← 낙제생, 마법학교 수석을 노리다# The Occupational Assignment Office
The Occupational Assignment Office was on the 12th floor of the academy's central tower. The entire city could be seen through the windows, and the sky was gray. It was always gray. Lin decided not to judge whether that was normal or abnormal.
One hundred fifty new students stood in line in the hallway. Arranged by magical power ranking. 0.3% Lin was at the very back.
"Next!"
A voice rang out from inside the assignment office. A woman's voice. Old but sharp.
The new students entered one by one. They emerged between two and five minutes after entering. Each holding a badge. A shining badge. Indicating their occupation.
"Warrior."
"Architect."
"Healer."
"Mage."
"Alchemist."
The voices came from the assignment office. And the new students emerged. Holding their badges. Always the same way.
Lin moved slowly forward in line.
Kyle had received his assignment thirty minutes ago. "Artificer." An occupation that combined machinery and magical power. It was quite rare. Kyle's face had brightened when he received his badge. Lin had seen it from the side. At that moment when Kyle held up his badge, the room's lighting had flickered once.
Had the assignment office's magical power sensor reacted to Kyle's joy? Or was it simply coincidence?
Lin decided not to calculate the probability. She was already calculating too many things.
"Number 145!"
That was Lin.
Only a few new students remained in the hallway. Mostly students with low magical power. 0.5% or less. Their faces already bore the mark of resignation. The occupational assignment was essentially determined by magical power.
Low magical power → Low occupational rank. This was the rule.
Lin opened the door to the assignment office and entered.
---
The interior of the assignment office was simpler than expected.
A single desk. Behind it sat a woman who looked like a grandmother. Her face was deeply lined. A magical power pulse meter sat on the desk. The size of a palm. Black. Nothing on its surface.
"Place your hand."
The grandmother spoke. She didn't even look up.
Lin placed her hand on the pulse meter.
The machine made a sound. A very small sound. Ping. And letters appeared on its surface.
[Magical Power 0.3% Confirmed]
The grandmother's eyes lifted.
"That's strange."
"What is?"
"The machine trembled. Very slightly. It shouldn't react to something like 0.3%."
The grandmother's finger tapped the pulse meter.
"Is it broken?"
"No."
Lin spoke firmly.
The grandmother looked at Lin again. This time her eyes were different. A different kind of interest than Professor Moran's. More practical interest. Like when you open an old book and discover an unexpected passage.
"The occupational assignment procedure has three stages. First, magical power measurement. Second, talent examination. Third, final confirmation."
The grandmother spoke.
"You were caught at the first stage. Your magical power is too low. Normally, 'Laborer' is assigned right here. And that's it. Next person."
The grandmother pointed at the door with her finger.
"But the machine reacted. It even trembled. That's a first. In my thirty years of experience."
The grandmother stood up. She was short, but her movements were sharp. She walked toward Lin. She raised her hand to observe Lin's face. As if appraising a jewel.
"Your eyes are strange."
"I hear that often."
"Eyes that consume light. Good. Then let's proceed to the talent examination."
The grandmother opened a safe beside the desk. What came out of the safe was a book. A black book. Nothing was written on its cover.
The grandmother placed the book in front of Lin.
"Look at this book. What do you see?"
Lin looked at the book.
When she opened the pages, letters appeared. But they were not Korean, English, or any language. They were symbols. Patterns. Emblems.
The moment she saw them, Lin's body temperature rose. Her left arm grew hot. Her chest grew hot.
Lin breathed. Slowly. And she read.
"Record. Preserve. Testify. And transform."
The grandmother's eyes widened.
"Accurate. Perfect."
The grandmother closed the book.
"This book is for occupational examination. Only people suited for each occupation can read the meaning of that page. You read the page for 'Recorder.'"
Lin's heart stopped.
"Recorder?"
"Yes. It's a quite rare occupation. Even people with high magical power don't get assigned this job. Because this isn't work done with magical power."
The grandmother returned to the desk. And raised her hand. A badge appeared in that hand. Different from the other badges. The badges of other occupations all reflected light.
This badge absorbed light.
It was black, and on it was drawn a symbol of an outstretched hand. Extended fingers. Drawn with very simple lines. But within it were countless tiny dots.
Like stars.
"The Recorder is one of the oldest occupations in the academy. Many professors don't even know about it. Because this occupation doesn't fight with magical power. Instead, it observes. Reads. Remembers. And records."
The grandmother handed the badge to Lin.
"You must see everything. Everything in this academy. And you must record it. Someday, someone will read it."
Lin held the badge in her hand.
The badge was warm. Similar to her own body temperature. As if it had belonged to her since long ago.
"There's one more thing I should tell you."
The grandmother spoke.
"The Recorder is alone. Always. And that will become your strength."
Lin looked at the badge.
Something moved within it. Small dots. Like stars. Like a universe.
"Go. And remember. You are the one who sees. The one who records. That is who you are."
When Lin left the assignment office, all the remaining new students in the hallway had disappeared.
Only Kyle remained, leaning against the wall.
"That took a while."
Kyle spoke. His eyes looked at Lin's badge.
And at that moment, Kyle's face changed. A subtle fear. And something deeper.
"What... is that?"
Lin held up the badge. Black. An outstretched hand. Countless stars within it.
"My occupation."
"What's the occupation called?"
"Recorder."
Kyle took a step back.
"Recorder... I've never heard of it."
"Neither have I."
Lin spoke.
And she hung the badge around her neck. The moment the badge touched her skin, Lin's body temperature returned to normal. The heat in her left arm disappeared. Instead, something awakened deep in her chest.
Something old.
Something very old.
"Lin."
Kyle spoke.
"What... are you really?"
Lin looked at Kyle.
At that moment, the badge shone once. It was black, but it clearly shone from within.
"I don't know yet."
Lin spoke.
"But I think I'll find out soon."
All the fluorescent lights in the hallway flickered.
And when they came back on, the shadows of the two new students were different from before.
Something was moving within the shadows.
# The Job Assignment Office
At the entrance to the Job Assignment Office, Sara Valen was already waiting.
To be precise, she was trying to look like she was waiting. But Lin noticed Sara's left hand repeatedly unfolding and folding the pleats of her skirt. Even within the perfect bearing of a noble family, her anticipation could not be hidden.
"Lin."
Sara raised her voice. It was closer to a declaration than a greeting. Like a confirmation of existence.
"Did you get assigned?"
Lin held up her badge.
Sara's eyes narrowed. Black. Stars within it. Extended fingers. She didn't know exactly what shape the job badge was, but she immediately sensed that something was different.
"A Recorder?"
"Yeah."
"I've never heard of it."
There was certainty in Sara's voice rather than doubt. The certainty of one with 99% magical power. The conviction that everything in the world should fall within the scope of her learning.
"Neither have I."
Lin answered.
Sara observed Lin's face for two seconds. During that time, her brain had likely already formed several hypotheses. Was it a rare occupation? Did it actually exist? Or was it a measurement error? A mistake by the assignment officer?
But the door to the Job Assignment Office opened.
"Valen, Sara."
The grandmother's voice rang out.
Sara looked at Lin once more before entering the Job Assignment Office. Lin and Kyle followed behind her.
---
The interior of the Job Assignment Office was still cold. The machine was still a machine, and the bookshelf was still a bookshelf. But something was flowing across the grandmother assignment officer's face.
Her eyes looking at Sara were different.
Respect. And a hint of regret.
"Your hand."
The grandmother said.
Sara placed her hand on the machine without hesitation. Her body movements were clean. There were no wasted motions. This was the body of 99%. A physique optimized down to each nerve.
The machine chimed.
[Magical Power Measurement: 99.8%]
[Verification in progress...]
[Job Determined: Mage]
The moment the selection voice rang out, the entire Job Assignment Office responded.
The fluorescent lights flickered blue.
The books on the shelves vibrated slightly.
At the far right end of the bookshelf. The book from the spot where Lin had read "Recorder" rose up once and then settled back down.
Sara didn't see it.
She was focused on receiving her badge.
It was a gold badge. Really gold. Gold that shone like pure gold. Within it was engraved a flame. A roaring, blazing flame. And at its center was a single eye. A vertically elongated eye.
Sara lifted the badge.
In that moment, the entire Job Assignment Office warmed.
No, it didn't warm—it became hot.
Kyle took a step back. Lin sensed the temperature but didn't move. It was different from the heat that had flowed from her left arm. This originated from outside. From Sara's badge.
"A Mage."
The grandmother said.
"99.8%. A very excellent measurement. You are qualified to receive specialized job training."
A smile appeared on Sara's face.
It was not a smile of joy. It was a smile of confirmation. Confirmation that things were as expected.
"It's different from the Recorder."
Sara said.
While looking at Lin.
"Yeah."
Lin answered.
"Magic requires magical power."
"A Recorder requires observation."
Sara let out a laugh. And it was a genuine laugh. The kind of laugh when discovering something interesting.
"Observation. That's intriguing."
Sara hung the badge around her neck.
As the badge touched her skin, her eyes changed. Her pupils contracted slightly. Then expanded. Like the aperture of a camera moving.
"Wow."
Sara whispered.
"If this is what a Mage can do..."
"It's enough."
The grandmother's voice came. But her eyes were already looking at Lin.
"What are you feeling right now?"
The grandmother asked Lin.
"I'm not sure."
Lin answered.
"It's my first time."
"I thought so."
The grandmother nodded.
"A Recorder, Lin. It doesn't simply mean to see. It doesn't mean to remember either. You 'understand.' You immediately understand what you see, and you record it."
Lin looked at the grandmother.
"Record what?"
"Everything."
The grandmother said.
"Everything that happens in this academy. Magic, swordsmanship, the appearance of hunters, changes in the system. You must see it all, understand it, and remember it."
"Why?"
"Because the world is about to change."
The grandmother's voice grew lower.
Sara lifted her head. She heard it too. Those words.
"What do you mean?"
Lin asked.
"It's okay if you don't know yet. You'll find out soon enough."
The grandmother walked toward the bookshelf. And she reached her hand toward the highest shelf of the Job Assignment Office. Lin and Sara's eyes followed.
There was no book where the grandmother's hand reached.
Instead, there was something else. Gray. As if dust had accumulated for hundreds of years. What it was exactly couldn't be determined from the distance.
"Soon."
The grandmother murmured.
"Soon everything will begin."
The fluorescent light in the Job Assignment Office flickered once.
And when it came back on, the grandmother's shadow was three.
No.
It was four.
The fourth shadow was moving.