A Newbie's Catastrophic Debut

Click.

I quietly opened the front door and slipped inside. After kicking off my shoes and stepping into the living room, I spotted my older sister sprawled on the sofa, still in her work clothes, fast asleep.

I stashed the meat I'd brought home in the fridge, then gently removed her outer layers and scooped her up into my arms.

"Mmnya."

My sister was sensitive to disturbances in her sleep—not the type to wake at a cat's cry outside, but not a deep sleeper either. Yet right now, she was out cold, oblivious even to someone carefully lifting her.

Tiptoeing with her cradled against me, I carried her into the bedroom. I laid her gently on the worn-out bed, pulled the covers over her, and slipped out. Before closing the door, I peeked in to make sure she was settled.

"Zzz."

Her slender neck and arms caught my eye as she lay there. That fragile body of hers, pushing through until midnight, dragging itself home exhausted. How long could she keep sacrificing her dreams for me and Yuseoah?

She was already frail. Keeping up this grueling schedule, it wouldn't be surprising if she collapsed someday. I needed to tell her to cut back on work right away.

But saying that now wouldn't make her quit—her stubbornness ran too deep.

She was the responsible type, after all. And if she stopped working tomorrow, we couldn't even cover next month's hospital bills.

But if I make enough money... Then she could finally rest.

Creeeak.

I eased the door shut and crashed on the living room sofa, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠staring at my phone screen. I opened the messenger app, tapped the link Gusechan had sent, and massive letters greeted me.

The ornate font flashed and vanished, replaced by a popup: I needed to verify my identity to see the posts.

Identity verification? In a mages' community, I tensed up, expecting something magical.

But tapping it led to a mundane telecom carrier selection screen—the same one everywhere. Tension melted away.

"Is this safe? They won't dox me or anything?"

Korea's telecom security is world-renowned. My worry was legit.

Anyway, as I pondered, something caught my eye in the corner of the screen. A translucent window blinked into view.

This must be it. Probably only visible to those with mage talent. How do they even code that?

I tapped the translucent window, and the screen shifted.

Flash.

"Gah! My eyes!"

The blinding white light seared my retinas. I fumbled to dim the brightness and waited for the page to load.

Then, text appeared dead center on the white screen.

How does it judge? As I wondered, the text shivered, and blue mist poured from my phone.

The mist coalesced into a snake-like form, slithering toward me. It pressed right up to my nose, head probing as if to enter my body.

"Fuck! How far are you shoving in?!"

Smack!

I reflexively swatted it away. It looked creepy as hell.

Who knew it was tangible? The blue misty body felt cool and soft.

Hiss.

It hit the floor, dazed, then approached again.

I watched to see how close it'd get this time, then slapped it away again just before it reached ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠my lips.

Hiss—

I grabbed its neck as it flailed in confusion.

"Not sure if you understand me, but do you have to get this close to check?"

Talking to a snake felt ridiculous, but no one was watching. I shoved down the embarrassment and stared it down shamelessly.

Our eyes met.

Hiiiiss—!!

Its pupils dilated, and it thrashed wildly in terror, trying to escape my grip. I held tight.

"What? What's wrong?"

Obviously, it didn't answer. It went limp, head drooping to avoid my gaze—like submission. Probably just my imagination. Why would a snake bow to me?

Maybe my slaps scared it. Who knows.

Anyway, we moved past it. Bigger things mattered now.

"So, when does this end?"

I checked my phone with my free hand. The white screen still read 'Measuring realm.'

Hiss—

The snake dissolved into blue vapor, sucked back into the phone. The text updated.

"What now?"

Rejected? I scratched my head, regretting the slaps.

But then, huge text flashed mockingly.

Realm impossible, but join okay? Fine.

"Nickname... what?"

I'm terrible at naming.

"Real name's fine, right?"

In a normal site, no way—but this was mages sharing secrets. Common name like mine? Safe.

Joined successfully.

But one issue.

"...What the hell."

No need to open posts—the vibe was clear. No different from regular internet cesspools. Worse, even.

Aren't mages supposed to be refined?

I rushed to the gear icon for user settings. Had to change my name. Couldn't use my real one here.

But no change option. Locked in forever?

"For real...?"

Should've said so upfront...

"Sigh... whatever."

I rationalized it. Siwoo was common—like Cheolsu in the 21st century. No one would guess it's real. In fact, anyone using "Cheolsu" online? No one believes it's legit. Same for me.

Feeling better, I browsed posts.

As I scrolled comments, a question hit me.

Grimoire? Don't they teach magic?

Gusechan said I had insane talent. Hard to believe—no magic experience. How'd he know?

But if the curse doll kill proved it... I needed to learn magic to test.

"Maybe read a grimoire?"

I tapped the post.

The glyphs hit me like a truck—my body went slack, hands clutching my head.

"Fuck, it's in a foreign language!"

Not even English. Squiggles I couldn't parse. Do all mages learn this crap?

Impossible. I'm hopeless with languages.

I scrolled to comments for clues. If it's a new language, they'd be chatting in code, right? But...

What the hell?

Then the warning post echoed: mental corruption.

Context said viewing the grimoire corrupts you.

Why am I fine?

Head tilted, I browsed more. Anyone teaching basic magic? Newbies needed primers, not corruption bombs. Sure, toxic vibe shunning rookies, but even deserts bloom.

Despair hit after scrolling. No newbie guides—just daily rants. No sharing.

"Ask directly?"

Time to post.

"Polite enough?"

Seemed solid. Even assholes would nod and help.

Satisfied, I hit post.

Ding.

Comment already?

"Faster than expected."

I checked, praying no newbie hate.

But it wasn't any helpful reply.

"Question mark? What?"

As I puzzled, comments flooded in.

What? Archmage? 10th grade?

Isn't 10th the lowest? Thought 1st was top, like civil service. 10th highest?!

"What the...?"

Dizzy, I backed out. Needed to think.

But no respite.

The gallery was ablaze because of me.

Posts exploding everywhere. My eyes drooped shut.

Ah. Should've just lurked quietly.