A Master as Vast as the Heavens
“Ah...”
It's so exhausting...
The uncle doesn't quite get it either, but he's still better off. With his experience, even if he doesn't fully grasp it intellectually, he'll just shrug and accept it if it seems solid enough. But teaching kids is a whole different story.
When you're teaching them 1+1, it's not about just saying it equals 2. You have to explain what 1+1 even means. Forget the result for a second—you need to drill down into what addition is and why it makes 2.
I'm not some trained elementary school teacher, and even I sometimes find my own knowledge and understanding alien. So you can imagine how tough it is.
Still, after hours of fumbling around, I finally got them to cast a super basic spell—the magical equivalent of 1+1.
It might not seem like much, but the fact that Suyeon—not the uncle, but Suyeon—managed it first is a huge win.
“Unnie, what is this?”
Seeing Suyeon stare at the magic flickering in her hand, all puzzled and cute, filled me with this rush of pride. I'd taught her that. A simple spell that just burns a tiny bit of mana to make a little light—nothing fancy. But the point is, she did it.
“That's magic.”
Her eyes sparkled like stars as she looked at her hand. I hadn't even told her to hold it steady, but she was maintaining it perfectly. Looked like she could really make use of what I taught her.
I watched Suyeon beaming at the light with a mentor's smile, then turned to the uncle.
It was Suyeon's request, sure, but she's still just a kid. If I'm going to teach her, I need the parents' okay first.
“Um... Uncle...?”
“Uh, yeah? What's up?”
Honestly, he treats me like a kid too. It's this awkward mix—he sees me as his benefactor, so he's all unnatural around me. Watch: he chats casually with Suyeon, spitting out 반말 like it's nothing, but with me? It's like a pubescent boy possessed, stammering away. And since I look way younger than him, there's this subtle babying tone too. Perfect. Just perfect.
But I couldn't call him out on his speech patterns here, so I flashed an awkward smile, pointed at Suyeon, and said, “C-Can I... teach Suyeon... some m-magic...?”
She'll probably awaken some ability eventually and thrive on her own. Word is, this uncle's a pretty famous awakener. Something like Brain God—kinda chuunibyou nickname. He gets embarrassed and asks people not to call him that, but it's stuck.
Having a nickname like that means he's well-known enough. So his daughter should inherit some serious power too.
I might be derailing her smooth path in life. She's picking up magic great now, but what if she hits a plateau later? I wouldn't be able to help.
Of course, magic—when mastered—is incredibly powerful and full of endless potential. That's a fact. I take pride in mine, even if it looks unimpressive. Hell, what else do I have to believe in? Not having pride in it would be weirder.
The recovery potion that healed Suyeon? All thanks to my top-notch magic skills.
Not that I'd expected it to heal her, or that we'd cross paths again like this even if it did.
Anyway, back to the point: was it really okay for me to keep teaching Suyeon magic?
We could still pivot now, so I figured I'd ask one last time.
He'd probably say yes if Suyeon was happy... but what if he chewed me out later for teaching her “that magic crap”? Better to get it on record.
“Uh... that...”
The uncle, eyeing the phone in my hand, asked while breaking out in a cold sweat.
This? Isn't it obvious?
“F-For the record...”
You never know. He could deny I ever asked. Sure, he could grab me with one swing of his arm, so this wouldn't stop him—but it eases my nerves.
If I sense him getting suspicious, I'll call the cops quick to protect myself.
“Do I really seem that untrustworthy...?”
“Daddy can be kinda scary!”
Suyeon giggled, and the uncle's face fell like he'd been struck by lightning. He lurched up, shuffled to the mirror, and clutched his face with both hands.
Of course, I wasn't doing this because he scared me. Not at all. Just... preparing for worst-case scenarios. Definitely not fear. No way.
“Ahem... So, you're asking if it's okay for Suyeon to keep learning magic like this, right?”
“Yes...”
“Hm? Any problems with that?”
Well, teaching might have its hiccups, but I'll iron those out with experience.
I just want it clear: whatever happens down the line from my teaching, I'm not taking responsibility.
Worried about what, you ask? Say Suyeon learns magic and then quits. What then? This guy's a total daughter-con. If she tells him later she never wanted to learn it, I'm dead meat.
Exaggerating a bit, sure. Hard to imagine him—the guy who sees me as his savior—actually killing or even hurting me.
She's young now... her choice or not, she might regret it later. That's why I'm asking her dad: is this path really okay?
After pondering my question, he sighed, “Hoo,” and patted Suyeon's head.
Innocent as ever, she just tilted her head with a grin.
“If Suyeon’s fine with it, that's all that matters. No need to worry.”
“Huh?”
Suyeon cocked her head at his words. He smirked and asked, “You like learning from unnie, Suyeon?”
“Yeah! I love it!”
She demonstrated the spell I'd just taught her, giggling all the while.
“There you go.”
Fair enough. If that's settled, great. Now I can teach without holding back.
I asked Suyeon carefully, “Wanna learn more...?”
“Yeah!”
Hmm... With both their permissions, time to get serious.
“Gonna give you homework, so brace yourself?”
“Ehh? I don't like that...”
“Tch. Homework's non-negotiable!”
“Hiiiing...”
A master's word is law—like the heavens themselves. Now that we're here, it's hell-mode ahead. Better get ready.
“All done?”
I stood as soon as I spotted Seo-a approaching. Something felt off, though.
“Mm... Yeah, it's done, but...”
She'd gone in all excited earlier, but now her face was uneasy.
“Something wrong?”
Did it flag something weird? After hesitating, she made a vague face and said, “Everything else checked out fine... but something strange did pop up.”
“Something strange...?”
“Yeah. It's... kinda ridiculous, honestly...”
Ridiculous? Well, with how potent that recovery potion was, I could see anomalies... but if she was calling it strange, there was a real issue.
I took the paper with a tense look.
“It really did detect something weird.”
“Weird how?”
“Yeah. Like I said, something utterly impossible... not a substance, really. More like an energy source.”
“What the—?”
I couldn't make sense of why she'd phrase it like that, even as worry gnawed at me. Energy source? What did that even mean?
I unfolded the paper to check—and froze.
“What the hell...”
I couldn't believe my eyes. Something that had no business being in a recovery potion was there.
Not impossible in this isekai world, maybe, but by modern standards? Absurd.
“Mana...?”
The recovery potion tested positive for mana. A massive amount of it.