“Next is Seo Yu-na.”
“Yeah.”
Monday’s first period is always the time for magical infusion.
And today, they allocated time to check the scores from last week’s performance assessment, giving us an unexpected free time.
Since I had already checked my grades in sixth place in class, I returned to my seat early and read a book I brought from home.
“Next is Seol-laim.”
“Yeah.”
Yuna didn’t go straight to her seat from the podium; instead, she made a big detour to come to my desk.
“What are you reading?”
“Top 10 Knife Fighting Techniques.”
“Why are you reading something like that?”
“Because I need it.”
After wandering around for a week without going straight home, I found that there weren’t any places nearby to learn about dagger techniques.
So as a second option, I ordered a book from an overseas bookstore to learn the secrets of dagger master ‘Sammy Franco.’
I realized after reading halfway through that the content here likely wouldn’t be usable in the game at all.
“Next, Yoon Si-hoo.”
“Yeah.”
As soon as Si-hoo left his seat, Yuna zoomed over and claimed the spot next to me.
I closed the boring book and laid my head on the desk, looking at Yuna.
Yuna, trying to copy me, laid her face on the desk just like I did.
I pinched her cheek, which was as soft as a hamster. Seriously, it was squishy.
“Yuna, aren’t you playing with the other kids?”
“How can I play when I don’t even know what they’re talking about?”
“True. They only talk about games.”
Rankings in ‘Falling Guys’ or ‘Brawl Stars’, stories of a favorite streamer blowing up their castle with TNT while playing ‘Blockcraft’, or Zhuge Liang defeating Liao Hua in the Roblox Tower Defense Edition story mode… what even was that last one?
These were topics Yuna, who didn’t have a phone or capsule, couldn’t follow.
“Kids who play games are all childish. I’d rather study more during that time.”
“Really?”
“Right. You said you played games too…”
Yuna said this in a sulky tone.
“Next, Lee Ji-hyeok.”
“Yeah.”
Even when Si-hoo returned to his seat, Yuna ignored him.
“Can you move?”
“No.”
“This is my spot.”
“Then go sit in my place.”
Today, Yuna seemed to be in a bad mood.
And I think I knew why.
“Did you do well on the performance assessment?”
“No…”
“Did you lose a point?”
“Yeah…”
If someone heard this, they might misunderstand and think it was deceit, but usually, kids with high standards would overreact to even small mistakes.
I patted her back and thought about how to cheer up this grumpy girl.
“Let’s do something fun together.”
“I’m not really in the mood…”
“It’s really fun! Then should I go play with Seori?”
Are you really not going to do it now?
When I stood up from my chair, only then did Yuna grab my collar and stop me.
She’s such a greedy one, huh?
While other students clustered around to chit-chat, we quietly sat face to face on the back floor of the classroom.
“So, what are we doing?”
“Do you know Air Game?”
“No? I don’t know it.”
“You don’t know?”
How could that be possible?
Could anyone not know about a representative folk game of Korean elementary students?
No matter how much of an introvert she was, it’s hard to believe she wouldn’t know.
I couldn’t believe it, so I searched on my phone.
“Air.”
A colorless, transparent gas that makes up the lower atmosphere surrounding Earth.
There was no mention of a game using air or air marbles anywhere.
I really fell into a world lacking the basics.
In the end, for my first effort to correctly change this world, Yuna became the target.
Shall I start by making some air marbles?
[Material: High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE)]
First, I create suitable plastic shells of various colors.
Usually, I’d need to create and insert a steel marble inside, but since that’s only for weight balancing, I could just condense mana into a mass form and deliver it into the plastic for permanent preservation. That’s how it’s done.
“Tada.”
“…?”
“Look, I’ll show you how to do it.”
Hand games touch upon the most primitive instincts of all humans.
Games that can be enjoyed by anyone, regardless of age or gender.
Now, let me introduce you to Air Game, which can astonish the Kaizen Imperial Palace, make the Alpenheim Kingdom gasp, and is like a drug for which even the Demon King issued a bounty.
Swish!
*
In the 2nd Grade A Class of Sephiron Academy, there were various groups.
Even if there were only 20 students total, it was inevitable that friends with similar minds would gather.
First was the group of boys led by Kim Han-gyeol.
Having been quite popular in the 1st grade, Han-gyeol naturally took the lead of the class atmosphere in 2nd grade.
Because of this, while there were many girls in class who disliked him, there wasn’t a single boy who felt the same.
Next, there was the girl group centered around Lee Ha-ru and Jeon Nuri.
Usually, when they started a conversation, several kids would gather to chat, forming groups that came and went.
Additionally, there were also groups like Han Seori’s group, which pondered what pranks to pull today on various bizarre topics without regard for gender, and the ‘Yoon Si-hoo-Go Kyung-won’ group, which suddenly swelled during exam periods.
With the midterm exams far away at the end of March, during this free time assigned to students, most chose groups to play with based on their preferences.
In that sense, Yuna’s classmate Bae Yohan would rather be in the group of loud and laughing Han-gyeol than stuck next to Si-hoo, who quietly read a book, or Yuna, who mumbled to herself.
“The buff on Grull this time is crazy. It’s already tier 1, and now they buffed the damage and projectile speed of normal attacks!”
“When can we finally see Edgar in the league?”
Yohan had no idea what the boys were talking about.
It seemed like they were evaluating the patch notes for Brawl Stars, but to someone who didn’t play the game, it sounded like alien talk.
In boredom, he wandered around the class and eventually spotted Yuna in the corner, silently screaming while pulling her hair out.
“……!!!!!!”
“What a shame. It was going to be a perfect five-year plan.”
“Seriously, last chance. I can really do it.”
A transfer student known as NoName, who was well-known among the 2nd graders, was also present.
By the way, was Yuna really that expressive?
Yohan recalled the beginning of the semester when Seo Yuna sat next to him.
Rumors that she had a bad personality were no exaggeration; there were several times she frightened him with her glaring eyes, telling him not to shake his legs or cross the desk line during class.
Swish!
Thud!
“…!”
Clatter!
“Ahhh…!”
“Ah, it was just one away. So close.”
While Yuna was rolling on the floor, writhing her whole body, Na-me got up after brushing off her bottom to pick up the air marble that had rolled under Yohan’s feet.
“What are you guys doing?”
“We’re playing Air Game. Want to join?”
“…?”
Air Game? That was a phrase Yohan had never heard in his life.
Na-me pulled his arm as if not to decline and sat him down on the cold classroom floor.
The coldness seemed to crawl up from his backside to his head.
“What is it?”
“She’s a newbie. Yuna, can you introduce the rules?”
“Do we really have to do this together?”
“This game is way more fun the more people there are. Just trust me.”
“Alright. Then Yohan, listen closely. I’m only going to explain it once.”
Yuna raised her index finger with a scary expression.
Yohan swallowed hard and nodded slightly.
Swish!
He could finally grasp the source of the sound that had been recurring since earlier.
It was the sound of five bright colored stone pieces dropping onto the floor.
Yuna smiled slyly and glanced at Yohan.
“This is Stage 1. Watch closely.”
Air Game was simple enough that even beginners could grasp the overall rules at a glance.
In Stage 1, you throw one piece and pick it up one by one.
Likewise, in Stage 2, throw one at a time and pick up two, and in Stage 3, you split three and one to pick up.
“It’s challenging from here.”
However, confidence glimmered in her voice.
She threw one of the air marbles she held and let all the others drop. Then, she threw it the same way, and the scattered marbles quickly zipped back into Yuna’s hand.
“Phew… Hah…”
“You’re looking way too intense, Yuna.”
“Na-me, please don’t talk to me right now. I’m super focused.”
“You’re supposed to explain the rules, remember?”
The five pieces drifted away from Yuna’s hands, floating in the air.
Different pieces collided and rotated, regaining their freedom.
However, under the influence of gravity, they began falling back down, and Yuna skillfully caught them with the back of her hand.
“…!”
Even though Yohan wasn’t familiar with the rules, the scene unfolding before his eyes looked like a trick of sorts.
How could all the digitized pieces flawlessly land on her small hand?
But Yuna was still facing the final step.
In a moment when tension peaked, Yuna, whose breath seemed to stop, raised her hand and left her fate to chance.
Swish—!
A heavy energy she had never felt before resonated from her palm.
Yuna’s eyes sparkled with determination.
“This is Air Game.”
It was a gaze like a general’s, leading a victorious war.
