Chapter 16 : Before heading to the battlefield

Seo-hyun and Kim Ha-neul returned to the principal’s office a day later.
The tightly closed door muffled the murmur of several voices from within. Kim Ha-neul nodded to Seo-hyun, and then knocked.

*Knock, knock.*

“First years Han Seo-hyun and Kim Ha-neul,” Seo-hyun said.
“Come in,” the principal’s voice replied.

Seo-hyun opened the door and stepped inside. The lack of any unusual sensation suggested there would be no repeat of the previous prank. However, this time, six pairs of eyes stared at them, a slightly uncomfortable experience.

Five students sat before the principal’s desk. Judging by the colors of their name tags, they were all upperclassmen. Seo-hyun guessed they were all A-rank students, the school’s promising prospects. The pink-haired upperclassman from the earlier collision sat in a corner.

Seo-hyun’s grip tightened on the handle of the bag containing the notebook as he glanced at her. ‘Let’s hope there’s no adverse reaction here…’ He eyed her warily, taking an empty seat as the principal began to speak.

“The morning news provided some context, but I thought this would be quicker. With the association’s help, I’ve prepared something.” The principal said.

The principal touched her earring, channeling mana into it. The room darkened. The air itself rippled, warped by unseen forces. Seo-hyun suppressed a wave of nausea and closed his inner eye, focusing on what she was showing them.

‘The ocean…?’

Before him spread a rugged, rocky coastline. In front, the vast expanse of the ocean glittered under the sun, stretching out to meet the horizon. Behind, artificial structures dotted the landscape. High mountain ranges rose in layers. An absolute spectacle. Moreover, they stood on the surface of the sea.

“Wow…” other students murmured around him.
“Whoa…”

They moved their feet, testing the strange surface of the water. Seo-hyun crouched. He dipped his hand into the sea, feeling a vivid sensation of water against his skin. Yet, no matter how much he shifted his feet, he did not sink. Not even an illusion. A rather convenient ability.

“What you’re seeing is the California coast, about a year ago, adjacent to the Pacific Ocean,” the principal said, turning her wrist. Her topaz earring shimmered, reflecting the light. A thread of magic extended from it. It seemed to be the anchor for this ‘memory’.

Like hitting fast-forward, time accelerated. The sky darkened, storm clouds gathering on the horizon. The seawater turned deep blue, almost like paint. Some students recoiled.

The atmosphere shifted, growing darker.

Then, out of nowhere, *it* appeared.

Shimmering with a blue light, *it* materialized.

A large icosahedron, a blue jewel, as if teleported, hung above the ocean, emitting a strange sound.

*Bzzzt—*

The sound, like a damaged cassette tape, was distorted, and the students covered their ears. Seo-hyun instinctively recognized it as filtered, not its original form. Created by a mix of magic and machinery. A web of noise layered over a core of intent.

A significant workaround. That wasn’t sound. It was a wave of will. A weaker mind would be swept away instantly. To transform such a thing into something safe for human ears required considerable skill. It seemed the association had some remarkably talented individuals.

The principal continued. “What you’re seeing is the Impurity known as the Intangible Phantasm, which claims 70% of the Pacific as its territory. You all know ‘phase’ refers to a stage, right? This state, drifting around the Pacific like this, is the first phase. When attacked, it transforms into a giant whale to counterattack; that’s the second phase. If you defeat that… this happens.”

As she spoke, the Phantasm’s surface rippled, melting into the sea. Dark waves rolled in from the horizon. The sea beneath them vibrated, sending a tremor through them.

“We’ve managed to deal with the first and second phases a few times…but the third phase is the problem.”

*Thump. Thump. Thump—*

A rhythmic, viscous drumming sound filled the air and echoed across the ocean, growing louder. It came from beneath their feet. From the cold abyss of the sea. The sound of a swarm stirring. Something was down there, coming towards them.

The principal waved her hand, the color of the sea fading. Holding their breath, they looked down. In the depths, countless merfolk marched towards the surface. Each held a weapon. Their sizes varied, some the size of humans, others as large as elephants. They moved with an unsettling unity, their feet planted on the seabed, their march relentless.

“Eek…”
“I’m not good with fish…”
“Ugh…”

Seo-hyun felt nothing, but the other students reacted poorly. Kim Ha-neul beside him looked ready to vomit. Seo-hyun subtly created some distance.

The principal, now sweating, seemed to struggle to maintain the illusion. With another gesture, the scene dissolved, returning them to the ordinary office.

“Phew… Those monsters march towards land in a show of force before retreating. So, while S-rank Guardians locate and destroy the main body, A-ranks from each country form a defensive line.” The principal explained.

The pink-haired upperclassman—Baek Si-eun—raised her hand. “…What’s the pay?”

The principal, slightly flustered by the blunt question, gulped her coffee. “Special promotion, and…depending on your contribution, at least three thousand?”

“Ahem. Anyway, students will be assigned to the safest rear positions. This is the fourth attempt, and there haven’t been any student casualties. If you don’t want to go, you don’t have to. Those students will participate in the regular purification operation.”

It didn’t sound bad. Just cutting down some fish. Seo-hyun was curious about the Phantasm, given its crystalline form. The question was how long the fight would last.

Seo-hyun started to raise his hand, about to ask, when another student spoke first. “…How long will the operation last?” Others nodded in agreement.

“The deadline is 20 hours. If the S-ranks fail to destroy the main body within that time, it reverts to phase one. Its initial state.”

The North Korea purification operation lasted five days. This was almost five times shorter. Plus, there was special compensation and a safe position in the rear. The S-ranks handled the dangerous parts. Who wouldn’t be tempted?

Kim Ha-neul, looking pale, raised his hand. “I’ll pass. I have submechanophobia.”

Other students followed suit. “Me too.” “Me too.”

‘Well,’ Seo-hyun thought, ‘everyone has their reasons.’

*

Back at home, Seo-hyun shed his uniform and flung open his white wardrobe. A variety of clothes greeted him: dresses, skirts, blouses, pants. He pushed them aside and grabbed a black and white tracksuit. The comfortable fit brought a sense of calm.

‘This is it.’ He felt a strange aversion to other clothes, an aversion that seemed to intensify with each passing day. His humanity was strengthening. Yet he felt distanced from human clothing.

After showering and drying his hair as his sister had instructed, he pulled out his notebook. The blue notebook exuded the faint scent of stars. It might be primitive compared to a true grimoire, but it was more precious than any other. Some grimoires were safe to read, but they lacked practical value.

3:00 PM. Seo-hyun rubbed at the binding, erasing the seal. He began absorbing the stellar knowledge within.

Sky and cosmos. Stars and planets. Galaxies. Their meaning. Their principles. Their knowledge. In a world brimming with knowing, Seo-hyun drew upon the will of stars, strengthening his own laws.

Repetition.

The laws of ascending to godhood seeped out. It was the hour of magic.

Yet, he severed the flow of knowledge, remaining human. A manufactured god was unnecessary.

Darkness.

He had been summoned.