[Translator – Aren]
I fiddled with my cracked phone screen and checked the time.
February 5th, 2028, 8:15 AM.
I had woken up early. Partly because I was nervous and partly because I was excited.
Because starting today, the government and military were finally beginning to properly make use of us wizards. That came as part of Gyeonggi Province effectively transitioning into a wartime economy and frontline zone.
The social welfare department that had been reopened for Operators had transformed once again. This time, it looked like a military surplus store packed with all kinds of equipment and supplies.
In front of it, Captain Kim Howoon and Lieutenant Shin Hangi were directing soldiers as they organized materials.
As I walked over, Lieutenant Shin Hangi, who I’d become pretty familiar with by now, noticed me, tapped his clipboard with a pen, and grinned broadly.
"You’re here early, Operator.”
"These are the support supplies?”"Yes. The result of Command policy aimed at encouraging civilian Operators to participate in operations and increase survival rate. They won’t be free, though.”
"What? Not free?”
I narrowed my eyes. How could support possibly not be free? Captain Kim Howoon kindly answered while his cheek twitched.
"From now on, Gyeonggi Province will issue military payment certificates instead of Korean won or dollars. It’ll be given to people who cooperate with military administration and perform labor. They’ll use it to gain priority access to rations or exchange it for specific supplies.”
Gyeonggi Province’s wartime economy system was actually pretty simple.
The Korean won had probably become little more than toilet paper by now, so giving it out would be useless. And foreign currency was far too valuable. If they distributed resources equally under these circumstances, it’d be like pouring water into a bottomless bucket. So the plan was to use rations as bait and basically drag society back into a barter economy.
Future supplies distributed through military administration would only go to people carrying military payment certificates.
Apparently this was also an attempt to maintain control amid extreme unrest and public instability.
That might have been a bit long. To summarize it in one sentence: It was basically a brand-new regional currency for the Gyeonggi Province.
Standing next to Captain Kim Howoon, Lieutenant Shin Hangi smiled proudly like a shopping channel host while gesturing toward containers packed with supplies.
"Civilian Operators can choose military supplies unavailable to ordinary civilians. And not just Korean gear either. American equipment imported through Pyeongtaek Harbor, like firearm attachments, survival kits, medical supplies, and everything you may need. Apparently several American gun companies are using this crisis as an opportunity to enter the Korean market. They’re treating it like a promotion and pushing support pretty aggressively. Other companies are doing similar things too. Thanks to that, your circumstances just got a whole lot better.”
"Wow, guess legal gun ownership isn’t far away.”
On the west coast, North Korea would be selling old AKs while sleek AmericanAR-15s rolled in through Pyeongtaek. At this rate, it felt like the day when Korea’s 50 million citizens would settle arguments by pointing guns and going ‘Bang, bang’ wasn’t far off.
Curious, I wandered around the containers and checked out the newly arrived supplies. AR-15s led the lineup, alongside rails, scopes, foregrips, tactical lights, and all kinds of parts stacked beautifully. The smell of metal hit my nose.
"What about Korean equipment?”
"Korean gear’s basic issue. K2 rifle, one grenade, three magazines, gas mask, poncho.”
"A poncho?”
I frowned at the thought that I had to wear that damned thing again. Lieutenant Shin Hangi balanced a pen on his upper lip and answered jokingly.
"All the chemical protection suits and reserve stock are being sent straight to the frontline containment units. Wanna join them?”
"Hmm…No.”
After a moment of deliberation, I shook my head.
Jumping into the fog sounded thrilling and exciting, but frontline containment units existed to keep the fog out, not go inside it. Besides, they’d constantly be exposed to monster attacks while not actually gaining much from it. It would just be a whole lot of pointless suffering for very little reward.
"So how do you earn those military payment certificates?”
"If you work one full day at a job assigned by the military, you get two by default. One MCP can be exchanged for five packs of ramen, one instant rice bowl, or two 2-liter bottles of water. Stuff like firearms would probably start around 60. Operators, since you're volunteering for high-risk assignments, would naturally earn more. Around 10 per mission, I’d say.”
From what I understood, it kind of felt like a quest system in a video game.
Since existing currencies like won and dollars had either lost all value or become too valuable to establish stable prices, they’d simply rebuilt the whole structure so that people cooperating with military administration received better support and benefits.
Operators could freely choose one of the missions the military offered and get deployed to earn MCP. They also had access to a much wider selection of supplies unavailable to ordinary civilians.
Naturally, switching to this kind of wartime economy would provoke massive backlash from civilians. But the military had apparently come up with an incredibly rational and capitalist solution.
Lieutenant Shin Hangi twisted an eyebrow and let out a bitter laugh.
"100 MCP can purchase one evacuation priority pass. A second containment line centered around Suwon and Gapyeong will also be established.”
If refugees were allowed to pour out indiscriminately, it would only help spread monsters like the Amalgams all over the country. But completely sealing people in would obviously provoke resistance. So their answer was that they might as well sell it.
From a Gyeonggi resident’s perspective, it sounded like complete bullshit. But against an iron-fisted government that had already effectively abandoned Seoul and northern Gyeonggi, complaining probably wouldn’t matter.
"Baek Jemin-ssi, you’re here already?”
"Pastor, you came too.”
"Looks like we can finally start moving in earnest now.”
Pastor Park Yohan let out a long sigh as he wiped his glasses, which made him look rather sly.
Around then, more of the wizards stationed in Suwon started gathering. For now, though, it was all familiar faces, so there wasn’t much introduction needed. Captain Kim Howoon looked over us before having soldiers bring over a whiteboard and several files held up by magnets.
"The military and academic world are currently extremely interested in you civilian Operators. You won’t just be sent into combat or reconnaissance missions. Depending on requests from Command or read units, you may also be assigned non-combat tasks. So keep that in mind and choose whatever suits your individual strengths.”
Maybe because they wanted to emphasize that we were civilians capable of independent judgement rather than enlisted soldiers, even choosing missions was absurdly unrestricted.
A mobilization order had been declared, yet I could freely choose where I wanted to go. That was a privilege I’d never even imagined before. Was this why people tried so hard to seize even a tiny bit of power?
Grinning to myself, I walked up to the whiteboard and looked over the available missions.
Magic or supernatural phenomenon research support. Working with American advisors consisting of scientists and theologians to investigate and determine the principles behind magic and psychic phenomena. There looked to be plenty of people willing to take boring, annoying jobs like that. Naturally, I instantly rejected it.
Wasn’t there something else?
Some sweet mission where I’d get stable support, wouldn’t be carrying all the risk myself, and would have a high chance of coming into contact with the fog alongside other people. I was willing to jump headfirst into danger for the possibility of obtaining magic, but I certainly wasn’t the type to sprint headfirst into the fog just because it was there.
Of course, there was something.
[Secure and Occupy Suwon Station Underground.]
While everyone else wanted to eliminate all danger and risk completely, I wanted danger at a manageable level.
And right now, I was looking at exactly the right amount of danger. Without hesitation, I poked it with my finger and looked at Captain Kim Howoon.
"I heard Suwon Station got power restored and was already cleared out?”
"...That only applies to the B1 concourse. The B2 platforms are still difficult to access because of the derailed trains blocking the area. And afterward, even the concourse itself was sealed in case of possible infiltration of enemies.”
"Then why go back there? We already stopped it.”
"It should be in the file. Take it and have a look.”
I pulled the magnet off and flipped through the pages. The operation objective and summary came into view.
Suwon Station was a transportation hub where numerous rail lines tangled together. If any Amalgams that hadn’t been exterminated, or Predator Spines suspected of entering alongside them, remained underground and spread elsewhere, maintaining containment would become extremely difficult.
Because of that, over the last two weeks the military had once again cut power to the station and conducted biochemical warfare using heavy gases in an attempt to regain control of the underground area.
According to the experts, since these anomalous creatures were composed of the same substances that made up human bodies, biochemical weapons lethal to humans should theoretically inflict meaningful damage on them as well.
However, because most of the country’s available special forces were heavily occupied, and because most wizards conscripted under the title of specialized personnel were already assigned to frontline containment units, the unit composition had changed somewhat.
The unlucky wizards dragged off to the frontlines apparently weren’t treated as civilian Operators at all, but instead got assigned to units under vague titles like "Special Personnel" or "Special Officers," stuck playing endless defense mode. Life truly was cruel.
Anyway, after reclaiming control of Suwon Station Underground, the military intended to decide whether to completely demolish and seal off the route leading toward Seoul, or convert it into a logistics route for entering Seoul itself.
After hearing the mission outline, I broke into a huge grin and immediately made my decision.
"I’ll volunteer for this one.”
"Baek Jemin-ssi, this operation is extremely dangerous. Individual Amalgams can be killed calmly with headshots when they’re separated, but they’ve been learning human weapons and tactics. They won’t expose their weaknesses so easily anymore. And there’s also a high chance Predator Spines are still down there.”
Captain Kim Howoon actually seemed like a better person than I’d expected.
Despite his constantly twitching cheekbones, seeing me willingly throwing myself into danger made him try to stop me. But unlike what people around me wrongly believed, I was a cautious investor who evaluated acceptable risk before making a move.
"Is there fog down there?”
"Most likely.”
At that moment, I saw my own reflection in Captain Kim Howoon’s eyes.
And only then did I finally realize something.
People really could smile that beautifully.
"We shall enter hell before it encroaches upon us."
I recited the motto Pastor Park Yohan had given our organization, the Supreme Archmages, while smiling contentedly.
"Before fear bends us, we shall become fear."
"..."
Captain Kim Howoon quietly shifted his gaze toward Lieutenant Shin Hangi, who merely gave an awkward smile and shrugged.
Eventually Captain Kim Howoon stared at me with sunken eyes, pulled a fluorescent identification armband from a box behind him, and handed it over.
"Operator Baek Jemin-ssi. There’ll be a vehicle waiting in the City Hall parking lot.”
What I was issued was a fluorescent identification band showing my status as a civilian Operator, a helmet, a gas mask, a poncho, a K2 rifle, three 20-round magazines, one grenade, one combat knife, one pack of hardtack, and one brand-new canteen.
“Civilian Operator” was quite the unique position. We were people lacking proper military training, but were capable of using magic so we were essentially treated like mercenaries. And it seemed both the government and military preferred things that way.
If South Korea couldn’t fully control us, then no foreign country should be able to either.
After receiving my equipment and slinging the straps over my shoulder, Lieutenant Shin Hangi approached me and spoke.
"Baek Jemin-ssi, your parents have gone to Pyeongtaek Port. The Americans have also been actively helping relocate Operators’ families to the US. If your parents agree, there’ll be immigration assistance funds and benefits. They’d initially enter as refugees, but…depending on the results you achieve in this crisis and depending on how Operators establish themselves, permanent residency could eventually become possible.”
"It seems like you have had connections to America for a while now, Lieutenant Shin Hangi.”
"Wouldn’t you say it’s a win-win? I keep my promises, and America builds a good relationship with Operators like you.”
I laughed softly at that and turned away.
Good. Now I really didn’t need to worry about my parents anymore.
If becoming an Archmage automatically unlocked the American Dream, what greater act of filial piety could there be? I trusted my parents would understand that their son had blocked their calls because he was pursuing the dream of success and greatness.
After being guided by soldiers and climbing into the back of a 2.5-ton truck, the thoroughly wrecked city of Suwon gradually came into view.
Most stores along the streets had closed their doors. Soldiers patrolled with rifles in hand, their eyes darting about. Roadblocks had also been established, so aside from military vehicles and a handful of authorized cars, almost nothing else was moving.
The sidewalks, on the other hand, were relatively crowded. Most people had gathered in small groups protesting the newly announced MPC policy and wartime economic shift.
"Protect the human rights of Gyeonggi residents! Guarantee our right to survive!”
"Guarantee it! Guarantee it!”
The rest had apparently accepted reality early and were lining up behind military police, hoping to get jobs that would earn them even one more MPC.
There was a distance between the protesters and the military police that would never be bridged. And the military truck I was riding in passed right through it.
I blew into the filter of my gas mask to check its condition.
-Huff, huff.
The strong smell of rubber told me one thing for certain. This thing was brand-new.
Not long after, more soldiers climbed into the truck. As soon as they noticed the fluorescent identification armband, they subtly created some distance between us or looked away.
"Move out!”
At the command of the vehicle officer, the military truck lurched forward.
And along with it, my true first journey as a wizard had begun.
* * *
February 5th, 2028, 9:14 AM.
I checked my cracked phone screen. My battery stood at 88%. That should last for a good while. After switching it into power-saving mode, I tucked it into my inner pocket.
When I arrived at Suwon Station and jumped out of the back of the truck, soldiers and officers wearing full chemical protection suits were busily moving around. Several of them noticed me and the newly arrived soldiers and waved us over.
What they handed out was one CBRN decontamination kit each.
We ventilated the area for three days, but there may still be residual gas. You know where to use the injector, right? The thigh. Absolutely do not remove your gas mask. We’ll also give you an extra filter…and for your hands, we’ll find some spare leather gloves or something.”
Much like mothers nagging their sons before a school field trip, the CBRN officers were relentlessly fussing over the soldiers.
I took a brief look around Suwon Station. The wrecked buses had been shoved to one side and turned into barricades. Three armored vehicles and one tank had been newly deployed and were constantly undergoing maintenance.
Machine-gun nests had also been set up around underground entrances and tunnels using sandbags as cover. The gunners looked tense enough that they hadn’t left their posts for even a moment.
Despite the sky being perfectly clear without a trace of fog.
Of course, my own heart was pounding wildly too. Tension, fear, and mixed into that, a pleasant sense of exhilaration, so intense that the whole world felt electric.
Then, while putting on my leather gloves and checking if my trigger finger could comfortably rest on the trigger, a thought suddenly crossed my mind. I wanted to understand my magic more clearly.
Back inside the fog, my eyes had shown me footprints 10 seconds into the future as the fog parted. But was that really all?
The memories I shared with Father Jeong Yonghwan drifted through my head. He’d believed the true effects of magic only manifested when its pronunciation and tonal patterns were perfectly reproduced. He’d only tentatively hypothesized it, but he suspected that simply seeing and understanding it restricted its effectiveness.
And actually, I didn't only see footprints. Sometimes the fog parted, and I briefly saw 10 seconds into the future itself.
"Hmm…”
Maybe even if the true effects of Alteration-type magic could only be reproduced through pronunciation symbols and tonal patterns, even if incomplete, half-baked magic might still grow stronger through repeated use or through certain catalysts.
If so, then what about places without fog?
Normally I’d never intentionally do it because I hated the sensation of my eyeballs feeling like they were being scrubbed with shampoo, but after learning that pain seemed fundamentally connected to the magical process itself, my thinking had changed a little.
It seemed worth trying once. First, I decided to look at the road.
Using a place with people constantly moving around as a sample would make it easier to compare the 10-second time lag than staring at some empty, boring spot.
Alteration-type Magic - Eyes-branch, Stage 1.
I looked 10 seconds into the future.
Immediately, the tiny capillaries flowing through my optic nerves seemed to pulse all at once, and a searing sensation burned through them. It felt like the throbbing pain if staring directly into the sun with your eyes wide open. That stinging agony spread through my whole brain.
And the moment tears began streaming down my face uncontrollably, I saw another military truck driving down the previously empty road.
But that was my limit.
"Ugh, shit…”
Too many tears poured out that I could barely see anymore.
Eyes tightly shut, I wiped away tears with my ungloved left hand.
So magic could still be used outside the fog. The problem was that the backlash seemed much stronger than usual. I rubbed my eyelids with the cooler leather gloves, trying to get rid of this lingering, awful sensation.
Then I heard a military truck come to a stop. After that came orderly footsteps as people climbed out.
And before long, those footsteps became familiar voices.
"Baek Jemin-ssi, are you crying because you’re happy to see us?”
"Shitmaster? Why are you here?”
"Shitmaster…?”
"Why didn’t you take one of the cushy missions instead?”
As Shin Nain tilted his head in confusion, Sergeant Lee Sejun yawned lazily from behind him.
"That actually kind of fits him, doesn’t it? Shin Nain does spend 20 minutes every time he goes into the bathroom after all.”
After wiping away my tears and finally getting my vision back, I saw Sergeant Lee Sejun checking his K2 rifle and Shin Nain pulling out his earbuds with a grin plastered across his face, standing before me.
"Well obviously, I came to drive out Satan’s minions.”
"We can’t let Suwon Station get breached. Gyeonggi alone is already this much of a disaster. If Chungcheong, Gangwon, Gyeongsang, and Jeolla all end up like this too, the country’s really finished.”
Rather than commenting on their beliefs one way or another, I simply nodded respectfully.
Then while checking my rifle sling again, I looked toward Sergeant Lee Sejun.
"Alright. Before we head into the Suwon Station Underground dungeon, let’s settle something first."
"Settle what?”
"Lee Sejun, you bastard. I let it slide when you casually started speaking informally to me, but are you seriously going to keep being this oblivious?”
Lee Sejun froze in surprise. Then his face reddened, and he was just about to step forward to protest—
when Shin Nain suddenly planted a hand on his chest and pulled him aside to whisper something.
"If you heard Baek Jemin’s goals earlier, then you’d know…”
"What? He really shot his own hand with a rifle?”
"And then grabbed the barrel while firing full-auto and burned his hand too..."
"..."
After a brief but impactful exchange of fragmented dialogue, when the two of them came back, Lee Sejun had transformed into an extremely polite junior.
"I think I may have gotten too comfortable with you and acted disrespectfully toward you, Baek Jemin-nim.”
"Let’s both keep things respectful. We’re adults, right?
"Yes."
And so, until the operation’s start time of 10:15 AM, our trio finally managed to establish a healthy relationship.
"Don’t call me -nim. You can just call me Baek Jemin-ssi comfortably. As long as we respect each other, there’s no problem between us, right?”
"Yes, Baek Jemin-ssi.”
Shin Nain kept snickering while looking back and forth between us.
But needless to say, all this meaningless chatter was simply a way to hide the tension and excitement growing inside of me. As the operation time approached, Lee Sejun’s lips had visibly dried up, and he kept fiddling with his canteen anxiously.
Shin Nain kept rubbing his earlobe while the corners of his mouth twitched, as if he were trying to suppress a smile brimming with excitement.
This lunatic religious bastard genuinely looked like he thought he was heading into a holy crusade.
Still, love them or hate them, weren't we all members of the same organization? As a man of endless generosity toward my fellow members of Supreme Archmages, I could graciously accept their quirks and slightly defective personalities.
Before long, around 30 fully equipped soldiers gathered in front of the underground bus transfer entrance we’d escaped through before.
The commander was a lieutenant named Bake Hansung. His face couldn’t be seen behind his gas mask, but judging from the slight tremble in his voice, it was obvious how nervous he was.
"Check chambers.”
"Check chambers!”
With the shouted response, the soldiers wearing gas masks loaded live rounds. Our trio matched their movements and loaded ours as well. The sound of bolts pulling back and slamming forward echoed out as rifle barrels tilted toward the sky.
"Chamber check complete!”
"Loading live ammunition."
"Loading live ammunition!”
"Listen carefully. Remember the engagement rules. I’m only saying the important parts, so memorize them properly. If fog appears, call out ‘Fog’ three times. If you spot a suspicious individual, aim immediately. Act first, report afterward. No rescue attempts. No body retrieval.”
""Fog three times immediate aim, act first report later, no rescue, no retrieval!""
"Hooh..."
Only after calming down his soldiers did Lieutenant Baek Hansung approach us.
"We’re ready. We’ll provide cover as soon as you Operators enter.”
Only then did our trio put on our gas masks and pull up the hoods of our ponchos. After checking that the cords were tightened properly, I naturally ended up taking the lead.
Ahead of us stood the emergency shutter. A crumpled mass of twisted metal that had been cut apart as neatly as if someone had welded through it. Beyond it lay the restored concourse.
A place now lit by fluorescent lights instead of red emergency lighting.
Without hesitation, I loosened my rifle sling, gripped the weapon in my hands, and took a step forward.
"Alright, before we go, let’s recite the motto of the Supreme Archmages.”
"It’s Aphorism…”
"Shh."
With Shin Nain's wonderfully timed suppression of Lee Sejun’s complaint, our trio stepped forward first.
"Madness against madness."
"Absurdity against absurdity.”
"We shall enter hell before hell encroaches upon us.”
Dam. That’s exactly what the Supreme Archmages should sound like.
I quietly savored the sound of my breathing leaking through the gas mask filter.
-Huuff, huuff—-.
Let’s go.
Toward magic.