Chapter 54 - Entering the Department 2

Chapter 54 - Entering the Department 2

The day passed with John grappling with a headache from the endless stream of data displayed in front of him. It wasn't just about the number of dungeons—though there were far more than he had anticipated. Coordinates marked the location of each portal, along with detailed logs of mutant sightings, containment efforts, and cleanup operations. Every bit of data was scrutinized for anything that might have slipped through the cracks and could impact civilian life.

John's task was to double-check these reports, ensuring that nothing had been overlooked. Agents meticulously recorded the coordinates of every mutant they dealt with, tagging locations based on proximity to dungeon portals and the level and tier of the dungeons themselves. Even though John was only assigned to level one dungeons, their sheer number made the task daunting.

The work was tedious, requiring him to cross-reference containment efforts with police reports and news bulletins. It was a meticulous process, and despite assurances that he was merely verifying completed work, it felt anything but simple.

"Hey, Harper," John called, turning to the desk nearby. "How do I determine if something's wrong here or not?"

Harper sighed loudly, swiveling her chair toward him. "I already told you!" she grunted in annoyance, rolling her chair closer to his station. "Here... and here." She pointed at various points on the map displayed on his screen. "See these clusters?"

"Mhm, I see them," John said, squinting.

"Now look at the whole area here," she continued, tracing a region on the holographic map, "and compare it with the data from agents on-site. We can determine that no creature escaped into human habitats. So this one's clear."

John scratched his head, frustration mounting. "Okay, but I still don't get how that guarantees it's 100% safe. Couldn't a creature have already run out of the area before we discovered the dungeon? Like a flying bird or something?"

Harper rolled her eyes. "Let's assume that happened. Even a flying creature needs to land eventually. When it does, or if it causes any disturbance, we'll find out."

"True," John admitted, "but by then, someone might have already died, or the ecosystem could be thrown off balance."

Harper's eyes narrowed. "If we think the way you do, we'll never accomplish anything."

Felix, who had been listening from across the room, decided to join in. "Newbie, stop with the naive questions," he said bluntly. "People die every day—whether from natural causes, car accidents, or who knows what else. We can't save every single one of them. Heck, we're barely keeping ourselves alive."

John frowned but didn't interrupt.

Felix continued, "What we can do is prevent a bigger disaster. If someone dies, they die. Our job is to track that creature and take it down before it kills more. We can't afford guilt trips over what we can't control."

Harper gave a curt nod, her expression softening slightly. "He's not wrong. You'll get used to it."

John leaned back in his chair, processing their words. The stark practicality of their approach was jarring, but he understood its necessity. Still, that didn't mean he had to accept it without question.

The work continued till late after 8 pm. After sending the report to Elias, John starched and stood up from his chair, moving to the department training ground. As he healed, his attributes had changed dramatically after his near-death experience:

(STR: 13, AGL: 11, FLX: 10.5, VIT: 12.5, INT: 12)

But now there were:

(STR: 15.5, AGL: 14, FLX: 13, VIT: 15, INT: 13.5 )

The increase was substantial, accelerating his recovery noticeably when he used Insanity-Check to focus on vitality. However, one thing gnawed at his thoughts. When he used Insanity-Check to add five attributes to his vitality or strength, it stopped before reaching the foundation stage, which was 20 to become this:

VIT: 15 --> 19.9

"The more attributes I gain, the less effective Insanity-Check becomes—until I reach the next stage," John mused, his brow furrowing. He entered the training ground while pondering. The place was not as empty as the 'small gym' he used to train in the main building. On the opposite, if we ignored the enormous space it occupied, it would have been crowded. It seemed that everyone trains when they have no mission or in grace period between missions, which is not a lot of time.

Finding a corner by himself, John unsheathed Echoform. As Echoform changing shapes was its nature, its sheath was of a small dagger, a lot more convenient to carry around than a sword or a bow.

"It is sad there were no magic arrows, so I won't have to carry quiver." John muttered as he changed the Echoform to a bow. "Oh, well. I can't get everything in one package. That's already very good." Nocking an arrow, John focused as he drew the Echoform bow to half its power, then he let go.

Whoosh!

The arrow cut through the air with unimaginable speed, then it hit the target in a bullseye but didn't stop; it pierced through it and went fully out and hit the wall behind it with a huge force, as the arrow broke to pieces on impact.

"Shoot!" John opened his eyes wide as amazement etched on his face. "Nice, its far stronger than I imagined." After continuing his bow practice for half an hour, getting a feel for the bow's power and precision, John decided to switch it to sword form.

As the metal liquid rearranged itself into a sword before solidifying again. 'I wonder If I could switch weapon mid-action?' John thoughts drafted as he put his foot forward and swung his Echoform vertically from top to bottom in one fluid action. Then he rotated his body 180 degree and did same in smooth motion. He then took a step back as he swung his Echoform horizontally, rotating his waist and his shoulder with it, giving it the power needed. He swung it again but in the opposite direction, while keeping the power to the limit.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The power of his swings stirred the air as he continued with his training routine. This was particularly his training regime since he used the sword. Learning how to slash from different angles while keeping the power and his balance to the maximum.

After another half-hour of focused swings and precise movements, John ceased his training, mindful not to push himself too hard while still recovering. After a quick shower, John returned to his apartment, only to be greeted by a thick layer of dust.

"God damn it! Every time I come back, I need to clean this place again," he grumbled, complaining to the air. He made a quick sweep across the floor and changed the bedsheet before drifting off to sleep, thoughts lingering on the improvements he still needed to make.