The UN and Hero Association officially recognized Evil Society as the number 1 most wanted djinn group. Although other groups acted more viciously, the entire world knew Evil Society because of their countless crimes across the globe. They also participated in every human-djinn war, from the artifact scramble in China to the Suwon Battle in Korea.

“Say that again.”

Evil Society’s hideout was located in an artificial cave under Russia’s Vladivostok waters. For over 40 years, technological advances transformed it into a state-of-the-art facility.

“My apologies.”

“No, don’t apologize. I said to repeat that, Silasen. You said a cheetah disturbed our plan?”

“No, it was a panther. Um, a man wearing a panther mask.”

Devils had formed Evil Society to steal artifacts. Kim Hakpyo, Evil Society’s artifact retrieval leader, desperately wanted Homer’s Ring. This ring of wisdom amplified all abilities related to magic power, so djinns would greatly benefit.

“You mean a panther that looks like this?”

Kim Hakpyo showed a sketch of the masked man according to Silasen’s description.

“… Yes. He wasn’t ordinary.”

“I know. I heard you lost a subordinate.”

“Yes, we lost Sidius. He seems to have been killed in one blow.”

“…”

Although Sidius had weak defense, even Kim Hakpyo acknowledged his swordsmanship. He was one of the organization’s rising stars, capable of handling low-intermediate rank heroes.

“He wasn’t a djinn?”

Djinns commonly killed each other.

“No, but he didn’t seem to be a hero either.”

“Then he must be a mercenary or hunter. Look into it. Of course, don’t confront him alone.”

Kim Hakpyo vowed to obtain Homer’s Ring when he heard about it from the Collector, and had no intentions of giving up.

“His weapon?”

“Yes?”

“Sidius’ magic sword, it’s expensive. Did you retrieve it?”

“Ah… no.”

Magic swords were man-made, but could display the same power as an artifact. They cost the same as low-rank artifacts at 500 million won.

“I see. That makes sense. Someone who took the ring wouldn’t have missed it.”

Kim Hakpyo accepted the reality that only a fool wouldn’t take 500 million won lying on the ground. His anger then turned to Silasen.

“By the way, why are you announcing that you’re a djinn?”

“… Yes?”

“Your goddamn appearance.”

Kim Hakpyo pointed at Silasen’s black skin and blood-red pupils.

“I’m asking why you’re revealing that you’re a goddamn djinn!”

Kim Hakpyo’s fury shook the cave. Silasen quickly reverted to a human appearance.

“M-My apologies!”

He had honestly forgotten to disguise himself. Djinns looked completely different from humans after their devil transformation. Unfortunately, Evil Society wasn’t so lenient regarding mistakes. Silasen kneeled in a hurry.

***

“What am I supposed to do with this?”

On Sunday night, I examined the magic sword I picked up. A spoil of war from defeating a djinn, but it was useless. I couldn’t wield magic power like ordinary people and didn’t plan to fight close range. Of course, I could anonymously sell it on Violet Banquet for a decent sum, but I felt uneasy if a djinn bought it, so I stashed it away in my drawer.

“And what do I do with this?”

Homer’s Ring looked shabby, as though it was made from mud because it hadn’t yet awakened. However, it was actually a unique artifact.

[Homer’s Ring] [Artifact] [Unawakened] A ring Homer wore in the past that contains hidden abilities.

It would have been difficult for me to awaken this artifact compared to a djinn. Fortunately, I didn’t require the normal method. Instead, I just deleted the un- part of unawakened with my settings intervention.

[49 SP will be used.]

It didn’t require too much SP since the normal awakening method was rather simple. You just had to imbue a certain amount of magic power, probably around 1.5 times Chae Nayun’s current mana capacity.

Once I saved the setting, the surface of Homer’s Ring cracked. A beautiful platinum ring appeared from beneath the dirt husk.

[Homer’s Ring] [Artifact] [Awakened] A ring Homer wore in the past. It resonates with nature and will endow its wearer with energy. [Enhanced Intelligence – will increase the wearer’s intelligence by 0.001 points every 24 hours up to a maximum of 0.365 points.] [High rank magic power amplification] [Camouflage]

Homer’s Ring not only amplified magic power, but also increased the invariable stat intelligence. One only needed to wear it for a year to receive its maximum benefit. The maximum of 0.365 intelligence points roughly equaled 7 IQ points.

“I guess I should hold on to it for at least a year.”

Homer’s Ring wasn’t a binding item. The intelligence I gained from it wouldn’t disappear after I gave it away.

It would be inefficient to keep it forever since my source of magic power came from stigma. I couldn’t equip the ring to stigma, but I tried rubbing it on my upper arm just in case.

“… What am I doing?”

I slipped it on my finger. Homer’s Ring better suited Kim Suho or Chae Nayun. Chae Nayun was the best candidate with the most magic power.

“Now…”

I checked my stats for the first time in a while.

[Strength 2.56] [Stamina 2.575] [Speed 3.250] [Perception 4.215] [Vitality 2.665] [Magic power 1.925]

My stats had reached a wall other than speed and perception. A wall referred to a bottleneck in growth. The first was between 2 and 3, the next was 4 to 5, 6 to 7, etc. Most individuals faced these bottlenecks after every 2 stat points, and cadets’ upper limits were usually around 12 to 13.

“My magic power isn’t going up at all.”

My magic power would probably stay at that level forever, but that didn’t discourage me. After all, my magic power came from stigma. Next, I read some encouraging alerts.

[You have managed to throw a difficult weapon!] [Beginner’s Luck has been applied! Your wire throwing accuracy and power has increased.] [Your gift, Master Sharpshooter, has increased to grade 6!]

[Master Sharpshooter] [Intermediate rank] [Spirit attribute] [Evolving — Grade 6] [Proficiency EXP 0%]

— Master Sharpshooter’s Training: Skillfully wield all long ranged weapons.

— Thousand-Mile Eyes: See far away and predict a target’s movement path. Has increased your speed and perception by 1 point.

— Bullet Time: In combat only, and once every 24 hours, spend up to 80 seconds in Bullet Time.

— Sharpshooter of Reversal: Deal bonus damage against a stronger opponent depending on your luck.

Master Sharpshooter finally evolved from low-intermediate rank to intermediate. It grew faster than expected, but would exponentially slow from here. Grade 6 to grade 5 would probably take the same amount as grade 10 to grade 6.

“I should be able to beat Chae Nayun with this.”

I was about to close the laptop when I suddenly remembered.

“… I almost forgot.”

My family, or to be more precise, Kim Chundong’s family. Kim Chundong’s past would have been one of the first and easiest settings for the co-author to modify. I immediately grew curious.

Although he was an extra in my novel, Kim Chundong would have been considered an elite for attending Cube. Furthermore, genes played an essential role in determining the potential for gifts. Therefore, Kim Chundong’s parents must not have been ordinary.

I entered Violet Banquet. Tak, tak. From the numerous categories, I clicked on [detective agency].

[100% trustworthy information agency, Veteran.]

[Information agency, Echo. Anything you want to know is at our disposal.]

The multiple agencies displayed on banner ads weren’t the best. After all, well-known agencies didn’t need to advertise. The real deal was here.

[Private Broker Yoo Jinhyuk]

Yoo Jinhyuk was the best of the best in this field. He could find anything when it came to individuals. Naturally, his service was extremely expensive with a base price of 50 million won.

“… Oh right.”

I was about to send a request when I recalled that I was broke.

“I don’t have any money.”

I had already invested everything into stocks.

Wiing—!

Something on top of my drawer vibrated. Evandel’s Seed stood up and shook its body that it was hungry.

“I know, I know.”

I took out a bloody gauze and gave it to the seed.

***

[Monday 1 P.M.]

The eventful weekend passed. We resumed the incomplete exam instead of a regular class today. Cadets gathered in the same exam room as two weeks ago and busily wrote their reports while groups 14 to 25 took the exam.

Family affair…

However, Yoo Yeonha pondered over something completely irrelevant to the exam. Family affair. What Kim Hajin said kept bothering her.

Kim Hajin had immediately recognized Belbet, but it didn’t make sense for him to specifically know Belbet. From her research, she found out that Belbet was a conman who worked exclusively in Europe. He couldn’t have had anything to do with Kim Hajin. It made more sense to conclude that Kim Hajin memorized the face of every internationally wanted criminal.

But why…

Yoo Yeonha came up with a hypothesis after considering Kim Hajin’s strange obsession with wanted criminals. Something horrible had happened in his past, but he didn’t know the culprit. As a result, he memorized the entire International Wanted List. Of course, this was only a hypothesis. But…

Orphan.

With another keyword, the hypothesis became more logical. Kim Hajin didn’t have parents. Almost every cadet knew because Shin Jonghak’s lackeys often harassed him as a parentless bastard.

So that must mean…

Kim Hajin’s parents were dead. No, someone murdered them. Because of this, Kim Hajin memorized the face of every criminal and hid his power to find the culprit. It made sense. Yoo Yeonha added another phrase to her notes.

Sad past.

“Yeonha, what are you writing?”

Chae Nayun suddenly asked. She peeked at Yoo Yeonha’s notes with tired eyes as though she had just woken up.

“Family affair? Orphan? Sad past? … Are you adopted?”

“Are you crazy? I’m just curious about something.”

“Well, I guess you’ve always been curious about random stuff. You know, you always dig up things with no benefits. You’re kind of a dunce. No, you are a dunce.”

“If you’re going to sleep, just keep sleeping, Nayun.”

Yoo Yeonha spoke as she gritted her teeth. Chae Nayun yawned and leaned back into her chair.

“Yeah, I should.”

Yoo Yeonha returned to the boundary of delusion and thought. If Kim Hajin had such a past, she could use it to her advantage when recruiting him. It was illegal to investigate a cadet’s background, but that just meant she couldn’t get caught. She became convinced of recruiting Kim Hajin after the latest incident. Kim Hajin was perhaps even more valuable than Kim Suho. At least, that’s what Yoo Yeonha thought.

“Hmm…”

Someone that could investigate Kim Hajin’s family background. She knew only one person. If he wanted, he could even draw up the family tree of a cockroach. The only question was whether he would help her.

“…”

Yoo Yeonha turned on her smartwatch. She had avoided the number on the bottom of her contacts for the past 5 years.

[Uncle Yoo Jinhyuk]

Yoo Yeonha tightly closed her eyes and sent him a message.