Chapter 6: Intelligence Department
The Hunter organization under South Korea’s National Intelligence Service, the Awakener Intelligence Department.
Commonly abbreviated as the Intelligence Department, it was the ultimate dream for all civil servant Hunters.
It offered the best treatment among national Hunters—high salaries, power, stability, and more.
That’s why rumors often circulated that some high-grade Hunters applied to the Intelligence Department instead of joining major guilds.
Of course, since most of their identities were classified except for a few who operated publicly, the truth behind the rumors was unknown.
Every civil servant Hunter secretly harbored the vain hope of one day being scouted by such an agency.
For the vast majority, that hope faded away in vain, but occasionally, someone’s dream came true.
Na Ji-hwan, who visited the Awakener Department at the Gangseo District Office today, was one of those people.
At the young age of thirty-five, he had successfully risen from a 7th-grade civil servant Hunter to an Intelligence Department agent.
“Let me take a look at the CCTV footage.”
He said this to the head of the Awakener Department at the Gangseo District Office.
The mid-forties department head fawned over the Intelligence Department agent who was ten years his junior.
“Yes, I’ve prepared it right here. We couldn’t find anything, but I’m sure you’ll see something different, Agent.”
“……”
Na Ji-hwan didn’t respond and focused solely on the CCTV footage.
The problematic 9th-grade Hunter was shown from behind, while the victim—a man—was clearly visible from the front.
The video quality was very sharp, making it easy to understand what had happened.
The victim had smashed his own smartphone with his own hands and tripped over his own feet.
That’s all anyone could say about the situation.
Na Ji-hwan rewound the problematic scene and focused intently on the Hunter in question.
Normally, when activating an ability or skill, there would be some gesture—hand or foot movement.
High-grade Hunters from 4th or 5th grade and above could sometimes use abilities and skills without preparatory motions.
But Hunters 7th grade and below had no choice but to make them.
They weren’t skilled enough yet.
“When was this Hunter Chae Jin-young’s most recent grade measurement?”
“Uh… let me check.”
The department head searched for a moment before continuing.
“It says it was done six months ago, during the regular October inspection.”
“His unique ability is ‘Subspace Storage,’ right? How do they handle item checks after raids?”
“Uh… as far as I know, they don’t do separate item checks for him. After all, a 9th-grade like Chae Jin-young isn’t at a level where he could smuggle anything out of a raid. His only role is holding items for other team members.”
“What if he smuggled something while avoiding everyone’s eyes?”
“It would be nearly impossible with the support team always attached. Plus, the support team leader, Kim Young-jae, kept a tight grip on Chae Jin-young—like catching a mouse.”
“Call that Kim Young-jae here.”
At Na Ji-hwan’s request, the department head made a troubled expression.
“Well… Team Leader Kim Young-jae was killed in action the day before yesterday at the Gangseo Han River Park by a rock golem.”
“Ah… I see.”
Na Ji-hwan nodded silently before changing the subject.
“I’ll need to meet the suspect in person. Please guide me.”
“Yes, follow me.”
***
Jin-young noticed that the way people looked at him had changed a little.
It was because of how he subdued the complainant yesterday and silenced Assistant Clerk Lee Ju-hee.
Jin-sol, who had always been friendly, was trying to act normal as usual but was clearly being cautious.
“Team Leader, should we pass this case to the Disaster Response Team?”
“We can handle it just fine ourselves, so we’ll take it. Please proceed while teaching the 9th-grade Shin Ji-ho.”
“Got it, confirmed.”
Jin-young was only the temporary team leader and had told her to call him as usual, but Jin-sol insisted on calling him Team Leader and refused otherwise.
Since it didn’t matter what she called him as long as it wasn’t an insult, he didn’t argue further.
The best part was that the number of tasks being dumped on the support team had drastically decreased.
Word of yesterday’s incident must have spread to the other teams.
This was why Korea was such a great place to live.
‘Back in Renard, I’d have had to break everyone’s necks to solve it.’
While having unnecessary thoughts,
A man in a sharp suit approached him alongside the head of the Awakener Department.
“Hello, Department Head.”
“……”
The department head didn’t seem eager to greet back.
Probably because of the mess he’d caused.
Jin-young decided to be understanding.
Instead, the man beside him spoke up.
“9th-grade Chae Jin-young?”
“That’s me.”
“Let’s have a little chat.”
The man handed over a business card with one hand.
On it was written [Awakener Intelligence Department Investigator 4th Grade Na Ji-hwan], along with a phone number and email address.
Although most Intelligence Department agents were secret operatives, there were also those who operated with their identities exposed.
People like this Na Ji-hwan.
“If you have something to say, let’s do it right here.”
“Hey, Chae Jin-young! How rude are you being to the investigator—”
“It’s fine.”
Na Ji-hwan seemed momentarily flustered at first, but he quickly regained his composure.
“9th-grade Chae Jin-young, you are currently a suspect. If you refuse to comply with an investigator’s request—”
“Why exactly am I a suspect? Tell me specifically what I did.”
“……”
Na Ji-hwan looked annoyed, but he couldn’t really refute it.
He had scanned the surrounding area, but there were no traces of mana left.
Even though a full day had passed and most traces would have faded, Na Ji-hwan was one of the few people who could still detect them.
Above all, what didn’t make sense was how pathetically weak Chae Jin-young’s mana was.
Even if he had Psychokinesis, floating a smartphone might be possible—but controlling it precisely enough to crush one? He’d never be able to do that, even in his wildest dreams.
“Jin-young. Of course you might feel wronged. But the more you act like this, the worse it gets for you. Apologize right now while you still can!”
The department head glanced at the deep-in-thought Na Ji-hwan and tried to pressure Jin-young.
“Why would it be worse for me? Aren’t you just worried the fallout will reach you, Department Head?”
“What did you—”
At that moment, Na Ji-hwan, who had been silent, finally spoke.
“I admit it. It’s hard to find any clear evidence against 9th-grade Chae Jin-young. This will likely be closed as no charges. Then, I’ll be on my way.”
“Huh?”
Jin-young showed little reaction, but the department head was the one more surprised.
Na Ji-hwan left without any lingering attachment.
The department head could only stare blankly at his retreating back.
“Department Head.”
When Jin-young called him, the man finally turned around.
“Please hurry and select a new support team leader.”
“……”
The department head shook his head as if utterly fed up, then walked away.
***
Today, for the first time in a while, Jin-young was able to leave work peacefully—no difficult complainants, no gate outbreaks, no raids.
As he was about to take the bus home as usual, he suddenly passed the bus stop and kept walking.
After walking for quite a while, he entered a deserted alley and stopped.
“Seems you still have business with me.”
In the empty alley, Jin-young muttered to himself like a madman.
Then, a response came from somewhere.
“I was curious. Just where all that confidence comes from.”
A man’s voice. It was Na Ji-hwan, the Intelligence Department agent he’d met that morning.
“Don’t tell me you waited at the district office for hours instead of heading back.”
“In this situation, that’s what you’re curious about?”
“Well… there’s not much else I’m curious about.”
“The more I think about it, the stranger you are.”
“So what are you curi—”
Before Jin-young could finish his sentence.
Whoosh—
Something flew toward him from behind, slicing through the air.
A speed approaching the speed of sound.
If he didn’t react, it would mean instant death.
Just before it collided with Jin-young.
BOOM!
Na Ji-hwan’s body slammed into a thick stone wall that had risen up behind Jin-young.
Of course, it didn’t end there.
Jin-young stepped aside while continuously raising the ground with psychokinesis.
Ruuuumble—
Na Ji-hwan smashed through several consecutive stone walls as he advanced.
The alley was filled with roars like thunder striking down.
“Hm.”
Jin-young was inwardly impressed by Na Ji-hwan’s unexpected resilience.
The stone walls he manipulated with psychokinesis weren’t ordinary.
Infused with psionic energy, they were twice as hard as normal.
Thud…
But Na Ji-hwan seemed to reach his limit, stopping at the final wall.
The total length stretched 20 meters.
In truth, Jin-young could have ended it instantly by binding Na Ji-hwan’s body directly with psychokinesis, but he wanted to gauge the man’s skill.
He was curious about the abilities of a 4th- grade Hunter from the Intelligence Department.
It wasn’t on the level of the insolent silver dragon he’d disciplined back in Renard, but it was comparable to the knight commander of the Syndra Empire.
“Earth manipulation type?”
Na Ji-hwan’s voice, perfectly unharmed even after crashing into the stone walls at near-sonic speed.
BOOM!
With a punch, he reduced the final stone wall to dust and casually strolled out.
“How are you manifesting an ability without using mana? No—how can you activate an ability with enough power to upheave the earth, yet completely hide the mana? No Hunter could fool my eyes this perfectly.”
“Because it’s not an ‘ability’ in the first place.”
“Skills are the same, and artifacts wouldn’t be any different. Without mana, nothing works.”
Na Ji-hwan brushed the dust off his black suit and rolled his neck and shoulders to loosen up.
Jin-young watched Na Ji-hwan prepare to charge again and asked,
“Still have more questions?”
“If you’re just hiding mana, I can keep pushing until it reveals itself.”
“Any more than this crosses the line.”
The moment Na Ji-hwan lunged once more.
“……?”
His body refused to move as he wished, and a look of confusion crossed his face.
It wasn’t panic—more like he was dying to know how it was done.
Na Ji-hwan was a Hunter on a completely different level from other 4th- grade.
He had awakened not at 9th grade but 8th from the start, and in just three and a half years, he was on the verge of reaching 3rd grade.
He was even called the Intelligence Department’s next ace.
Subduing him without a single scratch was something even a 2nd-grade Hunter couldn’t guarantee.
“So it wasn’t earth manipulation. Is it really ‘Psychokinesis’? But is something like this even possible with Psychokinesis?”
“I can do far worse. Are you the type who prefers a quick death?”
“Heh.”
At Jin-young’s words, Na Ji-hwan let out a hollow laugh.
It was his complete defeat.
Even now, the opponent was restraining him without emitting a single trace of mana.
It felt like an invisible giant hand was gripping his entire body.
If Jin-young wanted, his body could be crushed to death in an instant without anything seeming amiss.
Just where was this power coming from?
“I thoroughly investigated your past earlier, but I couldn’t find anything. Though admittedly, a 9th-grade Hunter wouldn’t be scrutinized that closely. At the very least, I know all about the raids and gate outbreak responses you’ve handled so far.”
“So?”
“The gate outbreak at Gangseo Han River Park the day before yesterday. Did you awaken some rare unique ability then? One that can be used independently of magical power or physical stats.”
“It’s a swing and a miss, but not a bad guess.”
To everyone else, it would look like Jin-young had undergone some new awakening after the gate outbreak.
“It might not be true. But you could also be lying.”
Na Ji-hwan stared closely into Jin-young’s eyes.
He had a skill that could discern truth from lies in others.
If the opponent’s mana was superior to his own, it would be hard to read—but that wasn’t the case with Jin-young.
Yet.
‘Nothing. I can’t see anything.’
Na Ji-hwan couldn’t even breach the entrance to Jin-young’s inner mind.
It felt like facing an iron wall of unknowable thickness.
He figured he’d have to end today’s investigation here and continue gathering information.
“Why end it so boringly already?”
At Jin-young’s question, Na Ji-hwan nearly showed a flustered expression.
He wondered if his skill use had been detected.
Trying to act nonchalant, he asked,
“What do you mean?”
“You just tried to peek into my mind.”
Of course Jin-young knew.
But he didn’t react much.
His mental world was simply too solid to be pierced by mere skills.
Back in Renard, no form of mind magic had ever affected him.
“No excuses. It’s my complete defeat.”
“Is that all for your last words?”
“What? You’re going to kill me?”
Na Ji-hwan asked in disbelief.
Sure, his hidden power had been exposed, but killing an Intelligence Department agent over it would mean taking on enormous risk.
It wasn’t just becoming the Intelligence Department’s enemy—it would mean turning the entire Republic of Korea against him.
Even if he fled to another country, they’d track him down and eliminate him.
They’d block all exits before he could even leave the country.
Yet Jin-young didn’t seem to care at all.
“An Intelligence Department agent ambushed an innocent 9th- grade Hunter, kept attacking even after one successful defense, and even tried to read his mind. Seems like I’ve got more than enough reasons to kill you.”
“……”
None of Na Ji-hwan’s actions had succeeded, but he didn’t refute it.
No—he couldn’t.
The glint of madness in those eyes.
He realized this was an opponent who couldn’t be reasoned with logically.
“I never intended to kill you from the start… but fine. If you felt threatened, I have nothing to say. Finish it.”
The psionic energy binding Na Ji-hwan’s body began to move.