Prologue Story

On the day of the closing ceremony, like all schools, our grades were released.

The grades were transmitted directly to our student IDs in the form of data.

Before heading home, we each checked each other’s report cards one last time.

And we were shocked.

To be precise, I was the only one who was shocked.

The other kids nodded their heads, muttering, “As expected,” as if they had anticipated it.

For the practical exam, the scores were given in letter grades, and I received a perfect A+.

I even received extra points.

The only solace was that I wasn’t the only one who received an A+ on the practical exam.

All my friends, except Shia, received full marks along with additional points.

But that small comfort was shattered when I saw the next set of grades.

The written exam, you see, was at a first-grade level.

Naturally, most students scored 100 points or something close to it.

So, where did I rank in the written test? …Oh, I ranked first.

In other words, when combining my written and practical scores… I’m just ranked first!

For the first time in my life, I came out as the top student in the entire school!

“Ugh…”

In a way, this might be expected.

In this world, the focus is much more on practical magic than studying at a desk, so there’s not much emphasis on written studies.

Even though I understood that, my feelings were complicated.

Top of the school, ranked first…

The reaction of the kids was something like this.

“I thought you were only good at magic, but you’re smart, too.”

“What do you mean! Eun-ha seems mature, so of course she’d be smart.”

No, that’s not true.

And it wasn’t just Han-soo and Min-hee saying that; all my friends concluded I was smart and joined forces on it, leaving me no chance to deny it.

Ironically, the one who most agreed with the idea of me being smart was In-ha, who didn’t even study but still followed closely behind me in second place.

Hey, you guys really think this kid is truly smart?

But I knew they wouldn’t understand even if I tried to explain it, so I eventually gave up on saying anything.

Well, as we grow up, they’ll naturally realize it.

That being top of the school isn’t because I’m smart.

It’s just that, being a little older and acting more mature, everything I do seems impressive to them.

A little while later, summer vacation arrived.

Welcoming the long-awaited summer vacation, I threw myself into magic training.

During school, I couldn’t practice magic as freely as I wanted, so I planned to make up for it this vacation.

I learned necessary magic from Auntie Suna and discussed magic with In-ha as we visited each other’s houses.

I picked a few books related to my magic from the library and read them.

They were thick, boring books filled with endless explanations, but they were surprisingly readable.

I also put extra effort into the ideas I’d written down in my magic setting notebook.

While attending school, the number of magic ideas I jotted down in my notebook increased significantly.

During classes, they teach a lot of practical content related to magic, so listening often sparks various thoughts about magic settings.

That’s why I always carry a notebook, no matter where I go.

During the vacation, I worked incredibly hard.

It might sound like I did the usual, but this time I practiced magic far more intensely than usual.

I had a busy summer vacation.

Others might say it’s ridiculous for an elementary student to be so busy, but I had full days and was quite occupied.

Trying this, trying that, researching, reading and studying books—all made time fly by.

Time felt far too short.

☆

Toward the end of summer vacation, while In-ha’s family went on a trip with their relatives, I didn’t stop my magic training.

Actually, remembering how little vacation time was left, I pushed myself even harder.

Then, the day right before school reopened, I was practicing my magic and ended up dislocating my shoulder from firing a powerful magic blast.

“Ugh…ah, it hurts…”

The pain was unbearable right after the dislocation, and I couldn’t even stand up.

Sitting down, I called for my mom in a sobbing voice.

It was no surprise that she was alarmed seeing me lying there crying.

Mom called an ambulance and administered first aid as best as she could.

Her healing magic wasn’t at a high level, so it didn’t help much.

At the hospital, even after receiving magical treatment, they told me it would take at least three weeks to fully recover.

I returned home with Mom in a daze, my arm tightly wrapped in a cast from shoulder to wrist.

That day, Dad, hearing the news, came home earlier than usual.

He asked about my condition, looking paler than ever.

“What on earth happened…?”

“Not only was it dislocated, but there was also a slight fracture near the elbow bone, my wrist got sprained, and the blood vessels and skin near my shoulder bone were damaged…”

“How did you end up hurt like that?”

Stubbornly, I hadn’t properly explained to the doctor how I got injured.

I tried to shrug my shoulders, but stopped short and finally confessed honestly this time.

“I don’t really know. I was just using magic, and suddenly my arm hurt…”

“You got hurt using magic?”

“Yes.”

I nodded.

“Usually, when I use magic, uh, how do I explain this? I do attack training by concentrating magic in the target area, spreading it out.

When I want to make it easier, I have it rise up from the ground beneath the target…”

“Right, that’s how you do it.”

“But when using magic to attack with full force, it’s common to blast it straight from the hand.

So I concentrated the magic power in front of my hand and shot it upward in an instant…”

Thinking back on that moment, I pondered deeply and suddenly realized something.

“Oh…the shock of releasing the magic…the recoil, maybe?”

I finally understood just how weak my young body was.

Looking at my bandaged shoulder, I came to a valuable realization, along with the pain.

Ah, I need a certain level of physical strength to properly use magic.

Thinking about it, it was such an obvious thing that I felt a bit embarrassed.

If a cannon has a weak base, it can’t fire without breaking apart. It was just like that.

So, once my cast was off, I decided to start strengthening my body.

Not that I’d start full-scale workouts and build muscles right away, but at least some basic stamina training seemed necessary.

“Normally, I would absolutely hate exercise.”

But now that magic was involved, it seemed like I had no choice.

“For now…Suna will probably return around dawn. Later, I’ll ask Mr. Jungmin to…”

“Hm? It’s okay. The doctor said it won’t heal completely right away even with treatment.

If she comes back at dawn, she’ll be tired. I can get treatment tomorrow.

This cast has a magic that dulls pain, so it doesn’t hurt too much.”

“But school starts tomorrow…”

“It’s okay. Besides, I don’t think I’ll wake up early anyway.”

“Alright, let’s do that then.”

Hearing my words, Mom and Dad nodded in agreement.

Plus, I had already received some treatment.

It wasn’t a serious condition.

Although I took painkillers, the pain had subsided considerably…

Anyway, this dislocation should heal quickly.

I used magic with my other hand while sitting on the floor.

And somehow, I felt a creaking pain in my dislocated shoulder.

“Ugh…!”

I bit back a groan, frowning in confusion.

Was it because of the injury?

With a sigh, I stopped using magic.

Looks like I won’t be able to train magic today.

I took my phone out of my pocket with one hand and fiddled with it.

Coming back at dawn…? I wonder what In-ha is doing right now?

Since she mentioned traveling, I hoped she was having fun experiences.

Staring at In-ha’s name, I ended up putting down my phone.

If I called her now, I might casually mention the dislocation.

She’ll find out tomorrow anyway, so there’s no need to make her worry unnecessarily.

However, despite saying she’d return by dawn, In-ha didn’t come back by our usual school time the next day.

“I heard she got held up by her grandmother. She’ll be back a bit later.”

“Her grandmother… Do you mean In-ha’s grandmother, or Auntie Suna’s grandmother?”

“Suna’s mother’s mother. For In-ha, that’d be her great-grandmother.

Now that I think about it, In-ha’s personality and looks all seem to have come from that grandmother.

Hmm, but Suna’s family has always used ice magic, and now with In-ha, that line is ending…”

Oh, that’s interesting to know.

A grandmother who looks just like In-ha…

“She’s a transcendent too.

Someday, you’ll probably get a chance to meet her, Eun-ha.”

“……!”

Oh my, a transcendent?

It really seems like talent can be inherited.

A transcendent has given rise to another transcendent.

Thinking about it that way, I guess there’s some connection.

Of course… unlike Auntie Suna or her grandmother, In-ha uses light magic.

I marveled in admiration at the thought.

In the end, I went to school alone.

Walking through the nearly empty school, I felt a bit strange.

It had been a long time since I last went to school by myself.

I arrived at the classroom first and sat down at my desk.

It was a shame I couldn’t go to school with In-ha on the first day back, but just thinking of seeing my friends’ faces after so long made my heart flutter.

This was unusual, too.

In my previous life, when I attended school, I had neither friends nor motivation, so I never once wanted to go to school.

At the start of each term, all I felt was exhaustion.

I just wanted to stay home and write novels.

But now, things were different.

That realization made me unexpectedly happy.

Naturally, my friends were shocked when they saw me at school.

Even classmates who usually only greeted me looked at me with surprise and asked if I was okay.

Han-soo, who was the next to arrive after me, was genuinely stunned.

“Hey…you, you! What happened to you?!”

He rushed over, but couldn’t bring himself to touch me, looking frantic and restless, which was both cute and touching.

I laughed, assuring him I was fine.

Han-soo, seeing me laugh, suddenly raised his voice, demanding to know what had happened.

I only told him that I’d made a mistake while training.

Then, when Min-hee, Shia, and Hyun-ho arrived, they too were startled by the sight of my arm wrapped in bandages.

Min-hee looked at me with a face that seemed on the verge of tears.

And as for In-ha…

In-ha finally managed to get to school just ten minutes before the first class started.

And like the others, she was utterly shocked when she saw me.

“Y-your arm… what happened to your arm…!”

“Oh, yeah. I hurt it a bit during training yesterday.”

My friends looked at her with curious expressions.

“You didn’t know either, In-ha?”

“No. I didn’t know.”

In-ha stared at my injured arm with deep concern, then glared at me with a hint of anger.

“Why didn’t you tell me? You were hurt—why didn’t you say anything?”

“You were on a trip. I didn’t want to ruin your mood… And you’d be back the next day anyway…”

Listening to me, In-ha clenched her fists tightly with a face that looked like she was about to cry.

I wasn’t sure why, but she seemed hurt and resentful.

I hesitated, wanting to comfort her.

When someone tells me not to cry or tries to console me, it often just makes me want to cry more, even if I don’t want to.

Seeing me hesitate, Min-hee and Shia patted In-ha’s back.

“It’s okay. They said it’s not too serious.”

I nodded in agreement.

“Yes. I’ve been treated, and it doesn’t even hurt much anymore. I’m really fine.”

At that, In-ha slowly calmed down and sat beside me with a sulky expression.

She repeated the question I’d already heard multiple times that day.

“So how exactly did it happen? Were you hurt badly?”

“I was just training and ended up like this somehow… I’m not seriously injured. I’m okay.”

I smiled again, but In-ha’s expression didn’t soften at all.

My friends gathered around, curious too.

“So, what exactly were you doing?”

“Yeah, we’re curious too. What did you do to end up like this?”

Min-hee asked, frowning.

Hyun-ho and Han-soo also looked displeased.

I waved my hands in explanation.

“Well, I was just… curious about how powerful my magic might be, so I tried firing a magic blast with full force using this hand… and ended up dislocating my shoulder.”

“What…?”

“Just from that?”

In-ha and the others asked, still not seeming to understand.

That really was all there was to it.

They fell silent, seemingly lost in thought.

Honestly, at the time, I had believed I was giving it my all, but looking back, it really wasn’t.

I hadn’t realized it because of the pain from the dislocation, but I didn’t feel any of the symptoms associated with magic depletion.

That “feeling” you get when magic is exhausted just wasn’t there.

Only then did I realize I might have more magic stored in my body than I’d thought.

At the same time, I realized I couldn’t use my magic at full power in my current state.

Plus, in the end, I hadn’t even accurately gauged my magic’s limit.

That realization made me feel frustrated.

Clenching my fists, I thought to myself,

‘Yesterday, using magic right after getting injured hurt a lot, but using a bit of magic today shouldn’t hurt, right?’

Today, I’ll focus on meditation.

I haven’t done much training to deeply sense the magic within me lately.

I’ve been too focused on sensing the magic around me.

I should also check how my magic moves when I use other spells, and then…

In the end, I spent the entire opening ceremony contemplating the magic training I’d do that day.

Even to myself, I thought I was quite something.

Here I was, with a dislocated shoulder, yet not the least bit discouraged.

Thinking that made me laugh to myself.

But that afternoon, when I went to see Teacher Joon-hwi for guidance, I heard something that felt like a bolt from the blue.