Chapter 28

Chapter 28

Skinwalker

"It's anomaly hunting, can you do it?"

Usually one would say it differs depending on what anomaly, but Seo I-hyeon willingly nodded.

"Of course."

Lee Yeong-su said with a serious expression.

"Have you heard of skinwalker by any chance?"

Seo I-hyeon tilted his head. First time hearing.

"I don't know. Is the guy we have to catch this time that?"

"Similar."

What does similar mean again?

"Originally skinwalker is breaking a taboo, and through sorcery a human transforms into a monster. For example killing family."

Seo I-hyeon frowned. The words of killing family scratched the nerves hard.

"They lure people and hunt. They also imitate acquaintances' voices."

Lee Yeong-su paused for a moment.

"That's the original skinwalker, but the guy we're catching this time is a bit different. Not transforming into a monster but putting on human skin."

"If putting on skin, does it even transform into that person?"

"Accurate. Transforming into that person and hunting acquaintances. Among them peeling suitable person's skin and hunting another person."

"If seeing can one distinguish?"

"They say there's an awkward part somewhere, but if a person who doesn't know sees it would be hard to distinguish. Moreover during the day it hides and is active only at night, if dark it's harder to distinguish."

"Picky."

"Right. First tracking and finding is also a problem, but even finding distinguishing whether that is a person or anomaly is also a problem. The combat power itself is said not particularly great, but still one has to regard it as much stronger than ordinary adult males."

Lee Yeong-su chuckled and continued.

"The fortunate thing is, this guy is active in a region where the population is not many. Since a village with total population not even 1 thousand."

If 1 thousand isn't it many? It means there are hundreds of households.

"By the way where did this request come from? Isn't this something a national institution has to resolve?"

"Oh, good question. Of course it's work a national institution has to resolve. So the requester is also a national institution."

Seo I-hyeon looked at Lee Yeong-su with a speechless expression. Didn't he just say to be careful of the Management Bureau?

"The Management Bureau requested? Is it okay to receive such a request without hesitation?"

"I said national institution, not that I said Management Bureau?"

Seo I-hyeon flinched. Then is there another national institution involved in the hidden world besides the Management Bureau?

"It's a small company under the Management Bureau. Management Bureau cooperating company. So strictly speaking it can be said a national institution. That doesn't mean it's the Management Bureau."

"Can one trust those guys?"

"One can't trust 100 percent. Still one can trust to some degree. In fact over half of such requests come from Management Bureau cooperating companies."

"Is it okay even so?"

"They also can't help it. Even if the Management Bureau has many ability users it's only 100. Among them about thirty are novices so education is urgent. With the rest having to cover the whole country, would that work?"

"Does the Management Bureau also know that?"

"They probably couldn't grasp in detail. Still they would be cognizant to some degree? Otherwise it doesn't make sense. Maybe the Management Bureau is urging from behind."

Seo I-hyeon hearing Lee Yeong-su's words thought carefully.

One of the Management Bureau's goals is integrating and managing all ability users in Korea.

Then through requests drawing in ability users or this field people and making them gradually soak toward the Management Bureau side, right? In that way slowly erasing the rejection.

'In result there is effect.'

Seeing even a broker like Lee Yeong-su uses without any sense of incongruity or rejection.

Probably other brokers or organizations are the same.

"How is it? Can you do it? This is combat also combat, but tracking is important."

Seo I-hyeon quietly looked at Lee Yeong-su saying like that. Now Lee Yeong-su is slightly probing. It would be a process of confirming what ability Seo I-hyeon has.

"Well, I'll try."

"No, trying is not enough. If failing this there is risk."

"Risk?"

"Of course. That side is also a national institution in its own way. It means a place where work steadily comes out. Of course there would be many mercenaries or fixers sticking, right?"

"So if failing later opportunities could decrease sharply."

"Right."

Seo I-hyeon nodded casually. If succeeding it's enough, right.

"Alone?"

"If wanting."

Seo I-hyeon answered immediately.

"Alone is convenient."

Really alone is convenient. That way he can freely use the subordinates.

Well, since he also put clothes on, no matter who sees it doesn't matter, but anyway alone is convenient.

"When and where should I go?"

"Since registration is done it doesn't matter anytime, but at latest within two days one has to depart. The location I'll send by text."

Seo I-hyeon nodded.

"Let's do that."

He is thinking of departing today right away. Catching time with such trivial requests is declined.

Lee Yeong-su carefully examined Seo I-hyeon's attitude and slightly smiled. He noticed the fact that he will depart today right away. There is no broker who dislikes a diligent fixer.

"At first it can't be helped. One has no choice but to do the requests the Management Bureau throws. Later when verifying skill and accumulating experience and making the name known, one will be able to take the sweet requests companies give. That's the real."

Management Bureau requests are mostly anomaly extermination he said. As days pass the anomaly occurrence frequency is increasing so the Management Bureau also has a headache.

"So guys like me live. National institutions don't entrust requests to just anyone. Requests one absolutely can't find on the community side."

Lee Yeong-su as if suddenly recalling continued.

"Ah! Don't forget looking for other communities. Finding a community matching the ability is also important. Because one can obtain high-quality information. It also helps growth they say."

Seo I-hyeon nodded. He will look anyway. Even if he can't guarantee he can find.

"Alright, then roughly up to here and shall we get up? The calculation is done by you who earned a huge amount today, right?"

Seo I-hyeon chuckled and nodded.

This level he can do as much as he wants.

From today Seo I-hyeon is rich.

* * *

'I should buy a car.'

Seo I-hyeon looking out the window from the taxi back seat resolved. As expected to do this kind of work a car is essential. One can't move taking a taxi every time, right.

'Wait, would White be able to drive?'

If so it would really be convenient. In fact parking also no need to worry. Because one can store the car in the shadow.

As long as not storing for long there is no occasion to become a problem.

While having this and that thoughts, before he knew it he almost arrived at the destination.

The destination was a village near the boundary of Gyeonggi-do and Chungcheong-do. Since a place where hundreds of households live one couldn't say such a small village.

People who have lived long in the village would know each other well, but people who came from outside or people with not much coming and going the possibility of not knowing well was high.

Cases of only knowing the face would also be many.

Yet not being caught means a considerably cautious guy. The transformation level is also considerably high.

Or during the day not wandering at all and hiding tightly inside the house.

Either way it's not easy.

Seo I-hyeon getting off the taxi glanced around the surroundings. It was a pitch-dark night, and of course no people wandering and not even one light was visible.

The taxi as soon as dropping Seo I-hyeon went empty. As if chased by something.

Probably the taxi driver also received some creepy feeling.

"A person with good sense."

Regions where anomalies are active the flowing energy changes. Seo I-hyeon also has never felt directly. Just contacted only in theory.

Even now no feeling comes at all.

'Shall I gradually make related subordinates or equipment?'

One can't roughly pass with the excuse of dull senses forever. In some way one has to fill the lacking points, right?

If continuing to work in this field.

When Lee Yeong-su sent the location by text, he also supplemented a bit about this request and informed.

If not completing the request within four days it immediately goes over to another side he said.

Seo I-hyeon doesn't need to withdraw, but from then competition starts. More people will flock and dig around this village, so bothersome things could also arise.

So one has to resolve within four days. It wasn't that Lee Yeong-su said for no reason that one has to depart after two days. If departing after two days two days of time is given.

Usually it's a style of thoroughly preparing for two days and resolving the request during the remaining two days.

Seo I-hyeon moved steps into the village.

First he has to find. If only finding the rest is nothing.

Skinwalker or whatever the transformation ability and voice modulation is picky, but the combat power itself is said nothing so.

Seo I-hyeon walking the village path sunk in darkness worried how to find the anomaly.

In fact while coming here he roughly thought.

The method easily usable right now is only the shadow eye, right.

If sweeping the entire village with the shadow eye wouldn't one be able to discover somehow?

If daytime it might have been a bit hard. But now is night. When one can use the shadow eye the best.

Even here is not a city with many lights. A place where the world is all sunk in shadow.

The problem is the shadow eye's range.

Although the shadow eye is a powerful magic, it wasn't that one can confirm an infinite range without distance limit.

Originally the shadow eye was not magic for detecting a wide area, but magic for confirming the vicinity to lessen the bothersomeness.

So one can confirm about a radius of 100 meters.

'If 100 meters... if going around as if walking gradually one can confirm all?'

What is needed is confirming each house.

Drawing out some suspicious houses, and examining intensively wouldn't one get caught?

Just thinking no answer comes out. One has to execute.

From Seo I-hyeon's feet one eyeball bulged out. The eyeball rolled once in place then entered again. And bulged out inside the closest house.

The scenery the shadow eye sees overlapped in Seo I-hyeon's field of view.

One has to confirm all hundreds of households, but this also if prioritizing and confirming suspicious houses one can reduce time.

First no need to confirm the sleeping guys. Because skinwalkers don't sleep.

They can pretend to sleep, but that even glancing with the shadow eye one can know.

Seo I-hyeon while walking began to confirm the houses within a radius of 100 meters.

From Seo I-hyeon's feet one more eyeball bulged out then entered again, and came out from another house.

In that way a total of ten eyeballs scattered in all directions.

This is the limit.

The eyes one can make with the shadow eye is the end at ten. But one can also increase the number more.

If additionally inputting materials here it's fine.

Of course the material is Seo I-hyeon's eyeball.

If putting one more eyeball one can add about thirty eyes.

Of course Seo I-hyeon had not even a bit of thought of doing that.

The shadow eye is sufficiently usable even now. Pulling out eyes just to increase a few more eyeballs? Who would do that.

Of course if adding eyeballs the range also increases more, and one can also strengthen various functions. But he absolutely won't.

"By the way shouldn't I also prepare one weapon?"

There are black swords, but he can't use swords well. Anyway Seo I-hyeon even in the other world was not the combat person in charge who moves directly with the body.

The body hardware is excellent, but the software using that can be regarded as poor.

"Shall I learn something?"

Thinking learning kendo or boxing, martial arts kind might help he continued stepping.

First in the houses along the main road there was no suspicious person. Probably the goal has a high possibility of living alone.

Skinwalkers can't imitate very perfectly so something sense of incongruity arises they say. If a person living together they will quickly notice that sense of incongruity.

Well, since heard talk one has to confirm directly.

100 meters is a longer distance than expected. Walking the main road he confirmed all the houses and shops on both sides of the road, and also confirmed the houses inside.

Now he has to choose right or left and enter deeper inside.

Seo I-hyeon turned his steps to the side he felt like. Right.

How much did he enter inside like that. Seo I-hyeon stopped his steps abruptly.

"Seems I found?"

It was a small house. A small yard with a flat bench, an old house with a separate kitchen.

Not even the main room but someone was in the kitchen.

The eyeball that bulged out on the kitchen floor rolled this way and that and thoroughly scanned the inside.

In the middle one person was standing blankly, and next to that person one corpse was lying.

It seems the guy hunted today.

The person standing blankly looked down at the corpse for a while then began to move.

With long fingernails he deeply stabbed the corpse's crown then stroked down along the grain.

Then as if the original corpse was not but a doll with skin put on the skin peeled cleanly.

Originally that seems to be this anomaly's ability.

Seo I-hyeon admired looking at the cleanly separated human skin. No matter what technician comes they wouldn't be able to peel like that.

Anyway he found. Since seeing up to peeling the corpse skin on an appearance full of sense of incongruity no need for verification either.

Seo I-hyeon hurriedly moved that way.

Since hunting ended today it seems he won't move more, but still just in case he decided to hurry.

If no particular variables it will end soon.

Seo I-hyeon's footsteps heading toward the house where the anomaly is continued lightly.

© Kim Kang-hyeon #12i09