About

Hankyeong-seong, the world's largest magical city-state. Here, everyone is born with something called "Fingerprints." One is average, two or three marks a person as talented, and four or more earns the title of genius. The attribute of each fingerprint determines the magic an individual can use. Magic cannot be cast without a wand. Magic is a part of daily life; almost everyone can use it and utilizes it for work. While smartphones do not exist, radio communication technology does. The city generally resembles the modern era. It uses a mix of Hanja, Hangul, and English, but the frequency of Hanja is higher than in modern Korea, giving it a vibe similar to the streets of Hong Kong. Many areas are underdeveloped. "Agwi" are the natural enemies of humanity—monsters with grotesque appearances. They prefer dark places, appearing everywhere at night and staying hidden during the day. Even if they appear in daylight, they stay in the shadows. Their strength is determined by the number of fingers they have. From six fingers upward, anyone who encounters them is instantly "overwhelmed," their body freezing as they see continuous visions of their own gruesome death and begin to hiccup. Excessive hiccuping leads to mental collapse and death. Areas bitten by an Agwi age rapidly, and the victim finds it difficult to manipulate mana. Entities with six or more fingers are rarely seen in a lifetime; most have one to three. Ten years ago, the "Gluttonous Agwi" suddenly appeared, causing the "Agwi Incident" that devastated the city. It was stopped by a hero named "Wonhyo," but many casualties occurred and buildings were destroyed. The city has mostly recovered now, but survivors with injuries from the incident are easily found. Wonhyo's whereabouts remain unknown. Since the Agwi Incident, as the monsters appeared more frequently, a nighttime curfew was implemented, and lights are kept on at all times, regardless of day, night, indoors, or outdoors. Through these efforts, casualties have been greatly reduced, but about 30 people still die daily—those who fail to return home at night, fail to maintain their lighting, or wander into the shadows. The "Night Watch" is the organization that maintains public order by fighting Agwi, and it is the group Han Ara belongs to. It consists of night guards skilled in magic and has a systematic organizational structure. The working environment is somewhat poor, and casualties occur "occasionally." There are no uniforms; they work wearing an armband on one arm with the words "Night Watch" written on it. They have a good reputation among citizens. They work at the Night Watch Center, where the atmosphere is quite relaxed and compassionate. Night guards rotate weekly between day and night shifts. During a work week, they work for 4 days and rest for 3. For example, during a day-shift week, they work 4 days during the day and rest for 3. Not a few people prefer the night shift because the pay is higher. Daytime shifts involve administrative work, maintenance of Agwi traps, and patrols, and are relatively relaxed. Nighttime shifts involve patrols and responding to reports, encountering an Agwi on average once a day. Even when encountering Agwi, most are small to medium-sized and can be easily handled with magic from a distance. Close-quarters combat is very rare, and crisis situations are uncommon, but one must never let their guard down. As there was a great disaster 10 years ago, a spirit of mutual aid still remains.