Making Money (2)
Making Money (2)
Click.
I quietly opened the front door and stepped inside. After taking off my shoes and entering the living room, I saw my older sister—who had just returned from work—lying asleep on the couch, still in her work clothes.
After putting the meat I'd brought into the fridge, I carefully removed her outerwear and gently lifted her into my arms.
"Mmm..."
My sister was a light sleeper. Not the type who could sleep through a cat yowling outside. But right now, she was so deeply asleep that she wouldn't notice even if someone carried her.
Rising onto the balls of my feet, I quietly carried her into her room. I carefully laid her down on the worn-out bed, tucked her in, and stepped out. Before closing the door, I peeked back in to make sure she was still sleeping soundly.
Snore...
The sight of her slender neck and arms resting on the bed caught my eye. This fragile body had worked until midnight, dragging itself home exhausted. How much longer could she keep this up—sacrificing her dreams for me and our younger sister?
She'd always been frail.
If she kept up this grueling schedule, collapsing one day wouldn't be surprising. I needed to tell her to cut back on work immediately.
But my sister wasn't the type to listen. Not when it came to this.
She was stubbornly responsible.
Besides, if she quit now, we wouldn't be able to pay next month's hospital bills.
But if I could earn enough money, she could finally rest.
Creak.
I gently closed the door and flopped onto the living room couch, staring at my phone screen. Opening the messenger app, I tapped the link Se-chan had sent me, and a massive banner greeted me:
[Seoul Wizard Community]
The ornate font flashed before disappearing, replaced by a notification stating I needed to verify my identity to view posts.
Identity verification? Given this was a mage community, I braced myself for something magical.
But when I tapped the notification, all I saw was a standard verification screen listing telecom providers—the same mundane interface you'd find anywhere. The tension drained out of me.
"Is this safe? They're not gonna dox me, right?"
Given how notoriously tight Korean telecom security was, my concern wasn't unfounded.
As I hesitated, something caught my eye.
In the corner of the screen, a translucent window flickered into view.
[Click here if you're a mage.]
Oh, this must be it. Probably a prompt only visible to those with magical talent. How do they even make something like this?
I tapped the window, and the screen changed.
Flash.
"Ah! My eyes!"
The blinding white light seared my retinas. I hurriedly dimmed the brightness and waited for the page to load.
Then, text appeared in the center of the white screen:
[Assessing user's realm.]
How exactly? As I pondered, the words trembled, and a blue mist began seeping from my phone.
The mist coalesced into a serpentine shape, slithering toward me. The azure snake didn't stop until its head was inches from my face, insistently pushing forward as if trying to enter my body.
"The hell? How far are you planning to go?!"
Smack!
Reflexively, I swatted it away. Can you blame me? The thing looked creepy.
Wait, it was tangible?
The mist-serpent felt cool and smooth to the touch.
Hiss.
Dazed from hitting the floor, the snake shook itself off and approached again.
This time, I watched as it advanced—only to smack it once more when it got too close to my lips.
Hiss—
Grabbing it by the neck, I lifted the confused creature.
"No idea if you understand me, but do you have to get this close to inspect me?"
Talking to a snake was embarrassing, but who was around to judge? Suppressing the shame bubbling in my chest, I stared it down with a straight face.
Our eyes met.
Hssssss—!!
Its pupils dilated violently, and the blue serpent thrashed in terror, trying to escape my grip. I tightened my hold.
"What's your problem?"
Obviously, it didn't answer. Eventually, the snake gave up and went limp, avoiding eye contact like a defeated prisoner. Not that a snake would bow to me—probably just my imagination.
Its fear was likely from being smacked. Maybe.
Anyway, moving on. I had bigger things to worry about.
"So when does this end?"
Holding the snake in one hand, I checked my phone with the other. The white screen still read, [Assessing realm...]
Hssss—
The serpent dissolved into blue vapor, which was sucked into the phone. The text changed:
[Realm assessment failed.]
"Wait, what now? Does this mean I can't join?"
Regret over hitting the snake gnawed at me. But before I could spiral, bold text flashed on-screen:
[Registration successful! Enter your username!]
So failing the assessment didn't block registration. Huh.
"What nickname should I use?"
Naming things wasn't my forte.
"My real name should be fine, right?"
On a normal forum, I'd never use my real name, but this was a wizard community—old-school and formal. Plus, "Si-woo" was common enough to avoid doxxing.
[Enter your username!: Si-woo]
[Welcome, Si-woo, 10th Class Mage!]
Just like that, I was in.
But then I noticed something odd.
"...What is this?"
[Alchemy is invincible]
[Hehehe poop pics incoming!!]
[Ah, ah, ah, ah—CHOO!]
[The tip below is a cursed grimoire scarier than poop pics. Newbies, beware.]
[Tips for newbies]
[Got scammed on talismans. Going to murder the seller.]
The vibe was clear without even clicking posts. This wasn't some refined mage forum—it was worse than your average internet cesspool.
I thought mages were supposed to be dignified?
Hurriedly, I tapped the settings icon to change my username. No way was I using my real name here.
But there was no option to edit it. Once set, it was permanent.
"Seriously...?"
They could've warned me.
"Ugh... whatever."
I forced myself to rationalize. "Si-woo" was as generic as "John Doe" in the 21st century. No one would assume it was my real name.
Feeling slightly better, I started browsing.
[The tip below is a cursed grimoire scarier than poop pics. Newbies, beware.]
Posted by: BreadLover-5th Class
This is real. Accidentally clicked it. Currently suffering mental contamination. Feels like my head's about to explode. Not taking questions.
Is this for real?
How are these psychos still around? Mods asleep?
Mod tried suspending a high-rank mage last time. Got burned alive.
No wonder this place is a dumpster fire.
If a 5th Class is screaming about dying, isn't this a high-rank grimoire? Who posts something that dangerous here?
Probably bored.
Still, newbies could get mentally contaminated.
The hell? You the Magic Bureau now?
As I read, a question nagged me.
Grimoires? Aren't those how you learn magic?
Se-chan claimed I had insane magical talent. Hard to believe—I've never even cast a spell. But if that cursed doll incident was proof, maybe there's something to it. Only one way to find out.
"Should I try reading a grimoire?"
I clicked the linked post.
[Tips for newbies.]
Immediately, incomprehensible script filled the screen.
The moment I saw it, my strength drained. I clutched my head, slumping forward.
"Damn it, it's in another language!"
And not even English. The twisted glyphs covering the screen were utterly alien. Do mages have to learn some secret script?
If so, I'm screwed. Languages aren't my thing.
I scrolled to the comments, expecting insider jargon. Instead:
ㅓ;ㅐㅑㅑㅏㅓㅐㅑㅓㅏㅣㅑㅓ;ㅑ
ㅐ;ㅐㅑㅐㅑㅏㅐㅐㅑㅣㅐㅏㅣㅑㅔ
ㅓㅑㅡㅑㅓㅡ,ㅣㅑㅓㅣㅑㅓㅑㅔ;ㅏㅐ
What the hell does this mean?
Then I remembered the warning: mental contamination.
From context, it seemed reading grimoires could mess with your mind.
So why was I fine?
Puzzled, I kept browsing. Wasn't there anyone teaching basic magic?
The grimoires were gibberish, and the community's vibe was aggressively anti-newbie. Still, I held out hope for a beginner's guide.
After an hour of scrolling, I gave up. No tutorials—just people rambling about their lives.
"Should I just ask?"
So I made a post.
[Where do newbies learn magic?]
Posted by: Si-woo-10th Class
Couldn't find any guides. Seniors, where did you learn? Your wisdom would be greatly appreciated.
"This should work, right?"
I double-checked for tone—polite, no edges. Surely even the saltiest veterans would help.
Smiling, I hit post.
Ding.
A reply popped up instantly.
"Wow, that was fast."
I opened it, praying it wasn't just newbie-bashing.
But the response wasn't what I expected.
??
"Question marks? What's that mean?"
Before I could ponder, dozens more replies flooded in.
LMAO THE ARCHMAGE HAS ENTERED THE CHAT
Bro forgot to switch to his alt.
This is terrifying... A 10th Class Archmage pretending to be a baby newbie... If I'd trash-talked like usual, I'd be dead.
Didn't know Archmages lurked here.
What the hell are they talking about? Archmage? 10th Class?
Isn't 10th the lowest rank? Like civil service exams, where 1st is highest? Unless... 10th is actually the top?
"What is this...?"
Dizzy, I exited the thread. I needed time to process. But the forum had other plans.
[ARCHMAGE HAS JOINED.]
[10th Class "newbie" got caught LMAOOOO]
[Fuck, I've been bullying newbies—what if one was him?]
[Yesss the alchemy bullies are FINALLY getting purged!! T_T]
[Can't believe 10th Class mages actually exist.]
The entire forum was on fire because of me.
Watching the chaos unfold, I could only close my eyes.
Ah. Should've just lurked in silence.