Looking at the Cover
As a reader who loves novels, I dare say that the heart of a novel lies in the protagonist's growth.
The enjoyment of walking alongside them through every step of their development.
How exciting is it to watch the protagonist overcome challenges and grow stronger in the end?
It was a kind of vicarious satisfaction.
After all, such steady growth is impossible in reality.
In reality, a minor incident, a mistake of mine, someone else's mistake, another person's malice, or the limits of my talent could all thwart our progress.
In contrast, the protagonist in a novel manages to overcome obstacles and continue forward no matter what. I loved that anticipation.
In my case, I committed the "mistake" of driving while intoxicated and ended up losing the use of my legs permanently.
That's why my days were spent holed up in a room, reading novels on my phone.
After reading a certain number of novels, I developed preferences and even found some favorite authors.
The novel I was following this time was the third work of an author I truly admired.
"Wow...."
This author writes growth stories exceptionally well.
I couldn't help but utter a gasp of admiration during the scene where the protagonist defeated the final boss, just before the conclusion.
Savoring the satisfaction, I opened the comments section, only to find long complaints that were overwhelmingly recommended and pinned to the top, contrary to my expectations.
"Oh...."
This had been happening for a few days.
As the final chapter approached, an enemy was depicted as extremely powerful, and that's when comments criticizing the power inflation started to appear one by one.
The characteristic of a growth story is that it must continuously develop the protagonist, leading to inevitable power inflation in the later stages.
I saw it as an unavoidable aspect, but apparently, others didn't feel the same way.
Feeling like the author might be hurt by the criticism, I wrote a comment.
[Growth Pure Love]
I really enjoyed it. You crafted the protagonist's growth process so well that I watched with great satisfaction this time as well. Author, keep up the great work. I will definitely follow your next work!
I had no intention of responding in detail to the critical comments.
That would only make the comments section messy.
I was content with this and was about to close the novel app when a notification popped up.
A reply had been posted beneath my comment.
And it was from the author.
[Back to the Returnee (Author)]
Thank you ^^ The protagonist of my next work is you.
????
When my mind was filled with nothing but question marks.
My vision went dark.
When I opened my eyes, I was in a new world.
But I only wrote a supportive comment?
When I opened my eyes, I was immediately greeted by a translucent window floating in the air.
[Growth Assistant]
▶ Name: Leon
▶ Rank: -
▶ Mana Quality: -
▶ Elemental Affinity: Single Element (Earth)
▶ Please select your reward before receiving the quest.
Growth assistant...?
No, more importantly, have I been transported into the story...?
Leon blinked blankly.
From the moment he opened his eyes until he finished reading the entire translucent window, he hadn't moved a muscle.
This was his habit.
Since he lost the use of his legs, his movements had become very passive.
As he lay down, habitually organizing his thoughts, he suddenly realized something new, as if someone had hit him on the back of the head.
“Can I move?”
Leon immediately exerted force on his legs.
“Wow!”
He moved.
He even used his legs to stand up.
His legs stood firmly on the blanket spread on the floor.
He immediately fell to his knees.
“Thank you, author...!”
The fact that he had been transported didn't matter.
What moved him to tears was simply the fact that he could walk on two legs.
After offering a prayer and opening his eyes, there were two thick books titled "Basic Mana Theory" and "Basic Earth Magic", and a black orb laid neatly in front of him.
Leon swallowed all his questions about this sudden new environment.
“I can figure it out slowly.”
Once his legs could move, Leon's mind became clear.
He approached the books and the orb.
The thick book had the title "Basic Mana Theory" printed on it, so he could guess what it was about. What intrigued him more was the black orb.
On its jet-black surface, the number "0" was written in white letters.
“What is this...?”
After picking up and examining the orb from various angles, Leon put it down again.
He couldn’t figure it out just by looking at it.
He picked up the book.
First, the Basic Mana Theory.
“Is this a world where magic exists?”
Leon looked around.
Wooden floors with old blankets spread over them.
Sparse furniture placed in the corner of the room.
A ceiling without any lights.
“Is this a medieval world?”
Since the author had commented that he would be the protagonist of the next novel, it meant he was in a novel world, even if it wasn't a story he knew.
A medieval world with magic.
It could only be fantasy.
He brought up the growth assistant again and looked at the quest window.
▶ Please select your reward before receiving the quest.When he clicked on the section prompting him to choose a reward, a new window appeared.
▶ Elemental Affinity
▶ Artifact
▶ Elixir
▶ Magic BookSeeing the list of rewards made him certain.
This is a fantasy world where magic exists.
Leon decided not to choose a reward hastily and closed the assistant window.
Since they provided the basic mana theory and basic earth magic books at the start, it seemed like they wanted him to learn magic, so it wasn't too late to choose a reward after finding out what would help him most in learning magic.
A week passed.
During that time, Leon skimmed through the Basic Mana Theory while focusing on understanding his situation.
The place where Leon had woken up was an orphanage.
In the modestly run orphanage with a kind-hearted director, six children, including Leon, lived there.
Leon was younger than he had thought.
He realized he was twelve years old when a child at the orphanage, also twelve, regarded him as a friend.
“...?”
A girl with a puzzled expression appeared on her face as Leon stared at her intently.
She was Leon’s friend.
It was unbelievable every time he saw her.
Originally, his age was twenty-six.
But this, too, was something he needed to adapt to....
“Sigh....”
“...?”
The girl sitting next to Leon became even more curious.
Her head tilted, and her short gray hair swayed.
“Leah.”
“Huh?”
“Should we go in?”
“...Okay.”
Seeing her nod, Leon turned his body.
He felt a bit lost for a moment, but Leah was the most comfortable person for him.
The other kids were too noisy, and their baseline mood was so high that it was hard for him to adjust.
After exchanging a few words, he felt drained.
On the other hand, Leah was calm and quiet, making it easier for him to interact with her.
It was convenient to ask her about various things as if he didn't know.
Perhaps because Leah saw Leon as her only friend, she didn’t push him away.
So these days, they took brief walks like this before going to sleep.
After returning to his room, Leon waited until the other children sharing the room were asleep, then brought up the assistant.
▶ Elemental Affinity
▶ Artifact
▶ Elixir
▶ Magic BookOver the past week, Leon had made up his mind.
As he thoroughly read the Basic Mana Theory, he grasped general information about magic in this world.
What’s most important in learning magic can be summed up in one word: “Talent.”
Mana Quality and Elemental Affinity.
These two were most important in becoming a magician, with elemental affinity being the most crucial.
Elemental affinity was a very important talent for awakening mana and quickly elevating one's realm.
The single elemental affinity Leon currently possessed was the talent of an ordinary person.
It was said that everyone has an affinity for one element.
Leon had the talent of anyone.
The theory book repeatedly emphasized that it was nearly impossible to awaken mana independently with such ordinary talent.
After much thought, Leon decided to choose elemental affinity as his first reward.
Though he didn’t know what quests would come out.
Leon clicked on elemental affinity.
Then the quest window changed anew.
▶ Study the Basic Mana Theory (0/10)
▶ Elemental Affinity (Change)Study the Basic Mana Theory?
Can I change the reward whenever I want?
Several questions arose.
The number next to study also caught his attention.
Unable to contain his curiosity, Leon secretly lit a candle and read the Basic Mana Theory.
Honestly, he had skimmed through it once, but the content wasn’t fully ingrained in his mind.
The amount was too vast for that.
It was difficult and voluminous.
But it was also fascinating.
Who would have thought that Leon would have the opportunity to seriously learn such magic?
Despite it being content he had already seen once, he read the book for an hour without losing focus.
When the candle burned out, Leon put down the book and opened the quest window.
▶ Study the Basic Mana Theory (1/10)So, it was a matter of time.
“Um... Leon, what are you doing awake?”
A boy who had been sleeping first rubbed his eyes and asked Leon.
Leon was startled and extinguished the light.
“It’s nothing.”
Leon hid the book under his pillow and closed his eyes.
His heart was pounding with anticipation.
Leon recalled the days before he was transported when he lived as Park Hyun-soo, a twenty-six-year-old.
Back then, he was a glutton for growth stories, devouring them down to the last grain, but there was one stumbling block.
When the protagonist of a growth story was not growing and was getting distracted by unnecessary things, he would frown internally.
“It’s not the time for this, is it? You’re at a point where just breathing makes you stronger, and you’re wasting time? Shouldn’t you be locked in your room, growing focused with utmost dedication?”
He didn’t write such comments, but he felt disgruntled inside.
What that means is that Leon now lacked the time to focus on growth.
Hiding the fact that he was learning magic in the orphanage, where group activities took up most of the time, made it too difficult to have pure learning time.
In two days, he still hadn’t even completed five hours.
He was only able to study for two hours a day.
Moreover, simply opening the book and reading the words carelessly to fill time did not count towards the quest.
“I should leave.”
That was Leon’s conclusion.
It wasn’t that he was being treated unfairly or anything; the orphanage was a good place that provided enough food on time, though not in abundance.
However, it didn’t align with his goals.
“I should hide away somewhere quiet and live in seclusion.”
To be honest, after seeing the quest window, Leon became obsessed.
His mind was entirely filled with the thought of completing quest time.
That night, he immediately put his plan into action.
Leon waited until all the children had fallen asleep, then packed a few clothes.
He tiptoed carefully, so the light-sleeping kids wouldn’t notice, and very cautiously left the room.
He made his way down the corridor, relying on the moonlight streaming through the windows, and finally breathed a deep sigh only after stepping outside.
“Goodbye, everyone. Thank you.”
After finishing his farewell to himself, Leon turned around.
“Where are you going?”
“Gasp.”
Leon’s heart skipped a beat at the voice he heard from beside him.
When he hurriedly turned his head, he saw Leah.
Her yellow eyes were quietly shining under the moonlight.