Actually, I'm Not Geukbing's Magical Girl...
"Of all times, just a few days after handing it over...!"
"It's not all bad."
"You call that helpful right now?"
"First, we need to figure out just how valuable this 'floor condition' thing really is!"
When the hell is this gonna end?
Park Seong-yoon stared at the meeting in front of her, pondering that question seriously.
The response team had never really gotten a full break even on holidays like New Year's Day. Gates didn't care about public holidays, after all. The appearance of the Tower had at least allowed them to preemptively manage gates better and introduce shift rotations—that was some small comfort.
And Seong-yoon should have been spending the New Year with her family right now. The team members weren't so heartless as to rob their only minor of her holiday. Even if there were some ruthless types, it wouldn't have mattered. The team's No. 1, Lee Woo-jin—his telekinesis was faster than laws, fists, or bullets.
So her original mission had been to monitor Manky Server's New Year's concert stream and naturally enjoy the holiday... until the emergency hit. All plans went out the window.
The entire response team was mobilized for the emergency declaration, repeating investigations and analyses nonstop. In the end, three representatives were selected to attend the top-level meeting on behalf of the team—which was why Seong-yoon now found herself staring blankly at this hamster-wheel of a meeting.
"Who the hell was it that suggested handing over the land?!"
"A National Assembly member who's been sponsoring you..."
"...Tch."
Lee Woo-jin tried not to show his irritation at the room's atmosphere, clicking his tongue. No wonder they singled out the representative.
Seong-yoon was just thinking, Why keep repeating the same crap? But he grasped the true nature of this meeting. The endlessly looping topic. Dragging a minor here just because she ranked second in combat power. In short, their goal was a roundup.
Of course the merit shows up right after dumping it on her.
Lee Woo-jin recalled the previous decision. The Tower of Trials on Sobaeksan was tricky to manage due to its ambiguous status and the absolute powerhouse who'd made it her turf. The idea of just "handing it over to that powerhouse entirely" was unusually flexible for the government—and pretty smart, in his opinion. Even the others had praised it.
But today's upheaval changed everything. Sobaeksan Tower now had real interests attached. Sure, those interests were created directly by Elise Calamity herself. And no one even knew their true value yet. It was too hasty, too embarrassing to get greedy now.
Yet they were getting greedy anyway. It was somewhat inevitable. Not long ago, they'd made a bold, unconventional move. Such gambles usually paid off big or became fatal weaknesses if they backfired. Now that things had turned, they desperately needed to recoup their losses.
...Though they had no real plan.
So the essence of this meeting was passing the buck. They were too scared to approach the unpredictable magical girl themselves. Instead, they idled, waiting for someone else to step up and take responsibility. But the clever part? They'd tacitly predetermined who that someone would be.
The government's most reliable channel to Elise Calamity: her magical girl junior, Park Seong-yoon. It was buck-passing, but their aim was a herd.
Endless repetition and subtle hints until Seong-yoon couldn't take it anymore and volunteered herself.
Maybe it's time to flip the table.
Of course, Lee Woo-jin couldn't tolerate that idea. He'd only waited this long thinking ahead. He was fully prepared to smash it all whenever. They'd idled long enough—storming out now would be justified.
Just as he eyed the perfect moment and moved to overturn the most annoying table...
Enhancement: Upgrade - Small World applied!
...that message rocked the world.
"Well, this is just too much."
Even the politickers (among those who could see the message) were stunned, their momentum utterly deflated. They'd spent half a day investigating and confirmed the full cost of the enhancement content. The pointless meeting's direction inevitably shifted massively once again.
That was how Seong-yoon ended up monitoring Seol-hee's stream amid the chaos—and why her visit was decided for an entirely different reason than the original meeting's intent. The meeting's new direction had spiraled a bit, delaying her visit slightly.
* * *
The next day.
Surprisingly, among the three juniors who'd signaled their visits, Ichinose Aris arrived first. Seong-yoon was switching to a longer stay, so she had more prep? She said she'd come soon, though. Starlight Blaster was projected at 2-3 days after talking.
"Soul. Soul Rank. So that's why the Gate Coins piled up like that. Makes sense—if that's the structure, then strong gates would've come here, not just domestically... internationally too."
"You're the only one who's figured it out so far."
The conversation with Aris honestly made me reflect a lot.
"Even fantasy realms become science once observed."
I'd never imagined the theoretical explanation of abilities would happen like this. I'd basically given up expecting her to take magic theory straight from me, but this twist...
"Should we, like, reveal it?"
"Is there even a need?"
Research results are one thing. But my high Soul Rank let me auto-hunt gates solo safely... No need to flaunt it. It's not like I'm bragging.
"R-Really? If senpai won't reveal your achievement... then neither will I."
"Oh my. Sis. Tempest-sama. What are you saying? If it's not about avoiding attention, revealing it benefits the world, you know~?"
"Huh?"
Yoo Su-yeon jumped in beside the unusually meek Aris. Suddenly talking about the world? She showed me her phone screen.
"Tensions are rising lately."
SNS and communities were flooded with links to foreign news. Let's see the headlines.
Korean puppetmaster theory exploding. Gates spread by Korea? Actually, gates were unification weapons leaked to North Korea... I'd heard these conspiracies before, now in major media. Not endorsing, but criticizing their spread—yet it was no laughing matter.
An AI-generated old man in a gown ranting Korean conspiracy on YouTube with 180 million views? What am I even looking at?
"Huh. Thought it was dying down?"
"Officially, yes~."
Unofficially, no. Post-Tower, governments pushing peace openly sparked vicious backlash.
"It's worsening. Some problems flare up precisely when life improves."
"Ah, that vibe."
Even in that other world, it happened. United against looming death, but splinter once things eased. The Tower stabilized things, turning survival-focused eyes greedy.
"Then better to reveal it."
"Got it. We'll announce the theory at the academy alongside it. Oh, can we invite senpai?"
"...Hmm. Since it involves me anyway."
I hate academic stages, but can't ignore this shady trend. We'd discuss details later—first, today's content.
I sensed Seong-yoon arriving soon. Time to shift gears for today's stream.
Juniors' Group Performance! / 86 Viewers
Seong-yoon arrived, quick prep, and the title made me proud. Group of juniors? Even one more soon.
"Nah. Title's like that, but it's training first."
Seong-yoon, Aris, Starlight Blaster. The juniors' goal was more specific than expected.
"Aim for Sobaeksan Tower floor 10! Or something."
"We decided to check the tower shop."
Seong-yoon spoke for them.
"Yeah. No one's cleared 20th yet, so shop's unknown."
Seong-yoon hit 9th in Seoul already, but trials get harder. Low floors aren't fixed easy... but better than high. Nations sent juniors to push the nerfed Sobaeksan Tower (thanks to my feats) and peek at the shop.
"Bonus: Get super strong under this senpai's warm guidance?"
"They wanna make Sobaeksan a mandatory tutorial field for all juniors...!"
They asked, and the tower area's basically all my land now. Honestly, if there's results, it's doable.
"So what do we do?"
"Uh... I change too?"
Aris and Tenri asked perfectly timed questions. Magical girls vary wildly even in the same category—grouping doesn't boost efficiency easily. Normally.
"Group today, so even Pang junior changes a bit. Got a special training method."
Prisma's secret technique? Possible if a strong senior magical girl leads.
"But sis, Lily's non-combat—why's she here like it's obvious?"
"More people, better effect. Free power-up while others train?"
"Wu-ing."
Not pushing strength, but no harm in getting stronger. Pure concepts work in combat despite non-fighter image. Training yields well.
"Not like my mismatched concept needing forced twists."
"...?"
"Huh?"
Everyone stared oddly as I nodded. Like gacha players eyeing a 10-pull pickup, asking "This good?"
"Huh? What's up, guys?"
"Uh, well."
Juniors mumbled awkwardly; chat dug up my old words. Why dredge that?
"True? So Lily's purity works any way."
"Huh?"
Ah, chat made me realize.
"You guys are misunderstanding something."
No, not that. Hmm. Fair enough, easy to misread my naming style. I'd mentioned it vaguely before.
"Geukbing's a title I got later."
Peak ice-snow attribute power. No one in that world matched my purity, so I earned it. Like a certificate: "This one outranks anyone."
"So yeah, I'm called Geukbing, but not Geukbing's Magical Girl."
Acquired later. Original magical girl concept is separate. No reason to mention—no big deal. Concepts aren't titles. Unless full intro, no one knows.
Hmm. If concepts had feelings, it'd be sulky. Since it's out, intro time? Feels like now or never.
I reached toward the hyped chat and dazed juniors.
Crickle-crackle—
From my fingertips, my signature: ice crystals.
"My trait is 'Ice Crystal'. Ice Crystal Magical Girl, Elise Calamity."
Magical girl using ice crystal magic. Not the wuxia ice spirit treasure—different meaning, closer to pure shackles. Note that.