As midnight drew near, Ian, while working his part-time job, quickly scrolled through the online community.
‘Most of these posts are just garbage.’
He recognized immediately that the community’s nature resembled an online gallery (TL Note: A common type of Korean online forum, similar to a subreddit or imageboard, often characterized by its informal and often chaotic nature.), yet the posts themselves felt strangely familiar.
Rather than feeling like a community used by actual mages, it seemed more like a place where people merely role-playing as mages were spouting nonsense.
The reason for the community’s appearance was, in fact, stated in the official announcement.
It claimed to have mimicked the style of Korea’s most famous online community, and indeed, that particular site was exceptionally popular.
Instead of needlessly complicating matters by creating a brand-new community, simply emulating the most popular gallery, which boasted the highest user count, was indeed the most efficient approach from a utility standpoint.
After all, there was no need to pour unnecessary resources into it.
‘Still, it’s a bit disappointing.’
Ian had secretly envisioned the mage community as a gathering of highly intellectual scholars.
A place akin to an academic school, where they would debate their magical abilities and propose superior methods.
However, that illusion was shattered head-on.
[I’ve perfected a spell to grow breasts, magibro LOL]
[BugInYourEar]
(An image of a platypus with its arms crossed)
“Magibro (TL Note: A Korean slang term, ‘mabung-i,’ referring to a mage in an informal or often self-deprecating manner, similar to ‘magic dude’ or ‘magic bro.’), come here and sit down.”
“How long do you plan to live chasing only provocative titles like these? Shouldn’t you go outside, hunt some mysteries, and deal with the monsters that have appeared?”
“This father truly worries about you…”
[Comments]
–StrawberryYogurtSmoothie: They’re a crazy bastard, daeyo (TL Note: A cutesy, informal, and often childish way of ending sentences in Korean online communities.). There’s no way such a spell exists, daeyo.
–BugInYourEar: The flat chest is here, no? LOL
–StrawberryYogurtSmoothie: Shut up, daeyo. Where do you live, daeyo?
–BugInYourEar: (An emoji of a cockroach flashing a double peace sign)
–StrawberryYogurtSmoothie: What a total son of a b*tch, daeyo.
“Are these mages, or magibros?”
‘Hmm. Both, it seems.’
Ian sighed inwardly and checked a few other posts.
Fortunately, there were some genuinely useful articles among them.
[I became a mage a week ago. But strange things keep happening. I think I’m even seeing ghosts.]
[Rose]
(An image of a grimoire with leaves stuck to it)
“A while ago, I accidentally picked up a grimoire and followed its instructions, becoming a mage.”
“But ever since then, I keep getting caught up in strange occurrences. Ghosts? Monsters? I’m seeing things like that.”
“Is this normal?”
[Comments]
–Yep, totally normal. The more you deal with mysteries, the more often you get entangled with them.
–Rose: Mysteries?
–Those things you called ghosts or monsters. We collectively call them ‘Mysteries’ or ‘Anomalies’ (TL Note: ‘Gyeoi,’ referring to strange or bizarre entities/phenomena). The magic you use is also a type of Mystery.
–Rose: Ah, so you’re saying that now that I’m a mage, I can’t help but frequently encounter such things?
–(Thumbs-up frog emoji)
–Rose: Thank you for letting me know.
–Good luck surviving.
‘Getting entangled with Mysteries more often, huh…’
‘Will I encounter them soon too?’
Ian set his phone aside and, seizing the opportunity while there were no customers, stepped outside to light a cigarette.
‘Judging by the advice to “survive,” they don’t seem like friendly entities.’
A light drizzle fell outside.
With rain adding to the already cold winter, a thick mist blanketed the streets.
Perhaps due to the absence of people nearby, a slightly eerie atmosphere permeated the air.
It felt as though something could inexplicably leap out at any moment.
…
Ian ignited the tip of his cigarette with a lighter and inhaled the smoke.
He silently gazed at the rain-drenched street, pulling his coat zipper all the way up.
Fortunately, despite the ominous atmosphere, nothing appeared until he finished his cigarette.
Ian stomped out his cigarette, dipped it in water, and then discarded it in the trash can.
****
“Ding-dong.”
He opened the convenience store door and stepped back inside.
Sitting on the chair behind the counter, he pulled out the grimoire and began to read it in a spot hidden from the CCTV.
Although his alchemy had been successful, his magical knowledge was still significantly lacking compared to other mages.
Thus, he had to make time to continue his studies no matter what.
Furthermore, the primary magic dealt with in this grimoire was not alchemy.
The power of ‘Recreation,’ as written in its title, was the grimoire’s true strength.
[If two objects possess identical constituent elements yet differ in form, it must be possible to recreate one to render both objects perfectly alike. This is known as the Authority of Recreation.]
[An Authority that can only be wielded and understood by the wielder of this grimoire. It is the power to transform an entity recognized as ‘material’ into a different form, despite possessing the same substance.]
Simply put, it was a higher-tier magic than alchemy.
For instance, if one were to recreate iron, it would be possible to alter its form into various shapes while leaving its constituent materials undisturbed.
The only thing consumed in that process was Aether.
While large-scale recreation required various preparations, altering small objects demanded nothing more than Aether.
Moreover, the materials susceptible to recreation included both organic and inorganic matter, without distinction.
If Ian were to activate Recreation using a ‘human’ as material, that human would retain only their human constituent elements, while their form would completely transform.
Creating movie-like monsters would not be difficult for Ian.
‘I wonder if I’ll ever have a reason to use it on a human.’
Nevertheless, its immense power was undeniable.
While recreation fundamentally relied on the caster’s imagination, creating something specific required following the instructions written in the grimoire.
Such as this:
[God’s Finger]
[All words written with this finger become reality.]
[Materials: One prisoner’s wrist, one key that holds a god, a small amount of a great one’s flesh.]
[Converge and mix all materials to form a single mass. Draw a magic circle upon it, then activate Recreation.]
Though it was a divine artifact with an unbelievable effect, the required materials were equally extraordinary.
While a prisoner’s wrist might be conceivable, acquiring a key that holds a god and a great one’s flesh seemed incredibly challenging.
The key was an item recorded in the alchemy section.
Although its ingredients were quite demanding, it was, at least, possible to create.
However, the flesh remained utterly incomprehensible.
He didn’t even know what a ‘great one’ was to begin with.
‘This is a world where Mysteries breathe. If even a book written by an Outer God mentions a Great One, then acquiring it in my current state would be impossible.’
Or rather, he wasn’t sure if it would ever be possible.
When he thought of ‘Great Ones,’ Cthulhu was the only one that immediately came to mind, and wouldn’t he need to ram a steam locomotive into it just to catch it?
Just as Ian was thinking this and turning the page,
“Ding-dong,” the convenience store door opened with a chime.
Ian immediately closed the book and stood up from his seat.
“Welcome.”
As he offered a perfunctory greeting and turned his head toward the customer, his gaze hardened.
The customer was… large. Severely large.
Its appearance was that of a slender woman in a pristine white dress.
However, it was so tall that its head touched the ceiling, and its neck was unnaturally long, bending sideways.
Its arms dragged on the floor, and its legs were grotesquely twisted, trembling uncontrollably.
As if it had been shot somewhere, its thighs were riddled with bullet holes.
Blood dripped continuously from its torn lips, and its teeth, encrusted with bone and flesh, were stained crimson.
Soon after,
It turned its head towards Ian.
Through its empty eye sockets, Ian felt as if their gazes had met.
Ian instinctively understood.
‘This is an Anomaly.’
[Aargh!]
The moment he thought this, it suddenly let out a shriek.
Then, it swung its long arm like a whip.
Without a moment’s hesitation or question, Ian picked up the grimoire he had just closed and opened it.
Whirrrrr!!
The pages turned on their own, revealing the most useful spell for the current situation.
[If you encounter a Mystery, do not panic. It is nothing short of excellent material for a mage.]
[Whether living or dead material, to you, they are but insignificant creatures.]
[Recreate it into a form beneficial to you.]
The pristine white grimoire scattered light.
At that instant, the arm the Mystery had lashed out was blocked by the grimoire’s aura and bounced back.
Its shattered bones and flesh protruded from its skin, and Ian lunged over the counter, reaching out to the retreating arm.
“Be reborn anew.”
CRUNCH!!
The moment he uttered the words, the Mystery’s arm converged inward.
[Aaaargh!!]
All the constituent elements forming the arm were crushed, torn, and transformed.
Centered around the elbow, the arm, in its process of rebirth, compressed and crumpled as if forming a sphere.
CRUNCH! CRACKLE!!
With horrific sounds, blood splattered everywhere.
The Mystery, seemingly in terrible pain, shrieked and severed the arm that had begun to transform, letting it fall.
With a dull thud, the arm, now a perfect sphere, dropped to the floor.
Ian, who had been briefly gazing at the object transforming into a dazzling crimson, suddenly snapped his head up and reached out for the Mystery’s body.
[Aargh!]
But he didn’t reach it.
For the Mystery had abruptly turned and fled out of the convenience store.
The creature, having smashed through the unopening door and escaped, swiftly vanished into the rain-swept street.
“…What the hell.”
The tension that had coiled within him during the surprisingly fierce battle suddenly dissipated.
He scratched his head, surveying the ruined convenience store, and picked up the sphere from the floor.
“…So, I got an alchemy ingredient, at least?”
He didn’t know why the Mystery, which resembled an Eight-Foot-Tall Ghost (TL Note: ‘Hachishakusama,’ a Japanese urban legend of a tall female ghost), had suddenly appeared, why it had then fled, or why its thighs had bullet holes… but he had, at least, obtained a material crafted from an Anomaly.
“Hmm.”
Uttering the most fitting remark for such a situation, Ian shoved the sphere into his pocket.
“Lucky me.”
