I’m the Only One Who Can’t See Ghosts

3 – Preliminaries

After seeing off Jamsoon, I turned on the computer. Then, I searched for Cheonsu Dorung.

Phew. My little sister told me not to look up anything about psychics because of my peculiar circumstances, but I can’t help it when my life is at stake.

“Cheonsu Dorung, twenty-nine years old, runs clubs and restaurants in Hongdae…”

An article with a picture of a man wearing silver sunglasses appears. The article roughly says that Cheonsu is a successful young entrepreneur and a shaman.

“Hmm.”

I changed the search term a bit.

Hongdae’s gang leader, Cheonsoo Crew, Cheonsoo video. However, Jamsooni could not find the cruel video she mentioned.

However, I could find the meaningful gibberish “The gang leader is holding the Hongdae drug dealer tightly” and the Q&A “Where did the nickname go?” “I heard that the Cheonsoo Crew got into a fight and their hands got cut off”

Confirming that if you get into a fight with the Cheonsoo Crew, your hands will get cut off.

To be honest, I was a bit hesitant…

I touched my wrist once and continued searching for information about Cheonsoo on the internet.

From Noble mtl dot com

“There’s no scam in the shop that protects Cheonsoo.”

“These guys here really take care of everything the kids ask for. It’s beyond imagination.”

“Did you see the chaos at the club today? One of the Cheonji guys got drunk and caused trouble, but the crew leaders came out and bowed their heads together and went away.”

This is quite an interesting article. When I clicked it, a picture of rough-looking guys bowing their heads to a handsome man came up.

The comments were like this.

“The gang leader also bows his head to Cheonji. Crazy ㅋ.”

“Even though he turned his own crew into idiots, he can’t mess with Cheonji.”

I also confirmed that the Cheonsoo Crew is submissive to those affiliated with Cheonji.

I had a rough idea of what Cheonsoo was like.

He seemed like a real gangster.

He would bow his head to someone stronger than him and be infinitely cruel to someone weaker. He was the kind of delinquent you often see in real life.

Finally, I searched for Thousand-armed Scion on the Deep Web. And a few minutes later, I regretted that search.

Videos of a man being tortured for dozens of minutes, a woman screaming for a long time, an elderly person begging to be killed, and a child giving up on finding their mother and father. Those kinds of videos were everywhere.

“Damn it…”

I was not only frustrated but also scared.

This guy Cheonsoo.

He was a truly demonic jerk.

In addition, those videos were just a free sample. There would probably be more horrifying scenes in the videos that you can watch by paying.

“Damn psycho.”

My hands trembled. I already felt like I might end up sitting in that torture chair, and my bladder was about to burst from the thought.

Wait, can’t telekinetics track people? I quickly searched for how telekinetics track people. The answer was simple.

“Powerful psychic or shaman can track people by reading their aura. If you want to hide from a stalker like that, it’s best to scatter your aura. To hide your own aura from a stalker, you can buy an amulet called ‘Kigupbu’ for just two million won…”

Cheonsoo was a powerful shaman. He probably read my aura like he did with my younger sister, and ah, damn, there’s no answer.

“…Should I write a will?”

I spread out a sheet of A4 paper and began writing my will. It roughly went like this.

A message left for the next-door neighbor: “Old man, drink less and exercise more. If there’s anything you need among these items, take it. And please format my computer for me.

A message left for Jamsun: “Go back to school and live a normal life. Don’t use profanity or be a picky eater. After the old man formats the computer, you can have it.

And a message for our crazy girl, Nayu. Honestly, I don’t think you’ll understand this will, so I won’t write a long letter. Live well. Make sure to get treatment from a shaman later.

As I wrote this will, tears welled up for some reason.

“Why am I not amazed?”

That’s a real question.

I had a high probability of possessing psychic abilities genetically.

My ancestors had been shaman performers for generations, and my younger sister was exceptionally gifted in that regard.

But I can’t see ghosts.

Even when people in the world couldn’t see ghosts, my younger sister could bring back a person possessed just by staring at them without any rituals.

At that time, I thought it was all for show.

If I had that ability…

“I would have joined Heaven and Earth directly.”

If I became a shaman, I would have taught Heaven’s Crew what it means to be sneered at.

I would have especially injected them with a shaman spirit, those hypocritical worshippers.

“But wait.”

When I became a shaman, something came to mind.

My hand went back up to the keyboard.

There has been one hot news recently on the news.

“This is it.”

A news headline appeared at the top of the portal site.

“The time has come to search for those who will ascend to Heaven. Who will be the next talented individual this time?”

It was the season for Heaven to recruit new talents. Heaven holds an exam once a year to select new members. And this exam is known worldwide.

There is a reason for the attention it receives.

Thousands of talented individuals selected from various countries compete in the preliminary rounds, but only a few hundred make it to the final round.

The final round was even more difficult.

There are cases where over a hundred people die among those who make it to the final round. Even if they survive, many become disabled or come out with physical injuries.

Thus, I heard that only a few dozen people are selected. That’s how challenging Heaven’s exam is.

“Didn’t Cheonsu say he couldn’t touch Heaven?”

So, it was safe to say that there was no chance of Cheonsu kidnapping me while taking the exam. While there was a high possibility of dying during Heaven’s exam, it was better to die cleanly than to be captured and tortured by Cheonsu’s crew.

Of course, there is no possibility that I, who has no abilities, will pass the exam. But that’s okay. My goal is not to pass the exam, but to befriend someone strong enough to pass the exam. Suddenly, I remembered what my younger sister said.

“Don’t let that kid find out that I can’t see ghosts, and don’t get too close to people with supernatural abilities or ask about supernatural abilities.”

I have lived by keeping that promise until now.

But now, with my life at stake, there was no choice.

“The dream of extending life…!”

I quickly started searching for information about the Heavenly Test.

* * *

I took a deep breath.

Honestly, I started to feel a bit nervous. Why?

Because this is the site of the Heavenly Test.

As soon as I arrived at the actual test site, the tension built up.

“Pian Station.”

There is a subway station that suddenly appeared after the Day of Great Enlightenment, when everyone opened their third eye. It is called Pian Station. There is even a sign that says Pian Station.

Looking around, I saw numerous reporters and test-takers gathering at the entrance of Pian Station. The test-takers had worried expressions and were murmuring to each other.

“This preliminaries are too tough.”

“It feels twice as difficult as the previous preliminaries.”

Upon hearing those words, I felt a sense of despair deep inside.

It’s tough from the preliminaries?

Please stop complaining like that.

I need to befriend the main participants.

In my heart, I silently prayed. God, Buddha, and Lucifer… Please let me pass the preliminaries. In an instant, I had a fantasy where a girl, with the appearance of a devil, but with the heart of an angel, wished me luck. …Why do I feel so uneasy?

After that, I greeted a man wearing a hanbok who was standing at the entrance.

He must be someone like a proctor for the exam.

“Ah, hello.”

“Hello. Are you a test-taker?”

“Yes. Where should the preliminaries take place?”

Upon hearing that, the man in hanbok smiled and said,

“This is where the preliminaries take place. Once you pass through the gold thread surrounding the entrance of Pian Station, you will have passed the preliminaries.”

I looked at the entrance of Pian Station. There were charms tightly hung on the entrance of Pian Station.

“Hmm…?”

Is it really just the qualifying round to pass through that?

Are they teasing me?

“Is that true?”

“Yes, it’s true. Um, please don’t despair. The preliminaries were made more difficult in order to avoid unnecessary sacrifices …”

Ignoring the words of the man in hanbok, I lifted the golden rope hanging at the entrance of Pian Station. The rope was easily lifted.

And so, I was able to pass through the golden rope.

“… Does this mean I’ve passed the qualifying round?”

“Ah, y-yes.”

The man in hanbok nodded with a bewildered expression. In an instant, I was so overjoyed that I spun around like a swallow.

But it didn’t matter. My knees are practically made of adamantium. I can’t believe the qualifying round is this easy when I’m trying to take the test.

I guess I put all my luck in life into this.

“hehehehe.”

Now, let’s go meet the participants who made it to the main event quickly.

* * *

The Examiner of the Heavens’ Examination Hall couldn’t close his mouth.

Because the massive and solid barrier that could make the gigantic fortress wall seem fragile had been pierced in an instant.

Of course, the core of that barrier was the golden rope reinforced with talismans.

But it was impossible to find that golden rope once it had been barrierized.

How can one find the golden rope beyond the fortress wall?

Especially when there is an anti-divination spell on it.

Even if they searched, it was an issue.

How can they break through the fortress wall and lay hands on the golden rope?

“To be able to pierce a barrier that not even an explosive bomb would be able to break.”

Even he, who belonged to the Heavenly Realm, would have to pour in his energy for at least ten minutes to break through that seal, but it was destroyed in an instant. Even the savior, who knows many monsters in the Heavenly Realm, had never seen such a creature.

This test was not designed to simply break the barrier in a brute force manner. It was a test to see how examinees deceive the barrier, use tricks, and sacrifice to pass. That’s why the savior didn’t even think of this kind of situation.

“What kind of monster is that?”

The entrance of Pian Station, used as a preliminary test site, became noisy. Journalists were also clamoring, saying things like, “How did he manage to enter the fortress wall?” “Which prestigious family is that man from?” “Hey, quickly contact the desk and find out about that man’s identity!”

The savior let out a shallow sigh and gently tapped his palm together.

Then, everyone around Pian Station suddenly became dumbfounded.

It wasn’t a figurative expression, they really became dumbfounded.

No matter how much one wants to speak, nothing will come out if they are mute.

“In the examination room, be quiet.”

People looked at the ceiling of the examination room, feeling the fear of being unable to speak. The examiner of the ceiling spoke.

“This examination seems quite interesting.”

The monster laughed.