-The Essence of Magic
The key point I had to reflect on from this Incheon raid was, more than anything else, spatial magic.
It wasn’t the first time I had used spatial magic, but it was the first time I had pushed it to such an extreme.
I carefully reviewed every single moment.
From the instant explosive power erupted, to the moment when a restorative force beyond all expectations was displayed.
I felt it anew all over again: spatial magic was both delicate and powerful.
To execute it, one had to adjust the waves of mana with extraordinary precision, and through an extremely refined focus, allow the divine light to flow between those waves.
Once activated, it poured out explosive energy and moved space itself—the prerequisite of the world—accomplishing things that were beyond imagination.
It was a magic that was profound, powerful, and filled with boundless possibilities.
‘Dark mages used spatial magic to borrow energy and even living beings from other dimensions. If they can do it, then I can do it too.’
‘It isn’t only a matter of borrowing energy and living beings. Beyond dimensional portals, I should be able to cross into another dimension entirely. If I interpret my own existence as waves…’
‘If not the Demon Realm, then what other dimensions could I connect to? What were all those countless dimensions shown by the boundary of dimensions? Where were they?’
Even thoughts I hadn’t had time to consider during the raid surfaced.
Going beyond simple review, I simulated various manifestations of spatial magic in my mind.
This was the power of training.
It might have looked as though I were merely sitting still, but in truth, I was virtually operating the mana within me and drawing out the patterns of its waves.
Magic perhaps no different from reality unfolded within the world of possibility.
‘Everything is possible. In truth, anything can happen.’
I shuddered without realizing it at the vastness of the possibilities one could reach through spatial magic.
People commonly thought of spatial magic as an extremely difficult magic to achieve, but when one examined it closely, it was the magic that came closest to the very essence of magic.
It was based on principles that every mage knew and used.
The essence of magic was understanding that everything existing in this world was made not only of particles, but of waves.
Mana was, in truth, a power already manifested in the universe. There were merely those who could wield it and those who could not.
To manifest the waves that were the root of all things through mana and reveal them to the world—that was none other than magic.
Any mage who realized this essence could make a stone flow like water, bring forth the fire that existed as possibility dispersed in the air, transform darkness into light in an instant, or paint light over with darkness.
The secret of spatial magic lay here as well.
In the reality of the world we see with our eyes, matter exists as a collection of grains occupying a limited space. It occupies only that one location in the world.
But once one escapes the limitation of being particles, one also escapes the limitation of space.
If one views matter as waves and realizes that possibility through mana, it becomes possible to move it somewhere else in an instant, and also possible to make it exist in two places at the same time.
Not only that, one can move space itself, and even change it into something else.
‘You can knock on the boundary of dimensions and open a door leading to another dimension. And that isn’t all. You can even move the axis of time.’
‘The reason time feels as though it flows in only one direction is because we are bound to the spacetime of the present. Once spatial magic and temporal magic allow us to unfold spacetime freely, those restrictions disappear.’
‘Perhaps I could even cross over to another time…?’
I had witnessed, through the restorative power of spatial magic, a reality that was no different from the axis of time being moved, but magic that freely unfolded spacetime was still beyond my ability.
It was a domain I would have to explore, train in, and attempt in the future.
Suddenly, the scent of herbs brushing past the tip of my nose felt even stronger.
As my senses became indescribably refined, the intensity of my concentration rose sharply. In the inner vision behind my closed eyes, an infinite world suddenly shimmered.
For an instant, I had entered deep into the very center of the essence of spacetime.
Amid the scenes like a kaleidoscope of brilliant colors unfolding at the boundary of dimensions, there was something that abruptly seized my attention.
‘What is that?’
Something that seemed more like a collection of information than a physical form shimmered before my eyes.
An aching curiosity drove me onward. I pierced into it. Then the world began to overlap.
Over the world in which I was now staying, another image of a world was superimposed.
It was a world that was extremely familiar, yet at the same time now felt impossibly distant—the image of the parallel world I had thought of as my previous life.
Seoul, where calamity was unfolding.
Me, who was not a mage.
The sight of myself tracking Samir while struggling with all my might to avoid the calamity was drawn before me as though it were someone else.
But the emotions alone were so clear and sharp it was as though I were feeling them at this very moment. They were vivid, like a blade slicing through flesh.
‘Can I cross back into that world? I have to go. I must go. I have to go there and save myself.’
‘No. I can’t. That world is only an image.’
‘I can go. I can cross over!’
‘But I don’t want to leave this place now. I can’t. My people are here now. And there are things I have to do.’
Complicated, dizzying thoughts and emotions whirled within me. They flowed through my heart like hot lava.
In that instant, I abruptly came to my senses.
‘That isn’t an illusion. It isn’t an image either. That is a collection of information.’
Information about a world I already knew.
Even if I could open a portal by creating a gap between dimensions and cross into another dimension, there was no need to leap into information I already knew.
Rather, I felt it was more important to draw in information about dimensions I had not yet visited.
If dark mages opened portals and borrowed energy and living beings from the Demon Realm beyond the dimension, then I could bring back information.
‘Perhaps I can even find the answer to why, and how, I came to this world.’
It was certain that it was connected to spatial magic.
After all, the reason I had been able to glimpse that world like this was because I had approached the essence of spatial magic.
The only thing I could not know was who had made it possible.
“Mage?”
I heard Gil cautiously calling me.
At the same time, the bell hanging on the shop door was jingling.
I opened my eyes and slowly looked around.
Mana waves were surging throughout my entire body, so I had to calmly settle them down.
Gil was sitting across from me at the worktable, looking toward the door, and through the door that had just opened, two men were entering.
They were Yu Jaeseon and Park Hongguk, the director of the government’s Administration Bureau.
“Mage Oudin!”
Yu Jaeseon called my name in a bright voice and strode into the herb shop. Then he gestured as if introducing Park Hongguk, who was coming in behind him.
“Director, hello.”
I greeted Park Hongguk courteously first.
Even if I was not a mage affiliated with the government, I knew who Director Park Hongguk was, and he was unquestionably my superior.
He was the director of the Administration Bureau, which oversaw the mages of the Republic of Korea.
And such a person had come to see me in person.
Why?
Park Hongguk strode over and held out his hand to me.
“Mage Oudin, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I believe this is the first time we’ve met face to face like this. I should have come to see you much sooner.”
Park Hongguk usually gave off a firm impression, but seeing him speak with a smile, I found that he unexpectedly had a gentle side as well.
I remembered Yu Jaeseon saying that Park Hongguk was a man of upright character, and that he would never have colluded with corrupt forces.
I clasped the hand Park Hongguk offered.
“Welcome. But how did you know to come here?”
I said the latter part while looking at Yu Jaeseon.
Of course Yu Jaeseon knew about Cheon Danbi’s herb shop. That wasn’t what I was asking. I meant how he knew I was here right now.
“I went to your house, but you weren’t there. I thought you might have come straight here from the scene, so we tried stopping by.”
“I see. Has the scene been fully taken care of?”
“Yes. It’s mostly been wrapped up. In truth, since you had even finished the restoration, there wasn’t much for us to do.”
After exchanging a light conversation, I quietly waited.
Yu Jaeseon and I were close enough that there was no need to ask why he had come to see me, no matter when or where he did so, but since he had suddenly arrived accompanied by Director Park Hongguk, they would have to bring up the reason first.
“There is something important I would like to discuss with you, Mage, so I came without warning like this. But would it be all right to talk here? Shall we move somewhere else?”
Park Hongguk got to the point.
I learned that he was quick to read the room and treated even those below him politely.
“This isn’t my shop, but it’s all right. The security is thorough as well.”
“I could tell that it was wrapped in a perfect protective barrier. Then, if it’s all right, let us speak here.”
As he said that, Park Hongguk looked at Gil.
Just as I was about to introduce Gil, Park Hongguk continued.
“I heard from Team Leader Yu Jaeseon that Mage Oudin has team members. I would like all of you to gather and have this discussion together.”
“Ah, shall we?”
I didn’t know what the director intended to talk about, but if he wanted to speak with all my team members together, I was pleased to oblige.
I quickly told Gil to bring Cheon Danbi.
Since I said nothing about Ren, he would surely stay out of the way appropriately. Though the shop and the main house were attached with the yard between them, they were still completely separate spaces, so there should be no problem.
No matter how much they were allies, I did not want to reveal Ren yet.
Soon, Cheon Danbi followed Gil into the shop.
“Hello. I’m Cheon Danbi, owner of the herb shop Yggdrasil.”
Cheon Danbi greeted them cheerfully.
Everyone exchanged greetings anew, and then all of us gathered around Cheon Danbi’s worktable.
“First of all, I sincerely thank you for perfectly resolving the Incheon terror incident. If not for all of you, this operation would have been truly difficult.”
Park Hongguk spoke respectfully and even bowed his head.
He was expressing gratitude to our team on behalf of the government. For some reason, my chest swelled with pride.
“It feels a little awkward for us to be thanked too. What did we do, really? Mage Oudin did everything.”
“Not at all. I heard the two of you performed remarkably, starting from Guwol-dong and Chinatown.”
Cheon Danbi tried to give all the credit to me, but Park Hongguk specifically praised Cheon Danbi and Gil. He was a man who understood things.
At that, Cheon Danbi’s and Gil’s faces brightened.
Neither of them was the type to particularly crave recognition, but hearing the director’s words seemed to make them happy nonetheless.
Seeing the two of them so pleased made me feel good as well.