-The Festival Grounds
The Mage World Tournament. It was happening.
That was why the Jeondang mages hadn't been mobilizing.
There likely wasn't a single mage who didn't want to attend the World Tournament. The Mage World Tournament being held in Seoul might well be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
I decided to be understanding of the Daejeon mages' frustration with their situation.
Of course, I had put the World Tournament aside to come down here.
"But here we are. We just need to resolve the situation quickly."
"That's right. Indeed. Now that Mage Oudin has come down again, it will be resolved in no time."
Gwon Jungsik's expression suddenly brightened. Had he wanted to hear those words?
Looking closely, the other three mages in the back were also looking at me with faces full of anticipation.
"Now, please brief me. What is the state of the newly awakened people?"
"They're using magic recklessly. Running around and lashing out at everything in sight, like kids who've gone mad with joy. Creating flames, stirring winds, levitating objects left and right……"
"So they're testing the magic they're capable of?"
Gwon Jungsik let out a deep sigh and answered.
"Yes. That's right. Fortunately, their skills aren't that great. They're just running wild with abilities that amount to nothing much."
"The other mages are deployed in the field for containment right now?"
"Yes. They are out there, but they can't get it under control. The people won't listen. They say that since they've awakened, they're mages now too, and demand to know why they can't use magic. But how can we call people who haven't even registered yet mages?"
Gwon Jungsik huffed through his nose as he spoke.
At that, I felt Gil flinch beside me, but I pretended not to notice.
Gil was likewise an unregistered mage. It must have bothered her. But the issue at hand wasn't whether one had registered or not.
"Have you analyzed those people's mana waves?"
"Pardon?"
Gwon Jungsik looked flustered.
"You said they're using magic recklessly. Haven't you analyzed the magic circuits or mana wave characteristics they're using?"
"Aah, that's right. We should do that, but right now, maintaining order alone is overwhelming. As you know, there aren't that many mages in the Daejeon area."
He was saying they hadn't done any analysis. No, it seemed they hadn't even considered doing it from the start.
I tilted my head.
Had no orders come down from the Jeondang or the central government?
Yu Jaeseon suddenly came to mind.
Yu Jaeseon, a government-affiliated mage, was quite a capable analyst. Back during the tentacle monster incident, they had shown enough interest to dispatch such a person to the Jeondang, yet were they paying no attention whatsoever to Daejeon?
'Ah, come to think of it, Yu Jaeseon contacted me yesterday.'
Since there had been no particular message, I had let it pass, but I thought I should get in touch at least tonight.
"Then you must have a grasp of the numbers? How many people have newly awakened in total?"
"We haven't been able to count them one by one. It's not managed to that extent yet. But we have roughly figured out the numbers. However, the strange thing is, the numbers keep increasing. Everyone's saying they've become mages and posting it online—it's utter chaos. Anyway, from what we've grasped so far, it's roughly over ten thousand, we think."
"What?"
"Ten thousand?"
Cheon Danbi and Gil, who had been listening quietly until now, also cried out in surprise, their mouths gaping wide.
It was far more than we had estimated.
If ten thousand mages had appeared, it would truly be a tremendous thing. It meant the number of combatants who could fight black mages had grown by that much.
But ten thousand people having fallen victim to black mages' mental magic was no ordinary problem. It was an incident foretelling great chaos.
"Are those people still roaming the streets now?"
"Of course. They'll probably keep at it all night. They simply can't be controlled. Moreover, they're beginning to show collective movements. They're resisting the government's control efforts."
"We'll have to head to the scene immediately."
I spoke and then looked back at Cheon Danbi and Gil. Cheon Danbi and Gil were nodding vigorously.
"If so, head out toward Jungang-ro. That's where the largest crowds are gathered right now. Our mages are deployed near Jungang-ro as well. Try contacting Mage Jang Jeyeong."
"Understood."
"We must remain here to keep watch, so we cannot escort you. This is the command center overseeing the entire operation."
"Don't worry. We'll make our way there on our own."
"Thank you so much."
Leaving behind those eyes filled with expectation, we departed the Bureau of Magic.
We immediately got in the car and headed toward Jungang-ro.
Since it was late, the roads weren't jammed on the way, but as we approached Jungang-ro, commotion could be felt and some roads were partially closed off.
I turned into a back alley and parked the car in front of some closed shop.
"Let's walk from here. That's the only way to properly assess things."
"Yes, let's."
"Okay! Let's get going."
The moment we set foot on Jungang-ro, it was utter chaos. I thought we had walked into some festival grounds.
Here and there, they were shooting flames into the air as if setting off fireworks, and then someone would stir up wind to extinguish them, cheering wildly.
There were those spraying water in all directions like fountains, and those attempting freezing magic to ice it over.
When police tried to control them, they pushed them away with telekinetic magic, and cheers burst out. Then someone casting magic would collapse under their own spell's recoil because it didn't work properly.
Then great peals of laughter would erupt.
It was a complete pandemonium.
"Goodness! This is incredible."
"Oh my, what in the world is all this? I can't tell if it's a festival or a riot."
Gil and Cheon Danbi expressed their impressions, looking around left and right.
Just then, a fairly large fireball flew toward us.
"Dodge!"
Gil and Cheon Danbi quickly ducked, and I hurriedly spread a barrier to block the fireball.
But the moment it touched my barrier, the fireball fizzled out in an instant.
I had thought it was a decent fireball given its considerable size, but it was a worthless spell with short duration to begin with.
Examining the dissipating magic circuit, its structure was shoddy beyond compare.
"Where are the Daejeon mages?"
Cheon Danbi asked, looking around in all directions.
"Right? I can't see them anywhere."
The police were noticeable in their uniforms trying to maintain control somehow, but the mages were impossible to identify.
That was natural enough; the people causing disturbances here were also using magic, so distinguishing them was impossible.
Moreover, there was no magic visible that would suppress this commotion. Shouldn't the existing mages be manifesting magic at least a level higher than these people?
I considered calling Jang Jeyeong but decided against it.
"Let's first take a look around, roughly gauge the size of the area, and figure out how to handle this."
Not all ten thousand would be here, but at a glance, it seemed thousands were wandering about.
The police seemed to be concentrating their forces on preventing people from moving outward. They didn't appear daring enough to confront the crowd of awakened head-on.
Though it was late at night, considering this was a central district with many shops, there were unusually few pedestrians. But that didn't mean there were none.
Though it was hard to tell whether someone was awakened or not, there seemed to be ordinary people mixed in who, caught up in the excitement, treated this chaos like a festival.
"Flames! Shoot more flames up!"
"That'll catch fire over there. Execute water magic!"
"Now that's a flame!"
"Too small. Try making it bigger!"
Everyone was shouting excitedly as if they were on drugs.
As Gwon Jungsik had said, I thought it would be difficult to call these people mages.
Whether they had registered or not wasn't the issue. One who did not know that magical ability came with responsibility could not become a mage.
"Let's turn that way. No need to go too deep into the center."
I led Cheon Danbi and Gil toward the edge of the area. Since gauging the size of the area was most important anyway, there was no need to go into the very center.
"Is this their normal state? Were they hit by mental magic? Why do they all seem crazy?"
Cheon Danbi whispered.
"I don't know if what they're using is black magic or ordinary magic."
Gil murmured from the side.
As I walked, I extended detection magic and analyzed the magic circuits floating in the air. I also analyzed the mana waves flowing out from the awakened.
"The magic they're using is just ordinary magic. Basic-level spells that newly awakened mages would use. But there's an ashen energy mixed into those people's minds. It seems mental magic that induces a state of euphoria is embedded there."
I told Gil and Cheon Danbi quietly.
To be certain, I would need to analyze the structure of the mental magic in detail, but the basic framework likely wouldn't differ much.
"Right? You can tell at a glance it's a state of euphoria."
"What they're using is ordinary magic, but ultimately it's an ability given by black mages through black magic, so it's dangerous."
Cheon Danbi and Gil each reacted regarding the points they had been curious about.
"That's right. What's important for a mage is intent. As I said before, white magic and black magic aren't strictly divided into good and evil. A mage weaves magic through will and intent, so purpose and intention are what matter most."
To my words, Gil gave an unexpected reply.
"Then if I use magic with bad intentions, could I bring about results similar to black magic?"
"What? You could say that. But you wouldn't use magic with bad intentions, would you? Right?"
"I was just asking."
Gil smiled brightly at me.
If malice were to take root in this child, it wouldn't be her fault but the fault of whoever made her that way.
It was such a kind smile that it made me think so naturally.
"Ugh, things are already hectic enough without you adding to it. You could never become a bad mage. If a black mage tries to use mental magic on you, I won't let them get away with it."
Cheon Danbi threw her arm around Gil's shoulder and spoke. She wasn't just putting her arm around her; it seemed she was slowly tightening her grip. Gil declared her surrender.
"Okay! I promise. I won't. I'll never become a bad mage!"
"Okay! Then it's a promise."
"I was just asking because I was curious."
I urged the two, who were playing around like children.
"Let's go. We have a lot to do."
"Yes!"
It was while we were taking a large lap around the area like that—
—as we walked down a back alley crowded with restaurants, a scream was heard from somewhere.