Reward (1)

In the end, I decided against it.

The first reason was that I might not be able to gather the 4,000 Essense I was aiming for.

The fact that I could get just over 1,000 from a single session was based on Choi Shin-woo, who gave the least. And Shin-woo was still a B-rank Awakener.

B-rank was in the upper tier of Awakeners. Honestly, it wasn’t likely that someone of his caliber would be out here asking, “Anyone want a massage?”

The men here were probably lower-ranked Awakeners. Could they even provide 1,000 Essense in one go? I had my doubts.

And considering the Essense cost to deactivate my transformation and convert to the mana needed for lightning training—separate from what I needed for the ‘Horns’—it was practically impossible.

The second reason was related to the first.

I had no idea how much mana, and therefore Essense, my lightning training would consume.

Someone had called it a “potion-guzzling hippo.” If Sung Yu-han, who was fairly skilled, said that, I couldn’t imagine how much mana I, a complete novice, would burn through.

It would be the worst-case scenario if I barely managed to gather 4,000 Essense to level up, only to find I didn’t have enough left to train.

Actually, there was something even worse. Running so low on Essense that I couldn’t even change back. Just the thought of it…

And the most important, final reason.

I just… wanted to rest on the last day of my vacation.

I’d been going way too hard.

Honestly, those first two reasons?

I could solve them by just continuing until I had enough Essense.

But did I really need to go that far?

And my succubus body… actually felt better than ever, but still. I was going to take today off.

Anyway, I’m resting today.

Just some light strength training.

*

CRACK!

A bolt of lightning flashed, missing the target by a wide margin.

Sparks of electricity crackled faintly from the horns that now blazed with fire.

Even with my Elemental Control raised by one level from manifesting the horns, the lightning bolt went astray without any real force. No matter how many times I fired, I showed no sign of hitting the mark.

“You’re doing well.”

“Sorry?”

“Usually, it flies off in every direction. The fact that you’re at least sending it toward the target is a good sign. So, what do you think, now that you’ve tried firing a lightning bolt?” Sung Yu-han asked.

“Well… it’s definitely powerful. …And it eats a lot of mana.”

[Essense: 2800/6042]

I had converted exactly 73 Essense, a nice round number, and I’d already used almost all of it.

Of course, 73 might seem small when I had 2,800 left, but converted to mana, it was 2,555.

Compared to fire, the consumption was about five times higher.

“It does eat a lot of mana. Normally, you’d be suffering from mana exhaustion by now, but you have that mana recovery skill.”

What?

“You’re lucky you could train while I was available to help. There aren’t many lightning users, so sometimes people can’t train at all.”

Lightning Elemental Mages were powerful, but few in number.

Because of that, it was often hard to find someone to supervise your training. But as luck would have it, Sung Yu-han had just finished a gate expedition and was on break, so he had agreed to help me.

“It’s best to train as much as you can and raise your proficiency quickly while you have someone to watch over you. I’m jealous in that respect. You can train continuously with that mana recovery skill of yours. But what are those horns? What’s that about?”

“Ah, these? It’s a skill. When I create the horns, it becomes easier to control and generate elements.”

“Wow, you have a skill like that? A mana recovery skill, too… you’ve got all sorts of them. A rising star is a rising star, I guess.”

As I gave an awkward laugh, Sung Yu-han continued.

“…Things are about to get annoying for you. Good luck. Don’t pay any mind to what other people say or do.”

“Ah, yes.”

BANG—

“Han-gyeol-ssi—!”

Yeeun burst through the door. Come to think of it, I didn’t even know her last name.

Anyway, Yeeun threw the door open and exclaimed, “Han-gyeol-ssi, it’s today! Oh, my apologies.”

“What is?”

“You know how you were going to be compensated for the Spider Cave incident, a combination of an apology and a reward from the guild? You can get it today! Hurry! If not today, who knows when it’ll be!”

“Oh? I’d only heard rumors. What are you getting?”

Instead of me, it was Sung Yu-han whose eyes lit up.

“That… was decided by the higher-ups, so I don’t know… Have you finished your training, by any chance?”

“Took you long enough to ask. What would you have done if you’d walked in and gotten struck by lightning? Still, we’re done with what we needed to do. That’s all for today’s training. Good work. You can go. And tell me what you got later.”

“Yes! Thank you.”

*

I ran after Yeeun.

“First, there will be an award ceremony, where they’ll take pictures for the guild newspaper. We’ll lend you a different outfit to wear, and the Guild Master said she’ll give you the reward after the ceremony.”

“The Guild Master?”

The Guild Master of Elemental.

Jin Harin.

The Awakener known as “the strongest elemental mage in the world.” And the founder of the guild, Elemental.

One of today’s top-tier Awakeners, her rank was SS, a step above S.

To be honest, I had no idea what that level of strength even meant. Since guilds were the ones who set these standards, I suspected they’d just give their own guild master a high rank.

But I’d heard that someone that powerful either lived beyond a gate or was just that busy.

“I heard she’s very busy…”

“Yes, she is. That’s why today is your chance!”

First, we went to the guild’s equipment rental and borrowed a magnificent robe.

Trying it on, I had to admit, clothes really do make the man.

Next—

“Follow me closely!”

The Elemental guild headquarters consisted of several buildings arranged in a circle around a central plaza.

And what was in that plaza?

「Guild Master’s Office」

Was that really the Guild Master’s office? Not the Guild Master’s building?

I tapped my guild ID to enter.

“We’ll switch your temporary ID to an official one after the ceremony. This is as far as I go! Good luck!”

Inside, a simple table and sofa were arranged like a CEO’s office. But aside from that, the room was completely empty, giving it a desolate feel.

It was also much smaller than it looked from the outside. If not for the furniture arrangement, I might have mistaken it for a lobby.

And there, sitting in chairs, were a few people holding cameras—

And a beautiful, white-haired woman seated in the place of honor.

The moment I stepped through the entrance, our eyes met—

…This is an SS-rank Awakener?

This… doesn’t seem human…

Her eyes, like opals, shifted through different colors from moment to moment as she gazed at me. No, the expression ‘piercing right through me’ would be more accurate.

After studying me for a long moment, she slowly rose to her feet.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I am Jin Harin, the Guild Master of Elemental.”

*

The award ceremony was much simpler than I expected.

“Thank you.”

A single word of gratitude, and a look that said much more.

I was given a transparent glass plaque. Inscribed within it was an account of my deeds that earned me this award… wait, this isn’t glass. It’s a Magic Stone.

The mana contained within wasn’t particularly strong, so it wasn’t an expensive Magic Stone, but the engraved letters and the mana flowing through each one were incredibly delicate.

Still, I got the feeling this wasn’t the main event. The atmosphere suggested everyone wanted to move on to the next stage, as if this were just a formality.

Click. A photo was taken of me receiving the Magic Stone plaque.

“Alright, we’ll be heading out now.”

“Good work.”

The people with the cameras all filed out.

Only the two of us remained in the space.

She began to speak in a slow, leisurely tone.

“I’ve received the report… They say you’re our guild’s new rising star?”

Though there was no wind in the room, her hair fluttered. With every movement, each and every strand of her white hair shimmered with a faint light.

“I’m not so sure…”

“Talent aside, I was quite fond of your desire to protect your comrade…”

She gave a faint smile.

“But when giving a reward, it is best to consider that talent, wouldn’t you agree…?”

She spun around gracefully.

“Follow me. You can leave the plaque on the table.”

She walked to the wall at the back of the office, and I stood beside her.

She turned her head toward me.

“Do you know why our guild is named ‘Elemental’?”

“Um… Isn’t it because of the word ‘element’ from elemental mage?”

She smiled.

“The ‘element’ of an elemental mage… That’s not wrong, but it’s not the right answer, either…”

She pressed a button on the wall.

Whirrrr—

The back wall slid open, revealing a glass door.

And beyond it, a massive gate was revealed.

A storm of mana began to blow in.

Even with the glass door between us and the gate, the flow of mana was ferocious.

Its current pressed down on my entire body.

“Do you know what mana is?”

“…I know it as a power that fills other worlds.”

“Correct. That is why creatures living in such worlds become imbued with mana…”

She paused for a moment, as if lost in thought.

“When the mana imbued in a body condenses, it eventually hardens like a stone and becomes a physical organ for manipulating mana…”

She glanced back over her shoulder. I followed her gaze and saw the plaque I had just received.

“That is a Magic Stone. And we call the creatures that can wield supernatural powers by manipulating mana in this way, monsters.”

She took a light step forward. I struggled beside her, pushing through the mana.

When we reached the glass door, she slowly extended her arm. Without any contact, the door opened on its own.

At the same time, the storm of mana rushed in even more violently.

“Hahk.”

My breath caught in my throat. This was too—

Fwooh—

She pursed her lips and blew a gentle stream of air.

The pressure of the mana gradually subsided.

I could feel it. The wisp of air she’d blown was circling around us, controlling the flow of mana.

“However, in some worlds, the density of that mana is exceptionally high… In those cases, even the elements themselves—fire, water, wind—become imbued with mana… and become monsters in their own right. As if a soul has inhabited something inanimate…”

She paused for a moment, then turned to me with a smile.

“Do you understand now? Why we are ‘Elemental’?”

“Not elements, but spirits?”

“Correct. Gate 2. Commonly known as the ‘Spirit World’.”

She wore an expression brimming with pride.

“And the guild that currently manages the Spirit World is Elemental.”

*

We walked slowly toward the gate.

“…Of course, other countries have gates that lead to the Spirit World as well. But in the end, it is ‘Elemental’ that manages them.”

I had heard about that. The Elemental guild had branches in various countries around the world.

There were countries where I’d wondered, ‘Why don’t they build a branch here?’ and others where I’d thought, ‘Why did they build a branch here?’

So the criterion had been the existence of a gate leading to the Spirit World.

“I, uh, had only heard rumors of the ‘Spirit World.’ I just found out now that it actually exists. And don’t ‘Spirit Summoners’ get a spirit from the very beginning, when they Awaken?”

Spirit Summoners. They controlled spirits, just as the name implied.

They were a popular class, since the spirits did all the work for them and formed a contract to stay by their side, but the trait was exceedingly rare.

Thinking back, most of them had been Elemental Mages.

She shook her head.

“No. Spirits, in essence, are still monsters from another world… You cannot obtain one from the very beginning. And information about the ‘Spirit World’ is controlled…”

“What? Why—”

“Spirits are different from other monsters and are comparatively difficult to manage. And because it’s a world with such high mana density, if an accident were to occur, it would be incredibly difficult to handle… So it’s simply easier to control the information… Though the control isn’t perfect, of course.”

“Ah… I see.”

We had now arrived directly in front of the gate. A tremendous amount of mana was swirling, but blocked by Jin Harin’s wind, only a low humming sound reached us.

“So, aren’t you curious why I brought you to this gate?”

I didn’t know what it was, but this had to be the main event.

“…I am curious. And I’m looking forward to it.”

“Today, I am going to recommend you to the spirits.”