Mad Movie
I asked Professor Cheon not to have overly high expectations for the academy. Honestly, the admissions officers' standards were so low that even if I got rejected, I wouldn't be that upset. This wasn't some mental gymnastics—it was my genuine feeling. The professor told me not to worry too much about it either, and I'd decided not to dwell on past results anymore.
While he was doing the evening dishes, the apartment's announcement system had asked if I was okay, mentioning that a child got hurt in the playground yesterday. I felt a pang of guilt and had no choice but to play dumb.
"Anyway, it's a relief. Places like this look safe on the surface, but accidents can happen anywhere, anytime."
"Yeah, you're right. By the way, no Nature journal this week?"
Best to change the subject quickly in moments like these.
"They're holding some 181st or 182nd anniversary event, so they're batching next week's issues."
"I see. That's a shame."
"They say even elementary kids get busy once they enter the academy. It's smart to play while you can."
"I told you not to expect anything... but yeah, I'll keep that in mind."
Seri and Ji-hye's friends probably made it home fine, but I was still a bit worried about Laura. Her parents seemed to be divorced or maybe she was an illegitimate child. The man I suspected was her father lived in the complex, and her mom just kept leaving her at the playground to force him to take her. It was such a clichéd, common story. But reality isn't a drama—happy Cinderella endings like that rarely happen.
Her grandma seemed pretty frail and immobile too. How had Laura managed to keep living in that house? Like Seri said, I'd have to check on her regularly.
Maybe I should stream again after so long.
Even though I didn't need the money from streaming anymore... stopping a habit cold turkey made me anxious.
Huh?
Come to think of it, hadn't I used magic today too? Not even 3rd Circle, but a full 4th Circle spell.
0:00:01 – NoName
I left the stream running and searched online for rough estimates on mana fees.
This world had zero natural mana in its dimension. But thanks to the Idea's Realm, it could borrow mana—a quirky setup that made casting spells in a natural state pretty tricky. Imagine an vast ocean, but you're filling a huge bucket with a single shot glass. That's the situation.
So advanced nations built base stations across their territories to boost mana access efficiency, enabling agreed-upon bandwidth networks per country.
Mana Corporation was a government-affiliated public corporation handling mana tax collection, with surplus funds going toward advancing magic in Korea.
"Mana Corporation 51st Year February 1 Implementation – Comprehensive Mana Fee Table... Type (Multiple) Cast... 4th Circle..."
The mana fee structure was ridiculously complex. Some progressive taxes, some regressive. Basic fees, mana usage fees, environmental adjustment fees—all piled on. Even same-circle spells had extra rates based on classification.
Without running a program, you couldn't know until the bill came. But a Trwiki summary gave rough figures: 1st Circle and below were mostly tax-exempt no matter how many casts. 2nd Circle started at about 10,000 won per single cast, 3rd at 100,000—multiplying by 10 each time. 6th Circle and above were nationally controlled, impossible for civilians.
0:03:51
Of course, mana taxes had exemptions for low-income tiers. Notably, up to 2nd Circle was tax-free. Perfect for teaching Laura healing spells like tissue regeneration. Kids who get hurt a lot end up at the hospital often. But without money, they endure until it worsens. A bit of preemptive magic healing might let them grow up healthy, even if not well-off.
0:06:42
Like the Soyanggang Dam bursting. Chaotic text rained from the sky.
"Pretty crowded today."