Chapter 21
Chapter 21
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: A Chance Encounter
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Go Deok-hyun.
He was a C-rank hunter.
No, he *had been*.
Now, he was just a Level 3 person of interest, monitored by the Hunter Association.
Why?
Because he was an ex-convict, only five days out of prison.
‘No one will hire me. I guess this is the only thing I can do.’
Go Deok-hyun shoved his hands deep into his pockets and scanned his surroundings.
The subway car was bustling with people, all of them potential targets for Go Deok-hyun.
‘The pickings are slim here. Should I try another station?’
After scanning everyone's attire, Go Deok-hyun began to move.
His main source of income was pickpocketing.
His skill, combined with his endlessly practiced sleight of hand and masterful control of his expression, allowed him to steal whenever and wherever he pleased.
‘Heh. With this skill, I can take something right from under their noses and they won't even notice.’
The skill Go Deok-hyun possessed was [Reduced Awareness].
It was a skill that lowered a person's cognitive ability in specific situations, making them unable to remember.
Go Deok-hyun had found the perfect application for this skill: pickpocketing.
‘That lady over there... she's carrying a very expensive bag.’
Go Deok-hyun had chosen his target.
His criteria were threefold.
A middle-aged woman carrying a designer handbag.
In his mind, the perfect target for a pickpocket.
*Step, step—.*
*Bump—.*
"Oh, I'm so sorry."
Go Deok-hyun apologized after naturally bumping into a middle-aged woman as he passed her.
It wasn't a hard collision, just enough to make them both stumble slightly.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Are you all right?"
the woman asked with a worried expression.
Go Deok-hyun was short and so thin his cheekbones protruded, naturally evoking sympathy.
And his physical appearance made it impossible to imagine he was a pickpocket.
"I'm fine."
Go Deok-hyun gave a gentle smile.
It wasn't an act; it was genuine.
Because the middle-aged woman's wallet was already in his pocket.
He then used his skill to blur her memory of his face and the wallet.
"Have a good day."
Go Deok-hyun walked away with a satisfied look on his face.
The woman's wallet was a high-end luxury brand.
Never mind the contents; selling the wallet alone as stolen goods would bring in a hefty sum.
But just then.
*Grab—.*
"Ma'am!"
A man grabbed Go Deok-hyun's arm and called out to the middle-aged woman.
"What the?"
Go Deok-hyun tried to shake off the man's—Do-jae's—arm.
But it wouldn't budge.
"Ma'am, is this your wallet?"
Do-jae pulled the wallet from Go Deok-hyun's pocket and waved it at the woman.
The middle-aged woman, startled, hurried over.
"Oh, my goodness. When did my wallet...?"
A short while later, Go Deok-hyun was hauled away by the police, his wrists bound in mana-sealing cuffs.
The middle-aged woman, whom Do-jae had stayed with until the police arrived, expressed her gratitude.
"Young man, thank you."
"You would've been in real trouble if I hadn't seen. Awakened-related crime has been on the rise lately, so please be careful."
As the number of the Awakened grew, so did the crime rate among them.
Awakened criminals were particularly troublesome because they used their skills as tools for their crimes, making them far more difficult to deal with than ordinary offenders.
If it hadn't been for Do-jae, this woman wouldn't have even thought about her wallet until much later.
And even then, with her memory of the encounter with Go Deok-hyun erased by his skill, she would have just assumed she'd dropped it or left it somewhere.
"Yes, I'll have to be more careful. My goodness, I'm so grateful. I don't know how I can ever repay you..."
"It's nothing. I just did what anyone would have."
"Oh, you're so kind. How old are you, if you don't mind me asking?"
"I'm thirty."
"Oh? You're the same age as my child. You're so handsome and well-mannered, too. You were raised well."
"Haha, not at all."
The middle-aged woman glanced at her smartphone.
On it was a picture of a man who looked to be around Do-jae's age.
The woman glanced between the photo of her friend's son and Do-jae's face, then spoke as if she'd made up her mind.
"Young man, I'm so grateful, I'd like to treat you to a cup of tea..."
"That's all right. It really wasn't..."
Before Do-jae could finish, the middle-aged woman pushed him by the back.
"It'll only take a moment. Come have a nice cup of coffee with me."
Do-jae with a look of unease, and the middle-aged woman with what seemed to be an ulterior motive.
They headed to a cafe inside the station.
***
"Hahahaha! Is that so?"
Inside a stately study.
A middle-aged man laughed heartily.
"Was this our doing? Really? I don't know which idiot did it, but it's a welcome development for us. Just in case, investigate more thoroughly. Dig into his entire family, down to his distant cousins. And that man, President Choi—secure him quickly. It might already be too late, but investigate again anyway."
*Click.*
Those bastards from the Suppression Corps were already getting too bold.
If word had reached his ears, things must already be in chaos over there.
"Hahaha. Serves them right."
Though he was usually a man of utmost solemnity, this incident pleased him so much that he couldn't stop laughing.
This would keep the Suppression Corps quiet for a while.
Not only that, their influence would continue to shrink, and their voices would gradually be silenced.
*Knock, knock.*
"Honey, what is it? What's so funny?"
A middle-aged woman opened the study door and entered.
She was holding a fork.
"It's nothing. Just that work is going well."
The man's expression had already returned to its usual stern and serious state.
For some reason, he always became taciturn at home.
"Is that so? Work is work, but come down and have some apple. It's sweet and delicious."
A moment later, the man came down from his study and sat on the living room sofa.
As he bit into a slice of apple, the woman spoke in an agitated voice.
"Honey, do you know what happened this afternoon? You won't believe it, I was nearly pickpocketed!"
"A pickpocket? Nothing else happened?"
"No, but a young man helped me, so everything was fine."
The man let out a quiet sigh.
His position and name put those around him in danger.
Especially his family.
That was why he tried to have his non-Awakened wife refrain from going out as much as possible, but a person can't live without doing anything at all.
In the end, she had experienced something unpleasant, albeit minor.
"Honey, take a look at this picture."
Meanwhile, the woman showed him a photo on her smartphone.
It was a picture of a man with a bright smile.
"He's tall and handsome. I thought I'd introduce him to our daughter, so I got his number."
"Don't make a fuss. As if she'd agree to be set up. Don't you know she hates that sort of thing?"
the middle-aged man said, barely glancing at the photo.
What father would like his daughter's boyfriend?
It was a natural rejection, even if he'd never even met the man.
"Oh? You just don't know. She's been very lonely lately. And here you are, her father, not even realizing it."
"Enough. She's already thirty. Do her parents still need to worry about her at that age? You stay out of it, too. If she's my daughter, she'll handle it herself."
Though he said that, he couldn't help but be concerned.
No matter how well a child managed their own life, that's just how parents were.
"My, my. You worry so much about your subordinates, even this late at night. Our daughter must feel so neglected. Isn't that right, Mr. Association President?"
"Just let her handle it."
"Hmph. Fine. I was just trying to help my daughter's love life..."
*Beep, beep, beep, beep—.*
*Beep-boop.*
Just then, with perfect timing, the door opened.
A stylish young woman walked in.
"Mom, Dad, I'm home."
Their pride and joy, their one and only precious daughter.
The middle-aged woman greeted her with a bright smile.
"Eun-hee, you're home? Come have some apple."
***
"Who is the bastard! Find that bastard and bring him to me! Now!"
The MID, an undisclosed unit under the Suppression Corps' Intelligence Command.
The commander of this clandestine organization was screaming his head off, his anger boiling over.
"How long has it been!"
"About three weeks..."
*CRASH—!*
The commander slammed his fist on the steel desk, and it collapsed on the spot.
The papers, computer, and potted plant on top of it all came crashing down.
He paid it no mind, a testament to the peak of his fury.
"You crazy son of a bitch! Why are you only reporting this now!"
"I'm sorry, sir! It took time to find the employee who went into hiding... Getting him to talk was also quite..."
"No excuses! You call yourselves MID agents?!"
His mana seethed.
The commander's hair began to turn red.
This was a phenomenon that occurred when he was truly enraged.
The subordinate who made the report didn't dare lift his head, afraid to even make eye contact, and answered in a trembling voice.
"I'll... submit my resignation..."
"Ha, resignation? Are you trying to evade responsibility? Where do you think you're running? I'm giving you exactly one week. Solve this within a week. Otherwise, it won't end with just a resignation."
"Y-yes, sir."
"Get out! Now!"
*Jumps up—.*
Unable to calm his anger, the commander shot up from his chair and started pacing in circles.
The men he'd chosen for their competence had made a ridiculous mistake.
He couldn't understand how something like this had happened; it was simply baffling.
‘That mana stone... of all mana stones!’
The mana stone that MID had lost was the Transcendence Stone, or as they officially called it, the [Mana Limit Transcendence Stone].
It was a different item entirely from the Awakening Stones used for forced awakenings.
It was a mana stone capable of drawing out power beyond the limits of an ordinary Awakened.
It could be considered a form of doping, but with major side effects and a low success rate, it was a dangerous object.
‘My head is throbbing.’
The commander massaged his aching temples.
What was the reason the Suppression Corps had grown powerful enough to rival the Association?
It was because of the Transcendence Stone, of course.
It created B-ranks, A-ranks, and even S-ranks.
Of course, their quality might still be inferior, but in terms of quantity, they now overwhelmed the Association.
Their trump card, the Transcendence Stone, had been leaked.
‘A mole from the Association?’
Just in case, he reviewed the report even more thoroughly.
No matter how carefully they screened people, finding a hunter trained as a professional spy was like finding a needle in a haystack.
If it was a spy, it would only confuse him further.
However, he could proudly say that the manager of the Transcendence Stone had been selected with extreme care, after rounds and rounds of vetting.
Information might leak because his subordinates were in a panic, but the ones handling the Transcendence Stone could never be spies.
‘Hmph. It's not like you can do anything with just the Transcendence Stone.’
The thief was likely just blinded by greed for the stone, thinking they could do something with it on their own, but such an important item couldn't be handled by a single person.
The technology required for it to function was divided among several people, designed so that the techniques wouldn't leak even if the stone was stolen.
In other words, without the proper facilities and equipment, it was nothing more than a pretty rock.
‘Choi Woo-seok shows no particular signs of suspicion.’
The report also contained information on Choi Woo-seok.
He was an ordinary merchant.
His transaction volume had steadily increased in recent years, but that was just due to the boom in the industry caused by the growing number of monsters; there was nothing unusual about it.
‘The psychic investigation is also complete.’
Using psychic skills, the investigation had concluded quickly.
It could be considered a crime, but it was better than the old ways of extracting information through torture.
The matter was too important to wait for him to talk willingly.
Next was the man who had recently bought the Transcendence Stone from Choi Woo-seok.
The report on Lee Do-jae.
‘Lee Do-jae... This guy has been a hunter for a long time, but he doesn't have any strong ties to the Association. So why did he buy it? And why did he join the Suppression Corps? Does he know something about the Transcendence Stone? Even for a hunter, there's no way he could know just by looking at the stone.’
The information on Do-jae was also written in detail.
For some reason, he had recently enlisted as an officer in the Suppression Corps.
That alone was reason enough for suspicion.
However, the name of the unit Do-jae had joined made the commander uneasy.
‘Of all the units...’
A man whose rank was lower than his, but whose skills were second to none.
The man with a difficult personality who clashed with him on every matter was the commander of that unit.
He picked up the fallen direct-line phone and made a call.
"Yeah, it's me. The guy I'm about to send you information on—keep him under 24-hour surveillance."