Fate (1)
These days, the hottest gossip on MagicGal was undoubtedly CheonJia.
It had been a full week since her gate conquest stream, but the hype showed no signs of dying down.
MagicGal had always been the type of place to obsess over a single spell for a whole month, sure—but the real kicker was that everything CheonJia had shown was straight-up extraordinary.
She was a cute, pretty elf girl with insane magic skills, blocking a pinecone bomb with some mysterious spell.
And that was just the magic. Even without it, there was plenty to chew on: her gate-clearing talent, the perfectly timed broadcast cutoff.
Tons of interest, but barely any info. There was next to nothing about CheonJia anywhere, which only fueled the mystique.
It wasn't just MagicGal, either. HunterGal, the Magic Association, the Hunter Association—everyone was dying to know more about this woman.
With the world's eyes on her, what could CheonJia possibly be up to?
"Ah, fuck! You asshole! Why the hell are you rushing in there? Can't you see my skill's on cooldown? Blind or what? Ugh, goddamn it!"
She was gaming. Raging in a ranked match at the end of the season.
After the gate run, I'd come home and slipped right back into my usual hikikomori routine.
"Haa. What's the point of new gear if the player's still trash. The player."
Fuming, I nearly slammed my keyboard in rage—but then I remembered the incident from not long ago and held back.
Swallowing my anger, I punched my teddy bear plush a few times, then shoved my chair all the way back and pulled out my phone.
"Ah, my money."
YouTube Premium's monthly fee had just hit.
I used it like crazy—probably no one in Korea watched more YouTube than me—but it still stung every time money left my account.
Not that I had any plans to cancel.
"Tch."
The payment alert also showed my bank balance. Handy, but oof.
Truth be told, I sucked at managing money. If I had it, I spent it; if not, I didn't. Simple as that.
That worked fine in Yggdrasil. But not here. Breathing cost money on Earth.
"Haa. New gear's useless when your teammates are even worse."
I scrolled through my match history. I'd upgraded my headset with some recent cash—sound was sharper now—but my rank had tanked anyway.
"Fuu."
One look at my balance, and a sigh escaped. My stomach growled right on cue. Delivery was probably off the table. Still, better off than last time.
"Guess it's convenience store run."
Delivery never worked for me anyway.
To hit the minimum order, I'd have to tack on sides—and then I'd always have leftovers.
But at the store, I could grab exactly what I wanted. Quality wasn't top-tier, but the price-to-value ratio crushed it.
Before heading out, I eyed the bag in the corner.
Inside were the mana stones I'd farmed from that last gate. Baek Seol-yeon said she'd find a buyer, but no call yet.
For some reason, they drew me in. The spatial mana radiating from them, maybe? Hard to say.
They only appeared after gates started popping up.
Maybe like elemental affinity—mages get a boost near their element. Elemental resonance syndrome or whatever.
Couldn't confirm it, though. Spatial mana was everywhere in tiny amounts, but nothing you could feel like with elements.
This was sparking my research itch. Next chance, I'd dive in again.
Shff—
I mulled it over, then slipped on a mask and beanie before opening the door. Not for fame reasons. After that gate, outdoor air felt rough without the mask. And the beanie? Old humans here feared elves.
Thud, thud—
Stepped outside and walked a bit. Nighttime streets were dim, empty.
Caw—
A crow on the power line cried mournfully. Birds fluttered up here and there. Bugs chirped in chorus. Nature's symphony.
My place was on the suburban outskirts. I loved the quiet isolation.
Ding-a-ling—
Soon reached the convenience store down the alley. Pushed open the door to a modest interior.
Clerk was in the back, stocking shelves—no one at the register.
What to eat...
Checked the bento section first—sold out, as usual. Heard they were popular lately; never caught 'em at night.
Grabbed a tuna mayo onigiri and a cup noodle instead. The square anchovy fish noodle one. Kinda pricey at 2,000 won a pop, but the broth slapped for instant ramen.
Headed to the counter; the clerk rushed over. Beep beep after a few scans, I handed over my card. Then she stared right at me and spoke up.
"Are you... an elf by any chance?"
She grinned wide. I hesitated, then nodded without looking up.
"...Yeah. Why?"
My curt tone didn't faze her—she set down my stuff mid-scan and kept talking.
"Actually!"
With that, a spell dispel. Her round ears sharpened to points.
Disguise magic. A type of spirit art. The kind human women loved.
"I'm an elf too." "Oh. Okay."
My response stayed flat. Fellow elf? Annoying. And a hassle. Avoid this place from now on? The next store was a hike...
"Seeing another elf here makes me so happy. Where do you live? If it's cool, maybe swap numbers—"
Chitchat dragging on. Irritation surged outta nowhere. I cut her off, snappy.
"Hey. Can you ring me up?" "Ah."
She bowed repeatedly with apologies, scanned my stuff, then rummaged under the counter and plopped a grape candy on my noodles.
"Being a female elf around here ain't easy. We gotta stick together. If we bump into each other on the street, a quick hi? That's fine, right?"
She beamed, elf-style pretty but not stunning.
Female elves who crossed over usually had it rough. Magic depended on the mage's skill; spirit arts needed spirit bonds.
Earth's spirits mostly lost power and slept. At best, minor changes like her disguise.
Some pivoted to acting or idol gigs, but competition was fierce. 70% of Yggdrasil elves were women.
Why come anyway, power or no? Elf society had been distant for ages; memories fuzzy. But extreme patriarchy, that much I recalled.
"......"
Out with my food, I pondered. Her kind eyes still stabbed like knives.
Headed home, but my ears burned hot.
An ancient memory surfaced—worn, nearly forgotten. At its heart: some woman.
I bolted back into the store, shoved my phone at the clerk mid-stocking.
"Uh..."
She blinked in surprise. Stared at me; I met her gaze.
Not super pretty. Ears round again—disguised. Looked human now.
No resemblance, but her plain face overlapped with another's.
"...Numbers. You said swap. Changed my mind."
I gave my number to a total stranger clerk.
She fumbled hesitantly, input hers.
"Gets scary with no customers. But hey, new friend today—my spirit's perked up too. Hehe."
Laughy type. We swapped, I left. She restocked; I trudged home through the dark.
Beep beep beep—
Soon realized my microwave was busted. Tuna mayo needed heat. Damn.
Crunch—
Ate the noodles and onigiri; belly full, drowsiness hit. Eyed the mana stone bag—no changes. Eyelids heavy. Ah, crap. Got game dailies to grind before bed.
Rrring— rrring—
Then my phone buzzed.
"Baek Seol-yeon?"
Only her would call now. She'd find a buyer for the stones.
But the screen showed an unknown number. Not hers, not the clerk's.
"...Spam? They call at dawn now?"
Analyzed the pattern briefly—pointless—then hit accept without thinking.
A voice came through. Stranger for sure.
"Is this Archmage Yang Jia's phone?"
"Who is this?"
Few knew this number. And they knew I was a mage? Post-stream digging?
"Ah, sorry for the late intro. We are the Elf Magic Association, dedicated to uniting and cooperating with elf mages..."
I hung up there. It rang again; ignored. Fifth time, I powered off the phone.
"...Yawn. Meeting a lot of 'fated' people today, huh."
I ignored the Magic Association and crashed into bed. Full belly had me drifting off fast.