Chapter 46
Chapter 46
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 46
Chapter Title: Immigration Foreigner Management Office [Tangled Identity]
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A second-circle spell that steals someone else's face. It can only be used while wearing something like leather skin as a medium to channel the magic, but I'm already wearing a mask anyway.
Vwoong-.
The moment I heard the air around my face vibrating, the bizarre shape of the Carcosa mask began to twist, and another face formed over it.
Creating the face was fine and all, but the person I needed to fool was right there in front of me, staring. In this brief window, I had to erase any sense of wrongness completely.
[Fuzzy Presence]
[Gentle Whisper]
I layered on more spells in quick succession. I deliberately blurred the personality of the face even further, thinning out its presence, and added magical persuasiveness and forced friendliness to my voice.
"Why the long face?"
"Uh, well... that is..."
It was the expression of someone wondering why they'd thought I was suspicious in the first place.
Human perception is more fragile than you'd think. Even though they'd just seen a bizarre figure with four eyes on a mask, a little trickery and misdirection made them forget what they'd witnessed.
*That's why magicians can make a living.*
"No, nothing. Sorry about that."
The patrol officer still looked baffled as he scrutinized my face.
I'd added a three-dimensional illusion over the mask, but unless he touched my face directly, he wouldn't notice anything off.
I'd even artificially lowered my presence on purpose, so no matter how hard he stared, it would be tough to pick out any distinctive traits or features.
The officer showed faint embarrassment and a touch of confusion, as if he'd forgotten what he was supposed to be doing.
"Yes, well then..."
There was no point dragging this out. Better to get out of sight fast.
"What do you think you're doing? Aren't you going to check my ID?"
A sharp voice cut in suddenly from behind the officer.
"Didn't you hear me? I said check his ID."
At the same time, a popup message appeared.
[System: 'Enhanced Vigilance' trait activated.]
*Damn, it activates late, you bastard. If it'd popped up sooner, I would've bolted.*
"Ah, uh... Yes, sir!"
The officer snapped to attention, his face tense.
*What the hell?*
Peeking past the officer's shoulder toward the voice, I saw a few people approaching.
Two patrol officers and one woman in a suit.
*That woman...*
This was a headache. Her presence warped the space around her so heavily with dense mana that it felt like reality itself was distorting.
The regular cops didn't matter anymore.
It'd be nice if I could talk my way out, but the odds of that were slim.
My opponent was just as dangerous and unhinged.
"Look! These are dangerous and dark times! How can we protect our citizens' safety if you're this lax?"
A sharp-featured young woman yelling at Paju's notoriously aggressive cops.
She had a fierce look and voice that screamed bad temper at first glance.
She gave off the vibe of an organizational enforcer. And moreover...
*She's got a pistol inside that suit jacket. Knives at her wrists and waist? No, batons maybe? And a few more besides.*
Hard to pinpoint exactly what they were, but they sure as hell weren't ordinary weapons.
They exuded mana even denser than what came off her body itself. Even hidden under her clothes, I could make out their shapes.
*She's carrying five artifacts.*
All the detected weapons were A-rank or higher artifacts, with two at S-rank.
The woman's name—the one lording it over the Paju cops with her chin—was Yang Seoho.
Of all people, it had to be her...
I realized why the Enhanced Vigilance trait had activated so late.
She was a different breed of dangerous from your average foe. If you could squeeze into her definition of "our citizens," there weren't many public servants as reliable as her.
But if you fell outside her personal criteria for "our citizens," she was one of the most monstrous threats out there.
The trait kicking in late meant I'd just failed to meet Yang Seoho's "our citizens" standard.
*Still, there's room for talk.*
She flashed a fake smile my way and said,
"Come on, passerby? We'd appreciate your cooperation."
"Cooperation, huh?"
"Oh, I'm with the Immigration Foreigner Management Office. Your behavior and outfit are just... so suspicious."
She lowered her voice on the last part, but the tone was blatantly aggressive.
She gave a nod, and the cops behind her started closing in slowly.
"Ah, miss. Excuse us, but... mind if we do a quick inspection? We'd like to see your ID."
Yang Seoho smirked at the sight.
"Lately, there've been too many weird things happening in Paju. It's like stuff that shouldn't be in our country is cropping up again..."
Tuder had mentioned a few times that the Management Office was cracking down harder lately. That's why even short trips were in secure taxis.
Immigration Foreigner Management Office.
The name of the organization Yang Seoho belonged to—usually shortened to Immigration Office, Foreigner Management, or just Management Office.
Officially, they cracked down on illegal immigrants, but their real job was far more dangerous and secretive.
In this Korea plagued by Cthulhu mythos calamities, they were the state's sanctioned group of ability users.
They didn't hunt foreign illegals—they hunted alien entities slipping in from realms beyond the veil.
And Yang Seoho was the most belligerent, radical figure in that group.
*Look at her face starting to sour already.*
She'd caught on that I was stalling a bit, and the smile vanished from her face.
Yang Seoho rested a hand on her waist.
It looked like an arrogant pose meant to intimidate, but it was really her ready stance to draw the artifact hidden there.
One suspicious move, and she'd attack without warning.
*What can you do about it, though?*
Someone like Yang Seoho would've sensed that I had more mana than a regular person.
But that was it.
The mana she detected was only the amount I'd deliberately let leak.
To her eyes, I might look like a decent mage or ability user, but she had no clue about my full power.
*No need for pointless posturing.*
I calmly pulled out my ID and showed it to the officer.
He took out an old-school PSA—like a Personal Digital Assistant—and ran some checks, then leaned in to whisper to Yang Seoho.
"Hmm, I see."
The fake, polite public servant smile bloomed back on Yang Seoho's face.
Just moments ago, she'd looked like a killer ready to murder me at the slightest provocation...
"Oh dear, sorry about that. You're a citizen of our Republic of Korea, I see."
"..."
Her whole attitude grated, but it was just a passing storm.
Besides, picking a fight with her right now would do me no favors. I decided to grit my teeth and stay quiet.
"You know it's peak season for cracking down on illegals, right? If you spot anyone acting suspicious, give us a call."
She handed over a leaflet printed with emergency report numbers or whatever.
It had that tacky government-issued design and font.
Most of it was like old '70s spy identification guides, but sprinkled in were utterly bizarre warnings—stuff that only made sense in a world of surreal incidents.
[1. If a door suddenly appears in a blank wall, do NOT open it. Report to the Management Office immediately.
Do not touch the door or press your ear to it to listen for sounds from the other side.
2. If multiple people with no social or age connections offer you a better life, enhanced intelligence, immortality, life extension, or cures for incurable diseases, ignore them and report to the Management Office right away.
3. On rainy days, if someone without an umbrella or raincoat (usually women) offers to walk with you, do NOT respond. Making eye contact or facing them can be dangerous.
4. If someone long missing or presumed dead shows up unannounced and knocks...]
I couldn't hold back and blurted it out.
"Feels like stuff from those old urban legend collections..."
Yang Seoho brushed it off like it was nothing. No, she looked deadly serious.
"These days, the illegals are way more dangerous than that."
Couldn't say this to most people, but... this woman was pretty far gone herself.
"...I'll keep that in mind."
"Yes, I hope we don't run into each other in weird places again."
The words said one thing, but the tone screamed she'd kill me if we crossed paths anywhere shady.
She didn't even wait for my reply before adding,
"I didn't bring my full kit this time, but usually I carry a lot more gear."
Yang Seoho's gaze swept coldly and dryly over my face.
An obsessive, tenacious stare. Like her eyes were burning my features into her memory.
She'd apparently noticed I'd used some kind of magic, but couldn't figure out what, and it pissed her off.
*Yeah, memorize this face good.*
Even if she burned this bland, fuzzy face into her brain, I could just change it.
I turned away, checking my mana and focus consumption, along with other factors.
Not bad for an impromptu improvisation.
If it could fool someone like Yang Seoho, no non-mage would spot the illusion on my face.
*This means I can keep the disguise up during fights or other complicated stuff without issues.*
No need to show the fake face to people who already knew me by the mask, but I could ditch the habit of only moving around at night to avoid eyes.
It'd been almost two months since I'd gone out during daylight. For body and mind stability, seeing the sun now and then wouldn't hurt.
"Haa... but I don't have the confidence to wake up during the day."
Anyway, the tension easing up was making me hungry. I glanced at the fully darkened sky, then made up my mind. Handle Vasilisa first, then head home and grab something to eat.
I hopped back on my skateboard.
Just in case Yang Seoho tailed me, I avoided magic and pedaled demurely, deliberately taking slow routes through Geumchon-dong's tangled back alleys to burn time.
After rattling around in the dark for a solid twenty minutes and confirming no tail, I finally dispelled the magic on the mask.
Back to being Kim Shin-hwa, the distinctive masked figure—not some bland fake face.
"My attachment to this mask is getting stronger by the day... kinda worrying."
Wondering if there was a cure for Mask Obsession, I vaulted a few buildings and headed to the alley where Vasilisa was.
"Huh?"
Something felt off about Vasilisa's place.
Chunky mana was surging wildly inside. The flow suggested major chaos indoors. This wasn't normal.
[System: 'Enhanced Vigilance' trait activated.]