Best Friends
“How on earth did you two even become friends?”
“Hmm, good question? Ji-hye, you remember, right?”
“No way, you forgot...?”
“Aaaah, Ji-hye, don’t get mad! My bad!”
Han Se-ri and Ma Ji-hye were a famous duo even at Seferon Academy. They spent every moment together from the walk to school to heading home, bickering daily yet maintaining a bond so tight no one ever saw them actually fight.
Han Se-ri, the academy’s resident troublemaker. In a school full of mixed-race kids and foreigners, she stood out with her uniquely striking looks—blonde hair inherited from her Swedish mother and sparkling blue eyes that could draw anyone in. No one at the academy didn’t know her name. She was behind a hefty chunk of the yearly incidents and accidents, always on the teachers’ watchlists. But despite her prankster nature, she was surprisingly one of the top ten first-years, a model student with exceptional magical talent, intelligence, and grades.
And her best friend, Ma Ji-hye. Born and raised in Korea, where noble families were a foreign concept, Ji-hye came from an ordinary middle-class family with no ties to famous clans or chaebol heirs. Finding common ground with Se-ri was the real challenge. Where Se-ri was outgoing and sociable, Ji-hye was quiet and shy. Most of her school conversations were with Se-ri. Her neat bobbed black hair and cute glasses fit the classic “one-per-class good student” mold, but unlike Se-ri, she never boasted about her studies. Her grades hovered mid-tier.
But there was one subject she excelled in.
Aura-based physical sparring. Her father was a detective in Seoul’s Violent Crimes Unit 2. Wanting his once-weak, fragile daughter to toughen up, he’d trained her in martial arts from childhood. Had he underestimated her talent? By now, Ji-hye was unmatched among her peers in wielding aura. It wasn’t exaggeration that rumors spread after the sports festival: if a first-year with bloodshot eyes shows up, run.
Struggling to fit in at the academy, Ji-hye naturally gravitated toward Se-ri, the class center. Se-ri, in turn, was drawn to Ji-hye’s serious yet surprisingly bold side. Their real friendship sparked at the sports festival, but the pull was there before.
Just another walk home. To cheer up Se-ri, who’d been dissed by the transfer student, Ji-hye suggested the playground. That’s when they spotted upperclassmen bullying a kid too young for elementary school. Words turned to confrontation.
Se-ri figured she could handle a fight with Ji-hye, but never imagined Ji-hye charging in recklessly.
“No, Ji-hye! Watch your back!”
Ji-hye was in danger. Se-ri froze. Ji-hye didn’t notice the threat closing in. One wrong hit from that wooden plank to the head...
Cast: Friction Coefficient Adjustment
Se-ri sensed a strange mana flow behind her.
4th Circle Joint Cast: Gravity Coefficient Adjustment
Se-ri realized it was that mysterious transfer student from the school back gate. Without moving a finger, she conjured two magic circles and one counter-transmutation circle. Mana poured into her so fiercely her twintails whipped wildly.
Draw: Rotation Transformation
The kid about to strike Ji-hye slipped, and the other four slammed to the ground. NoName single-handedly subdued the upperclassmen group in seconds. Se-ri—and even Ji-hye at the fight’s center—needed time to process it.
“You okay?”
NoName helped the still-fallen child up. The kid had scraped her knee on a sharp rock; blood stained her leg.
“Yeah...”
“Tough kid, no tears despite the pain. Gonna keep playing at the playground?”
“No... I wanna go home.”
“Can you walk?”
“Ow, it hurts...!”
The child finally noticed her wound, eyes welling up.
“Close your eyes a sec. I’ll heal you right up.”
NoName sat her on a bench to calm her.
2nd Circle Cast: Tissue Regeneration
“Might sting a bit.”
“Eek!”
“It’ll be fine soon.”
A bright green light shimmered in NoName’s hand. This was standard healer wound magic: boosting NK cells’ hypoxia adaptation to clear viruses, promoting vessel growth, accelerating macrophage mitochondria for inflammation reduction and tissue repair. Whether that busty saint knew the mechanics or just instinct-cast it remained a mystery to NoName.
“What’s your name?”
“Laura. Aurora.”
“Pretty name.”
“What’s yours, sis?”
“NoName. There, all done. See? Good as new.”
“Whoa, wow!”
The girl marveled at her flawless knee as NoName pulled away.
“Doesn’t hurt at all! I can walk myself!”
“Not fully recovered yet. I’ll walk you home.”
Aurora lived in Guryong Village across the main road.
“Alright, let’s go.”
“Um... Transfer student?”
As Aurora clutched NoName’s hand, Se-ri and Ji-hye called out.
“Thanks for saving us. Ji-hye almost got hurt because of me...”
Se-ri hesitated, but NoName didn’t mind her attitude.
“You two were brave. Reckless, too.”
Se-ri beamed at the awkward praise.
“Thanks for saving us too, sis...!”
“Aurora, right? So glad to meet you! I’m Han Se-ri, and this sis who took on five is Ma Ji-hye!”
“What 1v5? Don’t embarrass me.”
“No, it was cool!”
“Hear that? Our Laura’s adorable! Be my little sis?”
Se-ri and Ji-hye bonded with Aurora instantly. Even on the main road leaving the playground, their chatter didn’t stop.
“Laura, saw that transfer magic? Took down five upperclassmen in a flash.”
“Yeah... NoName sis is so strong...!”
“I didn’t even sense the spell on us. How’d she do it...”
Ji-hye agreed. An instant-cast spell beyond any first-year’s level.
NoName felt sheepish at the praise.
“Why’re you following? Don’t you have homes?”
“Harsh! We helped Aurora too, like you said. So we’re escorting her home.”
Crossing brought a total shift. No high-rises or manicured trees—just ancient poles from decades ago. Illegal debt-collector flyers littered the streets.
The scene felt familiar to NoName, stirring memories of a beggar boy in a semi-basement hellhole devoid of hope. Aurora mirrored that despair.
Se-ri gawked openly, careful not to hurt Aurora’s feelings. She hadn’t known a slum like this existed next to apartments.
Aurora lived in one of the ramshackle homes without security.
“Thanks for walking me.”
“No one home? Your mom?”
Ji-hye asked worriedly.
“Grandma’s in the room. Mom doesn’t come home much... She says if I wait at the playground, Dad’ll show someday... Feels like a lie.”
NoName sensed family complications. Everyone carries pain, but its weight varies. Some rebound from a failed exam over drinks; others abandon lifelong dreams to survive, passion sacrificed.
NoName’s chest ached seeing kids like Aurora.
“Gotta visit more.”
Se-ri muttered suddenly.
“Aurora?”
“Yeah. Fun playing together, right?”
Hope sparks unexpectedly. NoName smiled, wishing Aurora more friends like them.
“Anyway, NoName... You live in Parthenon Apartment too?”
“Yeah.”
“Whoa, which building? I’m 101.”
“...102.”
“Neighbors! Nice to meet ya, hehe. We can commute together with Ji-hye. Her place is that complex over there—same route!”
Ji-hye nodded eagerly.
“Maybe... If I pass the transfer exam.”
“What?”
“I’ll probably fail the academy.”
“Why? If you don’t qualify, we’d be expelled already.”
“Se-ri’s right. What you did today? Even Si-hu couldn’t match it.”
But the admissions officers’ final looks felt negative.
“If you pass, see you at orientation! Commute together then?”
“Thanks so much! Won’t forget!”
Willful kids. But NoName didn’t hate their purity.
Se-ri and Ji-hye waved until NoName reached the elevator.
Alone, NoName reflected on the breathless month.
> [39th floor. Ascending.]
First lifetime highlight: magic lecture final at Korea University.
> [5th floor]
Checked grades via public transit; mana potion skip caused seizure, hospitalized.
> [10th floor]
Adopted by Professor Cheon Kyujin. Warm meals daily, evening magic theory debates.
> [15th floor]
Paid late Mana Corporation bills via week-long stream with Sia.
> [20th floor]
Visited mother No Seola’s columbarium with Professor Cheon.
> [25th floor]
Debt secretly repaid foiled by Sia’s text slip; got my own debit card.
> [30th floor]
Recommended for Seferon; prepped two weeks for interview.
> [35th floor]
Today: quirky but kind academy friends, cute-smiling little girl.
> [39th floor]
Full circle.
“I’m home.”
“Oh, Nami! Took a while. Interview just end?”
“Nah, ran into fun friends on the way.”
“Friends? Already made some?”
Long day. Time to rest.
“Yeah, good kids.”