Private Investigation Request Translator: Xzy ***
The main topic of conversation during the phone call with the dedicated officer was, surprisingly, not about Han Yu-jin's knowledge, but about the 'practical training' he had to experience in connection with that Hunter specialized school.
- The earliest is an E-rank rift practical training in three days, would you be interested in participating? Even if it's not this time, there's another E-rank rift practical training in about a month.
"Can I go straight into practical training without having received any pre-training yet?"
- I personally think that it might not be okay for others, but it should be fine for you, Han Yu-jin-ssi. You're a preliminary A-rank Hunter, aren't you? The training location is also on the safer side among E-ranks, enough for students to go to.
"Hmm."
- You can decide comfortably. As you said, receiving pre-training first and then participating in the practical training is the official route.
For a public official belonging to a government agency, she felt truly full of flexibility. It was a feeling of, as long as they coordinated well and no problems arose, it would be fine.
Or, it seemed that she was confirming that a problem of this level was unlikely to arise, as she knew rifts well.
"Then please schedule me for the one in three days. How many practical trainings do I have to go through in total?"
- Originally, you have to go through about three, but since Administrative Officer Oh Tae-min will be moving with you as an evaluator, it might be reduced a bit.
"Can it be reduced?"
- In principle, it's entirely possible if the evaluation is good. Usually, for other people, it doesn't get reduced and often increases.
"I see."
After listening a bit more, she said that it was rare for a public official from the Ability Management Bureau to participate directly as an evaluator like this.
It was common for the teachers of the Hunter specialized school to also handle the evaluation of external personnel.
Naturally, Han Yu-jin couldn't help but know that he was receiving special treatment.
The conversation that began next was about the pre-training that was said to be the official route to receive before the practical training.
There were two methods.
One was to apply for the night class of the Hunter specialized school and receive training starting in a week, and the other was to follow the training program of the Ability Verification and Training Center that would open in about forty days.
She said that there was no difference in the educational content between the two, and the evaluation method and difficulty were also similar.
"I'll go with the specialized school's night class. That one starts sooner."
- Yes, then I'll apply and let you know the result.
"Yes, please."
After that, the call ended without any real conversation about Han Yu-jin's knowledge.
'It seems like she's trying to avoid giving the impression of rushing and pressuring me.'
He thought that she would probably bring up the story casually when they met in person on the day of the practical training. After all, she had said it was only three days away.
As he thought more about the practical training and pre-training for a while, he was reminded of the Yeongwon High School investigation he hadn't been able to bring up and inwardly shook his head.
'I can't just request an investigation out of the blue.'
If at least an acquaintance had been involved, it might have been different, but no matter how much he thought about it, it was inappropriate to request a private investigation from that famous public official of the Ability Management Bureau without any particular reason.
'But in other words, if I just have some plausible pretext, I could make that Ability Management Bureau move…?'
If he made good use of this situation where he was receiving special treatment, he might be able to accumulate a considerable amount of Karma.
That is, if the reason for the birth of that powerful ghost named Won-hee was something sufficient for the Ability Management Bureau to intervene.
And just in case.
If that place was related, even in the slightest, to the occurrence and progression of the ghost apocalypse, he would be able to accumulate far more Karma than he thought.
Han Yu-jin, who was thinking of various methods, operated his smartphone and checked his bank account balance.
He saw an amount of money that was just about enough for an ordinary university student to live on for a month or two, but very insufficient to carry out the task he was thinking of now.
'Should I get a loan?'
Now that he had obtained the basic certificate, a reasonably decent loan would be available even without a job.
This was part of the welfare policy for ability awakeners at the government level, so the interest rate was also very low.
He decided to get a loan without much hesitation. If it had been before, he would have agonized over it for a long time, but his confidence in the future based on his own awakened ability made the decision easy.
Additionally, the series of events he had experienced through his awakened ability had also developed his decisiveness.
Even though he woke up in reality as a result, he had experienced death several times anyway, so it was perhaps natural to become a little bolder.
'I'll be earning a lot in the future, so if I see a possibility of obtaining Karma with money, I shouldn't hesitate from now on.'
Having made that decision, he searched for a decent detective agency on the internet.
If you wanted to investigate something efficiently, it was natural to find an expert in that field.
Even more so if you didn't want to be tied down to that task yourself.
<><><>
When you have a lot to do, time tends to pass quickly.
Since he had planned to get a loan, he visited the bank early the next day, and although he hadn't officially decided yet, he had already made up his mind to contract with the Ability Management Bureau, so he started preparing in advance.
That preparation was primarily to select the Fire Bullet Spell and the Jade Skin Spell, organize their contents separately, and put them on a USB.
It wasn't as if he could just hand over the books he had obtained from the Five Elements Sect ruins as they were.
Moreover, he had to add his own annotations to the Dharma scripts, so when he actually started organizing it, he realized that this was by no means a light task.
He had no choice but to make up his mind to study it by mulling it over while organizing it.
'It's all for Karma.'
He needed Karma to utilize his awakened ability and grow quickly like before. If he grew like that, all the things that felt difficult and troublesome now would be solved smoothly.
In addition, he couldn't let go of his study of the Five Elements Heavenly Evasion Art and the Five Elements Dharma Spells.
Naturally, he thought of utilizing his awakened ability.
But before that, he was so curious whether he could open the 'Earth Just Before the Apocalypse' door that he tried it, and failed miserably.
'Why did I fail?'
According to the way his ability had worked as he had understood it so far, it should have succeeded, but for some reason, the feeling was iffy from the start, and the door had once again become fixed to that 'Earth After the Apocalypse'.
'Is it that the door can't be fixed unconditionally according to my wishes? Or is there a clear reason why I can't go to the time period before that apocalypse?'
What came to mind was the hypothesis that that Earth After the Apocalypse was really the future of this real Earth, and because Han Yu-jin himself was alive there until before the apocalypse, he couldn't fix the door.
Because if he could fix the door even in such a situation, there would be two Han Yu-jins existing in the same world.
'If even that is possible, it means I can do all sorts of bizarre things by utilizing my awakened ability…'
Han Yu-jin shook his head at some point.
This was a time paradox problem that became more complicated the more he thought about it, a problem that felt like it should be impossible in the first place according to the principles of the universe.
Anyway,
Since he couldn't revisit that incredibly dangerous Earth After the Apocalypse world, he immediately left the Waiting Area.
It was enough to think of it as resting for another day or two, as he felt he hadn't fully recovered mentally yet anyway.
The morning he woke up like that.
He visited the detective agency he had found on the internet the previous day and had paid to make a reservation for.
It was on the second floor of a respectable building that made him think, 'So there's a detective agency in a place like this,' in the bustling downtown area of central Seoul, which he had reached after about an hour's bus ride.
Thanks to the reservation, Han Yu-jin was guided directly to a counseling room and was able to meet a team leader-level figure from this detective agency.
The man, who looked to be in his mid-to-late forties, had the appearance of an ordinary office worker, but he had a very good physique, and the hand he shook when he offered a handshake also felt quite strong.
'The atmosphere is a bit different from what I expected…'
He had imagined a detective like those in dramas, the kind who would be on a stakeout in a car for someone's affair investigation and then frantically take pictures of a couple leaving a motel, a man with a somewhat shabby atmosphere.
But the person he saw in front of him now felt as if he could capably handle even rougher and more illegal tasks than that kind of investigation.
"I'm Kang Tae-hyeok, Team Leader of Owl Private Investigation Team 1. How may I help you?"
As he spoke, he placed a booklet from one side of the counseling room in front of Han Yu-jin.
It seemed to be a booklet that roughly introduced what other detectives were in this agency and what kind of investigations they had handled.
Instead of skimming through it, Han Yu-jin got straight to the point.
"I need information on the foundation behind a place called Yeongwon High School, specifically, the pseudo-religion that founded that foundation."
He then gave the address of Yeongwon High School.
This was because there were a few other high schools in the country with the same sounding name, although the meaning was different.
"What kind of information are you talking about? Are you looking for a person?"
"No. I want everything about that religion in general. Where the church buildings are, how many believers there are, the extent of their assets and social influence, how many key figures there are and who they are, what the religious doctrine is, whether they perform any special rituals or not, and if they do, what kind of form and purpose the rituals have, just everything."
"Hmm… the investigation is easier if the purpose is specific. Why do you need such information?"
"Because I think there's a rather big problem there. Not just simple tax evasion or exploitation of believers' assets, but a problem of a more serious level."
"If it's a more serious problem, roughly what kind of…?"
"I don't know that far, which is why I came here."
"Hmm."
From Han Yu-jin's perspective, he had no choice but to say it like this.
It was because of the judgment that if he were to make up some plausible reason and say it, he could inadvertently cause confusion in the investigation.
Unfortunately, because of that, it also sounded like a delusion with no basis at all, so Team Leader Kang Tae-hyeok had a slightly ambiguous smile.
But he was not in a position to refuse the investigation.
"It would be more interesting than an ordinary affair investigation. A general investigation is not impossible, but the problem is the cost."
"How much would it be?"
"The range of information you want is so wide… How about two million won per day for now? We can increase it if more manpower is needed as the investigation proceeds."
Two million won per day.
And on the condition that it would increase depending on the progress of the investigation.
It felt expensive. It wasn't cheap at all even when compared to the industry average cost he had figured out on the internet beforehand.
But considering that the target of the investigation was not ordinary, and also considering that, as he said, they had to gather a wide range of information indiscriminately without even knowing the exact reason for the investigation, it didn't feel like a complete rip-off.
'Well… there were a few reviews that said they were skilled but expensive.'
He had come prepared for it to be somewhat expensive. It would have been better if he had come with plenty of money while in the middle of his Hunter activities, but he could just come back and make another request when that happened.
As he was thinking in silence for a moment, he made another suggestion.
"If you think it's too expensive, we can cut the price by more than half and proceed with a simple investigation. I set the cost that way because you said it was a big problem and I was planning to do an in-depth investigation."
"No, I'll do it for two million won a day without a discount. Roughly how many days of investigation would it take to get an outline?"
"Let's try proceeding for about a week to ten days. The investigation results will be sent to you by email every evening, and if you're not satisfied with something, you can make an additional request."
"Then I'll try it for a week first."
"You won't be disappointed. There's a reason why our costs are a bit high."
He laughed coolly and instructed another employee to bring the contract.
Han Yu-jin hoped that this investigation request would not end in a futile effort.
Apart from the fact that he would have plenty of money in the future, it was never a good feeling to waste it.
Even if it wasn't related to the ghost apocalypse, it wouldn't be a loss if he could just find something that could accumulate Karma, for example, something like the ugly backside of a pseudo-religion that was good for reporting to the media.
<><><>
The investigation into Yeongwon High School was only a secondary goal for now.
The sure way to accumulate Karma was to start full-fledged Hunter activities after going through the process of practical training and pre-training.
And at the same time, preparing to spread the knowledge.
He should be able to achieve his desired goal sufficiently just by spreading the basic Dharma spells well.
He was planning to teach the Origin Reversion Art after completely removing the part about sublimating the soul into a Dharma Soul.
The value was sufficient with just the body and soul training method that included the Purification Spell and the Mind Calming Spell.
'There's no reason for me to rush on my own.'
As he had once thought before, spreading knowledge was something that was bound to take time.
He might end up teaching everything eventually, but there would be plenty of room to adjust while watching the situation.
It wasn't as if it would show its effects that much faster just because he taught everything in a hurry in advance.
Anyway,
Today was the day of the practical training that was said to be conducted in conjunction with that Hunter specialized school.
He finished getting ready to go out in an instant with the help of the Purification Spell and the like, then left the one-room apartment building and turned onto the main street.
This was because he had arranged to meet at the location where the administrative officer had dropped him off before.
After waiting for a short while, making a few calls on his smartphone.
When he got into the administrative officer's car that had arrived, there was a woman sitting in the passenger seat in addition to the familiar administrative officer.
Han Yu-jin could tell that she was the dedicated officer, Kang Min-ah.
She was young, just like her voice, and a person who looked good with short hair. And she exuded an elite feeling no less than the administrative officer sitting next to her.
"Hello."
"Yes, hello. Have you been waiting long?"
"No, I just came out."
As he got into the back seat while exchanging the usual greetings, the car soon started off smoothly.
Originally, he had said he would just use public transport, but the administrative officer had insisted so stubbornly that it was on his way anyway, so he had accepted it as if he couldn't win.
To be honest, it was comfortable.
After finishing his greetings with the dedicated officer whom he was meeting for the first time, the conversation naturally flowed into idle chatter.
Then, at some point, the topic smoothly shifted and moved on to Han Yu-jin's knowledge.
"How about it, have you thought about it?"
"Yes. I'm planning to contract with the Ability Management Bureau."
"Excellent! You absolutely won't be disappointed."
The administrative officer did not hide his great pleasure, even while paying attention to the road ahead.
If it was the knowledge of a person who had shown the ability of an A-rank Hunter as soon as he awakened, it was worth being that happy about.
He didn't know for sure, but it would by no means be a small achievement.
'Even if I'm not completely affiliated, it seems it would be easier to accumulate Karma if I have a connection to a government agency.'
This was another thought of Han Yu-jin's.
Due to his firm answer, the atmosphere became even more relaxed, and the administrative officer and the officer continuously carried on the conversation as if showing off their conversational skills, and involved Han Yu-jin.
It felt like idle chatter, but he was able to get a considerable amount of information needed for Hunter activities, so Han Yu-jin couldn't help but focus.
When they had been moving for about an hour and a half, stopping once at a rest area.
The three of them arrived at a place called the 'Rift Terminal', located on the western outskirts of Seoul.
It was a place operated by a great invention that had made a great contribution to the stability of human civilization, where many Rift Inducers were installed, and thus many rifts were drawn to and opened.
Of course, not all rifts were perfectly drawn in, but if it weren't for even an invention like this, the overall social atmosphere would not have been as peaceful as it was now.
After parking the car in a parking lot on one side, the group entered the terminal.
The structure and material felt like a fortress that had somewhat given up on external beauty, and he could see soldiers standing guard with loaded guns here and there, and there were also many people wearing various weapons and armor who were clearly Hunters.
For Han Yu-jin, who was visiting this place for the first time, it felt as if he had briefly visited another world with his awakened ability.
'This is the world of Hunters.'
With a slightly pounding heart, he continued to follow behind the administrative officer.
Indeed, the power of the grade 5 public official from the Ability Management Bureau was great here too, and there were almost no delays.
And so, after passing through all the procedures with surprising ease, they headed to the place where the Hunter specialized school students had already arrived and were waiting.
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