The natural park is a place brimming with magic.
In the first place, this facility was created for the purpose of magic training.
In a space that resonates with the power of observation, no matter where you turn your gaze, the richness of the magic is felt before the beauty of the scenery.
The density of magic was high. It was so subtle that just by breathing, you could feel the magic permeate you.
Not only was it dense, but it was also pure.
In such a park, the students of the Ipchun Class were scattered around, each finding a spot to sit.
The commonality among them was the fist-sized crystal ball they held in their hands.
The crystal ball was made of transparent material, and inside, colors floated as if some dye had been mixed with water.
If the crystal ball used for the introduction to magic was a magical tool that helped with the ‘sensitivity to magic’,
this tool was used to confirm spirit affinity and awaken latent affinity.
The students were holding the crystal balls and rolling them around, focusing.
Some students were frowning as they fiddled with the crystal ball, while others held it with a relaxed, enlightened demeanor.
Some students distanced themselves from others as they felt they could concentrate better alone, while others gathered with their close friends to focus together.
Everyone was concentrating in their own way.
The first session of the ‘Understanding Spirits’ lecture was entirely devoted to confirming affinity.
I was also holding a crystal ball.
Normally, I would be concentrating alone or sticking close to Hong Yeon-hwa or Elia.
“It may seem like a waste of time, but it’s good to periodically check on your potential.”
But now, things were different.
I turned my thoughts to the voice that came from right in front of me.
Even in this place filled with abundant magic, a person possessed overwhelmingly powerful magic.
If you closed your eyes and simply felt the magic, you would only perceive it as a massive magic presence—Professor Riana.
She smiled and continued explaining.
“While innate qualities are important, it’s not impossible for someone to awaken their potential later on.”
[Is it common for talent to awaken later?]
“No, not really. Such cases are rare. Usually, most people awaken their magic around the ages of 3 to 5.”
Typically, that’s when people are divided into humans and superhumans, and also categorized into those with unique abilities and those without.
“But it’s not completely unheard of. Professor Atra was initially a case without unique abilities, and there are others who have extraordinarily late awakenings.”
I could tell who she was referring to.
She considered my late awakening—at least ten years behind the average—unusual.
It’s unique and special, but just because it’s different doesn’t mean I’m superior in any way.
Others have been training since childhood. In the end, I’m just now learning because of my late awakening.
I couldn’t see any benefits; it felt like there were only losses.
While I thought this, I wiggled my fingers.
It didn’t go as I hoped.
Partly because I was holding the crystal ball with one hand, and partly because Professor Riana’s hand was blocking mine.
My remaining arm was restricted. Thus, to communicate smoothly, I had no choice but to activate the confession necklace.
So now, I was in a state of heightened tension, afraid that a repetition of past disasters might occur.
I raised my guard, ready to cut off the necklace if it dared to spout anything weird again.
“It’s been a while since we communicated like this.”
[You came to visit me in the hospital, didn’t you?]
“I only saw your sleeping face back then. When Lee Ha-yul regained consciousness, I was too busy to check in on you.”
A soft sensation transmitted through my wrist. The fingers that weren’t mine occasionally poked my skin, causing a ticklish feeling.
Professor Riana claimed it was to confirm my concentration.
“The atmosphere is quite similar to back then.”
As she smiled and explained, Professor Riana suddenly seemed to remember something.
Her gaze swept around the surroundings. I followed suit, using my power of observation to survey the area.
The sun hovering at an angle in the sky and the grass glistening under its rays.
The branches and leaves shivered in the occasional gentle breeze.
A lake, cloaked in a hazy mist, created a dreamy atmosphere.
It resembled the park where I received my introduction to magic at the beginning of the semester.
Of course, the presence of man-made structures like walking paths and benches was different, but the overall vibe was similar.
And the eyes of Hong Yeon-hwa and others, who were staring fixedly at me, were another difference.
Back then, there had been no one else besides me and Professor Riana.
“What do you think? Are you feeling the energy well?”
Professor Riana poked my wrist lightly.
With that question, I redirected my attention back to the crystal ball.
– Clunk.
The crystal ball in my grip shook. I lost count of how many times this had happened.
The energies swirling inside were thumping against one wall.
Like they wanted to escape, the energies knocked towards my direction.
“I expected this… you do have some talent.”
Looking down at the vibrating crystal ball, Professor Riana spoke as if she couldn’t believe it.
While everyone else was using the crystal balls to confirm their affinities and train individually, I was already confirming my affinity, which led to Professor Riana personally teaching me.
Thus, I sat facing her, entering a lesson.
Her finger tapped the crystal ball.
“Can you see… or rather, feel it? The energies inside the crystal ball.”
[Yes.]
[Five energies.]
Red, green, blue, yellow, and brown.
The five colored energies were knocking against the walls of the crystal ball.
“These are the energies of basic elemental spirits. The energies fluctuate according to the affinity of the individual they contact… and Lee Ha-yul, you possess an affinity for all five.”
These were probably the elements of fire, wind, water, lightning, and earth.
Even if there might be subtle differences in the detailed abilities of unique powers, most fall under these five elements.
“Now that we’ve confirmed your affinity, let’s briefly explain the contracting process.”
Professor Riana retrieved the crystal ball from my hand and nodded her finger.
“Lower-level spirits typically have very faint consciousness. You could say they are like gears with instincts suited to their attributes.”
I already knew this information.
Unless we’re talking about high-level spirits, lower-level ones have little self-awareness.
They merely do what their instincts tell them—favoring locations rich in magic and occasionally restoring nature according to their instincts.
“A spirit magician contracts with such spirits to handle them. At this point, ‘contracting’ with lower-level spirits is really simple: if the magician wants a contract, that’s it.”
In spirit magic, a contract is a process to establish dominance to wield a spirit.
An uncontracted spirit cannot be handled.
Just like how one cannot wield magic that isn’t theirs, one cannot handle spirits that aren’t contracted.
Because of this, a spirit magician contracts spirits they can handle, based on their affinity, capacity, and magic level.
Professor Riana has a ridiculously high affinity, capacity, and magic level, allowing her to handle an absurd number of spirits.
‘What about me?’
My affinity with spirits.
I suspected I might have some.
Given my unique ability as a Jack of All Trades, I thought I would have enough affinity to experiment.
However, hearing Professor Riana’s explanation, it seemed the affinity for spirits was much higher than I had anticipated.
“Then let us start in earnest now!”
With a flourish, Professor Riana drew her finger in the air. The magic swirling at the tip of her finger left traces in the air.
And then, a door opened.
‘?’
A door? It cracked open? Ripped apart? Any term works for this phenomenon.
This wasn’t an observation power.
The power of the space, which hadn’t had a chance to shine recently, recognized the opened space in the air.
At Professor Riana’s gesture, the line drawn in the air parted left and right.
From the opened space, magic began to leak out.
Brilliantly colored elemental energies.
It was the same energy I felt from the crystal ball, matching the magic overflowing from nature.
But the quality and quantity were staggering.
I felt a presence, or was it simply an aura? I doubted, but I sensed innumerable beings within that space.
‘Spirits.’
I instinctively understood.
The presence emanating from that space was definitely that of spirits. Each entity within was a spirit of varying ranks.
– Pop!
In that moment, one of the countless spirits floated toward me.
This green light dust, as I recognized it, zipped out even as the space closed back up.
The green light dust gently floated above Professor Riana’s palm.
I felt the delicate wind brushing against my sensitive skin.
“This friend is the spirit of wind.”
I could sense its magic affinity. Similarly, it could be observed through my power of observation.
I probably could even perceive the green light with the naked eye.
“This spirit is contracted with me. It’s my spirit, and as long as I don’t break the contract, no one else can handle it.”
After a moment of checking the spirit’s state, Professor Riana continued her explanation.
“I will break this contract shortly. Then, Lee Ha-yul, you can contract with this spirit. It might seem challenging at first, but we have plenty of time, so let’s take it step by step.”
Having concluded her explanation, Professor Riana gazed at me intently.
It seemed she was giving me time to feel the spirit.
It was similar to how it was during my magic introduction.
I nodded with a strange expression.
[It’s fascinating.]
Experiencing working with a spirit was astonishingly intriguing.
[It’s amazing.]
Though I had dealt with unique abilities and like powers, it was undeniably wondrous to work with an actual spirit.
And then.
[Does it feel familiar?]
Weirdly familiar.
‘What is this?’
It was an incomprehensible sensation. Could the novelty of the initial experience come hand in hand with a sense of familiarity?
‘Hmm…’
I used my power of observation to examine the spirit.
I fine-tuned my abilities further, wanting to observe not just the external appearance but also the internal structure.
My head buzzed. It was an overwhelming sensation, but I didn’t collapse under it like before.
I’d grown stronger, and limiting the scope to a lower-level spirit helped.
‘Is that what contracting feels like?’
As I focused, I could perceive a connection to the spirit.
It felt as though it was like a thread leading to Professor Riana.
In other words, the spirit was contracted to Professor Riana.
Once a spirit has been contracted, no other spirit magician can make a deal with it.
Uncontracted spirits are beyond handling.
I had heard the explanation from Professor Riana; that connection is the passage linking the magician and the spirit.
Through that passage, the spirit magician conveys their will, and the magic is supplied.
Thus, it was impossible to express my wishes to that spirit.
‘I can’t handle it?’
I tilted my head, pondering.
I had no particular thoughts, just a peculiar sensation.
‘Do you want to come over here?’
I merely whispered this inside my head, my thoughts not even forming complete sentences.
These thoughts weren’t conveyed to anyone, even without using the confession necklace.
“Hmm?”
It should have been that way.
Professor Riana blinked in surprise. Her gaze was fixated on her palm.
Her palm was visible. However, the spirit floating above it did not show itself.
After blinking, she raised her head, her gaze moving to where the spirit had moved.
‘……’
The air felt crisper as the wind noticeably brushed her palm.
“Hmm?”
The spirit had moved to my palm.
Professor Riana’s mouth fell open.
???
Multiple question marks appeared above her head.
‘?’
Question marks also emerged above my head.
[Huh?]
A blunt tone echoed late from the confession necklace.
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