Chapter 4
“I’m glad we can see each other again.”
Yoo Shik was calmly sitting in the middle of the white filled room.
This was clearly the HR Director from before.
“I was told this would be the last test, am I correct to think that it’s going to be with you?”
“Yes, you’re correct. Because I’m in charge of the whole hiring process, I never let anyone else do this portion except myself. I make decisions with my own eyes and ears. Now, let’s get things started. Can you please sit in front of me?”
Yoo shik was still and acting calmly, but Haneul felt that there was something different about him at this moment.
‘He’s somewhat sharper.’
“Thanks to you, everyone on the internet has been on a rage, and even the top bra.s.s were excited. Thankfully, we were able to find you a lot sooner than we had hoped. Once we got a call from the hospital regarding your prowess, we decided to do some research on who you were and it seems like you have been getting excellent grades in school.”
Excellent grades? It seems like the Haneul from world B was superior compared to the one in world A.
‘Should’ve known that the moment I found out “I” s.n.a.t.c.hed the beautiful Minah for myself.’
“The psychological test seems to have been on the low side, but putting everything together, you have more than enough qualifications to become a hero.”
“Does that mean I’m registered now?”
“Yes, once you complete the final interview with us, you will formerly be registered as a hero.”
“Is it related to the interview we’re having right now?”
“Yes, of course. It’s not a simple procedure or test, but a way for us to communicate as people and to draw out the things we couldn’t find out through the normal tests.”
In other words, an in-depth test.
‘How thorough.’
Haneul nodded without emotion.
“Mr. Haneul, there’s something I’d like to ask you on a personal level.”
“Alright, go ahead.”
“I’m told that you were at the earthquake situation in Central South a little while ago, is that correct?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“Why were you there?”
Why
I was thinking of going down to see my family for Thanksgiving, but when I did, the whole world flipped upside down.
Haneul was thinking, he wasn’t sure why the Haneul from World B was there.
“I was thinking of meeting someone I know.”
“You ran into the battlefield when you weren’t a hero, why? and when was the exact time of when you awakened?”
‘He said this was going to be an interview, but if it’s this much, it’s closer to being an interrogation.’
Haneul was slowly starting to get angry.
“It was on that day. I just felt my magic powers awakening out of nowhere. Something felt like it was going to burst out from within me, and it did. What can I say after that? A hard to describe realization came over me where I felt that, with this power, I needed to save and protect the people. It’s surprising but I think this is what they call the strength of justice.”
“Mr. Haneul, let’s stop with the bulls.h.i.t there.”
“You think I’m lying then?”
Haneul stared straight into Yoo Shik’s eyes.
Due to his job, Yoo Shik had met many different kind of heroes and knew exactly what type of person Haneul was.
“I’m a person that has met many different types of people, and through the psychological test and conversations, I’m generally able to judge the characteristics of that person. In my opinion, you do not have the mind of a hero.”
“I will not deny it.”
“Hero Principle, Article 1, Heroes will fight for the government and for its people.”
“I know that’s what the principle says, but I don’t think every hero in this world fights with that being their primary reason.”
“Okay then. It seems like you’re not doing it for honor, and you’re pretty far off from the Principle. Is it the money then?”
I wonder.
Haneul was deep in thought from that question.
He’s never made much money before besides the couple of part time jobs he had. His knowledge on money was still that of a student’s, and that’s why a hero’s income was definitely large.
‘But that’s not the reason why I’m here. I figure it’s something I can do, and that it’s just a rule of this world.’
He was just following the natural social mechanism of being a part of the Organization, because he was a person that as awakened and held magic powers.
“I’m just following the normal steps. I don’t believe that I got my powers by chance, and I think there’s a reason why I have it.”
“Black Walker.”
The moment that name came out of Yoo Shik’s mouth, Haneul’s calm face turned stiff.
“After some research, I found that you were the first person on scene when the C rank hero, Black Walker died. Is that related to your awakening? Because of his death you awakened, and because of guilt you fought. Does that sound reasonable?”
“……..”
Haneul didn’t answer and just continued to stare at Yoo Shik.
‘Hmm?’
Yoo Shik was able to see the fires of anger and hatred in Haneul’s eyes.
“HR Director Yoo Shik, I’m not sure on how an in-depth interview works, but let’s be honest with each other. What you want and what I want is pretty clear isn’t it?”
“I’m not sure what you’re talking about. There is no clarity at all with what I want and with what you want. I just want to know the truth and see if Black Walker’s death was the driving force…..”
Koong.
Haneul slammed his leg hard into the ground.
The ground was ringing because he reinforced his leg with magic.
The 2 heroes who were waiting outside, rushed into the office.
“Ah, it’s okay. There’s nothing wrong so you guys can go back outside.”
The two heroes walked out and closed the door behind them.
“I apologize if I made you uncomfortable.”
“Yes, you’ve made me very uncomfortable. I don’t think an employee of the Organization should have the right to lightly say the name of a Hero that died in the line of duty. Don’t you think so HR Director Yoo Shik?”
It was a very threatening and emotional confrontation, but YooShik was satisfied. One can see the thoughts and motives of a person through their emotions.
‘Black Walker huh.’
“I apologize. I’ve overstepped my boundary. Then let’s try flipping the conversation around. I’m not completely sure yet on what you want, but I think I got the gist of it. Now, I’m curious as to what you mean when you say it’s clear on what I want.”
“Are we being pretentious now? I’m not the one sitting on top of fire, it’s you guys. I don’t think it’s good for you guys to be getting hit on so hard by the media.”
* * * *
Haneul came out from the building.
“What’s the point of talking in circles. Are they just going to keep poking around with questions like that?”
At first, Haneul’s body would freeze because it was his first time going into a grand building like that, but no matter how grand the building was, what lived there were humans.
And those humans wanted Haneul right now.
To be exact, they wanted his name.
The level of the Organization and a hero has always been the same. There has never been a case where one was above the other.
Haneul’s footsteps on his way back home were very light. Yoo Shik had told him that a formal notification would be out within 24 hours, however the Organization has no other choice.
Technically, Haneul has already become a part of the Organization.
‘I got angrier than I imagined.’
Black Walker was a bigger part of Haneul than he had thought.
On another note, while Haneul was on his way back home, Yoo Shik was thinking about the conversation he just had with Haneul.
‘I thought he was just a little punk, but he’s much more presumptuous than I thought.’
Haneul was a very wise person and he knew exactly where his standing was in the current situation.
‘I was hoping he’d be a spoiled brat that liked going on a rampage, but that isn’t the case. He seems to have some justice in him……Any who, I’ll keep watching over him.’
Yoo Shik walked towards Kyung Shik, the person in charge of testing Haneuls’ magic.
“Department Chief Yoo, Were you able to grasp his powers through the test?”
“Yes, I captured his magic value from when he used his powers but…..”
“Was there a problem?”
“I think the level is a little off. The potential value isn’t coming out.”
Yoo Shik walked towards the computer with a shocked expression in order to verify Kyung Shik’s words. 6 cameras were operating from different spots as they captured Haneul releasing his magic.
With this they were able to tell the origin of the magic activating and see the potential value of its powers, but for Haneul, it came out as unknown.
“How can you not even do yout job correctly?”
Yoo Shik frowned and vented. He was thinking that this error occurred because the Department Chief wasn’t being attentive to his job.
“Alright, let’s put his potential value aside for now and move onto his actual magic value. An overall rank should have been given right?”
The results came out after some time pa.s.sed, but this made Yoo Shik’s face frown with confusion.
“Is there something wrong with this?”
“N, No.”
“Then what’s the error rate for the result?”
“That is………only 0.5 percent.”
The mark floating on the screen, A Rank.
It was completely different from everyone’s thoughts, because everyone believed Haneul was at most a B rank from the videos they watched.
Of course, a person’s eyes aren’t exact and there would definitely be errors, but not to this extent.
It was out of the ordinary for a hero’s first test after awakening to be this high.
‘How exactly did he awaken in order for his magic to be A Rank? If it’s this high, I’m not surprised to see that the computer couldn’t read his potential value,’ thought Yoo Shik.
Although, magic rank and value can’t determine everything about a hero, it was an undeniable fact that it was a hero’s base indicator.
“Haneul Kang, you’re not the average Joe I see.”
“Umm, HR Director. Look at this. There’s something here that’s hard to overlook.”
“What do you mean?”
“There’s a part here that we over looked thinking it wasn’t that big of a deal, but it has to do with his transformation process.”
Transformation process?
What’s so special about that……
Yoo Shik looked at the screen and made a strange expression.
“This is…..It’s not the usual Cracker Weapon. It’s even greater. Have you checked the registered inventory yet?”
“I have, but I have yet to find anything regarding this Cracker Weapon.”
Yoo Shik’s interest grew even thicker.
“Don’t tell anybody else for now. Understand?”
“Yes, understood.”
‘What is its true ident.i.ty I wonder?’
Yoo Shik was so excited that he couldn’t maintain his calm composure.
Chapter 4 – End.