I was clumsy with verbal expressions.

Still, I understood the importance of “speech.”

Speech is like a binding spell, a word of power, and an essential element for connecting with others’ emotions.

It took me about three days to successfully activate a spell with my voice for the first time.

The words I shouted with imagination became etched as letters and triggered the magic.

The joy I felt at that moment was beyond words.

“You’ve already managed to use Written Magic with your voice once? Then you’ll get used to it soon. The first step is always the hardest. Does it feel different to use your voice compared to writing?”

“Hmm… using my voice feels like it carries a stronger ‘will.’”

At my words, my master smiled faintly.

“Speech and writing are similar yet different. That must be the distinction.”

I nodded quietly.

Just as we were grappling with magic, the other kids began contemplating their own.

From now on, creating their “main magic” would be their task until they graduated elementary school.

The kids would likely create their main magic around fifth or sixth grade.

Once they succeeded with one, the next would come much easier.

We were advancing quickly, but we were also walking an uncharted and rigorous path.

The only difference was that this path might turn out to be a shortcut.

Magic practice classes had progressed from identifying attributes to basic training for handling attribute magic.

In theory lessons, we focused mainly on exploring unique magic.

By now, all students in our grade understood how to create unique magic.

“Got it? It’s fine to create sub-magic. But usually, the first magic you create tends to settle as your main magic. That’s because you create it with your strongest emotions or your greatest desire. So, you need to think carefully when creating magic. To create magic, at the very least, you need to decide on its name and how to use it. Especially the method of usage—you need to think about it thoroughly enough to fill at least one notebook page. Of course, without sufficient magic power, you can’t create magic in the first place.”

The teacher said this, but in my view, the kids already had enough magic power to create their own spells.

I had created my first magic spell when I was five, and back then, I had far less magic power than these kids.

During lunch, we gathered in our usual secret room in the library’s corner, laying out a pile of snacks as we chatted.

“When I was little, I just knew, ‘This is it!’ and created my magic. I didn’t think about it this much.”

“Yeah, me too. I just liked water and thought it’d be fun to play with it, and then it came to me.”

“I liked plants, so I thought it’d be nice to grow my own… and that’s how I created mine, I guess?”

I smiled quietly.

How typical of them.

Especially Han-soo—he might not seem like it, but he had such a peaceful personality.

At In-ha’s amused chuckle, Han-soo frowned immediately.

“What? Why are you laughing?”

“No reason, really.”

As usual, the two began bickering.

Han-soo, come on. In-ha wasn’t laughing with bad intentions.

I waved my hand, trying to calm them down.

Hyun-ho then asked In-ha.

“In-ha, how did you create your magic?”

“Well… it was mainly because it suited me best. And… Eun-ha said that light suited me.”

In-ha blushed slightly, looking shy.

Goodness, my eyes widened in surprise.

How many years ago had that been?

To think that it was the inspiration for her magic creation.

Han-soo snorted as if to say, ‘Of course.’

“See? I knew it.”

“And what’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing~ Just that it’s so obvious.”

“Hmph.”

“Alright, alright.”

I stepped between the two again.

Honestly, how adorable they are.

“What about you, Eun-ha? How did you create your magic?”

At Hyun-ho’s question, I paused to think.

It wasn’t easy to explain.

I still remembered vividly how I felt when I created my magic.

I raised a finger.

“Well, you know how I like comics and novels, right? So, I like creating stories.”

“Stories?”

“Yeah, stories. I’d rather create them than just read them. I’m not great at drawing, though.”

I chuckled self-deprecatingly.

When it came to hands-on creation, I always had a certain clumsiness.

“When I watch comics, novels, or animations, I always think, ‘I want to create something like this.’”

That’s why I became a novelist in my previous life.

Many people loved my books.

That was my dream.

I just wanted people to see the stories I imagined.

That was how it all started.

“So, I wanted to use magic to bring my stories to life. That’s how I ended up with the magic I have now. Illusions can work like animation. Written Magic lets me craft stories with words. And Barriers… Barriers were to establish the stage to present those stories. Or… well, maybe I just wanted Barriers for the sake of having them. Is that bad?”

“Of course not. Isn’t that totally normal?”

Min-hee laughed, amused.

I smiled faintly.

Thinking about it, the magic I created simply because I wanted it turned out to be my weakest and least-main-like Barrier Magic.

Even with magic, I had attached reasons for wanting it.

It was a bit strange how different I was from the others.

I smiled vaguely.