The Poncho-Wearing Wizard
[Translator – Aren]
I, Baek Jemin, am a person who always gives his best no matter where I am.
But I also knew that the words ‘doing your best’ were difficult to use to convince other people. After spending days flipping through all sorts of mystical and occult texts while repeatedly clenching and unclenching my now unwrapped left hand, a familiar face finally showed up.
"Baek…Jemin-ssi?”
It was Hamza.
Thinking back on it, he was probably the person I’d had the least interaction with, so I was curious why he’d come looking for me. Hamza shifted his gaze around awkwardly before cautiously whispering.
"Could I get one slice of Richam later, please?”
"Aren’t Muslims not supposed to eat pork?”
"I’ll pray to Allah later, so it’s fine.”After a moment of thought, I nodded.
Sure, Hamza was technically a Muslim from Pakistan, but if a man washed down pork belly with shots of soju, wasn’t he basically an honorary Korean at that point? I could spare him a slice of Richam.
Faith issues were something for the person involved to negotiate on their own anyway. It wasn’t my place to interfere in that.
Hamza immediately grinned, showing his teeth, and sat down beside me.
"You don’t seem to be in a hurry, Baek Jemin-ssi.”
"Huh?”
"Look outside. Everyone is nervous and tense. But you just stay in here and read books.”
For a moment, I thought something strange flashed through Hamza’s eyes.
I blinked and let out a dry laugh before closing the Complete Works of Lovecraft I’d been reading. I’d started reading it for inspiration about occultism and strange myths, and since I’d already been nodding off, the interruption was actually perfect timing.
"Well…It’s not like the monsters stop moving just because I’m in a hurry, right? If containment breaks, then we’ll just be playing under radioactive fallout clouds together before dying.”
"Huuh."
"Worrying over things beyond your control just wears down you body and mind. You just do the best you can. Isn’t that what ‘Even if the world ends tomorrow, I’ll still plant an apple tree’ means?”
"Baek Jemin-ssi… that’s more profound than I expected. Where’d you hear that?”
"I said those exact words to my parents while holding up my mock exam report card showing a7, 9, and 9 for Korean, English, and Math respectively.”
"Are higher numbers a good thing?”
"It means I had nowhere to go but up.”
Of course, my father and mother had no appreciation for my enlightened wisdom and instead searched for a stick to beat my calves with. But now that I looked back on them, those were all good memories.
I leisurely enjoyed the coffee the quickwitted driver had brought me.
"What about you, Hamza-ssi? Why aren’t you going back home?”
"I worked really hard to live here. I was actually about to take the citizenship exam. I wanted to bring my family over too…”
The two of us continued exchanging fairly meaningless but somehow meaningful words.
Hamza was a wizard capable of using the Dogma-type magic Angel’s Intuition, and it seemed to be something close to danger detection or precognition.
Meaning if I glued myself to Hamza, I’d probably be safe.
I was in the middle of deciding that I absolutely needed to stick close to either Pastor Park Yohan with his Redemptive Conviction, or Hamza.
-Bzzz—.
Since I’d blocked my parents after they kept calling nonstop, whenever my phone vibrated now, it meant new messages had been sent in the group chat. I gestured at Hamza to wait while I checked the messenger. And what I found was absolute chaos.
[Holy fucking shit]
[What the hell are these monster bastards?]
[No, forget that. How the hell did the government even hide this until now, holy shit]
[These fucking lunatics hid this for 2 whole months? No, srsly, this was hideable? Is the government actually completely insane?]
The guy who still insisted on being my ‘little brother’ apparently hadn’t checked his phone yet. The little 1 beside his messages was still there.
Not wanting my friend on the other side of the cracked screen to feel lonely, I tossed him a reply.
[You just saw it now?]
[Bro they’re literally doing a national address right now. You not watching?]
[Idiot, remember the monster survival tip I gave you?]
[Holy shit, I actually lived because of that.]
Still, thanks to him making such a fuss, I suddenly got curious about this national address.
It was currently February 1st, 9:58 AM.
I glanced at Hamza and offered,
"Want to watch it together?”
"I have a phone as well.”
Hamza also stopped talking and started tapping through live videos on his own phone.
Korea was practically in a wartime state, and yet cell towers still worked, data still existed, and the two of us were sitting here taking it easy. Honestly, I felt pretty pleased with myself. I mean, wasn’t the secret to living a long life making sure you licked up every bit of free comfort available while everyone else was getting screwed over?
Eventually, the voice of our current president, bowing deeply, came from the screen.
[Citizens of the Republic of Korea, our administration has wronged you. We misjudged the severity of the situation and believed it could be contained. We treated nearly 10 million Seoul citizens as potential carriers and placed them under quarantine and containment. And we are only revealing the truth to you…]
It was a peaceful morning. The sun was shining, a brisk breeze passed by, and somewhere birds were chirping.
[...Consequently, approximately 150 thousand soldiers of the Republic of Korea Armed Forces have blocked major roads and railways around Seoul while flattening surrounding regions to establish kill zones. Our government now acknowledges that the situation is effectively no different from wartime and will begin implementing new measures. We understand your disappointment. However, we ask you once more to place your trust in the government and military who remain determined to restore order and resolve this crisis…]
-Step, step, step.
The sound of military boots suddenly became clearer than the president's voice.
Captain Kim Howoon and Lietentant Shin Hangi had arrived with their helmets tucked beneath their arms. The two of them looked at the national address Hamza and I were watching and let out small sighs. Then they calmly looked toward us and spoke.
"Operators, let’s go. It’s starting."
* * *
On February 1st, 2028, the first blockade line surrounding Seoul miraculously held.
Living up to South Korea’s reputation as the Ministry of Artillery, they dumped every bit of firepower they had into the operation, successfully stopping Amalgam infiltration through ground routes.
At least, that’s what the government believed, and what the people, too, desperately wanted to believe.
Somewhere between tens of thousands and over a hundred thousand Amalgams had supposedly been repelled.
Rumor had it that military casualties among frontline containment units alone sat somewhere around 6.000 to 7.000.
Of course, that only counted the units maintaining the blockade line. No one still knew what had happened to the military units stranded inside Seoul itself.
Using even thermobaric bombs supplied through American assistance, they repeatedly bombarded the area to clear away the fog. The outer districts of Seoul had become little more than concrete graveyards, and even the fog itself seemed to have weakened somewhat.
As Amalgam assaults subsided for several days, the government finally judged that the crisis had entered at least a temporary lull and began implementing a full-scale response.
[Respecting the tactical and strategic capabilities of our alley, the United States, with whom we share bonds forged in blood, the government will establish a joint US-Korea Command in Pyeongtaek and Osan dedicated to responding to the Seoul crises, assigning military personnel to allow for more efficient and capable responses….]
While all the wizards sat gathered in their seats, the white screen in the conference room continued replaying the footage of the national address.
Civilians, ordinary people out there, would probably only know as much as they showed right now. They remained completely unaware of the details that were kept hidden beneath the surface.
The colonel without a name tag manipulated the pointer, used the screen, then turned toward us.
"I said the nuclear scenario was classified as Level-3 classified information, didn’t I? That means we already expected some of it to leak. But from this point onward, this is real Level-1 classified information.”
All of us wizards, who had already signed the confidentiality agreements, had each been given document folders.
The first page alone had terrifying warning labels written all over it, but I simply accepted it and turned the page at the colonel’s instruction. As expected, a complicated overview of the current situation and political landscape unfolded before us.
"After continued behind-the-scenes negotiations, the United States has changed its original position. Instead of maintaining the option of a nuclear strike, they now believe that the Republic of Korea is both the most capable system and the strongest ally for dealing with this monster crisis and have promised large-scale support.”
Originally, the US had been preparing to cut its losses quickly, partially withdrawing or repositioning US Forces from Korea while keeping nuclear options in mind. But after listening to the government’s arguments, they reconsidered and decided to establish a Joint US-Korea Command and assumed operational authority to take the initiative in managing the crisis.
The presumed reasons for US involvement were as follows.
1. Determine the cause of the fog and monsters. Uncover the truth of the incident. Investigate thoroughly whether similar events could occur within the US.
2. Recognize that if this happened elsewhere, overwhelming conventional firepower like Korea’s might not be enough. They felt a need to establish military doctrine for dealing with large-scale anomalous creature populations using modern armed forces and conventional weaponry.
3. Preserve and maintain American security interests in the Pacific.
4. Acknowledge the existence of Localized Intrusive Structural Alteration phenomena, ‘magic.’ Currently, the US is reportedly assembling advisory committees by bringing in occult believers and theologians to study magic.
Naturally, there were people unhappy after hearing and observing these conditions.
Shin Nain still looked pouty, showing his disappointment over not getting to nuke Seoul. Meanwhile, Sergeant Lee Sejun seemed to have his patriotism stirred at the mention of operational authority transfer and raised a question.
"We’re not some antiquated military force form decades ago. This is the Republic of Korea Armed Forces of the 2020s. And considering we held this insanity back for 2 months already, hasn’t our capability already been proven? So why are the Americans in charge again?”
"That's an excellent question. The reason why the government decided to have America actively involved in this matter stems from the following two factors.”
The colonel nodded tiredly and switched to the next slide.
Sure enough, it was about our other neighbors, who nobody exactly welcomed with open arms. China.
"The People’s Republic of China is still maintaining its position regarding nuclear strikes in this crisis. However, after learning that the US intended to establish a Joint US-Korea Command and proved large-scale support, they revised their policy slightly. Rather than immediate action, they are now proposing convening the UN Security Council to authorize nuclear strikes in the event of containment failure.”
China had apparently gone even further than simply suggesting nuking Seoul and bringing up vitrifying the entire Korean Peninsula under the banner of continental and human safety. But after realizing America’s position had shifted, they decided to pursue a more active and decisive approach.
The presumed reasons for China’s involvement were as follows.
1. Due to the establishment and operation of the Joint US-Korea Command, China has begun repositioning forces near the Yalu River while publicly declaring the situation a threat to all humanity and aiming to prevent impacts on China’s eastern coastline. They also appeared to have designated all of North Korea as a kill zone in preparation for containment failure.
2. While maintaining their stance of using nuclear weapons if Seoul containment fails, they reduced the scale to tactical nuclear strikes and declared that Chinese forces would also intervene directly.
3. Requested stationing rights around western island regions—specifically near Ganghwa Island, to support Chinese military assistance and operations on-site. This is presumed to be pressure aimed at the Korean government, which relocated to Incheon.
4. Intend to reduce Korea’s dependence on America and expand Chinese influence through civilian aid and military intervention during the crisis.
This time Pastor Park Yohan let out a curse.
"Then what about those damn Japs?”
"They’re currently arguing internally over whether they should revise their pacifist constitution or not, while China keeps growling that under no circumstances can they allow such a revision. America believes revision is the correct move, but apparently public opinion inside Japan is pushing anti-war protests, saying they absolutely cannot send the Self-Defense Forces into this crisis.”
I wasn’t expecting anything from them anyway. Those guys used to joke about Japan and Korea being one body back in the day, so maybe deep down they’d even welcome a dark version of that. If containment failed, we’d all get blasted by nuclear fallout together and die hand in hand.
Then the colonel pressed his cheek with his thumb and forefinger a few times before continuing.
"You will all maintain civilian status throughout this crisis. And you will also retain the authority to refuse military requests.”
"Wait, why?”
This time I was the one asking.
Of course, this was an amazing, wonderful, exciting development I had dreamed of. But I couldn’t help but think about all the stuff the Military Manpower Administration usually pulled. If someone suddenly started showering you with kindness when they never did, you can’t help but get suspicious, right?
The colonel kindly explained Korea’s current reality.
"The government is preparing for the worst-case scenario. Should the Chinese People’s Liberation Army forcibly enter Ganghwa Island and western island territories under the pretext of protecting civilians and suppressing the crisis, operational authority has already been prepared for transfer to the Joint US-Korea Command established in Pyeongtaek and Osan, along with de facto transfer of governmental and administrative functions…”
Apparently, the reason the government couldn’t leave Incheon wasn’t simply because too many people were gathered there. It was because there was concern that unidentified species similar to the Amalgams might have infected VIP personnel.
In the absolute worst case, the leadership itself could be hijacked. This might sound like paranoid delusions, but whether they knew the truth or not, if Chinese forces moved into places like Ganghwa Island and the western islands under the pretext of military exercises, there were concerns that Korea would effectively become a puppet state.
Furthermore, according to the colonel, China also seemed to have become aware of magic. Otherwise, there was no reason those ‘nuclear parrots,’ who’d spent all their time squawking about nukes, would suddenly start hinting at moving troops directly onto the Korean Peninsula.
"Because of this, if the Joint US-Korea Command were to formally draft Operators, it could hand the Chinese military justification that Korea is turning civilians into biological weapons, potentially increasing the scale of Chinese intervention. Therefore, the government plans to grant civilian Operators certain privileges through administrative procedures such as limited immunity, independent operational authority, and military supply access in order to emphasize your status and position as private civilians.”
At last, the briefing concluded.
And finally, the reason we’d all been gathered here was revealed.
"Therefore, you will effectively be assigned under the Joint US-Korea Command’s Combined Alteration Operations Division under the previously prepared Realistic Survival Command structure. Externally, however, you will function as an independent and autonomous civilian organization. So you’ll need to decide the group’s name, purpose, motto, and overall character yourselves.”
That was why wizards from all sorts of backgrounds and circumstances had been thrown together and forced to rack their brains over this mess.
* * *
Gathered together in the social welfare department that had been remodeled for us wizards, I suddenly found myself feeling strangely nostalgic.
People I’d never wanted to meet, or never would’ve met in my life, were now forced to sit shoulder-to-shoulder with me.
At that point, I almost wondered what made us any different from the Amalgams.
Anyway, the first one to speak was Shitmaster Shin Nain. Still wearing earbuds and rhythmically bouncing his shoulders to music, his eyes suddenly lit up as he began chopping at the air with his hand like it was an actual sword.
"What about The Lord’s Divine Punishment Crusaders? Sounds pretty fitting for an organization that crushes Satan’s armies and demonic forces.”
"We’ve got a Muslim and a Buddhist monk here too, you know?”
"Then let’s all believe in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ while we’re at it. Repent!”
At those words, Hamza awkwardly touched his turban and shook his head.
"Isa is a great prophet, but not the Son of God, and it’s not good to casually throw around a prophet’s name.”
"You dare question the Lord’s divinity?!”
"Then how about naming us after one of Islam’s great commanders? We could call ourselves The Sword of Allah, after the title ofKhalid ibn al-Walid. Muslims would all love it.”
"Koreans don’t exactly have the warmest feelings toward Islam. Absolutely not.”
Anyone overhearing would probably think we were some extremist terrorist group and report us on the spot.
Pastor Park Yohan crossed his arms and fell deep into thought before adjusting his glasses slyly.
"How about The Trumpets of Jericho?”
"Too boring. Too pretentious.”
"Ah, damn it. Then you say something, Baek Jemin-ssi!”
So it was finally my turn?
I believe that if an organization is truly great and transparent, its very name should tell people exactly what it does. Clear and straightforward, a name so obvious nobody could ever question its purpose or character.
And on top of that, it had to possess objectivity and neutrality, something that shows that we are capable of pursuing our goals regardless of religion.
From my perspective, there was only one organization name capable of satisfying all these requirements.
"Let’s call ourselves The Supreme Archmages."
It was unanimously rejected.
After a few more rounds of back-and-forth, the quietly observing Monk Cheonghwi finally pressed his palms together and spoke softly.
"When people of differing intentions are forced together, naturally agreement becomes difficult. Even if the greater purpose is shared, smaller matters will divide us. Bind them together by force and the result may be rigid but brittle. Would it not be better for each of us to first reveal the intentions we carry?”
Honestly, he had a point.
Was everyone here really gathered to save the country? Because I sure as hell wasn’t.
Only then did we begin turning toward one another and discussing our own goals and thoughts. Someone might look at this and think, ‘What kind of nonsense are you idiots doing in a crisis like this?’ But honestly, gathering a bunch of wizards together to create something like a secret society filled me with great exhilaration.
If the country got nuked, well shit, what could you do?
I wasn’t broken enough to feel peace knowing a nuclear strike was slowly licking the back of my neck like a guillotine blade, but I was feeling one hell of a dopamine rush.
Fail and a nuke would drop.
And the way to stop the nuke is to obtain stronger magic.
To awaken stronger magic, you have to willingly walk into fog crawling with monsters and risk dying.
It was a positive feedback loop of death itself.
To escape a life-or-death situation, you had to voluntarily enter another life-or-death situation. To survive, you needed stronger magic. And to gain stronger magic, you had to be prepared to put your life on the line.
Wasn’t that exhilarating? Didn’t it make you feel like you were losing your damn mind?
My pain became hope for survival. My pain guaranteed my salvation…
It wasn’t like the usual scam where people tell you hard work would pay off someday. No, if you literally carved away your flesh and bone, you’d receive a fair reward with a 100% success rate. That miracle existed out there together with those monsters in the fog.
Before that omnipotent power vanished beneath nuclear fire, I had to jump in first!
But there were very few people who understood my philosophy.
Only Pastor Park Yohan looked at me with a strange expression holding enigmatic depth.
In the end, thanks to Pastor Park Yohan’s passionate insistence, we finally recited the vow that would become our organization’s motto.
"Words may seem weightless. They may seem like they evaporate alongside memory, but they inevitably move people’s hearts. This truth is even reflected in the Old Testament’s Ark of Covenant. Before words were carved into writing, there were spoken words and sounds. Before written law moved people, covenants moved them.”
As he said this, Pastor Park Yohan looked particularly hard at me.
And as a man among men, I too understood the weight of words well. I'd already declared to my father that I would become a Grand Archmage. That meant I had to make it happen. So I nodded with a serious expression.
"Haah~ Shit~."
"Pastor, you sigh an awful lot.”
"Pastor! Youth Group Captain Shin Nain reporting for duty!”
Pastor Park Yohan looked back and forth between Shin Nain and me before letting out a sigh filled with joy.
"Korea’s youth are in great shape. Fantastic!”
And so at last, we wizards made our vows, each carrying our own wishes and convictions.
The first to speak was Pastor Park Yohan himself. Narrowing his eyes, he declared firmly,
"To stand against those who defile the Lord’s incarnation and the human body created in His image.”
Next was Hamza, honorary Korean citizen from Pakistan.
Hamza looked around with slightly trembling eyes before quietly voicing a very worldly wish.
"...I got approval for permanent residency in Korea. They said once this crisis ends, I can either return home or become naturalized with my family…I want to fight for a better tomorrow.”
Hearing that, Shin Nain tapped his earbud with his finger and shook his head like he found the answer pathetic.
Then, wearing a confident smile, he proudly declared,
"To stop Satan’s power from encroaching upon us!”
Next was Sergeant Lee Sejun.
As if suggesting there was no need for any grand rhetoric or something, he slapped his own thigh with his palm.
"Because I can’t stand watching my country disappear.”
Monk Cheonghwi quietly pressed his palms together and lowered his head.
"In the subway station, I too was shamefully consumed by fear. My cultivation is still terribly lacking. I wish to strengthen my wavering heart alongside others so that I may not be ashamed before anyone.”
Finally, my turn came. Without hesitation, I opened my mouth.
"That power I could never have reached even if I devoted my entire life to it. That miracle. The power that brought me both agony and ecstasy. I want to understand it completely!”
Only then did Park Yohan, who apparently had prepared this beforehand, joined his hands together as if praying and spoke in a voice lower and quieter than usual.
"Before our faith breaks, we shall end then. Before fear bends us, we shall become fear. We shall enter hell before it encroaches upon us. Madness against madness. Absurdity against absurdity.”
Pastor Park Yohan let out a short sigh before staring directly at me.
"Let’s call our organizationAphorism."
"Aphorism?”
"What? It was one of those phrases that got popular for a while. You know…maxims, proverbs, sayings, and things like that. I looked it up. It’s religious enough while still being secular enough. Isn’t it good?”
There were no objections.
Well, except for one person.
I, Baek Jemin, crossed my arms and couldn’t help thinking: Who the hell heard ‘Aphorism’ and immediately understood what the organization does?
Wouldn’t Supreme Archmages just be better…?
"Haha…”
"Shitmaster, you agree too, right?”
"Baek Jemin-ssi, cut the crap.”