Chapter 0
Chapter 0
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 0
Chapter Title: Cherish the Newbie
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“Cawww! You’re that little newbie who just joined, huh? You reek of arrogance!”
Gangnam Boulevard, right in the heart of it all.
A house-sized Crow Monster flapped its wings and landed on the asphalt with a thud.
Every beat of its wings sent the roadside trees swaying as if they’d be uprooted.
I stepped forward toward the beast.
Beside me, the magical girl Bella—in her vibrant orange dress—cheered me on with enthusiasm.
“Neph, you got this?”
“Yes!”
“Alright! Show ‘em your pride as a magical girl!”
I took another bold step and shouted confidently.
“Transformation!”
My clothes dissolved into particles, replaced instantly by a pristine white magical girl dress.
The moment my transformation finished, the monster slashed at me with its talons like it had been waiting.
Kwachik!
The streetlamp caught in the slashing strike snapped like a dry twig.
I leaned back lightly to dodge, then gripped my magic wand with both hands and smashed it into the monster’s shin.
Clang!
A heavy impact reverberated up through my fingertips.
“Cawww! You puny little—!”
The Crow Monster counterattacked, swinging its wings to launch a barrage of razor-sharp feathers.
Pabababak!
One feather grazed my cheek, drawing a thin line with a sharp sting as blood beaded up.
It was nothing major.
‘Good. This is doable.’
Pattern recognized.
“Dress Co…”
With confidence surging that I could win, I began channeling mana into my fingertips to activate my spell.
Kwaaang!
The monster’s furious screeches cut off abruptly.
And then…
“……?”
Where the monster’s upper body should have been, there was nothing but empty sky.
Beyond it stood Bella, her fist still thrust forward, dress fluttering dramatically.
Smoke curled from her knuckles as she wiped nonexistent sweat from her brow and turned to me.
“Phew. Lucky you, Neph. That was close—you almost got hurt.”
“……Huh?”
What do you mean? You almost did?
“Good thing I stepped in at the perfect moment. If that vicious monster had landed a hit, you’d have been in real trouble!”
Bella looked genuinely relieved as she gently touched the scratch on my cheek.
‘No, you seem more vicious, senior.’
The words bubbled up to the back of my throat, but I didn’t have the guts to call out the woman who’d just one-punched the monster’s upper half into oblivion.
“Alright, training’s over for today! Let’s go grab some food together—my treat!”
“Uh, sure……”
Bella flashed a bright smile and hooked her arm through mine.
As she dragged me along, the monster’s ownerless lower body collapsed limply behind us.
I’m Seol Ha-yoon.
Ah, make that Seol Ha-rin now.
I’d become the first newbie in five years to enter the magical girl scene—a world so stagnant from the newbie drought that it had rotted away and turned to oil.
All because I’d been accidentally added to the wrong group chat.