It was midnight, no different from any other day.
As I left my house for my part-time job, my eyes narrowed at the sight of a delivery box by the door.
“What is this…?”
I had no recollection of ordering any packages, yet a single, rather heavy box sat conspicuously on its own.
Wondering if it had been delivered to the wrong address, I attempted to check the tracking number, but for some reason, nothing was affixed to the box.
‘Could this be an illicit delivery?’
I couldn’t tell.
However, certain that it wasn’t something I had ordered, I cautiously placed the box in front of my neighbor’s door before continuing on my way.
It was better to avoid it entirely than to meddle unnecessarily and risk getting entangled.
Shortly after, I arrived at the convenience store.
After receiving a rundown of any unusual occurrences from the previous shift’s part-timer, I donned my vest and settled behind the counter.
A soft sigh escaped my lips.
With winter in full swing, the convenience store, warmed by its heaters, felt far cozier than my own home.
While the air was somewhat dry, it was undeniably preferable to the biting cold outside.
After sitting idly for a moment, I checked the inventory of the goods before returning to the counter.
I restocked the empty cigarette display.
For myself, I paid for a pack of the cigarettes I smoked and set it aside.
The price of cigarettes these days was utterly outrageous, yet I found myself unable to quit.
‘Perhaps I’d quit if the opportunity ever arose.’
Apparently, that opportunity had yet to present itself.
A wry chuckle escaped me, and I pulled out my phone to pass the time until a customer arrived.
I scrolled through short-form videos, seeking a dopamine rush, then accessed a community forum to skim through its posts.
The gallery I frequented most was the ‘Mystery Gallery’.
It was a place where people shared anecdotes and information about various mysterious phenomena, and since most of the stories lacked any basis in reality, reading them felt akin to indulging in a novel, which I found quite enjoyable.
Tales of aliens and monsters abounded, and the suggested methods for dealing with such encounters often struck me as surprisingly plausible.
[Title: How to Exterminate Aliens]
[Anonymous]
What should our Mystery Buddies (TL Note: A playful term for members of the ‘Mystery Gallery’ forum, ‘Shin-bung-i’ in Korean.) do if they encounter hostile aliens?
The answer is to stab them with wood.
Wood is a rare resource in space, so if you stab them with wood, they often become immobilized and die.
So, our good Mystery Buddies, keep this in mind and use it when you meet aliens.
(Frog giving a thumbs up emoticon)
[Comments]
–Wow, how useful! I’ll definitely stab any alien that looks like your kid!
–Aliens that look like me are too handsome; they need to leave descendants… Save me…
–(Then die emoticon)
[Title: How to Become a Wizard]
[SeriousMagicAddict]
To become a wizard, you must either apprentice yourself to a wizard or obtain a grimoire.
Grimoires are divided into two types: one written by a wizard, and the other by an Outer God.
The difference is difficult to discern with the naked eye.
A wizard could tell at a glance, but if you’re not one, you absolutely must read its contents.
If the grimoire belongs to an Outer God, exposure to its knowledge will drive you insane.
There’s no turning back then; you’ll become nothing but a mad wizard.
If you think you’ve found a grimoire, please send me a comment first.
I’ll check it and let you know.
[Comments]
–I think I found a grimoire? Check this out.
–SeriousMagicAddict: Send a photo to [email protected].
–Sent.
–SeriousMagicAddict: You goddamn idiot, isn’t this just a trashy BL erotic novel? You must be desperate to die.
–(You fell for that? emoticon)
–SeriousMagicAddict: Don’t let me catch sight of you again.
I burst into laughter at the conversation unfolding in the comments.
Tap, tap.
Tapping the screen, I added my own comment.
–How do you know if you’ve found a grimoire or not?
–SeriousMagicAddict: First, the cover is unusual.
An ordinary person would recognize that it’s no common book, as it fundamentally exudes the aura of an ancient tome.
Grimoires, due to their characteristic of choosing their own master, appear suddenly before their destined owner.
So, if a book you’ve never seen before suddenly appears in your surroundings, it’s a grimoire.
“What solid world-building,”
I was about to type a reply when a customer suddenly entered, prompting me to put down my phone and stand up.
After that, I found no further opportunity to browse the forum.
Simply dealing with the difficult customers had completely drained my energy.
The graveyard shift at the convenience store had its perks, but dealing with drunk patrons was a constant headache.
Despite the sparse number of customers, a few individuals managed to devour so much of my time that my fatigue, for some reason, felt even more profound.
Though I longed to quit, I had no choice, as this was the only place nearby where I could find a part-time job.
I needed to earn a living, after all.
So I had to endure and persevere.
“Thank you,”
I bid the customer farewell with a practiced, business-like smile.
The once dark sky was gradually brightening once more.
I finished up my closing tasks and waited for the next shift to arrive.
A moment later, a woman with her hood pulled low entered the convenience store.
Exhibiting clear signs of exhaustion, she yawned broadly as she looked at me.
Her name was Lee Yubin.
She was my relief.
Shedding my vest, I stretched languidly as I replied.
“Nothing out of the ordinary.
A delivery will arrive shortly; you just need to receive that.”
“Ugh, I hate heavy things.
Can’t you help me?”
“No.”
“Such a quick refusal~”
Yubin chuckled, taking the vest I had just removed.
After wishing her good luck with the shift, I lit a cigarette and walked home.
The streets, now awake to the morning, were bustling with people.
Cars began to fill the roads, and individuals in suits or school uniforms started to appear, one by one.
I watched them for a moment before heading towards my studio apartment.
‘Come to think of it, did he say grimoire?’
Just as I reached the top of the stairs, a post I had seen in the Mystery Gallery suddenly resurfaced in my mind.
If you obtain a grimoire, you can become a wizard.
It was certainly a fantasy-laden piece of writing.
If everything he had said were true, it would mean a fair number of people in the world become wizards by sheer chance.
It would also imply the existence of Outer Gods.
‘I wonder if all Outer Gods look like Cthulhu.’
Lost in such trivial thoughts, I stood before the door to my studio apartment.
The delivery box I had seen before leaving for my part-time job was nowhere to be found.
It seemed its rightful owner had claimed it.
Dismissing the matter, I opened the door and stepped inside.
I switched on the light in the dimly lit living room, then casually shed my padded jacket, tossing it onto the bed.
In that instant, our eyes met.
At least, that’s how it felt.
“…”
On the bed, a beautiful book stood upright, its pristine white cover adorned with what appeared to be silver embroidery.
Nearby, a tattered, shredded box lay strewn about.
Unless I was mistaken, it was undoubtedly the very same delivery box I had seen at midnight.
“What the f—”
Cold sweat trickled down my spine, prompting me to immediately check the locks on the windows.
None were open.
There wasn’t even a trace of forced entry.
The door was no different.
There was absolutely no sign that anyone had forced their way in.
The firmly shut iron door looked exactly as it had when I first moved into the room.
It was utterly baffling.
There were no traces of anyone entering the room, yet the box I had clearly left in front of my neighbor’s door was now in my room?
And not just that, but it was completely torn open, leaving behind only an unfamiliar book?
The more I considered it, the more my head spun.
Ignoring the book on the bed for the moment, I checked to see if anything was missing from my apartment.
However, nothing appeared to be gone.
While there wasn’t much to take in the first place, it made no sense for an intruder to go to such lengths to break in and then take nothing.
What would be the point of all that trouble?
Yet, despite thoroughly searching the room for a considerable time, I found not a single unusual detail.
Far from any sign of intrusion, all that remained was the shredded box and the elaborate book.
At this point, I had no choice but to concede.
“This thing… teleported into my house on its own?”
I muttered, glaring at the book on the bed.
I knew perfectly well how absurd it sounded.
It was logically impossible.
It was the kind of thing that would make even the most renowned scientists shake their heads in disbelief, declaring it utterly impossible, yet, in my estimation, it was the most plausible explanation.
Otherwise, there was simply no explanation whatsoever.
“What are you?”
On a whim, I retrieved a back scratcher and gently poked the book.
In that instant, instead of merely toppling over, the book began to emit a frantic, pure white light, scattering it wildly across the room.
“Insane.”
Unable to even contemplate escape, I simply stared at the spectacle.
The sheer, incomprehensible mystery seemed to have momentarily paralyzed my ability to think.
Where the light had vanished, the book still lay conspicuously.
The book with its pristine white cover and silver embroidery.
It was as thick as any profound philosophical treatise or legal code.
Yet, despite its imposing size, the scent emanating from it was not that of old paper, but rather closer to the fragrance of flowers.
An enchanting aroma.
Unthinkingly, I reached out a hand towards the book, only to abruptly halt my movement as a thought struck me.
The post from the gallery flashed through my mind.
‘An unusual cover.
The aura of an ancient tome.
Suddenly appearing before its master.
If a book you’ve never seen before suddenly appears in your surroundings.’
That’s a grimoire.
In the very instant that the thought—that this was impossible, mere fiction—surfaced in my mind, the book seemed to assent to my realization, floating gently into the air.
It then drifted closer, stopping right before my eyes, and its pages rustled open.
As the pristine white book opened, the title and author’s name were finally revealed.
[The Touch of Recreation]
[Author: The Reconstructor of All Things]
[This grimoire was penned by the Outer God, ‘The Reconstructor of All Things,’ hereinafter referred to as ■■■■.
It contains methods for recreating both inorganic and organic matter, alongside various alchemical and magical formulae.
As no previous owner exists, the memories within cannot be accessed.
Rejoice, therefore, for you are this book’s first master.]
“Ah.”
Unconsciously, I grasped the book, which, for some inexplicable reason, was written in Korean, then sank onto the bed, burying my face in my hands.
It seemed the post I had read in the gallery was, after all, true.
