Hermit Wizard

Heart Fish (4)

“Sure.”

I nodded.

“I can see a wizard’s potential. I’ve looked all over the world, but I couldn’t find another talent like you. I’m sure you are the best.”

His mouth was twitching again. He’d rather laugh out loud.

“It is the mission of my race to spread our magic to another dimension. The principle in the process should be passed on only to those who are qualified.”

I opened all twenty-three eyes of my fake image created in his dreams and watched Kim Kyung-hwan for dramatic effect.

“Thank you for your cooperation as always. If you didn’t comply with the contract, you might have had to violate our people’s beliefs. I might have had to choose someone inferior to you, who is the best suited in this dimension as champion…”

“Gosh! Don’t say that. Do you know what the level of the trainees is right now? It’s a mess. It’s awful. You’re going to explode trying to teach them.”

It seemed that he thought that his progress was only because of his ability. He was learning through a private lesson in the dream with me, got his Mana recharge, and rewrote the formula of spelling in a 1:1 class. Was that called cognitive dissonance? Except for Kim Kyung-hwan, the other trainees were also slow because of the Mana problem. However, the decisive reason was that the Kaifu magic formula and teaching method were designed to ignore human thinking and cognitive abilities.

For humans accustomed to speech and textual language, formulas based on a language that was recorded in color couldn’t be easy, even if it went through telepathic translation. Therefore, I was teaching Kim Kyung-hwan by adapting the content of their teaching to suit human thinking. He kept whining without even knowing my thoughts.

“Now Baek Woon-gyu has only learned the 8th of second-class magic. It’s a waste of time to hold and teach such stupid people.”

An unfamiliar name came out of his mouth.

“Baek Woon-gyu? Was he the next fastest guy after you?”

“Yeah. But…”

Instantly, a light of anxiety fluttered in his eyes.

“That person is at a standstill. There has been no progress in several months. He has only memorized three more spells since the time I entered the camp. I’ve learned dozens in the meantime!”

He said dozens of spells. By Parvache and my standards, it was about transforming and improving several spells into dozens. Mostly they were Kaifu’s magic. Actually, Kim Kyung-hwan wasn’t a man of no genius. He was definitely one of the best. The Korean government didn’t recruit all of them to the training camp because they showed a wizard’s talent. All were carefully selected. But I couldn’t even see him as a great genius. According to Parvache’s and my standards, he was barely acceptable?

“It took him more than a month to learn the corrosive slime spell. He’s crappy. He’s not someone you will care about. That’s what second place looks like. He’s a total failure, not like me.”

Did he seem to be quite conscious, considering how he was treating him?

“Are you close to him?”

“No. Not at all.”

“Anyway, be careful when talking to other trainees. As stated in the contract.”

I gave strength to the eyes and added.

“You must never speak of my existence. The fact that I am helping you.”

The guy nodded along.

“In this world, the power of the group called the state is too strong. It will be a lot of trouble if I get caught by the rulers. It is better to say that you created all of the magic you will learn from me later, Kim Kyung-hwan. The fact that you are such a genius will be testified by the Kaifu people who taught you.”

I kept talking.

“If I get caught, I could be asked for something other than magic. I could also be involved in the choice of the victor for political reasons. Such a thing doesn’t conform to the beliefs of my species. There could be a case where I should first transfer magic to the criminals designated by those in power other than you. Please understand that we have no choice but to proceed in secret, Kim Kyung-hwan.”

That was a poor excuse. If Kim Kyung-hwan was genuinely the best genius on the planet, there was no need for the government to intervene and blow him up. However, Kim Kyung-hwan…

“Of course, I understand! It’s right to choose the best person.”

He believed in it.

“But, if the moment comes when you are threatened with your life. If anyone who has found out the magic circle on the back of your hand asks the sources, then, as stated in the contract, tell them everything about me. There will be no contract penalty.”

He swept the magic circle on the back of his hand. Just because the patterns on the outside were meaningless didn’t mean that the magic circle was fake. The marking itself worked like a spell, and it actually functioned. It resonated with the micro-artifact embedded in the back of Kim Kyung-hwan’s hand. I applied some power to my voice.

“What is my name? What do I look like? In the meantime, it is okay to state all the trivial information, such as how many eyes I have. You must not get hurt or lose your life while rebelling.”

Gulp, Kim Kyung-hwan swallowed dryly.

“Losing a talented wizard like you in vain would be a huge loss for this world as well as for all dimensions. I would rather choose to expose my existence to the state. As a result, a hand of pursuit will reach me, but it will be my responsibility.”

I wanted to bite my lips here, but the Fake God’s face has no lips. Instead, I closed all 23 eyes as if I was in agony.

“…I got it!”

His voice rang out loudly.

“…Thank you for understanding. Last but not least, we need to accelerate the pace of learning Kaifu’s magic now. Once you have conquered all the magic they can teach, you will be regarded as an “Instructor Wizard” by their standards. When the time comes, it won’t seem strange even if you have developed new magic; I will pass on the magic of our kind to you. I look forward to that day. How much more will you surprise me?”

Now he couldn’t control his facial expressions.

“That’s why to meditate as soon as you wake up in the morning. You have to fill in even a little more Mana.”

Kim Kyung-hwan touched the back of his hand with a sparkle in his eyes. He still didn’t know that a few months ago, while he was asleep, I planted tiny artifacts on the back of his hand. For purposes only, it wasn’t much different from an attached hormone capsule on a cow. From the cow’s point of view…no, from Kim Kyung-hwan’s point of view, I didn’t say anything because I would feel bad if he heard about it.

What did the artifact do? It was a kind of Mana recharge. It was a work made with a lot of effort to avoid being caught by the Kaifu or other beings. Speed was the key to growing into a remarkable wizard of the Guardians of the Great Convention. However, no matter how poor the Kaifu’s magic was, it would be impossible if basic Mana weren’t supported. I was regularly replenishing it so that this guy could use it like his own.

If the instantaneous Mana consumption were below the standard that affects the concealment magic, the artifact’s presence wouldn’t be detected. And that guy’s Mana circuit wasn’t anywhere near the stage of consuming that much, so there was no worry.

“Oh, and…”

Well…let’s stop telling him the story he wanted to hear.

“The one I ask for? Any news?”

“Not yet.”

He shook his head.

“There are no trainees in a coma, no trainees vomiting weird things. If that had happened, the story would have spread all over the place. Because everyone is locked up, rumors spread so quickly.”

Here at the magic training center in Hun-neung, the number had steadily increased so far. Now a little over 200 wizards were being educated. It was like a tasty banquet table for Heart Fish. In White Deer’s case, some people used techniques similar to the mental defense spells I used, but this side was entirely defenseless.

“Isn’t there anybody who suddenly showed weird superpowers?”

“Absolutely. That’s a phenomenon that only appears before you learn the proper magic.”

“No, I’m saying this because there’s a reasonable situation.”

When the Heart Fish began to eat the soul, the soul instinctively tries to counter it—a phenomenon that occurred separately from human thought, self, or consciousness. As the soul’s attack continued, magical things happened around the host. Then that host lost their mind for a moment, or windows around them would break, or they’d float while sleeping. This wasn’t a sudden blooming of their talent as a wizard but rather a clash of souls struggling and consuming vitality. Therefore, in other dimensions, the Heart Fish host may be misunderstood as a preliminary wizard.

I kept talking.

“Let’s see if this is the case. When you are sleeping, you suddenly see a faint alter ego that looks just like you.”

“What is that? Is it something like an out-of-body experience?”

“To be precise, it’s a soul in the fluid. Either one of the limbs is missing, or half of the head is gnawed. It must be in this situation. Avoid those who have such experiences if you can, and let me know right away in your dreams.”

“…Why does that happen?”

“It’s like a distress signal from the soul.”

“What?”

Kim Kyung-hwan asked as if he didn’t know the word.

When the soul felt an extreme sense of crisis, it didn’t stop in the above case and even escaped from the body altogether. If the soul escaped, of course, they would die. It was the soul’s desperate attempt to escape from the ring of reincarnation, even if it was prepared for that. They were struggling to avoid disappearing altogether. However, the Heart Fish didn’t release the string connecting the body, and the soul stuck out from the body. The fluid that was trying to escape would be pulled back into the body. Into the hidden body of the Heart Fish that was waiting to eat.

This was a typical symptom of the Heart Fish parasite. These things happened without the parasite’s host even noticing.

“Anyway, I wish you could keep your ears open carefully.”

“…Yes, I understand.”

When a Heart Fish parasitizes a wizard, things grew very complicated. The soul was powerful and could be gnawed for a long time. The quality of food was good, so it would have a lot of eggs. When such a heavily packed egg began to hatch, it really became a problem. Therefore, the worst-case scenario was that the parasites reached White Deer because it was the best group of wizards in this land except for me.

The less-worst one was for them to parasitize the instructors or trainees in Hun-neung. It would be nice if Yusu could see the souls of trainees daily and sort them out, but that wasn’t possible, so I closely monitored the situation through Kim Kyung-hwan. What if they had parasitized on other people? What if they lived on a person who wandered freely, unlike the White Deer people and the trainees in Hun-neung? There was a high possibility that someone would witness it when the phenomena occurred.

Moreover, the level of the soul wouldn’t be high. The Heart Fish would soon eat up the soul and lay a small number of eggs. I felt sorry for the parasitized person. Either way, the traces could only be revealed quickly. I waited for that time.

***

“Oh, what are you doing, Soo-jin? Go in and sleep.”

The woman, who had just filled a cup from the water purifier, belatedly found a black figure in the corner of the kitchen. Late at night, in the light-free kitchen. Under the dim light created by the home appliance lamp, all objects looked like shadows. She could faintly see her daughter’s face.

“I didn’t even hear a sound. You’re not saying you want ice cream at night, are you? Let’s eat tomorrow. Go back to your room.”

“…”

“Choi Soo-jin?”

There was no answer.

“…Soo-jin?”

She intentionally threw the words as if nothing was wrong. She tried to ignore the anxiety in her heart. However, she was forced to face the possibility she could no longer ignore. No way, again? She didn’t think so. Pressing her trembling heart as she repeated herself, she wanted to jump in right away and shake her daughter’s shoulders, but she held back.

After taking so few steps closer, the mother stopped as if she were frozen. She reflexively covered her mouth with her hand. She couldn’t scream because Soo-jin might be surprised after waking up. It’s just passing by. This was going to pass, too. There was a reason her daughter’s face was hard to see. There was no shadow on the child’s body, standing tall in the shadows. Her daughter’s naked body, which was translucent, looked hazy like a mist soaked in the darkness as it floated in the air.

“…Uh, heump.”

She clenched her teeth so that she wouldn’t lose her mind. If she fell like this, she couldn’t take care of her daughter. She didn’t know what’s going on right now, but she had to return her daughter to normal. It was a few days ago. When her daughter was absent-minded in kindergarten, she said that puzzles for children she was playing with were floating in the air. There weren’t many kindergarten teachers and children who saw the scene. The couple packed some simple luggage and left the house in Mok-dong, and moved to her family as if running away.

The parents thought it was something that they had only heard about. Transformation into a wizard, a superpower with more power than an ordinary human. They were familiar with the rumors about people who were said to have gone missing after such a phenomenon. The couple didn’t let their daughter out of the front door. After that, there were times when she lost her mind a few more times. Then the wind blew indoors, or a haze rose under her daughter’s feet.

But as before, when her daughter regained her mind, all the weird phenomena would disappear. Now, this would also go back to the way it was when Soo-jin woke up. The mother thought so, trying to reach out her hand to wake her daughter. She would sweep her forehead. And she would hug her, just like when she woke her up in the morning so that she won’t be surprised, very naturally. Then the gaze stopped on one side.

“No…!”

Without knowing, it leaked out of her mouth. Without knowing what she saw now, she repeated it with her heart and mouth. No, it couldn’t be. The woman couldn’t even sweat.

On her daughter’s forehead, which she tried to touch, the gruesome traces of the dark in the kitchen remained. Like an apple eaten by a bad magpie, there were traces of something eating at the center of her face. A terrible scar left on that little face. Seeing the figure tinged with a shadeless solid color, the woman felt her legs weakened. If it had stayed still, she would have been hesitant. But there was a hand gesture that prevented her from falling.

“…Soo-jin?”

A hoarse voice came through the woman’s lips. Her daughter’s hand was reaching for her. To the woman’s eyes, it appeared as her daughter’s gesture for her help.

“Soo-jin! Hold mom’s hand!”

Her hands shook her in the air as if passing through the phantoms. She touched her daughter’s palm, but it passed in vain. Only then did the mother see the thread connecting her daughter’s body. And sooner or later, the thread was pulled taut.

“Soo-jin!”

Her daughter’s body jumped out of the kitchen in no time. An afterimage remained in the woman’s eyes. Her daughter’s waist. She finally couldn’t stand it and screamed at her.

“…Soo-jin!”

The direction her daughter was pulled was towards her sleeping room. She couldn’t even breathe, and she ran and opened the door as if breaking it. She kneeled in front of her child’s bed, not even thinking of turning on the light. The daughter was sleeping as if nothing had happened.

“Soo-jin! Soo-jin!”

She touched her. Now her daughter has reached her hand.

‘My baby is here, my baby.’

Her daughter’s forehead is convex and warm. She cried, bursting with tears. She constantly touched her daughter’s face with her hands. It was fine. There was no wound.

“…Mom? What’s wrong?”

The daughter woke up, feeling the touch of her mother’s wandering trembling. The mother’s face, which was already covered in tears, soon burst into tears. In such darkness, the cries of a mother and daughter continued for a while.

***

“Parvache.”

[Hmm?]

“I think I finally found it. Traces of a Heart Fish.”

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