iNoveltranslation
Honestly, when Edna was completely devoured by the mirror, Baek Yu-Seol was extremely shocked.
Shocked?
No. He felt like a million thoughts were running through his mind.
At first, they kept their distance, but as they attended the same school and gradually shared events, accidents, and even secrets, it seemed like their relationship became subtly closer.
When Edna was devoured in the mirror, he… He felt despair.
It felt as if he wanted to give up everything.
As if he was endlessly falling beneath the cliff of powerlessness.
Even the cheat item Sentient Spec didn't explain how to save Edna after being devoured by the mirror.
But then, the hand of salvation reached out, which was none other than the 'Constellation Project.'
[Baek Yu-Seol. I want to assign you a special mission.]
[Jump into the mirror and make Edna aware of the reality.]
'What...?'
The Constellation Project, as usual, was quite unkind and omitted all detailed explanations.
In summary, the world inside the mirror was said to revolve solely for Edna’s happiness.
Any pain, trial, worry, or effort - if desired, it would all be fulfilled, and everyone would praise her without any effort...
Such a perfect world.
However, as in such worlds, once drowned in happiness, one could never escape back to reality.
It was a true death in essence.
The mind collapses, and the consciousness and body are lost…
To make one aware of reality.
That was what it meant.
So.
Baek Yu-Seol fell into Edna’s world.
It was a familiar place.
The pungent smell of smoke, the gloomy sky, the forest of towering gray buildings, and the bustling, busy modern people.
It was his hometown, Earth.
At first, Baek Yu-Seol stood still as if rooted to the spot, unable to move.
The first thought that occurred to him was to go home.
It was meaningless.
Baek Yu-Seol had no remaining family, and he wasn't even sure if this world was real or fake.
'Steel yourself, Baek Yu-Seol.'
He could only make a promise with himself.
He felt weak after returning home, but what he had to do was clear.
To wake up the foolish Edna.
What good would it do if his mind weakened before hers?
There was no strategy guide, and no one could advise him, but somehow, he came up with a plan.
At first, to make Edna aware of the unreal world, he randomly intervened in events.
"Actually, I wanted this."
He swaggered away wearing sunglasses like the protagonist in a 90s action movie, carried a motorcycle on his back and escaped.
It was a failure.
Instead, it drew more attention to Edna, making it a rather futile act.
And when he came to his senses again, a week had passed.
Time Skip.
A truly convenient feature, yet it was really inconvenient because he had no idea what had happened during that time.
Fortunately, Baek Yu-Seol was able to meet Edna right away.
This time, she was singing.
With countless cameras and a handsome presenter who appeared to be unmistakably famous.
There was no doubt.
After this event, Edna would become tremendously famous.
"One more song!"
"Encore! Encore!"
People sent encore signs.
At that moment, Baek Yu-Seol coincidentally locked eyes with Edna.
She lowered her head.
He was ignored.
He had no choice but to directly destroy the audio...
Edna reluctantly sang without any background music, and ironically, she received even warmer applause.
'Damn it…’
He realized that his actions were dragging her deeper into this unreal world and slammed the ground with all his might.
The concrete caved in and the cracks formed a cobweb.
"......"
That was when he realized.
This was Earth.
A world without superpowers, magic, swords, or different races.
Yet he still possessed superhuman abilities.
[Flash]
Baek Yu-Seol's most powerful magic was still usable.
… There seemed to be only one way now.
———
"Hey. Hey Edna! Did you see? Did you see?"
A week had passed since the street performance.
She had no memory of what happened during that time, yet time flew so fast.
She was still only nineteen, but time was such a mystery.
"What now?"
Edna, who was writing in her notebook, asked curiously.
Han Cho-yeon excitedly spoke.
"The views on your Youtube video have surpassed tens of millions! It's like a viral hit for an ordinary person, right? It's still spreading in the community, so it seems like it'll rise even more!"
"Is that so? Why are you making such a fuss when I'm not even making any money from it?"
"Do you know that all the people who sparkled on Kim Baek-gwang's YouTube debuted as singers? Thanks to that famous Choi Gak-do's video, you even appeared on 'Are You a Singer?'”
"I said I'm not going to be a singer."
That was sincere.
Singing was enjoyable, but making a future goal out of becoming a singer was a different story.
Singing was a hobby, and she drew the line there.
But...
Still.
It was quite pleasing to see the views increase because people showed interest in her songs.
"When I see this trend, it seems like a major entertainment agency will come looking for you in no time."
"Nonsense."
"I'm serious, you know?"
While Edna shook her head reluctantly, Han Cho-yeon’s words were quite credible.
Every day, the ranking of [#Real-time Trending Videos] kept rising until it finally reached the top!
Even for a video featuring just one ordinary person, it was extremely rare to have such explosiveness, so it was expected to be a huge sensation...
However, exactly three days later in the morning.
As Edna headed to school, she heard some fantastic stories.
"Edna. Look at this!"
"What?"
The video Han Cho-yeon showed had a tag [#Real-time Trending Videos 1st place] prominently displayed.
However, the title was quite ironic.
[Modern Superhero? Appearance of an unidentified super-powered being!]
"What kind of superhero is this? It's childish..."
Since Edna wasn't particularly fond of superhero stories, she thought it was a movie ad and was about to casually skim through the video, but something was off.
The video's noise was so loud that it was almost impossible to hear, the screen was shaking heavily, the focus was off, and the image quality was blurry.
And above all, the content of the video.
"What’s this...?"
In the video, a terrorist group was firing guns on the street.
Considering the background was South Korea.
It was quite shocking, but not entirely unheard of since anyone could obtain firearms.
However, the appearance of a boy in a school uniform completely shattered the realism.
"Teleportation. Is this...?"
The boy moved at a speed akin to a flash of light. He wielded a light sword to dismantle the terrorist group.
Whenever the boy looked somewhere, he already existed there.
He deflected bullets or slashed terrorists with the light sword, and resembled a sword master from a fantasy novel.
It earned him the absurd nickname 'K-Sword Master'.
Despite the ridiculous nickname, the video was real.
Really.
There was a superpowered being in reality.
"It's not just one person who filmed this video! All the real-time trending videos are footage of that person!"
"Show me... more."
"Okay."
They were videos of the same incident filmed from different perspectives, but Edna meticulously engraved each one into her mind.
Familiar.
Even though the faces were covered with masks, she could instinctively tell.
"That... is our school uniform, right?"
Baek Yu-Seol.
That boy was undoubtedly Baek Yu-Seol.
The male uniform of Ilwol High School consisted of navy blue pants, a white shirt, and a navy blue vest.
Yes.
It was a very common uniform which could be seen anywhere in South Korea.
But does that mean netizens couldn't figure out the origin of the uniform?
"Did you hear? It's our school."
"Actually it's me."
"Your physique is different."
"I lose weight when I'm active, then gain it back when it's over."
"Idiot."
The fact that the 'K-Sword Master' in the video was a student of Ilwol High School had already spread widely, causing journalists and YouTubers to flock from all over to find him.
The activities of the boy, nicknamed K-Sword Master, didn't end with just one terrorist eradication.
He traveled all over the country, exterminating criminals and resolving various incidents, and within just a few days, he was already being hailed as a true hero.
[Unidentified Superpowered Individual, is he a High School Student?]
[Let's Scientifically Analyze the Principle of High-speed Movement]
[What Material is the Light Sword Made of?]
[What's the Relationship between Ilwol High School and the Boy?]"
All the issues of this world revolved around Baek Yu-Seol.
Not only did he become the world's first superpowered individual, but rumors also circulated that a foreign covert group infiltrated Korea to capture him, even prompting mention by the President of the United States.
Of course, no one knew how much of it was true.
However... There was one misunderstanding that people have.
That was, the high-speed movement the boy used was not just a simple superpower, but 'magic'.
Why was that?
Edna could understand that fact to the core.
The true nature of that ability was magic called Flash.
It felt quite awkward and alien, and it was unpleasant.
Knowledge she hadn’t even learned kept swirling around in her head.
It felt like the memories of someone else, not hers, were constantly invading her.
"Why are you like this, Edna?"
"It's nothing."
On the way home, there was a commotion at the school gate.
Another huge crowd had gathered.
Journalists must have come to find the unidentified superpowered boy.
Edna, who had become accustomed to it over the past few days, tried to move aside to pass, but today was different.
"Edna... look over there!"
"Huh?"
With Han Cho-yeon lost in thought, she pointed at something.
Edna glanced over with a rather indifferent feeling.
"... What is it?"
And she couldn't help but be surprised.
Standing beside a slick foreign car dripping with grease was a handsome man in his early thirties dressed in a luxurious black suit, as if boasting about its top quality.
Although she had no interest in the entertainment industry, she couldn't help but recognize him.
He was Kim Gapsoo, the CEO of 'Daebak Entertainment', the company which produced the world's top boy band.
And he had come to this school in person!
"Ahhhh!"
"Please just look over here once!"
The K-Sword Master, who didn’t even reveal his identity, was overshadowed by the presence of the real-deal world star's father.
People forgot their original purpose and shouted towards Kim Gapsoo, frantically pressing the camera shutters.
He stood there, seemingly enjoying those glances with a relaxed demeanor, but when he spotted someone, he turned his gaze.
Their eyes met.
… It felt like they had properly locked gazes, but Edna deliberately turned away from him.
However, as if the ominous expectation were true, Kim Gapsoo walked straight towards her.
Like the parting of the Red Sea in the story of Moses, the crowd split on either side.
While Han Cho-yeon, who was quick-witted, had already jumped back to stand alone.
"Hello? You're Edna, right?"
"... Uh, yes."
"I'd like to have a brief chat, is that possible?"
Although she wanted to confidently shout 'no' from the bottom of her heart, she nodded hastily because she couldn't withstand the hot gazes pouring from all directions.
Kim Gapsoo responded with a satisfied smile and escorted her into a limousine.
"Shall we go somewhere quiet?"
Kim Gapsoo led Edna to a high-end café located in Cheongdam-dong.
He didn't do anything crazy like renting out an entire café; instead, he left plenty of room for ordinary people to crowd around, probably for the sake of generating buzz through social media.
"I'll be straightforward. I want to groom you as the next generation of 'Gapba Boys'."
"Uh... yes..."
There really was nothing else to say besides 'uh' and 'yes'.
"You don't seem very enthusiastic, do you? I know. You've turned down countless offers that have come your way so far. So here's the deal: I'll ensure both your studies and daily life are protected."
"Mine...?"
"You don't want to give up your daily life, do you? Being a star is exhausting."
It wasn't cool at all, but rather childish to flip your bangs like that.
It was absurd, but Edna just nodded vaguely.
"I'll respect all aspects of your daily life and relationships and never interfere. Instead, you'll experience the life of a star from the opposite side of that daily life."
She had no idea what he was talking about.
"What benefit does it bring to the CEO if I do that?"
"Of course, there are benefits. If you like the life of a star, you could become one of us completely, right?"
"Excuse me. Is this being broadcast live?"
"Huh? Haha, are you already conscious of the camera? Unfortunately, no. Well, even so, we can't stop this intense interest from gathering."
Why are you saying lines like that?
Edna, who was about to interject, forced herself to endure it.
She wondered if all celebrities were like that, or if it was just him.
"First, the contract. Respecting your school life and the double life of a trainee, and also the specified parts..."
Without listening to Kim Gapsoo's words to the end, Edna stared at the contract intently.
All she had to do was write in the name.
It was none other than Kim Gapsoo.
That was right, the Kim Gapsoo of Daebak Entertainment.
With just one word from him, the ordinary life of a high school girl would end, and the life of a bona fide star would begin.
"Why now?"
"Because it's the right time, I rushed to find you."
Currently, there was a frenzy over Baek Yu-Seol...
'K-Sword Master,' and people's attention was completely focused on that.
"Do you know the saying, 'Issues are contagious'? When something rapidly attracts attention, another hot topic explodes, and interest shifts right along with it."
She didn't know that.
She didn't want to know either.
"I'm aiming for that. Kim Gapsoo is personally meeting the trending high school girl, Edna, for her debut... Wouldn't that be enough for the next hot issue?"
Certainly, Kim Gapsoo didn't come to her without any thoughts.
He was sincere.
Truly... he was thinking of making her a star.
She deliberated while holding the pen.
'Sign it, quickly.'
'Take back your stolen popularity.'
Originally, if it weren't for this, the name that would still be circulating on various YouTube and SNS sites wouldn't be Yu-Seol, but her, Edna.
A real-life superhero?
Surely he was remarkable and worthy of global attention, but that was as far as it goes.
He didn't even reveal his face and couldn't appear in public, after all.
With his face and name revealed, the popularity of the world's top entertainment pushing him as a world star would surely be unstoppable by any hero.
"Let's go, Edna. Let's become stars together."
"..."
All she had to do was sign.
There was no need to hesitate.
He promised to respect her everyday life, which was one of her biggest concerns.
The opportunity to freely sing her favorite songs in front of people from all over the world was exactly what signing this contract would give her.
'You'll become the world's greatest star. ‘
Was it Kim Gapsoo?
Or was it my own conscience?
She was not sure.
But, with her trembling hand, she had already reached the vicinity of the contract.
Tock!
The pen reached the end of the contract, and at the moment the dot was formed.
'Don't give up on yourself.'
Edna suddenly snapped out of it at the sound of the boy's whisper, and dropped the pen.
".... No. I'm not fit to be a singer after all. Receiving people's attention... is burdensome."
"What? But..."
Kim Gapsoo appeared puzzled, and he was about to say something more, but Edna hurriedly stood up.
If she listened to his story any longer, she felt like she might really lose herself.
So.
The world turned upside down.
'Ah...?'
Shattered glass shards and chunks of wall flew in all directions.
The sound of something exploding echoed.
Her vision shook violently.
When she came to her senses, she found herself lying on the floor.
"Ugh, ugh...?"
She was covered in dirt all over her body.
Her uniform was completely tattered, and her arms and legs were heavily scraped with fresh blood oozing out of them.
She cautiously raised her head and looked at the wall, which was pierced through.
"What on earth... happened?"
Could it be a bomb terror attack in broad daylight?
Edna cautiously walked outside through the hole in the wall.
"Aah!"
"R-run away!!"
Thud! Clang!
Screams.
Something was exploding, shattering.
Thump! Thump!
Her heart was racing.
Why?
Sirens sounded from somewhere.
Upon reflection, she remembered studying about it.
It wasn't just a simple siren, it was an air raid alert.
That was enough.
She had to step back, hide.
Or maybe run away.
She knew well that any further curiosity would only shorten her lifespan.
However.
Edna took slow steps forward, and when she finally reached the middle of the road, she could see it.
"Kwoooh!!"
A monster with green skin, which was about the size of a small house, wielded traffic lights in both hands.
It was smashing through the city center.
'A monster?'
The boundary between real and unreal blurred and rose like a thorn.
She knew that thing.
'Ogre.'
It was a very dangerous monster that lives in the forest.
Unlike a giant, it was very agile and could ride on trees, making it very dangerous.
How could she know?
Before she could resolve that question, she locked eyes with the ogre.
Thud!! Thud!
The sound of dozens of helicopters swarming from the sky could be heard, but it was too late.
Such things couldn’t be stopped.
Thud! Thud!
The ogre was coming towards her.
She still stood there, unable to move.
‘Am I scared?’
‘No, that's not it.’
‘Just…’
'I can just kill it, right?'
Without feeling the need to flee, Edna didn't run away.
She reached out her right hand, grasping a staff.
Its name was 'Ego la Echove'.
She didn’t know where she got this crescent-shaped beautiful staff from or why she knew its name.
But, did that matter?
Even now, countless magical knowledge swirls in my mind, begging to be unleashed.
"O light."
It was a simple gesture.
She simply spun the staff once and struck the ground.
Flash!
A brilliant golden magic circle burst forth, enveloping the ogre.
… And so, magic was revealed to the world for the first time.
She knew.
At that moment, everyone was paying attention to her.
And something... became irreversible.
She sensed it.