Chapter 22.

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「Information Agency – Truth」

Welcome .

If you are here to look for true information, visit the following room .

¿Room of Inquiry?

[ ]

Write your question in the above empty space . As long as it meets the following guidelines, it will be answered .

—Condition 1 . Naturally, only answers known by the agency will be answered . If we do not know the answer to a question, we will say so, so do not worry .

—Condition 2 . We cannot give an answer about a person with just his or her name . We require the person’s name, picture, physique, identity, and other personal information .

—Condition 3 . We cannot answer questions that are too trivial . For example, “I lost my cat . Where is it?” is not an acceptable question .

However, the same question can be answered if the scope of the question is narrowed down with specific details .

*Note 1 . The minimum cost is 100,000 won but is subject to change drastically depending on the question .

*Note 2 . Please keep in mind that replies will come quicker if you use respectful language and expression .

*Note 3 . The information we provide is all true . Thus, we cannot refund your purchase .

*The above cost and conditions are subject to change at any time .

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“This seems good enough . ”

I looked at my laptop proudly . This was the form I submitted to Violet Banquet as an information seller . Now that I had a Gift like the Book of Truth, it felt like a waste to not use it .

For now, I gave it a grandiose name – ‘Truth Agency’ .

Since reputation played a huge role in Violet Banquet, I didn’t expect to get many customers to begin with . It was perfect since I didn’t think my magic power would last long anyways .

But in 2~3 years, Truth Agency’s name would surely spread among the members, starting from small interest like ‘Why is this still here?’ or ‘Should I give it a test since I’m bored?’

Since I would have three or four streaks of Stigma by that time, I wouldn’t need to worry about running out of magic power either .

It was a risk-free, long-term investment for the future . If it worked, great . If it didn’t, that was fine too .

“Okay . ”

After looking over the form one more time, I pressed the [apply for seller] button .

Now, everything was taken care of .

The only thing left to do was my daily work out .

I stretched and stood up .

**

Late night, Sunday .

Kim Suho was working out at the Novice Fitness Center . Kim Suho was a regular visitor of the fitness center, but today’s scenery was different than what it was at the beginning of the year . Today, the fitness center was booming with cadets . It was undoubtedly because the midterm exams were coming up .

“Kuu . ”

After finishing a set, Kim Suho looked around the place while resting . Jin Hanjun, Kim Horak, Shin Jonghak, and even Yoo Yeonha and Rachel, who were rare visitors, were there .

“Are you checking out girls?”

At that moment, a sudden coldness touched his face . Kim Suho pulled his head back in surprise . There was only one person who would play such a prank on him . Kim Suho glared at him . Yi Yeonghan shrugged and handed him a drink .

“So, are you?”

“No, I just…”

“Yeah?”

“…I just thought it was a rare sight . ”

Kim Suho pointed at Rachel with his chin . Yi Yeonghan looked at Rachel and nodded in agreement .

“I guess you’re right . This is the first time I’ve seen a real princess working out at a fitness center . ”

Blonde hair that glistened brilliantly and eyes that were like refined sapphires . Her figure showed no imperfections and flaunted elegance and charm .

Even while covered in sweat, she looked like she came out of a painting . The girl, Rachel, was from England’s royal family and was the descendant of a noble lineage .

“Who do you think she’ll marry in the future? Not with us, right?”

At Yi Yeonghan’s comments, Kim Suho smiled .

“Is that a sneer? What, you think you can marry her?”

“No, it’s not that . I was agreeing with you . I don’t think she’d marry someone like us . ”

“Uuk!”

While the two of them joked with each other, a sudden loud grunt grabbed their attention .

“Huuuk!”

The strange breathing sound came from a man having a life-or-death battle with a fitness equipment . However, the weight on the equipment was a pitiful amount by any cadet’s standard .

“…Is he really struggling with that?”

Yi Yeonghan looked with pity .

It wasn’t just Yi Yeonghan . Almost every cadet snickered as they walked about . Kim Suho couldn’t tell whether Kim Hajin was oblivious or too focused to notice, but he continued his struggle resolutely .

“At least he’s doing it for a long time . ”

Kim Suho replied briefly .

“Please, with that weight, I can do the same thing for half a day . I’m curious how he was even admitted to Cube . Even sharpshooters have a minimum physical requirement they need to meet, and wasn’t he a swordsman before? Why don’t I remember him? …Oh, look, it’s Chae Nayun . ”

Chae Nayun came out of the gravitation room at just the right moment . Covered in sweat, she was slightly staggering with an exhausted face .

It looked like she was planning on heading straight back, but when she saw Kim Hajin, she stopped and began to glare at him .

Jiing— Two laser beams shot out of her eyes .

“…What’s she doing?”

“They’re not really on good terms . ”

Kim Suho smiled bitterly .

“Tsk . ”

After glaring at Kim Hajin for a while, Chae Nayun clicked her tongue and turned back . At the same time, her eyes met Kim Suho . She let out a dry cough as though she was embarrassed and walked towards them .

“Hey, Kim Suho, isn’t he a bit strange?”

What nonsense was she spouting now?

“…Strange?”

“That bastard, he’s acting . ”

“What are you talking about?”

Both Yi Yeonghan and Kim Suho furrowed their brows . They didn’t understand what Chae Nayun was saying, but Chae Nayun glared at Kim Suho as though he was being dense .

“…I can understand Yi Yeonghan saying this, but Kim Suho, you really are insensitive about these kinds of things . ”

“What? What are you talking about out of the blue?”

“You saw him that day and you still don’t get it?”

In truth, Chae Nayun’s suspicion was justified .

Magic power was one of the most important abilities of a Hero . In that sense, the magic power Kim Hajin displayed during the Seoul Incident was abnormal . An explosion of magic power strong enough to dye the world white for an instant…

A man with such level of magic power was struggling to lift a tiny weight?

It just didn’t make sense .

As such, Kim Hajin had to be acting for whatever reason .

…Although the logic behind it wasn’t perfectly sound, it was still a justifiable suspicion .

“Hm…”

Yi Yeonghan stared at Kim Hajin once again .

His face was red as though it was about to explode .

“If that’s acting, he should get an Oscar . ”

“Ehew . Whatever, stay dense, you two . ”

Right when Chae Nayun was shaking her head in disappointment, three male cadets approached Kim Hajin . Kim Suho instinctively frowned . Those three were well-known delinquents .

“Hey, what are you doing here, loser?”

“Look, he’s struggling with this . I only need a finger to lift this . ”

They nudged Kim Hajin, but he didn’t react in any way . Without giving them a single glance, he focused on working out .

“Hey, are you mute? Say something . ”

“Let’s take pictures of this son of a bitch and post it . Look at him, working all hard when he’s a complete waste . ”

Aggravated, the three delinquents began to curse openly . Why live; you’re a waste of money; I feel bad for your parents; you’re not going to graduate anyway, so why not just leave; etc…

“…Hey, I’m leaving . ”

Watching this scene, Chae Nayun left the scene looking uncomfortable .

Kim Suho got up, unable to hold himself back, but Yi Yeonghan stopped him .

“What?”

“Just leave him be . By the looks of it, they’re Shin Jonghak’s lackeys . Nothing good will come of fighting them . ”

“But still…”

“Plus…”

Yi Yeonghan smiled as though he found the situation funny .

“Who knows? Maybe he really is acting . ”

**

When I woke up, it was Monday morning . In a daze, I thought back to what happened yesterday . Applying as an information seller on Violet Banquet, buying stocks, and working out…

Let’s shower first .

Chwaaa—

Cold water washed away my drowsiness .

I looked at my wet body in the mirror .

My body had certainly improved . My shoulders and biceps were vitalized, my abdominal muscles were well-defined, and my thighs were rock-hard . It was a robust and healthy body that I could have never achieved on Earth . I wondered, how were my stats looking like?

After drying myself, I left the bathroom and turned on my laptop .

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[Strength 1 . 835]

[Stamina 1 . 945]

[Speed 2 . 15]

[Perception 3 . 055]

[Vitality 1 . 765]

[Magic power 1 . 315]

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As expected, I had grown a lot . Of course, it was still at the level of ‘a man who worked out diligently’, but at this rate, it wouldn’t be long until I could take Aether from Gari Mountain .

After all, the real reward of the Gari Mountain Dungeon wasn’t the ‘completion reward’, but the ‘hidden stage reward’ .

Wiing—

Wiing—

I turned on my smartwatch before heading out to class and was immediately greeted by anonymous messages .

[Retard . ]

[Hey, coward, get ready to have your spine broken in the upcoming combat exam . I’ll disable you and…]

“These guys again . ”

It seemed I was the target of bullying . I had an idea who the instigator was, but I couldn’t be sure .

But of course, something of this level wasn’t enough to damage my 26-year-old mind . After all, I had suffered through Korea’s military service . Just like the saying went, it was just kids being kids .

After blocking the two fools who messaged me, I walked outside .

But there were words written on the nameplate outside my door .

Retard, loser, pushover… There was one more but the handwriting was too bad for me to recognize .

They seemed to have been carved with magic power to avoid being detected by CCTV . For now, I really couldn’t do anything about it . Since classes would begin in ten minutes, I had to hurry before I was late .

*

I opened the classroom door .

“Oh, you’re here, loser?”

Immediately, some kid I didn’t even know the name of struck my head .

I was starting to get a bit annoyed . Sure, it was just kids being kids, but I made sure to remember their faces . Jokes on you, the more you bully me, the more my SP increases!

“What? You mad?”

I didn’t respond . Kim Hyuksoo . I memorized his name and ignored him .

I walked past a few more sneering cadets and sat down on my usual seat . At that moment, my eyes met Chae Nayun . But she didn’t show the same hostility as before . She looked at me somewhat bitterly before turning away .

“Hey guys, the exam results are out for Phenomenon Realm Analysis . ”

At that moment, Yi Yeonghan walked in with an armful of large scrolls .

Cube still had a traditional custom . The results of every written exam, whether small or big, were posted publicly on large posters .

Yi Yeonghan put up the posters while other cadets groaned .

The result was as such .

Rank 1 . Kim Hajin

Rank 2 . Rachel

…

Snap .

A sound similar to a chopstick snapping in half rang out . I snuck a peek behind me .

Two halves of a pen rolled on the table . Next to them was the presumed owner of the pen, Rachel, who was staring at the exam results in a daze . Her mouth was half-open, as though she was shocked greatly .

“…Oh, right . ”

It was then that I remembered a setting I had forgotten about .

For every written exam, whether small or big, Rachel had never been pushed out of first place .

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