Prologue Story

I left the classroom with a cheerful expression, moving through the crowd of kids pouring out for lunch after the fourth period.

While I looked forward to the lunch menu, I was even happier to finally escape the pressure of the other kids and meet my familiar friends.

And besides, after lunchtime, it was just homeroom left until dismissal.

‘I really am a problem, a problem.’

I knew it wasn’t good to prefer being alone, even if I thought it was easier.

It wasn’t right to exclude others just because I had close friends.

But what could I do when being with unfamiliar people felt far less comfortable than being alone?

‘I’d rather just stick with my friends.’

In this way, my friends were so much better than I was.

Especially Min-hee and Hyun-ho, who had tons of friends thanks to their lively personalities and natural friendliness.

Even Han-soo, although still a bit prickly, had been fitting in and joking around with the boys.

And apparently, his blunt attitude made him quite popular among the girls.

But when it came to popularity, no one could beat In-ha!

In-ha was admired by both boys and girls alike for her cool demeanor and goddess-like appearance.

I had been a little worried about Shia… but I heard Shia was getting along well with friends too.

Apparently, his innocent and shy nature made him a frequent target for pranks.

As I pushed through the noisy crowd, I stopped in front of Class 3.

When I stood on tiptoe, resting my hand on the window frame and peeking over, I saw the teacher putting away materials, as if the class had just ended.

The students greeted the teacher, then rushed out through the back door.

“Hurry, let’s go!”

“They’re serving something super tasty for lunch today!”

Leaning against the wall opposite the back door, I waited patiently.

A moment later, my friends came chattering out of the door.

I pushed off the wall and waved at the five friends coming toward me.

“Eun-ha!”

The one who responded most energetically was Min-hee, who jumped over and hugged me tightly.

“Yay! Let’s go eat lunch!”

In-ha came over, quietly taking hold of my sleeve.

“Eun-ha, I missed you.”

Han-soo looked on at this with a genuinely baffled expression.

“Wow, really?”

He walked next to me, muttering about how fake it was and telling In-ha to let go, sparking a back-and-forth with her.

Yeah, I knew half of it was deliberate. And I knew In-ha only acted so prickly around him.

Watching the two of them squabble, I just laughed.

This really was comforting, being with them.

It was such a stark contrast to the awkwardness I felt with other kids.

After we had a lively lunch together, we spent the remaining time in a hidden room in the library.

We’d only discovered it by chance recently.

In the corner of the elementary school library, there was a bookcase flush against the wall, with the bottom shelf half-empty.

Behind that shelf was actually a hidden door. Just like that, a secret passage.

The entrance was narrow enough for only kids to enter, but since we were kids, it was easy for us to slip in.

The room’s atmosphere felt like a playroom.

The floor was covered with mats, the kind you’d find in a kindergarten, and a toy box nearby was filled with puzzles, Jenga, and Rubik’s cubes.

The shelves along the wall held children’s books on magic.

It seemed a bit childish, but regardless, it was a cozy and useful place.

“Guys, did you know there’s a new menu at Granche? They say the snowflake parfait is amazing… let’s go try it today!”

“What? But we were going to the pool today! The new one that just opened near school!”

“We can go to both! We’ll hit the café first and then go straight to the pool! Right, Hyun-ho?”

“Hey, I heard a classmate bought a kid’s dagger and was showing it off. Wanna see?”

“Wait, In-ha! Tell me more about that!”

A dagger?

At that, Min-hee immediately clung to In-ha, who had mentioned it.

Listening to the conversation, I paused in thought. Even a kid’s dagger was a real blade in this world.

They handed out weapons to just anyone!

But my expression soon softened into a warm smile.

They’d been talking only about places to hang out after school. I couldn’t be happier.

Last year, we always hung out face-to-face, but after we were assigned to different classes, we rarely got the chance.

The others seemed to find it a shame too.

‘A pool… doesn’t sound that appealing. Parfait… probably sweet, but I’d like to try it. A kid’s dagger… hmm, I wouldn’t use it, but if it’s just for display… for self-defense…’

“Aah─!”

“…?!”

“What?”

Lost in thought, I was startled when Min-hee suddenly shouted, as if something had dawned on her while questioning In-ha.

We all turned to look at Min-hee, who wore a troubled expression.

“Oh right! Today’s plans are canceled! I just remembered something I absolutely have to see!”

“What? What is it?”

Even Shia seemed caught off guard, as if this was the first time he’d heard about it.

“There’s an open match at the high school today!”

At that, our eyes widened in unison.

“An open match?”

“Yeah, high schoolers are having a match in the gym at two o’clock today. And of course, my brother’s competing too.”

Ji-hyun oppa, too?

My eyes lit up instantly.

“Really? Let’s go watch!”

Hyun-ho was the first to raise his hand in agreement, and both In-ha and I nodded with eager eyes.

Han-soo wore a smug expression.

“When it comes to Ji-hyun, he might not be great at other things, but he sure is amazing at magic.”

“I want to see it too. A B-rank’s skills.”

Finally, nodding with In-ha, I added my voice in support.

“Yeah, a match with high school seniors sounds really exciting. After class, let’s go quickly before the crowd gathers!”

“Let’s do that!”

We checked the time and got to our feet as we continued chatting.

Then we left the secret room through the small door at the bottom of the bookshelf, the little hidden door near the wall.

Min-hee, who’d brought up the idea first, was the most excited.

“We need snacks to watch with! Let’s buy some snacks. What should we get?”

“Min-hee, I don’t think snacks are a good idea. It’s not a movie theater, it’s a public school space, and the smell would be….”

“Ugh! Mom Eun-ha’s nagging again!”

Min-hee, who had been happily responding, covered her ears at my words.

I gave her a playful flick on the forehead.

“Alright then, Eun-ha, let’s meet after homeroom.”

“I still have time, so I’ll just dash to get some snacks real quick!”

Min-hee, rubbing her forehead and grumbling, dashed off, with Hyun-ho quickly following after her.

I sighed, as if there was nothing else I could do.

Leaving the two who had gone off to the snack stand, we headed toward our classrooms.

We separated just outside the classroom doors.

“See you in a bit, then.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“Okay.”

I greeted my friends and entered the classroom.

My steps felt light as I walked to my seat.

I felt my spirits lifting and smiled secretly to myself.

‘This is exciting. Ji-hyun oppa’s match….’

Because of that, I couldn’t focus on the teacher’s words during homeroom.

After homeroom, I grabbed my bag and immediately squeezed into the flow of kids spilling into the hallway, rushing outside.

This time, my friends were already done with homeroom and waiting for me.

“Ta-da! I bought lots of snacks!”

“Hey, there are only 20 minutes left until 2 o’clock. We’ll be late if we walk!”

I quickly checked the time at Han-soo’s words.

It was exactly 1:40.

“What about the Warp Hall?”

“That’d take even longer. Just run!”

Min-hee took the lead.

We sprinted full force along the shortcut path through the woods behind the school to reach the gym.

I wanted to use the teleport function on my student ID, but I held myself back.

For reference, at our current level, we could only manage a short-range teleport under 10 meters.

After running nonstop, we managed to reach the gym just in time, though we were on the verge of collapse from the exertion.

“Hah… hah…”

Thanks to my consistent physical training, I’d somehow managed to make it to the end.

Meanwhile, these kids, even after running flat-out for about 15 minutes, were only slightly out of breath.

Shia, at least, was panting a little more realistically.

Han-soo chided me as I stood, shoulders heaving.

“For real, how can you be slower than us even after training early? You’re lucky you got a head start.”

“Park Han-soo, quiet.”

Right, it was true.

But while I agreed, I also followed In-ha’s lead and gave Han-soo a sassy glare.

But honestly, it was impressive that you guys were this fit!

It’s not that I was weak or out of shape!

Still, my confidence faltered when I looked at Shia.

He only occasionally trained with Min-hee, yet… even he was better than me.

Sigh…

I caught my breath and looked up at the sky.

This was exactly why teleportation was the first magic I’d wanted to learn as a kid.

I hadn’t been particularly fit in my past life either.

And teleporting instantly to wherever you wanted to go was just so convenient! You could just zip through space and time.

Anyway, we barely managed to slip into the gym on time, as Min-hee had said.

The gym was already packed with people, with the doors and audience seats filled with students and teachers.

Pushing and squeezing through the crowd, we finally made our way in.

Then, suddenly, light surrounded us, and our bodies began to float up.

“…Huh?”

Startled, we looked around.

Floating in midair against our will, we finally descended near the top row of the spectator seats.

Fortunately, with so many people circling around the gym, flying, no one noticed that we were in the air too.

Once we landed, we were surprised to see Teacher Joon-hwi and Teacher Min standing nearby, holding onto the railing.

“Oh, you guys came too.”

“Ah, Teacher!”

“You probably won’t understand what’s going on yet. The level is too different.”

Teacher Min chuckled and gave up his spot so we could see better.

Since the top of the spectator seats had no chairs and was crowded, those of us who were shorter had to stand at the very front to see the match.

Some of the spectators muttered, wondering why elementary students had come to watch, but they made room for us.

We thanked the teachers, and Teacher Joon-hwi replied indifferently.

“Fine, just watch.”

The spectator seats were tiered, so from this vantage point, we could see below quite well.

Distance was an issue, but there were screens on the side of the gym showing the match, so it wasn’t bad.

“But how did you kids even know about this?”

“Well, the current high school student council president is Min-hee’s brother, after all.”

“Oh, right. You’re Joo Ji-hyun’s younger sibling.”

Teacher Joon-hwi nodded in understanding.

I turned my head and looked down toward the gym, widening my field of vision.

The match had already started.

I could see a very strong barrier set up around the area.

It was likely to prevent any magic from leaking out.

‘Of course….’

The whole gymnasium was used as the dueling stage, with the two upperclassmen keeping a certain distance as they hurled attacks at each other.

Magic shot through the air in dazzling displays.

“Wow, that’s amazing!”

“Really.”

I watched the shapes of the spells soaring through the air with wide eyes.

Barely moments after expanding my vision, I immediately understood what Teacher Min had meant when he said, “You probably won’t understand what’s going on.”

The magic was moving too fast.

Even with our vision, it was hard to capture.

By the time I noticed a flash, the attack had already hit.

I couldn’t help but feel a complex mix of emotions at the sheer force in each spell.

It was just… so fast and… powerful.

‘How can everyone else see all of that?’

It must be true that as one’s magic level rises, the perception of time changes. It’s not just a story about magic—this concept shows up in martial arts novels too, doesn’t it? People think of their next move while fighting at speeds that regular people can’t even perceive.

The upperclassmen exchanged magic at nearly invisible speeds, continuing each attack effortlessly.

“That’s D-rank. In terms of all magicians, that level of skill is considered average.”

“Wow, really? That?”

“For kids like you, it’s normal if you can barely see it.”

Magicians grow especially fast starting around middle school. It’s when the skeleton starts to fully develop. When we reach that age, we’ll undoubtedly grow much more than we have now. By then, will we be able to see all of this…?

Right now, I couldn’t even imagine it. I tried my best to follow the flashes of magical energy speeding past. Rather than using my eyes, I was practically tracking these spells by sensing the magic’s presence, its color.

“Who’s fighting right now?”

“They’re evenly matched by grade level, and they’re dueling in order from the lowest skill up. Their skill level follows the rank exam criteria. Even if their skills are the lowest here… when students from our school go to high school, they all at least reach D-rank. Only a few get to C-rank, and usually, no one reaches B-rank.”

“Wow… so my brother really is amazing.”

“Not just amazing, he’s incredibly amazing.”

Wow, Min-hee let out another awed sigh. Meanwhile, I squinted as I watched the duel that showed no sign of ending soon.

‘Are those two evenly matched…?’

I focused more to confirm it. Since they were dueling in order from the lowest level, it also meant these two were the slowest. If I could get used to this speed, I might somehow manage to track the magic’s traces for the next levels too.

As I watched longer, I felt myself gradually adjusting to the speed. I could vaguely make out the shapes of the magic. By continuing to follow the magical traces, I eventually started to see the trajectories the spells were taking.

Some spells were completely invisible if the viewer’s level wasn’t high enough, but I could at least faintly see the color of the magic, even if I couldn’t see the spell itself. With that, I could somehow keep track of what was happening, bit by bit.

And then I was stunned. Magic exploded, covering the entire gymnasium. My hands trembled. Goodness, if D-rank was at this level, then how powerful would B-rank be?