The Foundation of Magic

"......"

I clenched my fist at the sight of the woman standing before me. Rage boiled over, blurring my vision.

"It's been over forty years since you died. Abyss, such pranks displease me greatly."

I rose from my seat and wiped away my tears with my sleeve.

"Kang San."

"The man who bore that name is dead. I am Yu Eunha, a seven-year-old girl."

The middle-aged woman gave a faint smile at my words.

"It was only forty years, after all. A mere wait compared to the suffering you endured. Isn't that right, San?"

Her calm tone, her gentle inflection, the voice calling me San—tears welled up once more.

"Is it... really you?"

"Of course, San."

My throat tightened, words tumbling out in a rush.

"Mom? Is it really you, Mom?"

"Of course~"

"How did you recognize me? I still can't believe this body is mine."

"What mother wouldn't know her own child?"

I wanted to see my mother's face, but tears kept blocking my view.

"Mom, I did my best. I made sure no one else would die unjustly like us. Because of me, the Magic Tower Alliance was formed, and there are far fewer mages who kill people now."

"Yes, I've been watching. From within your body, I've seen it all."

"I lived so, so hard."

"Yes, I know. I know how much you suffered. That's why I'm so sorry, San."

"Why should you be sorry? The ones who should apologize are those damned mages!"

A hand rested gently on my head.

"San. We love you."

"I love you too. So from now on..."

"No, San. We're fine now. Live for yourself from here on. You no longer need this burned-out house in this life."

"But..."

"It stopped your world at age ten. I want you to move forward now. Look—your foundation is just like this place..."

The woman smiled radiantly.

"Isn't it beautiful?"

"Ah?!"

In an instant, an orange translucent barrier split me from my mother.

"Release this! Let me go, I said! Hey!"

As I pounded on the barrier, the precariously standing house began to crumble.

"Ah."

My breath came in gasps. As I gathered ether to cast a spell, a sharp alarm blared.

Everything blurred in an instant.

*

"Ugh..."

When I opened my eyes, I saw the charred shack and the abyssal entities swarming around it. The dark night sky still glittered with stars.

"How ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠many hours was I out...?"

The tattered barrier hinted at the chaos that had unfolded while I was unconscious.

"Hoo."

I rubbed my stiff eyes, checking my now-normalized body.

Whether that encounter before blacking out was a hallucination ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠fabricated from my memories or truly my mother's spirit, I couldn't say. All I knew was that the world that created such a thing—the mages—filled me with hatred.

"But the one I hate most is myself..."

What must she have thought, watching her child walk through a hell paved with slaughter?

As I refined the thickly gathered ether, I spoke.

"A new beginning, huh..."

If this place represented a new foundation for magic—foundation—then what did it mean?

Expectations for magic? A sea brimming with countless stars?

One thing was certain: now that I'd started, becoming the best—that was my life.

I gathered ether and steadied my breath.

"If it's a test of limits, I'll gladly meet it."

Fifty years of my life had been spent pounding against ceilings. This time too, I'd hammer away willingly.

And ultimately, I'd reach the pinnacle of mages.

Crack—the barrier shattered under the abyssal entities' assault, ether whipping into a frenzy.

No need to think or calculate. I simply let the ether flow as I understood it.

A wave of sparkling stars poured from me.

Black waves infused with starlight swept away the abyssal entities. At the same time, the burned planks, pillars, and slate tiles were carried off by the water.

"Farewell..."

My stubborn clumps, lost for a mere forty years.

The small, charred shack vanished into the wave of starlight.

The water parted around me as if recognizing me, surging toward the sea.

Whoosh—

Soon, only a silent black sea remained.

I returned to the beach and mopped up the remaining abyssal entities. Dealing with ones too battered by the waves to stand was child's play.

Splat—in moments, over a hundred corpses littered the sand.

"Is that the end?"

The black sea from which they'd emerged was now still, instinctively signaling the trial's close.

Lying on the sand, I gazed at the stars filling the dark sky.

"Mother. Do you think I can become a great mage?"

My hands were already stained ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠with countless lives. Criminal blood was still blood. No one knew if such a villain could become a righteous protector of others.

No answer came to my doubts.

Only the gentle waves filled the dark shore.

Finding strange comfort in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the sound, I stood.

"If you can forgive the me who ran away... I'll live a new life."

I brushed the sand from my rear and clenched my fist.

"If I'm walking the mage's path anyway, I might as well become the greatest in history."

A strange excitement filled my chest at the new goal.

"While I'm at it, I'll compete in the Olympia too, and fix that mage immunity nonsense..."

Only goals like that would honor letting go of this house.

"Well then, Monica's waiting, so I'd best head out."

At that moment, a clear voice rang out—not from the bracelet, but from the Abyss itself.

"Rewards?"

Suddenly, a hefty dagger materialized in my hand.

"Whoa..."

It appeared from thin air, fitting perfectly into my grasp. Small and light enough for a child's body without magic enhancement.

Swish swish—

I swung it lightly and chuckled.

"Reminds me of the one I used as a Mage Hunter."

Morning Star Dagger. Even the name appealed to me.

"The world's not that easy. Better keep it safe."

As I moved to tuck it away, the dagger vanished in an instant.

"Huh?!"

Flustered, I reached for it—and it reappeared in my hand.

"Oh ho..."

I stored and summoned it repeatedly, grinning.

"What a fun toy. It'll be quite useful."

*

In a hospital room near the Gangnam Dungeon, Yuri let out a disbelieving scoff at the sight of Monica sprawled on the bed.

"So the kid went into floor 1 and hasn't come out for two days?"

"......"

"And that's why a 7-level mage is laid up like this?"

Yuri stared at Monica in exasperation.

Taehyun placed a damp cloth on Monica's puffy-eyed forehead.

"Serves you right. It's just a seven-year-old who's barely learned magic for a month! What were you thinking, sending her into the Abyss?!"

"But when she was with me, she was stronger than a 3-level mage..."

"That make any sense?! One month of training! How deep's that blind spot of yours?!"

Yuri started to sit but flicked her chair away with her tail instead.

"Ugh, but the kid's something else too. Two days and counting?"

"Yeah. She must've gotten stuck on some insane floor 1..."

Yuri scratched her cheek and continued.

"I cleared an Abyss floor 1 once. It's usually a small room or one story of a building~"

"Our little one's amazing, you know~ She must've gotten dragged into some dimension-warping weirdness on floor 1."

"......"

Yuri glanced at Taehyun, who nodded.

"Miss Eunha is undoubtedly exceptional for her age. Even I sensed something extraordinary about her."

"Then why hasn't she cleared a floor 1 with just a couple abyssal entities?!"

"'Cause our kid's special! She probably got pulled into some bizarre place! Argh, I should've thought deeper!"

As Monica sniffled with her swollen eyes, a chime rang from her phone.

Ding—

Monica snatched it up like a beast pouncing on prey.

"Sh-she cleared it. She did it..."

Tears streamed down Monica's cheeks.

"Good girl, my little one."

"......"

Yuri flicked her sharp teeth with a finger, frowning.

"Didn't you say in that old interview that anyone who can't clear an Abyss floor 1 in five minutes has no talent as a mage?"

"Our kid's different! She's special!"

At Monica's response, Yuri clacked her teeth in disbelief.

"Hoo boy, seeing you two already so attached, I can predict exactly how this'll go."

Monica bolted up and shoved her phone into her pocket.

"Gotta go into the Abyss right now. How many ether cartridges do we have? Teleport should work."

"Whoa! Are you nuts?! She'll come out on her own soon— you wanna waste a 6-level spell waiting?!"

"What else can I do? She hasn't messaged! The examiner said they'd text if she cleared safely!"

"......"

"I have to go in now! She might be in danger!"

As Monica gripped two cartridges, Yuri grabbed her hand.

"Then... take me too."

"You?"

"I'm a 1-level mage too, y'know?!"

"Tch, survive on your own. Can't protect you."

A bit hurt by Monica's cold words, but driven by curiosity about what kind of floor 1 could cause this,

Yuri clung tightly to Monica's hand.

Their phase coordinates realigned in a flash, dropping them from the air to land on their butts.

"Kiddo!"

Monica rushed to Eunha lying on the shore and slapped her cheeks.

Slap slap—

"Wake up! Kiddo! You're not dead, right?! Please!"

Smack smack—

"Eek! Monica, I'm aliiive."

Eunha opened her eyes, cheeks puffed and red, rubbing them.

"You're alive! I was so worried since you didn't come out!"

"Ah, I'm fiiiine, you see. The abyssal entities were too numerous, obscuring my vision and all."

Eunha rubbed her cheeks furiously and let out a big sigh.

"Isn't floor 1 supposed to be easy? Just one or two entities, they said."

"Yeah, even if many, never more than ten."

"But look, there were at least 700."

Yuri poked Monica's side at her words.

"Uh... this is floor 1?"

"Huh?"

"Over a hundred abyssal corpses scattered around?"

"......"

Monica finally looked around, eyes widening.

"Wh-what is this?!"

A night sky brimming with twinkling stars, a vast sea reflecting their light. Endless sandy beach and dense forest.

Too immense for a personal magical foundation.

It was an entire world.

"Oh my god..."

"Oh, and it gave me this dagger for some achievement."

A gleaming dagger appeared in Eunha's hand.

"Uh..."

An artifact. The kind rewarded on floor 10 at earliest.

A dagger as a mage's artifact was odd, but Monica's mind was elsewhere.

"An artifact?!"

Yuri steadied the nearly fainting Monica, her tail thrashing wildly.

"Monica... this is weird. Don't we need to report something this big to the Korean Magic Tower Alliance?"

Those words snapped Monica back to reality.