Prologue Story

Everything is hard at first, isn’t it?

Starting new training was also the most difficult at the beginning.

However, as I grew accustomed to the evasion motions and combined them with my detection abilities…

At some point, I began to quickly improve and caught up with my friends’ evasion abilities.

I managed to close a significant gap in less than a week.

In short, I had figured out the “trick” to it.

“Still, you were really bad at first. Kind of clumsy, you know.”

“Well, I am… a bit slow.”

To be honest, regardless of talent, I am someone who loves to just sit and play rather than exercise.

I particularly enjoy block stacking, board games, and Jenga.

That’s because I’m not very good at them. Haha.

But what I enjoy the most is reading books and writing novels.

In my past life, I probably spent 365 days x ∞ doing just that.

However, things are a bit different now since magic exists.

I meditate while sitting, jot down thoughts as they come to me during meditation, and practice what I’ve written.

Just doing that keeps me busy every single day.

Before I knew it, an entire month would fly by.

In short, I’m not cut out for physical activity.

“Come to think of it, games like Jenga and block stacking are great for improving spatial perception.”

…For that reason, I’ve recently rediscovered my love for block stacking and Jenga.

When playing with friends, the sky outside would already be dark before we realized it.

With screams, laughter, and clapping, we would improve our spatial perception—a great deal for what it’s worth.

Spatial perception is one of the essential foundational abilities required for magic and is helpful in every way.

It was only a few months after starting evasion training that we cleared all the basic levels.

Now, it was time to begin basic attack training.

As with evasion training, we practiced attack training using a virtual system.

“This is… a doll?”

For the first attack training, I was chosen to go first.

After listening to the teacher’s explanation, I entered the virtual space, where a human-shaped doll appeared.

A target mark was drawn on the doll’s belly.

Out of curiosity, I touched the doll with my finger.

It felt soft, almost as if it were stuffed with cotton.

“The goal of this training is to successfully hit the target on the doll.

Once the starting signal is given, time will start counting in seconds.

The initial time limit is one minute. Within that, you must land a ‘hit.’

However, it’s not enough to simply hit the target—if the attack isn’t effective, it won’t count.

So, within five minutes, you need to deliver a valid hit strong enough to knock the doll down.

As you continue, you’ll clear levels one by one. Of course, the levels will get more complex as you go.”

“It’s just like the evasion training?”

“Yes, only the focus is on attacks this time. Now, Yoo Eun-ha, get ready.”

I stepped back a few paces and focused on the doll before me.

None of my magic was particularly suited for direct attacks.

So, what could I use to land a valid hit?

Since it’s just a doll… maybe I should try “that” idea I’ve only imagined before?

“Start!”

Beep! The signal sounded. I immediately focused on the doll.

In my mind, I visualized horizontal and vertical lines, pinpointing the exact location to create it.

And in that spot, I “manifested” it.

A sharp, elongated, spike-shaped barrier materialized and pierced through the doll.

It took about 10 seconds to achieve this, I think?

Right after activating the magic, I caught my breath, exhausted from the sudden drain on my mana.

“Ugh… It takes a lot of mana to create a barrier inside something….”

“Wow! That’s amazing. How did you do that?”

“Huh? I just designated the spot where the barrier would appear…”

I looked up.

The doll, pierced through by the barrier, slowly began to fade away.

Suddenly, block-like characters moved into my field of vision, forming words.

Then, without warning, the scene in front of me froze.

“Huh…?”

I turned to look at Teacher Joon-hwi and Teacher Min.

For some reason, they were both staring at me with serious expressions.

“…Eun-ha, do you plan to use that technique in actual combat?”

“No. Of course not.”

There’s no way I’d use such a dangerous technique on a person.

Hearing my answer, Teacher Joon-hwi let out a small sigh, seemingly of relief.

“…Alright. It’s fine to practice personally, but during training, only use attacks you’d realistically employ against a person.”

“Yes.”

Since this is attack training, that seemed reasonable. I nodded in agreement.

The training system, which had paused for a moment, resumed.

I refocused my attention on the task at hand.

However, the teachers continued to watch me with tense expressions, which was a little distracting.

Still, I decided to concentrate on my training.

This time, two dolls appeared before me.

Again, the time limit was one minute.

Alright, then, what’s the simplest approach?

Of all the attribute magic I use the most, the main ones are darkness, light, lightning, and ice—let’s narrow it down to these four.

Naturally, I went with the magic I was most familiar with.

While darkness magic is my strongest attribute, perhaps because In-ha uses light magic, light came to mind first when I thought of attacking.

I didn’t move.

I simply gathered light in front of me and shot it through the dolls’ bodies.

The two dolls were instantly scorched and set aflame.

Attacking stationary dolls wasn’t particularly difficult.

The light mana I generated differed from In-ha’s—it was a silvery white, almost pure white.

『Clear!』

『Three attempts left until the next level.』

From then on, I continued attacking the dolls with attribute magic.

Attribute magic seemed to suit me best.

I clenched and unclenched my fists.

This world contains various types of magic.

Broadly speaking, they can be divided into two categories: unique magic and standard magic.

But with finer classification, they split into unique magic, standard magic, and “attribute magic”—three types.

Attribute magic differs entirely from spell magic or true magic, which are forms of standard magic.

Attribute magic is more fundamental.

It involves imbuing mana with specific properties and controlling it—that is attribute magic in its essence.

Spell magic and true magic, if analyzed, are partially composed of attribute magic refined into techniques, making them quite fundamental.

Of course, spell magic and true magic encompass numerous spells beyond attribute-based ones.

However, both spell magic and true magic commonly incorporate letters and arrays to form magical “techniques.”

This much is covered in basic magical studies.

I can already use all types of attribute magic except for advanced attribute transformations.

Attribute magic, which involves granting mana an attribute and controlling it, is simple in principle.

It is a magic that, excluding non-mages, nearly everyone learns before adulthood.

However, mages who master all attributes are extremely rare.

Most people only learn a few attributes that match their affinity.

Well, most people…

But since I have an affinity for all attributes, I’ve mastered every type of attribute magic.

Non-mages can use certain types of spell magic or true magic because they operate within a structured set of rules.

However, unique magic and attribute magic differ in that they require pure talent and capability.

Therefore, while non-mages can utilize spell magic and true magic, they are unable to use attribute magic.

It is also true that attribute magic is more difficult than basic spell magic or true magic.

In any case, what matters is that I was able to use all attribute magic as of two years ago.

I had a tough time with fire, plant, and earth attributes, but I managed to master them eventually.

Not stopping there, I also became able to use a few advanced attribute transformations.

Advanced attribute transformation is the higher-level process of attribute magic.

It involves altering one attribute into another.

For example, turning darkness into shadow, water into ice, or earth into rock or sand.

I am still practicing this because controlling it is challenging and gives me a hard time.

Being able to use attribute magic means I already have offensive tools besides unique magic.

It’s just that I never considered them as offensive tools.

Dodging requires constant movement, so it’s understandable, but I do have plenty of ways to attack stationary targets.

I cleared through the levels rapidly.

Level 1, Level 2, Level 3… Once I reached Level 10, the attack time was reduced to 30 seconds.

The mana required also increased.

Eventually, I reached Level 30.

In the end, I mastered the basics of attack training in just one day.

Perhaps because the targets were stationary dolls, I didn’t find it particularly difficult.

However, both the teachers and my friends seemed quite surprised.

“To think you could achieve that without using unique magic… and at nine years old.”

“Even if the targets didn’t move, being able to utilize attribute magic that freely… Hmm, Eun-ha, your gap between magical and physical abilities is significant.”

I felt shy as I listened to my friends’ compliments, saying I was impressive and skilled.

But shortly after, Teacher Joon-hwi spoke.

“Eun-ha, you’ll need to skip some parts of the evasion training.”

“Huh?”

“You need to undergo more intense training.

In the basics, you evaded without using magic, but from the next stage onward, you’ll train to block attacks with magic as well.

It doesn’t matter whether you use defensive magic to block or offensive magic to neutralize the attacks.

You just need to withstand it.

Eun-ha, you’re better at defending than evading anyway.”

“Yes…”

Well, that’s because I have barrier magic.

My barrier magic creates worlds, but on a smaller scale, it’s essentially a shield.

“For now, you should focus on evasion training.

You can use magic to block attacks, but I’d prefer it if you only used magic for the ones you absolutely can’t avoid.

For the rest, I want you to physically evade them.

That way, you’ll build up your physical abilities.

Right now, evasion is more important for you than attacking.”

I found the urgency in the teacher’s tone a little strange, but I nodded in agreement.

Indeed, my magic shines more in evasion and defense than in offense.

Even when it came to combat, I found defense more interesting than attacking.

I also planned to use illusion magic for those purposes.

Whether in battle or anything else, “feeling” is critical when it comes to magic.

Isn’t illusion magic the perfect tool for adjusting those feelings?

By using it, I could enhance my defense and weaken the opponent’s offense…

“Next is Min-hee, you’re up.”

“Yes, sir!”

While I was lost in thought, the turn passed to Min-hee.

Min-hee wasn’t to be underestimated either.

Her magic was specifically designed to land direct hits on the opponent.

She completed the basic attack training much faster than I did.

Although she slowed down a bit toward the end, it was clear she finished before me.

However, unlike with me, the teachers seemed unfazed.

The same went for Han-soo, In-ha, and Hyun-ho.

Han-soo seemed a bit uneasy but managed to master all the basics of attack training.

Hyun-ho enthusiastically launched attacks and seemed to enjoy himself.

“From the next session, we’ll alternate between the beginner evasion training and the beginner attack training.

Of course, these are still the basic beginner levels.”

“Ugh, really?”

“Yes. What you’re learning now is designed for beginners.

The magic training virtual system differs by level.

The one you’re using is Level F.

I assume you all know what this rank signifies.”

Ah, a rank system.

The level we’re training at is low enough that even non-mages could handle it.

Well, for nine-year-old kids, this is probably the perfect level.

As I nodded, Teacher Joon-hwi looked at me and added, “But, Eun-ha will focus more on evasion training and skip to beginner Level 3.

Just as I mentioned earlier.”

“Only Eun-ha?”

“Yes, only Eun-ha.

The rest of you should focus more on attacking.”

Although my friends voiced minor complaints, they quickly accepted it, and I, too, nodded with a serious expression.

After that, we followed the teacher’s instructions and continued with the attack training for a little while before wrapping up.

We greeted the teachers and headed back to the classroom.

That marked the end of today’s school lessons.

As we walked back to the classroom, we chatted.

“Did you know we learned how to make mana crystals today?”

Oh? I was intrigued by Min-hee’s comment.

“Really? Our class hasn’t learned that yet.”

“But Eun-ha, you already know how to make mana crystals, so it doesn’t really matter, right?”

“Well, even so, there’s a difference between learning it properly and just figuring it out on your own.”

“Is that so?”

Min-hee tilted her head as if she didn’t quite understand and continued.

“So, about those mana crystals, apparently we were the only ones in the class who managed to make them!

So, we quickly hid what we made. Smart, huh?”

“…I guess?”

For a moment, I hesitated to respond.

It felt awkward to be asked if they had done well hiding their accomplishments.

Unlike me, the kids seemed to succeed at magic easily during lessons.

Since they’re still kids, they naturally aren’t as cautious as I am.

However, hearing such self-repressive comments from talented, pure children left me feeling uneasy.