Hermit Wizard

Wizard’s Name (1)

“The name is… Reclusive Soul?”

President Kang Min-ki’s eyes were distorted while receiving the report.

“Yes, it is.”

The chief secretary nodded seriously. The President turned over the documents on the desk and asked again.

“You mean Reclusive Soul is a name? Isn’t it something like an explanation of a concept or rhetoric that describes an object?”

“Yes, other than Wizard Kim Kyung-hwan, many of the troops in the field heard the telepathy and testified the same.”

“Hmm.”

The President made a shaky face, and he breathed a long sigh.

“It’s not just some American Indian names. It’s beyond our power. By the way, according to the words of the alien race ‘Carraderina,’ is it the name of a human wizard living in this area?”

“Yes. Even the alien race does not know the exact location of the wizard. It’s only speculated that he’s near the Seoul Channel. When it heard the story of the white head giant that appeared on the Mapo Bridge, it seemed a little more determined.”

It was an alien who visited Earth to find a wizard. The Channel used by Carraderina was opened close to the suspected location of the wizard. In the end, it was interpreted as the Channel was intentionally choosing the place to open.

“Carraderina said it was serving the Truth-Seeker of that world. Perhaps the reason it’s looking for Reclusive Soul is that the Truth-Seeker wants him.”

“That’s right.”

It was hard to understand. Among the citizens of that country, most of the people who showed wizards’ talent entered Hun-neung after a secret contact with the government. Even those who refused to be admitted had been continuously managed by making a list.

Despite that background, what Carraderina meant was, in the end, that a wizard who escaped the government’s eyes was hiding in that country.

Strangely, the government didn’t know of a wizard powerful enough to catch the eye of Truth-Seekers from other worlds. The most powerful Korean sorcerer that the government has grasped was Kim Kyung-hwan, who said that the Reclusive Soul that the alien was looking for was a powerful entity that was far enough compared to him.

“Please visit and interview all non-entry wizards in Korea. We have to find out if there is anything suspicious or if there is anything that has gone unnoticed.”

“Yes.”

Even the President himself, who said so, wasn’t expecting much of it.

Why hadn’t the wizard beyond Kim Kyung-hwan been caught up to now? Most of the preliminary wizards were discovered by the government for causing magical phenomena that couldn’t be suppressed or controlled. The fact that a much stronger wizard than them was unknown meant that he was already capable of straining and controlling such power.

The more he thought about it, the more thrilled his whole body was.

“We have to be careful not to let the story leak abroad.”

The concept of ‘Truth-Seeker’ was a keyword treated as the top-secret among top secrets. There weren’t many instructors who knew that concept even within the training camp in Hun-neung. Furthermore, the information was kept secret from the trainees.

The Truth-Seeker’s existence was some of the secrets passed down to the world, mainly through the Gramperi race in China. Fragmentary pieces of information flowed out by intelligence agents from each country who infiltrated China, but it was still not enough to satisfy each country’s leaders. That was the reason the U.S. was nervous about China’s monopoly on Gramperi.

The Channels had suddenly covered the Earth since last year, and the secrets of another dimension followed. Interracial knowledge that might be able to explain it all. Besides the United States, the whole world was anxious to get that information out of China.

“We have to be careful and more careful not to let detailed information about Carraderina flow into other countries. Maybe it has knowledge of Channels and dimensions beyond Gramperi. Until now, there have been no records of alien race claiming to be closely related to the Truth-Seeker.”

“The pressure from the U.S. to share information is getting stronger. They may have already noticed through satellite imagery that there was an alien on the Channel. Research teams from the United States, who were attached to the black spheres in Hun-neung, have already moved to Busan.”

The President said in a low voice.

“Anyway, you said that Carraderina’s ‘head’ has been moved to Seoul and that what remains in Busan is a body with only survival instinct, right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

The massive alien in the form of jellyfish was capable of cutting its body freely. Realizing that the world’s roads were too narrow and buildings were too small for its huge body to move, Carraderina only separated some of the head connected to its brain.

At the South Korean government’s recommendation through Kim Kyung-hwan’s interpretation, its head had already been brought to Seoul. On the other hand, only the body, which was impossible to reason, remained in Busan and was temporarily stored in the 5th Airborne Wing hangar.

“To the American people, we just need to show them the body that remains in Busan.”

“I’ll do that.”

No matter how friendly they were, the Korean government didn’t have to reveal all the cards in their hand at once.

“What is Carraderina doing now?”

Shortly after it came to Seoul, it exchanged information with government officials for several hours. It needed information about the world to find the wizard, and the government wanted to know about Channels and multidimensional secrets. Each other had the information the other party wanted, and the transaction wasn’t difficult.

“You said it has refused to talk after 2 p.m. yesterday, right? Is there still no change in the condition?”

The chief secretary’s complexion darkened.

“Yes, unfortunately…”

It had been cooperative for hours, and there was an unexpected factor involved in its sudden cessation of the conversation. The President asked with an awkward expression.

“… Is it still eating nonstop?”

“Yes. It’s just focusing on eating as soon as the food is delivered.”

“Hmm.”

A deep sigh leaked out of President Kang Min-ki’s mouth.

“The race of a different world lightly breaks our common sense and stereotypes, huh.”

They couldn’t neglect to treat even guests who couldn’t be revealed to the outside. In particular, considering the importance of the guest, they had to pay more attention.

Carraderina complained of hunger after hours of conversation yesterday, and the government procured and delivered objects by type that met the conditions it described. She experimented with each one of them and picked one of them.

“It likes copper?”

“Yes. According to it, among the Earth’s metals, copper tends to absorb Mana. When we bring it copper, Carraderina put some Mana on it, on its own and eats it up.”

The alien’s taste in the meal was beyond the expectations of government officials. It said that Carraderina ate metals with Mana as a staple food. Carraderina asked for the world’s metals by type and tested them, saying copper was the most sensitive, and only copper was required afterward.

“… It can’t eat forever. After some time, it will be full, and we can resume the conversation then.”

“Oh, about that.”

The chief secretary’s complexion darkened.

“Even though copper is better, the Earth’s metals are all very inefficient in their own way. Compared to the world of Carraderina, the nature of absorbing Mana is less, so it has to eat a large amount of metal, and it will take some time for Carraderina to get full…”

“… Even the Mana isn’t well-absorbed, but someday it will be out of stock. Just bring everything it wants.”

“Yes, Sir.”

The President tried to calm his restless heart. Other countries had only noticed that an alien had appeared in Busan, but they didn’t yet know what Carraderina was. It was definitely a great opportunity. Perhaps the secret of the world that China didn’t know would come into Korea’s hands.

For the time being, they would take the information out of the alien. They were willing to provide any amount of copper. It said it had to find out the wizard’s whereabouts named ‘the Reclusive Soul’ for its purpose in the world. The more cards in the negotiations, the better.

President Kang Min-ki quietly asked in his heart.

‘Who is it? Who is that powerful wizard who deceives the whole world and is secluded in this land?’

***

The promised place was a deserted park.

‘That was unexpected.’

Kim Kyung-hwan shed a bitter smile at the front. In his eyes, he saw a figure that the bodyguards who followed him couldn’t see.

There was a bench in the direction he was walking. A woman in a sweatshirt was sitting. She wore a mask and covered most of her face with long hair, so her right eye was the only thing that was revealed. Even so, she curled up and leaned down so she didn’t meet his eyes. That was the scene that bodyguards behind their backs also saw.

However, to Kim Kyung-hwan, whose Mana circuit in his eyes was opened, another scenery overlapped. Mana slowly flowed out of her pants pocket. The invisible Mana was hovering around the bench like a shield.

‘It looks like she has an artifact in her pocket.’

Muttering inside, Kim Kyung-hwan approached her. Hwang Soo-rim, who must’ve sensed his approach in advance due to the movement of his Mana, flinched as if she had only noticed it only when he cast a shadow. She then raised her head slightly.

‘You’ve gotten better at acting.’

The words were buried inside, and Kim Kyung-hwan opened his mouth.

“… Long time no see.”

Hwang Soo-rim didn’t respond. Her index finger on her bench lifted and moved inward, forming a hook shape. It meant to come closer.

Kim Kyung-hwan took a few more steps and entered the magical barrier. As soon as he stepped inside the barrier, he felt awkward as if he entered another space wrapped around his body. That kind of thing was called a ‘barrier.’ A skill Kim Kyung-hwan had never learned.

The young man looked into Hwang Soo-rim’s eyes and thought.

‘Really, you… have learned a lot from ‘him.’ Many things I haven’t learned.’

Hwang Soo-rim opened her mouth.

“Sit down. Naturally.”

Even if she didn’t say so, he was about to do so. Kim Kyung-hwan sat next to Hwang Soo-rim. He saw two bodyguards looking at this side with a certain distance.

“Why did you make this barrier?”

He didn’t know how to make it, but he knew the effect of the barrier when he stepped inside, which was partial light distortion and blocking of sound and radio waves.

Kim Kyung-hwan said, throwing his eyes toward the bodyguards.

“They won’t be able to hear our voices from that distance anyway?”

“There were cameras and taps all over the park.”

“… Aah.”

He, himself, didn’t figure out that far.

“But why light distortion?”

Hwang Soo-rim continued her words with her head down. With shrunken shoulders and a clear, sharp voice that couldn’t be associated with her sitting position.

“It’s me wearing a mask, but you’re not. They can also infer the contents of our conversation by looking at the movement of your lips. It looks like you are shutting your mouth outside of the barrier right now.”

“… Didn’t that go too far?”

“There is nothing bad about being careful.”

She asked with her eyes fixed on the ground.

“So, why did you ask to meet me?”

It was Kim Kyung-hwan who first requested a meeting with Hwang Soo-rim, who had been discharged. The apparent reason was that he wanted to ask about the regards and share comfort among those who survived the disaster. The government had no reason to deny that request. Of course, he didn’t forget to bring security guards with him.

However, Hwang Soo-rim knew well that Kim Kyung-hwan’s excuses couldn’t be true. In response to her question, Kim Kyung-hwan said, after hesitating for a moment.

“… I want to contact Eraser. Do you have a way?”

“Huh?”

Hwang Soo-rim’s right eye widened as if it was unexpected.

“Why suddenly? He told you to be quiet for a while until he contacted you directly. It’s the same for you and me.”

“I know that, but…”

Kim Kyung-hwan’s eyes were shaking.

“It’s important, and it’s urgent.”

“What the hell is going on?”

“It’s related to the identity of Eraser.”

“Identity?”

Kim Kyung-hwan turned his head and looked at Hwang Soo-rim.

“It hasn’t been announced yet. There was an alien who came out of Busan Channel, and it told everyone a strange thing.”

As if he was nervous, he pressed his fingers together and put strength on them.

“The alien came to this world in search of Eraser.”

“…”

Hwang Soo-rim didn’t answer, but she stopped breathing at the moment. Kim Kyung-hwan continued his words.

“More precisely, Carraderina came to this world looking for a mortal with a Channel on his chest. It says he’ll be near the nearest Channel of the Busan Channel. After all, it’s talking about the Mapo Bridge Channel, right? When I heard these two pieces of information, the only thing that came to my mind was Eraser. It’s rather compelling not to make a connection.”

Kim Kyung-hwan stopped talking for a while, swallowing his dry saliva.

“… But?”

Hwang Soo-rim rushed in a voice that doesn’t show any emotions. Kim Kyung-hwan continued.

“But there was a decisive mismatch between the words of this alien, which describes an object that’s considered to be Eraser. It’s also strange to assume that Carraderina isn’t looking for Eraser. Coincidentally, is there another entity similar to Eraser in Korea? No. It must be Eraser. But the problem is… that will lead to contradictions.”

“…”

“… It’s probably hard to believe but, maybe Eraser…”

He managed to spit out the next word with a trembling voice.

“According to the words of this alien race, it seems that Eraser isn’t a race from another world… but a human!”

The silence sank heavily on the shoulders of the two people sitting side by side on the bench. Kim Kyung-hwan took a deep breath to calm his confused head.

Carraderina was an alien with enormous Mana that was incomparable to the Kaifu. He couldn’t imagine why it had to lie. Putting together its words, that alien knew countless numbers of information about Eraser that Kim Kyung-hwan didn’t know. However, information that couldn’t be ignored was mixed with the part that Kim Kyung-hwan knew. It was important information that couldn’t be mistaken.

Hwang Soo-rim didn’t answer for a while and kept silent.

What she said next was beyond Kim Kyung-hwan’s expectations.

“… You idiot! So, did you really think Eraser was an alien from another world?”