The Unaffiliated Mage
I looked in the mirror and pinched my cheek slightly.
"Ow!"
A sharp sting shot through my cheek, and tears streamed down at the same time.
"Ugh."
Despite my resolve to hold back, my body betrayed me, pouring out tears like a faucet. My cheek stayed numb and only grew more painful as time passed.
"Hiiing…."
A sniffling whine escaped through my nose, so I hurriedly clamped my hand over my mouth and nose.
"……."
The Mage Judge, famed for his stoic charisma—the Mage Hunter reduced to bawling from a mere cheek pinch? If anyone saw that, I'd have ended it all right then and there.
"How did I end up like this…. Huh?"
I clutched my throat in a panic.
"Ah, ahhh."
From my throat came not the deep, resonant voice I'd known, but a thin, childish one.
"……."
Suddenly, all strength drained from me.
"First, calm down and think this through."
I lay on the floor, taking time to sort through the chaos of my emotions. In other words, I ended up lying on the floor and crying. Not because I wanted to—my body just wouldn't listen.
Sniff, sniff—
"Hiiing…."
My sense of self as a Mage Hunter hadn't changed, but reining in these surging emotions was proving impossible. Grievances, sorrows, sadness, fear, bewilderment at how it came to this….
"What in the world is all this?"
Once the tears subsided, I kneaded my squishy cheeks and stood up.
"I, the Terror of Mages, the Living Death, reduced to a sniveling brat? Is this truly reality?"
I fiddled with my still-stinging cheek.
"I've become a seven-year-old girl. Hard to believe, but first things first—I need a way to survive."
I wouldn't be short on living expenses for now. I'd amassed plenty from assassination commissions.
"There's money stashed with Orbis, the Mage Hunter guild…. Ah!"
A chilling thought struck me, and I grabbed my plump cheek.
"Argh! I can't claim it with this body!"
Orbis, the illegal organization backing Mage Hunters, ran an underground bank where all my assets were tied up. Show up like this, and I'd be lucky not to end up dead.
"……."
I gathered my thoughts again.
"Ah, right—there's cash in the safehouse."
A thorough search turned up three 50,000-won bills.
"Tch."
This wouldn't last long, so I needed a plan, and fast.
"…Information's too scarce to make proper plans."
For starters, I wasn't even sure this was the reality I knew.
"Suddenly turning into this body—wouldn't be surprised if it's not Korea anymore."
I'd read stories like that before. Martial worlds turning fantasy, high schoolers dropped into another realm.
"Doddering old age, and now this nonsense…. Tch…."
In the cramped studio apartment, I booted up the computer.
"First off, I need to check what happened to that bastard Lee Han."
I plopped onto the oversized chair cross-legged, pounding away at the comically huge keyboard. It didn't take long to get the hang of it. I scoured the internet, newspapers, and news sites, scraping every scrap of info.
"So, Lee Han's missing. And I, the Mage Hunter, am presumed escaped?"
That meant yesterday's events were real.
"Traces of battle found, but no bodies from either man. However, a 6th-grade abyssal entity, Abator, was discovered dead."
I scratched my head.
"Memories match up, so yeah—this Mage Hunter really transformed like this."
Sitting at the computer, I closed my eyes. Accepting that I was now a child brought a wave of exhaustion. My body sagged with fatigue, but my mind raced, plotting the future.
A child, huh…. Start with a talent test, maybe.
Lee Han's voice echoed clearly in my head.
'To think you were a Mage Hunter with talent like this….'
I already knew I had mage potential. Plenty of mages had wanted me as a disciple before. But judging by Lee Han's reaction, it must be even greater than I'd thought.
"Then first, dive into the Abyss?"
The Abyss, a contaminated space brimming with the mysterious substance ether. Awaken your magic there, then learn spells with the aid of the [Abyss System]. That was the most common way to become a mage back in the 1980s.
"After that, I can hunt down those evil bastard mages doing human experiments on the side."
Tough, straightforward plan. But just as I was mapping out my new life….
Lee Han's voice resurfaced.
'The age of barbarism is over now.'
"……."
And with it, the expression on that mage Soyeon's face. That innocent, baby-faced look, as if she'd never taken a life—or even fathomed mortal peril.
A face utterly bewildered by unfamiliar terms and situations.
Those memories kept swirling, sapping my strength. I slid off the chair and sprawled starfish-style on the floor.
What if there are no more evil mages?
No mages slicing open human bellies for magical breakthroughs, hiding behind immunity privileges for heinous crimes?
"Then why learn magic at all?"
I stared at the ceiling, pondering.
Do Mage Hunters even have a place anymore?
Everything I knew belonged to a bygone era. The psychopathic mages, the military regime that turned a blind eye—they'd all faded into history.
The world I knew was gone.
My nose stung again, tears trickling down.
"Agh! This body leaks tears at nothing—it's got a damn faucet!"
I wiped my eyes and stood.
"First, food."
Gurgle—
My stomach growled, so I took a deep breath. This tiny body couldn't even handle a little hunger; it was that young and fragile.
If the world this body had to survive in wasn't the same as before, what should I do?
"What goal should I set…."
Clutching the 50,000-won bills, I felt my mind in turmoil.
*
They say it's darkest under the lamp—the safehouse near the Abyss in the slums had been a smart choice. Until I became a seven-year-old girl, anyway.
"Tch…."
I'd expected thugs, sure, but….
"Heh heh, kiddo, you shouldn't be out alone this late~ Uncle'll get you home safe. Heh heh."
"Whoa, boss, didn't know there were still kids around here?"
I met their leering gazes with a furrowed brow.
"Here…. If it's money you want, take it."
I held out the 50,000-won bill. The two men glanced at each other and burst into snickers.
"Money? Yeah, we'll take that too, kiddo. Us uncles got debts piling up."
"Boss, organ trade crackdowns are tight these days—can't drag this out."
"Yeah, and she's small, easy to carry."
Organ harvesting, huh.
I'd heard kids' organs fetched top dollar.
Their eyes gleamed under the streetlamp.
Rock-bottom lives.
"I could let you walk if you back off now."
"Nah, gotta pay our debts~"
They staggered closer.
Trash like this is everywhere, no matter the place.
I locked eyes with the approaching middle-aged man and hurled a sharp stone.
Thwack—
It flew true, smashing his eyeball. He screamed and collapsed.
"Gaaah! Fuck! Gaaah! My eye!"
"You crazy brat!"
As the skinny one charged in fury, I sensed the faint ether dusting the ground.
Close to the Abyss—ether's leaking out.
I gathered it onto my fist. This much should pack a taser-level punch.
"If you'd stayed put, I'da put you to sleep nice and easy!"
The skinny guy lunged; I saw his fist coming slow as a replay. Dodged once, then swung into his gut.
Thud—
Air burst out, and he crumpled.
"Gaaah—"
He shrieked shrilly, then foamed at the mouth and went down.
I left the two sprawled in the street and bolted into the dark alley.
Even while fleeing, laughter bubbled up.
"Heh, heh heh."
The feel of ether coiling around my hand was vivid; my heart pounded wildly. Memories of battling mages flooded back—it felt like I'd returned to my rightful place.
"What do you mean my era's gone? I've got golden memories etched in me."
Decades as a Mage Hunter weren't handed out for free. I'd tanked mages' spells head-on, dodged, learned countless combat techniques. Counters for nearly every spell, their quirks, even optimal casting methods per spell.
All that battle-honed experience was seared into my soul.
"Fine, since it's come to this, I'll just hunt abyssal entities instead."
No evil mages? Find new prey. Born a hunter, body changed or not—I'd always be one.