Return of the Sword God-Rank Civil Servant - Chapter 75
Chapter 75
The afternoon work had started.
And Suho became a Record Renewal Agent with the Awakening Department.
“Renewal agent… it’s really been a while.”
Record Renewal Agent.
Just as the National Tax Service sends a collection team to target chronic delinquents, or the military sends a task force to apprehend deserters, the Awakening Department sends Renewal Agents.
Naturally, these agents were all field officers; there were no civilians, and everyone was a player.
Um Joon-sung handed Suho a temporary renewal badge and spoke.
“Alright, Suho, good luck!”
“Yes.”
Suho gave a half-hearted response to Joon-sung’s cheer.
The reason he wasn’t joining him?
Nothing special.
As a civilian and not a field officer, Joon-sung was neither a player nor a regular field agent.
So someone else accompanied him as his temporary trainer.
Unlike Um Joon-sung, who worked indoors, this new trainer was a real player actively working in the field.
Han Hosung, currently serving as a Renewal Agent, greeted Suho.
“I’m Han Hosung.”
Han Hosung.
As a Level 7 field officer, he was assigned to supervise Suho’s field training.
Among the Renewal Agents, he was somewhat known as a seasoned pro.
That was why he had been chosen as Suho’s field training supervisor.
Of course, Hosung wasn’t exactly thrilled about it.
“Geez, being good at your job feels like a curse sometimes.”
Han Hosung knew who Suho was.
No, it would be stranger not to know about Suho in this country.
That was why Hosung wasn’t too pleased to be assigned as Suho’s training supervisor.
After all, rumors about Suho had already spread throughout the company.
“They say he’s Royalty, so we’re supposed to treat him right… Ugh, I’m swamped, but is this really fair?”
Since he was supervising Suho’s field training, Han Hosung had reviewed all the delinquent Non-Updaters Suho would need to handle.
That was why he was feeling so irritated.
The people listed as targets for this evaluation were “Legends of Legends”—individuals whose whereabouts had been unknown for a long time, or who were impossible to capture, even if they were located.
It was clear without saying—the directive was obvious.
Catch them yourselves and present them to Suho.
Why?
Suho was “Royalty,” destined to join the Special Division.
So, naturally, Hosung couldn’t help but have mixed feelings toward Suho.
Suho responded cheerfully to Hosung’s greeting.
“I’m Ahn Suho. I look forward to working with you.”
“Yeah, well… shall we start with some basic training before we head out? Or did Officer Um already go over things like using the Stat Detector?”
“Yes, he did.”
“Then we probably don’t need any additional training. Now, let’s see… huh….”
Hosung let out a sigh, furrowing his brow.
As he looked through the files, he began checking the list of chronic Non-Updater individuals.
Muttering quietly to himself, he said,
“This is insane… really….”
It was reasonable to expect at least one or two ordinary Non-Updater individuals on the list, wasn’t it?
How did they manage to include only the worst cases?
No matter how much they wanted to boost his resume, shouldn’t they have assigned at least some people who could realistically be captured?
He was infuriated.
If he had known it would be like this, he would have avoided earning the “Renewal King” title last quarter.
As Han Hosung pored over the files for a while, Suho asked with a careful smile.
“Are you perhaps having trouble deciding where to start?”
“Yes, well… that’s true.”
“Then how about starting with this one?”
“Who?”
“This person here.”
Suho pointed to one of the individuals listed in the file.
Seeing this, Han Hosung glanced between the person’s photo and Suho before letting out a sigh.
“Excuse me, Suho.”
“Yes?”
“Do you even know who this person is that you’re suggesting we go after?”
“Isn’t he a chronic Non-Updater individual?”
“Yes, I know that… but, ugh… let me be honest. The people assigned to you here are all notorious legends in the Awakening Department’s history of chronic Non-Updater cases. And the one you just selected? We don’t even know his whereabouts.”
“I know.”
“…What?”
“I know. But the fact that someone whose location is unknown is still on the list of chronic Non-Updater individuals means they know he’s still active.”
“That’s true… but how do you know that?”
“I just did a bit of research. Anyway, I’ll try to catch this person.”
The person Suho pointed at.
His name was Kim Goong-won.
As Hosung mentioned, Kim Goong-won was a chronic Non-Updater individual whose location had been unknown for a very long time.
In most cases, he would have been marked as missing.
However, the fact that he was still listed among chronic Non-Updater individuals meant that he was still actively mingling with people.
And the Awakening Department knew it very well.
Hosung furrowed his brow again at Suho’s words.
“Sigh… Suho, I get that you’re motivated, but how do you plan to catch him? He’s currently overseas.”
“Do you really believe he’s overseas?”
“What?”
“His name is Kim Goong-won, occupation: illegal pharmacist, also known as a doping designer. He supplies doping substances he designed to regular sports athletes. The issue is that these substances supposedly have skill-doping effects. He denies it, but there have been multiple reports. He’s been evading us for years while refusing to update his status window, and his current location is thought to be overseas….”
It was exactly as he said.
Kim Goong-won had been working as a doping designer even before he awakened as a player, but his case was transferred to the Korean Hunter Association when he suddenly awakened as a player.
Though his activity as a doping designer was unrelated to the Korean Hunter Association, the problem arose when the illegal drugs he manufactured began to produce not just regular doping effects but skill-doping effects.
That’s when the Korean Hunter Association began to pursue him.
But here’s the interesting part—despite it being a clear case of player crime, it was the Awakening Department, not the Special Unit, that was pursuing him.
The reason was simple.
“Evidence of his crimes needs to be confirmed before the Special Unit can get involved.”
Of course, it would have been better if the Special Unit took action from the start, but they were perpetually understaffed and would only act if there was clear evidence of a crime.
“Moreover, Pi Seong-yeol doesn’t want to deal with it.”
Naturally.
Pi Seong-yeol was always busy focusing on cases that would benefit him personally.
In this situation, one might assume that the Awakening Department could simply leave it alone, but like any department, if they let unresolved cases pile up, they’d get pressure from above.
Just as police officers face criticism if unsolved cases accumulate.
Suho continued speaking.
“Kim Goong-won is definitely in the country. If his drugs are still circulating domestically, would he really be overseas? It’s complicated and risky to smuggle drugs into the country from abroad. It’s noted right here in the file: according to a recent anonymous tip, Kim Goong-won’s drugs are reportedly being used by well-known athletes in the country.”
Hosung nodded as Suho’s logic seemed solid.
“That makes sense, but a tip is still just a tip. We don’t have evidence that these people are actually using the drugs.”
“Then we just need to verify it.”
“How? Skill-doping doesn’t leave any traces in the body, unlike traditional doping.”
“Leave that part to me.”
“Are you serious? This isn’t even a formal report, just a tip. There won’t be any warrants; how are you planning to do it?”
“I have a method in mind. So, let me handle this one on my own first. After all, this is my field evaluation. If I can’t manage it alone, I’ll follow your methods then.”
“…Hah.”
Hosung gave a small laugh.
But Suho was serious.
After a while, as he observed Suho’s determined gaze, Hosung nodded.
“Alright. Go ahead and try. I’ll watch and wait as you requested.”
“Thank you for trusting me.”
It wasn’t that Hosung was being irresponsible.
He didn’t feel capable of dampening Suho’s resolve, and honestly, he was curious to see what he would do.
After all, Suho was the so-called “Royalty.”
Even if he caused a problem, higher-ups would probably cover for him.
Besides, most importantly…
“Whatever he’s planning, he’ll eventually realize that chasing down Non-Updater individuals is an entirely different challenge, even if he’s a Sword God.”
With that, Suho collected the phone numbers of those reported to be users and headed off first.
Watching Suho’s back, Hosung leaned back and stretched out.
He decided to treat it as a well-deserved break.
***
With the list of numbers, Suho headed to Nexus Academy in Paju.
There, he met Seo Giwon, who was busy leveling up, and explained the situation to him.
After listening to Suho’s explanation, Seo Giwon nodded casually.
“Simple.”
“Simple?”
“The crux of the matter is finding Kim Goong-won, right?”
“Exactly.”
“Then just follow the phone numbers of the people reported as users, and eventually, Kim Goong-won’s phone should pop up. That’ll give us his location, and then we can take action.”
At that, Suho grinned.
As expected.
He had come to Giwon precisely because, as a Digitization ability user, Giwon would find this task easy.
Suho laughed as he spoke.
“Let’s do it, then. I knew you’d find this straightforward.”
“Haha, if it’s this type of problem, then it’s easy for me. Shall we go right away?”
“Bring Hyunmin along first.”
“Why bring Hyunmin?”
“He’s crucial for this operation.”
Kim Hyunmin.
An original member of the Banshees and responsible for entry and retreat in the team.
That’s why he was needed.
Although Seo Giwon didn’t quite understand Suho’s intent, Kim Hyunmin immediately grasped his role after listening and nodded.
“Alright, it seems Hyunmin understands, so let’s begin.”
They started by calling Ham Daeho, a famous baseball player listed among the alleged users.
Seo Giwon handled the call.
“Hello?”
“Yes, is this Ham Daeho’s phone?”
“Yes, it is. Who’s this?”
“Oh, I’m Kwon Sungmin, from the telecommunications base station. I’m calling to let you know about an excellent internet service we have….”
“I’m not interested.”
Click.
Ham Daeho hung up the moment he heard the words “internet service.”
But at least they confirmed that he was indeed the phone’s owner.
Seo Giwon grinned and gave a thumbs-up, and Suho returned the gesture with a slight smile.
“Nice acting.”
“This is basic stuff. Shall we head out now?”
“Let’s.”
With the phone number confirmed, Seo Giwon set up his phone and then transported everyone into the device.