Chapter 33

Baek Jemin's Original Sin

The task of cleaning up the vomit splattered across the center of the makeshift chapel was voluntarily taken on by Hamza.

"Cleaning, cleaning~"

The honorary Korean in a turban hummed horribly off-key as he diligently mopped the floor.

Meanwhile, I wiped my mouth with wet tissues and discussed matters with the other Supreme Mages.

Honestly, a selfish part of me wanted to keep everything to myself.

But I possessed enough self-awareness to realize that brooding over it alone wouldn't accomplish much.

I finally understood why wizards in novels always hid everything.

It wasn't even anything special.

I just didn't want to tell anyone.

I didn't want to share what I knew!

Fortunately, I, Baek Jemin, overcame this wicked wizardly instinct through the power of my refined virtue and selflessness.

As a result, the Supreme Mages could now collectively contemplate Tongue Magic.

Among everyone present, Pastor Park Yohan looked the most troubled.

Arms crossed, rubbing his chin, he let out one long sigh after another.

"Downgrading..."

He frowned.

"A magic that shaves down the language of gods—or monsters—into something humans can actually speak?"

"You have an idea what it means?"

"No. I just think it's heretical as hell."

The pastor removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes.

"I want to burn every document I've got."

Apparently, he wasn't impressed by the wonder of magic itself.

Something else had caught his attention entirely.

The Mutation Mage Trio decided to wait for the opinions of the pastor and the monk, who at least had some relevant knowledge.

"Seeing past, present, and future simultaneously. Even after it's been downgraded."

Pastor Park shook his head.

"That's power humans were never meant to handle."

"Much like a Buddhist sutra."

Cheonghwi calmly nodded.

"Or perhaps a Gospel."

"What are you talking about, baldy?"

"Neither Buddha, God, nor the prophets ever wrote scriptures themselves."

The monk gently motioned for everyone to calm down.

Then he elaborated.

"Shakyamuni left teachings, not books. Jesus left teachings, not books. The scriptures we possess today passed through the hands of disciples."

"So you're questioning the inerrancy of Scripture now?"

"Are you not familiar with interpretation?"

Cheonghwi smiled.

"Sutras and scriptures alike require interpretation. That is why countless schools and traditions emerged."

Somehow, I found myself listening to a theological debate.

Naturally, I couldn't care less.

Noticing this, the pastor and monk quickly returned to the original topic.

Tongue Magic.

On one point they completely agreed.

"The journal was right."

Pastor Park spoke first.

"Tongue Magic is the most dangerous system."

Cheonghwi nodded.

"Acceptance and transformation."

"Those concepts are too broad."

Pastor Park pointed at the journal.

"The sequence matters. What you accept matters. How you transform matters."

He grimaced.

"Compared to the other Mutation systems, there are too many possible answers."

Cheonghwi folded his hands together.

"Perhaps the entire Mutation Magic system is a cultivation framework."

That caught everyone's attention.

The monk continued.

"Most esoteric traditions exist to unite the practitioner with something greater than themselves."

He glanced toward the Mutation Mage Trio.

"If this system was created upon a philosophical foundation, then perhaps everything up until now relied primarily upon instinct."

His gaze sharpened.

"But from this point onward..."

He tapped the journal.

"...knowledge and understanding may become necessary."

***

Then Cheonghwi took his argument even further.

His hands remained clasped as he looked at us.

"Baek Jemin."

"Yeah?"

"Do you remember what you once said regarding spiritual energy?"

I vaguely did.

He continued before I could answer.

Human spiritual energy.

The power born when consciousness, identity, and will overcome physical instinct.

Science might call it reason.

Religions and mystical traditions call it cultivation.

Discipline.

Self-mastery.

The conquest of bodily desires.

Faith itself could be categorized as such spiritual energy.

"To stand through one's own will, free from environment and circumstance."

His voice remained calm.

"Whether Eastern or Western, most traditions ultimately seek union with something greater."

He drew two invisible paths in the air.

"The Left-Hand Path believes the higher and lower are fundamentally the same, therefore one can ascend."

"The Right-Hand Path believes the higher and lower are fundamentally the same, therefore one can unite."

"If human will can dominate the body, then perhaps stronger will can dominate stronger substances."

That was the foundation.

According to Cheonghwi, Mutation Magic clearly resembled the Left-Hand Path.

Unlike orthodox systems that emphasized divine order and social discipline, Mutation Magic focused heavily upon transforming the practitioner.

Like Daoist internal alchemy.

Like cultivation methods designed to transcend humanity itself.

Yet it was also strange.

Even Daoist traditions ultimately sought harmony with nature.

Western occult traditions sought union with divinity.

Mutation Magic felt fundamentally different.

That worried him.

"We still do not know the philosophical foundation behind this system."

His expression darkened.

"But one conclusion seems unavoidable."

He glanced toward me.

"These spells activate through suffering alone."

No rituals.

No talismans.

No external catalyst.

Only pain.

And that made him uneasy.

"The fact that Tongue Magic repeatedly warns against acceptance and transformation makes me believe we must proceed carefully."

***

The reason for this lengthy explanation became obvious moments later.

Because everyone was staring at me.

I immediately puffed out my chest.

"Wait."

I looked around indignantly.

"You all think I'm going to secretly use this dangerous magic without telling anyone?"

Everyone remained silent.

I jabbed my thumb toward myself.

"Me?"

Thump!

Thump!

Thump!

I proudly pounded my chest.

"I'm Baek Jemin."

Even Hamza stopped mopping.

Everyone watched.

I smiled confidently.

"I won't use it secretly."

At that exact moment, Shin Nain and Lee Sejun approached and placed their hands on my shoulders.

Shin Nain nodded solemnly.

"Jemin. I can hear it."

"Hear what?"

"You saying you'll use it openly where nobody can stop you."

Lee Sejun nodded.

"That's exactly what he means."

"By the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."

Shin Nain raised a finger toward the heavens.

"United beneath Him, none shall walk alone. Amen."

March 12, 2028

Eleven days passed.

My military vouchers had dropped back down to fourteen after spending fifty on something I'd wanted for a long time.

An AR-15.

Lieutenant Shin Hangi had fully embraced life as a salesman.

He handed over the rifle with a brilliant smile and demonstrated everything.

How to load it.

How to hold it.

Its internal mechanisms.

How to disassemble and reassemble it.

"The K2 you were issued doesn't need to be returned."

He patted the rifle.

"Same ammunition caliber. Just draw ammo from supply and use whichever you prefer."

Then he grinned.

"Now you can customize it to your heart's content."

"All the attachments cost vouchers too."

"Of course they do."

He snorted.

"Even Korean special forces buy their own accessories. You think civilians get free gear?"

That stinginess felt comfortingly familiar.

For a while I'd been wondering whether this was really the Korean military at all.

Apparently some things never changed.

Even after the apocalypse.

The sling included as a service bonus tightened around my shoulder.

A reassuring feeling.

Yet something remained difficult to understand.

And it wasn't Shin Hangi's fault.

Nor the AR-15's.

"One noise-canceling headset, please."

Shin Nain requested it without hesitation.

Rather than increasing his firepower.

Meanwhile, Lee Sejun simply examined various firearms before ultimately leaving empty-handed.

I stared at him.

"Sejun."

"What?"

"What are you saving your vouchers for?"

He raised an eyebrow.

"What do you think I am?"

I narrowed my eyes.

"If you're secretly saving up a hundred vouchers to escape, I'll rip your heart out."

Magic stays here.

Fortunately, Lee Sejun wasn't that weak.

"No."

Then he smiled.

"Jemin."

"You ever seen those revolvers that supposedly kill bears in one shot?"

My attention sharpened immediately.

Sejun pulled out his phone and showed several photos.

At first I didn't care.

A bullet to the head kills most things.

Then I saw the gun.

And nearly jumped.

"What the hell is that?"

"A blunt weapon?"

Sejun's grin widened.

"Smith & Wesson 500."

He lovingly zoomed in on the image.

"It's not a revolver."

"It's just an absurd amount of violence compressed into a handgun."

Then he added proudly:

"Normal people can't shoot it."

A pause.

"Normal people, anyway..."

At that moment, Lee Sejun and I locked eyes for the first time.

My longing for magic.

His longing for firepower.

When those two desires met, we finally understood each other completely.

I humbly admitted that I had underestimated the man named Lee Sejun.

At the same time, a wellspring of friendship rose within me, and I couldn't help but support his ambitions.

"I sincerely wish for the boundless growth of Heart-System Mage Lee Sejun."

"Getting praise from you feels weird, Jemin."

That was when the Cultist-System Mage Shin Nain approached.

Apparently quite pleased with the noise-canceling headset he'd just purchased, he smiled brightly and tapped it.

"Heretics, it is time to continue cultivating the sacred Mutation Crusade Techniques bestowed by the Lord."

At some point he'd started calling the Mutation Magic system a Mutation Crusade Technique and absolutely refused to acknowledge that he was a Mutation Mage instead of a Doctrine Mage.

Naturally, if I pointed that out, our unspoken truce would immediately collapse into chaos.

So I chose the practical and rational option.

Silence.

Through my silence alone, peace was preserved for the Mutation Mage Trio.

***

Our destination was the makeshift chapel that now served as a research laboratory.

The eleven days of training had clearly benefited all three of us.

Instead of recklessly pursuing missions, we had focused on occult knowledge and mental cultivation, improving our understanding of Mutation Magic.

The most obvious progress belonged to Lee Sejun, who had originally lagged behind everyone else.

He had even traveled to Pyeongtaek specifically to determine what advantages the Heart System possessed.

Ever since returning from those examinations, he'd been strutting around with his shoulders puffed out.

Now he was busy pretending to flex his biceps.

"Eyes. Ears. Hands."

He smirked.

"Isn't real magic supposed to actually help in everyday life?"

"The human catapult has grown."

"Just wait. Once we kill all the monsters, I'm going to be incredible."

The true strength of Heart Magic was that it was subtle.

Unlike Eyes, Ears, or Hands, it didn't produce dramatic effects.

Instead, it constantly improved the user.

Heart System Stage 1

High-efficiency metabolism.

The reason Sejun could sprint at full speed for over thirty seconds without exhaustion.

More importantly, it appeared capable of continued growth.

Heart System Stage 2

Physical enhancement.

Muscle density.

Respiratory efficiency.

Organ performance.

Slowed aging.

The closest comparison was probably the martial arts concept of body purification.

Not flashy.

Not exciting.

But undeniably effective.

Considering that Lee Sejun had already been a sergeant before all this happened, he possessed respectable physical abilities to begin with.

Heart Magic seemed capable of forcibly expanding those natural limits.

After learning this, Sejun had become obsessed with weight training.

His dream was simple.

Become stronger.

Carry larger weapons.

Turn monsters into minced meat using overwhelming firepower.

***

Shin Nain, meanwhile, had chosen a different path.

Instead of specializing exclusively in his own system, he'd gone wandering off on his own.

The bastard had secretly accepted a mission and awakened Eye Magic while exploring the fog near the First Containment Line.

His academic enthusiasm honestly made me ashamed.

"If you can see ten seconds into the future, Jemin..."

He folded his hands.

"...then I shall see one hour into the past."

"What's the point of seeing the past? What matters is the present and future."

Shin Nain had achieved Eye System Stage 1.

Not future sight.

Past sight.

Lee Sejun openly mocked him while admiring his own biceps.

Personally, I'd have punched him in the mouth.

Yet Shin Nain merely smiled humbly.

"The sins of heretics can only be cleansed through sincere repentance."

Then he asked:

"Think about it. If one could reveal every sin a person has ever committed..."

His smile widened.

"...how easy would it be to bring them into the Lord's embrace?"

At that moment I remembered that Shin Nain was also an Ear-System Mage.

Ear System Stage 1

Mind reading.

Twenty-four hours a day he heard the thoughts of people around him.

With concentration, he could selectively listen to specific voices.

Ear System Stage 2

Monster perception.

Even if monsters disguised themselves perfectly, he could hear their true intentions.

Not quite as powerful as the spirit vision used by former shamans.

But superior in one regard:

It didn't attract attention.

So why was a guy like that so happy about gaining past sight?

The answer became horrifyingly obvious.

I shuddered as one of my greatest sins suddenly surfaced in my mind.

Shin Nain immediately frowned at me.

"Jemin."

His eyes narrowed.

"When you were in elementary school, you defecated in a urinal and let the cleaning duty students take the blame."

Then he pointed dramatically.

"Repent. On Judgment Day the Lord will place you among those on His left."

"The toilet stalls were all occupied!"

I slammed my hand on the table.

"What was I supposed to do? Crap on the floor?!"

The man who spent twenty minutes sitting in toilet stalls listening to hymns and controlling his sphincter was judging me.

Of course he was.

I looked toward Sejun for support.

Traitorously, he'd already moved farther away.

***

Forced to endure Shin Nain's relentless demands for repentance, I reviewed everything I'd learned.

Tongue System Stage 1 — Downgrading.

My current theory was simple:

The reason every mage used different magic was because none of us could utilize magic at one hundred percent efficiency.

Talent functioned like the aperture of an old camera.

Magic itself was vast and universal.

But individual mages could only access fragments of it due to limited understanding and biological constraints.

Downgrading granted control over that aperture.

When I applied it to Eye Magic Stage 1, my ten-second future sight transformed into the ability to perceive past, present, and future simultaneously.

Just by speaking the word:

Time.

Tongue Magic wasn't a spell.

It was calibration.

A way of focusing magic.

Aiming it.

Adjusting it.

The more specific the words became, the more precise the result.

Take "Time."

A broad concept encompassing past, present, and future.

If I then specified:

Past.

I gained access to a form of past sight I couldn't normally use.

The problem was precision.

If I simply said:

Time. Past.

Then I risked viewing anything from one minute ago to four billion years ago when Earth was molten lava.

Using Tongue Magic was like giving instructions to an incredibly literal employee.

Every parameter had to be specified.

No ambiguity.

Thus the correct sequence became:

Time. Past. One Hour. Me.

Every word acted as a filter.

Like lenses sliding into place during an eye examination.

Click.

Clack.

Click.

Each parameter narrowed the focus.

If I hesitated too long after saying "Time," I risked seeing everything.

Past.

Present.

Future.

All at once.

And if I forgot to specify a target, I'd simply observe the location itself across time rather than a person.

Which led me to a startling realization.

Eye Magic Stage 1 wasn't future sight.

Its true ability was:

To see what one wished to see.

Past.

Present.

Future.

Hundreds of meters away.

Kilometers away.

Potentially—

An entire continent away.

Provided one could pay the price.

***

Naturally, the more precise the observation, the greater the backlash.

Pop.

My taste buds split.

Dark blood welled up from my tongue.

Some sections swelled like blisters before bursting.

It hurt like hell.

I immediately canceled the spell.

Blood dripped from my tongue.

Tears streamed from my eyes.

The solemn oath I'd made to cry only at my parents' funerals had already been shattered beyond repair.

"Hngh... hngh... aaagh..."

"Jesus Christ!"

Lee Sejun recoiled.

"That's disgusting! Put your tongue away!"

"Uuuuugh..."

"Fuck..."

Grumbling, he handed me a bottle of water.

I desperately rinsed my mouth.

Swallowed.

Cried.

And thought.

If Eye Magic Stage 1 caused this much pain...

Then what would happen if I used Tongue Magic to unlock the true performance of Eye Magic Stage 2?

The answer was obvious.

I'd die.

Baek Jemin.

A courageous and noble man.

A man fully prepared to scream at the top of his lungs the instant unbearable pain arrived.

As I sat there rinsing blood from my mouth, Shin Nain clicked his tongue and adjusted his headphones.

"Don't overdo it."

"Hrrrgh?"

"Pastor Park says someone is arriving from Pyeongtaek tomorrow."

One of Shin Nain's greatest talents was understanding me even when my speech was reduced to incomprehensible noises.

"Apparently a genuine mystic is coming."

He shrugged.

"Someone impressed by our achievements."

"They want to share knowledge with us."

I froze.

A real mystic?

Not another fraud like us?

An actual occult scholar?

The kind of person who genuinely believed things like:

Break apart twenty-five into two and five, then add them together?

I stuck out my bloodied tongue and frowned.

The world might have ended.

But surely the Supreme Mages didn't need to rely on weird researchers and professional lunatics.

...Right?