This Is Not the Life That I Imagined

Quinn replied, "First, we need to understand your ability better. We have someone in the unit who can deduce a person's ability from a blood sample, though it's not always 100% accurate.

 Second, to help you understand the world you're about to enter. Explaining too much won't do it justice; it's better for you to experience it firsthand. Third, we need to gauge your character—see how you handle extreme situations."

John, confused, asked, "What do you mean by 'the world I'm about to enter'? I don't want to fight monsters as a job. I only fight monsters in games, not real life.

Look, all I want is to figure out what's going on here and then go home."

Quinn chuckled. "You can refuse, of course, but we'd just have to implant a tracker in you and monitor your every move. You'll also need permission to use your ability, or you'll be detained. No big deal.

Oh, and imagine what happened to your coworker happening to one of your relatives. Well, never mind—what are the chances of that, right?"

John's eyes widened. "A tracker? And I need permission to use my ability?! What the—?" He paused, suddenly anxious. "And why mention my family? Nothing's happened to them, has it?"

Quinn grinned. "Of course, nothing's happened... yet. But if you join the bureau, we'll install detectors near your family's home and car to pick up any anomalies they might come across. This way, we can respond quickly to any threats. Otherwise, why waste resources on non-members?

They might never run into anything, or maybe the police will handle it without them even knowing. So really, nothing to worry about. Just sign the papers, and you can head home." He stood as though the conversation was over.

John tapped his leg anxiously, raising his voice. "For God's sake, I'm not falling for this. I know you're trying to play the 'your family's in danger' card to pressure me into joining —but why is it working? I want to curse so badly right now."

He clenched his fists for a moment, then sighed, lowering his head as Quinn reached the door. "Okay... I get it. I can't walk away from this. Can you come back and answer my other questions?"

Quinn paused, then appeared back in his seat with a smile. "Now that we're on the same page, go ahead."

John took a deep breath." You said you're my mentor, Am I only one under you or are there others? If there are others, where are they?"

Quinn shrugged. "They're still going through their tests. I tweaked yours a bit to finish early."

John's eye twitched. "What's their test? And why did you change mine?"

Quinn explained, "In their test, someone with a doppelganger talent creates a double for each test taker. This double will be their companion for a day or two before they face a powerful monster, with the double sacrificing itself for them.

The test taker doesn't know they're interacting with a copy. The goal is to observe their reactions over those two days and during the final fight to evaluate their morals and choices under extreme conditions.

The other two candidates are 17 and 18 years old. Their test remains unchanged since they're still in school, which making them simple to some extent.

But you're 27, which is veteran age if you'd been recruited at 18 like them. With your 7 years of education and work experience, it's harder to gauge whether you're genuine or just acting, especially knowing someone's watching you via the tablet.

So, the simplest way to assess your true character is to have you face death."

John leaned back in his chair, contemplating. "So, either I'm tortured in an illusion to test my worth or I'm tortured by guilt and heartbreak because someone dies for me... It's still torture."

Quinn remained silent, waiting. It didn't take long for John to speak again. "Okay, I work in a factory. What will my role be here? Is it all just fighting?"

Quinn explained calmly, "We have three departments. The first is the Fighting Department, which, as the name may imply, is all about combat.

You see, there are things we call dungeons. Every dungeon has monsters. We need to clear the dungeons to make them disappear. That's the fighter's job—to clear these dungeons that pop up randomly.

The second is the Investigation Department, the most versatile of the three. Their main tasks are to search for dungeons, prioritize those about to break out, track escaped monsters, find mutated animals affected by dungeon proximity, and act as backup for fighters when needed.

The third is the Technology and Planning Department. They focus on enhancing gifted individuals, developing gadgets, and managing the other departments' tasks.

Usually, which department you join depends on your talent, but given your unique talent, you can choose any."

John's eyes lit up as he sat up straight. "I want to join the Technology Department. With my engineering background, that should be a bonus, right?"

Quinn grinned. "Actually, no. I'm assigning you to the Investigation Department."

John stared in shock. "WHAT?! WHY? You said my unique talent would let me choose, and I want the Technology Department. Why are you denying me?"

Quinn looked at John with a smile. "Because of your talent, of course. Your double-focus talent will be invaluable for the investigation unit. The code name I gave you reflects that."

John, nearly fainting from frustration, said, "You created my code name?! 'Ordinary-Sleuth'? That's what you came up with? And I should be able to choose my department. I could go to someone else and pick what I want. Why should I leave it to you?"

Quinn grinned. "'Ordinary-Sleuth' suits you well. You're ordinary in many ways, but you'll make a good detective. And go ahead, see if anyone dares to change my choice for you."

John stared intensely at Quinn, who met his gaze with a calm expression. After a minute, John gave in, his shoulders slumping in defeat. He began to think if there were any questions he'd missed.

After a moment, John asked, "So, I know the basics now. What's next?"

Quinn said, "I will train you with the other two newbies, but we won't start training until three days later. For now, take your tablet; it will be your ID. Go home, resign from your job, and come back here in three days at 9 AM."

John, puzzled, asked, "The tablet? It's still at that safe house. How am I supposed to get home without my phone, wallet, or keys?"

Quinn chuckled. "You forgot how you got here, didn't you? Remember that foggy memory while you shift your attributes to intelligence. There's a skill called Mental-Block that obscures part of your memory. It's used on regular people, but if your intelligence stats are above 12, you will be able to recall it. But you didn't think of your lost memory when you were testing your talent, did you?"

John scratched his head in embarrassing," Well… Yeah, you are right. I didn't think of my foggy memory when I was testing my talent. I will try now."