Prologue Story

The obstacle race had ended.

As they say, the strong always win: the White Team came in first, the Blue Team second, and the Red Team third.

“Argh! Why can’t we beat those guys!”

Yoo Chunho senior shouted with a frustrated expression. Hmm, his personality kind of reminded me of Min-hee. They would certainly get along well. Perhaps Min-hee’s personality was shaped by following his example. I thought of this as I watched Yoo Chunho senior clutch his head.

The event continued without stopping. The next competition was the throwing game—an evolved version of tuho, where, unlike traditional tuho, they had to hurl a long rod into a distant target as if it were a spear. Naturally, magic was involved. This game was for upper elementary students.

The cheering competition also began. Among the seniors boosting the atmosphere with magic, Hyun-ho was enthusiastically performing the cheer choreography with a bright smile.

And finally, it was time for the object-retrieval race in which Han-soo would participate.

“Go, White Team!”

“Cheer up, Blue Team!”

“Red Team! Don’t lose!”

Cheers erupted from all around. As the youngest and the first runner to stand on the line, Han-soo wore a very irritated expression. His face practically read, “Annoying.”

“He’s probably thinking to himself, ‘Just wait and see, Min-hee…’ right about now.”

“Totally.”

Han-soo’s face was so expressive that I found it adorable and smiled slightly. Han-soo didn’t use any magic, but he put in his best effort for the race. His assigned object was a pair of glasses, which was an easy task, likely because he was an elementary student.

This race also featured seniors like Ji-hyun, and thanks to that, our White Team took first place in this game too.

The sports day proceeded in this way, until around 4 p.m., when it was time for the final event, which would last nearly an hour.

「Finally, the airborne race begins! Now, everyone, scatter and freely obstruct the runners flying along the route! The higher-ranking students really have it rough! They get assigned to represent their teams! Yes! Of course, representing the White Team, we have our school’s unshakable top ranker, Joo Ji-hyun! Representing the Blue Team is──our high school president, Lee Eun-hee! Wow, will we finally get to see her Spirit Magic in action this time? Representing the Red Team is Yoo Chunho! With his wind and lightning magic, he might have an advantage! Since this time, attacks between competitors are prohibited!」

The announcement echoed across the entire campus. Holding hands with In-ha and Shia, I grimaced as we ran. I thought I’d gotten used to it by now, but hearing them broadcast the ranking like that still made me cringe unbearably… This feels so much like a cringy internet novel… I’m truly glad this world isn’t as corny as an internet story.

Though I stopped for a moment, I soon resumed running toward our destination. A green path glowed brightly above in the sky. That was the “route” the runners would follow.

Since this aerial race was the final event, it would be the largest competition of the day. The entire school was the stage. We were currently in the shopping district, and the streets had been emptied except for students who came to obstruct. All the shops were also closed. However, all necessary security measures would be activated in case of any potential thefts.

I opened my sight and scanned the surroundings. I saw several students hiding inside buildings. After scouting, we entered a two-story building that no one else had occupied yet, locked the door, and climbed to the second floor.

Standing in one of the rooms on the second floor, I wrapped a barrier around the three of us. Although I still couldn’t easily expand the barrier’s size, I could now set it up to a degree by thinking about it, without using Written Magic. This was a barrier meant to conceal both our appearance and presence.

“This should be enough. Just in case.”

“This is your magic, Eun-ha? Wow, impressive.”

Of course, we planned to target Eun-hee unnie and Chunho Senior. Surely, all the other Class I students were preparing to obstruct as well. Since this was an ideal opportunity to test concealment and magic, there’s no way they’d pass it up.

『Sender: Joo Min-hee

Watch out

My bro’s gonna take everyone down with spells as usual』

Just then, a message popped up in front of me. My friends and I chuckled wryly as we read Min-hee’s message. Sending a message at a time like this, really…

『Sender: Han Yoo-jung

Let’s do our best!』

Even Yoo-jung unnie… and it didn’t end there. I chuckled as message windows continued to pop up one after another.

『Sender: Kim Hyun-ho

Yes! Finally get to test my magic!』

『Sender: Cheong In-ho

Will work hard to use all my spells, our Blue Dragon』

『Sender: Park Han-soo

But I’m a tree spirit, so I might see everything if I turn invisible, though it uses a lot of magic』

Seems like they’ve been holding back on their magic for quite some time. Also, why is everyone sending these messages to me? But then I glanced at In-ha and Shia and realized they weren’t actually just sending them to me. They’d probably sent group messages. I laughed and replied, 『Then, best of luck.』

Hyun-ho then replied, asking what I meant by “best of luck.” Ah… right, they’re elementary school students. I sent, 『Do your best』 instead.

Phew, this is exhausting.

With a small sigh, I looked out the window. A moment later, a window displaying the live broadcast of the race appeared in the sky. A small screen also appeared on my student ID. Looking at it, I wore a tense expression.

「Alright, get ready!」

“Since each route will only be used once, we’ll only get one chance to use magic. Let’s not miss it.”

My magic isn’t attack magic. But if it’s about blocking their path, there’s quite a bit I can do. Alright! Let’s use a barrier, then. Barrier Magic is the quickest and simplest way to block their path.

“Shia, what are you going to use?”

“I don’t know any attack spells… so I’ll throw rocks.”

“Alright?”

I focused intently on the window. The seniors were incredibly fast. The speed of their magic was almost invisible, and their movement speed was beyond what my eyes could track. They’d vanish in the blink of an eye, escaping far beyond my view.

“Hoo…”

With a tense expression, I took a deep breath. Right, if I try to track them with my eyes, it’ll already be too late. But even if I can’t fully keep up visually, I might be able to sense their presence before they appear, thanks to their strong magic. Up until now, I’ve sensed magic by focusing on the direction it appeared, but my ability evolves every day. I fixed my gaze on the route.

With both my eyes and by sensing their presence, I’ll follow them!

“They’re coming!”

Almost simultaneously with that voice, I sensed it. Even before looking at the live stream on my student ID or the window outside, I could feel the large magic force charging along the route toward us. I opened my eyes. The scenery around me seemed to reflect everything clearly. The foreground turned black and white, while only the magic shone in vivid colors.

I stretched out my hand. I felt it, but at this rate, I’d be too late! Then, through illusion, through barriers, I would slightly slow down my perception… no, I’d quicken my own time…

A series of actions took place in an instant. Casting the barrier and going through all that quickly drained the magic within me, but I focused.

I could see countless spells flying toward them. I also saw the seniors skillfully dodging those spells as they ran. In that fleeting moment, I used a barrier to bind the legs of Eun-hee unnie and Chunho Senior. The square barrier locked both of their legs in place. Both of them nearly stumbled, struggling to pull their trapped legs free.

“…?”

“What’s this?”

I’d set up the barrier intending to immobilize them from the start. Once it traps them, the barrier stays fixed in place until it’s broken. In-ha didn’t miss this chance and fired beams of light. Shia also threw a stone as he said he would. It was quite a cute effort.

The two, struck by our magic, let out shouts.

“Argh, seriously!”

I urged In-ha on.

“In-ha, rapid fire! Rapid fire!”

“Got it.”

In-ha nodded. She shot, and shot again, and again. The barrier soon shattered from their attacks, but we’d gained some time.

“Hey, who was that!”

“Who set up that square thing that grabbed our legs? It’s a unique spell—anyone know what magic it was?”

Noisy voices echoed around us. The seniors, no longer hiding, leaned out the windows and chatted animatedly. In the meantime, I stood there dazed, replaying the scene in my mind. Just a moment ago… that clear sensation in my body, in my mind… I looked down at my trembling hands and clenched them tightly.

What was this feeling? Ah, yes. I was thrilled. It felt… strange, exciting, and… like it was actually working…

“Heh.”

“Hehehe.”

We looked at each other and burst out laughing. Yes! We slapped our palms together.

Result:

1st place, White Team; 2nd place, Blue Team; 3rd place, Red Team.

“Eun-ha~! In-ha~!”

The sports day concluded with the airborne race. After gathering by teams for the closing ceremony, each class gathered for their final remarks. Upon entering the classroom, Min-hee greeted us with a cheerful expression, waving and then hugging both of us as she whispered in our ears.

“I saw it! That barrier and light magic earlier—was that you, Eun-ha and In-ha?”

At her words, In-ha and I exchanged glances for a moment, then nodded.

“Yeah. Did you notice?”

“Of course! It was obvious! You’re amazing, Eun-ha!”

Min-hee held up her thumb toward me with a tone that suggested she expected nothing less, making me feel a bit embarrassed, though I quickly smiled.

A bit later, Han-soo and Hyun-ho, who had just returned, said the same thing. We continued to express admiration as we recalled the sights we’d seen during today’s sports day.

“But the high school seniors really are impressive.”

“Yeah! Ji-hyun hyung may act silly, but he’s amazing!”

Silly? I was puzzled by Hyun-ho’s words and thought it over. To me, he just seemed cool. Then I remembered what Ji-hyun had done when Min-hee participated in the relay. Right… he’d cheered so loudly for her that the whole school heard, ignoring the rest of the team… I made an awkward expression. As Eun-hee unnie had said, he really was quite the fool for her.

“But just watching the sports day seems like it’s really helpful.”

“Yeah. The older students were amazing!”

Agreeing with Han-soo and Min-hee, I shared my own impressions. The most impressive and moving thing, for me, was definitely Ji-hyun senior’s magic.

“Yeah, for me, Ji-hyun senior’s magic was the most remarkable. Wasn’t it a magic that weaponized darkness? His magic was colored, right? It was black, but it was this extremely transparent black, you know?”

I exclaimed excitedly, but the kids returned puzzled expressions.

“Was it?”

“…Magic that takes shape as a black form is definitely rare, but only sensitive magicians like you, Eun-ha, can actually see that.”

“Really?”

I blinked at In-ha’s words. That felt… like a real shame.

Anyway, that’s how the sports day ended with the White Team’s victory. Later, I heard there would be special prizes for those who participated in the games, and separate gifts for the members of the first-place White Team.

After following the teacher’s instructions for our final remarks, we were dismissed. On the way home, though delighted at having seen such impressive magic, I sighed in slight dread. Starting tomorrow… it was exam time, wasn’t it… Thank goodness the grades were kept confidential.

Waving goodbye to my friends, I headed home. In the evening, I happily shared my impressions of the sports day with my mom and dad, who’d returned home by then. I told them excitedly about how amazing everyone was and how much I wanted my magic abilities to grow that strong, too. Mom smiled, saying I’d get there whether I liked it or not, and affectionately patted my head.