Chapter 18: Is this real?
by fnovelpia
Tap-tap-
[Stardust: “If you’re scared, I’ll even send a launcher your way.”]
[IceIcicle: “You’re the one acting tough.”]
***
#Game World Building POV#
In this world, there are groups bound together by their own circumstances.
To climb higher, to survive.
Even wizards, who are sharper and more studied than others, can’t completely escape the law of coming together and drifting apart.
They pull each other in, lend a hand, or sometimes feel jealous, but they stick together nonetheless.
The magical world divided their tight-knit communities into two major categories.
The “noble families,” renowned for their arcane magic, and the “magic towers,” organizations that evolved over time through apprenticeship.
Noble families passed down magic through bloodlines, while magic towers took in anyone with talent in their field, even outsiders.
The master of the Red Tower taught their disciples fire and destruction magic, while the master of the Green Tower instructed in plant and wind magic.
Likewise, the Blue Tower and Black Tower accepted those with aptitudes for water and ice or dark magic into their ranks.
If noble families were like dynasties, magic towers were like sects.
Though the towers might seem similar, there was a subtle hierarchy among them.
[“Wait, isn’t ice magic way too inefficient?”]
“No, I’ve got an aptitude for water magic and I’m learning it now, but why does ice take so much mana? It guzzles this much and it’s still freaking weak, ugh.”
“LOL, fire hurts the moment you touch it, but ice? How long does it even take to freeze anything~”
“LOL, for real?”
Even if you assume all magic has its pros and cons, the Blue Tower didn’t sell as well as the Red Tower.
If someone had similar aptitudes for both, most would pick the Red Tower for its destructive magic, which had a clear edge in reputation.
To take down a monster with water magic, you’d need to summon a tidal wave, and creating ice required even more mana than that.
So, over the past few centuries, the Red Tower folks—who were straightforward and mana-efficient—had racked up far better results.
“Oh, looks like they’re here to get wrecked again?”
“Goddamn it.”
That’s why Red Tower wizards would shrug their shoulders and snicker every time they saw a Blue Tower wizard.
They’d endured humiliation for ages.
For so long, the Blue Tower had been teabagged by them, but in recent years, the tides suddenly turned after they happened to recruit a certain talent.
In a way, it’s a showdown between people.
Victory or defeat hinges on individuals, after all.
If there’s an efficiency gap between fire and ice, wouldn’t it just take a genius with an overwhelming talent gap to flip the script?
***
#Seol Yeonhwa(Icelcicle) POV#
Tap-tap-tap-
[IceIcicle: “You’re the one who shouldn’t run.”]
The Blue Tower had a genius.
Not just your average prodigy hailed as a genius, but a magical child so specialized in ice magic that you’d believe she was chosen by the god of ice.
She was born with a frozen heart, her cold blood pumping through her veins, living a life as frigid and still as frost on the ground.
In martial arts circles, they likened it to an incurable condition similar to the Nine Yin Severed Meridians, and though she survived it, she hadn’t fully overcome it.
She’d made it her own, but couldn’t quite erase it.
Haa—Hooo—
The moment she lost control and exhaled, thin ice formed in the air, and her hands were always cold.
Other wizards revered and envied this, but the person herself didn’t like it one bit.
Outside of training and studying magic, she always holed up at home, spending her free time watching dramas, movies, reading manga, or playing games.
Tap-tap-
[IceIcicle: “Where you at? LOL”]
Maybe it’s her brilliant mind, but she got good at games pretty quickly—though her connection to the world was mostly limited to that.
“She plays games like a total jerk.”
The Blue Tower’s genius, Seol Yeonhwa—known as Iceflower—had twisted into something oddly refined.
Normally calm and even cold, she mostly talked with peers through the internet and gaming worlds.
She’d picked up some of their rough manners along the way.
Her chatting style was a bit crude because of it.
Her opponent, though, was no pushover in a different sense.
[Stardust: “In your heart <3”]
“Should I kill him?”
For some reason, the more she saw his tone, the more it ticked her off.
Seol Yeonhwa furrowed her brow slightly and started getting ready to head out.
She was the type to never leave the house on her days off, but today, her dignity in another world was at stake.
[IceIcicle: “I’m seriously gonna crush you LOL”]
The cold-faced wizard clenched her fist and dashed outside.
***
#Shin Yuseong (Stardust) POV#
[The Goddess looks at the Hero with a mix of curiosity and concern.]
“Don’t worry, Goddess. I’ll come back victorious.”
[The Goddess sighs deeply, exasperated, saying that’s not the issue.]
***
#Seol Yeonhwa(Icelcicle) POV#
Normally, she wouldn’t go out on weekends, but a special event had forced her hand.
To think her first IRL fight would be with a neighbour from the next apartment over!
After slaying demons, cutting down stars, and dutifully playing the Hero, she had no real intention of hitting an actual person.
“Well, maybe I’ll just scare him a little.”
Sure, he’d pissed her off, but judging by his chat, he’d be in big trouble if he crossed the wrong person.
Wouldn’t it be better for him to get a little “vaccination” from kindhearted me rather than some jacked-up brute?
That’s what I genuinely thought as I headed toward the park in our apartment complex.
***
#Shin Yuseong (Stardust) POV#
“Why~ don’t you understand my heart~”
Humming a cheerful tune, I threw on a cardigan and set out to hunt my prey.
As expected of a luxury apartment complex with a convenience store, restaurants, a gym, a bowling alley—everything—the walking paths and park were pristine, giving off a picnic vibe.
Though odds were high my opponent was some pimply teenage troublemaker.
“Wait, no—since this is a reversed world, maybe it’s more likely a girl?”
The game characters’ genders had flipped, so maybe the player base’s gender ratio had reversed too.
“It wouldn’t be weird if it’s a girl, so I should assume that’s the case.”
In that case, I’d be looking for an angry teenage girl.
I casually strolled through the park, scoping out my IRL fight opponent.
Swish-
One lap around, then two.
I kept circling the walking path…
But I didn’t see anyone fuming or looking pissed off.
***
#Seol Yeonhwa(Icelcicle) POV#
“What the hell? Did this jerk not show up?”
Now I’m starting to get mad too.
Dragging a super shut-in like me outside and then flaking on the time?
The meeting spot is literally right in front of my house—if he’s pulling this, it’s not just a no-show, it’s a total bust.
Wait, is this for real?
***
#Shin Yuseong (Stardust) POV#
Suddenly, I was itching for a real fight.
[The Goddess covers a smirk and comforts the stood-up Hero.]
Since even the Goddess didn’t seem to be on my side right now, I didn’t bother asking her for a solution.
I just tapped my chin, mulling over how to screw over this girl if she really didn’t show.
Seriously, though—she tells me to come out and then doesn’t show up?
I can’t wrap my head around it.
“Did she get scared because I agreed to meet at the apartment park too easily?”
Fair point—if she lives here, either her parents are loaded or she’s insanely talented himself.
Maybe my confidence freaked her out a little.
Or maybe she’s one of those people who’s only bold online and just threw out the name of a fancy apartment complex to test me.
Like, “I’m a rich kid living large!”—bluffing, and I fell for it hook, line, and sinker.
***
#Seol Yeonhwa(Icelcicle) POV#
Since I live here, I assumed he did too, but now that I think about it, that might be more unlikely.
“Tch, I thought he was a Hero, but maybe he’s just a natural coward…”
Once I thought that, my interest fizzled out completely.
I smacked my lips in frustration and trudged back toward home.
I wasn’t planning to exchange personal info or phone numbers to hold over him, so…
Guess I’ll just avoid trying IRL showdowns in the future if I don’t want to get stood up again.
“Sigh.”
***
#Shin Yuseong (Stardust) POV#
A slightly belated realization.
“Wait, if she wasn’t really a neighbor, I wouldn’t have bothered meeting up in the first place. Now I feel cheated!”
A wave of irritation surged up, but what could I do about a kid who didn’t even show?
I’d just go home, finish reporting her chat, and enjoy the rest of my weekend.
With that in mind, I left the park—
“Sigh.”
“Hooo…”
And at the same moment, someone else sighed from the opposite exit, seemingly burdened by similar woes.
Huh?
What’s this?
We didn’t plan it, but now I’m feeling some weird inner camaraderie?
Maybe they felt it too, because they glanced my way.
Our eyes met—and it was someone who’d been diligently walking around the park earlier.
Even if my fight opponent had shown up, this person definitely wouldn’t be them—that’s the vibe they gave off.
Their lower face was hidden by a mask, but they felt oddly familiar, like I’d seen them somewhere before…
Hmm?
…Wait?
No way!
Is this for real?
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