Surviving as a Sorcerer in Seoul - Chapter 7

Chapter 7: The World of Sorcery Is Complicated (2)

TL: DDTL

The top-floor restaurant of a five-star hotel in the heart of downtown Seoul.

The door to a private room that ordinary people couldn’t even dream of reserving was shut tight.

“Shall we start talking business soon?”

A young woman with her hair pinned up and a silver hairpin in it broke the silence.

She wore a formal suit and gave off a rather refined, elegant impression. But her gaze, at least, was sharp and piercing as a drawn blade.

At her words, the dozen or so men seated around the circular table nodded.

These people, to put it plainly, were the figures who formed the backbone of the Korean Sorcery Association.

They mainly served as mediators between the Supernatural Management Bureau and ordinary sorcerers.

Beings who wielded immense wealth and power from the shadows.

Each of them was a renowned sorcerer in their own right, and at the same time a heavyweight running their own major firm.

Yeoro Tea House, Museong Real Estate, Bukcheon Office, Kiparan Cafe, Baeksong Office, Haegil Office, and so on……

The signs anyone would recognize by name alone were all gathered in one place.

An elderly man in a modified hanbok dabbed at the corners of his mouth with a napkin before speaking up.

It was the head of Bukcheon Office, Bukcheon.

“Yeoro. Since you called this meeting, it’s only right that you lead it. But I’m curious, so let me ask one thing. Is there a reason you’ve gathered the Association’s key figures now, after three years, at this particular moment?”

“Of course. There’s reason enough.”

The woman called Yeoro elegantly crossed her legs.

She crooked a finger.

A subordinate who had been standing at attention by the wall hurried over and placed a thin cigarette between her lips.

Hsss.

The flame of a Zippo lighter flared up.

Pale smoke slipped thinly from between her red lips.

“Yesterday evening. I heard something from Heo Do.”

“Heo Do, you mean that intermediary? He’s a man of some experience. What kind of news did he bring?”

Just counting the intermediaries contracted out by each sorcery firm, there were more than a hundred in Seoul alone.

They straddled several firms at once, so their individual influence wasn’t particularly strong.

But as befits people who had seen it all, their eye for things was second to none.

And among them, Heo Do was a man with a discerning eye near the top of his field.

“To borrow Heo Do’s words, a B-rank sorcerer apparently stuck their nose into a Rank 7 job.”

“Hmph. Some lunatic’s been messing around, no doubt.”

A man with a menacing face twisted his lips and snorted.

A thuggish face, with a thick gold chain around his neck.

It was Haegil, the head of Haegil Office.

“So? You want to punish him? Anyone who makes B-rank has a screw loose to begin with. Why stir up trouble for no reason?”

“I’m not suggesting we discuss punishment.”

“Then?”

“That B-rank sorcerer. It’s a new face.”

“What?”

For a moment, the room stirred.

Yeoro took another deep drag of her cigarette and exhaled.

“I looked into it from every angle, but no one knows who he is. It’s the first time. The sorcery he used was just a single Karmic Fire Talisman, a basic piece of Basic Sorcery. But according to Heo Do, the firepower was clearly B-rank or higher. It was strange, so I dug further, and he’s someone completely new to this world. We’re the ones who found out about him, but since he had no activity record on Principles of Sorcery, I assumed he was a sorcerer who had just had his Spirit Sight opened.”

“……”

“So. I want to check, just in case, whether he’s a sorcerer already contracted with another firm.”

“……!”

A brief silence followed.

A B-rank sorcerer.

Anyone who had reached that level should already belong to some firm, or at the very least, their name should be known.

And yet a new face?

Yeoro took a talisman from her pocket and placed it on the table.

It was a special talisman that captured the residual traces of sorcery.

A sort of sorcerer’s DNA, one might say.

“Heo Do provided it. He asked that if we found out who it was, we’d at least give him a warning. I had my hands full soothing him as he whined about how he nearly died. I’m showing it to you just in case. If this person belongs to someone’s firm, you’ll need to give them a stern talking-to.”

Yeoro ran a slender finger smoothly over the talisman.

Flash.

A faint light rose from the talisman.

Residual spiritual power lingered softly through the room.

A heavy, hot, sharp aura.

Looking closely, it was extremely unusual.

Already, several of the sorcerers had their eyes gleaming as they probed that aura.

“……Not ours.”

“Nor ours.”

“Same here. I’ve never seen an aura like this before.”

.

.

.

.

.

The conclusion was that it belonged to none of them.

Which meant, just as Yeoro had said, this was unmistakably a new face.

Unable to hold back any longer, Haegil tapped the table and spoke up.

“You’d have sent him a Private Message through Principles of Sorcery, right? What’s the ID?”

“Jubaek. Apart from that, there’s no activity at all.”

“……And naturally his trail can’t be traced.”

“Correct. Wondering whether he might be someone whose Spirit Sight had recently opened, I made an unofficial inquiry to the Supernatural Management Bureau as well, and they told me that within the last several years, no one has been detected at B-rank or higher through the Spiritual Power Detection Art.”

Anyone whose Spirit Sight opens is invariably discovered by the Supernatural Management Bureau.

That is an unchanging truth.

Discovered sorcerers are assigned a rank and their personal details are logged. If even the Supernatural Management Bureau doesn’t know about him, then……

“Someone who came in from abroad? Damn it. We don’t have administrator rights over Principles of Sorcery, so this is like searching for a needle in a desert.”

Haegil clicked his tongue.

The person who originally created the [Principles of Sorcery] site had vanished without a trace ten years ago.

The [Principles of Sorcery], built on his unique Wide-Area Sorcery Formula, had established itself as a forum of information that benefited everyone.

But all detailed administrative privileges for the site itself rested with that man, who had disappeared.

That’s why no one could expose a member’s identity or track their location.

And if that was the case.

“So in the end, one B-rank rookie from overseas has suddenly appeared out of thin air……”

Bukcheon murmured softly.

His eyes gleamed with greed.

It was a thought common to everyone gathered here.

If that foreign sorcerer had shown up in Korea without having contracted with anyone yet……

And assuming he intended to continue operating in Korea going forward……

The question was who would find him first and recruit him into their own firm.

A war of nerves had begun.

“……”

“……”

A few of the firm heads were openly glaring with blatantly predatory eyes.

In other words.

Whoever signed a contract first was the winner.

* * *

“I’m here. Feed me.”

My aunt’s place, which I hadn’t visited in a while.

The moment I opened the front door, the savory aroma of sesame oil tickled my nose.

In the kitchen, our Cha So-hyun ssi was wearing an apron and brandishing a rice paddle.

“You little brat. Like I owe you a meal? You wanna die?”

“Whoa!”

I twisted my body in a hurry.

Whoosh!

The rice paddle sliced through the air with a whistling sound and grazed past my ear.

Cha So-hyun ssi, the swordmaster of our era. A legendary swordsman who, they say, could catch flies with a single rice paddle.

But my aunt just snorted at the sight of me.

“Oh? Dodging now? Think you’ve grown up?”

“Wait! You’ll change your tune when you see this!”

“What is it? If you brought home another piece of trash figurine, you’re dead.”

My aunt narrowed her eyes and readjusted her grip on the paddle.

Only then did her eyes fix on the hefty gift box in my hand.

To avoid any follow-up blows, I hastily pulled out the contents of the box and showed her.

“Ta-da!”

“……!”

My aunt’s eyes went wide.

“Holy shit! That’s a gift-grade Korean beef set!”

Snow-like marbling blooming across lustrous, crimson cuts of meat.

The moment she laid eyes on the majesty of 1++ grade Korean beef, my aunt’s eyes rolled right back. The murderous intent from moments ago melted away as if it had never existed.

“Ju Gi-baek. You little bastard. You……”

“I know. I’m cool.”

“You read my mind? You look pretty cool today. No, really cool.”

My aunt ruffled my hair roughly with her hands.

“Hey, my hair’s getting messed up!”

I knocked her hand away and quickly set the Korean beef set on the dining table.

“Tonight’s dinner, please, courtesy of me.”

“Don’t you worry. Your big sister’s gonna grill this stuff to perfection! Leave it to me!”

The sight of my aunt rolling up her sleeves so proudly made me laugh out loud.

Right then, our tomboy high school senior who had been sprawled across the living room couch, tapping away at her phone, my sister Ji-yeon, poked her head out.

“What’s up? Gi-baek oppa. You make some money?”

“Of course. This oppa got a fat bonus from the company for doing great work.”

I bluffed my way through it.

I certainly couldn’t tell her the money came from getting fired and beating up ghosts.

And it’d be tricky to explain where the money came from otherwise.

So this was the best I could do.

I plopped down next to Ji-yeon.

Even with me sitting right there, Ji-yeon kept her eyes glued to her phone screen.

“You, you can’t even give your oppa, who’s basically as great as the heavens, a proper greeting?”

“I did greet you.”

“What greeting?”

“Asking if my Gi-baek oppa made money.”

“That’s your greeting?”

Unbelievable.

Even seeing the dumbfounded look on my face, Ji-yeon didn’t bat an eye.

“Just so you know, this is the new generation’s way of saying hi. This is a capitalist society.”

“Yeah, yeah. You’re the greatest.”

“What’s with the tone? You sound like a total old man. You reek of mothballs.”

“Why you little.”

I couldn’t take it anymore.

I locked Ji-yeon’s neck in a smooth headlock.

“Ow! Let go!”

Her small frame was subdued by me in an instant. After struggling for a while, Ji-yeon finally shrieked.

“Mom! Mom! Oppa’s picking on me!”

“You’ve got no manners, so a little picking on won’t hurt.”

But our esteemed Lady Cha So-hyun was completely ignoring us, humming to herself as she clutched the Korean beef set and set up the grill. Her daughter was dying and the meat was apparently more important.

After wrestling on the living room floor for quite a while, it ended with Ji-yeon’s declaration of surrender.

“I surrender! Surrender! I’ll listen from now on!”

“Good. That’s more like it.”

Only then did I release the headlock.

Ji-yeon rubbed the nape of her neck, then smacked me hard on the back with a loud slap.

“Ow!”

“Honestly, you’re just obnoxiously strong. No brains.”

Ji-yeon huffed and plopped back down on the couch. Cute little thing.

I grinned, then paused.

The phone Ji-yeon was holding.

The screen had a slight crack in the corner, and the model looked like it had some years on it.

“Aren’t you gonna swap out your phone? The screen’s all cracked.”

“I’d need money for that. Money doesn’t fall from the sky.”

“What about a part-time job?”

“A senior in high school, with a job? I need to be studying.”

“And are you actually good at studying?”

“Oppa. I’m really sorry to say this, but I got all grade 1s on my last mock exam, okay?”

Ji-yeon puffed out her chest and tilted her chin up.

I was about to push back on her, but I shut my mouth instead.

All grade 1s. That was a score I couldn’t even dream of back in my own senior year.

Ji-yeon shot me a sidelong glance and flipped her hair back.

“Get it? The difference between you and me? If I do end up going to med school and becoming a doctor, I’ll pay for your wedding, oppa. Assuming you ever manage to get married, that is.”

“……Yeah, thanks for the thought, at least.”

When did she grow up so much?

There was something genuinely admirable about her, in her own way.

Regardless, that cracked screen kept bothering me. I leaned in and whispered into Ji-yeon’s ear.

“Want me to get you a new phone?”

“What phone?”

“An Apple phone. Don’t kids your age love those? The latest model.”

“What? Where would oppa get that kind of money?”

Ji-yeon’s eyes went round.

“I told you. I got a bonus. It was a pretty decent amount, so I’ve got enough to swap out your phone.”

“……Seriously?”

“Yeah. How much do they go for these days?”

“Hold on.”

As if the earlier argument had never happened, she beamed and started tapping at the search bar.

A whole parade of Apple phones unfolded on the screen.

Even just the latest Pro model cost a whopping 1.5 million won and change.

After glancing at my face, Ji-yeon chuckled and shook her head.

“It’s expensive, right? Never mind. I’ll get a job in college and buy one myself. Save your money, oppa.”

“……Hold on.”

An oppa has his pride.

I immediately pulled out my phone and opened my online banking app.

Ji-yeon’s account number was already saved in my favorites.

[Transfer amount: 1,500,000 won]

[Recipient: Lee Ji-yeon]

Send.

Ding!

A notification chimed from Ji-yeon’s phone.

Ji-yeon tilted her head and then, the second she checked the screen, she screamed.

“Oppa! I love you!”

“Kurgh!”

A new round of hand-to-hand combat broke out.

This time, Ji-yeon caught me off guard and pounced, and I was pinned flat without getting a single move in.

This brat. Where does she get all that strength?

“Hey, hey! I can’t breathe!”

I choked and flailed a hand out toward my aunt.

But our Lady Cha So-hyun was completely absorbed in the smell of grilling meat and didn’t spare us a glance.

“W, wait. I give. I give.”

“I’ll let you off this one time, since I’m grateful!”

Ji-yeon grinned and loosened her grip.

I nearly suffocated to death. I rubbed my throat and glanced around.

“Where did Hee-yeon go?”

“Unnie’s probably at her own place. Or maybe at her part-time job.”

“Part-time job?”

“It’s not like our family’s loaded. Unnie pays her own tuition and living expenses on her own. She gets scholarships too.”

“……Really?”

So there was another admirable kid in this family.

What should I do for Hee-yeon? Maybe just slip her a couple million won as allowance.

And then a thought hit me.

If I kept burning through money at this rate, it could get rough.

7 million won was a decent sum, but at this pace, it was obviously going to bottom out fast.

Maybe it was time to think about taking on another job.

The demon-hunting kind.

It had been more doable than I expected, after all.

* * *

“Ugh. I’m stuffed.”

My belly, filled to the brim with beef, felt ready to burst.

The Korean beef my aunt had grilled just melted in my mouth, seriously.

I felt bad even chewing it. All I could do was marvel.

So this was the dignity of 1++ grade.

The moment I lay down on the bed in my one-room, I sat right back up.

I was so stuffed I couldn’t lie down properly. My stomach felt like it was about to go on strike.

“Ha. Gotta order some coffee.”

I opened a delivery app.

Minimum order amount? Delivery fee?

Screw that.

I’m a man who earns 7 million won an hour.

I added an iced Americano and a slice of cake on top, and paid without blinking.

After indulging in my own little luxury, I connected back to the [Principles of Sorcery] site.

“Let’s see if there’s anything useful.”

I was looking for a different talisman, specifically.

Honestly speaking, the Karmic Fire Talisman was definitely effective. No, it was too effective, and that was the problem.

Its destructive power was so wide-ranging and crude.

If I wasn’t careful, it felt like it could torch an entire floor of a building.

The construction site from last time had been cleaned up by that Heo Do person, but that couldn’t happen every time, right?

So I was looking, on my own, for something a bit more refined.

An offensive talisman with less collateral damage.

As I was scrolling, a certain post caught my eye.

|Author| Old Man Who Carves Talismans

[Title]

Basic Sorcery: How to Make the Extinguishing Light Talisman (Best Bang for Your Buck)

[Content]

Recommended for newbies who find the Karmic Fire Talisman too intense.

It’s a Phenomenon System talisman called Extinguishing Light.

Features:

Weaker in firepower than the Karmic Fire Talisman, but narrower in range and higher in concentration.

Since it’s a light attribute, any Lowest-rank demons will have their flesh seared off just by coming into contact with it. Perfect for beating them down like dogs.

Easy to activate with just a decent amount of spiritual power, making it a go-to talisman favored by many sorcerers.

Cautions:

Apparently, if a sorcerer of a certain rank uses it seriously, they can even channel a quasi Divine Power that rivals a high-ranking priest from the Vatican.

Of course, this doesn’t apply to low-tier scrubs like you lot, so forget about it. For you, it’ll just be about as bright as a slightly nicer flashlight.

“……Extinguishing Light, huh.”

I liked it from the name alone. Extinguishing with light.

On top of that, narrow range and high concentration.

Exactly the style I’d been looking for. I could worry less about burning down buildings.

The method for making it was as simple as the Karmic Fire Talisman.

Apparently, all I had to do was write the characters for “extinguish” (滅) and “light” (光) overlapping on Spirit-Yellow Paper.

“Alright, starting production right now.”

I set up the materials on my desk.

I happened to have brought plenty of Spirit-Yellow Paper along. And this time, I’d gone all-in and gotten proper materials, too.

Namely, chicken blood.

When I’d just gone to a chicken shop at the market and asked, “Sir, could I get some chicken blood?”……

I’ll never forget the way the owner looked at me, like I was some kind of cult member.

“Kid, what for? You doing some kind of shamanic ritual?”

“Ah, yes…… Something like that. It’s for a school assignment.”

I made up a totally ridiculous excuse and barely managed to get a bowlful.

It did have a bit of a fishy smell, but the effect should be guaranteed.

On top of that, I picked up the 30,000 won high-end brush I’d splurged on at the art supply store.

The spring in the bristles was on a whole different level compared to a dollar-store brush.

I dipped the brush deep into the red ink mixed with chicken blood. Just in case an offensive sorcery might get over-spec’d, I didn’t add any bodily fluids.

What if I stared at a light that was too intense and ended up blind.

“Fwoo.”

I took a deep breath and focused on the tip of the brush.

This time, I pictured light. An intense, pure light that drove back the darkness.

Stroke.

Extinguish.

With each stroke, a tingling shot through my fingertips. It felt like it demanded a more delicate sense than when I used the Karmic Fire Talisman.

Light.

The moment I drew the final stroke.

I had the illusion that a faint halo of light was rising from the tip of the brush.

“There we go.”

I made five in total.

I felt a brief wave of dizziness. Maybe this was the backlash that came with making talismans.

“Ugh, so dizzy….”

I stopped, worried that if I made any more I might actually collapse.

Flutter, flutter.

I lifted up the finished talismans.

On the surface, they were just scraps of paper with red writing on them.

“Wonder if they’ll actually come in handy.”

Even if they looked plain, they might produce some absurd power like the Karmic Fire Talisman did. For now, I’d tuck them away carefully.

After that, I went back to the job board on [Principles of Sorcery].

When I hit refresh, new commissions had been posted.

Among them, one post caught my eye.

[Bukcheon Office] – Rank 6 Commission | Payment 10,000,000 | Inquiries Welcome.

“……Ten million won?”

I swallowed hard.

The last Rank 7 commission had been 5 million won.

This one was a Rank 6 commission, one step higher. Just the payment alone was a whopping double.

10 million won……

That would pay off my debts with some left over.

I could give Hee-yeon a generous allowance, and buy my aunt a massage chair too.

I could even flex a little for myself on the side.

My fingers itched.

Rank 7 demons had gone down with a single Karmic Fire Talisman.

How much worse could Rank 6 be?

Plus, this time I was equipped with my new weapon, the Extinguishing Light Talisman.

I hovered over the inquiry button, debating whether or not to press it.

“Should I give it a shot…?”