Chapter 2: To Become a Mage

“Is this really happening…?”

I rubbed my fingertips.

As part of my fingertip fell off, sand particles dropped down.

“Was everything in that comment true?”

My mind snapped awake.

I slowly reread the comment carefully.

Especially the part about awakening the earth attribute magic that I chose, I read it over and over again.

[The basics of magic practice is to cultivate divinity within the body.]

[To cultivate divinity, you must get close to nature. Divinity resides in all things in the world.]

[The best way is to ingest it directly into the body.]

[If you want the earth attribute, eat dirt every day.]

[When such practice exceeds 15 days, divinity dwells in the body and the body’s energy starts to change.]

[After 21 days, the body’s constitution completely changes, so you no longer need to eat human food. But you must not neglect the intake of dirt.]

[After 30 days, divinity fully settles in the body. At that moment, you stop being human and enter the path of a mage.]

[The choice cannot be reversed. If you want to stop, the 15th day is the last.]

[If you stop midway, the divinity fused with the body collapses, and the body collapses with it. You will face an unavoidable death.]

“D*mn…. Then the part about dying is real too?”

I trembled in fear.

Counting the days, today was exactly the 15th day.

The last chance to turn back, as the magic villain said.

Should I stop, or continue.

There was no need to think about it.

“Why stay human? Becoming a mage would be f*cking awesome.”

Without hesitation, I shoved dirt into my mouth.

No more need for mud cookies or mixing with water.

From that day, I started seriously gobbling dirt.

Mage.

Among hunters who are hard to become, an extremely rare class.

There are only 4 in Korea, and all of them are A-rank or higher.

It’s to the point where mages are prioritized the most when measuring national power.

Now I’m becoming that mage. Just by eating dirt like this, I can become a mage.

If so, I could endure anything.

“No, since I’m becoming a mage anyway…. I should become an even stronger mage.”

Now I didn’t just eat ordinary dirt.

I woke up at dawn and headed to the black tower that rose in the middle of the city.

I shoveled sand from nearby. The morning sand that no one’s foot has touched yet.

Because raw dirt was hard to gobble, I chose sand.

“It’s near the tower, so who knows, maybe there’s something more magical in it.”

Mealtime. I poured a bowlful of sand into my rice bowl and slowly picked up the spoon.

No need for side dishes or water.

Crunch, grind. The sound of teeth chewing stones rang out harshly, but I didn’t care.

It’s fine. Once I become a mage, implant costs are nothing.

[For beginner mages, meditation is recommended. Meditation is the process of feeling the inner divinity. Nurture your inner divinity.]

In my spare time, I no longer browsed galleries. I devoted all that time to meditation.

Of course, at first, it was hard to sit still for even 5 minutes.

“If I just endure this, I’ll become a mage…. A f*cking strong mage….”

I hypnotized myself, gritted my teeth, and endured.

It worked.

At first, after 5 minutes of meditation, I had to rest for an hour browsing galleries.

Before the week ended, I could meditate for an hour without breaking.

And on the final 30th day. I could continue meditating for 8 hours.

I took a deep breath in, and exhaled.

My mind was utterly peaceful.

Ding. The alarm signaling midnight couldn’t break my mental peace.

I took a deep breath on the last of the 30th day.

Long and longer, as if all the air in the room filled my lungs.

And that was the moment. Light started emanating from my body.

[On the 31st day. The flesh is reborn into a body suitable for the vessel of divinity. Congratulations. You are now a mage.]

“Huh…?”

I slowly opened my eyes at the sensation of loose clothes.

And my awkward voice, small hands and feet. Long hair, budding breasts, I witnessed them in turn.

“What is this.”

Just like that, I became the 5th mage in Korea.

As a girl.

“What the hell is this….”

I clutched my head. Looking in the mirror, I saw a girl with a super awkward face.

Long black hair. Deep dark circles. A large T-shirt slipping down because it doesn’t fit the body.

“No point in denying it, right?”

Yeah, this is my appearance now.

Even after groping with my hands several times, it doesn’t feel real.

“That thing about the body most suitable for divinity… was this what it meant….”

Regret suddenly surged. If I knew my gender would change, I would have chosen more carefully. It even said it’s permanent.

“No, can’t be sure. High-level mages can change their bodies at will…. Maybe I can change gender back too.”

Yeah, then the first goal is to become a high-level mage.

I’ve never heard of a mage who changed gender, so it’s doubtful if it’s really possible….

“Anyway, I have to enter the tower. That’s why I became a mage.”

No choice. What did I gobble dirt for 30 days for?

However, the problem was my soul as a gallery addict boiling inside me.

“Ah, if I certify this now, it’s best post material for the whole year.”

But it’s awkward to go around announcing I became a mage right away.

Though it’s weird for me to say, the internet is full of crazy people.

There’s a high chance my identity gets exposed from a photo I carelessly upload.

“But not posting anything feels off…. Should I just check the vibe?”

I couldn’t hold back that much.

My fingers reflexively turned on the phone and opened the gallery app.

[Title: Hunter Bum Awakened as Mage, Crazy?]

[‘Magic’ is a blocked word.]

“F*ck, this blocked word is pissing me off.”

Magic villain, shortened to mabil. Was that guy enduring this humiliation? For that long time continuously? As a fellow mage, it was hard to endure.

I felt the impulse to ‘normalize’ the gallery once more, but barely held back.

“Hoo, hold it, hold it.”

If I didn’t have the power of meditation from 15 days of training, it would have been hard.

I took a deep breath and wrote the post again.

[Title: Hunter Bum Awakened as Ma123ge, Crazy?]

A hunter bum scratching belly at home… Awakened as ma123ge. What do I do now?

“No one’s reading it. D*mn.”

Not even comments, views stuck at 2.

Was it too aggro-like?

I was thinking of new aggro that would hook people.

A comment notification rang.

ㄴMagic is open to everyone. Magic opens the door when you cleanse your mind, energy, body and face yourself. The method is as follows. First, to cleanse the body, eat dirt for 30 days…(More)

“Wow, good to see you, you bastard.”

I meant it. I was so glad to see this person. You could call him my benefactor. And rightly so, since he’s basically the one who made me a mage.

I immediately replied.

ㄴ I really awakened as a mage following your words, what’s your identity?

I waited for a reply. 1 minute… 5 minutes… 10 minutes….

Hoping no one else sees this post first.

Especially hoping the armband guy doesn’t delete my post before the reply comes, I desperately waited for the magic villain’s response.

A bit later, a reply notification rang.

ㄴWhat, there’s really a guy who followed this?

ㄴDidn’t you post it to follow?

ㄴUh…. That’s true, but I didn’t think there’d really be one.

ㄴAnyway, I became a mage. What’s your identity?

ㄴThat’s a bit hard to say here…. Come here first. Delete this post.

Mabil handed me a link and password, then deleted all comments in an instant.

As he said, I deleted all my posts, then accessed the site in the link.

A community site similar to the one I usually use, but a bit different, appeared.

[Magic Gallery]

[Gallery Introduction: A gathering for mages.]

[This gallery is restricted.]

[Password: ]

“Like a back gallery. Totally get it.”

I entered the password the magic villain gave me. Then the gallery’s true form appeared before my eyes.

[Title: Refrigerator. The magic combo you told me yesterday was frog efficiency, what’s up.]

Author: Magic is Firepower

(Roughly a weirdly zoomed-in old man’s face image)

Did you trick unnie?

ㄴ Refrigerator: Ah, it gets better if you reference it

ㄴ p Pikachu: Would she tell you for free? lol

ㄴ Refrigerator: I don’t lie like you.

“These people, are they the Korean mages? Just four of them?”

Seems like I got invited to an incredible place.

I read the gallery posts and checked the atmosphere first.

“Hm…. A normal friendship gallery.”

Friendship gallery. A phenomenon when a gallery stagnates due to too few users.

A weird place where all gallery users know everything about each other, and even anonymous ㅇㅇ nicknames get identified right away.

“Can I fit in here?”

As a gallery with only 4 users, this place was covered in slang only they know.

Even as a gallery addict, there were too many words I didn’t understand.

“No choice. Frontal breakthrough.”

I steadied my breath and cleanly wrote the post.

[Title: Just Awakened Mage Newbie, Got Questions.]

Author: ㅇㅇ

Awakened by following mabil comments.

So what do I do now?

And the moment I posted, the comment section exploded.

ㄴ Magic is Firepower: ?

ㄴ Refrigerator: ?

ㄴ p Pikachu: ?

ㄴ Magic is Firepower: What’s mabil?

ㄴ Beetle: …That’s me, anyway, welcome, just certify once.

ㄴ ㅇㅇ: How do I certify?

ㄴ Beetle: Ah, if you just awakened, you probably don’t know how to use magic. Wait.

ㄴ Magic is Firepower: No, so what’s mabil mean.

ㄴ p Pikachu: Real newbie? Real newbie? Real newbie? Real newbie? Real newbie? Real newbie?

ㄴ Beetle: Ah, wait a bit everyone.

A bit later, a link was posted in the comments.

Clicking the link opened a YouTube video. It was a video of an Indian person explaining basic magic.