Chapter 4
A Knife to Kill Primates.
Despite the rather savage name, the ingredients were things he could get right away.
Ian rummaged through the house, gathering the needed ingredients one by one onto the desk.
‘First, salt.’
The required amount was 100 g. Ian immediately measured out the salt little by little on the scale until it reached exactly 100 g, then transferred it to a bowl.
Next was silver, but the exact amount wasn't specified.
Still, it was vaguely described as a small amount, so Ian took out a silver ring he'd left in the drawer.
It was a ring he'd once matched with another orphanage kid. He didn't like jewelry and hadn't been wearing it. Fortunately, it seemed he'd found a use for it.
Ian nodded with satisfaction and plucked out a strand of hair.
Now all that remained was ether and a bug's corpse.
Ether was already filling the room, so there was no need to look for it.
As for the bug's corpse, he went out of the house and searched the hallway until he barely found one.
It's a little small, but there was no size description anyway.
The only ingredient with an exact amount listed was salt.
Was salt more important in magic than I thought?
I don't know. Maybe because it's used as one of holy water's ingredients, it has lots of uses. Salt seemed to be used often in other alchemies too.
‘Looks like I'll need to buy some in advance.’
With that trivial thought, he carefully placed the gathered materials on the desk.
Riiip.
He tore off a page from the notebook and drew on it the magic circle recorded in the grimoire.
A round magic circle filled with all sorts of geometric patterns. He placed the rather long kitchen knife at the center, then arranged the ingredients one by one at the edges of the circle.
He didn't bother touching the ether.
The moment the magic circle was drawn, the ether moved on its own as if it already knew where it was and settled into place. Thanks to that, there was no need to handle it separately.
With that, the preparations for alchemy were complete. Ian let out a tense breath and, holding the grimoire in his left hand, quietly murmured.
“What I desire is murderous intent. Specifically, murderous intent toward an intelligent being.”
The magic circle drawn on the notebook brightened slightly the moment he said it.
It was proof that the magic was activating.
The first magic he'd ever seen in his life.
But instead of getting needlessly excited or happy, Ian calmly continued reading the incantation written in the grimoire.
The meditation he had carried out over several days had granted him a horrifying level of mental strength and patience.
“How can a mere beast dream of wealth and glory? How ridiculous. How offensive. A beast must remain a beast forever. Therefore, I forbid evolution. I drape the shadow called death over all that has already evolved.”
It was a pretty awkward feeling, hearing another primate recite an incantation to kill primates, but Ian calmly finished the final line.
“And so, what remains in the world shall be nothing but ignorant insects. I shall recreate you.”
The instant he finished speaking.
Fsssh.
All the materials on the magic circle turned to ash and scattered. Only the lonely kitchen knife remained in place, exuding an eerie aura.
‘It worked.’
There was no visible change in the kitchen knife, but Ian instinctively realized the alchemy had succeeded.
The month he'd spent eating dirt, drinking only water, and meditating had paid off.
Satisfied, he nodded and snapped a photo of the knife on the desk with his phone camera.
Like I said, the magic had succeeded. And there was only one place he could brag about it.
Ian wrapped the kitchen knife in bandages, stored it carefully away, then sat on the bed and logged back in through the link Serious Magic Addict had sent him.
[Q. Explain the three elements that make up magic.]
The same question appeared again.
Before, it was a question that would have irritated him—how would I know that?—but not anymore. Without hesitation, Ian tapped away on the keyboard and answered.
[They are the four elements, ether, and the soul. The four elements are an essential process for forming a mage's body and sensing ether, while ether is magic's very identity. The soul is the most important element and material that allows a mage to truly be a mage. It's delicate, so handle it with care.]
Click.
He hit the send button.
[Please wait. Solomon's Key is checking your answer.]
While the unfamiliar message appeared and the loading continued for a moment, the screen turned pitch-black and revealed the figure of a hooded woman.
The only skin visible was her lower face. The rest of her was cloaked in black and gold, and she slowly parted her red lips.
[Please tell us your name. It must be your real name.]
No keyboard appeared. Instead, he realized that some kind of magical spell had been cast on the phone he was holding.
‘So that's how it works.’
Ian let out a small laugh and said his name.
“Shin Ian.”
[Welcome to the society of mages, Mr. Shin Ian. May the blessings of Merlin and Solomon be with you.]
Almost immediately after that message appeared, he entered an entirely different site.
It meant he'd successfully entered the mages' community. Ian took a sip of coffee, narrowed his eyes, and quickly scanned the community.
[Godmother, can’t you hear me...? I... crapped myself again....]
[Mage bro here. I caught a few ghouls today and ate them sashimi-style. It tastes like shit, but my teacher says if I don't eat this, he won't teach me magic. Fucking bald bastard....]
[I went into the sea to gather magic ingredients today and made eye contact with a shark. Proof photo attached.]
For some reason, the atmosphere of the community felt oddly familiar.
***
Today as well, Serious Magic Addict, Lee Seo-a, was browsing the community during a break between classes.
No one approached her.
Having grown up as a self-imposed orphan, and with her social skills completely wrecked after becoming a mage, it was only natural. Even if someone somehow gathered the courage to approach her, the answer she got was always the same.
-I-it's a ghostaaaah!!!
They weren't exactly wrong. There were always ghosts or other inexplicable things lingering around Lee Seo-a.
She had become a mage through necromancy, and since what she controlled were ghosts, it couldn't be helped.
She still wasn't strong enough to command ghosts freely, but at least she could keep one guardian spirit nearby.
That was what caused the problem.
Any soul summoned through necromancy could be seen with the naked eye by anyone whose spiritual energy was even a little strong.
Thanks to that, from elementary school through middle school and even now in high school, her nickname was still Shaman.
She'd become a mage because she hated shamans, and life had really dealt her a cruel hand.
‘It's okay. Mages are basically lone wolves by nature anyway. It's only natural for me to be alone too.’
It wasn't natural at all, but Seo-a used that as self-hypnosis. Swallowing the tears that were threatening to spill, she slowly scrolled down on her phone.
‘Still nothing.’
She usually didn't visit mage forums. Even ordinary forums were the kind of place she'd only check once a week at most.
What had her recently digging through the forums was none other than a mage who'd contacted her a month ago.
The person who had become the owner of a grimoire written by a foreign god—famous enough that even Seo-a, who didn't know much about grimoires, knew his name.
Given the timing, if he had become a mage, this was about the time he should start showing up in the community.
Maybe he had forgotten the community existed entirely, but she couldn't even imagine such a disastrous future. If his memory were that bad, he wouldn't have been chosen by the grimoire in the first place.
It was a little concerning that he had been chosen by the foreign god's grimoire, but since he'd said himself that he wasn't suffering from madness, it seemed fine to keep watching for at least a few more weeks.
If he still didn't show up after that... well, as unfortunate as it was, she'd have to give up.
That was what Seo-a was thinking the moment she refreshed the page.
At the very top of the board, where only the usual garbage posts appeared, a brand-new post with zero views had just been uploaded.
[Newbie mage succeeded in alchemy]
Newbie. Mage.
It was a post packed with every word she'd been waiting for.
Normally, Seo-a would never click a post like that.
Because after clicking a few similar bait titles and seeing photos of ghouls and zombies playing train, she had never, absolutely never, clicked obvious bait posts again.
But today was different.
Her intuition was telling her.
This one was real.
“…….”
Swallowing hard, Seo-a carefully clicked the post.
If anything strange appeared, the guardian spirit standing behind her reached out a hand to cover her eyes.
But the guardian spirit never got the chance to cover her eyes.
[Title: Newbie mage succeeded in alchemy]
[Anon]
(A photo of a kitchen knife lying on a magic circle)
A month ago I picked up a grimoire and today used magic for the first time. I succeeded in alchemy using only easy-to-get ingredients, but is this any good?
Apparently it can kill every primate in one hit, yeah;;
After reading the post, Seo-a burst into clear laughter. After a moment of thought, she wrote what she thought was a cool comment.
-SeriousMagicAddict: Do we perhaps know each other?
A reply came back immediately.
Anon: Oh lol, long time no see. Thanks to the info you gave me back then, I became a mage too. Thanks a bunch.
“Ehehe. I wasn't exactly trying to get praised or anything...”
Seo-a broke into a goofy smile after reading Ian's reply. At that moment, the teacher who had come to the classroom for class lightly tapped her desk.
“Eek!”
Startled, she immediately put her phone away and looked up. Her eyes met those of the kindly-looking math teacher.
The teacher spoke first.
“Seo-a, you shouldn't be using your phone during class.”
“S-sorry....”
Seo-a immediately backed down and took out her textbook.
Even as a mage who used necromancy, the teacher's sharp glare was still hard to handle.