The Eldritch Files

’To participate in Mysterious Power training, don’t I first have to pass the Spiritual Penetration hurdle?’

’To be cautious, I’ve been hiding the fact that I’ve already achieved Spiritual Penetration and two other mysterious abilities. Now, during the Mysterious Power training, I wonder if I’ll arouse suspicion?’

’But that’s not right. I was right to hide it before.’

During this time, Han Su had deepened his understanding of the Disaster Management Bureau from various sources. He was now aware of the two possible outcomes for those who had already achieved Spiritual Penetration, either upon joining the Bureau or after encountering an aberrant phenomenon.

The first was to be assigned directly to the D1 Group. However, these individuals typically had mentors from the supernatural world, powerful backgrounds, and were considered safe and controllable.

Like Miss Crow.

The second outcome was for those deemed extremely prone to losing control. Since they couldn’t be left unchecked, they were sent directly to the D7 Group.

They were stripped of their freedom, forcibly confined, and never knew when they might be sent to face an aberration.

Although Han Su had never personally seen the D7 Group—a group he had heard much about but never encountered—he was certain that his current position in the D2 Group was an excellent one.

Of course, to be on the safe side, his best course of action was to feign that he hadn’t achieved Penetration yet. Then, at an opportune moment during his training with the Disaster Management Bureau, he could pretend to achieve it suddenly.

That way, he could pull it off without anyone being the wiser.

His reasoning was sound, but Han Su wasn’t sure how feasible it was. As he mulled it over, he took out his phone and sent a message:

[Crow]

[Here.]

Looking at the concise message that popped up in the chat window—the one with the black crow avatar—Han Su thought for a moment before typing: [How is the Spiritual Penetration part of the Mysterious Power training conducted?]

Miss Crow replied quickly: [Come find me in Training Room C2.]

”Hm?”

Han Su had only wanted to learn how others behaved during Spiritual Penetration training so he could put on a convincing act. He hadn’t expected such a direct reply. Figuring she was probably worried about information security and wanted to speak in person, he put his phone away and headed over.

Upon arriving at the training room in the Disaster Management Bureau’s base—one open to personnel from the D1 and D2 Groups—Han Su saw Miss Crow sitting alone inside.

She seemed to be practicing something. The walls of the room were made of a dark, metallic material, etched with faint lines that wove together to form some kind of mysterious sigil.

The training room was spacious and, in theory, should have felt empty.

But for some reason, Han Su stopped in his tracks the moment he reached the doorway.

A strange sensation permeated the training room, making it feel incredibly ”crowded.”

”Come in and sit.”

She was sitting on a rug in the center of the room. Instead of answering his unasked question, she just spoke softly.

The moment she spoke, it was as if something taut in the training room had snapped. It felt like a stadium floodlight, so bright it was nearly blinding, had suddenly been switched off, causing the entire space to feel normal and gentle again.

Han Su walked in. Seeing no chairs in the room, he sat down beside her. ”What were you doing?”

As Han Su sat down, Miss Crow seemed a bit unused to his proximity. She instinctively shrank away for a moment before relaxing, though she kept her head close to his.

”Routine Spiritual Power control training.”

As she spoke, she turned to face Han Su. ”Why the sudden interest in Spiritual Penetration?”

Han Su thought for a moment. ”I want to start the Mysterious Power training, but I’ve never encountered any of this before. I thought if I could get a feel for it ahead of time, I won’t be so lost when the training begins.”

’Maybe Miss Crow will think this violates the regulations,’ Han Su thought, already preparing an excuse.

But she didn’t question him. Instead, she tilted her head slightly. ”Have you really thought this through?”

Miss Crow tilted her head. ”After you achieve Spiritual Penetration, you’ll possess a power beyond the understanding of ordinary people. But every time you use it, there’s a price.”

”If some kind of supernatural monster were to appear, you would be far more likely to attract its attention than an ordinary person. And what’s more...”

She thought for a moment, searching for a fitting analogy. ”Even if you’re just walking home at night, you’ll be more likely to run into a ghost than anyone else.”

Han Su chuckled. ”Isn’t that a good thing?”

Miss Crow was visibly taken aback, clearly confused. ”A good thing?”

Han Su said, ”Why else would we join the Disaster Management Bureau? Isn’t it for the thrill and excitement?”

Hearing this, Miss Crow seemed genuinely bewildered. ”Do people really join for the thrill and excitement? I didn’t...”

”Well, you should learn to enjoy it.”

Han Su stopped teasing her and smiled. ”But getting back to the point, when the Disaster Management Bureau says it can help us achieve Spiritual Penetration, how exactly do they do it?”

”I keep hearing you all talk about Spiritual Penetration. What does this so-called Penetration actually feel like?”

”...”

Hearing Han Su get to the point, Miss Crow grew more serious. She sat up straight, facing him directly. ”Spiritual Penetration means making your Spiritual Power ’come alive’ and, in a controllable manner, having it penetrate into reality.”

”There are two ways for an ordinary person to achieve Spiritual Penetration.”

”One method is through an Encrypted Spell. You listen to it over and over again until it triggers a spiritual resonance, allowing your spirit to find an outlet. Once you’ve memorized that feeling, you can master this ’Penetration’ through repeated practice.”

”The other is to use the taint of an aberration to forcibly create an opening.”

”...”

Han Su was taken aback. ”Forcibly?”

Miss Crow nodded and offered an analogy. ”It’s like blood inside your body that can’t get out.”

”Someone’s blood might seep out through their capillaries because their circulation is too vigorous, or it might flow out because of an injury. The principle is the same.”

”...”

A thought suddenly struck Han Su. ’When I first achieved Spiritual Penetration, it was because I encountered the Ghost Truck. Does that mean my case falls under the second method?’

”Of course...”

Miss Crow continued, ”Seeking out an aberration to help you achieve Spiritual Penetration is extremely dangerous. You would be exposed to a terrifying level of taint, and you could even lose your sanity.”

”But based on that same principle, there’s another way.”

As she spoke, she took Han Su’s hand. He could feel her small hand was cool and soft. ”And that is to have someone who has already achieved Spiritual Penetration help you experience the sensation. In essence, it’s the same as being tainted by an aberration.”

”The only difference is that this way is more controllable and much safer. The downside is that it’s very draining for the person infusing you with their spiritual energy, and it requires long, repeated sessions for you to finally master Spiritual Penetration.”

”I can let you feel it once right now. Do you want to?”

”...”

”You’re being quite forward...”

Han Su looked at her earnest expression, gave a slight nod, and asked, ”Won’t this get you in trouble? Are you breaking any rules?”

”I’m just letting you feel the Spiritual Power’s Activity, not helping you complete the Penetration.”

Miss Crow explained earnestly, ”This is permitted by the Disaster Management Bureau. Many people have already completed this step before even joining.”

Han Su relaxed. ”Go ahead.”

Han Su couldn’t see Miss Crow do anything in particular, but he felt the hand she was holding suddenly grow much colder.

It was a seeping chill, a coldness that seemed to have a life of its own.

It was seeping from her palm into his, then traveling up his arm like a cold snake slithering into his veins.

’What a strange experience...,’ the thought flashed through Han Su’s mind.

”Be careful. I’m letting you feel the Activity of my Spiritual Power, just like my aunt did for me when I was little.”

Then, an even stranger experience occurred. Miss Crow hadn’t opened her mouth, but Han Su suddenly heard her voice.

It was the ”coldness” she was transmitting into his palm. As a tangible manifestation of Spiritual Power, it naturally possessed the ability to carry ”information.” Thus, it delivered the message to Han Su through a medium beyond language, sound, or touch.

”Spiritual Penetration, to be precise, can be divided into two steps.”

”First, making your spirit ’come alive.’”

”Second, the spirit finds an outlet.”

”...”

The ”coldness” she transmitted into his palm traveled bit by bit up his arm, carefully entering deeper into his body.

”Due to the rules, I can only let you experience the feeling of your spirit ’coming alive’ for now.”

”This is the foundation for everything. As long as you can definitively feel your spirit coming alive, you can then try to control that sensation yourself. Once you reach a certain standard of control, achieving Spiritual Penetration is only a matter of time.”

”...”

As she transmitted the information, the coldness roamed through Han Su’s body, attempting to create some controllable ”ripples.”

It was like someone stirring the surface of a calm lake with a branch.

But Han Su’s Spirit World was incredibly vast and desolate, making the force from the small branch seem rather weak. Miss Crow had no choice but to try increasing its strength.

’His Encryption Talent is supposedly A-rank, right? But that can’t be. My aunt said that was only because Minister Zhang pushed the result, and that his actual Encryption Talent is very low.’

’That would explain it. His Spiritual Power is so resistant precisely because his Encryption Talent is low.’

’I’ll need more Spiritual Power to make his ’come alive’...’

’...’

With that thought, she deliberately increased the Penetration of her Spiritual Power. The coldness grew more distinct, seeping into Han Su’s palm at a faster rate.

’Not enough? I’ll add more.’

’Still not enough? More!’