episode_0016

Several hours had passed as I explained about magic. Choi Ye-bin, who was sitting beside me, seemed to be genuinely interested, and even Riena (love peace) didn’t say anything, given her status as a magician.

“How do you know all of this? I feel like my magical abilities have improved tremendously since you started teaching me!” Riena exclaimed excitedly. She expressed gratitude for feeling that her spellcasting had become more refined and that areas she had previously been unsure or vague about had now been completely resolved.

“You said theory and practice are quite different, but it’s really true! It seems like your mana capacity isn’t very large, considering you don’t feel any mana at all. How did you manage to study all these theories?”

“It’s not that my mana amount is small; it’s just temporarily unusable.”

Riena tilted her head as if to ask what I meant, but I didn’t feel the need to explain in detail, especially given the complexity of explaining the 24-hour limit.

The study of magic ultimately requires crafting and using one’s own spells to understand it. Even the saying “seeing is believing” applies to simple labor, let alone magic that turns imagination into reality. As someone who can handle almost all types of magic, it’s only natural that I excel in theory.

“Anyway, thank you so much! If there’s anything you want from me in return, I’ll do it!”

When she made the offer, I responded without hesitation.

“Then, could you let me stay here for just one day?”

“W-What?!”

Riena looked surprised, covering herself with her arms and stepping back.

“Well… I did say I’d grant your wish, but we’re not even in a relationship… I mean, I do think you’re impressive for being so knowledgeable about theory and intellectual, but behaving intimately with someone you’ve just met today seems a bit…”

Riena started rambling. Suspecting a misunderstanding about staying the night, she promptly corrected herself.

“I didn’t mean it that way. I just have nowhere to go right now. Someone I know is supposed to pick me up tomorrow, but it’s too dangerous to stay outside until then. So, I’m asking if I can stay just for tonight. If there’s an extra room, please let me and my friend sleep there.”

“Ugh…”

Riena looked troubled, then quickly lowered her head.

“This is the first time a man will stay at our house… but since he taught me magic theory, I’ll let him stay tonight! But not in this room. You can’t sleep anywhere else. If you go out and run into my mother, we’ll be kicked out.”

“What about it?”

“You, Manager, can sleep downstairs, and over there… I’ll sleep with him on the bed.”

As Riena pointed at Choi Ye-bin and spoke, Choi Ye-bin, without concern, looked straight at me and replied, “It’s uncomfortable to sleep on the bed, so I’ll sleep downstairs. It’s more familiar to me.”

“But sleeping there might hurt your back…”

Choi Ye-bin didn’t respond and closed her eyes.

Be a bit gentler.

Well, assuming that the novel Killer Choi Ye-bin had possessed was indeed crazy, that girl might have killed dozens, or perhaps hundreds of people. Her emotions would have worn thin, and forming connections with people would have become even more difficult.

Since I received one-sided kindness and followed her instructions truthfully, she wasn’t as hostile as she seemed to be, enough to take advantage of me, someone she met today.

“Let’s call it a night for today since it’s already late.”

With that, Riena lay on the bed, and Choi Ye-bin and I found a place in the corner and drifted off to sleep.

— — —

After sleeping until quite late, when Choi Ye-bin woke up, she sat up first, rested her back against the floor, and observed her surroundings.

“Aren’t you tired? Did you sleep well?”

“…I slept okay. I’m not used to sleeping much anyway.”

Riena took a deep breath from the bed and exhaled repeatedly, slipping into a deep sleep.

Choi Ye-bin starts the conversation.

“You seem too naive. What would you do if we were to attack you?”

It was a fundamental question. No matter how much she explained the theory of magic, it was usually difficult for newcomers to understand why she was accommodating them in her room.

“People have different tendencies. Maybe because I revealed that I am the administrator of the Myeolso Gate, their guard is down.”

“Even so…”

“Maybe it’s because we are from the same community.”

Myeolso Gate. Those who transmigrated into novels live their lives while observing the characters. Even though the characters have the same appearance and way of speaking as humans, their identities are not entirely the same. The commonality of living on Earth, especially in Korea, formed a significantly strong bond.

“Being from the same community might make them more friendly…”

Upon hearing this, Choi Ye-bin slowly nodded.

“Perhaps that could have an influence. After all, those in the Myeolso Gate are the only Koreans who can build a sense of belonging to their homeland.”

As I watched her staring blankly out the window, one curiosity suddenly arose.

“But why did you follow me from the novel where you originally transmigrated?”

“You know why. I transmigrated into a crazy novel. I never had a proper rest. When I closed my eyes, bandits and raiders attacked, and there were countless bastards trying to violate me. If I could escape, I wanted to do it right away. That place was nothing short of hell for me. I didn’t want to die, I wanted to escape. So I endured each day. That’s when the administrator came.”

“Have you ever thought to doubt me? I could be a bad person.”

“Is there any point in doubting you?”

“Well… You would know if I lied.”

“No, it’s not because of that ability. It’s because of you, Administrator. You’re strong. If I had thought you were going to do something bad, I would have sensed it when we first met. Even at our first meeting, I was dying, and if you hadn’t administered the elixir, I would have died from excessive bleeding. And if you hadn’t saved me afterwards, I would have died as well. To me, you are a benefactor. You risked your life to save me when I was on the brink of death, and even pulled me out of that hell.”

“When you talk to me, you speak well. Try to get along with other people too. Rienna seems like a nice person.”

“That might be difficult. I don’t want to get close to just anyone.”

“Alright… Do as you please.”

After the brief conversation with Choi Ye-bin, I fell asleep. Despite looking worn out, she seemed all the more reliable.

Even after waking up from a nap, Rienna was still asleep. I turned on the terminal screen.

ㅇㅇ – Title: Did the Administrator Die? Posting hundreds of articles a day and suddenly no news.

Seriously.

ㄴ ㅇㅇ – killer He’s not posting suddenly either. Seems like this guy is the Administrator’s alternate account.

ㄴ ㅇㅇ – Or maybe he died? There were rumors that the Administrator died and got replaced.

ㄴ ㅇㅇ – Administrator Damn it, before you die, release all the research log episodes!

ㄴAdministrator – Why should I?

ㄴㅇㅇ – This guy didn’t die?

ㄴAdministrator – What’s there to die about? At least I’ll live longer than you.

ㄴㅇㅇ – Ah, damn it. Things are already tough enough these days, why curse us more

ㄴAdministrator – Alpaca.

ㄴㅇㅇ – You go die

As soon as I entered, I exchanged heartwarming banter with my forum friends.

Having almost died right after coming to meet Love Peace, I inadvertently neglected the terminal. I immediately started typing up a post.

Administrator – Title: Almost Died Yesterday Evening

But dramatically survived. The great Administrator does not die.

ㄴ ㅇㅇ – Did you really almost die?

ㄴ ㅇㅇ – Kabbi

ㄴ MindlessPraiser – Darn it, I accidentally read the Administrator’s post again. I must praise.

Administrator – Title: Curious about the Archmage’s Research Log?

There’s still content I haven’t released. Should I release more?

ㄴ ㅇㅇ – Please! Please! Please! Please tell us!

ㄴ ㅇㅇ – If you do, I’ll praise your posts every day.

ㄴ ㅇㅇ – I’m a wizard, please give me some information.

Administrator – Title: Feeling bored, let’s have a banter party with anyone.

If I like it, I’ll reveal more of the Grand Sorcerer’s research journal.

ㄴ ObsessiveBarker – Woof woof! Woof woof! Woof woof woof!

ㄴ ㅇㅇ – Ugh, this guy’s starting to provoke again.

As I chuckled while scrolling through the comments, Choi Ye-bin, who was next to me, looked at me with a strange expression. It seemed I had misunderstood as she let out a shallow sigh and lowered her head.

“Ahem…”

I cleared my throat and refreshed the page to check the newly posted comments. With the administrator’s return after a long time (not even 24 hours), the bulletin board was once again bustling with activity.

However, the Grand Sorcerer’s research journal that I had casually posted seemed to attract a lot of begging comments, probably because the information on mass slaughter magic was considered advanced.

ㅇㅇ – Sir, I feel like I’m going to die in this possessed place. Could you please share any other information? I really beg of you…

ㅇㅇ – Administrator, I read the material you posted before. It helped broaden my perspective. Could you share the research journal with me privately through secret comments?

However, it wasn’t just people begging for information. My detractor posts also began to appear one by one.

ㅇㅇ – Title: Administrator, this guy acts like he has something when he doesn’t

This guy, from what I can see, has already revealed all the research journals he picked up. He doesn’t possess any information, but he’s lucky to have revealed advanced information and is receiving praise, so he doesn’t want to end that. He acts like there’s something left, like he knows something, but when you look closely, there’s nothing at all, right?

ㄴ ㅇㅇ – Seriously lol, the administrator keeps provoking but doesn’t share any information. Honestly, after releasing part 1 and immediately teasing part 2, I was looking forward to part 3, but that was it.

I.

ㄴ ㅇㅇ – We were foolish to have expected anything. Honestly, did any of us really think the admin was impressive? I used to praise them for providing such useful information in this chaotic gallery… but not anymore. They’re just a lunatic obsessed with stirring up trouble. They picked up the second part of the research journal and spilled it all at once, now pretending there’s more to come. Ridiculous.

II.

I briefly pondered as I read the countless scathing comments. Should I just play dumb and ignore it? Or should I throw some fuel into the gallery fire? It didn’t take long to decide. With this much attention, it calls for a fitting piece of bait. I immediately started writing a post and uploaded it right after typing every word.

III.

Title: Research Journal of a Battle-Hardened Archmage Part 3

Time since posting: 10 minutes

350 comments and 120 likes.

IV.

ㅇㅇ – Is this for real…?

ㅇㅇ – What the hell… what is this?

MindlessPraiser – Damn, it’s the admin again! We must worship the admin!

ㅇㅇ – Wow… wait… is this even okay? Can they do this?

ㅇㅇ – The admin is a god!

ㅇㅇ – This is crazy… there’s going to be some controversy over this, right?

[Title: Research Journal of a Battle-Hardened Archmage Part 3 – How to Teleport to Another Dimension Using Warp Magic]

For the first time, I found myself on the popular page without the help of admin functions.