CHAPTER 91 – Clues

After arriving on the third floor, both Kim Hajin and Yoo Yeonha went out of the elevator. In front of them, a big circle-shaped lobby welcomed them, with a lot of offices divided along the walls.

"Follow me." Yoo Yeonha said as she guided Kim Hajin towards one of the many offices. One labeled A-35. "To be honest, you won't be doing anything special. Today, you'll just look around the building, then starting from tomorrow, you'll get to interact with other guilds. You might also get to follow a Hero to see him exterminate monsters." She said before opening the door.

"Sure." Hajin just nodded, thinking about the guy that regularly goes out to clear dungeons for fun, and that once even took him to one.

"Have you heard of Park Sangho?" Yeonha suddenly asked.

"Uh… I think I've heard of him." He answered while rubbing his chin.

"Sangho-ssi is a very highly ranked Hero." Yeonha said with a smile.

{I truth… I know him better than you do…} Kim Hajin thought to himself while nodding at her.

Park Sangho was indeed a highly ranked hero, but he was one of the members of the guild that were plotting to bring Yoo Yeonha down. He was one of the people responsible for a future accident that would affect Yoo Yeonha, betraying her.

Even if he wasn't a Djinn, he was quite devious and sly, worrying only about his own gains and how much he could take from her.

"By the way… How did you rank first in the exam? You got almost 300 points…" Yoo Yeonha asked him once they were inside the office, which was empty.

"Mm? Did you see my results?" Kim Hajin tilted his head with a frown.

"Well… I just overheard some of the instructors talking." She smiled while shrugging. "Either way, I thought you didn't like to stand out, so why did you get first place?"

"Things just happened." Kim Hajin shrugged, deciding it was better to ignore her before she started talking about her weird misunderstandings.

"Mm… I just thought it was quite a bad move if you wanted to be unrecognized, a lot of guilds are now showing interest in you. Even among the big ones." She smiled deeply.

"Sure."

"Oh, you're already here?" A male's voice resonated in the office as Park Sangho entered. He walked towards Kim Hajin and held out his hand for a shake.

"It's nice to meet you." He smiled. "Hajin-ssi, right?"

"Yes." Hajin nodded while shaking his hand.

Park Sangho then turned to look at Yoo Yeonha.

"And I'm sure I don't need to introduce myself to Yeonha-ssi." He smiled again, while Yeonha just smiled back.

He then went towards his seat, hung his jacket on the back of it, and then tapped a few documents over the desk.

"I know this is the Guild Experience Program, but most of our work is done indoors. That's why most team-leader-grade Heroes who use the A-rank offices have four or five office workers." He said while looking at Hajin, who just nodded back.

"Dungeon conquests and subjugation for monsters high-intermediate rank and above require thorough analysis in this office first. In other words, our work begins here, and only when everything is perfect do we set out." He said with a softer voice. "But, mm… let's get out of here for now. To be honest, it does get a bit boring being in there all the time."

He then led both of them outside, but while Yoo Yeonha went instantly behind him, Kim Hajin stood there for a moment, looking at a safe installed inside one of the drawers. Inside it, all the condemning information that Park Sangho gathered of Yeonha's family was safely kept.

"Hajin-ssi?" Park Sangho called for him from outside the door of the office.

"Ah, yes." With a nod, he followed him out.

"Oh right, there are also periodic deployment orders. You know how the North Hamgyong Province belongs to monsters now?" Park Sangho kept talking while leading them to the end of the third floor. "About 3000 Heroes take turns every month for four days to reduce the number of monsters there. That way, there won't be a monster outbreak from overpopulation. Once you become a Hero, you'll go there about twice a year."

They then got to one of the offices that were at the end of the floor, it had a label that said Analysis Room.

"Well, here's where I wanted to bring you, Kim Hajin-ssi." Park Sangho smiled at Hajin. "I've heard that you're first in theory."

After entering, Kim Hajin saw an enormous and spacious floor, with an unsurprising decoration. It was like any other office you would find back in Hajin's world, with desks, drawers, computers lined around the office, and nothing much. Of course, everything here could be considered state-of-the-art technology.

"There's a separate conference room on the other side. Huge, isn't it?" Park Sangho added proudly. The office was indeed big and really spacious, and it had a lot of heroes inside, all of them working on their documents.

"Oh? Sangho-ssi, the kids are here?" One of the women that were working suddenly turned to look up at them and asked.

"Yeah, Hajin-ssi, Yeonha-ssi, this is Yi Jin-Ah. She's a high-intermediate ranked Hero." He said, introducing them to the woman.

"Hi. You said two of the three were girls…" She said while looking at Hajin. "So, you must be Kim Hajin"

"Ah, yes." Hajin nodded at her.

"The world sure has changed. Who would have thought rank 934 could come to our guild as part of the Guild Experience Program? I wonder who was behind it."

Yi Jin-Ah expressed her displeasure, ironically, not at Kim Hajin, but at Yoo Yeonha, thinking that she was merely using her power as the Guild Master's daughter to bring some friend into the guild.

"But Hajin-ssi is rank 1 in theory." Park Sangho was the one to defend him.

"Haha, rank 1 in theory? That's amazing, so was I! But cadets don't really learn that much, so don't be overconfident." She retorted back with a smug face.

At this point, Kim Hajin's eyebrow was slightly twitching, and so was Yoo Yeonha.

"Now then, rank 1 in theory Kim Hajin-ssi, would you like to take a look at this?" She snickered while tapping the documents she was reading before.

"Hey, you can't show the guild's internal data so easily." Park Sangho said with a frown.

"It's not that important." But Yi Jin-Ah merely shrugged back, while standing up from her desk while grabbing the documents and walking towards Kim Hajin, who just looked at her in her eyes.

Just like he described her, she was fairly tall, slightly taller than him, but nothing too noticeable.

"Here. It's a copy, so you can do whatever you want with it." She snickered. "Don't feel pressured."

Hajin took the documents and started reading them. While it was written in Korean, it almost seemed like another language, with so many calculations and numbers written on it.

"Take a look. Though I doubt a kid can even recognize it." She snickered, making his already twitching eye, twitch even more.

{That's it. I've had enough.} He thought to himself while smiling back before going to a nearby chair and sitting down. He then put out a pen from his cross-bag and his laptop.

Setting the laptop right in front of him, he started to answer the problems that were presented in the documents she gave him.

{Mm? Who would say that my speed also helped me to answer things faster?} He just chuckled to himself while looking his hand move even faster than he ever thought possible.

His now increased speed stat, along with his slightly angered state, made him write quite fast on the document, surprising both Park Sangho and Yi Jin-Ah.

"Are you really knowing what you're doing, kid?" She asked with a mocking smile. But this time, neither Hajin nor Sangho answered.

"I'm sure he does. Jin-Ah-ssi. He's quite smart. Our instructors even think that if he focused on theory, he might even win a Nobel Prize before turning 20." She retorted back with a smirk of her own.

"Pfft. Yeah, maybe if he learned something really useful inside Cube. But these are not mere calculus. You don't even see them inside first-year lessons." Yi Jin-Ah answered with a smirk.

"Mm? Really? Why don't we wait then?" Yeonha just gave a mysterious smile.

"Sure. Though I don't have any time to play, I'll make sure to make some for you, kids."

Meanwhile, Kim Hajin just kept writing down his answers.

"Do you have a piece of paper?" He asked her.

"Pfft… What do you need it for?" She asked, before looking around and picking a piece of paper to give him. "I'll just humor you for a bit. Don't blame me for whatever happens." She said while giving him the paper.

"It'll be difficult, Hajin-ssi." Park Sangho intervened this time. "That's not on the level of an exam problem."

"Leave him." Yoo Yeonha said with confidence.

"Yes, Sangho-ssi. Let's see what this rank 1 on theory can do." Yi Jin-Ah just smirked.

*Vrr… Vrr…*

"Mm?" Yeonha looked at her smartwatch. "It seems that the other cadet is already downstairs."

"Oh, really?" Park Sangho asked. "Should we all go down to meet her?"

"Are you done?" Yeonha asked Hajin.

"Not yet. Give me a minute." He answered.

"Oh, come on! Listen, kid, stop wasting your time and MY time. Just go with them."

"Huh? Didn't you say you wanted me to answer this?" Hajin retorted, not stopping to write.

"As if I was actually hoping for a mere cadet to answer such a problem." She smirked.

"Um… Yeonha-ssi, shouldn't we-" Park Sangho tried to bring both Yeonha and Kim Hajin down to meet the other cadet, but she was already enraged.

"Park Sangho-ssi. Can you please go down and meet the other cadet while I wait here for Kim Hajin-ssi to finish?" She interrupted him with a smile, knowing quite well that this wasn't about Kim Hajin, but about her.

"…" He looked at her for a little bit, before nodding. "Sure." He then went out of the office and towards the elevator.

"Yoo Yeonha-ssi, we have work to do. You can't be here taking our time like this. I don't have the time to be pampering some kid to make him feel-" She tried to lecture her with a frown, but was interrupted.

"Done." While the others didn't look, he slightly activated his Gift's power, Bullet Time, to accelerate his writing speed, finishing faster. "You can check it out and see if it's right." He said back with a smirk.

"Are you joking? I don't have time to see some scribbles." She gave a small glare at him.

"Just check them." With a slightly authoritative voice, Yeonha said.

"…" Frowning deeper, Yi Jin-Ah looked at her. "Fine." Until she finally decided to end this fast.

Looking for the answers, her frown slowly dissipated and only a shocked expression remained after a few moments.

"Well, it seems they're not mere scribbles, huh?" Kim Hajin mocked her back.

"It seems so."

"How…? Just… How did you…!?" Yi Jin-Ah didn't even answer them, she was just surprised to see Kim Hajin's answer.

While she may have some discomfort against Yoo Yeonha, she can still make an objective appreciation, and right now, this cadet certainly deserved it.

"This is… Amazing…" She looked at the end of the answers, before looking back up. "How did you-" While she was going to ask him how did he get to these answers, Yeonha intervened.

"Well, we have to go. See you, Jin-Ah-ssi. I'm quite glad that this rank 1 on theory could help you with your work." She smiled deeply, before moving out of the office. Hajin following behind her after putting his stuff inside the cross-bag.

"Hey…! W-Wait! I-" Before she could even call them they were already out of the office. "*sigh…* Just how did he get these answers… I don't even know where to start." She sighed while looking at the answers and calculations he wrote.

***

A little while later, down on the first floor, Park Sangho was with another cadet, who turned to look at Yeonha and Hajin while he was getting out of the elevator.

"What!? Hey! Why is he here?" Chae Nayun asked at Yoo Yeonha when they were finally close.

"Who knows~?" She just smiled playfully.

"You said Chae Nayun wasn't coming." While Kim Hajin frowned at her.

"Oh? Did I?" She feigned ignorance before her smartwatch suddenly buzzed. Looking at it, she suddenly went stiff. "You two can go ahead. I need to use the restroom." She said while walking somewhere inside the lobby, leaving Kim Hajin wondering who was it that made her that stiff.

"Maybe she just needs to take a dump?" While Chae Nayun just tilted her head while looking at the escaping Yoo Yeonha.

***

At the same time, in the offices of the Private Broker Yoo Jinhyuk.

I chuckled at the information that was inside the documents. After my niece asked me to look into the information of one particular unknown cadet, I've been an entire month looking through his past.

"*sigh…*" I sighed at the information. At first, I thought it was just going to be some simple investigation. How difficult could be to investigate some cadet's past? And an orphan at that.

But as time passed, things got more complicated, and more people got entangled in his past. This, per se, wasn't something bad for me, at least it made things interesting, which led me to investigate for a full month without having any complaint.

But what I was seeing right now, definitely was something that made me stop. It was a simple clue, yes, but one that gave the job a lot of risks. For me, my niece, and our family.

[Kwang-Oh Report.

Casualty: 96

Special note – Death of a woman on her last month of pregnancy.]

A report from one of the most terrible accidents that happened in Korea in the last two decades.

{Kwang-Oh Evacuation Center massacre…} I thought, remembering the massacre that was supposedly led by Djinns almost seventeen years ago.

While most people, thanks to the government and the Association, think that it was made by Djinns and other criminals, I knew the truth, and because of that, I was kicked out of the Yoo clan.

Powerful figures like Kim Sukho, who at the time was the president of Korea. Chae Joochul, who is one of the Nine Stars, at that time the president, and the now true head of the Daehyun conglomerate. And also, my own father and my niece, Yoo Yeonha's grandfather, Yoo Taeho.

At the time, all they did, at least from their perspective, was end a few bugs with some condemning gossips on them, especially Kim Sukho. They probably don't even remember this incident.

And for the people to no find out what truly happened, they used a secret crime organization to do the job. They thought no one survived. They thought everyone who knew what truly happened died.

{But…} I looked at the document in my hands. {If Kim Hajin's parents were victims in this incident… If the woman who was pregnant was really Kim Hajin's mother…}

"*sigh…*"

This may be just a theory, but again, this was information that could kill my entire family, and I had to handle it carefully.

{Why does she want to dig this man's past? What's my niece's connection with Kim Hajin…?} The thought went around my head. "*sigh…*"

With a deep sigh, I turned on my smartwatch and called her immediately. A call she picked really soon.

"Hello?"

[Yes, uncle.] She answered from the other side of the call.

"You sound prettier now, kid…" I joked with a small chuckle at her cute, albeit hasty attitude.

[Nevermind that, what happened to what I requested?]

"Oh, that?" I made a forgetful expression. "I haven't been working on it, I've been busy."

[W-What!? You're joking, right? Uncle?] She asked back in a surprised, and almost angry voice.

"*chuckles*" I just chuckled at her reaction. "I mean, why are you trying to find his parents anyway?"

[That's none of your business…] She answered after a little pause.

"What about him? Does he want to find his parents?" I asked with an uninterested tone.

[Yes, most likely.] This time, she answered quite quickly.

"How do you know that?"

[Mm? What's up with all these questions?]

"You know how it is, information is gold! If I know how he became an orphan, I could finish faster." I lied.

[…] She became momentarily silent as if thinking about something. [You see, I think his parents got wrapped up in a crime. He has the list of wanted criminals memorized.]

{Huh? Is that even possible?} I thought for a moment.

"He memorized the entire list?"

[Yes. I think he reached a certain point in his own investigation.]

"Right, you said he was smart…" I nodded.

[That's a mere understatement, I just saw him resolve a problem our Analysis Team had in a few minutes. His rank 1 on theory shows nothing about his brains.] Yeonha said in a weird proud tone.

{This is weird.}

"Really? That's something to see. I know for a fact that problems that go to that team aren't easy at all."

[I know, right~?]

{Well, if he's that smart… It wouldn't be weird for him to notice the Kwang-Oh incident… But…}

The perpetrators of the Kwang-Oh incident aren't criminals, but true nobles of society, people that are even respected these days.

{Just a single mistake may have led him to a different path in his own investigation. I wouldn't blame him. The crime was so well hidden that even someone like me took time to find out what really happened.}

[Do you need any other information, uncle?] Yoo Yeonha's voice came again.

"No, that was enough, thanks."

[So, when will you have-] She tried to speak, but I cut her off.

"Oh? Sorry, I got another call. Let's talk later!"

[Wait! Uncle-] I hang up.

"*sigh…*"

At this point, Kim Sukho isn't really a problem.

{Chae Joochul.}

The old man of Daehyun conglomerate. A true monster. One of the strongest people that currently exists in this world, and a member of the Nine Stars. Someone revered by everyone in this world as true heroes.

{If he knows I'm digging up that part of the past, not only me, but the entire Yoo clan would be in danger.}

***

Back in Seoul, in Essence of the Strait main headquarters, both Kim Hajin and Chae Nayun were waiting for Yoo Yeonha to come back, alongside Park Sangho.

"So, why were you late Chae Nayun-ssi?" Park Sangho asked.

"I was visiting grandfather." She answered back.

"Huh? Your grandfather? Then that must be his eminence… Chae Joochul, right?" He asked while rubbing his chin.

"Yup, the one and the same!" Chae Nayun answered with a proud smile, before scratching the back of her head. "I haven't seen him in a while, so it took me some time. Sorry for that."

"No, no. It's only natural. So, I presume he's doing fine." He answered with a smile.

Chae Joochul was a Hero that everyone looked up to. He was one of the strongest men in this world. A member of the Nine Stars, nine heroes considered to be the strongest nine Heroes to ever exist in this world.

"Sorry!" At that time, Yoo Yeonha came back from the bathroom with a frown on her face.

"Why does it take you so long to take a dump?" Chae Nayun asked.

"I didn't. Either way, Park Sangho-ssi, what's our next schedule?" She spoke sharply, ignoring Chae Nayun and turning to look at Park Sangho.

"Well, we're going to our branch in Gangwondo for a deployment. In Seoul, it rarely happens, but there, deployments occur daily." He answered with a smile.

"Nice! I want to move my body!" Chae Nayun answered excitedly.

"Sure." While Kim Hajin only shrugged.

"Okay, lead the way." Yeonha answered with a nod, and they all went outside Essence of the Strait's main building, towards the portal station.

***

Meanwhile, inside some dungeon in Norway. Cristopher was just sending bullets of fire towards a group of frozen zombies.

"Wow! Can I do that too, daddy!?" Evandel asked me with her eyes wide opened, looking at the rounds of bullets made of fire that shot towards the zombies.

"Mm? Well, I guess you can. You surely have control over a few elements. At least basic ones." I rubbed my chin while answering. {I guess at least fire, water, air, and earth should be possible for her to use. Is anything, at least at a basic level.}

"Really!?" She asked while quickly turning her eyes to me.

"Yeah." I shrugged. "You just need a little bit of practice, and learning how to use Natural Energy."

"Can you teach me, daddy!?"

"Sure. I don't see why not." With a shrug, I shot another round of bullets towards the hundreds of zombies that were trying to reach us. "By the way, how are you feeling, Shina?"

"Meow…" Shina answered softly. From the moment we entered the dungeon, she somehow started to absorb part of the magical energy of the place, which put her in a bad spot.

"Well, hang in there, sweetie." I said while patting at her. {Thankfully, this dungeon is just some kind of tower defense and an easy one at that.}

The dungeon was quite easy, once we got to the peak of the mountain, we killed some kind of small yeti, which opened a small entrance to a cave, which teleported us to the middle of a big ice canyon. Behind us, was an enormous wall of ice, and a long corridor spread in front of us.

At the other side of the place, there was a weird water-like wall, from where a lot of monsters came out in rounds. So, I guess the objective of this dungeon was merely surviving the waves of monsters.

This right now was our third wave, and besides some frozen zombies and a few weird ghouls, nothing else has come out of that portal.

"Mm? Say, Evandel, do you want to try and fight one of them?" I suddenly asked Evandel.

"Um… Can I? But…" She suddenly made a disgusted face. "They look ugly…"

"Mm? Hey, it's not the outside that matters. It's the inside. Of course, they're even worse on the inside, but that's not what matters here. You have to learn how to read people for what there is on their inside."

"Huh…?" She tilted her head in confusion. "In their insides?"

"Yes. Their insides." I nod at her.

"But how do I look inside them to know if they are ugly or not, daddy?"

"That's a good question. That's why. Don't trust people so easily."

"Huh!? I can't?"

"Yes. That's right. You can't trust them easily. You have to wait to see their true colors." I answered with a nod. Sending another round of fire bullet to keep the zombies as far away as possible. Thankfully, each barrage kills tens of them at once.

"Then… Are people evil?"

"Not everyone. But yes, some people are quite evil."

"Um… I don't get it… But okay." She nodded with a confused face.

"Don't worry, you'll slowly learn how to differentiate them. After all, I'm here and I'll protect you." With a smile, I sent another wave of fire bullet, until only thirty or so zombies were left. "Well, what do you say? Want to give it a try?" I ask her.

"Yay!" She shouts with her arms raised.

"Meow…" While Shina covers her ears with her paws.

"Sorry, Shina!" Evandel saw Shina and crouched down to pat her on the head. "Then? What should I do!?" Evandel asked me after standing up again.

"Mm… I'm pretty sure you know that your specialty is creating ghosts, right?" I ask her.

"Yes! I can make friends!"

"Yes, you sure can. But right now, it won't be good to make friends here. Let's leave that for another time."

"Okay." She nodded with a serious face.

"Say, how do you make your friends, Evandel?" I ask her, not looking away from the thirty zombies that were slowly walking towards us. Thankfully, I already took care of the ghouls.

"I… I don't know?" She pondered for a bit, before tilting her head in confusion. "I just… Mold them…?"

"Mm… Don't worry. Think, can you feel the thing you use when molding them?"

"Yes! It's inside me and comes out through my hands!"

"Precisely! That's called Spirit Energy. That's what you use when molding your friends. Is there something else you can feel inside you?"

"Mm…" She closed her eyes. "Yes… There is… There are… Three…? They feel weird, daddy." She answered after a little while.

"It's okay. I know it can be a little taxing the first time. Say, which ones are easier for you to move? Just like you move your Spirit Energy."

"Um… There's one with a rainbow-like color? And another with a blue color, and the other with white color. The one I can move the best is the blue color, then the white one! And… The rainbow one, I can't move it…" She said with a slightly dejected face.

"Don't worry. That's normal. Let's go with the white one, what do you say?"

"Yes! What I have to do?" She asked, with her hands closed as if making a fist.

"Well, at first, open your hand, and just as you do with your Spirit Energy, try to mold that energy, imagine a little ball of fire." I said, while doing it, and creating a small ball of fire for her as a guide.

"Yes!" She said and put her hand out. She had a cute frown on her face as if she was constantly trying to focus on something.

After a little while, a small wisp-like fire appeared.

"Ow…" She looked sad.

"You did it!"

"Yes… But…"

"Mm? What's wrong?"

"It's small… Not like yours, dad…" She said while glancing at mine.

"It's okay, Evandel. Things at first are always hard. But you'll get used to it."

"Yes…" She lowered her head. "But I won't be able to fight them with this…"

"Pfft… Relax. I'll help you. I just wanted to make sure you knew all the powers you had inside." I ruffled her hair. "You see. You're quite powerful, Evandel."

"I am?" She asked with a doubtful face.

"Yes, you are. You're my daughter, after all." I smirked, before walking behind her.

"Huh?" She tried to follow me with her eyes.

"Eyes to the front. You shouldn't stop looking at your enemy at any moment." I sternly said.

"Y-Yes…!" She said while looking towards the now really close zombies.

"As I said, you are my daughter. You are really powerful. But you just have to train, and learn how to use what you have. Okay?" I crouched, putting my hands behind her back. "Don't worry. I'll help you grow. I'll let you learn how to use your power, okay?"

"Yes!" She excitedly nodded.

"But for the moments. Let me be the one to guide your power." With that, I injected my own Natural Energy, a small part of it, and connected to her own.

"W-What!?" She was surprised for a moment.

"Relax. Follow my lead. Let your energy flow through the path I'm marking." I softly said, and she nodded.

"Both hands in front. Palms towards the enemy."

"Un." She nodded and did as I said.

"Now. Prepare yourself." I said, as my energy flowed through her body, her own Natural Energy moving behind her.

At that point, a small fireball started growing in front of her palms, rotating at the same time it grew.

"Wow… Am I doing this…?" She asked, surprised at the growing ball of fire.

"Yes. But focus. Don't lose control of your own energy."

"…" She stopped talking, and closed her eyes, focusing only on the feeling of her own energy.

After a little while, an enormous rotating fireball formed in front of her, it was at least twice the size of Evandel.

"Wow…" She just looked at it with surprised eyes.

"Say, Evandel. Can you feel your enemy?"

"Um? Feel? Don't you mean see…?"

"No. I mean feel. Sense them through your own energy, and not through your eyes."

"I… I can't…"

"Don't worry. I'll help you learn how to do it, later, right now. Focus on your front. Release your power and shot it to the front. Remember, that you have to WILL it. Natural Energy depends on your will to move the elements as you please."

"Yes!" With her eyes closed. She focused her entire power and shot the fireball forwards, just in time to meet the incoming zombies.

The big fireball quickly rotated while moving forwards, burning and incinerating the zombies it found in its path.

"I-I did it!" Evandel shouted, before staggering.

"Yes, yes you did. *chuckles* But be careful. You're not accustomed to using that much power at once, so rest, while I take care of the remaining ones, okay?" I smiled at her.

"Yes." She nodded and sat down with Shina.

{Well, time to finish these zombies.} I thought while sending a new barrage of fire bullets to end the remaining zombies, that numbered to barely 10 of them. {Also, Evandel's quite excited when it came to fighting monsters… I guess that would be good when helping her grow to protect humanity as Hajin wants. Though, I'm not letting her blindly protect humans.}

With that last thought, I prepared to face the incoming monsters.