World Occult Usage Guide

Chapter 26 Official entry
"Hmm, where is this..."

He heard a puzzled murmur in his ear. Lin An turned his head and saw a young woman take off her helmet. Her fluffy orange curly hair exploded and fell down, revealing a face full of freckles.

Once outside the VR world, she looked around listlessly.

"Hey, colleague, look here." Lin An waved. "We've been assigned to the same department."

"What do you mean..." the orange-haired woman asked, confused.

"My name is Lin An, it's nice to meet you. Someone will answer your question shortly. But let me introduce myself first."

Lin An walked confidently up to the orange-haired woman.

"In short, there were tracks installed under the chairs we just sat in, which grouped us into the same room based on the results of each test question. I think it was probably because our test results were similar."

The orange-haired woman fell silent, processing Lin An's words, before politely extending her hand after a long pause.

“I am Melissa Slaine. You can just call me Missy.”

During the conversation, the last test subject also woke up. He took off the VR device, raised his blank face, met the gazes of the two people, and a glint of shrewdness flashed in his eyes that did not match his appearance.

"How are you all?"

Lin An repeated the same explanation, and the man said in a deep voice, "My name is Barry Fenton, hello, Lin. Hello, Missy."

"That was a tough interview," Lin An remarked. "How did things go for you guys?"

“Except for the first question, I didn’t get most of them right…” Mishi said weakly.

"The difficulty of the questions was alright."

“I actually think the later parts are a bit easier,” Barry said.

Mishi covered her mouth: "Oh no, is this the room of one of the eliminated contestants?! Waaah, I failed the interview again..."

Mishi has a decent knowledge base, but his radiation level is not high; Barry knows very little about the mysticism, but he has accumulated some radiation level and may awaken soon.

After inquiring about his teammates' situations, Lin An shrugged: "It doesn't matter whether I'm eliminated or not. Anyway, I'm a college student. If all else fails, I'll just sign a confidentiality agreement and go back to my studies."

"I envy you, Lin, enjoying your carefree student life. I desperately need this job. If no company hires me soon, I'll really starve..." Mishi crossed herself. "God above, why is it so hard to find a job these days!"

"..."

A glint flashed in Barry's eyes. Mishi's words seemed to have touched him. He opened his mouth, but remained silent.

"drop."

The sound of a card being swiped interrupted their conversation, and they looked over.

Three people in uniforms walked in through the door. The one in the lead wore an exquisite medal and had an extraordinary air about him.

"Congratulations on passing the front-end test. Based on the evaluation, you are a good fit to join us. However, you will need to take a special test before signing a formal contract."

Mishi's eyes lit up, and she looked like she wanted to jump for joy; Barry breathed a sigh of relief, her expression slightly complicated.

"Great! I thought you were going to eliminate the three of us," Lin An said with relief, mimicking the other two.

“Yes, yes, we were still wondering if this was the room of the eliminated contestants,” Mishi chimed in. “N-no, I’m sorry, I got too excited! Are there any other tests?”

The minister's lips twitched as he glanced at Lin An.

Don't you have any idea how impressive your test results are?

I was so scared I took two aspirin tablets, and you're telling me you think you'll be eliminated...

Clearing his throat, the minister spoke seriously.

“When you reported for duty, you learned more or less about St. Anilov’s work. The organization is the Eagle Nation’s protective umbrella against the mysterious and a shield to safeguard world order. The three of you passed the test and were assigned to the ‘Confrontation’ department.”

"'Comers' is a planet that cannot be observed by any modern scientific equipment, but it continues to radiate Titan, giving rise to all sorts of strange and mysterious forces that drive people to madness, cause physical deformities, and ultimately lead to an extremely painful death. This is 'out of control'."

“Once you join the ‘Face’ department, there is no turning back. You are always fighting on the front lines against those who abuse mysticism. So I want to confirm whether you have strong mental fortitude, the determination to sacrifice for all mankind, and the courage to walk on the edge of death.”

This is not a question, but an affirmative statement.

Having the mindset of "I'm ready to die" when carrying out each task is a fundamental quality of every employee in the direct-department staff.

Mishi and Barry hesitated.

Seeing this, the minister sighed softly.

"Does this sound scary? I'm sorry, but I have to tell you the truth in advance. Unfortunately, even without this awareness, you're already a done deal with joining the 'Face to Face' department."

"Why, why?" Mishi couldn't help but ask.

"In any case, you have been exposed to 'Commerx' radiation and will soon awaken mysterious powers. First of all, 'Commerx' is extremely dangerous, and if you are not properly guided during the awakening, you will die very soon."

"Will...will I die?" Mishi's eyes widened.

“That’s right, that’s true, unless—” The minister’s gaze lingered on Lin An, changing the subject, “Secondly, if the organization forces uncooperative Mysteries to stay and refuses to join the Direct Department, I regret to inform you that you will be unable to leave the facility for the time being.”

Wow, this is so American!

That's such a simple and crude way of speaking.

Lin An glanced at the two men; they were indeed frightened. Barry hung his head dejectedly, remaining silent; Mishi swallowed resignedly and stammered in response.

"What exactly is that special test?"

"Before entering the direct confrontation department, I hope you will observe the dangerous Free Mystery once. Of course, he is not only under Level One control, but also over 90% contaminated, in a dormant state of delirium, and perfectly safe. You only need to observe."

The two dared not refuse, and the minister instructed the team members behind him to open the other door.

The black card swiped through the mechanism, emitting a "beep" sound as it unlocked.

The one-way glass moved to both sides, and the stark white lights automatically turned on, illuminating the scene inside.

It turned out to be a prison resembling a mental hospital.

The door had no handle, the paint was peeling off the walls, revealing the rough surface of the concrete covered with unpleasant scratches.

A row of incandescent lights hung from the ceiling, illuminating the prisoners.

To be precise, it is no longer human.

Its entire body was wrapped in special material restraints and tightly bound to a narrow, upright single bed.

The pale sheets were stained with several pools of faded blood, mixed with an unidentified liquid, spreading out like a kaleidoscope around the mysterious figure. No matter how much they were cleaned, they couldn't be wiped clean, and the air was filled with a stench that couldn't be eliminated with alcohol.

Fortunately, the glass door blocked out the smell, and everyone stared blankly at the mysterious figure's face, momentarily stunned.

It had an old man's face covered with wrinkles like tree bark, and its head was disproportionately large, like a baby's, which contrasted sharply with its thin and short body.

The mysterious figure had his eyes closed and was breathing faintly.

Lin An was somewhat shocked to see such a mysterious being with such a high level of pollution for the first time.

In fact, this person's appearance was far from terrifying. He had seen similar monsters in movies, but those were special effects, while this one was real.

Mishi and Barry only glanced at it a few times before the uncanny valley effect kicked in.

They subconsciously seek out more familiar things in order to maintain cognition; this is the body's self-protection mechanism.

The minister picked up the "medical record" stuck in the window and introduced the person's background.

"Level Delta-005, codename 'Spriggan', also known as 'Treasure Guardian Fairy', medium is 'God of Agriculture', a ruin guardian described in Cornish mythology, often appearing in ancient tombs where treasures are buried."

Looking at the bewildered Mishi and Barry, the minister added with exasperation.

"Cornn is the land of lions, while Spriggan's legacy spread to the modern land of eagles. Adapted by popular culture and local folklore, it evolved into a more widely known figure—Kemps. Does that sound familiar?"

"That thief who appeared in 'Famine' because of too much naughtiness?" Mi Xi blurted out.

“I don’t know what this is, well, at least you’ve heard of ‘Kamps’.” The minister sighed. “Don’t worry, once you’ve completed your onboarding procedures, St. Anilov will arrange some lectures on mysticism.”

"When will you be on duty?" Barry asked.

“Now. They’ll take you to the ‘Personnel Center’ in a bit to change the status of your black cards.” The minister winked at the team members, who entered a password on a tablet. “The official contracts have already been sent to your email addresses.”

The two were overjoyed and quickly took out their phones to confirm.

Three seconds later, Mishi looked up awkwardly.

"Um, could I connect to the WiFi?"

"……Row."

Lin An handed his phone to the clerk while continuing to observe Spriggan in the isolation room.

Upon recognizing the mystery, the system shoved a glowing green panel right in front of his eyes.

[Name]: Spriggan, Treasure Guardian Fairy, Fairy Bodyguard

[Rating]: Ghost Stories - Level C

Radiation level: 27.5%
[Pollution Level]: 92.8%
[Medium]: God of Agriculture

Despite being a creature from a ghost story, it achieved a C rating despite being rated "2".

The more ancient and mysterious something is, the easier it is to be forgotten, ignored, or fabricated over time through word of mouth.

Camps's image, identity, and pronunciation are somewhat similar to Spriggan's, but in addition to "pranks, crop destruction, and theft," Spriggan has a little-known characteristic.

Although it appears small, Spriggan is actually the ghost of a giant who, after death, served as the guardian of the Fairy Queen's kingdom.

To blend into the fairy kingdom, they usually take on the form of small, harmless fairies.

When his emotions run high, Spriggan swells to enormous size, wreaking havoc on buildings and trampling invading enemies.

Did St. Anilof take this into consideration?
Amidst his racing thoughts, Lin An suddenly noticed that Spriggan had moved slightly.

His pupils shrank.

What happened to the promised "dementia hibernation"?

The next moment, the treasure-guarding fairy's eyes widened, blood light radiating from them, and its body swelled up as if being inflated.

(End of this chapter)