Proof (1)
I don't particularly like ginkgo trees. Their yellow leaves remind me of the fog trees I saw every day back in the Misty Forest.
The fog trees didn't give off a pungent smell like ginkgos, but instead, they scattered mist infused with mana. If the life force of creatures living in the area ran low, it caused respiratory distress, stomach pains, and convulsions.
Of course, on top of that, they spewed out such thick fog twenty-four-seven that you couldn't see a thing in front of you. Sunlight was a rare luxury.
Slurp—
After the conference ended, Baek Seol-yeon and I ate at a pretty upscale restaurant. It was in the penthouse of some building, with a killer view.
Just looking at the place screamed "expensive," so when I asked her about it, she gave me her answer.
"The Management Bureau covered it. You think I'd eat here otherwise? Am I crazy?"
Just as I figured.
The height here was insane. You could see all of Seoul, and even Incheon way off in the distance.
"……"
I stared out the window toward Incheon for a good while. Purple sparks flared up periodically in its sky, and spatial rifts flickered in and out of existence at intervals.
At the same time, I spotted a ginkgo tree on a nearby mountain—its leaves tinged faintly yellow, though only a tiny amount.
Sure, summer was ending and fall was coming, but it was still too early for ginkgos or maples to change color.
Were the trees mutating from spatial mana? It was unstable enough to warp living things on its own, but that tree didn't look like it had been touched by spatial mana.
Normally, spatial mana twisted creatures into far more grotesque, repulsive forms—like the ones I'd seen inside gates.
Slurp—
I took a sip of the soup from the restaurant.
Tasteless. It was cream soup overloaded with butter. The waiter had explained it with some fancy terms, but it went in one ear and out the other.
Clink—
I set down my spoon and looked outside again. Baek Seol-yeon was about to take another sip but paused, watching my reaction before putting her spoon down too.
"Not to your taste, huh."
I nodded slightly in response. I'd been taught it was rude to openly diss the food in a place like this.
"By the way, I heard you're going to help out Chen Zuiyuan."
Baek Seol-yeon got to the point. There was something even more important than the meal: the fact that I'd agreed to assist Chen Zuiyuan, whom I'd met at the conference.
I didn't answer, just took another sip of soup. It was tasteless, but the warmth soothed my dry throat as it went down.
"You know he's Chinese, right."
Her gaze sharpened, stabbing at me. She was fishing for a response. But I didn't bite on that one either. It felt like she was trying to lead me to a specific answer.
In situations like this, silence was golden—and she was the one who wanted to keep talking.
"Relations between China and Korea aren't great these days. This illegal entry incident is part of it. Plenty of people think China hit Incheon with a massive mana terror attack. Anti-China sentiment among the public is at an all-time high."
She rattled off the current state of affairs, bringing up China.
As a gamer glued to the internet, I wasn't a fan of China either. I did harbor some resentment toward Chinese people.
But I think it's wrong to shove your head in that box and judge everyone through a pinhole.
"Sigh."
Seeing I had no intention of replying, Baek Seol-yeon sighed and rummaged through her briefcase.
She pulled out a sheet of low-quality gray paper. The print was blurry, but I could make out that it was someone's personal records.
"What's this?"
I took the paper she handed me. There were a few odd things about it right off the bat. Korean scribbled hastily over corrections, with faint Chinese characters visible under the strikeouts.
But what jumped out first was the ID photo: a man's face, hideously distorted.
"Data from the Chinese Public Security Bureau. Not officially sent to the Management Bureau, though. When I heard you were cooperating with Chen Zuiyuan, I pulled some strings to get it."
It looked sketchy as hell right from the start—not Chen himself, but the document.
I looked up at her and started to ask,
"Why give this to me…"
"He's dangerous. Not that Chen Zuiyuan would hurt you or anything—it's the spatial mana accumulated in his body. Sigh. If I'd known he was like this, I wouldn't have even brought it up before the conference."
I read through the document carefully after hearing that. She was spot on. He'd devoted his life to warning about the dangers of spatial mana, conducting most of his experiments on his own body.
In the process, excess spatial mana had built up inside him. Unlike elves, humans can't handle that kind of overload.
His body was a ticking time bomb now. The spatial mana could mutate him at any moment, and any external stimulus would only increase the odds.
"We're not ignoring China's side of things, so they won't let Chen Zuiyuan into Incheon unchecked… but be careful."
Baek Seol-yeon issued one last warning. Her words were already washing over me by then. I'd come to one conclusion after reading the file.
"It's fine."
My mind hadn't changed. Who am I? The discoverer of spatial mana and the originator of magic. That wasn't a problem at all.
"Reminds me of the old days, actually."
I'd nearly died countless times exploring spatial mana myself. I'd barely survived those crises to reach where I was now.
Researching spatial mana inherently came with risks.
His face had crumbled; I'd become a woman. Different paths, different achievements, but both of us had undergone massive physical changes.
But I'd seen it.
I pointed to my eyes and told her,
"That guy's eyes are alive."
Unlike me, who'd holed up in my room crying for two years after turning into a girl, he hadn't given up his ambition.
Baek Seol-yeon stared at me for a long moment, let out a deep sigh, and finally spoke.
"Be careful. Please."
That was the end of our conversation.
Incheon was currently under blockade. Not a total lockdown—you could get military permission and a pass to leave for a set period, but you had to return when it expired.
Anyone could tell from the sky what was going on in Incheon, so the blockade made sense. Still, the locals weren't thrilled about it.
News sites were full of Incheon-related articles like that. But most people weren't showing much concern for the folks inside.
They cared more about the incident itself.
Rather than worrying for those trapped in Incheon, people just hoped the disaster wouldn't spread further.
"Hop on. We're leaving soon."
1 a.m. Deep into the night. With the streets dark and empty, I'd met Chen Zuiyuan at Oido Station in Siheung.
It was a ways from Incheon, but the military handling our escort had summoned us here.
Clunk!
The military truck jolted and rattled every time we stepped on board. We took seats toward the back. Two Korean soldiers armed with K2C1 rifles were already sitting up front. They glared at us intensely, then caught sight of Chen Zuiyuan's face and quickly looked away.
"Wear these."
The driver handed us helmets. Chen Zuiyuan got an extra ring—a purple gem embedded in it. Looked like magitech.
Chen Zuiyuan stared at the ring for a moment before slipping it on his ring finger without complaint. The platoon leader stepped up and explained to us.
"Orders from above to give you that ring. No ring, no ride."
Chen Zuiyuan slid it onto his ring finger. A faint mana pulse suggested it clamped down tight—impossible to remove on your own.
"It's on."
The platoon leader—a lieutenant—inspected Chen Zuiyuan's finger before signaling the all-clear.
I could feel the lieutenant flinch when he saw Chen Zuiyuan's face, but he didn't react beyond that.
"Urgh."
Several professors boarded after us. They grimaced at the truck's discomfort, but they didn't spare Chen Zuiyuan a glance.
Once everyone was loaded, the truck took off. I gazed left toward Incheon.
The city lay shrouded in darkness, but one spot pulsed with vivid purple energy: Songdo. Dimensional rifts cracked open there more frequently than anywhere else—I could see it with my own eyes.
No sign of those gate monsters I'd fought, but you never knew.
They could be out there, disguised as city objects, waiting for prey.
"……"
In the heavy silence, I felt the professors across from us stealing glances at Chen Zuiyuan's face.
Heading where we were, his appearance probably amplified the fear tenfold.
And since he was Chinese? That just cranked up the unease.
Chen Zuiyuan seemed to pick up on it. He chuckled softly and looked at them.
"It's okay, professors. I have no plans to harm you."
As if that would convince anyone in this situation?
The professors kept eyeing him warily. Chen Zuiyuan gave a good-natured chuckle and turned away.
"……"
I watched Incheon silently before shifting my gaze to Chen Zuiyuan.
His look hadn't changed: neat suit, face uncovered.
Most notably, no weapons on him. Even the professors across from us carried machetes or hand axes.
Incheon was that dangerous right now. Chen Zuiyuan had to know it.
As I opened my mouth to say something, he beat me to it, looking right at me. Baek Seol-yeon's intel on him flashed through my mind.
"Thank you for coming along, teacher. I hope you'll stick with me on the way back too."
He'd performed most of his experiments directly on his own body.
Looks like no anomalies this time either.