## Chapter 10 – 10. Entrance (4)
#10. Entrance (4)
When Iris directly injected mana into my body, vitality surged through my entire being.
I felt like I could easily run the 100m in under 9 seconds right then and there.
That alone was incredibly surprising, but my shock didn’t end there.
“This is…”
I felt a faint sense of omnipotence with the vitality coursing even more strongly through my body.
Simply clenching my fist gave me a grip strength that was incomparable to usual, and even my senses, including my subtly improved sight and hearing, added credibility to a suddenly emerging hypothesis.
With a hopeful heart, I closed my eyes and once again observed my body.
Then, near my heart, I felt something that wasn’t there before. I instinctively knew what it was.
“A mana circle…?”
“Congratulations, Hyun-woo.”
Iris wore an expression that was half joy, half surprise.
At this point, it was easy to deduce the meaning of the sudden congratulations.
“Did I… create a mana circle?”
This wasn’t just dumbfounding.
A war orphan college student becoming a mage in less than a day? It was a title that would be riddled with hate comments for sacrificing all semblance of plot in a novel.
I pinched my cheek and slapped myself.
It hurt and stung, but the pain quickly disappeared.
It wasn’t because this was a dream. It was thanks to the magic power rising from my heart.
“Honestly… I can’t believe it even while seeing it with my own eyes.”
Iris’s surprised expression was cute.
I’d have no regrets if I could just squish her cheeks once.
“I also received a lot of praise from my teacher for creating a mana circle quickly, but it still took me about two months. It was only possible because I hardly slept and tried to communicate with mana, but Hyun-woo, how on earth…”
I’m surprised too.
I still can’t believe it.
Am I a prodigy who created a mana circle faster than Iris?
That thought brought more discomfort than joy.
In elementary school, during the magic power test conducted by the state, I was judged to have no talent.
Thanks to that, I couldn’t go to the Magic Tower, and I couldn’t become a mage. But now? My talent is insane?
It’s not like there aren’t cases where talent blooms as you get older, but this was too much.
Even Iris, a great mage who achieved the 8th Circle, took two months to complete the process that I did in 5 minutes?
I know my place.
I’m definitely not that kind of genius.
That means there was a third party involved.
‘It’s not Iris.’
If they could artificially create mages, even if Resilia betrayed her, there’s no way the elders would follow.
By process of elimination, only one thing remained.
I moved my feet and picked up the phone that was acting as indirect lighting. As expected, the screen that appeared on the phone was 100% in line with my expectations.
[Thank you for participating in the dating consulting curriculum]
[Congratulations on achieving the initial goal of the ‘Becoming an Attractive Opposite Sex!’ project]
[☆Achieved 1st Circle Mage☆]
[Please check the rewards prepared as a dating incentive in the mailbox]
‘It’s you, isn’t it?’
The dating consulting curriculum, the one who made Iris unconsciously spill out her heavy and dark past, which could be called her trauma, to me without hesitation.
The other world dating app, I was aware that it was no ordinary app from the moment it teleported me to another dimension.
However, I never imagined that it would have the ability to manipulate others and directly help build a mana circle.
‘What the hell is this thing?’
This is just my vague guess, but there’s someone beyond this app.
I don’t know what they want from me by giving me this app, but there was nothing I could do right now.
‘…Am I a mage now?’
Honestly, I was still dazed.
Being a mage was like a lifelong dream for me.
Of course, anything would have been fine as long as I could make a lot of money, but the longing for a mage was still lingering in a corner of my heart.
Pros and cons, my head spun quickly as I came to a conclusion about the series of events that had happened to me.
This was a golden opportunity.
It was true that something felt off, but if I could just make good use of the app’s abilities, my final destination wouldn’t be a 1st Circle mage.
Even up to the 5th Circle, the limit of ordinary mages, known as magi.
Perhaps even Iris’s equal 8th Circle seemed possible enough.
‘Whether the app’s true nature is a demon or a monster, what does it matter?’
It seemed much better to shake hands with a demon than a god who wouldn’t listen even if I prayed a hundred or a thousand times.
In the first place, this is a world where guys who suddenly awaken their abilities and become hunters or heroes.
It was entirely possible that this app was also an ability I had awakened.
‘Okay, decision made.’
There’s no point in holding on to something you can’t figure out even if you worry about it, it’s just hard on me.
My only goal now was to become a high-ranking mage and free Iris from this place.
“Let’s continue the lesson!”
“Yes!”
The combination of a disciple who had awakened an overwhelming talent and a teacher full of enthusiasm quickly advanced the lesson.
Basic Mysticism, Forelia’s Alchemy, the Collective Theory of Elemental Synthesis, and so on.
That day, I spent most of my time learning the basic knowledge of magic.
Of course, the lesson was difficult. The magic lesson, filled with professional terms I was hearing for the first time, seemed to overload my brain.
But the other world dating app blew away my worries.
[We have confirmed your learning to achieve the intermediate goal of the ‘Becoming an Attractive Opposite Sex!’ project]
[Acquisition rate of all knowledge related to basic magic +1000%]
[Mana sensitivity increase +1000%]
[Mana magnetization speed increase +10000%]
I wondered if the numbers were wrong, but the effect was definitely more than enough.
I acquired knowledge as if it were being engraved in my brain as soon as I heard it.
Saying it was +1000% was an understatement.
To give a slightly exaggerated example, it was like an adult who graduated from elementary school could get a perfect score on the college entrance exam just by taking classes for a week.
It was that unbelievable of an ability.
Not only that, but because my mana sensitivity increased, the mana floating in the air was clamoring to enter my body throughout the lesson.
Iris-sensei looked at me with eyes of surprise and admiration, but I was just burdened.
More than Iris’s gaze, it was because of the mana.
The feeling of increased mana sensitivity was like mana was courting me.
The feeling of being loved by an intangible energy with no substance was hard to say I liked.
There’s a reason why the saying “too much is as bad as too little” exists.
Just like there’s an appropriate amount when getting an IV drip, if I accept too much mana than I can digest, I’m screwed.
Fortunately, when I sincerely refused, the mana quietly retreated as if it had a will.
I wondered if this was possible, but in less than a day, I had teleported to another world, touched the breasts of an awesome elf girl, and became a mage, something I had longed for my whole life.
It was enough experience to realize that anything can happen in this world.
Focusing again, the lesson continued.
“Hyun-woo, are you aware that mages are also divided according to the major they study?”
“I’m hearing that for the first time.”
“Element, Concept, Alchemy, Spirit, Summoning, etc. Mages are called differently depending on their major. Element is called Elementalist, Concept is called Conceptualist, Alchemy is called Alchemist, and so on. Of course, it doesn’t really matter if you just call them mages?”
Of course, Kang Hyun-woo was hearing this for the first time.
Even on Earth, I had seen people talking about alchemists and summoners in the media, but at the time, I thought it was just a title given for show.
“Then what does Iris belong to?”
“I’m a Spiritist. Spirits can’t come near the World Tree, so I can’t show you now, but I’m contracted with quite a few spirits.”
As expected, elves and spirits go hand in hand. At this point, the fantasy settings of Earth were trustworthy information with 100% reliability.
However, one question arose here.
‘There are beastmen, dragonkin, dwarves, and halflings on Earth, so why are there only no elves?’
According to what I learned in history class, non-human races other than humans and magical beasts were not native to Earth.
They started appearing in the literature of each country from some point on… but why are there only no elves?
Something was strange.
“…Hyun-woo?”
“Ah, I’m sorry. I was just lost in thought for a moment…”
“Hehe, it’s okay. It’s already been six hours since we started the lesson. You’ve been taking lessons without a break in between, so it’s understandable that you’re tired. Let’s end the lesson here today.”
She was saying it was okay, but considering Iris’s kind personality, I couldn’t shake the feeling that she was being considerate of me.
I still couldn’t believe it, but in Earth terms, I was being taught by a great mage, of which there were only three.
Should I apologize politely now?
My head became complicated with worries I had never had before, but I decided to move on, vowing not to do so again, as it seemed disrespectful to the consideration I had received.
“Thank you for your hard work.”
“You worked hard too, Hyun-woo. I wish I had even half as much talent for teaching as our teacher.”
“Teacher?”
“Yes, the late King of Peledia is also my teacher who taught me magic.”
Perhaps because old memories came to mind, Iris’s gaze was directed towards the dark ceiling, as if she was reminiscing about something.
Well, I couldn’t sympathize with someone I didn’t even know the face of, even if it was the late king and her teacher, so I just stayed quiet.
At that time, I was hiding like a coward and secretly looking at my phone screen.
Ding- A familiar notification sound and a new screen appeared on my phone.
[Thank you for using our app]
[Congratulations on your first match, and we have given you additional gifts in your mailbox, so please check them later]
[We would like to inform you that the matching will end shortly]
[Time remaining 14:59]
“This… there was a time limit?”
It had been quite a bit more than half a day since I came here.
My hope was that the remaining time would be 15 hours instead of 15 minutes, but no way. Only the timer immediately decreasing to 14:40 caught my eye.
‘No mercy.’
No consideration either.
A 21-year-old solo was having a cozy date with a super beautiful elf girl, and you’re ruining it like this.
‘I want to give it a 1-star rating.’
Still, if there was hope, it was that these time limits could be resolved with money in a typical dating app.
It was difficult right now, but wouldn’t there be a solution when I returned to Earth?
Besides, the rewards piled up in the mailbox were already at 2 stacks, so it was necessary to learn more about the app at this point.
‘I’m also curious about the outside situation.’
Besides, I had created a mana circle, even if it was only the 1st Circle, so I was qualified to enter the Magic Tower.
I was also 21 years old, so it wasn’t that late.
‘If I register as a mage, the country will give me a subsidy.’
With that alone, I wouldn’t have to worry about living expenses.
Many other things came to mind, so it was right to return to Earth soon, but when I thought about Iris, I wanted to stay here a little longer.
Therefore, craving a way to return as quickly as possible was my top priority.
“Hey, Iris?”
“…”
Looking at her back, which didn’t answer even when I called, it seemed like she was still lost in her memories.
I felt sorry for disturbing her, but I couldn’t help it because the time limit was urging me.
This time, I shook her shoulder slightly and called out.
“Iris?”
“Yes?”
Iris turned around with a slightly surprised expression.
“I’m sorry.”
“Ah… no, it’s okay. I was just thinking about old memories… Is there something wrong?”
The slightly reddened appearance of her eyes made my heart ache… but I couldn’t just turn around and leave without saying anything.
“Well… I think I should go back now.”
There was a time limit on the app. Even though I finished saying that I would come back as quickly as possible as soon as I returned, so she didn’t have to worry too much, I was puzzled because I didn’t hear any response.
“Are you going to leave me alone?”
“…Yes?”
Koo- The entire building trembled as if it was shaking. Was it an earthquake?
As I looked around,
Thud, I turned my head to the soft touch that grabbed my wrist.
There, a green eye that shone much more clearly than before was facing me.
“Don’t go.”
Iris wasn’t smiling.
