An Exorcist Magical Girl!

The director sitting at the lobby counter sees us and waves.

“Hello.” 

Seo Jun just nodded her head and casually walked into the lecture hall right next to the counter.

 

She looked back at me for a moment and said.

“I’ll see you later, in class.” “Uh, why…?”

I asked, sounding stupid even as I thought about it.

 

No, it was the tone that was stupid, not the question itself.

 

Seo Jun, she’s old, and I’m new. Maybe we’ll see each other during breaks, but the classes we were assigned to at the training center are different, so what’s the point?

 

It was the director who answered my question. 

 “Starting today, we’ll be training for each mission team. It’s a special class.” “Aah.” “You two organized the team, right? Seo Jun told me last week that you got points for it.” “Oh, yeah.” 

Technically, I didn’t know what the conditions were at the time, and I just took the points blindly but in the end, he’s not wrong.

 “Still, I heard that you earned six hundred points on your own, which is pretty impressive. It’s not easy for a beginner to get that many points, even with a skill rating like yours.”

Seeing that I was embarrassed, the director added,

“That’s not easy for a beginner to achieve.” 

Oh, thank God. He’s not kicking me out for being a cheater. I guess it’s forgivable because I got a lot of points but not a lot of talent.

 

Now that I hear it from someone else’s mouth, I realize how absurd the mission was.

 

Wow, I really did the hard thing.

 

***

 

The door of the training center opened, and a group of students rushed in.

 

They greeted the director loudly, then spotted me and came up to the counter.

 

“

Wow, is this a new student?” “What grade are you? Oh, sophomore? Guys, she’s the same age as us.” “Wow, it’s been a while since we’ve had a freshman come in. Let’s talk!” “If you don’t know something, feel free to ask.” “Don’t ask him, ask Hanju. She’s nicer.” 

This is the kind of pretentiousness and insincerity wrapped up in the favor of the deceased.

 “Yeo-sun, you got away with it the first time you took the class.” “Reminds me of my first day.”  “Oh, I was really struggling then. Didn’t Kim Yuna give you an X from the first day?” 

But I don’t have to take it personally. I greeted them with my best socializing voice.

 “You’re all in the second grade, please take care of me. I’m a sophomore.”  

It’s a favor that’s going to wear off quickly.

 

I remember exactly what it was like for Narea and how jealous she was.

 

Although she was held back more by her seniors than her peers.

 

To be honest, I never thought about being jealous of people my age.

 

Narea wasn’t a late comer like me, she was always in a position of superiority and dominance.

 

She was the kind of person that people her age didn’t dare to pull down.

 

They were embarrassed that they’re seniors and their junior, Narea, were playing at a similar level to them, so they tried to fight. People get ugly when they feel their position is threatened.

 

The kids in front of me are looking down on me, so I have to wrap my words nicely before I spit them out.

 

The newcomers, by their very existence, instill a sense of superiority in the veterans.

 

As soon as they realize that I’m the one who can take their position, their attitude will change.

 “Hey! you’re scaring the new girl.” “Are you having a hard time in class? I’m already scared.”  

While we were laughing and chatting, the door to the classroom at the far end of the hall opened and a man with intense red hair stepped out.

 

Judging by his attire, he’s not a student. He looks to be in his early twenties, twenty-three at most.

 

The director called out to me, surrounded by children, and led me to the man.

 “This is the teacher who will teach you the basics of exorcism. Say hello. No one your age is taking the basics and it’s ridiculous to expect you to take a class with a bunch of kids so I’ve found a teacher to take care of you at home.”

The director explained.

 “Thank you. Hello sir, I’m Baek Iri.” “Oh, you don’t need to treat me like a teacher. Just think of me as your senior.”

The red-haired man smiled cheerfully and clapped his hands.

 “Okay, I guessed.”

I said, acting all shy.

 “I’m from another school too. We’re both freelancing now. Oh, my name is Shin Wook.” “I’ll be in your care, Mr. Shin!” “Hahaha! I’ll be sure to take care of you too.”

He then turned to the director.

“Director, you said we only have two hours of class today. I thought you were going to do mission training.” “That’s right, report to classroom B when it’s time.”

the director replied.

 

“Okay, okay. Shall we go?”

 

“Oh! yeah.”

 

***

 

The redheaded senior, Shin Wook, led the way. 

 

As we headed to the lecture hall, the students from earlier looked at us curiously.

 “Come on, I heard you got quite a lot of points in the evaluation, so are you good at opening your senses?”

Senior Shin asked.

 “I know how to open my senses when I need to, and the most I’ve ever opened is 85%.”

I replied.

 “Oh, I see!” 

Once inside the classroom, the questioning continued to determine my basic skill set.

 “So, what skills do you have right now?” “Two basic skills, simple clairvoyance and simple destruction.” “What’s your stats on those two skills?” “They’re both 100% completed.” “Good. Very good!” 

Senior Shin smiled in satisfaction and fished something out of his bag. It was a small piece of wood with yellow paper attached to it.

 “This is a piece of wood and an amulet that traps ghosts, and when you tear off the amulet, the trapped ghosts will appear with a bang.” 

This senior is all good, but the tension is really high.

 “I’d like to see you perform an exorcism, since I can’t tell exactly what you’re capable of from your words. How about it, can you show me right now?”

He continued.

 “Sure. Of course.”

I agreed.

 “Good! I’m a weakling, so don’t be nervous. I just want to make sure it’s really simple.” 

‘I highly doubt it’

I thought to myself, but I agreed anyway.

 “Okay.”  “Let me know when you’re ready.” 

I quickly opened my account. It was a familiar gesture by now. 

 “Self-taught, huh?”

Senior Shin said in a small voice of admiration.

 【Talent: Exorcist (Aspiring)】【Status: Utilized】【Number of Ties Open – 60%】【Skills: – 】 “What kind of weapon do you use?”

The senior asked as I looked around.

 “I don’t have a favorite, I just use whatever I have around at the time. Oh, can I use the finger pointing stick on the table over there?”

I said pointing at the item on the counter.

 “Oh, I think that’s the director’s. You can probably use it but will that work?” “Yeah. I don’t have any weapons on me right now.” “Really? Well, in that case.” 

Senior Shin flicked me the yellow finger pointing stick near the table .

 

I caught it and bounced happily.

 “Thanks. I’m all set.” “Okay, I’ll get the ghost out.” 

Senior Shin ripped the yellow amulet off the piece of wood and tore it in half.

 

The piece of wood instantly turned black. A dark aura trickled out of it.

 

Slowly, I pulled out the energy in my right hand. A thick layer of black energy wrapped around the entire finger pointing stick.

 

The piece of wood shattered with an eerie sound.

 

The first thing I felt was a chill. The cold air instantly raised goosebumps.

 Screech, Screech 

I heard an unpleasant sound, like metal on metal.

 

As I turned my head toward the source, my eyes fell upon an unusually large hand.

 

It looked about twice the size of a human face.

 

The sharp nails on the end of its bony fingers scraped against the wall, making a screeching sound.

 

Upon closer inspection, I realized that the back of the hand had some sort of pattern on it.

 “What?”

I focused my gaze on the patterns and opened the grid wider.

 【Talent: Exorcist (Aspiring)】【Status: Utilized】【Senses open – 80%】 

Opening my senses up to 80%, my vision became much clearer. I could even hear the squeaking more clearly, though I didn’t like it.

 

My brow furrowed as I realized what I was looking at.

 

What I thought was a pattern on the back of the hand turned out to be an eye.

 

There were dozens of eyeballs embedded in the back of the hand.

 

It’s loud and gross. I’ll have to get rid of them quickly.

 

《Skill: Simple Clairvoyance – activated》

 

The eyeball embedded just below the ring finger glowed red.

 

So there was a core in one of the eyeballs.

 

I didn’t even bother to measure, I just grabbed the wand and lunged at it. Black energy dripped from the tip of the wand like water.

 

《Skill:Simple Destruction – activated.》

 

Sensing my move, the hand ghost opened its eyes.

 

The stitches burst, and black tears of blood flowed out.

 

The red droplets of blood flew straight at me, and I quickly swatted them away with my wand.

 

Sensing the danger, the hand ghost bounced off the wall and stuck to the ceiling.

 

Did it think I couldn’t hit it if it was up high?

 

I’m sorry, but I’ve been banging on the ceiling for three years.

 

I leapt up, stepped on a chair, and smacked the hand ghost with the yellow tip of the wand.

 Bam! 

The eyeball fell out.

 Bam, bam, bam, bam! 

I didn’t stop. I felt like I was back to my old self, banging on the ceiling with a rubber mallet.

 

With all the anger and vengeance I had at the time, I pounded with all my might.

 

The giant hand that had lost its core crumbled into the air.

 

The last blow completely popped his eyeballs out.

 “I think it’s over.”

After confirming that the ghost had been destroyed, I turned to Senior Shin.

 “Hey, that’s great!”

He was clapping his hands.

 “Oh, thank you.”

I grinned stupidly at the compliment. That’s when the status window popped up.

 

***

 

The status window popped up with an alarming message.

 

《You have acquired the

Skill: A Craftsman Wears No Tools

》

《A craftsman’s tools are no respecter of persons: When an object that is not a weapon is imbued with your aura, it is protected by the weapon you are familiar with. 》

 “Senior Shin, I think I have a new skill!”

I yelled, a little too proud.

 “What?! Wow, that’s amazing! A skill blooming on your first day at the academy! What kind of skill is it?!” “It’s a skill called “Craftsman’s Tools”. For a description of the skill…” 

《Identifying familiar weapons》

《Familiarization complete》

 “…A craftsman’s tools are no respecter of persons: When an object that is not a weapon is imbued with your aura, it becomes a weapon you are familiar with.” 

《Current Embodiment 5%》

 “Oh, so the object I picked up is a metal club?” 

Hey, wait a minute. A metal club?! A weapon I’m familiar with is a metal club?

 

Are you telling me this because I used to wield a metal club when I was a magical girl?

 

I didn’t have the skill to create complex weapons back then, so I used the most basic blunt weapon I could find!

 

It was nice to get away from the basics, but I felt kind of gross.

 

Anyway, I spent the rest of the time practicing energizing objects.

 

The two hours flew by in the blink of an eye.

 

There was a knock at the front door, and Seo Jun poked her head out.

“It’s mission training time.”  “Is it that time already? Come on, get going. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Senior Shin said.

 “Okay, I’ll go, see you tomorrow.”

I waved goodbye running towards Seo Jun.

 

I followed Seo Jun to classroom B.

 “Oh, and just so you know, I’ve got the assignments picked out for you, okay?” 

Seo Jun paused and looked back at me. I nodded roughly, tackling her at the same time.

 “Uh, okay, but we’re not talking ‘in advance’ are we?”

I asked.

 “Yes, it is.” “You’re hilarious.”

I said while grinning at her.

 “Thanks.” “That’s not a compliment.” *** 

In the midst of all the back-and-forth, we arrive at classroom B.

 

As we walked through the door, we were greeted by the stares of the students who had arrived earlier.

 

Some of them were the ones who had spoken to me at the counter earlier.

 

I made eye contact with one of them.

 

It was a student called Yeo Seon-yeo.

 

She looked back and forth between me and Seo Jun, and her expression stiffened.

 

She looked at Seo Jun, her eyes filled with astonishment, and then she turned to me.

 

If I’m not mistaken, there was concern in her eyes.

 

But I didn’t have time to ponder what that meant.

 

Didn’t I just catch a ghost but my progress on the defense hadn’t increased?