An Exorcist Magical Girl!

It’s a Tuesday morning, the afterglow of a sports fest still fresh.

 

I’d gotten to school early, hoping to exorcize the water-soluble ghosts I hadn’t yet dealt with, when someone tapped me on the back as I rummaged through my locker.

 

“Uh, who is it?” 

I turned around, gourd in hand, to see Hanbyul.

 

“Hanbyul, you’re really early, aren’t you?” “Are you surprised? I’m always late, but here I am this early.” 

I didn’t deny that I was surprised.

 “What’s wrong, broadcasting club?”  

Cha Hanbyul was our class’s official tardy girl. 

 

There was even a story that she was the one who paid the eight halves of the tardiness fee.

 

I couldn’t believe she was coming to school so early.

 “I’m not working in the broadcasting club for a while after the sports fest.” “Then why the hell are you…?” “To do my makeup! I’m getting a boyfriend today, but I don’t think I’ll have time to do it after school, so I thought I’d better come here early in the morning and do my makeup.” “Oh, I see. You’re diligent.” “So…” “Yeah?” “Do you happen to have a mirror? I packed everything else, but I forgot the mirror.” “Oh.”

 

There are no mirrors in the all-girls classroom.

 

The girls kept rubbing their tinted hands on the wall next to the mirror while applying and removing the tint, so they removed all the mirrors in the classroom.

 

So, there were no mirrors in the back of the classroom, just smudged tint marks from who knows when.

 

Without thinking, I pulled a hand mirror out of my pocket and handed it to her.

 

“The bathroom mirror is bigger, so it’ll be easier to see.” “Not in the restroom. The teachers might catch me.” “I see.” “Anyway, thank you! I’ll write and return it quickly—”

 

Hmm? Why did she stop talking?

 

Cha Hanbyul holds up a mirror, stony-faced.

 

“…Hanbyul?” I nudge her, and she looks back at me with a squeak. “Come here…” “Uh… what’s wrong?” I asked. “Oh, I think I’ve become a ghost… I can’t see myself in the mirror.”

 

Oh, right. The mirror is weird.

 

I rushed to explain. I didn’t tell her the whole story, just that the mirror was a little off.

 

Luckily, Hanbyul understood.

 

“So, you’re saying that you have to hold the mirror yourself to see your reflection, right?” “Uh-huh. Anyway, it’s a weird mirror.” “It’s interesting. I’ve never seen a mirror like this before!” “I’ve never seen a mirror like this before either. Well, I’ll hold it for you while you do your makeup. You’ll have no problem looking in it.” “Really? Thank you, I’ll be quick.”

 

I sat in the front seat and watched her apply her makeup, holding the mirror with one hand.

 

“Oh, this is a nice color.” “It is, isn’t it? I got it on sale, but I’m glad I did.”

 

We had two or three such conversations, but that was it.

 

I got a little bored after a while.

 

“Bye-bye.” “Huh?” “I’m going to do an exorcism, so don’t mind me and put on some makeup.” “Huh… okay.” 

Deciding to use my spare time to exorcize the water-soluble ghost in the gourd, I opened my account.

 【Talent: Exorcist (Aspiring)】【Status: Utilized】【Link – Open: ▾ ■■■■■■■■□ 85%】 

I think this pencil case will suffice as a weapon.

 

After calculating that I should be able to take out a demon of this size with ease, I flicked the wood grain of the bamboo.

 

The ghost rolled out of the piece of wood.

 

Seeing the light of day for the first time, the water-soluble ghost squinted, trying to make sense of the situation.

 

❰Skill: “Simple Clairvoyance” activated❱

 

As soon as I found the core, the ghost came fully to its senses.

 

***

 

“Ouch!”

 

Before I could swing my pencil case, the ghost stretched out its arms with its mouth open.

 

I knew instinctively to not touch it.

 

I don’t want to end up with my head on a stick this time!

 

I quickly ducked my head to avoid the flying arm.

 

It was a close call.

 

But the ghost made one mistake.

 

In its evil grip, it stretched out its tongue, or rather, its arm, too far.

 

The ghost’s arm lost control of its speed and force, and it lunged forward with the intent to vomit out its organs.

 

Plop!

 

The demon’s arm was easily cut off.

 

With the arm, which was its main offense, cut off, the ghost’s strength was significantly weakened.

 

I’m going to use that momentum to destroy the core,

 

❰Activate Master of Mirrors: Incorruptible Treasure Trove❱

 

The mirror has done something new.

 

“Oh, the mirror, it’s being an asshole again—”

 

Before I could finish my sentence, my vision went black.

 

I didn’t black out, but it was as if the lights had been turned off and the blackout curtains had been carefully drawn.

 

“Holy shit.”

 

The name “Incorruptible Treasure Trove” makes me think it’s an inventory feature.

 

I didn’t expect it to be an inventory feature that stores its owner.

 “Hey, you bastard!”

 

I yelled in disbelief, and a status window message popped up on the black wall.

 

❰Appraising Item❱

❰Appraising Item Completed❱

❰Item: Tongue and Arm❱

 

I suddenly realize that I’m holding the arm of the ghostI cut off earlier.

 

This is an item?

 

❰You can save items when you fulfill the inventory saving conditions.❱

❰Items stored in your inventory are protected from destruction❱

 

The message that just popped up seemed to imply that even if the demon’s core is destroyed and the demon is destroyed, the demon arm stored in it will not be destroyed.

 

❰Please fulfill the inventory save condition❱

❰Save condition: Fix the contradiction in the given sentence❱

 

A new message pops up, and a sentence is carved into the floor beneath my feet.

 

─The ghost body part, the

“tongue and arm”

, do not dissolve in water.

 

“Don’t be ridiculous, it dissolves just fine.”

 

I tiptoed over to the end of the sentence and scratched off the two “

not”

characters.

 

─The ghost body part, the

“tongue and arm”

, dissolves in water.

 

❰Fixed a contradiction in the given sentence❱

❰Achieved the inventory save condition❱

❰Saving item❱

❰Saving items complete❱

❰You have 3 inventory saves left! (Including re-saves)❱

 

 

As the

“tongue and arm”

finished saving, the darkness around me naturally lifted, and I returned to reality.

 

My head was pounding as my surroundings changed in such a short time.

 

What is this pressure on the back of my head?

 

Apparently, the headache wasn’t caused by the change in environment.

 

The ghost’s cold hand squeezed my skull so tightly it could explode.

 

My mind must have been the only thing in its inventory.

 

The receptive ghost must have touched the rest of my defenseless body.

 

“You idiot. If you wanted to kill me, you should have pressed on my neck. Not my head.” 

❰Skill: “A Craftsman’s Wears No Tools” is active.❱

 

With a swift throw of my pencil case, I destroyed the ghosts’ core.

 

❰【Talent: Exorcist (Aspiring)】 Defense against the erasure crisis is 7% advanced❱

❰Defense work progress has reached a total of 19.6%❱

 

The progress on the defenses continued to climb, reaching nearly 20%.

 

This made me feel good, but my head was exploding with complexity.

 

I didn’t even know where to start pointing out the mirror’s behavior.

 

I decided to summarize the features so far—

 

“Baek Iri”

 

I snapped out of my trance at the faint sound of someone calling me.

 

Hanbyul was almost half-conscious.

 

“I thought you were dead. You’re alive, right?” “I’m sorry… I didn’t expect this either, but as you can see, I’m alive and well.” “Are you sure?” “Look, I’m breathing.” “It’s true.”

 

Relieved, Hanbyul regained her composure.

 “Dude! You scared the crap out of me! No, I mean, you just laid your head down on the desk and didn’t move. Wow, I thought my heart was going to drop. At first I thought you were asleep. Anyway, I just put my hand right there to wake you up, and the back of your head was so, so, so cold.” “So you didn’t see any ghosts?” “Uh, no. I didn’t see any.”

 

The coldness that Hanbyul felt was probably caused by the ghost’s hand pressing on my head.

 

But do someone usually put their hand on the back of the head to wake someone up?

 

“Oh, by the way…”

Hanbyul started to say something.

 “Huh?” “Actually, earlier I—”

 

BANG! 

The sound of the front door of the classroom opening interrupted her.

 

“Where’s the patient?”

The paramedic looks around the classroom.

 

“I called 911…”

Hanbyul said, biting her lips.

 “Oh.” 

***

 

I’m lying in a hospital bed, receiving fluids.

 

I can’t say,

“Oh, well, I was trying to exorcize a ghost and it ended up in my inventory!”

so I just told them I didn’t sleep well the night before and wasn’t feeling well.

 

They told me I didn’t have a fever, I wasn’t injured, and I should just get some fluids.

 

By now, school should be out for the first period.

 

I checked my phone and saw a text from Seo Jun.

 

—Are you coming back to school?

 

Of course not.

 

I texted back that I’d see her at the training center and closed my eyes.

 

“An incorruptible treasure trove”.

 

This was the third feature. A new crack appeared on the surface of the hand mirror.

 

Being able to keep what you get from a ghost is pretty useful and nice.

 

Destroying the core would destroy the ghost’s body, clothing, and belongings, all at once, and you’d be exempt from that destruction.

 

But it was too dangerous to be useful.

 

You could be fighting a demon and suddenly find yourself in a warehouse with only your mind detached.

It’s a good thing the water-soluble ghosts were stupid and weak, because what if I were fighting a really strong one and it triggered the Incorruptible Treasure Trove on its own?

 

I’d probably be in two pieces when I got out of that treasure trove.

 

And the biggest problem is, I don’t know how to get stuff out of my inventory.

 

What the hell is the point of saving it if I can’t get it out?

 

Anyway, I’ll tell Senior Shin Wook about this when I go to the training center later.

 

I’ve been through the mirror’s selfishness three times now, and I’ve got a pretty good idea of what to expect.

 

Oh, wait.

 

Wasn’t the deadline for returning the training center’s gourdwood today?

 

Ai, It’s at school.

  

***

 

 

I returned to school at the beginning of third period, and Seo Jun laughed at me.

 

“Don’t laugh, Seo Jun!” “I wasn’t laughing.” “You were laughing inside, I can hear it.”

 

It’s not that I couldn’t think of a way to ask Seo Jun if she could bring me gourdwood instead.

 

But it was midterms time for all high schools, so the training center wasn’t open in the morning, and I didn’t want to go home, so I just came to school.

 

Nothing much happened at school.

 

The time passed peacefully.

 

At lunchtime, Yuri asked me to go to the audio-visual room with her.

 

“I want to practice my act before Friday.” 

Yuri was a very responsible member of the team.

 

“Thanks for coming with me! I’m a little scared to be alone.” “Oh, you’re welcome. There was nothing to do anyway. I’ll continue knitting while you’re practicing.” “I’m actually a little lonely because I don’t have any friends in our class, and I was the only one in the theater club last year. You know what it’s like to be lonely, even if you’re close to everyone in your club.” “Oh, I know how you feel. It’s not always easy to call up the other kids in the class, and it’s easier to talk to each other when you have a purpose or something.” “Exactly, that’s the point. We can catch each other up on things we missed.”

 

We headed to the audio-visual room, chattering away.

 

“By the way, Yuri, am I the only one who sees that? Why is the hallway so busy?” “Yeah? Isn’t that all our club stuff?” “Uh, there’s someone over there.”

 

Something was ominous.