Have You Heard of a Strength Mage?
Have you heard of a strength mage? About thirty minutes after Yoon Ra-yoon woke up, the test results came back. And the verdict... was exactly as expected. Perfectly normal. The doctor even asked why we'd bothered coming in at all. Still, fainting wasn't exactly a run-of-the-mill symptom—especially when mana damage was the culprit. I wasn't the only one worried sick. Sure, the final collapse had been more physical trauma... but we'd come to the hospital for a specific reason.
That said, the doctor did drop one intriguing comment. "We ran a full mana circuit scan since you mentioned mana damage, and there were no issues at all. But... the circuits were shockingly clean. Like someone had deliberately reversed the mana flow to scrub away all the buildup? In ten years of examining Awakeners, I've never seen anything this pristine! Haha!"
I'd always figured this world's understanding of mana was a bit lacking, but their scanning tech was on par with Nihilum's—hell, maybe even better. Nihilum's magitech was fundamentally mana-based. This world, on the other hand, had bootstrapped itself into an industrial revolution on pure technology, without relying on mana. Combining that with modern tech had led to some seriously advanced mana detection.
Nom nom, gulp. "Did I underestimate this place too much?"
I was chowing down on the burger combo I'd grabbed on the way back from Ra-yoon's checkup, parked in front of my computer to brush up on this world's common knowledge. Ra-yoon, Manager Lee Dae-gun, and Ga-eul lived in the same neighborhood, so they'd dropped me off halfway and headed home. Ra-yoon had begged to keep learning magic, but I told her we'd call it for today and pick up tomorrow. She pouted but went home obediently. Felt a bit like placating a sulky niece...
Besides my mom—who was an only child—there were a few cousins on my dad's side, but according to my big sis, we'd cut ties after some incident. Haven't seen them in ages. No idea what went down, but sis hinted it was inheritance drama. Not exactly heartwarming stuff. Not that I was super close with relatives back on Earth either, so whatever.
Point is, I'd thought I'd gotten pretty familiar with this world after a month, but nope. I only caught half of what the doc said, and I had no clue what Ga-eul meant by the National Academy.
"YouTube summary vids are the best for this." No need to hunt down papers or articles in this era—gotta make the most of it. People evolve with the times. Not just laziness. I'm being considerate of the creators. How thoughtful am I?
A quick browse turned up a promising title in about five minutes. "'History of the Post-Dimension Break Era'... Might as well learn some history while I'm at it."
I skipped the ad and prepped my third burger.
The next day.
"Ra-yoon, one more set!"
"Hweeeeee!!!"
Right on cue, Ra-yoon's weird battle cry echoed through the living room. The difference from yesterday? We'd added push-ups to the mindless squats. Oh, and her mana capacity had ticked up a bit. Not intentional, but after the doc confirmed her circuits were drained, I'd forced out every last drop of residual mana. Then she chugged that mandrake juice on top. Basically remade her mana physique from scratch. Like cleaning a rusty engine and pouring in premium fuel.
"Hah... hah... Sis...! Is this really related to learning magic?"
Ra-yoon flopped face-first onto the floor mid-push-up.
"Kinda. Like I said yesterday, first you gotta feel the mana. Then you can manipulate it for spells or whatever."
"So I have to pass out again like yesterday?"
"Nah, no need now. But Ra-yoon... the results might be a teensy bit different from what you expect."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
Truth was, after our little chase yesterday, I'd noticed Ra-yoon was unconsciously using body reinforcement without realizing it. It's one of the simplest spells anyone with mana can pull off—just circulate it like blood through your body.
'A healthy body houses healthy mana.' Train both simultaneously, and her body gets mana-friendly, transforming more efficiently. With her already unconsciously reinforcing, the effects double. Mindless strength training was perfect mana practice for her.
"Just keep exercising till graduation, and you could hit C-rank Hunter easy."
"For real?!"
"Yeah. Right now, your body reinforcement is already C-rank Hunter level. Nail mana control, and B-rank's a breeze."
"Ooooh!! I can be a Hunter?!!"
Not hyping her up—this kid's mana pool already outstrips your average C-rank. Weaker than my S-rank sis or A-rank So-hee unnie, sure, but tops among everyone I've met otherwise. Master control, and she'd smoke the Hunters in those videos. No contest.
Hearing she could go pro lit up her eyes like stars.
"Then soon as I graduate, straight to Seoul for Hunter registration!"
"Get your parents' okay first. They'll worry."
"Duh! Gotta show 'em the mana scan results—bet that'll convince 'em quick!"
She was pumped. Watching her bounce around with excitement tugged my lips into a grin despite myself. Bet I was the same when I first learned magic. Two years after reincarnating as a witch in Triia, Master started teaching us sisters the basics. We inherited her genes lock, stock, and barrel. But even kids don't perfectly mirror their parents.
Big sis Red got close to Master's level, but lil' White and I couldn't match every lesson. So White leaned into her genius brain for magitech, and I reinterpreted Master's "misunderstood" theories, tempered my body, met Laurus, and climbed to the Seven Pillars.
Was Ra-yoon walking my path? Only differences were innate mana pool and control. But that's 'cause I'm a witch—can't compare to a normal mana user like her.
"Sis, any exercise counts, right?"
"Eh... pretty much? Intensity amps the gains. Running, weights, that kinda thing. Got it?"
"Like a gym rat!"
"Yep. Won't bulk you up like a bodybuilder, though—no worries there."
Thankfully, reinforcing while training builds functional muscle. Some swell, sure, but mana control lets you dial it back anytime. Otherwise, I'd be deadlifting 500kg as a ripped amazon by now. My glorious boobs turning into pecs? Shudder.
"From experience, running's the best. Sprint to school from now on."
"Huh? I already do."
"..."
Didn't see that coming. Do all country kids run to school? Nah, Ra-yoon's just built different. What high schooler sprints 7km round-trip daily?
No choice. Time for desperate measures.
"Then take the mountain paths. Or wear a weighted vest."
"Mountains? Nah, my uniform'd get filthy."
"...Didn't you say you skip class in the mountains all the time?"
"Even I don't ditch every day! Like, four times a week!"
That's basically daily without weekends. Did she bargain herself down including them?
"Hmm... weighted vest it is? Allowance is tight this week... Oh! Gotta ask Uncle Dae-gun if he has any! Be right back, sis!"
She snatched her smartphone and dialed. I stood up.
"Guess I'll prep lunch then."
What's on the menu? Protein after strength training, obviously. And protein means beef. Hang tight, Ra-yoon. I'll turn you into a proper strength mage yet. Regular body reinforcement's still magic—she can't argue.