An Exorcist Magical Girl!

Park Eun-kyung, who the hell is she?

 

The answer to this question came surprisingly quickly.

 

As if reading my disbelief, two other members of the art team chimed in quietly.

 

“She’s friends with the chairman’s son, believe me.” “The chairman’s son?” “You know, the one who always wears red socks.” “He’s the chairman’s son?” “Didn’t you know?” “I knew Ms. Park was close to that guy, but I didn’t know he was the chairman’s son.”

 

So, Ms. Park is using her friendship with the chairman’s son to bully students?

 

Didn’t I come to this school to do justice? I don’t know.

 

What I do know is that this person in front of me is annoying.

 

❰Skill: A Craftsman Wears No Tools is active❱

 

I know I’m not supposed to use this skill on people, but if no one knows, what’s the point?

 

I casually leaned against the window frame in the hallway, resting my right hand on it.

 

The windowsill was very dusty because it had been an empty classroom before our club arrived.

 

I injected a tiny amount of black energy into the clumped dust with my fingertips, and then ran a thin thread of black energy along the edge of the windowsill, pushing the dust forward.

 

It was such a tiny amount of energy that I didn’t have to worry about being seen.

 

A little more than normal dust, just a little more than normal dust, trickling forward along the windowsill from the back door.

 

The black dust made its way to the front door where Ms. Park was.

 

And then…

 Plop!

 

It landed on the back of Ms. Park’s neck.

 

It was dust protected by my black aura, so it probably weighed about as much as a small worm.

 

“Kyaaah!”

 

As expected, Ms. Park freaked out and brushed the back of her neck, thinking she had a bug on her neck.

 

“You, you don’t clean properly that’s why there are bugs!”

 

The teacher yelled and left the classroom in a huff.

 

‘Ms. Park Eun-kyung! Don’t come to our club anymore.

That was it.

 

“Heehee!”

 

A laugh that sounded like scraping metal filled the classroom.

 

It was the most eerie sound I’d ever heard.

 

Even though I instinctively knew it wasn’t human laughter, my classmates looked around to make sure each other’s mouths were closed.

 

The mood immediately turned sour.

 

“…ghost? Shit.”

 

The voice of Hana, the art team leader, broke the silence.

 

Hana rolled her eyes.

 

“You gave people a hard time and you’re laughing?”

 

Hana shook with growing anger and stormed out the front door.

 

“Ha-Hana!” “Where are you going?” “Don’t be angry, Hana.” 

The other members of the art and lighting teams took notice, and soon Hana was rushing out of the classroom.

 

Hmm, is that the end of the cleanup for today? I don’t think she’ll come back like this.

 “Yuri, you better get out too. Can you hear me?” 

I picked up a half-conscious Yuri and led her out into the hallway.

 

Not far from the classroom, Hana, who had left first, and her friends from the club were gathered in a circle, so I joined them.

 

Is Hana still angry?

 

But to my dismay, I heard Hana’s cheerful voice from her friends’ side.

 

“Hey, guys, I did good, didn’t I? I was a total sweetheart!” 

Hana’s uptight demeanor was gone.

 “What? Weren’t you mad?” 

I asked confusedly, and my friend from the lighting crew next to me waved her hand in response.

 “No, no, she’s just scared of the ghost.” “It would hurt her feelings if she openly screamed, so she deliberately pretended to be angry and left.” “Wasn’t it natural? Wasn’t it bad acting? You were all fooled, weren’t you? I’m an acting team scout, right?” “Hana, aren’t you embarrassed to say that in front of Yuri?” “Hey, you guys are scared too, that’s why you came out here and pretended to catch me, you guys usually act like a bunch of assholes when I get angry!” “That’s right.” “Oh, look at this.” 

What are they doing?

 

“No, I’m laughing. Is this a true story? Wow. That must have been really scary.” “I thought I was in a horror movie for a second.” “Teachers are so scary. I mean, we’re supposed to have a classroom full of them? No matter how much they don’t like it, it’s not fair.” “You said it was Ms. Park Eun-yung.” “It’s not just Ms. Park Eun-kyung, it’s the other teachers who let her get away with it.” “The chairman’s line is crazy.”

 

While the others were talking excitedly, the head of the lighting team explained what had just happened in the club room, letting them know that she hadn’t finished cleaning up.

 “I guess it was unavoidable,”

she said, followed by a series of answers that included, 

“It was hard work.” 

Some worried about what would happen if we had extra practice on Friday and the classroom looked like this, and a few complained about the school.

 

I quietly turned on my phone to check the time.

 

Lunch was about 20 minutes away.

 

Exorcism, I think I can make it.

 

***

 

 

“Why don’t you use what you got today?”

 

Senior Shin said after hearing my concern.

 

“The thing I got today? You mean the “tongue and arm” thing?” “Yes, that one.” “Oh, you’re a genius, aren’t you saying that since it was a ghost’s body, it won’t be affected by the settlement?” “That’s right, you’re such a genius, my dear disciple!”

 

The degree to which a person’s connection is open is the degree to which he can influence the spirit world.

 

If I can only have 10% influence on the spirits right now, my black energy will naturally have a very weak effect. The skills I use to energize that black energy might not even be able to make a dent in the ghost’s core.

 

But what if it’s not a human spirit, but a demon?

 

No matter how open the connection is, ghosts can still affect you. They share the same world.

 

Just as it makes sense that humans can speak to them and make physical contact with them.

 

The

“tongue and arm”

is part of the spirit’s body.

 

So, if I use it, I’ll be able to deliver a killing blow to a ghost even if I keep the gate minimally open.

 

“But Senior Shin…” “Yes?” “Are you an idiot?” “No, why? You just said I was a genius.” “Senior Shin. I don’t know how to open the inventory. I don’t know how to use the mirror function. I have to float on water to get that arm or tongue or whatever it is and beg it to please open the inventory.” “Oh, that?”

 

When I threw a tantrum, Senior Shin said as if he’d been waiting.

 

“I found a workaround for that.” “Huh?” “Are you curious?”

He teased me.

 “Yes!” “You really want to know?!” “Yes!” “Then give me a round of applause!” 

I started clapping non-stop.

“Waaaaaah!” “Well, I went home yesterday and looked through all the papers, and like I said, there aren’t many cases like this, and the research is very scarce compared to other fields. And the subjects are limited.”

 

Ah, so it’s not in the general theory books.

 

I’ve been doing my own research all night, and it’s unfair!

 

“Most of the people who became “masters of their stuff” like you didn’t have control over their functions at first, and they all said they learned by trial and error, but there’s one thing they all had in common: the way they learned to control their stuff. Now I want you to respond to this.” “Wow! I wonder what that is, I can’t wait to find out, doodle doodle doodle doodle!” “That’s right!” “Right!” “It’s about reasserting yourself as the owner of your stuff, and it’s right here, in this document.”

 

Senior Shin read the clipping to me.

 

“Mr. K, a Japanese S-class exorcist who became the owner of a soccer ball, kicked it one more time to gain full ownership.” “What?! Isn’t that abuse?”

 

He wants me to smash the mirror? What kind of archaic idea is that? Besides, my object is a mirror. If I kicked it like a soccer ball, it would break right away.

 

 “Listen to the end. A month ago, Mr. K had perfected the skill “Hawk’s Eye” by 100%. Then, while playing soccer, he accidentally combined the Eye of the Hawk skill with the soccer ball. The soccer ball began to serve him as its master. In other words, he kicked the ball and became its master.” “Oh, so when you say, “kicked it once more”, you mean it did exactly what it did the first time it was set as its master?” “Exactly!”

 

Well, that was easy.

 

“But why did it take that guy a month to do it? I think I would have kicked the shit out of the ball without even realizing I was the owner.” “Oh, the point is to realize you’re the owner and then keep repeating the behavior. This guy felt a little sorry for the soccer ball because he thought it was his eye, so he took care of it after he realized it was his.”

 

He took care of it, and then he kicked it.

 “I’ll try it now, then.”

 

I immediately activated the skill “A Craftsman Wears No Tools,” and let it embed itself into the mirror.

 

Visually, nothing much changed.

 

“Um, what is that, open it. The treasure chest.”

 

But when I spoke the command aloud, a status window popped up.

 

❰Sub-skill: “Master of Mirrors: Incorruptible Treasure Trove” has been activated❱

 

It was refreshing to see the message that usually appears when you use a skill instead of

“Activate blah, blah, blah!”

.

 

“Wow! Senior Shin, this is really—” 

I couldn’t finish my sentence because my vision went black in an instant.

 

Oh, right. This was a full-blown inventory.

  

***

 

 

I think I stood up.

 

I’m sure I didn’t hit my head on the floor.

 

“Hey Mirror, if you could at least ask me if I want to go to the inventory or something, it would be appreciated.”

 

I grumbled and looked around.

 

On one wall were the names of the available items and the number of times they could be stored.

 

“A tongue and an arm are in place, good.”

 

I nodded in satisfaction, then frowned at the number of saves.

 

“Three with saves is a little low.”

 

I realized that if I took a saved item out, used it, and then put it back in, the number of saves would be reduced.

 

It’s a tongue and an arm, or an arm and a tongue, or whatever, and I’d love to show it to him in person, but alas, I won’t be able to get it out unless I really need it.

 

Oh, but how do I get it out?

 

Do I just say something like when I enter inventory, or do I click on the writing on the wall?

 

Whatever it is, I don’t want to try it right now. I’ll do it wrong and lose my save.

 

“Mirror, I’m out.”

 

There was no point in staying, so I declared my intention to leave, and at the same time, my surroundings returned.

 

Wow, this is a familiar ceiling.

 

My body was lying on a long desk at the back of the lecture hall of the training center.

 

As I stood up, Senior Shin, who had been fidgeting and pacing, came running over in a panic.

 

“Hey, I almost called for an ambulance!” “You didn’t, did you?” “No, I didn’t. Look. I was so worried; I’m typing 11 and hitting 9.” “Thank you. That’s two days in a row I’ve avoided the emergency room.” “Was that an inventory skill you just used? You have to be really careful when you use that.

”

 

 

***

 

 

Since yesterday’s events, I’ve been able to use the mirror whenever I want.

 

I weighed for a moment whether I should ask the still huddled schoolyard bullies to hold my body for a moment, or crouch down in the corner of the bathroom or hallway to retrieve the item, and decided on the latter.

 

I had an ominous feeling that if I didn’t get my act together, I’d end up in the emergency room.

 

I slipped out of the crowd and into a nearby restroom,

 

“Open the treasure trove.” 

 

❰Subskill: Master of Mirrors: Incorruptible Treasure Trove activated❱

 “Take out the tongue and arm thing.”

 

……

 

“Eh, it worked.”

 

I have summoned a ghost’s body into reality.