Chapter Index

    By the time the reception following the entrance ceremony ended, it was already dark outside. I bid farewell to Yena and made my way to the dormitory assigned to me.

    “Welcome to the dormitory. Please refrain from making noise after midnight, ensure that no light escapes through the windows, and remember that bringing outsiders into the dormitory may result in disciplinary action. Especially if caught bringing in female students, expulsion may be considered. Despite our warnings, there are always those who break the rules every year…haha…”

    The elderly caretaker led the way down the path, reciting the rules in a monotone voice. The magical lights floating ahead of him illuminated the dark forest path.

    “We have arrived. This is the dormitory assigned to student Eugene Hyun. Please make yourself comfortable as if it were your own room. If you have any emergencies, just press the call bell. Well then…”

    After giving the instructions, the caretaker nodded and headed back the way we came. I returned the greeting and turned to inspect the dormitory building.

    The dormitory was a stone building erected on a flat ground amidst beautiful fir trees. Despite being a temporary assignment, it seemed like I had been allocated a private room thanks to my recommendation for admission.

    It was located a certain distance away from the neighboring dormitories, creating a serene atmosphere. It seemed like there were dozens of dormitories like this one. I wonder how vast the grounds are…

    However, according to the professor’s explanation earlier, changes in accommodation were possible based on the ranking list received later on.

    So, even if my intention is not to approach Yeomin, it seems necessary to maintain a high rank.

    I am consciously suppressing the manifestation of my abilities now, but as the commander mentioned, if I fall asleep, my abilities will leak out to the surroundings. I want to avoid the inconvenience of being caught by others due to something as trivial as sleep.

    Using the key I received, I unlocked the door and entered, greeted by a dark wooden floor and elegant furniture.

    The bed was spacious enough for two people. With two rooms in the dormitory, it seemed versatile for various uses.

    The size of just one room was already larger than the modest house I lived in with my mother before. There was no need to mention the accommodations at the northeastern military base.

    The overflowing elegance felt somewhat awkward, but I have no choice but to adapt now…

    I explored the room, and as requested, there was no mirror in sight. The thick blackout curtains neatly arranged by the window seemed capable of completely blocking out any light reflection.

    -Knock, knock!

    Satisfied that all my requests were accommodated, I approached the window to adjust the curtains. At that moment, a faint tapping sound echoed from outside.

    I opened the window and cautiously looked out to identify the source of the noise.

    “Ah…”

    Perched on the window frame outside was a crow with a familiar appearance. The white feathers on its head caught my attention.

    It was the crow belonging to Mok Jinwoo, whom I had met in the silver moonlight of the capital before. I recalled seeing this bird loitering around the commander’s office several times during my time in the military.

    The crow, instead of carrying a note on its leg, held a large scroll in its beak. As I opened the window, it hopped into the room and spat out the scroll onto the desk.

    With its beak now free, the crow stared at me, then opened its beak. But instead of chirping like a normal bird, the rough and gruff voice of Mok Jinwoo came out.

    “Hey there, kid. I’ve sent over the materials related to the information you requested last time. One is a summary of the introduction to elemental studies, and the other is a copy of a journal that was kept separately by the Information Bureau. Elemental studies are taught even from infancy, so it shouldn’t be a problem, but the journal is classified as top secret, so I hope you destroy it immediately after reading. And as you requested, I haven’t informed Jae-hyuk, so rest assured, and if you need anything else, feel free to come by anytime. If you ever feel lonely in a foreign land, even if it’s a woman…”

    “…I’ll give it to you, now.”

    -Caw!

    The crow incessantly repeated Jin-woo’s words like a recording device. But it seemed like there was no need to listen further.

    I threw the crow out the window and quickly closed the curtains. The crow protested a few times but soon flew away into the dark sky.

    “…Even if they don’t communicate with me for as long as I do, they can easily record and deliver short messages. Mimicking human speech is easy for crows. They have been intelligent animals even before becoming familiars. And now, mutated by particle influence, they are even more capable.”

    Suddenly, I recalled the words the headmaster had told me in the greenhouse. I envy the other sorcerers who can tame crows. It was impossible for me from the start because I lack the inherent particles needed for taming.

    I wonder if the commander and the sisters have arrived in the east by now. It’s a bit annoying to think about the commander who never revealed the mission details no matter how much I asked.

    If I had a personal crow, I could have communicated with them more smoothly.

    “…”

    I let out a sigh and turned my gaze to the file folder that the crow had left on the desk.

    Since I was doomed to sleep early today, I decided to check the information Jin-woo had sent me.

    I might as well lie in bed and toss and turn all night with depressing thoughts. Honestly, I’m curious about what the curse of the elemental mage is.

    I pulled out the chair in front of the desk and unlocked the mask’s mechanism, placing it within reach.

    Even though it was indoors, taking off the mask made me feel a refreshing breeze seeping in.

    The file folder Jin-woo sent me was divided into two parts. I decided to start by checking the summary of elemental studies. It seemed like he sent it to help me grasp the basic concepts of elemental studies.

    With the help of the dim indoor light, I started reading the text written on the high-quality paper.

    “…The exact origin of elementals has not been revealed yet, but currently, the hypothesis that they arrived on Earth during the meteor shower event along with Bessel particles from that time is considered the most plausible. Their unique form, which cannot be explained by conventional biological mechanisms, supports this hypothesis. Additionally, the fact that they are extremely particle-sensitive beings, to the extent of being called living within particles, is another strong piece of evidence for this hypothesis…”

    Unfamiliar words popped up one after another, requiring some time to understand.

    Meteor shower. If I remember correctly from what I learned in school, it’s a term used to describe the day when a large meteor shower fell to the ground about a hundred years ago.

    The impact of that day caused over 150 countries to disappear in an instant, and our country also lost significant territorial control on that day.

    Furthermore, from that day onwards, the Bessel particles carried by the meteor entered the Earth, and under the influence of those particles, humans gained sensitivity and were called sorcerers.

    There, not only humans but also some indigenous creatures were affected by particles, causing mutations, which are now known as the origins of the spirits.

    In fact, we knew very little about spirits to begin with, but it’s a bit surprising to think that they are not mutated spirits of Earth’s indigenous creatures, but rather came from beyond the stars.

    -…So, in a way, spirits can be seen as creatures that share the history and trajectory of magic. Over fifty different types of spirits have been reported in the academic world so far, with new species being discovered at regular intervals. As mentioned earlier, spirits are invisible and shapeless. They don’t even have an impact when they enter our bodies. This is because they have the ecological characteristic of inhabiting the gap between the material world and emptiness. However, a very few magicians can see spirits, and it is even possible to use them to cast powerful spirit magic. We call magicians with such talents spirit users.

    The description of spirits was now transitioning to an explanation of the definition of spirit users.

    -…The reason spirit users can perceive spirits is that the part of the brain responsible for specific functions usually closed off to ordinary people has an open pathway to the outside world. Additionally, the brain of a spirit user constantly emits unique frequencies through this pathway, and the surrounding spirits instinctively gather towards the source of these frequencies. By manipulating these gathered spirits and using them as mediums, the basic principle of spirit magic is established.

    I was able to clearly understand the definition of spirit users, which I had vaguely known about before.

    -…Spirit magic has several advantages compared to conventional modern magic. It is safe to say that spirit users have no risk of particle depletion in practical situations. This is because, except for the minimal amount consumed as food for the spirits, internal particle depletion hardly occurs. Furthermore, while the effectiveness of emission-based magic decreases as the distance to the impact point increases, spirit magic, with the spirits serving as mediums, maintains its effectiveness even at long distances. Additionally, spirit users are directly connected to the spirits they manipulate, making the activation of magic much faster than ordinary magicians. Even in this age of particle arrays and their widespread use…

    -…Of course, it cannot be said that spirit magic has no disadvantages at all. Due to the complex and vast structure of spirit magic, it is impossible to transfer it to particle arrays, so spirit users inevitably have to utilize their brains for calculations. As a result, since spirit magic consumes most of the brain’s resources, spirit users often cannot use other types of magic or may not excel in them. Moreover, if the number or variety of spirits being manipulated is high, the users may experience slight mental strain while controlling them, leading to mild nightmares or auditory hallucinations. However, compared to the various advantages brought by spirit magic, this is a very minor…

    …In summary, spirits are extraterrestrial life forms that have flowed into the Earth from beyond the stars, invisible and shapeless. Therefore, not only ordinary people but also most magicians are completely unaware of the existence of spirits.

    However, there are some magicians with an ‘open pathway’ in the part of their brain responsible for specific functions, who can see spirits and even manipulate them through spirit magic. And the term used to refer to such individuals is spirit users.

    “…”

    But based on the content so far, there didn’t seem to be anything particularly grand or ominous about the so-called ‘curse of the spirit users.’

    While it was mentioned that they could experience mild nightmares or auditory hallucinations, it seemed unlikely that people would label such minor side effects as a curse…

    Furthermore, the curse of the spirit users seemed to be a term used exclusively within the Yeon family, rather than a universally accepted term.

    I turned my gaze. There lay the ‘journal’ sent by Mok Jinwoo. Perhaps the answers I was seeking might be written here.

    I soon began to unfold and read the journal.

    The former owner of the journal was Yeon Jayu, the second head of the Yeon family of the Jeokhwa clan. Judging by the dates written, it seemed to be from roughly several decades ago.

    The journal contained a compilation of research results and questions from the time when the basic spirit magic was established. I could understand why Mok Jinwoo instructed to destroy it immediately upon confirmation. Although I didn’t know how it was obtained, if it were known that such valuable information was in the possession of an outsider, it would surely cause a great uproar.

    In the early pages of the journal, there were contents similar to the introduction of the elemental magic theory I had just read. The fact that there was not much difference indicated that the theoretical concepts of elemental magic were already established during that time and continued to be passed down unchanged.

    -… We express it as the ‘channel’ or ‘spiritual eye,’ but strictly speaking, it can be seen as a patient with a mental disorder in a specific part of the brain. In extreme terms, spirits are like parasites. They seek out humans with an open ‘channel’ and cling to them to plunder their internalized particles. Moreover, this cannot be controlled by the individual. If a spirit mage is a magnet, then spirits can be considered iron filings, as they continue to cling regardless of the individual’s will. Spirit magic is simply a way to manipulate these attached spirits, and there is currently no way to completely expel or summon them.

    The description written by the head of the prestigious family of spirit magic felt quite radical. Parasites, you say. Does that mean a spirit mage is a sorcerer who controls parasites…?

    -… Of course, spirits are very small creatures, and even if they consume a small amount of internalized particles, it does not cause much harm to the body. The problem lies in the mental aspect, not the physical.

    And as I flipped through a few more pages, I finally discovered significant information not found in the elemental magic theory.

    -… Communication between a spirit mage and a spirit is mediated by Vesel particles. Furthermore, this is not a one-way communication but a two-way communication. Just as we use the channel to manipulate spirits, spirits also use the channel to plunder our particles. They even transmit the visions they have seen and felt from beyond the universe.

    -… If a spirit mage with only a small number of attached spirits, these visions are limited to occasional mild nightmares or very faint hallucinations due to the subconscious defense mechanism. However, with a broad bandwidth of frequencies and high Rubin values, in other words, talented spirit mages, spirits that surpass the limits of the defense mechanism attach themselves…

    -… In that case, the defense mechanism can no longer handle it and collapses, eventually creating a hole in the barrier through which countless visions of spirits pour into our consciousness. The biggest problem we face now stems from this…

    -… Our family, with its particularly sensitive spiritual senses, was able to develop spirit magic and rise to the forefront of the lineage, but at the cost of experiencing side effects that ordinary spirit mages do not face…

    -… Apart from a little foresight, there is not a single advantage, and preventing the collapse of the defense mechanism is our family’s ultimate goal…

    -Once the defense mechanism is breached by spirits, it can no longer fulfill its role, leaving us vulnerable to danger. We are exposed not only to the eerie landscapes sent by spirits but also to things from other worlds that we were never meant to see. This is the fundamental reason why we are plagued by hallucinations, illusions, and nightmares…

    -…I, too, feel that nightmares and hallucinations are getting worse. Recently, I started having dreams of being chased by a woman standing upside down with a knife in her mouth and eyes wide open, and the distance is getting closer…

    Yeonzayu’s journal ended with a calm description of the nightmares she had dreamed.

    In the materials separately sent by Mok Jinwoo, the ages and causes of death of the direct descendants of the Yeon family’s historical painters were listed.

    Dying in their thirties and forties was common, and hardly anyone survived past fifty.

    Causes of death included suicide, suicide, mysterious death, heart failure, suicide, accidental death, heart failure, mysterious death…

    Yeonzayu, too, was written to have died of heart failure in her early forties, the day after she wrote her last journal entry.

    Since these side effects were unlikely to have been leaked to the outside world, I couldn’t help but think that those who didn’t know the circumstances might have labeled Yeon family’s situation as the “curse of the spirit master.”

    When members of a powerful spirit master family exhibit abnormal behavior and die young, it’s only natural to call it a curse.

    Moreover, these symptoms were not present in all spirit masters, but only in the members of the Yeon family who were born with strong talents, making it even more eerie.

    On the other hand, I felt like I might understand why the Yeon family’s direct descendants had a reputation for their ruined personalities.

    If one is plagued by hallucinations and delusions all day long and can’t even find peace in their dreams, where can they find peace of mind?

    Of course, their arrogant and impulsive nature is a different issue…

    Now that the confirmation was over, I decided to burn the materials as Mok Jinwoo had suggested.

    -Tadak…

    As I watched the paper burning, a question suddenly crossed my mind.

    Even if a spirit master with mediocre abilities experiences light nightmares, the members of the prestigious Yeon family, known for their spirit master lineage, experience much more severe side effects.

    Yeonzayu, the owner of the journal, was a person from several decades ago, yet she suffered from severe hallucinations, delusions, and nightmares throughout her life.

    And now Yeon Minha, the successor of Yeon family, was rumored to be the strongest spirit master in the family’s history.

    With the accumulated blood and talent passed down through generations finally blooming in her.

    But if Yeon Minha inherited such powerful spirit master abilities…

    What is she seeing now?

    ***

    “Ugh… ugh…”

    In the dim moonlight of dawn, a soft whimper emerged from the bed by the window.

    “Ugh! Huk…!”

    After tossing and turning violently for a while, the girl’s eyes suddenly snapped open. The blanket was damp with the cold sweat she had shed.

    “Haa… haa…”

    The girl, sitting up in bed, tried to calm her mind by splashing her face with cold water. Yeon Minha had not been able to sleep properly for days. She couldn’t even remember the last time she had dreamt peacefully.

    Yeon Minha’s nightmares were always filled with strange and incomprehensible landscapes. Giant eyes hovering in the sky glared at her, and she saw something gesturing from the abyss swallowing the stars. There were also dreams of endlessly walking through a strange and desolate alien desert with two suns and two moons.

    “…”

    Lowering the hand covering her face, Yeon Minha turned her gaze inward. At that moment, the sinister laughter that had been echoing beyond the darkness abruptly stopped. She looked down at the floor. Among several shadows, her own shadow seemed unusually long. As if hiding something within it.

    Nightmares were now corroding her reality. It had been a long time since she stopped taking the anti-psychotic drugs made by the top pharmaceutical company. The cycle of auditory hallucinations and visual distortions was getting shorter. The talent of a shaman had turned into a curse, tightening its grip around Yeonmin’s throat, just like it had done to her ancestors.

    But the recent dream was somewhat alien. In fact, it was ambiguous to even call it a nightmare. Yeonmin vividly recalled the contents of the dream that felt as real as her suffering reality.

    She was alone in a mist-filled primeval forest. Her body was covered in blood, and the tattered robe she wore had long lost its functionality with cracks and breaks all over. The surroundings were engulfed by sinister red shadows, with no escape route in sight.

    In front of Yeonmin stood a man, also drenched in blood. Not a single unbroken bone could be seen on his body.

    However, the man’s demeanor remained steadfast. He stood behind her, relentlessly cutting through countless red shadows. Delicate flowers turned red, and the thick blood on the ground flowed like a river.

    “…Are you afraid? Of the spirits…?”

    Yeonmin murmured softly. The fear emanating from the spirits clinging to her felt just as intense as when she remembered the man’s back. It was a powerful disturbance she had never experienced before.

    “Who on earth…?”

    Yeonmin was perplexed by the stranger’s reaction. Desperately trying to recall the man’s identity, she replayed the dream in her mind.

    The man’s face still remained unseen.

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