Stranded in a Stranger's House

"What the...?"

Am I still half-asleep? Endless empty fields and misty blue mountains thick with trees. It screamed countryside, but there was this jarringly modern building plopped right in the middle of it all. Like one of those fancy pensions city college kids head to for a weekend escape. Maybe it's a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠dream born from my loser days as a guy, subconsciously yearning for that popular crowd vibe...

Screw dreams. This is real.

I'd been dumped here with nothing but a mystery suitcase I didn't even know the contents of. And by my own flesh-and-blood sister, who I'd only reunited with three days ago, no less.

"No, hold on. I don't know yet. Let's head inside first and think this through."

Sis must have had her reasons for pulling this stunt. I grabbed my one piece of luggage—the suitcase—and dragged it straight into the house. It had a fancy door lock, but the door swung open without any key or code, like it wasn't even locked. The moment I stepped in, that classic "stranger's house" smell hit me. You know the one. But there wasn't a soul in sight.

The interior was all sleek white and warm wood tones. I kicked off my shoes, and a "whoa" slipped out on its own. Unlike the stiff exterior, the inside felt incredibly cozy.

"Huh... I'm in, but now what...?"

What the hell am I supposed to do? I wanted to call Sis, but I didn't even have my phone...

♫♬♫♬♫♬♫♬―――

Right on cue, a bell rang out from somewhere. I traced the sound, and it was coming from the suitcase. I popped it open to find neatly folded clothes, with a document envelope and a smartphone sitting on top. The phone screen read [PrettyNoona♡].

I hit accept without thinking, and a familiar voice came through.

[Hey, little sis~ You make it there okay?]

"Huh? So-hee noona? Why are you calling out of nowhere...? No, forget that—what the hell is going on here?!"

[Huh? Didn't Jina tell you anything?]

I spilled every single ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠thing that had happened since I got here, and a deep sigh came from the other end.

[Haa... What am I gonna do with that hothead... Dumping her own sister like some stray puppy. Must've caught you off guard, huh? Anyway, I'll give you the rundown, so find a comfy spot and listen up.]

I plopped down on a plush-looking sofa and tuned in to So-hee noona's explanation.

[First off, that place you're at? It's a pension owned by our group.]

"Group? You mean the guild?"

[Huh? Jina didn't tell you that either? Eh, not important. Point is, while Jina deals with the threats, you gotta lay low there.]

"..............Pardon?"

[There's a document envelope in the suitcase, right? Open that up.]

No time to think—I grabbed the envelope from the suitcase, sat back down, and tore it ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠open. Inside was a paper titled Basic Certificate (Returnee Edition).

"Noona, I opened it. What is this?"

[While you were out cold, Jina finalized the name change and survival report. Probably starting this afternoon... Oh, it's already afternoon? So yeah, as of now, you're legally Yoo I-na, a returnee.]

What the fu—? What? She dumps me here on her whim and changes my name behind my back too?! My grip tightened on the phone involuntarily.

".........So-hee noona, give me Sis's number right now... No, that damn abandoner's number..."

[I get you're pissed, but calm down first. Jina's contact is saved in that phone, but don't call unless it's a real emergency.]

"She changes my name without asking and leaves me stranded here, and I'm not supposed to call? Wouldn't you be mad?"

[Well... Jina's just really worried about you. She blames herself for everything and doesn't want ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to burden you.]

Hearing that, I bit my lower lip. The forced name change and getting left here? Fine, I was mad, but I could chalk it up to her doing it for my sake, like old times. What really got under my skin was that she didn't trust me enough to loop me in—she was handling all the dangerous stuff solo. Was I that unreliable? Maybe I'd talked a big game about being strong without backing it up.

"Noona... How do I register as a hunter?"

[.........You wanna become a hunter?]

"If you can't trust my words, I'll just prove it. I'm not as strong as before, but I'm still plenty—"

[That's exactly why, sis. Or should I say I-na now? I don't know how OP you were in that other world, but there's one immutable fact.]

"Immutable fact?"

[Support mage. Meaning, outside of support magic, you're capped at D-rank hunter level, tops.]

Her words filled my head with question marks.

...What kinda bullshit is this?

#

I knew I lacked the knowledge to argue back about this world, so we wrapped up the call roughly. Still pissed at Sis, but to verify what So-hee noona said, I headed outside to test some attack magic.

Just in case, I chanted a mid-tier spell, Lightning Bolt, lightly. A blue bolt of lightning crackled from my fingertips, slicing through the air.

"......It works?"

Perfectly cast, but the power was only half of what I remembered. I poked at my hand, tilting my head.

"What's the issue? My mana control was spot-on..."

Magic is reshaping the mana inside you and projecting it outward. Fail at either, and it either fizzles or weakens. But this was a spell I knew inside out—no shortcuts taken. Mana depletion was long gone, no pain anywhere. So what gives?

Rubbing my chin, it hit me. I got back into stance.

The power was incomparable—full Lightning Bolt strength, just like always.

"Oh!! So it was the lack of ambient mana!"

Magic needs 'mana' and 'control' usually, but it's like lighting a fire. Your internal mana is the 'fuel,' the chant or control is the 'spark,' and ambient mana in the air is the 'oxygen.' The key difference? Magic doesn't need that 'oxygen.' Ambient mana just saves your internal reserves—it's supplemental. You can cast without it, but it guzzles your own mana, which isn't efficient. No point wasting extra when ambient mana is there.

That's why my casual cast was weak—the ambient mana was too thin.

"Heh... I'm a genius after all. Figured it out and fixed it in just 10 seconds."

Pretty and smart? I'm too perfect for this world.

But high on that thrill of solving it, I'd overlooked the real issue.

"Wait, why's the ambient mana so damn low? It's practically nonexistent..."

Any mana-bearing lifeform leaks it periodically, creating ambient mana. Tiny amounts, but from plants, monsters—everything. You'd have to wipe out all life to eliminate it.

But not this world. Plants here have zero mana, no monsters, and 'awakeners'—humans with mana—are a tiny fraction of the population.

"No wonder it's scarce. Weird if it wasn't."

Whatever. Double internal mana usage? Easy—I could spam mid-tier spells 500 times straight. And it regenerates during use, so net zero. Other witches could do it too. Might strain slower regenerators, but not me...

"Hmm... Thinking alone ain't helping..."

Humans use tools. Time to consult the pinnacle of civilization: my smartphone, ocean of knowledge.