Chapter 3: This is what magic is like

Training grounds for users first stepping onto the continent.

“Aish, seriously.”

“Why isn’t it working?”

A small flame flickered at the end of the staff Yeeun held.

She had failed to cast the massive fireball ‘Fireball’, instead producing only the small flame arrow ‘Fire Arrow’.

The viewers, having witnessed numerous failures, typed gleefully in the chat.

– kekekekeke Still can’t do it, right?

– Who told you to be a mage then? Huh?

– Regarding the phenomenon where the prospective mage of the Red Magic Tower can’t use magic… This is really something else.

– Why even play a mage at this point? It’s not easy watching the same scene for a week straight lololol

A streamer with two years of experience.

Han Yeeun, a small-time streamer with 200 viewers at most, was taking out her frustration on her viewers again today.

– Why are you blaming us??? You’re the one who chose it lololol

– True lol

– Just type True lol kekeke

Her streaming career was long, but that was outside the virtual reality game.

Her experience in Kairos was less than a month, making her effectively no different from a beginner streamer.

Targeting this point, the viewers had unanimously recommended she play a mage.

They even shot donations at her for it.

“I should have known when they recommended mage… Hmph.”

In truth, the mage class in the continent of Kairos was one of the unpopular jobs that only dedicated players chose.

On the surface, it was introduced as a romantic class that swept the battlefield with overwhelming firepower and support abilities.

But the reality was the complete opposite.

The stronger the power and better the performance, the more difficult it became to cast the magic.

“Where else is there a crazy job that makes you solve quadratic equations while chanting spells!”

The risk of having to chant spells, coupled with extreme multitasking!

Furthermore, magic registered to the quick slot had its power halved, and registering it required succeeding at least once.

Yeeun was currently suffering because she couldn’t achieve that ‘one time’ success.

‘Thanks to that, the viewer count is increasing, so it’s not entirely bad…’

She was in a situation where she couldn’t delete the character because of the viewers who came to watch her as a mage, leaving her stuck.

Eventually, Yeeun gathered her resolve and gripped her staff again.

[ O source of red mana flowing through the body · Become a sphere of crimson flame · Manifest here at my call! ]

The chant for ‘Fireball’ flowed smoothly without interruption, a testament to how long she had repeated the same spell.

However, the process of unlocking Fireball wasn’t just about chanting and casting.

“Hoho.”

“Have you forgotten something, Yeeun?”

There was a condition: she had to hit the scarecrow with Fireball while dodging the attacks of the mage NPC.

“Ah, right.”

“Ugegegek!”

Ultimately, the fireball gathered at the tip of her staff exploded as her concentration wavered.

– kekekekeke It blew up again, didn’t it?

– At this point, isn’t she enjoying it herself?

– How is she going to break through the first gateway like this?

As the dust settled in the magic training ground, Yeeun, covered in soot, coughed.

“Aish, seriously, why is the game difficulty like this!!”

She was back to square one.

The time had come when a different approach was needed.

Yeeun took out a small yellow bell from her pocket.

– What’s that? Don’t tell me…

– Ahh. She prepared that?

– kekekekeke Looks like she finally figured it out.

Yeeun vigorously shook the yellow bell.

It was the ‘Backseat Bell’, popular among Kairos streamers.

It meant granting the right to freely spoil or give advice, free from the threat of kicks and bans!

– Nice try, but is there anyone here who actually plays a mage?

– From what I see, nope lolol Who raises something like that lolol

– Ring it again during the boss raid lololol

– I’ve cleared up to the 5th gateway, but I know nothing about mages ㅠㅠ Sorry lol

A heated discussion erupted in the chat window about how to resolve the current situation.

Unfortunately, since mage users were few and far between, there was no helpful information.

Even the seasoned players knew nothing about mages.

At that moment, a single donation popped up.

– [ StrongestArchmage donated 10,000 Won! ‘That’s not how you do it.’ ]

“Thank you, StrongestArchmage-nim.”

“Huh!”

“Does that mean you’re a mage?”

Yeeun didn’t miss the opportunity and clicked the user’s nickname to open a private chat.

– StrongestArchmage: – Yup. This body is the strongest Archmage on the continent.

“Really?”

“Then can you tell me what to do?”

– StrongestArchmage: – It is not difficult. Can’t you simply use the shortened chant for Fireball?

“No.”

“You have to clear this quest to learn the shortened chant.”

– Ah, so that’s how it is lololol

– Is this intelligence incomprehensible from another mage’s perspective? lololol

Yeeun’s hope, which had briefly surged, was brutally crushed.

Was this user just another malicious troll like the others?

– StrongestArchmage: – Hmm… I am pondering how best to explain this. Wait just a moment.

– Setting up the escape angle lololol

– If you run, it’s a guaranteed ban~

Contrary to the viewers’ concerns, StrongestArchmage returned quickly.

– StrongestArchmage: – It took a while as I haven’t calculated in ages. Add coordinate values at the end of your incantation.

“Coordinate values?”

– StrongestArchmage: – I mean you should correct it to · Manifest at my call at x.1282 y.576!

“???”

– ???

– ?????

Question marks filled everyone’s minds.

It was the first time they had ever heard such novel nonsense about changing a spell’s incantation.

The chat instantly became a sea of laughter.

– Let’s try it anyway lololololololol

Even nonsense gains a sliver of credibility if it’s specific.

Figuring she had nothing to lose, Yeeun raised her staff once more.

[ O source of red mana flowing through the body · Become a sphere of crimson flame · Manifest at my call at x.1282 y.576! ]

As Yeeun chanted, the waiting mage NPC in front also moved.

It began firing magically formed arrows at Yeeun.

If her concentration broke while moving, the Fireball would explode.

If she didn’t move, she’d be hit by the magic arrows and left near death.

Even if she focused, the Fireball wouldn’t activate unless she continued the chant without interruption.

It was a quest that demanded such high levels of concentration.

[ Quest conditions met! ]

Pooooong!

The training scarecrow in the training ground exploded with a massive boom.

“…What the…?”

– What? It was this easy of a quest?

– The guy next door took over a month just to learn Fireball????

The viewers weren’t the only ones surprised.

“Y-You… How on earth did you do that?”

The mage NPC instructor’s eyes widened as he rushed over and shook Yeeun’s shoulders.

“How did you manifest such a precise, high-dimensional calculation formula!”

“To perform a technique only high-ranking mages can manage!”

“You’re a genius!!”

According to the mage NPC.

It was an advanced coordinate-summoning magic that required magical calculation formulas.

Because that was normally impossible, ordinary mages summoned magic at the tip of their staves, he said.

– StrongestArchmage: – Was this body not correct? Hoho. This much is merely the basics of basics.

Behind the smug chat of StrongestArchmage, other viewers’ chats flooded in like a storm.

Yeeun struggled to deal with the frantically scrolling chat and the mage NPC burning with academic fervor simultaneously.

Finally, her head overheated.

“O-Okay, that’s all for today’s stream~”

Yeeun quickly ended the game.

Her scheduled stream time had long passed anyway.

And she had gotten more than enough content for the broadcast video.

“…Hmm hmm~”

Spotting her sister humming as she came out of her room, Edelin thought now was the chance.

“Um… Sister?”

“This body has a favor to ask…”

“Hm?”

“A favor?”

“What is it?”

After hesitating for a moment, Edelin cautiously spoke.

“That… Can you buy me one of those capsule things?”

“Capsule?”

“Ah… The one in my room?”

“That is correct.”

“Hmmmm…”

Fortunately, a refusal didn’t come back immediately.

That meant she was at least considering it.

Edelin put on the face of a child desperately wanting a toy.

“I’ll have to think about it…”

The unrealistic price of the capsule and her income weighed on her mind.

But the image of her brother stubbornly insisting on becoming a Hunter overlapped in Yeeun’s mind.

‘If buying the device can divert her interest elsewhere…?’

“Alright.”

“But wait just a little longer.”

“Instead, how about trying out the device I use for now?”

“It would be troublesome if you bought it and then didn’t like it.”

Yeeun wracked her brain and proposed a compromise that could satisfy both of them.

Edelin readily agreed.

“Then can I try it right now?”

“Yeah.”

“I don’t plan on playing anymore today, so it’s fine.”

Yeeun smiled warmly watching the girl, who was once her brother, excitedly run towards the room.

“But you have to come out before dinner, okay?”

There was no reply.

Judging by the sound of the capsule opening and closing, it seemed she had already logged into the game.

“Well then, shall I get started on some housework…”

As Yeeun moved her sluggish body, she suddenly remembered the machine’s settings.

“Ah.”

“It’s set up for streaming, but it should be fine, right?”

“Who would watch the stream of someone who just started?”

A fleeting sense of unease passed through her, but she decided not to worry about it, thinking ‘surely not’.

She had no idea what consequences that judgment would bring.