18. The Road Not Taken (1)

It’s already been a week since school started.

When I’m doing nothing and just playing around, time seems to drag on forever, but once I actually go to school, the days fly by like arrows.

Over the past week, I’ve been chatting with Rei whenever I had the chance, gradually closing the psychological distance between us.

Honestly, talking to her was surprisingly fun because she answered any question I threw at her with such enthusiasm.

The only downside, if you could call it that, was that once she started talking, she wouldn’t know when to stop.

I asked her sensitive questions that I wouldn’t have been able to ask if I hadn’t hypnotized her, like, ‘Which organization do you belong to exactly?’ or ‘What kind of mission brought you to the Academy?’ and Rei answered without hesitation.

As a result, I was able to get a rough idea of the organization she belonged to and their goals.

Her name is Rei. No last name.

Her job is a special agent with the National Intelligence Service.

She’s an orphan and was adopted by the government around the age of 10.

Simple information that anyone could figure out with a little bit of brainpower.

But the government’s secret that she told me wasn’t so simple.

‘The Mana Transplant Project.’

That was the phrase I finally managed to pry out of her mouth after coaxing and cajoling Rei for a week.

“Mana transplant… I can’t find anything about this, no matter how hard I look.”

But even after searching through Abruptum to find supporting evidence, I couldn’t find any search results, making it impossible to verify.

If the government is really trying to transplant mana, it’s an absolutely unforgivable act.

Secret experiments have been carried out for decades to create ‘artificial Awakened,’ but now they are all classified as human rights violations and are prohibited under international law.

But what if the National Intelligence Service, an organization directly under the President, has revived the Mana Transplant Project…?

In this day and age, the moment even one piece of data is leaked and made public, they would be bombarded with criticism from various countries, not to mention becoming targets for the Demon King and various villain organizations.

That’s how absurd it is.

In the original story, the government was a kind of helper to Goryushin.

The first wave ability that Goryushin copied was obtained relatively easily thanks to the cooperation of an Awakened on the government’s side in a battle with a villain who possessed that ability.

Although they have several demanding aspects, such as strictly setting curfew times and operating tightly in dealing with monsters, they still remained in the helper position until the end in the original story, so I’m still hesitant to confirm my suspicions.

“How did Rei find out about it… Could she be a victim of the experiment…?”

No, that can’t be.

If Rei were a successful case of mana transplantation, they would never let her out like this.

If you think about it, Rei probably overheard it from the ‘unnie’ people or high-ranking officials.

But in the end, all I’m left with after racking my brain like this are countless speculations.

To get more concrete evidence, there’s no more certain way than going directly to the NIS.

“Next Sunday should be okay… I should take a few people with me.”

Of course, it’s impossible to go through the entrance in a proper manner.

I have to use Alice or Seo Joo-ha’s Shadow Movement.

My relationship with Joo-ha is still a little awkward because of what happened last time… Should I just take Alice with me to be comfortable?

“Alice, there’s no one here, so come out.”

A black figure gradually rises from the shadows.

Recently, Ha-yul has been coming home often, so I haven’t had many opportunities to see her like this, but today the two of them said they were going shopping, so I was able to summon her without worrying.

“Yes, Master-nim. Is there something you need me to do…?”

“By any chance, have you noticed any notable movements from other demons?”

“I haven’t been able to contact them even once since I came to Master-nim, so I don’t know for sure, but… I don’t think there’s been anything noticeable since I reported last time.”

After getting burned badly last time, I decided not to miss what the demons are up to anymore.

Fortunately, she says there’s no noticeable activity, so I can tell her my plan with peace of mind.

“I think you know a little bit about Korea, so I’ll tell you, do you know the National Intelligence Service?”

“I ran into a few agents when I was with Pantagruel. I don’t know much about them specifically because I escaped with Shadow Movement every time…”

“Have you ever infiltrated their headquarters?”

I asked with a glimmer of hope because she said she had met them, but unfortunately, Alice shook her head.

Well, it’s not like a demon would have any reason to visit such a place.

But if they find out about the existence of secret experiments, then the story will be different.

“There’s a rumor that the National Intelligence Service is conducting experiments to artificially create Awakened. Of course, you don’t really need to know about it anymore, but are you still interested?”

“Are you talking about mana transplantation…? There’s still a country that’s doing that?”

“It’s just a rumor, though. So, I’m thinking of infiltrating them sometime next Sunday. Of course, I can’t enter normally, so I think I’ll need your Shadow Movement.”

Alice’s eyes sparkle.

I guess she can’t hide her expression when it comes to issues like mana transplantation.

Demons are also made up of mana, so theoretically, they can fully accept the mana of others. No, maybe they have a more suitable body than humans.

The reason they haven’t succeeded so far is because they didn’t have a way to supply pure mana.

If you think about it, can that ragged sea dragon be seen as a kind of success story…?

The idea of tying up their bodies and turning them into monsters instead of transplanting pure mana is quite novel in its own way.

“Then, should I go and investigate in advance…? If I move while hiding in the shadows, there’s no risk of being detected, and I need to find out which part of the building to infiltrate.”

“Go with the vision sharing I gave you last time.”

“Yes, just a moment… Okay. Then I’ll be back in a bit.”

I felt the sensation of a black veil being placed over my eyes and saw Alice off.

Since I know the location of the National Intelligence Service building, the search probably won’t take long.

I can grasp the general structure of the building through vision sharing, and then make an infiltration plan based on that a week later.

Who should I take with me?

It’s too sudden to tell Ha-yul or Seol-ah sunbae… and I’m not close enough to ask Jung Ye-won.

It would be relatively reassuring if I had someone like Goryushin, but how can I talk to him about it…?

There’s also the method of using hypnosis, but I don’t want to use it even in this situation.

If I overuse hypnosis, I’ll end up not being able to do anything without it.

It may be a sophistry, but it was a kind of belief that had settled in my heart while living in this world for several months.

• I’m connected. Can you see me?

“Yeah, go past the lobby and enter through the leftmost passage first.”

• Yes, the lighting here is so bright that shadows don’t form properly… I’ll try to be as careful as possible.

I feel the strange sensation of having two more eyes again.

I focus on the new vision, feeling a slight dizziness.

I decided to investigate the leftmost of the many passages on the left and right, starting from the main gate, which is not much different from a typical government office.

I moved carefully, trying not to break the connection as much as possible, following the points where shadows formed.

[Planning and Administration Department]

[Overseas Intelligence Department]

Even after checking the many signs on the doors, I still couldn’t see a department related to Awakened.

Actually, I didn’t think it would be in such an easily accessible place from the beginning.

I wonder if there’s a more secret space somewhere.

If I do it this way, the right passage probably won’t yield any results either.

Just as I was thinking about finding a secret door leading to the basement, Alice asked.

• I think I’ve checked everything on the left, should I go to the right?

“No, I don’t think it’ll be of any use even if you check there. Did you see any suspicious doors while coming from the lobby? I might not have seen them properly even if I was watching.”

• I don’t think I saw anything like that. I don’t feel any mana even after looking around every corner…

“Then come back for now. You might get caught if you stay any longer.”

I’m safely infiltrated in the shadows now, but since it’s such a secure classified facility, I don’t know when the search team will patrol the building.

Since there’s no specific time limit, I thought it wouldn’t be bad to ask Rei for more information and then infiltrate again.

• Yes, then I’ll go back right away. Oh, I’ll release the vision sharing too.

I took out my cell phone and looked for Rei’s contact information.

I think I should meet her once today.