The Encounter
Keira sat right beside me after her shower, her blue hair still slightly damp and carrying the clean scent of shampoo. I had summoned her through my skill, and now she was intently studying the status window that had popped up in front of her.
Trait: Blue-Eyed Successor (S)
Skills:
• Blue Mana (S)
• Archenian Traditional Magic (A)
• Dimensional Common White Magic (B)
• Dimensional Common Dark Magic - Lower (C)
• Pilgrim Movement Method (B)
She smelled of shampoo. It was the same one I used, yet it smelled so much better on her. She really was a beauty... the ultimate.
She had never encountered shampoo before, but she picked it up quickly. She figured out how to use a shower or a hairdryer just by hearing me describe it once. Her comprehension and adaptability were exceptional. It seemed she wasn't just any mage.
Of course, during all of this, she didn't forget to let out exclamations of amazement. Among them, the biggest reaction had been to the clothes. Since there were no suitable underwear, she was wearing my boxers, and she kept saying how comfortable it was as if she wasn't wearing anything. She had put on a white t-shirt made of cotton. This was also surprisingly soft, she exclaimed in surprise. In her world, cotton of this quality was something only royalty wore. Actually, the one-piece dress she had been wearing underneath her leather robe was rough to the touch.
White t-shirt and boxers. The so-called lower-body fashion of abandonment, or a girlfriend's room look. With nothing on top underneath, the two peaks were slightly poking out, visible to the eye. My lower body had no choice but to react.
My lower body had been complaining since earlier. 'Cover it up, cover it up, cover it up, if I cover it up then it's fine? Why not? I did it just now?' It couldn't. Absolutely not. That was just the opinion of a sex-crazed idiot. The 'me' who thinks rationally doesn't agree with that opinion. It wasn't easy to organize all the various delusions filling my head, but I had to endure it. Because I was an intelligent person.
It wasn't because she was an outstanding mage. With a level in the 30s, she was at least an S-class ability user, a professional with only about two thousand in Korea. Or perhaps even more. She was the first mage this Earth had ever met.
"It seems I can borrow one of these skills."
One of my skills, the Otherworld Residence Contract's ability. It allows borrowing one skill from the contracted party.
“(Really? Can I choose? Or is it predetermined?)”
“It seems I can choose all of them.”
All the skill names in Keira's status window were surrounded by a blue glow.
“(The cost? Do I have to pay anything?)”
“There is no cost for Keira. You just need to agree. And I... it says my mental strength will be consumed?”
“(Mental strength? Because I don't have mana and magic power?)”
“Is that okay? It won't make me transparent like Keira, right?”
That would be terrifying, but on the other hand, it filled my head with delusions. If my magic power is insufficient, perhaps I could mix with Keira like before?
“(It doesn't make you transparent. It just makes you feel hungry and have a headache? If used too much, your brain might melt.)”
“...What?”
Suddenly, a chill ran down my spine. My lower body shrank instantly. Your brain melting was much scarier than becoming transparent. It would be too painful.
“(Gate Keepers' skills have appropriate safety measures. Are you scared right now?)”
“I'm not scared. Why would I be scared?”
“(Then let's try it. I'm curious how the power is transmitted.)”
“Okay. Then can you lend me your hand?”
“(Why the hand?)”
“...Because I have to kiss the contract mark.”
I asked cautiously, thinking what if she refused, but Keira coolly extended her left hand. Thinking about her previous attitude, it was natural, but for me, it wasn't natural yet, so I felt tense instead. Really 100% the face of an idol being kissed by someone while wearing my clothes! Just a few hours ago, I had thought about a future where I live as a lifelong bachelor and die as a single old man, but this sudden reversal hadn't sunk in yet.
I kissed the left hand's contract mark.
Plop.
A change appeared in my status window.
“(What happened?)”
It wasn't disappointing at all, but she couldn't see my status window. Status windows were originally top-secret personal info. I could see it, haha.
“It says Blue Mana - Overclock.”
“(You took away my Blue Mana?)”
Keira's voice rose slightly. Did I do something wrong?
“I'll try using it first.”
“(Wait!)”
It seemed like she was about to say something, but I ignored her and raised the Blue Mana. With the power gained, I couldn't stop the urge to use it quickly. The way I raised the Blue Mana was unique, even to a beginner like me. But with the skill's power, I could do it naturally like a skilled coach. Concentration and rotation of mana happened simultaneously.
Whoosh.
A transparent flame appeared on my right hand. It was amazing. I could do something like this with my ability. It felt like I had truly become a Gate Keeper.
I looked up and saw Keira with a shocked face. She was more astonished than any scene I had seen today. When I sent her a questioning look, instead of answering, she grabbed my chin and turned me towards the mirror. In the mirror, I saw my figure holding up my right hand. The transparent flame didn't appear in the mirror. Instead, the color of my pupils came into view. It was a mysterious blue like Keira's.
“...Eh?”
“(Stop for now, if you do it wrong you'll die.)”
Without time to be surprised, I followed her words and extinguished the mana flame. As the flame disappeared, instead of the high spirits that everything could be done, fatigue came rushing in.
“Hah... hah...”
I lay back on the bed while breathing heavily. My body was so weak that even sitting was hard. If I closed my eyes, I would fall asleep immediately.
“Haa... haa...”
“(Don't sleep like that. There are still many things to learn.)”
“...I won't sleep.”
But my eyes were closing on their own. There was a hand stopping me.
“(Open your eyes.)”
It was Keira. She had climbed over me and was lying on top, forcibly opening my eyes. Her blue pupils were right in front of me. Pretty eyes. But because of her posture, my eyes opened wide. Due to the loose t-shirt, her chest was visible and soft. Unfortunately, the opportunity disappeared quickly. Because she quickly got up.
“(The pupil color has returned to normal. Maybe I can change the skill to something else? I have something to check.)”
“Okay. Then hand...”
She placed her left hand on my mouth. This time, I borrowed 'Dimensional Common Dark Magic - Lower'. Because it seemed to consume the least mental strength. As soon as the skill came to me, it changed to the lowest level.
“Done.”
“(Can I use Blue Mana again? In this state.)”
Ordering a dying person to die again?
I shook my head slightly.
“I can't.”
“(Then do you remember how you rotated the mana, how you gathered it?)”
“That...”
Wait. My head was blank. I remembered that while raising the Blue Mana, I thought the method was unique, but I don't remember what that unique method was at all. I thought it was a method that couldn't be forgotten once heard.
“...I don't remember anything.”
“(Then it's fine. It seems it's perfectly borrowing only the power. Good.”
Good? If I don't remember, I won't be able to learn anything.
“What is good?”
“(Blue Mana is a secret of one-person transmission. Only one person can learn it, and you must follow the predetermined procedure. Otherwise, you die.)”
“...What? If that's the case, you should have told me from the beginning not to bring Blue Mana.”
“(It was my mistake. I thought I couldn't use it at all. Sorry.)”
My anger was about to boil, but seeing Keira's face, it quickly cooled. That's why they say to live with a beauty. Looking back, she had tried to dissuade me. It wasn't because I didn't listen and used it first. She seemed mesmerized by something.
Eh? Was I really mesmerized?
“Okay. Then it's fine with the others, right?”
“(It's fine. What did you borrow this time?)”
“Dark Magic. It changed to the lowest level.”
“(A lower level attack magic is usable. Want to try using it once?)”
“...Right now?”
I had no strength in my body, so could I use it? It said if I do it wrong, I die.
“(You don't exercise usually?)”
I had no words to refute, no power to refute. The most recent exercise I remembered was just the waist exercise with Keira.
“(From the status, it seems not possible now. If you have mana, the situation will improve a bit.)”
“Get mana? How?”
Just a moment ago, wasn't it about borrowing only the power?
But how to get mana?
“(You're a Keeper, right? Keepers naturally get along with mana and affinity.)”
“No, before that, there is no mana in this world.”
As far as I knew, that was the case. Among many Keepers, there was no Keeper who had raised 'mana' and 'affinity'. Although 'magic power' many had raised, there was no one who knew how to raise 'mana' and 'affinity'. So, people thought there was no 'mana' in this world.
“(No mana? Everything in the world is made of mana, what does that mean?)”
“But that's why magic can't be used in this world...”
“(I used it just now, right? There is mana in this world too.)”
“Ah...!”
I thought Keira was using her own magic power to cast magic, but it seemed not. She was confident there was mana, so her words were correct. She was an expert in magic.
“Then... can I learn magic too?”
“(Of course. It's in the status window too. It's Dimensional Common. I didn't even know that the magic I use is Dimensional Common.)”
“Wow!”
Mage, I became a mage. It was different from when I used Blue Mana. Then it was just getting pure power, now it was like buying a high-end magic saber. Also, thinking that I was the only one in the world who had that saber.
“(Is that so surprising?)”
“It's like when Keira was surprised seeing the shower. The existence of a mage here is like that.”
“(I think I get it a little.)”
“But... don't you need to have a good head to learn magic?”
Keira looked like she had a good head. It was a fixed belief about mages that fit perfectly.
“(Honestly, I'm a bit worried about aging, but there is magic for such people, so it's fine.)”
“Sigh... good.”
Well, aging? At 26, compared to 21-year-old Keira, she was older, but not that old, right?
Thinking about it, why did Keira keep using casual speech? Was the translation going rogue?
“Keira, does my speech sound like casual speech to you?”
“(Casual speech? What is that?)”
“Not casual speech... does it sound like formal speech with etiquette?”
“(Yes. It's stiff language. For nobles or something.)”
From this, it seemed there was no concept of respect in Archenian language. Like English? Then why did I use honorifics.
“Then can I just speak like this?”
“(It's fine. Much more comfortable.)”
I should have done this earlier.
But even without honorifics, there would be titles.
“Can you call me 'oppa'?”
Keira narrowed her eyes at my words. This meant that the concept of 'oppa' existed in that world.
“(I don't like it. You feel comfortable.)”
“No, since I'm older, calling me oppa is natural.”
“(I don't like it. It's creepy. I have called everyone 'you'.)”
“Soo-yeon, just once, okay?”
“(No.)”
Somehow, I clung to it for a long time after that. But she was firm. Tsk, I wanted to hear my cute little sister call me oppa. Tsk tsk tsk.