Becoming a Wizard (2)
I wrapped my hand roughly in bandages, making sure to thoroughly disinfect it with rubbing alcohol first.
I needed to change my strategy. This was a wizard's body now. I couldn't afford to let it suffer any more major injuries. Even if a quick trip to a clinic would heal it without leaving a scar, it was foolish to ignore even the slightest risk.
I've never felt this good while in pain.
My right hand still throbbed with a dull ache, and a sharp sting occasionally made me grimace. Yet, because that pain was proof that my awakening as a wizard was real, a smile kept slipping onto my face.
Having finished my makeshift first aid, I sat back down at the computer to express my gratitude.
The guy's writing style was admittedly terrible, but perhaps that was a deliberate filter to keep the unqualified from accessing the information. Whether you were a wizard or a scientist, writing skills didn't matter. Research capability was what truly counted.
Having left my thank-you note, I began mapping out my future plans. Now that I was a wizard, what was my next step?
I had to learn magic. And I had to grow by gaining various experiences.
My ultimate goal in becoming a wizard was to master every single spell in existence. Though it was an incredibly difficult dream in reality, a goal was a goal. I would move forward to achieve it.
Now, what's next? Should I register?
After the cataclysmic chaos of the Gate Incident, humanity had seemed on the brink of extinction. Fortunately, Awakeners who could manipulate mana began to emerge, and the world had barely managed to stabilize.
Yet, society remained incredibly volatile. Gates opened at random, meaning anyone without power could die at any moment.
Ironically, real estate prices in city centers had skyrocketed, which was a dark comedy in itself.
If a Gate opened in the countryside, you were as good as dead. In the city, however, there were plenty of hunters on standby, and high-ranking hunters were heavily concentrated in urban areas.
In any case, after the first Gate Incident, a series of chaotic eras swept the globe. Following a fourth global economic crisis—one that dwarfed the Great Depression, the Great Recession, and the Great Lockdown combined—South Korea had somehow managed to recover.
How? I had no idea. People just said we recovered, so I assumed we did. Since I had no memories of life before the Gates, I couldn't even tell if this was a true recovery.
Trying to compare our situation to other countries was pointless too, since I didn't know how powerful those nations had been in the first place.
Take the United States, for example. People said it was the world's superpower before the Gates, but I had barely ever heard of it.
They were supposedly still in a military alliance with South Korea, but because they were so far away, diplomatic exchanges had virtually ceased during the chaotic era.
Having stabilized, South Korea now enforced mandatory registration for all Awakeners. The reason was simple: to identify and track them if they ever turned into villains.
Back when the country was half-paralyzed, Awakened criminals had forced the government to waste resources fighting fellow humans instead of monsters. Because of that trauma, the state was deeply obsessive about keeping tabs on them.
But there's no absolute reason I have to register right away.
Registration did come with various forms of support. The benefits were actually quite substantial. However, they came with equal obligations.
You could be barred from certain facilities, subjected to mobilization orders, or placed under surveillance if you were high-ranked. Violating these rules carried severe penalties.
But there were loopholes. Since awakening occurred at random times, I could always claim I had only just awakened. Besides, if you were high-ranked, the government preferred keeping you as an ally rather than punishing you, so they often let things slide.
This choice was only possible because I had realized my awakening on my own, rather than through an official test. I could delay notifying the state, but once I did, there was no going back.
I had to choose carefully.
Ugh... How are wizards treated, anyway?
The biggest issue was that I had no idea how the government would treat me once I registered as a wizard. Wizards were incredibly rare, and their awakenings and registration methods varied wildly.
Some had already been active hunters before registering. Most importantly, there were only eleven wizards in the entire country.
Wizards were anomalies. They could grow without entering Gates or relying on gear. Because of this unique nature, it was hard to make a proper judgment without more information.
As I sank deeper into thought...
A notification popped up, revealing a new comment. It was from the very person who had written those technical guides—the registered user, WizardLover.
Wait. Come to think of it, isn't this guy at least an industry insider?
The things he wrote were far beyond what any non-wizard could ever come up with. He had to be an insider. As someone active in the field, he would surely know a lot of relevant information.
I immediately replied.
I thought the post was written by an idiot, but it turns out the author really is an idiot. I didn't know why he wrote it, but I could understand why others wouldn't follow it.
Regardless, the information he shared was far from ordinary. It required specialized knowledge—something you could only write if you had experienced awakening yourself or had been directly taught. Why on earth was he posting this stuff in a dead, backwater gallery?
Hmm. I give up trying to understand him.
Seeing his reply, I immediately stopped trying to make sense of it.
Even a wizard was human, and humans often did things for no logical reason. Hobbies and personal tastes were prime examples. If you asked someone why they liked something, the ultimate answer was almost always "just because."
Some people wrote malicious comments as a hobby, so I supposed writing technical magic guides could be a hobby too. I decided to let it go.
He was asking for proof. Judging by the context, he probably wanted to verify the first wizard who had awakened thanks to his guide.
It was doable. Even if I posted proof, the government wouldn't immediately hunt me down.
Ever since an S-rank Awakener turned into a villain after being coerced into registering, the government had changed its approach.
Now, once an Awakener entered their radar, they made a formal, legal request. If the Awakener registered, they were granted privileges and expected to fulfill duties, with clear warnings about the consequences of violations. They played strictly by the book to maintain a righteous image.
Thus, the government wouldn't track me down recklessly unless I possessed something so massive it justified ignoring their own protocols.
Besides, they didn't have the resources to spare for that right now. The country was still unstable; where would they find the administrative manpower to tail a random person?
And I should build up some publicity.
There was a limit to how much the government could support Awakeners with tax money. Rebuilding society already cost a fortune, so where would they get the funds? Consequently, Awakeners often signed corporate sponsorships or worked as semi-celebrities in commercials.
They raked in cash like pop stars. All the government provided was tax exemptions. From S-rank onward, they were practically tax-free. For SS-ranks, even the inheritance tax was zero percent.
Let's think like a wizard. The moment you became a high-ranking wizard, you could make a fortune. But nobody knew how long that would take. Popularity, on the other hand, could be acquired beforehand.
And the method was simple. Objectively speaking, Baek Sowol was beautiful. Extremely so.
Laying the groundwork to become famous early on wasn't a bad idea. If things went south, I could always just delete the post immediately.
I created a throwaway account and replied.
Even if I got banned, as long as this guy saw it, that was enough.
I recorded a video. I set up the camera to show only my half-bandaged hand and the computer screen displaying the forum. Then, I drew out my mana and waved it around, spelling out my username, "Mamabeobbeob," in glowing threads of magical energy.
It was a bit exhausting, probably because I wasn't used to it yet. Still, the recording was a success.
I immediately uploaded it to the Hunter Gallery.
It was a short post, but the reaction was anything but brief.
The reactions were split. Some argued it was AI, others insisted it couldn't be AI and had to be CG if it was fake. Of course, it was the absolute truth, but they would all find out eventually.
Then, a notification chimed.
It was the registered user, WizardLover, who had commented earlier. Since he possessed actual magical knowledge, he must have recognized that my video was genuine.
Perhaps because I was the first success story born from his guide, he had even offered to kindly share information. This was a great start. Immediately after reincarnating, I had awakened as a wizard and secured a useful contact.
Just as everything was falling perfectly into place...
Throb—
Ah, right. The hospital.
The pain I had temporarily forgotten surged back into my hand.
Earlier, I might have shrugged it off, but I could no longer ignore the signals my body was sending.
This body was now a wizard's. Even if I were to reincarnate again in the future, there was no telling how long it would take to obtain another wizard's constitution. Furthermore, this body was quite beautiful. That was also an important factor.
If everyone thought like a wizard, physical appearance wouldn't matter much. But no matter how much of a wizard I was, I still had to interact with non-wizards.
And to those non-wizards, my looks would be a powerful asset. I had to minimize any actions that could harm this body.
I quickly threw on some clothes, checked the map for the nearest hospital, and ran out. The clinic should still be open.
Let's go.
This would be my first time stepping outside since becoming a woman. I felt a twinge of apprehension. It was, after all, my first time navigating the world as a female.
But letting fear paralyze me was unbefitting of a wizard. Wizards were those who uncovered new truths through trial and challenge. Hesitating out of fear was a trait unworthy of a mage.
There was no reason not to go, but there was every reason to go. Therefore, I went.
I made my way toward the hospital.
"You can actually awaken like this?"
In a skyscraper located in Gangnam, the heart of South Korea's capital, Seoul.
Inside, Jeong Suhyun—the Guild Master of the Iron Blood Guild and South Korea's sole SS-rank wizard—could not hide his utter bewilderment.
In the first place, awakening like that makes absolutely no sense.
He was a man who could easily claim to be the strongest among the country's mere eleven wizards. Yet, even he had never heard of anyone awakening in such a manner.
It was only natural. Wizard awakenings simply didn't happen like this. Most of those who awakened as wizards without an official test usually only realized their constitution once they reached B-rank or higher.
The reason? Manipulating magic required a certain level of proficiency. Even if you awakened, it wasn't a power you could control like an expert right off the bat.
It was just that after they discovered a method to identify a wizard's constitution, such occurrences had vanished. Once registered as a wizard, the association would teach them how to manage their mana.
The only reason he had written that post in the gallery was to share his own experiences. He had never actually expected anyone to read it and successfully awaken.
Is it real?
He immediately drew mana to his fingertips and drew letters in the air, mimicking the video. The movement in the clip was almost identical to his own. No AI could replicate that level of precision. At the very least, it was definitely written by a real wizard.
If so, the post could only mean one thing.
A genius?
There was no other explanation than that this person was a genius capable of projecting mana externally immediately after awakening.
The possibility of it being a prank by another wizard was low. None of the wizards Jeong Suhyun knew would pull such a pointless stunt—unless it really was CG.
I'm looking forward to this.
Of course, it could all be a lie, but he decided not to dwell on that possibility.
If the post was real, they would cross paths eventually anyway. Jeong Suhyun set his phone down and refocused on his work.
It was time to transition from the registered user, WizardLover, back to the Guild Master of the Iron Blood Guild.