Why the Hell Isn’t My Mana Regenerating?

“Normally, how much mana do you get back from a low-grade mana potion?”

I asked the instructor standing next to me.

“Hmm… Since you’re a C-rank who just Awakened, it should probably fill about half your mana?”

No way.

Thinking it might be defective, I drank about half of the potion I’d received after completing the mandatory Awakener training.

[Mana: 238/1220]

This was ridiculous.

“Um… uh… is it possible for it to fill… less than that?”

“Well? Low-grade mana potions have less variance, so it should be at least 40%—”

He must have seen the look on my face, because he quickly added, “Maybe around 30%? But don’t worry too much. Once your proficiency increases and you level up, you’ll be able to use them more efficiently. Seeing how quickly you passed the test, you should be able to raise it in no time.”

*

I had a problem, but I had Awakened nonetheless. I should probably call my parents.

“Hey Mom, I Awakened.”

-Really? I’m so proud of you, son. Congratulations.

“It wasn’t me, just luck.”

-Still, the important thing is that it happened. So what type are you?

“Magic-type, C-rank. But they said I can get to B-rank soon.”

-Oh~. So are you going to start working as an Awakener? What about college?

“I’ll see how it goes and decide then. For now, I’m going to take a leave of absence, try it out, and then decide whether to drop out or not.”

-Alright. Work hard. Congratulations, son.

“Yeah, thanks.”

And then my dad.

“Hey Dad. I Awakened.”

-Congratulations. So what are you going to do about school?

“I’ll see how it goes.”

-Okay, work hard.

“Yeah.”

Hmm, should I tell my other friends?

No, seeing the state of my mana regeneration, I might have to go back to college after all.

Haaah… What should I do? It’s not like I can go to the Awakened Center for a consultation.

The only person who knows about this situation… is you, fuck.

-Ahem. Hello.

“Hey, it’s me.”

-Oh, you’re back.

“I’m back.”

-Uh… congratulations.

Silence.

“I registered as an Awakener.”

-As that?!

“No, you idiot. I have two Traits, remember? I hid that one and just registered as an Elemental Mage.”

-Ah, right. Congratulations.

“I need some career advice. When are you free? My treat this time.”

-The earliest would be tonight?

“Sounds good. See you then. Where should we meet?”

-Uh… but by ‘advice,’ you don’t mean… ‘that,’ do you?

“You son of a bitch. I’m just asking you to dinner.”

-Ah, okay. Then let’s meet at that place we used to go to in high school.

“Alright.”

I had time to kill until dinner. Wondering what to do, my eyes fell on a stack of pamphlets.

I had nothing better to do, so I might as well look through them.

The most likely candidate was ‘Elemental.’

First off, it was a government-certified guild—though, to be fair, all the guilds here were government-certified.

Since it was a guild specializing in elemental mages, it offered relevant, specialized training, and I’d heard there were small groups for people who wielded the same element. I could probably learn a lot just by interacting with them.

It was the optimal environment for raising my elemental magic proficiency, and they provided continuous support with mana potions (though the fine print said, ‘Support may vary depending on contract’). It was a major guild for a reason.

Being a major guild, they also owned many gates and assigned members to locations best suited to their elemental affinity.

If it weren’t for the fact that mana potions had almost no effect on me, I would have joined immediately.

An Elemental Mage who was currently C-rank but could soon reach B-rank would probably get in easily.

Since it was an easy option, I’d put it on hold for now. Let’s see what else there was.

‘Merci Academy.’ This was less a guild and more an academy. A school specializing in healing magic.

Merci Academy had campuses all over the world, with the Korean campus located in Seoul.

Since healing mages couldn’t enter gates on their own, they would raise their proficiency at the academy and then join another guild, or sign a contract with another guild to join them temporarily while remaining affiliated with the academy.

Even so, the academy itself was treated as a government-certified guild. Due to the nature of healing magic, their contribution points would skyrocket! And so would their ranks!

I wasn’t a healing mage, so this was an automatic pass.

A Transformation-type guild called ‘Transformation.’ What’s with this guild name? The guild master here supposedly transformed into a dragon. Rumor had it that it was a fun place, overflowing with all sorts of Awakeners.

Since I wasn’t ‘officially’ a Transformation-type Awakener, this was rejected.

The Awakener Management Bureau? This was basically becoming a civil servant. It would probably give a lot of contribution points and help me rank up, but having Awakened, the thought of becoming a government employee wasn’t appealing. I’d put it on hold.

‘Yua Dokjon.’ This was the one Choi Shin-woo joined. It was a guild for Enhancement-types. I’d laughed at the ridiculously over-the-top name, but apparently, it was taken from the guild master’s past achievements.

There was once a major incident where a massive number of creatures from another world—monsters, that is—poured out of a gate. He supposedly took them all down single-handedly. According to eyewitnesses, he was, quite literally, ‘Yua Dokjon’—a world unto himself.

I was a Magic-type, so this was rejected.

And then…

-All Types Welcome! @In@fin@ite@ Exploration Beyond the Unknown Gate! $Un$lim$ited$ Opportunity! Recruiting for the ‘Expedition’ Guild! (Healing Mages Preferred)

One stood out.

The job was simple: explore unconfirmed areas beyond the gates. Simple in words, anyway.

Since they explored unknown worlds, improvisation was key, so there was very little interference from the guild. You formed an expedition team, submitted a plan to venture into a gate of your choice, and it would be approved. You had to submit a report, but you were guaranteed the rights to whatever you obtained during the expedition.

You could form a team with people from within the guild, or you could recruit from outside. The only condition was that the expedition leader had to be from the ‘Expedition’ guild.

So what did the guild do? It helped the expeditions run smoothly. It provided information about the environment around the gate, helped with contracts with other guilds, and secured government support—basically, it helped the expedition teams focus solely on their mission with peace of mind.

It would also sell valuable items obtained during an expedition on your behalf, though they took a commission in that case.

It also gave a surprising amount of contribution points. Exploring gates and expanding the scope of activity was beneficial to the nation, as it allowed for the acquisition of more resources. That’s why it received a lot of government support.

It looked good on paper.

But there’s always a reason why people don’t go to certain places.

The inside of a gate was another world. In other words, an unknown territory. And this was about entering the unknown parts of that unknown territory. There was no telling what might happen inside.

And even if you endured such dangers, there was no guarantee you’d find anything of value.

A classic high-risk, high-return.

Therefore, healing mages tended to avoid it, which only increased the risk.

Hmm…

If nothing else, the ‘freedom’ was a good point. I’d heard Choi Shin-woo complain a lot about how annoying his guild was.

And another thing I liked.

You never know what might happen inside. Doesn’t that mean no one would know if a man turned into a woman in there?

…You never know, right? Just in case.

I’d have to ask Choi Shin-woo about this.

Normally, I would have tried the guild experience programs that each guild offered, but since Essense was precious, I’d skip them.

The other guilds weren’t particularly noteworthy.

*

Lost in thought, I realized it was almost time for our meeting.

I was sitting in the restaurant we used to go to after cram school when Choi Shin-woo arrived.

“Hey, you made it.”

“…Are you okay? I’m, uh, sorry.”

“If you’re sorry, then give me some serious career advice.”

Choi Shin-woo fidgeted, watching my expression. I mean, given what he did… Normally, I would have been much more—

Hm? Even I think my reaction is surprisingly calm.

Looking back, aside from the hangover, there was a pleasant afterglow—

!!!

What was I just thinking!

“If you have any idea what you did, then help me.”

My tone turned icy, and Choi Shin-woo didn’t know what to do.

“I’m really sorry.”

“Just help me figure out which guild to join. The ones I’ve been thinking about are—”

“Shouldn’t you just go to Elemental? You can get in there if you’re an Elemental Mage who’s about to hit B-rank.”

“Hah, it’s more complicated than that.”

“What’s so complicated?”

“Mana potions don’t work on me. They have no effect.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“I got Essense from… you know. With you.”

“Uh… yeah… right? So?”

“I used the Essense to reverse my transformation. And when I did, I got a skill that converts Essense into mana. The efficiency isn’t bad—or should I say it is? I don’t know.”

“But what does that have to do with mana potions?”

“How should I know? Anyway, mana potions have no effect on me.”

“How little effect?”

“Even if I drink a whole low-grade one, it doesn’t even fill one-hundredth of my mana.”

“What…? But you don’t even have any proficiency yet. For real?”

“For real. That’s why it’s so complicated.”

A moment of silence.

“You’re not planning on staying in college, are you? How was your first semester?”

“Well, I enjoyed everything a freshman is supposed to enjoy. But other than that, it was whatever. If you were me, would you throw away this opportunity?”

“That’s true… You can even substitute military service with other activities.”

“Exactly.”

Another brief silence.

“Ah, I looked into it. What about the ‘Expedition’ guild?”

“Uh… why there all of a sudden?”

“It’s just that no one knows what happens inside, so who cares if I turn into a woman or a succubus in there?”

“Hmm…”

The key issue wasn’t just turning into a woman, but having to do that after turning into a woman. But Choi Shin-woo, pricked by his conscience, couldn’t bring himself to point that out.

He’s not stupid, he has to know. Is he just gritting his teeth and pretending not to?

“I don’t know, man. It’s too high-risk, high-return. And it’s a place for people with some experience. You’re still a new Awakener.”

“I guess you’re right.”

“Elemental is definitely good for building experience and proficiency. But Expedition is too dangerous since you never know what you’ll find. What about other guilds? Ones that aren’t specialized.”

“If I were going to join a different guild, I might as well just go to Elemental…”

“That’s true. What about being a freelancer? Ah, you’re probably a 9th-grade, right? That would be tough.”

Freelancers were basically mercenaries. Just like how you could contract with Merci Academy to temporarily hire a healing mage, you could sign a contract to work with a team temporarily. It was definitely freeing, but unstable.

Even on the same team, you earned less than a guild member and received fewer contribution points, making it hard to raise your rank.

And if you got mixed up with a weird guild, your rank and reputation would plummet.

Since you moved around a lot, you needed diverse experience, so it wasn’t a good choice for a new Awakener in many ways.

“How did things get so fucked up, haaah…”

“Hmm… But the problem is actually simple, isn’t it? It’s about how you get Essense, right? You just need to get Essense.”

“Right.”

“Well… my idea is, uh, that…”

Choi Shin-woo hesitated, debating whether to speak.

I had a bad feeling. I had a hunch what he was going to say. No, it couldn’t be.

Choi Shin-woo was also deep in thought.

Will he cut me off if I say it?

But this is the only way, and I’m the only one who can do it.

I might not get cut off, but I’ll probably get my ass kicked.

Still, I can’t forget. I can’t forget that night.

That touch, that heartbeat, that thrill, that flinch, that softness, that color, that firmness, that sound, that scent, that body, that beauty.

Just thinking about it made him hard.

How hard it had been in his studio apartment this morning. He’d barely managed to cover it with the blanket before leaving.

In the end, lust won out over friendship.

No, it wasn’t that lust had won. Rather, Choi Shin-woo told himself, this was for their friendship.

“I’ll help you get Essense.”

As the tip of his protruding underwear slowly grew damp.