Chapter 124
Chapter 124
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 124
Chapter Title: The Open Recruitment Exam
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Seo-ah let out a sigh.
She could feel a slight tension coursing through her heart.
Today was the day of the Mutant Management Bureau's open recruitment for agents.
The day her abilities would be revealed not just nationwide, but to the entire world.
Why worldwide? Because Korea was the only country that operated mutants as civil servants in this manner.
It was a situation that naturally drew massive public attention.
‘Why did my sister insist on broadcasting it live... Well, I get her reasoning.’
When Seo-ah had asked Seo-hyun if it was really necessary to broadcast mutants' abilities like this, her sister had replied:
‘That way, people can feel safe. Think about it—if they see people with incredible powers protecting them, won’t they feel at least a little reassured?’
It made sense.
It made perfect sense... but still, showing her abilities to everyone was far more nerve-wracking than she’d imagined.
And it was so sudden, too.
There were so many pursuing truth or enlightenment, yet here she was—someone far removed from such practices—joining one of the world’s great religions, Buddhism.
No.
Seo-ah shook her head.
That was just another distraction.
She needed to focus on the present.
Whatever she did, she just had to do what was right for the situation at hand.
This trembling was temporary; if she stayed calm and acted properly, that would be enough.
From the start, Seo-ah knew better than anyone why Seo-hyun wanted her to become a bureau agent.
Because she had the ability to heal people even Seo-hyun’s Dragon Blood couldn’t save.
In other words, she was a lifeline for all kinds of situations.
She had no complaints about that.
Gaining the power to help others felt like a blessing.
Truth be told, Seo-ah hadn’t always been like this.
She was the type who didn’t pay much attention to others, but ever since her sister mutated, she couldn’t help being influenced by Seo-hyun, consciously or not.
Emotions are contagious, after all.
Seeing people who’d been helped by her sister expressing their gratitude.
Or witnessing the praise for her sister’s actions.
After that, suddenly...
Seo-ah found herself wondering about Seo-hyun.
‘Why does my sister, with all that power, go through so much trouble?’
It was a question she’d asked before, and Seo-hyun had given a similar answer back then.
‘Seeing people happy feels more rewarding than watching them suffer, don’t you think?’
‘...Yeah?’
‘Why ask all of a sudden? You said something like this last time, too.’
‘No, just... I was thinking, if I mutated, could I live like you?’
At first, it was just idle curiosity—why go through all that hardship with such powers?
But as time passed, bit by bit...
She caught herself cheering for her sister’s actions.
Searching for “Yoon Seo-hyun” or “Director” on community sites had become part of her routine, whether she realized it or not.
So, in short... that’s how it was.
Watching Seo-hyun gave Seo-ah a kind of high.
Like downing a shot of national pride, seeing her sister act like a hero from the movies—it was intoxicating.
That was part of why she’d joined in helping others like her sister.
Maybe that’s what led her to meet the Thousand-Armed Kannon, too.
Watching Seo-hyun had made Seo-ah think that helping others was pretty great.
Perhaps that desire brought her before the Thousand-Armed Kannon.
Though who could say for sure.
Anyway, the recruitment site was buzzing with all sorts of mutants.
Some recognized her now and then.
“Uh... Director’s little sister?”
She’d been in that fashion magazine with Seo-hyun, and her face hadn’t changed much, so it’d be weirder if people didn’t recognize her.
“Oh, hello.”
“Are you... here for the recruitment?”
“Yes.”
“Whoa, you mutated too?”
“It just kinda happened.”
“Wow... so you’re automatically in?”
The nameless woman looked at her with wonder.
Seo-ah felt the same.
The woman who’d approached her had a truly bizarre appearance.
With a shark tail coiled around her waist, she was clearly a Shark-type Mutant... but...
Something felt off.
“No, my sister said they’ll actually be stricter with me.”
“Oh, right... So, what kind of mutant are you?”
“You’ll find out soon enough. It’s not the kind you can miss.”
Seo-ah smiled as she said that, waving to the nameless mutant with the shark tail.
* * *
After drawing numbers and gathering in the bureau’s auditorium, the mutants wore puzzled expressions.
They’d been told to come here, but even if the building was large, it didn’t seem suitable for testing mutant abilities.
Mutants were beings who transcended human limits with superhuman physiques or powers.
A place like this bureau building would crumble after just one or two uses of their abilities.
But their questions were soon answered.
“Hello.”
Seo-hyun appeared before the assembled mutants.
She looked at them and said:
“You’re probably wondering where the tests will be held or how they’ll proceed.”
Everyone nodded at her words.
Seo-hyun smiled faintly and continued:
“The exam will proceed like this.”
She snapped her fingers.
*Snap*—a sound rang out, and an enormous space unfolded.
The mutants, experiencing the space shift instantly, could only gape.
“And here’s how the exam works. We’ll divide applicants into support types and combat types. Support applicants, demonstrate your support abilities. Combat applicants, show your strength against my clones. For those applying under healing support, my clone will injure itself, so demonstrate your healing on that.”
At the same time, Seo-hyun’s body multiplied to match the thousands of mutants present.
Overwhelmed by the sheer spectacle, the mutants thought to themselves:
No wonder Korea was on another level of safety compared to other countries—it was thanks to the being before them.
Yet a slight doubt crept in.
If she could make clones like this, why did they need recruits at all?
“Um...”
“Something to say?”
“If you can make clones like this, don’t you even need us...?”
The one raising her hand was the mutant Seo-ah had met earlier.
The others nodded in agreement.
“Oh, these clones are just illusions. I can’t create ones with abilities close to my own.”
Seo-hyun had tried experimenting. Could she make slightly weaker versions of herself to send elsewhere?
Total failure. Even with Dragon Tongue, she couldn’t produce clones weaker than herself.
She could create them, but they couldn’t handle her immense power.
So, these were mere illusions—straw dummies replicating about 20% of her body’s durability.
In essence, they were testing mutants’ abilities against these ultra-tough dummies.
Scratch one even fingernail-sized, and they’d get a high rank.
No scratch meant additional tests.
The mutants thought it sounded manageable.
A fingernail scratch? Easy enough.
But they soon realized they were wrong.
Brilliant lights exploded across the vast space.
The mutants unleashing their powers on Seo-hyun’s dummies.
But...
Only three out of all those mutants managed even a scratch.
One was the woman who’d questioned Seo-hyun.
One was Seo-ah.
And one was a nameless child.
‘Seo-ah aside... those other two are no joke. Song Min-ah and Jin Se-min, I think.’
Seo-hyun recalled the info on the two besides Seo-ah.
Song Min-ah. Shark-type Mutant.
Jin Se-min. Spirit-type Mutant.
Seo-hyun smiled faintly and marked a small “S” before each of their names.
She’d considered fancy rank names, but simple was best.
Thus, S-rank down to F-rank.
Seo-hyun smiled because Seo-ah had comfortably reached S-rank.
She’d seen it: countless hands blooming behind Seo-ah, unleashing a barrage of strikes.
Each punch leaving bruises on the clone.
Knowing Seo-ah’s ability was primarily healing, Seo-hyun was struck anew by how absurd it was.
‘That’s a healing type? Anyone in combat support watching this would cry.’
Next, Seo-hyun manifested a new clone before Seo-ah.
Its limbs severed, guts spilling from a split belly—it looked gruesome...
But Seo-ah didn’t flinch, gazing steadily before clasping her hands.
Then, countless hands appeared behind Seo-hyun’s clone, clasping in unison, and radiant light burst forth.
The moment the light touched, the clone’s body healed instantly.
Severed limbs regrew, the belly sealed without a scar.
Seo-hyun was impressed.
It wasn’t just physical wounds.
She sensed tremendous mental protection woven into the light itself.