The Storm We Summon
The air hung heavy, like a well-behaved troublemaker locked inside. Incense. A thick, layered scent of tobacco smoke seeped into my nose, complex yet strangely familiar by now. I opened my eyes to the dim cave as the smell filled my lungs.
—Chik, chik.
"Hoo—"
I remembered returning straight home after escaping the goblin village. "If I’m going to live like this, I’ll have to live twice as long as everyone else."
"Together!"
"You’ll live with me, Baek Seol?"
"Eung!"
Baek Seol popped out of my pocket, hopped onto my shoulder, and rubbed against me while flipping over. Somehow the rabbit didn’t fall off.
"Hoo— Let’s head out."
"Eung!"
The colorless rainbow gate rippled before my eyes. The moment I stepped through, countless gazes turned toward me—people in familiar uniforms, soldiers guarding the gate, and more. The goblin gate sat on the mountainside. Unless something major had happened, this many people shouldn’t have gathered here.
"Did they come to raid?"
The Silver Wing guild members who had been staring at me like they were searching for someone rushed over in a group.
"Sain— Ga-eul-nim."
They probably started to say “Saint” but changed it to my name after noticing the soldiers nearby.
"Yes, what’s going on?"
"We’ll escort you for now."
The man leading the group had a familiar face. He was the same one who had briefed me while I was on the helicopter last time.
"Where to?"
"There’s a helipad prepared over there."
"But we’re on a mountainside?"
"Yes."
When I followed him, a helicopter sat in a clearing. Freshly cut trees and packed earth showed how hastily it had been prepared.
"Did the Demon Gate open again?"
"No, it didn’t."
Having ridden a helicopter once before, I climbed aboard without hesitation. The moment I sat down, the strong smell of aviation fuel filled the cabin and a floating sensation took over.
—Chik, chik.
"Hoo—"
Click. I lit a cigarette. The uniformed man immediately threw open the helicopter window.
"Saint-nim. First, I must apologize for summoning you so suddenly."
He bowed his head as he spoke.
"It’s fine. I was planning to head back to school anyway after finishing my business."
He tapped the device on his wrist a couple of times and operated something with his fingers.
"It should take about one hour and twenty minutes to reach Wisdom Academy."
"That’s fast."
When I had gone down to Gyeongsang Province because of the gate, it used to take three or four hours. Helicopters really were on another level.
"So, why did you call me?"
"Saint-nim, have you ever heard of calamity-level monsters?"
"Hmm… No."
Hwang Mi-ran had probably explained it, but nothing came to mind.
"They are monsters that exist in various countries—or in nations that have already fallen. These creatures have built nests outside gates, right here on Earth."
"What? You don’t hunt them?"
The man shook his head firmly.
"We can’t. The minimum manpower required to subjugate them is far beyond imagination. Scholars predict it would require sacrificing the lives of hunters who form the backbone of national power."
"At that point, the government would be begging people not to go, right?"
"Exactly. The higher-ups want them neutralized rather than eliminated."
The uniformed man kept pointing out the country’s festering wounds every time he looked at me, as if asking me to cut them out.
"Hoo— Neutralized means they want to raise these monsters, doesn’t it?"
"Correct again. Calamity-level monsters are, by definition, impossible for humans to handle. They intend to use them as biological weapons."
He pushed his slipping glasses back up; the lenses caught the light.
"Is that even possible?"
"It’s still considered impossible. The most famous example of a calamity-level monster is the dragon of the United States."
A creature that throws its own life away without hesitation. Anyone who had ever hunted a monster even once knew how insane they were. A dragon? That went without saying.
"That sounds difficult."
"Of course it is. Yet that very difficult dragon perished recently."
"What?"
"A mage who freely wielded black magic and elemental magic, a reaper holding a massive scythe, and a knight with a greatsword apparently put on a dragon-disassembly show."
"…Huh. Those sound awfully familiar."
"They demanded an enormous bowl big enough to hold doenjang and a dragon, then vanished without a trace—along with the dragon’s massive corpse."
Just in case, I opened a small pocket dimension and peeked inside. A strange creature’s corpse I had never seen before lay there. It looked exactly like a winged lizard.
"……"
"Saint-nim?"
"Uh… Haha. I just resolved everything through prayer with the people involved. Whoever they are, they must have quite the sense of humor."
"Is it truly resolved?"
The suited man pushed his glasses up again and shot me a sharp look. Cold sweat ran down my back.
"Neng."
"Because they remained docile unless attacked first or their territory was invaded, some of the indigenous people in the United States have even begun to worship the dragon as sacred."
"Hoo—…"
The cigarette tasted especially bitter today. Even though I deliberately avoided the man’s gaze, he kept staring at me as if lasers were shooting from his eyes. He already knew everything and was just asking to confirm. His personality was worse than I thought.
"On behalf of the Korean government, I offer my thanks. Thank you for resolving another major incident today."
The uniformed man bowed his head once more. His personality really was awful.
"Thanks to you, Saint-nim, they won’t have to offer tribute to the dragon anymore."
"Ahem. Ah, why didn’t the reverse summon work? Did I forget…?"
"It seems the mana consumption for maintaining the summon is quite low."
"Huh? What is?"
—Chik, chik, chik.
"Ah, what’s wrong with this lighter?"
Pop! While I was blaming the lighter for no reason, the uniformed man pulled a lighter from his pocket and offered it to me. People like him always seemed to carry lighters that made that popping sound.
"Hoo— Thank you."
"It’s nothing compared to what you’ve done, Saint-nim."
"…You really have a nasty personality."
"Pardon?"
"Huh? Oh, nothing. I was just talking to myself."
Yoo Bit-na was probably happy to have such a sharp subordinate, but dealing with him made my mental energy drain away.
"We don’t have any in our country?"
"No. I’m not sure whether to call it unfortunate or fortunate that none have been confirmed so far, but nothing has been detected yet. That’s why some people feel uneasy."
"I see. What about other countries besides America?"
"There are quite a few. Britain’s Black Dog, Japan’s Night Parade of One Hundred Demons, Canada’s Wendigo, North Macedonia’s Phoenix—these are the confirmed calamities so far."
"A phoenix?"
A monster that constantly radiated flames from its entire body. No matter how large its energy reservoir was, just hearing about it made my mouth water.
***
"Ah, Professor!"
"No."
"Why not!"
"No means no."
"Then why!"
Professor Hwang, who had been repeating “no” while staring at documents at her desk, finally looked up.
"Because you caused complete chaos during the practical summoning class."
"Eung?"
At her words, that day slowly came back to me. Baek Seol had fallen from the sky like snowflakes, and Baek Seol’s mother had casually attempted molecular gastronomy at sub-zero temperatures.
"That wasn’t me, though?"
"That’s exactly why I’m saying no. If it wasn’t you, it means you can’t control that enormous power, doesn’t it?"
"Hmm. Now that you mention it, that makes sense."
Professor Hwang gave me an incredulous look. In times like this, there was no point arguing. The only option left was a direct assault.
"If you lend me a summoning scroll, I’ll do much better at the Academy Competition. What a shame."
Professor Hwang’s body twitched ever so slightly.
"I heard that if the class you’re in charge of produces the competition winner, the supervising professor gets a huge incentive…"
"Where did you hear that…?"
I had heard it from another elderly professor I had already buttered up in advance.
"I also heard the research budget allocated to scholars is pretty tight. What a shame. Right, Baek Seol?"
"Eung!"
"Our team’s Shinyong and Chanyong were first and second in their year, weren’t they? Ah, without a summoning scroll they won’t be able to use their full power at the competition. Our class is doomed, totally doomed. We won’t get research funds—we’ll get complaints as our incentive. Right, Baek Seol?"
"Good!"
Professor Hwang’s shoulders shook violently.
"What if I accidentally cast that wonderful Slow magic you taught me on Shinyong’s legs? Right, Baek Seol?"
"Eung!"
"Ah, I feel like I might accidentally smack Shinyong in the back of the head during the competition…"
Scrape! Professor Hwang shot up, yanked open her desk drawer, and threw a bundle of papers in front of me.
Thud.
"……Deal?"
"Absolutely."
When I nodded at Professor Hwang, she nodded back.
"Please, just don’t cause any accidents… Please."
"Professor, don’t you trust me?"
"No."
An immediate answer.
"Yeah, I figured I’d be like that too."
"……"
Being a professor and scholar, she only ever said the correct things.
"I’ll tell you one important thing. What the academy reacts to most sensitively isn’t anything else—it’s the safety of the cadets. So do it secretly in the gym. Ever since you summoned Baek Seol, the safety standards have skyrocketed."
The helicopter guy had said the same thing. Even with the Demon Gate right next to the academy, they were staying put out of concern for the cadets’ safety.
"Professor, don’t you trust me?"
"No."
An immediate answer.
"Yeah, I figured I’d be like that too."
"……"
She kept saying only the correct things, so the same conversation kept looping.
"Professor, you’re not setting a small net to catch a big fish, are you? Invest in me. I’ll take responsibility for your research budget, Professor Hwang!"
Professor Hwang’s gaze toward me grew complicated. I had always thought I behaved properly, yet everywhere I went I was treated like a troublemaker. Maybe it was time to properly show everyone what a well-behaved student I could be.
***
Rumble—!
Professor Hwang, who had been reading documents, heard the heavy sound and rushed to the window.
"It was clearly daytime, wasn’t it…?"
From the research lab window, dark storm clouds had gathered across the wide academy sky, blocking out the sun.
Rumble—!
The ominous clouds began releasing thunder loud enough to deafen anyone. Professor Hwang felt her mind go blank along with the sound.
"What on earth…!!"
The clouds, which she had been staring at in shock, suddenly gathered at a single point, crackling with lightning. Below that point was the academy gymnasium—a place Professor Hwang knew all too well.
"Ah… Ga-eul. Please. What exactly are you summoning…"
It was clearly an abnormal phenomenon. As Professor Hwang stared blankly at the thunderclouds, Han Ga-eul’s confident voice echoed in her mind.
「Professor, don’t you trust me?」
"Stop causing accidents!!"
BOOOOOOM—!!
