Chapter 7
Chapter 7
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: Second Mission
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“You look kind of familiar somehow.”
The person waiting for me when I arrived was Kang Jiwon.
I'd meant it as a friendly comment, but it didn't seem to land that way with her.
A crack appeared in her expressionless face, her lips twitching faintly.
She quickly smoothed it over, but there was a slight edge to her voice.
“...I've been assigned as Han Yujin's handler. Since we'll be seeing a lot of each other from now on, allow me to introduce myself properly. I'm Kang Jiwon, team leader of the Hunter Association's Management Department.”
It might not have been good news for Kang Jiwon, but it sure was for me.
From here on out, I could just contact her whenever I had business with them.
She stared at me steadily for a moment before sighing in resignation and getting down to business.
“As you might have guessed, we called you here, Han Yujin, to ask for your help with a mission. But it wouldn't be right to keep assigning back-to-back tasks to a hunter we haven't even formally contracted with. If it's too much, feel free to decline—no hard feelings.”
It was more like I wanted to drop to my knees and beg them to let me take it.
But things were different from last time. This was a request from the Association, delivered with humility.
No need for me to grovel.
I masked my inner thoughts and spoke calmly.
“I'd like to hear a rough outline of the mission before deciding.”
Kang Jiwon nodded.
“You're right—we need to show some consideration since we're asking so much of you. Fair enough. We have three proposals. Pick whichever one appeals to you.”
Three options?
I was a little thrown, but she ignored it and pulled a sheet from the folder in her lap, placing it on the table.
“The first is a request from the Intelligence Department. There's been an anomaly in one of the gates the Association is monitoring. They're investigating in cooperation with the Magic Tower since they can't handle it internally, and they specifically named you, Hunter Han Yujin.”
The Magic Tower—one of the Four Great Guilds.
Founded by the S-rank hunter known as the Witch, its biggest difference from the others was that nearly all its members were mages.
Unlike other guilds that relied on gate clears for income, the Magic Tower operated like a mercenary outfit, renting out its mages.
Money was just a means to an end; their true goal was researching and developing magic.
They were utterly unlike any other guild, which was why they called themselves what they did.
The Magic Tower.
'Why would they want me?'
To the world at large, I was just your average E-rank mental ability user. Nothing special.
I gave Kang Jiwon a suspicious look, and she answered crisply.
“No need to worry about leaks. Your name wasn't mentioned even once in the last interrogation report. The Magic Tower simply speculated that your abilities might help with investigating the gate anomaly.”
“What kind of anomaly would make them seek out my abilities specifically?”
Kang Jiwon hesitated for a moment before speaking slowly.
“It was a C-rank gate where progress halted due to fog that continuously affected the mind. When reports came in that the fog had cleared, the investigation revealed someone had entered undetected by the monitoring hunters and cleared it.”
“...”
“Whoever it was didn't even break the gate core to avoid detection. Their actions were so meticulous that the Association suspects a wanted criminal. They're hoping you'll assist with reconnaissance or interrogation to uncover even a small clue.”
Sweat beaded on my skin.
I answered carefully, praying my voice wouldn't shake.
“...Let's skip that one for now. I'd like to hear the next proposal.”
Fortunately, she didn't seem suspicious.
Kang Jiwon retrieved the paper and pulled out a new one from her folder.
“This one's from my department, Management. We're transporting some important cargo soon. It's a delicate matter requiring utmost caution, so we'd like you to use your abilities for camouflage.”
A request to cast an illusion on an object to make it appear different.
Her firm demeanor suggested she wouldn't reveal what the object was.
Unlike the first proposal, the task here was straightforward.
So I could decide without much thought.
“Impossible.”
To maintain the camouflage, I'd have to stay nearby and keep channeling my ability.
Would they accept me hovering next to the item the whole time when they wouldn't even tell me what it was?
Beyond that, I flat-out lacked the mana.
Using my ability on objects or spaces rather than people required constant mana drain to sustain.
A lesson learned from fooling the hunter's eyes with perception hindrance before.
Even ideally, maintaining an illusion nonstop would last about an hour at best.
My firm refusal didn't faze her at all.
As if assigning me the mission hadn't been the real goal to begin with.
Was she testing me? Trying to gauge my abilities?
It felt that way, but I wasn't particularly offended.
I barely understood my own powers myself.
Kang Jiwon pulled out another sheet. The mood grew heavier.
This one was the real deal.
“A request from the Inspection Department. Last month, a hunter on Association duty vanished suddenly. The search found him in critical condition, and we managed to rescue him. He regained consciousness a few days ago, but...”
Kim Sangjin, C-rank hunter.
At the top of the page was a photo of a sharp-eyed man.
My expression hardened at the next image.
It was the same man, but so haggard and his eyes so utterly vacant that he was unrecognizable.
“He's in a vegetative state bordering on brain death. The doctor says his faint awareness could vanish at any moment.”
Silence fell for a moment.
“We've investigated every angle, narrowing down suspects, but no further progress. We lack decisive evidence to confirm the culprit.”
Kang Jiwon looked at me earnestly.
“Some Inspection Department staff were impressed by your last interrogation and recommended you. They think your abilities might reveal something.”
“This is nothing like the previous interrogation. Even as a mental ability user, reading memories isn't the same as illusion.”
This wasn't a job for me.
I wasn't a psychometrist, and the Association knew it.
Kang Jiwon gave a wry smile.
“Truth is, we're out of options. The Inspection Department made the request grasping at straws before Kim Sangjin loses consciousness entirely. If it's unreasonable, I apologize on their behalf.”
I stopped her as she bowed her head and tried to take the paper away.
I wasn't certain.
But it was worth a shot.
After a pause, I spoke.
“Promise there'll be no penalties if I fail, and I'll take it.”
*
Once the mission was set, things moved fast.
We didn't know when Kim Sangjin's consciousness might fade.
No time to waste.
Kang Jiwon made a quick call, then led me outside to a waiting car. We arrived at the hospital soon after, filled out the paperwork at reception, and headed upstairs.
Room 305, ICU.
The spacious single room held two men.
Kim Sangjin lay in bed, hooked up to a web of machines.
And sitting before him, looking exhausted, was another man.
He noticed us late and stood.
“I'm Oh Junhyeok from Inspection.”
Dark circles under his eyes, wrinkled suit.
He looked like he hadn't left the room in ages.
“I didn't think you'd really take it. Thank you. Truly...”
“Honestly, there's a high chance I'll learn nothing. I'll try since you asked, but if you build up hope, you might end up disappointed.”
His gratitude was too intense.
I spoke coldly to dodge responsibility, but Oh Junhyeok didn't waver.
“We did everything we could and still came up empty. We couldn't figure out which bastard did this to Sangjin.”
Oh Junhyeok gripped my hand, his eyes resolute.
“So this is enough. Without you, Han Yujin, the case would've been closed. Just taking the mission is already a huge help.”
His grip tightened, conveying determination and resignation.
He released my hand and stepped aside.
Beyond him, on the bed, lay a man who didn't so much as twitch.
He looked like a corpse.
Only the intermittent beeps from the monitors signaled that Kim Sangjin was alive.
I glanced at him, then asked Kang Jiwon behind me.
“How much time do we have in here?”
“Thirty minutes. But if you need more, I can request an extension from above, so don't worry.”
Plenty.
If I couldn't produce results in thirty minutes, it meant it was impossible.
Han Yujin reached out with his left hand and grasped Kim Sangjin's.
The first sensation was chillingly cold skin.
But beyond the point of contact, there was more.
Han Yujin closed his eyes.
A few days ago, he would've refused this as impossible. What had changed to make him accept?
The ring on his left ring finger gleamed.
Focusing his mind, he sensed thoughts that weren't his own.
Faint emotions and musings on the verge of fading.
Fragments of life, dim but undeniably there.
The ring could enhance illusions, but he'd never tested it in practice.
He'd planned to experiment gradually to learn its range and mechanics.
This seemed like a perfect first trial.
Kang Jiwon had promised no repercussions for failure.
And Kim Sangjin was a safe subject—comatose and on death's door.
Harsh as it was, there'd be no fallout.
His shallow breaths whispered in the quiet room.
'I was too complacent.'
He had to admit it. He'd underestimated the situation.
Han Yujin wasn't so selfish as to treat this like an experiment with desperate people watching.
He scrapped his plan for cautious testing.
Success was the only option. A gamble, yes, but the sole path forward.
Mana flowed from Han Yujin's body.
Unrestricted, it enveloped Kim Sangjin under his control, rousing the man's faint mind.
Then came the keyword: Recent Memory.
A pseudo-simulation projecting his brain's interpretation of the keyword—an illusion unique to Han Yujin, who had interrogated humans and slain thoughtforms.
The only way to use it on intelligent targets.
But it wouldn't work here.
The mana stimulated Kim Sangjin's brain, but before it could respond, Han Yujin forced it to halt.
This time, he sought a specific illusion.
His brain couldn't decide it arbitrarily.
He took control himself.
Focusing on the ring connected him to Kim Sangjin's mind. Countless scenes flashed by.
His daughter's face, his wife's kiss before leaving, a flower on a utility pole, a neighbor's greeting, a dog on a walk, a car, a friend's call, a new mission, the smell of fresh bread, music echoing in his ears, and, and, and?
“Urgh...”
Absorbing the influx of information, selecting one fragment to project.
Taking over his brain's role meant enduring splitting-headache agony.
Time was short.
Mental strain aside, he was pouring out mana.
It'd run dry in minutes at this rate.
But he found the scene he wanted.
“Your hand.”
“P-Pardon?”
Oh Junhyeok, staring blankly, asked again.
“Hand... hold...”
Han Yujin couldn't finish, but the meaning got across.
Oh Junhyeok seized his trembling right hand, and the view shifted.
“This is...”
The hospital room melted away in an instant.
The monitor beeps, Kim Sangjin's haggard form—gone. First came the metallic tang of blood.
A dim basement, cold seeping into the skin.
Before panic could set in, his head yanked back by the hair.
“Damn, nice ability. How'd you find this place?”
A tall man stood tall amid sprawled corpses, the only one upright.
A scarred, burned face leered down from above the gripped hair.
Then Oh Junhyeok's mouth moved on its own.
“What do you think you're doing!”
His friend's voice—thought lost forever.
The man didn't answer, just dragged him forward.
A massive magic circle etched in blood.
He hurled him into its center and stepped back.
“You're in luck. The baptism ritual's all set up. It's your chance to be chosen, so hang onto your sanity till the end.”
With that, the man drew a dagger across his palm.
Blood seeped into the circle as he began chanting.
— Gooooooo
The circle glowed.
In the wildly shaking world, cosmic whispers filled his ears, the sky cracking open—
— Crack!
Consciousness snapped back.
“...Any further, and it's dangerous even in illusion.”
Oh Junhyeok nearly collapsed from the sudden shift, then looked at him.
A weary, exhausted face.
Han Yujin had released Kim Sangjin's hand and sat in a chair.
“Better to show you directly. Did you recognize it?”
Recalling the vision, Oh Junhyeok's face twisted.
He spat it out like bile.
“Demon Worshippers. Those bastards.”