Chapter 6
Chapter 6
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: 02. Learning Along the Way
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While I was making progress in my magic skills like this, a couple more kids in the kindergarten started sensing mana. It was all thanks to the incredible effort the kindergarten put into preparing objects and shaping the environment to help the children sense mana.
That said, sensing mana didn’t mean you could use magic right away. Once you could sense it, the next step was seeing the mana you could control. After that, you had to learn to move it. Only then would mana start building up in your body—and even that took a fair amount of time to grow enough to cast spells. Especially in these young bodies.
Anyway, the fact that I could sense mana got out because my head was so full of magic thoughts that I blurted it out without thinking. Somehow, I ended up telling the teacher myself that I could sense mana. And now here I was.
“Today, Eunha and Su-i can sense mana now! Everyone, give them a round of applause!”
“Waaah!!”
Clap clap clap! I bowed my head carefully amid the applause. This situation was unbearably awkward.
The brighter the kids smiled and celebrated, the worse it got. I really, really hated standing in front of people. Especially being called up by the teacher for congratulations. I hated it. I was dying of embarrassment.
I tried to hide my shame and hurried back to my seat. As soon as I sat down, Yumi greeted me with a bright smile.
“Congratulations.”
“Thanks.”
But this wasn’t so bad. Having a friend smile and congratulate me like this. I grinned back at Yumi. It felt kinda embarrassing.
“Isn’t it great that another friend in our class can sense mana now?”
“Yes!!”
“Then you’ll love this next announcement. Next Tuesday, we’re all going on a field trip!”
“Gah…”
I stopped my shy inner rejoicing and let out a silent groan. A field trip? A field trip?
“Ugh… no thanks.”
Field trips weren’t the worst, but they sure weren’t great. They were a hassle, first of all (the most important part). So much to pack: snacks, lunch, water! And then running around everywhere. Conclusion: total hassle.
““Waaaaaa!!!””
But unlike my feelings, the kids erupted in cheers. I seemed to be the only one who wasn’t thrilled about the field trip. Just as I was hanging my head low, the teacher continued.
“The place we’re going is the Glass Botanical Garden. It’s famous—does anyone know it?”
“Glass Botanical Garden?”
“I know it! It’s the place with all the weird magic plants!”
At that, I snapped my head up. The teacher clapped her hands together.
“Oh my, you know it! That’s right. The Glass Botanical Garden is full of amazing magic plants influenced by magic. It’s also famous for being so pretty. Everyone wants to go, right!!”
““Yes!!!””
My dull eyes sparkled back to life in an instant. Huh, magic plants. Magic plants.
I clenched my fist, my chest swelling with anticipation.
I hadn’t cared before—had even thought it sounded annoying—but now I was excited.
Plants influenced by mana… how pretty and wondrous would they be? What colors would their mana shine in…?
Amid the noisy cheers, I smiled brightly just like the others. Even Yumi, my seatmate, looked super curious despite her usual calm.
I mentally counted down the days to the field trip. If it was next Tuesday… that left about five days.
With eyes brimming with excitement, I looked at the teacher. She was already holding a stack of papers.
“Now I’m going to hand out these sheets about the field trip. You have to give them to your mom and dad, okay? Got it?”
““Yes!!!””
As the handouts were passed around, gasps of “ooh” and “aah” erupted everywhere. I barely held myself back from doing the same.
This is gonna be so fun!!
A place full of amazing magic plants? Sounds incredible!
That day, I went home in high spirits. And I was in for a surprise. For some reason, Inha, Auntie Seona, and even Uncle Jeongmin—Auntie Seona’s husband and Inha’s dad—were visiting our house. Even though they still had weeks left before they were supposed to return.
What surprised me most was that Uncle Jeongmin had come to pick me up today. I was shocked the moment I got off the bus. Apparently, according to him, Mom and Auntie just couldn’t stop talking. Yeah, aunties’ chatter could go on forever…
Following Uncle Jeongmin home, I pulled the handout from my bag the second I stepped inside and handed it to Mom.
“Oh, a field trip.”
“Yeah!”
“And to the Glass Botanical Garden, no less…”
“Huh? That’s the famous one. Full of all sorts of plants influenced by mana.”
“Yeah. I see~ That explains why our Eunha is so excited.”
“Totally~. Her face is blooming with smiles, unlike usual.”
“So cute, so cute!” Auntie Seona stroked my head. I ducked my head shyly for a moment, then asked Mom,
“Have you been there, Mom?”
“Hm? Yeah, I have.”
“Was it pretty?”
“I went about six years ago, and it was a ton of fun.”
“I see─.”
That only ramped up my excitement. I grinned from ear to ear, my curiosity growing alongside it.
Plants made with magic?
What kinds would there be?
What colors would they glow? How pretty would they be?
I sank into happy imaginings, picturing all sorts of things in my head. It was a shame I couldn’t use illusion magic more skillfully… Then I could simulate it.
But with my current skills, all I could manage was a tiny illusion of a simple shape—one that screamed “fake” on sight. I could now set whole sentences with text illusions, though. The gap in proficiency wasn’t huge, but honestly, text illusions were faster sometimes. Made me wonder if my main and sub skills had swapped places.
Still, I knew illusion magic was the perfect way to create what I wanted to express, more than text.
Hmm, but my magic skills were sorely lacking, no doubt. Maybe I should practice more tonight? Barrier magic, then. I was seriously deficient there.
Lost in those thoughts with a smile, I turned and locked eyes with Inha. She had her usual cold, expressionless face, but she’d been staring at me like she had something to say.
I absentmindedly checked her mana and was impressed. Huh, Inha can already move her mana. Beneath her blank look, clear curiosity shone through. Normally, even if I wanted to get closer, I’d shrink back from fear of speaking—but this time, I smiled brightly at her and asked,
“What’s up? Inha?”
“…….”
Inha backed away a bit, looking startled, without answering. Auntie Seona glanced at me curiously, since my question came out of nowhere.
“Hm? What’s wrong? Why Inha?”
“No, it’s just… she seems like she wants to ask something…”
“Oh, you can sense that?”
“Kinda… just a feeling?”
Auntie Seona and Uncle Jeongmin both looked pretty shocked at my words. When they asked why, Inha stared at me blankly for a moment before turning away, and they chimed in together.
“Well, we’re hopeless at everyday stuff, but she’s been mature since she was little.”
“She never talks to strangers, has zero social skills.”
“Doesn’t show emotions on her face either. We worried a lot… She doesn’t seem to warm up to Eunha easily either.”
“But you’re the first to read Inha’s expressions besides us.”
I widened my eyes at their surprising words, but nodded inwardly.
Yeah, unlike reincarnated me, Inha’s just a normal kid—but she’s way too quiet and cold. Unbelievably adult-like for her age.
Or maybe not so normal.
Her personality aside, if she can already move mana, her future looks bright. Rare talent.
Me? I just got lucky with a sub-space buff, making me sensitive to mana flows…
As I scratched my cheek thinking that, Auntie Seona suddenly patted my head. Looking up, I saw her smiling warmly through her outstretched hand.
“I’d love for you and Inha to get as close as me and Mirae.”
I gave Auntie Seona a wry smile. Truth was, I wanted to get close to Inha too. But getting close to people doesn’t go the way you think. Especially for me.
The more I want to befriend someone, the more I shrink. Even starting a conversation scares me. I’m the timid type from the start. Yeah, this annoying personality that can’t approach others first. I didn’t like it much myself.
And if Inha doesn’t want to get close to me, all this worrying is pointless. Plus, she has this cold aura that makes it hard for anyone, not just timid me, to approach…
I glanced at Inha’s turned back for a moment.
For now, just sitting quietly beside her was enough.
Today was the long-awaited field trip day. I didn’t stay up all night, but I cut back on magic practice and went to bed early. Bought snacks, drinks, and packed a notebook and pens just in case. Got everything else ready, but Mom nixed the camera. Not like I could carry a phone at this age! I grumbled inwardly and resolved to learn photography magic next time. Then I could capture any scene with magic!!!
…Honestly, not being able to take pictures bummed me out a lot.
With my lunch packed last, I waited for the kindergarten bus, boarded it, and waved to Mom—forgetting my grumbling. She waved back, telling me to have fun, and I kept beaming the whole time. I was over the moon today.
The bus headed to the kindergarten first. There, we’d pick up more kids, split by class, and head to the field trip spot.
When we arrived, Yumi was already there. She lived nearby, so she walked instead of taking the bus.
I got off the bus and greeted Yumi with a smile first. While waiting for the bus to finish picking everyone up, Yumi and I chattered endlessly about the Glass Botanical Garden in our class. The other kids were the same.
When the teacher signaled to board again, we naturally sat side by side. Yumi by the window, me on the inside. We sat quietly, waiting for departure.
Yumi and I were comfortable with each other. When silence fell naturally, no need for awkward chit-chat—we both loved books and quiet.
Not that we never talked. We chatted plenty.
“Eunha, what snacks did you bring?”
“Hmm… chocolate, candy, potato chips, corn chips. Drink’s barley tea.”
“I brought oranges. Want some later?”
“Yeah, sure.”
Like that. Mostly just essentials, and lots of quiet moments.
Soon the bus took off. Careful not to let Yumi notice, I sneaked peeks at the blurring scenery outside. There was a reason.
The Glass Botanical Garden was pretty far. In my old world, normal transport would take three hours easy. But this was Earth—magic-infused Earth.
Back in the 21st century, highways sped up long car trips. Here, too. But better than plain highways: roads made of magic itself, far faster.
「Gate」
Peering hard out the window, I realized I couldn’t see well from the inside seat. Nodding, I secretly circulated mana and cast a see-through spell. Instantly, everything around pierced into view. I felt like I was floating in mid-air. A bit dizzy. But I adjusted the mana right away.
I sent my vision flying. Moved my viewpoint right to the bus’s front. The scenery expanded, rushing closer. The road ahead. And a pitch-black tunnel.
It looked like a tunnel, but the darkness inside was on another level—not mere enclosed space. Pure black, rippling like the cosmos.
I widened my eyes at it.
The ‘gate’ I’d longed to see.
Yumi, peering out the window, tugged my sleeve.
“Eunha. Look at that. It’s a gate.”
I nodded, pretending to look out while scanning outside vividly with the spell. Amazing. Beyond amazing.
‘That’s… a gate…’
Soon the bus entered. Darkness swallowed everything. Yet signs and letters were perfectly visible—another wonder.
For me, who’d develop spatial magic, this was a huge chance to taste spatial mana.
The gate’s interior was like a universe packed with stars and galaxies. A bizarre mana filled the space—I felt it, saw it. I focused mana in my eyes. Scanned every inch.
I didn’t know how to make gates. Gate magic was ultra-advanced spatial magic, mana-hungry and complex. But basically, a gate shortened long distances into another space—a ‘path’. A passage compressing and linking spaces?
Dozens of spatial and artifact mages working weeks to build one. Incredible power. Obviously, multiple entrances and exits. Dozens of paths crisscrossed inside. Signs everywhere. A magical arrow pointed our way. All crystal clear through the spell.
“Wow, cool.”
I agreed with Yumi, utterly immersed in this cosmic pathway.
My spatial magic foundation was ‘barriers’.
Barriers to ‘construct’ my world, ‘sever’ from outside, or ‘link’ barriers. That was the base.
Example: Make a barrier. It’s my world, so I control it all. Flowers, houses, whirlwinds, lightning—even rewind time if I want. Inside and outside worlds sever. Outside magic can’t pierce it—like separate realms. Barriers can communicate, transport between. Put an item in one, move it freely to another. Simple teleport.
Of course, ideal barrier magic I dreamed of—but far from achievable now.
Still, as space-time magic before barriers, I planned ‘passages’ too. Noted in my notebook from the start: barriers and gates as base.
Staring at the gate, I envisioned ‘my gate’. Linking passages. Severing ones. Base: ‘link’ or ‘sever’. But starting with ‘barriers’ as core.
From past life, since birth—I’d imagined this ideal space-time magic countless times. My sub-space was spatial power too. I was sure barriers matched my affinity like text magic.
The gate didn’t last long.
Makes sense. It shortened distances. Regretfully, I swelled with dreamy resolve: someday, I’d make that tech. Then, a random thought hit.
‘Come to think of it… what magic does Inha want to make?’
Purely random. But once it struck, curiosity bloomed. She could move mana already—soon mana would pool in her body. What magic would she want? What first? Thoughts swirled.
I pictured Inha. Long black hair, cold face—my age. She was so pretty, my heart sometimes raced seeing her. Even without Mom’s words, I always wanted to befriend her. Maybe that’s why it popped up.
“Eunha. The gate was pretty, right?”
Yumi’s question snapped me back. I shook off Inha thoughts and nodded brightly.
“Yeah!”
Past the gate, the bus soon stopped. Recalling the gate’s mana repeatedly, I turned to the window. Scenery slowed, halted. Before a huge building.
Bus stopped; teacher’s signal, kids jumped up noisily. Filed off, lined up. Yumi and I side by side again.
Following teacher’s lead off the bus, I gasped.
“Wow.”
Not just me—everyone did. A large building, mostly white. Big glass windows between floors. Circular glass structures. Odd mana-emitting leaves peeked through.
But what made me gasp wasn’t the distant views.
The flowers around the garden entrance. Transparent as glass, filling the beds. No wonder it’s called Glass Botanical Garden.
Sunlight made them shimmer beautifully. Rainbow hues.
No surprise the kids gasped. As they rushed toward the flowers, teacher smiled.
“Hehe. Pretty flowers, right? Fun fact: they’re real live flowers. Magic-bred, exclusive to this garden.”
I eyed the teacher, wondering if we could touch them freely. No complaints, so probably fine.
A bit late, I approached the flowers, heart pounding, hand outstretched.
Transparent petals brushed my fingertip. The soft texture made me shiver in delight. Face close, plant scent wafted. I opened my vision. Living mana flows appeared.
Like petting a cute animal, I stroked a petal gently. Tiny light specks like pollen drifted down. Whoa, I nearly jumped in awe.
“Alright, everyone touched them once? Let’s head in. Line up front?”
Teacher gathered the scattered kids. Regretfully, I grabbed Yumi’s hand, took the end of the line.
Before starting, teacher linked us all with a magic ‘line’. Anti-lost-kid spell. Her unique magic: useful for grabbing or locating people, teleporting straight to her. But only to her location.
With lost-kid insurance set, teacher led us.
“Shall we go inside?”
“Waa!”
Lined up, we toured inside. Unlike others, this garden displayed plants like a museum or exhibit—many grew without soil. Teacher worked hard keeping kids quiet.
Holding Yumi’s hand in line, I gawked wondrously. Some rooted in air. Roots bizarre. Some only petals alive.
Mana sparkled. Up close, plant mana colors differed slightly from humans’. Incredibly, breathtakingly beautiful. Some oddly distorted, but plants too pretty and weird—I overlooked it.
We passed rooms: talking flowers, giant flower-made rooms.
“Now to the ‘Iron Plants’ room. Some grow iron tools from trees, super weird.”
“Teacher, teacher, like spoons?”
“Swords?”
“Beads?”
“Beads aren’t iron!”
“Iron beads exist!”
Iron, huh. I tilted my head. I had affinity for metal magic including iron. What magic could it make?
Basic spells I learned had little iron-related. Attacks I hadn’t learned yet: summon from earth, shape into spears. So what creative magic…?
Honestly, no clue. No feel for it. Never thought metal magic.
Following teacher into the iron room, not drab gray as expected—sparkling colorful plants.
‘Huh?’
But shapes screamed metal. Like viewing gold or silver flowers?
More decor than alive. I admired the beauty. Line loosened. I touched silver conifer needles curiously. Expected sharp or hard—nothing like. Bent surprisingly soft. Shocked me.
Others rigid as-is. Colors varied; I stifled laughter. Trees had real iron beads. Teacher said edible.
‘Whoa…’
I scanned wildly. Licked lips at fruits. Looked unappetizing, but edible? Wanted to try.
“Everyone, next room!”
“Aww?”
“Already?”
Kids’ disappointment natural—I felt it too. But followed teacher.
Brushing grass leaves, I trailed. Flower beds ended, exit neared. Then, something caught my eye.
‘What’s that…?’
A white-petaled ‘flower’ shining…
Thump!
Iron flower. Transparent gem-like bead in center, like stamen. Eerie mana. Warping surroundings.
Instinct. No clue why, but that beauty chilled me instantly. Dangerous vibe from the mana—so—
‘If it’s there…’
Unthinkingly, I reached for the bead. Tiptoed; Yumi’s hand slipped free. Hand neared slowly. Time slowed. Alarm rang in dazed mind. Body tensed.
Pluck. Petal brushed; bead dropped into hand like fruit. Felt it glow. ──That instant.
“Huh, wha…?”
Light burst from floor; surroundings warped.
Boom.
“Eek?!!”
I clamped ears, crouched, whipped around in shock. Room shook. Iron warped like cloth or waves. Melting illusion, or iron liquifying from heat. I watched in horror.
Quake became wave, surging over. No standing in that. Iron wave toppled me. Short limbs gripped mana-less floor instinctively. Clenched fists.
Face-down, panicked forward gaze—then recoiled in terror.
“Kyaa!”
Sharp iron pillar erupted before me. Piercing anything there.
Not over. Spears, walls shot up wildly every direction. Threatening, fast—enough to kill if stabbed. Iron pillars neared gradually; I squeezed eyes shut. Tears welled.
‘Ugh…!’
Then, like a lie, quake stopped.
All quiet.
I cracked eyes open. Truly stopped. Iron frozen. Spears, walls strewn randomly—but still now.
Dazed, I rose, looked around.
“What the…?”
Snapped to. Frantically scanned. Exit gone from before. Iron spears lined, twisted floors/walls everywhere. Surroundings like pre-crash wave of iron.
Escaped the blind spot, scanned. Voice trembled in fear.
“Teacher…?”
Moments ago, full of beautiful flowers and trees…
Trembling fists clenched slowly. Original structures/plants intact, just reshaped. Protruding spears made it barren.
Voice echoed hollowly. No reply.
Stared blankly at hands. Teacher’s mana line gone. Clear to me, even without marking.
And this hand-held warmth…
“Yumi…?”
Then it hit. In this deadly room, I was alone.
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