Trainee Day 1 (2)

A single, thin film of water—

An odd description, perhaps, but that’s what my first gate felt like.

Passing through that thin film, a sweltering heat hit me.

Unlike the damp mugginess of Earth, this was a heat that felt like magic clinging to my body.

So this is why she didn’t want to come.

I remembered Han Na-ri sighing heavily in the car.

The first thing I saw upon entering was a wide, open area and a guild base that looked like several shipping containers stacked together.

And beyond that, an endless green jungle surrounding us, contrasted by a crimson sky.

Jungle filled my vision no matter where I looked. The clearing was like an island set in a sea of green.

“The jungle’s grown quite a bit. Everyone, head to the base and take a short break!”

Inside the base—it was hot. Extremely so. Hotter than outside. Like a sauna. Come on, Flame Immunity, do your thing. You could handle that other high temperature, so why aren’t you working now?

Park Yu-seok rummaged through his bag and pulled out a box. He opened it, turned it upside down over the table in the center of the base, and tipped out a square object.

When I got closer, I saw it was a block of translucent ice coated in frost. A cool air emanated from it, bringing relief.

Soon, the chill spread throughout the base, cooling the air. Ah, that’s more like it. Now I feel like I can breathe.

“Alright, listen up. We’ll start from the north and burn all the plants that have grown inside the defensive line. The line is supposed to have a magical barrier to block monsters, but the vegetation might be interfering with the mana flow. We’ll stick together just in case. Park Yu-seok and Ahn Su-jin, you’ll raise earth walls and use wind to help control the burn. Any questions? No? Let’s move out.”

*

The closer I got to the jungle, the more I was struck by its sheer density. Countless massive trees and thick undergrowth.

But that was the jungle proper, beyond our defensive line. Our target was the ground in front of it, which was completely covered in vines. It was unnerving not knowing what might be lurking beneath them, but—

—as it turned out, there was nothing but vines.

In fact, I was surprised there were no animals at all, only vines.

Back on Earth, if you walk through a field, there are always small signs of life—insects crawling, birds flying.

The complete absence of such movement and sound here made it feel all the more unnatural and a little creepy.

Though, of course, I could faintly hear cries from the distance every now and then.

Han Na-ri, Han Na-eun, and I set everything ablaze while Ahn Su-jin controlled the direction with wind. We could control the flames ourselves, of course, but her wind made it much easier and saved a lot of mana.

If the fire threatened to spread beyond the defensive line, Park Yu-seok would raise an earth wall to block it.

As for me, I just zoned out and kept burning things.

And man, did it burn well.

Once you got a good fire going, you didn’t even need to feed it much mana; it would burn on its own. The plants had their own innate magic, and that’s what fueled the flames.

I burned a bit here, adjusted the direction a bit there, chatted with my teammates, and before I knew it, we were almost done.

If a patch was resistant to the fire, we’d get closer to light it up. That was usually a job for Han Na-eun and me, since our firepower was stronger up close.

“So you started back in your third year of middle school?”

“I Awakened then, but I had to finish middle school, so after I graduated— Aack!”

Something shot out from the vines, snatched Han Na-eun’s ankle, and started dragging her back into the thicket.

Simultaneously,

Fwoosh—!

Ahn Su-jin’s wind blasted the area, sending plants and vines flying in every direction and revealing what was inside.

“Kiek—!”

There was Han Na-eun being dragged along the ground, and fleeing with her ankle in its grasp was… an orangutan? A sloth?

The moment the plants cleared and his view was open, Park Yu-seok stomped his foot—Thud!

An earth wall shot up in front of the ape-like creature, but it reached out a hand, and a vine from beyond the wall flew into its grasp.

Just as the creature grabbed the vine to swing over the wall, a massive barrier of fire erupted in front of it.

“Where do you think you’re going! That’s my sister!”

Startled, the creature let go of Han Na-eun.

“Aah!”

It ran straight for the wall of fire.

Huh? It’s going to be burned to a crisp, I thought, but just then, I saw a long vine appear over the barrier.

“Kyaaaa—!”

The creature let out a magic-infused shriek, tearing a hole in the fire wall, and the vine snaked through the opening.

The instant the creature grabbed for the vine, a fire arrow I’d launched pierced right through the vine’s upper section, burning it away.

The creature, along with the severed vine, fell and took a spectacular dive right into the wall of flames—

“Kieeeek—!”

An earth wall rose to protect Han Na-eun, who was still on the ground. Then, with the creature at its center, a massive flower of fire bloomed—Fwoom!

The creature, which had been screeching its head off, suddenly went silent, as if moved by the beauty of it all.

This all happened in a matter of seconds.

“Na-eun, are you okay?!”

“Ugh… I don’t think I’m seriously hurt. I’m sorry, sis.”

When we went over to her, we saw scrapes and scratches all over her body, and the handprint of the creature was still visible on her ankle.

“A Vine Orangutan. A Vitan,” Ahn Su-jin said with a sigh.

“They’re one of the more intelligent monsters here. It must have used that shriek to break through the defensive line. They’re curious creatures, so it probably just wanted to see what was going on. I’ll have to report this. More importantly, that was some nice shooting back there.”

“Yeah, that was a great shot! Guess my praise wasn’t for nothing, huh?” Han Na-ri said, her eyes sparkling. Once she confirmed her sister wasn’t badly hurt, her dark expression brightened.

“Thanks for helping my sister back there. I’ll be sure to mention this to the guild.”

“All I did was stop it from getting away.”

“Thanks to you, we got to burn that monster bastard to a crisp! That’s revenge for my sister, which means you helped her!”

“That’s right. Thank you,” Han Na-eun added.

“Accuracy aside, your reaction time was excellent. Most newcomers freeze up in unexpected situations like this,” Park Yu-seok added his own praise.

Hehe, they’re praising me.

*

Han Na-eun’s injuries weren’t too serious, so she decided to disinfect them and rest at the base.

The four of us had to finish the remaining work, but there wasn’t much left, so it ended quickly.

After we were done and resting back at the base (that block of ice is a godsend), Han Na-ri walked over and tossed something to me.

It was a sparkling, transparent crystal about the size of two thumbs put together. Something seemed to be flowing inside it… oh, it’s magic.

Then this must be—

“A magic stone.”

“Oh, so this is a magic stone?”

“Yup! Normally, small magic stones like this are finders-keepers, but I’m giving this one to you. Call it a rookie’s bonus. Sell it and buy yourself something tasty. It’s not an expensive one, though!”

“Oh, thank you.”

Ooh, so this is a magic stone. A faint blue light swirled within the transparent crystal. When I squeezed it in my hand, I could feel something flowing.

I guess you can’t really call yourself an Awakener until you’ve handled a magic stone.

*

After exiting the gate, we got back in the car and returned to the Elemental headquarters.

Han Na-ri went to file a report, while Han Na-eun went to the guild’s clinic for a check-up, just in case.

I said goodbye to Ahn Su-jin and Park Yu-seok and headed to the guild’s magic stone exchange.

“That’ll be 223,000 won. Would you like that in cash?”

This tiny thing is worth over 200,000 won? No wonder Awakeners make so much money.

“What are the other options besides cash?”

“We can also give you an equivalent value in Elemental Sensitivity Potions.”

The magic stone exchange was an institution that converted magic stones into other things, with branches run by both the government and the guilds.

However, the government-run exchanges gave you more money because they took a smaller cut in taxes.

Therefore, to acquire magic stones, guilds either offered a higher payout to offset the tax difference or exchanged them for unique, guild-specific items.

It seemed ‘Elemental’ was the latter type.

“Is it possible to get part of it in cash and the rest in potions?”

“Yes, that’s possible.”

“In that case, please give me 100,000 won in cash and the rest in potions.”

“Understood. Please write down your desired element here and give me your guild ID or identification card. Okay, your request has been submitted. You can come back in two days with your guild ID to pick it up.”

Non-guild members could also use the service, but I heard guild members got more potions for their exchange.

“Yes, understood.”

*

[Mana: 425/1340]
[Essense: 700/1340]

I used less Essense than I expected.

I started with 1032, used 100 to revert my transformation, leaving me with 932. Since I’m now at 700, I’ve used 232 Essense, which translates to about 4,500 mana.

I have 700 Essense left, which is equivalent to 14,000 mana.

Since I had plenty of mana, I decided to go on another gate expedition as a trainee tomorrow.

Normally, trainees get a day off after clearing a gate, but since I wasn’t injured and had plenty of mana, I decided to go again right away.

They say you should keep at it while you’ve got the momentum, so I might as well. In fact, my Magic Power had already gone up by 1. It’s true that you have to enter gates to grow.

My life is exciting every single day. I’ve never felt like this before.

When I was studying, I never knew if I was actually improving, but as an Awakener, I can feel myself getting stronger day by day. The status window plays a big part in that, of course.

No wonder people are so desperate to become Awakeners.

This is the opportunity that’s come to me, and I have no intention of letting it go to waste.

Even if it means I have to live as… a succubus. But seriously, why a succubus of all things?

Anyway, I have some free time today. Maybe I’ll buy Shin-woo dinner.

I’m making good use of all that Essense you so generously provided.

Me: You free for dinner tonight?
Choi Shin-woo: Nah, I’m at the guild
Me: ah ok
Choi Shin-woo: Besides, I’m still sore down there, so no can do
Me: What are you talking about? I was just gonna buy you dinner
Choi Shin-woo: Oh, really?
Me: ?
Choi Shin-woo: Just kidding, just kidding.
Choi Shin-woo: Anyway, not today
Me: k

What’s with this guy?

My resolve from a moment ago—to live this life, even as a succubus—is already starting to fray.

Well, now I have nothing to do.

Should I try contacting that criminal, Yoo Yi-jun?

I need to get a feel for the life of an unregistered Awakener, after all.

Me: Do you remember me?

…No reply.

Guess I’ll just take it easy today—

Diring—

Criminal: Of course I remember you. How could I forget?
Criminal: You still haven’t registered?
Me: No, I haven’t.
Criminal: Oh, really? I thought you’d registered and then ghosted me.
Me: I told you, I can’t register due to certain circumstances.
Criminal: Right. So, what can I do for you?
Me: I want to try living as an unregistered Awakener. You said you’d help, right?
Criminal: I did. Today might be difficult, though.
Criminal: Still, want to try entering a gate? You’re an Awakener. You have to see what a gate is like.
Me: Isn’t it dangerous? I heard you’re supposed to get training before you go in.
Criminal: You think unregistered folks get that kind of treatment? It won’t be dangerous. I’ll be there.
Me: Oh.
Criminal: I’ll send you an address. Come there. I’ll finally get to learn your name today, right?

Oh, right. A name.

What should I choose for a name?

First, since I’m a succubus, maybe I’ll use the surname ‘Seo’?

Oh, good, ‘Seo’ is a real surname. Okay, ‘Seo’ it is.

Now for the first name… Even if it’s an alias, I need to be able to react when someone calls it.

Should I just use ‘Han-gyeol’?

It sounds too masculine, and using my real name is a bad idea. How about I keep the ‘gyeol’ part and change the first syllable?

Seo Ha-gyeol? Seo A-gyeol?

Alright.

Seo A-gyeol, time to make your debut!

Ding—

[Seo A-gyeol (Succubus)
Trait: Succubus
-Skill (P): Essense Absorption (Lv.2)
-Skill (P): Mana Absorption (Lv.1)
Sub-trait: Optimal Physique
-Skill (A): Body Recovery (Lv.1)
-Skill (A): Body Enhancement (Lv.1)
Sub-trait: Demonic Seduction
-Skill (P): Flowing Desire (Lv.2)
-Skill (A): Devil’s Whisper (Lv.2)
Trait: Transformation – Lee Han-gyeol
-Skill (A): Revert Transformation (Lv.1)
Strength: 78
Magic Power: 134
Essense: 700/1340
Mana: 425/1340]