The Spark of Cognition
"...What I mentioned before," Tae-woo said, standing at the counter.
"Right."
The owner placed a thick suitcase onto the counter.
Thud! The entire bookstore vibrated.
"Here it is."
"You're sure about this?"
"Of course. Oh, and your little sister was looking for something similar."
Tae-woo's brow furrowed slightly.
For context, his younger sister, Tae-yul, was also a mage.
Furthermore, Tae Hyeok, the author of the book I was currently reading, was their grandfather.
Even their father, Tae Hoon, and mother, Lee Yu-gyeong, were mages.
A family where all three generations were mages—meaning they were one of the most prestigious magical families not just in South Korea, but in the entire world.
"...Tae-yul? And?" Tae-woo asked, his voice laced with displeasure.
"I told her straight up that you had a prior engagement. At first, I just said no, but you know how she is. If you don't give her an answer, she'll hound you to the end of the earth."
"And then?"
"She cursed you out to high heaven and went on her way."
"...Tsk. That bitch never changes—"
Tae-woo stopped himself mid-sentence, casting a brief glance in my direction. Then he looked back at the owner.
His eyes seemed to ask, Who is this guy?
"Just a customer. Looks like an aspiring spellcaster, so don't worry about him."
The owner picked up a mana stone.
"I was just teaching him some of the basics. Hey, customer, you know who this is, right?" he asked, turning to me.
"Yes, yes. I know him. Of course. The Mage, Tae-woo."
"......."
Tae-woo remained silent.
He simply stared at me, narrowing his eyes... Could it be? Geniuses recognize geniuses. Did he see through my mana stat of 11 at a single glance—
"The remaining balance. I'm transferring it now." Tae-woo pulled out his smartphone.
"Sure. Anyway, hey, customer. Self-study will never work. You have to at least attend an academy, no matter how hard you try."
The owner suddenly opened his palm. Above his massive, lid-like hand, whoosh! Mana flared up like a gas stove.
"You can't do this just by reading books."
"Hmm..."
I opened my palm as well.
The pathway in my right arm was open, albeit incompletely. From my heart to my shoulder, shoulder to elbow, elbow to forearm, and forearm to my thumb, middle, and index fingers.
I concentrated my mana into those three fingers.
Whoosh.
Compared to the owner's, a tiny, adorable stream of mana flickered to life. It wasn't difficult.
"Huh?!"
The owner suddenly gasped. Tae-woo also quietly glanced in my direction.
"You... you?!"
The current of mana quickly died out, but the owner's eyes were wide with shock.
"Hey, kid! What was that just now?!"
"Payment sent. I'll be going now." Tae-woo picked up the suitcase. Unlike the owner, who had lifted it effortlessly, Tae-woo's shoulder sagged slightly under the weight.
"Excuse me!"
I raised my hand toward him.
"......."
Tae-woo paused, turning only his profile toward me.
"Um... well..."
Personally, I couldn't be sure if this mage was a truly good person.
Since I had a lot of interest in the magical and entertainment worlds, I'd picked up various scraps of information, but rumors aren't always reality.
"It's nothing major. Just a gut feeling, but..."
However, Tae-woo was someone who had done a lot of good deeds. In particular, he had donated billions of won to a children's hospital fund.
It felt right to return that kind of good karma.
...Well, that was half an excuse.
Tae-woo was a celebrity. And in the system of MoMo, public recognition was directly linked to networking.
If a character happened to meet a celebrity or leave an impression on them, they could gain far more recognition than they would by impressing a thousand ordinary people.
It was like how a celebrity uploading a photo with you on their main account would instantly boost your own follower count.
Therefore:
"Just in case... please watch out for car accidents."
Around this time, Tae-woo had been in a massive car accident. It had made major headlines, and he had been in a coma for about two or three months.
"......."
Tae-woo looked at me as if I were absurd.
Actually, even back then, people had wondered how a mage could get into a car accident.
"I've been told I have a bit of a sixth sense. Be especially careful when riding in or driving a car lately."
"Hey, kid. A mage getting into a car accident? Ridiculous. More importantly, how did you do that just now? The mana!"
The owner thrust his tiger-like face close to mine again.
"I just tried, and it worked."
"What do you mean, 'it just worked'!"
Meanwhile, Tae-woo walked out the door.
"Stop talking nonsense! Hey, you, hand over 5.99 million won."
The owner immediately reached out. His hand looked like a tiger's paw. Why was it so huge?
"Why? You said I could just look."
"You said you were only looking at the pictures! That's why I didn't charge you. It's 5.99 million because it's used; a new copy is over ten million. I accept cryptocurrency too, so—"
"Why are you changing your tune now? You told me I could just read it."
"I told you, I thought you were only looking at the pictures!!!"
The tiger had suddenly transformed into a miser.
"...You absolute swindler."
"What?"
After a few rounds of bickering, the term "swindler" had stuck. The physical scuffle had been a bit intense, but when I feigned a weak fall, playing up my bad leg, he backed off on his own.
"What happened to your leg, anyway? You weren't born like that."
"Huh? How did you know?"
The owner gestured toward my lower body.
"If you'd been like that since birth or childhood, the shape of your muscles and joints would be different. Yours looks relatively recent."
"...Yes. That's correct."
From my perspective, it happened three years ago. But since I regressed, it was now eight months ago.
Two months in a coma, six months of rehabilitation, and then discharge.
"Did you get hurt while pulling a scam?"
"No. During an operation."
"What operation? Were you a robber or something?"
"Geez. I was a soldier."
"...A soldier?"
The owner's expression turned peculiar.
"Yes."
"...Where?"
After a brief pause, his tone in asking "where" felt strangely familiar.
"UDT."
"......."
At the mention of UDT, he shut his mouth completely.
He scanned me from head to toe.
"You were in the UDT?"
"Yes. Want to see my discharge papers?"
"...Let me see."
David smacked his lips and held out his hand. I pulled my discharge card from my wallet and handed it over.
"Seol Ha-woon, 64th Class..."
He scanned it, then let out a dry chuckle and looked at me.
"...Good to meet you."
"Are you a senior of mine, by any chance?"
I had a feeling his physique wasn't normal.
The owner shook his head.
"No. Navy SEALs."
"What? US military? Mister, you're American?"
Pfft. His massive mouth twisted into a beast-like grin.
"Half-half. My mother is Korean, and my wife is Korean, so I'm basically Korean too."
Leaning over the counter, David asked, "So, you got hurt during an operation?"
"Yes."
"I assume the nature of the operation is classified."
"Well... yes."
His expression had softened considerably. He looked like a completely different person from the man who had just been screaming "swindler" a moment ago.
"Ah, I'm David Han."
The owner belatedly introduced himself.
"...The name suits you perfectly."
"Doesn't it? So, are you preparing for your next career with that?"
David gestured toward the magic book.
"Something like that. By any chance, do you know about Labyrinth Exploration? The explorer audition program?"
"Of course I do. You're participating?"
"Yes. I already passed the first round. But I skipped the second and went straight to the third."
"Makes sense. Hey, kid. What were you visualizing when you drew out your mana just now?"
He was probably asking about the Cognitive Image I used to manifest the mana in my fingers.
"A gas stove."
"A gas... what?"
"It flares up like a gas stove."
"Hmm... Yes, that's a good method. The power of mana depends on how concretely you can visualize it. Imagining things familiar to you makes it much easier."
"Yes. Thank you."
David's advice made sense, but in truth, it was largely thanks to the Mana Concentration technique I had learned earlier.
It was a technique that gathered mana into a single point—my fingers—and drew it out.
"Right. And you can just borrow that book. Take it."
"Whoa, really? Thank you."
I accepted the magic book without hesitation. Honestly, coming all the way here every day was quite a chore.
Even if it was the closest bookstore to my house, my leg made it difficult.
"In exchange."
David raised a finger.
"If you make it, give my bookstore a shout-out, alright?"
"Yes, sir. Of course."
I saluted him. My body was broken, but my form was still sharp.
"Good."
The owner returned the salute.
Midnight, when the world was plunged into darkness.
Scrub, scrub. Scrub, scrub.
David was cleaning the empty bookstore, practically sterilizing it with bleach, brushes, rags, vinegar, cloths, and several robot vacuums. Suddenly, a thought struck him.
...Wait a minute. Is that kid a scammer?
He had heard voice phishing was rampant lately, but could this be a new kind of "face phishing"? A discharge certificate could easily be forged if you knew what it looked like.
"Dammit...!"
David's massive frame shuddered. With trembling hands, he pulled out his smartphone. The mini smartphone was completely swallowed by his shark-sized hand.
He had collaborated with the South Korean military in the past, so he had plenty of connections in military circles.
Using his network for something like this was a bit embarrassing, but a loss of 5.99 million won was quite substantial.
Ring... Ring...
The call was picked up on the third ring.
"Hey, Lee Jin-tong! Long time no see. Where are you right now? At the office? Ah, what's up? Well, it's nothing major, but something happened to me today..."
He adapted the story slightly.
It would be too embarrassing if the kid turned out to be a real scammer.
"But I was wondering if he was actually in the UDT. His name is Seol Ha-woon. Could you look him up on your computer... Ah, you know him?"
An immediate answer came back.
Lee Jin-tong was a colonel. Although he was the type to pay close attention to his subordinates, for an officer to recognize a discharged sergeant first class meant the kid was no ordinary soldier.
"So he's the real deal? The kid with the limp. Hmm. Okay. I got it. Thanks."
David hung up.
Fortunately, his identity was verified.
The probability of a UDT veteran pulling a scam was practically zero. At least, that was how David Han saw it.
They were the type to kill someone for money rather than run a petty scam.
"—What did he say?"
A strange, low voice drifted from the darkness behind the bookshelves.
It was Tae-woo.
"Jesus, you scared me! Make some noise when you walk, kid. And why the hell are you standing there? I just cleaned that spot!"
Tae-woo silently stared at David.
When David looked closer, he realized Tae-woo's form was slightly blurry. It was magic.
"Why use magic instead of coming in person?"
"...Because your germaphobia is exhausting, old man."
"You brat. Anyway, about that kid from earlier?"
"Yes. I needed to make sure his identity was verified. He saw through a part of me."
"What part? Is there anyone who doesn't know you and your sister get along like cats and dogs?"
"Some might not."
"Ha, please. Kid, everything is on the internet these days. You two fight in public so often, of course people talk. Do you have any idea how advanced computers and phones are now?"
Tae-woo's lips twitched slightly. David chuckled.
"He's a soldier, alright. His identity is solid."
"......."
Only then did Tae-woo nod slightly, seemingly relieved. He scanned the covers of the books on the shelves and muttered:
"Old man."
"What?"
"He seems... talented."
David's eyes twitched.
Tae-woo was a mage of the prestigious Tae family. His mother, father, grandfather, and sister were all mages—the eldest son of the most perfect magical lineage in the field.
Therefore, hearing that picky brat say someone "seems talented" was an immense compliment.
He hadn't even praised the winner of the previous season of Labyrinth Exploration like that.
David crossed his arms.
"Kid, would he have made it into the UDT if he didn't have talent?"
Tae-woo let out a soft sigh.
"...You have too much faith in the military, old man."
"It's not faith in the military."
David corrected him, pointing a finger at Tae-woo's chest.
"It's faith in the soldiers, child."
"Whatever it is. I'm saying you place your faith in useless things."
"So what?"
"......."
Tae-woo shook his head. Then, he vanished like a ghost.
He hadn't been there in the first place. It was a high-level spell called Spectral Projection.
"Picky brat. Snooping around like that..."
David grumbled as he resumed cleaning the bookstore.