Chapter 265: Chapter 265

“Yes, that’s correct.”

After a good rest, Su-ho headed straight to the cursed item storage with Kang Seul-gi as soon as he arrived at work. The storage facility wasn’t far from the existing Resource Building.

The only difference was that, given the nature of the items stored inside, the facility had extremely strict security protocols in place.

Of course, those meant little to Su-ho.

Glancing around the cursed item storage, Su-ho remarked,

“For something that was set up quickly, the interior isn’t bad.”

“It was originally an existing warehouse that we cleared out and renovated. Since it was going to be used for cursed item disposal, other departments were eager to help out, so we got it ready quickly.”

Su-ho let out a dry chuckle at that.

It’s not like it was anything else—cursed items only consumed manpower and taxpayer money. No department would want to keep them.

Kang Seul-gi handed over the categorized cursed items and their corresponding documentation to Su-ho.

“All sorting and documentation are complete.”

“You’ve worked hard. They’ll be incinerated soon anyway, so it’s not exactly a meaningful task... but we do need records, so it can’t be helped.”

“It’s no trouble. It wasn’t difficult work. Is there anything you're curious about or anything you want to ask?”

“No, not really. If something annoying comes up during your work, just slide it over to me. I’ll handle the disposal and grind it down. Oh, one more thing—just to check: is there CCTV among the security measures here...?”

“We didn’t install any, since you mentioned it was for a classified project. So you can use the space freely.”

“As expected from Team Leader Kang... I appreciate your foresight. Thanks to you, I’ll be able to work comfortably.”

“Haha, of course. Good luck then.”

After giving her encouragement, Kang Seul-gi quietly exited the storage room.

Now alone, Su-ho finally began examining the pile of cursed items stacked like a mountain.

“Were there always this many cursed items in the country?”

It had only been a few days since the cursed item storage had been arranged.

Yet already, there were hundreds of cursed items piled inside.

Shaking his head, Su-ho muttered to himself.

If a government agency hadn’t intervened, all these would’ve ended up in civilian hands. Just how many innocent people would’ve unknowingly used them, unaware they were cursed?

It was a chilling thought.

“This is exactly why state institutions exist.”

Su-ho opened his Subspace House.

And there, writhing in withdrawal, was Pi Seong-yeol.

“A-Item... Give me an item...”

Drooling, trembling hands, and vacant eyes.

Classic Mega Crusher item withdrawal symptoms.

“This is the worst phase.”

But there was nothing in the vicinity suitable for a Mega Crusher to consume.

Which is why Pi Seong-yeol, the host of the Mega Crusher, was suffering and withering.

Su-ho grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and dragged him out.

Then he tossed him into the massive pile of cursed items.

Pi Seong-yeol’s eyes gleamed maniacally at the sight of the heap of items.

His consciousness was no longer his own.

Half-consumed by the Mega Crusher, Pi Seong-yeol began shoveling cursed items into himself on command.

Location—naturally, his lower abdomen.

Same as with Kang Seul-gi before.

Then, the moment the first item entered the Mega Crusher—

Whirrr!! Grind-grind-grind—

Like interlocking saw blades, the cursed item was sucked in.

Once the item was ground down, nothing remained.

But the host was pacified.

Sure enough, Pi Seong-yeol, who’d just moments ago been half out of his mind, slowly came to.

The difference wasn’t drastic, considering he’d been drooling until a second ago.

Looking down at him, Su-ho said,

“Senior, stop moaning and get up.”

“W-Why am I here...?”

“Haa... Don’t make me repeat myself.”

And Su-ho had no intention of adjusting the pace of his work to suit a tool that hadn’t yet proven itself useful.

With a kick to Pi Seong-yeol’s backside, Su-ho jolted him fully awake and said,

“We’re on a tight schedule, so move your ass. Transfer all of these over there.”

At Su-ho’s command, Pi Seong-yeol began transporting cursed items to the Subspace House.

After a while, he successfully relocated every cursed item from the warehouse.

Shoving Pi Seong-yeol back into the Subspace House, Su-ho added,

“Make sure you grind them as you get time. I’ll be checking periodically.”

“Okay? That answer sounded short.”

“Get your mind together. Or do you want me to jolt you awake with fire again?”

“N-No! I-I’ll work hard!”

“Good. Then I’ll see you later.”

With that, Su-ho closed the Subspace House.

Now, it was his fight alone.

“I’ll have to grind for at least a few days to raise the grade.”

Grinding meant feeding items into the Mega Crusher.

The reason Kang Seul-gi hadn’t been able to raise the Mega Crusher to Grade A was because she had only fed it the bare minimum to maintain her normal life.

But Pi Seong-yeol’s situation was different.

He had plenty of time and surplus items—he’d reach Grade A in no time.

And once the Mega Crusher hit Grade A, that’s when it would truly shine.

Su-ho halted his energy circulation and lay flat on the ground.

Because of the Blacksmith’s Necklace.

“Damn... It feels like I’m getting close, but it won’t break.”

For the past few days, he’d poured mana into the Blacksmith’s Necklace twice a day.

Yet despite the effort, the necklace remained sealed.

“Maybe dividing the mana across multiple attempts is pointless?”

It occurred to him that might be the case.

Rather than accumulating mana over time, maybe the necklace required a full-force burst in one go.

If so, he’d need to boost his mana stat even more.

“Either way, it’s going to take a while.”

After restoring a suitable amount of mana, Su-ho got up and began getting ready for work.

Today was an important day.

Because it was the day after the Special Division’s open recruitment period ended.

“Now comes the real hell.”

During the recruitment period, over 3,000 applications had come in.

He’d expected around a thousand at most, but the number had tripled.

So Su-ho and Jeong Cheol-min had spent the past few days buried in résumés.

They never even considered asking others for help.

After all, it was a recruitment drive specifically for the Special Division, and Su-ho had strongly insisted that the two of them handle the screening personally.

“If we filtered by academic background or certificates like in corporate hiring, we’d miss the truly exceptional ones.”

Like those only Su-ho himself could recognize—individuals with hidden potential.

So they’d poured everything into the résumé review process.

And there had been results.

Thanks to the Library of Memories, Su-ho had prior knowledge on quite a few players and was able to weed out the problematic ones effectively. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩•𝗳𝗂𝗋𝖾•𝕟𝕖𝕥

Upon arriving at the association, Su-ho saw Jeong Cheol-min asleep in a reclined chair.

Drawing back the blinds in the director’s office, Su-ho asked,

“Why are you sleeping here? Don’t tell me you didn’t go home.”

“...Yeah. I was reviewing résumés until dawn and just dozed off.”

“You should’ve gone home. What’s the point of pulling an all-nighter here?”

“Someone’s gotta do it. Besides, you’re the one who has to handle the practical training anyway.”

Yawning widely, Jeong Cheol-min took a sip from a half-finished energy drink.

“Start with these. I did the first round of cuts overnight.”

Jeong Cheol-min had surprisingly sharp instincts when it came to people.

So Su-ho didn’t bother rechecking the ones he had screened out.

While reviewing the batch, Su-ho’s eyes stopped on one résumé.

“Well, look at that. This kid applied, huh?”

It was a very familiar name, and Su-ho smirked.

You encounter all sorts of unexpected people during résumé screening—one of the reasons he couldn’t delegate this task.

Su-ho gathered the documents and reached out toward Jeong Cheol-min.

[ Healing is activated. ]

[ Recovery is activated. ]

A burst of radiant light.

Jeong Cheol-min, freshly healed, stretched and let out another huge yawn.

“Man... I don’t know whether to be grateful or annoyed.”

“Well, it works, doesn’t it? If you really need to crash, there’s a sauna nearby. Take a nap there and come back in the afternoon.”

“No thanks. I’ll sleep when I’m dead.”

“Just saying—I did offer.”

“Enough. Let’s wrap this up today. We don’t have time to spare.”

Thanks to the healing and recovery, Jeong Cheol-min picked up another stack of applications.

It wasn’t until well past lunch that the first screening round was finally complete.

“Ugh... Finally done...!”

“How many made it through the first round?”

“About 150, give or take.”

“From 3,000 down to 150? That’s a big cut.”

“There were a lot of duds.”

“Got your eye on any specific ones?”

“Yeah, a few. What about you?”

“Well, obviously them.”

This round of special recruitment had drawn a surprising crowd.

Especially among high-profile individuals. It was baffling why such people would even apply for a civil servant hunter position with modest pay.

While sipping coffee, Jeong Cheol-min asked,

“So, how are you planning to handle the practical interviews? I really didn’t prepare anything since you told me to leave it alone... But even after screening, we still have 150 candidates. Got a solid plan?”

“Yes, I do. Everything’s ready, so don’t worry. In fact, how about we just move straight to Round 2 without any more cuts?”

“What? All 150 of them?”

“They’ll get weeded out during the 2nd and 3rd rounds anyway.”

“If that’s how you want it, fine... but at least give me a report first. I still need to know what’s going on.”

In response, Su-ho pulled a set of documents from his inventory and handed them over.

“Knew it. You always plan ahead, don’t you? Let’s have a look...”

As Jeong Cheol-min skimmed through the paperwork, he frowned and looked back at Su-ho.

“You’re serious about this?”

“I mean, come on... this is a bit...”

“It’s the Special Division, sir. We’re hiring people we’ll be working with. The standards have to be tough.”

“Sigh... But you know, right? We’re hiring across different grades, including level 9. You’ll need clear distinctions based on ability.”

“...Alright. Do it your way.”

“Yessir. Then I’ll post the results as soon as the practical assessment prep is finished.”

A determined sparkle shone in Su-ho’s eyes as he replied.