You're a Psycho, Aren't You?
You're a Psycho, Aren't You?
Silence filled the reception area.
Gray inwardly nodded. As expected. No matter where he went, the stares toward an Iron rank were always the same.
Adventurers, when you thought about it, were little more than outlaws who rummaged through dungeons, slaughtered monsters, and wandered around.
The identification tag was at least proof that he operated under the guild's regulations, but Iron rank, while not the lowest, was hardly a high rank.
He was used to these looks.
The surprising part, though, was Suyeon.
The woman who had personally seen an orc's head fly off in the dungeon earlier was now staring at the identification tag and Gray's face in turn, her eyes wide.
It wasn't so much surprise as a face of incomprehension.
It seemed she couldn't accept that someone clearly weaker than herself had displayed such skill.
Well, it didn't matter. He'd shown his ability, so time would solve it.
He stood there nonchalantly, arms crossed.
The receptionist picked up the metal plate.
She turned it over. Looked at the imperial crest on the front. Looked at the engraving on the back. Turned it over again. Held it up to the light.
Then she looked up.
"......What is this?"
Gray's confidence cracked.
"Pardon?"
"I asked you to present a Hunter's License. This isn't a card, and there's no chip......"
The receptionist tapped the metal plate with her finger.
Tok tok.
Unreadable characters, incomprehensible script. To her, this was just an old piece of metal.
"Is it perhaps a cosplay prop?"
Cosplay. He couldn't grasp the meaning of the word, but the tone was clear.
Are you messing with me?
Beside him, Suyeon's mouth opened and closed. She looked at Gray. Looked at the identification tag.
Looked at Gray again. Her lips twitched a few times, and finally burst out.
"......Gray-ssi, do you perhaps not have a Hunter's License?"
Gray didn't answer.
He couldn't answer.
'I see... it seems this place is not the Adventurer Guild after all. ...No way... is this truly an entirely different world?'
The receptionist's throat-clearing broke the silence.
A light but deliberate sound.
The cough of someone accustomed to shifting the atmosphere.
"Han Soo-yeon-ssi."
The receptionist pushed up her glasses as she spoke.
Her voice had dropped a tone.
"You said you met him inside the Gate, correct?"
"......Yes."
"If he is an Awakened but unregistered with the Association."
The receptionist's gaze turned to Gray.
Her expression remained impassive, but the light in her eyes had changed.
Not a businesslike confirmation, but eyes of caution.
The color drained from Suyeon's face.
A word that rose in her mind slipped through her lips.
"......A villain?"
The receptionist neither confirmed nor denied it. But her finger on the glowing panel was calling up a different screen.
Villain. An Awakened who had not registered with the Association. A lawbreaker under the Special Act on Hunters of the Republic of Korea.
A being with supernatural abilities who existed outside the state's management system.
Regardless of whether they were abused or not, being unregistered was itself illegal.
However, there was no hostility in the receptionist's attitude.
A certain ease was apparent in her fingertips, as if this wasn't the first time she was handling such a case.
"If there's no history of abusing supernatural abilities, and you have the intention to voluntarily register, it shouldn't be a major problem procedurally."
The receptionist spoke calmly, pulling out documents.
"Let me help you with a simple registration process first. Ah, you can put away that prop."
Prop.
Gray picked up the identification tag.
The crest of the Imperial Adventurer Guild glowed coldly in his palm.
In this world, this was just an old piece of metal. A mere metal plate that held no meaning.
Without a word, he slid it back inside the inner pocket of his gaiters.
The receptionist left her seat.
When she returned shortly after, she was holding a round crystal ball.
About the size of two fists. Resting on a stand, it held a faint milky white light within.
Suyeon's eyes widened. She seemed to recognize the object.
Her gaze shifted nervously between the crystal ball and Gray.
And Gray felt it.
Slight. For the first time since arriving in this world, he sensed it. Intentionally condensed mana.
Not the lingering residue in the outside air, but power inscribed into the grain with meaning by someone.
It was pulsing inside the crystal ball like an extremely fine thread.
'......A magic tool.'
The rank was low. The spell structure was simple.
But the very fact that such a magic tool was being maintained in this world, where mana was so barren, held significance.
While Gray observed the crystal ball, the atmosphere around them had subtly changed.
Two men in suits were now standing nearby. A distance that was both close and far.
They appeared to be looking at glowing panels or standing with arms crossed, but the direction of their toes was all pointed toward Gray.
Outwardly, their postures were perfectly natural. Smiles without humor. Relaxed stances.
But Gray couldn't read the tension beneath that relaxation.
Because he didn't feel a threat.
The people of this world had too little mana.
He felt no intimidation from the men in suits either.
But at the edge of his vision, he noticed Suyeon's face had slightly hardened.
"Please place your hand here."
The receptionist pushed the crystal ball toward Gray.
The mana inside the crystal ball pulsed faintly. An interrogation tool. A magic tool for determining the truth of information.
The structure was simple, but for that very reason, it had a clean finish with completeness in its function.
Gray reached out.
His palm touched the surface of the crystal ball. It was cold. And the mana inside reacted subtly.
It didn't seep beneath his skin; rather, it felt like it was reading Gray's existence from the surface.
A simple structure. Red light for falsehood, blue light for truth.
For a magic tool of this level, seeing through its structure wasn't that difficult.
The receptionist lifted a piece of paper. A printed list of questions.
With movements accustomed to bureaucratic procedures, she placed the tip of her pen at the first item.
"Please state your name."
"Gray."
The crystal ball calmly emitted a blue light.
The receptionist's pen moved.
"Please state your origin."
"I don't know anything other than that I was born in the Empire."
The pen stopped. The receptionist looked up. Beside him, Suyeon frowned. One of the men in suits tilted his head slightly.
The crystal ball was blue. Unwavering.
The receptionist licked her lips once and moved to the next item.
"......And your age?"
"28."
Suyeon turned her head. Her eyes scanned Gray's face.
A small, thin girl's face that, no matter how you looked at it, seemed hard to pass for over eighteen.
The receptionist seemed to think the same, her eyes behind the glasses filled with doubt.
The crystal ball was blue.
A deep, transparent blue, proving that no lie existed.
The receptionist's pen hovered over the paper.
As if unsure whether to write it down, the pen tip wavered in the air.
Suyeon looked from the crystal ball to Gray's face. Three times. Four times. Her mouth opened and closed.
The two men in suits looked at each other.
For the first time, genuine perplexity, not acting, crossed their faces.
Gray was unperturbed. It was the natural result since he hadn't told a lie.
He had lived for 28 years, was born in the Empire, and his name was Gray.
It's just that this current body wasn't that of a 28-year-old.
She hadn't asked about that.
The receptionist cleared her throat. This time, unlike before, it was a sincere cough.
She wrote '28' on the paper, then crossed it out, wrote it again, and crossed it out again.
"......I'll move on to the next question. When did you Awaken?"
"Awaken?"
Gray's eyebrow moved slightly.
Awaken... In context, it seemed to be asking when he awakened his supernatural ability.
Supernatural ability. Were they referring to special talent?
By talent, did they mean the precious treasure that heroes or those comparable to them are born with? Such things...
There was none.
He had never had any from birth.
Mana sensitivity was below average. Swordsmanship talent was also mediocre.
His magical aptitude was so abysmal that it took him three years just to learn basic magic.
No teacher in the Empire had ever told Gray that he had talent.
He simply hadn't died.
Without talent, he had merely endured the harsh cold of life through effort, tenacity, and luck.
"I have no supernatural ability."
The receptionist's pen stopped again. Suyeon turned her head. One of the men in suits uncrossed his arms.
The crystal ball was blue.
A deep, transparent, unwavering blue.
The receptionist took off her glasses and wiped the lenses. Put them back on. Looked at the crystal ball. It was still blue.
She wrote 'None' on the paper. Her handwriting was slightly shaky.
"......Are you saying you have no supernatural ability at all?"
"That's what I said."
"But I heard you killed a monster inside the Gate."
"Even withou.. without supernatural ability, it was an enemy I could kill with technique."
Crystal ball. Blue.
The receptionist breathed in. Breathed out. Moved to the next item.
A resignation that digging further would yield the same answer was evident in her fingertips.
"Have you ever committed any illegal acts using supernatural abilities?"
Gray searched his memory. Imperial law. Adventurer Guild regulations. City restrictions on weapon carrying.
Prohibition of private combat outside requests. Prohibition of illegal trade in monster materials. He recalled each one.
He had walked the razor's edge a few times, but never clearly crossed the line.
"No."
The crystal ball emitted the same light for the third time.
Blue.
The receptionist put down her pen. Her eyes behind the glasses looked down at the paper.
Name: Gray
Origin: Empire (??)
Age: 28
Supernatural Ability: None
Illegal Acts: None
All true.
And all made no sense.
The two men in suits exchanged glances again.
This time, beyond perplexity, there was caution mixed in.
A human who killed monsters inside a Gate without supernatural ability. A truth guaranteed by the crystal ball.
Yet a person who existed in no records.
Suyeon stared only at the crystal ball, her mouth tightly shut.
The blue light faintly reflected on her pupils.
The receptionist turned the paper over. The back was blank. After hesitating for a moment, the receptionist picked up the pen again.
She organized the paper, and checked the crystal ball's light one more time.
Still blue.
As if swallowing a sigh, she pressed her lips together, then raised the corners of her mouth. A businesslike smile.
"Congratulations."
Gray blinked.
"Since the identity verification process is complete, we will issue your Hunter's License shortly."
The two men in suits quietly withdrew.
Without a sound. Melting into the crowd as naturally as they had come.
The tension visibly drained from Suyeon's shoulders.
The receptionist pulled out one sheet of paper and wrote something on it. Neatly. In tidy handwriting.
"You may be mentally fatigued from inside the Gate."
Her voice softened. A tone that seemed considerate, yet didn't permit refusal.
"Just one final simple procedure, if you would please."
She pushed the paper toward Suyeon.
"Han Soo-yeon-ssi, would you please take this person here? I'll proceed with the issuance process while they undergo their examination."
Suyeon took the paper. Her eyes dropped. She read the written characters.
Her hand stopped.
Seoul Central Mental Health Clinic.
Suyeon looked up at the receptionist.
The receptionist was already rising from her seat.
Still smiling, she gave a slight nod, and disappeared into the back office with an armful of documents.
Suyeon's mouth opened. Closed. Looked at the paper again. Closed again.
Gray asked from beside her.
"What does it say?"
"......Nothing at aaaaall?"
Suyeon's voice had risen an octave.
.
.
.
Inside the office. The receptionist sat in her chair and removed her glasses.
She pressed her temples. Closed her eyes.
Origin: Empire. Age: 28. Supernatural ability: None. Killed monsters inside Gate. All crystal ball responses: TRUE.
'Why is it that whenever I work, all sorts of weirdos show up...'
But in her mind, a different calculation was already running.
Increasing Gates. The rising number of non-returnees every month. Hunters retiring due to dissatisfaction with treatment.
New registrations were declining, demand was exploding. Just last month, three Gates had been left unattended at the Seoul branch alone.
They were short on manpower.
One mental patient.
One mental patient who claimed to have no supernatural ability yet had killed a C-class Gate's boss.
Registering them as a Hunter shouldn't be a problem.
The receptionist put her glasses back on and pulled out the issuance documents.