Chapter 6
Chapter 6
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: Serious Magic Addict
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Rain poured down on the streets at dawn.
Three men and women in suits sprinted forward, each clutching a different firearm.
“Huff, heave, heave……!”
The youngest-looking man among the three wheezed, flailing his limbs weakly. The woman who saw him kicked him in the back and yelled.
“You bastard! Don’t stop running! What if civilians get hurt because of this!”
“Huff, b-but, heave, my breath……!”
“Shut up and run! Unless you want your memories wiped and get disposed of!”
The woman gritted her teeth, gripping her pistol. Blood trickled down from a slight tear on her thigh. Her ID badge swayed against her chest as she ran.
[Kim I-seo]
[Bureau of Mystery Management, Response Team 3]
Bureau of Mystery Management.
The nation’s secret agency handling all matters related to anomalies, boasting incredibly high pay but with an abnormally harsh work environment. It wasn’t for nothing that the death rate exceeded the injury rate.
Surviving required more than average mental fortitude. However, one basic requirement for joining was encountering an anomaly at least once, so agents in the Bureau generally had strong wills.
Their physical abilities were exceptional too.
Response Team 3 was no different. Not composed of people with special abilities, but still a department with a decent mission success rate.
Chasing down and killing an ‘Eight-Foot Ghost’ like today was routine for them.
A straightforward, brute-force anomaly that wasn’t too hard to handle and didn’t demand high mental strength. It vanished once you put special bullets through it—a being spawned from urban legends.
Perfect as a hazing target for rookies. That’s why the Team 3 leader had sent out two competent members with one newbie to hunt an Eight-Foot Ghost.
And this was the result. The Eight-Foot Ghost had fled using its long arms and legs, and Team 3 had taken injuries. All because the rookie failed to pull the trigger at the crucial moment.
“Damn it.”
Kim I-seo spat curses as she forced her throbbing leg to move.
The wound came from protecting the man. If she hadn’t shoved the rookie aside, his head would’ve been skewered and rolling on the ground.
Maybe she should’ve let it happen. Then they could’ve taken the anomaly out for sure.
Damn that rookie.
Kim I-seo glanced at the lagging man, then spoke to her colleague running alongside her.
“I’ll go ahead. Take care of that idiot.”
“You okay? Your leg’s hurt.”
“Manageable. Lend me a gun. Mine’s a pistol—lacks firepower.”
“Yeah, sure.”
Park Ji-ah, her ID swaying, handed over the shotgun she’d been carrying. Kim I-seo expertly checked the talisman-wrapped rounds and chewed a gray pill.
In that instant, her physical abilities surged beyond their limits. A special breathing technique temporarily boosted her already enhanced body to another level.
She’d suffer muscle tears for days after, but there was no choice now. She had to track the anomaly faster to prevent civilian casualties.
“I’m going. Follow the tracker.”
Kim I-seo said. Ji-ah nodded, pulling out her device.
Whoosh!
Kim I-seo dashed off. Faster than most track athletes, she donned the mask from her waist.
A mask for tracking anomaly scents.
With Park Ji-ah, the tracker, absent, she had to find it herself. Originally meant to avoid anomalies when alone, but she could repurpose it.
“Huff!”
She turned toward the stench wafting from somewhere. The trail-like smell wound through alleys, detoured into a convenience store, then headed down a narrow street.
‘Convenience store?’
Why a convenience store all of a sudden?
As doubt made her glance over, she spotted a man standing inside the store.
He didn’t seem injured. The store was a mess, but not a drop of blood on him.
Still, he’d clearly encountered the anomaly.
For civilians facing anomalies, there were only two options: memory wipe or join the Bureau.
She’d have to talk to him after the job.
Kim I-seo turned away with that thought. At the same moment, she spotted a trail of blood starting from the convenience store.
‘……Blood?’
No need to check whose. The stench marked it as the anomaly’s.
Blood itself wasn’t odd. She’d shot the Eight-Foot Ghost in the thigh herself. It made sense if it came from there.
But the sheer volume was too much for simple bleeding.
It looked like……a limb had been sliced clean off.
‘……Did that guy do it?’
No way to know. But the blood trail started at the store. It had entered, something happened, and it left badly wounded.
“…….”
No clue as to the cause. Her instincts screamed to investigate immediately.
But reason suppressed it.
Priorities first. Neutralize the anomaly.
Once civilians died, things got messy. Unnecessary deaths had to be prevented.
Kim I-seo turned and pursued the blood trail, shotgun in hand.
The perception-blocking tool ensured civilians wouldn’t notice.
But.
“……Why’s that woman running around with a shotgun.”
It wasn’t enough to fool a mage’s eyes.
***
[Title: Ran into an Eight-Foot Ghost today.]
[Anonymous]
Working part-time at a convenience store when it burst in and attacked, so I ripped off one arm.
Was wondering how to get anomaly flesh for alchemy, and luck struck.
Gonna make other stuff with this lol.
[Likes 3][Dislikes 0]
[Comments]
-Great job, mage con.
-Eight-Foot Ghost? You met your match. The newbie mage who posted yesterday?
ㄴAnonymous: Yeah.
ㄴLol, now you’ll tangle with anomalies for real. Prep well.
ㄴAnonymous: Saw the posts from newbies here and figured it was coming. But it showed up right after, so kinda caught off guard.
-Ear Bug: Pretty casual for being caught off guard—you ripped it right off. Prime mage talent.
ㄴAnonymous: If I don’t kill it, it kills me. Gotta do it.
ㄴEar Bug: Feel anything before killing? Like how normals hesitate before killing beasts?
ㄴAnonymous: Nope.
ㄴEar Bug: Peak mage average lol.
Ian sent a fitting emoji to Ear Bug’s reply and wolfed down a triangle kimbap.
Morning after finishing his shift.
Using re-creation magic left him a bit tired, but not enough to collapse. Before bed, he was browsing the community one last time.
[Title: Let’s learn about the Eight-Foot Ghost our sexy newbie caught.]
[Taming Master]
(Eight-Foot Ghost illustration)
Here’s the Eight-Foot Ghost. Doesn’t it look hot?
Born from Japanese urban legends, it has long arms and legs with insane grip strength. It can pop our frail mages’ heads like slimes.
Attacks by biting with teeth, slashing with nails, or whipping arms like lashes.
Nothing hurts less than the others, so dodge unless you want a melodrama limb-loss scene.
But this powerhouse is just a huge target if you avoid hits. Perfect for testing spell firepower.
It even screams “Aaaagh” for great feedback. Not super durable, takes hits like a good girl.
Attacks on eye contact, so punch first, no questions. It flees if hit, so aim for legs.
Puppet or control mages: torment and tame it. (The author did.)
(Photo of trembling Eight-Foot Ghost lying on bed)
See? Cute like a big dog.
Pulled teeth and nails, trimmed limbs—no danger.
Cool body temp, so hunt one for a summer cooler wife.
(Mage thumbs up con)
[Likes 13][Dislikes 51]
[Comments]
-Wow lol what’s this limb-chopped pet doll shit lol
-Killing’s easy. Ran into a few, caught and beat ‘em all.
-Looks creepy hot, kinda horny tho……
ㄴ(Mage question mark con)
-Sweet Grandpa: That thing……looks……tasty……
ㄴEel: Grandpa……sticking it in that’ll kill you……
ㄴSweet Grandpa: You brat! You don’t know anomaly flavor yet!
ㄴEel: Don’t eat it literally either……
-Strawberry Yogurt Smoothie: What the fuck is this psycho perv? Poor Eight-Foot caught by you.
ㄴTaming Master: Denial phase, huh? Few left—recommend a handsome anomaly?
ㄴStrawberry Yogurt Smoothie: You’re fucked.
ㄴ★Grandmother: Excessive profanity. Comments banned 3 days.
ㄴStrawberry Yogurt Smoothie: Ah fuck!
Insane ramblings no different from a madman’s. Ian first chuckled in disbelief, then left a comment on a sudden question.
-Anonymous: But are there multiple Eight-Feet? How do you all know?
ㄴTaming Master: Legend-spawned ones multiply endlessly as long as anomalies exist. Born where the tale spreads.
ㄴAnonymous: Ah, so the Bureau kills to cull numbers?
ㄴTaming Master: That too. Mages hunt to tame or use as reagents.
ㄴTaming Master: Wait, you already know about the Bureau? Newbie?
ㄴAnonymous: Not exactly, just saw someone who seemed like one.
Ian recalled the woman in a suit, masked, shotgun in hand, sprinting through the rain.
Looked exactly like a Bureau agent dispatched to hunt Eight-Foot Ghosts.
In fiction, such agents were usually Bureau, so he’d guessed in his comment. Seemed right.
ㄴTaming Master: Avoid the Bureau for now. Mages handle anomalies too, so they’re wary. Not dangerous if caught, but annoying.
ㄴAnonymous: Ok, thanks for advice.
ㄴTaming Master: Thanks? Get your own Eight-Foot doll.
Ian didn’t reply, setting his phone down.
‘Can’t rule out the Bureau coming for me.’
That running woman. If sharp and observant, she’d notice the massive blood trail starting at the store.
She wouldn’t know he was a mage, but he’d done something conspicuous.
No telling if or when they’d come, but prep was smart.
Ian thought so, pulled up the covers, and slept.
Waking to a late lunch, he showered lightly, stepped out, and bought an exorcism talisman from a nearby shaman.
If the Bureau came, he’d claim he’d exorcised it with the talisman.
Crude, but no other options.
Civilians had no other way against anomalies besides talismans. No guns or knives available.
Bureau might buy it without evidence.
‘Key is not getting outed as a mage.’
Freshly minted mage. No thanks to entanglements.
Ian placed the talisman casually on the table, ordered delivery, sat, and opened the Grimoire.
The cherished orb glowed red.
Unplanned, but with good ingredients, time to experiment.
He skimmed the alchemy section for something decent.