The Invisible Hand

A transparent arm sprouted from his back. "Have the other staff members procure as much pig heads as possible—slaughtered no more than two days ago—and human blood, the more the better."

Standing in the center of the office, Baek Seo-hu ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠issued the rest of his orders. He paid no mind to the district chief, who was cowering in the corner.

"And prepare plenty of paper suitable for writing on. Thanks for your help."

With that, he politely bowed to the civil servants before heading down to the underground training hall.

"Isn't Senior Baek Seo-hu's vibe a bit different now?"

"It's refreshing. I've wanted to give that district chief a piece of my mind myself. The guy's as good as dead anyway, and he actually went and did it."

"No, his abilities are cool and all, but he feels kinda scary now... And what's with the human blood? Why collect that? I heard some hunters go nuts after awakening, but is that what's happening?"

"Could be. Just look at him saying he'll take down a B-rank disaster solo. Honestly, can he even pull it off?"

"No way in hell. He already seems half-crazy."

Listening to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠her colleagues' whispers, Lee Ye-ji spoke up.

"He's always been like that."

"Huh?"

"His eyes have always been a little wild. Didn't you feel it when you were around him? That he's far from ordinary. So hurry up and do what he says."

She scraped her chair back and stood, urging them on.

"I'll start by hitting up nearby hospitals for blood packs."

"Uh, yeah... okay."

Lee Ye-ji's mind was filled with the conversation she'd had with him the day before.

—There must be a reason for that prophecy.

'No way...'

She shook her head at the sudden thought.

He might actually pull it off. She harbored that faint hope.

"Ugh, I'm fucking exhausted."

I sprawled out flat in the training room made of special metal alloys.

Putting on a show for the staff had taken its toll; a headache still lingered as the aftereffect.

Still, it wasn't for nothing. My spell cast count had gone up by one.

'From here on, just blasting flames won't cut it anymore.'

I needed more precise control and specific targets.

Was the wall to 3rd tier that high? I had to break through somehow before time ran out.

'Time for a quick break.'

Rubbing my forehead with my palm, I opened Cradle: Mage Gallery.

As always, the posts were utterly unhinged.

It was mind-blowing that all this was real. I pulled up the draft I'd saved.

Surprisingly, the system had a function to capture photos of specific moments.

If I'd had this back in school, I could've cheated on exams. What a shame. Comments started pouring in almost immediately—probably because I'd set notifications.

My reply was met with a brief silence. Even without face-to-face, I could feel the weird vibe through the system.

Why were these lunatics acting like this? I soon found out.

What the hell? No usual ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠trash talk—why the sudden warmth?

The comment section exploded again. Even low blows started flying.

Checking the new replies reminded me of the homework I'd put off.

I sent the reply and opened the grimoire.

Arakhan required learning additional spells.

The point was to secure some means of protecting my body.

Becoming a mage had given me flame resistance, but my flesh was still ordinary human-level.

I wouldn't bet on surviving a bear bare-handed in the mountains.

'And Arakhan's barely bear-level?'

If it were, I'd be golden—just raid a police station for guns and done.

'I do have a vague spell format in mind.'

Like casting time acceleration on myself. Or using telekinesis to levitate and flee.

Spells I could intuitively visualize meshed well with my soul.

The issue was my brain—fried from recent flame magic and overexertion—couldn't handle it.

"Ugh..."

Insufficient mental strength.

Forcing acquisition felt like my head would shatter.

'No simpler, punchier incantation...?'

I closed my eyes and focused.

Come to think of it, even before discovering magic, I'd always wanted one ability.

'A third body.'

Like a transparent, thick arm sprouting from my back to handle all the chores.

Turning off distant light switches from bed. Picking up dropped trash.

Childish, lame fantasy. No outer god grimoire would have something that trivial.

"Holy shit, it does!"

The curse slipped out as I flipped the grimoire open.

And I could already use it. What the hell?

In my daze, the space in front of me rippled. I sensed something transparent moving.

Whoosh, whoosh.

An unfamiliar palm waved hello left and right. Then it shifted to my shoulders, giving a massage.

Knead, knead. Perfect pressure—my body melted into relaxation.

"Trying to butter me up?"

Unlike with flame magic, no pain of something emerging from my body, no profound epiphany.

The moment I recognized the spell's existence, it became a natural extension of me.

No tier shown. No training seemed possible.

'Sage hyung!'

I dumped my swirling questions into the gallery. A curt reply came back.

Huh?

What a carefree response.

Sighing, I craned my neck to glimpse my back.

"Hand!"

Muttering like to a dog, a weighty palm slapped onto my jaw with a thwack.

"Good listener."

A precious spell right before battle. Couldn't waste it on bedtime light switches.

"Let's test it."

I turned to the training room wall—made of special metal mined from the Tower. It wouldn't break easily, perfect for unrestricted testing.

"Punch!"

The transparent arm pulled back, coiled—I felt it.

Then.

Whoosh!

A light crack from the extending fist.

No earth-shaking power, as expected.

How far did "auxiliary" go?

"Still... this should be enough to block attacks."

I'd looped back to my goal. Satisfied, I moved to rest—

"?"

Tap. Debris crumbled down.

"Whoa."

A thin crack spiderwebbed across the impact point on the wall.

"Put it there. Make it visible. Pig heads at the three-quarter mark from the left. More at a glance means better effect."

Sitting on the floor, I directed the staff. The materials I'd requested flooded the training hall in moments.

"Just dump all the blood packs into the basins and go. Human blood must've been tough in quarantine. Good work."

"Didn't know public authority could be this scary in emergencies. Brought cops along, and they handed it over. But... what're you using all this for?"

"Better not to know. Lee Ye-ji, don't open this door without my say-so. Got it?"

After the warning, I scanned the elixirs from the storage room.

One, two, three, four...

"Hm?"

A man wiping sweat glanced nervously at my sound.

"Something wrong?"

"One short. The blue elixir. A-grade crafting hunter promo, right? We got one as a district office souvenir."

"...You memorized all that?"

"I managed storage. Obvious the chief pocketed it."

"Y-yeah, he said you'd never notice with the elixir."

Should've burned the bastard earlier.

"Really, really sorry."

Guilt and fear over betraying the hunter sparing him—his jaw trembled. Looked ready to drop to his knees.

"I get it—we were coworkers till yesterday. Better than anyone. Go slap the chief and grab the elixir."

"...Pardon?"

"It's fine. He's got the sense to know I ordered it. And that defiance means death for real."

I thumbs-upped his mini-rebellion.

He returned with the elixir in under ten minutes, face beaming.

"Alright then."

Everything extracted. Profits: +248 million won.

Fair for saving a neighborhood.

Alone now, I surveyed the quiet room.

Basins brimming with human blood. Severed pig heads arrayed menacingly.

Looked like some rural shaman ritual. But this setup actually worked.

For crafting Magic Scrolls, not folk faith.

"Let's do this."

Five days till the disaster. Time to surpass my limits.