After the company dinner, I adapted to the team smoothly, without any particular issues.
Jung Da-Hyun, who volunteered to be my mentor, meticulously taught me the parts that a government hunter should know.
As with all tasks, being a hunter who dealt with villains exclusively didn’t mean I only dealt with villains. There were various discussions about ways to suppress the occurrence of villains, strengthen security measures, and prevent the approach of demons both inside and outside the city.
I also needed to know how to read various documents and confirm that cooperation between different departments was seamless.
Equipped with various reconnaissance assets, a system was established where incidents in Seoul could be reached by nearby departments within five minutes and responded to within 30 minutes.
There were a few inefficiencies, but it was a system designed to maintain urban security. If the goal had been to ‘eliminate’ villains instead of ‘arrest’ them, efficiency would have been significantly higher.
“That’s why establishing a cooperative system with other departments is crucial.”
Jung Da-Hyun emphasized cooperation several times.
“But doesn’t cooperation mean delays in speed?”
“Yes. That’s why judgment on the scene is also important.”
The one who could make that judgment was the government hunter. That’s why they were given ‘power’.
The presence or absence of this power made a difference between the hunter and the villain.
I didn’t plan on seeking cooperation from other departments like Jung Da-Hyun suggested. Villains were beings that should disappear, and as a government hunter who needed to minimize damage, speed was crucial.
This was probably the ordinary mindset of a government hunter who protected citizens.
I liked the fact that my eligibility was determined by one exam.
“Well, shall we go eat lunch?”
When I checked the time, it was lunchtime.
Jung Da-Hyun and I went out and went to a Korean restaurant located a little away from the National Security Agency. The mushroom soybean paste stew was excellent, so I ate here all week.
“It’s good to have an established system, but isn’t it better to just catch villains directly?”
“That’s not as easy as it sounds.”
“Why do you say it’s not easy?”
“Because if there are villains hiding in the city, it means they are more cunning than you can imagine.”
“...”
To be honest, I couldn’t understand what she meant.
Jung Da-Hyun smiled faintly as she looked at my expression.
“You’ll understand soon.”
***
After I adapted to my life as a government hunter, I would help Yoon-hee with her training after work.
Not because she was my younger sister, but because she had a talent for it.
She had top-notch agility, physical strength, adaptability, and utilization skills.
My coaching was quite rigorous, and she grumbled that it was difficult, but she endured it and persevered when she saw her skills improving.
As I trained and tumbled, I got a taste for it too. Because she was my younger sister, I was filled with enthusiasm as I trained with her.
Watching her, I remembered that I was the person who had blocked Yoon-hee’s path in the past.
My younger sister, who was loved by our parents and her friends because of her fiery and unapologetic personality.
Because of me, her dreams were shattered, and she ended up having to be watched over for the rest of her life. All I could do was watch her from afar.
What if I had the courage back then to face her myself instead of being too afraid to do so?
“I felt like you’re just nagging me. You said that you didn’t think you could properly guide me and that you might end up causing trouble. But I don’t agree with you. The best decision I ever made was encouraging you to take the civil service hunter exam.”
It was her response when I once asked her of what she would have said to me if I had become a villain.
“Try not to do anything villainous. Stick to Sister Da-hyun! You can do that, right?”
It seemed like she trusted Jung Da-Hyun more than me. When did she start calling Jung Da-Hyun “sister”? It was just a passing thought, and I didn’t ask any further.
“Thank you for looking out for me, little sister.”
“Wait, why are you laughing so disgustingly? Don’t come near me!”
“Who’s harassing you? I just want to train you. It’ll be fun.”
“What’s so fun about training? Mom! This brother is trying to catch me!”
She struggled as she searched for her parents, who were in the countryside, but soon fell silent.
There’s no room for such struggles when things get too tough.
***
Level measurement.
It’s an essential process that hunters must go through.
The level was the measure of one’s strength, and high-level awakened beings were evaluated as the nation’s main power and treated accordingly.
The levels of awakened people who were active on the front lines are 4 to 5, and levels 6 to 7 are high-level awakened beings, while level 8 was called a transcendent awakened being.
Especially, level 8 awakened beings were the most powerful force in the world, possessed by no more than ten people in any country except the United States.
Currently, South Korea officially possessed four level 8 awakened beings.
With a systematic nurturing system and the emergence of excellent prospects, South Korea was considered one of the strongest nations of awakened beings in the world.
That’s why those who nurture promising prospects didn’t believe in the existence of “geniuses who appear like comets.” True geniuses were made by thoroughly demonstrating their talents since childhood and polishing them.
But today, that common sense was shattered. Jung Ju-ho, with a very stern expression, looked at Jung Da-Hyun.
“Did you know?”
“I didn’t know it would be this much either.”
“Level 7, can you believe it?”
“We have to believe it.”
“Right, we have to believe it. The measurement device won’t lie.”
Level measurement didn’t represent all combat abilities. However, it’s the most widely known method and boasted high accuracy.
In today’s level measurement, Choi Jun-ho proved to be Level 7.
Thinking it might be an error, he checked with other measuring devices several times, but the results were the same.
From Level 1 to 7, a growth process with no probability. And support for a government hunter.
There wasn’t anything he understood from beginning to end.
If you’re in your mid-20s and you’re Level 7, guilds would be fighting to take you in, even if they had to pull up their roots.
“What kind of person is the Choi Jun-ho you saw?”
“He’s like a blank canvas.”
“A blank canvas?”
“Yes, a pure white canvas that doesn’t match his age.”
She felt a sense that he was broken somewhere, but chose not to mention it.
Choi Jun-ho was a person who needed to be handled with care. The more he was restrained, the more he would react in a more extreme way.
If he was mishandled, there was a high possibility that humanity would face a giant disaster that it had never faced before.
That’s why Jung Da-hyun chose to be near Choi Jun-ho.
“But the canvas is white, isn’t it?”
“I guess it can be stained.”
“Yes, it’s dangerous.”
He could become a loyal government hunter, but he could also become a more dangerous villain than anyone else if a mistake was made along the way.
The Choi Jun-ho that Jung Da-hyun saw was like that.
“I need to be next to him.”
“I trust you, but I’m concerned about the fact that there was no important information about his past.”
“I’ll learn gradually. If he had an ulterior motive, I wouldn’t approach him like this.”
“I guess so. Okay, keep an eye on him for a while.”
Jung Ju-Ho tried to end the conversation there, but Jung Da-Hyun pointed out something that could be easily overlooked.
“Also, there’s one more thing you should know.”
“What is it?”
“The level measurement device... it can only measure up to level 7.”
“No way, it can’t be.”
Jung Ju-Ho shook his head vigorously. But he felt a chill running down his arm.
To measure level 8, a measuring device located in the central government was required. Even awakened individuals at level 8 showed up as level 7 on a normal measuring device.
Jung Da-Hyun’s conjecture was absurd. But it was also something to keep in mind.
“It can’t be, right?”
“I’m just telling you what I think.”
“Well, we need time for this. We’ll report it to the upper management and keep the guy’s level disclosure hidden for a while.”
“Okay.”
***
Two weeks after becoming a government hunter.
I received the internal affairs and completed the level measurement.
My level was 7. After internal discussions, we decided to publicly disclose my level as 5.
I was not particularly attached to levels, but I was somewhat curious since it was different from the level I was evaluated in my past life.
In my previous life, I saw many high-level villains who were showing off their skills at a nationwide level, only to have their heads exploded by a low-level villain. That’s why I didn’t believe in levels. It’s better to see it as the level of power I could exert.
Today, I went out with Jung Da-Hyun for field work. Finally, we had some on-site work.
She said we should not let our guard down, so instead of having soybean paste stew for lunch, we had spicy pork stir-fry. I was not sure what the difference was, but the intense atmosphere was well conveyed.
“Last time, you suggested that we should catch more villains directly. Correct?”
“Yes.”
“The truth is, it’s not that we don’t want to do that. We just can’t do it. More precisely, we can’t catch the villains.”
Couldn’t catch the villains? It was a hard thing to understand.
“Compared to the size of the city, the number of awakened people dedicated to catching villains is small. Most of them are too preoccupied with hunting demons and calculating the value of loot. This seemingly peaceful city is actually full of holes like a Swiss cheese.”
I nodded my head. Even though I was persistent in chasing villains when I was one, there wouldn’t have been enough personnel to cover all the villains in the pyramid.
I was crazy and killed openly, but I never saw a villain walking around, smelling of life, and with both eyes open like normal, awakened people.
“But the biggest problem is this.”
Jung Da-Hyun grabbed her cheeks.
“Fake face?”
“That’s right.”
The fake face, also known as the fake face mask, was similar to an invisibility cloak and was a disguise tool made by processing the skin of humanoid monsters. It is also a favorite item among villains. Although it could not be used for a long time due to its toxicity, it was useful within the city.
“The number of awakened individuals is insufficient, and villains hide their identities and move around. That’s why we have no choice but to focus on containment rather than prevention, even when working with multiple teams.”
“Is there no way to recognize a fake face?”
“You have to recognize it up close with facial recognition, but that’s...”
“It would cause a backlash, wouldn’t it?”
“Because there is already resentment towards awakened individuals.”
Awakened individuals were objects of admiration, but they were also like a newly emerged class. Citizens envied their strong power, wealth, and fame. However, the underlying sense of inferiority was a problem.
Ordinary citizens wanted awakened individuals to be under control, and they were wary of the privileged class that consisted only of them.
“That’s why we aim to subdue villains as quickly as possible through a systematic network in the event of an incident. That’s the best we can do.”
“I have a question. Which is more important to you, eliminating villains or ensuring the safety of citizens?”
“The safety of citizens.”
“Even if the surviving villain becomes a disaster in the future?”
“...What I realized while working as a government hunter is that you can’t have everything. If you can’t have both, citizen safety comes first.”
Her straight gaze turned to me. It was the same look I had seen in my past life. The look she had before she died in my hands.
I didn’t dislike people who try to adapt to reality without giving up their beliefs.
“I still believe that arresting one villain is the way to ensure the safety of a hundred citizens. That hasn’t changed.”
“Mr. Jun-ho’s thoughts can potentially create an innocent victim.”
“Well, you can just apologize then. Let’s think of it this way, isn’t it better to be vaccinated than not do it because of fear of side effects? For instance, look at that person walking over there.”
“Yes?”
I approached the target caught by my senses.
“What, what is it?”
The ordinary-looking man, who was standing still, looked surprised when he saw me, but instead of answering, I reached out my hand and grabbed his face.
Ssscccrrratch!
His ordinary face transformed into a menacing one, covered in scars.
“This is how you can find villains.”
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