Hermit Wizard

The Curtain Rises (1)

It was around 2 p.m. when the creatures appeared in the sky of the Hun-neung.

Without any signs, they appeared as if they were water plants that rose above the water. They were black-winged flying creatures appearing like a haze in an empty space.

Flying about two to three meters above the surface, they weren’t detected by radar. The discovery was through the naked eye. The soldiers standing on the guard noticed first, and a warning sound rang sharply all over the Hun-neung.

-Emergency! Emergency!

They had dark brown bumps on their tail. A murky liquid flowed from the end of it constantly while flying in the sky. The liquid that fell on the defenseless lawn quickly decayed the living creatures.

“No… that’s…!”

The instructors who checked the creature’s appearance through CCTV in the command-and-control room groaned without realizing it.

That creatures’ form was very familiar.

After the outbreak of the channel crisis, an analysis of alien creatures was conducted. Although the information was insufficient, educational materials were created based on the obtained video records and analysis results. Most human instructors in the command-and-control room came from officers or public officials in specific positions and had already completed the training.

The most intensive education subject was the white giant, who appeared three times through the Channel in Seoul. Records of the battle wherein the Korean Military forces completely subdued were also retained, and above all, there were enough samples of the body.

The Korean government almost understood giants’ biological mechanisms and even identified its weaknesses through the research so far. There was even a plausible field manual in case the battle situation occurred again.

However, among the alien creatures that appeared in Seoul, other species were yet to be studied. That was the raw creature that human instructors saw through CCTV.

“It’s crazy!”

Raven-like wings. A huge chunk of flesh connected to the end of the wings. Monster creatures that look like skin-colored leather pockets roamed the skies of the Hun-neung, making an ominous sound.

“The giant-eating flying creature…!” One of the instructors said, convinced of the identity.

The unidentified creature appeared at the site of the giant’s first invasion near Mapo Bridge, melted one whole, ate it, and disappeared, appeared here again.

***

“What is the air defense unit doing?!”

“Their altitude is too low!”

The action had to be taken in advance to get them down. There was no way for the air defense unit on the rooftop to shot down a target that suddenly appeared from the height of the building’s 2nd or 3rd floor. The soldiers deployed in the main building fired with rifles, but there was no change in the monsters’ appearance to the extent that it was doubtful whether the bullets would really ‘touch’ them.

The moment a siren rang in the building, the Blue House and nearby military units also received signals simultaneously and recognized that it was an emergency. They had to buy some time somehow. The instructors rushed all troops on the ground to the main building.

The monsters that skipped the intermediate process of movement suddenly appeared in front of the main building – the heart of the Hun-neung. No detection equipment or radar could detect them in advance. When the troops stationed outside Hun-neung moved to the main building in a hurry, all the instructors who watched CCTV doubted their eyes.

One of the instructors shouted with his face burning red.

“What?! Who the hell is that?! Get him inside right now!”

A sound close to a scream erupted from his astonished mouth. Swearing and shouting echoed across the place.

From the moment the siren rang, all trainees and Kaifu instructors in that area should’ve moved to the underground bunker. It was a prepared protocol to evacuate outside of Seoul through an underground tunnel in a prepared vehicle. Their mission was to hold on to the enemies until they escaped safely. In the end, it was to buy some time.

However, a man wearing a trainee’s uniform was currently seen walking out of the garden in front of the main building.

“That’s crazy…! That’s Kim Kyung-hwan!”

“Is that kid crazy? Why is he doing that all of a sudden?!”

He wasn’t even running away. He was walking in the direction of the flying creatures, keeping an eye on the sky. In front of him, the grass and trees were rotting in black and white. The speed of decay was so abnormal that it could be observed with the naked eye.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?!” The on-duty instructor shouted over his head.

It was a huge issue no matter how good an ordinary trainee does, and Kim Kyung-hwan was a talented person among the talents who even the President closely watched. If that child did anything wrong, he would…

“Ah, that stubborn bastard!”

He quickly connected the line to an external speaker and shouted.

“Kim Kyung-hwan! Hey you bastard! Come in now!”

The fire fell; he didn’t even try to filter his words. Kim Kyung-hwan, who must have heard the sound, didn’t even look back. The on-duty instructor changed the subject of the order. He instructed the troops in charge of the main building.

“The guard squads! Get that crazy bastard into the building right now…”

It was then…

-Wheeeeeck!

As if they weren’t affected by the bullets poured on them so far, the flying creatures flew over the main building garden and made a delicate turn.

They stopped moving at once and turned toward Kim Kyung-hwan, who was approaching them. The long, dangling eyes stretched out towards him.

The creatures remained indifferent without responding to the shooting soldiers who were paying attention to the young man. Bullets weren’t a threat at all, but was Kim Kyung-hwan different?

The instructors’ face turned white.

Then…

-Wheeeeck!

Three monsters spewed out a murky white liquid at once!

Three strong streams were distinctly different from the previous ones, and Kim Kyung-hwan stood at the destination it was heading for.

The on-duty instructor screamed.

“No!”

But his scream was soon buried by the shouts of the instructors who followed.

“What is that?!”

“… Huh?”

“Instructor Shin, what is that? Did Kim Kyung-hwan learn such magic as well?”

The human instructor who managed Kim Kyung-hwan on a one-on-one basis, the man who was just called Instructor Shin, shook his head with a puzzled look.

“…. Ah? No? Such a thing…”

As soon as the monsters sprayed the liquid, the scene that came to the instructors’ heads was Kim Kyung-hwan’s body being struck and melted into rotten fish.

However, what they saw on the screen now seemed to be completely different from what they expected.

Kim Kyung-hwan stretched out his hand, and the green slime in front of him created a hemisphere to protect his body. The size was large enough for several people, and none of his clothes got wet.

The slime retained its shape while making the wall. The white decaying liquid poured over; it failed to break through the barrier and flowed down the wall like a raindrop hitting the window. The instructors confirmed that the green slime leading to the floor rose as thick as a kind of platform. Kim Kyung-hwan was on top of it.

“What… is that?”

It seemed clear that Kim Kyung-hwan used that magic. Shortly after, all Kaifu instructors in that area had been informed that evacuation to the underground bunker was completed.

They didn’t even expect from the beginning that Kaifu’s would help and fight together in this situation. Whether the invading enemy was human or not, Kaifu must never go into battle and evacuate safely with the trainees.

That was the terms of the contract, and it was also the point where the interests of the Korean government and Kaifu instructors coincide.

In the end, it was unlikely that Kaifu was involved in the green slime membrane that protects Kim Kyung-hwan. It was cast directly by Kim Kyung-hwan himself.

“But he has never learned such a magic… ah!”

Instructor Shin muttered, talking to himself confused, and spat out a sigh for something that suddenly came to his mind.

“That’s… my God. Yes! That’s the magic Kim Kyung-hwan learned!”

Hearing that, the on-duty instructor turned his head. Kim Kyung-hwan’s growth was the concern of all human instructors. The on-duty instructor knew what kind of spell he had learned.

“What do you mean? As far as I know, none of the magic taught by Kaifu is like that…”

“No, there is!”

Instructor Shin said in a trembling voice.

“That’s 1st class magic!”

“What? No way!”

There was a joke that human instructors only jokingly said among themselves, referring to the 1st class magic taught by Kaifus.

Stationery magic.

Looking at the process, it would be obvious that it was magic. However, looking at the result could be replaced with a tool sold in stationery without using magic. Instead of magic, it was easy to buy a pair of scissors from stationery, cut it, or buy a thumbtack and make a hole.

From the human perspective, Kaifu’s 1st class magic was only an introductory stage to move on to the next stage, rather than having any utility in itself but…

“What do you mean that’s a 1st class magic?!”

Instructor Shin replied with a trembling voice.

“It’s a 1st class adhesive magic!”

“… What?”

The magic created a sticky slime the size of a palm. In terms of its utility, it was possible to replace it with glue sold at stationery stores.

Originally, it was a small amount of slime produced, not even a handful. The weight that could be adhered to and supported was also insignificant. But, Instructor Shin was convinced that the barrier that appeared to be the ‘protective magic’ used by Kim Kyung-hwan was the adhesive magic.

Because, out of all the magic Kim Kyung-hwan learned so far, the only magic that created slime of that color was the 1st class adhesive magic.

It was said that the magic that became the reinforced type of first-class adhesive magic was in the 5th class. Kim Kyung-hwan was still in the 4th class. If so, that must’ve been the 1st class.

“Is that… is that possible? Even in Kaifu’s 1st class magic, the size of a human palm was the limit. But now that… it’s a few hundred times more than the amount normally produced!”

Someone questioned it, but no one responded.

***

‘As expected! Eraser is just like that!’

Hiding behind the slime barrier created by magic, Kim Kyung-hwan sang with delight inside. He had been preparing that magic before he left the building in the first place. He was waiting for the siren to ring, in a remote area where there were no other instructors or trainees, but in the right place where he could quickly go out to the main garden when the signal came.

If he were in a dorm as usual or around other humans, he would have to move to the underground bunker after the alert rang immediately, so he had to remove himself in advance.

‘Eraser was right about everything. After all, He’s great. He’s the best! He can even predict. The magic of his race is completely different. I don’t think these frogs’ magic is even magic.’

Those winged monsters appeared at the time that Eraser predicted. Invaders were targeting the Earth. They sensed the wizards’ location, and they came there to eat Kim Kyung-hwan and other trainees.

‘He even knows the future. He’s really the best of the best, right?’

It was a powerful magic that no one in that world could match. Plus, he knew in advance what would happen in the future. With Eraser on his side, no one could stop Kim Kyung-hwan in the future, and he truly thought so.

He was so happy and excited that his lower head was prickly. There was no fear of a monster for the first time in his life. Instead, tension and excitement were exploding in his head like firecrackers.

-Wheeeeck!

A white stream hit the wall and flowed down. It was difficult to survive if he came into contact with that decaying solution. In particular, it would take less than a minute for small creatures like humans to melt completely.

Did Eraser call them Waterbirds? No matter how much Kim Kyung-hwan looked at them, there seemed to be no reason to call them birds except for their wings, but Kim Kyung-hwan did so since Eraser called them that way. Anyway, the Waterbird’s decaying liquid was fatal once it came in contact, but it wasn’t an unstoppable attack.

Decay liquids without contact with protein-based organic compounds were no different from ordinary liquids. Did he say that the pressure to pump out the liquid was a little weaker than a fire hydrant? If it was right, it hurts to get pushed, but it wasn’t enough to penetrate.

With proper Mana distribution and reconstruction of the spells, it was sufficiently prevented by a wall of adhesive slime that was much larger and thicker than its original purpose.

Kim Kyung-hwan looked at the green slime that was protecting him with amazement.

“Who would have imagined that this runny waste could be reinforced like this and used as a barrier?”

When he learned it, it was the magic that made him snort. Where the hell would he use the magic to make a sticky, runny nose?

However, Eraser had completely improved this magic. He still hadn’t learned the real magic of Eraser’s race, but Kim Kyung-hwan was thrilled and happy to learn and use the version that evolved the frogs’ sloppy magic in that way.

Kim Kyung-hwan recalled Eraser’s words in his dreams.

‘At this rate, you may not be able to stop those monsters. Looking at the magic taught by Kaifus, there are strangely a few kinds that can be used immediately in the battle. So I’ll give you some help.’

‘Oh! Then finally the real magic…?’

‘The magic of our kind is not yet available. They won’t believe that you developed it. They will be suspicious. However, it will be convincing to say that you have improved the magic you have already learned from Kaifus. They know you’re a genius. They will understand it to the extent that you are a genius who is far better than expected.’

Kim Kyung-hwan grinned behind the shield. Eraser said those monsters couldn’t move while spraying the decay liquid. He said I had to aim for that moment.

Kim Kyung-hwan prepared the next spell behind the shield. That, too, was the improvement of Kaifu’s magic. Eraser said he couldn’t kill them, but he could chase them, and everyone would see it.

He defeated those unidentified monsters, which even the other world’s giants couldn’t do.

Kim Kyung-hwan smiled satisfactorily.

‘Today’s battle, this place, is the first step I take as the savior of mankind!’