Chapter 13
Chapter 13
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 13
Chapter Title: Magic Was the Easiest
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After arriving in Uijeongbu, I wandered around looking for a temporary place to stay.
I planned to build my workshop in the mountains, so I figured I'd find a suitable house near the foothills and hole up there for a bit. But I noticed something unusual.
‘Uijeongbu has no people. Not a single one.’
There wasn't a trace of any survivors in Uijeongbu City.
Just frozen corpses or desiccated mummies left to rot where they fell.
Some of the bodies hadn't even been looted.
In other words, they'd been left like that for years.
So many corpses and so few signs of human life.
It also meant this neighborhood was crawling with undead.
‘It might look safer than other places during the day. But at night, it'll be extremely dangerous.’
Some undead could sense body heat.
Uijeongbu was too risky for any living person to settle in.
‘But that's exactly why it's a great hiding spot.’
No one would think to live in a place overrun with undead.
If I settled here, any pursuers might just give up and turn back.
I found a decent house and slipped inside carefully.
Thankfully, it was empty.
Undead hide in dark places during the day, so basements or spots without sunlight are incredibly dangerous.
But this house had decent natural light and wasn't a good spot for undead to lurk.
A small house on the mountainside.
It was a single-story place, and of course, anything useful had long been taken.
Just a spot to get out of the blizzard.
In exchange for the items I'd stored, Cosmic Dust sent a bunch of books—and threw in two bonuses.
‘A wand and a cloak!’
The first things that come to mind when you think wizard.
A mage's magic wand.
What I got was called a wand—about the length of a conductor's baton.
There was also a gray robe with a hood.
The color wouldn't stand out in the snow.
Cosmic Dust probably picked it out to match the ice age.
Both were enchanted!
Sure enough, when I gripped the wand and conjured a Fire Bullet, it formed with way less mana than usual.
‘With this, I could fire up to seven Fire Bullets in a row.’
Three in a row used to drain me dry.
But with the wand and robe, seven seemed doable.
Like upgrading from a three-round rifle to a seven-rounder.
Maximum magic efficiency.
Perfect.
Still plenty of food.
Cold I could handle with the tent and the Heart of Fire Necklace for body heat.
Time to buckle down and study magic for real.
Tough start.
Eat dirt, feel it, commune with it, listen for its voice.
Nomads can hear the earth's voice as fairies, but I'm human, so no dice.
The dwarf geezer told me to keep smelling and tasting until my affinity rose enough to hear it.
But eating dirt? Kinda iffy.
The Phlogiston School was all about burning everything to ash.
The Lehman School was the polar opposite—requiring tons of patience to learn, master, and wield.
No, I really can hear it?
They said to eat it, smell it, talk to it.
For the last hour and a half, I dug up frozen tundra, roasted it over a fire to make it edible, and chomped away while chatting.
Then the screams started.
-Kwaaaah! It's hot!
Isn't this the earth's voice?
Seems like my conversation attempt worked.
Firepower Enthusiast and the dwarf geezer were bonding over it.
Both feeling relative deprivation and the shock of shattered common sense.
Am I really picking this up that fast?
I just shoveled dirt in my mouth, and suddenly we were chatting.
“Hey, dirt. Can you hear me?”
-Stop roasting me. It's hot.
“Got it. No more roasting.”
Communication wasn't smooth.
Just short, curt replies.
No long talks or real exchanges.
The dwarf geezer sent Lehman School basics: spells and theory.
Having learned Phlogiston magic once before, it wasn't too hard to grasp.
“This is the base. This builds it. Set the area to excavate and pull it up...”
I pulled earth from the ground, filled a crumbled wall, and hardened it solid.
Not concrete-tough, but it held up to a punch.
‘No need for a digger!? What is this?’
No wonder folks from other worlds say Earthlings' brains are fossilized!
Magic is too damn convenient!
Just hitting Lehman 1st Circle Earth spell.
Digging dirt was easier than twisting a kid's wrist.
Now I got why they called science a crappy discipline.
I didn't realize until learning Lehman alongside Phlogiston.
Now that I was deep into Lehman earth magic, Earth's science felt utterly pointless.
Learn a few incantations, swing a wand, and move dirt faster than an excavator? Why bother with tech trees?
One wand flick defies gravity and molds dirt to my will.
One click mocks the father of science all day. Tech trees are for idiots.
I dug the front yard hard like he said, and suddenly I had a deep underground space.
Guess this qualifies as 1st Circle.
Perfect growth speed for my hideout plans.
The wand and robe from Cosmic Dust tripled my efficiency.
Starting to feel like my growth is abnormally quick compared to others.
Spells that take months at minimum, I learn in a day or two. That's not normal.
Hate to admit it, but yeah, I'm a magic genius.
That's why I got invited to Sage Time Gallery?
Survive any situation and rip out the enemy's throat.
That was his foundational combat magic philosophy from real battles.
Elf Hunter hammered in the basics right away.
His theory overlapped a lot with my military training.
The trouble started after that.
Elf Hunter's explanations were... godawful.
I kinda got the theory and his intent.
But this bad? I'd be lost later.
‘This what he means?’
Combat magic required precise control of spinning mana inside the body at will.
Like stopping your heart or rearranging organs on command. Not easy.
Combat magic was hyper-personal and sensory-dependent, impossible to convey through words alone.
Theory seemed simple, but mastering it? Insanely hard. Ultra high difficulty.
“Like this? No. Close but not quite. Hmm.”
I visualized mana as blood.
Then imagined it pumping from the heart, seeping into muscles and bones. Slowly, the sensation clicked.
“Got it. Perfect understanding.”
Focusing mana sharpened my vision instantly.
Hearing got way more sensitive too.
Strength doubled, and I could boost smell and hearing.
Sensory awakening and body enhancement.
Combat magic 1st Circle achieved.
Night had fallen deep.
Uijeongbu's nights belonged to the undead.
-Kieee!
A distant undead wail jolted me awake.
I'd just lain down after late-night studying, but a Screamer must be nearby.
‘No way three are grouping up? Insane...’
I pressed my ear to the floor, using Lehman 'Earth Listening' and combat hearing boost together.
Undead footsteps thumped like someone pacing right next door.
They were converging on one spot.
Moving with shared purpose—super weird.
No territory fights, just cooperating.
‘What? Why group up?’
Undead usually acted solo, so why were Uijeongbu's bunching together?
They even paired off, huddled, and mumbled like they were talking.
This was definitely off.
Undead don't converse.
No communication, no grouping.
That was true before.
But Uijeongbu's undead were different.
‘They haven't spotted me... but I need to stay sharper.’
Too many and they're tough.
No time for comfy sleep.
I pulled out the Onyx Plate, switched to night mode, and kept studying.
Said I was studying to improve, and chaos erupted again.
I'm literally studying to survive.
Don't study and I die for real.
It's life-or-death for me, but they think I have insane passion for magic. Misunderstanding deepens.
Then a private message from Firepower Enthusiast: a photo of her in pajamas.
Too stimulating for nighttime. Saved it quick.