WHIRRR—
The machine began operating with an ominous sound.
Since I'd already carefully watched how it worked once before, I wasn't surprised. I naturally accepted the condensed mana approaching my fingertips.
The condensed mana flowed in through my fingertips and coursed throughout my body.
I didn't resist it. I enjoyed it.
The mana that entered my body traveled everywhere, from my heart to my brain and all the way down to my toes, and I kept the incoming flow of mana from being interrupted.
“Hmm.”
Perhaps because it had been so long since I'd taken mana into my body, a slight wave of dizziness came over me.
I endured the vertigo and directed the surging mana throughout my body.
Before long, my body began filling completely with mana.
Since I was a child, my body was small, and I hadn't even formed a Circle yet, so I couldn't accept much mana.
I had no choice but to cut off the incoming flow.
The machine stopped shortly afterward.
“Ah. I'm dizzy….”
I'd taken in so much mana that my head felt like it was spinning.
I felt as though I might vomit at any moment, so I hurriedly expelled the mana that had accumulated inside my body.
“Phew.”
Now I feel a little better.
Everything in moderation.
Too much of anything is worse than having none at all.
Holding my head, I left the observation room and headed toward my parents.
When I opened the door and scampered over to them, the men in white coats stared back and forth between Yeowoo and me as though they couldn't understand what they had just witnessed.
Seeing how unusual the researchers' expressions and the atmosphere were, my parents grew nervous as well and questioned them.
“Hyunwoo…… How did he do?”
“Sir, what I'm about to say isn't mere flattery. I strongly recommend enrolling both Miss Yeowoo and Hyunwoo in the Academy. If you'd like, we can even write letters of recommendation for them.”
“Recommendation letters for magic school!? Really?”
Yeowoo's eyes widened as she tightly gripped Mother's hand.
The man in the white coat nodded at her with a pleased expression.
“Of course. Both you and Hyunwoo can go to magic school. I'll also look into getting both of you full scholarships so your parents won't have to bear the cost.”
“…What's a scholarship?”
“It's money given to outstanding students. That means you wouldn't have to pay to attend school.”
“Wow! Thank you, mister!”
Yeowoo bowed excitedly.
Watching her, I somehow found myself smiling like an old grandfather.
“Thank you for saying that, but this isn't something we can decide lightly. We'll need to discuss it. If you have a business card…….”
“Here you are. It isn't an easy decision, so once you've made up your minds, please contact the number on the card.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
Right up until we left the observation center, the men in white coats and Park Mina saw us off.
Then we headed to a hamburger restaurant.
***
I savored heaven as I stuffed a kids' chicken-and-crab burger, cola, and French fries into my mouth.
The quality of the bread itself was excellent, but more than anything, the sauce inside the burger was incredible.
And the cola, with its sharp fizz and refreshing taste, was magnificent.
I'd never even seen anything like this in my previous world.
At best, we had wine.
If carbonation had been developed in my old world, wars might very well have broken out over the method of producing it.
That was how addictive it tasted.
“I think what the children want matters most, honey. Besides, that researcher said he'd help them qualify for scholarships anyway….”
“It doesn't matter even if they don't get them. What bothers me is…… are our children really exceptional enough to get that kind of reaction?”
My parents still looked bewildered.
Then Mother stroked Yeowoo's head and asked her a question.
“Yeowoo. Do you really want to go to magic school? What do you think?”
“Yeah! I'm definitely going!”
“I see.”
Mother smiled as though she'd expected the answer.
Then again, we'd come to the observation center in the first place because Yeowoo had wanted to, so perhaps her answer was obvious.
Mother's eyes turned toward me this time.
“What about you, Hyunwoo? Do you want to go to magic school?”
“Hmm…… No.”
Mother looked startled by my unexpected answer.
“Why?”
“I just don't care about it.”
Even if I went to a magic school, the level wouldn't suit me.
By the standards of this world, me going to a magic school to learn something would be little different from Einstein learning arithmetic from a kindergarten teacher.
Besides, I'd already seen the pinnacle of magic, so I had no lingering ambition toward it.
Of course, that was only when it came to combat magic and Dark Magic…….
I'd also achieved my modest goal of stealing some of the researchers' attention, so I had no interest in the magic school Yeowoo was so obsessed with.
Slurp.
I drank cola through a straw and dipped a French fry in ketchup before eating it.
The blissful taste of the food made me smile innocently without even realizing it.
“Hmm. I see. If Hyunwoo isn't interested, then we shouldn't send him. All right. I understand.”
“Huh? Hyunwoo, why? Come with me~ I'll teach you everything!”
Reading the mood, Yeowoo grabbed my arm and tried to persuade me.
Even so, I wouldn't budge.
“I want to go to a normal school.”
“Then you'll be going to a different school from me. Are you okay with that?”
It wasn't even a question worth thinking about, but I pretended to consider it so Yeowoo wouldn't feel hurt.
“I'll miss you, but I'll be fine. I'll manage on my own.”
“Why~? Come with me. Please? Please?”
Mother and Father were split on the matter.
Entering the Academy meant living apart from our parents, and Mother was uncomfortable with that, so she supported my decision.
Father, on the other hand, kept subtly trying to persuade me.
“Come on, Hyunwoo. Just give it a try. Unlike elementary school, the food at magic school is incredibly good, and it'll be much easier to study and make friends there.”
“……The food is better?”
“Yeah. If you attend and decide you really don't like it, tell Dad. I'll transfer you to an elementary school immediately. How does that sound? Don't you think you should at least consider it for your sister's sake?”
“Hmm….”
Ah.
Damn it….
Father hadn't said the food was better.
He said the food was incredibly good.
That's hard to refuse.
I chewed on my hamburger as I seriously considered it.
“If I want to leave after I start attending, I can?”
“Yeah. Want to give it a try?”
“Then…… okay.”
“Waaah~! Hyunwoo, does that mean you're going to magic school with me?”
“Yeah. Looks like it.”
Mother apparently thought sending the two of us together would be better than sending Yeowoo alone, because she didn't object.
Yeowoo smiled and stroked my head with a hand covered in grease from the French fries.
“Good boy, our Hyunwoo.”
I glared at my sister and stopped her hand.
***
Golden Heart Guild Headquarters.
Inside a private office overlooking the Han River, Deputy Guild Master Son Euna was busy doing complicated work on her computer.
RIIING—
A telephone rang in the middle of an important task, breaking her concentration.
Son Euna frowned and sighed, but soon picked up the receiver.
“Yes. Deputy Guild Master Son Euna speaking.”
—Deputy Guild Master. It's me. I'm calling because there's something I need to tell you.
“Ah…… Mr. Jiuk.”
He was an informant working for the Golden Heart Guild.
Son Euna nodded with a displeased expression.
“Yes. Go ahead.”
—It's nothing serious. It's information concerning potential talent. Two young children underwent mana sensitivity testing at an observation center, and the readings were high enough to shock the staff.
“Ah…… I see.”
Disappointed by the information, Son Euna leaned back in her chair.
Mages were certainly valuable talent, but if they were young children rather than teenagers, there was no telling what they would become later.
They were too young to recruit now, yet waiting for them would also take far too long.
Without much expectation, Son Euna asked,
“What were their readings?”
—Yes. The girl's is estimated to be in the 860s, and the boy's…… is in the 2100s.
“Excuse me? Eight-sixty—no, did you say twenty-one hundred?”
Startled by the terrifyingly high figures, Son Euna instantly leaned close to the receiver.
Her eyes widened to more than twice their usual size.
“Are you serious?”
—Yes. I'll identify their personal information by tomorrow and submit a formal report.
“Haha…… Wait a moment. You said there were two children. Are they related by blood?”
—Yes. That's what I understand. The last information I obtained was that the girl is nine and the boy is seven.
“Nine and seven…… and their Mana Sensitivity is 860 and 2100?”
—Yes.
Son Euna shook her head in disbelief.
“Today isn't April Fools' Day, is it? I can't believe this.”
—I couldn't believe it either when I first received the information. I've also obtained the data, so I'll submit a written report tomorrow.
“All right. Understood. Please keep up the good work.”
Son Euna hung up the receiver and ruffled her hair with one hand.
“My God. That's impossible….”
A nine-year-old child exceeding 800 was already the stuff of fantasy, but a seven-year-old reaching 2100 was so unrealistic that it wasn't even funny.
If she had to put a probability on it, wouldn't it be about the same as a gigantic asteroid crashing into Earth tonight and wiping out the planet?
“Asteroid Rama isn't actually on its way here, is it?”
Son Euna stood from her chair and looked up at the sky through the floor-to-ceiling window.
The clear blue sky certainly didn't look as though something so horrific was about to fall from it.
At least not today.
“Phew….”
She already had a mountain of work to do, but after hearing such a shocking report, she couldn't concentrate.
With her arms crossed, Son Euna looked down at the Han River.
Then she eventually returned to her chair and began typing on the keyboard again.
If the report was true, she had to secure those children before anyone else did.
Signing contracts with them would be no different from buying a lottery ticket guaranteed to hit the jackpot.
***
“Appointment. Appointment. Appointment….”
Patron. Sponsor. Sponsor….
I'd finished the alphabet workbook and phonics materials my teacher gave me in a week, and now I was learning English vocabulary and grammar.
If I'd learned magic, I could have picked it up much faster, but learning naturally wasn't bad either.
It felt something like drinking black tea while watching the rain outside.
“Hyunwoo. What does that mean?”
It was the same girl who always came over to ask me about problems.
Apparently, she'd become curious about the English words I was reciting as I memorized them.
“Hmm. English. I'm memorizing it because I'm bored.”
“Wow… Hyunwoo, you know English too?”
“Of course. I'm fine. And you?”
“Woooow~! Hyunwoo, you're so cool!”
“Uh? What's wrong?”
The girl suddenly hugged me.
I wanted to push her away in surprise, but she was strangely strong and stubbornly refused to let go.
What is this…?
“Hyunwoo. Teach me some English too.”
The girl whispered into my ear.
I frowned and whispered back to her in English.
“Get away.”
Not knowing what it meant, the girl simply smiled brightly.
***
Time passed like a hamster wheel, and the seasons changed.
The spring that had once been in full bloom eventually became a sweltering summer.
The sweltering summer turned into a chilly autumn.
And the chilly autumn transformed into a winter with cold as sharp as an awl.
Many things happened in the meantime.
Some important, others trivial.
Starting with the trivial things, I'd mastered English.
My English improved to the point where I could communicate smoothly with native speakers, and my pronunciation became fluent enough that people said I sounded like a local.
I'd grown fond of learning languages, so my next goals were Chinese and Japanese.
I'd also mastered basic mathematics.
Addition and subtraction, multiplication and division.
I understood and mastered the principles of exponents, prime factorization, integers, rational numbers, and more, but I didn't progress any further than that.
Even this much was already enough for everyone around me to call me a genius and insist that I should be sent to an academy for gifted children.
And then there was the most important thing.
Don't they say tragedy always comes during times of peace?
My father, Lee Jisang, the Hero who protected the safety of the citizens, was struck by tragedy.