The Eldritch Files

’Words whose meaning can only be felt when attempting Tier Two Mysterious Power training?’

On the way back to the Disaster Management Bureau, Han Su was lost in thought. The more he pondered it, the more interesting things seemed to become.

’Tier One is just about activating one’s own spirit, allowing it to penetrate the present world. Then, through Encrypted Spells, you communicate with the various residual Mysterious Powers in the world to achieve all sorts of unbelievable interventions.’

’The mark of the beginning of Tier Two is discovering the Divine Material within your body. Then, you try to bypass the Encrypted Spells and directly sense the existence of those residual Mysterious Powers. You perceive them, listen to them, and come to know their nature and reasons for being. This is Understanding.’

’After Understanding comes Stealing. You draw this Mysterious Power into your body and combine it with your own Divine Material, forming a strange, upgradable Mysterious Core. The stronger the Mysterious Core, the higher your own level becomes.’

’But it’s also from this stage that a person begins to be influenced by the source of the mystery, and their own will comes under assault.’

’The more Mysterious Power you steal, the greater the impact on yourself.’

’When this impact reaches its limit, you must face the final hurdle of Tier Two: Master!’

’You either overcome the influence of the mysterious source and completely subjugate the Mysterious Power with your own will, or you lose control, fall, and become a believer of that Mysterious Power—a monster...’

’Those stable powers that have already been mastered and can be safely stolen from are Totems. These have already become the private property of many noble families and schools.’

’...’

For other people, Stealing was the most difficult hurdle.

So when Investigator Moses mentioned being blacklisted by the Hidden Schools, the potential impact was actually quite significant.

But Han Su wasn’t worried in the slightest. Never mind the resources he already had on hand; even if he had none, when it came to mysterious sources...

...weren’t there plenty of them in the Ancient Castle?

But others would probably never guess that he was currently stuck at the simplest threshold of all: ”Understanding.”

He didn’t want to become a Mysterious Believer, and he certainly wasn’t willing to let a Mysterious Power directly affect his Divine Material. The Fishing Song could suppress Copper’s Will and make it obey, but it did absolutely nothing to enhance his Divine Material.

’So, where is the path that’s right for me?’

The more he thought about it, the more his head ached. It was the first time he’d truly felt the importance of having a guide in the Mysterious Circle...

Lost in these thoughts, he returned to the Disaster Management Bureau.

In the short span of two or three days, the entire atmosphere at the Disaster Management Bureau had changed completely.

Everyone knew that many Investigator Licenses had become available, and they were all gearing up, preparing to talk to their superiors.

Although the Disaster Management Bureau had a high mortality rate, year after year, it had also accumulated a good number of Senior Executors whose experience and qualifications were up to standard.

These people were just one license away from becoming Investigators.

And with this opportunity, whatever atmosphere the Disaster Management Bureau—or rather, Zhang Chiguo—wanted to create, whatever kind of new Investigators he wanted to cultivate, it was now entirely up to him. The reform work that had once seemed nearly impossible was now well within his grasp.

However, faced with such an excellent situation, Zhang Chiguo seemed somewhat distracted these days, and no one knew what he was busy with.

And surprisingly, his assistant, the Doctor, showed little interest in an Investigator License. With no missions these past few days, he just stayed in the Disaster Management Bureau’s archives or drank coffee by the window in the cafeteria.

Han Su was a little surprised that he hadn’t come to talk to him about the Investigator License, but the Doctor’s answer was quite resolute:

”A license? What’s the point?”

”What do you think I joined the Disaster Management Bureau for?”

”Perspective!”

”I want to understand this world, to see clearly those things that defy common sense. So, seeing is what’s most important.”

”I’ve already learned most of what there is to see at the Investigator level through you. What’s the point of walking that same path all over again myself?”

”In you, I see the hope of learning more of the truth in a short amount of time, so...”

He gently pushed up his glasses with his middle finger. ”...you do the work!”

”?”

It took Han Su a great deal of effort to understand the look in his eyes. Was he implying that Han Su should be aiming for Independent Investigator?

’What’s with that look of gratification? He might as well have patted me on the shoulder and told me to keep up the good work.’

’But how am I supposed to ’do the work’?’

He was an S-Class Investigator, only a single commission away from becoming an Independent Investigator, but who would be willing to give him one?

Right now, he hadn’t even started his Mysterious Power training!

Who would imagine that he, currently the top person below the rank of Independent Investigator, hadn’t even truly come into contact with the Disaster Management Bureau’s three major Sequences?

But with nothing to do for the moment, and with the Red Sea Studio not letting him get involved in their investigation, Han Su could only take advantage of the downtime and head to the Qinggang Disaster Management Bureau’s archives, just like the Doctor.

His mind was currently filled with the Emperor’s Book and bizarre Gods. He had endless questions but not a single answer, so he could only search unconsciously through the ocean of paper files, row after row.

The Disaster Management Bureau’s archives were truly an eye-opening experience.

Phenomena, Aberrations, Contamination—they were all clearly categorized.

Previously, Han Su hadn’t been able to fully distinguish between them, but now he could. Ultimately, the divisions were just based on the degree to which an abnormal power had penetrated reality.

For example, when he had first joined the Disaster Management Bureau, he had gone to record the flashing frequency of a street lamp. That was an abnormal phenomenon.

When a phenomenon confirmed that an anomaly had invaded reality and caused a distortion, it was collectively termed an Aberration.

And those things that continuously influenced and distorted reality, with corresponding manifestations that could cause harm appearing in the real world, were collectively termed Contamination.

However, none of this could help him now. What he needed was higher-level knowledge, things related to Totems at the very least.

But although there were many files here, they were clean—he couldn’t find a single trace of what he was looking for.

”Looking to advance to the next tier?”

Just as Han Su was thinking, a gentle voice suddenly spoke up beside him.

Slightly surprised, Han Su turned his head and saw Investigator Moses, who was also holding a paper file.

With his current level of Spiritual Activity, he was surprised he hadn’t noticed the man’s approach.

For a moment, Han Su felt a flash of vigilance, but he maintained a polite expression and asked, ”Why do you say that?”

”The files you’re looking at.”

Investigator Moses glanced at the files in Han Su’s hand. ”There’s nothing new in these files about contamination sources. Usually, only people attempting to move on to the second tier of Mysterious Power are interested in them. And you need this right now, don’t you?”

”However, this stuff is useless to you.”

”The things that can help you understand and ascend to the second tier are all locked up in the secret prisons. You could turn this archive upside down and you wouldn’t find them.”

”...”

Han Su’s interest was piqued. He smiled. ”I haven’t been with the Disaster Management Bureau for long. I’ve heard of them, but I don’t know the details.”

”What are these secret prisons you speak of?”

”They are specific regions used to imprison abnormal creatures.”

Investigator Moses smiled. ”For example, I guard Sea Region 383, which is home to some Sea People who have long been completely altered.”

”Among them are villagers from the Sea People Village whose bloodlines have regressed, members of a Mysterious Organization who fell by worshipping the Sea God, and even out-of-control members of our Disaster Management Bureau’s [Sea Beast] Sequence. They’ve lost all possibility of becoming human again, so they can only be imprisoned in that place.”

”My job is to watch them hunt, reproduce, and hold grand sacrificial rituals on the night of the full moon. I watch them engage in bestial slaughter over the chance to tear apart the tail of a shapely Mermaid.”

”Of course...”

His tone suddenly shifted. ”My real job is to understand the changes of the Divine Material within their bodies through observation and dissection, record the relevant data, and submit it to the Qinggang Council Hall.”

”And, before this material is about to go out of control, to eliminate all of them.”

”...”

Just a few sentences seemed to sketch out a bloody and cruel world at sea. Han Su was silent for a moment before he said:

”It sounds less like a secret prison and more like an execution ground.”

”You could also call it a training ground.”

Investigator Moses smiled. ”Anyone can train an Executor, and Independent Investigators or scholars from the Hidden Schools can train Investigators. But once you reach the Independent Investigator stage, there’s no one left to help train you.”

”The process of observing those things is also how we complete our own training.”

”...”

As he spoke, he sized Han Su up for a moment, seeming to notice something, and nodded in satisfaction.

”Your Divine Material is still clean. That’s very good. Don’t be in a hurry to enter a world you don’t understand.”

Han Su was slightly surprised. ”You can tell?”

Theoretically, by subjugating Copper’s Will with the Fishing Song, he had already crossed that threshold. But because he hadn’t entered Copper’s domain, his Divine Material had indeed remained in the pure, uncontaminated state it was in when he first discovered it.

”Very clearly.”

Investigator Moses put down the file in his hand, made an inviting gesture to Han Su, and walked toward the coffee station next to the archives.

”The Qinggang Disaster Management Bureau’s three major Sequences are all huge traps.”

”Entering one of the three Sequences means trapping yourself on a single path.”

”At best, you become another Banshee, or a Sea Beast, or some half-human, half-machine monster. What’s the use in that?”

”It’s just a pity that the Hidden Schools are too stingy. Even though they participated in establishing the Abnormal Disaster Assessment and Management Bureau back in the day, they refused to share their true knowledge. So these poor young Investigators don’t have many good options to begin with.”

”...”

Han Su was shaken by his words. He looked at him with a surprised expression. ”Why are you telling me all this?”

Investigator Moses smiled. ”I did promise I could help you with your Mysterious Power training, didn’t I?”

”Of course, if you need it!”