Magic (2)
The next day after Faye had come and gone like the wind.
It was a holiday.
Yoon Seowoo had calmly gotten out of bed and sat down, devoting himself to magic.
Since the day Acid had taught him the basics, he hadn't missed a single day.
Before work, after work, and before sleeping, he spent every remaining moment focused on detecting mana.
There was some deviation, but on average it took three months for a retainer to detect mana.
Seowoo was doing his best to close that gap as much as possible.
He wanted to ask Lize or Yuria, but since he lacked noble blood, he couldn't even attempt magic.
"Huu."
He opened his closed eyes and let out a deep breath.
Three days until he could go to Earlgrey.
Until then, he wanted to feel even a little mana.
"...Acid said shadows are companions."
Shadows.
Shadows...
To be honest, for Seowoo it was nothing more than a phenomenon caused by light.
Of course, if he thought that way, there would be no progress.
Therefore, approaching it from a slightly different angle was likely the correct judgment.
She had used the word "shadow" in many metaphorical expressions.
There was value in betting on it.
For example, referring to light and shadow as the sun and the shade, or the relationship of opposites like good and evil.
Or the shadow in psychology as the unconscious and negative aspects.
The possibilities were endless.
Realistically, he didn't know about the dark or evil.
But negative or unconscious, he might have known.
"Good."
Having set the keywords roughly, he focused his mind again.
From the surface of consciousness to the deep layer containing the unconscious.
Discomfort.
Inferiority complex.
He dug into the heart he had hidden behind pretense, always concealing his true self.
The negativity sleeping in his inner self realized that it was the essence of his shadow and understood mana.
Not the cold and rational outer appearance.
But the impulsive and emotional inner self deeper than that was Yoon Seowoo's shadow.
"...I feel it."
A black aura connecting his body and mind was felt.
It was definitely mana, though faint, but it was clearly emitting a clear light.
The corners of Seowoo's mouth spread into a bright smile.
At the same time, he thought it was a shame to stop the momentum flowing.
"Shall I try a little more like this...?"
Yes, because time wouldn't wait for him anyway.
Since the feeling of success was still in his grasp, like Acid, he decided to try using shadows.
He recalled the appearance of the formless material moving at the owner's will.
"..."
Shadow without movement.
"Why isn't it working...?"
Was just sensing not enough?
It wasn't that great, he just wanted to move simply?
Seowoo, thinking this wasn't right, got fired up.
"Ha..."
If he was going to give up this much from the start, he should have stopped long ago.
To focus again, he quietly closed his eyes.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
The more he tried repeatedly, Seowoo started doubting his talent.
He had lived with the words that most things he did well.
But since it didn't support the results this much.
It was a natural thought in a way.
"Hah... Hah..."
How many times had he tried...?
At least eight times, but his body felt like all its energy was drained.
"Damn..."
He hadn't expected it.
The disappointment that returned as a belly was as painful as the doubt.
"Haa... It's not like hope torture."
A sigh came out naturally.
Looking at the remaining energy in his body, he could barely try one more time.
"Sigh, yeah. I might as well try something I can't succeed at."
Seowoo, who had reached the point of no return, was seriously thinking of summoning a familiar like Balor.
Slowly closing his eyes, the last attempt began.
Going back to the beginning, he recalled the negativity in his inner self.
He shaped the form of life with the clay of shadow.
The first thing that came to mind was the boy's appearance, which was none other than the shadow of his inner self, and Lucia, like a wedge stuck in his chest.
In response to Seowoo's wind, a thread of mana wildly sucked in power.
Accelerating blood flow.
Rapidly beating heart.
"Kuk..."
While his mind spun like anemia.
Seowoo, who didn't want to miss this opportunity, gritted his teeth and straightened his posture.
It was like hugging a large mackerel with both arms and not letting it escape.
Even for a moment, if concentration was disrupted, the feeling of having caught it would be useless, so it was like a very precarious tightrope walk.
Please.
While hoping this desperation would reach, he repeated the desperation.
"Ah..."
With a sigh, the power escaping from the body.
If Seowoo had overlooked something, it was that a raw human like him couldn't properly distribute mana in magic.
"Not yet... not..."
His mind collapsed as he could no longer do anything.
Without realizing the body had already tilted.
Plop.
Yoon Seowoo fell sideways and lost consciousness.
* * *
"Eh... me..."
A voice that seemed far away from the end of consciousness.
Who was this voice?
It was the first time hearing it.
"Get up..."
The voice getting closer.
"Appa, get up!"
"Kuk!"
A small, fair foot kicked Seowoo's abdomen.
With a cough, his eyes flashed open.
Yoon Seowoo, groaning in pain, looked at the opponent with unfocused eyes.
His eyes were still blurry because the focus hadn't matched.
"Appa? Who is that...?"
This is the assistants' dorm.
Was Lize or Yuria coming in and playing around on their own?
No, they didn't have the information power to know his residence better than that.
Slowly, the image of the object came into focus.
A silver-haired red-eyed girl was looking down with disgust.
"...Who are you?"
"Appa...?"
Appa.
She had come to the wrong person.
The girl quietly climbed onto Seowoo.
For some reason, the gaze looking down was cold.
"Die."
She casually spat out harsh words and swung her fist wildly.
"Die die die die!!"
"Ouch! Aaaah!!"
"Can't you even recognize your own daughter?! Appa is disqualified!!"
This wasn't human strength.
It was strength that would have turned an ordinary body into paste.
Fortunately, the durability of the body had increased proportionally with the power, so it was fine.
Without knowing why, he was hit by a thin fist.
Late to realize something, Seowoo twisted his body to check the shadow.
Like other vampires, the shadow's edge wasn't visible as if the ground was cut.
"...No way."
"You succeeded?"
It worked.
He had thought it failed.
He didn't know how to respond to the unexpected result.
It was obvious that creating a shadow from the inner self would be at odds with his own personality.
Instead of hiding, he revealed.
Only truth, not lies.
Still, making it to a familiar by feeling mana was a great success, so the corners of his mouth naturally curled up.
"Hello...?"
While holding back a laugh that seemed about to burst, he greeted.
"Sigh."
Seowoo, doubting if he was trustworthy, sighed as the girl came down from him.
Still, thinking to treat her as a parent, she extended her hand to Seowoo and helped him up.
"Hello? Just name it already."
"Name...?"
"Appa, you'll get dizzy if you keep doing that?"
"No, even if you suddenly ask to name it...?"
This situation itself was embarrassing.
The girl, who revealed her emotions without hiding them, turned her head with a pout.
"Ah, I get it. Wait a moment. I'll think quickly."
It was already too much for Lize and Yuria.
I wonder if I'm going to become a professional babysitter.
Anyway, as a familiar, it was a type of shadow magic, so the bloodline was Acid's.
The funny part was that the appearance was a Lucia parody...
"Lucid... how about it...?"
Was this too hastily named...?
Before he could think, the girl nodded with satisfaction.
"What, for an Appa with no sense, it's not bad."
"W-what's good about it, but I can't call you Appa..."
He hadn't even gotten married yet, but it felt strange to have a daughter.
"No, it's not the Joseon era!"
Was it appropriate to not call the father 'Appa'?
"Or, Appa is embarrassing to me...?"
Lucid looking downcast somewhere.
Oh my god.
To actually hear words that would appear in a bad drama.
It was like the daughter born from adultery suddenly became a killer.
"...Just call me whatever you want."
"Good! Unpredictable?"
"Eh...?"
As expected, blood couldn't be fooled.
It was the acting he had been doing as if eating.
* * *
Seowoo was taking Lucid to Acid.
When she taught him the trick last time, she said to report if anything changed properly.
Seowoo walked through the corridor in vampire state, wearing the lens Suyeon gave him.
It was to prevent the summoning from being undone if he returned to human.
Lucid, who had properly formed a shadow shape and stuck to Seowoo's feet.
Surprisingly, she didn't disobey or try to cause trouble.
With expanded senses, he heard the researchers' gossip.
'Is the director gone for two days now?'
'Yeah, she's not the type to disappear like that.'
'I wonder if something happened.'
Exactly, it was the day after he was bitten by her.
If he didn't care, it would be a lie, but he didn't want to consciously think about it.
Since waking up from her bed, whenever he thought of Lucia, he felt a strangely unpleasant feeling.
It was closer to a complex emotion than just dislike for her being mean.
"...Let's focus on the current situation."
Seowoo quickened his steps.
Because it was a holiday, the destination was Acid's residence, not the office.
He had often visited Lucia's place, but this was the first time.
Knock knock.
The sound of knocking echoed.
No response, as if she was out.
"Where did you go...?"
While having a feeling of unease, Seowoo casually turned the doorknob.
Click.
The door opened wide without resistance.
"Eh...?"
Seowoo stepped into the entrance slowly despite the surprise.
She had slept in the same bed without hesitation, calling him family.
Even if it was before, now it wasn't necessary to be intimidated.
"Excuse me."
Still, no echo inside.
But a very faint rustling sound was heard.
Seowoo walked unhesitatingly toward the source.
As he got closer, the sound clearly became the sound of turning pages.
Then, a presence was felt beyond the door that looked like a study.
Because it was quite far from the entrance, he thought he couldn't hear it.
Wait, no.
After all, the thought just recalled was from human standards.
As a vampire, he should have heard it.
What was he doing that he didn't notice someone entering his residence?
Feeling a bit too much, Seowoo opened the study door with a bang.
Acid, leaning on a chair and earnestly reading something, came into view.
"What? When did you come?"
"I knocked but no response, so I came in."
She folded the academic journal she was reading and said as if she hadn't noticed.
She didn't seem uncomfortable with the unauthorized intrusion.
But she seemed to have disturbed her studying, so he felt a bit sorry.
"It's not that..."
"Mom!"
Before Seowoo's words ended, Lucid popped out from the shadow.
She jumped into Acid's arms with her small body.
While startled, she hugged the girl who jumped into her arms.
"Mom...?"
Acid, who didn't understand the situation, looked up at Seowoo silently.
As if to say explain.