Chapter 3

"Hello, teacher."

I greeted the teacher with a standard greeting as I got off the bus, then walked toward the classroom.

After putting my bag on the chair and sitting down, I rested my chin in my palm and thought. It was free time until the teacher arrived, so what should I do for fun? I started doodling on the corner of my desk with the pencil in my pocket. One circle, two circles, three circles. A flower appeared on the desk.

"Ah! You shouldn't doodle!"

The one who scolded me was Yumi, who became my partner after the self-introduction yesterday. Yumi, who had just started to feel magic, was the girl who was marked as talented by the teacher in the last bead-finding game. I looked at the child's innocent eyes and nodded obediently. Then I erased the doodle with an eraser. The girl nodded with a very satisfied expression. ...Ah, so cute.

I decided to pass the time with a fairy tale book today. The other children were also taking out books or toys to play with. As I looked around, I narrowed my eyes for a moment. Upon closer inspection, more than half of the toys were special toys imbued with magic. They were probably for enhancing magic sensitivity. Since such items often gave off a peculiar feeling, it wasn't hard to notice.

Then, I felt a new sense of wonder. It was because I could really feel the magic.

I started reading the book with a slightly excited feeling. Of course, the book was a fairy tale... or rather, it was a simplified story about magic... but it was still a fairy tale.

'But why is the title "The Strong Tree"? Hmm... it doesn't matter, I guess.'

I held the book and slowly turned the pages. The fairy tale book was a simple explanation of the importance of sensing magic and meditating before learning the basics of magic. Although it was content I already knew from other books, it was still quite readable.

Time passed quickly as I read the thin books. After a while, the teacher gathered the children who were playing. The children, who had been playing in various ways, gathered at the teacher's words and sat in their assigned seats. Yumi sat next to me. She looked at me and smiled with her bright eyes. Her appearance was so cute that I had to suppress a sigh.

The kindergarten class started normally. To be precise, it was normal in the context of a "magic world kindergarten." So, it was normal for the children, but not for me.

The teacher gave a simple explanation of magic. Where it started, and what the magic in this world was like.

It was probably knowledge that the children had naturally heard as they grew up. The magic nation that started it all, the sky nation of Yufelisia, the sea nation of Laviante, the hidden fog nation of Poligen, and finally the closed, strongest nation, the witch nation of Travaria.

The teacher briefly explained spell magic, true magic, and special inherited magic, in addition to innate magic, and then taught the children how to meditate. I listened with sparkling eyes.

"Close your eyes and sit up straight. Since you're not familiar with meditation, let's start with the posture. Place your hands on your lap, one on top of the other. Yes, like that."

Actually, I already knew how to meditate. My mother was giving me early education as I wished, even though she didn't want me to get strong too quickly. It felt new to learn this as part of 'regular education.'

"Imagine that magic power is gathering inside your hands. Breathe in and out slowly. Imagine that the magic power is circulating with your breath."

I repeated this. The 'imagination' in meditation was important.

I could vividly feel the magic power circulating in my body. I smiled quietly, feeling happy.

The meditation time was only about 10 minutes, which was short. The children, being young, couldn't even sit still for that short time and fidgeted. After that, the real class began.

The teacher read a fairy tale and taught us how to sing. I was suddenly surprised when I saw the electronic organ moving on its own. It wasn't the movement of the keys that surprised me, but the 'magic' that shimmered and swayed with the movement.

It was a very beautiful scene. It was also a pretty sight. The magic changed colorfully with the sound of the electronic organ. I realized that this class was also an early lesson to learn magic. Life in this world is made of magic. Everything is related to magic, even a light song.

We sang a unique children's song of this world. The teacher's voice, which carried magic, resonated with the electronic organ. The magic seeped into our singing, subtly and carefully, so no one would notice. It seemed that the electronic organ had that role.

I sang along softly. It was partly because I was distracted by the magic and partly because I was embarrassed to sing loudly. On the other hand, Yumi, who was sitting next to me, sang loudly and was praised for it.

It wasn't a bad time. What made it enjoyable was the presence of many magical items around me. I tried to feel the magic inside the magical items in detail. At some point, I realized that I could make the color of the magic visible or invisible at will. Just by blinking, the color of the magic would appear and disappear. It felt like I was already using magic that I hadn't learned, which was exhilarating.

The color of the magic was incredibly beautiful, so I played with it in a way that wouldn't be misunderstood by the teacher or the children. The air around the magic was very comfortable. Even the movement of my fingers was enjoyable.

Yes, I needed magic to fully express this world. No one starts with the intention of using magic for fighting or being used. I just wanted it purely. I needed magic to vividly express the world I imagined. Yes, like a 'dream.'

'Huh? A dream?'

I opened my eyes wide at that moment.

That's it!

I impatiently waited for the kindergarten to end. I fidgeted during class and ran to the bus as soon as it was over. Even though I knew the bus wouldn't leave immediately, I was anxious.

I barely contained the excitement that overflowed from my chest while the bus was stationary. I got off the bus in the neighborhood, but for some reason, my mother wasn't there to pick me up.

"Oh, what's going on? Yeha, should the teacher take you home?"

"No, it's okay. I can go by myself!"

"Really?"

I nodded quickly, filled with a tight emotion. It was more convenient to go alone since I was planning to run. I would feel even more anxious if I walked. However, the teacher still looked worried.

"Are you sure you'll be okay?"

"Yes!"

"Well, it's just right there. It would be nice if I could teleport you, but no one can use that kind of magic right now... Yeha, I'll mark the path with magic, so you should follow it carefully, okay?"

"Yes."

I nodded, and the teacher raised her magic. I blinked. It was a light green magic, like a sprout. The magic moved swiftly. I watched it with wide eyes.

The teacher held my hand. A light green line extended from my hand in front of me.

"Follow this green line. The line will disappear when you reach home."

I nodded and walked as if following the light green line. As soon as I turned the corner, I started running. There was no shortcut to get home, so I followed the light green line. The line was definitely leading straight to our house.

I panted in front of the gate and immediately opened it with the key around my neck. It took a little time to fit the key into the lock because I had been running. I rushed inside and opened the front door. The door creaked a bit when I opened it.

"Huh? Who's here?"

"Really?"

I was about to go straight to the room where I kept the 'notebook' when I heard a familiar voice. I hesitated for a moment, but I had more urgent matters, so I quickly took off my shoes and entered the house with a rather anxious attitude. However, I had to open my eyes wide at the sight that greeted me.

"Yeha? Oh! It's already time for kindergarten to end!"

"You're really something. I'm glad you found your way here!"

A woman with her black hair tied up in a ponytail smiled and approached me. Her face was familiar. ...Almost, unchanged. It was natural, because she was a transcendent. I looked up at her face and hesitated for a moment.

"Ah. I'm the one who should be surprised. Yeha probably doesn't remember me. Maybe she's a bit shy?"

"It can't be helped. The last time Yeha saw you, she was just about two years old."

"Is that so?"

She made a disappointed expression, then looked at me and smiled with twinkling eyes. My mother apologized to me.

"Sorry, Yeha. I was meeting a friend. This is my friend. She's the owner of the house next to us."

"Um... Hello."

It was Aunt Seona. I hadn't seen her face for years, so I felt a bit dazed. I cautiously lifted my head to greet her. She smiled beautifully as if she was greeting me like old times.

"Oh, right. This is Aunt's daughter, Inha."

She gestured to her daughter, who had been behind the wall. When I saw Inha, my eyes widened.

She might already be able to sense magic. That's because the magic flowing around her body felt similar to Yumi's. The magic was a light yellow, cold yet radiantly bright. It was a magic that suited her but also felt a bit disharmonious. Now that I look, Aunt Seona's magic color was a blue-silver, a color that suited ice and wind magic.

"Inha, say hello."

"Hello."

Inha greeted me with a stoic expression. It was a calm and quiet expression that didn't seem like a child's. But I ignored that and looked at Inha.

She's a child, the same age as me, and the moment I saw her, I thought she was incredibly 'beautiful.'

I opened my eyes wide and fixed my gaze on Inha. I could see the beauty in her from when she was a baby, but it exceeded my imagination. If she looks like this now, what will she look like when she grows up? Her long black hair swayed. Her eyes were black with a hint of blue... the opposite color of her magic.

I waved my hand in response to her greeting, feeling a bit awkward. I just followed my mother's lead and gave a light greeting.

I heard that she wasn't back in Korea yet and was just taking a break during the move. She said she would return in about three months.

After that, I took advantage of the opportunity when my mother and Aunt were chatting and quickly headed to the corner room. I approached the corner with an urgent attitude and carefully took out the notebook and pen I had hidden there. I flipped the notebook open.

Rustle.

The first page of the opened notebook had an empty main magic slot. I picked up the pen and immediately wrote the name of the magic in the blank space.

'Illusion Magic (+Phantom) - Magic that deals with reality and dreams'

I stared at the name of the magic written in the main magic slot and then flipped to the next page to read the sub-magic and auxiliary magic again.

'Main: Illusion Magic (+Phantom)'

'Sub: Space-Time Magic (+Barrier)'

'Character Magic'

I fixed my gaze on the words for a moment, then smiled with satisfaction.

"Good."

The moment I thought about it, I had a clear feeling. It was like, 'That's it!'

Energy surged through my body, and my heart beat wildly. I hugged the notebook that contained my life, smiling widely.

I decided. My main magic is 'Illusion Magic.'

##02. Learning

Kindergarten life flowed smoothly. It wasn't as boring as I thought it would be. It was fun to watch the children, and it wasn't bad to do things I did when I was very young again.

Most of all, there were many magical toys in the kindergarten. Sensing and distinguishing these magics was one of the most enjoyable things for me. I also made a friend who was somewhat close.

It was Yumi, my partner.

The reason I became friends with Yumi was very simple. I liked books, and Yumi liked books too. We were the two people who always headed to the bookshelf first when we arrived at the kindergarten.

When I noticed, there was always one child reading a book next to me. This gave us a sense of familiarity and closeness. That was also the reason we started talking to each other.

We weren't extremely close, but at least we were friends.

Thanks to this, the teachers were relieved. I was a very shy and introverted child, so at first, I tended to be a bit isolated. I really didn't talk much to other children. Moreover, my personality of not liking to stand out contributed to my quiet and well-behaved kindergarten life.

For a while, the teachers were very worried about me. They were worried that I didn't talk and that I was alone, and they said a lot about it. But recently, when they saw me with Yumi, they seemed relieved. It was a fortunate thing for me.

During this time of blending in at the kindergarten, I was able to face my current situation. I also became aware of the average level of my peers and roughly gauged where I stood among them.

I had developed my talent for magic much faster than I thought. There were only a few children in this kindergarten who could sense magic, and most of them were 7 years old, who would enter elementary school next year.

By the way, as a result of my detailed observation, it was revealed that the magic-sensing skills of those 7-year-olds were not as good as Yumi's. In other words, Yumi was a rather unique talent in this kindergarten.

How did I know that?

Well, my ability to sense and perceive magic had been growing continuously.

Now, I could gauge a person's proficiency in magic to some extent by the amount and concentration of magic surrounding them. Yumi's magic was just faintly visible, and the 7-year-olds could only faintly sense it.

Just from this fact, I could clearly feel that I was quite ahead. The 7-year-olds, who were two years older than me, could only sense magic to that extent.

Moreover, the growth of my sensing ability didn't stop there. After being able to see the color of magic, I also learned that each color had its own unique feeling. Recently, I could faintly sense the attributes of magic on objects. At this point, I could even distinguish between non-magicians and magicians.

I could also make more detailed distinctions. I could tell whether children who were just learning magic could vaguely sense it or move it, and from there, I could distinguish whether they had accumulated magic in their bodies or not. Magic also felt slightly different depending on where it was, even if it didn't have a specific attribute.

Feeling this, I thought it was quite interesting. It's said that the more delicate a person is, the better they can sense the movement of magic. Well, judging from this increasingly vivid sensation, I must have been a very delicate woman.

...Whatever I think in my head is my business, so ignore it!

Of course, I was hiding my growth from others. However, I was very happy with all the growth of my magic. So, I secretly did many experiments.

These were experiments typical of a manga addict. For example, concentrating magic in my fist made my punch stronger. Focusing on my legs and jumping made me jump higher depending on how I concentrated. When a certain amount of magic gathered, it could exert physical force. Even if I attached wings to my shoulders, flying was a bit difficult, but I could hover a little. And when I focused on my eyes... the magic became much clearer.

Playing with magic in various ways, the magic accumulating inside me also increased day by day. I could feel this with my whole body.

However, it seemed that I wasn't the only one who noticed my growth. One day, as such days continued, my mother was the first to bring it up. She looked at me and suggested that I start learning magic properly. I opened my eyes wide and cheered when I heard this.

"Really? Really, really?"

My mother, who was uncharacteristically jumping around, smiled faintly. Yes, really.

I was led to the living room floor by my mother and couldn't sit still. My mother went to the bedroom for a moment, saying she had something to bring out. I waited anxiously for my mother. I was really, really excited.

After a while, my mother came out of the room with something in her hand. It was a square-shaped board.

My mother placed the board neatly on the floor.

It was an interestingly shaped board.