episode_0840

February 7, 2028, Seoul Ability Patrol Guard Station.

“Name, Do Ji-wan. Age, 20 years old. Living in OO Apartment in XX-gu, Seoul. Family…nothing.”

“Ah, yes.”

The young man, Do Ji-wan, scratched his head and looked around the space decorated like an interrogation room.

“Did I do something wrong?”

“…….”

Do Ji-wan asked the older man in front of him.

“Well, who are you?”

“You didn’t even introduce it. Just think of yourself as an employee of the department related to this ability.”

“Ho, even a title…”

“Agent A.”

The man, who looked to be about forty, had a very sharp look and had as much information about Do Ji-wan as the small scars on his face.

“Well, Agent A. There is something strange about the investigation.”

“What do you think?”

“I am not 20 years old, but 17 years old.”

Do Ji-wan asked while looking carefully, and Agent G quickly sighed.

“Okay. There were reports from the scene that the shock wave from the magic stone caused a brief concussion, and it was a common complaint from other nearby victims.”

“Hey, what is a magic stone…?”

“First of all, let’s make one thing clear and then start talking.”

Agent A took out a calendar.

“What’s strange?”

“…2028?”

“Okay. It is now 2028. And you suffered a concussion-”

“Amnesia, you mean?”

Do Ji-wan looked at his hands with an expression of disbelief.

“Somehow, I felt like my body had changed. The same goes for your hands and body. I suddenly felt like I was hooked…”

“There is no sign of my memories coming back. I guess I’m suffering from ‘memory loss’.”

“What is that…”

“Sometimes, there are people who experience something like that. To 2025, which was the ‘era of glory’ for some.”

Agent G pressed his hand to his temple and frowned.

“When was the last time you remembered it?”

“Uh, um, that’s it… When there was a rumor going around that Snow White was having an affair…?”

“It was quite a while ago. In terms of novels, it’s about volume 10 out of 30 volumes. Oh, isn’t it? Anyway, you don’t know anything about the story behind it, right?”

“……Maybe?”

Agent Gap stood up.

The way he looked at the wall and lowered his head seemed like he was relieving something frustrating.

“Let’s talk briefly and simply. World hegemony is currently divided between Korea and America. Dokkaebi, the world’s No. 1 psychic, was promoted to SS+ level psychic named , and is currently ‘missing’.”

“Hae, is he missing?”

“Okay. They say it disappeared completely. Even Mangliang Company said they don’t know where he is…”

Agent Gap looked Do Ji-wan up and down.

“It doesn’t look like she’s had plastic surgery, but they look quite similar except for the hair color.”

“Ah. I’ve heard stories like that often before.”

“Okay. But…there is a difference.”

When Agent G tapped the Taegeuk watch on his wrist, a hologram immediately appeared on the Taegeuk watch.

“Compared to Do Ji-hwan’s face, the overall eyes are gentle, but there is a tear spot in the lower left corner. The more I look, the more I feel it’s a different person.”

“Well, that’s natural. Because I am Doji ‘Wan’.”

Was he dissatisfied with being called something related to Do Ji-hwan?

Do Ji-wan answered by deliberately adding strength to the end of his name.

“I am not a villain, a goblin, or Do Ji-hwan. I’m not the target of Snow White’s affair.”

“…It’s just that everything I say is true, and it’s better to just accept it as is. I don’t have time to talk about the past three years, so let’s talk about your ‘present’ first.”

Agent Gap sat across from Do Ji-wan with a tired look on his face.

“Don’t say, “I can’t believe it.” I am a public servant, and all the data contained herein are ‘facts’.”

“…First, I will listen to everything and then ask you a question.”

“Okay. If you have any questions along the way, raise your hand. If you get off track while talking, it’s hard to get back on track, so if you don’t think so, I’ll answer later.”

Agent G took a deep breath and opened his mouth.

“What should a 19-year-old high school senior do?”

“Studying for the CSAT.”

“You were a test taker, and while taking the CSAT, you applied to ‘Lahyung’ for the Domino Academy Ability Department.”

“…….”

Do Ji-wan immediately tried to raise his hand, but he held it down and nodded his head loudly.

“Okay. It must be strange. Where is Ra-hyung and what is Domino Academy?”

“……Is it different from Sejong Academy?”

“Okay. different. Sejong Academy allows only highly qualified individuals to apply, and Domino Academy allows non-talented individuals like me and you to apply for admission. This is the first place to open this year. You are a freshman, and when you graduate, you will become the first graduate.”

“Why should I go to the academy instead of university?”

Do Ji-wan covered his mouth with his hand.

“No way, as my memories fade away, all that I studied for the college entrance exam has disappeared…?”

“You might remember it when you see it again.”

“Ah, ah….”

Do Ji-wan’s face instantly became reflective, but Agent Gap could not particularly sympathize with him.

“It’s a pity that you lost your memory, but you’re definitely lucky. To put it bluntly, I became the first new student at Domino Academy, which selects only ‘thousands’ of the world’s population.”

“My, me?”

“Okay. The materials in your house and the ‘records’ of your Taegeuk Watch tell the story. Who you are, your background, and why you were there that day.”

“Ah.”

Do Ji-wan organized the clues in his head.

“So, I was first accepted into a special ability academy that even non-talented people can enter, and the day the accident happened was probably…a PC room…”

“It’s different from a PC room, it’s different from a PC room!”

Agent G suddenly raised his voice and shouted.

“It’s not just a PC room! Sheesh, I really don’t know.”

“Uh, well, the place where I was attacked seems to have had a lot of PCs and electronic devices…”

“It was something similar to a special ability training center. A magic monster appeared there and attacked the people who were accessing brainwaves, and you, who were preparing for a new student interview, got caught up.”

“…….”

“If I have to answer this, my work will be delayed. No.”

Do Ji-wan quietly raised his hand, but Agent Gap firmly shook his head and took out another video file.

“I came to check your other identity. Look at this.”

“This is….”

“Video record from the action camera of the officer who rescued you at the scene.”

I see Do Ji-wan.

As he runs away while holding his head, he ends up in a dead end, and the magic monster grabs Do Ji-wan’s body with his hands.

At the same time, crackle.

The video is over.

“Uh, am I dead…? While I lost my memory, I wonder if it’s something like the ability to revive a lion…?”

“That can’t be possible. If there was such a thing, would all the dead people come back? The video cuts off here, but it seems that someone destroyed this magic stone and saved you.”

“Um…by any chance, officer?”

“No. The officer had a magic pistol and was able to pierce the mana shield of a D-level psychic or villain, but the magic stone had a C-level magical power.”

“Are magic stones like devils?”

“Similar. But I’m not an academy professor, so back to my work.”

Beep beep.

The image turned into a photo.

The video stopped in the middle, and the photo showed Do Ji-wan lying on a gray rock.

“Ma, I…?”

And a golden light shimmered around Do Ji-wan’s body and disappeared.

“Hey, what happened to that?! Could it be that I have just awakened this ability…!”

“Even in 2028, there has not been a single report of a person with non-powers awakening to a person with superpowers.”

“Uh, um…?”

Do Ji-wan felt like he would remember something for a moment, but his head was pounding with vague memories.

“A non-powerful person cannot use magical power purely through their body. This ability is innate from the moment you are born.”

“If you’re saying purely…”

“Okay. These are things like ‘Mana Weapons’, which are said to have been secretly used mainly by villains at the time. Nowadays, ‘Doji Core’, which contains this ability, is used in various places, but…”

“Ah!”

Do Ji-wan snapped his fingers.

“That…I think something came to mind! You’re obviously talking about a gem that contains a person’s special ability or magical power, right? Something like a magic scroll that often appears in fantasy novels!”

“That’s accurate. As expected, I still have a little bit of what I studied to enter the academy.”

“Umm….”

The knowledge that suddenly appeared in his head actually made Do Ji-wan meekly accept that he had ‘lost his memory.’

If it weren’t for that, there’s no way I would have memorized a ridiculous name like Dogicore.

“The official name is like that, but in reality, many people call it Mana Weapon, etc. I don’t know how many special abilities are contained, but based on minerals containing the power of a person with a special ability, if done well, even an ordinary person can use the special ability of a person with at least a B-level ability even for a moment.”

“…….”

2025. This ability was only for those with this ability.

However, in the past three years, as technology has developed and spread widely, this ability is no longer the exclusive domain of a select few.

“For example, the same goes for the magic pistol fired by the police officer. The bullet is made of copper imbued with mana, so it can pierce the mana shield and hit the body of a villain or demon.”

In some cases, an object that can be used to suppress ‘evil’.

If I had to make a comparison.

In 2025, an E-class high school girl had the power to overwhelm three tanks, but in 2028, the difference would be that she could somehow take down a high school girl with just one hit from the main gun.

“The reason I want to investigate you is this mana weapon…”

“Dojiko?”

“…Okay. Dogecore. I also want to talk about this ‘S-Class Dogicore’ that is presumed to be inherent in your body.”

“Yes?”

Do Ji-wan opened his eyes wide and was surprised.

“This is your X-ray picture. I had a hard time taking pictures. Do you see that thing on the chest?”

“Uh, uhh, this is…”

Do Ji-wan saw it.

“Would you like to at least bring a metal detector and check it? I’m sure the solar plexus will make a noise.”

“Circular…mold plate?”

That an unidentified substance was stuck in an exact circle in his chest and solar plexus.

“Do you really think there is something called Dogicore in my body?! Are you trying to dissect me to check…!”

“Already confirmed.”

“Yes?!”

“…A person with physical abilities came and confirmed it. There was no need to open the chest with a scalpel, but the inside of the body was checked through fluoroscopy.”

“Ah….”

Do Ji-wan wrapped his arms around his shoulders with a complicated face.

“Am I a man…?”

“Woman.”

“Phew.”

“…….”

Agent Gap’s head started to hurt, but he corrected his posture by inserting the X-ray picture.

“So what I really want to ask is not why you have an S-class Dogicore in your body. Because the source is clear.”

“Uh, really…?”

“Okay. I checked the surgical records. And keep in mind. Are you…”

Agent G raised his thumb and pointed to his solar plexus, slightly below and to the left.

“Your heart is managold.”

“……Yes?”

“You, by all means, don’t go into the academy and try to use a lot of mana. Die.”

“……Ah, haha, hahaha…?”

Do Ji-wan’s smiling face froze.

“So, my heart…”

“Your heart, artificial organ… has been replaced by Dogecore.”

“…….”

“If you don’t replenish mana regularly, you die.”

Do Ji-wan.

“Game-wise, you die the moment your MP reaches 0.”

Not only did he lose about three years of memory, but he was also given a conditional life-limiting sentence.