Prologue Story

I decided to try creating my unique magic for the first time that night.

First, I sat at my desk and made myself comfortable.

On the neatly organized desk, unlike usual, only a notebook and a pen were placed.

I placed both my hands on top of the notebook.

I took a deep breath, calming my growing tension.

One, two, I counted inwardly as I breathed in magic.

Mom had told me before.

To breathe willpower and imagination into magic.

That’s what makes it magic.

With my eyes closed, I sensitively felt the magic around me.

I recalled the ways I had used magic until now, seeing it with my eyes and sensing it with my skin.

There weren’t many magicians around me.

With Auntie Suna’s family away in a far place, looking back, only my mom and my kindergarten teacher were there.

I recalled the times they used their unique magic.

I remembered the flow of magic I saw back then.

‘It moved like this, didn’t it…?’

I spread magic over my hands.

And I ‘imagined.’

Above my open hands, the faint and weak image floating there…

Even something small was fine.

At first, a weak image that flickered and disappeared upon touch was just right.

That seemed even more realistic, didn’t it?

A faint light, or if it’s something made with the name of an illusion, maybe some sparkling dust falling would be nice too.

I imagined that scene with my eyes closed.

Then, after a while, I carefully opened my eyes.

But unlike my imagination, the world before me was just as quiet as it had been before I closed my eyes.

I let out a disappointed sigh.

“Ah─I guess it’s not working.”

But the disappointment was brief.

I didn’t expect it to work on the first try anyway.

Was it too much to try magic with this kind of mindset?

But I knew it would be difficult to succeed from the start.

I did imagine it as if I was unfolding a dream before my eyes, but the feeling itself was rather vague.

Since I was planning to practice the image more and definitely succeed within a few years, I wasn’t too hung up on it.

More importantly, there was something next.

Something I thought I could succeed at more quickly.

I grabbed the pen lying next to the notebook and brought it to the edge of the paper.

I filled the pen with magic and started writing letters.

As I wrote, I recalled a scene from quite a while ago.

It was a longing that vividly surfaced from my memories.

It was as if the sounds from the past were coming back to life near my ears.

In my past life, I had written a lot.

Mostly typing on a keyboard, but I also made countless notes about my novel settings in a notebook.

So, I had this strange certainty.

And that belief, imagination, became reality.

Trusting in that, I wrote a single word.

『Light』

It immediately became reality.

“…Huh?”

I opened my eyes wide and covered my mouth.

It really, really worked.

Since it was my first time succeeding in creating unique magic, it took a moment for the reality to sink in, despite my firm belief.

The word ‘light’ that I had written was glowing, shimmering from the notebook.

When I ‘imagined’ that light floating into the air, it truly began to rise.

Though it moved very slowly and was a tiny light──.

I imagined the light dimming, intending to make the magic disappear by grabbing the light with my hand.

Then it really vanished this time.

All that was left was the dark mark of the word I had initially written, just as I imagined.

“Ugh… Ah…”

I stood there blankly for a moment before trembling and breaking into a wide smile.

“I did it!”

I cheered and jumped up and down before grabbing the pen again.

I did it. I really did it!

Alright! Let’s try as much as I can!

Instead of getting lost in the excitement of my emotions, I expressed my joy by recklessly using the magic I had just created.

I wrote letters wildly.

I kept writing short words like darkness sphere, fire, and water droplets.

Not all of them took form, but every so often, small shapes would emerge.

I was so thrilled to be able to control them at will, and I moved my pen again.

This time, I thought I’d write a sentence.

Yes, I’d try making an illusion.

Maybe I could learn illusion magic more quickly that way.

If I could see the illusions myself, unfold the world of my dreams──.

So, in other words, I was being foolish.

The result was obvious, yet I used the magic recklessly after making it for the first time.

In the end, I used magic until I was drained of mana and passed out, half fainting, only to wake up the next morning.

And as expected, my mom scolded me for sleeping in such a strange place.

But I didn’t get tired of it and repeated the action.

I was completely captivated by the magic I created for the first time, using it over and over again each night.

At least I made sure to control myself so that I wouldn’t drain my mana.

Eventually, after a few days, I succeeded in creating illusion magic too.

The first illusion I used was a small and weak vision, but that alone was a good start.

You’d think making two spells would make the next one easier, right?

No, it was harder.

Compared to the writing magic and illusion magic, the barrier magic rooted in space-time took much longer to create.

At first, just trying to use my mana with the intention of creating space-time magic didn’t work at all.

So, I focused on recalling the motif and form of the barrier and spent nearly a month before I finally managed to create it.

However, the barrier magic I barely made was far more pitiful than I expected.

At best, it could form a shield just big enough to cover my palm.

And when I tried to form it into a proper barrier, it was even worse.

Even the simplest ‘body-protecting barrier’ barely managed to cover my thumbnail when I actually tried to create it.

Honestly, it was a bit of a shock.

After that, I worked even harder at magic training.

I meditated as soon as I woke up in the morning, continued breathing mana to accumulate it, and often shut myself in a small room, casting magic over and over.

It was very difficult, but fortunately, my magic skills gradually improved.

Even with the most difficult barrier magic.

However, because I was so engrossed in magic, using it day after day while cutting down on sleep, I started dozing off at kindergarten sometimes.

And as a result, I ended up getting caught.

That is, I got caught because I could feel mana.

…Just that, after all.

☆

While I was making progress in my magic skills, a few more kids in kindergarten also began to sense mana.

This was all thanks to the efforts the kindergarten had put into creating an environment with items and surroundings that helped the kids feel mana.

Well, just sensing mana didn’t mean they could use magic right away.

Once they can feel mana, the next step is being able to see the mana around them, and then they need to be able to move that mana.

Only after reaching that stage does mana start accumulating in their bodies, and it takes quite some time for that to develop enough to actually use magic.

Especially in these young bodies.

In any case, the reason I got caught for being able to sense mana was that my mind was so full of thoughts about magic that I let it slip without thinking.

Somehow, I ended up admitting to my teacher that I could sense mana.

And now, here I am.

“As of today, Eunha and Suyi can both sense mana. Let’s give them a big round of applause!”

“Waaaah!”

Clap, clap, clap!

Amidst the applause, I quietly lowered my head.

This situation was extremely uncomfortable.

The brighter the children’s smiles were as they congratulated me, the stronger the feeling grew.

I really, really hated standing in front of people.

Especially being called up and celebrated like this by the teacher.

I was dying of embarrassment.

I tried my best to hide my shame and returned to my seat.

As soon as I got back, Yumi greeted me with a bright smile.

“Congratulations.”

“Thanks.”

But this wasn’t so bad.

It wasn’t bad at all to have a friend smile and congratulate me.

I smiled bashfully at Yumi.

This time, I was embarrassed in a good way.

“Aren’t we all happy to have more friends among us who can sense mana?”

“Yes!!”

“Then, you’ll be even happier with this news. We’re all going on a field trip next Tuesday!”

‘What─…’

I stopped quietly basking in my joy and let out a groan inside.

A field trip? A field trip, you say?

‘Ugh… I hate it.’

Field trips weren’t the worst, but they weren’t great either.

First of all, they’re annoying (most important).

There’s so much to pack—snacks, lunch, water!

And we’d have to walk around a lot.

In conclusion, it was annoying.

“Waaaaah!”

However, unlike me, the kids cheered loudly.

It seemed like I was the only one not thrilled about the field trip.

Just as I let out a sigh and slumped my shoulders, the teacher continued.

“We’re going to a place called the Glass Botanical Garden. It’s a famous place, does anyone know about it?”

“The Glass Botanical Garden?”

“I know! It’s a place with amazing magical plants!”

At that, I immediately lifted my head.

The teacher clapped her hands together.

“Oh my, you know well. That’s right. Just as you said, the Glass Botanical Garden is full of mysterious magical plants influenced by magic. It’s also known for being very beautiful. Doesn’t everyone want to go see it?”

“Yes!!”

My once dull eyes began to shine brightly.

Heh, magical plants.

Magical plants, huh.

I clenched my fists, filled with rising anticipation.

I hadn’t been interested before and actually found it annoying, but not anymore.

Now, I was excited.

Plants full of magical energy—how pretty and mysterious would they be, and what colors would they glow in?

I smiled brightly amidst the noisy cheers of the children.

Next to me, Yumi also looked delighted with curiosity sparkling in her eyes.

I mentally counted down the days until the field trip.

Since we were going next Tuesday… five days left.

I looked at the teacher with eyes brimming with excitement.

The teacher was already holding a stack of papers.

“Now, I’m going to hand out the paper with the field trip information. Make sure to give this to your mom and dad! Understood?”

“Yes!!”

As we received the handouts, kids all around the room let out uncontrollable gasps of excitement.

I barely managed to suppress my own.

This is going to be so much fun!

A place full of mysterious magical plants?

That’s going to be amazing!

I went home that day, still giddy with excitement.

When I got home, I was surprised for a moment.

For some reason, today, Inha, Auntie Suna, and her husband, Uncle Jungmin, who was also Inha’s dad, were all at our house.

I was sure there were still a few weeks before they were supposed to come back.

More surprising than anything was that Uncle Jungmin had come to pick me up, so I was startled as soon as I got off the bus.

He said that Mom and Auntie Suna were so deep in conversation that he came to pick me up instead.

Yeah, I get it. Once Aunties start chatting, there’s no stopping them.

Feeling a bit fresh, I followed Uncle Jungmin home with quick steps.

As soon as I greeted everyone, I took out the handout from my bag and gave it to Mom.

“Oh, you’re going on a field trip.”

“Yeah!”

“And the destination is the Glass Botanical Garden…”

“Heh, that’s a famous place. I’ve heard they have many fascinating plants that you can’t see anywhere else.”

“Yeah. That’s why our Eunha is so excited.”

“Really. She’s got a huge smile on her face.”

Auntie Suna patted my head, calling me cute.

I briefly made a shy face before asking Mom.

“Mom, have you ever been there?”

“Huh? Of course I have.”

“Was it pretty?”

“It was six years ago when I went, but it was a really fun time.”

“I see─.”

That made my anticipation grow even more.

I smiled brightly, my curiosity and excitement growing together.

Magical plants?

I wonder what kinds there will be.

What colors will they glow in? How beautiful will they be?

I was lost in pleasant thoughts, imagining all kinds of possibilities in my head.

Suddenly, I thought it would be nice if I could use illusion magic more skillfully.

Then I could simulate it with magic.

But with my current abilities, all I could manage was to create a small illusionary shape, and it was so obviously fake that anyone could tell it was an illusion.

I could write whole sentences now, but still.

Though the difference in proficiency between my illusion magic and my writing magic wasn’t that big, it was faster to create illusions with letters.

Sometimes, I even felt like my main and side skills were reversed.

But I knew very well that illusion magic was the perfect type of magic for expressing what I wanted to create.

Of course, there was no doubt that my magic skills were still far from enough.

I guess I’ll practice again tonight before I go to sleep?

I should practice my barrier magic.

I’m still terribly lacking in that area.