Prologue Story

The order of the conversation was decided.

Min-hee paused briefly before opening her mouth.

“The teacher I met was someone named Lee Baek-han, and he felt like a scientist.”

“A scientist?”

“Yeah. He had this ‘I’m so annoyed’ look, wore glasses, and was dressed in a white lab coat like a scientist or doctor. But from the way he spoke, he seemed incredibly smart.”

“You don’t know what kind of magic he has?”

“No idea. All the time went to filling out a questionnaire.”

“I see.”

It’s the first day, so that’s possible. Still, a questionnaire makes me think of some kind of psychological survey. I find those pretty interesting. Like the word ‘scientist’ suggests, he seems to have chosen a conventional personality assessment method.

A lazy scientist paired with Min-hee… It doesn’t seem like a match that fits well.

Next, it was In-ha’s turn.

In-ha, with her usual stoic expression, opened her mouth.

“The teacher I met was a man with a cold impression and an indifferent demeanor. He used fire magic… but the fire was black.”

“Black?”

Oh wow, In-ha got to see magic. Han-soo rarely smiled in amusement, but he looked at In-ha with interest. In-ha flinched slightly, then nodded.

“Yes. It wasn’t pitch black but felt like black flames flickering around a dark red core… It gave off an extremely dangerous feeling.”

“Hmm…”

Then it was my turn.

I recalled the face of the woman I met just hours ago.

She had long brown hair tied with a ribbon, wore a fluttery pink dress, and spoke in an elegant and refined tone.

“My teacher was an extremely elegant person. She had long brown hair tied with a ribbon and wore a pretty pink lace dress, the kind you’d only see at a party. Her movements and gestures were very graceful, and her gaze was dignified. Her speech was refined, like a noble lady, using a manner of speaking that seemed aristocratic. But… contrary to that impression, she used ‘Game Magic.’”

“Game Magic?”

At the word ‘game,’ Hyun-ho, Han-soo, and Min-hee perked up.

As expected, at this age, anything involving games immediately grabs attention.

Han-soo, looking a bit confused, asked, “Game Magic? Like leveling up and using skills?”

“No. Her Game Magic is about ‘managing’ games.”

“Managing games? Does that mean it only works in games?”

“No, not at all. It’s like this: she creates a game domain in the real world. The area she defines becomes her game world, and she is the manager and god of that game. She can do anything she wants.”

“Hmm…”

“That’s a very unique magic.”

“I’ve never heard of such magic before.”

After asking a few more questions, Han-soo nodded, indicating he somewhat understood.

Min-hee and Hyun-ho also found it fascinating, while In-ha looked intrigued.

Seeing my friends’ reactions, I smiled quietly.

Someday, when my magic develops, it will resemble that, but they don’t know that yet.

I haven’t told anyone except In-ha because it’s not something they can grasp yet.

After me, it was Hyun-ho’s turn.

We already knew who Hyun-ho’s teacher was, but we were still very curious about what he would say.

Min-hee asked Hyun-ho with sparkling eyes, “So, Hyun-ho, what happened?”

“Well, when I teleported, I immediately saw my teacher. I ran up to greet them, saying it’s been a while, and they said they were my assigned teacher while laughing. I was so shocked I can’t even remember what I said. The teacher patted my head as I tried to hold back tears…”

As he said that, Hyun-ho lightly stroked his short hair.

Hyun-ho has a short sporty haircut. It feels prickly to the touch, which makes it fun.

“Then, Teacher Min taught me their magic for the first time today.”

We were startled and crowded around Hyun-ho.

What is it? What kind of magic?!

Min-hee urged him on.

Though we had learned magic from our teachers, we hadn’t seen them use magic often.

Even after two years together, we hardly knew our teachers’ magic.

Looking back, it’s kind of embarrassing.

“Teacher Min’s magic is called Iron Magic. It’s about controlling sharp iron particles, but they usually coat it with ice.”

I flinched.

I instinctively felt that it must be an extremely dangerous magic.

I scratched my head.

“I went straight into training with my teacher. We continued the training we did before and talked a lot about sub-magic. I haven’t decided on it yet, though.”

“I see.”

It seemed he had been thinking things through steadily.

Hyun-ho’s story ended.

Finally, it was Han-soo’s turn.

“Like you, Eun-ha, I had a female teacher. She gave off the impression of a stereotypical ‘teacher.’ She wore a suit and carried a stick—something teachers often have. She used magic with it.”

A staff? Hmm, it evokes the classic image of a witch in a fairy tale.

Han-soo didn’t know its name and gestured its approximate length and shape.

If it’s something teachers carry…

“Are you talking about a pointer stick?”

“I don’t know its name. Something like that.”

“Magicians who use tools aren’t uncommon.”

In-ha muttered indifferently.

Well, true.

Han-soo also nodded indifferently.

These two are surprisingly alike at times like this.

I alternated glances at their expressions from across the table and smirked.

“She had short hair… Is that enough?”

“What did you learn today?”

“Nothing. She just kept asking about my magic.”

“Same for me,” Min-hee interjected in agreement.

It seemed everyone but Hyun-ho had a similar experience today.

Hyun-ho, proud of having been the only one to train, grinned smugly.

“Hehe. I got to learn today. I even discussed my sub-magic with my teacher.”

Ugh, how annoying!

Min-hee playfully smacked Hyun-ho’s head, but soon crossed her arms and started pondering.

“But still. Sub-magic, huh? Ugh, I need to decide too.”

“In-ha and Eun-ha have already created theirs, though.”

While Min-hee and Hyun-ho grumbled at us, Han-soo suddenly murmured quietly.

“…I’ve already decided what mine will be.”

What?

Startled, we all turned to Han-soo.

“What?!”

“You’ve decided?”

Even In-ha, who usually stayed seated calmly, widened her eyes, while Min-hee and I leaned forward toward Han-soo.

Startled by the unexpected reaction, Han-soo shrank back slightly and nodded. His face turned a bit red.

“Y-yeah… I’ve decided what kind of magic to create, but I haven’t worked out the techniques or form yet. I’m still figuring it out. It’ll take time to develop. That’s one of the reasons I joined the Gardening Club.”

Whoa…

I was amazed and covered my mouth with my hand.

“Since it’s related to your club activities, does it have to do with plants? Like creating your own plants or something?”

Apparently, I hit the mark.

Han-soo averted his gaze slightly and nodded with a flushed face, seemingly embarrassed at being caught.

Wow, that’s so cute.

Han-soo’s main magic was about trees. If his sub-magic also relates to plants…

I don’t know what it is, but it sounds like it’ll be worth watching.

I crossed my arms and nodded.

“Magic plants? That’s great~.”

“To grow them properly, I have to try it myself… That’s the idea.”

“Then you really made a good choice for your club activities.”

I clapped my hands and smiled warmly at Han-soo.

The others were equally impressed.

“Well… I already have a few magic plants at home. I was planning to use that magic for trees anyway. Instead of just using trees to attack… I thought growing magic plants for attacks would make them stronger. And plants have many uses beyond combat, too.”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

Magic plants are often more diverse in their unique traits than aggressive ones.

There are trees that restore magical energy, junipers that stabilize the mind, and trees whose leaf colors change depending on the temperature.

Judging by Han-soo’s personality, the sub-magic he’s newly considering seems likely to be a very gentle magic.

Despite his curt tone, Han-soo is actually thoughtful and kind.

That made my expectations even higher.

“Good luck with your sub-magic.”

I sent Han-soo a heartfelt cheer.

Han-soo looked at me with a shy expression again.

In-ha hesitated for a moment before speaking.

“…I’m curious, so show us when you’ve made it.”

Han-soo let out a soft laugh.

“Thanks. I’ll do that.”

Min-hee, who was clapping in congratulations for Han-soo, leaned her back against the sofa with a sigh.

“Phew, what do I do? I’m stuck on my main magic already.”

Main magic?

I looked at Min-hee with a puzzled expression.

As someone with similar struggles, Hyun-ho patted Min-hee on the back to comfort her.

“It’s okay. You’ve got a teacher now. You’ll come up with something amazing soon!”

“Really? You think so? Ugh, magic… At first, I didn’t worry about it much, but as I kept using it, I started having so many concerns.”

That’s only natural.

Growth always involves worrying and solving problems, step by step.

My friends probably created their magic intuitively, like children.

In contrast, I had planned the direction of my magic’s growth from the very start.

Since I haven’t fully caught up to that plan yet, I don’t need to worry about such things.

All I have to do is keep growing.

Maybe the reason I’m progressing a bit faster than my friends is due to this difference…

My friends are experiencing growing pains right now.

But they’ll soon overcome those growing pains.

With their talent, luck, and intelligence, they’ll quickly find their path and move forward decisively.

I blinked, taking in everyone’s magical energy in my view.

Surely, it won’t be long now.

For now, I’m still slightly ahead, but my friends won’t stay as children forever.

They’ll learn countless things through magic and realize their own talents.

They’ll discover that their potential exceeds their limits.

They’re inherently more gifted and smarter than I am.

I’m not exceptionally smart; I just think in a slightly more mature way.

I understood that fact better than anyone.

And because of that, it felt a little… bittersweet.

“It’s okay. Everything will work out for sure.”

I patted Min-hee’s head and simply smiled.

I was thrilled by the prospect of new knowledge.

As I always think, elementary school textbooks shouldn’t be underestimated.

My friends often call me smart, but honestly, I’m more of a hands-on learner.

I’m not the type to obsess over theories.

In fact, I also rely on textbooks for help, especially when it comes to theory and explanations.

Why do my friends think I’m smart in the first place?

When it comes to comprehension, Min-hee and In-ha are clearly the best among us.

Min-hee has near-perfect memory, and In-ha… well, she’s practically a superhuman-in-training.

In magic theory class, we started with unique magic, but in practical magic class, we began with elemental magic.

I think it’s because we learned a bit of spell magic last year, and true magic is too complex for kids to grasp, so we’re starting with elemental magic.

This was the first time we were learning elemental magic at school.

I’ve mastered all elemental magic except for advanced attributes, but In-ha and Hyun-ho haven’t.

In-ha and Hyun-ho could only use one or two elemental magics that suited them best.

Since elemental magic must be learned solely through the user’s ability, it’s one of the most debated types of magic.

This magic relies more on intuition than understanding.

That’s why some say elemental magic is harder than existing or unique magic, while others say it’s the easiest.

For me… it was difficult at first, but now I find elemental magic easier than other types.

Before properly learning elemental magic in class, we first checked our magic attributes.

In front of each of us was a test plate far more detailed than the attribute test plates for the four basic elements (water, fire, wind, earth) we used in grades 1 and 2.

It was similar in design to the gemstone plate I used as a child when I first discovered my magic attributes.

The plate displayed the same attributes as back then: darkness, light, water, fire, wind, earth, plant, metal, lightning, mental, and special—11 in total.